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Noel Sickles, along with his lifelong friend, Milton Caniff, changed the face of comics in the 1930s, when they invented a new form of graphic storytelling. They moved away from the simple outline approach then popular, and created a chiaroscuro style that still influences comics artists today. Having blazed a trail through the comics world, Sickles left the medium in favor of a 40-year career as one of America's most successful magazine illustrators. A regular at Life magazine, his work also appeared in Look, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, and The Saturday Evening Post.
Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles
Edited & Designed by Dean Mullaney, Biography by Bruce Canwell Introduction by Jim Steranko.
A massive, comprehensive, oversized 392-page volume that collects, for the first time, every Sickles Scorchy Smith strip, from December 1933 through November 1936. It also features, in a 140-page biography, an extensive examination of Sickles's life and the decades-long influence of his work, while also showcasing the full breadth of his career as one of America's foremost magazine illustrators.
Oversized 11" x 11"
hardcover-with-dustjacket, 392 pp. with foldouts and index,
$49.99. ISBN: 978-1-60010-206-6.
Born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1912, Noel Sickles was working as a staff artist at the Associated Press when he was assigned to take over the 1930s aviation adventure series Scorchy Smith. Although he only drew it for three brief years, the innovation he brought to the artform is a milestone in the history of newspaper comic strips. Sickles won the National Cartoonist Society’s Advertising and Illustration Award in both 1960 and 1962.
"From the endpapers
to the foldouts, Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles
is a glorious tribute to a 20th century cartoonist and 21st century
bookmaking. Dean Mullaney...has designed and edited a book that is
almost as impressive as the work of its subject, the great Noel
-Steve Duin, The (Portland) Oregonian
volume is comprised of two sections, each of which could be a
separate book: a detailed biography of the artist by Bruce Canwell,
accompanied by copious examples of his various kinds of work; and
the complete run of Scorchy Smith, here appearing between
covers for the first time. Such lovingly lavish treatment has been
accorded few cartoonists, but Sickles, despite his lack of renown,
thoroughly warrants it."
embarrassing amount of riches...in the arts section: paintings,
commercial art, war-related efforts, commissioned work, personal
items such as birthday cards, and abortive syndicated newspaper
comics efforts like a mid-'70s Bruce Lee strip. Scorchy
Smith is really two separate books, and that's not just a
facile slogan here; there's simply that much material."
-The Comics Reporter | <urn:uuid:64aa598f-0eb9-4e7d-ab8e-ec4ac581dde8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://libraryofamericancomics.com/catalog/series/1061/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960277 | 641 | 1.625 | 2 |
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Washington Animal Rescue League, in partnership with the ASPCA, on Monday welcomed dozens of dogs and cats left homeless by Hurricane Sandy. The pets traveled from temporary shelters in New York City, and will be placed for adoption once they've been evaluated by the league's medical and behavioral staff. For information on how to visit and adopt some of these hurricane victims, or other adoptable pets at the league's shelter, visit www.warl.org.
All of the animals were either abandoned during the storm, surrendered by their owners due to the effects of the storm or were stray animals. Many are already being cared for by several members of the Washington Animal Rescue League staff who have been on site in New York this week at the request of the ASPCA. | <urn:uuid:586cf643-72fb-4767-aaf7-f300f66b1228> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wusa9.com/(X(1)A(4C27-hC5zAEkAAAAYzA5YjQ2YzktOTk1Zi00MzVhLTgwMmMtMWUyMTdlZDlkNWY0Q9A_ppj6SQLTPxGfD-rRYaxNP5k1))/news/dcnews/article/238134/187/WARL-Welcomes-Pets-Left-Homeless-By-Hurricane-Sandy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973327 | 157 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Baby Orangutan Anyin Succumbs to Variety of Illnesses
Fidelis E. Satriastanti
Anyin, the baby orangutan was brought by its owner to the Natural Resources Conservation Center in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, in critical condition has died.
“We did our best to save her, but her condition was very critical and she died at 5 p.m. on Wednesday,” Adi Irawan, a veterinarian and manager of International Animal Rescue’s (IAR) orangutan rehabilitation center, said on Wednesday.
Anyin was handed in by her owner last Friday because he feared that she was on the verge of death.
“Her condition was critical and she was barely conscious,” Adi said.
The owner had kept Anyin as a pet for 18 months before giving it to the center. The orangutan was reportedly kidnapped by hunters who killed its mother and then sold it for Rp 1.15 million ($120).
It came from Sambas district in West Kalimantan, said Karmele Llano Sanchez, the executive director of the IAR Indonesia Foundation.
“This area is home to the most endangered subspecies of the Bornean orangutan,” she said.
She added that the IAR vets suspected that Anyin had typhoid fever, a human disease that can be deadly for orangutans.
It remains unclear if the owner will face criminal charges. Trade in or possession of endangered species is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and up to Rp 100 million in fines. | <urn:uuid:f1e1c103-ed63-46e6-b576-9412a3a630db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/archive/baby-orangutan-anyin-succumbs-to-variety-of-illnesses/527430/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966073 | 341 | 1.515625 | 2 |
I am teaching this lesson right now with my 8th graders and they LOVE
it! I am excited too. My question is; what is the best type of hanger
to use as the back of the sculptures are still exposed Styrofoam and the
plaster has made them a little heavy?
Mitchell, South Dakota
From: Judy Decker [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 10:09 AM
To: TeacherArtExchange Discussion Group
Subject: [teacherartexchange] Lessons for Styrofoam sheets - 1/2" thick
Greetings Art Educators,
Sue doesn't have the materials right now for the lesson ideas I have....
but she might be able to order them.
The theme was "What's inside my head" - the words show students
concerns. The one of the right has a poem tracing the sculpture contours
(but you can't see the words very well). The one on the right was from a
student who never had anything in the art show before.
These are just two examples I photographed that I put in the show. | <urn:uuid:5a2333d7-156f-45bb-ba7c-30d5ea8d3826> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Mar06/0220.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943023 | 249 | 1.796875 | 2 |
(POOL New Reuters, REUTERS)
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - In a highly unusual rebuff to a close ally as tensions escalated over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the White House said on Tuesday President Barack Obama would not meet Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli prime minister's U.S. visit later this month.
The apparent snub, coupled with Netanyahu's sharpened demands for a tougher U.S. line against Iran, threatened to plunge U.S.-Israeli relations into crisis and add pressure on Obama in the final stretch of a tight presidential election campaign.
An Israeli official, who declined to be identified, said the White House had refused Netanyahu's request to meet Obama when the Israeli leader visits the United States to attend the U.N. General Assembly, telling the Israelis, "The president's schedule will not permit that."
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor denied that Netanyahu had ever made such an overture - let alone that it had been spurned - insisting instead that the two leaders were attending the General Assembly on different days and would not be in New York at the same time.
With U.S.-Israeli differences increasingly laid bare and allies of Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney seizing the chance to slam Obama over his Israel policy, the president phoned Netanyahu on Tuesday night.
Netanyahu has had a strained relationship with Obama, but they have met on all but one of his U.S. trips since 2009. The president was on a foreign visit when the prime minister came to the United States in November 2010.
By withholding a meeting, the Democratic president could alienate some Jewish and pro-Israel voters as he seeks a second term in the November 6 election. Romney has already accused Obama of being too tough on Israel and not hard enough on Iran.
Obama and Netanyahu, according to a White House summary of their call, reaffirmed a "united" determination to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and to continue close consultations. But they mentioned nothing about the "red lines" Netanyahu wants Obama to set for Tehran.
Obama's avoidance of a face-to-face meeting could signal U.S. displeasure with Netanyahu's intensifying push a specific ultimatum to Iran. Obama aides say privately they believe Netanyahu favors Romney, a fellow conservative, although the Israeli leader has been cautious to avoid being seen interfering in the election campaign.
Word that the two men would not meet came on the same day that Netanyahu said the United States had forfeited its moral right to stop Israel from taking action against Iran's nuclear program because it had refused to be firm with Tehran itself.
Netanyahu has argued that setting a clear boundary for Iran's uranium enrichment activities and imposing stronger economic sanctions could deter Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and mitigate the need for military action.
In comments that appeared to bring the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran closer, Netanyahu took Washington to task for rebuffing his call to set a clear "red line" for Iran's nuclear program, which has already prompted four rounds of U.N. sanctions.
"The world tells Israel, 'Wait, there's still time.' And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?'" Netanyahu said.
"Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel," he added, addressing a news conference with Bulgaria's prime minister.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Republican senators and critics of Obama's foreign policy, said in a joint statement: "It is puzzling that the president can't make time to see the head of state of one of America's closest allies in the world."
"If these reports are true, the White House's decision sends a troubling signal to our ally Israel about America's commitment at this dangerous and challenging time," they said.
The website of Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz called Netanyahu's words "an unprecedented verbal attack on the U.S. government".
Iran makes no secret of its hostility to Israel, widely assumed to be the region's only nuclear-armed power, but says its nuclear program is purely peaceful.
Netanyahu's relations with Obama have been tense because of Iran and other issues, such as Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
But he has never framed his differences with Obama - who has pledged he will "always have Israel's back" and has not ruled out military action against Iran if all else fails - in moral terms.
Obama has been seeking to shore up his advantage over Romney with Jewish voters - who could make a difference in election battleground states like Florida and Ohio - by stressing his support for Israel's security. He received 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008, but a nationwide Gallup poll in June showed him down to 64 percent backing versus Romney's 29 percent. | <urn:uuid:db81c017-9bd2-4606-ba7b-82fb62d4df27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-12/news/sns-rt-us-israel-iran-netanyahubre88a10b-20120911_1_obama-and-netanyahu-benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968791 | 982 | 1.507813 | 2 |
DeLand touts benefits of health clinic for city workers
Published: Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 6:05 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 9:06 p.m.
DELAND — When Barbara Jacob, a pension administrator in DeLand's human resources department, gets sick, it doesn't necessarily mean she has to take a sick day.
That's because in 2010, the city joined a growing number of municipalities and private companies and opened its own employee health care clinic. Now, Jacob and her colleagues can see a doctor, get a prescription, have lab work done and be back to work in as little as an hour or two – and all without paying a cent out of pocket.
"I think it's the best thing that's ever happened to the city," she said. "It's very convenient. The city allows us to not use any sick time and go to the clinic."
After being faced with year after year of double-digit increases in employee health insurance premiums, City Manager Michael Pleus went to the City Commission in 2010 and told its members that enough was enough.
"Finally, I told the commission that we just couldn't do this anymore," he said. "That we could no longer provide the health insurance benefit when costs were going up by six figures."
Inspired by similar setups in Palm Bay and other cities in Central Florida, the city partnered with Tennessee-based CareHere to open a clinic for employees at the Victoria Medical Park in November 2010. The clinic provides free primary-care doctor visits, generic medications, and lab work to employees and their dependents. Because the city doesn't file claims for those services with its insurance provider, it ends up with smaller premium increases when renewal time comes around.
The clinic is also used for all of the city's pre-employment physicals and for first reports of workers' compensation claims. For fiscal year 2012-2013, it cost $454,909 to run.
"Basically we've capped our cost for health insurance," Pleus said. "The employees are limited in how much of an increase they get, because the more they use the clinic, the less the rate goes up."
The only downside for employees, Pleus said, is that they now bear the cost of any increases in the city's health insurance premiums – whereas beforehand, the city simply ate the costs. But those yearly increases have been much smaller, he said – single-digit percentages, as compared to the more than 30 percent increases the city sometimes used to incur.
Mark Hayward, the city's human resources director, said that with the clinic available, the city doesn't lose as much productivity, because seeing a doctor is no longer always an all-day affair for many employees.
"It saves the employees co-pays and they can go right in and out," he said. "We don't lose a lot of production time. It's only a couple of miles south from the main city, so they can get in and get out and get back to work."
"Our costs for services are significantly less than it would be if you went through a primary care doctor and claims were filed to pay the doctors for their services," said Ray Tomlinson, president of Ocoee-based Crowne Consulting Group, which administers CareHere's clinics in Florida.
While the system is voluntary -- employees can still go to an outside doctor – the fact that the clinic is free provides a big incentive for them to use it, he said.
"They average 90.7 percent utilization. Of the appointments available, we're booking that percentage," said Brian Branham, also with Crowne. He said the clinic has had about 4,800 visits over the past 12 months.
"From the commission's perspective, I think the employees are satisfied with the health care clinic," said DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar, who echoed many of Pleus' sentiments.
Flagler County also contracts with CareHere to run a similar clinic for its employees.
"It was one of those things that seemed too good to be true," said Joseph Mayer, the county's director of human resources.
"We did some more investigating and we found out that DeLand had one and Ocoee had one and I talked to the HR directors there and they said it is a great opportunity to decrease health care costs and increase health care accessibility to employees."
He said 635 employees and their dependents have access to the clinic, which provides all the same services as DeLand's clinic. Other cities in central Florida with employee clinics include Sanford, Oviedo and Ocala. | <urn:uuid:eea02288-5301-44b2-b010-2880666835d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130303/NEWS/303039980/0/PHOTOS01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978827 | 955 | 1.648438 | 2 |
For those that are interested in the final script you can get it here
I am trying to make a alarmclock script to wake me up. but I can't figure out how to change the screen brightness in automator.
I found a way to control brightness with the commandline. but I can't get it to work in automator
I'm the original author of the code listed in this hint. I originally wrote it for two reasons: first, to adjust brightness automatically by location on my iBook G4, which had no ambient light sensor, and second, so I could have my laptop turn on the backlight when a long operation finished, providing a quiet form of notification I could use while at a seminar. http://sabi.net/nriley/software/brightness.zip is 4-way universal, 10.5+. I compiled it under 10.6 with:... (see full forum page )
but when I try to use
I get an error in automator.
am I using the run shell script wrong? could this be done easier in apple script? is there a alltogether easyer way to do this?
I need to turn the brightness up and down in automator how is this done?
Update I tried the apple script method you mentioned and it....showed the overlay that shows when the key is pressed but did nothing else | <urn:uuid:ae97e9bc-531b-47ee-b0db-979454116007> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/16622/how-to-dim-and-un-dim-display-in-automator | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933479 | 283 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Naptime is not just for kindergarteners. A whole body of research shows that a midday snooze can increase productivity and alertness in the workplace. Naps can often be the perfect weapons to combat midafternoon sluggishness, which tends to hit between 2 and 5 p.m. NEWSWEEK spoke to Helene Emsellem, author of "Snooze...or Lose! Ten 'No War' Ways to Improve Your Teen's Sleep Habits" about how, when and where to do the best napping:
1. The Odd Couple: Coffee and a Nap Turns out that a cup of joe won't ruin your nap, it will enhance it. A 2003 Japanese study found that you can alleviate sleepiness by combining a short snooze with coffee. Sound counterintuitive? Here's how it works: caffeine takes about 20 minutes to a half-hour to kick in, just enough time for you to nap. That way, if you've had a coffee-primed nap, the benefits are twofold: you've rested and you're ready to go when you wake. The British Transportation Department even provides drivers with the following recommendation to combat driver fatigue: "Stop, drink two cups of coffee or a highly caffeinated drink, then take a short nap." Think of a nap as a free extra shot in your latte.
2. The Nicest Nap: Hour Emsellem says that 2 or 3 p.m. is the ideal nap hour—late enough to fit into your natural siesta zone but early enough that it will not interfere with your night sleep. Also take your afternoon schedule into consideration when making nap plans. If you can, Emsellem recommends taking your midafternoon snooze just prior to a big meeting. Dozing right before the meeting will make sure you're not drifting off during the meeting.
3. Length Does Matter: A good nap length is somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes. This will give you the restorative benefits of sleep without the lethargy or grogginess—what Emsellem calls "sleep drunkenness."
4. Making the Bed: Location may be the toughest nap quandary. If your company has a health or nurse's room, that could make a good place for snoozing. If that's not an option, you may have to turn your cubicle into a makeshift nap room—but that means you'll probably have to be all right with curling up under your desk. Heading to your parked car is another option—but of course you should make sure a window is open and the engine is not running.
5. Set an Alarm: Chances are, if you're tired enough to take a nap, you will not magically wake up on your own accord. So set an alarm, both to avoid the grogginess of a long nap and to make sure you don't sleep through anything important.
6. Keep It Consistent: Emsellem suggests working that 20-minute nap into a particular sleep routine to make it part of your body's expected circadian rhythm. The easiest way to do that is by using a sleep log to record your snoozing habits.
7. Be an Alert Napper: If you always feel the need for a nap, think about your nightly sleep schedule. Are you down to only five or six hours? While a 20-minute nap is a good refresher, it will not make up for hours lost at night. Conversely, if you're getting eight hours of sleep each night yet still feel the need to nap, that might be the sign of a sleep disorder, or another health problem, so check with your physician or check out the National Sleep Foundation or the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for more sleep resources. | <urn:uuid:3b935ed1-8fab-40e4-9cfd-e09c7ab506a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/10/21/seven-secrets-to-a-great-nap.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938238 | 770 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Love is the only reality and it is not a mere sentiment. It is the ultimate truth that lies at the heart of creation.
Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.
This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new. At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.
You never have to be lonely. There's always somebody to love, even if it's just a squirrel or a kitten.
Practicing the art of love is a sublime practice; it is practicing reverence of the truest of everything.
Love gives beauty to everything it touches. Not greed and utility; they produce offices, but not dwelling houses. To be able to love material things, to clothe them with tender grace, and yet not be attached to them, this is a great service. Providence expects that we should make this world our own, and not live in it as though it were a rented tenement. We can only make it our own through some service, and that service is to lend it love and beauty from our soul. Your own experience shows you the difference between the beautiful, the tender, the hospitable, and the mechanically neat and monotonously useful.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I thought like a child; I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians I3
Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.
Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
In love, nothing exists between heart and heart. Speech is born out of longing, true description from the real taste. The one who tastes, knows; the one who explains, lies. How can you describe the true form of Something in whose presence you are blotted out? And in whose being you still exist? And who lives as a sign for your journey?
The bhakti path winds in a delicate way. On this path there is no asking and no not asking. The ego simply disappears the moment you touch him.
The joy of looking for him is so immense that you just dive in, and coast around like a fish in the water. If anyone needs a head, the lover leaps up to offer his.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; for love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, 'God is in my heart,' but rather, 'I am in the heart of God.' And think not you can direct the course of love,
for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Our nature is obscured by work done by the compulsion of want or fear. The mother reveals herself in the service of her children, so our true freedom is not the freedom from action but freedom in action, which can only be attained in the work of love.
What is the opposite of fear? Perhaps it is love, my dear; perhaps it is love. Divine love, true love, perfected love. Simply love, my dear. Simply love.
I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love's sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.
( ( Print
this page ) ) | <urn:uuid:075c3eb4-918d-4404-97b9-c1357eb02908> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blissfulself.com/love.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953352 | 1,264 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Ladies Love Country Boys: Gendered Narratives and the Meaning of Country Music
To celebrate the founding of the Institute for Popular Music (IPM) at the University of Rochester, the IPM is pleased to announce that Jocelyn Neal will deliver the Inaugural Lecture, titled "Ladies Love Country Boys: Gendered Narratives and the Meaning of Country Music." Jocelyn Neal is Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the UNC Center for the Study of the American South. Professor Neal received her Ph.D. from the Eastman School of Music. Event is co-sponsored by SBAI.
- Wednesday, January 23, 2013
- 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
- Location: Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhee Library | <urn:uuid:6c3e1247-44fd-4586-ba25-2b86b016cbcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rochester.edu/college/WST/events/2013/popmusic_Lecture.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931521 | 167 | 1.507813 | 2 |
And then one morning, just two coconut-tree lots down from the hotel, I noticed some construction activity going on beneath the canopy of the palm trees. Although I had walked along that stretch of beach several times a day for over a month, this was the first time that I’d noticed something other than coconuts.
And much to my great pleasure, there stood a boat workshop! I walked over and said hello to the guys and expressed my delight in finding them. I asked if it would be ok to walk around and look at the work they were doing; no problem.
Returning the next day, it was immediately obvious that the man in charge was a master craftsman. I watched in wonder as he and his crew worked on the boat with the minimum of power tools. They had a hand built-table saw and an electric drill and that’s about it. These were plugged into an electrical line that ran down a coconut tree and off to some unknown location. Everything else was done by hand.
I walked around the boat to get a better idea of the construction techniques. I watched as they bent the side boards to fit, marked them, removed them, and then lined the edges with drill holes. Into these they placed sharpened dowels which would be used to secure one plank to another on the sides of the boat. It took three people to achieve this next step; one to align the dowels/holes, another to hammer the top plank down with a large mallet, and the third to use other tools to insure a water-tight fit.
In the following days I would visit the guys to check on the progress and inquire about the launch date. Each time I was able to see another bit of incredible work. One day the boat was upside down as they sawed off large wooden plugs that are used to secure the inner cross pieces. After that, they painted the underside. Another day they had started to paint the interior and to build the removable inner planks that would cover the engine and hold. And finally, they told me that the boat would be launched the following day at 11am.
Not wanting to miss an early launch, I arrived at 10am to see another boat with four or five men, pull up to the beach. I assumed they were there to collect the new boat and I was right. I looked over to the new boat and saw that they had just started to paint the eyes on the bow. How could they set it off in an hour with wet paint?
With that settled, I said hello to the new arrivals and my boat builders explained who I was. By this time, the master builder had left the final painting and engine hook-up to his crew and was involved in building another boat. I took a few more pictures and sort of tried to stay out of the way.
A couple of young teenage boys said hello, eager to practice their English. I asked why they weren’t in school and they assured me that they had afternoon classes and would soon be off. When they got bored with watching the workers, they ran off into the coconut grove to run around.
The guys who had arrived on the boat wandered around and helped where needed. I brought out packets of cookies and they offered me tea. About that time I turned to check on the young ones only to see one of them starting to scale a four-story high coconut tree. I was concerned. I looked around. No one else was concerned. And actually at their age, 13 or 14, I would have been doing the same, being a tree-climbing enthusiast in my younger years. Except that trees in California had branches to help the ascent. I tried not to look figuring if he fell there were plenty of people around.
Not much later I heard the tree-climber call out to his friends below. I looked over but he was out of sight, somewhere up at the top. His friends kept busy arranging fallen palm fronds in a pile below the tree. He called out again, they stood back, and down came the first coconut. I never did see him come down but the next time I looked he was up another tree. This went on until they had a large pile of coconuts. They brought several over to the boat crew and then headed down the beach presumably to sell them to a restaurant or hotel.
A woman arrived with baskets from the market. I said hello and found out that she was part of the new boat group. In these situations I never really know who are family and who are friends and it doesn’t matter. What I really love about the Vietnamese culture is that everyone works as a unit, things are done together, food is shared together. A whatever-is-mine-is-yours attitude. That, and the feeling of camaraderie in situations such as the one I was watching.
I found a log to sit on, camera at the ready should they suddenly make a dash to the sea with the boat. Soon the woman brought her baskets over to the bow of the boat where they were loaded onboard. At first I thought she had been to the market and would sail back with the new boat. But the baskets were filled with offerings that now were carefully arranged on the prow; small bowls of a sticky rice concoction and carefully assembled fruit. Another dish held small crabs, I think. On the ornamental piece at the very tip of the prow, one man placed flowers and incense. All this occurred while the finishing touches of attaching gas lines and checking the engine happened at the back of the boat.
Finally, it was done. One man stayed in the boat and tossed handfuls of rice around the inside and o to the ground around the boat.. Then everyone gathered, the offering foods were taken down, and they sat in a small circle and ate. They invited over but I felt it was a personal time for the group and did not want to intrude.
And then it was time to load the boat onto the two-wheeled tow bar and haul it down to the water. I believe they said it weighed a ton. Some pulled and some pushed and others cleared the way. When they hit the small slope that led to the water they started to run. The new boat splashed into the sea. Some of the guys splashed water onto the sides of the boat while another dropped the rudder.
Three men remained in the boat, fired up the engine and were off, heading over to the port of Mui Ne. The guys from the other boat got in theirs and followed the new boat. The chief builder watched until it was almost out of sight, grinning, obviously pleased with his masterpiece. I high-fived him as he came up from the waters edge.
I wanted so much to tell them how special the experience had been for me; how fantastic they were at what they did, but I couldn’t. When I say I spoke to these folks it was in my very limited Vietnamese combined with a lot of sign language. I certainly didn’t have the language required, but I did have a bunch of great photographs. The next day I burned CD’s for both the builder and the new boat owners. I took them over to the coconut tree boat yard where they were gratefully received.
The next boat should be finished in about a week; I may just still be here when it makes its maiden voyage. | <urn:uuid:6323b27d-52ce-4093-81ad-4a0f7a13f14f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://katerambles.blogspot.com/2011/05/building-boat.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990365 | 1,528 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Allow me to paint the scene inside Bill and Elsa Stout’s home: The two oldest sons are already off to college, and the remaining boys, 16-year-old twins, are juniors in high school.
Enter another set of twins from the other side of the world — exchange students, also juniors in high school.
Suddenly, the Stouts are housing one-tenth of the Calvin Christian School class of 2014 under their Escondido roof.
Tian Zho and Tian You Wang arrived from China last summer for a year of studying at Calvin Christian, where Bill teaches.
The Wang twins, who go by the English names Tom and Simon, are eight months older than Jacob and Jeremiah Stout, but all four are in the same grade.
“It’s been something that brings a smile to our face pretty regularly,” Bill Stout told me last week. “It’s fun for my wife and me to have a houseful.”
He said the Chinese students are well-mannered and that there hasn’t necessarily been any more stress as a result of their presence.
But still, that’s twice as many teenagers.
“Their grasp of English is very good,” Stout went on. “They’re especially good at conversation. It’s still a challenge for them, for example, in English class or Bible class — there is some vocabulary that most Chinese people don’t run into. But they can even tell jokes in English.”
Stout describes himself as an athletic director who teaches a couple of classes. When he and his wife went shopping for a new home a while back, one of their criteria was that it should be able to house exchange students.
“The school was struggling to find homestay families,” Stout recalled.
The decision has paid off with plenty of humor and teachable moments, he said.
On a recent Thursday evening, on the way home from seeing “Lincoln” at the local cinema, one of the Wang boys piped up from the backseat.
There had apparently been a lot of “Aye” and “Nay” in the film’s Civil War-era dialogue, and Tom or Simon wanted to know what “Nay” meant.
“That led to a discussion about the House of Representatives,” Stout said, adding that on another occasion, “One of the boys sat down and asked me, ‘OK, I have to do this report on the fiscal cliff. What does ‘fiscal cliff’ mean?’”
Regarding appearance, neither of the twin sets are identical, he explained.
The Wangs “could probably look a little more alike if they made a point to, but one intentionally cuts his hair short, and the other does not,” he said. “But if you spend time with them, they’re definitely twins — just like my boys, who look a lot alike.”
Unlike some homestay programs that bring foreign students stateside for a month at a time, the Stouts’ arrangement is long-term.
Tom and Simon “do hope to go home for at least part of the summer, and right now, our plan is for them to be back with us to finish up their academic career,” Stout said. | <urn:uuid:09053dbc-061e-4d64-ad18-35628d12a1a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/15/family-of-twins-hosts-another-set-from-china/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967621 | 718 | 1.578125 | 2 |
by Andrea Di Maio | March 1, 2013 | Comments Off
Many commentators have been discussing about the outcome of the last Italian elections, held a few das ago, which resulted in a tie between the two major coalitions (center-left Democratic Party with its allies and center-right People of Freedom) and a surprising success of the new grassroots Five-Star Movement, led by former comedian Beppe Grillo.
In the months leading to the elections, a lot has been said about the new model proposed by the Five Star Movement, which is based on the direct engagement of people through the web, started with Grillo’s highly influential blog. Looking at the success of this model as well as at the key role played by the web in several other elections over the last few years, ranging from the US to Malaysia, the two main coalitions have jumped onto the web and social media bandwagon, suddenly discovering that, despite the official statistics and the never-ending lament about the need for a digital agenda, Italians are way more wired than many think.
While political leaders were spending time tweeting and doing online hangouts, Grillo has been the only leader to spend as much time as possible on the ground, with an endless series of events, which started with a successful tour in Sicily where he swam across the Strait of Sicily, and ended with a huge meeting in Rome that attracted well over half a million people.
Of course he maintained his web presence, but many believe that the secret to his massive success, beyond the radically populist messages, was his closeness to Main Street.
While the Italian situation is very peculiar, there may be lessons to be learned for all those who discount the importance of physical channels, both in politics and in administration. How many of us have stumbled across a web site or an automated voice response system while trying to solve a problem, and have found a real person who has helped us through? How many of us remember a great tax filing online experience over an employee who sat with us to explain how to file?
At the end of the day, which technology will be more essential to win an election? Big data analytics and social media, or a powerful PA system for the candidate’s voice to reach out to people in the streets?
Category: Europe and IT web 2.0 in government Tags: government 2.0, Italy
by Andrea Di Maio | January 30, 2013 | 2 Comments
Crowdsourcing can be an effective means to tap into the so-called “wisdom of the crowd” to solve complex problems, stimulate innovation, slash the cost of research, encourage collaboration across organizational boundaries. Examples like Innocentive or IdeaScalev come to mind, but there are plenty of areas where crowdsourcing can help.
Usually it is applied ex-ante: when we recognize we cannot find a solution or we need an out-of-the-box one, we engage a community – whose size depends on the problem at hand to solve the problem.
However there is another use of crowdsourcing that serves a different purpose. Rather than engaging a crowd to come up with an idea, a solution or a position, or to further develop one that is at a very early stage, the crowd can be engaged after the idea or positions are cast in stone (hence ex-post), to seal it from external criticism.
This tactic can be used by enterprises that see one of their products or services under attack by consumers on different social media platforms, and unleash an army of followers that will praise the product, boost the ratings and aim at tilting the balance in favor of the enterprise.
It can be used by individuals too.
This can be done very tactfully, by just factually arguing in favor of the position: irrespective of the merit of that position, if there are enough followers who are available to support the individual, his critics are likely to be outnumbered.
It can be done less tactfully, in case the supporting crowd does not have enough elements to reinforce and defend the original position or the position is inherently weak. In this case the crowd, either spontaneously or building on a comment by the individual, will focus its attention on the critics, claiming an unfair attitude or even going as far as indirectly threatening of some form of legal retribution.
The main benefit of this defensive tactic is that the average personal bandwidth of people attending the discussion is often insufficient to grasp the origin of the discussion and even to discern about opposing viewpoints. If the debate is then colored by other allegations, attention may spike, but move even further away from the original topic.
The downside is that it is vulnerable to any sort of retrospective research that could highlight behavioral patterns by the enterprise or the individual.
Category: Uncategorized Tags:
by Andrea Di Maio | January 30, 2013 | 4 Comments
Those who happen to read my blog know that I am rather cynical about many enthusiastic pronouncements around open data. One of the points I keep banging on is that the most common perspective is that open data is just something that governments ought to publish for businesses and citizens to use it. This perspective misses both the importance of open data created elsewhere – such as by businesses or by people in social networks – and the impact of its use inside government. Also, there is a basic confusion between open and public data: not all open data is public and not all public data may be open (although they should, in the long run).
In this respect the new experimental site alpha.data.gov is a breath of fresh air. Announced in a recent post on the White House blog, it does not contain data, but explains which categories of open data can be used for which sort of purposes. And the nice surprise is that at the top of the page it says
A collection of open data from government, the private sector and non-profits that are fueling a new economy
There are examples of non-government open data, such as car data streams that already power new insurance business models. There are examples of personal open data, such as personal academic data for students to build personal learning profiles, around which one can imagine an ecosystem of services and applications; or personal health data, such as that supported by the Blue Button initiative. Besides, of course, plenty of government public data in areas like health, commerce, education, finance.
Alpha.data.gov hints to a new role for governments, that can shift from being simple open data providers, to become open data hubs. Whereas I suspect that large information service providers will be willing to position themselves as the open data hub of choice, alpha.data.gov can show the path, raise awareness and ultimately help governments move from being pure providers to being actual consumers of open data.
Category: open government data Tags: open data, open government
by Andrea Di Maio | January 28, 2013 | 2 Comments
For anybody who has been watching the evolution of consumer technology, it is quite clear how devices are becoming obsolescent much sooner than in past years. My parents used the same fridge for over 30 years and the same TV set for almost 20, and my hi-fi has been serving me well for over 20 years. Things have changed with digital technology, and now laptops, tablets, cellphones, TVs get replaced ever few years or – sometimes – every few months.
One thing is to know this, another thing is to experience it. I have been one of the first owner of an iPad in my circle of friends and colleagues. I remember I bought in Chicago a few days after its launch, and when I flew back I had all flight attendants around me watching this strange new device (and making me feel so proud of getting their attention).
Now, less than three years after its purchase, people opening their shiny new tablets during a meeting, look down on me with disdain, watching the unmistakable iPad 1 cover, and I can clearly ask the question in their eye: “is there a problem with this guy? Can’t he afford a new one?”. Oddly enough, if there is somebody at the same table, holding just paper and a pen, people look at him or her with curiosity mixed with respect, and that person can say “I would miss the feel of paper in my hands”.
Until when you concede and buy yourself a device, you have all sort of defenses. If somebody asks you “have you ever considered to buy yourself a tablet?” you can say many things, ranging from “I share one with my partner” to “I am not good at typing and my handwriting is horrible” to “I touch-type so I’d rather use a laptop” to “I’m a Luddite” (although this would be hardly credible for a technology analyst). But if you have the old model, then how do you defend yourself against that the “What’s wrong with this guy?” question in your counterpart’s eyes?
Sometimes people approach me and ask more direct questions: “Don’t you miss the camera?”, “Hasn’t that become horribly slow?”, “How do you manage with apps that can’t be updated any longer?” and so forth.
Reality is that I can’t find the personal business case for upgrading. I have my bunch for applications for watching video, playing and recording music, reading and annotating books and documents. I have lost access to corporate email when I missed the upgrade to iOS 6, but I have other devices for that.
I admire those who keep upgrading and buying themselves the latest toys, and even find ways to give their old models to their kids. But, when I try to figure the scene at my place, I can already hear my kids saying “You got it wrong Dad. You keep the old clunker, and we get the new model”.
Category: Uncategorized Tags: iPad
by Andrea Di Maio | January 25, 2013 | Comments Off
Government organizations around the world have been on a continuous path toward greater IT efficiency as a result of overall spending cuts and budget reductions driven by the economic and financial situation in most of the developed world.
An excellent report recently published by the UK National Audit Office shows that recipes for IT cost containment applied by the UK government, especially in the area of better and more consolidated procurement, are delivering the expected results.
There are jurisdictions where there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to IT cost containment: insufficient coordination and standardization, complexity and devolution of decision making processes, conflicts of interest or even corruption get in the way.
But in many places, and the UK is one of them, IT cost containment has been relentless pursued, and one might argue that government IT organizations both at national and local level are close to the bones and to not being able to reduce their costs any further. On the other hand spending projections for the next several years in the same jurisdictions indicate that more savings are expected through headcount reduction and other measures to bring down operational spending.
For them, a proportional cost reduction is no longer an option. In order to sustain citizen services and discharge their statutory obligation, they will be force to automate, transform and digitize much further. Although individual technologies become cheaper, the simple magnitude of the digitization ahead is such that IT spending cannot decline any further.
This seems to be confirmed by some Gartner data (in particular Forecast: Enterprise IT Spending for the Government and Education Markets, Worldwide, 2010-2016, 4Q12 Update – client access required), where especially at state and local level, but also at national level (albeit a bit later), a decline in IT spending reduction and a return to growth around 2014.
After years when government IT professionals were struggling to prove the value of IT, we may be at a point where their business colleagues finally understand.
However more IT spending does not mean more IT spending by the government IT departments. The use of consumer and commodity technology is likely to shift IT spending from the IT department to IT users.
Therefore, in order for that spending to really help cushion the impact of overall budget cuts rather than be wasted into multiple streams, it is essential for government CIOs to become good shepherds: they must strike the right balance between what they need to control and what they can leave to their IT users to choose.
Category: IT management Tags: cost cutting
by Andrea Di Maio | January 15, 2013 | 9 Comments
Yesterday I had yet another client conversation – this time with a mid-size municipality in the north of Europe – on the topic of the economic value generated through open data. The problem we discussed is the same I highlighted in a post last year: nobody argues the potential long term value of open data but it may be difficult to maintain a momentum (and to spend time, money and management bandwidth) on something that will come to fruition in the more distant future, while more urgent problems need to be solved now, under growing budget constraints.
Faith is not enough, nor are the many examples that open data evangelists keep sharing to demonstrate value. Open data must help solve today’s problems too, in order to gain the credibility and the support required to realize future economic value.
While many agree that open data can contribute to shorter term goals, such as improving inter-agency transparency and data exchange or engaging citizens on solving concrete problems, making this happen in a more systematic way requires a change of emphasis and a change of leadership.
Emphasis must be on directing efforts – be they idea collections, citizen-.developed dashboards or mobile apps – onto specific, concrete problems that government organizations need to solve. One might argue that this is not dissimilar from having citizens offer perspectives on how they see existing issues and related solutions. But there is an important difference: what usually happens is that citizens and other stakeholders are free to use whichever data they want to use. The required change is to entice them to help governments solve problems the way governments see them. In other terms, whereas citizens would clearly remain free to come up with whichever use of any open data they deem important, they should get incentives, awards, prizes only for those uses that meet clear government requirements. Citizens would be at the service of government rather than the other way around. For those who might be worried that this advocates for an unacceptable change of responsibility and that governments are at the service of citizens and not the other way around, what I mean is that citizens should help governments serve them.
Leadership for open data initiatives should move from people dealing with communication, civic engagement and the likes, to people who are responsible for government performances and budgets. In our Open Government Maturity Model (client privileges required) published a few years ago we said that a symptom of maturity for open government is when its responsibility stays with the Chief Financial Officer rather than the Chief Information Officer or Public Information Office. Open data must become a tool to address resource and service problems, before (or alongside) been seen as a tool for transparency and economic value creation.
It is quite remarkable how almost all my inquiries on this topic are with clients who have almost come to the same conclusion, but they are often worried to make this shift as they believe they would incur political opposition by those who are firm believers of the purity of letting citizen do whatever they like with open data. These two views are not antithetic, but it is clearly an area where open data pundits should stop banging the drum of long-term value and start rolling their sleeves to sell the shorter-term value from a government perspective.
Category: open government data Tags: government 2.0
by Andrea Di Maio | December 31, 2012 | 1 Comment
With an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff not yet in sight despite a fast-approaching deadline, it is fair to assume that government CIOs and IT leaders in the US federal government will have to deal with cost reductions as a key priority.
The long tail of the fiscal cliff, which implies a combination of tax hikes and automatic budget reductions, is likely to impact other government tiers as well as governments in other countries, as a consequence of its recessionary effect.
I do remember when, between 2007 and 2008, a group of Gartner government analysts worked on what would have been the very first piece of a long series of research notes on cost optimization (Cost Cutting in IT to Cope with the Economic Slowdown – client access required) in response to the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis. Throughout 2008 and 2010 we got plenty of public and private sector client inquiries on the topic.
Cost optimization remained an important issue throughout 2011 and 2012, but we are already seeing an increased focus in the federal space, in anticipation for what might happen next year.
Many of the approaches to reduce IT costs are the same: better vendor management, extending useful life for equipment, consolidating and sharing assets and services within and across agencies.
However technologies have evolved. The impact of enterprise-ready, consumer-grade mobile devices and applications, the use of social networking across the organization and not only for communication and public affairs purposes, and the increasing availability of cloud-based services that leverage global-class infrastructure to provide economies of scale cannot be ignored.
Those who are confronted with budget constraints today have more options. More of the same (such as shared services or procurement consolidation) will certainly help, but some of the new options may challenge the status quo or the common wisdom. For instance, as I wrote in How the Cloud is Affecting Government CIOs and Shared Services (client access required).
The increasing availability of commercial cloud services offerings will challenge both the value proposition of shared-service organizations to agency CIOs, and also the value proposition of agency IT organizations to their business users.
Interestingly enough this research note received lower ratings than usual from our readers. I am still wondering whether this is because it is conveying an uncomfortable message about the new balance between enterprise and consumer technology and between business and IT.
Despite individual opinions and preferences, the challenges ahead in case the US go over a fiscal cliff – but equally in Europe if the situation with huge sovereign debts is not alleviated or in other regions as a consequence of a global slowdown of the economy – are serious enough to command the examination of all possible options to make government services and operations affordable and sustainable in the years to come.
Category: cloud social networks in government Tags: cost cutting, US
by Andrea Di Maio | December 20, 2012 | 5 Comments
For the fourth year in a row, here is my (absolutely personal) top ten in the area of government innovation. Over the last three years the title was “Top Ten for Government 2.0”, but this term is less relevant today. What is relevant is to focus on how governments around the world are looking for technology solutions and approaches that they can afford, that help sustain government service and operations going forward, and that help cross traditional boundaries between different organizational silos and constituencies.
I have no presumption of being exhaustive. or even fair, and I am sure I may be missing great things that happened around the world. As usual, this ranking is my own, and – as such – totally arbitrary. My choice is based on topics, issues, individuals, jurisdictions that I have come across in my analyst role.
Once again, I would like to thank and offer my best seasonal wishes to all those professionals – in government and in the vendor community – who work hard to help make governments smarter. Their job is unlikely to get any easier going forward, but it is a very exciting time for technology, with the nexus of cloud, social, mobile and big data offering new ways to address old problems and creating entirely new opportunities.
As usual, the list is in reverse order, from number ten to number one.
10. Canada: Great People, Great Challenges
Over the years, I have found a lot of interesting examples of IT innovation and new IT approaches in Canada. For example, they were the first to implement a large scale wiki for intra-agency collaboration and the first to successfully apply enterprise architecture to government service transformation. More recently they have embarked in the largest scale whole-of-government IT consolidation project that I am aware of, and I have also come across a couple of agencies that are using scenario-planning techniques to improve IT strategic planning. Both at federal and at provincial level, Canada remains a place to watch.
9. Open Data Advocates: Training for a Marathon
I know I have not been very complimentary of some open data efforts. Despite my cynicism, I really think that all those who are involved in pushing for more open data should be commended for their passion and persistence. Sooner or later their efforts will lead to sustainable value creation, both in terms of greater process efficiency and service effectiveness, but also in term of actual economic value accrued by businesses and benefiting the society as a whole. They just need to persist and – maybe – find new ways to keep the open government lights on, going beyond the gathering of enthusiasts (be they hackatons or datapaloozas) and the rather stale application contests. As I said recently, open data is not for sprinters.
8. Using the Euro Crisis as a trigger for change
The last 18 months have been problematic for several European countries and for the whole eurozone, with worries that quite negative scenarios may unfold. Luckily enough risks seem to have been contained so far and many are sighing in relief, although we are not entirely out of trouble. From what I can tell, governments have not been doing much to prepare and manage the risk for or with technology, so this entry is a bit off topic but worth mentioning. I came across one organizations in the consumer goods sector where the board decided to step up preparedness for scenarios contemplating the exit of one or more countries from the eurozone. While this exercise was expensive, it revealed a number of areas for optimization, mostly in supply chain management and communications, and constitutes a great example of how to turn a risk into an opportunity. This is an important lessons for governments too, as they try to be smarter and more sustainable.
7. Ontario: Shared Services that Keep Working
In our research on shared services there are not many successful, large scale examples that show the sustainability of this model. The province of Ontario in Canada is different. We wrote a case study several years ago (client access required), and it has been working for more than a decade. Interestingly enough, despite the success they are changing the model, recognizing that the world does not stand still and what may have been a compelling proposition years ago needs to be reassessed. Inability to change is one of the main causes for shared services to fail, and Ontario offers the perfect example of a jurisdiction that remains ahead of the game.
6. Moldova: A Smart Developing Country
Two years ago I went to Chisinau, Moldova, invited by the World Bank, as part of an expert group on e-government. At the time I had the impression that the political situation was still in flux and that the country would not be able to fully leverage the funding received from the World Bank to realize its e-government ambitions. But thanks to the effort of people like Stela Mocan (which I mentioned also in last year’s top ten) they came quite a long way and are also very active players in the Open Government Partnership. This is another example, after Estonia a few years ago, of how jurisdictions in less developed region can use funding very effectively: definitely a counterexample with respect to the stories we hear from countries like Greece or Italy, which wasted a fair amount of their EU funding,
5. US Digital Government Strategy: Gold Nuggets in a Short Term Package
When it was published in May I was not entirely complimentary of the strategy (see blog post and Gartner research note for clients), highlighting its short term nature. However it does contain interesting elements that may have a longer term impact. One above all is the conceptual model it introduces, which distinguishes an information, a platform and a presentation layer, moving the traditional customer-centric focus from citizens to encompass employees, too. The conceptual model suggests that agencies should focus on more-effective data management, as well as on building a platform of services (including access to data through APIs), and that services and data should be conveyed to their actual consumers through a combination of private- and public-sector players. Although the strategy does not really explore this in its closer deadlines, it sets a precedent for a new way of developing mission-critical systems.
4. National Audit Offices: Challenging the Common Wisdom
While CIOs, CTOs, open government activists, e-government experts, consultants and vendors spread their wings to try new ways to make governments smarter by technology, we need people who keep us with our feet on the ground. Auditors are rarely praised for what they do, and they often intervene when it is too late (how many audit reports concern failed projects?). They all do a great job, and sometimes their warnings are timely enough for their colleagues in government to listen and have time to change course. The UK National Audit Office is a great example, with its reports on shared services and on open government, both of which highlight the gap between promises and reality and provide useful suggestions for improvement.
3. UK: Beyond government-issued identity
Countries like Italy are still convinced that issuing digital identity cards is the way to go, based on the earlier success in Estonia ands the large scale program in India. On the other hand, the British government is being smart enough to rely on an identity assurance scheme that should ultimately allow people to use credentials of their choice (a debit or credit card, a phone, even a social media identity) to access services, provided those credentials complies with the requirement of the scheme. This is a far more modern and realistic way of dealing with identity management, recognizing that people will always deal online with several other entities more than with government.
2. Denmark: Beyond Open Data
As I said above, open data will ultimately deliver the value it promises, although in a longer time than some hope or had anticipated. An important side effect of all those efforts is the gradual realization that open data principles should not apply only to public data, but to “any” data. The report on basic data published by the Danish government is an important contribution to this new thinking, that transpires from the US digital strategy and is starting influencing the modernization of legacy systems in Europe too.
1. Australia: Exemplary IT Leadership
I have always been a fan of what Australian government organizations have been doing in terms of IT innovation, and in fact they have been mentioned in my top ten in past years. This year though I would just like to recognize their whole-of-government leadership at the federal level. Ann Steward, who is retiring at the end of this year, and the new CIO and CTO, respectively Glenn Archer and John Sheridan, who have been supporting Ann and AGIMO for several years. I have read criticisms about splitting these roles and about a possible diminished role for AGIMO. My take is that these people know what they are doing, and they have the experience, diplomacy and business acumen to make a positive contribution to modernization and efficiency, irrespective of organizational details.
Thank you all for reading my blog through 2012. Let me wish you, your families and friends a Happy New Year.
Category: e-government open government data scenario planning shared services in government Tags: Australia, Canada, Denmark, UK
by Andrea Di Maio | December 17, 2012 | 2 Comments
After the announced retirement of long-standing Australian Government CIO Ann Steward, the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Deregulation has announced the creation of two distinct roles.
The work of AGIMO has been diverging over time between two distinct areas: whole of government policy and governance, and whole of government services delivery (eg, networks, online, contract management). As such we have created two distinct roles to serve each of these areas more fully. […]
Glenn Archer will be taking the role of Australian Government Chief Information Officer, providing ICT Governance and policy investment advice around information and ICT for whole of government.
John Sheridan will be taking on a newly created role of Australian Government Chief Technology Officer, providing whole of government service delivery and support including networks, online services and ICT procurement. John will also take on the wider role of Australian Government Procurement Coordinator.
This is really good news for the Australian government. Glenn and John have been Ann’s deputies for a number of years, and have been very influential to many of the advances that AGIMO has led, from the Government 2.0 activities to the more recent Data Center as a Service moves to progress on cloud adoption.
Both very sociable, smart and experienced professionals, they are the living proof that insiders can perfectly fill high visibility executive roles, without necessarily appointing people from outside government, like the US and especially the UK have kept doing over the last few years.
I am confident that Glenn and John will build on the great work that they have done with Ann and lead the whole Australian federal government to new levels of technology-enabled transformation and performance. I am also personally very pleased to see that the public sector is able to recognize its best people with new and challenging roles.
I wish them both a great success!
Category: cloud e-government web 2.0 in government Tags: Australia
by Andrea Di Maio | December 14, 2012 | 4 Comments
Yesterday Gartner held a local briefing in Milan on the topic of Smart Cities. This was attended by local government, vendors and research organizations. Bettina Tratz-Ryan, who is our lead for Sustainability research, and myself were joined by Renato Galliano, Director for Economic Innovation and University of the City of Milan, and Michele Vianello, General Manager of the VEGA Scientific Park in Venice.
Bettina and I shared the Gartner view that smart city endeavors need to be focused on specific city problems, must leverage existing infrastructure, skills and financial resources, and must be developed in an evolutionary fashion rather than being dealt with as top-down programs. In particular we made the point that smart cities are a means to an end: the end – be it financial sustainability, environmental sustainability, better quality of life, attractiveness for business, and so forth – is what matters, and smartness must be employed and deployed to achieve that end.
We also made the point that “smart” should not be read as “intelligent”. This would indeed assume that most cities are not intelligent today, just because they have not poured millions of dollars into technology. The right synonym to be used is “astute”.
Being astute means to be able to make the best possible use of scarce (and declining) resources. It means to effectively leverage available funding. It means to reuse as much as possible of what exists. It means to realize that sustainability requires collaboration within and across traditional boundaries.
Despite the lack of any prior coordination, both guest speakers supported this view. Galliano stressed the need for collaboration between five different constituencies to make smart cities a reality: government, the business community, citizens, the technology sector and the finance sector. I found the latter quite intriguing, since financial support is essential to make these initiatives sustainable over time. There are often discussions about how smart city business models should rely on public private partnerships with the business community and with vendors, but very little attention is given to the role and maturity of banks and other financial services firms to help cushion the risk.
Vianello, who was the former deputy mayor of Venice before moving to head the innovation park, highlighted that, before building more infrastructure, cities should start leveraging the best infrastructure they have, i.e. citizens themselves. An increasing number of citizens carry devices – like phones, tablets, GPS-enabled cameras – that turn them into sensors: the example of Waze and how it is used in cities like San Francisco comes to mind.
But he went further, challenging those countries – like Italy – that are pursuing an electronic ID card scheme: he argued that the ultimate identifier of anything (an object or a person) should be an IP address.
