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America’s top roadside attractions are highway accidents of a good kind. They’re small, conventional businesses that grew, thanks to desperation-driven innovation and a little luck, into legendary, multi-generational family concerns that draw mind-boggling traffic and profits that their founders little imagined.
More surprising still is that these products of the automobile’s golden age continue to thrive in a time of air travel and triple-digit gas prices. We asked the owners of some of the longest-enduring attractions what allows them to survive.
Read on for some great American roadside attractions:
Wall, South Dakota
In the depths of the Depression, Ted Hustead’s grandmother drew up signs offering travelers free ice water in order to draw business to her husband’s struggling pharmacy in a tiny town near a nascent Mount Rushmore. Today, Wall’s billboards stretch as far as Minnesota and the store, restaurant and gift shop see as many as 15,000 visitors on a summer day. “We’re on our second- and third-generation customer,” says Hustead, grandson of the founders. “Grandparents want to share an experience that they had when they were a kid.”
That experience has evolved “to entertain, educate and do it with world-class aesthetics,” says Hustead. Famous for its ubiquitous bumper stickers, Wall displays a priceless collection of Western art. In addition to its Yosemite and Rushmore souvenir sales, the Husteads do a half-million dollar trade in cowboy boots alone.
South of the Border
Dillon, South Carolina
The border in question is with Robeson County, N.C., less than a mile up Interstate 95, where alcohol was banned when Al Schafer opened his beer stand in 1949. It attracted not only Schafer’s thirsty neighbors, but high-end “Cadillac customers” bound for Florida. When a souvenir salesman traded his samples for beer one day, “they sold as fast as my granddad put them out,” says Ryan Schafer, who owns the complex today with his father.
The Cadillac customers fly now, but thousands of motorists are lured by 175 billboards that begin in Virginia, to what has become a small town, with a motel, gift shop and restaurant. The first sign that they’ve made it? A vision of Pedro, a 100-foot statue of the mascot.
Roadside America Miniature Village
Beginning in 1903, Laurence Gieringer built more than 300 miniature structures, which he displayed around his hometown of Reading before moving to Shartlesville in 1941. Packed with homes, businesses, and more than 10,000 handmade trees, Roadside America is actually eight villages set in different time periods.
Nostalgia is part of every attraction’s formula, but Roadside America relies on it almost exclusively. The display has not changed since Gieringer died in 1963. Says granddaughter Dolores Heinsohn, the current owner: “I have people thanking me for not changing. Those are the people who mean the most to me.”
Settling near Interstate 10 after years of touring as a carnival sideshow, the Prince family opened "The Thing!" Museum in 1951 and quickly leased the attraction to the Bowlins, who owned a string of Western-themed travel centers. What is The Thing? Even director of operations Kit Johnson replies, “Don’t know,” but we can reveal that after 50 billboards spanning more than 300 miles, the “Mystery of the Desert” is somewhat anti-climactic. But surrounded by eerie dioramas and Native American trinkets, The Thing still draws 50,000 visitors a year, testifying to the power of the billboard build-up.
Space Farms Zoo and Museum
Sussex, New Jersey
Parker Space calls his family’s 84-year-old zoo, farm museum and restaurant “a lifestyle, not a job.” That lifestyle includes farming 180 acres to supplement feed for the hoof stock, removing road kill from local byways (which is fed to the zoo’s big cats) and tending to a menagerie of more than 500 animals, including lions, tigers and seven species of bears.
Space has a dedicated employee handling regulatory paperwork, a costly reality for every small business that in Space’s industry at least, keeps other costs down. “If you could put a lion on eBay, he’d go for $100,000,” says Space. “But buyers are limited to places where it’s legal to keep him.”
Advertised as the world’s largest truck stop, the sprawling waypoint on Interstate 80 was founded by Bill Moon, a location scout for the Standard Oil Corporation. Moon eventually bought his employer out and turned Iowa 80 into a big-rig spa, with a truck-washing machine of Moon’s invention and spotless 24-hour showers for drivers. “He would talk with truckers about their concerns,” says longtime employee Heather DeBaillie. “He wanted to know how to make their lives easier.”
Now run by Moon’s children, Iowa 80 draws 5,000 customers a day in summertime, half of them non-truckers stopping to eat in the food court or simply to fuel up, and check out Moon’s trucking museum. In winter, the traffic reverts to 80 percent professional drivers who know they can get everything from to-die-for pork chops to a gym workout to a bath for their dogs.
Longhorn Bar and Grill
The 40-foot steer skull is the work of Michael Kautza, whose “commercial sculptures” dot the Tucson area. The skull turned an unassuming adobe building into an instant landmark, visible for miles on Interstate 19. Owners Edward Madril and Al Reynolds bought the place in 1993 after being left to wait by the seller in the parking lot. “In that half-hour,” says Madril, “five cars with out-of-state plates stopped to take pictures. We thought, ‘There’s something here.’”
If the skull gets them to the restaurant, Madril’s job is to make them stay and drop some dough. Madril cites his “Spaghetti Western” fare—an unconventional combination of Mexican, American and Italian cuisine—and the $2.50 margaritas.
Unclaimed Baggage Center
Two types make up visitors to the Unclaimed Baggage Center — daytrippers looking for bargains and the curious who come from all over to mull what other travelers have left behind. Since 1970, the Owens family has made a living buying luggage the airline cannot reconnect to passengers and selling the contents — house slippers to diamond jewelry to harpoons — at a discount.
The business has grown from a rented house stocked with card tables to a 40,000-square-foot facility whose yearly draw, at nearly a million customers, dwarfs other taller, weirder attractions. Besides the bargains and the gawking factor, the Owenses attribute their success to their almost spiritual mission. “We take these misfit toys and put them back into society in a purposeful manner,” says director of marketing Brenda Cantrell.
Wigwam Village Motel
Cave City, Kentucky
One of seven faux-teepee encampments that dotted the highways in the 1930s, Cave City’s Wigwam Village motel is the oldest surviving example of entrepreneur Frank Redford’s original concrete design. All of the villages feature a large central teepee housing the office and a restaurant with the 32-foot-tall guest-room teepees arrayed in a semi-circle around it, all decorated in a Southwest Native American theme.
Redford captured the imaginations of bored kids with his eye-catching kitsch in the pre-Interstate days, but he also invented an early form of franchising, allowing imitators to build similar Wigwam Villages along Route 66 west of Kentucky, in return for the proceeds of coin-operated radios installed in the rooms.
Nostalgic for the road trips he used to take with his father, Aubrey K. McClendon, CEO of the natural-gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corp., planted Pops on some land he owns along Route 66 in 2007, naming it in honor of his dad and the fizzy beverages he remembers from those days. Conscious that “you have to have a clever gimmick to make it on Route 66,” McClendon hired architect Rand Elliott to design a 66-foot, LED-lit pop bottle that beckons drivers from the highway. Inside, Pops stocks more than 600 brands of soda pop from Moxie to modern flavors.
Incorporating the essentials of an iconic structure, nostalgia and big portions, Pops was an instant success, and now serves about 3,000 diners on a summer day. Says general manager Marty Doepke, “It’s a matter of finding your niche.”
Click here to see Outrageous American Roadside Attractions. | <urn:uuid:ed2db5fa-01a2-477a-aa83-8d845a5c1d93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/outrageous-american-roadside-attractions.html?page=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948253 | 1,932 | 1.789063 | 2 |
(Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday approved a once-monthly injectable form of Abilify, the blockbuster treatment for schizophrenia, which will be sold by Japanese drugmaker Otsuka and Danish drug group Lundbeck.
In July 2012, the Food and Drug Administration declined to approve the medicine, Abilify Maintena, citing deficiencies from an inspection of a third-party supplier of sterile water. Otsuka and Lundbeck resubmitted their marketing application soon afterward, after working with an alternative supplier.
About 1 percent of adults in the United States are believed to have schizophrenia, a disorder of thought processes that can involve hallucinations, delusions and poor emotional responsiveness.
The new formulation of Abilify is meant to provide long-term prevention of relapses from schizophrenia symptoms, particularly for patients who don't faithfully take their anti-psychosis medicines.
But the medicine has a convenience disadvantage. It comes in a "cake" form, which must be diluted with sterile water for injection. That means it has to be given by a healthcare professional.
For a decade, Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb had co-marketed the once-daily basic formulation of Abilify, which had global sales of $2.8 billion in 2012. Under an updated partnership agreement, Otsuka early this year began to take on complete marketing responsibility for basic Abilify, but Bristol-Myers will continue to manufacture the medicine and share in revenue from it.
(Reporting By Ransdell Pierson and Ashley Lau in New York; Editing by Jan Paschal)
(This story was refiled to correct the stock symbol for Otsuka in the first paragraph to for Otsuka Holdings Co Ltd from for Otsuka) | <urn:uuid:3b7b3cb1-a1be-4a2a-acc9-db9eb07ce488> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radiousa.com/news/articles/2013/mar/01/fda-approves-once-monthly-abilify-for-schizophrenia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941306 | 361 | 1.5625 | 2 |
We are controlling ants with Diatomaceous Earth. We used this years ago in Texas to control beetles and cockroaches and I had forgotten how well it worked then. In this house there are two places we normally deal with ants all season. Ant spray gave me a nasty headache so I stopped using that. I also tried to control them with poison, which didn’t really work, and ant traps, which also didn’t work. Then I just gave up and would sweep them out of the garage every couple of weeks. That also didn’t work.
I got Food Grade DE on Amazon.com but you can get it anywhere. I got Food Grade so I don’t have to worry about any other Bonus ingredients being in it and I can use it by the food garden. Someone asked about the kind you get for the pool filter – I don’t know but I’m guessing that’s Pool Filter Grade? Unless you can get some expert advice, get Food Grade if you use it by food.
Here is some great background info on using DE.
As far as weeds, we have plans to add White Clover, Dandelions and some other productive ground cover and more edible weeds. I’m learning that the best weed control is overgrowing with plants you want to have there. There are only two areas of the yarden where we control the weeds at all, the rest of the weeds we Overgrow with (mainly) edible weeds or just let them go.
One area of the yarden gets no additional water after the spring rain, so these weeds are robust, and living in sun dried clay. A simple mist of vinegar seems to take them down, but I may have to do this on a more regular basis.
It is worth the extra effort to NEVER have to use something like Roundup. But I anticipate long term having to exert less effort.
In the area of the yard where the dogs play we have grass and an unwatered “patch” that will someday be a deck. In this patch we get weeds that are bad for dogs, like Foxtails, and weeds that produce a lot of seeds that blow into the grass. Since the grass is organic it makes it harder to keep it weed free, so I want to control these weeds and the weeds that popup in the sidewalk around the front grass.
We have started controlling these unruly weeds with a spray bottle of white vinegar. White vinegar is very acidic so don’t get any in your eyes and take precautions with gloves if it bothers your skin. I used it to clean a lot of stuff and it doesn’t bother me, but you may be different. I’m not different, I’m unique.
I’ll let you know how this white vinegar weed thing works throughout the season, but so far so good as you can see by the pictures from a couple of weeks ago when we started. Next season I will put down seeds for ground cover just before the rain and then I can proactively choose the KINDS of weeds we get. Then they’re not really weeds anymore I guess.
The only downside to spraying weeds with white vinegar is that it honest-to-gosh starts smelling like a tasty wild salad, and then I get hungry.
Several other areas of organic weed control aside from overgrowing are mowing high, using organic pre-emergents that stop seeds from germinating, and controlling soil pH. An interesting thing I’ve been learning about soil pH management is that the effect has less to do with the plant itself and more to do with the impact to the bacteria and fungus required to support that particular type of plant in the root system. More on that later. | <urn:uuid:32a638c9-56de-442e-a673-95c9fe7d6f6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dogislandfarm.com/2011/05/mondays-guests-white-vinegar-and-diatomaceous-earth.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961425 | 778 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Senator KENNEDY. I have been presented with this donkey by two young ladies down there for my daughter. My daughter has the greatest collection of donkeys. [Applause.] She doesn't even know what an elephant looks like. [Applause.] We are going to protect her from that knowledge, too. [Applause.]
I am delighted to be here with my friend and colleague in the Senate, who has fought for Pennsylvania and this country, with your distinguished Governor, the great sports columnist, Gov. David Lawrence [applause] with your congressional candidate, Chester Hampton, and your assembly candidates, and William Reagle and Harry Boyd, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Nixon has announced [response from the audience] - we are running a high level campaign - Mr. Nixon has announced that he proposes to spend the next 3 weeks talking about Quemoy and Matsu. I am delighted to do so. I am delighted to discuss this effort by a trigger-happy candidate to involve the United States in a commitment of these islands, 4 and 5 miles off the coast of China, a commitment which President Eisenhower never made in the treaty of 1955, and has not made until the present time. I am delighted to discuss it. But I would also like to turn the Vice President's attention to Pennsylvania, to Sharon, Pa. [Applause.]
I believe that the people of the United States would like to hear him discuss his views on an island not 4 miles off the coast of China, but 90 miles off the coast of the United States-Cuba. [Applause.]
But I also think he should talk about what his administration has done and plans to do for the people of Pennsylvania. [Applause.] And I can tell you what they have done so far. They add up to five words. The Republican Party has vetoed the needs of Pennsylvania, has vetoed Pennsylvania. [Applause.] Twice the Congress of the United States has passed legislation to aid areas where there is high unemployment. Senator Clark fought for the second bill, I was the floor manager for the first bill, the distressed area bill, the area redevelopment bill, and twice this administration vetoed that bill, which would have helped this county and would have helped Sharon. We passed two bills for housing and for urban renewal, which would have helped Pennsylvania. Twice this administration vetoed them. We passed a bill expanding our loans to colleges, for college dormitories and this administration vetoed it. We passed a bill to speed up cleansing our rivers and our streams, and this administration vetoed it.
The Republican administration vetoed a bill which the Congress passed which would have provided for research in the new uses of coal. But let's come right close to home here, to Sharon, to this town. In the public works bill last year the Democratic Party added the Sharpville Dam. This administration vetoed the bill, and we had to override their veto to meet this need, this protection against the floods. I want Mr. Nixon to come here and discuss these problems in this community, not 4 miles from Sharon. [Applause.]
I must say that all the time when this country fails to educate a boy or girl, fails to make it possible for that boy or girl to go to college and get an education, fails to clean our rivers, fails to find employment for our people, fails to find research for new uses for our old commodities, fails to move this State and country ahead, that administration has failed the country, and I must say that I cannot believe in this great industrial State of Pennsylvania, which has seen in the last 8 years a recession in 1954, a recession in 1958, and now, just 2 years later, a partial recession in this State, and across the country. Behind that sign up there [laughter] - behind that sign I hear that there is a slogan "Experience counts." Well, if you want experience which consists of opposition to basic programs, programs of $1.25 minimum wage, programs of housing, programs of industrial growth, programs of strength, programs of peace, then experience does count.
I have been in the Congress for 14 years. I arrived there the day Mr. Nixon did. I was on the Labor Committee with Mr. Nixon. I came to McKeesport, Pa., in 1947 to debate Mr. Nixon on the Taft-Hartley Act. He did not wear makeup on that occasion [laughter and applause] but regardless of whether the makeup is changed and the lighting is changed, Mr. Nixon remains the same for 14 years. He is still opposing, as he opposed in 1947, programs which serve the people, and in serving the people serve the cause of freedom. [Applause.]
I say as the standard bearer for the Democratic Party, as a member of a party which has produced Franklin Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and Governor Lawrence and Senator Clark, a party which believes in progress, we commit ourselves to a policy of full employment. [Applause.] We have to put this country back to work. If the United States is going to meet its commitments around the world, and I favor the United States meeting all of its commitments, if we are going to maintain in this country and around the world the cause of freedom, if we are going to defend ourselves and all those who look to us for help, we have to be strong, we have to be moving ahead here at home. We have to be developing our resources, we have to be educating our children. We have to be meeting the problems of our older citizens. We have to find jobs for our people, and I can assure you in 1960 if we are successful in this election, we will give this country leadership and the United States will start moving once again. Thank you. [Applause.] | <urn:uuid:561c6b16-7acd-4571-b2f8-ab016467ba1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74048 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970487 | 1,183 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Interesting thing. Here recently, I was honoring the guardian spirits Oset and Nebhet (Nephthys, Hathor, Het Hru, Oshun, Mama Chola, etc.). And, suddenly I found myself engaged in a conversation with my wife and another Sis on the greatness. It was through the conversation, I was reminded why the Kamitic people became great. For those of you who don’t know, I travel back and forth from Michigan and Kansas. Kansas is a flat, boring and full of farmland. And, for the longest I never knew why I was brought to Kansas until I began witnessing numerous natural events that occurred like tornadoes. I have witnessed a number of tornadoes, in fact, one of the deadliest tornadoes that hit Kansas occurred several years back in Greensburg, Kansas. This was the tornado that destroyed the whole town. I mean it wiped the entire town off the face of the earth, which prompted former President G.W. Bush to visit (after his poor support due to Katrina) and a television show about green technology. The interesting thing about this tornado, is that my father was just in that town 30 minutes prior to the tornado touching down.
Even though I am born and raised city mouse, while living in Kansas (farm country) there are some pretty interesting characteristics that I have picked up. It is because living in a area where the nearest major city is some three to four hours away, you learn to observe the things in nature, such as the way the animals act, the formation of clouds, how the wind blows, the smell of rain, etc. These are all signs or peculiar traits of a farmer that most city dwellers don’t know. You only pick up these traits when you live in rural areas like when you see a lot of cows sitting in the pasture, it symbolizes that rain is coming soon.These are the peculiar traits that our ancestors along the Nile River had and developed because they were one of the world’s first (if not the first) agriculturalists that were in tune with nature. People amaze me talking about how animals can be used as an early warning system to signify catastrophe because of the tsunami that hit Indonesia a few years back. Well, the only way they can be used in that sense is if you are in tuned with the Spirit of God or Nature.
But, the Kamitic people didn’t become great because of their discovery of agricultural science. While this contributed to them becoming a prosperous and powerful nation. The Kamitic society became great because of their women. Let me say this again because I know a lot of you are use to hearing how bold the warriors were and great their kings were, because we live in a very chauvinistic Anglo society that values physical strength and might. These are great but when they are not balanced they lead to the current state society is in now. So, let me say it again, Kamit did not become a great nation because of these men. They became great because of their WOMEN. That’s right, it was the SISTAHS, that made Kamit Great.
You see, thankfully the men of Kamit were humble (not weak but not arrogant and chauvinistic) and they took what the women did and made it into a science. They took the symbols and signs that women dreamed of and codified it into a symbolic language, which led to Kamit become a powerful, spiritual nation. The men of Kamit understood that they were by divine design very extroverted and in order to make things work, had to work with their counterpart, the women of Kamit, who introverted. A true study of the Kamitic culture will reveal that the women were the Kamitic men’s secret weapon, this is why Oset was so loved and why in the Kamitic legends she is so despised by the enemy Set. Women in traditional indigenous societies weren’t prized possessions (as they are viewed in Anglo and Arabic societies). They were prized counterparts, which is why in Kamit women had similar rights as men including the right to divorce, own land and even join the priesthood – churches and religious institutions are still struggling with this one. It is sad in this crazy world, in order for women to get respect they got to show that they are as tough as a man or they have to parade their excessively flaunt and parade their sexuality. I remember one of the sweetest rappers back in the day was MC Lyte. Back when a rapper could blow up the spot and cap on another rapper without them and their loved ones being harmed…MC Lyte stumped lyrically beat the stank out of male and female rappers. Let’s not even talk about all those Roxanne and UTFO. (Wow Ole’ Skool).
Anyway, in traditional society. Women were valued co-workers because they represented that mysterious part of the puzzle that exists in Nature that men cannot figure out. (That’s why we can’t win an argument! Smile). It was only after the Euro-Indo influence that women were more valued for their sexuality and ability to produce. Don’t believe me…watch, if you can stomach it…the movie Alexander (I still haven’t seen all of this film. My spirit will not let me do it ). Alexander didn’t know what to do with his wife played by Rosario Dawson. Anglos not understanding the power of women, whenever women acted themselves classified them as witches and burned them at the stake…remember Salem. By the way, they did this all throughout Europe. They just didn’t Understand. Westerners have always had a problem with women, which is why they blamed women for the downfall of humankind. That whole original sin thing. This stigma continues to this day, which is why many still feel it is a curse to be a woman. This is not how indigenous people around the world saw women. Our civilization was as a great as our women. If a society was great it was a reflection of the Queen Bees.
So, let me show you how this mysterious and magical thing with women work. To use a previous example, all of the women in my family believe that if they dream of fish it indicates that someone in the family is pregnant. They believe this because it has never failed. In fact my wife had a dream about fish and saw my cousin’s face in it and wondered what it meant. I told her it means, my cousin is pregnant and although my cousin tried to keep it secret, most of the women in my family already knew because of similar dreams and hunches. Now, what’s interesting is that besides my wife, none of the women in my family know anything about Kamitic spirituality. Which is why it surprises them when I tell them fish are a sign of abundance and children (this is a symbolic message from the Spirit) that fall under the protection of the guardian spirit or netcharu of fertility, motherhood and pregnancy Oset (Aset, Auset, Isis, the Virgin Mary, Mother of Pearls, etc.).
Now, as I have previously stated, my mother, aunts, sister-in-laws, female cousins, etc. don’t know anything about Kamitic spirituality. They consider themselves to be God-fearing Christians women, but they are influenced by Oset as you can clearly see. This begs one to ask, are they worshiping an idol? Clearly not. These women from different backgrounds, different affiliations and ethnicity (we have African, Native American and Latin influences in my family tree) are united because of their cultural experience and ancestral legacy, which they might be aware of or not. This is why our ancestors along the Nile called this division of the Spirit that deals with motherhood, childhood, fertility, pregnancy, etc. Oset.
Oset is not a deity. She is a guardian spirit, an archetype or whatever you want her to be to help you to understand the Spirit of Motherhood that can be found in Nature or Netcher and within the human being. Nature is derived from the Latin word natura which comes from the Kamitic word Netcher – the generic term for God. It comes from God. Our indigenous male ancestors just put a name on it in order to better understand the complexities of the Spirit because that is how most of our human brain works. We have to understand things logically. We have to make sense of it before we can sign off on it. Unfortunately, some of us are brains are too polarized in this way of thinking, which is why most Westerners are still stuck between Baltic Avenue and Oriental Place in regards to our Spiritual traditions, because they are biologically and culturally unaware. They just don’t get it.
When we ignore the notion that our ancestors (along the Nile, throughout Africa, throughout indigenous America, etc.) worshiped deities and false idols, and simply categorized natural events in a sophisticated, symbolic, cultural manner which the Kamitic people called paut neteru/netcharu. It begins to make sense how our ancestors along the Nile were able to advance at such a high level. Like farmers they had to work hand and hand with Nature/Netcher, whom they called by the way Nebertcher – The Lord of Everything. This is how the core netcharu came into being:
- Osar (Asar, Ausar, Osiris) the Lord of the Dead is the guardian spirit of peace, wisdom, purity, knowledge and fertility. Associated with the Resurrected Jesus and La Virgin de las Mercedes.
- Oset (Aset, Ast, Auset, Isis) the Mother of Revolution is the guardian spirit of positive change and motherhood. Associated with the Virgin Mary, Virgin de la Regla and Virgen of the Miraculous Medals.
- Hru (Hra, Heru, Horus) the Heir of Osar is the guardian spirit of victory, success and triumph. Associated with Samson, King David and St. Barbara.
- Djahuti (Tahuti, Tehuti, Thoth) the Lord of Change is the guardian spirit of divination. Associated with King Solomon and St. Francis of Assisi.
- Nebhet (Nephtys) Lady of the House is the guardian spirit love, beauty, pleasure, money and peace. Associated with Mary Magdalene and La Virgin de la Caridad del Cobre.
- Sokar (Sokher, Seker) Lord of the Cemetery is the guardian spirit of resurrection, renewal and illness. Associated with Lazarus.
- Npu (Anpu, Enpu, Anubis) the Messenger/Traveler between the Living and Dead, is the guardian spirit of guidance. The master of the cross-road. Associated with the Moses and El Nino de la Atocha.
- Maat the Gatekeeper of Life/Death is the guardian spirit of balance, righteousness and sanity. Associated with Joshua and St. Norbert.
- Hruaakhuti (Ra-Hor-kahuti, Bedhuty, Herukhuti) Lord of the Double Horizon, is the guardian spirit of justice. Associated with the disciple Peter and St. George the Destroyer of Dragons.
The Kamitic devil (sort of speak) is called Set. Set is the spirit of War, chaos, destruction, confusion, imbalance. You name it. He has his hand in it, which is why he later became Set-an and Satan in the Christian tradition. So, when the tornado his Greensburg, I knew it was Set, because Set is the author of confusion, chaos and destruction. Unlike the Judeo-Christian belief in the devil that sees the devil as opposing God. Ancient African science teaches that this whole good/bad dichotomy is all meant to establish balance. For instance, because I see Set as a real force/energy, that brings destruction, his presence also signals rebirth and change. Prime example, Greensburg, Kansas is being rebuilt with new, green technology.
In “What is the Kamitic Way of Life?: Part I”, I mention how I met my padrino an old Cuban man that opened my eyes to a lot of things and taught me about building a spiritual boveda or bóveda (espiritismo). Papa was an omo-Ellegua (Child of the guardian angel/orisha Ellegua – the Yoruba opener of the Way). My Npu guided both of us to meet. Again, some people call it magical because they prefer to quote scriptures and talk about what they think God can do but don’t want to walk on faith and make the word of God flesh (proof). When you walk on faith, it becomes a wonderful experience because God answers your prayers. I know not when things are blocked and I ask for a way to be open, I get a message from God when I see three dogs hanging on a street corner or three dogs out of nowhere cross the street forcing me to stop and pay attention. (These are all signs of Npu).
This is just an example of what Spiritual Sciences can do for you, because that’s just one division of the Spirit of God that governs one particular aspect of nature. People that don’t understand the nature of the Spirit and how God communicates to us calls this superstitions. I guess the burning bush that Moses saw would be considered superstitious too. This is because we have been conditioned into believing that God has to make some miraculous and extraordinary sign for us to say, “Hey God is speaking to me.” As you can see, there is a part of us that has to understand things and a part of us we have to shut down and use faith to see things. Remember according to contemporary science God doesn’t exist…but something within us knows this is not true. This is how the Kamitic men dealt with things as well. They recognized that their sistahs could see access things that they as men could not at the time.
Now, imagine if the women in my family (and all over) who believed that fish signifies pregnancy truly began to re-educate themselves about their own spirituality…what would really happen? Did you get goosebumps? I know I did.
***Please note that cultural and religious syncretism doesn’t truly occur by intellectualizing. True syncretism or dissimulation – the deliberate of mixing beliefs and influence in order to preserve and maintain a tradition – occurs by noting observable practical similarities. This is why I don’t identify the Yoruba Oggun and Oya with Set because they are not the same, although they have simlarities. ****
For a complete discourse see MAA AANKH: Finding God the Afro-American Way,
by Honoring the Ancestors and Guardian Spirits | <urn:uuid:5b942380-ac75-44c7-be58-4583dbd888e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://landofkam.wordpress.com/tag/proteccioness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966666 | 3,070 | 1.59375 | 2 |
When It Happens Panel Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'OXFORD NEWS' to 80360 or email
FLOODS: Villagers race to get sandbags in position
Buy this photo » Richard Winslet places sandbags at Bridge End, Dorchester Pictures: OX55866 and OX55891, Ric Mellis, Oliver Evans, Damian Halliwell
SCORES of sandbags were delivered to villagers yesterday as the threat of flooding hit more rural parts of Oxfordshire.
About 150 sandbags were sent to villagers in Dorchester-on-Thames after residents were told flooding was expected.
Father-of-three Chris Hill, 66, a retired communications engineer, lives with wife Sheila, 65, in their 18th century cottage in Bridge End, Dorchester. He is in charge of preparing the village’s emergency plan, and said the Thames tributary, the River Thame, could flood.
He added: “The Environment Agency has told us that about 20 homes in the village could be flooded. Some gardens in the area have flooded but fortunately so far no homes have been affected.
“Some properties were flooded in 2003 and since then residents have taken steps to prevent flooding, including raising floor levels.”
Retired chartered accountant Richard Winslet, also of Bridge End, took seven sandbags for his daughter – and neighbour – Rachel Morris.
He said: “The Thame is running very high and at the moment it can’t escape into the Thames because the Thames is too full.”
Wallingford county councillor Lynda Atkins last night said no homes had flooded.
The River Thames from Days Lock at Little Wittenham, and South Stoke was on flood warning yesterday, indicating flooding is expected and immediate action is necessary.
While homes in Dorchester, Shillingford, Benson, Wallingford, North Stoke and Moulsford were on flood warning, the Thames and its tributaries from Days Lock to above Pangbourne were on flood alert, which indicates that residents should be prepared, as flooding was possible.
In Abingdon, the Vale of White Horse District Council closed the low-lying Rye Farm and Hales Meadow car parks which were flooded, and motorists were told to move their vehicles to the multi-storey, where their tickets would be valid.
A fallen tree near Clifton Hampden caused the closure of the road from Abingdon to Little Wittenham.
Gavin Walton, a spokesman for South Oxfordshire and Vale councils, said: “We have been working in partnership with other agencies to coordinate efforts, including helping to promote the flood alert system.”
Oxfordshire County Council said five homes flooded in Dog Close, Adderbury, near Banbury. Adderbury Parish Council chairman Diane Bratt said: “It is not as bad as some of the flooding we had in 2007 but it is very unfortunate for those houses and properties flooded.” | <urn:uuid:a5b4efc5-3aba-426c-8ad8-63019b11424c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/10071851.FLOODS__Villagers_race_to_get_sandbags_in_position/?ref=nt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9751 | 627 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Hands down, my favorite Halloween book is Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman. If you read it alongside this video on You Tube it will certainly become a favorite of your children as well. My kids practically have the entire book memorized.
Luke and I enjoyed making a Witch Craft not only to go along with this book, but also our recent trip to the Witch Scavenger Hunt at Gardner Village.
The best part of course is her fun nose!!
Here is how we made our witch.
1. I drew a template for a witch's head and nose on green paper and a witch's hat on black paper and Luke cut them out. I also used a shredder to make small orange strips for the witch's hair. If you don't have a shredder you can just cut strips yourself.
2. The nose requires an adult to help attach it. Hold the nose up to the face where you want it attached and use a craft knife to make a slit along the nose.
3. Push the nose through the slit in the paper.
4. Fold the paper back on the back side of the face and use tape to secure it in place.
5. After the nose is in place, Luke glued on his eyes and glued hair to the front of his witch.
6. Make sure to glue some hair to the back of the witch as well.
7. Glue the hat onto your witch.
In the Big Pumpkin book, the Witch has designs drawn on her hat and cloak, so Luke decided to draw spiders and bats on his hat.
8. We used oil pastels to draw eyebrows and a mouth onto our witch. Crayons obviously would work too. I just like how bright the oil pastels are.
I crinkled up my orange paper to make the hair on my witch curly like in the book. Such a fun craft!!
Thanks for stopping by to check out our Witch Craft!!