We also touched upon open data initiatives, which are often seen as part of smart city programs, as well as the role of strategic planning.
On the former, the sentiment prevailed that open data is indispensible as a potential source of value for government, businesses and the society at large. However there was also broad agreement that there is little evidence so far that value is being realized and that there is need for some form of open data portfolio management and examples where value is being accrued inside the administration.
On the latter, Vianello argued that because of the rapid pace of technology change (and related citizen behavioral changes), doing a strategic plan for a smart city is futile, and one has to adopt evolutionary models, based on subsequent pilots. A representative from the City of Genoa, which has a good reputation for its smart city initiatives in the country, challenged him and stated that without some degree of strategic planning most of these initiatives go nowhere. As usual the right answer is in the middle: the absence of any strategic planning is unacceptable, but it is essential to use techniques that help deal with uncertain futures, like scenario planning. They would lead to alternative strategic plans (depending of how technology, economy and society would interact to shape the future) and to identify those commonalities across plans that indicate relatively safe bets for investment.
We also discussed about the risks that national or European funding may cause (incidentally, a decree about smart community funding was approved by our parliament yesterday). While most people look at this funding as a blessing ,the rules and constraints that come with it and the leading role that vendors and academia tend to play, may steer smart city initiatives away from those areas that need them most. As a result they may turn into interesting one-off experiences that do not stick into local governments as part of a longer-term transformation process.
The bottom line is that real necessity (problems to be solved) remains the best driver, and smartness does not mean intelligence but astuteness. Therefore the best advice for cities to become truly smart is the same Steve Jobs gave to Stanford students: “Stay hungry, stay foolish”.
Category: e-government Europe and IT smart government Tags: smart city | <urn:uuid:b5e015ad-9aa2-42e1-8067-2d608f562335> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.gartner.com/andrea_dimaio/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961164 | 7,121 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Bush on Middle East Democracy...again
George W Bush has been hitting the democracy campaign trail again, this time at the Galatasaray University in Istanbul. Here he enunciated his assertion that "removing Saddam Hussein from power set the stage for a democratic transformation in Iraq that would inspire reformers in other countries." Excuse me for opening my eyes, but I hardly think Iraq is a poster child for simple and safe transformation to American-style democracy. Bremer's mismanagement of an intensely difficult situation in Iraq, and especially his decisions to purge the government and civil service of Ba'athists and demobilize 200 000 armed Iraqi soldiers, has allowed the insurgent terrorists to effectively dissuade any other Islamic country from "modernising" to democracy.
This poses a thorny problem to Bush with five months to go to the election, as he has to show the US public that the decision to go to war in Iraq could effectively spread democracy in the Middle East and give the US more leverage in handling the Israel-Palestine issue. It has to be said though, that Kerry's voice, for a candidate supposedly strong on foreign affairs, has been conspicuous in its absence.
Bush has also been forced to give a little away on the bargaining table to assist in US-Islamic state relations. Muslim countries have been especially incensed by US anger at Islamic states for upholding despots and tyrants, given the CIA's involvement in developing Osama bin Laden to his current stature, the Iran-Contra affair and US relations with Saddam Hussein in the late 80's. Bush acknowledged in his speech that "Western nations have helped nourish extremism by supporting repressive Middle Eastern leaders for the sake of regional stability", before he quickly added "but it did not serve the people of the Middle East to betray their hope of freedom, and it has not made Western nations more secure to ignore the cycle of dictatorship and extremism." | <urn:uuid:6c1d9eb2-a945-424e-898c-0b874dadf111> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jontyfisher.blogspot.com/2004/06/bush-on-middle-east-democracy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965761 | 385 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Scaling Mount Kilimanjaro for the first time was an incredibly emotional experience for Brian Wilkie. But he almost didn't make it to the top.
"I was going to give up, walking around the crater. I actually sat on a rock and thought, 'I can't do this; I'm going down'. And then I thought to myself, 'Wilkie, you're the silly prat that gave the pep talk last night and said to everybody, 'When you think you're finished, you're not. And when you think you can't go on, you can'. So I got up. And, of course, I finished it easily. It's all in your head."
That was 11 years ago, during the first ever challenge organised by Gulf for Good (G4G), the Dubai-based charity that Wilkie co-founded in 2001. He led a group of 49 people up the world's highest freestanding mountain and, to the astonishment of local ground handlers, 44 of them made it to the top.
Since then, G4G has organised a total of 40 challenges to far-flung destinations around the world and raised a whopping Dh8 million for charity. The organisation's aim is simple: to get people in the Gulf to challenge themselves in order to help others, while having fun and getting fit. Participants who sign up for a G4G challenge have to raise a minimum amount of money through sponsorship; these funds are then donated to carefully-selected charities in the country where the challenge is being held.
Creating challenges that appeal is key, says Wilkie, a self-confessed "serial entrepreneur" who moved to Dubai from the UK almost four decades ago. The idea for G4G came after Willkie received a phone call from a friend at the local Rotary Club who was looking to raise funds to buy an ambulance for a charity in Namibia. Wilkie decided that a sponsored climb to the top of Kilimanjaro would be a great way to raise the money. "G4G started because of the charity angle. But we soon found that people don't get turned on by the charity - they get turned on by the challenge. So you've got to find challenges that press their buttons. We do four challenges a year, two that we've done before and two brand new ones."
There will normally be one moderately difficult challenge, one at high altitude; one that combines various activities, such as hiking, cycling and white-water rafting; and a regional one.
This year, the line-up started with The Great Asian Cycling Challenge, a 350km-plus cycle ride from Vietnam to Cambodia, which took place in February. Also scheduled for 2013 are The Alternative Inca Trail, a five-day hike in Peru scheduled for July, and The Last Shangri-La, a seven-day adventure in the Himalayan foothills in November that includes trekking, white-water rafting and mountain biking. But next on the agenda is the seven-day Palestine Trail: In the Footsteps of Ibrahim, which is taking place between April 26 and May 4.
This will be G4G's first trip to the country, although it has long been on the organisation's wish list. "We've wanted to do a Palestine challenge for a long time but the security situation always prevented us. I've been in the UAE for 36 years so Palestine is something that's very close to home. I spent three days there recently and as we talked to more and more people, it became clear that security was just not an issue. Nobody referred to it in any shape or form unless we brought it up. And I felt safer there than I do in London or any other big city."
The expedition will start in Nablus, with a walking tour of the city that will explore Sufi shrines, the medieval hammam and historical sites such as the Bronze Age ruins of Tel Balata or Schehem. The next day will include six or seven hours of walking through Palestine's northern highlands from Awarta to Duma, while the remaining days will include stops in Kufr Malek, Taybeh, Ramallah, Auja, Nebi Musa, Wadi Qelt and Mar Saba, as participants make their way over desert tracks, dirt roads and canyon trails until they reach Jerusalem. The challenge is classed as moderate to difficult but will include six or seven hours of walking a day, in warm temperatures.
"Having visited recently, Palestine is more interesting than I ever would have thought," says Wilkie. "Scenically it's fine. If you've been in the UAE and you know the desert, there is some similarity, but some of it is really stunning. The route we'll be walking, through the canyons and past old monasteries and stuff like that, is very good. Historically, it's amazing. We will stay with two Palestinian families in their homes, one Bedouin family in their tents, in a convent and in a couple of small hotels."
Challenges such as this offer a unique opportunity to experience the nitty gritty of a neighbouring country, says Sally Prosser, a Dubai resident who took part in a 2010 G4G trip to Lebanon. Although she had lived in the UAE since 2000 and visited various countries in the region, she had never been to Lebanon when she heard about G4G's Lebanon Eco-Mountain Trail challenge, a five-day hike through the country's remote mountain landscapes.
"The Lebanon challenge appealed to me because it was in the region," the freelance marketing and communications consultant explains. "Lebanon is on our doorstep but I had never been. I wanted something challenging but achievable. I didn't want to climb to the top of something - I wanted to take something in along the way and with this challenge, you were really getting under the skin of the country. Parts of Lebanon are exquisitely beautiful. I love the concept of G4G, because they fund challenges in the countries they go to."
For this particular challenge, participants were raising funds for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and SOS Children's Villages. They had to amass at least Dh12,000 each, which Prosser initially found quite daunting, she says. "But that's all part of the challenge. I decided to break it down into little chunks - 12 times Dh1,000 felt more doable. I looked at getting corporate sponsorship. In the end, I raised three times the amount I needed, so more money went to the charity."
Recent years have seen G4G move its focus exclusively to children's charities, Wilkie explains.
"Before that, it was any kind of charity; now we just focus on disadvantaged children. And it has got to be a capital project. We don't pay running costs because in the Third World, running costs will often disappear. We usually fund some sort of building but it could be an ambulance, for example. We recently funded an ambulance for children that goes around the slums of Delhi," he says.
Rather than sending funds off and leaving it at that, G4G will closely examine plans and costings and get these checked out by an independent body. And it will only pay against invoice, in instalments, as work is carried out. "In 11 years we've not heard, even after the fact, of any money being misspent. Our first 'Kili' challenge was to raise money for one ambulance; we raised enough for four. And we know that three of them were still running last year," Wilkie says proudly.
In Palestine, G4G found two or three projects that were suitable but eventually decided to support the Hope Flowers School in Bethlehem. "We don't like being political and we try to be non-religious. The school we chose to work with in Palestine has Christian kids, Orthodox kids, Coptic kids as well as Muslims. But they are trying to do something that is very hard, which is integrate special needs kids with other kids. So, they teach them together, but they badly need a physical therapy and occupational therapy room, so we're going to build those."
G4G recommends that participants sign up for their chosen challenge at least two months before it is due to start - to give themselves time to get time off work, raise the required funds and get fit. G4G organises regular training sessions - including walks along the length of Jumeirah Beach, stair climbs in some of the city's skyscrapers and the odd hike up, and then down, Jebel Hafeet - and maintains that anybody, of any age, has the capacity to complete one of its challenges. In fact, the oldest participant was a strapping 72-year-old triathlete who had no problems making it to the top of Kilimanjaro. "The only way to get fit is to get out there and walk," says Wilkie. "The weather is absolutely perfect for walking right now. No matter what your job is, you can do a bit before you go to work in the morning and you can do a bit when you finish in the evening. You can get out to the beaches or the parks."
Posser admits that, once she got to Lebanon, she found the expedition slightly more challenging than she had initially anticipated, so recommends getting involved in as many of G4G's training sessions as possible. "I even learnt to appreciate the benefits of the stair climb - even though, after the first time, I couldn't walk down my own stairs for three days without howling in pain. It's not just about the going away. The preparation takes time and you need to invest in your fitness."
What Posser also didn't anticipate was the number of friends she would make along the way. "I know a lot of people go into these things to meet people but I didn't. I've lived in Dubai a long time and I suppose I thought I had enough friends. I wasn't prepared for the camaraderie and the bonds that you make. It's something I hadn't factored in. I felt privileged to meet the people that I did on the challenge."
For more information on Gulf for Good and The Palestine Trail 2013, visit www.gulf4good.org | <urn:uuid:630b4c9c-b069-4fb3-9574-7ba1a0515724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/gulf-for-good-walk-on-for-charity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980936 | 2,122 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Reps visit Turner County Dairy Owner explains why 1,600-cow facility is feasible Turner County Dairy, northeast of Parker, hosted an open house and a tour of its facilities on Friday, Jan. 5 for area state legislators, county commissioners, county planning and zoning officials, farmers and business people.
Walter Bones, chairman of the dairy's board of directors, chatted with the visitors as they arrived and directed them to the milking parlor observation room, as well as inviting them to freely wander about the facility.
The $7 million, state-of-the-art agricultural project, now completing its first year of operation, milks around 1,600 head of cows. The milking parlor allows 56 cows to be milked at one time and each cow is milked three times per day.
It is estimated that a semi-truck load of milk leaves the dairy every 10 hours. Two 6,000-gallon storage tanks are also located on the premises. After milking, the cows are returned to a loafing barn where they can eat and are made comfortable until the next milking.
Between each milking shift, the parlor and equipment are cleaned and disinfected before the next 56 cows enter.
It is estimated each cow produces 60 to 70 pounds of milk per day. Every cow's production is electronically monitored at every milking and at the slightest variance in production, she is examined by the in-house veterinarian who attends to the health needs of the cows.
During a noon luncheon, Bones addressed why his facility and others that may follow are so feasible for this area. The I-29 corridor creating a demand from processors and low feed costs in South Dakota are two major reasons cattle and hog operations are migrating to the area.
Grains and hay are mostly shipped out of the area instead of being utilized locally where they can create value-added acreage, Bones said. He stated the best way to add value to crops is to feed it to livestock. In operations like the dairy, the farmer/producer/investor supplies all the feed needed to milk 1,600 cows. This involves a need for 12,000 to 14,000 tons of corn silage, 8,000 to 10,000 tons of alfalfa hay, 150,000 bushels of corn and 10,000 bales of straw.
It requires 3,500 to 4,000 acres to sustain an operation as large as the Turner County Dairy. Producer/members have the first right to sell to the dairy, according to Bones. If the members aren't able to supply complete needs, they go out to the community for the increased need.
Bones also discussed the permit process required for an operation as large as the Turner County Dairy and the fact that permits could not be issued in the same manner since Constitutional Amendment E was passed on corporate farming. However, there are still avenues open for families and co-ops.
South Dakota State Secretary of Agriculture Larry Gabriel attended the open house and luncheon and addressed the group on value-added agriculture. The assembly questioned Bones on manure management, heifer acquisition, as well as actual figures on value-added acreage. | <urn:uuid:264d1f20-017b-4e75-85c7-8bdfa6b9d74d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://plaintalk.net/2001/01/reps-visit-turner-county-dairy-owner-explains-why-1600-cow-facility-is-feasible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966685 | 653 | 1.796875 | 2 |
An audit of the General Relations (GR), the International Business Development (IBD), the Consular and Administration Programs was conducted in Bangkok from November 23 to 29, 2005. These Programs were last audited in June 2001.
Thailand is one of the "Big-5" Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), playing a central role in the politics and development of Southeast Asia. Bangkok itself is a large, bustling metropolis with a population of approximately twelve million people. Canada as a country is not well-known in Thailand, and the Mission would benefit from more Ministerial or other political level attention. While such visits are no guarantee of success in furthering Canadian interests, they are seen as necessary in the local culture.
The Mission is well managed and is benefiting from the leadership of an *** Head of Mission (HOM) and *** program managers. The quality of the Locally Engaged Staff (LES) is high and the Mission functions smoothly. The tsunami of December 26, 2004 had a major impact on the work of the Mission for an extended period of time, with follow-up activities not concluding until August 2005. The Mission managed the crisis in an exceptional manner.
The General Relations Program has effective plans in place, that are achievable given current resources. However, the Program is under constant pressure to do more, such as monitoring and reporting on the situation in southern Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos. The Program is faced with significant resource limitations with no support positions in the Section. The Audit Team supports the request for the creation of two LES positions. The additional capacity would also enable the Section to carry out important work in the cultural and academic sectors. Without these resources, the GR Section will need to align its priorities and programming workload with available resources. It is recommended that the Mission develop a country strategy for Burma (Myanmar) and Laos and that it explore whether adding an Honorary Consul in the southern provinces of Thailand would be useful given the increasing focus on this region.
The International Business Development Program is well managed with good direction and leadership from the Commercial Program Manager (CPM). There has been some strain on the Program recently as a result of the CPM acting as Chargé in Bangkok and Brunei, but the team has been able to cope reasonably well. Only fine-tuning in certain areas is necessary, such as the addition of measurement mechanisms in strategic planning documents, and the use by all officers of sector strategy plans.
The Consular Program provides good service, maintaining Departmental service levels while experiencing heavy workloads. The Program is responsible for providing consular services to Canadians in Thailand, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar), while also providing advice and guidance to our mission in Cambodia. The Consular team was officially recognized for their response to the tsunami. Controls that need to be strengthened include the reviewing of original passport documentation by a Canada Based Staff (CBS), witnessing passport inventory counts and updating expired Registry of Canadians Abroad (ROCA).
The Administration Program works effectively, headed by an *** MCO, and supported by knowledgeable staff. Appropriate policies and procedures are in place. Communications within the Section are generally good, though there is some need to augment communication within certain subsections such as Information Technology (IT) and Transportation. Client relations are good and the MCO and DMCO are now focussing on creating more detailed plans for functions such as Physical Resources and Human Resources.
A total of 43 audit recommendations are raised in the report; 41 are addressed to the Mission and two are addressed to Headquarters (HQ). Management has responded to each recommendation indicating action already taken or decisions made, as well as future action. Of the 43 recommendations, management has stated that 31 recommendations have been implemented. For each of the remaining 12 recommendations, management has indicated the initiatives in progress or the intended future action.
The scope of the audit included a review of Mission Management and the General Relations (GR), the International Business Development (IBD), Consular and Administration Programs.
The audit objectives were to:
The focus and extent of on-site work is based on an assessment of materiality and related risk. This is done through communication with Headquarters (HQ) bureaux, including briefings by line management and the functional bureaux, review of relevant HQ and mission documentation, and past audit findings, and an analysis of recurring trends and systemic issues.
During the audit, audit issues and lines of enquiry are further refined from information gathered through interviews with the Head of Mission and Program Managers, a meeting with the Locally-engaged Staff Committee, individual interviews with staff, and results of other documentation reviewed.
The level of audit work for a given area is therefore based on issues and information identified and gathered at all levels, HQ, Mission Management, and mission operations. Occasionally, due to time limitations or other factors, it is not possible to provide audit coverage for all areas.
|Assets||Crown Leased||Crown Owned|
|Operating Budget (N001)||$2,102,603|
|Capital Budget (N005)||146,970|
|CBS Overtime Salaries Budget (N011)||20,000|
|LES Salaries Budget (N012)||1,023,813|
1.1.1 This is a well run mission headed by an *** HOM, with a strong management team and knowledgeable LES. Program integration and teamwork are evident and this was particularly displayed during the Mission's response to the tsunami crisis. The tsunami was a major challenge that consumed much of the staff's time from December 2004 until the closing of the temporary Phuket office in August 2005. At the time of the Audit field work, the Mission was preparing for the first memorial of the disaster.
1.1.2 Staff indicated that morale within the Mission is high. Communications between Programs and within the Mission are good and there is an effective committee structure in place. The Operations Committee meets weekly and the Committee on Mission Management (CMM) meets quarterly and both committees circulate meeting minutes to staff. All staff town-hall meetings are held quarterly. Other committees include the LES Committee, Housing Committee, Health and Safety Committee, Contract Review Board, and Classification Committee. These committees are functioning well with equitable participation by all CBS.
1.1.3 A new LES Committee has recently been elected and is representative of all programs and employee groups, including non-office staff. While communication between Mission Management and the LES staff complement overall is good, it is recommended that a schedule of regular meetings be formalized, with agendas established in advance and minutes taken and distributed to all staff.
1.1.4 Performance review and development are taken seriously at the Mission with appraisals current at the time of the Audit and the Performance Management Program (PMP) rolled out in April 2005. However, a review of position descriptions indicated that a number had not been updated since as far back as 1996. Position descriptions should be continuously reviewed as responsibilities change. As a best practice, it is recommended that managers review position descriptions with employees when reviewing the PMP, and that both the manager and employee sign the position description after this review. The Mission has established a Training Committee, responsible for the development of a training plan, but the Committee has not yet developed a plan as the Chair of the Committee was away on temporary duty.
1.1.5 A schedule of regular meetings should be formalized between the LES Committee and management, with agendas established in advance and minutes kept and distributed to all staff.
1.1.6 Position descriptions should be regularly updated as duties change and reviewed as a part of the PMP process.
1.1.7 A comprehensive training plan should be developed.
1.1.5 A quarterly schedule of meetings has already been established. Ad hoc meetings will also take place as needed. Minutes of the meeting will be taken and circulated to staff.
1.1.6 All job descriptions will be reviewed and updated as required by the end of this Fiscal Year.
1.1.7 The Mission has several elements of a training plan. The Mission has provided a variety of training opportunities and currently provides French language training for all staff. A comprehensive Mission training plan will be developed by end of this Fiscal Year.
2.1.1 The General Relations (GR) Program is managed by an FS-02 Counsellor (Political/Economic), who is serving in an EX-01 position. He is also the Mission Security Officer (MSO). The Program is supported by one CBS Political Officer (FS-02) and one LES Public Affairs Officer (LE-08).
2.1.2 The Program covers Thailand, Laos and Burma. The two Political Officers have shared responsibility for Thailand and each officer covers one of the other countries; either Laos or Burma (Myanmar). The junior Political Officer is responsible for tracking political, economic and social developments, human rights and refugee issues, and participating in the development of a Public Diplomacy strategy. The Public Affairs Officer is responsible for the cultural and academic sectors, press reviews and public affairs events.
2.1.3 Thailand's political stability and economic growth are being monitored with respect to governance, the situation in the deep south of Thailand, as well as the avian flu situation. The Mission is also faced with challenging political and economic realities in Burma (Myanmar) and Laos.
2.2.1 The Program is well-managed and focussed given its resource limitation. It has lost 40% of a shared assistant position with the RCMP, a portion of the HOM Assistant and a portion of the Social Secretary in recent years. This has resulted in an imbalance of resources with two CBS, one LES (LE-08) and no lower level positions in the Section. This leaves the junior Political Officer responsible for administrative tasks such as organizing visits, meetings and seminars.
2.2.2 Communications within the Section are good. Staff meetings are held weekly. Roles and responsibilities have been defined and objectives have been identified for each employee.
2.2.3 There has been good collaboration between mission programs in the past but there needs to be more joint programming efforts with the Trade Section. Trade and GR worked more closely prior to the Tsunami, but with the work generated by this crisis, the Programs have not been able to sustain coordinated planning. The GR Program should now focus more on re-establishing this relationship to further its work on the Mission Communication Plan as well as the mission-wide Public Diplomacy Strategy. A Mission Communications Committee has been established and should now meet more frequently to facilitate strategy development and implementation. This will enable the Mission to develop a "whole of Government" approach.
2.2.4 The GR and Trade Programs should work jointly to finalize and implement the Mission Communication strategy as well as the Public Diplomacy strategy.
2.2.4 The Mission's Public Diplomacy Committee will be re-jigged in September 2006 after the arrival of the new Officers. We will finalise our Communications strategy by the end of the calender year. A Public Diplomacy strategy is already in place.
2.3.1 The GR work is largely reactive. While the Section has set out plans for its program, which are achievable with current resources, it is under constant pressure to do more. The Mission envisages a number of events that could affect resources:
In addition, Bangkok is now becoming a major hub for international conferences and regional meetings, which makes for a significant increase of the GR Section's workload.
2.3.2 The Political Officers conduct regular visits to Burma (Myanmar) and Laos. The HOM has visited Burma (Myanmar) on a number of occasions as well. While there are no country strategies in place for these countries, the Mission has developed and maintains good relations with key contacts in these regions. The Mission should work closely with HQ to develop country strategies for Burma (Myanmar) and Laos and define roles and responsibilities of the Mission with respect to these countries.
2.3.3 With increasing focus on the southern provinces, the Mission, in consultation with HQ, should explore whether adding an Honorary Consul in this region would present a useful vehicle to build contacts in the southern communities. An Honorary Consul, whose primary focus would be the GR agenda, would also provide a perspective on a region that the Mission currently does not have.
2.3.4 The Mission, in consultation with Asia South and Pacific Bureau (RAD), should develop country strategies for Burma (Myanmar) and Laos.
2.3.5 The Mission, in consultation with RAD, should explore opportunities for adding an Honorary Consul in the southern provinces.
2.3.4 While we will follow the recommendation of RAD, our feeling is that the relationship with Lao is neither broad enough nor deep enough to warrant a separate country strategy, particularly seeing that Laos is not a focus for any of the Mission priorities. While Human Rights and Democratization in Burma (Myanmar) is a Mission priority, the relationship with Burma (Myanmar) is not a multifaceted one which demands a separate country strategy.
2.3.5 We fully support this recommendation and are prepared, upon being given the go-ahead by HQ to begin the process of identifying a suitable candidate to act as Honorary Consul in the deep south. Because of our increased activity in the south this Fiscal Year, we have more prominent local contacts, and have a number of people we could consider for this position . Having an Honorary Consul in the South would facilitate our work and provide us with on the ground source of information on developments there.
2.4.1 The GR Section is faced with important resource limitations and will need to align resources with priorities and programming workload. Based on comparable missions in the region, the number of positions in the GR Section is low. The Mission was unsuccessful with its request in August 2005 for two additional LES positions in the Section; one LE-07 Officer and one LE-05 Assistant. This request was based on converting two vacant Driver positions and using the savings from the deleted 40% shared CBS position with the RCMP to fund two new positions.
2.4.2 Provided that the situation in Thailand and in both countries of accreditation remains stable or grows, the Audit Team supports the request for two new positions and views the staffing of these positions as a priority to increase the capacity of the GR Section. As well, the Section should develop a succession plan given that the Public Affairs Officer will be leaving within the next few years.
2.4.3 The Mission should put forward a request in its country strategy for two additional resources in the GR Section.
2.4.4 The General Relations Section should develop a succession plan to fill the Public Affairs Officer's position once the incumbent departs.
2.4.3 We have requested HQ to add two positions, one officer and one support. The officer position was approved, a competition was held, and the new officer began work on July 4, 2006. We will apply again for support position for next Fiscal Year.
2.4.4 We have raised the issue of the incumbent's departure with Administration and with the officer. She will consider the issue and get back to us with a possible timeframe by the Fall. This will then enable us to articulate a clear succession plan.
2.5.1 In 2004, A.C. Nielson conducted a survey in Thailand which concluded that there was a very low awareness of Canada amongst Thais within the demographic of interest. This demonstrated the need for the Mission to raise Canada's profile in Thailand and develop objectives to achieve this result. The Mission has since developed, in consultation with other Mission programs, a Communication Plan including objectives, a target audience, and a strategy to increase the public's awareness of Canada in Thailand. However, it is important that the Communication Plan be aligned with the public diplomacy strategy objectives. As with many missions, this Mission feels it would benefit considerably from an increased number of visits on the political level or from senior Government Officials. These visits could be leveraged to build Canada's image and to help drive the advocacy priorities.
2.6.1 While the Public Affairs Officer's job description also includes cultural and academic sectors, the Program has focussed primarily on media relations. The Mission has leveraged Canadian cultural and entertainment visits to Thailand to generate profile, however the Program feels it could do more in the cultural and academic sectors with additional resources. Due to the shortage of resources in the Section, the Public Affairs Officer is required to conduct administrative duties such as making travel arrangements for Political Officers. Media scanning is time consuming given that there are no CBS with fluent Thai language capability in the Mission and that there is no translator. The Audit Team recommended that the Mission explore options to out-source media scanning and that the cost be shared with missions from like-minded countries. During the Audit, the Mission was able to make arrangements with the US Embassy to have a shared service. With the reduction in workload related to media scanning, the Public Affairs Officer can now devote more time to the cultural and academic sectors.
2.6.2 There is a need to increase out-calls with the local media to build key contacts. In light of this, the Program has established a given number of media contacts for each quarter. The Program Manager (PM) and/or Political Officer should provide training/mentoring to the Public Affairs Officer with respect to conducting out-calls.
2.6.4 The Public Affairs Officer should allocate more time to the cultural and academic sectors. The Program should determine the optimal balance of these sectors among the three Officers based on priorities and objectives, and then develop a work-plan which could be used as the basis for development of the PMP.
2.6.5 The PM and/or Political Officer should provide training/mentoring to the Public Affairs Officer with respect to conducting outcalls.
2.6.4 This is something that the PERPA section would like to do, but as identified by the Audit, we have been substantially understaffed. With the arrival of the new Political Officer we should be able to conduct our core Political and media work in a more sustainable way. Once we have a fifth staff member we can undertake more cultural/academic work. Realistically speaking, that will have to wait for the next Fiscal Year.
Over the past three years we have been very successful in choosing a very small number of very highly leveraged cultural events to participate in (using Bangkok International Film Festival or Canadian pop concerts as platforms for example). Even this workload was not sustainable, but with a fourth staff member we will now be able to continue this for the coming year.
2.6.5 We have given the Public Affairs Officer substantial Public Diplomacy training in Canada and Thailand, including mentoring by an experienced counterpart in another regional mission. We will break down the job further into its components, and one area that we will focus on will be outcalls. We have set a target of one call per week and will review on a quarterly basis for one quarter. If that is unsatisfactory, we will move to weekly review. (First review July 10, 2006.)
3.1.1 The IBD Program is delivered by a team of two Canada-based (CBS) and three locally-engaged Trade Commissioners, and four Assistants. The Commercial Program Manager (CPM) is an *** FS-03 officer acting in an EX-01 position. The Program is responsible for commercial development in Thailand, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar). Both the CPM as well as the other CBS Trade Commissioner will be departing the Mission this coming summer.
3.1.2 Thailand is not a priority country, however, Canadian exports are in excess of $500 million annually and there is a broad selection of clients active in the market. The market has recovered to a large extent from the 1997 financial crisis and the government is now considering a US $40 billion five-year infrastructure plan in the transport, energy, urban transit, health and telecommunication sectors.
3.1.3 The Program is reasonably well resourced. It has a budget of $16,000 for travel, $10,550 for hospitality, $30,000 for the Client Service Fund (CSF), and $4,000 in additional funds allocated from Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC).
3.2.1 The IBD program is active and led by a strong CPM who is well supported by the HOM. The loss of a FS-02 position in 2004 has forced the Program to reorganise its priority sectors. ***. The CPM has acted as Chargé both in Bangkok, and in Brunei, which has put some strain on the program. However, the junior FS officer has enthusiastically taken on an acting role in the section and works well with the CPM.
3.2.2 The Mission has adapted to the loss of the FS position and adjusted its workload accordingly. Resources are adequate for the current workload. However, if opportunities materialise in large infrastructure projects, there may not be enough capacity in the section.
3.2.3 Currently there is an LE-05 Trade Commissioner Assistant who manages the InfoCentre and provides administrative support to the CPM. The position was reviewed by the Mission Classification Review Committee and it was recommended that the position be reclassified to LE-06. This is consistent with other positions carrying out similar duties at other missions in the region. Reclassifications, however, are on hold pending budgetary negotiations in Headquarters.
3.3.1 The Program has a good approach to planning and has focussed its work around six priority sectors. Some officers have developed a useful sector strategy in order to further refine the sector objectives stated in the Program's annual Business Plan. The first part of the strategy document serves a dual purpose of providing information to the Program and its external clients alike, including a market overview, market access issues, and a list of key trade shows. The "Objectives and Strategic Action Plan" section provides the officer with a workplan which details a list of activities for the year that flow from the sector's objectives. Measurement of results, however, has not been integrated into the strategy documents. By adding measurement mechanisms for each objective, the sector strategies would allow for a more structured evaluation of results achieved and assist in future planning adjustment for the sector.
3.3.2 Through its business planning process, the Program has also developed a number of proposals that use the Mission's strategic reserve and has made good use of this additional source of funding. In addition to the basic proposal requirements, the Program has included a risk analysis of each initiative. Other programs in the Mission may wish to consider using this risk-based approach in utilizing strategic reserve funds.
3.3.3 The Program should agree upon and implement a standard template for sector strategies for each officer to use in their sectors. Measurement mechanisms for the stated objectives should be included.
3.3.3 A regional sector strategy and action plan has been completed for the Agri-food sector with the support of the regional Agri-food team. Throughout this year, the new Senior Trade Commissioner will work with staff to develop and implement sector strategies and measurement mechanisms for all key sectors identified in the International Business Development (IBD) plan. The Agri-food plan could be used as an example or template. The sector strategies will be completed before the next fiscal year IBD planning (2007-2008).
3.4.1 Communication and teamwork within the program have been improving, due in large part to the restructuring of reporting relationships and the efforts of the CPM. The emphasis on improving communication between staff should continue. Two functions in particular that would benefit are the planning and delivery of sector strategies. Officers are not always working together on issues that cross and overlap sectors, which could result in missed opportunities or duplication. A more integrated and team-based approach to sector planning of complementary sectors would be beneficial.
3.4.2 The Program is making a concerted effort to increase its outcall and outreach activities. However, the approach is not always strategic in nature and results are not measured or evaluated. By including an outreach/outcall strategy as part of each officer's sector strategy and workplan, the Program will be able to more effectively use its resources.
3.4.3 Staff have not been tracking all their activities in WIN Exports, and as a result, the statistics for the Mission give a false impression of the extent of work actually being performed. The Program should attempt to increase the input into WIN Exports in order to better reflect their level of activity.
3.4.4 Officers with overlapping sectors should work together to develop an integrated approach to carrying out their sector work.
3.4.5 The Program should include an outreach/outcall strategy as part of each sector strategy.
3.4.6 The Program should develop a strategy to increase their input into WIN Exports.
3.4.4 In staff meetings we have discussed the importance of working closely as a team especially in sectors that overlap. Officers are encouraged to discuss certain cases together and develop strategies to find the best way to serve the client. We will continue to work on this on an ongoing basis to ensure co-ordination between officers in overlapping sectors. Specific strategy meetings will be held with each officer to discuss and develop key sector strategies.
Mission comment: The Mission is now in the process of realigning sectors to eliminate overlaps, in order to allow officers to focus more effectively on our priority sectors. We have instituted a system of "backups" between officers and assistants to cover periods where officers might be absent from the office. This approach will permit continuity of service, enrich the job packages of assistants and possibly assist in succession planning.
3.4.5 As indicated in response 3.3.3, a sector strategy will be developed for each key sector. Outcalls and outreach will be an important part of each strategy. These strategies will be completed in time for 2007-2008 IBD planning and the targeted outreach and outcall strategy will be implemented throughout the next fiscal year.
Mission comment: The Mission has also instituted a program of more strictly measuring, on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis our service and activity levels. These measures will be used to develop benchmarks of performance for officer and assistant Performance Management Agreements in the future. These measures have reinforced with all personnel the importance which the CPM attaches to input of data into WIN, and should position the Mission well for the arrival of TRIO (likely in February 2007).
3.4.6 After discussing the importance of WIN tracking in several staff meetings in 2006, staff have already been much more diligent in doing WIN Export inputs this year. This will continue to be reinforced as a key component of tracking our work and will be especially important during the transition period when the two new CBS start in summer 2006 so that they can quickly get up to speed on files. We anticipate that with the implementation of TRIO in the coming year that the program will be better equipped to track our service delivery.
4.1.1 The Consular Program is extremely busy, with responsibility for Thailand, Laos and Burma (Myanmar), while also providing support and guidance to the mission in Cambodia on consular issues. The Australian Embassy assists in servicing Canadian Consular clients in Burma and there is an Honorary Consul located in Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. The MCO is responsible for the program, which is managed by one of the two Deputy Management/Consular Officers (DMCO). The team also includes three Consular Officers (LE-08) and two Consular Assistants (LE-06 and LE-05), with two of the staff responsible for the delivery of passport services and the other three focussing on consular responsibilities. There is generally good communication within the Consular team, however, monthly all-Program meetings and bi-weekly section meetings would be useful to ensure there are regular forums for discussions.
4.1.2 The Program is working well. Staff are knowledgeable and client service oriented, providing services to clients in a timely fashion. The December 26, 2004 tsunami was an extremely challenging crisis that the Program and the Mission as a whole handled well. The Mission has used this experience to refine plans and procedures, such as further developing the emergency kit for use in other locations that was put together before the Tsunami. Systems and controls are in place and assets such as passport blanks and consular revenues are adequately safeguarded. The Mission has an extremely well developed Avian Influenza Contingency Plan, that is being used by other missions as a template.
4.1.3 Annually, the Mission provides 1200 passport services and handles 110 citizenship applications and 900 notarial requests. The Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) system indicates there are 1900 Canadians registered in the Mission's areas of accreditation (out of an estimated 4500). The number of Canadians visiting Thailand has been increasing with over 130,000 visiting each year.
4.1.4 The Mission should establish regular staff meetings for the both the Consular and Passport groups and for the Program as a whole.
4.1.4 The Consular Section has since established regular staff meetings. Minutes are kept and circulated for each meeting.
4.1.6 The Mission should retain the original proof of citizenship documentation so it can be used for verification at the approval stage in the passport process.
4.1.6 Verification process has been changed to ensure that original proof of citizenship is verified by CBS during approval process.
4.1.7 While processes and procedures within the Program are good, improvements can be made by implementing the following recommendations:
4.1.8 Two CBS should participate in the monthly reconciliation of the passport inventory and the receipt of passport inventory . Both individuals should sign the form.
4.1.9 The Mission should follow-up on ROCA registrants with expired dates to either remove them from the database or up-date their departure date.
4.1.10 The Mission should consider expanding its survey of clients to obtain more feedback on services provided.
4.1.8 The Consular section now counts the monthly passport inventory with 2 CBS present in addition to the usual quarterly count with the HOM.
4.1.9 The Consular section has been actively encouraging Canadians to update their information regarding their registration. As a result, ROCA lists have been updated and are kept updated. Recent improvements to the ROCA system have been adopted.
4.1.10 Bilingual feedback forms have been visibly displayed in the Consular section and a box is available to anonymously deposit the completed forms.
4.1.11 In conjunction with the COSMOS support team, Passport Canada should examine if the passport inventory report can be reformatted so that inventories located at different missions can be identified separately to make reconciliations more efficient.
4.1.11 Passport Canada (PPTC) and Consular Technical Support (CNC) have been working together to improve the COSMOS PMP inventory module. PPTC has requested a change in the module which will allow missions to electronically assign specific inventory to another mission under their supervision. This information will be reflected in the passport inventory report used for monthly reconciliation. We will follow up with the CR number when it is available.
5.1.1 The Program is running very well, with well established processes and control structures and up-to-date files. Staff indicated that the Program provides good services. The Program is managed by an *** MCO (AS-06) who directly oversees the Finance and HR Sections. There are two DMCOs (AS-04s). One manages Property and IT, while the other is responsible for the Consular Program.
5.1.2 The three MCOs meet weekly prior to the meeting of the Mission's Operations Committee. Coaching is being provided by the MCO to the DMCOs, both on their first posting. The Mission plans to provide cross-training to the two DMCOs by having them switch program responsibilities for a year. To further augment this training, it would be useful if the Mission developed a formal mentoring plan to ensure that the DMCOs gain experience in such activities as bank reconciliation review and attendance at CMM meetings.
5.1.3 The Mission should develop a mentoring plan to expose the DMCOs to activities outside their normal duties.
5.1.3 The two DMCOs will be swapping positions effective July 1, 2006. Though no formal mentoring plans have been developed, the MCO has regularly assigned finance and HR duties to both DMCOs. This will continue to be the case on a more frequent basis. The DMCOs attended the most recent CMM meeting and will be invited to future meetings as well.
5.1.4 The staffing complement of three MCOs is necessary at this post given the demands of the Consular Program. Headquarters may wish to evaluate if this Mission could be used to provide some support to other Missions in the region that may not yet be adequately resourced. This evaluation could include acting as a hub mission for certain activities to providing personnel during absences or crises. All three MCOs will be leaving the Mission in the summer of 2007 and the timing of their departures will have to be managed carefully.
Mission Comment: The MCO has requested an extension until summer 2008. This request is supported by the HOM and should it be approved by HQ it would ensure continuity when the two D/MCOs leave in 2007. This Mission is able to provide limited administrative support to a mission in the region and is ready to consider a proposal to this end.
5.1.5 Communications within the Program are generally good. However, within some sections there is a need to augment communications so that the entire group is up-to-date on plans and procedures. For example, there should be regular meetings between the DMCO, the Transport Manager and the Drivers. (A similar recommendation for the IT Section is made in paragraph 5.5.5.)
5.1.6 The Mission should establish regular staff meetings for the different sections in the Program.
5.1.6 Regular meetings with all Administration staff have been established. The DMCO now meets on a bi-weekly basis with both the Property/Materiel Assistants and the LEITP. Quarterly meetings with the drivers have been instituted as well.
5.2.1 Human Resources management at the Mission is the responsibility of the MCO, assisted by an LE-06 Assistant. The MCO is very active in addressing HR issues, and the function is well managed with performance appraisals complete, the Performance Management Program (PMP) rolled out, good files maintained, and relevant Committee structures in place.
5.2.2 A review of staffing actions was conducted and files were found to be well maintained and containing proper documentation. In a few instances, interview scoring sheets were not always retained and placed on file. The Mission also maintains good classification files but a number of reclassification actions have been outstanding for long periods of time, awaiting the action of SMC or RSA. A classification action involving the RCMP Assistant Position had been approved by the Classification Committee eight months before the Audit visit, but was still awaiting action by SMC. Overall, a good file structure is in place, with files for each employee and position number. Overtime and leave are also well tracked and controlled.
5.2.3 The Employee Handbook is dated 2002. Written confirmation of receipt has been maintained on employee files. The MCO prepared an updated package and sent it to HQ in February 2005, but has not yet had a reply from HLD. This review was not requested by HLD, and prior to the field work, the Audit Team was informed by HLD that the Mission is not due for a comprehensive benefits review until 2008. This date needs to be clearly communicated to the Mission by HLD so that management can communicate the correct information to the LES Committee.
5.2.4 While the Mission has a reasonable Official Language capacity given the difficulty in finding French speaking LES, special attention needs to be paid to the capacity of those who work at the main reception. ***. Training should be offered and clear procedures should be established to ensure that clients receive a sufficient level of service in the Official Language of their choice.
5.2.5 Interview scoring sheets should be kept and placed on staffing action files.
5.2.6 ***. Procedures should be developed for employees who service the public but do not have a working capacity in both Official Languages.
5.2.5 Observation noted. Score sheets for all recent interviews have been compiled and kept on file.
5.2.6 We have instituted a system whereby a group of employees (CBS and LES) with French language skills have been identified to handle transferred calls. The list with instructions is posted at the switchboard. The Mission has made French language lessons available to all LES during lunch hours over the past two years.
5.2.7 The date of the next comprehensive benefits survey should be communicated to Mission Management.
5.2.7 HLD had established a benefits schedule to review benefits and handbooks of all missions around the world. Ideally each mission should be reviewed every 4 or 5 years and HLD is making every effort to meet this objective. In March 2002, a Handbook was produced for Bangkok. The HR benefits review for Bangkok was started and is in progress but unfortunately we cannot at this time provide a definite target completion date.
5.3.1 The Physical Resources Section is managed by the DMCO, who is on his first overseas assignment, assisted by three LE-05 assistants. The MCO meets regularly with the DMCO for mentoring purposes, but tries to maintain a hands off approach to daily operations, giving the DMCO autonomy to manage the Section. The DMCO has focussed his efforts on instituting more planning and structure for this function through the development of a capital replacement plan and the development of an improved work order system.
5.3.2 The Mission is well housed. The Chancery is located in modern commercial space and is suited to the needs of the Mission. There is an ongoing problem with the HVAC system which results in difficulty in properly regulating the temperature so that one section of the Chancery becomes hot in the afternoon. Both the Mission and SRD are aware of this issue and have been working closely with the landlord to try to resolve the problem quickly. The Crown leased Official Residence (OR) is suitable and functional and is used sufficiently and appropriately for official hospitality. The recent refurbishment of the OR was very successful. If an opportunity presents itself to purchase this property from the owner, it should be strongly considered.
5.3.3 The Staff Quarter (SQ) portfolio consists of 15 Crown-leased SQs, of which 14 are centrally located apartments, and one a small house. The Audit Team visited a sample of staff quarters and found them to be suitable and well maintained. The Mission Housing Committee is active and effective and has identified three SQs for disposal due to their age and increasing maintenance demands. The Audit Team concurred with the decision to release these three staff quarters, given the aforementioned deficiencies and comparability to the rest of portfolio. The SQ portfolio includes leases of one year, six months and three months in duration. In future negotiations, the Mission should attempt to decrease the advance payment terms to the extent possible.
5.3.4 The maintenance function is effectively managed with landlords held accountable for their obligations as per the lease agreements. More follow-up and control has been instituted with the implementation of the improved work order system. The Section is attempting to further control work requests by asking tenants to contact the Section for all work, even that to be performed by the landlord. Given landlord responsiveness, tenants sometimes contact the landlord directly with requests which results in difficulty controlling work and identifying problematic SQs. The DMCO and Property Assistant undertake annual inspections to identify necessary work. ***.
5.3.5 The DMCO should liaise more with other diplomatic missions to compare contractors and suppliers. More contact with his counterparts would give him an effective mechanism to compare prices and find new service providers which are accustomed to servicing an organization with similar needs. The Section should also try to identify suppliers who can consolidate billing to limit the work involved in processing payments for both the Physical Resources and Accounting Sections. More effort should be made to consolidate purchasing to the extent possible. The capital replacement plan should assist in this regard.
5.3.6 When negotiating future lease agreements, the terms of advance payment should be decreased as much as possible.
5.3.7 Annual property inspections should include ***.
5.3.8 The DMCO should maintain regular contact with other diplomatic missions to compare suppliers and contractors.
5.3.9 Purchasing should be consolidated to the extent possible.
5.3.10 The Mission should look for suppliers who can consolidate billing in order to decrease the number of individual transactions.
5.3.6 Noted. Mission will endeavour to reduce advance payment terms, however these advance payments are utilised to obtain more favourable rental rates during lease negotiations.
5.3.7 Noted. ***.
5.3.8 Noted. DMCO has already initiated contact with colleagues from other diplomatic missions.
5.3.9 Noted. ***.
5.3.10 Noted. The Mission wherever possible is requesting that suppliers provide monthly invoices in order to reduce transactions.
5.4.1 Finance is well managed by the Financial Management Officer (FMO) who is the MCO, and assisted by an LE-07 Accountant and LE-05 Assistant Accountant. Staff are knowledgeable and the Mission accounts are well organized. ***.
5.4.2 Section 33 and 34 signing authorities are properly exercised and bank reconciliations are up-to-date. The work is distributed within the Section to allow for sufficient segregation of duties. Processes are in place to provide appropriate control over the receipt and payment of funds. Budgets are monitored closely for reporting and planning purposes. The Mission pays particular attention to the LES salary budget which has not always been sufficient to absorb increments for the current staff complement.
5.4.3 The following procedural recommendations are noted for action.
5.4.4 The MCO should undertake spot checks of transactions within IMS, such as SA adjustments, in addition to his monthly verifications.
5.4.5 The Assistant Accountant should do the bank reconciliation periodically to ensure that she is able to provide back-up for this function.
5.4.6 The MCO should review and sign the Asset and Liability Report on a monthly basis.
5.4.7 Hospitality diaries should include more detail regarding the purpose of the event, how it furthers the program's objectives, and the final assessment of the event.
5.4.8 Original documentation for the hospitality diaries should be kept by the Finance section and the photocopies returned to the officers rather than the reverse.
5.4.9 The Mission, in conjunction with HQ, should review the LES salary requirements to determine if the LES salary budget should be re-based.
5.4.4 The MCO's IMS account is activated and spot checks will be undertaken regularly.
5.4.5 Noted. The Senior Accountant has been instructed to expose her Assistant to some of her duties, including the bank reconciliation.
5.4.6 This observation was noted during the Audit Team debrief and is already being done on a monthly basis.
5.4.7 This observation was noted during the Audit Team debrief and instruction sent to all mission staff who have hospitality allocations on December 7, 2005.
5.4.8 Same as the response for 5.4.7.
5.4.9 This has been addressed in this year's reference levels.
5.5.1 The Information Technology function is under the direction of the MCO, though managed day-to-day by one of the two Deputy Management/Consular Officers (DMCO) at the Mission. There are two Locally Engaged Information Technology Professionals (LEITP), though one of the positions was vacant at the time of the Audit. Discussions with staff at the Mission revealed that ***.
5.5.2 A Foreign Service Information Technology Professional (FSITP) is being added to the Mission in the summer of 2006 and the position will also be responsible for Dhaka. The proposed FSITP *** of the current LEITP. At the time of the Audit, the LEITP indicated that she would be searching for another position given that she could not ***.
5.5.3 As noted elsewhere, the Mission is taking lessons learned from the tsunami experience to adapt its procedures to be better prepared in crisis situations. The Mission is examining setting up a second reception capability in the Chancery and has been establishing an office in the Official Residence.
5.5.4 Prior to the departure of the second LEITP, communications within the team were strained. There appears to have been confusion regarding roles and responsibilities. Weekly meetings between the DMCO and the IT team should be re-instituted, particularly when the new LEITP is hired, to ensure that all staff are kept up-to-date.
5.5.5 The Mission should establish regular staff meetings for the IT Section.
5.5.5 Bi-weekly meetings are now held.
5.5.6 While the Mission has a good committee structure, there is no IT Committee. Staff indicated that since there is confusion regarding roles and responsibilities and there is no individual(s) responsible for the Mission's website, information would become out-of-date. An IT Committee could provide the co-ordination and oversight for the website and other technological decisions the Mission needs to make.
5.5.7 The Mission should consider establishing a Information Technology Committee.
5.5.7 Mission committees are established in the Fall. At that time, the new FSITP position will be staffed and an IT committee formed.
5.5.8 The following procedural recommendations are noted for action:
5.5.9 While inventories for IT assets exist, not all staff have signed the forms for items in their possession. The Mission should ensure that the inventories are complete.
5.5.10 IT training requirements should be included in the overall Mission training plan (see recommendation 1.1.7). This would allow for training such as operating the Mission's satellite phones to be considered and tracked.
5.5.11 Though the equipment located at the OR is tested monthly, the Mission should ensure that the satellite phone located in the Chancery is also tested monthly.
5.5.12 Backup tapes should be stored in a secure location outside the server room.
5.5.9 Inventories are now up-to-date.
5.5.10 Noted. IT Training will form part of the Mission's overall training plan.
5.5.11 Noted. Phones tested September 14, 2006 and again September 21, 2006 to the Watch Office and will be tested monthly hereafter.
5.5.12 The tapes are now being stored in a secure location, *** room. | <urn:uuid:d9f6fd25-c5b2-4638-8474-b0bd5d79ee8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.international.gc.ca/about-a_propos/oig-big/2006/bangkok.aspx?lang=eng | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955454 | 9,793 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Joined: Oct 2011
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what is love?
love is powerful. It does things to you that you wouldn't have thought possible it can make you into something big, or it can tear you down into a pile of rubble. certainly, love is powerful. I hate people; most of them at least, we invent stupid social norms to bend to, unnecessarily invent stereotypes and rationalize any kind of lose or pain as "character building. we're also incredibly stupid. however one of the most annoying things we do is raise something as simple as love to a deep, philosophical and mysterious level. beyond even teenage naivety.
now let's be clear on two things: first, love is a biochemical reaction in the brain; comprised of dopamine, vasopressin, Oxycontin, serotonin, phenethylamine(PEA) and Norepinephrine. secondly, love can be a significant factor in your life, it can have no involvement what so ever, however to think it as anything more than a giant chemical orgy is rather absurd.
NOTE: this isn't mean to provoke a stream of hateful comments: rather to provoke a discussion. contrarianism.
|04-14-2012 08:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Given 255 thank(s) in 186 post(s)
RE: what is love?
Pain is a biochemical reaction in the brain.
Happiness is a biochemical reaction in the brain.
Anger is a biochemical reaction in the brain.
Hatred is a biochemical reaction in the brain.
Everything is technically a biochemical reaction in the brain.
But the biochemical reactions in the brain are none of those things, they are also not what causes them, they are just what causes us to physically experience those things. Sure you could technically explain everything down to chemicals in the brain, but why the hell would you want to? That just makes it sound incredibly boring and lame.
Yes, humans are stupid. Humans make up all sorts of stupid social rules and crap. I don't care for any of that stuff. Love is one of the few things that's actually interesting, and I don't mean being "in love", whatever the hell that means. I'm more interested in the unconditional type love that just never goes away no matter what. But it seems very few people are into that sort of thing. I really don't get the appeal of being "in love". As far as I can tell, that's just hormones/chemicals making a person seem far faaar more awesome than they really are. I don't want that shit. But that's not the same thing as love.
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"If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them." - Dalai Lama
"To come upon love without seeking it is the only way to find it." - Krishnamurti
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." - Albert Einstein
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
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School Alternatives: Homeschooling & Unschooling | Finishing High School Online | Drop out & get a GED
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|04-17-2012 02:16 AM
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More transparency was demanded by MEPs at the last ENVI meeting on 18 December 2012 concerning the time limits for decision-making on pricing and reimbursement of medicines to ensure and improve access of patients to new medicines. MEPs recommended a 60-day time limit to decide on the pricing and reimbursement of generic medicines. Concerning new medicines, products will have to respect the current timeline of 180 days.
A substantial number of amendments were adopted as demonstrated in the report published on 25 January .
A couple of people expressed concerns about the adoption of the proposal since a considerable rewriting of the articles was suggested. Some MEPs believe that the proposal on transparency on medicine pricing may never be adopted. However Antonyia Parvanova MEP (Bulgaria, S&D), the Rapporteur, already confirmed her determination to move forward with the adoption of the proposal.
The European Commission published a new proposal for a Directive which should repeal the so-called “Transparency Directive” (Directive 89/105/EEC), adopted at the end of the 1980s. The main aim of the latest proposal is to safeguard public health by ensuring that the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines are properly evaluated before they are made available to patients in the European Union.
Two major reasons have fuelled the need to update the existing legislation. Firstly, theemergence of generic medicines: Generics can provide cheaper versions of existing products, as well as more transparency concerning prices. Secondly, the constant rise in public expenditure on pharmaceuticals over the last few decades has encouraged member states to devise more complex and innovative pricing and reimbursement systems. These and related developments created a proportionate need for more transparency during the whole process. Basic procedural obligations should be met to ensure that pricing and reimbursement measures are compatible with Single Market rules and that they do no create barriers to trade. In addition, the European Commission stated that deadlines for pricing and reimbursement decisions are regularly exceeded by member states .
The new proposal considers a few changes while taking into account the provisions of Directive 89/105/EEC. The shorter time limits for pricing and reimbursement is the most important measure for public health and patient safety since delays can have potentially negative impact for patients, pharmaceutical companies, member states and healthcare systems. For generic medicines time limits have been reduced to 15/30 days when the reference product has already been priced and included in the health insurance system. The time limits applicable to all other medicinal products have been reduced to 60/120 days. The reduction for originator medicines is from the current 90/180 days to 60/120 days.
All patients are entitled to have timely access to high quality, efficient, safe, essential medicines. No patient should be prohibited from accessing such medicines due to costs. Hence EPHA calls for Member States’ compliance to ensure timely pricing and reimbursement decisions. Patients should not be in a position where they cannot access medicines they need because of governmental inaction.
Generic products have already demonstrated their potential for generating cost savings for both health systems and patients, they are now widely recognised, and their use is steadily increasing in Member States with proactive generic substitution policies. From a public health standpoint it is essential that they reach patients without due delay.
Currently the procedure is awaiting the first reading at the European Parliament.
EPHA related articles:
REPORT on the proposal for a directive relating to the transparency of measures regulating the prices of medicinal products for human use and their inclusion in the scope of public health insurance systems. 24.01.2013 | <urn:uuid:48e9ed41-fb44-4c6e-a015-ebc85ec93f3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epha.org/a/5554 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947211 | 709 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Astalon - Midkemia Online Online Help
Perhaps the most Order-aligned of the twelve Lesser Gods, Astalon is known to personify Growth, Civilization and the Law. Unlike many of the other Gods, Astalon takes a particular interest in the affairs of mortals, often working through His priests or personally to impart the wisdom of His realm to the races of the world. Astalon has historically been worshipped primarily by craftsmen and politicians, both professions being ones He sees as the tools by which to strengthen and guide the advancement of the mortal races, though in the recent age many from other walks of life have found themselves in His service. Similarly, His sects have formed along both of these professions, with the Builders being those who strive continually to build and expand their home, and the Judges offering a guiding vision in order to stablize their societies and prevent the eventual collapse that comes with excessive expansion. The worship of Astalon in the Western realms centers around the Temple of the Sky, high in the Eagle's Reaches, as a tribute to His dominion over the heavens. Smaller shrines and temples also dot the realms, allowing worship in less remote areas. Astalon is symbolized by the metals gold and platinum, and by His weapons, a golden hammer and a platinum sword. He also known in the world as The Lawbringer, He-Who-Brought-Order, and The Winged God. | <urn:uuid:5244a5db-a7ce-43fb-aec5-489bc7d6f4f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ironrealms.com/game/helpview/midkemia/astalon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963305 | 293 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The City of St. Petersburg is starting to sell the idea of a new downtown Pier with a new website
Wednesday, it launched TheNewStPetePier.com. The site attempts to explain why the existing Pier is doomed, why it cannot be rebuilt, and what the concept is behind a replacement known as "The Lens".
Mayor Bill Foster admits the public has yet to embrace the next-generation pier, which will cost $50 million.
Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at the Coliseum, the city will hold the first of four public forums scheduled for June.
The sessions are described as "public input" forums, but the first part of each meeting will be consumed explaining the Lens and the processes leading up to its selection.
The public will essentially be asked to flesh out the bones of the proposed structure: What would they envision doing there? What amenities should be added to the structure and to the waterfront park connected to the Pier? What sort of activities could be held at both locations?
Public input can also be submitted through the new website. The information will be by the Lens architects to develop a more finished design.
Later this summer, the architects will present development options to the city council, followed by a final design. At that point, which will probably be toward the end of the year, the city council will decide whether to build the Lens.
FOX 13 / WTVT-TV
Didn't find what you were looking for? | <urn:uuid:f06cedb3-9bf5-4d63-8531-50308e5aae2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/18723356/website-launches-to-push-proposed-pier | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9603 | 301 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Just wait until college.
That was one of the points made by 13 recent graduates of Salina Central High School who spoke Thursday afternoon to juniors and seniors considering college in the next year or two, in a program organized by Central counselors.
Over the course of the program, the college students not only told of the tougher classes, more homework and the lure of partying -- but also warned of both the "freshman 15" and of forgetting to eat.
The first question Central High counselor Shelda Burger had for the panel was about how many hours they spend in class each day, and how much work they do outside of class.
Savannah Allen, who is attending Wichita State University, said her math class was an hour long each day, but she spent about three hours a day studying math, then about another hour each for her remaining classes.
Several other college students said a good rule of thumb is to spend about one hour doing homework or studying for every hour in class -- and there's no time set aside for study or homework in class.
Must set priorities
Brenton Hillbig, who is attending the University of Kansas, stressed the importance of setting priorities.
"You need to choose which classes are important -- like my chemistry class should have been more important than I made it," he said.
Eric Luce, who is attending Huntington University in Indiana, explained the importance of keeping track of assignments with an example that's a familiar nightmare to most college grads: "There was an in-class essay on a book I didn't know we were supposed to read," he said. He tried to fake his way through it and ended up with a low "D."
Courtney Train, who is attending Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, made a point of the different schedules in high school and college.
"You're in class from 7:30 to 2:30 in high school, but in college, I'm in class for about three hours a day," she said. Then, she spends about six hours a day studying.
Rachel Norris, a student at KU, said she's usually finished with class by around 11 a.m. but is then in the library studying until 9 p.m.
Hillbig, who is in ROTC, described the most grueling schedule of all, starting with getting up at 4:15 a.m. for physical training, skipping lunch most days because of his class schedule, getting home about 6 p.m. and playing intramural sports until around 8, followed by more homework.
"I got to sleep in one day," he said, "and that was until 7:30."
"College is pretty much eating, sleeping and studying -- that's about all you do," summed up Shelby Dinkel, who is attending Kansas State University.
Partway through the program, one person in the audience asked, "What about the parties? Where are they at?"
Burger gave her own account of that, saying that when she returned to college for her second semester, the floor of the dorm she lived on was mostly empty because the party girls didn't return.
"There are parties -- and you can find them if you want," said David Weiner, who is attending Emerson College in Boston. "But you need to prioritize."
Several of the students said adjusting to being away from their parents -- and their parents' rules -- was more difficult than it might sound.
Not having parents around to tell you what to do might sound nice, said Tori Happel, who is attending Kansas State University, "but then you end up staying up late, too late."
"People think not having a curfew is awesome, and it is for a while," Norris said. "But then you really have to grow up."
Allen said she missed family meal time, when the whole family was together around the table to eat and talk to each other.
In response to another question from Burger, about what they'd have done differently in high school knowing what they know now, several said they would have taken harder classes.
"Don't just take the easy courses your senior year, or it will be a lot harder when you get to college," Luce said. | <urn:uuid:f0816138-0d69-4f43-851a-0d10f6511519> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.salina.com/Print/What-s-college-like--1-3-13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985327 | 871 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Doctors should have the right to kill newborn babies because they are disabled, too expensive or simply unwanted by their mothers, an academic with links to Oxford University has claimed. Francesca Minerva, a philosopher and medical ethicist, argues a young baby is not a real person and so killing it in the first days after birth is little different to aborting it in the womb.And the sad fact is, given how society arbitrarily and routinely states that late-term abortion is just fine, how can society actually disagree with her? How is, say, a late-term abortion on medical grounds any different from a killing a child for social or medical reasons a week after birth? What have we done that a respected member of our society can justify infanticide like this? (given this isn't some rather cynical attempt by an academic to get some much-needed publicity for an ailing career).
I worry about the world in which my grandchildren (not yet born) will bring up their own children. | <urn:uuid:b2c6458a-5366-4347-b38e-0c409736ba2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.calvinlsmith.com/2012/03/make-infanticide-legal-says-academic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957085 | 200 | 1.679688 | 2 |
How to Pack a Proper Winter Travel KitOctober 23, 2012
In a previous article, we mentioned the necessity of including a winter travel kit in your plans when road tripping in the snowy months between November and May. If you find yourself caught in a storm, whirling in a cyclone of ice and snow, don’t find yourself caught without emergency materials that might make the difference between a life and death situation.
Some travelers choose to purchase a pre-made winter travel kit from the store when they're packing the car with safety in mind. This is the best option for those who don’t know how to pack a good winter travel kit. However, these pre-packed kits can get pricy; and after all, many of the items inside can be found in and around your home. In fact, you already possess most of those winter emergency necessities—now, you just need to get them all together and make sure they’re located within easy access in your vehicle.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to compile:
- Blankets or Sleeping Bags: a “space blanket” is a good option, because it traps in heat the way a bulky blanket would without taking up the same amount of space.
- Flashlights: pack one or two, and make sure that you’ve included extra batteries. Test your flashlights before you stow them away in your trunk. Make sure they’re still working.
- First-Aid: this is a must. In this kit-within-a-kit, you’ll want to include bandages, antiseptics, painkillers, butterfly closures, and a pair of scissors.
- A Knife: these are always good to have and can come in handy in any number of situations.
- High-Calorie, Non-Perishable Food: canned food is always a good choice, preferably something with a pop-top (however, without pop-tops, this is where that knife comes in handy).
- Iodine Tablets: in the absence of fresh drinking water, snow can be melted and sterilized with iodine. It won’t taste good, but it could save your life in a perilous situation.
- Matches: for melting drinking water, heating canned food—or for anything else that requires heat at the strike of a match. Keep this in a water-tight tin along with tissues and paper towels for sanitary reasons.
- A Sack of Sand: this may seem like a strange suggestion; however, sand can provide traction for your tires on an icy or snowy surface. Sand can get you out of a slippery jam!
- A Tow Rope: to work in conjunction with the sack of sand. A variety of rope sizes and strengths can turn up as beneficial in varying situations.
- Extra Windshield Wipers: a serious winter storm can strip your wipers in no time. Having an extra set in the trunk can get you home safely and prevent a night spent on the roadside in your car.
- Jumper Cables: these should be in your car at all times, during all seasons of the year. However, winter is the time that needs them most. Don’t get caught without a way to jumpstart your car’s battery.
- Extra Clothing: bring an extra pair of everything for each and every person you’re travelling with. This pertains especially to socks, long underwear, hats, and gloves—anything intended to keep you warm!
It can be tricky and time-consuming to anticipate and prepare yourself for all potential hazards and mishaps that might befall you as you’re travelling on winter roads. However, the inclusion of a winter travel kit with your packed luggage is entirely necessary. On top of the items we’ve mentioned here, consider bringing a winter survival book that can offer even more solutions for dire situations.
At the Palmer Gulch Resort, we want to make sure that you arrive safely at the destination of your winter holiday, gathering, or celebration. Our suggestions for a winter travel kit are offered as supplemental tips for safe travel—your greatest defense against inclement weather is safe and careful driving and observance of dangerous weather conditions. Happy travels!
About the Palmer Gulch Resort
The Black Hills provide ample opportunities for wintertime adventure, and the executive lodges, open all year round, at the Palmer Gulch Resort are here to serve as your snowy home away from home. To learn more about Palmer Gulch Resort, or to make a reservation, visit our website at www.palmergulch.com or call 1-800-562-8503. Information packets are available for group gatherings, as well as GPS directions and maps of the area.Last Modified: 10-23-2012-10:12:14
Back To News | <urn:uuid:7f29a02a-d077-493c-8ae9-11b2f05a7bea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.palmergulch.com/news/read-more-news/how-to-pack-a-proper-winter-travel-kit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936454 | 1,006 | 1.5 | 2 |
Bob Harris & Matt Flannery
Tue., June 4
Esther Greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time. In her acclaimed and enduring masterwork, Sylvia Plath brilliantly draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes palpably real, even rational—as accessible an experience as going to the movies. A deep penetration into the darkest and most harrowing corners of the human psyche, The Bell Jar is an extraordinary accomplishment and a haunting American classic.
About the Author
Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Massachusetts. Her books include the poetry collections The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, Ariel, and The Collected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize. A complete and uncut facsimile edition of Ariel was published in 2004 with her original selection and arrangement of poems. She was married to the poet Ted Hughes, with whom she had a daughter, Frieda, and a son, Nicholas. She died in London in 1963. | <urn:uuid:6f07d5d9-7863-4512-b30a-9cf37dc52988> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.keplers.com/book/9780061148514 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974193 | 212 | 1.664063 | 2 |
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Bingham Memorial Hospital is among the best hospitals in Idaho. It houses the best physicians and their specialities to provide the best healthcare possible to the residents and visitors. But just recently, louis kraml is hiring more doctors to improve the facility even more.
Louis Kraml’s Efforts
Louis Kraml CEO of BMH in Blackfoot has managed to make BMM profitable despite of financial turmoil. His efforts of hiring tons of quality doctors and specialists have turned this small community hospital into a huge healthcare facility that employs about 700 residents. Today, the hospital is considered as the fifth leading health care provider in the area and the entire country. It can serve about 120,000 patients every year.
Its goal is to provide affordable, quality and efficient healthcare which can be achieved not only by improving its structure, but by hiring the best quality physicians who can deliver exceptional healthcare in the most compassionate manner.
Why Practice in Idaho?
There are a lot of reasons why physicians should consider practicing their profession at BMH. Well, aside from the fact that it is among the largest employing facility in the area, the Bingham Memorial Hospital Doctor Hiring Campaign offers more to prospective candidates. Primarily, one of the biggest advantages is the opportunity to work in one of the most prestigious hospital in Idaho. Moreover, the community provides more to doctors who are planning to settle in the area.
It has the best environment for families with school aged kinds. The local school system is pretty impressive and the area is surrounded by the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country. It also has a very warm atmosphere making it family friendly. If you, your family and friends love the outdoors, the Bingham Memorial Hospital Doctor Hiring Campaign can make you enjoy a rewarding career and great outdoor at the same time. The BMH area is proximal to the best recreational facilities in the country where you can have fun doing various activities like biking, hiking, skiing, fishing and a lot more.
Plus, Louis Kraml CEO of BMH in Blackfoot assures a better life when doctors choose to live in Idaho. He guarantees a low cost lifestyle and higher pay which attracts a lot of quality doctors to take advantage of the offer. This program works not only for doctors who are seeking for better employment, but patients who deserves quality healthcare.
Knuckle boomers are one of the best mechanical devices built to lift cranes which are powered hydraulically. Heavy loads are usually forced onto their respective frames by the help of this incredibly helpful machine.
Boomer sale, especially knuckle boomers are extremely versatile. Apart from the general purpose of these trucks, which is to, lift expansive constructive objects to their desires places, they can also be utilized for pre cast concrete works, road construction, and pick and carry jobs. Hence, a knuckle boomer can be used for any imaginable task. Though, there is a need to make them specialized for that specific task.
Concrete constructors, which are involved, in the day and day-out dealings of boomer sale, make use of this revolutionary device in a variety of ways. The roofers utilize this machine for residential tasks, while drywall constructors use them for commercial jobs. There are, though, some contractors who prefer straight boom crane over knuckle boom trucks. According to them a knuckle boomers do not have the wits to accomplish the tasks that a straight boomer can easily complete. This, of course, is not true because with the passage of time, knuckle boomers are developing into a more specialized and efficient machine. The Canadian and European market, having realized the versatility of knuckle boomer, have added it to all time purchases.
When it comes to boomer sale, you can find all the relevant details on http://brisbanescissorlifthire.com.au/sales.html. The secret behind the rapid fame of knuckle boom sale is varying types and shapes of attachments. With the correct attachment design, an ordinary knuckle boomer can be made to turn into a truck capable of accomplishing any job in hand. They can perform jobs like placing wallboard, trimming trees, doing concrete jobs and clearing the field for future use. Knuckle boomers are like metal which can be molded into many different shapes.
In today’s version of knuckle boomers, it is fascinating to witness the heights where these incredible machines can reach and the magnitude of weight they can lift. Capacity and reach is one of the main factors which the experts take into consideration when planning to purchase a knuckle boom sale. Though, with the high levels of capacity and reach, element of safety should also be included. After considering all these factors, you can decide which knuckle boom sale fits best for your job and business. To start off, you can find a good dealer and after defining your needs, confirm the deal.
Marketing and promotions can intimidate even the most robust business professional. Guessing what may be desirable to a general audience may take research and resources not readily available to the average entrepreneur. Nevertheless, every business needs to get its name to the market place. Everything associated with the name and logo of the company should consider not only the core business of the organization, but express something of tits personality and values. The following represents a few of the offerings available for inexpensive promotional items that may help you.
- 1. Green Promotional Items
These include eco-friendly business stationery to demonstrate a commitment to saving trees. You may also opt for Nalgene bottles, which are renewable and show a determination to avoid adding non-biodegradable plastics to landfills. Your name or logo on these items adds the impression of thoughtful business planning.
- 2. Custom Promotional Items
Purchasing a few common boxes of pens and handing them out to passersby at the mall, does nothing for your brand awareness. On the other hand, your name and logo on stylish custom water bottles suggests a health and stylish brand image. Whatever the connection you want to accomplish with your promotional tokens, connecting your business to your target audience means sticking your name and logo on items that appear as if made for you.
- 3. Corporate Promotional Items
Some of these novelty promotional items are usually associated with high-end deep pocket corporate entities. These include expensive monogrammed or engraved pens, desktop day planners and executive diaries as well as monogrammed or embroidered pullovers. While you may not be able to afford a large number of these kind of items, don’t worry the deep pocket corporate entities do not spend that much on them either. However, ordering a few and being creative can help. Try using them in a loyalty or referral reward program or as a token of appreciation for likes and following on face book and twitter.
Promotional items can be useful to any kind of business. If you are clear about your business objectives, offerings and brand image, these items can help generate links with the target audience. In addition, being creative with what and how you use the items you buy can open new avenues to traffic generation and ultimately sales. Moreover, capitalizing on the range of products available such as green, custom and corporate provides avenues to re-energize your marketing campaign when needed.
For the past couple of years, the number of rental villas available has unprecedentedly increased and this has of course come with good reasons. A holiday rental villa provides the most comfortable and luxurious alternative for a vacation comprising of top notch services, best views and enhanced privacy which cannot be offered by any hotel or condo whatsoever. A 3 Bedroom Villa Lombok is a great venue for hosting a family reunion or having a summer vacation. While most of the villas are very luxurious thanks to presence of modern amenities and are situated at wonderful locations, there are some guidelines that must be followed when choosing a dream 3 bedroom rental villa for your family.
The first guideline has to do with connectivity/ location in the sense that it is important that you opt for a villa located near a town or city. In addition, major attractions in the region should be available close by, preferably within a walking distance. In any case, there is no fan in spending most of your time travelling to attractions at a time when you should be sun bathing at the beach or enjoying a romantic lunch/ dinner. Next, the surrounding locality of the 3 Bedroom Villa Bali should be double checked and care should be taken to ensure that immediate surroundings contribute to having a luxurious, comfortable stay. It is essential that you avoid being tricked by photos posted at the website but take it upon yourself to do some extensive research about the neighboring area. If you are more concerned with your privacy, you should not shy away from asking about it before you continue with the renting arrangements.
The quality of the villa also matters a lot in determining the kind of experience that you will have and in most cases, you might find that a villa depicts significant differences from what is on their photos. If the photo of the 3 Bedroom Villa Trawangan was taken some years ago, then it will surely not reflect present décor and state of the villa. You should definitely not take chances on this but ensure that you double check everything with the villa agent or owner. Continue also to check the nature of amenities available and confirm that everything is in order before renting. Don’t be fooled by website details as they might not be updated while others are incorrect.
Can changing lifestyles help you to lose weight? Strategies of losing weight are flooding on the internet, however if you will not change your ways on your diet and activities, you will fail in your expectation of losing weight. There is a desired body weight for all of us. However, because of wrong eating habits the normal weight will become abnormal and can change your health status and most of the time will endanger a person to illness.
Obese people need to be desperate in his or her goal of losing weight for health fitness. Changing your mindset from a negative to positive outlook in life; fitness is not limited to your physical body but being balanced in your mental health and your physical health. Obesity is one of the leading cause of death. This is a fact and we need to understand and accept the reality that being obese is being sexy. Obesity is a sickness and you need a special attention and a strong determination to stay slim, fit and healthy.
There are many people even if they have the abilities and potential to do things, but still they loss their self confidence, why? Because of obesity – Obese people are most of the time are low self-esteem people. They are ashamed of their physical status in life. However, this problem can be treated by changing your lifestyle just to lose weight.
How wll you change your lifestyle to lose weight? There are proven ways that can help you in your journey of losing weight.
- Your determination will start in your mind. This is what we call a change of mindset. From a wrong set of priorities into right priorities. You decision has something to do with decision to a right food intake. You need to have a well-balanced diet for physical wellness. There are some helpful suggestions you can learn; click here for added knowledge in body discipline.
- Start a regular and proper exercise. Our body needs exercise for proper absorption of food and proper blood circulation. This is on a daily basis. Forget about your unhealthy food habits before and focus your mind for a new beginning in your life. Just log on httpwww.slimmingtoday.com for more health encouragement and body training.
The fact is, obesity can trigger the health of a person to sickness. If you are indecisive to lose weight you can ask experts and specialists to give advise to you regarding your health.
We all know about ships’ sail. Based on this technology, shade sail is created. It shades outdoor open spaces, where people used to gather to spend times, or children used to play. It is a flexible membrane made up of various products used to tension between multiple anchor points. Shade sail is a must usable thing in those areas where strong sun light usually stay for a prolong period. Prolong sun radiation is dangerous for sun burn even skin cancers.
Do you know, where this shade sail idea born? Almost 30 years before, in Australia it was started using for first time. As we know, necessity is the mother of invention; Australian people need this protection most. Because, Australia is one the most sun exposed country of the world.
Now I’m going to inform you about a best company of Australia from where you can get the world’s best product of shade sail. Yeah Shade sail Sydney offers you the quality product for your shading purpose. Managing Director of this company, Mr. Leonard Collins has 17 years of experience on this field. No doubt you are going to get the best product from them. If you want to know further about Shade sails Sydney then you can check out on the Internet.
What you want? You have a large outside lawn? Or want to cover your swimming pool from passerby? Or even more? Shade Cloth Shade Sails? Waterproof Shade Sails? Privacy screens? Clear blinds? Wind breaks? Custom canvas products? Tension membranes? Everything is available here. Can’t believe?
Any good reason to choose them? Besides a wide range of product availability, they also ensure the quality and longevity of shade sails. Shade sail are made up of High Density Polyethylene and PVC. They are going to protect you from Ultra Violet Rays almost in 97% cases. Along with that, you will get good customer service from shade sail Sydney. They are offering you two years warranty on workmanship, 10 to 15 years warranty on materials.
Can you expect anything more? The services they are already providing are of high quality, no? Okay dude, more are waiting for you. This company also provides you a repair service. They repair shade cloth, canvas and waterproof shades. Need any of your shades re stitching or re patching? Or your shade sail become dirty for a long time use? Wanted to wash them, no time for that? Shade Sail Sydney is ready to serve you. It is the time for you to relax and enjoy.
With so many grow lighting systems available in the market, those who are new in the business of indoor growing might find it hard to tell which lighting systems are best to use. Of course, they will most probably consider finding out which ones highly efficient without the jaw-dropping prices. In the past few years, everyone has considered HID lighting as the best option. Even with vehicles, HID driving lights have become widely popular. They gave decent results and the prices were affordable. Plant growing enthusiasts, in particular, were eager to HID grow lights.
In the present however, it seems that the reign of HID lighting systems is starting to wither away. With the introduction of the more efficient LED lighting systems, the number of light models using HID’s has reduced as LED’s started to take over. This is hardly a surprise since, scientific studies today prove that the use of LED lighting is far more effective than using HID technology. Another feature that make LED’s better than HID’s is that, an LED light can be placed directly towards the plants rather than having a reflector like HID lights. For both hobbyists and professionals, LED’s have become the number one choice. It is not necessarily true that HID lights are ineffective, it is just that LED’s are the better alternative when the two are compared. Even for automotive purposes, LED light bars have stolen the spotlight.
LED grow lights are manufactured in different shapes as well as a variety of colors and wattage. Besides being highly ecological, the lights made of LED’s consumes less energy as well. Despite the fact that they cost more than other lighting systems, their longer lifespan makes them more cost-efficient. Light color is also a big factor in choosing an LED light. The green and yellow ones are the least effective of all while the red and blue ones are the most effective. Though generally all LED lights boast of their efficiency, the branding should be considered too. There are manufacturers who are able to produce better LED lights than others. It is better to ensure the best quality and highest satisfaction. The companies that can be trusted when it comes to the guarantee of quality and customer satisfaction are easy to find. It might be a good idea to start some digging online, checking out reviews and forums that discuss the best LED lighting system providers.
It can be very difficult to choose the one cleaning company that will handle all your tidying needs. This is a very big decision for your company, and getting it wrong can set the company back significantly. The sheer volume of cleaning companies only makes the decision tougher, and that is why these tips have been laid out for you to use to determine which cleaning company can best handle your needs.
The first tip involves a little bit of online investigation on your part. The Internet contains all the data you could want about a particular cleaning company, and all it takes on your part is to do a reading and research. Find out about the cleaning companies that may be situated near your area and determine whether or not the services they offer actually meet the needs of your office. By finding out if a particular cleaning company can meet all of your needs; you can save up on having to contact other companies to handle the other cleanup tasks that are not included. Having only one company handle your cleanup needs makes the entire process simpler and easier to manage. While you are online, it could also be worth your while to check out how the company has done with its previous projects. This gives you a little more insight about these commercial cleaning Sydney companies.
Just like with any other business relationship, communication skill is also very important when it comes to evaluating a cleaning company. A company that handles communication very poorly can be very difficult to deal with, and it can even become frustrating. That problem can be resolved by simply determining how well one of these commercial cleaner Sydney companies actually handle this part of the business. Smooth communication always results in better business, and that remains true with cleaning companies. Safety is always part of the equation when it comes to cleaning companies, and this means that you also have to check out the company’s licenses before determining whether or not you should hire them. Cleanups routinely involve some very dangerous chemicals, and leaving them to be handled by less than worthy professionals can result in a greater loss for your company. The only factor left now is the price. You never want to get ripped off in any business transaction and doing a little research will ensure that the cleaner you choose will not get the better of you.
There are many things to be considered before throwing a birthday party for your child. Depending on the child if it is a boy or a girl, the party takes its course. To set up a party for a boy child, you can go online to find various birthday plans made ready for you. You just need to select the one that suits your child’s interest.
There are also theme parties that you can organize for the birthday boy. In fact, everything from party invitations to table setting and decorations is available on the website. A boy’s birthday party is restricted to certain colors like blue and green.
Many themes are available on the website for the boys, like car parties, police, and train, fire engine, circus and dinosaur parties. Since boys are the naughtiest lots, the themes are perfect for their mood types. For the dinosaur party, the decorations have dinosaur tags on it. Also when you prepare the party invitations, include the fact that each child must be in the color of a dinosaur. The dinosaur party kit that the website offers has leaves and twigs too to give it a real dinosaur effect. For the circus parties, the entire atmosphere is made colorful with pictures of clowns and animal performances.
Having a themed party is great fun. Kids would love wearing the particular clothes and the entire atmosphere created at the party will give them a fascinating experience. There are other themes like jungle parties, pirate, and sport parties. In the jungle party, every kid is dressed as an animal and the venue will be like a jungle. Moreover, jungle tagged party bags, buntings, masks and stickers add on to the fun. Ordering the stuffs online not only saves your time and energy but can make it quite a reasonable affair.
With respect to the car and train parties, all the boys feel very enthusiastic as vehicles are the most favorite toys for boys. They will be able to relate to the theme and enjoy to the fullest. Apart from creating the perfect theme, you also must make sure that the decorations are up to the mark. Though the kit offers you with decorative items too, you need to place them in the correct position.
The website includes lanterns, tissue paper made pom poms, balloons, buntings and many others. Furthermore, you can add a small get together lolly buffet party after the birthday bash. There are also jars and other containers available online to suit any theme and make it a sweet affair afterwards.
To serve the food, the table setting is also necessary. With the online help, you can avail party plates and cups that come in a variety of colors to match any theme. In addition to that, there are table runners, table napkins, wrappers that can be ordered to add on to the look. As a return gift to the guests, there are also party bags with the imprint of the themes, thus adding a special touch to the entire event. Therefore, for making you boy’s party a success, you can go through the website, managing the party in a faster way by saving time to go shopping outside all day.
One of the reasons why many volunteers actually do not enjoy what they are doing or have done is the fact that they went in to their assigned location with so many expectations. In truth, in order for you to be able to enjoy doing volunteer work, you have to make sure that you do not have any expectations or preconceived notion about it.
Although it is not unheard of for volunteers to expect their work to be somewhat enjoyable, your primary motivation should always be to help others. If you would be putting more attention on how much stipend you would be able to get by the end of the program, you might find yourself not thoroughly enjoying what volunteerism is all about. You also have to keep in mind that not all volunteer programs actually provide stipend. For example, a volunteer in Thailand who would only be spending about a week taking care of animals might not be eligible for a stipend due to the short duration of the program.
One of the many ways by which you can be sure that you make the most of your volunteering experience is to go for a program that you are actually interested in. There are a number of organizations that spearhead different types of volunteer programs. These programs typically focus on teaching certain subjects including social skills and arts and crafts, taking care of animals, taking care of the environment, and enjoining locals to socialize with one another.
You can also make your volunteer experience more meaningful by doing your research beforehand and determining whether the place you would be assigned to is something that you can readily settle in. For example, a previous volunteer in Ghana might find it already easy to settle in if he or she would be assigned to another African country. Keep in mind that you also have to take into consideration the possibility that you might be assigned in a place where there is no electricity or with humid weather.
Lastly, you have to work on your ability to communicate and give feedback to the organizers. Make sure that you coordinate with them your activities and where you would probably be after activities so that they know that they can call on you should they be short on manpower. This would also enable you to be aware of any schedule of activities that they might have.
Progressive systems of betting are not the most brilliant kind practiced for soccer. Some persons nonetheless do claim to have before generated huge profit margins. It is critical to evaluate any single ibcbet or other gaming system in order to determine the stakes involved in such practice.
The Fibonacci model provides a credible way of achieving this goal. This soccer betting strategy was published way back in 2007 by Evan Osborne and Fraqiskos Archontakis. It just involves simple betting on a given draw, whereby one can switch bets if any evidence of loss becomes apparent.
You would even then require repeating this process over up until executing a win. Only two additional as well as vital rules follow. The first one is to bet only when your probability of winning exceeds 2.618. Second is to boost your stakes at betting in a manner which abides by Fibonacci sequence.
The idea utilized here is based upon a 1989 theory. This indicates a draw presents as the most challenging prediction task for bookmarkers, as such being easily prone to exploitation. Here, it is held that any kind of win can overcome previous losses, providing you increase stakes on your part.
Practical Application of Fibonacci Strategy
Data sourced from the Premier league of 2011/12 shows that 93 draws were achieved within 380 games, hence 24.5% of games in total ended up in tie. In all the 380 ties, odds for achieving potential draw, shot above the threshold of 2.618 suggested as lower limit by Osborne and Archontakis. This implies there should, on average be a payout occurring every four games.
Such event would again mean winning stake is 5. This number is fourth Fibonacci sequence. Total bet placed each time over in this case is £10, which gives winning stake of 1, 1 plus 3 added onto the failing three stakes preceding it. Given that 4.203 represented average odds of attaining a draw across the entire season, winnings on average would then be £21.02.
The figure arises from multiplying £5 by odds involved in placing the bet. Profit would then be at £11.02 if stakes are subtracted. The theoretical profit margins involved after 380 games are played would in such case equate to £1786.7, which all originates from initial stake of only £1.
Conclusion about Effectiveness of Fibonacci System
The betting strategy employed by Fibonacci, just as sequence itself, is appreciated best as mathematical concept. Ideas do function perfectly well once provided with unlimited limits and bankroll. Examine diverse other gaming facilities like agen sbobet online.
If you are on the lookout for purchasing a home and you can afford to purchase one right now you should immediately consider purchasing a home since it is a buyer’s market. In most states across the country the housing inventory is burdened along with the interest rates being at the lowest since the great depression of 2008 allowing the buyer to take advantage. However you must strategize carefully to be able to take complete advantage so that you can purchase your dream home within your stipulated budget and in the right neighborhood. For this you must seek the services of Tallahassee Realtors.
The top 10 agents will help you begin your search for the right home after determining your budget and the monthly mortgage payments you can afford without compromising the comfort of you and your family. The Tallahassee Realtors will also help you consider the right homes which do not turn into financial nightmares after purchase. The biggest advantage of seeking the services of qualified Realtors is that they will help you look beyond the price and style of the house into various factors that must be considered which can often affect the price of the home.
The top 10 agents will help in minutely scrutinizing the kitchen and also being selective about the house depending on the type of kitchen it offers. In case the kitchen is not in order of the house you are considering you must understand that a kitchen remodel can cost you between $20,000 and $35,000. Thus you must carefully inspect the cabinetry, appliances, floorboards and counters of the kitchen before you even consider purchase of the house. You must also ensure that the appliances provided in the kitchen are energy efficient to help you save considerable amounts of money on utility bills.
After the kitchens you must also consider the bathrooms which are extremely expensive to remodel costing between $16,000 and $25,000. You must minutely scrutinize the bathrooms to ensure that there are no leaking tubs, flooring or toilets. You must also ensure that the house does not offer the concept of shared bathrooms which can be extremely uncomfortable for large families.
Another important consideration while choosing a house for purchase is roofing of the house. Replacing the entire roof of the house can cost you anything between $20,000 and $30,000. Thus always seek the advice and assistance of the Tallahassee Realtors to ensure that you purchase your dream home without it turning into a financial nightmare.
Eclipse application is essentially written in programming languages of Java like C++, Ada, C, COBOL, Perl, Python, R, PHP, Ruby, Clojure, Groovy, Scheme and Scala. The application may as well be employed for development of packages suited to software Mathematica. It also is popularly known as Eclipse ADT, or Ada Development Toolkit, Eclipse JDT for Java, Eclipse PDT for PHP and Eclipse CDT for C/C++ programming.
The original codebase in fact was obtained from VisualAge. Its default form is designed to be used by developers of Java being composed of Java Development Tools (JDT). Users can enhance application performance by employing plug-ins crafted for Eclipse java software framework. These include the development toolkits targeting alternative programming languages, which can produce as well as contribute special plug-in components.
Eclipse IDE was launched under terms of Eclipse Public License, being free open source software. This application is among the first module powered by IDE which runs under GNU class-path. As well, it operates free from hassles in Iced-Tea too. The software was begun as IBM Canada project.
Object Technology International (OTI) was the developers behind this project. Their primary goal was applying the program as Java-based substitute meant for Smalltalk platform that is sourced from the IDE-component Visual-Age family as well developed by OTI. Way back in November of 2001, an organization got created for enhancing Eclipse development as open source. Eclipse foundation was born later in January 2004.
The design OSGi Service Platform came along with release of the application being its runtime architecture. The eclipse got launched under Common Public License yet soon afterwards was relicensed under Eclipse Public License. According to Free Software Foundation, both licenses fall under the free software licenses category, even though they may be reconciled with General Public License (GPL) of GNU.
Eclipse IDE makes use of plug-ins for performance delivery within plus above runtime system. This is in contrast to many other applications, with hard coded functionality. Eclipse runtime gets support from Equinox, which is an OSGi implementation of its core architecture design.
The Eclipse IDE utilizes plug-ins to deliver performance within and above the runtime system, as opposed to variety of other applications, where functionality is hard coded. Eclipse runtime is supported by Equinox which is an implementation of OSGi core architecture design.
Plug-in architecture simply refers to elementary software composition framework. Apart from enabling broadened Eclipse IDE through various programs like C and Python, this architecture gives consent for Eclipse IDE functioning in conjunction with LaTex and other typesetting languages plus networking components such as telnet as well as database management systems.
When it is the matter of deciding about area rugs, it is considered to be one of the challenging task with which you have to make your decisions by considering large range of fabrics, colors, shapes, sizes and the exceptional world class designs. You must be well aware about the requirement of your area rugs that will depend on small range of color or design if you want them for small room and large range of designs and colors if you want to use them for large room. You must choose the right rug that should match with your furniture and interiors of the room that will draw an eye catching attention from your friends and family members. You should also take into considerations the style and the types of the rugs that are available in the market and that can best fit to your different room’s hardware flooring.
You must be well aware about the fabrics used in the manufacturing of the fabric such as rugs developed with wool, as they will be eye catching attraction but they can be very difficult to clean or hand washed. They should be selected for those areas where people will spend their time for some relaxation like dining room and sitting room. The fiber that is used in the wool rugs make them highly comfortable, softness feeling in touch and best feel when using them at your bedroom or drawing room.
The look and feel largely depends on the ways of their manufacturing such as hand hooked, hand knotted, machine made and flat weaved area rugs with best look and feel. You must make a very careful and wise decision when purchase them for your hardware floor needs. You must use a spread sheet or a rough paper in the areas where you want to use these rugs. Then you can make the best choice and be clear your rug should be at least 4 feet larger than the size of sitting room or drawing room where you want to use them. Most of the rugs are used to stop the dirt coming into your house that can be back door, garage entry point of your house or side porch areas where they can be used. Rugs areas should be very comfortable to clean and rug pads are very essential for these areas because of their non-skid types and features.
Rug pads are considered to be highly efficient to keep your rugs fixed with your hardware flooring with which you will be benefited with longer life of the rugs without the spoilage of their corner and they will feel you very cushy under your feet. The pads with enhance the features of your area rugs with its sticky features and increasing the styling the cushion of best feeling when you use them.
You can now find out reusable or disposable car mats that can be used again and again to make your car fresh all the times. You can maintain your cars all the times new and fresh till the time of its delivery to other customer. They are considered to be highly perfected with the best quality materials to ensure the protection of your car interiors. You can also protect your car carpets that you have recently cleaned with fresh shampoos. You will experience these car mats dry even the carpets always contain some moisturizer due to shampooing at most of times.
You can purchase these car mats according to your car interiors and can manufacture them at your demands. You can also place print of your company logo on these mats with some personalized messages that you have received from your customers. Most of the companies also like to paste their contact addresses and the contact details on these highly affordable car mats. In such way, you can make very useful advertisement of your company or your new business type when you customize them.
You can protect your cars very clean and tidy by using these disposable car mats. They are now more frequently used by most of the car owners due to maximum advantages gained from them. These disposable car mats can be used very ideally to protect the leather car mats from very dirty footwear and the stains of grease that are often experienced with your cars. They will ensure the maximum protection of your car interiors and your car can be saved from further dirt when they are wet.
These car mats are specially designed and developed by using the world class materials including highly processed papers, functional fabric, and specially processed plastic. These materials including paper and plastic work as an insulator that saves your car interiors from all types of dust, dirt and grease stains and can absorb all the liquids in a significant manner. The main advantage of these disposable car mats is that they can absorb all types of moisturizers in a very effective and useful manner.
The car mats are frequently used by car owners when they observe maximum possibilities of excessive dust in the internal parts of your car and they are always proved to be very effective and useful in providing your car with very cleaned and fresh car interiors. When you visit in highly deteriorating conditions such as visiting to beach and driving through snows and other hard weathers then you must use disposable car mats for best results. | <urn:uuid:66aae659-0552-48ef-92a2-4b5f5c939ffc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beautypiggy.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959353 | 7,959 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Karen Coyle posted “Walt Crawford should read the document” on May 10, 2009 on her blog, Coyle’s InFormation.
Note two things about that sentence:
- It includes a direct link to Coyle’s post.
- I include the name of Coyle’s blog correctly, spelling and all.
Now consider the first paragraph of Coyle’s post, reproduced here exactly as it appears:
In his March, 2009 Cites & Insites, Walt Crawford does a roundup of comments on the Google/AAP settlement, and gets very agitated when reviewing some of my posts. I’m used to that. But agitation tends to cancel out reason, and Walt gets some things wrong that he might have understood better if he had kept a clear head.
No link–but then, how could there be a link, since there’s no such publication as “Cites & Insites”? (I don’t regard “Insites” as a word and assuredly would not use it for an ejournal.)
The March 2009 Cites & Insights (volume 9, number 4) consists of an essay on a proposed settlement involving Google, AAP, and the Authors Guild (not just Google and AAP). I regard that essay as considerably more than “a roundup of comments.”
I’m not sure whether Ms. Coyle is used to people in general getting agitated when reviewing her posts or whether that’s specifically aimed at me, but the last sentence is unquestionably aimed at somebody named Walt Crawford.
The suggestion that I was unable to reason clearly because I was so agitated by Ms. Coyle’s comments is either insulting or patronizing; your choice. It’s also false. (I checked the indexes for Cites & Insights. Except for March 2009, every time I’ve quoted or commented on Karen Coyle it’s been entirely positive comment–so I have to assume that other people get agitated by her comments. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.)
There is an ornithologist named Walt Crawford in the Midwest, director of the World Bird Sanctuary. In the overall scheme of things, that Walt Crawford (we have the same middle initial, but I’m not a “Jr.”) is probably more important to the world than I am–but he has a somewhat lower web profile. I’m pretty sure we’re both members of the Nature Conservancy… Still, I doubt very much that St. Louis’ Walt Crawford has a publication named Cites & Insites or that he wrote about the proposed Google Book Search settlement.
Still…there’s enough wrong with Ms. Coyle’s first paragraph (in a post that appeared nearly three months after the essay in question) that it’s tempting to leave it at that. If Coyle can’t be bothered to link to the essay being criticized or name the publication properly, and if she finds it necessary to patronize me in the post title and the lead paragraph, why should I take her comments seriously? (She knows how to do links: there are two links in the post. I can only assume that the decision not to link to my essay is deliberate.)
[Why did it take me two weeks to respond? Anyone who's followed this blog or my FriendFeed feed knows: Since May 10, I've been spending nearly all my energy moving to a new house--and from May 14 through May 18, I didn't have internet access. Also, I recognized right off the bat that a hasty response was a bad idea.]
A quick exercise
Before reading this response further, you should read the commentary. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest reading the whole essay (including but not limited to “Putting on several hats” on pp. 4-5)–but since I’m being charged with agitation and loss of reason, you could focus on pages 20-25. Consider particularly the language in “Google/AAP settlement” (pp. 20-21) with its “Ping!” refrain and the right-hand column on p. 21 (from “…this is the pact with the devil” through “THIS IS EVIL“).
If, after reading the extensive quotations from Coyle and my brief interspersed comments, you find that Coyle is consistently cool and logical whereas I’ve gone off the deep end and gotten things wrong, then it may not be worth your while to read the rest of this.
But as I reread it, twice, I see no agitation on my part, and less rhetorical fervor in my notes than in some of Coyle’s commentary. Maybe Coyle wasn’t agitated in those posts, but it certainly reads that way–or is it that Coyle is allowed to be agitated but I’m not?
What of my comments does she object to?
All libraries as well-curated collections
In questioning the need for Google to digitize based on deliberate collection-building, I say “I don’t know of any big academic library or public library that’s a single disciplinary collection–or, realistically, a set of well-curated collections.” (Coyle omits the italics in “any.” No biggie.)
Coyle says “an academic library is INDEED a set of well-curated collections.”
Really? Good academic libraries include well-curated collections, but I’ll suggest that most big ones contain a lot of materials outside that set of collections, particularly for libraries using lots of standing orders and approval plans. [OK, I spent too many years at UC Berkeley. If anyone suggests to me that the Doe Library is entirely a set of well-curated collections, I'd probably snigger, much as I love and respect the library.]
But that’s a matter of definition–what constitutes “well-curated”? I could have simply taken issue with Coyle’s lead sentences in the paragraph in question:
So the main reason why Google Books is not a library is that it isn’t what we would call a “collection.” The books have not been chosen to support a particular discipline or research area…
Even if I overstated “any,” Coyle’s implicit definition of “library” here excludes an enormous number of libraries. If Coyle wants to say that “Google Books is not a research library,” I probably wouldn’t object–but “research library” and “library” are not synonymous.
I said “I don’t remember public universities admitting to substantial costs in cooperating with Google.”
Coyle says “Dan Greenstein estimated $1-2 per book”–and offers a link.
The article linked to says no such thing. It says that Greenstein estimated Google’s scanning costs at $1 or $2 per volume. Here’s the link: read it for yourself. (It’s a Daily Cal article. Depending how you read it, Greenstein might have been estimating a cost for cooperating with Google elsewhere in the article, but certainly not as quoted by Coyle–and, frankly, I can’t be sure just what the article is saying about the UC costs of the Google project. In any case, it wouldn’t have been an admission: This article appeared before UC joined the project. It would have been a forward estimate.)
I’ll stand by my statement: I don’t remember public universities admitting to substantial costs in cooperating with Google. (The first three words represent a caveat–maybe somebody somewhere said it and I don’t remember or never saw it. Greenstein did not say it, at least not as quoted from the cited article.)
Changing library use of libraries’ own material
Adding one brief paragraph to a long Coyle quotation, I asserted that nothing in the proposed agreement changes the ways libraries use their own material.
That’s a factual statement. Coyle’s criticism:
Not of their hard copy materials, but legal minds think that this changes the landscape for digitization and the use of digitized materials, even closing some options that might have been available before.
She quotes one such legal mind. Is there unanimity or overwhelming consensus? I don’t know (although I’m pretty nearly certain that there isn’t)–but it’s irrelevant to my simple, factual statement.
Privatization, profiles and abusing the language*
Coyle said in one of her original post that “The digitization of books by Google is a massive project that will result in the privatization of a public good: the contents of libraries.”
I objected to that sentence, “as I’ve taken issue consistently with the same claim by others with even higher profiles than Coyle (who are even less likely to ever admit they could be mistaken).” Coyle takes me on for not making the “higher profile” people and adds this: “But thanks for letting me know that you consider me a ‘lower profile’ person, Walt.”
What? If I say Barack Obama has a higher profile than Rick Boucher, I’m not saying Rick Boucher is “a lower profile person”–except by comparison. If you want names, there’s Brewster Kahle and Siva Vaidhyanathan–and yes, I do consider them higher profile. (Based on Coyle’s post that I’m commenting on here, however, I withdraw the parenthetical clause in my comment.)
I went on to say the “privatization” claim was “Nonsense. Sheer, utter nonsense. The libraries and contents will still be there. OCA will still be there. I’m sorry, but this one just drives me nuts: It’s demonization of the worst kind and an abuse of the language.”
There is general agreement that Google gets a monopoly…at least on out-of-print books.
Based on this “general agreement” she says the claim of monopoly “is a factual statement.” I haven’t seen any sort of unanimity on this claim, and I wasn’t aware that consensus constituted fact–but in any case, that has nothing to do with the wording I objected to: “privatization of a public good: the contents of libraries.”
Did Ansel Adams privatize the great views in Yosemite by taking photos that are so iconic they’ve made it difficult for anyone else to do as well? Obviously not; he created something by using a public good, and in doing so enhanced the public good (making Yosemite more popular).
If I go to a library, check out some books, and create something new based on those books, it would be nonsense to say I’d privatized the contents of the library. If I built an index by going through each book, and then returned the books, it would be nonsense to say I’d privatized the contents of the library.
How is Google’s project different? The books are on the shelves, at least as accessible as they were before Google scanned them…and realistically a lot more accessible.
The public good is not in any way diminished or privatized. If a possible future extension of the public good is less likely because Google has a first-mover advantage or because the language of the settlement gives them advantageous treatment, that’s a very different thing.
Preservation and longevity
Discussing issues of preservation and longevity, I said:
Won’t the fully-participating libraries have digital copies? I can’t think of institutions with better longevity.