I like to link my posts up to THESE fun link parties. | <urn:uuid:b4e0ae02-9f3c-48f0-874d-36f629d9933c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iheartcraftythings.com/2012/10/witch-craft.html?showComment=1349305263616 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960325 | 413 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Surrounding Dangers Make Gun Training High Priority For School Officers
POSTED: Thursday, August 2, 2012 - 5:17pm
UPDATED: Friday, August 3, 2012 - 9:23am
LA JOYA — "Ok go into combat mode," said the training official. Combat mode, it sounds extreme, especially when you realize the men on the gun range are all school police officers. La Joya ISD Officer Roel Guerra, like the other, is here taking his yearly gun training exam.
"Thread!" yells the trainer, then shots ring through the air.
This training is mandatory for every school officer.
Chief Raul Gonzalez has been leading the school police for for 11 years, and recent years have prompted changes like guns in the hands of school officers. "Eleven years ago we never talked about having police officers at the school district, or having a police department at the school district," said Gonzalez. "And now we are up to more than 45 police officers at La Joya ISD , and almost every school district in the valley and every school district in the state has police officers."
News Center 23 Reporter Erin Murray explains. | <urn:uuid:32ed82a2-de29-429d-9416-7bce3c7b64f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kveo.com/news/surrounding-dangers-make-gun-training-high-priority-school-officers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968229 | 241 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Mike Duran recently posted about two hostages who were forced to convert to Islam, and turns it into a broadside against Islam in general:
Even a complicit media cannot disguise the awful truth about Islam. As much as we’d like to embrace the “all-religions-are-equal” mantra, there’s only one religion these days effectively swaying public opinion through shrapnel, suicide bombers and M-16′s.
This is yet another chapter in the long-running debate about whether Islam as a whole is a good religion or a bad one. I’ve seen arguments both pro and con, and don’t really have an opinion about it. But one thing I do have an opinion about is that to Christians, it shouldn’t actually matter.
First of all, the only really relevant question about any religion is whether or not it’s true. If forced conversions actually please God, complaining about them isn’t going to help. I realize that Mike and others are objecting against a certain pluralist theory of religion, but it actually seems to be ceding too much ground to the pluralists to judge religions not by their truth, but by whether you’d want one as your next-door neighbor or not. “Good” believers keep to themselves, abide by the laws and don’t bother anyone; “bad” religions make themselves pains in the butt.
By those standards Christianity may come off better than Islam, but it would certainly come off worse than some other religions, such as Jainism. I say this not only because of the various wrongs that Christians have committed, but also because even nonviolent Christians reserve the right to be pains in the butt on matters of faith (e.g., Martin Luther King, or just your average missionary). Once you start judging religions by some external yardstick like good citizenship, you’ve already bailed on your own truth claims.
Moreover, if Islam at its core is not true, there’s no point in identifying one strain of it as the “true” Islam and more benevolent factions as unrepresentative. If it’s a human creation to begin with, why should one community’s subcreation of it have more validity than others?
Secondly, I don’t see how establishing Islam as a nasty religion would actually change our policy towards it. Churches are supposed to do mission in war or peace, to friends and enemies, not based on whom we’re most afraid of. As for state policy, it violates our own First Amendment for the government to try to deconvert people from their religions. And in fact, governments are never scarier than when they’re trying to annihilate an idea. Recently Christopher Hitchens reviewed a book arguing that the Allies’ bombing of civilians in World War II was morally unjustified. Hitchens basically concedes the arguments, but still isn’t satisfied:
… atheist though I am, I have to invoke something like the biblical. It was important not just that the Hitler system be defeated, but that it be totally and unsentimentally destroyed. The Nazis had claimed to be invincible and invulnerable: Very well, then, they must be visited by utter humiliation. No more nonsense and delusion, as with the German Right after 1918 and its myth of a stab in the back. Here comes a verdict with which you cannot argue.
It’s a nasty business, killing people’s gods. It’s the stuff that Yahweh visited on Egypt to humble their god-king in Exodus. But for human purposes, no reasonable just-war theory allows for what it would take to commit deicide, let alone of a god followed by 600 million people. Even popes have denounced the Crusades by now. (A recent article suggested that Christians might have picked up the idea of holy war from Islam, which would add an almost unbearable degree of irony to the thing.)
I expect the real complaint here is mostly about rhetoric. The critics don’t like seeing Islam called a “religion of peace,” they feel that it’s getting a pass because Muslims are perceived as an oppressed people; they want its sins advertised to the world. But I would point out that from a Christian point of view Muslims are an oppressed people, and were so even at the height of the medieval empires. Like everyone else, they’re oppressed by Satan. And so, is all this denunciation from the editorial pages of far-off climes, all this raising of suspicion of the group as a whole, really helping to liberate them? Is it increasing their trust in Christian authority? Somehow, I don’t think so. | <urn:uuid:abac477a-5df4-484f-8585-64c32496ebf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://notfrisco2.com/camassiablog/?m=200609 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966597 | 988 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The few times I've had the opportunity to use artists like this, they had an easier time adapting to more cartoony styles that I needed for animation. Plus they could draw things from any angle and had good senses of composition.
MARIE SEVERINHere's a little known Marvel artist: Marie Severin.
She was the one who I think designED Marvel's color style, which was quite different than the other comic brands at the time.
She used a lot of subtle colors and greys. She created a real mood for the Marvel artists and stories.
She also drew really well! She was probably their best "cartoony artist":
Ecchh. She drew very solid anatomy, funny poses and could even caricature the other Marvel artists' style!
I especially loved the way she caricatured Ditko.
Ditko created the rubbery bent legs and distorted poses that so many other Spiderman artists followed after.
My idea of a really great creative studio is to mix animation artists and cartoonists with some of these solid draftsmen from related fields of cartooning.
The different approaches-if encouraged - allow all the artists to grow and create things they would not have thought of in their own inbred environments.
Jim Smith, Vincent Waller and Bob Camp helped us more cartoony-animation artists aim higher with our skills and allowed us to break out of many animation cliches. | <urn:uuid:e954e65c-c86a-479b-9372-4ca9a5a256db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/09/more-colan-funny-pages.html?showComment=1189469760000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972658 | 295 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Commissions develop recommendations for cityBased on what two city commissions are recommending, Red Wing could soon have some very strong regulations in place for silica sand mines.
By: Regan Carstensen, The Republican Eagle
Based on what two city commissions are recommending, Red Wing could soon have some very strong regulations in place for silica sand mines.
The Planning and Sustainability commissions have been holding joint meetings for months in order to develop a draft report of recommendations to the City Council on how silica sand mining should be controlled. At the end of June they organized a public hearing to consider citizen input.
Public comment overwhelmingly encouraged an outright prohibition of silica sand mining, but the commissions decided not to take that approach when they finalized their draft report at a meeting Tuesday night.
“Instead what they’re basically saying is the combination of the other recommendations would severely limit any future mining operations in Red Wing and would place public safety types of regulation on processing plants and transportation terminals,” planning director Brian Peterson explained.
An entire section in the report is dedicated to alternative regulatory approaches that can be taken rather than using just the city’s exiting regulatory framework.
“Basically they’re recommending many of the alternatives in the draft report,” Peterson said.
Those include limiting silica sand mining to only the agriculture and general industrial zoning districts, prohibiting mining in open space priority areas and developing special provisions for barge and rail terminals used to ship silica sand.
Peterson said the recommendations were based heavily around public safety, health concerns and transportation issues.
The final draft of the report will be on the city’s website by Monday, he added.
At the City Council’s meeting on Aug. 13 the draft report will be presented, “so we can kind of get the City Council up to speed on what it’s about,” Peterson explained.
The Planning and Sustainability commissions will meet Aug. 21 to vote to officially adopt the draft they developed, and the City Council will be asked to take official action on Aug. 27.
“If the council adopts the report … then there would be new zoning regulations coming forward in September,” Peterson said. “Whatever we are going to put in place we need to have put in place by Oct. 28.” | <urn:uuid:2ac70018-57b4-4eee-8096-7eb4d2c40855> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/82717/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939888 | 484 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Dear Friends of the Cary Institute:
As we enter into the busy fall season, I'd like to reflect for a moment on our successful summer. Eleven aspiring undergraduate scientists partnered with our scientists to hone their ecological skills in the 25th installment of Cary's Research Experience for Undergraduates program, which recently received a National Science Foundation renewal. The campus also saw an influx of summer field assistants, ecology campers, and classroom teachers, who took advantage of our teacher training workshops.
Rick Ostfeld's lab spent the summer assessing the environmental conditions that magnify Lyme disease risk, while Shannon LaDeau's lab made major efforts to quantify mosquito populations—both locally and in Baltimore—to ascertain the epidemiology of West Nile virus. These projects exemplify our efforts to understand the ecology of diseases that affect humans in natural and human-dominated habitats.
Disease ecology joins aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry as three focal areas in which we will strive for preeminence among our nation's environmental research organizations. This focus will be stressed in a new strategic plan being drafted in collaboration with our Board of Trustees. There will also be an increased emphasis on connecting research outcomes with citizens and decision makers. Now more than ever, the political process needs to be informed by solid, unbiased science.
This fall and winter we have a premier lineup of public programs for "Friday Night at Cary," which we hope you will attend. Upcoming is a talk by our own Gary Lovett on the rising impact of pests and pathogens in northeastern forests. Between invasive species and climate change, our native trees are under siege. Join us on October 19 for Gary's insights.
Your support of the Cary Institute makes possible these programs, our scientific research, and our delivery of science to decision makers. I thank our donors, especially members of the Aldo Leopold Society, and I invite others to join in support of the nation's premier institution focused on environmental research. | <urn:uuid:d50df996-b688-425f-a602-54a20a78ce98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom/our-president-3?page=0%2525252C2%25252C2%252C1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944773 | 393 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The secret to a great piece of fried dough is in the stretching.
Before the popular fair treat is cooked in sizzling hot oil, coated in powdered sugar and handed to a hungry customer, the dough has to be pulled and prodded into just the right size and thickness so it will be chewy, not crispy.
At the Glenelg High School band program's fried-dough stand at the Howard County Fair, "all those skills are passed down from one band generation to another," said Stacey Kight, a Glenelg senior. She said she learned from an upperclassman drummer who was "the best stretcher ever. It was a privilege to work with him."
The Glenelg band program -- which includes the color guard and flag corps, called silks -- has returned to the fair this year to carry on a decades-long fried-dough tradition. In the small wooden stand next door, the Glenelg booster club will also be raising money at its long-standing french-fry booth.
They will be among 15 food vendors at the fair, offering a range of items from cotton candy and ice cream to barbecue and pit-beef meals. As many as 90,000 visitors are expected to turn out through Saturday as the fair celebrates its 60th anniversary at the fairgrounds in West Friendship.
Current band and booster club members cannot remember how long the stands have been operating, but they estimate it has been 20 to 25 years.
Organizers are tight-lipped about how much money the stands bring in. The booster club, which sells fries in freshman, sophomore, junior and senior sizes for $1.50 to $5.50, puts its proceeds into a general fund to support athletic teams and school groups.
Band members, who sell fried dough for $3.50, are credited for the time they work against the cost of trips to national competitions.
The stands are not the largest fundraisers for either group, but they are popular for their social elements.
"There is a really strong sense of community" among the workers, Kight said.
She said it is a great way for new band members to meet older ones. She recalled that when she was a freshman, "I walked in [to school] the first day, and I was absolutely petrified, but I knew people from the fried-dough stand."
Workers also see lots of familiar faces lining up at the windows to buy the food.
"Our friends and family members come out and support us," said Michelle Lacey, a Glenelg senior and flutist in the band.
Alumni -- some with their children in tow -- also come back, get some fried treats and reminisce about their days standing over vats of hot oil.
The preparation starts at least a week ahead of time. Both clubs truck their stands -- which are stored in pieces -- to the fairgrounds and construct them.
Volunteers install electrical outlets, sinks, deep fryers and -- thanks to the often sweltering temperatures in early August -- many fans. Health Department inspections must be passed before the stands can open.
Band members sign up to work between eight and 24 hours that include setup, cleanup and the fair's nine days, said Lucia Articola, a Woodbine parent who oversees the fried-dough stand. Parents also take shifts, usually handling the money.
At the fries stand, parents, sports coaches and administrators slice about 5,000 pounds of potatoes over eight days, blanch them and deep-fry them in peanut oil along with running the cash register.
Students chip in taking orders, sterilizing cooking tools and cleaning.
"It takes a small army of people," said Joel Isaacs, president of the booster club. About 240 volunteers will cover shifts before the fair is done.
Kathy Bowring, a booster club member from Mount Airy who oversees staffing, said she does not have trouble getting parents involved.
"I get the same ones year after year until their kids graduate because they have such a good time those four hours that they work," Bowring said. "I guess you don't feel like you're working when you're there and constantly see people ... that you've known for years and years."
The band members "like making the money, and they enjoy seeing all their friends," said Articola. "It's also a good way ... to learn a little bit about capitalism."
And, Kight said with a laugh, "Nothing beats walking out of the stand smelling like fried dough."
The fair, off Route 144 in West Friendship, is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for those ages 62 and older and free for children younger than 10. Parking is free. Information: 410-442-1022, or www.howardcountyfair.com. | <urn:uuid:ff5ea24c-8d6f-43e1-8953-31b2509343fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-08-07/news/0508060105_1_glenelg-high-school-fried-dough-band-members | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971884 | 1,017 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Lang Lang Guardian, May 3 1902. Click on all the images to enlarge them.
Naturally, there is also plenty of local news and always of interest are the advertisements. There are many advertisements from Melbourne and Dandenong Companies offering their services to the locals as well as advertisements from local firms, such as Ernest Cougle's store, where all the necessaries of a household could be purchased. Ernest Cougle had taken over the store in 1907 from John Donaldson, who had purchased the store in 1903 from the original owners, the Priestley family. They had arrived in Lang Lang in 1898.
This section of local news is taken from the Lang Lang Guardian of October 27, 1915.
Finally there were articles of interest to women. The Guardian had Health information, a weekly serial and Fashion notes, so even though you lived in the country, there was no need to be unfashionable. This article, below, from 1907 caught my attention. This elegant Ladies Fichu Bodice could be made from Butterick Pattern 9618, which came in six sizes. The pattern could be purchased for 10 shillings from M.Thorp & Co in Collins Street.
Lang Lang Guardian, May 8, 1907. A Fichu is a woman's shawl, or piece of lace, worn around the neck or shoulders.
You can purchase a copy of this DVD from the Lang Lang &District Historical Society, P.O | <urn:uuid:28d97b5b-19ca-4f6f-ae36-aadd88020126> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://caseycardinialinkstoourpast.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972087 | 298 | 1.578125 | 2 |
|Here's the transcript from Show 49 of Outside The Lines - Contract Killers?
Bob Ley, host - It's the unwritten part of the box score. Through the years, the salaries and digits have ballooned to the point that demands now may actually be embarrassing.
Mark McGwire, Cardinals first baseman - The sad thing that we're coming down to in sport today, it's all about money.
Gary Sheffield, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder - Money is important. I'm not fooling anyone. But stability is most important.
Pedro Martinez, Red Sox pitcher - I would not criticize him for trying to get more money because when it's time for you to go, the first one to kick you in the rear end will be the owner of the team, the GMs, and the teams.
Ley - Today on Outside The Lines, have huge guaranteed deals turned players into contract killers?
Announcer - Outside The Lines is presented by State Farm Insurance. Joining us from ESPN Studios, Bob Ley.
Ley - This is what happens when the laws of economics intersect the laws of human behavior when with one stroke of a pen, the pay scale for Major League baseball superstars is vaporized, putting extraordinary players behind the salary curve.
It's not the fault of Alex Rodriguez. And it's not really the fault of the Texas Rangers. But the spring training focus is on the discontent spawned by that landmark contract and what it's revealing among Major League baseball players.
The Mets' Mike Piazza is amused by the credit he is receiving just by living up to his contract. But Gary Sheffield and Frank Thomas are not amused by where they are left by A-Rod's contract, even though Thomas, who is early in his already renegotiated contract, and Sheffield halfway through his deal, will each earn nearly $10 million this year.
Piazza's comment was simply the leading edge of the reaction in a sport that has just repaired the damage self-inflicted by the labor war of six winters ago and faces another negotiation after this season. In a week that saw the invocation of that infamous phrase "it's not about the money," and the unlikely site of an agent severing ties with a player, the issue for many was reduced to the almost point question, what is the signature on the bottom of a contract worth?
Mark Schwarz examines this battle between market forces and public relations.
Mark Schwarz, ESPN correspondent - Historically, whenever the game's elite players break the bank to sign milestone mega-deals, their fellow superstars do cartwheels knowing that they are likely to be next. But Alex Rodriguez's 10-year $252 million deal has so obliterated baseball salary's structure that it seems this week to have ignited an ugly outbreak of greenbacks' envy.
Frank Thomas, Gary Sheffield, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa are among the afflicted. None is satisfied with his contract situation. And one even felt obligated to publicly apologize for his stance.
Frank Thomas, White Sox first baseman - I do look like a poster boy of greed over the last weekend. But that is not the case. I've never been greedy.
McGwire - It constantly amazes me that players that make that amount of money would complain that someone else is making more than that. If that doesn't say it's ego, I don't know what it means.
Schwarz - Mark McGwire signed a two-year, $30 million extension this week. Yes, Big Mac agreed to a contract that averages $10.2 million per year less than A-Rod's. And McGwire chose to negotiate the deal himself.
McGwire - If somebody is going to complain about making $15 million, I mean, there's something wrong with them, or $10 million or $20 million, whatever it is. I mean, it's just the sad thing that we're coming down to in sport today, it's all about money.
Thomas - The pay scale is out of whack right now. The bar has been set. There are going to be a lot of players that are going to fulfill or try to get close to that area now, big names coming up.
McGwire - Now you know why athletes have a bad name. It's sad. It's really sad. You know, the only time you can really say that you want to negotiate an extension is when you're in the last year of your contract. Period.
I think Barry Bonds is probably going to be in the same position as Sammy Sosa. But if you have three, four years left on your contract, there's no complaining.
Schwarz - Thomas has six years remaining on a nine-year, $85 million deal. He chose security rather than the opportunity to have owners bid against themselves every few years for his extraordinary skills.
His recent public protest over his deal is not universally shared by all ballplayers.
Martinez - If you already signed, you agreed to it. You were happy at the time you signed that contract because you were well paid. Stick to it.
Don't get me wrong. Don't get mad at me for saying this. It's just being honest.
Thomas - I'm not angry at anyone for making comments because it did sound greedy for a guy with a 10-year contract to be having gripes about it. There is no positive way of publicly talking about money at this level of money.
Nothing good is going to come out of this, nothing at all. It's a black eye. Everyone knows that.
But I've never been greedy. And I will never be greedy.
Schwarz - Martinez recognizes contract negotiation is a two-way street.
Martinez - I don't want the owner of Texas later on saying, "Oh, we need to get a salary cap in negotiations because the market blew up." Oh, really? You agreed to take Alex Rodriguez. He's the best player in the game.
You pay your dues. Don't whine later. And don't be crying about, "Oh, the salaries are going too high."
Schwarz - Rodriguez doesn't exactly apologize for a contract worth the annual gross domestic product of the Pacific Island nation of Tonga, though he admits that even last year, he thought he was overpaid.
Alex Rodriguez, Rangers shortstop - I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I would be making this type of money. And like I said, it's almost embarrassing to talk about it because I don't know if Michael Jordan or Bill Gates or Alexander the Great, I don't think anyone is worth this type of money, obviously. But that's the market that we're in today.
Schwarz - When Rodriguez signed with Texas, teammate Raphael Palmero gushed that the Rangers were paying not only for the player but for what he could do for a community. What Rodriguez' quarter-billion-dollar contract has done to the baseball community lately is probably not the type of impact Palmero was talking about.
For Outside The Lines, I'm Mark Schwarz.
Ley - Ahead this morning, I'll be talking with Frank Thomas' former agent. But next, Peter Gammons' exclusive interview with the Dodgers' Gary Sheffield.
Ley - The Los Angeles Dodgers are actively trying to trade Gary Sheffield, who has asked out of Los Angeles. Sheffield, who has three years and $30 million remaining on his original six-year contract, recently asked the club for a contract extension. He was turned down.
Sheffield was recently quoted in "Baseball Weekly" citing Dodger deals with teammates Kevin Brown, Darren Dreiford, and Sean Green calling his own nearly $10 million salary an insult. Yesterday, Sheffield explained his current thinking in an exclusive interview with Peter Gammons.
Peter Gammons, ESPN correspondent - Now I think what people have perceived in all this is that you went to them because of the Alex Rodriguez contracts and wanted more money.
Sheffield - No.
Gammons - Tell me what you asked them for.
Sheffield - This was before the A-Rod thing, they even signed. I went to them November 30 and told them I wanted to be a lifetime Dodger. I asked them to make me a lifetime Dodger.
I wanted to play under my existing contract. But then after those three years were up, I wanted them to extend that deal. And I was willing to do for half of that money and also defer the money that I'm already guaranteed to be on a winning ball club because I really looked at the Mark situation.
And I asked myself, and I asked the Dodgers, how many black athletes ever wore this uniform that came to the Dodgers and retired a Dodger? And the answer is zero.
And I wanted to make history in this uniform and say I retired a Dodger. And they didn't want that to happen. So that's when we got to this point.
Gammons - If you're asking for the -- I mean, if you're saying that part of that money was deferred, are you telling me that in some ways you really asked for less money in this contract?
Sheffield - Absolutely. I even told my agent, which he found it bizarre at first. But then once we sat down and talked about it, he understood exactly where I was coming from. I wanted to play the $8 million salary slot.
That way, if the labor agreement or what have you affected the Dodgers in any kind of way, I did my part as a player, and I made a stand to say that I'm trying to work with the owners to make the situation work here. And I don't know why they took offense to that.
Gammons - What did they leak?
Sheffield - They went, and they talked about that Gary Sheffield either asked to be traded or either you give me a deal. I asked for the deal. And they asked me what was more important to me, money or stability?
I said money is important. I'm not fooling anyone. But stability is most important.
And when I told them that, they said, "OK, well, Gary asked did he want out or did he want the deal?" And no, I didn't ask to be out like that. I asked that -- I said that you have an unhappy Dodger if we don't get this deal done because all that's transpired is that the trade rumors about me being traded for this guy and that guy.
And the insecurities came about my future as a Dodger. And I said, "Well, if I'm going to be a Dodger, make me a Dodger. If I'm going to be traded, trade me now."
Gammons - When did you actually say that you wanted to be traded?
Sheffield - Actually like two days before camp started. I called my agent. And once he got to the media and everybody turned on me in LA as far as the media is concerned, I knew in the back of my mind when I put on this uniform, replacing a future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, that I never would be accepted here anyway, no matter what kind of numbers I put up. And I've 'only' hit .300 since I've worn this uniform.
And when I looked at that, I said, I told my wife, I said, "I'm one bad interview or having one bad day on the field and coming off the wrong way for people to just change the way they think about me."
Gammons - What kind of year do you think you'd have if you stick here with the Dodgers?
Sheffield - Typical year. Nothing would change. I'm used to playing under these situations. They're just another thing to motivate me.
When you talk about me, you talk down to me, you talk bad about me, you wish bad things, that's when I step to the plate. That's when I'm really focused because I know you're against me. And when I know you're against me, I'm going to really, really concentrate. And I'm going to really, really make sure I get it done.
Gammons - Is there anyone in between whether it's Kevin Malone, Jim Tracy, some of the other players? Is there any way that this could be worked out?
Sheffield - No. No. Not here. No. Not here. The only thing the Dodgers can do in the best interest of the Dodgers and myself is just move me because you've got to look at things with an open mind.
I already have. I looked at it when I asked for the contract. I came in with an open mind. They would possibly do it. There's a possibility they won't do it. So I already knew. My mind was open to that. So I said, if they don't do it, I will have to beat the ball up a little bit more and hopefully they will do it.
Gammons - Your situation is very different from Frank Thomas' situation...
Sheffield - Right.
Gammons - ... which is very different from Barry Bonds' situation. But does it scare you a little bit that the media and the fans now perceive that all of a sudden all these players are being very selfish and greedy?
Sheffield - Well, see, that's where the fans are going to have to -- they're going to draw their own conclusion to anything. But they have to listen to the words that come out of my mouth.
I didn't ask for more money. I asked to play at a lesser salary. Less mean you're not greedy.
You know, I'm already taken care of -- I've already made over $100 million in my career. I don't need to sit here and say, "Pay me, pay me, pay me." All I need is rings on my fingers. Wins and losses, that's the only thing that matters to me.
And when I step on the field, that's why I play hurt. I play however you want me to play. But I never 'x' out of the lineup. I play as hard as I can at any given day if it's a day, night game, whatever, I'm out there.
Ley - And Peter Gammons joins us now live from Braveton, Florida.
Peter, it's a very rational and calm explanation by Gary Sheffield, very much at odds with the quotes in "Baseball Weekly" about a week-and-a-half, two weeks ago which he talked about the insult.
How much of what you got from him yesterday was spin control and damage control?
Gammons - I don't think a great deal, Bob, because I've been hearing this from him for three or four weeks. I mean, one of the elements in this is that he and his wife would like to start a family. Well, when they do that, they would like his mother and stepfather and her parents to move into the same neighborhood in Bel Air or wherever they happen to live so they can have the three generations together.
In his mind, they can't do that unless they know they're going to stay there. In fact, I know his mother won't move to Los Angeles unless she knows he's going to retire there. And I think that that is really at the heart of a lot of this. And I think some of the irrationality that's come out is the cause of a very emotional response.
Ley - Now, of course, his demand, or request at least, for a contract extension and now the trade demand has sparked along with the Frank Thomas situation and the others that you mentioned exasperation and embarrassment from players around the majors. It's been a rather remarkable reaction.
Gammons - Well, it has been. And I think there are a lot more players with integrity than not. I mean, I think a matter of fact it's about 95 to five percent.
What's interesting with the Dodgers and Gary Sheffield's situation is most of those players that were mentioned in the "Baseball Weekly" story -- Kevin Brown, Darren Dreifert, Shawn Green -- have come to his defense with the Dodgers. In fact, Brown was in there with Marquis Grissom and Kevin Malone when they tried to have a meeting on Friday and tried to get things worked out, a meeting that blew up because of the conflict between Bob Daley and Gary Sheffield.
Ley - What do you make of the fact though that Sheffield in proposing this extension to the Dodgers said, "You know, I'll take $8 million. Let's defer some money because you might be facing a new luxury tax basically because of the new player contract."
He's proposing something based on his union coming out with a loss in the next negotiation.
Gammons - Well, he is. I mean, I think he was trying to make it workable for both sides. I'm not sure I understand. What we don't know is this dynamic between the player and the club president.
That right now is the irrational part of this. I mean, I really -- even though he said things are irreparable, I don't believe that. I think that somehow if Daley and Sheffield ever got together and they agreed upon things, I think it could be worked out because the Dodgers are not going to get Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Mike Piazza, Jermaine Guy.
They're going to have to accept Jay Payton and a minor league outfielder like Escabar from the Mets. So they're going to have to take a Mark Quinn from Kansas City on a three-way deal. The Dodgers cannot get what they want. And since they say they won't just give them away to me, it's still up to them to work it out.
Ley - And in one sentence, the vitriol in the media has been remarkable, hasn't it?
Gammons - It really has. And I understand. I think people across this country are tired of hearing people who make $8 million to $15 million whining about their contracts. I think the fans have every right. When ticket prices in a lot cities, like my city in Boston, have gone up 250 percent in three years, there's a reason for complaining.
Ley - We'll point out you buy those season tickets certainly at Fenway. Thanks, Peter, great deal.
Gammons - OK, Bob.
Ley - Next I'll be speaking with former Major League pitcher and current sports agent Scott Sanderson, who until this week was representing Frank Thomas.
Ley - Scott Sanderson pitched 19 Major League seasons from the third year of free agency in the '70s to the dawn of $10 million salary. He's now a sports agent, and until last Wednesday briefly represented White Sox slugger Frank Thomas. He joins us from Haynes City, Florida.
Scott, welcome. Explain to us how you no longer represent Frank Thomas.
Scott Sanderson, baseball agent - Well, just briefly, we concluded that we just have different views on principles that we believe are fundamental in the representation of our clients.
But Frank has come out and made an apology. He understands that he made a mistake in taking his situation very public. And he's apologized for it and is back playing baseball where he belongs.
Ley - What's been the reaction in the baseball community to your decision to sever ties with Frank?
Sanderson - Well, again, a lot of people don't understand the details. We're still good friends with Frank. We care very much about him. And he appreciates our beliefs.
But I think the overall opinion is much like you heard Pedro and Mark McGwire say that people expect others to live up to their word and honor their contract.
Ley - Well, what do you make of that reaction among players? You've got the Sheffield situation. You've got the media lumping in Bonds, who is in the last year of his contract, Sosa, who has been negotiating for some time with the Cubs.
But now players are outspoken. I can't recall anything like this in the past.
Sanderson - Well, I think whether you're an accountant or a professional baseball player or a plumber, the basic principle that we all like to live by is when someone gives their word, they honor their word. It's a matter of integrity.
Ley - So you have to sit down with a client and advise him how to approach a negotiation. You can go for a long-term deal -- six, seven, eight, nine, 10 years -- or you can go short-term and hope to reap new money. How do you reach a balance in that discussion with a client?
Sanderson - Well, my partner Mike Moi and I, we both believe that we give great advice to our clients and hope that they'll follow it. And our advice is that they honor their contract.
And again, a majority of the players, a large majority, over 99 percent of the players, do just exactly that. A few times when players decide to take some of these issues public, then it can get a little messy.
But we believe when a player has an issue with a team that they discuss it. Players certainly, they have an opinion. And they have a right to have an opinion. But if you have issues with the teams, we suggest that they keep it private just between themselves and the team because we want to keep a product out there in baseball. We care very much about the game, and we want to keep a product on the field that the fans can love.
Ley - Mark McGwire signed a deal, agreed to a deal this past week, without benefit of an agent, a handshake 25-minute conversation. It's probably had he gone out into the free agent open market he could have seen a lot more money than the $30 million for two years. As a sports agent, what does that do to the marketplace when a marquis player signs for under market value?
Sanderson - Well, there's a lot of factors involved in Mark's decision. One of them was that he loves where he is. He wants to stay where he is. And he has a great working relationship with the team.
So it's about a whole lot more than just money. There's a lot of factors in this equation.
Ley - But it does affect the marketplace, doesn't it?
Sanderson - It can.
Ley - Now you have been in baseball since, what, 1978? You have seen stoppages in '80, '81, '85, '90, '94. It's been a litany of war between the owners and the players. They have to go back to the table and do it once again this year.
What do you think the publicity given what's happening this year in spring training is going to affect the perception of the players from the other side of the table, from the owners?
Sanderson - Well, again, I think fans need to realize that you have 750 Major League ballplayers. And there's not very many that make news in a negative way about their contracts. Most of them live up to what they said.
So again, there's a good product out there for fans to wrap their arms around and embrace. And it certainly seems like the climate between the players and the owners is pretty good right now. And there's ongoing discussion.