Here’s how Coyle begins her refutation of my comment:
To begin with, only fully participating libraries will have digital copies…
Since Coyle agrees that “fully participating libraries will have digital copies,” there’s really no point in going further. (If I say “All Honda Insights are hybrids” and someone begins a critique of that statement by saying “To begin with, only Honda Insights–among Hondas–are always hybrids”–there’s little point in continuing the discussion.)
…without discrimination and without liability
Here’s one where I may be wrong. I assumed Google wouldn’t argue with the idea of carrying all scanned books.
Coyle points out that the settlement does not oblige them to do so. Since this is the single case in which she’s asserting I would have gotten it right if I’d read the full 134-page settlement, I assume this is the genesis for the post’s title.
If we assume that Google was 100% responsible for the language of the settlement (which I do not) then I’m clearly wrong here. Let’s assume that I am.
I’ve been wrong before, I’ll be wrong again. If Coyle had pointed out this single case in a more temperate manner, I’d be delighted to include that in an update to the essay as a useful correction and expansion.
There are legitimate reasons for concern about the settlement
That’s what Coyle says.
I agree. I say so repeatedly in the March 2009 Cites & Insights.
If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have produced a 30-page issue: A one-paragraph note would have been sufficient. I certainly wouldn’t have guided people back to Coyle’s posts.
Coyle doesn’t think that anything she has said is “nonsense.” Sorry, but I have to disagree. The “privatization” line is nonsense–just as it’s always been when Prof. Vaidhyanathan uses it, just as it is when Brewster Kahle uses it. It’s an abuse of the English language, and by demonizing Google it gets in the way of improving the settlement and the situation.
Frankly, if it hadn’t been for the tone of Coyle’s post and her accusation that I’d lost a clear head, I might not have written this post at all. Coyle has provided valuable service over the years in analyzing the Google Books project and the proposed settlement.
*Postscript: The comments on this post include various defenses of “privatization” as an accurate and appropriate term. They make interesting reading, and I urge readers of this post to read all of the comments–and decide for yourself. (I’ll probably prepare a commentary in a future C&I, incorporating most or all of this post and its comments.)
I still regard “privatization of public goods” as an abuse of the language as used for anything in the proposed settlement. When you create something new based on public goods, leaving the public goods intact, I can’t find that to be privatization as I understand the word.
But I should also clarify that it’s not Karen Coyle’s coinage or distinctive usage–if I’m saying it’s nonsense on her part, I’m also saying it’s nonsense on the part of Siva Vaidhyanathan, Brewster Kahle and probably quite few others. Which, to be sure, I am.
It’s a shame that an argument over books uses the language so sloppily–but “privatization of public goods” has a distinctive harshness to it that more accurate terms might not.
This postscript does not attempt to cut off the discussion of the term. I think it’s a fascinating discussion. Do note that I regard comments here to be bound by the same CC license as the blog itself, meaning I can (and will) quote them in their entirety in Cites & Insights–and, of course, that anyone else can quote them for noncommercial use. | <urn:uuid:03fb5fc4-2fc9-44dd-8a87-098567b1066b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://walt.lishost.org/2009/05/responding-as-politely-as-possible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953345 | 3,444 | 1.578125 | 2 |
There are some issues involving installations in the National Electrical Code (NEC) that regularly generate considerable misunderstanding for installers, inspectors and engineers; recently, I was giving a workshop on the changes in the 2005 NEC, and as I was covering the change in Section 230.40, Exception No. 1, an attendee stated that a service drop or lateral could only supply one set of service-entrance conductors. He stated, furthermore, that the service could only have a maximum of six service disconnects, and all of these service disconnects must be grouped in one location. He now has a better understanding of the intricacies of the NEC on this issue, but I thought this subject was interesting enough to warrant another article and further explanation.
Before the number of service-entrance conductor sets and the number of installable service disconnects, a designer, plans reviewer or inspector must first determine the layout of the structure or building and whether there are any structural fire walls within the building. The source of this information is whatever building code is being enforced in that particular area. For example, a building with a four-hour fire wall built into the structure could be considered two separate buildings with a service for each building. It is interesting to note that each building can normally be supplied by only one service. However, Sections 230.2(A) through (D) permit the installation of additional services under certain conditions.
Section 230.40 states that each service drop or service lateral shall supply only one set of service-entrance conductors. However, a single service drop or lateral could supply more than one service on a single building where permission for multiple services are given in Section 230.2(A) through (D). Based on Section 230.71(A), each service is permitted to have up to six service-disconnecting means. For example, if three services are installed on a building, each service could have up to six disconnecting means for a total of 18 disconnects. If each service is supplied by the one set of service-entrance conductors, all 18 of these service disconnects could be at one location. Remember, Section 230.71(A) permits up to six service-disconnecting means for each service. It further states there shall be not more than six sets of disconnecting means per service grouped in any one location. Each service could be supplying power for a single occupant or for multiple occupants, but remember, permission for multiple services must be granted by one of the conditions provided in 230.2(A) through (D).
Now, let’s look at a situation where a building has multiple occupants. Based on 230.2(B), each occupant would be permitted to have their own service—if special permission is granted by written consent of the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)—where there is no available space for the service equipment to be accessible to all occupants. Section 230.40, Exception No. 1, would also permit one service to be installed with a set of service-entrance conductors run to each occupancy or group of occupancies. Multiple meters could be installed at the service drop or lateral location with the service-entrance conductors run on the outside of the building and supplying each different occupant. Now the number of service-disconnecting means for this installation becomes an issue. If the disconnects are mounted on the outside of the building, then Section 230.72 requires the two to six disconnects permitted in 230.71 to be grouped in one location.
Where the service-entrance conductors enter into each occupancy before terminating at the service-disconnecting means, then Section 230.71(A) permits the service-disconnecting means for each set of service-entrance conductors permitted by 230.40, Exception No. 1, to consist of not more than six switches or sets of circuit breakers. Section 230.72 would then require each of these six sets of service-disconnecting means to be grouped at one location within that occupancy.
This particular exception has been in the NEC since at least the 1946 NEC. Section 1807 of the 1946 NEC permitted, by special permission, more than one set of service-drop conductors in a multi-occupancy building where there was no available space for service equipment accessible to all occupants. This exception permitted the occupant to have access to their own service-disconnecting means. However, any multiple-occupancy building that did not have an individual occupancy above the second floor could have the service-entrance conductors run to each occupancy and have up to six switches or circuit breakers at that location.
Permission for installations for service-entrance conductors to each occupant is a long-standing rule, but check with the utility company and the local AHJ before designing and installing a service under these conditions. | <urn:uuid:12bd0b41-e14e-41a8-acfc-563ea4e4c2ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecmag.com/section/codes-standards/service-entrance?qt-issues_block=0 | 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 | 0.952815 | 990 | 1.710938 | 2 |
A screenshot from the "Make me Asian" app page in the Google Play store. The app is no longer available.
"Make Me Asian," a smartphone app that drew the ire of Asian-American activists for what they say are stereotypical depictions, is no longer available on the Google Play Store.
The "Make Me Asian" app let users alter photos to turn faces into stereotypical Asian caricatures —- think Fu Manchu-style mustaches and rice paddy hats. Its creator, "KimberyDeiss," developed similar apps, like Make Me Indian, Make Me Russian, Make Me Frankenstein and Make Me Fat. Those apps are no longer available, either, and KimberyDeiss's Google Play profile has been deleted.
Google has not responded to requests for comment, and it is unclear why the apps were removed. But Peter Chin, a pastor in Washington, D.C., who started a petition on Change.org calling for Google to stop selling the Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian apps, says he is pleased.
"I am deeply thankful to those who realized the danger of these stereotypes entering the mainstream and spoke out against this app," Chin tells us. "But I am also appreciative of Google, who listened to our concerns and acted accordingly."
Earlier this week, the online activist group 18 Million Rising started a Twitter campaign with a hashtag, #makemeracist, aimed at getting Google to remove the apps.
Members of the group and their Twitter followers tweeted the hashtag at Asian-American celebrities, such as actors Aziz Ansari Mindy Kaling, to ask for their help in shutting down the apps.
In a recent conversation with NPR's Allison Keyes, columnist Jeff Yang of The Wall Street Journal said he wasn't surprised that the app didn't raise the sort of objections that apps about other ethnic groups might have.
"There is less inherent social and political power associated with these groups," he said, so the consequences often aren't as serious "if you parody, satire or mock or offend these communities."
Gene Demby is a new NPR blogger who will be part of an initiative focusing on race, ethnicity and culture. You can follow him on Twitter at @GeeDee215. | <urn:uuid:3f7f6ddd-15bc-4b3c-b772-6855f85a696a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/npr1358445018-Make-Me-Asian-App-Removed-From-Google-Play-Store.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948956 | 454 | 1.53125 | 2 |
What every Louiville fan wants, what every Tennessee fan hates, talking about every player like family, reciting statistics from teams that played before you were born, preparing for the Final Four more than a year in advance, following recruiting statistics from kids in middle school, an endless line in the bitter cold in front of Rupp arena, the staggering amount of traveling fans to any city in the Union, a sweet, soft, southern, thrill, something that can get in your blood and turn it blue, a culture so deeply entrenched within an idea that only jerseys hanging from the rafters can define it, and all of this originating in Lexington, Kentucky, but found worldwide in Big Blue faithful...Camelot, King Arthur's Court, Rome.
The word basketball cannot exist without the state of Kentucky. Kentucky Basketball is to basketball what King Arthur is to Camelot
We live it. It's going into every season knowing that your team will be in the tournament. It's the illustrious history and tradition of a program that has won more games than any other. It's the legendary Adolph Rupp and his 876 wins, third all time. It's knowing that Duke's "tradition" is a joke and that Rick Pitino is a traitor for coaching Louisville. It's seven national titles and knowing that while other schools only dream of them, we expect them. It's Kentucky Basketball!
Kentucky basketball is the greatest thing on earth | <urn:uuid:4f5d5065-880a-4f84-8242-018811fcb042> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kentucky%20Basketball&defid=3998268 | 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 | 0.960622 | 294 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Yikes. All this talk about the future of books and the future of ebooks. Will it be like the Kindle? Will it be like the iPad?
The book of the future is already here. It’s been here for about 15 years. It’s called The Web.
That’s taking books as the medium by which we develop, preserve, and communicate ideas and knowledge. The Web is already that book — distributed, linked, messy, unstable, self-contradictory, bottom up and top down, never done, unsettled and unsettling, by us and of us. The book of the future has a trillion pages and trillions of links, and is only getting started.
If, however, you mean by “book” a bounded stretch of an authorial monologue, we have plenty of those on the Web, and some have great value. But they now get their value by being linked into the roiling universe of their peers.
The book of the future isn’t on the Web; it is the Web. | <urn:uuid:5dc45c9c-0c98-40b2-8635-21fb1d6fd04d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/2010/04/02/2b2k-the-book-of-the-future-has-arrived/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963137 | 221 | 1.515625 | 2 |
September 3, 2007
California sentencing commission complications
This article from the Sacramento Bee, entitled "Doubts on sentencing plans: Governor isn't likely to sign either of two bills creating panels, aide says," highlights that a sentencing commission is still not a certainty in California. Here are the basics:
With the legislative session heading into the home stretch, an ambitious plan to overhaul California's criminal sentencing structure is facing dim prospects in the Governor's Office. Two bills are circulating in the Legislature that would create a California sentencing commission with the ability to change the length of prison terms. But a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested it is highly unlikely that either commission bill would get signed into law.
"We're open to debate, but the governor has serious reservations about what's being proposed in the Legislature," Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said in an interview. "He thinks that final authority (on sentencing laws) should be with elected officials who are accountable to the people."
State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, wrote one of two sentencing commission bills now pending in the Capitol and the one that legislative staffers believe has the best chance of making it to the governor's desk. She said forming a sentencing commission represents perhaps the state's last and best hope to prevent a specially empaneled three-judge federal court from slamming a population cap on California's massively overcrowded prison system.
September 3, 2007 at 10:25 AM | Permalink
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It's one thing to have a sentencing commission that studies, make recommendations, or even establishes guidelines within legislatively determined limits. It is quite another to have a commission for the purpose of preventing the Great Unwashed from getting their filthy little fingers on sentencing policy and reserving those decisions to the Philosopher Kings of the Ivory Tower. Romero's bill should be defeated, but if it passes the Governator should veto it.
Posted by: Kent Scheidegger | Sep 3, 2007 11:45:25 AM
"It is quite another to have a commission for the purpose of preventing the Great Unwashed from getting their filthy little fingers on sentencing policy and reserving those decisions to the Philosopher Kings of the Ivory Tower."
I would agree that there are two very different approaches to the level of authority granted to a sentencing commission, but I think your comment unfairly characterizes those who serve on them as making some sort of power grab by academia.
Sentencing commissions don't create themselves, so the Philosopher Kings appointed to them haven't exactly staged a coup. It's equally valid with your comment to say that a sentencing commission with broad authority (i.e. rulemaking-level authority over sentencing that requires a legislative override to prevent from taking effect) is a method for legislators - the folks who are supposed to act as those fingers of the 'Great Unwashed' - to dodge the political consequences of revising sentencing laws. To stick with your metaphor - the people's representatives create commissions so they can avoid enacting sentencing laws with the legislators' own fingerprints in the text.
You get a sentencing commission because you have a capacity problem in your prisons (whatever our other, incidental goals are, like reducing undesirable disparity). The only ways out of that capacity problem are to build more prisons, let some folks out, put fewer in, or shorten the duration for which you put folks in for some crimes. A sentencing commission gets created by the representatives of the people when those same representatives can't find the money to do the first and don't want to take the election-year heat for doing any of the other three.
That said, I infer from your comment that you prefer the advisory model of a sentencing commission, which leaves the real decision-making authority in the hands of the people's representatives. I agree. I like that one better, too. I just don't see the value in attacking the folks who serve on the other versions by imputing to them a snobbish disrespect for their fellow citizens.
Posted by: | Sep 4, 2007 10:33:14 AM
"It's equally valid with your comment to say that a sentencing commission with broad authority ... is a method for legislators - the folks who are supposed to act as those fingers of the 'Great Unwashed' - to dodge the political consequences of revising sentencing laws."
That is not only equally valid, it is exactly what I meant. My comment was directed at Sen. Romero and her ilk.
Posted by: Kent Scheidegger | Sep 4, 2007 2:20:11 PM | <urn:uuid:c799b9be-408d-4f6a-a09d-8c37f3b874ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2007/09/california-sent.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95386 | 943 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, also known as E-PARASITE) has been roundly condemned by a wide range of tech companies, consumer groups, digital rights advocacy organizations, and members of Congress concerned about the havoc the bill could wreak on both the First Amendment and the US’s international standing. At the same time, however, there’s been recognition that SOPA’s goal — namely, preventing offshore groups from profiting from the sale of ill-gotten digital goods — is a valid one.
Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) have therefore teamed up to sponsor the Online Protection and ENforcement of Digital Trade Act, or OPEN. Like SOPA, OPEN is meant to combat digital piracy and widescale distribution by limiting the ability of said pirates to profit from their actions. Unlike SOPA, it treats such violations as trade disputes rather than criminal actions.
The new bill would require rightsholders to submit a complaint to the International Trade Commission and limits the type and nature of relief provided. While payment providers would still be required to cut off accounts and US ad services could no longer do business with the company, search engines would not be required to de-list content and no site blocks would be enacted.
Rightsholders would also lose the ability to unilaterally begin actions against companies without warning or prior notification and would be required to actually make a case and demonstrate that the site in question was infringing on their property. The MPAA hates it. Michael O’Leary, VP of Global Policy and External Affairs for the MPAA, blasted the legislation in a recent blog post. ” it [the legislation]… allows companies profiting from online piracy to advocate for foreign rogue websites against rightful American copyright holders. It even allows notification to some of these companies if they want to help advocate for rogue websites.”
That’s called filing an amicus, or “friend of the court” brief; it’s fairly common in cases and investigations. Who are these companies advocating for rogue websites? That’s Google. According to Lamar Smith, one of the chief sponsors and advocates of SOPA, Google’s position against the bill is purely self-serving. Writing in the National Review last week, Smith stated: ”Google recently paid a half billion dollars to settle a criminal case because of the search-engine giant’s active promotion of rogue foreign pharmacies that sold counterfeit and illegal drugs to U.S. patients.”
According to O’Leary, the bill’s other major problems are that the ITC is a lousy forum for handling such issues (it takes too long and is supposedly too friendly with technology companies) and it doesn’t require search engines to censor results for allegedly infringing sites.
It’s hard to see how the two sides of this issue can come to an agreement. The MPAA dislikes OPEN because it doesn’t give the organization the extra-judicial authority to steamroll any site it pleases, and unilaterally destroy its access to income, search traffic, and advertising without the need for an investigation. Those are precisely the reasons why SOPA in its current form is unpalatable — and there’s precious little that can be done to fix it. | <urn:uuid:b910141e-63eb-4a74-8542-ab4a61ca655d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://suryarpraveen.wordpress.com/tag/websites/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948344 | 687 | 1.710938 | 2 |
(written from a Production point of view)
Charles C. "Charlie" Washburn (1 May 1938 – 13 April 2012; age 73) was an assistant director who worked on Star Trek: The Original Series and the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Lt. Washburn, portrayed by Richard Compton in the episode "The Doomsday Machine", was named after him.
Washburn left college in Memphis with a degree in Business Major. Some years later he went to school again in Milwaukee, feeling that writing ads was exciting for him. There he discovered directing. The following years he moved to New York and Los Angeles. In Hollywood he got into an apprentice program. Washburn is the first African-American who applied, and then graduated from the Director Guild of America (DGA)'s trainee program. His work on The Original Series was Washburn's first job following his apprenticeship. Later people nicknamed him "Charlie Star Trek" because of his association with the now legendary series.
Washburn was interviewed in the fan-magazine "Inside Star Trek", issue 9, March 1969 and explained that there were two assistant directors on the production of The Original Series and that it was among his duties to prepare the schooting schedule, creating the call sheets, releasing the calls for the actors, and hire and pay the background extras with the help of Independent Casting.
Washburn's first job following his time on Star Trek was the part of the second assistant director on adventure movie Skullduggery (1970) on which he also appeared as a Papuan. The film also featured Trek actors Roger C. Carmel and Booker Bradshaw. The following years he worked as assistant director on the comedy series The Bill Cosby Show (1969-1971), the drama Brother John (1971, directed by James Goldstone), the television science fiction film Earth II (1971, with Gary Lockwood and Mariette Hartley), the crime drama Melinda (1972), the music drama Lady Sings the Blues (1972), the documentary Wattstax (1973), the comedy Uptown Saturday Night (1974), the television series Vega$ (1978-1979), and the television drama Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige (1981, directed by Richard Colla).
Beside his credits Washburn appeared as a background actor in the crime thriller Dirty Harry (1971), was the executive in charge of production on The Six Million Dollar Man episode "Bigfoot V" (1977), and worked as unit production manager on the comedy Bustin' Loose (1981, set decoration by John M. Dwyer).
Around 1986, Washburn considered writing a book about his experiences in television, especially regarding his work on Star Trek. However, the book never realized. In that year though, he has submitted a feature article to the magazine Starlog (issue 112), detailing his career. He had also worked with Star Trek alumni Rex Holman and was instrumental in casting him as Morgan Earp for the third season episode "Spectre of the Gun", after the original actor cast was fired.
In 1987, Washburn was among the production staff members from The Original Series, whom Gene Roddenberry recruited for Star Trek: The Next Generation. He worked as a First Assistant Director on the first season of the new series.
In 2007, Washburn joined the filming of the fan production Star Trek: New Voyages and worked as first assistant director on David Gerrold's double episode "Blood and Fire" which was released in 2008 and 2009. Beside writer and director Gerrold, the two episodes also featured Trek alumni Daren Dochterman, Bill Blair, Leslie Hoffman, Fred Steiner, Ronald B. Moore, Denise Crosby, and John Carrigan.
He died of kidney disease on 13 April, 2012 in his native Memphis.
Star Trek credits
(This list is currently incomplete.)
- Charles Washburn, From the Notes of "Charlie Star Trek", Starlog, issue 112, 1986, pp. 69-73 | <urn:uuid:6a50f56a-87cf-4a2a-8ee8-d967ca2fbf73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Charles_Washburn?oldid=1463840 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974769 | 836 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Graduating seniors are famous for pulling pranks to commemorate their final days of high school, but students at Kenowa Hills High School in Michigan weren't interested in the usual silly hijinks or immature escapades that often end in suspension or police involvement.
So rather than do something that would bring shame upon their school's name, Kenowa High's seniors decided to put their pride in their school on full display by organizing a bicycle ride through the city of Walker to their school.
About 60 students, about one-third of the senior class, took part in the bike ride on Tuesday. They had organized a police escort beforehand, and the city's mayor, Rob VerHeulen, traveled in the procession in a police car and even handed out doughnuts.
A good time was had by all, except for school Principal Katharine Pennington. Apparently dismayed at not having been informed about the event, Pennington suspended the participants for the day, forbade them from participating in today's senior walk - an annual tradition - and said they could potentially not walk during their graduation next week, Rachel Nicks, the mother of one of the participating students, told ABC News.
Nicks said she was aware of the biking plan and had given her 17-year-old honor student son, Cody, her full approval. Shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday, he called her to say he'd been suspended.
"And I said 'What did you do?' And he said, 'I didn't do anything. They're suspending me for riding the bikes. We're all being suspended,'" Nicks told ABCNews.com
She was outraged, as were many other parents who showed up at a scheduled school board meeting Tuesday night.
"The disruption to the classroom, the disruption to the school day, was not these kids," Keri Whip, a parent of one of the bike riding participants, told the board. "It was the principal."
Pennington did not attend the meeting. Nicks said she believes the principal overreacted, adding that when she talked to the woman at the school on Tuesday she seemed upset, but was standing by her ruling.
According to a report by 24 Hour News 8, Pennington said the bike ride put the students in danger, tied up traffic and caused school staffers to be late for work.
Nicks said the students were escorted by police. She said she'd heard no complaints from people about being tied up in traffic, and said teachers should have already been at school by the time the ride was under way.
"It just doesn't make any sense," she said. "They did not impede traffic. The police department would have dispersed that. Give me a break. These are good students. These are not bad students."
Some of the students who were sent home were to have taken final exams that day.
The school has since backpedaled on the punishment. The students' senior walk will take place next week, the day's absence won't be counted against them, and those who missed exams will be allowed to retake them, 24 Hour News 8 also reported.
Neither Pennington nor school district superintendent Gerald Hopkins returned calls left for them by ABCNews.com on Tuesday. According to 24 Hour News 8, Hopkins said he would have supported the event if he had known about it beforehand.
Sabrena Hall, 18, said she was surprised by the principal's reaction.
"We didn't make it out to be a prank. It was more made out to be a celebration of our school and our pride for our school," she said, adding that the students had banners and had been singing the school's fight song during the ride. "We just wanted to basically have one last hurrah with our class and we thought a safe and respectable way would be to ride our bikes. So we got the police involved just to make sure we wouldn't get in trouble."
"We all thought she might be more proud of us that we set something like this up, that we were showing pride for our school," she said. | <urn:uuid:25c72d57-df94-4f1f-9652-b3d2a353ad9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/hs-seniors-suspended-celebratory-bike-ride-122238422--abc-news-topstories.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991227 | 834 | 1.523438 | 2 |
You have arrived at the Ultimate Pond Resource. My Name is Paul Gettis and I have been a pond builder for many years. My goal is to share my experience with you so I can point in the right direction with your pond and watergardening endeavours.
As well, throughout the rest of the site you will find Pond Tutorials, Pond School and Frequently asked questions in the industry. Please browse the site at your leisure.
There is something MAGICAL about the soothing sound of fresh water trickling over spill stones and winding its way through your very own backyard…..
Ponds and waterfalls have been built for hundreds of years, only recently has the technology started to change so that it is easy for anyone install. The sound of running water is truly a soothing experience.
Water gardening is an art in which people who have had a good experience will never again own a house without one. On the other hand, people with a bad experience in water gardening will probably never get another again. People have good or bad experience depending on their expectations and needs.
Understanding your OWN PERSONALITY and what you want out of your feature is essential to having a successful project.
The next step is to educate yourself. We have training and experience that can help absolutely anyone get set up when it comes to creating the water garden experience that they deserve.
First order of business when deciding what type of water feature you should get in your pond………..To pond or not to pond? that is the question:
Ponds are great but have a bit of a bad reputation. People associate them with maintenance. A properly balanced pond will require a little maintenance, but not much if one finds the right balance for their system.
The main reason why a pond is better than a pond less waterfall is a simple word: Ecosystem. By having a balanced pond in your yard, one will create a ripe ground for all kinds of fish, birds, insects and plants.
What is better than the sound of water combined with a community of daily visitors from nature who live and thrive off of your creation in your backyard living space? Isn’t that is why we build these things anyways? to get in touch with nature, our source of everything we need to survive.
The only drawback is the ‘little’ maintenance part. This is the part where you have to figure yourself out to see if you are a good fit for a pond. It isn’t hard work that makes your pond successful; it is having understanding of your system. It can be an experiment to get your water garden where you want to be as every climate is different, thereby making every micro ecosystem different. A pond is like a fine wine, it ages with time, as you establish this system. As time goes on, the pond requires less attention. Secondly, if you have kids, you may not want a pond due to the fact that there is water that is generally two to three feet deep…………what to do?
A pond less waterfall can be built so that the water is never more than 1 to 2 inches of water depth, making it safe for you one’s while allowing one to enjoy the cool sound of running water. As well, you don’t have to worry about finding that right balance in your ecosystem as the constant running water prevents algae issues, for the most part. It is generally the waterfall part of any water garden that people find the most beautiful anyways. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and decide on the option that will serve you, your family and your existing space in the most beneficial way possible. | <urn:uuid:014043fc-707b-45af-a65c-7c5fdb3fe8fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pondscapes.org/index.php/index.php/index.php/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964037 | 739 | 1.820313 | 2 |
In an effort to appease critics he said airlines using the new runway would be required to use the newest, least-polluting aircraft.
He told MPs the government was satisfied environmental targets could be met, as it would put an initial cap on additional flights from the new runway of 125,000 a year, would ensure new slots were "green slots" used by only the "cleanest planes" and would set a new target on aircraft emissions - that they would be lower in 2050 than in 2005.
"Taken together this gives us the toughest climate change regime for aviation of any country in the world," he told MPs.
He also announced he would set up a company to look into creating a high-speed rail line between London and Scotland - adding there was a "strong case" for a new high speed rail hub at Heathrow.
A feasibility study carried out in 2007 concluded that this could cost up to £30bn.
Mr Hoon also announced plans to spend up to £6bn increasing motorway capacity across the country, through widening and allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder at busy times.
But he ruled out bringing in "mixed mode" use of runways - ending the current system where planes land on one runway until 3pm then the other for the rest of the day to give residents a break from noise.
However, he said the Cranford agreement, which limits planes taking off to the east of the airport, would end, which he said would benefit Windsor to the west of the airport and Hatton and North Feltham to the east.
He told MPs Heathrow was "our most important international gateway".
"It connects us with the growth markets of the future - essential for every great trading nation," he told MPs.
"But for too long it has operated at full capacity, losing ground to international hub airports in other countries and with relatively minor problems causing severe delays to passengers."
He said the construction of the new runway alone would create up to 60,000 jobs and would ensure "Britain remains a place where the world can come to do business".
The debate was halted when John McDonnell, whose constituency includes Heathrow, shouted "disgrace" as the transport secretary said MPs would not get a vote on the decision.
After marching from the backbenches to the despatch box he picked up the ceremonial mace and placed it on an MPs' bench - he refused requests to end his protest, was ordered out of the Commons and suspended for a week.
The government has long argued, in principle, that it is in favour of the scheme, subject to pollution limits and access concerns.
But there has been deep unease within Labour ranks, with several cabinet members reported to be unconvinced and more than 50 Labour MPs openly opposed.
At a press conference in Berlin ahead of the Commons statement, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wanted to "protect the economic future of the country while, at the same time, meeting the very tough environmental conditions we have set ourselves".
It is at risk and if it continues to decline, then the consequences for west London and the Thames Valley will be very, very serious indeed
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers told BBC Radio 4's Today any government environmental promises would be shown "to not be worth the paper they are written on" and said her party would cancel the project if they win the next general election.
In the Commons she said: "This is a bleak day for our environment and for all those of us who care about safeguarding it."
The Liberal Democrats also oppose the third runway and have urged ministers to invest in high-speed rail links instead.
Their spokeswoman, Susan Kramer, told the BBC the arguments in favour of expansion were "glib" and south west London would become a "pretty miserable" place to live.
"There's this conventional wisdom amongst business that you must grow the airport ... it just isn't held up by the reality. Actually Heathrow has been serving fewer destinations over the last ten years."
The statement to MPs marks the start of the planning process which would be a lengthy one, even without the opposition and legal challenges expected.
Work on a new runway is unlikely to start until 2015 and it is not expected to be operational for at least a decade.
About 700 homes will have to be demolished to make way for the runway, which will increase the number of flights using Heathrow from about 480,000 a year now to 702,000 by 2030.
Environmental campaigners say the decision leaves the government's legal commitment to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 in tatters.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC the plans represented "constrained expansion" with strict rules on air quality and noise.
But Greenpeace director John Sauven said: "If Gordon Brown thinks this is a green runway then he must be colour-blind.
"This package is designed to patch up a cabinet split and will do very little to reduce the huge environmental impact of an expanded Heathrow, which will now become the single biggest emitter of carbon-dioxide in the country."
Barbara Reid, spokeswoman for an all-party group of local authorities, said they were discussing mounting a legal challenge against the government.
"We are talking to our lawyers," she added.
Supporters of the runway say the UK economy will lose business to the rest of Europe if it does not go ahead, pointing out that rival airports such as Paris and Amsterdam already have at least four runways.
Former Labour MP Lord Soley, campaign director of Future Heathrow, which represents groups in favour of expanding the airport, said Heathrow brought jobs and "prosperity" to west London and the Thames Valley that was "at risk".
The boss of British Airways, Willie Walsh, said he was "very pleased" by the decision and welcomed the fact the scheme would be subject to "very strict environmental conditions".
Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: "This approach to expanding Heathrow's capacity makes real sense. It will create the integrated transport system necessary for an economy that needs to grow in an environmentally sustainable fashion."
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. | <urn:uuid:ea2a4b4b-261e-4ea9-8c49-51642b5cd846> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7829676.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965432 | 1,334 | 1.703125 | 2 |
- Faith & Family
It’s been 17 months since the first of eight police-involved shootings occurred in Miami’s Black communities of Liberty City, Overtown and Little Haiti. Some may dispute the use of the term “Black” when describing the victims, as some were born in America while others were Haitian natives. But it’s doubtful that as guns were drawn or even in the aftermath when reports were prepared, that many police officers pondered much over the specific ethnic backgrounds of the deceased. Eight Black men were shot — seven died. And still only one case has been resolved, that of DeCarlos Moore. Unofficial “juries” in the hood still question the State’s finding that cleared officers of any charges since Moore was unarmed.
It’s hard to maintain faith or confidence in a police department that has recently shown how little it values the lives of Black men. But perhaps we will finally see some much-needed and long overdue change to the practices and protocol of our local law enforcement with the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct its own investigation. Officials have said they will look into allegations that officers from the City of Miami Police Department have routinely employed excessive deadly force. Guilt would mean we have some rogue, vigilante-like cops in our midst — a “few bad apples” as the saying goes. But remember that having a few bad “ones” can spoil the whole bunch. Because in jobs like law enforcement where the possibility of each day being an officer’s last, it’s easy to see why members of the “brotherhood” might tend to look the other way when one or more of them doesn’t follow the law while seeking to apprehend suspected criminals. Still, in the U.S. we are all presumed innocent until proven guilty — that extends to Black men too. We realize that being a police officer is a dangerous profession but it is a chosen career. One realizes and accepts the risks when placing that badge on their chest. At the same time, there is a code of ethics to which officers are sworn. And the last time we looked, that code guaranteed all citizens to be treated fairly and humanely. Black men in Miami have become the victims of shoot first and ask later far too often by our men and women in blue. Let’s hope the Justice Department brings swift and significant change so that the majority of good officers are not forced to decide between following bad cops and doing the right thing. | <urn:uuid:0c39563e-2237-4dc7-a5a1-91b2df22cd15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://miamitimesonline.com/how-much-is-a-black-man%E2%80%99s-life-worth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974658 | 521 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Ladera Vista Junior High School is one of three junior high schools in the Fullerton Elementary School District. We are located in the eastern section of our district, educating students in seventh and eighth grade. All teachers are NCLB compliant and have earned a California Teaching Credential. Although FSD is an open enrollment district, our traditional elementary feeder schools are: Acacia Elementary, Commonwealth Elementary, Hermosa Drive Elementary, Maple Elementary, Raymond Elementary and Rolling Hills Elementary. Our eighth grade graduates attend Troy High School, Fullerton High School or Sunny Hills High School in the Fullerton Joint High School District.
The emblem of our school is the Spartan. The Spartan represents the pride that our staff and students have in self, family, school, and community. Our school colors are blue and white.
LV has always been known for its outstanding electives program. Currently, there are more than 30 different electives offered, ranging in following categories: Visual & Performing Arts, Consumer Science (Foods), Technology, Foreign Language, Weight Training, ASB/Leadership and Student Aides. For more information, refer to our Online Course Catalog. Students can also become part of the F.A.M.E./Technology Program.
Students are also given a variety of opportunities to be involved in after school activities. Some of these activities include: After School Athletics (Boys & Girls Soccer, Boys & Girls Basketball, Co-ed Softball, Boys and Girls Track and Field and Co-ed Volleyball), After School Program (ASP), Choir Concerts, Club Live (hosted by the ASP), Dance Performances, Intermediate, Advanced and Jazz Band Concerts, LV Productions and Science Olympiad.
The LV campus has many different facilities to provide students with a well-rounded junior high school experience. These include a cooking room with 6 complete kitchens, a band room, an art room, a computer lab and mobile laptop carts with Apple computers and the latest software, a Media Center with 15 online Apple computer research stations, an air conditioned Multipurpose Room (MPR), indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a baseball/softball field, tennis courts, a one-acre multipurpose PE field, and last, but least, a brand new (opened in 2006) - State of the Art - Gymnasium/Performance Center.
LV is the only school in the district that offers its students such a multitude of opportunities! | <urn:uuid:1fd1b9b4-eff5-4939-83bd-f04d82b0d22d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fsd.k12.ca.us/laderavista/school_profile.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949336 | 501 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Following is an article on ‘Why College Graduates Should Seriously Consider Retail as a Career’. I published this article earlier in the year. I feel this is timely. I also feel the industry must do more to boost its reputation within the academic community.
Plummer & Associates, a Retail Industry Expert Offers The Following Advice to Students Entering Careers in Retail…
John Plummer, Plummer & Associates
Plummer & Associates, a Retail Industry Expert describes why Retail is now an attractive career for college graduates.
With over 40 years experience in human resources management and search consulting, John Plummer has developed a highly consultative approach to executive recruiting and as a human resources executive, he held senior management positions with major retailers.
John Plummer currently is President, Plummer & Associates, a New Canaan, Connecticut, based boutique executive search consulting firm which specializes in recruiting senior officers for the retail industry. Over the years, he has recruited teams for growth retailers (Staples, Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Hot Topic!, Chipotle, Jamba Juice, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrances, The North Face, and many more of the retailers) that have changed the retail landscape. Previously, he had served as a human resources executive for divisions of Federated Department Stores, Fedmart*, and Mervyn’s. He graduated with his MBA degree in 1968 from the University of Southern California and also earned his BA in economics from USC.
“Many years ago when I graduated with an MBA degree, I joined Bullock’s Department Stores in Los Angeles where I had already been working on a part-time basis. I quickly heard from Professors and peers that I had made the wrong choice. They said the industry was not sophisticated enough to use my newly learned tools nor would retail offer the challenges needed. Being contrary, I decided to stay. Of course, being paid more than anyone else in his class comforted him a great deal. “
Well, things have changed. Retail is now a highly complex and sophisticated industry offering incredible challenges and the opportunity to put your new skills to work. When John Plummer joined retail, the organizations were primarily run by owning families and few executives were college educated and most were tactical in orientation. Now, the leaders of the top retail organizations are well-educated with over 85 % having college degrees(1) and 23% having MBA degrees(1). As retail continues to grow Plummer & Associates expects the percentage with college degrees will approach 100% and that the percentage with MBA degrees will be close behind.
What has changed….
First, the industry has consolidated from mostly family-owned and managed regional chains into large corporations operating nationwide and globally.
Secondly, these large businesses are in a highly competitive environment and require sophisticated solutions to strengthen the relationship with the consumer, to manage inventories effectively, to effectively utilize operating and capital expenditures, and to build management, systems, and other infrastructure to support growth and to serve the customer.
Thirdly, the industry works in an ever changing environment in which new ways to serve the customer are constantly being invented along with new ways to communicate with the customer. More importantly, the customer base needs to be better understood to seek ways to better serve the targeted customer as well as to understand consumers who could be effectively served and brought into the customer base. E-commerce has become mainstream over the past few years and opportunities through mobile-commerce are just starting to grow. Who knows what the next channel will be.
Fourthly, global growth in retail has been slow to take hold but is now a significant opportunity. For years global retail seemed to be limited to the luxury brands. Now, the food service industry is rapidly expanding on a global basis (examples: McDonalds, Yum!, Starbucks, etc). Mass merchandising is also expanding rapidly with Carrefour having stores worldwide and Wal-Mart, Staples, Best Buy, Costco, and others catching up. This growth demands executives who have the tools to be effective in different cultures with differing ground-rules.
Lastly, the industry is led by executives who know that highly talented executives are required to lead the businesses going forward. These executives have organized the business so that college graduates can quickly assume roles with responsibilities and require intellectual rigor and offer greater satisfaction.
Market Research – The industry is learning more about how to target consumer segments and how the company can expand that customer base without negatively impacting on the relationship with the core targeted customer. The opportunities are significant for the individual who knows how to design research and who is able to interpret the information into strategies.
Advertising/Sales Promotion – This was what retail was known for and is still an important role. But, with the growing use of social media the communication with customers is changing dramatically.
Merchandising – This role is constantly evolving. Merchants no longer make decisions based upon ‘gut feel’. In the past the manufacturer had all the customer information. Retailers with sophisticated point-of-sale information now know which products best meet their customer needs. As a result, the merchant is now an interpreter of the research and sales data and is often partnering with the manufacturer in product design, quality control, and costing.
Brand Management- Retailers now know that a nameplate is no longer sufficient and that strong brand management principles are required to be consistently successful and that the brand must be carried out through all marketing materials, the store experience and the e-commerce experience. This requires that marketing be involved in store operations, store design, human resources and all other areas of the enterprise.
Store Management – Retail is a labor intensive industry regardless if it is in the food service, retail services, grocery, or fashion sectors. The industry will always need executives who can manage people effectively towards meeting customer expectations and to carry out the essence of the brand.
Operations Management – The opportunities in supply chain management are significant. The efficient movement of merchandise is critical to stay competitive.
Store Development – As retailers look for better predictors of success in store locations and store design, executives are needed with sophisticated financial modeling tools, location selection tools, and store design tools. Green tools are also highly important to reduce energy costs and carbon footprints.
Process Improvement – As with any older industry in a new innovative climate, the retail industry now requires executives who can evaluate procedures and processes starting with a fresh pad rather than looking for incremental improvements.
Accounting/Reporting – With new financial systems, the size of the accounting and reporting organizations has shrunk but opportunities exist for those who know how to work with and get the most out of financial systems.
Financial Planning & Analysis – Retailers look to the financial organization to provide the analytics and lead in the development of forecasts and budget planning. Opportunities are significant for those with strong analytical tools.
Creating Value –The role of financial executives as teachers and coaches in working with the other functions in the organization to help them understand the financial implications of their decisions is growing in importance.
Corporate Finance – Retailers require financing to support inventories all year and also require financing to support growth.
Information Technology …
Over the past few years systems have been developed for merchandising, supply chain management, financial management, and operations management. Now, systems are being built to better handle channels such as e-commerce, direct marketing, m-commerce, and shop-television. In addition, new communications are being established with social networking and media. This is creating a demand for executives with greater IT knowledge.
Human Resources …
Talent Acquisition… Because retail is people intensive, there is always a need to recruit people. More important, is recruiting top talent with the appropriate skills and style to meet the company’s objectives. Understanding new methodologies to recruit talent through social networking and other new practices, policies, and procedures is increasingly important.
Human Capital Development… Identifying talent within the organization and developing that talent to each individual’s potential is significantly important to the survival of a retailer in supporting growth and achieving brand standards throughout the organization.
Talent Retention… No good retailer can afford to lose good talent. Understanding what causes talent to leave and understanding what it takes to retain top talent is of utmost importance.
Compensation and Benefits… Retail has moved to understanding the importance of talent and retaining top talent. As a result, compensation and benefit plans are needed to provide the best return on investment.
Human Capital is no longer considered an expense. Instead, it creates a major differentiation between one retailer and all others.
Which Industry Segments Offer Opportunities
Food Service – Growth in the food service sector is significant. The best growth opportunities are in quick serve and quick casual. Look at the growth of Starbucks, Yum! (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), Chipotle’, Jamba Juice, both in the U.S. and internationally. The opportunities because of this growth are significant. Only the sit down dining sector is experiencing slow growth.
Fashion Specialty – Although the U.S. has been over-stored in fashion, the shake out due to the recession is creating new opportunities for the stronger retailers. In addition, fashion manufacturers are opening company owned retail stores.
Hard-lines Specialty – This sector has faced the most challenges during this recession. Growth has slowed for most hard-lines retailers. The growth opportunities are primarily with Home Depot, Lowes, Dick’s Sporting Goods, AutoZone, Petsmart, and similar operations.
Mass Merchandising – This group consists of Wal-Mart, Target, Carrefour, Costco, Sam’s Club, Metro and similar chains. These are sophisticated and driven retail organizations offering significant opportunities in the U.S. and globally. These retailers are also broadening their customer bases and are expanding their merchandise assortments.
Grocery – The grocery industry was caught off guard with the advent of the warehouse clubs and the entrance of mass merchandisers into the grocery categories. These retailers are fighting back through the development of better operating strategies and marketing strategies. It was just announced that almost 50% of Wal-Mart sales are from the grocery categories. At the same time, new successful concepts such as Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Whole Foods are growing rapidly.
HBA/Drug – This segment has consolidated heavily down to only a couple of major players who are highly sophisticated. They are also redesigning the business model through the addition of mini health clinics and the addition of third party drug provision services. The innovation in this segment will grow in geometric progression.
Retail Services – This is another major growth category and is a result of consumers need for services provided by a reliable brand. All you need to do is look at the growth of Geek Squad, Jiffy Lube, Jackson – Hewitt Tax Service, California Closets, Aamco, Merry Maids, just to name a few.
E-commerce, catalog, shop television, direct selling, direct marketing, m-mobile – The growth of e-commerce has taken share away from traditional catalog retail and direct selling and direct marketing channels. The emergence of multi-channel strategies and the advent of m-commerce will ensure growth in this broad sector.
New Ventures – This has always been the most exciting part of retail. Just look at the new companies that have developed within the last twenty years into industry dominance. For example, look at Starbucks, Staples, Office Depot, Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters, Amazon, PeaPod, 24 Hour Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Geek Squad, Best Buy Mobile, Jamba Juice, Chipotle’ Mexican Grill, and all the other major retailers which have evolved from a twinkle in the eye to powerhouses.
What is the most rewarding factor?
The most important feed back an executive finds in the retail industry is the customer’s response to new actions and strategies. Regardless of whether you run an entire retail organization or just a small market, you can quickly see the results of your activities. This inspires self-confidence and drives your ambition to do and try more. Nothing builds esteem like seeing your success!
How to investigate a career in retail?
Check with your placement office for when a retailer will be interviewing at your school. If retailers are not interviewing at your school, I strongly recommend you contact the senior human resources executive at the retailer you are interested in joining. A letter to that executive will get you considered for the company’s executive development program. You may find a position at a local branch at a major chain, but that usually will not offer you the opportunity to quickly move into a decision making role. | <urn:uuid:258d76d9-9782-4bc6-b932-7c821c2a0b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.plummersearch.com/blog/?tag=sears | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955016 | 2,610 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The second San Francisco Street Food Conference earlier this week brought a large room’s worth of people together in search of a recipe. No, not the ingredients for salted-caramel cupcakes or Korean tacos. The gathering addressed the perfect blend of responsible public policy, professional culinary standards, try-anything-once entrepreneurship, and community-driven small business. That last is the spécialité de la maison at conference organizer La Cocina, the SF-based incubator for low-income food entrepreneurs.I talked to two participants on Monday’s panel: “From Taco Trucks to Gastrobuses: Has American “Street Food” Fundamentally Changed?”
Lizzy Caston is a writer and economic development professional who was an early advocate of the street food scene in Portland with her Food Carts Portland and has gone on to do the same in New Orleans with New Orleans Food Trucks. I I asked her why Portland became an early center of street food culture.
“I would describe their attitude toward regulation as laissez-faire," she says. "In the 1950’s and onward, a lot of cities re-regulated to prevent what they called 'street peddlers' or mobile food vendors – part of that 1950’s urban renewal where they got rid of sidewalks and put in freeways. Portland never did that sort of thing, so it’s not so much what Portland did as what they haven’t done. If you’re on land that is zoned commercial, meaning you could put a restaurant or a home business there, and you have a business license and get the appropriate permits, which are fairly straightforward, you can have a food cart. It does not need to move every 30 or 45 minutes as it does in some cities – as long as it has axles and can be hauled away at some point, it is considered a mobile food unit.”
“Some cities are very supportive of food trucks, such as Cleveland. They’ve realized that they’re good economic development, good temporary land use for blighted spaces, they create jobs, they bring positive street use – eyes on the street. Some cities are afraid of them, there’s still a prejudice around food trucks. A place like New Orleans basically doesn’t allow them but people do them anyway. So every city is different – and that’s the issue, there is no one model. A lot of vendors will put the cart before the horse, so to speak – and go out and buy carts when what they really need to do is find out what the scene is where they want to set up. And they need to be prepared for more paperwork than they ever thought was possible.”
The brick-and-mortar restaurants in a community often complain when food trucks come to town, because they see them as unfair competition, since the trucks don’t have the same expense of rent or décor. Caston says in her experience that's not true.
“Where’s the data on this? Has anyone ever done a study on this? To my knowledge there never has been an empirical, rational study on this, and until there is, a city should not make public policy and laws based on hearsay. In economic development, there’s a term called 'complementary retail segmentation,' where businesses that are similar, but not alike, will set up next to each other. North Berkeley and the Gourmet Ghetto, for example, where you’ll have a café next to a wine bar next to a mid-range Indian buffet next to a high-end restaurant. And the idea is – and this has been empirically proven – that when you have a group of similar businesses, they’ll attract more people as a whole. They become a destination. It’s my belief, although I don’t have evidence, that food trucks fit into that mold. As long as they’re not set up directly in front of a restaurant, hogging their parking and causing a traffic problem. “
Gail Lillian can be described as a veteran of the new style of street food in the Bay Area – she’s had her Liba Falafel business for two years now. So I asked her what changes she’s seen since she started up.
“Well, I think there’s a lot more diversity of cuisine in Bay Area food trucks now, she says, "and there’s also a trend towards more prepping in kitchens and just cooking the food on the trucks when we serve it to customers."
“One of the things I do to make the truck more accessible is I take orders outside, instead of through a little window. I find that works for me because I can interact with my customers, know their names, find out about their lives, and it’s also easier (when I’m outside) for people to walk up and say “hey, what’s falafel?” There are tons of people in the Bay Area who don’t know what falafel is, so I’m really happy to give out samples and introduce people to it. It’s a really hard food to describe. I say 'it’s a ground chickpea patty with herbs and spices' – but how good does that sound, really? They follow that with a blank look, and I follow that with 'Let me give you a sample!'
Liba Falafel operates in several different cities and I asked Lillian which city bureaucracies are easiest to navigate.
“I’m not sure it’s apples to apples, but I would say San Francisco is the bulkiest process I’ve been through, the most frustrating. Emeryville was the best process and I’d say that’s because they have the luxury of being a smaller city, where I actually have the luxury of dealing directly with the chief of police and the mayor and city council. They’ve been accessible, they’ve been receptive. I was the chair of the task force that revised the ordinance and it was a fantastic experience. And then I operate in Berkeley, which is maybe somewhere in between, but I do that through Off the Grid, so a lot of that is done for me.”
Off the Grid is an event management company that organizes food truck meetups, with 5-30 vendors and live music. It serves as a one-stop shop for customers, but Lillian says it creates a community for the vendors too.
“One of the panelists was saying this morning that eating from a food truck and being in the food truck community creates a lot of intimacy and communication. Customers are doing that, vendors are doing that -- we do a lot of things in a very isolated way now as a culture, and this is a way to be together with strangers.”
- SF Street Food Festival Slideshow (Bay Area Bites)
- San Francisco Street Food Festival and Conference: Where the Twitter Set Meet the UnTwitterific (Bay Area Bites) | <urn:uuid:13c8b5b0-5c4d-47a9-91df-8e9131285de4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2011/08/25/at-san-francisco-street-food-conference-entrepeneurs-talk-about-the-biz/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96792 | 1,497 | 1.828125 | 2 |
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CPR instruction in NJ teach individual on how to revive individuals. For instance, when a single gets an accident such fire accidents, the CPR trainees can assist them out regain their breath. It is because they’ve been chocked with smoke and may not breathe any additional. CPR1st aid is cery crucial specifically to those victims who do not will need complicated medical interest. They are those who can survive by a mere CPR very first aid in NJ.
Through CPR education NJ, the students are also taught tips on how to conduct a mouth to mouth resuscitation. This is among the CPR very first aids in NJ. So as to do this, you have to be a holder of CPR Certification in NJ. Whenever you wish to perform a CPR on an adult, you need to figure out the surrounding area or scene, if it really is risk-free or not. Then inform somebody to contact the emergency line. If at each of the victim isn’t breathing, position him on his back with extreme care. Don’t twist the head, spine or neck in any way. Then sustain an open airway as you pinch the victims’ nose. Then give him two long slow breaths when keeping a seal between your mouth and his.
Right after the initial primary checks above, you’ll be able to then commence your CPR initial aid on the patient. CPR class education in NJ teaches that you simply need to only begin a CPR procedure on an individual who’s not breathing. This can be why CPR Certification in NJ is very essential. Position your hands on prime of one another on the chest with the victim, though interlacing your fingers of each hands. Then, you lean forward in such a way that your shoulders are over your hands. You may then push downwards on the chest with lots of compressions. It is best to do that till the patients chest raises.
CPR Certification in NJ is just not only meant for saving folks on the planet, but in addition might help you get a job. Most organizations are in high will need of life guards. These are people who have attended CPR classes in nj and have total information on tips on how to conserve an individual. Nevertheless, for the duration of NJ CPR instruction, people are advised to always use latex gloves and breathing masks. This is to prevent any kind of infections or transmission of diseases. In any case the breaths do not go through, you should re tilt the head in the victim and attempt once more. And you must usually use the weight of the upper physique to assist you in compressions.
6 months ago | <urn:uuid:99b344f7-8cc4-4789-9338-51bfd784c17f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vanityobscene.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948782 | 646 | 1.734375 | 2 |
If one sold a house to his fellow, neither the house's pit nor its cistern (dug into the ground and used as water reservoirs) are included in the sale, even if the seller wrote in the deed, “I am selling the depth and height of the house.”
However, to get to the cistern, the seller has to purchase the right-of-way from the buyer, in the opinion of Rabbi Akiva. According to him, the typical inclination of one who sells something is to transfer it in full and generous fashion, without reserving anything for himself. In this case, by not saying anything, he transferred the right-of-way also. The Sages disagree and say that typically the seller wants to sell no more than he has to, retaining the right to pass through the house to reach the cistern. | <urn:uuid:9e82d7d0-16b9-4ec5-8a44-a53314626a3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mkerzner.blogspot.com/2009/10/bava-batra-64-does-seller-sell-with.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981819 | 175 | 1.84375 | 2 |
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Czech president’s New Year pardon affects 161 Slovaks
17 Jan 2013 Flash News
A mass pardon to mark the New Year that was issued by Czech President Václav Klaus included 305 foreign nationals. Among these the most numerous were Slovaks, accounting for 161.
The TASR newswire wrote that the total number of convicts pardoned by Klaus was 6,330 – far more than in Slovakia, where President Ivan Gašparovič also granted a mass pardon, which affected several hundred convicts. The Slovak measure affected only five foreign nationals – two Czechs, one Hungarian, one Romanian and one prisoner from Cameroon.
The pardons reduced the overall occupancy rate of Slovakia’s prisons from 108 percent to 99 percent, TASR added. However, the prisons administration also registers 1,800 convicted people who have not yet commenced their sentence; some of these might have their convictions deleted by the mass pardon, meaning that the total number of people affected may be even higher than currently calculated.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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“Potholes in Slovak roads are neither conservative nor liberal, but they are deep and there are plenty of them!” Daniel Lipšic comments on his conservative NOVA party’s agreement with liberal former members of SaS to cooperate in the forthcoming regional elections. | <urn:uuid:4c176fc6-e705-4f01-8dc9-4b278f308422> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/48780/10/czech_presidents_new_year_pardon_affects_161_slovaks.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95359 | 325 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Not enough protest votes were received to stop a water rate hike for clients served by the Dixon-Solano Water Authority.
As a result, water rates will rise 67 percent in the first year of the increase and 10 percent in the second year.
The City needed to receive 1,348 protest votes to stop the hike, but only received 126 valid votes, according to the Vacaville Reporter:
"[The Dixon-Solano Water Authority] is operating at a structural deficit of $70,000 per year, officials have said. Revenues will pay down the organization's bills and begin building a reserve. At present, there is no money for repairs, maintenance or anything else."
Share your thoughts about the rate increase and the protest process below. | <urn:uuid:eea10028-62fe-416c-a28d-68d49ca9c58a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dixon.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/up-go-dixon-s-water-rates-share-your-thoughts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958386 | 154 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Mass. Brown tries to turn rape remark into benefit
BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is trying to turn what could be a political liability into a chance to bolster his independent image and standing with women voters.
When Missouri Republican Senate hopeful Todd Akin claimed women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape," party leaders raced to denounce the remarks.
Brown not only rejected Akin's comments, but immediately called for him to resign as the GOP's nominee.
Brown, who supports abortion rights, then sent a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, saying Republicans should accept differing view on abortion.
Brown's Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren also seized on Akin's comments, saying they're part of a Republican agenda that is harmful to women.
Warren says electing Brown would strengthen that agenda, including his opposition to a bill guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work. | <urn:uuid:6f5d5c28-8ff2-425e-8e9a-a28401b2fc85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/politics/massachusetts/12008336274770/mass-brown-tries-to-turn-rape-remark-into-benefit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966166 | 186 | 1.5 | 2 |
Every few years, a group based at Hertford College at Oxford puts together a statistical analysis of all the studies conducted to date that have looked at whether praying for sick people helps them get better (or at least stay alive).
The latest has just been published, and it contains something pretty radically new in their conclusions: the evidence is now so clear cut that they think that no more studies should be done. The book is shut. Praying for sick people simply doesn't work.
Now, the odd thing is that there haven't actually been any new studies on this since their last report, back in 2007. So why the change of heart? There are a couple of reasons.
First off, this analysis is done under the auspices of the Cochrane Collaboration, which is an international group of experts devoted to pooling together the results of clinical trials to answer medical questions with unprecedented precision. The Cochrane Collaboration sets out the guidelines for the best ways to do this.
Last year, they upgraded their guidelines, a recommended a better statistical method (technical note: they used a random effects model this time, rather than fixed effects model). The previous analysis found a hint that praying for sick people might actually help them live longer. The improved analysis squashes that idea.And the other new thing is some information on one of the studies they had previously included. This one looked not at death but the opposite: birth. The premise of the study was that people in the US, Canada and Australia prayed for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization. The result was, apparently, a doubling of the fertility rate in those couples who got prayed for - a fantastic increase.
I say 'apparently' because it turns out that the study was a fraud. Not only that, but the guy who ran the prayer groups was later jailed for an unrelated fraud. Strike one for the power of prayer.
Now, overturning the conclusions on technical grounds might make some people suspicious. Perhaps this is just a bunch of cynical scientists looking for an excuse to bury data they don't like.
But you'd be wrong. The lead author, Leanne Roberts, is not a scientist at all but in fact Chaplain of Hertford College. In previous editions of their analysis they were actually quite hopeful that they might see an effect.
All credit to them, they took a good hard look and the evidence and concluded that there was nothing there.
Roberts L, Ahmed I, Hall S, & Davison A (2009). Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2) DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000368.pub3.
This work by Tom Rees is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. | <urn:uuid:00f9c078-7043-429d-9f3d-5eba95474c67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/2009/04/its-official-praying-for-sick-people.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958482 | 578 | 1.5625 | 2 |
What’s not to love about First Lady Michelle Obama? She’s a well-educated professional, she’s a devoted mother, she’s the greatest supporter and defender of her husband, President Barack Obama, and she strives every day to be healthy and happy woman.
Celebrate great health! LIKE BlackDoctor.org on Facebook!
What are some of the top everyday things she does to help maintain a healthy life?
1. Michelle works out.
She wakes up around 4:30 every day to work out before her children wake up, doing combinations of cardio and strength moves. If she’s on the road, she tries to bring a jump rope with her, or do a pre-planned 30-minute workout involving jumping jacks and situps.
She also varies her workouts, and includes moves to maintain her flexibility, such as Pilates and yoga.
2. Michelle takes great care of her skin.
Her skin care routine is pretty basic: face cleanser and a moisturizer with SPF. She also treats herself to the occasional facial.
3. Michelle eats right, but eats fries, too. | <urn:uuid:f6b76e28-43d5-4aef-b19d-1faec2e236c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blackdoctor.org/12296/michelle-obama-health-tips/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947719 | 238 | 1.5625 | 2 |
THE INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEW WITH: John McGiffert
SUBJECT: Queen Elizabeth II's Visit to ITC
DATE: 21 May 1991
PLACE: The Institute of Texan Cultures
INTERVIEWER: Pat McGiffert
M: Uh ... Bill Black, from the State Department. And he was
telling us about all the people in San Antonio he knows ... he's
good friends with ... like Travis Bailey whom he sees out in San
Diego a lot and this kind of thing, and a number of other
people who are very good friends of his. And all of a sudden
Rick yelled over, said, "Here they are," and then they were
here, and I ... you know, you kinda aren't mentally prepared for
it, I guess. But we watched them circle around (the
flagpoles in front of the Institute) in the trolley; come up
and I saw her and looked her right in the eye, you know -
facing .. . they were coming up and I wasn't even sure it was
her. That's strange, now that I think about it, but she does
look different sitting in the trolley.
PM: Was she the first off ... she wasn't.
M: No, the Chief of Protocol was first off a slender
fellow who was leading her through everywhere.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 2
PM: Real tall and thin?
M: Yeah. He came up to me and introduced himself very
quickly and got through, and then Bill Black greeted her as
she got off and introduced her to me and then Sam
(Kirkpatrick) and Bob (Buschman), and she stuck her hand out
and shook hands and said hello, and behind them came the
(British) Ambassador (to the USA), I believe, and then one
other person I can't remember. And then nobody else,
thankfully, because I scooted out of the line and back behind
Sam. She and the Duke were standing there with Bill Black and
she and the Duke started to walk forward, and then he fell
back, and I was able to fall in right on the left hand side of
her. And I just started talking ... told her that this was the
University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures and she saw
that on the sign and mentioned that. Told her it was built in
'68 as the Texas Pavilion for the World's Fair here. She
commented about that and thought that was very interesting.
PM: Did she seem to know that before?
M: That this building was built? She didn't know anything
about this building.
PM: That there was a Fair here?
M: I don't know, but she was interested in the fact that
this had been built for that purpose. And I explained to her
that we had been a part of the university of Texas ever since.
What our role is here: dealing with divergent cultures, and
by that time, we were onto the veranda and the bagpipes had ...
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 3
M: had just begun to playoff to our right, and she was
fascinated with them. She stopped.
PM: How come they weren't playing all the time?
M: They began playing about when we were half-way in, and
she didn't seem to have noticed it, though . I guess maybe
it's such a common sound, but then I pointed it out to her as
we got to the veranda, that that was the San Antonio Bagpipes
Association ... Pipe and Drum .. . I mean, Pipes and Drums, and she
stopped and stood there and listened, really, for longer than
I thought she would - maybe 20 seconds .
And then we came on in and I continued to explain about
the building. I commented that the intro area was lined with
life-sized figures of all kinds of people, just to illustrate
immediately the diversity of Texans; that there is no
stereotype Texan. And by that time, we got down near the flag
and all the employees on the left started clapping. And she
looked and kinda waved, and then I told her that those are our
employees here. And she nodded and looked again; so they got
a double shot of her.
PM: They gave ... she gave them a wave when she came out.
M: Yeah. And then I ... we walked on and I explained to her
that this was the ... I had previously told her there were about
30 different areas on the exhibit floor, each representing
some ethnic, national, cultural, religious group, which had
come to Texas and remained and retained its identity, although
it had become Texan.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 4
M: And the first area we were coming into was the Indian or
Native American area, and she and her husband were both
interested in the ... in the prehistoric wall - the serrated
wall there . And ... and, I think, would have liked to have
stopped and seen that. She was interested in the map on the
right of the various tribes because she kinda looked back as
we went on, and when we got around the corner and started
walking toward the tepee, she asked me what tribes had been in
Texas. And I said, well, there were three, over time, had
been here. There's the Plains Indians - the Apaches, and the
Comanches also were Plains Indians. And this was ... at this
tepee we ... you know, I explained to her what the interpreter
was doing there. She stood and watched the kids for a few
minutes . I wanted to say, "Wouldn' t you like to go up and
touch one of them ... or kiss 'em, or something?" but I
remembered: no questions. That's what Black had emphasized to
us - "no touch her and no questions". (Laughter)
So we turned around then and walked slowly past the Caddo
mural and towards the Pueblo Indian mural, and she asked what
those homes had been built of. And I said mud and straw. And
then we ran into the Anglo area. I mentioned that we had some
generic exhibits such as the dental office that she saw.
And ... and she was ... did a kinda double-take at the
longhorn. And I told her, of course, we did that to recognize
our ranching heri tage and ... because it's very important to our
history, and, of course, the British were very important in
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 5
M: financially supporting some of our largest early ranches.
And she said, "Oh, yes, in the Panhandle; I understand that."
And then we walked through to the Scottish ... just before we
got to the Scottish area, I pointed out that we, we focus it
on the stone cutters who came over here, and she was very
familiar with that, having just been to Austin.
PM: Right. They'd probably told her a lot about that.
M: And then we walked through into the dome area and I kept
waiting for (Mayor) Lila (Cockrell) to lead the way up the
steps, and she wouldn't do it. And to my, rea lly, kinda
horror, she made the Queen climb the steps first.
PM: The Lady in Waiting didn't go first?
M: Well, Lila didn't give her a chance. She just blocked
the way, and the Queen was waiting for somebody to lead her.
PM: I thought that she hesitated there.
M: Yes, she did. But she then graciously went up and then
Lila followed her. And then I was ... I had been told in the
last minute that I was to, uh, walk the Duke up and walk him
across and show him where he was supposed to sit ... stand. I
was ... uh, frankly, I was too embarrassed to do such a stupid
thing. So, as he followed her up, I said, "Sir, they would
like you to stand on the far side of the stage." And he kinda
did a very small nod and then went on over there; he knew
where to go. And so that was the way that went. And then the
damn microphone was off in the dome. Kenny had turned it on,
he said, five minutes earlier and it had been on. Somebody up
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
M: there had gone up there and turned it off.
apparently , didn ' t have the .. .
PM: Oh, it never was on?
M: Never turned on . Never .
PM: Because I could hear her, and I thought, oh well ...
M: Everybody could hear her. Oh, here's, uh, here's
Francie. Let me turn this thing off for a minute. Francie,
from the city (staff) just brought in this beautiful plant. I
don't know what it is.
M: That's a begonia?
M: A rose colored ...
PM: Peach color . ..
M: Peach colored blossoms. well, anyway, that got us
through the stage thing there and my business, but also it
looked to me like after Lila made the presentation, she kept
expecting the queen to get up and say something. But we'd
been told very definitely she wouldn't do that.
PM: I think a lot of people expected her to say something.
M: Uh ... and then, of course, we were all kinda astonished
that somehow the crowd had just become a mob and gathered in
the center of the room. And as it turned out, it worked out
all right, 'cause people were able to go back and forth and
meet both, both of them.
PM: But there was no path for her at all.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 7
M: There was no path at all, and it was a little
overpowering, I think.
PM: And she was so surrounded that there could have been ...
M: Finally the, uh ...
PM: ... hazard.
M: Finally, the Secret Service got control of it and made a
path, but that was after she'd been at it for 15 minutes.
Something wrong with your eye?
M: And, uh, I was really pleased the way that worked out -
you and, and uh, Sharron (Buschman) and Pam (Kirkpatrick) got
to shake her hand, and ...
M: ... And, I guess, his too.
didn't shake his hand, did you?
PM: Kirkpatrick wasn't there.
Or at least ... I guess you
No, I didn't see him at
M: Kirkpatrick was there. He ... he shook her hand. And then
he saw them both. And it looked to me like almost everybody
who wanted to was, was having an opportunity to say hello.
And she was being very gracious, the way she walked through
there. And then, as she was ... as they were getting ready to
leave the dome area, the ... I was standing right in the way,
purposely, and they ... the Chief of Protocol came and said,
"The Queen is coming this way." And I said, "Yes, I know; I'm
greeting her. I'm going to pick her up and escort her out."
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 8
M: "Oh," he said, "Thank you very much." And then he went
PM: That was Black?
M: No. That's the Protocol Chief, you know. I guess .... . .
I don't know he ... .
M: No, the tall, slender man.
PM: That may be the one that told me to take the wrapping off
M: Was he a very thin man?
M: Wears glasses?
M: Uh, so ...
PM: Secret Service man, I guess.
M: Yeah. So, anyway, I ... I picked her up and told her that
we were ... we were coming to the French area which was really
Alsatian. Uh, and, but people like to say they were French.
And this Protocol man commented on the hearse, and so did she.
I forgot about that - she did comment on that. She called it
a funeral wagon.
And, uh, then I said, "I'd like you to stop in at the
Mexican area where there's more children", and, uh, we ... we
went right up to the pillar and watched; Cindy went into high
I mean ... I mean, that was Cindy Gonzales at her very
And the Prince ... and the Queen was just fascinated.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 9
M: Cindy was ... you know, she knows the kids' names, every
one of them, and she kept ... and she kept all the kids
involved, 'cause she kept surprising them and getting them
invol ved in doing things, answering questions, uh, naming
implements. Brought one of them up to roll the metate - you
know, crush the corn. And she'd already had ' em making
tortilla patties, and she'd already explained how this was a
fire here, and, uh, and had them all saying how they would
cook the things. And she really was fascinated. She really
just stood there for a long time. Twice I tried to edge her
out, but she wouldn't move.
PM: They were already doing something when she got there ...
M: Oh, yeah, they were busy It wasn't as if they just
started. That was the way we had it set up. And, uh, then I
left .. . I led her around the pillar, and there's only a very
small area to get through there, and you're right next to the
herb case when you do get through. And as we ... as I led her
through and she came through the back, the Duke came around
the other side and they met at the pillar, and she turned to
him and said, "I really wanted to see how to make tortillas."
(Laughter) And, uh, then they stood there and looked at the
herbs, and they were very fascinated with the herb case,
identifying the peppers and all that stuff and, uh, showed
considerable interest in that.
And then they went straight on out, to where you were,
and that worked well, too, because I just ... about the time we
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 10
M: were passing the center of the store, I said, as long as
I am delivering this thing, I've got to give it to her . So
1 ... 1 said, "I have a gift I would like to present to you. I
don't really know how, but 1 ... 1 would like you to take it, in
memory of your visit here." And she ... she was delighted. She
said, "Oh, may I look at it here?"
PM: That was before you left the building.
M: Yes. I said, "It's a book that we publish here about
English Texans, and there may be something in there that will
interest you", or something like that . And she said, "How
delightful. Thank you so much. I will peruse it on the
airplane." And handed it to somebody behind her. And, uh,
then as we went out of the building, we ... we were faced with
these lines of kids on both sides of the bridge, which you
saw; you know, so many of them in uniform. It looked like
there were three different kinds of military schools
PM: I didn't know they were going to be there.
M: Yeah. They were gonna be there. They ... they had two
private schools, I think, and three public schools represented
out there . Oh, I had previously, uh ... she had asked me where
these children were from, inside the building, and I explained
to her that they were from local elementary schools, uh, all
within the city, and I told her they were ... I said I believed
there were four schools represented in the children that were
there . And, uh, ... I ... and then I said ... I turned to her and
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 11
M: she happened to be looking at me and I said, "You're a
real prize to them." And she smiled.
PM: You're a real prize?
M: You're a real prize for the children, to be here.
PM: Who? She said that?
M: I said that to the queen.
PM: Oh. Oh. OK.
M: And then she smiled. And ... anyway, we got outside, she
got out to the end. As I say, she walked through those
children in a very stoic manner. She didn't ... I don't believe
she even waved at them at all.
PM: The ones outside.
M: Outside. And they were all standing there waving their
flags, embarrassedly, and, you know, had they seen a little
response on her part, they would have, you know, felt better,
and they kinda looked at me, kinda vague looks on their faces;
they didn't know what to expect. And ... but we went right on
through. And ... but I noticed later, the Duke stopped, and he
was talking to a lot of them. And that was really nice. And
we got out to the car and she said, "Oh, the palominos,
they're so beautiful." And, "They're gorgeous horses," she
said. "Now, those ... those look like Spanish colors. Those
are Spanish colors, aren't they?" And I didn't know what she
was talking about.
PM: She meant the trappings on the horses?
M: No , I don't believe so. I believe she meant that they
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 12
M: were Spanish horses and the coloring on the horses came
out of Spain, or something.
M: And ... pos s ibly . I can't remember where the palominos
came from. Then I commented on the fact that the Palomino
Club here is very professional, very competent, and they do a
lot of good in the city. And are well-known. And she said,
"Yes, they're beautiful." And there was a slight pause and
she said, "Oh, he's talking to the children . " The door was
open, meantime, and I'm waiting for her to get in.
PM: Yeah, the air-conditioning - she didn't seem to mind the
M: No, she didn't seem to. And Bill Black was standing
there, too. And then I looked back and the king ... the duke
was just half-way through the kids. And I said, "You know, we
really do appreciate your coming here - to San Antonio and
also to the Institute - it means a lot to the people here, to
see you and to have you with us." And she said, "Well, it's
a pleasure to be here. I'm sorry that the visit is so short."
And about that time, the duke was showing up and I said,
"Well, it has been too short, but, again, we do appreciate it.
And my wife and I will also see you tomorrow night in
Houston, at the dinner." "Oh, isn I t that nice?" And she
whipped in (entered her car).
And as I stood there with Black, he was giving me
instructions all the time while the duke was getting in the
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 13
M: car and closed the door and waited for the cops to start
and get the convoy going. He's saying, "Now, stand here." I
mean, Black is telling me, "Let's all stand here." And he
said, IINow wave. II And she waved. (Laughter)
PM: Well, the civilians have their protocol just like the
army, I guess.
M: Oh boy, I'll say. Yes, they do. Well, that's the visit
now. Nothing exciting. I mean ...
PM: Well, say something about the Buschmans and Kirkpatricks.
M: Of course, Bob and, uh, and Sharron Buschman were ... were
here. And Bob ... Bob Buschman and Sam Kirkpatrick and I were
in the receiving line initially (outside the building). Sam
stayed with the Duke all the way in and then he picked up the
Duke when I picked up the Queen, to come back out. But Sam
had a good conversation with the Duke .... And apparently the
Duke was full of questions. And then Bob, however, merely met
the party outside, followed Sam in and the Duke in and then
peeled off and went into the dome area, but it was really nice
having him here, because he's not been too close to the
Institute in the past and he's showing a lot of interest,
PM: Buschman, or Sam?
M: Bob Buschman. And he'd obviously been talking to his
bride about it, from the conversation I've heard. He'll say,
"See that? Remember I told you about this?" And, obviously,
she was very pleased to be a part of all this. And I want to
QUEEN ELIZABETH II 14
M: record the story that somebody told Sam ... what was
it? .. Sam was talking about, "Isn't it fun to be part of the
PM: Oh, right.
M: And somebody had said, "Well, you know, you know what
crust is, don't you? It's ... "
PM: It was Duncan Wimpress.
M: ... "it's ... it's ... a11 it is is crumbs mixed with a lot of
dough. " And I thought that was very hilarious. Was that
Duncan that said that?
PM: The upper crust is only crumbs .. .
M: ... Mixed with a lot of dough.
PM: Mixed with a lot of dough.
M: Yeah. And, well, that's about it. That's the visit of
Queen Elizabeth the Second. On Tuesday, the 21st day of May,
1991. Amen . Halleluia.
TAPE I, Side 1, About 25 Minutes
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Max is a long time volunteer turned employee for mindyourmind as a Youth Outreach Assistant. He enjoys blogging, cats, and the state of Utah. Check him out on Twitter: @maxamilli
It is never easy to get help when you’re in crisis, it can be something that is incredibly difficult. Being able to make that choice to better your life in seeking help can be one of the most important things you will ever do, but unfortunately there are things in society which cast getting help in a negative light. Anyone can suffer with a mental health issue; whether they are a man or a woman, but often times when a man tries to get help he is looked at as being not manly. This sort of stigma prevents a lot of males from getting help that they need, because they have been told that being manly and keeping everything inside are the same thing, when they really aren’t.
The state of Colarado has the 6th highest suicide rate in the US, and men between the ages of 25 and 54 represent a large portion of those suicides. In order to combat these events, a website has been created called ManTherapy which uses humor in order to dispel myths about getting help and “being a man”, which gets the conversation going with someone who may need help. The website is very interactive and includes a lot of great information, being there for a demographic which is not always targeted when it comes to mental health.
Check out the website here: www.mantherapy.org
Let us know what you think in the comments! Is this representative of what men would want when trying to get help? | <urn:uuid:4b93ff8c-8a7d-4c40-8dbf-296d995e0d24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mindyourmind.ca/community/blog/35-mental-health-a-coping/4365-man-therapy-stigma-in-genders | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976632 | 341 | 1.6875 | 2 |
An incredibly iconic Magical Girl manga written and illustrated by CLAMP and published between 1996-2000, with an anime adaptation airing between 1998-2000.One day, an ordinary elementary school girl named Sakura Kinomoto wanders into her father's basement and accidentally opens a mystical tome containing a deck of tarot-like cards. The magical cards are scattered throughout town, each one possessing its own unique power and posing the risk of causing some serious mischief if left unchecked.Kerberos, the guardian spirit of the book, immediately drafts Sakura into becoming a "Cardcaptor" by giving her a magical wand capable of sealing and controlling the power of the cards. Now, with the aid of her best friend Tomoyo, Sakura must recover and master all of the missing cards before they can cause some real trouble.One of CLAMP's most iconic manga series, it was adapted into a 70-episode anime with 2 movies which added a lot of new elements in the process. Alongside Sailor Moon, this is widely considered as close to a "canon" Magical Girl show as you can get, and is often one of the examples even the most casual anime fan will think of when magical girls are mentioned and its major influence on all shows which followed it is deep and pervasive. The anime was dubbed by Nelvana with much Bowdlerization in the process. However, Geneon Universal took over the dubbing of the second movie to be more faithful to the original. The manga was originally licensed by Tokyo Pop which is now out of print, and has since been rescue licensed by Dark Horse Comics (which for some reason uses the exact same wording as the Tokyo Pop translation extremely often, despite being made by different people).It has its own wikihere.Compare Sailor Moon, which is the other "major" example most people in the West (that didn't grow up in Europe) think of vis-Ó-vis Magical Girls. Contrast Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princess Tutu, and also Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the most notable Deconstructions of the whole genre and concept.See the character page for more information.
This Anime/Manga provides examples of:
Adaptation Expansion: The original manga featured 19 cards. The anime? 52 cards (note: a full deck), though not all of them were shown being caught. The ones that weren't were shown at the beginning of Season 2, which takes place after the first movie.
Episodes themselves were extended and Syaoran's role in the story was as well. In the manga Syaoran never catches any cards for himself and never takes part in the final judgment. In the anime, he does both of those things. And the final judgment was in itself extended, in the manga Sakura never failed and thus never got to experience the pain of a world without love. In the anime, she does. The reason the expansion works instead of falling apart is because Nanase Okawa, writer of the manga, wrote and oversaw the anime as well.
Also, Meiling is an anime-exclusive character.
Not to mention Wei and the rest of Syaoran's family (only referenced in the manga).
Alleged Lookalikes: Sonomi comments on Sakura's similarity to her mother, even though Touya has more of a resemblance - in fact, Sakura seems to look more like Sonomi, and Tomoyo (Sonomi's daughter) resembles Nadeshiko a bit as well, with her long hair. In fact, she mentions that Sonomi requested that she kept her hair long because it reminded her of Nadeshiko.
Always Someone Better: Sakura to Meiling somewhat, is purer in personality, bests her at many aspects such as athletism (somewhat inadvertantly) and ultimately wins over Syaoran's affections without even meaning to.
Syaoran seems to consider Sakura his better counterpart, ultimately taking his designated role as master of the cards, due to having greater wisdom and care for them that assisted in her judgements. As Sakura insists however, her own flaws and dependence on Syaoran may prevent her from being a full-on example of the trope.
Author Avatar: Tomoyo, and it's not at all subtle. In fact there's even a Bonus video that jokingly suggests the whole series was single-handedly filmed by her. And that somehow includes even the sequences where no cameras were present by any conceivable means.
Fairly mild example, though — the worst she does is stomping the offender's foot.
Kero is shown to be terrified of her the odd occasion he becomes too obnoxious for her to handle. A few of the cards also learnt the hard way not to mess with her or her friends before they were caught (poor, poor Snow Card).
Bloodless Carnage: The episode of the Shot Card, the most brutal scenes in The Sealed Card and especially the Final Judgement. Well, considering the target audience...
Bowdlerization: The Nelvana dub removed all of the (perfectly innocent and totally non-explicit) same-sex relationships from the show, to say nothing of the 31 episodes that were not aired at all.
The episodes omitted by WB had been dubbed and still aired in particular regions such as Europe (though is lacking one episode due to the two part finale being merged into one episode). Note it also gets rid of most heterosexual relationships as well. As a result of deleting most of Sakura and Syaoran's romantic infatuation, a lot of the final episode is omitted and the dub is given a much more Bittersweet Ending.
Butt Monkey: Meiling. Syaoran, Kero and even Sakura have their moments as well.
Syaoran essentially becomes the other Butt Monkey once Meilin is introduced, having to bear all the collateral damage of her Genki Girl tendencies.
Double take there. The universe just loves to find any conceivable opportunity to embarrass him outright, as if to prove he's Not so Above It All. Repeatedly. Poor, poor Syaoran...
And poor Yamazagi, every time he's caught lying. Apart from being strangled, dragged and stomped on a regular basis, on one occasion he was buried neck deep in sand and was used as target practice with a volleyball.
Cannot Spit It Out: Three separate characters even. Ruby Moon kept interrupting Toya, and lots of things happened preventing Sakura and Syaoran from spitting it out. Kero=Bad for spitting stuff out.
Crash into Hello: Sakura's crashed into Yukito at least twice, met Kaho exactly as described on the Trope page, ended up running into her brother just as she confessed taking his share of cake. In the Sealed Card she runs into Syaoran around a bend, and then later into Yukito (again) while crying.
Cross Dresser: Both the plays in the TV series have the main characters playing Gender swapped roles. Hilarity Ensues. And yeah, it's CLAMP again.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass - Sakura herself. Despite being extremely naive and occasionally outright ditzy at times (believes every last one of Yamazaki's ridiculous stories and is completely oblivious to the fact that her two best friends are infatuated with her) she has moments of remarkable inspiration, particularly when it comes to the use of her magic.
Syaoran meanwhile is more of a Crouching Badass Hidden Moron. He's normally cool and collective, but has occasional bouts of poor judgement or naivete, he also falls for the pathological liar's lies 100% and is somewhat inept around romantic emotions.
Cultural Translation: The Nelvana dub renamed the characters' residence from Tomoeda to Reedington and implied it was an American town, despite the Japanese text remaining, as well as the Tokyo Tower.
Cut-and-Paste Translation: Nelvana, with "Cardcaptors", was responsible for much of the cast getting a Dub Name Change and removed all romantic subplots of any kind (not all convincingly). The US broadcast on Kids' WB!! attempted to widen the show's appeal beyond its original demographic by switching the focus from strictly Sakura's point of view and pushing the idea of Sakura and supporting character Li Syaoran being more like partners by rearranging and splicing episodes and tweaking scripts.
This would have actually been convenient in later episodes, which play a lot more from Syaoran's perspective and give him a rather prominant partnership with Sakura, unfortunately the unwanted romantic context of most of this footage actually led them to take out a lot of the character's relevance.
Needless to say, when the original anime was subbed and released, the dub went off the shelves.
And even with all the butchering they did, they couldn't remove the subtexts. It's still pretty obvious how Syaoran and Sakura feel about each other.
Cute Bruiser: The Power and The Fight. Also, Meiling and Syaoran, and even Sakura when she uses The Power card.
Deus ex Machina: Played straight in episode 6 when Sakura encounters the illusion card, which, on the date her dead mother's birthday, adopts her form, and thus lures Sakura into falling off a cliff. Before hitting the ground nonetheless a translucid hand (presumably that of her real mom) appears out of nowhere and slows down her fall
And as a backup Deus Ex Machina Yukito just happend to be passing by at that precise moment to come and pick her up.
Disappeared Dad: Tomoyo's father doesn't seem to exist, and Sakura muses to herself that it seems to be a "complicated matter". Also, Syaoran's father passed away when he was very young.
Distress Ball: Meiling could be incredibly stupid at times, usually ending up as the Butt Monkey, or worse, seriously endangering herself and others. On one occasion she went after the Fight card despite the fact that she had no magical powers.
Or the occasion where she was in possession of the Shot Card. Syaoran could have been killed.
Sakura also played this trope on numerous occasions, and it has been used for Syaoran to end up in an embarrassingly intimate scenario with her exposing his Dere-Dere side. The most prominent example is when she tried to convert all the cards at once despite lacking enough power, which, apart from being a very reckless thing to do, sent the Dash card panicking as it was not transformed without a sufficiently strong need. And in that episode, Sakura also uses the Jump Card despite the fact that her powers are so drained she's sure not to make it safely enough.
And in episode 69 she even tries to fight Eriol, who has retained all his powers from his previous life as Clow Reed.
She had to learn the hard way that putting off writing your name on the card you've captured is not at all recommended.
The Sick Episode where she was burning with high fever and tried to capture a card by herself barely able to stand. Cue the rival party to the rescue.
The Dividual: For logistical purposes, The Light and The Dark are generally regarded as a pair. Sakura even complies with their request to be sealed together.
Dogged Nice Guy: Syaoran in his 'dere dere' moods. Taken to extremes around Sakura in later episodes, though she rarely sees it as anything more than him being a kind friend to her.
Dub Name Change: Nearly every character except Sakura suffered from it in both the English and French dubs. It was that kind of era.
Dramatic Irony: The audience learns fairly early on that the New Transfer Student Eriol is the reincarnation of Clow Reed, while the other characters are left in the dark until the finale. That being said, the audience is left to wonder for quite some time why the guy who was spoken of so highly all this time is now acting like a creepy antagonist.
The Eeyore: Even after revealing their soft side, Syaoran and Yue are still rather humorless and snarky in tone. Spinel Sun also seems to count as one.
Energy Beings - The Card Spirits, though they usually take the form of humanoids (often, though not always, beautiful women) or strange animals.
Of special mention is the Illusion Card, which even in its true form is formless; it can be commanded to take the form of anyone or anything. Sakura uses it to take the Sword Card from Rika by having the Illusion card transform into their teacher, whom Rika has a crush on (and in the manga an actual relationship with).
Even the Girls Want Her: Sakura herself isn't bad, both Syaoran and Tomoyo are very much in love with her. Also, take into consideration how many female fans she has...
Not to mention Kaho, who Sakura seems to 'admire' greatly and is described as really, really pretty.
This results in a massive Mind Screw / Fridge Logic in the manga. Clow's mother is Syaoran's great, great, [...] grandmother. Sakura's father is one of Clow Reed's reincarnations. Put this all together and Sakura and Syaoran are actually veritable cousins, depending on how you look at the reincarnation aspect of family trees. This being CLAMP, one must wonder whether or not this was deliberate...
Possibly averted. Reincarnation means you're no longer the same person anymore...but then again the show is not at all consistent over this point.
Even if the soul is the same, it doesn't mean that the DNA is. It's highly doubtful that Sakura and Syaoran share bloodlines, even if they're both descendants of Clow Reed on a spiritual level.
Rarely if ever mentioned beyond its introduction, but Sakura and Tomoyo are actual cousins.
Second cousins, actually.
Evil Sorcerer: The first movie had Clow Reed's former student Madoushi, particularly in the dub (where she was also his girlfriend at one point).
Evolving Credits: A blink-and-you'll-miss-it example. Partway through season one, Li is added to the opening following his introduction to the story. He appears for just one second along with the other supporting characters. Everything else in the intro stays the same. In the American uncut DVD release, this version of the intro was never used.
Eyes Always Shut: Yamazaki. There was one scene in the manga where he opens them. Just one though.
There was a special in the anime that Sakura, Mei Ling, Syaoran and Tomoyo wondering about why his eyes are always closed. When they realize he actually opened them earlier in the episode and actually found the thing (a blue mailbox) he had been talking about, they conclude that he only opens his eyes when he tells the truth. Actually, he only opens them when someone steps on his foot.
Also in the episode when Sakura catches The Power card Yamazaki's eyes open for a moment when he and Syaoran are startled by the loud noise and the ground shaking at the zoo.
Also Clow Reed. The only time his eyes are open is in a bonus art pic, where they are shown to be blue.
Not really in the manga though, where a good portion of Clow's official artwork has him with his eyes open.
Eye Scream: CLAMP's fetish deserves a special mention because it's conspicuous by its complete absence!
The Faceless: All characters who appear in Sakura's foretelling dreams. Their faces are shown over time (except Yue). Also Eriol and his guardians in scenes where he watches from the shadows.
Interestingly in the bonus extra episode after the second movie, only Kero and Suppie's faces are shown, while the faces of the rest of the cast, including Sakura, are deliberately not covered by the camera.
Sakura also exists as an interesting light variation, in that despite being Syaoran's rival, she looks up to him greatly and is largely convinced of his superior intelligence and competance. Her extremely affectionate treatment towards Syaoran would naturally also play into his own opinion of her. In addition Sakura is also kind and supportive to Meiling (which leads the latter to accept her as Syaoran's true love).
Friend to All Living Things: Sakura in a rather swift period of time can endear herself to almost any living entity due to her everpresent compassion and innocence, even Syaoran's strict and stoic mother (Li Yelan) can't resist after just one day with her and even gives a very motherly kiss. Note that at that time Syaoran was still seeing Sakura as a rival...
By the end of the story, this is true of every single character in the show, even the bitter and lonely Nothing Card, which becomes The Hope.
Generation Xerox: Sonomi loved Sakura's mother Nadeshiko, and her daughter Tomoyo follows the trend with Sakura. And in both cases it ends up unrequited.
Also averted in the way they react to it though: Sonomi dealt with it by developing a seething hatred for the man Nadeshio married, thinking of him as the one annoying bug Sonomi couldn't keep away from Nadeshiko. Tomoyo dealt with it by practically cheering the prospect of Sakura being happy together with Shaoran; Tomoyo's personality, unlike her mother's, was not adversely impacted by rejection.
Hey You: Often used by Syaoran in early episodes and chapters, who does not refer to Sakura by any actual name. This is ended however after her Disney Death in ''Sakura, Shaoran and The Elevator' leads him to yell her first name in anguish. Sakura having heard this, asks to continue this trend and to call "Shaoran-kun" by first name in return. Notably Sakura, much to her joy, is discovered to be the only person outside family that Syaoran refers to by first name (or allows the referal of his own). This trait is not present in the English dub, where both characters refer to each other by first name from the beginning.
Some manga translations switched. The german version, in Volume 1 until 4, Sakura and Syaoran refer to each other by first name. Volume 5, though, switches it to Syaoran not using her name at all (until Sakura falls down a crack in the ground and he yells her name) while Sakura calls him Li.
In the Japanese, this also applies to Touya and Yue. Both avoid calling (most) other characters by name—likely because it would require them to acknowledge their level of affection for the person in question. Similar to Syaoran, but these two take it a step farther by even avoiding intimate pronouns whenever possible.
In a Single Bound: Jump Card, period. Can cross HUGE distances (whole city blocks), roof hop with ease, reach heights to the top of Tokyo tower and always lands soft from any height with exceptional accuracy. It can literally land on a dime.
And Syaoran. Even without magic, he seems to have springs for legs that allow him to reach impossible heights, even to the tops of trees and in a series of jumps gets to the top of a several storey high Ferris wheel with no problems.
Informed Attribute: We're told multiple times during the anime that Tomoyo has an incredible voice; she gets several solos, Sakura swoons every time she sings, and her voice is the key to capturing at least one Clow Card. Despite that, her voice... doesn't really seem to be all that special. Unless that's intentional, and the point is that her voice is amazing for an elementary school student.
Her voice sounds better in the Hebrew dub.
Innocently Insensitive: Sakura rarely has cruel bone in her body, but is ridiculously naive and terrible at reading emotions. She obliviously exasperates Syaoran's crush on her, while is occasionally inconsiderate to Kero (though Kero himself dishes this back at times as well). She also never has the foggiest clue that Tomoyo is in love with her, let alone the fact that by cheering Sakura and Shaoran on, Tomoyo is making a huge sacrifice for her sake.
Intoxication Ensues: Suppie (Spinel Sun). Eating anything which has sugar in it in any amount results in a massive out of control drunken spree that sends him on a sugar binge. As a side effect a drunk Suppie becomes much cuter and hilarious. But...
Breath Weapon: Eventually he starts firing these, and then hell breaks loose.
Kansai Regional Accent: Cerberus, the Beast of the Seal who guards the Clow Cards, spent a while in Osaka and picked up the accent. Lampshaded by Sakura as soon as she heard him speak for the first time.
Kissing Cousins: Subverted. The only canonical couple who are cousins never kiss and eventually break up.
It's funny how the Nelvana dub in attempting to get round this, turned the Beta Couple into cousins at the other end.
Nadeshiko and Sonomi were cousins, but it was one-sided on Sonomi's part.
Knight Templar: The Nothing Card of the second movie (one of the few real villains in the series) after centuries being hidden and alone, is vehement on being reunited with it's fellow cards, whether they want it or not, and also has nothing against erasing huge populations of innocent beings in her frenzied search. In a rare case for the trope, she gets the point in the end and reverses everything after being caught by Sakura, so she can be accepted willingly as a friend.
Ruby Moon, while mostly working with Eriol in assisting Sakura, seems to gain a self proclaimed rivalry with Yue to potentially murderous ambitions.
Late Arrival Spoiler: Despite the huge build up to it in the previous season, Yue's true identity is revealed unceremoniously in the opening credits of the last season. Sakura even comments on it offhandedly early in the first episode of this season. Promotional pictures during this season also alluded to it.
Late for School: Sakura's biggest "Hoee!"s are usually reserved for this. The best one was when she arrives to class about 5 seconds before Terada walks in.
Tomoyo: You have the perfect timing, as if I was watching a wonderful comic combo...
Limited Wardrobe: Averted with special mention. Not only with the mission clothes (not even one is used more than one time!), Sakura's everyday clothes and accesories are very numerous too, they do repeat from time to time, but they usually changed every season. You could think that the authors would take a break by letting Sakura and her friends use school uniforms more often, but even the school wardrobe was much more varied than in most anime series, with different types of uniforms for Spring and Winter, coats, hats, P.E., swimsuits, special uniforms for sport competitions, two different cheerleader uniforms(one for practices and one for competitions)... heck! The school even had special clothes specific for some school trips! (And most of these come in both girl and boy versions.)
The little segment Kero-chan ni Omakase was added later to the series to show-off the great variety of clothes and accesories the anime had.
In interviews, CLAMP deliberately approached the Unlimited Wardrobe trope for Sakura to make her, as both a character and a Magical Girl, stand out among other characters in the genre who are limited to either one uniform or the same uniform with touch-ups, a la Sailor Moon.
Literal Cliffhanger: The final scene of the anime at the end of the Sealed Card movie, though after everything that's happened, it's a very mild example.
Lolicon: Yoshiyuki Terada. Though to be fair, he waited until Rika was older, and given that in the manga he went as far as buying her an engagement ring, his feelings for Rika appear to be genuine and not based on sexual perversion.
Long Distance Relationship: Happens at the end, and gets subverted in the manga, where it is revealed that Syaoran finally moved back to Tomoeda after three long years in Hong Kong, apparently just to be with Sakura at Seijuu Junior High
Loyal Phlebotinum: The Cards. However before the judgement, the cards choose either Syaoran or Sakura depending on who had the significant role in it's capture.
Luminescent Blush: Some of the funniest moments in the series are due to the fact that if there's even the slightest chance at pulling this off, it will happen to poor Syaoran. So where do we even begin?
Syaoran's very first blush when Sakura hugs him after capturing the Return card. He never quite managed to pull `another one like that since.
He gets it when he's in Kero's body and Yukito hands him to Sakura, asking if she dropped a plush toy.
And while we are at it, we should mention that he spends almost half his screen time in the red and even maroon from Season 3 on. This guy could give tomatoes and beetroots a lesson in turning red.
The Matchmaker / Shipper on Deck: Eriol, hands down! He is actively responsible for helping Syaoran realize his feelings for Sakura, and for letting Sakura know that Yukito only loves her platonically as family. Closely followed by Tomoyo, Meiling who really make selfless sacrifices and even Yue who clarifies the Law of Magical attraction vs real love and even Wei he encourages Syaoran to give Sakura the teddy bear.
More fanfics than you can spend time counting have used the fact that Syaoran's mother has a special liking for Sakura (in the movie she also has Syaoran be her bodyguard), to make her into this in their script.
Meaningful Name: Anyone with the kanji for "moon" in their name will have a magical connection to the moon; Nakuru Akizuki and Yukito Tsukishiro both have doubly meaningful names. Lampshaded by Kero in episode 47 of the anime when he starts enquiring about the kanji for Eriol's name.
Mercury's Wings: The Nothing (or alternatively, The Hope Card) from the second movie has wings on its head.
Meta Guy: Tomoyo, who is very Genre Savvy; she asks in the second episode if Sakura knows any cool poses or owns any special evil-fighting clothes, and offers to help.
Mistaken for Gay: Syaoran thought he had a crush on Yukito, but it later turned out he was just attracted to the high amount of moon energy inside him.
Mobile Maze: In the Maze Card episode, Sakura cannot simply fly out of the maze because the walls will magically grow too high to fly over, and if Shaoran tries to cut through the walls with his sword, they will magically re-form again.
Moment Killer: Too many to list, but Syaoran's attempted love confessions and Toya trying to tell Yukito the truth about himself, and then in the Sealed Card Sakura's own attempts at love confessions. In fact one occasion Sakura was interrupted by The Nothing in a play while playing the part of the princess about to tell the prince how she feels.
Mood Whiplash: The Sleep Card episode. For the most part, it is a cheerful glimpse into Sakura's dad's university life with Sakura ever so eager to help. And then, just after she seals the card, disaster strikes.
The Movie: Two of them in fact; the first one is literally named after this trope. The first one happens exactly half way through the TV series, and the second one concludes the anime.
Mukokuseki: Rather prevalent on everyone, although Syaoran and Meiling get to look somewhat more "asian" (likely due to being Chinese). Sakura is the most blatantly noticeable in this regard, though, since she's got big round green eyes, reddish-brown hair (that seems to vary a bit depending on the lighting present) and a very fair complexion... and she is still, in theory, 100% Yamato in ancestry.*
Well, okay, 98% Yamato thanks to her relation to Clow Reed, although Reed's own ancestry is confusing as heck, and both sides of her family have been in Japan for centuries now.
Heck, at times she almost doesn't look related to her brother or father at all. Selling her as a caucasian in the dub (with the family name change to "Avalon") was not particularly difficult.
Mundane Utility: Because the flower shop was closed, Sakura once used The Flower to make an armful of flowers she wanted.
Nigh Invulnerability: Most of the time, no one gets even slightly injured. Not even after being buried under tidal waves, falling from just about any height (even landing hard on some occasions), rocked by gigantic earthquakes, hit by explosions of antimatter type magic, repeatedly slammed into walls and even steel girders, pierced by razor sharp crystal shards, almost drowned by huge water spouts, surrounded by raging fires and so on.
But the worst offender is when Sakura is not even scratched after being hit and sent flying by a fast moving roller coaster.
Noblewoman's Laugh: Meilin gives these on occasion, usually when appearing triumphant - and often to Sakura.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Yue to Sakura in the Final Judgment. Although not terribly violent, it's still significantly darker than anything before that point. Sakura cries out in pain as she's thrown into steel girders and hit by sharp crystal shards, unable and unwilling to fight back.
Syaoran's battle with Yue beforehand isn't suggested to be much better, if less graphic. We hear a loud offscreen yell in pain before he reappears battered and bruised and barely able to stand. Naturally Sakura, Yue's next opponent is pretty irked.
No Ontological Inertia: The Clow Cards and Yue. They've only survived for so long because they were running on batteries. Averted with Keroberos.
Practically anything done by the Clow Cards is undone once they're caught.
Not actually subverted in Cerberus' case: in the Japanese manga, he says he is 'self-sustaining' because he can supplement food as energy when he doesn't receive the amount he needs from Sakura. An odd version of this trope because both Cards and their protectors have technically survived the death of their creator.
Not so Above It All: Poor Syaoran, no matter how hard he tries to act dignified and stoic his mystique is always destroyed by some affectionate soul, usually Sakura, reducing him to an (adorable) piece of jelly.
Not So Stoic: Syaoran started crossing the line regularly after Meilin came along, though by the end of Season 2, once he's fallen for Sakura he probably spends more time in this trope than out of it. And then we have Yue, who's even more stoic, but even he can't resist Sakura's Moe and Cheerful Child tendencies. And let's not forget Touya.
Not the Fall That Kills You: Anyone with magic who falls, Repeatedly! Only Touya gets injured in a fall. No matter the height, others always break the fall with hardly even a small scratch! At worst!
Syaoran himself suffers quite a lot from not recognizing his own feelings and (later on) even Selective Obliviousness. Ironically for all his experience with this trope he is left clueless against Sakura's incredible Genre Blidness.
Official Couple: Sakura and Syaoran. CLAMP made doubly sure that this pairing is backed up by PLENTY of canon. Tsubasa wouldn't happen if this pairing didn't come true, period.
You might as well add that Tsubasa also backs up Touya and Yukito's relationship, and pretty much every other CLAMP pairing, gay or straight. While creating some of its own on the side (thank you Kurogane and Fai).
Due to the revelations of recent chapters, it needs to be mentioned that CCS!Syaoran and CCS!Sakura have little if anything to do with the main plot of Tsubasa, and no, they are not the parents of any of the Syaorans or Sakuras wandering about the Tsubasa universe.
Actually, the older (middle school) Sakura of CCS is shown handing off her evolved wand to the grown up C!Sakura in a dream and the first version of her wand, although a replica, is seen in Yuuko's shop.
An interview with CLAMP involved an offhanded comment that Syaoran and Sakura are, like most CLAMP couples, 100% soulmates and didn't end up together for a "normal pairing" like some people thought; Syaoran and Sakura would have fallen in love even if Syaoran had been a girl or there had been an age gap.
On the other hand, the Yuri Fandom in general has adopted Sakura/Tomoyo as one of its flagship pairings; Shoujo Ai.com has pics of them featured prominently on the main page along with several other famous couples like NanoFate, Rei/Usagi, Anthy/Utena, and ShizNat. Must be that whole "unrequited love" thing they have going on.
To be fair, however, Tomoyo doesn't frequently blush about it like Syaoran does, and the only hints Tomoyo dropped about her crush (to Sakura's face, anyway) were telling Sakura that she "liked" her (which Sakura misunderstood as an expression of close friendship), and repeatedly filming everything Sakura does in her waking moments (which Sakura misunderstood as just a general "freaky" part of Tomoyo's personality, to which she gave a free pass because otherwise Tomoyo's very nice).
Pinky Swear: Sakura and Syaoran. He's too overwhelmed to refuse!
Power Incontinence: Clow sets in motion the events of the plot partially because while being strong enough to predict the future with intense accuracy, he couldn't control it. Sakura, being stronger, can also predict the future but can turn it off, unlike Clow.
And that's the one sensible part of an incomprehensibly huge Gambit Pileup.