The Players Association does a great job of representing the players and informing them of the issues. The players I know from being on the negotiating committee for many years in these labor disputes, the players are well informed of what's going on. And as long as there is open and continuous dialogue between labor and management, things will get worked out.
Ley - But you know the perception is that the players' agents have a great deal of influence. That's the perception. It may or may not be true, you can tell me, a lot of influence on the Major League Baseball Association. And their deals are driven by getting the last dollar.
And certainly, the union has done an exceptional job over the decades of getting the last dollar. Is there some value in leaving a dollar or two on the table?
Sanderson - Well, yeah. I think there's a lot of give and take that goes on. And people who aren't privy to all the details, and all the very complicated details of this, don't realize that over the years, that's exactly what's happened. They haven't always pushed for absolutely the last dollars. There's been compromise in every single collective bargaining agreement.
Ley - Players you believe actually do understand and accept the public relations responsibility, especially over the last six years since the nuclear winter of 1994?
Sanderson - Well, I think they understand it. Some are better at embracing it than others.
Ley - Scott Sanderson, thanks a great deal for being with us. We appreciate it this morning, joining us from Haynes City, Florida.
Sanderson - All right. Thank you, Bob.
Ley - OK, as we continue on Outside The Lines, we'll tell you about the interactive OTL as we continue.
Ley - The interactive Outside The Lines at ESPN.com can be accessed with the keyword otlweekly. Type that on the ESPN front page. You'll then be able to access our full library of program transcripts and streaming video with enhancements coming shortly to the Outside The Lines online experience.
Your e-mail feedback always welcome at our address [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.
Ley - And a reminder that if you missed any portion of our look at the contract angst in baseball, our show is going to be re-airing today. Make a note of the time at noon Eastern. That is 9 a.m. Pacific, over on ESPN2.
Looking ahead here on ESPN. At noon Eastern after the upcoming 60-minute "SportsCenter," we've got NASCAR truck action from Homestead, Florida. And tonight, the Coyotes and the Avalanche. It is National Hockey Night. And that's tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern here on ESPN.
I'm Bob Ley. We will see you next Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Outside The Lines. Now, Mike Greenberg, Bob Stevens, and "SportsCenter" and a look back at the Ruis-Holyfield fight last night, a world championship fight. We'll see you next week.
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BROADCAST OF SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2001
Host: Bob Ley, ESPN.
Story reported by -Mark Schwarz, ESPN.
Interview: Peter Gammons' exclusive interview with Gary Sheffield, Los Angeles Dodgers
Guest: Scott Sanderson, former major league pitcher, and former agent for Frank Thomas.
Coordinating producer: Jonathan Ebinger, ESPN. | <urn:uuid:8b4ec02a-65b4-4003-a6d7-837af3738dbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://a.espncdn.com/page2/tvlistings/show49transcript.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980969 | 5,602 | 1.578125 | 2 |
"We will need to refurbish several aging weapons systems," council chairman E.C. Aldridge Jr., the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, wrote. "We must also be prepared to respond to new nuclear-weapons requirements in the future" - a reference to a push to develop "earth-penetrating" weapons that might destroy buried stocks of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons in countries such as Iraq.
"It's recognizing that the stockpile that we designed 25 or 30 years ago for the Cold War really might not be the stockpile for the war on terrorism," a senior Pentagon official said Friday. "The rest of the world realized after Desert Storm that if you could be seen, you could be killed."
The memo is backed by little-noticed language in the defense authorization bill that Congress approved last week. The bill suggests that the U.S. nuclear-weapons laboratories - Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia - should be ready to resume testing with as little as six months' notice.
Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the memorandum demonstrated the Bush administration's intention to end the testing moratorium.
"The administration is chipping away at the barriers to a resumption of testing," Kimball said. "They are doing their best to establish a rationale to resume testing, either for reliability problems or for new weapons. The reality is that there is no scientific nor military basis for a resumption of testing, and to do so would be an enormous strategic blunder that would invite a wave of proliferation that could swamp the entire nonproliferation regime."
New testing could prompt the Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, and the Pakistanis to do likewise, or harden North Korea's refusal to abandon its nuclear program, he warned.
But a Pentagon official said there was no movement afoot to resume testing.
"It was just time to go back and collect our thoughts" after 10 years of maintaining the nuclear stockpile without tests conducted beneath the Nevada desert, said Frederick Celec, the deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for nuclear matters. "Let's take stock and see where we are. What are the risks involved in not testing?"
Democrats in Congress say that the interest in resumed testing comes not from the uniformed generals or the physicists in the weapons labs, but primarily from conservative civilian leaders, such as Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and advisers such as former defense official Richard Perle, and John Foster, a nuclear-weapons designer.
Since 1992, weapons scientists in California and New Mexico have used a multibillion-dollar system of supercomputers and large-scale technology to understand the underlying physics of bombs and missile warheads. The Aldridge memo suggests that this Science Based Stockpile Stewardship program may not be enough. It requests studies "to assess the potential benefits that could be obtained from a return to nuclear testing with regard to weapons safety, security and reliability."
The memo suggests another look at the potential benefits of a "low-yield" testing program, which might produce a nuclear explosion equivalent to only a few hundred pounds of conventional explosives. Such tests might involve small amounts of plutonium - not in bomb form - at the Nevada Test Site, according to a Defense Department official. So-called subcritical tests are now designed to produce no nuclear yield.
Portions of the defense authorization bill passed Wednesday require weapons scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and elsewhere to report whether nuclear explosions beneath the Nevada desert might be "helpful" in resolving reliability questions about existing nuclear weapons, even if the tests are technically "unnecessary."
"I don't know of any reason why we can't" maintain the stockpile without testing, said Bruce Goodwin, the head of the Livermore nuclear-weapons program.
Testing might be required "if somebody came along and said we needed a completely new, ultra-lightweight weapon," he said. "But I don't see anything like that on the horizon."
Congress last week authorized the three nuclear-weapons labs to create preliminary designs for a weapon known as the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, designed for underground targets. The project involves strengthening existing hydrogen bombs, rather than creating new designs. Livermore weapons designers say they don't expect the project to require nuclear tests.
Contact Jonathan Landay at 202-383-6012 or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:808c084f-af6f-4f00-be78-23aee2e220a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.philly.com/2002-11-17/news/25354869_1_nuclear-testing-nuclear-weapons-council-daryl-kimball | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946168 | 917 | 1.71875 | 2 |
230 U.S. 304
MORRISDALE COAL COMPANY
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY.
Argued April 15, 1913.
Decided June 9, 1913.
Messrs. William A. Glasgow, Jr., Chester N. Farr, Jr., Charles L. Frailey, and A. S. Worthington for the Morrisdale Coal Company.[ Morrisdale Coal Co v. Pennsylvania R Co 230 U.S. 304 (1913) ]
[230 U.S. 304, 307] Messrs. John G. Johnson, Frederic D. McKenney, and Francis I. Gowen for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Mr. Justice Lamar delivered the opinion of the court:
There are a large number of coal mines in the Clearfield district, Tyrone division of the coal region, in the state [230 U.S. 304, 309] of Pennsylvania. Between January 1, 1900, and December 31, 1905, the total output of the mines in the Clearfield district averaged 18,500 tons per day. When there was a car shortage, the Pennsylvania Railroad allotted to each mine a percentage of cars assigned to the district, calculated according to the capacity of the mine.
On this basis the Morrisdale Coal Company was entitled to about 4.8 per cent and the Berwind-White Company to about 18 per cent.
In 1908 the Morrisdale Company brought suit against the railroad for damages alleged to have been occasioned by an unfair distribution of cars to it and an undue allotment of cars to its competitor, the Berwind-White Company.
Alleging that in violation of its duty to see that no undue preference was given to any other person or corporation in the district, the carrier failed to assign to the plaintiff its fair proportion of the entire number of coal cars of the railroad company, to which plaintiff was entitled, and that this failure continued from the beginning of 1900 to the close of 1905, the effect of which was to subject plaintiff to unreasonable prejudice with respect to the facilities for shipping coal, as contrasted with the facilities furnished other competitors in the Clearfield district, and as a result of the unfair discrimination and the failure to furnish a proper allotment of cars and equal facilities, plaintiff was obliged to buy coal at various times in the outside market at prices then prevailing, in order to fill its contracts previously entered into,-to its damage, $250,000. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty and actio non accrevit infra sex annos. On the trial, the jury found that the exhibit showing damages of $67,156.07 was correct. 'If the court shall be of opinion that the questions of law involved in the case are in whole or in part with the plaintiff, we find for the plaintiff. If, [230 U.S. 304, 310] however, the court be of the opinion that the questions of law are with the defendant, then we find in favor of the defendant.'
There was no conflict in the evidence, and in view of the admissions of the plaintiff, incorporated in the record, the facts can be briefly stated.
The capacity of plaintiff's mine was 4.8 per cent of the output of the Clearfield region, and having been furnished access to the books of the carrier, it made up a statement showing that during twenty-three months between March, 1902, and December 31, 1905, in which there was a car shortage, the Morrisdale Company received less than its 4.8 of all the coal cars in the Clearfield region, while the Berwind-White Company received more than its 18 per cent of all the coal cars in the region. This was admitted by the railroad, which insisted that during periods of car shortage it divided the cars into four classes:
1. Private cars, belonging to persons or corporations operating mines in the district;
2. Cars of foreign railroads, consigned to designated mines, to be loaded with fuel for such foreign railroads;
3. Pennsylvania Railroad fuel cars, consigned to designated mines to be loaded with fuel for railroad use;
4. The balance, or System cars, available for general use, it distributed among the various mines in the proportion their capacity bore to the total output of the Clearfield region, the plaintiff being allotted its due proportion, or 4.8 per cent. thereof.
The railroad explained that apparent excess of cars furnished the Berwind-White Company during the twenty-three months referred to was due to the fact that that company owned a large number of private cars on which it appeared that wheelage was paid, and submitted the following table [230 U.S. 304, 311] showing the number and character of cars in the Clearfield region during those years:
Indi- Company Commercial vidual coal System Foreign Box Total
1902 Cars placed 14,221 16,119 31,048 22,544 11 83,943 1903 Cars placed 20,483 15,614 20,947 24,222 13 81,279 1904 Cars placed 16,705 11,477 21,888 14,568 12 64,650 1905 Cars placed 26,716 22,812 24,769 5,542 374 80,213 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Total 78,125 66,022 98,652 66,876 410 310,085
During the trial plaintiff admitted that there had been no intentional discrimination against it, but contended that its statement was made up from the books on the basis of what it considered to be the law of the case, under which all cars available for shipment of coal should be counted in the distribution.
Plaintiff admitted that if the Berwind-White Company was entitled to the use of their private cars, without counting them against what it was entitled to under the percentage, then the Berwind-White Company did not get an excess of their percentage. It further admitted that if fuel cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and fuel cars of foreign railroads, consigned to particular mines, were not to be counted against such mines, then plaintiff had no cause of complaint, inasmuch as it had received its percentage of the balance or System cars.
The circuit court dismissed the case on the ground that, without preliminary action by the Commission, the court had no jurisdiction of a suit for damages alleged to be occasioned by undue discrimination against the plaintiff and undue preference in favor of its competitor.
The plaintiff took the case to the circuit court of appeals, complaining of this ruling, and further assigning error in that the court failed to enter judgment in its favor on the special verdict.
The circuit court of appeals held, one judge dissenting, that the plaintiff had the option of taking the question [230 U.S. 304, 312] of jurisdiction by direct writ of error to the Supreme Court of the United States, or it could take the whole case, including the matter of jurisdiction, to the circuit court of appeals. That court, thereupon, considered the whole record, and (one judge dissenting) affirmed the judgment of the circuit court on the ground that the circuit court had no jurisdiction as a Federal court until after the Commission had passed on the reasonableness of the method of car distribution. The case was brought here, the only question presented by the record being whether the circuit court as a Federal court had jurisdiction.
The prohibitions of 3 of the commerce act require that cars shall be fairly allotted to shippers without unjust discrimination or unfair preference. But the statute does not define what is the proper method of distribution in case of car shortage, and at the time of the transactions out of which this suit arose, no general rule had been adopted by the carriers or promulgated by the Commission. As late as 1910, it was said ( Hillsdale Coal & Coke Co. v. Pennsylvania R. Co. 19 Inters. Com. Rep. 387) that the question was in a state of flux, and an examination of the decisions in the numerous cases brought about that time will show that it was a matter about which there was much difference of opinion. In some cases it was held that private cars and fuel cars of foreign railroads, consigned to particular mines should be counted in making the distribution. Others held that such cars should be counted, but that if the foreign cars, or those owned by the private corporations, exceeded their percentage, the excess might be retained by those coal companies. This view was adopted by the Commission, which also held that fuel cars belonging to the carrier should be counted except where the railroad purchased the entire output of the mine. Traer v. Chicago & A. R. Co. 13 Inters. Com. Rep. 459; Hillsdale Coal & Coke Co. v. Pennsylvania R. Co. 19 Inters. Com. Rep. 372; Jacoby v. Pennsylvania R. Co. 19 Inters. Com. Rep. 392; Minds v. Pennsylvania R. Co. 20 Inters. Com. Rep. 52. [230 U.S. 304, 313] It was, however, recognized that there could be no hard and fast rule, and that circumstances might arise which would otherwise warrant a departure so as to enable the carrier to meet emergencies arising from a strike on its own road, or embargoes by connecting lines which refused to haul certain articles of merchandise, in order to supply communities with necessaries of life. Parks v. Cincinnati & M. Valley R. Co. 10 Inters. Com. Rep. 47; Thompson v. Pennsylvania R. Co. 10 Inters. Com. Rep. 640.
These rulings as to the validity of a particular practice and the facts that would warrant a departure from a proper rule actually in force are sufficient to show that the question as to the reasonableness of a rule of car distribution is administrative in its character and calls for the exercise of the powers and discretion conferred by Congress upon the Commission. It was distinctly so ruled in the Pitcairn Case ( 215 U.S. 481 , 54 L. ed. 292, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 164) and in Interstate Commerce Commission v. Illinois C. R. Co. ( 215 U.S. 452 , 54 L. ed. 280, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 155). Those cases involved a consideration of the power of the Commission over the distribution of cars, and held that the courts could not by mandamus compel it to make a rule, nor by injunction restrain the enforcement of one it had promulgated. If in those direct proceedings the courts could not pass upon the question of reasonableness of a method of allotting cars, neither can they do so as an incident to an action for damages.
In view of the decision in the Abilene, Pitcairn, and Robinson Cases it is unnecessary again to discuss the statute, or do more than say that in this case the plaintiff was not entitled to maintain its action without producing an order of the Commission that the rule adopted by the Pennsylvania Railroad was unreasonable.
The plaintiff, however, seeks to take the case out of the principle of those decisions, insisting that this is a suit for damages occasioned by a violation of the rule; and that, therefore, without any order of the Commission, it [230 U.S. 304, 314] is entitled to institute a suit for the recovery of damages resulting from the failure to distribute cars according to the method established by the railroad itself. The record, however, does not sustain this position, for the evidence does not show any breach of the rule or any failure to deliver to the Morrisdale Company all of the cars to which it was entitled under the method of allotment in force between 1900 and 1906. On the contrary, it was admitted at the hearing that there had been no discrimination against the plaintiff in the application of the rule, the complaint being that the basis of allotment was unreasonable, and that all cars in the district should be distributed according to the capacity of the mine, without deducting private cars, foreign fuel cars, or the carrier's own fuel cars. Whether this should be done as a general rule, or under the peculiar conditions prevailing on defendant's road at that time, was, as we have seen, an administrative question, and to be decided by the Commission as preliminary to the right to maintain this suit. The circuit court rightly held that until this was done it had no jurisdiction as a Federal court of the cause of action sought to be enforced.
It is argued in the plaintiff's brief that if this view of the law should be sustained, the case should not be dismissed but stayed until the plaintiff could apply to the Commission and obtain a ruling on the question as to whether the method adopted by the Pennsylvania Railroad was not, during the years 1900 to 1906, unjustly discriminatory. criminatory. Attention is called to Southern R. Co. v. Tift, 206 U.S. 434 , 51 L. ed. 1125, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 709, which it is said would support such a provision in the mandate. In that case the shippers filed, on April 14, 1903, a bill to enjoin an advance in rate. The injunction was refused and the advance went into effect. The cause was stayed while the complainants were pressing their application for an order from the Commission that the rates were unreasonable. Its report was in their favor, and [230 U.S. 304, 315] on it the circuit court made an order of restitution ( 206 U.S. 436 ). But, in that case, the statute of limitations had not run when the bill was filed, when the stay order was granted, nor when the application was made to the Commission; while in the present case the plaintiff was barred of the right to apply to the Commission at the date the suit was filed in the United States circuit court. The damages which were claimed arose from a failure to deliver cars prior to December 31, 1905. The suit was brought July 17, 1908, more than two and a half years later, and after the passage of the act of June 29, 1906. (34 Stat. at L. 590, chap. 3591, U. S. Comp. Stat. Supp. 1911, p. 1301), that 'all complaints for the recovery of damages shall be filed with the Commission within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, and a petition for the enforcement of an order . . . shall be filed in the circuit court within one year from the date of the order, and not after: provided that claims accrued prior to the passage of this act may be presented within one year.'
The provisions of this statute would prevent the modification asked for, and the judgment is affirmed.
Mr. Justice Pitney dissents. See ante, p. 924. | <urn:uuid:9fdb3925-1fee-45cf-b177-c57d96aff135> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?friend=usatoday&court=us&vol=230&invol=304 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97148 | 3,043 | 1.757813 | 2 |
January 21, 2009 > East-West Connector environmental report reviewed
East-West Connector environmental report reviewed
By Simon Wong
Following public open house meetings in November 2008, the Alameda County Transportation Authority (ACTA), Caltrans and the Cities of Union City and Fremont released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the East-West Connector Project on December 11, 2008.
Two public hearings on the DEIR, which details impacts that might arise from implementation of the Project, were held in Union City and Fremont on January 14 and 15, respectively.
The meeting at the Kennedy Community Center, Union City, was attended by Mayor Mark Green, Councillor Jim Navarro, City Manager Larry Cheeves, Public Works Director, Mintze Cheng and Economic & Community Development Director, Joan Malloy. Several of the City's Planning Commissioners were also present.
The delegation of local representatives was on hand to speak with the public, provide a local perspective and support members of the Project team.
Stefan Garcia, East-West Connector Project Manager, presented a brief overview of the Project and the public then had the opportunity to take the floor and comment verbally or provide written comment away from the microphone. Although nobody chose to speak openly, the court reporter recorded comments from several people. About ten community members attended the public hearing in Union City.
The DEIR contains the findings for many environmental issues that were evaluated. The latter include aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise and vibration, population and housing, public services, utilities and recreation and transportation and traffic were examined.
"The release of the DEIR is an important milestone in the progress of the East-West Connector Project under the Memorandum of Understanding between ACTA, Fremont, Union City and Caltrans," said Art Dao, ACTA Deputy Director. "By improving the travel time of motorists and transit riders in the vicinity of the project, we anticipate substantial cumulative benefits over time."
"This is one of the few remaining ACTA projects from 1986 Measure B. Union City is anxious to see this Project come to fruition, as is Fremont. Many of you will have seen the various outlines and outlays of the street and roadway configurations. There is consensus on Union City Council regarding the configuration of the Osprey Intersection. Apparently, Fremont Staff also agrees with the City Council on this. Perhaps this is a sign of a new era, a new relationship between Fremont and Union City. We're happy that we are making advances. We'll receive comments from Union City residents and from any residents of any other cities represented this evening," said Mayor Mark Green.
"Art Dao and his staff at ACTA have been stalwarts in supporting this Project from the very beginning. Art has done a sensational job and would be a great asset to any City Staff but we'd like him to remain with ACTA/ACTIA and Alameda County.
"Union City Staff has been supportive of this Project and our Council has been united, despite various changes of members, since I have been Mayor. We have been united in pursuing funding for this Project. We have a Project that is widely accepted, though it wasn't the ideal thing when we voted in 1986, and is of huge benefit to the residents of Union City and Fremont. We need to keep moving forward," concluded the Mayor.
The comment period has been extended from 45 to 60 days. The deadline is 5 p.m. on February 9, 2009.
ACTA will respond to comments on the DEIR. Fremont and Union City will vote to endorse or not endorse the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) in accordance with the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding. It is expected that the ACTA Board will review and certify the FEIR in April 2009.
It is anticipated that the engineering phase will conclude in May 2009. The design phase will last from mid-2009 until the end of 2010 when construction begins. The latter is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
Copies of the DEIR document are available for inspection at ACTA's office in Oakland, Fremont Main Library, Union City Library, City of Fremont Planning Department, City of Union City Planning Department and at www.acta2002.com
Comments may be submitted by mail to EWC Environmental Document, Stefan Garcia, EWC Project Manager, c/o Circle Point, 555 12th Street, Suite 20, Oakland, CA 94607, by email to [email protected] or by fax to (510) 268 8499.
For more information, visit www.acta2002.com or contact Chris Colwick, East-West Connector Project Community Liaison at (415) 227 1100 ext 131. | <urn:uuid:d4ce375d-a3bb-4ec3-9286-d3bb2eec6a95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tricityvoice.com/articlefiledisplay.php?issue=2009-01-21&file=East+West+Connector.txt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959731 | 997 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Planning Your Jewish Wedding
Seven simple steps.
Mazel Tov! If you or someone close to you is planning a Jewish wedding, you are in the midst of an exciting--and at times stress-inducing--experience. Besides the many wedding details that all couples need to plan, Jewish brides and grooms have several other important factors connected to their ceremony to consider. Whether you are Jewishly knowledgeable or relatively new to Judaism, you may want to review the following list before you make your plans to create a meaningful Jewish wedding:
1. Choosing a Date
Jewish weddings are generally prohibited on Shabbat and festivals--including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot--and the fast days Tisha B'Av, the 10th of Tevet, the 17th of Tammuz, the Fast of Gedaliah, and the Fast of Esther. Traditionally, Jewish weddings are not held during the counting of the omer between Passover and Shavuot, although customs differ as to whether that entire seven-week stretch or just part of it is a problem. Marrying during the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av is also prohibited in traditional Jewish practice. Because many of these dates fall during prime wedding season (spring-summer), it's important to check an accurate Jewish calendar (such as www.hebcal.com) before you select a date.
And although Shabbat weddings are out, many couples choose to wed on Saturday at sundown, so that they can begin their ceremony with havdalah, marking both the end of Shabbat and the end of the time that came before their public commitment to one another. Some couples choose to wed on Tuesdays, believing it to be an especially blessed day, since in the Biblical story of creation, the phrase "God saw that it was good" appears twice on the third day.
2. Selecting a Rabbi
For some couples, this step is an easy one. They may be active members of a congregation or have a childhood or Hillel rabbi that they are still close to. But for many engaged couples who are not affiliated with a Jewish community in a formal way, finding a rabbi to lead their wedding ceremony is a daunting task. Parents may suggest using the rabbi from their congregation, whether or not the couple knows them.
First off, it's important to know that a rabbi is not the only person who can lead a Jewish wedding. A cantor can officiate, as can another educated professional serving the Jewish community. However, to meet most states' requirements, the officiant does need to be a recognized member of the clergy; be sure to ask this question of any clergy you speak with. | <urn:uuid:27ba50f3-3de9-4727-8b9a-763d74da026d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myjewishlearning.com/life/Life_Events/Weddings/Liturgy_Ritual_and_Custom/Planning_a_Jewish_Wedding.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968879 | 580 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The unused streetcar tracks that may have contributed to the death of a 41-year-old man Monday evening will remain on the road for at least another 10 years until the street needs to be re-paved.
“I understand the concern people have for the very tragic loss of life, but that could have occurred on Queen St. just as easily,” said Brad Ross, spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. when the Toronto resident, whose name police are withholding out of respect for the family’s wishes, was travelling south on his bicycle on Wychwood Ave. near St. Clair Ave. with a grocery bag on the handlebar. The bicycle tires got stuck in the streetcar tracks, sending the victim head-first into the pavement.
The man had not been wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The tracks, which used to lead to a streetcar repair barn, haven’t been used for about 30 years. Major repairs now occur at the TTC’s Hillcrest complex near Bathurst St. and Davenport Rd. and the facility has been converted into a community centre.
The incident has moved Cycle Toronto, a member-driven cyclists’ advocacy group, to call on the city to study how streetcar tracks can be dangerous for cyclists.
“Anecdotally, we have lots of stories,” said Jared Kolb, spokesman for Cycle Toronto. “We’ve heard at various events that this seems to be a right of initiation for people that are riding bikes downtown. Most people I know have gotten caught in a streetcar track.”
The organization wants the city to identify dangerous intersections and provide sharrows, or shared-lane markings, to guide cyclists safely through them. Mr. Kolb said College and Spadina, with turning tracks and tracks going in all directions, is one such intersection where cyclists have to weave to ensure they hit all the tracks at an angle of at least 45 degrees so as not to get stuck.
The gap in the tracks where tires get jammed is about 50 millimetres. Mr. Kolb said bike tires are commonly around 35 millimetres, but he knows people with thick mountain bike tires who have also got stuck in the tracks.
Cycle Toronto also wants the Wychwood tracks gone, calling it a very simple solution to preventing these types of incidents. However, Mr. Ross said removing streetcar tracks can cost millions of dollars, and is only done when the city needs to re-build the road.
“If the road didn’t need to be re-done, going in and simply removing unused tracks would not be very efficient or economical at all,” he said.
The city does not schedule road reconstruction more than 10 years in advance, and Wychwood Ave. is not in the current 10-year plan.
Dr. Steven Friedman, an associate professor at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, was involved in a study co-ordinated by the University of British Columbia that looked at cycling injuries in Vancouver and Toronto in 2008 and 2009. Dr. Friedman said that out of 150 injuries presented in emergency rooms in downtown Toronto, about one-third of them were related to streetcar tracks.
“Streetcar tracks are an important issue, but usually not the entire problem,” he said. “In many streetcar-track related falls, the cyclist was pushed into the tracks by having to avoid a car or car door in the outside lane.”
"But as you know, 70% of the world already has some sort of method in place, that they turn their garbage into energy. They make money on their garbage. I've always said, garbage is money. When you see truck loads of garbage going down the 401, it's like truck loads of $100 bills and we have to turn that garbage into money."
—Mayor Rob Ford on his favoured future for Toronto's waste reduction and diversion strategy.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP | <urn:uuid:38b3f992-d0ab-4cf7-8be7-1a9fa7cbe63f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/07/streetcar-tracks-involved-in-deadly-bike-crash-to-remain-on-road-for-at-least-a-decade-ttc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976587 | 838 | 1.820313 | 2 |
This week’s last-ditch health care push may or may not prove the defining battle of Barack Obama’s presidency. It may or may not prove a defining moment in the history of the American welfare state. But here’s a good bet: The Democratic Party will never be the same.
For close to a decade now, Democrats have been arguing with each other about what kind of country this is, and what kind of party they should be. On one side stands a group of politicians, consultants and wonks who believe that America is, at its core, a pretty conservative place. These Democrats form something of a political generation. In their youth, they saw their party move left during Vietnam and get booted from power in 1968. Then they saw George McGovern, the most left-wing major party presidential candidate of the twentieth century, lose 49 states. Then they saw Jimmy Carter’s presidency destroyed in part because he looked weak during the Iran hostage crisis. Then they saw Ronald Reagan, once considered as an unelectable right-wing nut, become the most popular president of their adult lives.
In the late 1980s, they responded to these disasters by creating the Democratic Leadership Council, which pushed the party to the right on welfare, taxes, trade, crime and defense. They claimed vindication when a president of the DLC, Bill Clinton, became president, and claimed double vindication when, after Clinton pushed for universal health care and got creamed in 1994, he won reelection two years later by triangulating against the liberals in his own party.
For this generation of Democrats, which includes Al From, Mark Penn, Joe Lieberman, William Galston, Elaine Kamarck, Dick Morris, Ed Koch, Jane Harman, Evan Bayh, and to some extent Bill and Hillary Clinton, being a liberal is like walking past a bear. Move cautiously and reassuringly and the bear will purr contentedly. But make any sudden or threatening gestures, and you’ll be mauled because, fundamentally, the bear distrusts liberals. As Galston and Kamarck wrote in their famed 1989 essay “The Politics of Evasion”—a document that helped define the “don’t scare the bear” wing of the party—Democrats can pass liberal programs “but these programs must be shaped and defended within an inhospitable ideological climate.” To pretend that the American people are liberal at heart is to evade political reality, with devastating results.
By the late 1990s, “don’t scare the bear” Democrats pretty much dominated Washington. But in the Bush years, a new faction began to emerge. These Democrats were mostly newer to politics. They had never seen a McGovern or Mondale mauled for being too far to the left. What they had seen was the post-1994 Bill Clinton, who shied away from ambitious liberal reform. And they had seen the Iraq War, which DLC types largely supported, partly out of fear that opposing it would allow Republicans to paint Democrats as soft on defense.
By 2003, this new group of Democrats was angry as hell. The Iraq War, which party elders had mostly backed, was proving a disaster, and to make matters worse, Republicans were clobbering Democrats as weak anyway. So these Democrats began fashioning a different theory: Perhaps the problem wasn’t that Democrats looked weak because they were too liberal, perhaps the problem was that Democrats looked weak because they didn’t stand up for what they really believed. In 2005, the historian Rick Perlstein—who became something of a hero to these folks—published a book entitled The Stock Ticker and the Super Jumbo. Republicans, he argued, were like Boeing: a company that persevered in building a super jumbo airplane even when the market was bad, and thus built a dominant brand. Democrats were like the stock ticker, constantly shifting with the public mood and thus winning momentary victories but failing to build a brand people could identify with.
To change, Perlstein argued, “Democrats need to make commitments, or a network of commitments, that do not waver from election to election.” They must stick with them “even if they don’t succeed” at any given moment because doing unpopular things because you believe in them convinces Americans that you have core beliefs, which in the long term strengthens your brand.
In 2004, Howard Dean ran as the suberjumbo candidate for president, insisting that his opponents for the Democratic nomination, most of whom had supported the Iraq War, needed a “backbone transplant.” Dean lost, but his message won. His campaign helped to catalyze the “netroots”—blogs like Daily Kos and organizations like MoveOn—which told the story of the bear a very different way. In their version, Democrats didn’t get mauled because they made sudden, aggressive moves. After all, the Clinton and Bush-era Democrats hadn’t been aggressive at all. They had been mauled for precisely the opposite reason: because they didn’t fight back. Show the bear that you’re not afraid, they argued—look tough and defiant rather than timid and craven—and you’ll gain respect. In 2006, two liberal social scientists, John Halpin and Ruy Teixeira, answered Galston and Kamarck’s 1989 essay in a paper entitled, “The Politics of Definition.” The ideological climate, they argued, wasn’t inhospitable to liberals. It was inhospitable to weathervanes. If Democrats defined themselves—if they stood up for their beliefs in the face of political threats—they would win in the end.