The Power of Love: The whole story is built around this trope. Prevails in spite of everything. In the manga it succeeds in bringing Syaoran back to Japan to be with Sakura. The anime takes this to the next level very literally when Sakura creates the nameless card with a winged heart. Later this card merges with the Nothing at the last minute to form the Hope card, and ensuring that Sakura and Syaoran's love survive intact even against the otherwise unconquerable.
This is also an interesting case in that not only are there many events that didn't appear in the source material, but even those events that did appear in the manga were almost always retold, keeping the fundamentals the same but reordering them, changing the locations, etc. Example: in both versions, Windy is the first card Sakura acquires, but whereas the manga has her capturing Woody next (off-screen) and then Jump, the anime has her capture Fly second. *
The Fly encounter itself is a good example of this too. In the manga, Sakura first encounters it at school, then at home, failing to capture it each time, then finally at home again, where she captures it by figuring out that it's just injured and agitated. The anime just has her encounter it at home on her first night of being a Cardcaptor, and she captures it by restraining it with Windy - something she tried in the manga, for that matter, but which didn't work because Fly is another Wind elemental card.
Syaoran's characterization in the anime doesn't support the manga type of ending - he doesn't live alone and is essentially a mature kid looked after by Wei with his family members actually showing up. In the manga, he is a loner, there's only a passing reference to his family and he's practically a fully independent adult in a child's body. And a bunch of formalities and work in the manga (details never mentioned) is replaced by the ability to make vacation visits in the anime.
Reincarnation: In the manga, Clow has two reincarnations: Eriol and Fujitaka. In the anime, he only has Eriol.
Relationship Sabotage: Among the other challenges of capturing the Clow Cards, there is a serious risk of everyone losing all their feelings for those whom they love the most. In the manga this turns out to be just a big Macguffin for capturing the cards, but in the anime, it is really a serious problem.
Keroberos and Spinel Sun. Ruby Moon sees Yue as one.
Rule 34: Siiiiiiigh. Kind of has to be mentioned here as the dark reflection of Side Story Bonus Art; the enormous popularity of the series and the incredible volume of art it has produced has also resulted in the franchise being the subject of possibly the largest amount of fan-created pornographic material for any anime, ever. It's so bad that Sakura is called the "Lolicon Queen" in some circles, due to the sheer volume of "objectionable" material produced around her ten-year-old self.
For what it's worth, CLAMP has gone on record as saying that they are not particularly cool with this, although being former doujin-ka themselves, they acknowledge that it's basically impossible to get people to stop creating this sort of material. They have asked people to stop, though, and Tsubasa didn't produce quite as much naughty material as you might otherwise expect.
Althrough the title of "Lolicon Queen" seems to belong now to another magical girl...
Running Gag: Tomoyo, every time she talks about videotaping Sakura or her latest costume, which is about half a dozen times an episode. All the more funnier because it comes at the most (in)appropriate moment.
(In the middle of Snow Card's fierce blizzard): "At this rate...at this rate...I can't film Sakura!
Toya calls Sakura a monster. Sakura proceeds to grind his foot into the floor.
Ship Tease: Done endlessly and mercilessly throughout the series, especially during the later stories. Instances such as Sakura, Shaoran and the Elevator exist as little more than episode long ship teases.
What many consider the biggest folly in the Cardcaptors dub was trying to erase nearly all of these scenes (though due to some of them being in pivotal scenes or necessary transitions, some light instances such as Syaoran's blushing were kept in the dub).
Shrinking Violet: Rika Sasaki, but not to the extreme. She's mostly like that when around Terada.
Spell My Name with an S: Tangentially related; the merchandise can't decide whether it wants to use Chinese or Japanese spellings, so we get "Syaoran" and "Meiling" on the same things.
To pontificate further: "Syaoran" is Japanese Romaji with the Kunrei Romanization method (seldom used outside Japan and not often even there). "Shaoran" is Romaji with the more widely-used Hepburn system. Shaoran's Chinese name would be romanized as "Xiaolang", meaning "little wolf". "Meirin" would be the appropriate Japanese Romaji for Meiling's name (which means "Strawberry Bell", amusingly enough).
Sphere of Destruction: Card #53 (The Nothing) is notorious for doing a special version of Beam Spam with this, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of holes all over the city.
Stalker with a Crush: Tomoyo, to some degree. Much gentler and reasonable than the standard, of course (If you consider being with your best friend stalking.).
Meiling is this until she realizes that Syaoran loves Sakura.
Star Power: The whole second series is about Sakura having to transfer the Clow Cards from their old energy source (The Sun and the Moon, which her predecessor used) over to her power source - the power of her star.
Sword Fight: Averted with extreme prejudice during the Sword Card episode. Syaoran tries to start one, but Sakura instantly rules it out. He basically missed his only chance to use his sword as anything other than a wand.
He does kinda get to use it later on, protecting Sakura against some sentient metal railing in Episode 61.
Teacher/Student Romance: Third grade teacher and student romance, complete with engagement ring — yup, it's CLAMP all right. To their credit, they'll be waiting until she's older. And in the anime it's a one sided crush from the student.
Kaho's and Touya's relationship is an aversion; though they met when Kaho was Touya's student teacher, they only confessed romantic feelings after Kaho's teaching position had ended.
Played straight with Fujitaka and Nadeshiko; Fujitaka was a teacher in the high school Nadeshiko attended. It's implied that they started living together even before she graduated.
Theme Naming: The Kinomotos all have plant-related names: Sakura means "cherry blossom", Touya has "peach" in his name, the "fuji" in Fujitaka means "wisteria", Nadeshiko is a pink variety of dianthus. Kinomoto itself means root of the tree.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomoyo with either Sakura or Meiling. Also Nadeshiko with Sonomi, Chiharu with either Rika or Naoko.
Also happens with Yue, who started out cold and rather cruel towards Sakura because he didn't want to have to accept having a new master after Clow Reed died. Once again Sakura's kind and gentle nature allows her to break through the harsh exterior. The moment he comforts her when she learns he and Yukito had been in danger of vanishing really shows how he's grown to love her too.
Train Station Goodbye: Correction... Airport goodbye. With Meiling, twice. Also the TV Series Ending and the last chapter of the manga, when Syaoran has to go back to Hong Kong and Sakura meets him at the airport.
However in all cases, they again return whenever the need arises.
The seemingly cold and unfeeling moon guardian Yue of all people turns out to have these tendencies, especially towards Sakura.
The Unfavorite: Tomoyo seems to be one to her own mother Sonomi, compared with Sakura. Sonomi was obsessed with Nadeshiko when they were younger, and seems to have transferred her affection to Nadeshiko's daughter. Despite barely having time for her own family, Sonomi manages to make time to attend Sakura's school sporting events and even chaperone her on vacation. Anytime they're on screen together Sonomi fusses over Sakura and practically ignores Tomoyo *
. Tomoyo even tells Sakura at one point that Sonomi grows Tomoyo's hair long and styles it like Nadeshiko's in order to remember her.
Amazingly, Tomoyo doesn't seem to resent Sakura at all for this. Maybe she agrees with her mother that Nadeshiko/Sakura is just that awesome.
At least one scene in the anime depicts Tomoyo with Sonomi, who has arrived home in worry after hearing she has fallen suddenly sick ( though she actually lost her voice due to a Clow Card) and is shown doting over her in a similar manner as Sakura, even babying her a little. This does at least give the idea of how loving she is to her daughter by normality, which we don't get to see because the series is from Sakura's POV and not Tomoyo's. Add to that Sakura herself is extremely protective and kind towards Tomoyo, maybe she doesn't have it quite so bad.
Kero sees himself as this compared to Yue for both Clow Reed and Sakura, and calls out the latter on this when she treats him more regimentively than Yue (albeit largely due to her being intimidated around Yue as well as her occasional Innocent Insensitivity towards Kero).
Unlimited Wardrobe: Tomoyo makes Sakura a completely new outfit for each mission, and on occasions where she fails to capture the card on her first go, she gets two.
Kaho's Second Love (in the flashback to her relationship with Touya, she tells him that next time they meet, they'll both have new loves). In the manga, she's in love with Eriol.
The splitting of Eriol's magic and the revelation of Fujitaka Kinomoto being the other half of Clow Reed are missing as well. As a result Fujitaka doesn't get to be reunited with his wife's spirit again.
Actually The Sealed Card resolves very little of the details in the manga's climax. Syaoran (and Meiling) only returned briefly to Tomeda for a visit Nadeshiko Festival and supposedly would return to Hong Kong afterwards , the series only goes so far to cement that he and Sakura are now in a Long Distance Relationship, but with the possibility of visiting each other in the holidays.
Left Hanging: And this. Literally in mid air. The Cliffhanger-esque ending of the Sealed Card didn't go down too well with many fans either, especially when compared to the last frame of the manga. While using the Jump Card clearly indicates what will happen, it's not the same as seeing it happen.
Especially after waiting 70 episodes and 2 movies for it.
Not to forget that this is the whole point of the Second Movie and the end of the manga as well. If Sakura hugs Syaoran, the show's over!
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: While many of the Clow Cards do have formidable abilities, it's hard to see things like "The Sweet," "The Cloud," and "The Glow" be used for anything devastating in battle or stealth. "The Song" is also, in essence, a music recorder.
White and Grey Morality: This show has no villains; in the first arc, the Cards are portrayed more as mischievous beings than truly evil troublemakers (if somewhat inept to their occasionally dangerous powers) and are all subject to Defeat Means Friendship, and in the second arc, the "villain" is quickly hinted (and revealed at the end) to be much more of a Trickster Mentor. All the intelligent characters are presented as decent people, which underscores the "Humans Are Good" part of the trope.
White Hair, Black Heart: Yue is a rare variety that starts off antagonistic but eventually grows to care for Sakura once he accepts that she's not Clow, but doesn't have to be.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Tomoyo, in addition to being Genre Savvy, is extremely perceptive of the motives and secrets of people around her. This is even lampshaded in the manga when Eriol comments that her powers of perception are more valuable to her and her friends than magic.
Syaoran as well, who is extremely serious and non nonsense in tone and has vast intellect regarding the cards and their heritage. He is suggested to be well educated as well. That said, Ping Pong Na´vetÚ and Not so Above It All moments come at his expense a lot more.
Eriol is this, but that kind of comes with the territory of being the reincarnation of someone who was Really 700 Years Old by the time he died and remembers all of it. Not to mention that even in this life he's not the child he appears to be, because he stopped his aging.
Women Are Wiser: Played with. Most of the male cast are more morally ambiguous and arrogant the female cast, though also seem more world wary and intelligent. For example Sakura is more kind natured and humble than Syaoran, but also far more childish, scatterbrained and incredibly naive.
Syaoron, when he is thrown aside by Yue in the Final Judgement.
Although that last one is justified; Syaoran tried to use the Time Card, but Time is a Moon-based rather than Sun-based card and therefore falls under Yue's jurisdiction instead of Keroberos', so Yue was able to reverse it and trap Syaoran with it instead. | <urn:uuid:3b38083b-2876-4a7a-bf47-67dca8197724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/CardCaptorSakura?from=Main.CardCaptors | 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 | 0.971169 | 10,188 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Reviewed by Anita T (age 11)
My favorite part was when it started to tell you how you can tell them apart because at first I could not even tell which one is which. I do think the illustrations are good because they can make you feel like you are there. One of the illustrations had them playing soccer with two other girls and they also had them back to back, one with lipstick and one with a baseball bat which is how you can tell them apart. Some of the colors that the illustrator used where blue, white, and purple. The book reminded me one of the things that had happened in my life because me and my friends would go take pictures together and we would play soccer and play with make up. And thats why I liked the book called Mary-kate and Ashley Olsen.
Kids who like to read biographies would like to read this story to find out about the life of Mary-Kate and Ashley. Girls would like to ready this book because it is about the lives of girls. | <urn:uuid:98895fe2-bf50-4beb-95e1-429138af29a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spaghettibookclub.org/review.php?review_id=3116 | 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 | 0.990474 | 206 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Google’s foray into health care invites privacy questions
November 13, 2008 by Personal Liberty News Desk
Google is making news with its highly-touted flu tracking project, but when it comes to privacy issues, this may be just the tip of the iceberg.
The new Google Flu Trends function keeps track of nationwide searches involving the flu, with the goal of providing a quick snapshot of which parts of the country are experiencing outbreaks.
On the Flu Trends website, the search engine notes that an early version of this program was used last winter, and was able to provide flu estimates up to two weeks faster than existing Center for Disease Control and Prevention methods.
"In theory at least, this idea can be used for any disease and any health problem," said Dr. Joseph Bresee of the CDC.
Google’s flu project does not collect individual user data. However, privacy advocates may be far more concerned by this week’s report of a test program in Arizona where patients will be asked to store their medical records on Google and other websites. The goal of this program is to make it easier for patients to provide their records during emergency room visits or when switching doctors.
However, the Arizona Republic points out that the federal HIPAA medical privacy law only applies to actual health care providers, not third parties like Google. | <urn:uuid:76c7de38-e6a6-4b00-bd2c-067ea24cc828> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personalliberty.com/2008/11/13/googles-foray-into-health-care-invites-privacy-questions-18875759/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=81d32a40f7 | 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 | 0.942383 | 270 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Posted on 13 April 2013.
Students in the Osborne Association’s Green Career Center in the Bronx practice pitching themselves to potential employers in front of their class.
Listen to the full piece:
Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing a new statewide initiative that gives employers up to $2,400 for each formerly incarcerated person they hire. But first, they’ve got to get the job. Christie Thorne reports.
We’ve all filled out job applications. You write down your name, your employment history, add a few reference contacts. And then you’re asked about your criminal history. Each year, about 700,000 people have to mark YES to that question. That’s the number of men and women leaving the U.S. prison system.
RONALD DAY: Often times it’s like, well, if that person has checked off on an application that he or she has been convicted of a crime, sometimes those applications get put in the garbage.
Ronald Day is the Director of Workforce Development at the Osborne Association, a non-profit that offers practical skills and support for the formerly incarcerated.
RONALD DAY: What we want to do is try to level the playing field for individuals because we know that there’s a great deal of discrimination and a lot of stigma.
SOUND: Students chatting in class at The Osborne Association
It’s a busy Monday morning at the Osborne Association’s headquarters on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx. Fifteen grown men sit in a classroom staring at the front of the room.
SOUND: Teacher talking to students in the classroom
They’ve all spent time in prison, but none intend on going back.
SOUND: Student presents a pitch exercise
Today they’re crafting one-minute pitches – written to sell themselves to potential employers.
SOUND: Student presents a pitch exercise (Continued)
He’s fine practicing one on one, but when he reads in front of the class he stumbles. Disappointed in himself, he gest choked up. But he’s encouraged to keep going by the class, and he does.
SOUND: Students applaude
Then comes the important part. Getting feedback from his classmates.
SOUND: Students critique pitch exercise
After weeks of work on their resumes and practice interviewing, they’ll move on to technical skills, like plumbing and construction. When they make the transition in a few weeks, they’ll be come students of Alvin Banks.
ALVIN BANKS: I think it’s important to provide that inspiration or that template for people to see, like listen – there are opportunities out here and if you work hard enough you can be afforded them and life is not over.
Banks knows what they’re going through first hand. He graduated from here about two years ago, after he struggled to find a job when he got home from prison.
ALVIN BANKS: I came home from the Federal system February 10th, 2011. I did approximately 10 years altogether.
Ten years for fraud. The first thing Banks did when he got out was spend time with his four kids.
ALVIN BANKS: My youngest is 5. She was born while I was on Rikers and I actually was listening to her mother give birth on the phone. I made a decision the last time I was in prison to not come back.
A big part of staying out? Finding a job.
ALVIN BANKS: I was promptly told that I was basically unemployable because of my record.
And this is where a big problem lies for people that are trying to re-enter normal life. Ann Jacobs is the Director of the Prisoner Re-Entry institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
ANN JACOBS:It’s human that when we get discouraged, when we can’t think of the next thing to do and be hopeful about it that we revert to old patterns. I mean, I do think that’s the essence of recidivism.
About 40 percent of people leaving prison will be back in the system within three years. That number is even bigger in New York City – as many as half will go back.
ANN JACOBS:We should want to welcome them back to society and to have them have a stake in the larger whole.
Another problem is that many people returning from prison are going back to places that aren’t equipped to support them. Jacobs says to tackle recidivism we also need to look at these communities. But Alvin Banks says his main goal is to keep them focused on the uphill battle ahead.
ALVIN BANKS:I tell the participants that we have to be more diligent, we have to work harder. We have to get up earlier, we have to be smarter, we have to be more resilient than the average person because of our background.
And the strategy behind Governor Cuomo’s Work for Success program is to help ex-prisoners help themselves. Because lowering recidivism is ultimately good for everyone. Christie Thorne, Columbia Radio News. | <urn:uuid:79d6d221-b3bb-4f45-b846-9080ed1fb6db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uptownradio.org/tag/april-12/ | 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 | 0.958899 | 1,078 | 1.695313 | 2 |
| Islam's lethal certitude
By Alan Caruba
Americans and others in the West cannot comprehend why anyone would blow themselves up to kill, as often as not, other Muslims. Even if you were convinced that 72 virgins awaited you in paradise, committing suicide for the purpose of murder is so foreign to the Western mind that it remains, for most, outside the realm of any discussion.
Clearly, though, the West has witnessed and been victimized by a religion and culture for which this is a perfectly acceptable way to wage war and Islam is all about war, the conquering and reduction of an enemy to submission. The very word, Islam, translates as submission.
"Some Crusaders and Zionists, for example, doggedly accuse Islam of being the religion of the sword, claiming that it was spread by the edge of the sword," wrote Sayyid Qutb in Basic Principles of the Islamic Worldview before he was executed by the Egyptian government in 1966 as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"These people forget that Islam, being the last divine path for humanity, has an essential right to establish its own system on earth so that all humanity can enjoy its blessings…Establishing the ‘Islamic system' to have beneficial sway over all humanity, those who embrace Islam and those who do not, does indeed require Jihad as does the liberty of men to follow their own beliefs." Qutb is careful to nod in the direction of the Islamic admonition that "there is no compulsion in religion", but Islam is all about compulsion.
Qutb (1906-1966) was an Egyptian Islamist who wrote extensively about modern civilization and, with absolute certainty, the superiority of an Islamic theocracy to all other faiths and modes of governing on earth. As such, he is widely regarded as the intellectual father of the Islamic revolution that has been in play since the late 1970s and of al-Qaida. His brother, Muhammad Qutb, moved to Saudi Arabia where he became a professor of Islamic Studies and one of his students, an ardent follower of Sayyid Qutb, was Ayman Zawahiri, the mentor of Osama bin Laden.
Thus, we can begin to connect the dots of a religion that fosters a certitude and arrogance that the Western mind cannot comprehend. It is necessary to understand, however, that Islam arrived more than 2,500 years after the existence of Judaism, and 700 years after the spread of Christianity. It was the invention of Muhammad, based on his own spotty knowledge of these earlier religions and, like Muhammad, Qutb's regard for both is one of utter contempt.
"Judaism," wrote Qutb, "the religion of the Children of Israel, was polluted with pagan concepts as well as racial arrogance." Well, so much for the first and oldest monotheistic religion. Modern day Muslims are so befuddled by, not only the continued existence of Judaism, but the fact that Jews have reestablished the nation of Israel, they have waged a relentless effort to exterminate Israel's Jews.
"Christianity was no better than Judaism," wrote Qutb. "It was even worse." Hinduism is dismissed in a paragraph or two and Buddhism isn't even mentioned. Well, so much for tolerance! Despite the superficial effort to reflect some regard for the prophets that preceded Muhammad, Qutb's view is that "Islam has served as a correction to all the chaos and confusion, to all the deviations and faults into which all the distorted religions and clashing philosophies have blindly fallen, whether before or after the emergence of Islam."
By Qutb's standard, anything anyone believes that is not Islamic is just confusion and deviation. The extraordinary thing about Qutb's belief is that he clearly possessed a keen intellect. Well schooled in Islam, as a youth he moved to Cairo where he received a Western education between 1929 and 1933 before starting a career as a teacher. The turning point, ironically, was a trip Qutb took to the United States from 1948 to 1950 on a scholarship. He received a master's degree from the Colorado State College of Education.
His contact with the West radicalized Qutb because, as far as anyone can tell, he was not merely an ascetic, but a celibate who found normal human desires and behavior deeply offensive. He never married. Just about everything in those years of American rejuvenation after WWII was an abomination to Qutb who took time to write his first theoretical work of religious exegesis which was published in 1949. Writing about America he pronounced life there as "primitive" and endlessly shocking.
Clearly, he retreated into Islam as a defense against the real world and, in particular, the dynamic world of the West. The Middle East had been in decline for hundreds of years by then after its so-called golden years of conquest and expansion. Driven from Europe by 878 C.E., suffering the Crusades from 1095 to 1291, and fading under the Ottoman Empire, the Muslims of that region were locked in ignorance, poverty, and oppression.
Anything modern, anything secular, including the rise of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leading proponent of Arab nationalism, was an anathema to Qutb. He was not ignorant of the West, but he was utterly contemptuous of it. Despite his having read widely of Western philosophers and, apparently, science and other topics reflecting the long road to modernity made since the Enlightenment, the only truth to be found anywhere, so far as Qutb was concerned, was in the Koran.
"First and foremost," wrote Qutb, "the verses of the Koran were revealed in order to establish the correct criteria on which God wishes the concepts of humans as well as their life to be based." Everything that preceded the Koran was the "accumulated debris; beliefs, concepts, philosophies, myths, thoughts, doubts, superstitions, customs and traditions."
Prior to Islam, humans were "unable to find certitude."
The one thing Islam does provide to those born into it and to those who convert to Islam is certitude. And with certitude comes the human affliction of an arrogant belief that no other religion or form of government other than that imposed by Islamic law has any right to exist. The punishment for leaving Islam is death. The enemies of Islam are to be beheaded.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you al-Qaida, Wahhabism, and the Islamic revolution that is your obligation to resist for the sake of all mankind.
Alan Caruba writes a weekly column, "Warning Signs", posted on the Internet site of The National Anxiety Center, www.anxietycenter.com. © Alan Caruba, 2006
Get weekly updates about new issues of ESR! | <urn:uuid:0ca0cb1f-200a-45b0-8990-e1c841ea02d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0606/0606certitude.htm | 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 | 0.977016 | 1,392 | 1.75 | 2 |
GALLERY: A look back at Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he will resign on Feb. 28. The 85-year-old pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals. Benedict, the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years, emphasized that carrying out the duties of being pope — the leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide — requires “both strength of mind and body.” He says he is simply too infirm to carry on. Here’s a look at Pope Benedict XVI’s career in photos. | <urn:uuid:f0a6f226-f75f-467a-a389-72c554e33f80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uticaod.com/photos/x2082690472/GALLERY-A-look-back-at-Pope-Benedict-XVI | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967242 | 121 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Mr. Williams's organization describes a "perfect storm of adverse conditions" in a country where nearly 90 percent of the tourist trade is American: sky-high gasoline prices, confusion about new US customs and passport requirements, border crossing delays, and the US dollar's 30 percent fall against its Canadian counterpart over the past two years.
Among the hardest hit are communities and businesses that rely on short-term, drive-in tourists. In March, Americans made only 730,000 same-day car trips, down 2.5 percent from February and 68.3 percent from 2001.
"The season has gotten off to a slow start," says Pauline Alexander, who works at the Roosevelt Campobello International Park, one mile beyond the bridge linking Campobello Island, New Brunswick, with Lubec, Maine. Annual visits to the park's centerpiece – Franklin D. Roosevelt's summer home – have fallen by a third since 2001. "It's been really hard for people on the island," she says.
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario has also seen its US clientele wither, with ticket orders off by 10 to 12 percent compared with 2007. "Until this year, we've been somewhat protected from the downturn. But now we've seen the most significant drop," says the theater company's media manager, Ann Swerdfager. "There's the weak dollar, high gas prices, and a lot of confusion about what kind of documents are required to get back into the US." | <urn:uuid:db43f9ba-5995-4672-9b7d-8ca747b95f06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2008/0708/p07s01-woam.html/(page)/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956689 | 303 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Britain's top medical officer wants to curb binge drinking by hitting Britons in the wallet, the Telegraph reports. Sir Liam Donaldson will tomorrow recommend a government-imposed price hike of 50 pence—about 70 cents—per unit of alcohol. The move would also double the price of many supermarket beers. "Price is one of the most important drivers of alcohol consumption,” said another top doc.
But booze makers, who acknowledge Britain's rising alcohol problem, aren't exactly thrilled. “This would hit the pockets of hard-working families who are already struggling to make ends meet,” a rep said. As it stands, around 10 million Brits drink more than the government recommends, and alcohol-related deaths have doubled over the past 15 years. | <urn:uuid:932ad203-0470-4188-9781-e5b2babf20ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newser.com/story/53381/brits-drinking-solution-double-booze-prices.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965198 | 154 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I planted a lot of broccoli this year and let some flower just for the bees. The broccoli always does well, but some of it always gets too far along before I pick it so I figured the bees will use it. They love it!
They also loved the corn pollen earlier this year. Even when there were other tasty flowers, they still went nuts in the corn.
They love turnip salad blooms probably mustard too. Turnip salad is one of the earliest sources of pollen too. That stuff was blooming middle/end of march here this spring.
Plant it now if you want it blooming next year. It produces loads of seeds and you can't kill the stuff. It'll be back year after year.
My old mentor always said he loved his honey unless they were growing broc/cauliflower around... cuz it took on that flavor of crucifers... kind of how you smell it when you're around the plants. I think they use sulphur compounds to attract flies as well for pollination.
I've also been wondering about the honey from all the garlic chives the bees are hitting up here. The chives are an invasive weed for me so there is a lot of them. The bees are crazy about them.
BTW, look at the tattered old wings and baldness of this old bee on this garlic chives flower. Poor old girl.
Oh yeah, she's worked hard for sure. I had one worse than that on my mint... I don't think she made it back though, I was amazed she could even get lift let alone fly. Allium sp put out a fair amount of nectar in general and you can definitely smell it for sure. | <urn:uuid:e96a6a31-61ab-4de3-a733-4dbb86a6470c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beesource.com/forums/printthread.php?t=273965&pp=20&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978588 | 353 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Sun November 25, 2012
Despite Talk, Immigration Overhaul Not A Guarantee
Now that Republicans are widely embracing an overhaul of immigration laws, even a path to legal status for illegal residents, will their members in Congress follow through?
At first glance, it appears that they just might. After the election, in which more than 70 percent of Latinos voted for President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said "a comprehensive approach is long overdue" and that Republican House leaders and Obama "can find the common ground."
On Nov. 16, Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart announced that he and fellow Hispanic Republican lawmakers had begun meeting with Democrats to "find a bipartisan solution."
Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, who has aggressively pushed for immigration reform, even when his fellow Democrats were silent, couldn't be happier.
"Finally, thank God," Gutierrez says. "On a serious note, I've met with a dozen of my colleagues on the Republican side, and they have all said, 'We've got to get this done.' This election proved that people won't accept doing nothing. And they won't accept finger-pointing."
Blueprint For Bipartisan Talks?
This coming week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which consists largely of Democrats, is expected to release a set of "principles" that they hope will guide bipartisan talks when the new Congress begins in January. Obama also has urged lawmakers to "seize the moment" early next year.
The Hispanic caucus's parameters will include the bedrock goals of Democrats and immigrant advocates, such as a path to legal status if not outright citizenship, and requirements such as learning English and paying back taxes. Also included will be conservative priorities such as securing U.S. borders and worker verification.
Gutierrez, who is a member of the caucus, says now is the time "to let the process work amongst our Democratic and Republican members. Will they come to some kind of flowering? I think so."
So far, the new esprit de corps hasn't spread to Republicans on the House immigration subcommittee, which could act as the conservative firewall against new legislation. The committee is packed with members who support limited immigration and oppose legal status for illegal immigrants.
The retirement of subcommittee chairman Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., at the end of the year could lead to the elevation of vice chairman Steve King, R-Iowa. King has been an archenemy of immigrant advocates and last year introduced a bill to eliminate automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.
In recent days, Boehner has backed off the idea, preferred by Democrats, of a single immigration bill and suggested that revisions could be divided into several smaller measures. That approach is favored by conservatives, whose support Boehner must have for any deal.
"There's a lot of distrust on both sides of this debate, and I think a lot of distrust in the American electorate on this debate," says Matthew Spalding, vice president of American Studies at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. "The potential problem is if this immediately becomes framed as the same pre-existing alternatives, like, 'Let's do everything in one big piece of legislation,' which is complicated, expensive and hard to do, I'm not sure trying it for a third time would work."
Spalding says the bills could separately target issues such as border security, problems in the immigration system, such as visa backlogs, and the status of people already in the United States.
Testing The Waters
The first test could come with the introduction of a Republican immigration bill during the current lame-duck session of Congress. The STEM Jobs Act would increase the number of green cards for foreign-born graduates in the United States with doctorates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The bill failed to pass the House in September, despite 30 Democrats having voted for it.
But it's not the olive branch many Democrats want. Its author, conservative Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), has been a staunch opponent of immigrant advocates, favoring a limited flow of foreigners and opposing a path to citizenship for those already in the United States.
In an editorial letter published by Politico on Tuesday, Smith criticized as flawed a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll in which 57 percent of all respondents said they support a path to citizenship. Smith wrote that the results merely support "the media's predetermined notions."
Smith cited Rasmussen Reports polls from 2011 in which majorities of respondents favored securing U.S. borders over granting legal status — or amnesty, as Smith put it — to illegal immigrants.
Democrats oppose Smith's bill because they say it wouldn't significantly relieve the backlog of more than 400,000 high-skilled immigrants awaiting permanent green cards and would take 55,000 green cards per year from the diversity visa category, eliminating that program. Diversity green cards are issued to people from African nations and other countries with low rates of emigration to the United States.
Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California has proposed a similar bill that instead would add new green cards for high-skilled workers while preserving the diversity visa program.
Some Democrats, preferring not to poison the potential for a bipartisan compromise, quietly bristle at the possibility that Republicans could bring Smith's bill to the House floor for a vote by using a "closed" rule, which would prevent Democrats from attaching amendments.
In Senate, Dueling Versions Of DREAM Act
In the Democratic-controlled Senate, members in both parties already have pledged action on immigration. Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is expected to return as chairman of the chamber's immigration subcommittee, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., want to revive their 2010 wide-ranging proposal that would include a guest-worker program, automatic visas for foreign-born graduates with advance degrees in high-tech fields, and legal status for those with no criminal records who pay a fine.
Several Republican senators, such as Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, want to pass an updated DREAM Act, which would offer a path to citizenship for young adults brought to the United States as children. The original bill, drafted by Democrats, failed in the Senate in 2010.
Collins, of Maine, was among the Republicans who defeated the DREAM Act in 2010. Rubio, of Florida, who is Cuban-American, has been working on his own version but hasn't released details.
Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona, who are retiring at the end of this year, have proposed a pared-down version of the DREAM Act, called the ACHIEVE Act, which would offer legal status but not citizenship.
Immigrant activist Cesar Vargas, director of the DREAM Action Coalition, said in a recent blog post in The Hill, that the ACHIEVE Act would be "untenable" for young people.
"The American people certainly appreciate the proactive efforts of the Republican leadership for beginning to engage in the conversation of immigration," Vargas said in the post. "However, voters, specifically Latino voters, spoke clearly on election day that they support the original DREAM Act. Mitt Romney garnered only 27 percent of the Latino vote, primarily due to his threat to veto the DREAM Act."
Obama's deferred deportation program targets DREAM Act-eligible people, though Rubio and most other Republicans have criticized the effort as a politically opportunistic quick fix. Since the program began in August, more than 309,000 people have applied and more than 53,000 have been approved for the two-year reprieve, according to the latest government figures. | <urn:uuid:986bfad5-f62c-4f23-8234-3866f938a1d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ketr.org/post/despite-talk-immigration-overhaul-not-guarantee | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967925 | 1,567 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The development will cover two hills and will include 3,000 social homes with sports facilities, retail, restaurants and gardens. The buildings will occupy 10% of the 56 ha site, with the remaining space used for energy production and as a public park.
All energy required by the city will be generated by solar cells and and wind turbines. The city will also incorporate a greywater circuit and natural water purification.
A museum and viewing point hidden in the top of one of the hills will house a research and promotion centre for renewable and energy-efficient technology.
The following text is from MVRDV:
Government of Rioja gives green light to MVRDV’s Logroño Montecorvo Eco City
The government of the Spanish province and autonomous community Rioja has decided to go ahead with the development of the extension to Logroño. The Eco-City designed by MVRDV in collaboration with GRAS foresees the construction of 3,000 social homes and complementary program. The new neighbourhood achieves a CO2 neutral footprint by producing renewable energy on site. The total investment is 388 million Euro.
The 56 ha site, just north of Logroño on the two small hills of Montecorvo and la Fonsalada, offers views over the city and vast south facing slopes. The masterplan is designed in a compact way occupying only 10 % of the site: the linear compact urban development meanders through the landscape, providing every apartment with views towards the city. In addition sports facilities, retail, restaurants, infrastructure and public and private gardens are part of the plan.
The remaining landscape becomes an eco-park: a mix of park and energy production. As the slopes are south facing solar energy is easily generated. A tapestry of PV-cells clad the mountain, covering the hills in golden reflection. On top of the two hills, windmills generate part of the energy needed for the 3.000 social houses and at the same time they work as landmarks for the development. 100% of the energy demand is generated on site by a combination of solar and wind energy. A greywater circuit and on site natural water purification are parts of the plan that combines dense urban living with real ecological improvements. All these measurements will allow the new development to reach a CO2 neutral footprint and the highest Spanish energy efficiency rating.
Next to this, by building as compact as possible (following the optimal height line of the hill) the building costs are minimized. A further part of the plan is the construction of a funicular accessing a museum and viewing point hidden in the top of Montecorvo which will also house a research and promotion centre for renewable and energy efficient technology. The on site production of clean energies and the quality of construction will allow to save an excess of 6,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The total sum of investment is 388 million Euro of which 40 million will be invested in renewable energy technology. MVRDV won the competition in collaboration with Spanish architecture office GRAS. Client is the city of Logroño; the project will be developed by Spanish firms LMB and Grupo Progea and was conceived in collaboration with Arup. | <urn:uuid:6c10c429-2fb0-48e2-896e-5fb2e8ad5db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dezeen.com/2008/09/27/logrono-montecorvo-eco-city-by-mvrdv/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934289 | 652 | 1.796875 | 2 |
- It's really far away from everyone you don't want to see. Wales is far away, this is how Wales works. You can be in Wales, and still be really, really far away from everyone else in Wales. This is useful when you're not that fond of a lot of people, or if you've just committed a murder.
- You can not shower for weeks, and no one will notice. The single benefit of rain. If you think it rains a lot in England, just wait till you get to Wales. It's just bloody silly.
- I ran out. | <urn:uuid:dc7a6fc5-1276-47a1-bdf6-17ab15262ec0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://putkettleonlove.blogspot.com/2012/12/benefits-of-wales.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966263 | 121 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Mary Etta Conner Lemmon — a pillar of strengthPosted: April 2, 2012
This post is part of The Stitches we Leave Behind series.
My mother came from a tradition of creative women on both sides of her family, specifically, her grandmother on her father’s side and her own mother and maternal grandmother.
My mom’s paternal grandmother, Mary Etta Conner, was born September 7, 1880 in Champaign County, Ohio. Mary Etta’s mother died when she was very young. She was from a rural area of Ohio, and according to her daughter-in-law, my grandmother Anna Adams Lemmon, her family lived in a one-room log cabin where the snow sometimes sifted in through the cracks between the logs upstairs in the loft where she slept.
Mary Etta only went to school until the 3rd grade. According to my uncle, Cory Jr. Lemmon, she was proud to have received an education. She married Cory Oscar Lemmon when she was sixteen years old. He was twelve years her senior. According to my grandfather, Cory Oscar “was a drunk.” The marriage was rocky and after eight children were born Cory Oscar reportedly left the family and started a new one. When the marriage broke up, she was left with six children to raise, alone and without support.
Mary Etta worked at the Imperial factory making ladies stockings to support her family.
My great-grandmother was a mid-wife and helped deliver my mom into the world. Uncle Cory said, “She ‘doctored’ herself, with her own remedies until she was unable to care for herself any longer.”
My mother said my great-grandmother was always a hard worker, and “she’d be up on a chair at 80-years-old washing the walls or something.”
My great-grandma Lemmon made us a little stuffed Santa Claus one year; my mom still sets it under her tree at Christmas.
I remember very little about my great grandmother, only that my mom used to do her laundry for her. I remember one time my sister and I had braided our hair when it was wet and then let it loose after it dried. The result was that it was kinked all the way down. My great grandma really liked it. I remember the one-room apartment she had in a duplex. And that she had a pot-belly stove that she baked the best big soft sugar cookies in I’ve ever had and never have been able to reproduce.
I was a little intimidated by her, and perhaps even scared as young children sometimes are around the elderly. As an adult, knowing what I know now about her and her life, I wish I had had the opportunity to know her better.
See The Stitches We Leave Behind under the Series tab above for more links in this 10-part series. | <urn:uuid:aab1895e-6cc4-4aa3-bbb3-c07645627454> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://randomthoughtsfrommidlife.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/mary-etta-conner-lemmon-a-pillar-of-strength/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991039 | 608 | 1.632813 | 2 |
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord,[c] sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for I am in verse 14. the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
16 "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18 "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
Top 10 sermons on Exodus 3
- Excuses Instead of Service
- Understanding God
- When God Calls
- When Excuses Fall Short
- The God of the Second Chance | <urn:uuid:cf12d906-1231-4f36-a48c-3cc6545027a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sermoncentral.com/bible/NIV/Exodus-3.asp?passage=Exodus+3:12-3:24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959929 | 473 | 1.75 | 2 |
Blackwater book cover; Goldhanger Creek
Ready About on the River Blackwater is a delightful little book by Creeksailor.
His real name is Tony Smith, but as his self-chosen name and title suggest, Creeksailor is a small boat enthusiast fascinated by the creeks and shoals of the northern part of the Thames Estuary and of the Blackwater in particular.
It wouldn’t be too much to say that Tony adores the place, but I only discovered why very recently. I have once sailed on the Blackwater but it was an open water sail and, naturally, I came away thinking it was a pleasant and sheltered estuary with some interesting features that should be seen at closer quarters.
Fair enough, you might think, but one evening this summer, by chance we found ourselves standing on the seawall at Goldhanger Creek where – bang! – it came to me. Finally I saw what Tony sees: an extensive sheltered area of inlets and creeks waiting to be explored and few people to disturb the peace.
We have our own creeks and ditches around the Swale of course but some day, when there’s time and the right weather, I hope to sail over and have a good look round from our own shoal-draft boat.
In the meantime, what does Ready About on the River Blackwater have to offer?
It opens with a foreword by Tony’s guru, legendary East Coast sailor and navigation expert and teacher Charles Stock. What follows is not a guidebook, but describes a series of visits and a series of places, which Tony does pretty well.
He’s informative, gives an up to date picture of how things are on this coast, takes the time to tell just enough of the history, and, like many earlier sailing writers on this area, has some good stories to tell. It’s quite enough to get anyone interested in sailing the Blackwater, and will be well worth taking afloat to re-read for points of local interest while waiting for the tide. Handily, it’s a fairly slim volume that’s easily carried.
But what Tony’s book offers that most earlier prophets of East Coast sailing could not is photos – lots of them, and in colour. With earlier writers, you have to close your eyes and half-guess half-interpret what’s being described – which is difficult for beginning sailors, and those who only sail keelboats. Just how small can a creek be and still be navigable?
With Ready About in your hands, it’s possible to see what he’s so enthusiastic about, and make your own judgements.
The book could have done with a bigger map (in two parts, perhaps?), and that here and there it might have benefited from slightly sharper proofing (as could this weblog, no doubt). But these are tiny things: it’s a super little book, and when I finally closed the back cover, I wanted more. I hope Tony goes on to write and publish more of this kind of thing.
PS Creeksailor is also a busy weblogger, who’s well worth following. Read his weblog here - I guess it’s also the best place to find out where and when copies of Ready About may be bought, and I gather there a new print run is just about to arrive on Tony’s doorstep… | <urn:uuid:1d5a298f-d732-4f57-91a9-f6ac6e814a87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intheboatshed.net/2011/10/07/ready-about-on-the-river-blackwater-by-creeksailor-tony-smith/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962332 | 721 | 1.679688 | 2 |
There have been but very few important
changes among those officials who have had
to personally superintend the actual and
practical operations of the road during the
past twelve or fourteen years. Mr. E. P.
Rogers enjoys the distinction of being the "
Pioneer of the road." Most of those
prominently connected with the early
organization of the road are dead. Among
those may be mentioned J. H. Moores, I. R.
Moores, E. N. Cooke, Joel Palmer, J. S.
Smith, S. Ellsworth, James Douthitt, J. H.
D. Henderson, Greenberry Smith, A. L.
Lovejoy, A. F. Hedges, W. S. Newby, J. P.
Underwood, Gov. Gibbs, and last, but by no
means least, Ben Holladay. To Mr. Rogers
belongs the distinction of being the eldest
officer now connected with the operating
department of the road. He first came to
Portland in 1870, and assumed the position
of general freight and passenger agent, and
the exacting duties of that position he has
for the past seventeen years discharged with
strict fidelity to the best interests of the
corporation, and to the satisfaction of the
Mr. John Brandt is also an old and efficient officer of the company. Mr. Brandt came to Portland in 1873, and in July of that year assumed the position of general superintendent of the road. This position he has filled proficiently for the past fourteen years. The fact that Mr. Brandt has been retained as superintendent through all the changing fortunes of the road, and under the different managements, is the highest evidence of his competency and thorough experience in the practical operations of a railroad.
One year later Mr. R. Koehler came to Oregon. . As before stated, he came first as resident financial agent of the German bondholders. He entered upon the active duties of the position July 25, 1874. Since that date Mr. Koehler has been an active and prominent factor in the management of the company's affairs-as financial agent, vice president and manager, and as general receiver. His long retention by the owners of the road, and the implicit trust reposed in his ability and integrity are the best endorsements that could be offered.
Under the management of these gentlemen the roads have been operated for a long period with as rigid a measure of economy as the financial conditions of the company demanded, and yet with as much liberality and in as satisfactory a manner to the public service and the necessities of traffic as was possible under all the existing circumstances. The company was entangled in a somewhat complicated mesh of litigation during the first few years of its existence, and the corporate name has figured very extensively in the records of the United States Courts and Courts of the State, both as defendant and plaintiff to a tangled mass of suits. But when the unsettled, uncertain state of affairs is considered, when the controversies and desperate struggles for mastery, the heated and bitter rivalries, and the inevitable conflict of personal and corporate interests are all taken into account, the abundant harvest of tedious litigation which followed, seemed but a natural and legitimate result.
Few roads of equal length in this country have enjoyed a similar measure of exemption from disasters, when all the disadvantages under which operations have been maintained have been taken into due consideration. Prom first to last there have been no serious collisions of rail accidents on the line involving the extensive loss of human life, or the destruction of much valuable property. This very important fact speaks in most emphatic terms of the care, caution and good judgment displayed in the management of trains for the past seventeen years.
This article would be incomplete without the mention of Mr. H. Thielsen's name, and of the important part he took in the enterprise. Mr. Thielsen first arrived in Portland March 1, 1870. He at once assumed the duties of chief engineer and superintendent combined. Practically he became the acting manager of the road. Under his supervision the twenty miles of road which have been constructed between East Portland and Rock Island were rebuilt. He had charge of the building of the entire line between Rock Island and Roseburg. Mr. Thielsen has also built the line on the West Side from Portland to St. Joe, except some little preliminary operations done prior to his arrival here. Mr. Thielsen remained in charge of the engineering department of the road, and as practical. engineer until the retirement of Holladay. Mr. Thielsen was succeeded by Mr. Koehler in 1874 in the practical management of the road. Subsequently he retired from all connection with the road, and soon after accepted the position of chief engineer of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company.
The car shops of the company were established by Holladay in 1870, and were located two and a half miles south of the east side depot. Since they were first started, from eighty to one hundred men have been kept employed. Mr. Brandt has long held the position of master mechanic. Heretofore, the facilities for making necessary repairs and building new rolling stock have been comparatively adequate to meet the requirements of the company; but now, that through connection has been established, the necessity for the enlargement of the shops and the increase of facilities has become imperative.
The Narrow Gauge System
No history of Portland
would be complete without some notice of the
system of narrow gauge railways which
terminate here, for having no other outlet
for their business, the Narrow Guage System
and the Metropolis city must always be
mutually dependent on each other for
This system was projected by Joseph Gaston, Esq., who has been noticed as the pioneer of the road between Oregon and California. Mr. Gaston took up the idea of a system of cheap and economically managed lines to more perfectly develop the resources of the Willamette Valley, in the year 1877, and for that purpose incorporated a company to construct a road from Dayton to Sheridan, in Yamhill County, with a branch to Dallas in Polk County. He knew that any move of this kind would be regarded as a hostile demonstration by the owners of the Oregon Central, with which he had been formerly connected, and, therefore, to avoid drawing their fire to as late a day as possible, he commenced his road at a point distant from this city, as if it were to be an unimportant affair. He relied for his means to carry out the enterprise mainly on the wealthy farmers of Yamhill and Polk Counties, and made much' the same appeals for popular support by public meetings and otherwise, as he had formerly made in behalf of the Oregon Central line. And although the owners of the Oregon Central very early comprehended the interloper in their field of business, and put out men to talk down and oppose Gaston, he had by April 1st, 1878, made such headway as to be able to break ground at Dayton and purchase the iron and rolling stock for forty miles of track. He pushed his work with great vigor, and in six months had the first forty miles of narrow guage railroad in Oregon in operation.
After thus far succeeding the opposition did not abate their efforts to check or cripple Gaston's scheme of a system of railways coterminous with the Willamette Valley. They saw too plainly that it meant low rates and no profits to their lines, when compelled to compete with the little. narrow guage which was already picking up produce and passengers at every cross road. Mr. Villard was then rising to his zenith of power, and first offering to buy out Mr. Gaston without pledging himself to maintain the road he had built, he turned to buying up the claims for iron and other debts against it and threw it in the hands of a Receiver. But the man who had built forty miles of railroad, without a sack of flour to start with was not likely to be gotten. rid of in that summary way. And Gaston quietly and speedily arranged with a syndicate of capitalists in Dundee, in Scotland, to take his road off his hands and carry out his plans of extending it not only to Portland, for which Gaston had incorporated the Willamette Valley Railroad Co., but also southwardly by branches on both sides of the Willamette River.
This brings in the Oregonian Railway Company (Limited), a corporation organized under Royal Charter in Dundee, Scotland. This company was organized through the efforts of William Reid, Esq., of Portland, who became its President. Mr. Reid quickly took the Gaston road out of the hands of the Receiver, and went to work in 1880 with great vigor to extend its lines to both sides of the Willamette, to the west side track and crossing the Willamette River at Ray's Landing and constructing from Dundee, in Yamhill County, to Coburg, in Lane County.
After successfully operating this narrow guage system, now grown to be a formidable factor in the development of the Willamette Valley, and while Mr. Reid was in the midst of his work in extending the road from Dundee to Portland, Mr. Villard entered into negotiations to lease the narrow guage lines, which lease for 99 years, was finally accomplished in the year 1882. Upon the making of the lease, the work of extending the road to Portland was indefinitely suspended.
It is but justice to record, that Mr. Reid bitterly opposed the making of this lease, and warned his constituent stockholders in Scotland, that although they might be stipulating for a handsome income on their investment it was not keeping faith with the people of Oregon, whose people and legislature had heartily encouraged the road by granting it the public levee in this city for terminal grounds, and by much other substantial aid, and that the lease would terminate badly. Mr. Villard operated the Narrow Gauge lines for about a year, and then repudiated the lease as made without authority or power, and abandoned the property to the tender mercies of the United States Circuit Court, which placed it in the hands of a Receiver for preservation during the pendency of the litigation to determine the validity of the lease.
Upon the execution of the lease, Mr. Reid withdrew from the Oregonian company, and in the year 1886 incorporated the Portland and Willamette Valley railroad company to construct a narrow gauge road from Dundee, in Yamhill county, the northern terminus of the narrow gauge lines above mentioned, to the city of Portland. This twenty-seven miles of track was very expensive, but was pushed to final completion to the public levee in this city in the year 1888. It is now known that leading capitalists of the Southern Pacific railroad have purchased, not only this last road built by- Mr. Reid, but also all the lines constructed by the Oregonian company; the lease to Villard having been declared void by the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Scotch stockholders losing all their investments, but the bondholders and other creditors of the road being paid out of the proceeds of such sale to the Southern Pacific company. | <urn:uuid:28f697f9-2ed5-4a63-a295-eaf2b3240ce5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accessgenealogy.com/oregon/multnomah/prominent-railroad.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978641 | 2,306 | 1.679688 | 2 |
General description: A 45-mile drive through the red-rock country between Abiquiu and Tierra Amarilla.
Special attractions: Ghost Ranch, Echo Amphitheater, Abiquiu Reservoir, Carson National Forest, dinosaur fossils, camping, hiking, fishing.
Location: North-central New Mexico. The drive starts in Abiquiu, about 22 miles north of Española.
Drive route number: US 84.
Travel season: Year-round. Fall is probably the most pleasant time of year for the drive. Winter storms will sometimes make the northern part of the route snowy and icy. At those times, chains and snow tires may be required.
Camping: An Army Corps of Engineers campground lies at Abiquiu Reservoir. The Carson National Forest maintains a campground at Echo Amphitheater and several in the mountains east of Canjilon, a village 3 miles east of US 84.
Services: All services can be found in Española to the south of Abiquiu and Chama to the north of Tierra Amarilla. Limited food and gas can be found in Tierra Amarilla.
Nearby attractions: Chama River Wilderness, Santa Fe National Forest, Heron Lake, El Vado Lake.
For more information: Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce, Ghost Ranch, Carson National Forest. See Appendix for addresses, phone numbers, and websites.
The drive starts in the cottonwood-lined Chama River Valley and slowly climbs north into the foothills of the Tusas Mountains, an extension of the San Juan Range of Colorado. Along the way, it passes some of the most scenic red-rock country in New Mexico and a graveyard of dinosaurs.
The route begins in Abiquiu, a small farming and ranching village that was settled in 1744 by a few Spaniards and Indian captives. Today, this sleepy village on the shady banks of the Chama River reveals little of its tumultuous and difficult beginnings. Making a living off the land was difficult because so little of it was arable. Ute Indian tribes from Colorado attacked regularly. A zealous priest found Abiquiu to be full of sorcery and sin, and a number of residents were even tried and convicted of witchcraft, in trials similar to those in Salem, Massachusetts.