Obama has chosen Karl Rove’s politics of base mobilization over Dick Morris’s politics of crossover appeal, with consequences not merely for how he campaigns for Democrats in 2010, but for he campaigns for himself in 2012.
In Bush’s second term, the Halpin and Teixeira faction grew stronger. Congressional Democrats held firm against Bush’s effort to partially privatize Social Security, and forced him to back down. The netroots were further buoyed by the 2006 midterms, when Democrats ran against the Iraq War, and won control of Congress. Perhaps the Democrats were building their superjumbo after all.
During the 2008 presidential primaries, each of the Democratic Party’s factions had a candidate. The DLC types—led by Mark Penn—mostly backed Hillary Clinton, who refused to repudiate her vote for the Iraq War, took a hawkish line on Iran and defended her husband’s centrist record. Many in the superjumbo faction, by contrast, signed on with John Edwards, who embraced the netroots’ argument that in an era of partisan polarization, Democrats had to stop searching for the political center and beat Karl Rove at his own game.
The mystery candidate was Barack Obama. On the one hand, he attacked Hillary Clinton—and by extension the DLC Democrats more generally—for living in fear of the bear. “Triangulating and poll-driven positions because we’re worried about what Mitt [Romney] or Rudy [Giuliani] might say about us just won’t do,” he declared. “If we are really serious about winning this election Democrats, we can’t live in fear of losing it.”
With rhetoric like this, and his opposition to the Iraq War, Obama attracted his share of superjumbo Democrats. But other netroots activists harbored suspicions. For while Obama was telling Democrats to hold fast to their core beliefs, he was also depicting himself as the candidate who could transcend the red-blue divide. If Obama struck some in the netroots as a more polished Howard Dean, a guy who wanted to dream big and fight hard, he struck others as a more polished Joe Lieberman, a guy who wanted to be loved on the other side of the aisle.
Nothing in Obama’s first year resolved that ambiguity. He passed a stimulus bill that Republicans called too big but many liberals called too small. He altered some of Bush’s policies on civil liberties, but kept others. He sent more troops to Afghanistan, but set a deadline for their withdrawal. He pushed a big health care reform, but didn’t fight for a public option. A year into Obama’s presidency, the Democratic Party’s two factions could each still credibly claim him as its own, which is to say, the decade-old argument lingered on.
Now it is over. When Scott Brown won his Senate seat, he made Obama choose. On the one hand, he handed the White House an excuse to abandon comprehensive reform and return to the incremental, small-bore approach that Clinton pursued after 1994. The Brown victory, in fact, seemed to illustrate the “don’t scare the bear” theory perfectly. Obama had passed the stimulus and bailed out the banks and taken over part of the auto industry and for the American people, it was too much liberal activism too fast. Polls not only showed Americans turning against Obama’s health care bill, they showed them turning against big government more generally. Continuing to pursue comprehensive reform in this inhospitable environment, warned former Carter pollster Patrick Caddell and former Clinton pollster Douglas Schoen, in language that echoed “the Politics of Evasion,” would bring political calamity. “Wishing, praying or pretending” that the American people support health care reform more than they do, they insisted, “will not change these outcomes.”
Superjumbo Democrats, by contrast, argued that the public wasn’t so much anti-reform as they were anti-the legislative process that had produced reform. But more fundamentally, they argued that the American people would respect Democrats for not backing down in the face of adversity. The party might still lose seats this fall, but over time health care reform would prove popular, and the party’s willingness to fight for it would strengthen the Democratic brand.
Why exactly Obama—advised by David Axelrod, Rahm Emmanuel and Valerie Jarrett—decided to double down on health care remains unclear. But it’s a good bet that President Hillary Clinton—advised by Mark Penn—would have acted differently. And in acting the way he did, Obama has turned himself into a superjumbo Democrat. For the foreseeable future, he has forfeited any chance of bridging the red-blue divide. Prominent Republicans have already announced that if Democrats try to pass health care via reconciliation, they will not work across the aisle to pass anything major this year. Conversely, Obama has cemented his bond with the netroots. It doesn’t really matter that the health care reform bill he is fighting for isn’t particularly left-wing. For the netroots, a politicians’ ideological purity has always been less important than his willingness to resist pressure from the other side, which is exactly what Obama has just done.
Whether health care reform passes or not, Obama has embraced polarization over triangulation. He has chosen Karl Rove’s politics of base mobilization over Dick Morris’s politics of crossover appeal, with consequences not merely for how he campaigns for Democrats in 2010, but for he campaigns for himself in 2012. And that’s a disaster for “don’t scare the bear” Democrats whether Obamacare passes or not. The reason is that the DLC wing of the party is much more top-down than the MoveOn wing. It has always wielded influence primarily through elected leaders rather than grassroots activists. But today, Obama is the only leader in the Democratic Party who really matters. As the retirement of Evan Bayh illustrates, there are few nationally prominent DLC-aligned politicians left. (The one person who could have rallied that faction of the party against Obama is now his secretary of state). The DLC wing’s best hope for relevance, therefore, was that Obama himself would restrain the party’s base, that his White House would nurture a new generation of centrist candidates.
That hope is now gone. From top to bottom, Democrats have decided to bet the party’s future on the belief that Americans prefer bold liberals to cautious ones. Now it’s up to the bear.
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. His new book, The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris, will be published by HarperCollins in June. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. | <urn:uuid:7d77af30-af10-46cb-ace7-ea05b7b5b75b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/03/15/the-decision-that-changed-the-dems.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969839 | 2,632 | 1.664063 | 2 |
US Economic Outlook
by Simon Johnson, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Testimony before the US Senate Budget Committee hearing "The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011–21"
February 1, 2011
1. The latest IMF-led official consensus is that the world will follow a "three-speed" recovery in 2011, with the eurozone growing slowly (1.2 percent Q4 on Q4), big emerging markets quickly (7 percent on the same basis), and the United States roughly in between (3.2 percent). At the global level, using the IMF's standard purchasing power parity (PPP) weights, this implies global growth will be 4.5 percent, comparing the fourth quarter of 2011 with the fourth quarter of 2010. This would be down slightly, on a comparable basis, from 2010 (4.7 percent) and just above what the IMF expects for 2012 (4.4 percent).
2. These figures are from the World Economic Outlook update, published on January 25, 2011. Compared with its most recent full biannual forecast in October, 2010, the IMF has marked up US growth significantly for 2011 (0.7 percentage points for Q4 on Q4), while leaving the eurozone and emerging markets essentially unchanged.
3. The most prominent downside risks to this forecast are in the eurozone. There are three separate but related issues that suggest there is limited potential for an upside in this view of Europe:
a. The weaker eurozone countries continue to face pressure from the financial markets, particularly as there are large amounts of government debt that need to be rolled over in the spring. Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Belgium are all likely to face increases in interest rates and there is no clear policy framework within the eurozone for dealing with such developments.
b. The stronger eurozone countries, around a Germanic core, are growing quite fast—e.g., 1.2 percent for Germany itself this year, on its way to 2.7 percent for 2012 (according to the IMF); employment in Germany is already higher than it was before the financial crisis. When the European Central Bank begins to raise interest rates, this will put renewed pressure on Greece, Ireland, and other peripheral countries.
c) In principle, there is agreement that—in future—bondholders and other lenders to large banks and eurozone sovereigns can face losses. However, the precise rules and timing for these arrangements are still not completely clear. There is room for further destabilizing markets in the short term, particularly if there is severe pressure in some parts of the credit market.
4. The IMF and private sector forecasts all missed badly regarding fourth quarter GDP in the United Kingdom—the consensus was for 0.4 percent growth, but the outcome for seasonally adjusted quarterly change in GDP was –0.5 percent (see the latest Eurostat data). The contraction in December was due to bad weather, but October and November were also significantly worse than expected. The United Kingdom's path to fiscal austerity, for which it is still early days, may have more negative effects on the real economy than expected.
5. For the United States over the next 12 months, the IMF forecast looks more balanced and agrees with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast, which is 3.1 percent (Q4 on Q4). (The institutions have greater disagreement about what happened in 2010, with the CBO putting growth at 2.5 percent, while the IMF has this as 2.8 percent in its latest release).
6. Some private forecasts put US growth as likely closer to 4 percent and the latest news is encouraging in terms of non-farm payrolls, private payrolls, and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) data. Core inflation seems under control, both in the view of the Fed and according to many in the financial markets.
7. However, the employment picture remains bleak. In other postwar US downturns, employment fell 3 to 5 percent relative to its peak and returned to the pre-recession peak within approximately 12 to 24 months. The previous exception was 2001, when it took nearly four years to get the jobs back; but the maximum fall in total employment was only 3 percent. In contrast, we lost 6 percent of employment in this cycle and after 3 years employment is still down 5 percent from its peak. This part of the economic picture looks more like a minidepression of the pre-1900 variety rather than a standard postwar recession.
8. Large firms are doing well, with profits having recovered faster than in earlier recessions (the Employment and Profits Over the Cycle section below provides more detail). But there are limited signs that these firms want to hire in the United States. Emerging markets offer the market expansion opportunities and increasingly global firms want to hire people in India, China, and similar countries.
9. Interest rates remain low for households and firms that are deemed creditworthy. But lending standards have tightened (appropriately in some cases) and smaller firms presumably are having a harder time borrowing. At the same time, there are increasing concerns about the fact that concentration in the financial system has increased; big banks may feel less competitive pressure to lend—despite the fact that they are highly profitable.
10. Overall, the United States continues to have very loose monetary and fiscal policy. As we move toward normalizing policy, which must happen in the next 12 to 18 months, this will presumably slow down the economy.
11. The most important wildcard in all forecasts is the rate of new household formation, which is down substantially—it was 1.1 million per annum on average in the decade before the crisis, but has averaged 600,000 per annum in the last three years. No one knows when or how this will recover and it is hard to see the housing market return to health quickly with the household formation rate around today's level.
12. There is an increasing dissonance between the exuberance within parts of the financial sector and its push for more immediate fiscal austerity. If people begin to feel that their future social security and Medicare benefits are under serious threat, they will presumably begin to save more. As I discussed in my August testimony to the Senate Budget Committee, it is impossible to put the longer-term federal budget onto a sustainable basis without controlling the future increases in costs for Medicare and health care more generally.
13. Growth in emerging markets remains high and, with a few exceptions, they weathered the financial crisis well. But now inflation begins to increase, partly as a result of tighter commodity markets. Higher interest rates attract more capital and tend to cause their currencies to appreciate. Most likely these economies will find the need to tighten fiscal policy before too long.
14. A great deal of success across the entire emerging and developing world is related to the rise of China and India, particularly the fact that growth is relatively commodity intensive at their levels of income. The next global cycle will likely focus on these economies, fuelled by capital being funneled through large money center "too big to fail" banks—much as the so-called recycling of petrodollars flowed through institutions such as Citibank in the 1970s. If this boom is based primarily on debt, as currently seems likely, it will end badly.
15. Not that this boom-bust cycle would be consistent with current account surpluses in emerging markets and a current account deficit in the United States. But such "global imbalances" are neither necessary nor sufficient for destabilizing capital flows—the mechanisms at work are based on gross capital flows much more than net flows.
16. Overall, the US tradeable goods sector (exports and products that compete with imports) has struggled for past decade. These problems were masked by the growth of the nontradeables sector, particularly around housing. It is very unlikely that we can go back to the same pattern of growth as before 2008. Most likely real wages will fall for Americans with less education, as unemployment for this group declines. This will further exacerbate the long-standing widening of income inequality in the United States (more on this in the final section below).
17. In addition, the rescue of big banks at the United States comes at a considerable price that we will pay as the next economic cycle develops. Our largest banks are well on their way to becoming "too big to save." We should respond by greatly increasing their capital requirements, a point being made forcefully by Anat Admati (Stanford University) and a large group of top academic finance experts, as well as by Mervyn King, Andrew Haldane, and David Miles from the Bank of England; the actions of the Swiss National Bank are also very much pushing in this direction. Unfortunately, the bank lobbyists prevailed in the Basel III forum and the equity-financing of systemically important financial institutions is likely to remain too low in the United States.
18. The latest report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is also most discouraging. Instead of moving to limit the size and complexity of our largest financial institutions, with an eye to making them small enough to fail and therefore subject to market discipline, the FSOC seems content with the dangerous status quo in which private banks have become the new implicit government-sponsored enterprises. The next section elaborates on why this is such a serious mistake with first order macroeconomic consequences.
The Economic Implications of Too Big to Save Banks
In an August 2010 written testimony submitted the Senate Budget Committee, I provided an analysis of the contingent fiscal liabilities that are inherent in having a large, concentrated, and undercapitalized financial sector.
Since that time, Ireland encountered a serious economic crisis—and received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone—largely because of the mistakes made by its largest three banks.
The executives running those banks and the people—mostly other European bankers—who lent to them believed that they were "too big to fail" in the Irish context, i.e., that they were implicitly backed by the full faith and credit of the Irish government. This turned out to be correct but, unfortunately, it was also the case that the financial needs of these distressed banks were so large that they overwhelmed the fiscal capacity of the Irish state.
The latest quarterly report from Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), is the best official articulation yet of why too big to fail is here to stay in the United States—and we are likely on the path to these institutions becoming too big to save.
In its executive summary, the document, which appeared on last week, discusses "perhaps TARP's most significant legacy, the moral hazard and potentially disastrous consequences associated with the continued existence of financial institutions that are too big to fail."
This reasoning builds on evidence presented in Mr. Barofsky's recent report on the Extraordinary Financial Assistance Provided to Citigroup, Inc., but it goes a great deal further with regard to the general policy issues we now face.
Mr. Barofsky credits Mr. Paulson and Mr. Geithner with making it clear that TARP funds would be used to prevent any of the country's largest banks from failing during the recent financial crisis and thus "reassuring troubled markets" (p. 6). But the very effectiveness of Treasury actions and statements in late 2008 and early 2009 had undeniable side effects, "by effectively guaranteeing these institutions [the largest banks] against failure, they encouraged future high-risk behavior by insulating the risk takers who had profited so greatly in the run-up to the crisis from the consequences of failure."
And this encouragement is not abstract or hard to quantify. It gives "an unwarranted competitive advantage, in the form of enhanced credit ratings and access to cheaper capital and credit, to institutions perceived by the market as having an implicit government guarantee."
Of course, the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation was supposed to end too big to fail in some meaningful sense. But Mr. Barofsky is skeptical and with good reason. Our largest banks are now bigger, in dollar terms, relative to the financial system, and relative to the economy, than they were before 2008—so how does that make it easier to let them fail?
At the end of the third quarter of 2010, by my calculation, the assets of our largest six bank holding companies were valued at around 64 percent of GDP—up from around 56 percent before the crisis and up from merely 15 percent in 1995 (this is an update of estimates James Kwak and I provided in our book, 13 Bankers; we explain the methodology and sources there). Barofsky quotes Thomas Hoenig, president of the Kansas City Fed, who uses very similar numbers and draws the same conclusion: the big banks have undoubtedly become bigger.
Today's increasingly complex megabanks are global—their potential collapse cannot be handled within national resolution or bankruptcy frameworks and there is no chance we'll get an international agreement on how to handle these issues any time soon. At least in private (and including at the World Economic Forum in Davos, late January 2011), I find relevant economic officials from a wide range of countries increasingly agree with the arguments made in this respect by Senator Kaufman and some of his colleagues (including Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio) during the financial reform debate in the first half of 2010.
According to the Barofsky report, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) under Sheila Bair is apparently willing to take this assessment to its logical conclusion—potentially being willing to force megabanks to simplify their operations and divest themselves of activities, if this is what it takes to make "orderly liquidation" a feasible option. Unfortunately there is no sign that the Treasury Department is inclined to move in that direction—the quotes from Mr. Geithner here are all about preserving his freedom of action in future crises, including the ability to determine that any financial institution of any kind is "systemic" and therefore needs to be protected.
And the Federal Reserve remains completely on the fence. On the one hand, Ben Bernanke is capable of clearly defining the problem. Firms perceived as likely to be saved by the government, according to Bernanke, "face limited market discipline, allowing them to obtain funding on better terms than the quality or riskiness of their business would merit and giving them incentives to take on excessive risks." On the other hand—although it is not in the report—all indications suggest that the Fed is not taking a tough line with big banks.
Senator Kaufman and his colleagues were right to worry about the big banks, his ideas have gained lasting traction, and the debate among officials shows some promise.
But the situation is still dire. The incentives facing large, private banks are now as distorted as the incentives that previously faced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—those institutions had too little capital and took on too much risk when they had an implicit government guarantee (although efforts to pin the crisis of 2008 primarily on those institutions are misplaced.) As the Barofsky report puts it, "TARP has thus helped mix the same toxic cocktail of implicit guarantees and distorted incentives."
Employment and Profits over the Cycle
Relative to any postwar recession, the rebound in profits during the Obama administration has been dramatic. To be sure, the end of 2008 was shocking to many entrepreneurs and executives—as credit was disrupted in much more dramatic fashion than they thought imaginable. Large and immediate cuts in employment followed.
But then the government saved the failing financial sector. The means were controversial but the end was essential—without private credit, the US economy would have fallen far and for a long time.
And profits rebounded almost at once. The financial sector recovered quickly on the back of implicit guarantees provided to our largest banks—really the only bad quarter was at the end of 2008 (hence the angst about bankers' bonuses in 2009). But the nonfinancial sector has done even better. Profits for those private businesses fell by no more than 20 percent from top to bottom in the cycle and in 2010 through the third quarter (the latest available data in the Bureau of Economic Analysis [BEA] series) profits were back at the level of 2006. After the deep recessions of the early 1980s, for example, it took at least three times as long for profits to come back to the same extent. (I went through this comparison in more detail recently for the New York Times's Room for Debate).
And investment in plant and equipment has also recovered fast—this was the one bright part of the domestic economy in the past two years (with the other relatively good source of news being exports). Look around at the places you work and where you do business (or shop). Is there any indication they have cut back on information technology spending recently?
Overall, the policies of late 2008 and early 2009, including the much-debated fiscal stimulus, protected corporate sector profits to an impressive degree—despite the fact that this was the steepest recession of the past 70 years, profits fell only briefly and seem likely to be just as strong going forward as they were precrisis. Large global American-based companies in particular are well positioned to take advantage of growth in emerging markets such as India, China, and Brazil.
But the link between corporate performance—measured in terms of profit or executive pay for US companies—and domestic employment has fundamentally changed in recent decades. At the very least, employment responds slower now than in previous cycles when output and sales recovered. We are still waiting for employment to turn back up decisively; compared with previous recessions, the delay is simply stunning (see the employment charts available on the Calculated Risk blog).
Ideally, in a situation like this, we'd provide more stimulus to the economy in some form. But our monetary policy is already close to exerting its maximum efforts, and the scope for using fiscal policy was undermined by high deficits during the "boom" years of the 2000s—so there is no safe fiscal space for action (even if the politicians could agree on what to do.)
We are reduced to waiting for the private sector to recover enough to want to take on new employees. No one has a good answer for why this is so slow—perhaps because it is so easy and so cheap to hire workers in those very emerging markets that are now booming, or perhaps because the skill mix available at prevailing wages in some parts of the United States is not exactly what employers want.
Or perhaps there are artificial barriers to entry at work, meaning that companies can effectively keep out new entrants—thus keeping profits artificially high and, at the sectoral level, limiting employment. The constraints on entrepreneurship in our post–credit crisis economy need careful scrutiny. Hopefully, the administration's charm offensive will not prevent it from enforcing our antitrust laws, which were more than slightly neglected in the Bush years.
Listening attentively to the nonfinancial sector makes sense in this situation; in return, corporate leaders need to focus on creating jobs in the United States.
But bending over backward to accommodate the wishes of the financial sector is exactly what got us into this mess to start with. Allowing our largest banks to become even bigger and more dangerous would be a very bad mistake.
What Caused the Crisis?
In December, a minority on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), weighed in with a preemptive dissenting narrative. According to this group, misguided government policies, aimed at increasing homeownership among relatively poor people, pushed too many people into taking out subprime mortgages that they could not afford.
This narrative has the potential to gain a great deal of support, particularly in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election. But, while the FCIC minority writes eloquently, do they have any evidence to back up their assertions? Are poor people in the United States responsible for causing the most severe global crisis in more than a generation?
Not according to Daron Acemoglu of MIT (and a coauthor of mine on other topics), who presented his findings at the American Finance Association's annual meeting in early January. (The slides are on his MIT website.)
Acemoglu breaks down the narrative into three distinct questions. First, is there evidence that US politicians respond to lower-income voters' preferences or desires?
The evidence on this point is not as definitive as one might like, but what we have—for example, from the work of Princeton University's Larry Bartels—suggests that over the past 50 years virtually the entire US political elite has stopped sharing the preferences of lower- or middle-income voters. The views of office holders have moved much closer to those commonly found atop the income distribution.
There are various theories regarding why this shift occurred. In our book, 13 Bankers, James Kwak and I emphasized a combination of the rising role of campaign contributions, the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington, and most of all an ideological shift toward the view that finance is good, more finance is better, and unfettered finance is best. There is a clear corollary: The voices and interests of relatively poor people count for little in American politics.
Acemoglu's assessment of recent research on lobbying is that parts of the private sector wanted financial rules to be relaxed—and worked hard and spent heavily to get this outcome. The impetus for a big subprime market came from within the private sector: "innovation" by giant mortgage lenders like Countrywide, Ameriquest, and many others, backed by the big investment banks. And, to be blunt, it was some of Wall Street's biggest players, not overleveraged homeowners, who received generous government bailouts in the aftermath of the crisis.
Acemoglu next asks whether there is evidence that the income distribution in the United States worsened in the late 1990s, leading politicians to respond by loosening the reins on lending to people who were "falling behind." Income in the United States has, in fact, become much more unequal over the past 40 years, but the timing doesn't fit this story at all.
For example, from work that Acemoglu has done with David Autor (also at MIT), incomes for the top 10 percent moved up sharply during the 1980s. Weekly earnings grew slowly for the bottom 50 percent and the bottom 10 percent at the time, but the lower end of the income distribution actually did relatively well in the second half of the 1990s. So no one was struggling more than they had been in the run-up to the subprime madness, which came in the early 2000s.
Acemoglu also points out that the dynamics of the wage distribution for the top 1 percent of US income earners look different, using data from Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez. As Thomas Philippon and Ariell Reshef have suggested, this group's sharp increase in earning power appears more related to deregulation of finance (and perhaps other sectors). In other words, the big winners from "financial innovation" of all kinds over the past three decades have not been the poor (or even the middle class), but the rich—people already highly paid.
Finally, Acemoglu examines the role of federal government support for housing. To be sure, the United States has long provided subsidies to owner-occupied housing—mostly through the tax deduction for mortgage interest. But nothing about this subsidy explains the timing of the boom in housing and crazy mortgages.
The FCIC minority points the finger firmly at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other government-sponsored enterprises that support housing loans by providing guarantees of various kinds. They are right that Fannie and Freddie were too big to fail, which enabled them to borrow more cheaply and take on more risk—with too little equity funding to back up their exposure.
But while Fannie and Freddie jumped into dubious mortgages (particularly those known as Alt-A) and did some work with subprime lenders, this was relatively small stuff and late in the cycle (e.g., 2004–05). The main impetus for the boom came from the entire machinery of "private label" securitization, which was just that: private. In fact, as Acemoglu points out, the powerful private-sector players consistently tried to marginalize Fannie and Freddie and exclude them from rapidly expanding market segments.
The FCIC dissenters are right to place the government at the center of what went wrong. But this was not a case of overregulating and overreaching. On the contrary, 30 years of deregulation in finance, made possible by capturing the hearts and minds of regulators and of politicians on both sides of the aisle, gave a narrow private-sector elite—mostly on Wall Street—almost all the upside of the housing boom.
The downside was shoved onto the rest of society, particularly the relatively uneducated and underpaid, who now have lost their houses, their jobs, their hopes for their children, or all of the above. These people did not cause the crisis. But they are paying for it.
Simon Johnson is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor at MIT.
1. This testimony draws on joint work with James Kwak, including 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and The Next Financial Meltdown (Pantheon, March 2010) and The Quiet Coup (The Atlantic, April 2009), and Peter Boone, including The Next Financial Crisis—It's Coming and We Just Made It Worse (The New Republic, September 8, 2009) and Will the Politics of Moral Hazard Sink Us Again? (chapter 10 in The Future of Finance, July 2010). Underlined text indicates links to supplementary material; to see this, please access an electronic version of this document, e.g., at BaselineScenario.com, where we also provide daily updates and detailed policy assessments for the global economy. For important disclosures relative to affiliations, activities, and potential conflicts of interest, please see my bio on Baseline Scenario. | <urn:uuid:9bbf481a-cdaa-46a5-a194-fb8147bfe1c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iie.com/publications/testimony/print.cfm?researchid=1758&doc=pub | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964196 | 5,304 | 1.835938 | 2 |
At least 1g per lb of bodyweight. AT LEAST. The only exception I would ever make to this is if you are cutting. In that case it would be lower (by necessity, to allow you to get at least some fat and/or carbs as well for energy), with plenty of BCAA's to help make up the difference. If you are looking to add strength then the 1g/lb of bodyweight rule is starting point. If you are looking to add mass then I would go even higher, probably at least 200g.
If you are eating 3000 cals a day and following a standard 40-30-30 macro split then that would put you at 225g of protein, which would be a good number to stick too.
Bodyweight- 231, currently cutting to under 220
Raw total- 1280
Equipped total- 1490
Best gym lifts, single ply-
Only goal- ELITE as soon as humanly (and chemically) possible.
Last edited by Soldier; 11-01-2011 at 08:32 AM. | <urn:uuid:e67206e4-4345-48b3-938d-3e7e2a90c624> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://muscleandbrawn.com/forums/185348-post5.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966489 | 219 | 1.609375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration says it has found salmonella in a New Mexico plant that produces nut butters for national retailer Trader Joe's and several other grocery chains. The Trader Joe's peanut butter is now linked to 35 salmonella illnesses in 19 states.
The FDA said Friday that Washington state health officials have also confirmed the presence of salmonella in a jar of the Trader Joe's peanut butter found in a victim's home.
Sunland Inc. has expanded its recall to include all products manufactured in the plant in the last two and a half years, since March 2010. Whole Foods Market, Target, Safeway and many other national chains have used Sunland products in their own brands.
Almost two-thirds of those sickened are children under the age of 10.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:134240cd-ab5d-4736-aefc-b0b08744d07b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wmdt.com/story/19754372/salmonella-confirmed-in-peanut-butter-plant | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951936 | 186 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Google gunning for Twitter, Facebook. In a not-so-subtle attempt to put some pressure on social networking behemoths Facebook and Twitter, Google is set to announce today that its adding new status-driven functionality to Gmail, The New York Times reports. The Times describes the new features as "add-ons to Gmail that let users post and view messages about their day-to-day activities." But over at TechCrunch, Michael Arrington expects more, writing, "our understanding is that the product goes well beyond a Gmail integration."
How to avoid getting duped. We've all been guilty of falling for a deal that seems too good to be true or an idea that seems so perfect that only a fool would pass it up. Thankfully, Guy Kawasaki at the American Express OPEN Forum has a few tips on how to avoid being so gullible. Tip #1, and perhaps most important, is to avoid being rushed into big decisions. As Kawasaki points out, "If someone is rushing you to make a decision, you should be even more skeptical." The post goes on to explain how you can avoid "high-gullibility situations" before they arise and how to disengage from a high-pressure situation. Very important tips for anyone who's ever given his bank account number to a wealthy Nigerian prince looking to transfer a vast fortune to the United States for safekeeping.
Matchmaking for start-ups and angels. Venture Hacks, one of the best blogs about raising money from angels and VCs, has launched a new service to help start-ups find angel investors. Every week, the blog asks for start-up pitches and sends the best ones to a small list of angel investors who have agreed to get pitches. Here's the list, and here's how to apply.
Will the iPad be a good product or a great product? Paul Buchheit, the founder of FriendFeed and the creator of Gmail, quotes an early iPod review--"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame"--and guesses that the new Apple iPad will prove the skeptics wrong and be a hit based on the fact that it will offer a better Web browsing experience. Buchheit then distills his philosophy for how to design a great product: "Pick three key attributes or features, get those things very, very right, and then forget about everything else," he writes. "If your product needs 'everything' in order to be good, then it's probably not very innovative (though it might be a nice upgrade to an existing product). Put another way, if your product is great, it doesn't need to be good."
Entrepreneurship thriving in...France? Despite tough labor laws, high taxes, and a socialist ethos, France is undergoing something of a start-up renaissance, according to the BBC. In 2009, the country had a higher number of new businesses than any of its European peers. Some attribute the growth of France's entrepreneurial sector to its new "auto-entrepreneuer program," in which new businesses can register in minutes on the Internet, file invoices online, and pay charges to the state only when they start making profits. Others attribute the growth to high unemployment in the country.
Silicon Valley's baby problem. Recently, TechCrunch posted an article about the lack of women among U.S. venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs, which included a list of possible reasons for the gap. Those reasons, however -- which all pretty much boiled down to gender biases in business -- skipped over one important factor, according to a blog over at GigaOm: the expectation for women to be the primary caregivers of children. "Society at large explicitly perpetuates motherhood and not parenthood, and implicitly enforces the status quo through its policies around access to childcare for babies, school calendars and thousands of other complicating factors," says writer Stacey Higginbotham, arguing that women shouldn't have to choose between raising a family and building a startup any more than men should. Check out our slideshow on a few moms who found the balance and built great companies of their own.
When profits are secondary. CNN Money writes about a new class of for-profit company, called an L3C, where the primary goal is not making money. Since April 2008, five states and two Indian tribes have signed legislation that enables a business to incorporate as an L3C, and at least five additional states are considering similar laws. In Vermont alone, which was the first U.S. state to pass the legislation, more than 80 companies have incorporated as L3Cs in the past 21 months. According to Robert Lang, one of the creators of the L3C concept, the main goal is "to create an LLC whose very DNA insists that it has to put its beneficial activities in front of making money."
9 tips HubSpot's CEO learned while raising $33 Million. Dharmesh Shah and his co-founder have raised $33 million in three rounds of venture financing for their lead generating software company, HubSpot. Shah shares the lessons he's learned on what to do and what to avoid on his blog, OnStartups.com. Do's: get the first round right, raise more than you need, figure out orchestration, familiarize yourself with VC-speak, and pick VCs with partners you get along with. Don'ts: use your Uncle Larry as your lawyer, switch partners without doing your homework, or get obsessed with valuations. (Via peHUB.)
More from Inc. Magazine:
Friend us on Facebook. | <urn:uuid:c173faf1-e6ea-42cb-872a-18ea6cf2692c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inc.com/staff-blog/2010/02/matchmaking_for_Printer_Friendly.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96001 | 1,140 | 1.640625 | 2 |
There has been a lot of discussion in the 2008 presidential campaign about who actually read the classified National Intelligence Estimate report published by the Intelligence Community in October 2002 before Congress voted to give Bush authorization to attack Iraq. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both have been asked about whether they read the document before they voted. And now this question has been asked of the Republican candidates who voted on the Iraq resolution.