Abiquiu’s most famous resident, painter Georgia O’Keeffe, lived for many years in the little village. She first came to New Mexico in 1930 and was enchanted by the terrain; the light in the clear, dry air; and the dramatic skies. O’Keeffe came every summer to live and paint at Ghost Ranch north of Abiquiu. She purchased and renovated an adobe house on a bluff overlooking the Chama River in 1945. The next year her husband died and she moved to Abiquiu permanently. She died in 1986 at age 98. Her softly textured paintings of the land around Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch have almost become trademarks of northern New Mexico. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe showcases many of her works.
A few miles north of Abiquiu, the valley narrows into a canyon, and the highway climbs out onto a mesa top because the canyon is blocked by a dam a short distance upstream. Abiquiu Reservoir, the lake created by the dam, is visible just to the west. NM 96, which forks to the left, leads to the lake and crosses the dam. The lake level fluctuates greatly but allows boating, fishing, and camping. | <urn:uuid:17edab13-e5c6-45f0-807c-9438b7f10a2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weather.com/travel/driving-scenic-drives/nm-ghost-ranch-20120420 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947666 | 729 | 1.820313 | 2 |
When I first began to cover the genocide in Darfur, Chad was a stable country that seemed as if it would finally prosper with new-found oil and stability. Going into Darfur was dangerous then, but Chad’s roads were safe by day, and even at night I never felt at great risk.
And when refugees from Darfur poured across the border into Chad, they got a pretty good welcome from impoverished villagers in Chad. Rich Western countries didn’t offer much, but Chadian peasants shared what little they had. Gradually, though, the Darfur chaos and fighting began to destabilize Chad, and aid workers and UN reps have been pleading for international attention on Chad.
That never came, and now Chad is beginning to resemble Darfur — at least here in eastern Chad where I am now. Those magnanimous Chadian villagers who three years ago were looking after their Darfuri neighbors are now driven from their homes themselves. And the Janjaweed is burning villages as much as 60 miles deep into Chad, sometimes burning people alive in their huts. Today I spoke with a woman who was badly burned as she tried to rescue her husband as he was burned alive; she failed, and so she is now a widow who is also coping with horrific burns.
I’m also seeing the anger feeding on itself. Today I spoke with a boy who said he wanted to go out and shoot all Arabs, even kids, because Arab nomads had shot him and his father. Later I interviewed a rape victim who said she would shoot Arabs if she had a gun. I’m afraid Chad is teetering on a cliff. It desperately needs peacekeepers to bring it back. And the U.S. and France should send a few fighter planes out to the French air base at Abeche and simply strafe the columns of Janjaweed. They’re easy to find, and they’re on Chadian territory, so there are no sovereignty issues. And we would save lots of lives — and perhaps Chad’s future — if we were to do that. | <urn:uuid:b8e19777-6a78-457f-a6c8-2d90d20e3399> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/11/11/the-cost-of-doing-nothing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985542 | 432 | 1.679688 | 2 |
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Thu January 26, 2012
Reading The Tea Leaves: Cuba's Communists Convene
In Cuba this weekend, President Raul Castro will preside over the first meeting of the island's all-powerful Communist Party since last April. Castro has lowered expectations for any new economic reform announcements, saying that internal party affairs will be the business at hand.
But many Cubans will be watching for signs of who is rising in the party's ranks — and who could take over after Raul and Fidel Castro, both in their 80s, are gone.
During the 47 years that Fidel Castro ruled this island, he often surrounded himself with younger, hand-picked proteges like economic planner Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. They were always on TV, seemingly groomed as the next generation of Cuban leaders.
But in 2009 they were sacked, caught on secret recordings disparaging the Castros and their trusted circle of aging comrades. Raul Castro has made clear the island's next leaders will have to rise through the party ranks in Cuba's provinces, says Rafael Hernandez, editor of the Havana journal Temas.
"Most of the Communist Party leaders in every province are very young. And taking into account the importance of Communist Party general secretary in every province, we will find that 40 percent of them are women. Many of them are blacks," Hernandez says.
Watching The Politburo
Many will be looking at this weekend's party conference for insight into who may be ascendant on Cuba's Politburo, not unlike the Kremlinology that once tried to decipher Soviet power relations. Raul Castro is 80 years old; his vice president is 81.
"When you are over 80 years old, you have to stop thinking of the next 10 years, or next six or seven years, you have to do what you're going to do right now," Hernandez says. "And the most important responsibility, the heaviest responsibility of this generation is to move forward, and to move forward as fast as possible into the Cuban transition toward a new Cuba and a new leadership."
Cuba's old leadership was a debate topic this week for Republican primary candidates in Florida facing questions about what would happen if Fidel Castro dies. The retired comandante fired back in one of his opinion columns Wednesday, calling their contest "the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance" he's ever heard.
That's about all Fidel Castro does these days. He's 85 and hasn't appeared in public in months. His brother Raul is firmly in charge, and whoever succeeds him is likely to follow the example he's set, gradually opening the economy to ease Cubans' frustrations.
But major political reforms are not in the offing, says Miriam Leiva, a former diplomat who became a dissident writer in Havana.
"The main thing is that they don't let the population decide anything. And they want to [stay] in power and decide everything," Leiva says. "Because the Cuban population is accustomed to just accepting what comes from power, and Cubans know they cannot change anything."
At the last Communist Party meeting — held in April and the first of its kind in 14 years — Raul Castro surprised many with a proposal limiting public office to two five-year terms. He officially took over Cuba's presidency in 2008, so if he holds himself to that standard, his second term would be up in 2018, when he's 86 years old. | <urn:uuid:e041643b-ee1a-4f30-aea3-ca5c602bb8f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kcur.org/post/reading-tea-leaves-cubas-communists-convene | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969432 | 776 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Gratitude may be increased by constantly reflecting on our blessings and giving thanks for them in our daily prayers.
Growing up in southern Utah, some of us sought employment at the many gasoline service stations that lined old Highway 91 as it made its way through downtown St. George. My younger brother, Paul, then 18, worked at Tom’s Service, a station located about three blocks from our home.
One summer day, a car with New York license plates pulled in the station and asked for a fill-up. (For you brethren under the age of 30, in those days someone actually came out and filled your car with gas, washed your windows, and checked your oil.) While Paul was washing the windshield, the driver asked him how far it was to the Grand Canyon. Paul replied that it was 170 miles.
“I’ve waited all my life to see the Grand Canyon,” the man exclaimed. “What’s it like out there?”
“I don’t know,” Paul answered. “I’ve never been there.”
“You mean to tell me,” the man responded, “that you live two and a half hours from one of the seven wonders of the world and you’ve never been there!”
“That’s right,” Paul said.
After a moment, the man replied, “Well, I guess I can understand that. My wife and I have lived in Manhattan for over 20 years, and we’ve never visited the Statue of Liberty.”
“I’ve been there,” Paul said.
Isn’t it ironic, brethren, that we will often travel many miles to see the wonders of nature or the creations of man, but yet ignore the beauty in our own backyard?
It is human nature, I suppose, to seek elsewhere for our happiness. Pursuit of career goals, wealth, and material rewards can cloud our perspective and often leads to a lack of appreciation for the bounteous blessings of our present circumstances.
It is precarious to dwell on why we have not been given more. It is, however, beneficial and humbling to dwell on why we have been given so much.
An old proverb states, “The greater wealth is contentment with a little.”
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philip. 4:11).
Alma instructed his son Helaman, giving him counsel that all fathers should teach their children: “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 37:37).
Alma says, “Let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.” The Lord desires that we give thanks. In Thessalonians we read, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thes. 5:18).
As holders of the priesthood we should constantly strive to increase our gratitude. Gratitude may be increased by constantly reflecting on our blessings and giving thanks for them in our daily prayers.
President David O. McKay has said: “The young man who closes the door behind him, who draws the curtains, and there in silence pleads with God for help, should first pour out his soul in gratitude for health, for friends, for loved ones, for the gospel, for the manifestations of God’s existence. He should first count his many blessings and name them one by one” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1961, 7–8).
A constant expression of gratitude should be included in all our prayers. Often prayers are given for specific blessings which we, in our incomplete understanding, believe we need. While the Lord does answer prayers according to His will, He certainly must be pleased when we offer humble prayers of gratitude.
Brethren, the next time we pray, instead of presenting the Lord petition after petition for some action in our behalf, give Him thoughtful thanks for all with which He has blessed us.
President Joseph F. Smith has instructed us that “the spirit of gratitude is always pleasant and satisfying because it carries with it a sense of helpfulness to others; it begets love and friendship, and engenders divine influence. Gratitude is said to be the memory of the heart” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. , 262).
In October of 1879 a group of 237 Latter-day Saints from several small southwestern Utah settlements was called to blaze a new route and colonize what is today known as San Juan County in southeastern Utah. The journey was to have taken six weeks but instead took nearly six months. Their struggles and heroics are well documented, particularly their seemingly impossible task of crossing the Colorado River at a place called Hole-in-the-Rock. Those who have visited this place marvel that wagons and teams could have been lowered through this narrow crack in the red rock canyon walls to reach the Colorado River far below. Once the Colorado was crossed, however, many other severe tests awaited them on the trail to San Juan County. Tired and worn out, early in April 1880 they faced their final obstacle, Comb Ridge. The Comb is a ridge of solid sandstone forming a steep wall nearly 1,000 feet high.
One hundred and twenty years later, our family climbed Comb Ridge on a bright spring day. The ridge is steep and treacherous. It was difficult to imagine that wagons, teams, men, women, and children could make such an ascent. But beneath our feet were the scars from the wagon wheels, left as evidence of their struggles so long ago. How did they feel after enduring so much? Were they bitter after the many months of toil and privation? Did they criticize their leaders for sending them on such an arduous journey, asking them to give up so much? Our questions were answered as we reached the top of Comb Ridge. There inscribed in the red sandstone so long ago were the words, “We thank Thee, O God.”
Brethren, I pray that we might keep our hearts full of thanks and appreciation for what we have and not dwell on what is not ours. As holders of the priesthood, let us adopt an attitude of gratitude in all we do is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. | <urn:uuid:2e6d36fa-3306-4aa1-990c-763c87d70635> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/gratitude?lang=eng&country=gb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969137 | 1,420 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Here's a promise: this will be the last post on cherry blossoms for at least a year! However, biking through Central Park this weekend with camera in pocket, this tree was hard to resist. To me the most resonant moment of the cherry blossom cycle is when the petals fall and the grass is carpeted in pink before the petals start to turn brown. I was initially the only person photographing here, but as the picture shows, within minutes it became a hot location and I realized that pictures of people taking pictures of other people underneath the cherry blossoms was a lot more interesting than the blossoms themselves. It helps to click and see this picture in a larger size, but I love the matched pair posing demurely in the middle with their faces obscured and the guy on his back behind them. However, I'm well aware that this is more of a "snap" than a "photograph" in the artistic sense of the word.
To see what I mean by this, you just have to go to Tod Papageorge's recently published book. Passing Through Eden, a collection of pictures he took in Central Park from the 1970s to the 1990s. It's a book that is at once documentary, sensuous, and allegorical. Revelatory both because Papageorge who heads Yale's graduate photo program has been famously absent from the exhibition world and because the pictures are so good. As well as being decisively and artfully composed every one of Papageorge's photographs hint at more complex narratives underneath and all have a certain psychological intensity and edge.
Papageorge has said, “One of my attractions to photography was that I felt it was much closer to writing and literature than any other visual art.” which helps explain why he stuck to black and white photography while his peers made the move into color. More importantly, like writing, his work seems to be where the outside world and the inner voice meet and even the most random moments are brought together into some kind of highly personal order.
From Passing Through Eden: | <urn:uuid:16638d41-45d8-4855-81e2-bf3f7940a876> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pictureyear.blogspot.com/2008/05/thinking-pink.html?showComment=1210021140000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980128 | 422 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Warren E. Buffett has reported holding stakes in the Microsoft Corporation and several other companies after the Securities and Exchange Commission refused to let Mr. Buffett, a renowned billionaire investor, delay disclosure of these holdings.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the Omaha company controlled by Mr. Buffett, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it held 167,500 preferred shares issued by Microsoft as of Sept. 30, 1999. Microsoft first sold the convertible preferred stock in December 1996.
Mr. Buffett and other big investors rely on a quirk in S.E.C. reporting requirements that enables them to delay disclosure on some of their stakes for at least a year. Mr. Buffett has used the loophole to trade shares in American Express, Wells Fargo and McDonald's.
But the money managers must show that release of the data would hamper their proprietary trading strategies. And in June 1998, the S.E.C. sent out a letter stating that it would require more detailed explanations from those who wished to keep their holdings secret.
Money managers who handle $100 million or more of stocks must publicly report their holdings to the S.E.C. quarterly. Those managers can apply for permission each quarter to report some of their holdings on a public form and report others in a confidential filing with release delayed for about one year.
To obtain the confidential treatment, Mr. Buffett in previous applications said that disclosure of Berkshire's holdings would enable other investors to follow Mr. Buffett's lead, driving up the price of stocks he is buying. But Berkshire disclosed today that the S.E.C. had denied confidential treatment for the filings that Berkshire made during the first three quarters of 1999.
''Berkshire has chosen not to appeal the denial of confidentiality as to these securities even though Berkshire believes that its confidentiality request was appropriate,'' the company said in the S.E.C. filing.
In addition to the Microsoft stock, the newly released filings disclose for the first time that Berkshire held one million shares in Robert Half International Inc. and 1.86 million shares in Cox Communications Inc. Both of these stocks, however, may have been selected by Louis Simpson, who runs an investment portfolio for the Geico Corporation, rather than Mr. Buffett.
All of the Robert Half and Cox shares were held under Geico's name as well as Berkshire Hathaway's at Sept. 30, 1999, according to the S.E.C. filing. Geico is a Berkshire subsidiary, and the two companies report their holdings in the same filing at the end of each quarter. | <urn:uuid:7076afd7-eb71-4b51-ab25-977813debdd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/23/business/buffett-reluctantly-discloses-berkshire-stake-in-microsoft.html?src=pm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969402 | 522 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Having been introduced to this idea by two different people in the same week earlier this month, I thought I’d give it a go. Not much to say really, other than it’s easy to do and the pea shoots taste great. A no-brainer for winter flavour and nutrition. These few pictures tell the story:
Just give five minutes to this inspiring talk by bioneer Paul Hawken:
I stumbled upon Colleen Stevenson’s beautiful illustrative take on the permaculture principles today and thought I’d like to share it. Check out her website www.colleenstevensongraphics.com to see much more of her work. Below is a short video where she talks about what some of these principles mean to her. Enjoy & be nourished.
The recent snow affected most of us in one way or another. Interestingly, I was running a Permaculture Diploma tutor training event on the outskirts of London when much of it fell. I thought the possibility of being snowed in inside the M25 rather ironic, given how much I avoid going there. Mind you, who [...]
Janine Benyus introduces the science of Biomimicry; using nature as our inspiration for creating new technologies. This gives me so much hope for our collective future and fits so beautifully into the permaculture vision. Spend the next 18 minutes regaining some hope…
The much awaited follow up to Geoff Lawton’s inspirational five minute flash video posted on You Tube a few years ago… Greening the Desert II: Greening the Middle East from Craig Mackintosh on Vimeo.
Perhaps only one piece of the puzzle, but still nice to see Stephen Fry adding his voice to a nice little video by WeForest… And mentioning the word ‘permaculture’!
It was perhaps inevitable that our so-called ‘World leaders’ would disappoint us in Copenhagen. Are any of us really surprised? The influence of big business is far too great for our politicians to lead us any more. No, we are the ones this time who are going to have to come to the rescue. Yes, [...]
Having just put another couple of logs on the fire on this chilly night, I am once again reminded of our total reliance upon winter warmth. As I mentioned before, we’ve developed an adapted hibernation strategy to get us through the cold months, but our dependency on fossil fuels of late has made us very [...]
So having looked at the functionality of different patterns, how might we go about using this knowledge to design truly sustainable ways of living? Well, looking at both excellent and poor examples of pattern application should help illustrate the idea. In wastewater treatment systems, we have long used beds of gravel to help clean up [...]
Patterns abound in nature, and yes we often see beauty in those places, but our ability to recognise patterns is actually vital to our survival. Imagine if you will… What if we couldn’t recognise the pattern of say, a particular face or fruit and associate it with safety / nurturing or indeed the opposite? Wouldn’t [...]
The daily choices that we make have either a positive or a negative effect upon our environment & believe me, those choices are significant. Have you ever considered how much of your income (& time) that you spend each week on just obtaining food? Now multiply this up for a whole year. Then multiply that [...]
Our clutter… It’s traditionally the time of year again to give our homes a good ‘Spring clean’. I guess back in ‘the old days’, warmth was too precious to be opening doors until it was warm enough outside, so a smelly winter indoors was probably inevitable! Vacuum cleaners have of course removed the excuse for [...]
In the great seasonal cycle of the year, Winter; when there is little for us to do outside, is the time that nature has offered us for reflection. Yet instead, our artificially-created busyness keeps us pre-occupied (working all hours to earn enough money to pay the mortgage* & keep on top of our debts) & [...]
It’s unusual to get to the end of the day at the moment, without hearing the word ‘recession’ (look there I go mentioning it again!). But these cycles are to be expected as they are a completely natural thing. Each year we enter a different kind of recession, but one that we are always much [...]
So that went well… my new year resolution to write every day failed at day 2. Many would call that pathetic, but I (after a short period agreeing with them), have decided to celebrate it instead. Am I mad? Some might say so, but there is reason in my apparent insanity. You see, everything I [...]
So what’s your new year resolution? Have you thought of one yet? The turning of the year always provides us with a great incentive for a fresh start, but what is the secret to maintaining any new habits? Well for me, it has to be something important, or I lack the helping hand of my [...]
Last weekend, on my way to teaching one of my weekends-based permaculture design courses, I was offered a leap of faith. It had rained heavily the night before, so I encountered areas of flooding on the first half of my journey which I carefully negotiated. It all seemed manageable, but then I came across the [...]
The soil is vital to everything that lives on Earth; if we want healthy bodies & a healthy planet then we need healthy soil. So we must make choices that encourage this & support farming systems that feed the soil rather than deplete it. Soil is a miraculous substance, a place where air, water, minerals [...] | <urn:uuid:16e7c54a-bd28-4eaf-8c42-ae2eb4410acd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abundantfuture.co.uk/category/permaculture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952092 | 1,184 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Town looks at LUB division
The Town of Banff is investigating if parts of the Land Use Bylaw can legally be stripped out and put into other bylaws and policies that don’t require federal government approval.
The move, in part, relates to concerns that Parks Canada may hold up approval of the bylaw until its battle with the municipality over what it sees as commercial expansion into public service lands is resolved to its satisfaction.
Banff council has asked administration to look at whether certain issues in the LUB – a document that controls all land use and development in the townsite – could legally be regulated by other municipal bylaws and policies.
Prominent local lawyer Eric Harvie raised the issue at a recent public hearing on the amending Land Use Bylaw, suggesting the Town of Banff needs to rethink its entire approach to land use planning.
“The municipality should strip out everything it can legally pull out of the Land Use Bylaw and move those regulations to other bylaws, council policies or development agreements,” he said.
“The first step would be for the municipality to seek legal advice on what is actually legally required to be in the Land Use Bylaw under the Municipal Government Act and under the Incorporation Agreement.”
Mayor Karen Sorensen said she respects that Parks Canada needs to sign off on municipal documents like the community plan and LUB, but added removing some areas could make future potential changes more efficient.
“It does add time and paperwork to getting these things completed, which other municipalities don’t need to deal with, but it is a process set up within the Town of Banff,” she said.
“I think Mr. Harvie’s letter was interesting and it certainly piqued council’s curiosity around whether there are things in the Land Use Bylaw that don’t need to sit in that bylaw, that could be regulated through other means.”
Harvie, who was not representing any one particular property owner or business, said amendments to the LUB have become an extremely cumbersome process solely because of the legislated commercial cap.
“Any proposed changes to the bylaw, even simple and non-contentious changes that are necessary for a functioning municipality to make from time to time, are inevitably tied to resolution of the multitude of issues that arise, and will continue to arise, because of the commercial cap,” he said. “Today’s issue is the public service land use matter.”
The issue Harvie refers to is the ongoing fight between the Town of Banff and Parks Canada over public service land use districts, which was sparked by the municipal planning commission’s approval of a law office on Beaver Street.
Parks argues the move erodes commercial development limits and expands the municipality’s commercial footprint, while the Town says it’s a broader interpretation of what constitutes a community service on public service lands.
The Town plans to examine public service land use districts as part of the next phase of the LUB review later this summer. The review of the bylaw has now been underway for more than two years.
Parks Canada does have final authority over all land use issues in the townsite – and has the power to refuse to sign off on the LUB – but is going the court route instead and is seeking leave to appeal on June 6.
Harvie said he is not advocating the commercial development cap be ignored or defeated, adding he believes the majority of Banff residents believe some form of cap is appropriate for the national park townsite.
But he said the commercial cap -– which was implemented in 1998 amid concerns across the country about development in Banff – was poorly designed from the outset and has flaws that should be corrected.
“In my opinion, the PS land use district issue is solely the result of poor land use planning when the commercial cap was introduced,” Harvie said.
“The PS land use issue is not an isolated matter, rather the list of issues and unforeseen consequences coming to the surface because of the commercial cap is growing and growing.”
Harvie said instead of meaningful discussion, Parks Canada appears intent on enforcement as evidenced by repeated appeals of Municipal Planning Commission and Development Appeal decisions regarding public service districts.
“It is foreseeable their next ‘counter and thrust’ will be to withhold any approval of the Land Use Bylaw until the PS land use issue is resolved to their satisfaction,” he said.
Harvie said he believes any changes to the Land Use Bylaw will take years and years to approve.
“It means anything written in the Land Use Bylaw will now be entrenched for a very long time and amendments will become increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to make,” he said.
“This is an unacceptable situation for a single industry municipality that has to be nimble and responsive to market changes. The commercial sector has repeatedly made one request – that are for certainty – and the current process creates uncertainty.”
Parks Canada did not get back to the Outlook with a comment by press time.
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If you did not receive your activation email, please click here to have it resent. | <urn:uuid:2ba338a5-8ec9-46f5-8ee4-f4f7c6d3fe43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rmoutlook.com/article/20120524/RMO0801/305249980/0/rmo0903 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948554 | 1,147 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Now that you know where we're going, it's time for some myth busters. For some reason, Fargo seems to have some sort of--well stereotype. This post is actually written 90% by Steve, so enjoy the first ever Steve post!
Fargo: True or False
1 – It is a small town.
False. This was one of our big worries about applying to North Dakota State. Both Sarah and I would prefer to be in a middle sized town, and small towns are just not our thing. Fortunately, the twin city of Fargo-Moorhead has a population of about 177,000, which will actually be around the size of our past homes (Provo-Orem = 190,000; Champaign-Urbana = 120,000; Lawrence = 80,000). When we visited, this was the first thing we were most impressed with – it was a much bigger city then we thought.
2 – We will be moving to North Dakota.
Don’t know. Although this may be true, Moorhead is actually in Minnesota, and so one of the things we must decide is what state to live in. The cost of living is low on either side, so it will probably depend on what school system we prefer.
3 – It is cold.
I wish this were false. It will definitely be about 10 degrees colder than in Kansas. Unfortunately for myself, Sarah, Joshua, and Whitney all prefer the cold and snow, so really this will only be a test for me. But I think I can enjoy the 70-80 degree August days.
4 – There is no reason to visit Fargo.
False. As I mentioned, we are on the North Dakota-Minnesota border, which means that everyone in Fargo owns a second house or boat and enjoys the lakes in Minnesota. We’ve made it a tradition to head to Canada in August, and if you want to enjoy cooler temperatures over the summer, the lake scene, Mount Rushmore, the Roger Maris museum, Canada, the Red River (one of the few rivers in that runs north) or the South Dakota Badlands, come on up.
5 – The city is named after the movie.
False. The city is named after William George Fargo of Wells Fargo Bank fame. By the way, there is a movie called “Fargo” that won two academy awards and that everyone in Fargo hates. They made us promise to never watch it because of its portrayal of the city. Apparently it makes the city look pretty rural.
6 – We are pretty happy to be going to Fargo-Moorhead.
False. Pretty happy doesn’t say half of it. We are ecstatic to leave graduate school behind for this job. Don’t get me wrong, we have really enjoyed our student life. But I’m sure we will find a way to love post-student life even more :) | <urn:uuid:040997c4-78e8-49c3-a3ff-f1bd103a5f37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.meetthebecks.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972436 | 602 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Waldo Emerson Chamberlain was born
June 28, 1886 in . His father, originally from Manhattan, NY West Brookfield, was Daniel Henry Chamberlain who was governor of from 1872 - 1877. His mother was Alice Ingersol. Waldo and his father came to live in West Brookfield when Waldo was about 10 years old, settling in at the family farm known as Elm Knoll. He died of rheumatic fever in South Carolina West Brookfield on Sept. 12, 1902 and was buried in next to his mother and four of his brothers. Pine Grove Cemetery
I do have more information on the Chamberlain family which is available on request.
Blog entries this week may be few and far between while I am waiting for a new power supply for my computer. I hope to resume more detailed entries as soon as the new power supply is installed. | <urn:uuid:fbad27d0-57e4-4ba4-bb78-6fd42bdd5f08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://genealogyinwestbrookfieldmass.blogspot.com/2011_06_28_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989954 | 174 | 1.734375 | 2 |
“I didn’t do it all,” answered Clanton, flushing. “Billie helped, and the Roubideaus got two of ’em.”
“That’s not the way Billie tells it. Anyhow, you-all made a great gather between you. Six ’Paches that will never smile again ought to give the raiders a pain.”
“Don’t you think we’d better get him to bed?” said Pauline gently.
“You’re shoutin’, ma’am,” agreed Webb. “Roubideau, the little boss says Jimmie-Go-Get-’Em is to be put to bed. I’ll tote him in if you’ll give my boys directions about throwin’ the herd into yore park and loose-herdin’ ’em there.”
The Missourian picked up the wounded boy and followed Pauline into the house. She led the way to her own little bedroom. It was the most comfortable in the house and that was the one she wanted Jim Clanton to have.
Billie Asks a Question
Roubideau rounded up next day his beef stock and sold two hundred head to the drover. During the second day the riders were busy putting the road brand on the cattle just bought.
“Don’t bust yore suspenders on this job, boys,” Webb told his men. “I’d just as lief lie up here for a few days while Uncle Sam is roundin’ up his pets camped out there. Old man Roubideau says we’re welcome to stick around. The feed’s good. Our cattle are some gaunted with the drive. It won’t hurt a mite to let ’em stay right here a spell.”
But on the third day came news that induced the Missourian to change his mind. Jean, who had been out as a scout, returned with the information that a company of cavalry had come down from the fort and that the Apaches had hastily decamped for parts unknown.
“I reckon we’ll throw into the trail again tomorrow, Joe,” the drover told Yankie. “No use wastin’ time here if we don’t have to stay. We’ll mosey along toward the river. Kinder take it easy an’ drift the herd down slow so as to let the cattle put on flesh. Billie an’ the kid can join us soon as they’re fit to travel.”
The decision was announced on the porch of the Roubideau house. Its owner and his daughter were present. So was Dad Wrayburn. The Texan old-timer snorted as he rolled a cigarette.
“Hm! Soft thing those two boys have got sittin’ around an’ bein’ petted by Miss Polly here. I’ve a notion to go an’ bust my laig too. Will you nurse me real tender, ma’am, if I get stove up pullin’ off a grand-stand play like they done?”
“The hospital is full. We haven’t got room for more invalids, Mr. Wrayburn,” laughed the girl.
“Well, you let me know when there’s a vacancy, Miss Polly. My sister gave me a book to read onct. It was ’most twenty years ago. The name of it was ‘Ivanhoe.’ I told her I would save it to read when I broke my laig. Looks like I never will git that book read.”
By daybreak the outfit was on the move. Yankie trailed the cattle out to the plain and started them forward leisurely. Webb had allowed himself plenty of time for the drive. The date set for delivery at the fort was still distant and he wanted the beeves to be in first-class condition for inspection. To reach the Pecos he was allowing three weeks, a programme that would let him bed the herd down early and would permit of drifting it slowly to graze for an hour or two a day. | <urn:uuid:02422b51-30ef-4a77-9523-b403329a2eca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/14171/29.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965363 | 926 | 1.59375 | 2 |
CCAP's methodology attempts to put itself in a student's shoes. How good will my professors be? Will the school help me achieve notable career success? If I have to borrow to pay for college, how deeply will I go into debt? What are the chances I will graduate in four years? Are students and faculty recognized nationally, or even globally?Great questions! I wonder how they answer them....
To answer these questions, the staff at CCAP (mostly college students themselves) gathered data from a variety of sources. They based 25% of the rankings on 7 million student evaluations of courses and instructors, as recorded on the Web site RateMyProfessors.com.Huh? They relied on RateMyProfessors?! That's utterly unscientific. Okay, everybody, head over to RateMyProfessors and game the system. Don't you want your school's rating to go up? Instead of going there to slam the teacher who made you read too much, failed to amuse you sufficiently, and gave you a bad grade, it's time to pad the ratings of your school's teachers so that you can improve your credentials.
That's if anyone cares about the Forbes ranking... which they shouldn't, if it's based on idiotic data.
Another 25% depends on how many of the school's alumni, adjusted for enrollment, are listed among the notable people in Who's Who in America.Who's Who in America?! What's the methodology of inclusion in Who's Who in America?
Who's Who in America? A better question is: Who cares about the Forbes college ranking? Other than the folks at Wabash College and Centre College, 12th and 13th on the list.
And, yeah, I'm irked that they completely disrespected the University of Wisconsin—Madison — at 335th. | <urn:uuid:8411e0af-7aee-42c7-bd11-5e8debcfe570> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/forbes-challenges-us-news-in-college.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966163 | 371 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Fishers of Men
September 22, 2012 1 Comment
Today’s video short brings to life Matthew 4:18-19 where we learn that Peter is a fishermen on the Sea of Galilee who leaves everything to follow Jesus. In turn, Jesus promises Peter that he will make him a fisher of men. Yet, at the end of the gospels, still on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and after a miraculous catch of fish, Jesus gives his final charge to the fisherman Peter by instructing him to “Feed my lambs…Take care of my sheep…Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17
The nature of fishing and shepherding are very different. And yet, each human soul needs both. Fishing is about catching while shepherding is about caring, providing and protecting. The Bible also makes this distinction between the nature of the spiritual gifts of evangelism and pastoring. My experience has been that evangelism is like fishing, while pastoring is synonymous with shepherding.
Jesus provided Peter with both of these gifts. Soon Peter would go fishing in Jerusalem and with the gospel he would net 3,000 souls for the kingdom of heaven (Acts 2). Now he had 3,000 souls to feed and care for. He did both in obedience to the One who had caught and cared for his own soul. My prayer has always been to have within our ministry a heart for both of these gifts and to see them functioning together at the heart of the church, whom like Peter, Jesus commissioned to both fish and shepherd the souls of people. | <urn:uuid:733a34a6-b28f-4424-b787-4f9e89848ad6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://frstephensmuts.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/fishers-of-men/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96894 | 325 | 1.75 | 2 |
Eva Ayllon has been bringing joy with her songs to millions since the 1970′s. (Luis Gonzalez Taipe)
“I always liked to sing, but I didn’t know I was going to end up as a singer,” Ayllón says. She first thought she’d become a nurse, but changed her mind when she was in her teens. Nevertheless, Ayllón still liked the idea of healing people, and decided to do this through her singing.
Ayllón began performing in Peruvian nightclubs in the 1970s, and by the 1980s, she was producing and collaborating with established Peruvian groups. In 2003, she received two Latin Grammy nominations in the “Best Folk Album” category, and in 2008 she sold out Carnegie Hall.
She says that the most difficult point in her career was when she had to perform when she was still distraught over the death of her mother. “I think we artists are like little clowns. We have to have a great temperament and great attitude during adverse situations like death.”
Because of this perseverance, her music has made an impact on people all over the world. She says that some fans have even approached her after concerts to tell her that her music saved their lives. “Some people said they were going to commit suicide, but listened to one of my songs and felt revived,” she says.
“This isn’t vanity for me. I was born singing.”
Dominican author Junot Díaz has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship – an award unofficially known as the “genius grant.” (Photo by Ulf Andersen/Getty Images)
“I discovered my love for books when I immigrated to the United States. I loved books to death,” says Dominican American writer Junot Diaz.
But success didn’t come easy for Diaz, who before establishing his writing career, worked in a steel mill, washed dishes, pumped gas, and delivered pool tables. “For a Dominican kid from New Jersey, it was an unusual and impractical dream,” he says.
Despite the obstacles, the idea of becoming a writer was something he wouldn’t let go of even though, he says, “there was no sign that it was going to get better.”
And his persistence paid off. Diaz is the author of “Drown”; ”The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and “This Is How You Lose Her,” a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. He has won numerous other awards and is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Part of being a young artist is being true to your dream. I don’t think I would give advice to young writers of color, but I will give advice to young people of color with a dream: there is nothing in the world that makes the dream easy except the love of the practice. I had to constantly rekindle my love of reading and find ways to honor that love.”
For Sandra Andino art has been her passion on the side, until now.
(Photo courtesy by Sham-e-Ali al-Jamal)
Sandra Andino was in her mid-20s when she decided to pursue photography. She first received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Puerto Rico, then moved to move to Philadelphia to attend graduate school at Temple University. During this time, she started to meet other artists. “I realized it was my calling,” she says.
Though her family always encouraged her to be creative, they didn’t think she should pursue photography as a career. “Making a career out of making art wasn’t something my family understood.”
She has now shown her work at several galleries and has served as an arts administrator in agencies such as Taller Puertorriqueño, WHYY-TV, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Bed-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and others.
For a long time, Andino said she had a 9 to 5 job and practiced her art on the side, but she recently decided to dedicate herself to her photography full time.
“Despite what others might say, stay focused, centered, and positive,” she says. “If you give it value, then others will.”
Nilton Borges, chef extraordinaire, says one should always focus on learning and having new skills.(Photo courtesy by Amali)
Nilton Borges, Jr.
Chef Nilton Borges Jr. grew up cooking with his mother and grandmother. “I always had an affinity for food,” he says.
And though he was passionate about cooking, Borges didn’t decide to become a chef at first. “Growing up in Brazil and being black, there was always that image that you have to have a position with more status.” Borges attended medical school in Brazil, but when he was 20, however, he decided to move to New York to look for other options.
His first job in New York was as a bathroom attendant at a music venue, but eventually, Borges ended up in kitchens. “I started as a dishwasher and working in kitchens for free,” he says. After working in restaurants for eight years, he decided to go culinary school.
Borges is now the executive chef at Amali, a Greek restaurant “dedicated to supporting sustainable farming, viniculture and design,” which has won many awards including New and Notable Newcomer in Wine & Spirits Magazine, 2012, and Diner’s Choice Mediterranean Restaurant, Tri-State Area, 2012
“I’ve been blessed with the people I work with and the place where I work,” Borges says. “I’m successful by doing what I intended to do.”
He believes that to succeed in the culinary world, you should always focus on your skills. “Always try to move to places where you can learn. Never follow the money,” he says. | <urn:uuid:543d3e8b-3916-4b43-a55c-cd4b4c39aad6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://erikalsanchez.com/tag/afro-latinos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986487 | 1,311 | 1.617188 | 2 |
A Quick Overview-- three terms to become familiar with:
Student Visitor Without Visa
Tier 4 (General) Student Visa
Student Visitor Visa
If you are a US citizen who plans to study in the UK for less than 6 months and you have no intention to work or intern you may enter the UK as a STUDENT VISITOR WITHOUT VISA. Entering the UK as a student visitor without visa and not with a Tier 4 Student Visa is considered to be the more appropriate route for those students who are going only going for less than 6 months and not working/interning. For those students who meet the above criteria but who are not US citizens you will need to see if you are considered as a 'visa national' and if so, then you will need to apply for pre-authorization as a STUDENT VISITOR WITH VISA. For more information on eligibility, please see: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/
If you do intend to work (ex. those students doing a semester long internship program) then you do need to apply for the TIER 4 (GENERAL) STUDENT VISA (PBS Tier 4 General Student Visa VAF 9) which requires a visa application to be submitted and prior entry clearance prior to departure.
It is not possible to change your visa after your arrival. But our view at Brockport is that when a student is sure that he or she does not want to work, and will not want to extend their program, it is a waste of time and money for them to seek the Tier 4 Student Visa.
How do you enter the UK as a student visitor?
If you are a US citizen, simply ask for it when you arrive at Heathrow Airport, or another UK point of entry. Apart from your passport, all you need is a letter from the university that you will be studying at in the UK confirming an offer on a course (unconditional offer letter which you should have 3-4 weeks prior to departure and different than the first acceptance letter that you received from Brockport), proof of your intention to depart the UK at the end of your study (round-trip ticket) and evidence that you have enough money to finance your stay in the UK. That can be a loan approval, or a personal financial statement supported by bank evidence. You should provide proof of support for the total cost of your program (receipt that tuition is paid for) plus the current maintenance recommendations. Should your accomodation cost be covered in the cost of your program (this varies for Brockport programs and can be determined by looking at your official budget sheet that was included with your Brockport offer letter), then you can deduct that sum from required monthly maintenance fees. Entering as a Student Visitor without visa does not cost anything.
Please note: Do not book a flight which connects through the Republic of Ireland. You will not be able to obtain proper immigration clearances if you travel to the United Kingdom through the Republic of Ireland. Failure to secure the proper passport stamp may affect your ability to remain in the country for the duration of your time abroad or cause you difficulty when you try to exit the UK at the conclusion of your program.
Can you travel in and out of the UK as a Student Visitor without visa?
Yes. Officially any type of visitor visa is single entry, so when you leave the country and return during the course of the semester you need to request the student visitor stamp again when you come back. But all that means is that you need to take the same documentation (your passport, the letter from the UK university, proof of round trip ticket and financial evidence) whenever you leave the country, and show it when you return to the UK.
You must apply for a Tier 4 (General) Student Visa if you are participating on an internship, you intend to work, intern or volunteer while studying abroad, or you are studying in the UK for more than six months. The UK Border Agency sometimes refers to Tier 4 (General) Students as 'adult students', in its documents. | <urn:uuid:2a09abdb-3c2a-495d-89ec-268d7e185c33> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brockportabroad.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Parent_ID=06B9C311-BCDE-E7F3-51079705C096587F&Link_ID=DD493C78-BCDE-E7F3-552AF9B5B9CD9993&pID=9&lID=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951185 | 844 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Civil and voting rights organizations filed suit today alleging the purge violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans discrimination in voting practices. “This lawsuit will protect eligible voters in every county in Florida from walking into a polling place only to find that the state has erroneously decreed they cannot participate in this election,” Catherine M. Flanagan, director of Project Vote’s Election Administration Program, said in a statement. “This purge is profoundly undemocratic and must be stopped.”
Florida officials insist the purge is necessary to prevent voter fraud, despite the fact that no evidence of widespread voter fraud exists.
Of the list of nearly 2,700 voters that the state has flagged as possible non-citizens on the voter rolls using a faulty data matching process, over 500 have already shown documentation that they are citizens and eligible to vote. A program with a high error rate that places the burden on the voter to proof citizenship will end up disenfranchising hundreds of eligible voter’s right before the election with little time to correct the error and restore their right to vote.
“The Florida Immigrant Coalition, Inc., an organization that represents the immigrant community across the state of Florida, believes this as another effort to intimidate legal immigrants,” said Maria Rodriquez, executive director of Florida Immigrant Coalition, Inc, a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We see this purge as part of a continuum of attacks on immigrants that could impact this community’s confidence that their votes this election will be counted.”
Database matching programs are notoriously unreliable. Data entry errors, similar-sounding names, and changing information can all produce false matches. Additionally, some voters slated for removal may well have been naturalized since completing the DHSMV or juror forms. Further, it places the burden of proof on the voter, who according to the state, must respond within 30 days to a notice letter that could easily be lost, misplaced, or inadvertently ignored.
“While counties have an obligation to clean and update voter rolls, they also have an obligation to follow the law in doing so. If there are people on the roles improperly, there is a legal process to remove them. Unfortunately, Florida’s current program does not follow the law,” stated Ben Hovland, senior counsel with the Fair Elections Legal Network. “As a result, we have seen the use of outdated or incorrect records from the Department of Motor Vehicles jeopardize the right to vote of hundreds of law-abiding Florida citizens. Florida should stop this effort immediately and restore the voting rights of anyone that has been affected by this faulty matching program.”
“It is clear that the state of Florida is in violation of the Voting Rights Act,” said Advancement Project Co-Chair Penda Hair. “It is shameful that Governor Scott is violating federal law to remove the voting rights of thousands of American citizens, with a glaringly disparate impact on Black and Latino citizens who are perfectly eligible to vote.”
The facts clearly demonstrate that the program disproportionately burdens Hispanics, Haitian Americans, and other minority voters in Florida. According to the NVRA, any state program to maintain an accurate and current voter roll must be “uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.” However, 87 percent of those targeted on the purge list are minorities, including 53 percent that have been identified as Hispanics.
“This action by Florida state officials is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise Latino and other voters of color, and to harm their ability to participate in the voting process,” said Juan Cartagena, president and general counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Public data records are rife with inaccuracies and Florida officials know that. This last minute voter purge speaks volumes about their motivations.”
Despite insurrection from county election officials, evidence the purge targets African-American and Hispanic voters, and a lawsuit by the Department of Justice to end the purge, the Scott administration presses on. In doing so Scott joins the long list of Republican southern governors who stood defiant and resolute in their goal of disenfranchising minority voters. Scott may not consider himself part of the racist neo-Confederate wing of the Republican party, but history surely will.
Photo from gageskidmore via flickr.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers. | <urn:uuid:30a148de-2e4d-42de-92a1-d819affdc694> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.care2.com/causes/more-lawsuits-over-florida-voter-purge.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942873 | 920 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Next in my quest to veganize Indian sweets, especially the ones I miss the most, is the gorgeous, almost healthy carrot halwa.
The period roughly between August and November is festival season in India. Mind you, there are many many Hindu festivals scattered through the year, but some of the biggest ones happen during this period, including Ganesh Chaturthi, Dassera, and Diwali, the mother of all Hindu celebrations.
This is the time to cook and eat all sorts of delicious sweets, and each region has their own favorites for each festival. Growing up, my family always took care to match the sweets with the festival. Me, I cannot be bothered to remember, so I just cook whatever sweet I have a mind to if I feel like it, if I have the time, and if Desi lobbies me hard enough.
Last Friday, after reading about the wonderful Dassera celebrations on the Indian food blogs, I just had to make a sweet dish. I had a bag of carrots in the refrigerator, so carrot halwa it was.
Carrot halwa is a popular sweet in Indian kitchens, and it's easy to see why. The carrots are boiled in milk until they are melt-in-your-mouth tender and sweet, and then they are fried in ghee. Of course, all that milk and ghee adds a bazillion calories, but who cares when the end result is as mindblowing as it is?
Well, I do, and besides, I don't cook with milk nor ghee. For my vegan carrot halwa, I used almond milk which, at 40 calories a cup, has almost a third of the calories of whole milk and less than half those in skim milk. And trust me, you would never taste the difference. I adapted this recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking, and it called for three cups of milk. So right there I lopped off nearly 200 calories.
Next I used 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to fry the halwa instead of the 5 tablespoons of ghee in the original recipe.
I used turbinado sugar, which gave the halwa a really rich red color, but you can always use regular sugar. Feel free to use less: the carrots themselves are very sweet and you really only need a little to your taste.
So here it is, my vegan carrot halwa. Easy, delicious and, heck, even good for you. Believe me, you won't feel a tug in your waistline after eating this, but you might feel a tad beatific.
Vegan Carrot Halwa
1 pound carrots, finely grated
3 cups almond milk
8 cardamom pods
3-5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
A handful of cashews and raisins
Put the carrots, cardamom pods and almond milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated. This took me about 45-50 minutes.
In another saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. Add the carrots and fry, stirring, until the carrots turn a rich red. This will take around 15-20 minutes.
Now add the sugar and stir until it's well mixed. Add the cashews and raisins and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Take off the heat. The halwa can be eaten warm or at room temperature or even cold. Any which way, it's quite delicious.
My carrot halwa goes to Sweet Vegan!, the event I'm hosting through Oct. 31
I also want to send this treat on to the lovely Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy for her Yummy Festival Feast: Diwali event. | <urn:uuid:f715434b-78f2-4263-98b9-2a8364c233e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.holycowvegan.net/2008/10/vegan-carrot-halwa.html?showComment=1223884500000 | 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 | 0.955487 | 777 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Minister defends intervention in gas hub access
The Minister for Planning John Day has circumvented a Supreme Court case to ensure the proposed gas hub project in the Kimberley remains on track.
Traditional land owner Richard Hunter was due to attend a hearing in the court next week to try to stop Woodside from accessing land at the site, north of Broome.
The court case was to determine whether the company's original access to the James Price Point site was invalid.
But, late yesterday, Mr Day amended a council order covering the land.
The change means Woodside will retain access to the site no matter what the outcome of the court case.
Mr Day says the court case was based on a technicality and was creating needless disruption.
He says he felt it was his duty to intervene.
"I have made this decision on the basis of legal advice that's been provided to me," he said.
"Obviously, there's been the case before the Supreme Court and I would be acting irresponsibly as Minister for Planning if I did not act in this way."
Broome's shire president Graeme Campbell says he is disappointed the Minister has changed the order.
Mr Campbell says he fears the shire will have no say over what happens at the gas hub site.
"It appears that under the act the Minister can do so," he said.
"It's disappointing for us but as I've previously said we always run the risk of getting cut out of the process."
The move comes ahead of the release of a controversial report by the Environmental Protection Authority on whether it will recommend the gas hub project proceeds.
Four members of the EPA board have been barred from contributing to the report because of potential conflicts of interest.
That leaves the EPA chairman Paul Vogel as the sole person making a recommendation to the minister.
The Wilderness Society wants Mr Marmion to delay the report, which is due to be released this week, and appoint a new panel.
But, a spokeswoman for Mr Marmion says it is not appropriate for the minister to discuss the issue.
She says the authority is an independent statutory body and any comments should come from it. | <urn:uuid:3216672f-bdae-415a-9d19-ee74a08c95ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-26/planning-minister-defends-gas-hub-amendments/4094028 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975435 | 446 | 1.539063 | 2 |
NEW ORLEANS — An electrical device that had been installed expressly to prevent a power failure caused the Super Bowl XLVII blackout, the stadium's power company said Friday.
The utility took the blame for the failure that brought Feb. 3's NFL championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers to a halt for more than a half-hour.
Hours later, the maker of the fail-safe device said its product was not to blame. Instead, it pinned the problem on its improper installation.
Officials of Entergy New Orleans, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., said the device, called a relay, had been installed in switching gear to protect the Superdome from a cable failure between the company's incoming power line and lines that run into the stadium.
The switching gear is housed in a building known as "the vault" near the stadium that receives a line directly from a nearby Entergy power substation. Once the line reaches the vault, it splits into two cables that go into the Superdome.
Company officials said the device performed with no problems during January's Sugar Bowl and other earlier events, but has been removed and will be replaced. All systems at the Superdome are now working and the dome will host a major Mardi Gras event Saturday night, said Doug Thornton, an executive with SMG, the company that manages the stadium for the state.
The power failure cut lights to about half of the stadium for 34 minutes, halting play between the Ravens and 49ers.
The FBI had ruled out cyberterrorism as a cause.
Entergy's announcement came shortly before officials appeared before a committee of the City Council, which is the regulatory body for the company, to answer questions about the failure.
Entergy New Orleans CEO Charles Rice and Dennis Dawsey, an Entergy vice president for distribution, told the Council that SMG agrees the cause of the failure was a relay failure. Asked if the two corporations still plan to hire a third-party investigator, Rice said that possibility remains open.
Committee member Jackie Clarkson pressed for such an independent probe. "We've told the public we're going to have an outside investigation," she said.
"We'll work closely with SMG and if there is a need for a third-party investigation, we will do that," Rice said.
It remains unclear whether the problem with the relay was a design flaw or a manufacturing problem. Rice said Entergy is working with the manufacturer.
"I'm pleased that we were able to find the root cause," Thornton said.
Shabab Mehraeen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Louisiana State University, said the relay device is a common electrical fixture in businesses and massive facilities such as the Superdome.
"They are designed to keep a problem they sense from becoming something bigger, like a fire or catastrophic event," said Mehraeen, who holds a doctorate from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
The devices vary in size, and while Mehraeen noted he was not familiar with the specifics of the relay at the Superdome, he added, "I wouldn't be surprised if it was bigger than a truck."
Mehraeen said the reasons the devices fail are the subject of much academic research into the interaction of relays with the complex electrical systems they regulate.
"It's not unusual for them to have problems," he said. "They can be unpredictable despite national testing standards recommended by manufacturers."
Entergy and SMG had both upgraded lines and equipment in the months leading up to the Super Bowl. Rice said the new switching gear, with the faulty relay, was installed as part of a $4.2 million upgrade by Entergy, including the installation of a new power line dedicated solely to the stadium.
In a separate project, SMG replaced lines coming into the stadium after managers expressed concerns the Superdome might be vulnerable to a power failure like the one that struck Candlestick Park during a 49ers Monday Night Football game in 2011. That failure was blamed at least partly on a transformer explosion.
Thornton stressed Friday that the dome was drawing only about two-thirds of its power capacity Super Bowl night, and said typical NFL games in late August or September can draw a little more.
City officials had worried that the Super Bowl failure might harm New Orleans' chances of getting another NFL championship game.
But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell downplayed that possibility after the failure, saying the NFL planned to keep New Orleans in its Super Bowl plans. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city intends to bid for the Super Bowl in 2018. | <urn:uuid:8b393ad9-f9b9-4465-a5c5-66c2e31d610a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2013-02-08/super-bowl-outage-traced-to-faulty-device-blackout?modid=recommended_2_5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976845 | 946 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Red Mordor Jalapeños, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, are said to be grown in the turgid and unholy soil of Mordor, just off Route 4. Though perhaps not the most interesting part of Mordor, they were apparently interesting enough to have been mentioned a whopping five times in the LotR trilogy. In Tolkien's universe, the Mordor Jalapeño is claimed to be the hottest object in existence, even hotter than Sauron's solid gold, double-necked guitar... even hotter than Arwen. Although not mentioned in the movie, the Mordor Jalapeño is mentioned once in the blooper reel of the 407 hour Ultraplatinum Edition DVD Collection.