Yet, the press is missing the really big story about what was known from the Intelligence agencies before Bush took us to war. Recently, the Senate Intelligence Committee under the leadership of Senator Rockefeller quietly published the long awaited Part 2 of the Senate Intelligence report consisting of the intelligence provided to the Bush administration before the war started.
Long after the October vote, the Intelligence community published two more critical National Intelligence Estimates in January 2003 that spoke to the bleak chance there was for creating a viable government and society in Iraq if the United States invaded.
Like the earlier NIE, these later assessments were not something that the Bush administration had asked for, but something requested by others who knew how risky the situation was. The October 2002 NIE had been requested by Senator Bob Graham, the Democratic head of the Senate Intelligence Committee at that time. These later NIEs were requested by the State Department as they realized the Bush administration really didn't understand how much of a hornets nest they were about to kick.
Paul R. Pillar, who in those days leading up to the war was the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia in the State Department, writes in The National Interest this month about these newly released assessments.
But the weapons estimate was one of only three classified, community-coordinated assessments about Iraq that the intelligence community produced in the months prior to the war. Don’t feel bad if you missed the other two, which addressed the principal challenges that Iraq likely would present during the first several years after Saddam’s removal, as well as likely repercussions in the surrounding region. After being kept under wraps (except for a few leaks) for over four years, the Senate committee quietly released redacted versions of those assessments on its website May 25, as Americans were beginning their Memorial Day holiday weekend.
I initiated those latter two assessments and supervised their drafting and coordination. My responsibilities at the time as the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia concerned analysis on political, economic and social issues in the region. A duty of any intelligence officer is not only to respond to policymakers’ requests but also to anticipate their future needs. With the administration’s determination to go to war having become painfully clear during 2002, I undertook these assessments to help policymakers, and those charged with executing their policies, make sense of what they would be getting into after Saddam was gone.
These assessments were not something that would have affected the decisions of those in Congress, because by that time, the only Decider left was President Bush and his advisors. But those assessments were quite prescient in the problems that would be faced if Bush went forward with his war of choice.
In contrast, the other two assessments spoke directly to the instability, conflict, and black hole for blood and treasure that over the past four years we have come to know as Iraq. The assessments described the main contours of the mess that was to be, including Iraq’s unpromising and undemocratic political culture, the sharp conflicts and prospect for violence among Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian groups, the Marshall Plan-scale of effort needed for economic reconstruction, the major refugee problem, the hostility that would be directed at any occupying force that did not provide adequate security and public services, and the exploitation of the conflict by Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.
And as Pillar flatly states, invading Iraq was always a bad idea, and not just because the Bush administration made such a hash of the aftermath.
The assessments support the proposition that the expedition in Iraq always was a fool’s errand rather than a good idea spoiled by poor execution, implying that the continued search for a winning strategy is likely to be fruitless. Some support for the poor execution hypothesis can be found in the assessments, such as the observation that Iraq’s regular army could make an important contribution in providing security (thus implicitly questioning in advance the wisdom of ever disbanding the army). But the analysts had no reason to assume poor execution, and their prognosis was dark nonetheless.
Pillar notes that these assessments had very little information that would jeopardize national security, yet it took three years and a change in party control in Congress to get these assessments released. And after four years, the predictions of the Intelligence Community in these suppressed NIEs has been proven largely correct.
You can read the declassified NIEs here (pdf).h/t War&Piece | <urn:uuid:6535c8ef-ed57-4320-b1ff-1d6cf0a85b44> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php/opedne_mary_rat_070607_what_did_they_know_a.htm?f=opedne_mary_rat_070607_what_did_they_know_a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980163 | 978 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Starting point: I want to build 2 hydrofoils that I can clamp on (with a belt) to either the amas or the main hull. The idea is to test how the AI reacts if you just lift the front out of the water when going fast. I have been bothered a little by submerging amas because they create such a big drag that it stops your next speed record
Also, I have no experience with hydrofoils, just experience watching youtube videos of other people having fun with them. So this project is to be taken with humor ... we'll see what comes of it..
I started at Home Depot with some standard framing hardware...
The main bracket is a post base. It is used to anchor a 4x6 into concrete, but it can also be used to fit an AMA on one end and attach a hydrofoil on the other.
With 2 twinposts, a tieplate, and 4 machine screws and nuts, you can already see what is coming.
After flattening the twinposts, it allmost looks done
Add some double sided carpet tape--- oh I love that stuff
Time to build/frame a wing shape. Hydrofoils create lift in 2 ways: (1) angle of attack (for that you can put a flat board at a slight angle - like a water skier) and (2) foil shape. Constructed like an airplane wing, you can increase the distance the water has to travel above the foil compared to the distance under the foil. This creates negative pressure abobe the foil, thereby lift. So here I am trying to create a wing...
Of course I only had plaster at home... need to see whether this works. Otherwise I will have to get some BONDO or some marine compound.
Used lot's of duct tape, non-skid padding, electrical tape, and garage door rubber stops to make this scratchy post base a comfortable shoe for the AMAs.
The next steps are to sand the filler and to create a skin over the foil. Right now I am leaning towards 1 round of duct tape followed by a round of water resistant foil tape. This may not last long, so fiberglass is on my mind
Please feel free to chip in... | <urn:uuid:947a6827-e06f-48ba-be3a-d21281a7d8e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=31399&view=next | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938374 | 460 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Several years ago usability guru Jakob Nielsen formally identified what marketers had quickly figured out: after a certain period of adjustment people's eyes skip over online ads. Nielsen called it banner blindness and the apt name has stuck. Possible remedies Nielsen said, were to focus on the three design elements most likely to attract people’s attention: plain text, faces, and "cleavage and other 'private' body parts." It also helps if the ad looks like a dialog box or a "native site component." (via Slate)
Solve Media may have struck on a possible solution using a twist of that latter piece of advice. The company has launched its so-called TYPE-IN advertising platform, which uses CAPTCHA authentication.
This is how it works: Instead of the hard-to-read jumble of words and numbers and phrases that great people when asked to prove that they are human and not an automated bot, the Solve Media platform shows them a simple logo, a brand message in quotes, and an input box. Users type in the brand message as authentication. Advertisers pay only for messages that have been both read and typed correctly. Engagement rates for TYPE-Ins have exceeded 40%, the company reports - compared with rates of 1% or less for typical online display ads.
Toyota, Microsoft, Universal Pictures, AOL, Tribune, and Meredith Publishing are already using the system. Toyota's ads, for example, will be going live this week with a message that asks Web users to type in the phrase "a million dollars an hour" - the amount Toyota spends on safety. (via the Wall Street Journal). Solve charges a fee of about 25 cents to 50 cents for each form that is filled out using a Type-In ad, the Journal reports. The company splits its fees 50-50 with the websites where the ads are placed. | <urn:uuid:c7ae8a99-2ff2-4f33-9606-e8c0e65bc70e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marketingvox.com/getting-the-consumer-to-solve-banner-blindness-047756/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932789 | 379 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The next "Rush Hour" will be Tuesday, March 30th, 12:00 - 1:00, in the Stafford Auditorium in the Rector Science Complex.
Professors Jeff Forrester and Mike Roberts will present:
Math, Bio, Cancer, and Collaboration: An Integrative Approach to a Complex Problem
In his 1971 State of the Union address, President Nixon declared a "War on Cancer" and later that year signed the National Cancer Act into law. In the following three decades, much progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of cancer, but this constellation of diseases remains a leading cause of death worldwide (WHO). The advent of “–omic” technologies has yielded powerful new tools for studying this complex disease and has altered the required toolsets for molecular research to include additional mathematical and computational skills. Our NSF-funded program seeks to train students in cancer biology and the mathematical techniques required to analyze large data sets and model complex biological processes. Through coursework and a year-long research experience, we hope to give students an introduction to systems biology and the promise it presents for the future of biological research. | <urn:uuid:5d73cd8d-476f-4d32-9ed2-ea9050ba3ee5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dickinson.edu/academics/programs/chemistry/Chemistry/Interdisciplinary-Science-Seminar--7-----Rush-Hour/ | 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 | 0.938624 | 231 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The best part about writing guest blogs is that the opportunity allows me to enter into others' writing communities while learning more about some excellent sites that offer specialized information
In the most recent case, writer, workshop facilitator and blogger Matilda Butler, who with Kendra Bonnett co-wrote Rosie's Daughters: The 'First Woman To' Generation Tells Its Story led me to two great sites for memoir writers when she asked me to write about the following for her and Kendra's blog, Women's Memoirs:
I would love to have you write a post about your book Growing Great Characters from the Ground Up with an emphasis on why it is important for memoirists to have "great characters." Kendra and I find that memoirists frequently ignore the characters (the people) in their stories in terms of making them vivid. They often create one or two dimensional people -- something they would never do if they were writing fiction. When we teach, we talk about this contrast between fictional characters that we feel we know and real people in memoirs that are forgettable.
I sent her Why Memoirists Need to Fully Employ Character Development. She posted Part I on Telling Herstories: The Broad View, a blog by "a group of women writers sharing our passion for the art and craft of life-writing. The blog is is part of the Story Circle Network, a project started in 1997 by Dr. Susan Wittig Albert to help women share their stories and awareness for the importance of doing so:
We carry out our mission through publications, a website, classes, workshops, writing and reading circles, and woman-focused programs. Our activities empower women to tell their stories, discover their identities through their stories, and choose to be the authors of their own lives.
Matilda then posted Part II and III of my article on Women's Memoirs.
Besides offering in-person and online classes, editing services, workshops and a host of memoir-writing books and DVDs, Matilda and Kendra put together a free weekly digest of the wisdom garnered from various women's memoir blogs.
If you've got other great memoir-writing blogs to recommend, please do. It's been wonderful to watch this kind of creative, personal nonfiction burgeon as people uncover and share the unique experiences of their lives.
Thanks Matilda and Kendra. | <urn:uuid:a347edbf-977e-4507-820f-a4ddd598ddc7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marthaengber.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-blogs-for-budding-memoirists.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959089 | 481 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Whether you need a large dog harness for your working dog, or maybe something flashy for a show dog, there are many good choices. Your pet harness should be bought with it’s designed use and your dog’s breeding in mind. All dogs collars and dogs harnesses are meant to be tools, you have to discover the one that is right for your animal and its temperament. Then commit the right allotment of effort required for training your pet . But for lots of dogs, a harness can be a safe and effective training accessory.
Using a harness for walking strong energetic dogs may seem hard to do but some modern harnesses feature elementary but clever techniques such as the front-attachment rings. When a dog pulls, it creates a small tightening or pressure around the chest and near the front legs. These mild but odd feelings stop when the dog stops pulling or lunging. Most dogs promptly associate pulling with uncomfortable sensations. When using this kind of harness, practice, in addition to positive reinforcement, is the key. If your aim is to train a large dog that pulls and lunges on a leash, seek out a training harness with a martingale-type closure that tightens when pulling and loosens up when the pulling ends and the leash relaxes.
If your dog likes to swim, or you live in a rainy, humid climate, you’ll want a more durable nylon harness. For a well-mannered dog that doesn’t get wet very often, leather is an elegant , wear resistant choice. A reflective harness and leash combination might be right if you and your dog are out after dark. After choosing your harness the harness training, like all training, requires repetition and patience. Most owners that try harness training experience very good results.
For the gentle dog that only needs a walking harness, style might be your main consideration and there are lots of designer and fancy made harnesses to choose from. Well made dog harnesses are made from leather or nylon, with each material having many years of use . Some other features to consider are: padding, spikes, buckles, Velcro, front leash attachments or top of the shoulder leash rings.
When doing your research on a dog harness, make sure to take into consideration ALL the features you may require. Don’t forget, just by choosing a harness, you’re taking a step in the right direction that will be protecting your dog’s health and well being.
When searching for a dog car harness you can shop where the pro trainers shop. All the pet harnesses here are top quality. | <urn:uuid:78c8e8a1-cf8a-4474-8293-d2d1079a4160> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.radiofence.com/dog-harnesses-can-be-a-safe-and-effective-training-method/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942614 | 529 | 1.6875 | 2 |
The video led to heated debate between the maker of the documentary and some of the audience members and even during the party afterwards people where still discussing the video. Tessa Sterkenburg posted a follow-up post here on Sunday which received 17 comments (so far) and even Larry Sanger (from Citizendium), one of the people interviewed in the documentary, pitches in.
Last night it was shown on Dutch television (VPRO Backlight) and a few minutes ago it has been uploaded to YouTube too. This is one video that everyone who has anything to do with the Internet should see. The questions it raises are far from answered so I look forward to your ideas about it in the comments here. Some of the leading questions in the documentary were: Should we let just anyone state his or her opinion or should we leave the publishing of information to the experts? Could the openness of the web be dangerous? Who has the right to establish truth?
But first, the movie:
UPDATE: here is an older 50 minutes documentary from IJsbrand van Veelen which he made in 2006 which gives an in-depth look in the world of Google. Some of the questions addressed here are: “What if all the world’s information would be available and easy to find? What if all the news, all books, all texts, photographs and videos would be collected in one place, and made available, always and everywhere?”. | <urn:uuid:ddb36ea3-ded7-4a07-bc2d-1b0056d49c76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenextweb.com/2008/04/08/video-the-truth-according-to-wikipedia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961644 | 294 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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“The Washington Post’s Crowd Sourced pages offer an opportunity for readers to weigh in on key questions shaped by leading Post journalists who closely follow the issues.
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Annie Leonard, environmental activist and creator of the 2007 viral hit video “The Story of Stuff,” spent nearly 25 years traveling the world investigating environmental health issues and ecological sustainability.
Toronto-based freelance reporter Naheed Mustafa always paid her own way when she reported from abroad. But that meant that about 70 percent to 80 percent of what she earned went straight toward paying for the costs of traveling.
Today, the fight begins for a more prosperous, fairer economy for everyone.
The Social Innovation Summit is a private, invitation-only forum that explores “What’s Next?” in the world of Social Innovation. Taking place at the United Nations and Silicon Valley, the summit connects and inspires a global network of leaders to discuss the key strategies and business innovations creating social transformation across the corporate, investment, government, and non-profit sectors. Participants include hundreds of top Fortune 500 Corporate Executives, Venture Capitalists, Government Leaders, Foundation Heads and Social Entrepreneurs eager to discuss global challenges, analyze innovative approaches for problem-solving, and build lasting partnerships that enable them and their organizations to maximize social impact.
The commons are as varied as life itself, and yet everyone involved with them shares common convictions. If we wish to understand these convictions, we must realize what commons mean in a practical sense, what their function is and always has been. That in turn includes that we concern ourselves with people. After all, commons or common goods are precisely not merely “goods,” but a social practice that generates, uses and preserves common resources and products. In other words, it is about the practice of commons, or commoning, and therefore also about us. The debate about the commons is also a debate about images of humanity. So let us take a step back and begin with the general question about living conditions.
Jennifer Sertl (US) is a thought leader in the emerging field of corporate consciousness, where she uses the convergence of Neuroscience and Existential Philosophy fostering inspiration and subsequently creating strategic advantage and enhancing value. She is an internationally respected author, keynote speaker and the president and founder of Agility3R an organizational effectiveness company which primarily focuses upon the optimization of customer value by aligning corporate objectives with the individuals responsible for delivering results.
Architect Alastair Parvin presents a simple but provocative idea: what if, instead of architects creating buildings for those who can afford to commission them, regular citizens could design and build their own houses?
Many things were already said about how Internet makes distribution faster and cheaper and how this is putting under the question rationale for intellectual property rights. But Internet through facilitation of crowdfunding is changing also the money flow around the production itself, changing the nature of the investment which arguably has to have a protection of exclusivity to return on the investment. Crowdfunding is changing this because it allows creators to skip the investment-return cycle and directly fund the creation from its users. As such, intellectual property rights are obsolete.
“15M – whether seen as a signal, a movement, a state of being or a set of human interactions – has built its prototypes, and they’re many: legal, urban, cultural, economical, technological, communicative, political, affective”. In the first part of Spain’s Micro-Utopias, I started sketching this personal inventory of 15M’s prototypes by talking about processes and innovative actions that are happening on the ground right now. Collective achievements, high-impact but lower-case stories, practically invisible to the great majority. I wrote about the method micro-utopia, urban micro-utopia, communications micro-utopia, micro-utopia in feminine, and collective culture micro-utopia, all born of the expansion of 15M’s initial surge.
“A few words about a French project named Open Source Energy. This project is intended to enable the design of open hardware solutions to capture the different kinds of energies available all around us (from the environment or from human activities). A first module to transform and to store electricity from renewable sources is being designed: the ENERCAN (opensourceenergy.wordpress.com/lenercan-v1). This first brick is the starting point of a large scale design process toward the creation of new solutions inspired by old or forgotten ones and improved by the use of high-tech devices. The project is not about large and costly devices but about simple, open and cheap modules that can be replicated to capture every stream of available and lost energies, even the smallest one.
At the Training Institute set up by the Robert Kennedy Foundation in Florence, activists for human rights from all over the world come and learn how to smartly use the internet as a tool to get their job done. It takes courage to work for spreading the ideas that are needed to help people in some countries in growing a society that respects human rights.
Institutional investors are taking over the nascent peer-to-peer lending industry, and in doing so, taking the “peer” out of the equation. For their part, “peer-to-peer” lending platforms likeLending Club, Prosper,FundingCircle, Zopa, Peerform, and Ratesetter are embracing the shift.
Around the world, the open source movement has been a boon to designers, artists and developers, providing them with free use of designs for electronic hardware and software, including 3D printers and game controllers.
“The commons are bigger, broader, more significant, and more complex than people generally realize. Yet, the commons also remain largely ignored. Their/its presence and importance get buried under today’s aging politicized preferences for rhetoric about public vs. private or government vs. market approaches. Ways should be found to use the term “commons” more often, and to elevate recognition of it/them. I’ll close this post with a proposal for doing so.
In 1775, Americans were extremely frustrated by their political system that simply did not work. To fix it, many called for reforms to the existing system, like demanding Americans have representatives in the English Parliament. Others called for revolution that would rebuild the new governing system from scratch. We all know how that, thankfully, turned out.
Supported by transform! europe, Transnational Institute, Networked Politics and IGOPNet, an international seminar on Networked Labour was held in Amsterdam from 7 to 9 May.
For all of the ways in which Twitter has evolved since its creation, in 2006, when it was known as "twttr," what has not changed is how profoundly Twitter relies on nowness. Nowness is not simply newness, or the new: the question Twitter used to ask of users when they went to compose a tweet, "What’s happening?" is a direct inquiry about the state of now.
Evgeny Morozov explains why the world's problems may not be solved by technology alone
“After 30 years of the right depoliticising the local – of which ‘localism’ is the latest variant – the key issue is to understand and open up political debate and choices about the future of this diffuse and productive creativity. And we must work at a much deeper seam than that of ‘demands on the state’.”
Michel Bauwens: “My short definition of Economies of Scope is very simple and should be understandable I think: “doing more with less”; and this is mainly achieved by mutualizing infrastructures, both immaterial (open source knowledge, code, design) and material (co-working, fablabs, carsharing, idle-sourcing …); for contemporary implementations we should add: using distributed machinery in distributed workplace to allow local production in microfactories, through the process of manufacturing on demand, while achieving scope through the global immaterial cooperation on both the design of the products, the design of the machinery to produce them, and even the processes through which to make both the previous aspects (ex. the xtreme manufacturing methodology of OSE/WikiSpeed).”
Why do teenagers behave the way that they do online, sharing personal information with just about anybody who wants it? Look to the privacy paradox.
LONDON – Suddenly a robotized, automated economic reality is moving off the science fiction pages and into daily life. The growing use of unmanned battlefield drones is encouraging the growth of pilotless commercial aircraft — the first ever flew in British airspace last month. Google’s driverless car is completing ever more trials ever more successfully: the world’s major car companies are all hot in pursuit, working on their own prototypes of their own versions. The automated checkout at supermarkets is becoming as familiar as bank cash machines. From staff-free ticket offices to students who can learn online, it seems there is no corner of economic life in which people are not being replaced by machines. | <urn:uuid:55b8e1eb-f2fe-426e-b375-d8b4c5e5143a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scoop.it/t/peer2politics/p/2300453788/the-washington-post-launches-platform-for-crowdsourcing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945524 | 1,929 | 1.695313 | 2 |
If last year's $4-a-gallon gas prices didn't provide enough motivation for carmakers to get serious about offering more efficient models to American consumers, then surely President Obama's signing into law new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards did. The new mandate means every full-line carmaker will have to produce a line of products that can achieve a company-wide average of 35 mpg or better to avoid paying penalties by 2016. While this means certain manufacturers will have to develop entirely new product lines and shelve some of their most popular models, companies like BMW and the other Europeans may be able to quickly tip the scales in their favor by bringing in some of the super-efficient diesel models they already sell in the rest of the world. One such car that could easily make the trans-Atlantic journey is BMW's 320d.
Diesels have long played an important role in BMW's success in its home market, with the four-cylinder 3-series leading the charge. Several options exist, including a 1.6-liter, 116-horsepower 316d and the 2.0-liter, 143-horsepower 318d, but the 2.0-liter, 177-horsepower 320d is the one that could actually appeal to American buyers. We picked up our 320d Coupe in Munich and spent several days driving it throughout southern Germany, in traffic that ranged from stop-and-go city driving through der Altstadt in the Bavarian capital to flat-out Autobahn cruising, with a little bit of everything else mixed between.
The heart of the 320d is an engine that's fairly new to the BMW lineup. It uses an aluminum block and cylinder head and hollow camshafts to keep weight at a minimum. Sixteen valves give it a more free-revving nature than most diesels, and the four-valve-per-cylinder arrangement conveniently leaves room for the centrally located direct injection nozzle. Separating the 320d from the 318d is not 200 cc of displacement, but rather the use of piezo-electric injectors instead of conventional magnetic-pulse injectors. It may not sound like a big deal, but the piezo units spray so much more quickly and precisely that multiple injections are possible within a single combustion cycle, allowing for a longer, leaner, more powerful burn.
A single, variable-geometry turbocharger is used to boost output across a wide rpm range. Peak output of 177 horsepower comes at 4000 rpm, and torque maxes out at 221 at just 1750 rpm. By modern standards, those numbers might not sound terribly heady, but they're enough to get the 3311-pound coupe to 60 mph in about 7.7 seconds and push it to a top speed of 144 mph, putting it roughly on par with a last-generation 325i. All this in a car that is rated at 49 mpg (58.9 miles per imperial gallon) on the European combined cycle.
As impressive as this sounds on paper, it doesn't mean much if the real-life experience is a letdown. Having spent the majority of this year alternating between a Jetta TDI (the most popular diesel car in America) and a 335d sedan (a car that totally eradicates all preconceptions of what a diesel power is all about), we had a pretty good idea what to expect. Namely, we expected the kind of refinement we've come to trust from our 335d (if not the Jetta), but with a much more typical diesel power delivery (not terribly exciting, as with the Jetta). We know that most Europeans are willing to suffer with dismal athleticism if it means paying less at the pump, and while we were hoping the 320d wouldn't be a total performance dud, we did set our sights intentionally low.
There's something to be said for setting low expectations; by doing so we were actually blown away by how "normal" the 320d felt. It possesses virtually all the requisite refinement of any modern BMW. The one notable exception — as an American, anyway — is the typical, unmuffled clatter of a small-displacement diesel at idle (its engine note is entirely indistinguishable from that of any other oil-burning four-banger). Aside from that, there's nothing about the way this car drives that sets it apart from most other 3-series coupes.
With all that torque from such a low engine speed, the 320d pulls away from stops with the kind of fervor BMWs are generally known for. The lightweight engine loves to rev — at least in diesel terms — to its 5000-rpm redline. In urban driving, the sweet spot is between 2000 and 3000 rpm, where torque progressively yields to horsepower. Keep it in that zone and you'll have no problem squirting in and out of narrow traffic opportunities. Gearing is perfect for the 30- to 50-mph grind.
On the highway, the 320d is even more in its element. It has long Autobahn legs, preferring to ride the torque curve in fifth and sixth gears. The tach barely seems to move when we venture out into the overtaking lane to pass hoards of German families packed to the gills with a weekend's worth of gear and luggage crammed in their Audi and Volvo and Mercedes wagons. We positively fly to an indicated speed of 130 mph when the road offers the opportunity. In the rearview mirror, our colleague — in a diesel-V6-powered, full-size SUV from another German maker — gets smaller and smaller, unable to keep pace with our BMW coupe. All that diesel noise you hear at idle is eliminated once the revs are above 2000, and once you're cruising down the highway the only noise from under the hood is the occasional faint whine of the turbocharger boosting up under load.
After five days of bouncing between Munich, Stuttgart and Ingolstadt, we refueled the 320d and checked our actual fuel economy. After doing the necessary mathematical conversions, we netted a real-world average of 49.5 mpg. That figure represents more than a 10 percent advantage over our Jetta TDI, and a 25 percent advantage over our six-cylinder 335d. BMW's EfficientDynamics program, which applies minor efficiency increases to numerous components to achieve a compound effect, is certainly effective in achieving this figure. Little things like the Auto Start-Stop feature that shuts the engine down when the car is stopped, electrically-boosted power steering that eliminates the constant drag on the engine, and brake regeneration that only engages the alternator when the car is decelerating, all contribute to a better bottom line.
As much as we love driving our 335d, we can't help but think an "entry-level" 3-series like the 320d would be a better way of spreading the clean-diesel gospel. In Europe the 320d is slotted in just below the 325i, a position that could easily be justified in America where the 328i anchors our current lineup. A six-speed automatic transmission — crucial to any vehicle's success today — is already available as an option in Europe, with minimal loss of performance (0-to-60 mph takes only a tenth of a second longer, and top speed drops by only a single mph). If the European test-cycle figures translated directly into EPA ratings American buyers could drive an automatic-equipped 320d capable of getting 33 mpg city and 52 mpg highway (43 mpg combined). Imagine, Honda Insight-like overall economy, but with all the dynamic (and social, if we're being honest) advantages of a 3-series.
We're not the glassy-eyed optimists we used to be; we know there won't be a 320d for America, especially in this model generation. But at least BMW is now admitting that four-cylinder engines in some form will be needed to meet the upcoming CAFE standards, and we have to believe a strong, smooth diesel-four would be a great fit. The 3 may be too upmarket already for the marketing folks to consider the step back to four-cylinders in this market, but therein lies the beauty of the 1-series and its future offshoots. Don't be surprised if the upcoming X1 Sport Activity Vehicle represents the first-ever BMW with a small diesel engine in this country. If it happens to drive a lot like our 320d, we won't be disappointed at all.
No photos, news stories, graphics, or mwerks logos may be used or reproduced without written permission. | <urn:uuid:aababdd7-a50d-41f2-b47b-97f9b732e930> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mwerks.com/artman2/publish/road_tests/Euro-Drive--320d-Coupe.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937541 | 1,771 | 1.5 | 2 |
How to be a genie in six easy stages… When Milly, Michael, Jason and Jess move to a town in the middle of nowhere, the last thing they expect to find is a magic book - with its own talking bookworm called Skribble! The grumpy worm promises that "The Genie Handbook" can make them into genies in six easy steps. Soon they are diving into a world of weirdness and wonder, trouble and trickery, trying to make each other's wishes come true. But when the wishes start to go wrong the magic seems scarier. What is the secret of the mysterious couple watching from the shadows? Why is Skribble so afraid of them? And if the children's greatest wish of all is finally granted, will their world change for better or for worse?
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How to hatch a phoenix egg in four easy steps ...Michael, Molly, Jess and Jason are all more settled in their new home in Moorways Meet, but after their last adventure, they aren't finding a life without magic much fun. Then they find an old piece of paper with A Map For Those Who Seek Hidden Treasure written on it - it looks as though things are going to get exciting again! And it does! The children discover Fenella - an aging diva of a phoenix in their garden shed - who tells them she needs their help to hatch her egg. But they've only got six days to do it in and they need to collect four magical things from across the world and throughout time. Will the children follow the treasure map and complete their new magical quest? Read it to find out!
Buy from Amazon | <urn:uuid:3ed39132-1908-4b77-9db5-dde04a8e5457> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lindachapmanauthor.co.uk/genie.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959771 | 336 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Troop of Horse, November 6, 1732.
Peter Colcord, son of Edward and Jane (Coffin) Colcord, born at New Mar-
ket, New Hampshire, March 7, 1758, died at Epping, New Hampshire, January
'5- 1836. He was a farmer and married Phoebe, a daughter of James and Phoebe
(Broughton) Hamilton, and had three children: Pamela Colcord, born August i,
i8ui, died at Epping, August 29, 1865, unmarried; Tristram Coffin Colcord, of
whom presently : and Mary Dow Colcord, born at Epping, February 5, 1812, died
at Exeter, January 15, 1883, unmarried.
Tristr.\m Coffin Colket, as he spelled his name after locating in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, was born in Epping, New Hampshire. October 15, 1809, and died
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1883. He came to Philadelphia when a
young man and engaged in business there. Though possessed of little or no capital
on his arrival in this city, he, by his own exertions and the exercise of an almost
prophetic foresight in business matters, amassed a large fortune. Prior to his
death he was interested in and filled various official positions for no less than
thirty-eight corporations. Among others, he was a director of the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey, the Morris Canal Company, the Tioga Land and Improve-
ment Company, the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the Citizens' Passen-
ger Railway Company, the Penn Township Bank, and Northern Saving Fund;
and President of the Philadelphia City Passenger Railway Company, Chestnut
Hill Railroad Company, the Philadelphia and Norristown Railroad Company, the
Long Island Railroad Company, and the Tremont Coal Company.
He married, March 21, 1839, Mary Pennypacker Walker, bom at "Rehobeth
Spring," long the seat of her family in Tredyffrin township, Chester county, Penn-
sylvania, September 3. 1819, died in Philadelphia, November 15, 1889. She was
a daughter of William and Sarah (Pennypacker) Walker, of Tredyflfrin, and of
a family, long prominent residents of the Chester Valley.
Lewis Walker, the immigrant ancestor of the Walker family of the Chester
Valley, came from Merionethshire, Wales, in 1687, and settled first in Radnor
township, purchasing three hundred acres there of David Evans, and taking up
two hundred acres additional adjoining his purchase. He married at Haverford
Meeting, April 22, 1693, Mary Morris, also a native of Wales, who had crossed
the ocean with him. After residing at Radnor for several years, he took up a
large tract of land in the Great Valley of Chester county, and removed there in
1705. He named his plantation "Rehobeth," and built a house thereon, in which
the early Friends" Meetings in that section were held under dispensation from
Haverford Meeting, of which he was a worthy elder. He died at "Rehobeth"
December 23, 1728-9, his will bearing date December 14, 1728, being proven Janu-
ary 24, 1728-9. His wife survived him and died in 1747. They were the parents
of eight children.
Isaac Walker, seventh child of Lewis and Mary (Morris) Walker, bom
March 7, 1705, inherited under his father's will one hundred acres in Tredyiifrin
township, but continued to reside on the homestead with his mother until her
death in 1747, when he inherited the homestead also and continued to reside there
until his death on February 23, 1755, taking an active part in local affairs, having
served as Supervisor of Highways from 1726 to 1753. He married, November 11,
1730, at the house of Hannah Jones, in Tredyffrin, Sarah Jerman, born in Philadel-
phia, October 25, 17 13. daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Jerman, who was a resi-
dent of Philadelphia as early as 1703, and died there September 10, 1714. Isaac
Walker took his seventeen-year-old bride to "Rehobeth" in 1730, and she con-
tinued to reside there after his death until her marriage on January 25, 1759, to
Jacob Thomas, of Willistown, when she released her dower interest in her first
husband's estate to her son, Joseph Walker, the eldest of her eleven children by
Isaac Walker. She died April 26, 1802, having almost reached her ninetieth year.
Joseph Walker, eldest son of Isaac and Sarah (Jerman) Walker, born at
"Rehobeth," July 25, 1731, remained there with his mother until his marriage in
1752, when he located on the one hundred acre tract devised to his father by his
grandfather in 1728, on which there was a mill erected, which he operated for
many years. He acquired the plantation of "Rehobeth," after the second marriage
of his mother, and his house was the headquarters of some of the officers of
Washington's Army during the encampment at Valley Forge, and Lafayette was
a frequent visitor there. He suffered so severely from foraging parties from
both armies that he was given a guard to protect him from further depredations
of the soldiers. He was a man of affairs in the community, but being a member
of the Society of Friends, he took no part in the Revolutionary struggle. His
house was the headquarters of General Wayne for six months, 1777-78. He died
at "Rehobeth," November i, 1818, having been totally blind several years prior to
Joseph Walker married (first), in 1752, Sarah Thomas, born May 25, 1734,
daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Jarman) Thomas, and granddaughter of William
and Elizabeth Thomas, who settled at Newtown, Chester (now Delaware) county.
Thomas Thomas was born May 12, 1690, and died July 13, 1724; his wife, Sarah
Jarman, born April 14, 1695, was a daughter of John and Margaret Jarman, who
with their daughters, Margaret and Mary, came from Llanidles, Montgomery-
shire, Wales, bringing a certificate from Friends' Meeting at Llangerigg, dated
July 20, 1685, and settled at Radnor. Sarah (Thomas) Walker died March 12,
1792, and Joseph married (second) Jane, widow of William Rankin. Naomi
Walker, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah, married William Thomas, of Merion.
Thomas Walker, the fourth of the thirteen children of Joseph and Sarah
(Thomas) Walker, was born in Tredyffrin township, Chester county, December
29, 1757, and died March 17, 1839. His father purchased for him, October 26,
1791, a farm formerly owned by Rev. William Currie, where he resided until his
death. He married, April 2, 1789, Margaret Currie, born March 13, 1772, died
May 5, 1858, daughter of Richard Currie, by his wife, Hannah Potts, and grand-
1402 COLKET _ .
daughter of Rev. William Currie, first rector of St. David's Church, Radnor, by
his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Rev. George Ross, first rector of Immanuel
Church, New Castle, and sister to Hon. George Ross, of Lancaster, member of
Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Rev. William Currie, grandfather of Margaret (Currie) Walker, was born at
Glasgow, Scotland, in 1710, and was educated at the University of Glasgow. On
his graduation he came to America as tutor to a son of a Mr. Carter, of Virginia,
on recommendation of the faculty of the University, and filled that position for
several years. Coming later to New Castle, Delaware, he became acquainted with
Rev. George Ross, first rector of Immanuel Church there, and began the study
of Theology under his direction, and being recommended to the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, returned to England to be ordained.
Returning to America in 1737, he became lay reader at St. David's Episcopal
Church, Radnor, and St. Paul's Church at Chester. In 1752 he became the first
regularly ordained rector of these churches and continued to officiate at St.
David's until May 16, 1776, when he resigned, ostensibly, as stated in his letter
of resignation, on account of age and infirmities, but really because he felt it his
duty, under his ordination vows, to continue to oflfer prayers for the King, and
his congregation strenuously objected thereto. After the ratification of the
Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, in 1783, he was again installed as rector of
St. David's, and officiated for a few years. His last years were spent at the home
of his granddaughter Margaret (Currie) Walker in Tredyiifrin, where he died
October 26, 1803, at the age of ninety-three years. He married (first) Margaret,
daughter of his preceptor. Rev. George Ross, born in 1714, died in 1771 ; and
(second) Lucy Ann (Godfrey), widow of David Jones, and daughter of Thomas
Godfrey, of Tredyiifrin. She died February 4, 1778, at the age of fifty-four.
Richard Currie, son of Rev. William and Margaret (Ross) Currie, and father
of Margaret (Currie) Walker, was born in 1750, and died September 16, 1776.
He was a member of the Pennsylvania Militia, and went with his command to
take part in the Jersey campaign of 1776, was taken sick at Amboy, and returned
home to die. His wife, Hannah, daughter of Ezekial and Barbara (Vogdes)
Potts, born 1755, died February 23, 1778, and both were interred at St. David's,
Radnor. Hannah Potts was a great-granddaughter of Thomas Croasdale, who
came to Pennsylvania with Penn in the "Welcome."
Rev. George Ross, born in Scotland in 1673, graduated at the University of
Edinburgh in 1700 with the degree of M. A., and in 1705 came from Rosshire,
Scotland (Parish of Fern), to America as a missionary sent out by the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and was rector of Immanuel
Church at New Castle, 1705-8, and again in 1714, until his death in 1755, at the
age of seventy-three years. He married Joanna Williams, of Rhode Island. His
son, Hon. George Ross, was the distinguished statesman and patriot of Lancaster,
member of Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and
Judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty.
Thomas Walker was dealt with by the Friends for marriage to one not a mem-
ber, but continued his membership in the Society until his death. Thomas and
Mary (Currie) Walker were the parents of eleven children, the fourth of whom
was William Walker, father of Mary Pennypacker Walker, who became wife of
Tristram Coffin Colket, of Philadelphia.
William Walker, born in Tredyffrin township, Chester county, Pennsylvania,
February 8, 1795, was married by Parson Clay, on January 28, 1817, to Sarah
Pennypacker, born February 28, 1797, daughter of Matthias Pennypacker by his
second wife, Mary Longaker, and granddaughter of Jacob and Margaret (Tyson)
Pennypacker, or Pannebecker. Her father, Matthias Pennypacker. born October
14, 1742, was an eminent Mennonite preacher.
William and Sarah (Pennypacker) Walker, on their marriage in 1817, took up
their residence on his father's "Lower Place," part of the original Walker tract
taken up by Lewis Walker in 1705. lying between "Rehobeth" and the "Wayne
Headquarters Farm," known as "Rehobeth Spring," where a house had been erect-
ed by Enoch Walker, who occupied it for atime before it became the property
of Joseph Walker, the grandfather of William. Here William Walker and his
estimable wife lived for upwards of fifty years, celebrating their golden wedding
there in 1867, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. William Walker
was a prosperous farmer, of a generous disposition, much given to hospitality.
His wife in her youth had the reputation of being the handsomest girl in Charles-
town township, and no one could doubt this who saw her in her beautiful old age.
William Walker died at "Rehobeth Spring," March 10, 1873, and his widow died
there January 17, 1878: he, at the age of seventy-eight, and she at the age of
eighty-one. They were the parents of ten children of whom Mary Pennypacker
(Walker), wife of Tristram Coffin Colket, of Philadelphia, born September 3,
1819, died November 15, 1889, was the second. Both she and her husband were
buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Issue of Tristram Coffin, and Mary P. (Walker) Colket:
Sarah Maris Colket, b. Nov. 17, 1840; d, July 24, 1841 ;
William Walker Colket, b. in Phila., Nov. 11, 1841 ; m. Nov. 19, 1863, Jane Hoxsie,
and they have eight children. He is Pres. of the Phila. City Passenger Railway
Co. and of Chestnut Hill R. R. Co.;
George Hamilton Colket. b. Phila.. August 24, 1843; d. there March 29. 1905; m.
there Nov. 20, 1867, Rebecca, dau. of William B. and Emily (Holstein) Brooke,
and resided in Phila. He vt-as Pres. of Huntingdon and Broad Top R. R. Co.;
Director of Phila.. Germantown and Norristown R. R. Co., and the Penn Na-
Mary Jane Colket, b Phila., Feb. 14. 1845; m. there March 21, 1863, Col. Joseph
Audenried, who was on staff of Gen. W. T. Sherman, during Civil War, and
after its close, accompanied him on visit to Egypt. He d. June 3, 1880, and is
buried at West Point. After his death his widow resided in Washington, D. C.
Anna Bush Colket, b. Phila. Aug. 18, 1847; m. (first) Jan. 5, 1870, Edward Cross-
well Gallup, who d. May 11, 1883; and (second) Nov. 12, 1891, Holstein De
Haven, They reside at Phila. and at Ardmore;
Henry Coffin Colket, b. in Phila., Aug. 6, 1849; d. March 14, 1889;
Ida Colket, b. Phila., Sept. 23, 1851 ; m. Nov. 9, 1882. Howard B. French, of Phila;
Emma Colket, d. inf.;
Charles Howard Colket, b. Phila., July 2, 1859; m. Apr. 12, 1887, Almira Little,
dau. of Richard Peterson, of Phila. He is member of Historical Society of Pa.;
the Genealogical Society of Pa.; Colonial Society of Pa.; and Society of Colonial
Wars; University Club; Union League, and Phila. Country Club, and takes lively
interest in genealogical and historical research. He is an experienced traveller
in foreign countries as well as in U. S., having been twice around the globe, and
in addition has visited Australia, Tasmania, and South America. C. Howard
and Almira Little (Peterson) Colket have issue, one son, viz: Tristram Coffin
Colket. b. May 31, 1896.
PEARS ALL FAMILY.
Henry Pearsall, a native of England, came to New England about the year
1640, and was one of the early English settlers of Hempstead, Long Island, where
he died in 1667. By his wife, Ann, he had sons, Nathaniel, Daniel, George and
Thomas, and at least two daughters.
Thomas Pearsall, son of Henry and Ann, of Hempstead, married Mary Sea-
man, daughter of Captain John Seaman, of a family still prominent in Long
Island. They were parents of several children among whom was,
Thomas Pearsall, born at Hempstead, in 171 5, died at Flushing, Long Island.
He was a member of the Society of Friends. He married (first) in 1754, Rachel
Powell, born in 1720, died 1759, daughter of John Powell, of Bethpage, Long
Island, by his wife Margaret Halleck, and granddaughter of Thomas Powell, of
Huntingdon and Bethpage, one of the proprietors of the latter, born October.
1641, died February 28, 1721, a number of whose descendants later became resi-
dents of Bucks and Philadelphia counties, Pennsylvania. Thomas and Rachel
(Powell) Pearsall had one child, Sarah, who died unmarried.
Thomas Pearsall married, (second) in 1763, Anne, daughter of Thomas Will-
iams, by his wife, Mary (Willits), widow of Henry Scudder, and daughter of
Richard Willits, of Jericho, by his second wife, Abigail, daughter of Thomas
Powell, of Bethpage, before mentioned. Richard Willits, the great-grandfather of
Anne (Williams) Pearsall, came from the west of England, and was one of the
earliest settlers of Lewesham, later Jericho, Long Island. He married Mary
Washbourne, born 1629, died February 17, 1713, daughter of William and Jane
Washboume, early settlers at Oyster Bay, Long Island, and they were the parents
of the following children: Thomas Willits, born 1650, married Dinah Townsend ;
Hope Willits, born 1652, married Mercy Langdon ; John Willits, born 1655, d. s. p. ;
Richard, above mentioned; and Mary, born 1662, married John Fry.
Richard Willits, of Jericho, fourth son of Richard and Mary (Washbourne)
Willits, born December 25, 1660, died May 14, 1703; married (first) Abigail
Bowne, and second Abigail Powell, daughter of Thomas of Bethpage, the latter
being mother of Mary, wife of Thomas Williams and mother of Anne (Williams)
Pearsall, second wife of Thomas Pearsall.
Thomas Pearsall and his family resided at Bethpage until 1786, when he was
granted a certificate from the Friends Meeting there for himself, his wife Anne,
and their eight children, to the Meeting at Flushing, Long Island, where his
descendants have since resided.
Issue of Thomas and Anne (Williams) Pearsall: —
Samuel, b. in 1764; m. Margaret Hicks, of the prominent Hicks family of Long
Island, b. 1767, d. 1833;
Rachel, b. 1765; m. in 1785, Samuel, son of John and Elizabeth Willis;
Jacob, b. 1767;
Edmund, b. 1768; m. in 1794, Rachel Willits;
Mary, b. 1770;
Esther, b. 1772; m. Gilbert Lawrence;
Amy, b. 1773; m. Henry Lawrence;
Robert, b. 1776; m. 1797, Elizabeth Collins, of whom presently.
Robert Pearsall, of Flushing, born at Bethpage, 1776, was reared at Flush-
ing. He married in 1797, Elizabeth Collins, born December 13, 1776, died
November 11, 1857, daughter of Isaac Collins, the veteran printer of Trenton,
New Jersey and New York, by his wife Rachel Budd, an account of whom and
their descendants is hereto attached.
Issue of Robert and Elizabeth (Collins) Pearsall: —
Robert, b. Nov. 9, 1798; d. Jan. 23, 1866; of whom presently;
Rachel C, b. Dec. 29, 1800; d. Aug. 2. 1873; ni. .Apr. 12, 1821, John Jay, of Phila.,
son of John and Guilelma Maria (Morris) Smith, and grandson of Hon. John
Smith, of Phila., and Burlington, N. J., by his wife Hannah, dau of James Logan,
Provincial Sec, etc. (See Logan Family; also Morris Family in this work);
Mary, b. Oct. 20, 1802; d. Aug. 24, 1886, unm.;
Rebecca Grellet, b. June 18, 1805; d. Jan. 20, 1864; m. Oct. 20, 1827. Dr. Samuel
George Morton, of Phila., famous physician and scholar;
Elizabeth, b. Sept. 16. 1812; d. June I2, 1829.
Robert Pearsall, eldest son of Robert and Elizabeth (Collins) Pearsall, of
Flushing, Long Island, born November 9, 1798, died January 23, 1866. in Phila-
delphia, married, (first) January 5, 1825, Ann Shoemaker. They had issue:
Elizabeth Pearsall, b. Oct. 6, 1825; d. June 13, 1827:
Robert Pearsall, b. Nov. 25, 1827; d. Jan. 5, 1849;
Henry Pearsall, b. May 6, 1830; d. July 9, 1831 ;
Francis Pearsall, b. May i, 1832; d. Oct. 5, 1883;
Sarah Pearsall, b. Feb. 20, 1834; d. Feb. 3, 1833;
William Pearsall, b. Feb. 24, 1836; m. Nov. 2, 1861, Hannah M. Parrish.
Robert Pearsall married (second) December 28, 1842, Emily, daughter of
Jonathan and Rebecca (Jenks) Fell, of Philadelphia, born November 20, 181 1.
died January 31, 1847. They had issue: —
Emily Elizabeth Pearsall, b. Feb. 13, 1844; m. Oct. 28, 1863, Charles Poultney Daw-
son, of Phila., son of Mordecai Lewis Dawson, by his wife Elizabeth Poultney.
Robert Pearsall married, (third) May 23, 1849, Eleanor H., daughter of John
H. Warder, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia, of the firm of John Warder &
Sons, later Warder & Brothers, one of the oldest and largest importing mercan-
tile houses of Philadelphia, for a period of nearly a century, having been estab-
lished by Jeremiah Warder, the grandfather of John H. Warder, about 1750.
WiLLOUGHBY Ward, the first American ancestor of Eleanor H. Warder, the
third wife of Robert Pearsall, came to Pennsylvania from the Isle of Wight about
the year 1699, accompanied by his second wife and at least three children by a
former marriage, viz, Solomon, Willoughby and Rachel, who married Samuel
Baker, of Bucks county, son of Henry and Margaret Baker, in 1703. On Febru-
ary 16, 1702, Samuel Carpenter of Philadelphia, as executor of Phineas Pem-
berton, conveyed to "Willoughby Warder, late of the Isle of Wight, in the King-
dom of England, but now of the County of Bucks, in the Province of Pennsyl-
vania, Yeoman," "Grove Place" the 300-acre plantation in Bucks county surveyed
to James Harrison and Phineas Pemberton in 1683, and patented to Phineas
Pemberton as "rightful heir of said James Harrison, deceased" October ig, 1691.
In 1710 Willoughby Warder purchased an additional tract of seventy-two and a
half acres in Bristol township, which he conveyed to John Kirk, April i, 1728.
i4o6 PEARS ALL
The "Grove Place" he conveyed to his son Solomon, February i8, 1721-22. After
the latter date he probably resided with his son Solomon. He was commissioned a
justice of Bucks county on March 6, 1708, and re-commissioned, March 3, 1710,
May 13, 1715, and December 30, 1715, probably serving for the whole period
successively from his first commission, as there are a number of years for which
there was no record of commissions issued.
According to the Journal of Thomas Chalkley, the distinguished travelling
Friend, his widow Mary was living in 1736, at the age of ninety-two years, but
she did not join in the deed of 1728. Willoughby Warder, Sr., is said to have died
in 1731 at an advanced age. He was a son of William Warder mentioned in
Besse's "Sufferings of the Quakers" as being one of thirty-seven Quakers sent to
prison, May, 1684, for meeting together in Southwark, London. Willoughby
Warder was a signer of the marriage certificate of Richard Warder, of Chichester,
Sussex, England, and Ann, daughter of John Lee, of Guildford, Surrey, who were
married lomo. 8, 1672, "at the house of Richard Deane in the Park, Nicholasses
Parish, in Guildford." This Richard and Ann (Lee) Warder came to Philadel-
phia, where Ann died August 28, 171 1, and Richard, January 15, 1720-21. Their
son, John, married Agnes Righton in 1709, and died October 14, 1711 ; their only
child died in 1714. in which year the widow Agnes married Samuel Stretch.
Richard Warder, son of Richard and Ann. married Rebecca Poole in 1723, but is
not known to have left issue surviving him.
The Warder family is supposed to have been an ancient and honorable one in
England, a copy of their coat-of-arms was bequeathed by the will of William S.
Warder, uncle of Mrs. Eleanor Pearsall, to his brother Jeremiah in 1831, with
the statement that he procured it in Ipswich, Suffolk. England, where the family
had been long seated.
Willoughby Warder was twice married, and his children were all by his first
wife, whose name has not been ascertained. He married (second) at Devonshire
House, London, June 11, 1696, Mary (Gibbs), widow of John Howell, and she is
the widow who is referred to by Thomas Chalkley.
Solomon Warder, son of Willoughby, who accompanied him to America in
1699, married at Philadelphia in the same year Elizabeth Howell, with whom he
had declared intentions of marriage in the Isle of Wight, and who accompanied
him to America. They had children — Joseph, Willoughby, Anne, who married John
Cross, Rachel, who married, (first) John Clark, of Falls, and (second) James
Carruthers, with whom she removed to Virginia.
Joseph Warder purchased "Grove Place" of his brother and sisters and died in
1775 without living issue. Nothing is known of Willoughby Warder, son of
Solomon, and the only known descendants of Willoughby Warder Sr. are the
descendants of Jeremiah, the only child of Willoughby Jr.
Willoughby Warder, Jr., son of Willoughby, accompanied his father, brother
and sister to Pennsylvania in 1699. He married April 13, 1710, at Philadelphia
Friends Meeting, Sarah, daughter of John Bowyer, a Philadelphia merchant, and
settled in Bucks county. In the same year Isaac Atkinson conveyed to Willoughby
Warder and his wife Sarah, jointly one hundred and fifty acres of land in Bristol
township. His wife died soon after the birth of their only child, Jeremiah, and he
married (second) Mary , who survived him. He died in Makefield town-
ship, Bucks county, March, 1728.
PEARS ALL 1407
Jeremiah Warder, only child of Willoughby Warder, Jr., by his first wife
Sarah Bowyer, born in Bucks county, January i, 171 1, came to Philadelphia in his
boyhood and learned the trade of a hatter, later engaging extensively in the mer-
cantile trade and founding the house of J. Warder & Son, one of the largest
importing firms of the city. He acquired considerable real estate in the city and
resided on the west side of Third street, old number 12, which was the family
residence for three generations. Jeremiah Warder died there, January 3, 1783.
He married April 13, 1735, Mary Head, born at St. Edmondsbury, England, April
13, 1714, died in Philadelphia March 8, 1803, daughter of John Head, an eminent
merchant of Philadelphia.
Issue of Jeremiah and Mary (Head) Warder:
John Warder, b. Jan. 6, 1736-7; d. Apr. 27, 1737;
Lydia. b. Jan. 13, 1737-8; d. Jan. 19, 1776; m. Dec. 27, 1757, Richard Parker, mer-
chant of Phila., son of Richard Parker of Darby;
John Warder, b. July 19, 1739; d. July 14, 1740;
Sarah Warder, b. Nov. i, 1740; d. Dec. 5, 1744;
Joseph Warder, b. May 25, 1742; d. May 27, 1742;
Rebecca Warder, b. April II, 1743; d. Feb. 9, 1805; m. Dec. 18, 1766, Thomas May- | <urn:uuid:699ede28-af70-4414-b1ce-b802799aad6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/john-woolf-jordan/colonial-families-of-philadelphia-volume-2-dro/page-66-colonial-families-of-philadelphia-volume-2-dro.shtml | 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 | 0.971083 | 6,715 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Leah Hunt-Hendrix, the granddaughter of an oil and gas billionaire, is determined to radicalize America's wealthy
“For Aristotle,” says Leah Hunt-Hendrix, “ethics is not a question about right and wrong, it’s a question about who you are. It doesn’t come down to a decision in an instant. It comes down to what kind of life you live, and what kind of life you live as a community.”
That question is an essential one to Hunt-Hendrix, 28, the granddaughter of the late billionaire Texas oil tycoon H.L. Hunt. She grew up surrounded by 1 percent privilege — but has spent the last several months neck deep in general assemblies, human microphones and consensus twinkles. She’s made the study of popular protest her life’s work – and Occupy Wall Street has allowed her to roll up her sleeves.
On this February afternoon, Leah’s just finished an Occupy Faith meeting about how to mobilize those communities to participate in an upcoming foreclosure defense action. The action would emulate successful (and soulful) previous attempts to shut down an auction where bank-seized homes are sold by breaking into song. The lyrics go: Mrs. Auctioneer / All the people here / We’re asking you to hold all the sales right now / We’re going to survive / But we don’t know how.
“So the idea,” she says, continuing on Aristotelian ethics, “is that part of what it means to think about ethics is to ask: How are we formed as people? How do we become who we are? Capitalism and advertising obviously form us in very concrete and specific ways and have formed us into a consumer public. Rosa” – she refers to the legendary organizer Rosa Luxemborg by first name – “writes about the mass strike. Participating in a strike is formative. It creates a consciousness of one’s agency and role in creating change.
“For Rosa, the revolution couldn’t happen without the re-formation of the whole society,” she says, setting up her point. She seems, even in casual conversation, to think surprisingly deeply, so when pressed on revolutionary philosophy, she goes all in. I use the word “re-formed” because that’s how she says it, not like “reformed.” It is a little startling to have someone from her background speak so directly about radical change.
“And the way to get re-formed,” she says, “is by participating in a collective movement, collective resistance. Through that process, the whole public is transformed, little by little. Their consciousness is reshaped, and they become agents of change. I think that’s also what is happening with Occupy Wall Street. Everyone who participates is becoming re-formed a little and their character is being reshaped. And their consciousness is definitely being reshaped. That’s how change will have to happen in America.”
Leah went to evangelical summer camp in Missouri when she was a kid and loved it. “I knew I didn’t agree with it politically, but I really valued the community.” Getting involved in Occupy Faith “has been partly figuring out how to reclaim that upbringing, but in line now with my politics.” After all, she notes, “America is such a religious country. We need to be able to reach people where they are, at that heart level.”
Faith, however, is only one of two suppressed aspects of her identity that she is now reclaiming, thanks to Occupy Wall Street. The other is her class background. In addition to diving into organizing in New York’s communities of faith, the Brooklynite is also attempting to radicalize the world of the wealthy.
Hunt-Hendrix’s Upper East Side childhood brought with it the ultimate privilege: ignorance of her level of privilege. Schooling at Sacred Heart, dancing in “The Nutcracker” at Lincoln Center, gymnastics, shopping – it took moving temporarily to rural New Mexico to bring her family’s wealth starkly to her attention. “Some of my friends didn’t have indoor plumbing,” she says of her new schoolmates, who mostly lived in the pueblo. “There was no way I was going to bring them to my house.”
Moving back to New York for high school, Leah was struck to find even what was embarrassingly extravagant in rural New Mexico to be conspicuously modest among New York City wealth. “My parents are both inspiring role models who spend their lives fighting for justice. They were not at all materialistic, and had no intention of giving me money to buy new things at Barney’s every week.” Her relationship with her family is strong. Still, she concedes, “that didn’t mean that we didn’t have a yacht on the Hudson and things like that.” But in “a city that makes wealth seem like the highest good,” she says it was hard to find a way between the pressure to fit in with her classmates and the poverty and hardship she had witnessed. Amidst this confusion, Leah began to ask other, deeper questions: “What if you are part of the problem? What do you do when you realize that your history is the history of exploitation? That your lifestyle is depends on a system that you now see is unjust?”
Hunt-Hendrix has only watched one episode of “Downton Abbey.” “I’m told I’m like the middle sister, right?” She asks me.
Actually, it’s the youngest sister, Lady Sybil, everyone’s favorite character on seemingly everyone’s favorite show. She’s the sister whom World War I rids of her interest in the British aristocratic life she is expected to lead. In the fourth episode of Season 1, before war breaks out, the Irish socialist chauffeur Branson overhears Lady Sybil indicate her support for women’s rights and subsequently provides her with pamphlets, or what we on the left self-assumptively call “literature.” From then on, it is only a matter of time before Sybil is politically radicalized and disenchanted with the trappings of nobility (and in love with the help).
“Everybody keeps saying I should watch that show,” she says.
Watching it myself recently, I was struck by Lady Sybil’s similarities to Nancy Cunard, the historical love of my life.
Cunard’s childhood was straight-up Grantham. Born in 1896, so every bit Sybil’s contemporary, she grew up in a castle in the U.K., the daughter of an American socialite mother and a British baronet father. She had her debut season in London society, attended celebrated girls’ schools – the whole thing. Then came World War I, and Cunard split for Paris, hanging out with literary luminaries and political radicals.
In France, Cunard founded a publishing house, which put out works by Samuel Beckett, Ezra Pound and Louis Aragon. (These were just three of her many boyfriends whose work they attributed to inspiration she provided; Pablo Neruda, T.S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Man Ray, James Joyce, Constantin Brancusi and William Carlos Williams all fell for Nancy and made artwork in her honor.) She devoted herself feverishly to combating oppression, over which she agonized very powerfully, allocating her most fervent opposition toward Spanish fascism and American white supremacy. For this offense, Cunard was trashed in the press and disinherited, which suited her, since she’d grown to hate the ruling class from whence she’d come.
Cunard poured all of her remaining resources into helping refugees who’d fled Franco and wound up in concentration camps, setting up a shelter to feed them, reporting their devastation in the international press, struggling to enlist comrades. Years of desperation and horror later, Nancy couldn’t handle it any more. She fell headfirst into drunken depression, hitting the sauce harder than she ever had before, which is saying something. She died insane, penniless and paper-thin in 1965, having spent much of her curtain call shouting incomprehensibly about bigots and fascists.
Not all heiresses-turned-revolutionaries have stories as tragic as Cunard’s. And there are several of them. Jessica “Decca” Mitford was 1 year old when World War I ended and therefore had a very different type of childhood from Cunard. Nevertheless, she flew the noble coop, reporting on the Spanish Civil War and landing in the American communist milieu (superior, one thinks, to her sisters Unity and Diana, who were big supporters of Nazism and fascism). In the 1950s, Decca, like many communists, got heavily involved in trailblazing civil rights activism and displayed great hostility toward the House Un-American Activities Committee. She broke with the Communist Party as Stalin’s atrocities came to light and led a successful life as a left-wing journalist, living out the credo attributed to her: “You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.”
There is something tremendously appealing about the heiress who decides to ignore the conventions of the life opulent and commit to the ideas and struggles of the underclass. And to its men. Sybil has her Irish chauffeur, Rose had her Jack, and Jasmine has her Aladdin. The more Hollywood you get, the less the class element receives meaningful exploration, and the more the story becomes a perverse negation of the knight-and-damsel rescue story.
The archetype here is Maid Marian, the folk legend who occasionally appears in Robin Hood tales. There is no orthodoxy in the Robin Hood canon, but in many of the versions with which modern audiences are most familiar, Marian is liberal gentry, a minor noble, a Lady Sybil, who falls for Robin Hood and joins his cause (sometimes quite valiantly). In Mel Brooks’ parody “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” Marian’s prophylactic armor constricts her libido to the provinciality of the rest of the aristocracy. In the Disney animal version, she’s a high-born vixen whose kisses are auctioned as prizes for an archery contest. In each of these, her beau leads a socialist commune in the woods, whose members terrorize the corrupt political leadership and stop it from getting rich off the peasantry.
“Titanic,” “Aladdin,” “Robin Hood,” “Downton Abbey” – those stories are all just stories, and all of those stories were written by men, so of course a charismatic bachelor with nothing to lose is the one who rescues the lady from the banality of wealth (and often himself from the discomfort of poverty). But Leah Hunt-Hendrix seems not to need saving. Though I don’t ask, as the present topics – politics, religion and class – are sensitive enough.
In the United States, we are not very good at talking about privilege. Christopher Hitchens attributed the rise of the Tea Party to anxieties about a loss of privilege, writing that followers “are worried about two things that are, in their minds, emotionally related. The first of these is the prospect that white people will no longer be the majority in this country, and the second is that the United States will be just one among many world powers.” Tulane professor and MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry has said that a noteworthy component augmenting the country’s emotional reaction to September 11 was the shattering of Americans’ privilege of security from terrorism (a privilege which many in the world do without).
There is also a healthy, honest and moral way of dealing with ones privilege, but it is no easier to talk about. Leah, who can quote Hegel and Voltaire, who can recite pieces of Arabic poetry she encountered when learning the language in Syria, who contributes ideas and questions in an unending suite of meetings, admits that she has trouble explaining her relationship to wealth.
“I get the ironies. I understand that there are contradictions between coming from an oil and gas family and doing this kind of activism for social equality. There are parts of our identity that we might have to be willing to give up to live in the kind of world that we want to live in,” the type of world where “everyone has enough.” It is clear that, however, that unlike Cunard, Hunt-Hendrix is not motivated by a mere desire to rebel, but by a vision of a better world. “To get there, however, we can’t hide from who we are. We have to work with what we have, from where we are and what we’re given.” She says that she has come to this conclusion partly through the influence of an organization called Resource Generation, which aims to help young people leverage their resources and privilege for social change.
Leah is very specific about the form she envisions that leveraging taking. “Before Occupy, I thought a lot about how attempts to create positive change have negative consequences and the ways in which philanthropy and motivations like ‘benevolence’ and ‘compassion’ often reiterate power dynamics and hierarchies. The goal is to figure out how to participate in creating change in ways that don’t recreate those power dynamics.”