Although everything else from Mordor -- including their exotic dancers, computers, and economy station wagons -- are not very high quality according to the trilogy, the "Jalapenos of Mordor" were rated "excellent" by the Middle Earth Times.
The Birth of the Mordor Jalapeño
Terranious, elder lord of the Gerbasags, wrapped in the gray robes of a king, sat commandingly in his throne of oak in the Hall of Legends and began speaking to the adventurers plus Bilbo: "From the pure strain of Numenor Habeñeros, cursed and blighted by the dreaded Witch-King of Angmar, came the awful power of the Mordor Jalapeño. Planted four thousand years ago at the base of Mount Doom (just off Route 4) by the hand of Sauron himself, and tended to by Sauron's elderly neighbor Janice Martinela, these vile jalapeños are not meant for mortals." Terranious straightened his OUTRAGEOUS polka-dotted tie before continuing. "Growing for so long, they have begun to pulse with the radiant energy of the evil lord himself. Be ever vigilant little hobbit, for these jalapenos are super-dooper-extra-spicy."
-The Hobbit, Page 223
THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH, MRS. MARTINELA!
Trigglebip, leader of the Wigglewogs, sitting upon his throne of oak and leaves n' shit, then said to the adventurers, "Do not serve Mordor Chili to anyone but your worstest worst enemy, for the terror that awaits their mouth upon the tasting is not but for the most foul of souls." Trigglebip rustled in his chair momentarily, wiped his chin slightly, and continued, "Mordor Chili is not to be eaten by mortals, for the burning and hotness upon the tasting and eating far exceeds anything mortals were meant to experience." Trigglebip then scratched his throat, hiccuped, scratched again, and subsequently continued: "Created by Sauron himself in the time of Darkness, Mordor Chili has enticed many to its boiling redness, and has coaxed many to evil."
-The Fellowship of the Ring, page 283
Lolo, king of the Hehes, sat upon his throne of leaves and oak, and awaited the adventurers in his medium-sized throne room (which had some nice windows, by the by), and said unto them, "The recipes of Sauron are as plentiful and satisfying as they are evil. Touch not the Mordor Salsa, and do not consume it with any type of chip or tortilla from Middle Earth, for they are too weak to withstand the boiling hotness and redness n' shit that awaits them in Mount Doom's cafeteria-slash-luncheon space." Lolo paused for absolutely no reason before continuing: "Beware all that the salsa touches, for it is NOT for the likes of ye, wee hobbit. ...Nor ye, wee elf. ...Nor ye, wee wizee-- crap, sorry -- wizard. Stay true on your quest, and ask not the recipes of Sauron."
-The Two Towers, Page 809
"...what the fuck am I squinting at?"
Larry, king of the Barries, sat low in his bean-bag chair of oak leaves, and before the adventurers, he spoke: "If ye seek an ethnic dish for your sushi, seek not the exciting Mexican-Japanese dipping sauce of Mordor. ...Sauron sees your interest in what the Middle Earth Times called 'an interesting addition to your average Sushi Bar from our favorite evil entity.'" King Larry called a five-minute siesta before continuing. "Brewed in the lava-y vat of Mount Doom, this wasabi is two and three-quarters hotter than the Sun itself, and nearly as delicious." Larry straightened his OUTRAGEOUS polka-dotted tie, and said in his most commanding and serious voice, "Be not tempted by Sauron and his tempting dishes, for they will only tempt your soul toward temptation."
-The Return of the King, Page 1
The End of the Mordor Jalapeño
After a long struggle and the exciting swordfight already described, Frodo threw the queen jalapeno into the very fires of mount doom, and waited for it to vanish beneath the lava. It did not, and so Frodo waited for a few moments: "Doo dee-doo, la la la, boooooring lalalala" he said, with a mighty vigor. "This is taking too long," Frodo said, and left the cavern to join his friends as they traveled back to the Shire, and that elf place, and wherever Gandalf is from, because lord knows that nobody, not even that mentally retarded CGI humpback character that lurched around the place, would jump into a volcano to get a jalapeno-- no matter how juicy and tangy it was. | <urn:uuid:8173619d-87d1-4a32-bbc1-6643045411a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Jalapeno | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94918 | 1,193 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Dear Dr. Roach: When I was 39, I had a total hysterectomy. The doctor put me on hormone-replacement pills — first strong, then gradually weaker ones. Now I am on a patch, estradiol derm 50. My doctor told me to take it for the rest of my life because it is good for the bones. I am 79 now and have a different doctor who told me to stop it. I tried, but I felt depressed and had hot flashes. I have used this patch for 40 years and have had no ill effects with it.
This is a very controversial area. Let me start with what is not controversial: It is good for your bones and protects you from fracture. It also appears to reduce the risk of colon cancer.
Unfortunately, it increases your risk for blood clotting in the deep veins of your legs, which can then spread to the lungs. Also, estrogen increases the risk of breast cancer.
The controversial part is what it does to your risk of heart disease. Recent data suggest that estrogen alone (with no progesterone, something a woman who has not had a hysterectomy shouldn’t do), if given right at menopause, may actually reduce the risk of heart disease. However, giving estrogen with progesterone, especially in older women, clearly increases the risk of heart disease.
While I would not recommend estrogen therapy as a means of preventing disease, using estrogen to treat hot flashes is reasonable. There are other treatments you can try, such as venlafaxine. It is usually used as an antidepressant, but in this case, it helps many women with hot flashes. It may be useful for the depression you complain of as well.
I think it’s reasonable for someone like you, once she understands the risks, to make her own decision. The best estimate is that about one woman in 100 who takes estrogen for 10 years will suffer harm from it. It may be worthwhile for you to take that risk if nothing else you try is as effective at treating your symptoms. Doctors work hard to minimize risk to patients, but there are times we forget that intelligent, well-informed patients are capable of making up their own minds about whether to take risks or not.
Dear Dr. Roach: Recently, I have been having pain in my right testicle and I found a lump on the side of the testicle when taking a shower. Could it be testicular cancer?
Yes, of course it could be testicular cancer. But many other conditions cause pain and swelling in the testicle, such as epididymitis, an inflammation usually caused by infection of the epididymis, one of the structures that carries sperm.
Testicular cancer is usually painless in its early stages. That shouldn’t stop you from immediately seeing your doctor about any suspicious lump you find. Your doctor will do an exam and may order an ultrasound, which is very good at determining what the lump is likely to be. Testicular cancer can spread rapidly, so make an appointment today. Fortunately, it is very curable, but the sooner you find it, the better off you are.
© Copyright 2013 | <urn:uuid:a6f325e7-f213-48b9-945e-545a839b5ee0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timescolonist.com/life/health/your-good-health-patients-are-free-to-take-their-own-risks-1.43708 | 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 | 0.963255 | 659 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Works : Islamic Laws
2201. The property which the lessor gives on lease should be identified. Hence if it is one of the things whose transaction is made by weight (e.g. wheat), its weight should be specified. And if it is one of those things whose transaction is made by counting (e.g. currency coins), the amount should be specified. And if it is like a horse or a sheep, the lessor should have a sight of it, or the lesser should inform him of its particulars.
2202. If land is given on lease for farming, and the produce of that very land which does not presently exist, is treated as its rent, the lease contract will not be valid. And the same applies if he assumes a general responsibility to pay the rent on the condition that it will be paid from the harvest. But if the source from which rent will be paid exists, there is no objection.
2203. If a person has leased out something, he cannot claim its rent until he has delivered it. And if a person is hired to perform an act, he cannot claim wages until he has performed that act, except in the cases where advance payment of wages is an accepted norm, like Niyabat for Hajj.
2204. If a lessor delivers the leased property, the lessee should pay the rent, even if he may not take the delivery, or may take its delivery but may not utilise it till the end of the period of lease.
2205. If a person agrees to perform a task on a particular day against wages, and appears on that day to perform the task, the person who has hired him should pay him the wages, even if he may not assign that task to him. For example, if a tailor is hired to sew a dress on a particular day, and he appears to do the work, the hirer should pay him the wages even if he may not provide him with the cloth to sew, irrespective of whether the tailor remains without work on that day or alternatively does his own or somebody else's work.
2206. If it transpires after the expiry of the period of lease, that the lease contract was void, the lessee should give the usual rent of that thing to the owner of the property. For example, if a person takes a house on lease for one year on a rent of $100, and learns later that the lease contract was void, and if the normal current rent of the house is $50, he should pay $50.
And if its normal current rent is $200, and the person who leased it out was its owner, or his agent, and was aware of the current rate of rental, it is not necessary for the lessee to give him more than $100. But if a person other than these gave it on lease, the lessee should pay $200. And the same order applies, if it is known during the period of lease, that the lease contract is void in relation to the outstanding rent for the past period.
2207. If a thing taken by a person on lease is lost, and if he has not been negligent in looking after it nor extravagant in its use, he is not responsible for the loss. Also, if, for example, a cloth given to a tailor is damaged or destroyed, when the tailor has not been extravagant, and has also not shown negligence in taking care of it, he need not make any replacement.
2208. If an artisan loses the thing taken by him, he is responsible for it.
2209. If a butcher cuts off the head of an animal, and makes it haraam, he must pay its price to its owner, regardless of whether he charged for slaughtering the animal or did it gratis.
2210. If a person takes an animal on hire, and specifies as to how much he will load on it, and if he puts a heavier load on it, and as a result, the animal dies or becomes defective, he is responsible for it. And even if the quantity of the load is not specified, and he puts an unusually heavier load on it with the result that the animal dies or becomes defective, the person concerned is responsible. And in both the cases, he must pay extra rent than is usual.
2211. If a person gives an animal on hire so that fragile goods may be loaded on it, and the animal slips or trots and breaks the things, the owner of the animal is not responsible for it. However, if the owner beats the animal severely, or does something like it, as a result of which the animal falls down on the ground, and breaks the goods he (the owner of the animal) is responsible.
2212. If a person circumcises a child, and as a consequence of it the child dies, or is injured, the person who circumcises is responsible if he has been careless or made a mistake, like having cut the flesh more than usual. However, if he was not careless, or did not make any mistake, and the child dies due to circumcision, or sustains an injury, he will not be responsible, provided that, he had not been consulted earlier about the possible injury, nor was he aware that the child would be injured.
2213. If a doctor gives medicines to a patient with his own hands, or prescribes a medicine for him, and if the patient sustains harm or dies because of taking that medicine, the doctor is responsible, even if he had not been careless in treating the patient.
2214. If a doctor tells a patient: "If you sustain harm I am not responsible" and then exercises due precaution and care in the treatment, but the patient sustains harm or dies, the doctor is not responsible.
2215. The lessee and the lessor can cancel the lease contract with mutual consent. Also if a condition was laid down in the lease contract that one or both of them would have the option to cancel the contract, they can cancel the contract as agreed.
2216. If the lessor or the lessee realises that he has been cheated, if he did not notice at the time of making the lease contract that he was being cheated, he can cancel the lease contract. However, if a condition is laid down in the contract of lease, that even if the parties are cheated, they will not be entitled to cancel the contract, they cannot cancel it.
2217. If a person gives something on lease, and before he delivers it to the other party, it is usurped, the lessee can cancel the lease contract and take back whatever he has given to the lessor, or he may not cancel the lease contract, and take from the usurper rent at the usual rate, for the period the thing remained in his possession. Therefore, if a person takes an animal on lease for one month for $10, and someone usurps if for ten days, and the usual rent for ten days is $15, the lessee can take $15 from the usurper.
2218. If a lessee hires something and someone prevents him from taking its delivery, or usurps it from him, after he has taken the possession, or prevents him from using it, he cannot cancel the lease. He is entitled only to take rent of that thing from the usurper at the usual rate.
2219. If the lessor sells the property to the lessee before the expiry of the period of lease, the lease contract does not get cancelled, and the lessee should give the rent of the property to the lessor. The same rule will apply if the lessor sells the leased property to someone else.
2220. If before the commencement of the period of lease, the leased property gets so impaired that it cannot be utilised in the manner agreed upon, the lease contract becomes void, and the money paid by the lessee will revert back to him. And if it is possible to utilise the property partly, the lessee can cancel the lease contract.
2221. If a person takes something on lease, and during the period of lease it becomes so impaired that it is not fit for the required use, the remaining lease contract will be void, and the lessee can cancel the lease for the past period also. And for that period, he may pay usual rent.
2222. If a person leases out a house which has, for example, two rooms, and one of those rooms is ruined and he gets it repaired, but it does not match the standard of the previous room, the rule mentioned in 2221, will apply in this case also. But if it is repaired by the hirer at once, and its use does not get interrupted, then the lease does not become void, and the lessee cannot cancel the lease. However, if the repair takes too long, and its use is interrupted, then the lease will be invalid for that much period, and in this case, the lessee can cancel the whole lease, and in exchange of whatever use he may have made, he should pay a usual rent.
2223. If the lessor or the lessee dies, the lease contract does not become void. But if the house is not the property of the lessor - for example, another person made a will that as long as he (the lessor) is alive, the income derived from the house will be his property, and if he gives that house on lease, and dies before the expiry of the lease period, the lease contract becomes void from the time of his death. It can become valid again if the owner of the house endorses the contract, and the rent for the remaining period of lease, after the death of the lessor, will accrue to the present owner.
2224. If an employer appoints a contractor to recruit labourers for him, and if the contractor pays the labourers less than what he receives for them from the employer, the excess he keeps is haraam for him, and he should return it to the employer. And if the contractor is given a full contract by the employer, to complete a building, and is authorised to either construct it himself or give a sub-contract to another party, if he joins with the other party in doing some work, and then entrusting him to do the remaining work against lower payment than what he has collected from the employer, the surplus with him will be halal for him.
2225. If a person who dyes the clothes, agrees to dye a cloth with indigo, he has no right to claim any charges if he dyes it with something else. | <urn:uuid:5e583500-0c10-4b5a-948a-6f900638077f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sistani.org/index.php?p=251364&id=48&pid=2330 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969789 | 2,198 | 1.78125 | 2 |
I belief you have put on some weight than the last time I saw you?? is this the question your childhood buddy told you? If you encounter this sort of question then it is time to seek medical attention for your health.Super Slim Pomegranate Obesity is a disease which is expanding through out the world. Zhen De Shou Human race could even get eliminated because of this increasing menace.
There is no certain theory on how obesity originates but there are scores of ways how one can get out of it.Pai You Guo Popular amongst them are exercises, limited diet program, surgery, liposuction, diet pills and other not so popular ways like acupuncture and acupressure. Exercises and restricted diet program are the age old natural way to lose weight. But the process is time consuming.Lida Daidaihua Surgery and liposuction can be a good way for immediate relief but need re-operations which means it is costly process. Japan 2 Day Diet Lingzhi So, the best way to get weight loss is the introduction of weight loss diet pills like Phentermine to get over obesity.
Phentermine hydrochloride is a short-term anti obesity drug which has been in use since 1959.Instant Slim The diet pill must be used simultaneously with physical activities and controlled diet program. Phentermine diet pill stimulates central nervous system, increases blood pressure and heart rate and all of these in turn help in decreasing appetite.
Apart from greater extent of appetite other factors such as lack of physical activity, laziness and hereditary factors too can be the reason behind your obesity.Green Lean Body Capsule To get rid of obesity Phentermine works on suppressing appetite of an individual only. The correct dose for it is to be determined by the doctor whom you must consult to have the drug.
Side effects of Phentermine are insomnia, dry mouth, upset stomach, constipation, blurred vision which may occur for during the initial period but the side effects would cease once your body adjusts to the pill.Fruta planta Precautions like telling your personal medical history to your doctor should be followed. Extra precaution should be taken by pregnant or breast feeding women and children in prescribing Phentermine.
Phentermine in reality cannot put a stop to weight gain but it rather helps a person to lose appetite. Losing appetite is important for an obese person to lose weight.
The truth is that there is no other medicine as effective as exercises and a controlled diet program. Fruit Plant Weight Loss Phentermine is a pill to make the process complete faster and not a substitute for both of them. | <urn:uuid:66ebbada-09c5-46ae-b843-e712647768af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.frutaplantaslim.com/blog/phentermine-makes-your-weight-loss-faster.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937052 | 535 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Posted by: Jack Vaughan
Complex Event Processing (CEP)
We note here the untimely passing of Michael Hammer. Hammer coined the term “Re-Engineering,” and started an influential trend to remove unneeded layers of bureaucracy from organizations. The ‘flat’ organization of today owes much to Mike Hammer. Could today’s BPM resurgence take the same course Re-Engineering did?
Business Re-Engineering proved popular. Many practitioners of the Re-Engineering art took it to lengths that Hammer did not support. Re-Engineering became the pseudo-scientific cover for whole scale layoffs in the workplace. One of the great practitioners was GE’s Jack Welsh, who earned the nickname “Neutron Jack.” Like the Cold War-era Neutron Bomb, which was more about radiation than explosiveness, he “kept the buildings and got rid of the people.” As his invention took this turn, Hammer himself decried the development.
Now we as an industry are looking at resurgence in interest in Business Process Management (BPM). There is no question that BPM is about process efficiency. BPM predates SOA (as a term) and is heard about quite a bit of late. It’s back!
Rich Seeley recently ran a story on how SOA and BPM may relate, but how they seem to be on different paths. “Even in the organizations pursuing both BPM and SOA, the two initiatives aren’t heading on paths that will lead them to be joined up,” Neil Ward-Dutton told Seeley in ”Business-side often drives BPM initiatives today”. Clearly, that is a concern.
It is the case that BPM is important to SOA, and vice versa. But one should realized that BPM is a most difficult type of middleware and it presents one of the biggest challenges for the enterprise architect. There is no plain vanilla brand of BPM.
Big players IBM and Oracle have both begun to trawl the BPM waters, although they seem to come to this from a transactional point of view. Tibco, which wrote the book on publish-and-subscribe messaging middleware that is often key in BPM, is preparing to answer their forays. A better UI for rules-making business wonks is among the latest addition to Tibco’s BusinessEvents suite.
As economic times are getting hard, it may be worth looking to see if BPM heads the way of Business Re-Engineering. It could be a step toward a great resurgence in innovative application development, or it could be a smoke screen for layoffs.
Related CEP information
Tibco releases Complex Event Processing (CEP) suite with new rules, query interfaces – SearchSOA.com | <urn:uuid:58da6df2-8be3-4d81-9e3b-fea2ae9fb56e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/soa-talk/is-bpm-business-re-engineering-in-sheeps-clothing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960398 | 589 | 1.671875 | 2 |
By Ki Mae Heussner (Writer, AdWeek)
Women in technology don’t lack smarts, solid ideas, sharp management skills, or any of the other ingredients needed to succeed in a competitive industry.
But here’s one talent that might be helpful to hone: self-promotion.
At a Glamour magazine-sponsored panel Tuesday, moderated by longtime tech reporter and co-executive editor of AllThingsD, Kara Swisher, leading women from Google, Microsoft, Zynga, and bitly talked about why they don’t have more company in technology.
The hour-long conversation drew out a range of deep-rooted social challenges: the hyper-competitive, and often dry, way computer science is taught; how young girls are socialized to think about math and science; and how the primarily male venture capital community selects startups to fund.
But it also carried one key message for the women in the industry: Don’t worry about failing; just get your idea out.
“The advice I would give is actually something I learned from studying science and math, which is that science is really about failing—all the time,” said Hilary Mason, chief scientist for the startup bitly. “You come up with ideas, you try things and they don’t work most of the time. So you really have to get comfortable with experimenting, failing, and not take it as a reflection on yourself, or how good you are at what you’re doing.”
» Read the full article at AdWeek. | <urn:uuid:80949b09-89c1-4e40-9913-916342c56b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.women2.com/do-women-in-tech-need-to-get-better-at-bluster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949959 | 331 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Thu February 21, 2013
Snyder orders mental health services review
Governor Rick Snyder has called for a review of how Michigan provides mental health services.
The governor has signed two executive orders to come up with recommendations.The executive orders create two separate commissions.
Both of them will be led by Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley.
One major goal is to identify gaps that send people to jails and prisons instead of to programs that could treat their illnesses.
The plans also include teaching police, teachers, and clergy to spot signs of mental illness, earlier intervention for children with mental health issues, and helping more people get into treatment instead of being sent to jail or prison.
Administration officials say this will be the first thorough review of mental health services in Michigan since the state shut down its psychiatric hospitals in favor of community-based programs in the early 1990’s | <urn:uuid:4502e9de-1f89-4ba6-b61d-13397e9e66d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://michiganradio.org/post/snyder-orders-mental-health-services-review | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960212 | 188 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Trivandrum is not only the capital city of “God’s own Country”—Kerala, but it is also a vital center for the culture and heritage of the state. On the one hand, you will come across the lavish malls and bustle of the town, while on the other; you will find the old palaces and antique landmarks narrating the earlier period. Home to enthralling beaches and grandiose palaces, there are countless tourist destinations in Trivandrum that make a trip of the city a captivating experience.
It is a worldwide prominent beach destination of Trivandrum and is strewn with the coconut groves that make it a tropical heaven. Kovalam is residence to three amazing beaches divided by rocky outcrops. These beaches are excellent for the travelers who want to take pleasure in the seaside and water activities such as swimming.
Kovalam is located in the district of Thiruvananthapuram at a distance of thirteen kilometers. It claims high tourist footfalls yearly between September and March and is almost certainly, the most renowned tourist destination of God’s Own Country. A right turn from the Kovalam junction will take you to the splendid beaches of Hawa or Eve, Ashok and Lighthouse. This road again branches out into two- while a turn on the left leads towards the Lighthouse beach and the Hawa Beach, walk down the straight path to soak in the pleasures of the Ashok beach.
This paradise on earth literally means an orchard of coconuts. The coconut tree lined beaches of the sun-kissed Eden lends this tourist haunt an enrapturing glory.
This enchanting hamlet was at first a fishing settlement, decorated with fabulous beaches. The arrival of the flower child brigade changed Kovalam forever. The tourists of Thiruvananthapuram who traversed across the rocky foreland to catch a glimpse of the azure sea and golden beaches followed them.
Padmanabhaswamy Vishnu Temple:
It is a glorious temple, which featuring pure Dravidian style of architecture. The temple houses the shrine of the presiding deity of Thiruvananthapuram, Lord Vishnu and was built by the Maharaja of Travancore. It is among the most famous tourist destinations in Trivandrum.
It is a delightful spot perfect for picnic and for relaxing with friends or family. It is situated near the rolling mountain ranges of the Western Ghats.
On your journey to Trivandrum, you will come across the museum that was built in the 19th century and is an astonishing example of the wealthy history of Kerala. Its structural design is unique and an exceptional amalgamation of traditional Kerala, Chinese, Mughal and Italian styles. This museum is a storehouse of ancient archaeological artifacts and superb paintings. It is also one of the leading vacation spots in Trivandrum.
It is high ranging peak positioned in the Western Ghats and soars to an altitude of more than 1800 meters in the shape of a sharp cone. This peak is an idyllic place for trekking and commands wonderful vistas of the surroundings.
Its is one of the well-known places of tourist interest in Trivandrum. A children’s park is situated near the lake and you can get services for boating at this place. It is also an idyllic site for vacation as it forms a gorgeous locale to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Koyikkal is one of the most ancient palaces and features traditional Kerala architectural style with slanting roofs and a courtyard within. This palace also has two museums named the Folklore museum and the Numismatics museum. The Folklore museum houses a wide range of musical instruments and models of folk arts and the Numismatics museum has an amazing set of ancient coins gathered from different regions. | <urn:uuid:e9a8e18a-51ab-4bd3-b230-17033af9a5a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://keralahoneymoontourpackage.org/honeymoon-destinations/172/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944418 | 802 | 1.664063 | 2 |
In its long-awaited final decision on how to draw new congressional districts, the Legislature's Redistricting Committee on Tuesday served up a "pizza slice" plan which would slice Salt Lake County into three pieces and combine them with large rural areas.
That has Democrats and reform groups howling that the map is designed to dilute Democratic votes in their one stronghold of Salt Lake County, and improve chances that Republicans can win all four of the state's congressional seats next year.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, was dissatisfied enough at what appears to be a tougher district for him that he said "a race by me for governor or the Senate is still on the table" instead of seeking House re-election. Other districts would appear to be safe for incumbent Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Rob Bishop, both R-Utah, and a new district would appear ideal for a run for Congress by state Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, who has already said he is running.
Meanwhile, Republicans who hold a 15-4 majority on the committee say the map was not drawn to improve their party's chances, but to ensure that all of Utah's members of Congress would focus on both urban and rural issues and take a statewide focus with them to Washington that is important for a small state.
Gerrymandering? • Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis told the committee the boundaries were gerrymandered for GOP benefit, and said it would help continue a trend of fewer Utahns casting ballots because they believe their votes do not count in districts where the outcome is certain.
"When you draw the lines in such a blatant political way, it deflates the energy of democracy," he said.
When House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, asked Dabakis to define "gerrymandering," he replied, "It's what you guys have done."
Democrats and reform groups had sought a "doughnut hole" plan that would create one district in Salt Lake County, and create up to three urban districts on the Wasatch Front surrounded by a large rural district. They contended that would keep "communities of interest" together.
Lockhart said the new map which she drew by altering a pizza-slice plan submitted by Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, co-chairman of the committee is actually "sort of a hybrid plan."
It would keep Salt Lake City whole, as sought by Democrats and others, but combine it with GOP-dominated areas. Lockhart said it would create another district out of the growing western portions of Salt Lake and Utah counties in areas "that had enough babies and people move in to give us the fourth [congressional] seat. … So this puts them all together."
However, Maryann Martindale, executive director of Alliance for a Better UTAH, said, "It's a pizza-slice plan," and not a hybrid. "It still splits Salt Lake County three different ways and divides communities of interest there."
She said the new 4th District in western Salt Lake and Utah counties appears "to be drawn for Carl Wimmer," by giving him conservative, west-side areas in both counties.
Lockhart said she did not draw that for Wimmer. She said the only request that she took into account was that "Jason Chaffetz asked that he live in the district he represents. I figured that was a reasonable request." Chaffetz lives in Alpine, currently just outside of the district he has represented for two terms. Federal law requires that a member of Congress live in the state they help represent, but not necessarily the district where they live.
Chaffetz's new district would include most of the larger cities in Utah County and combine them with mostly conservative areas in the Uinta Basin, which should make it relatively safe for him.
'Take another look' • While the map would keep Democratic Salt Lake City whole for the first time in two decades, it does not appear to do any favors for Matheson and Democrats who live there. It would combine and outnumber them with GOP rural areas stretching to St. George and San Juan County, plus conservative Bountiful and Woods Cross in Davis County.
Matheson would lose from his current district Democratic east-side areas in Salt Lake County and Carbon County. Matheson issued a statement urging the full Legislature to "take another look at the map and do what is in the best interest of the state of Utah."
Sumsion insists the new map creates competitive seats, and said he actually preferred versions that gave the GOP even better chances. He said Matheson's new district and the new 4th District combining western Salt Lake and Utah counties "can both be won by the Democrats if they run a good candidate. And if Republicans run a poor one, they can lose those districts."
Dabakis, however, said the GOP appears to have worked hard to draw lines that benefit it. He wondered aloud to the committee how that map had appeared only last week, and suggested that it may have been pushed by the National Republican Committee to local lawmakers to help ensure GOP wins.
Sumsion scoffed at that. He said he and other Republicans drew it locally as a compromise among many ideas, and that is why it appeared only recently.
Mary Bishop, chairwoman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, said Republicans again are placing Salt Lake City with faraway places like St. George. "It pleases neither St. George nor Salt Lake. We are not a community of interest, so why do we keep doing this?"
The Redistricting Committee plans to meet again on Thursday at 10 a.m. to discuss any feedback it receives from the public about its final maps, and allow some quick alterations then.
The full Legislature is scheduled to meet in a special session beginning on Monday to debate and adopt final plans for Congress, the Legislature and the state school board. Reform groups are planning a rally that day in the Capitol Rotunda to protest the current proposals.
The new map is available on the committee's website, redistrictutah.com, under the title of "Congress: Sumsion 06 Modified A." | <urn:uuid:545103b2-835b-48f4-868b-5c1c78ba1c3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.sltrib.com/printfriendly.php?id=52646273&itype=cmsid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97344 | 1,274 | 1.664063 | 2 |
This is part two of a two-part article. The title of the first one is “Why Too Many Choices Are Bad For You”. You can read it here!
..Do you really want to research the Internet for a week to be able to make up your mind which HTC smarthpone is right for you from the 12 slightly-different ones?
And although this question is quite manipulative, the answer can be easily “YES!”, if you ask the right person…
And that’s exactly my point. Wide variety of products can appeal to a particular kind of customer: a well-informed one. One who knows what he or she wants exactly.
In his book called “The Long Tail”, Wired editor Christopher Anderson argues that products that have a low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough.
Actually, it’s not an argument, it’s a fact, just have a look at the figures. Probably that’s why we have shops that specializing exclusively in leather gloves, import tea or pesticides – although I, myself don’t understand the need for them.
But it should be taken into account that the appeal of enormous amount of products depends on the context. For example, if you want to order a good bottle of wine at a reasonable price, you won’t get much help by visiting this website:… Want to read more? | <urn:uuid:ff97fe6f-a030-4d5c-b307-9cd8503d2241> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychologicaldesign.net/category/behavioral-economics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944379 | 319 | 1.640625 | 2 |
March is several weeks past us, but the weather typical to it is certainly hanging on for dear life…one example is snow on April 16th. Not unprecedented, but unusual. My favorite adage about this time of year is March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. It’s especially thought-worthy this year, since the lion’s been growling around longer than usual, not letting the poor lamb get its hoof in the door. Even the Pascal lamb was shooed out ungraciously.
A few weeks ago, a sermon I heard referenced the famous “Peaceable Kingdom” passage from the prophet Isaiah. For some reason, I never had caught on that the two animals found in my favorite March saying are also mentioned near each other in that passage: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” (11:6).
Another interesting connection came to mind that day when I realized that two of the most powerful, anthropomorphistic names used for Jesus Christ are the Lamb of God, and the Lion of Judah. My thoughts went immediately to the Isaiah passage, and I soon realized that, though we long for and work towards the day when these animals will truly lie down together in peace, only in the person of Jesus has this already happened. He IS the lion and the lamb, simultaneously. And not just any lamb or lion, but the sacrificed son of Jehovah; the ferocious and gentle leader of the cultural and spiritual Jewish people. What an awesome spectacle of cosmic give-and-take: only Christ could handle encompassing both extremes of ultimate sacrifice and spiritual militancy.
Therein we find where our peace as Christ-followers (disciples) lies: in the person of Jesus Christ, the one part of the Godhead which our kind – humankind – actually had the ability to touch, see, hear, and smell in temporal space and time. He is the only place where our lions and our lambs can genuinely find rest; together, on the same soil. True biblical peace deals with shalom; wholeness; perfection (God's; not ours). When we speak His name, when we act in His name, we are in great ways bringing a bit more of that shalom, peace - Christ - to our environs.
This is a sobering thought when one dwells for awhile on the pointless waste of war that is raging in the world in this season – and we see some blood on our own hands. For the image of a lion is not used only to describe Jesus…it’s also used by the apostle Simeon (Peter) to describe Satan, “your enemy,” who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8). This is a season ruled by, and largely given over to, the lions (little l) of the world. And much as we can promote peace – shalom – in putting the name of our peace to work – Jesus Christ - we can also fight against violence in the same way, with the only weapon of offense given to Christ-followers: the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17). And what more powerful word is there than “Jesus Christ”? Surely more powerful than all the bitterly cold winds of March that somehow have gotten lost in the month of April.
Sisters and brothers, sharpen your weapon. | <urn:uuid:e7860e7f-3240-466f-b73e-b06fd698bab9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gierschickwork.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951905 | 749 | 1.75 | 2 |
ust a hint of inventory fraud can be a frightening experience for an auditor of financial statements. Indeed, the list of freakish inventory manipulations companies have committed over the last 50 years reads like a rogue’s gallery: McKesson and Robbins, the Salad Oil Swindle, Equity Funding, ZZZZ Best, Phar-Mor. The tried-and-true schemes these and other companies pulled have always given auditors nightmares. A CPA who recognizes how these fraudulent manipulations work will be in a much better position to identify them.
Companies use five techniques to illegally boost assets and profits: fictitious revenues (see “So That’s Why They Call It a Pyramid Scheme,” JofA Oct.00, page 91 ), fraudulent timing differences, concealed liabilities and expenses (see “Follow Fraud to the Likely Perp,” JofA , Mar.01, page 91 ), fraudulent disclosures and fraudulent asset valuations.
In a 1999 study, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission found misstated asset valuations accounted for nearly half the cases of fraudulent financial statements. Inventory overstatements made up the majority of asset valuation frauds and are the focus of this article.
The valuation of inventory involves two separate elements: quantity and price. Determining the quantity of inventory on hand is often difficult. Goods are constantly being bought and sold, transferred among locations and added during a manufacturing process. Figuring the unit cost of inventory can be problematic, too; Fifo, Lifo, average cost and other valuation methods can routinely make a material difference in what the final inventory is worth. As a result, the complex inventory account is an attractive target for fraud.
Dishonest organizations usually use a combination of several methods to commit inventory fraud: fictitious inventory, manipulation of inventory counts, nonrecording of purchases and fraudulent inventory capitalization. All these elaborate schemes have the same goal of illegally boosting inventory values.
The obvious way to increase inventory asset value is to create various records for items that do not exist: unsupported journal entries, inflated inventory count sheets, bogus shipping and receiving reports and fake purchase orders. Since it can be difficult for the auditor to spot such phony documents, he or she normally uses other means to substantiate the existence and value of inventory.
Observation of physical inventory. The most reliable way to validate inventory quantity is to count it in its entirety. Even when this is done, little mistakes can allow inventory fraud to go undetected:
Management representatives follow the auditor and record the test counts. Thereafter, the client can add phony inventory to the items not tested. This will falsely increase the total inventory values.
Auditors announce when and where they will conduct their test counts. For companies with multiple inventory locations, this advance warning permits management to conceal shortages at locations which auditors will not visit.
Sometimes auditors do not take the extra step of examining packed boxes. To inflate inventory, management stacks empty boxes in the warehouse.
Analytical procedures. Ghost goods throw a company’s books out of kilter. Compared with previous periods, the cost of sales will be too low; inventory and profits will be too high. There will be other signs, too. When analyzing a company’s financial statements over time, the auditor should look for the following trends:
Inventory increasing faster than sales.
Decreasing inventory turnover.
Shipping costs decreasing as a percentage of inventory.
Inventory rising faster than total assets move up.
Falling cost of sales as a percentage of sales.
Cost of goods sold on the books not agreeing with tax returns.
The auditor relies heavily on observing the client’s inventory. Therefore, it’s quite important for the auditor to take and document test counts. Regrettably, some cases of inventory fraud occur when the client alters the auditor’s working papers after hours (see JofA , Oct.00, page 94 ). Auditors must maintain adequate security over audit evidence.
For instance, say the client receives a large shipment of merchandise five days before the end of the accounting period and picks up all copies of the receiving reports and invoices and secretes them during the audit. Then, during the physical inventory count, employees count the merchandise, which the auditor then tests.
Obviously, physical inventory will be overstated by the amount of the unrecorded liability. The client’s advantage with this method is that the amount of the overstatement is buried in the overall cost of sales calculation. An alert auditor can detect these schemes by any one of the analytical methods described above and also can examine the cash disbursements subsequent to the end of the period. If the auditor finds payments made directly to vendors that were not recorded in the purchase journal, he or she should investigate further.
Although any inventory item can be improperly capitalized, manufactured goods present a particular problem. Common items capitalized are selling expenses and general and administrative overhead. To detect these problems, auditors should interview manufacturing process personnel to gain an understanding of appropriate charges to inventory. Although there may be many good faith reasons to boost income by capitalizing inventory items, there also may be fraudulent ones. Usually the auditor will find that the CFO, typically at the CEO’s direction, carries out material illegal schemes. Therefore, during normal interviews with key personnel, the auditor always should ask—in a straightforward but nonaccusatory way—if anyone in the company has instructed them to inflate inventory information.
There are many ways a dishonest client can attempt to manipulate inventory. An auditor must look at the data with a different mindset, surmising not only how inventory fraud works, but why the client would resort to such improprieties in the first place. The answer is almost always because upper management feels extreme pressure to meet financial projections. The auditor who assesses both motive and opportunity to commit material inventory fraud will end up spotting the ghosts.
|Perpetrators of Fraud in an Organization |
|Source: “Report to the Nation,” 1996. Institute of Certified Fraud Examiners. See the full report at cfenet.com . |
Statement on Auditing Standards no. 82, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, lists many factors at play in cases of financial statement manipulation. In evaluating risks of inventory overstatements, the auditor should answer the following questions. The more “yes” answers, the higher the risk for inventory fraud
Is the company attempting to obtain financing secured by inventory?
Is inventory a significant balance sheet item?
Has the percentage of inventory to total assets increased over time?
Has the ratio of cost of sales to total sales decreased over time?
Have shipping costs fallen compared with total inventory?
Has inventory turnover slowed over time?
Have there been significant adjusting entries that have increased the inventory balance?
After the close of an accounting period, have material reversing entries been made to the inventory account?
Is the company a manufacturer, or does it have a complex system to determine the value of inventory?
Is the company involved in technology or another volatile or rapidly changing industry?
Since he was a kid, Mickey Monus loved all sports—especially basketball. But with limited talents and height (five foot nine on a good day) he would never play on a professional team. Monus did have one trait, however, shared by top athletes: an unquenchable thirst for winning.
Monus transferred his boundless energy from the court to the board room. He acquired a single drugstore in Youngstown, Ohio, and within 10 years he had bought 299 more stores and formed the national chain Phar-Mor. Unfortunately, it was all built on ghost goods—undetected inventory overstatements—and phony profits that eventually would be the downfall of Monus and his company, and would cost the company’s Big 5 auditors million of dollars. Here is how it happened.
After acquiring the first drugstore, Monus dreamt of building his modest holdings into a large pharmaceutical empire using power buying, that is, offering products at deep discounts. But first he took his one unprofitable, unaudited store and increased the profits with the stroke of a pen by adding phony inventory figures.
Armed only with his gift of gab and a set of inflated financials, Monus bilked money from investors, bought eight stores within a year and began the mini-empire that grew to 300 stores. Monus became a financial icon and his organization gained near-cult status in Youngstown. He decided to fulfill a sports fantasy by starting the World Basketball League (WBL) in which no players would be over six feet tall. He pumped $10 million of Phar-Mor’s money into the league.
However, the public did not like short basketball players and were not buying tickets. So Monus poured more Phar-Mor money into the WBL. One day, a travel agent who booked flights for league players received a $75,000 check for WBL expenses, but it was disbursed on a Phar-Mor bank account. The employee thought it odd that Phar-Mor would be paying the team’s expenses. Since she was an acquaintance of one of Phar-Mor’s major investors, she showed him the check. Alarmed, the investor began conducting his own investigation into Monus’s illicit activities, and helped expose an intricate financial fraud that caused losses of at least half a billion dollars.
Generating phony profits over an entire decade was no easy feat. Phar-Mor’s CFO said the company was losing serious money because it was selling goods for less than it had paid for them. But Monus argued that through Phar-Mor’s power buying it would get so large that it could sell its way out of trouble. Eventually, the CFO caved in—under extreme pressure from Monus—and for the next several years, he and some of his staff kept two sets of books—the ones they showed the auditors and the ones that reflected the awful truth.
They dumped the losses into the “bucket account” and then reallocated the sums to one of the company’s hundreds of stores in the form of increases in inventory costs. They issued fake invoices for merchandise purchases, made phony journal entries to increase inventory and decrease cost of sales, recognized inventory purchases but failed to accrue a liability and over-counted and double-counted merchandise. The finance department was able to conceal the inventory shortages because the auditors observed inventory in only four stores out of 300, and they informed Phar-Mor, months in advance, which stores they would visit. Phar-Mor executives fully stocked the four selected stores but allocated the phony inventory increases to the other 296 stores. Regardless of the accounting tricks, Phar-Mor was heading for collapse. During the last audit, cash was so tight suppliers threatened to cut the company off for nonpayment of bills.
The auditors never uncovered the fraud, for which they paid dearly. This failure cost the audit firm over $300 million in civil judgments. The CFO, who did not profit personally, was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Monus went to jail for 5 years.
Why didn’t the auditors see signs of fraud at Phar-Mor? Perhaps, they just believed in their client—they read the newspaper articles and watched the television spots on the hard-driving Monus and bought the hype. They might have conducted the audit under a faulty assumption: Their client would not be motivated to commit financial statement fraud because it was making money hand over fist. Looking back, the auditors might have been able to spot the ghosts if anyone had asked a fundamental question: How can a company make money by selling goods below cost?
JOSEPH T. WELLS, CPA, CFE, is founder and chairman of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Austin, Texas. He can be reached at [email protected] . | <urn:uuid:e08300e4-2d6d-43bc-81dd-56fd36ae5328> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2001/Jun/GhostGoodsHowToSpotPhantomInventory.htm | 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 | 0.949213 | 2,478 | 1.75 | 2 |
Nine. There's that number again. Now, everyone knows only the greasiest of greasy Islamophobes retail the notion that the practice of marrying girls as young as nine has something to do with Muhammad marrying Aisha when she was six and consummating the marriage when she was nine, and he was six times her age at fifty-four. So, all of these people continuing the practice in the remotest, most undeveloped areas Afghanistan and Yemen out of Islamic piety must actually be reading American or European blogs, right?
Wrong. For example, there is Sahih Bukhari 7.62.88: "The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)."
It is Islam's own texts and traditions that cause the practice to persist in places far removed from one another, and to appear where it had previously been unimaginable -- for example, Britain. "Islington girls forced into marriage at the age of nine," by Pavan Amara for the Islington Tribune, January 27:
An alarming number of under-age girls – some as young as nine – are being forced into marriage in Islington, according to a leading campaign group.
The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) claim that at least 30 girls in the borough were forced into marriage in 2010.
The practice was condemned by the Imam of Finsbury Park Mosque, who said such marriages were against Islam and “unacceptable”.
He pledged to invalidate any marriage which he said were carried out by “back-street Imams”.
IKWRO, which made headlines last month when they revealed there had been almost 3,000 “honour-based” violence cases in 2010, has shown the Tribune records which revealed at least three 11-year-old girls and two nine-year-olds had been forced into marriage with older men within Islington. The oldest girls involved were 16.
They have warned that hundreds of Islington girls could be suffering sexual, emotional and physical scars as a result of the child marriages every year and are calling for teachers, social workers and police to be better trained to spot and manage the abuse.
Information from the Ministry of Justice, following a Freedom of Information request, revealed that 32 Forced Marriage Protection Order applications were made for children under 16 in Britain last year.
Six of these were made for under-16s within Islington at the Royal Courts of Justice, although these were not necessarily made for Islington residents.
At the Islington court, “five or fewer” orders were made to protect children between the ages of 9-11.
The orders are a form of injunction that threaten legal punishment if marriage takes place due to emotional or physical force.
In most cases, the children fear they will be killed if they reveal the truth to anybody, while others believe they will be separated from their families and taken into social services’ care.
Dianna Nammi, director of IKWRO, explained that the girls are married in a mosque’s sharia court. This means they are not legally married according to British law, rendering the Home Office unable to recognise or prove the abuse.
“They are still expected to carry out their wifely duties, though, and that includes sleeping with their husband,” she said.“They have to cook for them, wash their clothes, everything. They are still attending schools in Islington, struggling to do their primary school homework, and at the same time being practically raped by a middle-aged man regularly and being abused by their families. So they are a wife, but in a primary school uniform.
That's not being "practically" raped. The practice will diminish when the law comes after the "husbands" and families with the force with which they would pursue child molesters and human traffickers. This is rape, and it is human trafficking.
“The reason it doesn’t get out is because they are too terrified to speak out, and also the control their families have over them is impossible to imagine if you’re not going through it. The way it is covered up is so precise, almost unspeakable.”
Ms Nammi said that one 13-year-old had to sneak out of a maths lesson to contact the group, because she was being monitored so closely by her family.
“Her teacher didn’t notice because she said she’d gone to the toilet, but when she got home that day she was beaten,” she said.
“Her father knew she hadn’t been in maths because he had sent an uncle to spy on who she was talking to through the classroom window.”Ms Nammi said that the girls are married off to family friends or family members to stop them from losing their virginity to anyone not chosen by their father.
As young as nine. Heaven knows they're all going to become wild party animals at age 10.
However, the incentive is also often financial.
The financial aspect supports the human trafficking angle:
“The girl automatically becomes her husband’s property, so he takes financial responsibility for her,” said Ms Nammi.
“In fact, often the husband has to start contributing to the girl’s family, so it becomes a way of bringing in another salary.“Who are girls going to tell? Often they feel like teachers at school won’t understand what their families are like. They will think they’re like Western families, and won’t understand that if they pass on anything at all that they’ve been told to the family, then the girl will be killed. So they just chose not to tell at all.”.... | <urn:uuid:2ea6a6a1-d282-4e4b-b7b3-ab025a4c3714> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/01/uk-girls-as-young-as-nine-being-forced-into-marriage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986751 | 1,238 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Department of Radiation Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center Welcomes New Physician
PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2004) - Mark K. Buyyounouski has joined Fox Chase Cancer Center as an associate member of the medical science division and an attending physician in the department of radiation oncology.
Buyyounouski's chief research interest has been in the field of prostate cancer, on which he has given several local, national and international presentations. Buyyounouski is a co-primary investigator of an ongoing Phase III randomized trial at Fox Chase that tests an erectile tissue-sparing technique using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT is a sophisticated type of treatment that can deliver radiation to cancer tissues while avoiding normal tissues and limiting toxicity.
Buyyounouski will also care for patients with lung and brain cancer. Other areas of expertise include stereotactic radiotherapy and prostate brachytherapy. The radiation oncology department at Fox Chase has a long tradition of developing and instituting the most modern technology into radiation therapy, such as ultrasound, CT and MRI.
While at Fox Chase, Buyyounouski plans to investigate highly targeted, image-guided radiotherapy techniques that improve cancer control. Novel imaging agents used with MRI or PET scanning can be used for designing radiation treatments, and he plans to help better define their role in the everyday care of cancer patients.
Buyyounouski received a bachelor's degree in physics from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., and a master's degree in medical physics from Columbia University. He completed his M.D. at the New Jersey Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In 2001, after completing his internship in internal medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., he entered the radiation oncology residency program at Fox Chase. During his residency he was twice awarded the Radiological Society of North America Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award that recognizes and encourages outstanding residents and fellows in radiologic research.
Fox Chase Cancer Center, part of Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase also was among the first institutions to receive the National Cancer Institute’s prestigious comprehensive cancer center designation in 1974. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has achieved Magnet status for excellence three consecutive times. Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research and oversees programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. For more information, call 1-888-FOX-CHASE (1-888-369-2427). | <urn:uuid:31ad091a-b3e3-4093-aa48-3a75820d6777> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fccc.edu/information/news/press-releases/2005/2005-06-28Buyyounouski-Welcome.html | 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 | 0.941373 | 599 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Contact: Daren Bakst
May 11, 2010
RALEIGH -- Restaurant owners, not government bureaucrats, should make all decisions about admitting pets in their restaurants. That's the conclusion the John Locke Foundation's top regulatory expert reaches in a new Spotlight report.
Click here to view and here to listen to Daren Bakst discussing this Spotlight report.
If regulators decide to limit restaurant owners' rights by restricting pets to outdoor dining areas, the rule needs to be clear, said Daren Bakst, JLF Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies.
"Restaurant owners are much better suited than the state to determine whether pets should be allowed in their restaurants," Bakst said. "The state of North Carolina should leave this issue completely in the hands of those restaurant owners. But if regulators decide to move forward with a proposed rule setting new restrictions on pets' access to restaurants, the proposal now on the table needs to be fixed."
The N.C. Commission for Public Health will consider soon a proposed rule governing pets and restaurants across the state. The proposal, first published Feb. 1, could take effect as early as this summer. It would ban pets from indoor dining areas. Its impact on pets' access to outdoor dining areas is unclear, Bakst said.
Bakst's report examines the negative impact any new pet restrictions would have on property rights in North Carolina. He also recommends changes to the current proposal.
"Before addressing the specifics of this rule, it's important to note that this is a property-rights issue," Bakst said. "Just as a homeowner can decide whether a dog can enter his house, the restaurant owner has the same right with respect to his restaurant. A property owner does not lose his property rights just because that property is a business open to the public. It's still private property."
As in the case of North Carolina's recent ban on smoking in restaurants, supporters of new restrictions on pets are relying on a faulty argument linked to "health rights," Bakst said. "This is a red herring," he said. "There is no conflict between property rights and health rights. Restaurant patrons can see for themselves whether a restaurant welcomes or bans bets. Those patrons can make informed, voluntary decisions about whether they want to dine at those restaurants. No one else is putting their health at risk."
In addition, it's not clear that pets in dining areas generate any legitimate health risks, Bakst said. "The state Division of Environmental Health has been unable to provide even one example of restaurant patrons becoming ill due to the presence of pets."
If regulators wish to ignore the property-rights argument and the health evidence, at least they should fix the rule they've put forward, Bakst said. "While the proposed rule attempts to allow pets access to restaurants' outdoor dining areas, the rule is drafted in a way that would discourage most restaurant owners from allowing pets even in those limited outdoor settings."
Bakst turns to existing state law in Tennessee to help draft clearer language for North Carolina's proposed rule. "My alternative language is consistent with what the Division of Environmental Health is seeking to accomplish," he said. "My proposal would give restaurants a clear, bright-line requirement with easy compliance. Restaurant owners would provide clear instructions to employees and patrons about what they can and cannot permit pets to do."
Fixing the current rule represents the bare minimum step regulators should take, Bakst said. "The rule clearly should allow pets in outdoor areas," he said. "But the Commission for Public Health should take another step that's even more consistent with a respect for property rights. The commission should adopt a rule with language allowing restaurant owners to decide whether pets are permitted both in indoor and outdoor dining areas."
This type of rule would not represent a mandate for or against pets in restaurants, Bakst said. "Instead the rule would allow restaurant owners to make the decision that best meets their needs and the needs of their patrons," he said. "Creating a one-size-fits-all pet ban is inconsistent with a respect for property rights and personal freedom."
Daren Bakst's Spotlight report, " Let the Dogs In: Restaurant Owners, Not the State, Should Decide Whether to Allow Pets," is available at the JLF Web site. For more information, please contact Bakst at (919) 828-3876 or [email protected]. To arrange an interview, contact Mitch Kokai at (919) 306-8736 or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:49d6e0bd-ef8d-4064-9f25-1540e32ed128> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.johnlocke.org/press_releases/show/550 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952772 | 934 | 1.695313 | 2 |
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