Her interest in this question took her all the way to the Middle East, right in the middle of the Bush era “clash of civilizations.” She spent six months in rural Egypt, interned at the Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo, improved her Arabic in Damascus, Syria, and headed to the West Bank where she continued her examination of the impact of international aid through different civil society programs. Hunt-Hendrix was hoping to determine “what it was that really transformed power relationships” and found that none of the prominent NGOs did. Economic development programs and Palestinian-Israeli dialogue programs posed no threat to the power dynamics that generated oppression.
Instead, it was in nonviolent direct action on the part of Palestinians, the protests against the wall that take place weekly across the West Bank, where Leah saw potential. Here was a way that an “outsider” could support the movement, stand in solidarity, in a way that didn’t reiterate those power dynamics – “to join in their chorus,” as she puts it, “but not to come in with one’s own projects.”
Her interest in the Middle East ties into the same reasons she has invested in Occupy Wall Street. Not because they’re both controversial, but because they both highlight the interconnections of politics and economics. “What is happening in Israel and Palestine isn’t just an identity conflict,” she tells me. “It’s also related to a global economic system that benefits a few and impoverishes many. The occupation of Palestine is profitable. While the identity issues are real, they can obscure the economic and material underpinnings of the conflict.” Which is why it may make sense to occupy Wall Street instead.
The opulence of “Downton Abbey’s” world was not particular to Her Majesty’s aristocracy at the time. Americans ascended to aristocratic levels of luxury not through hereditary nobility but raw capitalism. The matriarch in the Grantham castle (like her real-life counterpart, Nancy Cunard’s mother Maud) is of American birth and American wealth. Sir Richard, a rich media mogul in Downton Abbey, draws out the nobility’s intolerance of the gauche sensibilities of the nouveau riche. But the Granthams’ American equivalents cannot be said to have lacked aesthetic taste.
A debut season off Central Park is awfully similar to one off Regent’s Park; one could summer in Newport just as lavishly as in Yorkshire; Phillips Exeter Academy turned out young Americans as impressive as Eton College’s young Britons. The most famous American counterparts to Nancy and Decca are men: Freddie Vanderbilt Field and Corliss Lamont were both anti-capitalist leftists born, respectively, to railroad and banking wealth. But there is another aristocracy in the United States of America, down South. And no capitalists got much richer in the South than the ones who struck oil in East Texas.
Every Thanksgiving and Easter and summer (those weeks not spent at evangelical camp) Leah spent with the Hunt family in Dallas. On White Rock Lake, in a big house called Mount Vernon (recalling not just Washington’s home but also “Tara,” say, or “Belle Reve”), Granny Ruth would host parties. Surviving her husband, H.L., Ruth was very involved in the church – First Baptist Dallas – “and so we’d have to go twice a week, Sunday and Wednesday, but she would always buy us ruffled church dresses. It was a different world from New York, but there was something beautiful about it. A lot to resist, but also so much love.”
Leah depicts her grandmother as constantly giving, as everyone’s granny, as a woman with a huge heart. But, she remembers, “there was something almost 19th century about it. That part of life was like another era.” It’s hardly the way one expects to hear a Luxemburg-enthusiast talk about the power elites in her life. “My theme in life,” she tells me, “is open hands. Everything is welcome, but everything is also free to leave. You can’t clasp onto anything.”
Her nascent dissertation at Princeton will explore what she provisionally calls “the genealogy of solidarity.” Solidarity must be right next to open hands as a theme. “There are two aspects to solidarity,” she observes. “One is standing with others and the other is an awareness of ones own complicity in systems of oppression.”
Her interest in solidarity, however, is tied to her analysis of movement-building. “Oppression is experienced in different ways,” she tells me. “But if you can trace it back to its roots, then a diverse array of groups can link up in solidarity and combine their efforts toward changing the system rather than palliating the symptoms. I think that Occupy is doing just that. There is no other social movement that I’ve been exposed to that as clearly is shedding light on the root causes of oppression, not only in America, but also globally.”
Those root causes are twofold. The first is “an economic system that necessarily creates the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.” Nothing like hypocrisy here: “It’s not just good people versus bad people. The causes of this are structural. We need new economic models, and many people involved in Occupy are thinking about and working on exactly that question. Particularly, I think that the focus we’re seeing is on models for local autonomy, self-sufficiency and sustainability.”
The other root cause is “is the link between the economic system and state power. For people who care about democracy, currently, the political system is so tied down by lobbyists, and the people who get into office are already strapped down by the people who funded them.”
Back stateside after her work in the Middle East, Hunt-Hendrix was forced to confront “this whole industry of philanthropy and the nonprofit-industrial complex” with new eyes. Rather than abandon it, Leah decided to mobilize her experience with funders and engage in conversations about how to support grassroots activists and social movements.
To that end, she has spent the last year working on how to get more money into social movements and grassroots organizing. “But this takes serious thought. It doesn’t mean pouring money out indiscriminately and turning grassroots groups into mainstream NGOs. The question is, how can donors fund in ways that help build movements rather than tie them down? One simple example is to help provide spaces, places in which activists can meet, strategize, share their analysis and come up with plans. Just to enable that process.”
Leah’s perspective on this was shaped by her personal experience at the 2011 World Social Forum in Senegal, an experience she calls life changing. There, she saw activists and theorists tackle the question of how to get from building local power to dismantling or democratizing international institutions. Tens of thousands of activists from around the world convened to discuss how to build a trans-national movement that was locally connected but guided by an international political analysis and policy expertise. Unfortunately, she laments, this sector is severely underfunded.
Resources, media exposure, a mobilized public – all the elusive elements seem to have come together around Occupy Wall Street. OWS took the stage as the opportunity to build that movement at a global scale. But the funding issue remains an important one. “Funding can help or harm,” Leah explains. “And funding Occupy is particularly tricky. But the broader movement for social and economic justice needs support. Activists and communities on the front lines need support. We need to use this time to emphasize the effectiveness of community organizing and local empowerment. There are so many grassroots groups out there that are doing incredible work to build local power, and we need to get more money into that sector, which has typically been neglected in favor of more mainstream institutions.”
“I think,” she admits, “it’ll take time.”
J.A. Myerson (@JAMyerson) is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in The Nation, Truth Out, In These Times, AlterNet and elsewhere. He is a field reporter for Citizen Radio and is writing a book on 2011, to be published spring 2012. More J.A. Myerson.
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Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
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Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
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When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
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A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
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Residents of West Virginia can ring in the New Year with 10 free flowering trees by joining the Arbor Day Foundation any time during January.
By becoming a part of the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation, new members will receive two white flowering dogwoods, two flowering crabapples, two Washington hawthorns, two American redbuds and two goldenraintrees.
"These beautiful trees will give your home in West Virginia lovely flowers with pink, yellow and white colors," said John Rosenow, founder and chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "These trees are perfect for large and small spaces, and they will provide food and habitat for songbirds."
The free trees are part of the Foundation's Trees for America campaign.
The trees will be shipped postpaid at the right time for planting, between Feb. 1 and May 31, with enclosed planting instructions. The 6- to 12-inch-tall trees are guaranteed to grow or they will be replaced free of charge.
Members will also receive a subscription to the Foundation's bimonthly publication, "Arbor Day," and "The Tree Book," which includes information about tree planting and care.
To become a member of the Foundation and to receive the free trees, send a $10 contribution to Ten Free Flowering Trees, Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Ave., Nebraska City, NE 68410, by Jan. 31.
West Virginia residents can also join online at arborday.org/january. | <urn:uuid:502e2b0a-545b-4659-bf80-79c2a326944f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/589051/Arbor-Day-Foundation-to-offer-10-free-trees-in-January.html?nav=5152 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954718 | 300 | 1.5 | 2 |
Many factors influence tablet production — for example the technical details of the systems and their functions, the composition of the materials employed or the optimum connections for peripheral equipment. Our experts in the Fette Compacting technical center have detailed knowledge of the complete process and are able to give specialized advice.
During a technical consultation session in the technical center, they employ their considerable experience and know-how, which is the result of numerous exchanges with customers on the operation of their equipment, as well as intensive collaboration with universities.
During a consultation we not only present to you the technology and principle behind rotary presses, their pressing tools and the necessary peripheral equipment. Where required, we also explain which main components are necessary for a successful pressing, or how you can process your new product better with the help of granulates and other secondary materials.
Moreover, we also inform you on the optimum installation of a particular machine. | <urn:uuid:3aa89c24-9fb1-469f-9c2d-441ea7e081f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fette-compacting.com/technical-consultation/?tags=35&bpid=64&cHash=4076552aee4fa4d58b4a009248b451bf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944248 | 182 | 1.523438 | 2 |
“Here’s Johnny!” Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel finds off-center family man Jack Nicholson as winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel. As wife Shelly Duvall and telepathically gifted son Danny Lloyd try to make the best of things, Jack’s level of insanity crescendos into murderous frenzy as cabin fever, a taste for alcohol and the demonic hotel begin to seize him. –AFI
Stanley Kubrick was born in New York, and was considered intelligent despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would produce better academic performance, Kubrick’s father Jack (a physician) sent him in 1940 to Pasadena, California, to stay with his uncle Martin Perveler. Returning to the Bronx in 1941 for his last year of grammar school, there seemed to be little change in his attitude or his results. Hoping to find something to interest his son, Jack introduced Stanley to chess, with the desired result. Kubrick took to the game passionately, and quickly became a skilled player. Chess would become an important device for Kubrick in later years, often as a tool for dealing with recalcitrant actors, but also as an artistic motif in his films.
Jack Kubrick’s decision to give his son a camera for his thirteenth birthday would be an even wiser move: Kubrick became an avid photographer, and would often make trips around New York taking photographs which he would… read more
One of the finest horror films ever created. Kubrick took a pop horror novel and crafted it into a fine instrument of dread. Re-watched as prep for "Room 237". A triumph of craft, precision and performance. Alcott's cinematography was extraordinary helped by second unit work by MacGillivray Freeman Films. Nicholson was born to play Jack Torrance and Duvall's "Wendy" is a study in terror. Essential cinema.
... über The Shining wurde schon alles (und zuviel?) gesagt. Von allen Theorien ist die offensichtlichste doch wohl die von der Zerstörung der Kleinfamilie und dem Terror des weißen Mannes (und seiner scheinbaren Ratio) gegen alles, was er nicht ist (Kind, Frau, schwarz, intellektuell).... Kubrick hat es jedenfalls geschafft, dass man immer wieder neu über den Film nachdenkt...
I've watched The Shining off & on since I was 10 but there's nothing like a several year layoff to help you spot some new things. A recent screening of Room 237 didn't hurt either. While I agree this movie is something of a puzzle (like most of Kubrick's work) you're going to drive yourself nuts looking for clues. Just sit back & watch. The superb filmmaking more than makes up for the hammy yet fun performances.
A look at posters in which actors are absent and the title treatment is king.
This week: striking reality & cinema-blending images, Rosenbaum on TIFF, and some naturally occurring companion pieces to Leviathan.
This week: LOLA Issue 2 debuts, B. Kite & Kent Jones on Robert Bresson, and a chronicle of Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret misfortunes.
Clips and appreciations marking Jack Nicholson’s 75th birthday.
Once you’re past the usual suspects, “the full list is wonderfully unpredictable and packed with oddball leftfield choices.”
Also: Richard Brody on Jerry Lewis, Johnnie To in Udine and more.
Also: Reviews of the documentary about the wide range of theories surrounding Kubrick’s The Shining.
Lists, reviews of classic and new horror, news and interviews. Updated through Halloween.
One searches in vain for a film like Carnival of Souls. Incredible as it is that an oneiric phantasia like Herk Harvey's 1962 fever dream actually
In 1980, masterful and legendary director Stanley Kubrick gave life to a film that today is arguably considered to be one of the finest horror films ever made. But it is common knowledge to Kubrick… read review
This movie is one of the best films ever made that is based on a Stephen King book. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the caretaker of a hotel/resort high in the Rocky Mountains. He takes… read review
Kubrick seems to have taken the spare bits and pieces of King’s book that he liked, and discarded all the rest, leaving us with a nigh-meaningless non-narrative (beautifully shot).
Duvall and… read review | <urn:uuid:a42820b8-18cd-4a6e-ac20-c998e1648670> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mubi.com/films/the-shining | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930318 | 1,002 | 1.671875 | 2 |
At a brightly colored house on the west side of downtown Bloomington, Indiana, people are gutting stuffed bears, animating clay, and turning floor vents into fishing holes. What’s more, those responsible want to bring these activities to your town, too.
The Collaboration Room is an artist-run space that gives people of all ages a chance to participate in collaborative art-making experiences. TCR, which maintains a gallery and store in their mixed-use living space, strives to foster an appreciation for visual arts through the projects and workshops they facilitate.
“The Collaboration Room is shaped by the people who participate,” explains Matthew Searle, the founder and director of TCR. “If we meet a book artist, we’ll ask to collaborate on a publication, or build a book-making series around her talents. Same is true for a kid, a horticulturalist, a mechanic. We can build creative programming with anyone or anything if given the opportunity.”
Armed with degrees in studio art, Searle leads an team that has experience working with youth and adults. Searle is currently the Art Director of the local Boys and Girls Club, and he used to design programs for a children’s museum. Other key members contribute expertise ranging from graphic design to education to computer science.
For kids, this collaborative experience has great potential. They can interact with new people, get their hands on a variety of media, and be exposed to different ways of expressing themselves within a group. “We want to give kids an unusual opportunity to not only have their voices heard, but to see their visions enacted,” promises Searle.
The team’s comfort working with kids is clear. My sons enjoy the bi-weekly Animation Club, run by Matisse Giddings. Together, they created several animated movies, some of which are published on TCR’s YouTube channel. At a recent Ignite event, my eldest shared his designs for a custom utility belt that he hopes to make reality as an ongoing project for the TCR community. | <urn:uuid:7bddac7b-635a-4708-a557-6692bdd4160a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wired.com/geekdad/tag/wunderkammer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959845 | 432 | 1.796875 | 2 |
I think Bob made some very salient points regarding the potentially redundant nature of the term “design vision.” I think the reason it’s been used here has a lot to do with the wide range of what the term “design” has come to mean in the development world. In the overwhelming majority of cases, design is positioned fairly far down the development path, and in some situations is reduced to mere decoration. I’m reminded of the numerous calls I’ve had from prospective clients claiming that the product “was nearly finished, all except the user interface.” Such a statement sounds incredibly absurd, but it was once common, and there are more subtle forms of the same thinking still lurking in many development efforts today.
I agree that Capital “D” Design does indeed necessarily contain a strong component of integrated vision.
I also agree that many companies compete successfully on other terms, though most of the companies that Bob listed (Wal-Mart, Dell, and Coca-Cola) all do successfully utilize competent design in their branding, even if they don’t feature it (as say, Target with its designer image and housewares, IBM with its sleek ThinkPads and Blade Servers do). I’m unable to think of a soft drink company at a scale that compares anywhere near to Coca-Cola focusing on design, though some smaller brands do feature unique bottles or labeling (such as Jones Soda).
I’d like to think that it’s not an either/or proposition. On the scale that Wal-Mart operates, I don’t believe good design can’t pay for itself over time. And I’d also want to stress that good design doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive production methods and materials. IKEA produces many affordable household items with very good design, and is an admirable model for a super-scale store embracing design.
Many of the same things and comparisons can be made for companies in the software, web and digital product sectors.
I don’t have much to add to what Dirk says regarding the fact that a coherent integrated vision can emerge from either the business/marketing, technical, or design centers in a business. I think he’s described a basic truth. In my career I’ve seen amazingly broad and coherent vision and leadership emerge from each of those professional areas. What matters is that someone has the vision and takes a strong leadership role.
The real enemy to vision and successful (and adequate!) innovation is bureaucracy, stagnation, misguided risk aversion, or simply institutionalized incompetency. I think it’s natural for companies to tend toward all of these as they grow and age. One of the worst enemies to continual innovation is success itself. Once a product or system is extremely successful, it often becomes increasingly difficult to continue innovations on the same scale that might have led to it in the first place. This is a strange and unfortunate irony.
I always liked Hewlett Packard’s strategy of “kill off your own products,” as it addressed this particular danger head-on.
To sum up what I feel about design vision and the degree to which I feel it really represents the successful integration of every component, need, challenge, and stakeholder, I offer the following quote from history. I can’t think of a statement that more eloquently expresses my own ideals for what a constitutes a successful, and inevitably beautiful, design. While Palladio is addressing aesthetic beauty, I think it no less describes the qualities inherent in any well-integrated design vision.
"Beauty will result from the most beautiful form and from the correspondence of the whole to the parts; of the parts among themselves, and of these again to the whole; so that the structures may appear an entire and complete body, wherein each member agree with the others and all members are necessary for the accomplishment of the building." -Andrea Palladio (1508 - 1580), Renaissance Architect
I can’t help but think you guys are getting pretty squishy with your definitions. Reading through the last few comments you all seem to be saying that what is really required is not necessarily a Designer so much as a senior leader with the passion, commitment, and determination to shepherd and defend a product throughout it’s complete development cycle. It appears to me that the need for such leadership is a given even if it’s also a rarity.
What you seem to be heading towards is the model of Product Designer as Movie Director – a model that captures both the notion of a generalist leader and a single source of accountability and authority. It’s a model I also find appealing and potentially useful but at the same time, it’s a model that’s met with precious little success in the world of high technology.
I don’t really have an answer here but the conversation does leaves me to wonder why the list of high technology companies consistently producing “Great Design” starts and stops with Apple. If we can’t identify any examples of functioning, design-centric organizations that don’t include Steve Jobs, then we need to take a serious look at our profession and ourselves ask why.
Why is it that there are so few designers in the executive ranks of the top tech companies? Are there any? How many Chief Design/Experience Officers are there? What about SVPs? Heck, how about even plain-old VPs? I haven’t done the math but I’d be surprised if more than 10% of the top 100 technology companies have any design leadership above the Director level.
It’s easy enough to blame this on the leadership class of these companies but that’s at best simplistic and at worst arrogant. We simply have to have a better response than, “they don’t get it.”
And while I agree whole-heartedly with the idea that the product vision should emanate from a single individual, in practice I have to conclude that Design as a profession has, for whatever reason, been largely unsuccessful at producing individuals who can successfully lead at that level.
I wish it weren’t so but that’s certainly my reading of the situation as things stand right now, in the opening days of 2006.
It's not over yet
More from Design Vision soon... | <urn:uuid:72e3da07-347f-400e-9328-ef9ce1328dee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?274 | 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 | 0.958471 | 1,321 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A famous professor of surgery died and went to heaven. At the pearly gates he was asked by the gatekeeper, "Have you ever committed a sin you truly regret?""Yes," the professor answered. "When I was a young candidate at the Hospital of Saint Lucas, we played soccer against a team from the Community Hospital, and I scored a goal, which was off-side. But the referee did not see it, and the goal won us the match. I regret that now."
"Well," said the gatekeeper. "That is a very minor sin. You may enter."
"Thank you very much, Saint Peter," the professor answered.
"You're welcome, but I am not Saint Peter," said the gatekeeper. "He is having his lunch break. I am Saint Lucas."
BAD JOKE DISCLAIMER: We recognize that religious humor can be risky. It is our hope that by laughing at ourselves (and others) we can make this subject more approachable. If you find any of these objectionable, we apologize. As with most jokes, the original authors are unknown - but we thank them. | <urn:uuid:5f8ff7e6-15e2-4891-a771-4facbce523b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Joke-of-the-Day/Daily-Joke.aspx?d=20110419 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984334 | 233 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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Flood alert as heavy rain continues
More than 120 areas across the UK are on flood alert with heavy rain set to fall over the weekend.
The Environment Agency increased the number of areas at risk overnight as rain continued for a second day.
While the worst affected places are in the South West, 128 areas across the South East, Midlands, central and northern England, Wales and southern and central Scotland are also on alert. A further 15 areas across the west, as well as in Northampton and Warrington, are expected to flood, the agency said.
Around 30 commercial properties were flooded yesterday in the coastal town of Looe, south Cornwall, as a band of heavy rain swept in from the Atlantic.
Tom Tombler, meteorologist for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The heavy rain will affect mostly the western parts of the the UK and southern England as well as Wales.
"The risk of localised flooding remains throughout the day, especially in areas which saw heavy rain yesterday. Between 10mm and 20mm is expected in the worst-hit areas. Temperatures will remain milder though, around 10C for most areas."
The heavy rain is expected to stay for the weekend, before a brighter start to the week, he added, although the rain will return on Thursday.
Firefighters praised the speedy actions of three hunters who found a man desperately clinging to a tree following a flash flood. Crews were called to a brook, near the River Exe in Devon, which had swollen to around 6ft deep. More than 12 firefighters helped rescue the man, who was taken to hospital suffering with hypothermia.
The fire service said it believed he had taken a wrong turn while walking back to his home in Exwick, near Exeter, before slipping into the brook.
Sean Faulkner, from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Luckily there was a group of three gentlemen who were out hunting and they heard his cries, because it was in the middle of nowhere, and they raised the alarm. If it wasn't for the swift actions of the men and the crew it could have been a different outcome." | <urn:uuid:2506051a-4207-4f52-8050-8503ff855d0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.andoveradvertiser.co.uk/uk_national_news/10110868.Flood_alert_as_heavy_rain_continues/?ref=nt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979534 | 475 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Rosetta Stone’s trademark infringement lawsuit against Google, first filed in 2009 and dismissed by a Virginia court in August 2010, has been revived by a federal appeals court. At issue: whether the sale of trademarked search keywords to the company’s competitors for sponsored links makes Google liable for trademark infringement.
Language software company Rosetta Stone complained that users searching for their software were being misled and confused by competitor and counterfeiter sponsored links, from which Google directly profited. Five consumers gave testimony that they had been directed to counterfeit software after searching for Rosetta Stone products as a result of Google’s AdWords practice of allowing competitors to bid on and win placement for terms trademarked by others.
In the 2010 ruling, the court ruled that consumers were not likely to be confused. However, Chief Judge William Traxler wrote for the three-judge appeals court panel, "A reasonable trier of fact could find that Google intended to cause confusion in that it acted with the knowledge that confusion was very likely to result from its use of the marks.”
Google’s current AdWords policy prohibits intellectual property rights infringement by advertisers, though they note that trademarks are territorial and apply only to certain goods or services. They also prohibit the promotion of counterfeit goods through their AdWords program, though this is defined within their policy as having “a trademark or logo that is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the trademark of another.”
The gray area occurs where a competitor product is similar, but doesn’t directly mimic a company’s logo or name. As Google’s policy states, they are “not a third-party arbiter,” and “encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertisers.” That bit of a disclaimer may not be enough to protect Google from liability, given that they do indeed profit from the sale of trademarked terms.
The appeals court ruling will be one to watch. In March 2011, a United States court for the Ninth Circuit (California) ruled in the case of Network Automation, Inc. v. Advanced Systems Concepts, Inc., that buying ads based on a competitor's name doesn't violate trademark law. This case differs slightly in that Rosetta Stone is taking the ad provider, Google, to task, rather than their competitors.
Recently, we’ve seen Google lose an AdWords case on appeal in Australia, where the judge ruled that Google had “engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in four cases." In one example in that suit, filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, users were led to believe by virtue of the ad title that they would be taken to the Honda.com.au website, when in fact the ad was for another website called CarSales.
Under Australian law, the court could not levy a monetary fine against Google, though they ordered that the search giant pay the plaintiff’s court costs. Again, the scope of that case is slightly different; at issue there was the actual language used in the ad copy and headline.
Even if Google loses this case on appeal, history shows they aren’t likely to roll over and change their global AdWords policies. Any additional oversight and policing of the system could put a serious dent in their profitability. A successful lawsuit in one country doesn’t necessarily mean global AdWords policy would change, either.
On Google’s October 2010 settlement of their AdWords dispute with French authorities over their practice of blocking specific advertisers from buying sponsored links, the New York Times had reported that Google "also agreed to apply 'the principle of improvements and clarifications made in implementing these commitments' in every country in which it operates AdWords."
Not so, said Google at the time. Though the search giant was found to have abused its dominant position on the French paid search market and were ordered to clarify rules and processes for advertisers, they made clear the new policies would only apply in France.
“This agreement and the commitments we have made are very narrow,” a Google spokesperson said at the time. “They deal only with ads for traffic devices in France. Nothing else. That said, we are always looking for ways to improve our AdWords services for the benefit of users and advertisers."
It seems clear that Google will continue to face legal issues so long as they profit from the sale and distribution of ads that target terms trademarked by others or otherwise attempt to steal traffic away from competitors through AdWords targeting. Paid search advertising is big business and Google, with the lion’s share of the market, is the most lucrative target for those financially losing out to questionable competitor practices.
This is the second lawsuit that has been revived against Google within the past week. The $1 billion Viacom-YouTube copyright case was reopened by an appeals court.
Wednesday, June 5 at 1pm ET - Learn why a move from the "batch and blast" email approach enables better conversations with your customers.
Register today - don't miss this free webinar! | <urn:uuid:24d5f9bc-bf44-46bc-a53e-652d218d98e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2167231/Googles-Rosetta-Stone-AdWords-Woes-Continue-as-Case-Reopened | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967745 | 1,033 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Africa to the World: "Don't Tell Us Who We Are or What To Do"
British objections to how Algeria handled its hostage situation and a recent visit by one of its boy bands to Ghana highlight U.S. and European condescension towards Africa.
Last week, two completely different events demonstrated how sensitized Africans have become about Western attitudes toward them. In the first example, Algerian troops attacked Islamist militants holding hostages inside the Tiguentourine natural gas complex. Among the 700 hostages were Malaysian, Japanese, Norwegian, American and British citizens.
In his most upper-crust accent, British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament, “Mr. Speaker, during the course of Thursday morning the Algerian forces mounted an operation. Mr. Speaker, we were not [my italics] informed of this in advance. I was told by the Algerian Prime Minister while it was taking place.” Cameron said that during his conversations with the Algerian PM he had emphasized the paramount importance of securing the safety of the hostages. He offered “UK technical and intelligence support” – including experts in hostage negotiation and rescue – to help find a successful resolution.
The Algerians might have posed two questions in response to PM Cameron: First, would you consult us if you had an unfolding hostage situation in England involving Algerian citizens? Second, have you forgotten, Mr. Cameron, that during the 1990s, we fought a bitter battle with Islamist insurgents within our own country? The reaction of the Algerian authorities to this attack on the gas plant was hell no, particularly with the looming possibility that the militants might try to escape across the border with the hostages. Since the vicious War of Independence from France, Algeria is prickly about getting instructions from its ex-colonial power, France, never mind the British. Firmly against intervention by Western powers, Algerians would have rejected outright the idea of foreign security forces sweeping in to liberate the hostages.
The second instance could not have been more different from the Algeria siege. The boy band One Direction paid a visit to Ghana on behalf of Comic Relief, a UK-based charity dedicated to alleviating poverty. Some Ghanaian readers were indignant at an article on E! that described Ghana’s capital, Accra, as an “impoverished village.” The population of Accra, a bustling, traffic-choked city, is about 2.3 million.
But that wasn’t the end of the outrage. Niall Horan, a One Direction member, tweeted of the trip to Accra: “I’ve seen the slums right in front of me! This is no joke! They really need your help! Poverty is real!” Several commentators objected to that characterization, prominent among them Ama K. Abebrese, a British actress of Akan origin. The thrust of her objection was that Accra is not one big slum, that there are beautiful and upscale areas, and that One Direction’s fans would immediately form an erroneous impression of the city. A blogger raised the question of the white savior complex or syndrome, the idea that indigenous peoples of color can do nothing for themselves until a white person arrives to show them how. Controversial rapper Wanlov the Kubolor sarcastically tweeted in response to a published photo of the boy band clapping with a group of young Ghanaian kids, “Ghana is getting worse so heaven sent 5 downcut jesuses to teach us clapping.”
Clearly, Niall meant no harm and he was probably expressing his heartfelt sentiments. In any case, since the band was in Accra for charity purposes, it would hardly have helped if he had tweeted, “Having a great time in our luxurious suite at the Mövenpick!" [or wherever they stayed.]
It is not untrue that sections of Accra such as Agbogbloshie are in appalling shape, but arguments over factual details are really quite beside the point. Ghanaians were reacting to a Westerner – a boy, no less – appearing to set Ghana’s agenda. Niall decided that Ghanaians really need help. Niall defined, in effect, that Accra was a representation of poverty. Africans are less and less willing to be defined by Westerners. As countries like Ghana steadily grow their economies, their citizens and governments feel more confident and empowered about their future, even though no one would deny that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Kwei Quartey is a physician, novelist, and Foreign Policy in Focus columnist. | <urn:uuid:714d00b0-b489-493b-ac65-c8cd4c4e5b0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fpif.org/blog/africa_to_the_world_dont_tell_us_who_we_are_or_what_do_do?q=Tag%3AUnited+States | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969542 | 940 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Ford Motor Company just officially started production on its new Ford Focus Electric 2012 model in its Wayne, Michigan assembly plant. The Ford Focus Electric is the first EV of its kind to receive a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) fuel efficiency rating, and it charges two times faster than the Nissan Leaf – the only other electric vehicle in its class. One third of Ford’s 2012 vehicle lineup consists of cars that get 40 mpg or better fuel ratings. The company has completely revamped its Wayne factory to create a flexible assembly line, and it has installed one of the largest solar power generation systems in the state. We can’t wait to see the zero-emission Ford Focus Electric start arriving at dealerships soon!
“The Focus Electric is a shining example of the leading fuel economy Ford is offering for each new vehicle,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “Whether people want a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full battery-electric vehicle, we have a family of vehicles for them to consider, providing a range of options to best meet their needs and support their driving habits and lifestyles.” Ford has decided that in this new year they’ll start offering a full line of vehicles for customers looking for fuel-efficiency – they’re calling it the fuel-efficient Power of Choice. The Ford Focus Electric will be available with optional 240 volt quick charge outlets, which will bring the full charge time down to 3 hours with a 1 hour charging capacity of 30 miles, making the Focus a great all-electric choice for drivers constantly on the move.
We’re happy to see that electric vehicles are finally making it through the assembly plants, into dealerships, and landing in the garages of efficiency-minded drivers across the country. The Ford Focus Electric is the third widely marketed EV of its class in America — the fully electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid electric Chevy Volt are the other two. In a study this year, Ford showed that 45 percent of customers say fuel economy is their top consideration when buying a new vehicle – styling comes in a distant second with only 16 percent of participants saying looks are their top buying factor.
Via In Auto News | <urn:uuid:971723db-36c6-4ed1-a6a6-9e7bce9841a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inhabitat.com/first-ford-focus-electric-vehicles-roll-off-production-lines-in-michigan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942702 | 455 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Salk professor receives Howard Hughes Medical Institute Collaborative Innovation Award
Edward Callaway, professor in the Salk's Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, has been selected as a participating investigator by a team that is the recipient of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Collaborative Innovation Award (HCIA).
Callaway will work together with project leader Dr. Liqun Luo, an HHMI investigator at Stanford University, on a collaborative research study entitled "Mapping Global Patterns of Connectivity in the Mammalian Brain." The team plans to develop a suite of tools for mapping neuronal connections in the complete mouse brain, including those that extend across long distances, and use those tools to study the organization of neural circuits and how they are affected by specific neurotransmitters.
Launched by the HHMI in 2008 as part of a four-year, $40 million pilot project, the HCIA program supports projects led by heads of its research laboratories that have the potential of being transformative and solving important scientific problems. The goal is to allow groups of scientists to devote substantial time and energy to pursuing collaborative research. The award is intended to encourage both HHMI investigators and participating scientists to undertake projects that are new and so large in scope that they require a team of collaborators with a range of expertise.
Callaway's research is aimed at understanding how neural circuits give rise to perception and behavior and focuses primarily on the organization and function of neural circuits in the visual cortex. Relating neural circuits to function in the visual system, where correlations between neural activity and perception can be directly tested, provides fundamental insight into the basic mechanisms by which cortical circuits mediate perception. | <urn:uuid:514ef441-9c5c-4ee8-ae11-17a7ed024faf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.salk.edu/insidesalk/articlenin.php?id=369 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936457 | 330 | 1.65625 | 2 |
When nursing school graduate Elizabeth Mondo found herself saddled with $210,000 worth of student loan debt and jobless in early 2009, she took the only path that made sense — military service.
"I couldn't find a nursing job to save my life, and the economy was so bad," she said. "But I had some girlfriends who were in the army for 10 years and they said I should join. I looked into it and I did."
It was a smart move. After she enlisted, Mondo landed a job at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where she's been contracted to work through 2016.
Like all military servicemembers, Mondo's federal loans were sent into deferment until the end of her service, as offered through the Higher Education Act. Her private loans were a different story.
The U.S. Army agreed to cover $90,000 of Mondo's Sallie Mae loans for three years, and she asked Sallie Mae to put her remaining loan balance — about $120,000 — into deferment until she left active duty. They refused to budge for months, while her loans continued to swell under a 9 percent interest rate.
It wasn't until she posted an online petition seeking action from Sallie Mae that she got the answers she needed. Turns out she was not only eligible for deferment under SCRA, but she qualified for a lowered interest rate as well.
"Nobody ever told me (about this program), so my interest rate for all my loans was accruing at a higher rate," she said.
Luckily, Sallie Mae agreed to honor SCRA, and reimburse Mondo for the interest charges she accrued at the higher rate.
Mondo's story is far from unique. As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found in a recent study on military student loan debt, servicemembers often rely on lenders for information about loan options –– and they don't always wind up with the full story.
Even if they navigate the maze of options, servicemembers report that they are often met with loan servicer roadblocks. For example, the CFPB has heard from military borrowers, including those in combat zones, who have been denied interest-rate protections because they failed to resubmit unnecessary paperwork. These kinds of servicing obstacles prevent servicemembers from taking advantage of the full range of protections they have earned through their service to this country.
Mondo's ordeal has inspired her to work with Sallie Mae to educate others like her at Walter Reed.
"This has been a huge battle. There are already enough stressors for us. It's just another unnecessary stress of the day."
Here's a comprehensive list of loan repayment options for military servicemembers:
More From Business Insider | <urn:uuid:86f42cc7-0a6e-4a51-a6f5-2a732d17b099> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://finance.yahoo.com/news/no-wonder-military-servicemembers-easy-212157407.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985678 | 581 | 1.632813 | 2 |
In the latest in a string of high-profile hacking disclosures, the Federal Reserve confirmed on Wednesday that one of its websites was broken into by cyber hackers in a breach that reportedly leaked the contact information of thousands of bankers.
While the central bank said the incident didn’t “affect critical operations” of the Federal Reserve System, the disclosure is sure to fuel concerns about the cyber security of government websites and critical financial infrastructure.
The Fed hack appears to be tied to an Anonymous group that published on Twitter the credentials of more than 4,000 commercial bankers early Monday morning. The group, Operation Last Resort, said it received the documents “via the FED.”
“The Federal Reserve System is aware that information was obtained by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in a website vendor product. The exposure was fixed shortly after discovery and is no longer an issue,” a Fed spokesman told FOX Business.
According to tech website ZDNet, the exposed information was derived from thousands of emergency system bank contacts stored by the Federal Reserve. Specifically, the hackers breached a database belonging to the St. Louis Fed Emergency Communications System.
Operation Last Resort, which is a faction of Anonymous that has been inflamed by the suicide of Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz, posted sensitive data tied to state-charter banks and credit unions, including login information, credentials, IP addresses and contact information, ZDNet reported.
The ECS, which was rolled out in 2008, serves as an emergency contact list for regulators to get in touch with bankers in the event of an emergency like a natural disaster or an incident in the financial markets.
The St. Louis Fed didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Fed disclosure follows a slew of other recent high-profile hacking acknowledgements, including last week from Twitter, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which is owned by FOX Business parent News Corp. (NWSA). | <urn:uuid:8c3522a3-fc86-444f-a5f7-2ebd0a5f4b4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2013/02/06/fed-says-hackers-breached-internal-site/?test=socmedia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947182 | 400 | 1.625 | 2 |
Since being designated as the next leader last year, Xi has been aggressively seeking new avenues to fuel China’s economy, and this is where China’s relationship with Russia could be handy.
Xi, who became the Communist Party chief in November and officially took office as president last week, will be heading to Moscow to discuss Russian gas exports and improve trade ties between the two giant countries.
Most recently, Vice Foreign Minister Chen Guoping announced that the two nations would be signing a new deal on oil and gas imports. Currently, Russian oil accounts for roughly 8 percent of China’s total crude imports.
But as the Chinese government takes steps toward strengthening relations with Russia, China’s citizens are apparently less keen on such ties.
Consider that Russia’s embassy in China joined Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, earlier this week. The embassy’s friendly first tweet received 14,000 comments, and counting. “Hello everyone! This is the Russian Embassy in China. Today we launched a Weibo, you’re welcome to follow us!”
But replies from Chinese netizens were mostly angry and xenophobic.
The Shanghaiist.com, a China-based news-blog, compiled some of the posts that condemned China’s relations with Russia:
@俞天任：Return our territory and take away the [Communist] party.
@公民－居民弹道无痕：Strongly suggest Russian Embassy in China to take the madness of [their] people away from our country, and also take away their legacy: loyalty to red revolution and their heroes.
@黄来福：I don't know why our government lets us respect the pirates who invaded our territory.
@hero032812： Russia is an evil existence to the whole world.
@春色：(You) exported revolution to the Heavenly Dynasty and afflicted Chinese people.
@孤鸿剑儿：You can keep the territory, but be sure to take back your gang of ax and sickle.
@不了了之：[Russians], return Chinese territory and take back your ax party.
Much of China’s nationalistic anger dates from Czarist Russia's expansion at the expense of Qing Dynasty China in the 19th century, and current territorial disputes along their long border.
One of the most serious of these disputes concerns what the Chinese call Zhenbao Island, or the Damanskii Island to Russians. Though Zhenbao was eventually given to China in 1991, the ownership of various other islands are still disputed between Moscow and Beijing, often triggering passionate arguments from China’s netizens.
Many Chinese apparently blame the Soviets for Chinese communism as well, even though Russia is no longer communist.
Though many netizens recognize the rocky relationship that China and Russia have endured, some still understand the importance of keeping strong political and trade ties.
“The deepened cooperation between Russia and China will be good for the two countries and for the whole world,” one user replied.
“Personally speaking, a good relationship between Russia and China is really important,” another user agreed.
Regardless of what China’s citizens may personally think about Russia, Beijing and Moscow will likely continue to push forward in improving mutual economic and trade relations. In the past, the two nations have been closely aligned on a diplomatic level.
The two nations, both of which have permanent member status at the United Nations Security Council, often vote together on various global issues. For example, China has followed Russia’s lead in opposing outside intervention in the crisis engulfing Syria. On the other hand, Russia has often followed China’s lead on sanctions on China's troublesome sometime ally, North Korea. | <urn:uuid:c02e5171-9178-4de3-ad35-babb130f3324> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ibtimes.com/xi-jinping-goes-moscow-chinas-netizens-less-thrilled-about-it-1143125 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94784 | 826 | 1.710938 | 2 |
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran has blocked access to the Google search engine and its Gmail email service as part of a clampdown on material deemed to be offensive, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday.
"I can confirm these sites have been filtered," said Hamid Shahriari, the secretary of Iran's National Council of Information.
He did not explain why the sites were being blocked. Google, Gmail and several other foreign sites appeared to be inaccessible to Iranian users from Monday morning.
Iran has tough censorship on cultural products and internet access, banning thousands of websites and blogs containing sexual and politically critical material as well as women's rights and social networking sites.
The rules are applied by Internet Service Providers who use filtering programmes to prevent access to the banned sites.
The programmes work by honing in on key words which trigger the blocking of a site, which means that some perfectly anodyne sites are inaccessible as well as more sensitive ones.
The filtering aims to prevent Iranians from accessing decadent material posted abroad, a similar goal to the ban on satellite dishes which are subject to period crackdowns.
Iran is in the midst of one of its toughest moral crackdowns in years, which has already seen thousands of women warned for failing to obey Islamic dress rules.
Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved. More » | <urn:uuid:6264c0aa-b778-4458-9e66-822235133ec9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jnO2MFN5lQlTfnoPuB9i7rKGHZdA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965233 | 273 | 1.671875 | 2 |
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
tDiversity in the Muslim world was on display in Rome on Thursday, as an Iranian Ayatollah said that he sees “no problems, no difficulties” in Christian/Muslim relations in the Middle East, while a Lebanese counselor to his country’s Grand Mufti said that there are indeed problems which must be faced “bravely and objectively.”
tThe Iranian ayatollah also asserted that problems of religious fundamentalism in the Middle East originate with Israel, and that fundamentalist currents in the Islamic world are a “reflex” of perceived Israeli attitudes.
tMohammed al-Sammak, a Sunni, and Ayatollah Sayed Mostafa Mohaghegh Ahmadabadi, a Shi’ite, met the press this afternoon ahead of their speeches to the Oct. 10-24 Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.
|Read NCR's full coverage of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East: Index of stories from the Synod.|
tBoth men are no strangers to Catholic/Muslim relations. Sammak is a longtime veteran of dialogue with the Vatican, as well as a regular at inter-religious meetings sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio. Ahmadabadi earned a Ph.D. in law from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 1996.
tIn general, Sammak represents a progressive form of Islam deeply committed to dialogue, while Ahmadabadi would be seen as a moderate struggling to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the realities of a pluralistic world.
tI asked the two men to respond to what many observers of the Muslim world regard as the central question vis-à-vis religious freedom: If a Muslim wants to convert to Christianity, should that person’s right to do so be protected by law, insulating them from any adverse social consequences?
tSammak said that “belief is a matter of conscience,” but that in Islamic history, there has been confusion between “changing religions” and “changing sides,” meaning committing an “act of treason” against the state.
tSammak said the “Golden Rule” in Islam is that there must be no compulsion in religion, but that the distinction between religious conversion and political betrayal still has to be worked out in Islamic thought and legal practice.
Ahmadabadi, on the other hand, said that while “you are completely free in your heart,” that “propaganda against a society is a political mission.” A “change of heart,” he said, is not a problem, but that must be distinguished from “attacking Islam.”
The suggestion seemed to be that while private conversion would be acceptable, public proclamation of one’s new religious identity could be problematic.
Asked about the testimony of Christians who have fled the Middle East saying they’re afraid they may not have a future there, Ahmadabadi said “this fear is only in the minds of some people.”
“From an Islamic point of view, there is no fear,” he said. “We have no permission to bother any Christians or Jews, insofar as they are Christians or Jews. If they commit crimes, for example, that’s something else.”
Sammak struck a different note.
“Objectively, there is a problem,” he said. “The immigration of Christians from the Middle East is an expression of this problem.”
The lack of democracy and religious freedom in some countries, as well as the conflict between Arab nations and Israel, has “negative consequences for the whole region,” he said.
“We cannot pretend that there is no problem, that everything is fine,” Sammak said.
Several participants in the Synod of Bishops have argued for a “positive secularism” in the Middle East, meaning a democratic society with a strong distinction between religion and politics. Ahmadabadi expressed some doubt about that project, arguing that in the vast majority of Islamic societies, Islamic law has some role to play in shaping public policy.
On the other hand, he said, if by “secularism” one means democratic elections, that’s no problem.
“In Iran, the election of the leader is in the hands of the people,” he said – making no reference to charges that the recent re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in some way rigged.
“The leader is not appointed by God,” he said.
tAsked about growing Sunni/Shit’ite tensions across the Middle East, Sammak conceded that “Christians are suffering from this new conflict.”
tThat conflict is especially clear in post-war Iraq, where Sammak said Christians “are not part of the conflict between Sunnis and Shi’ites, or between Arabs and Kurds, but they are caught in the middle and paying the price.”
tMoreover, Sammak said, Iraqi Christians “had nothing to do with the American invasion. They didn’t call for the Americans to come to their country, and they didn’t ask for American protection.” Yet, he said, they are “treated as if they are part of the American invasion.”
tThe case of Iraq, he said, illustrates the need to “disengage the rights of Christians as citizens and believers from political struggles.”
tOn the matter of freedom of conscience, Sammak said that “our societies lack democracy,” and that Christians in some countries suffer from the absence of basic “rights of citizenship.”
tAhmadabadi said that one “cannot deny” there are conflicts in the Middle East, but they are essentially political struggles among various groups that use Islam and Christianity as “cover.”
t“They do not relate to the religion,” he said.
tAhmadabadi argued that the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book, shows Muhammad living in peace with Jews and Christians in Medina with “no problems, no difficulties, no struggles between Islam and Christianity.”
tIn the past, Ahmadabadi said, there may have been “some struggles, some wars,” but “in recent times everything has changed.” Nowadays, he said, relations between Islam and Christianity are marked by “dialogue,” with Muslims, Christians and Jews “sitting side-by-side as citizens, with the same rights as others.”
tAhmadabadi asserted that Iran is the “best example” of this harmony among “all Islamic countries.”
tSammak argued that while problems must be faced honestly, there is also a case for hope. He pointed to the Gulf States, where it used to be prohibited to build Christian churches, but where there are now fourteen such churches – most, he said, built on land donated by the rulers of those states.
tIn Kuwait, for example, Sammak said a church was erected as far back as 1975.
tPressed to comment on the situation in Saudi Arabia, which has the largest concentration of new Christians in the Middle East, mostly “guest workers” from Asia and Africa, but where overt practice of any religion other than Islam is still legally prohibited, both Sammak and Ahmadabadi declined comment.
tOn the subject of religious extremism, Sammak said that it’s a problem across the board – not just in the Islamic world, but also within Israel and in certain Christian circles in the United States, and that “it’s not just Christians who are suffering from it.”
Ahmadabadi, meanwhile, argued that there were no fundamentalist currents in Islamic nations prior to the emergence of fundamentalism in Israel, “among some of them.” In that sense, he argued, Islamic fundamentalism is a “reflex” of developments in Israel.
NCR's coverage of the Synod for the Middle East can be found at http://ncronline.org/mideast_synod | <urn:uuid:f0ecea18-4a22-40d9-a446-4828a1731625> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/two-muslims-two-perspectives-middle-east | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963956 | 1,754 | 1.796875 | 2 |
One of the better questions — and responses from both candidates — was one asked of Romney. Essentially, it was Gov. Romney, how are you different than President George W. Bush?
Romney promised to “crack down on China” — which he said Bush didn’t do. He promised a balanced budget — which Bush wanted. He also said he would promote small business, saying Republicans were too focused on big business.
What he didn’t mention is that his foreign policy advisers include many of the neo-conservatives like John Bolton who were behind the Iraq War.
Replied Obama: “You know, George Bush didn’t propose turning Medicare into a voucher.
“George Bush embraced comprehensive immigration reform. He didn’t call for ‘self-deportation.’ George Bush never suggested that we eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood. So there are differences between Gov. Romney and George Bush, but they’re not on economic policy.
“In some ways he’s gone to a more extreme place when it comes to social policy. I think that’s a mistake. That’s not how we’re going to move our economy forward.” | <urn:uuid:8e0f0a18-0a5f-440b-8892-5bbfc64ca244> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/160604/is-mitt-romney-different-than-george-bush/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973828 | 256 | 1.625 | 2 |
Monday and Tuesday, residents in the City of Rifle were under emergency water restrictions after a city tank ran out of water. Even though the problem is fixed for now, officials say it doesn't mean the city won't see more problems as they move into the summer months.
Rifle resident John Nevonen says when he woke up Monday morning, something wasn't right.
"I got up and there was no water in the house," said Nevonen. "I opened the facets and they were draining, so we knew there was a water break or something going on."
As it turns out, something was going on. City officials say a filtration issue and heavy water use by residents during a very hot week led to a huge problem at the city's water plant.
"A portion of our system was not able to keep up with the demand and a storage tank rand out of water," said John Hier, Rifle City Manager.
From 6:00am to 12:00pm Monday, hundreds of residents in the northeast portion of Rifle had no water in their homes. As a result, the city had to place a ban on all lawn watering and asked residents to use as little water as possible inside their homes through Tuesday night.
Tuesday, the city said the tank is full again and that restrictions would be lifted at midnight. But as more people continue moving to the area, and as temperatures continue to stay hot, officials say Rifle residents shouldn't be surprised if they continue to see more yellow signs posted around the city, listing water restrictions.
Hier says the current facility, which was built in the 1970s, has been giving the city problems for the last ten years.
"We're developing plans to either replace, or refurbish, or add on to those facilities within the next five years," said Hier.
But until that happens, he says with what they've seen this week, more restrictions may be in store as the city moves into the heat of summer.
"We're reviewing the necessity for possibly putting into effect some more permanent restrictions," said Hier. "But we've made no decisions on that at the moment."
Nevonen says while more potential restrictions this summer may mean his lawn won't be as green, he says he's good as long as he doesn't find himself in the same situation he did Monday.
"We have tremendous growth here," said Nevonen. "We're going to have to tolerate some of these things until bigger facilities are built."
City officials say there were no problems with residents following the restrictions and want to thank them for their help and patience. | <urn:uuid:406b3752-6c79-4226-b3a8-e810a30493a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbc11news.com/localnews/headlines/20210599.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990037 | 531 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Education Professor Zaher Wahab contributes expertise to Winter Soldier forum
October 22, 2008
Zaher Wahab, professor of education:
Wahab contributed his expertise on the situation in Afghanistan as part of the Winter Soldier Northwest forum this month, an event held at First Unitarian Church in Portland. Winter Soldier hearings have been convened across the country to give U.S. veterans an opportunity to testify about their military service. In addition, panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists give context to the testimony.
The panel discussion in which Wahab participated was titled, “Eyewitness Accounts of War: Local Soldiers, their Families, Iraqis and Afghans Testify on the Human Cost of War.”
“The average family [in Afghanistan] lives on one dollar per day,” Wahab said at the forum. “Two million people are seriously mentally ill, 70 percent of Afghanis are traumatized.”
Wahab splits his time between Lewis & Clark and Afghanistan, devoting six months of service each year to the Afghan Ministry of Higher Education. He is dedicated to helping normalize conditions in Afghanistan, and he believes “quality, equal and universal education is the key to establishing peace, security, democracy, harmony, and a healthy, stable economy in Afghanistan.”
Read more about Wahab and the Winter Soldier event online. | <urn:uuid:4195c8b7-aa76-4132-b144-76a1ab4d8edd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lclark.edu/live/news/471-education-professor-zaher-wahab-contributes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942605 | 283 | 1.828125 | 2 |
|A Beautiful Meditation Experience|
Every moment of every day is an opportunity to strengthen your ability to be soul conscious. The practical application of meditation means that you can move into this .soul awareness. wherever you are . while cooking, during a journey, in the middle of a conversation, while working in the office etc. These are the basic steps to practice moving into a state of stillness and focusing your awareness.
Sit in a comfortable but alert position wherever you are right now... Imagine your whole body is surrounded by an envelope of subtle light... See the light draw itself up to a point of focus above and behind your physical eyes... Be aware that you are that point of focus...
Just as you might stand absolutely still as you look through the windows of your home to see the street or garden outside... look through your eyes now as if they were windows... Be aware that you are not your eyes... you are the still point of awareness, a tiny sparkling star, the soul, looking through your eyes seeing the world 'out there'... Remain still inside...
As you watch people and life moving around you, remain completely still... just watching without thinking about what you see... Then, in one split second .narrow. your awareness to one small detail in the scene that you see... Hold that detail for a moment... Be free of any judgment or assessment of the detail. Just watch...just be aware... Then .expand. your awareness to the entire scene once again... Remind yourself of who you are...the soul looking out through the windows of the eyes...completely still....focused...fully aware. | <urn:uuid:7d9499c6-b6ae-4a53-a6f0-481b449eae23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brahmakumaris.com/about-us/service-wings/art-culture-wing/155-a-beautiful-meditation-experience-.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936901 | 330 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The Sigma SD-1 Merrill is an APS-C DSLR camera that sports a different type of sensor. Sigma, in an attempt to set themselves apart from the pack, chose the Foveon X3 sensor which captures light in a different way than a standard Bayer pattern sensor. What happens when this newer technology meets a company that traditionally has produced lenses for various camera manufacturers? Keep reading for a full review.
From Sigma’s website
|Format||Interchangeable lens SLR Camera|
|Storage Media||Compact Flash (Type I, UDMA compatible)|
|Image Sensor Size||23.5mm x 15.7mm|
|Lens Mount||SIGMA SA bayonet mount|
|Compatible Lenses||SIGMA SA mount interchangeable lenses|
|Angle of View||Equivalent to approx 1.5x the focal length of the lens (for 35mm cameras)|
|Image Sensor||Foveon X3® direct image sensor (CMOS)|
|Number of Pixels||Total Pixels 48 MP (4,800×3,200×3 layers)|
|Aspect Ratio||3 : 2|
|Still Image Format||Exif 2.3, DCF2.0|
|Image Recording Format||Lossless compression RAW data (12-bit, High, Medium, Low), JPEG (High, Medium, Low)|
|Capture File Size||
|Continuous shooting speed||High: 5 frames/sec, Medium: 6 frames/sec, Low: 6 frames/sec|
|Continuous Buffer||High: Max 7 frames, Medium: Max 14 frames, Low: Max 14 frames|
|Interface||USB (USB2.0), Video Out (NTSC/PAL)|
|White Balance||8 types (Auto, Sunlight, Shade, Overcast, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash and Custom)|
|Color Mode||7 types (Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, B&W, Sepia)|
|Viewfinder||Pentaprism SLR viewfinder|
|Viewfinder Frame Coverage||98% vertical, 98% horizontal|
|Viewfinder Magnification||0.95 x (50mm F1.4-infinity)|
|Diopter Adjustment Range||-3dpt to + 1.5dpt|
|Auto Focus Type||TTL phase difference detection system|
|AF Operating Range||EV 0 to +18 (ISO100)|
|Focus Mode||Single AF, Continuous AF (with AF motion prediction function), Manual|
|AF Point Selection||Automatic Selection, Manual Selection|
|Metering Systems||77 segment Evaluative Metering, Spot Metering, Center Metering, Center-Weighted Average Metering|
|Metering Range||EV 1 to 20 (50mm F1.4 ISO100)|
|Exposure Control System||(P) Program AE (Program Shift is possible), (S) Shutter Speed Priority AE, (A) Aperture Priority AE, (M) Manual|
|ISO Sensitivity||ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400|
|Exposure Compensation||±3EV (in 1/3 steps)|
|Auto Bracketing||Three or Five frames (in 1/3 steps, Appropriate Exposure- Under Exposure- Over Exposure)|
|Shutter Type||Electronically controlled focal plane shutter|
|Shutter Speed||1/8000 – 30 sec. + bulb (up to 30 sec., with Extended Mode: 2min.)|
|External Flash Synchronization||Hot shoe (contact X synchronization at 1/180 sec. or less, with dedicated flash linking contact)|
|Built-in flash||Manual Pop up Built-in Flash, GN11 (17mm lens angle covered)|
|LCD Monitor||Type: TFT color 3.0” LCD monitor, LCD pixels approx.: 460,000|
|Reviewing Images||Single frame display, Multi display [9 frames], Zoom, Slide Show|
|LCD Monitor Language||Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Russian|
|Power Source||Li-ion Battery Pack BP-21, Battery Charger BC-21, AC adapter SAC-4(optional)|
|Dimensions||145.5mm/5.7″(W) X113.5mm/4.4″(H) X 80.0mm/3.1″(D)|
|Weight||700g/24.7oz (without batteries and card)|
If you are not familiar with the Foveon X3 sensor, it works differently than the sensor in your current camera. You can click through to this Wikipedia article, which will explain things in more detail, but to give you an overview; Each pixel location on the Foveon X3 is able to capture red, green and blue readings, where as conventional sensors can only capture one color at each pixel location. This leads to Sigma touting the camera is really a 46MP camera (the sensor is 4,800 x 3,200 which equals 15.36MP and each of those pixels records 3 readings, giving 46MP worth of information. This technique for counting pixels has been disputed, but the fact remains that a RAW file out of my Canon 7D (18MP) is about 21MB while the RAW file from the SD-1 Merrill averages 51MB).
The Sigma SD-1 Merrill is the first camera to use this APS-C sized sensor and as such, there are some limits to be aware of. The sensor requires a lot of grunt work to process an image and Sigma has thrown a TRUE (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) II into the camera. This is a totally different engine than in most cameras and it is fairly new. Processing time is longer than most cameras with smaller amounts of data to handle and that can be annoying at first. But considering the SD-1 is processing about 2.4x the amount of data as comparable cameras, this is understandable. I found the process and write times on par with the Pentax 645D, which sports RAW files a little larger than the SD-1.
As such, instant, back-of-camera review times can be lagging. I found the initial review of the photo, which came up in a few seconds, to be slower than I expected. And when it did come up, the image had a washed out feel that made it appear as if it was from a screen grab of video. I was disillusioned with that first glance, to be honest. On top of that, the processing time was long, which meant a more close review (where I could zoom in and check focus, for instance) had to wait. Frustrating if things are moving fast. As a side note, I have since started testing a Sigma DP2 Merrill and it uses the same sensor, but with faster instant review and truer colors.
This camera is not meant to capture high speed action, even though it does have a seven shot buffer and can shoot at six frames a second. It is meant to give amazing detail for certain types of shots.
Lastly, the camera requires use of Sigma’s Photo Pro(SPP) software to process the X3F files. Support is not currently enabled in Aperture or Lightroom or Picasa because the image files need a completely different way of processing. I will touch on use of the software near the end of this review.
The ergonomics of this camera had me excited at first. The grip is well suited for my larger hands and has a notch for the middle finger to rest in. This produces a solid feel, more so than any Canon, Sony or Nikon I have tested. I was very pleased with the grip….for a while. I noticed, when using a larger, heavier lens, that my middle finger’s tip started to feel slight pressure. Nothing severe, but after holding the camera for two hours straight, I could notice this difference.
On the back of the camera my thumb rested well in the location suited for it, although I would like to see the Auto Focus (AF) and Auto Exposure Lock (AEL) buttons switched. Still, it was easy to find my way around the back of the camera with my thumb while the camera was up to my eye. I loved the location of the lens release button. At first, trying to release a lens in my accustomed manner (using my thumb to depress the lens release button), I was exasperated why the button was located where it is, below and to the right of the lens (looking from the back of the camera). But then I realized the genius of the setup as I was able to release the lens with my right ring finger, maintaining full grip on the camera, while supporting the lens. I wish more manufacturers would adopt this style.
While this might not be ‘ergonomic’ per se, I also loved the sound of the shutter. It’s one thing I’ve never liked about my Canon equipment but Sigma has even Nikon beat, to my ears. It’s a little thing, but an enjoyable thing.
I appreciated that there are two dials for selecting shutter speed and aperture and, at times, either can be used. Some people like Nikon’s setup (dials always control the same function), some people like Canon’s (‘main’ dial changes based on priority mode), but Sigma combines both by allowing either dial to operate the primary function. It’s a small thing, but something I liked. Also, the main control dial on top is nice and clean, as is the frame rate dial on top. No unneeded functions clutter either dial.
Focus was slow. Slower than I am used to and I’ve tested a number of lower end SLR cameras selling for 1/5th the price of the SD-1 Merrill. The focus points are small and there is no way to group them, making selection trying at times. When focus locked, it was solid and the process doesn’t use an undue amount of hunting. This camera is, after all, not intended for the sports photographer, so the speed is understandable. I wasn’t fully aware of this before taking the camera to shoot some action and was frustrated at times. Once I researched a little more (yes, I’m the type of guy who ignores the instruction manual) I was able to take advantage of the sharp focus with landscape shooting.
High ISO Control
I did not often want to take this camera over ISO 400. It can handle it, but the amount of noise present makes high ISO choices less than stellar. Let me give some examples of ISO 800. Sigma’s SPP software allows for noise reduction for both Chroma and Luminance. I will start out with no adjustments so you can get an idea of the “out of camera” experience.
Here is the original image with a 100% crop. Click on the crop for a larger version.
To my eye, in these shots of the Siq and Treasury at Petra, Jordan, there is noticeable noise in the darks and even some in the midtones of the facade.
SPP has five settings to choose from for both Chroma and Luminance. By default these are set to the middle of the road (3) when the program is started. Here is what that type of treatment looks like.
With this ‘middle’ style of noise reduction, the noise is well handled at ISO 800, but we start to lose detail in the dark areas. The rock is becoming featureless. How featureless?
Let’s move things up to “full power!” on the noise reduction scale and see what happens.
The noise is gone, but the details starts to lack. How much? Too much for my liking but this is also a hard situation. Let’s have another look at ISO 800 shots from Alaska. These were shot with the 24-70mm lens at a great distance and are already 100% crops (click for larger versions).
First, no noise reduction added.
When zoomed in, I can see some a purple hue to shadows, especially in the trees. So let’s jack up the Chroma noise reduction to full.
That’s getting better. So, instead of moving up the Luminance noise reduction to full (knowing that it will blur the trees pretty bad), I instead choose the middle setting.
This gives me a result which still allows for the ships name, Safari Endeavour, to come through. I would further apply corrections in Lightroom, but I first want you to see what you can expect out of the camera, more or less.
And for your pixel peeping pleasure, one shot at ISO 1600 in the streets of Amman, Jordan followed by a shot of my daughter in Wadi Rum, Jordan, shot at ISO 6400 as the sun had set. Both have middle settings for both Chroma and Luminance.
What about lower ISO. From 400 on down, everything is better. Some examples from Jordan, all with medium noise reduction applied in SPP. (Some images are already cropped, but click for a full sized view.)
Ease of Use in Real Life
In real life, the SD-1 is a mixed bag to use. On one side, the sharpness is wonderful. On the other, I noticed a small problem with white balance shifts in pictures taken at the same second (high frames per second burst). I have since sent these images to Sigma for evaluation. That being said, SPP makes it easy to adjust the white balance for one or multiple images at a time.
The camera is slow to wake up. If the camera has auto-power-offed and I hit the shutter release to wake it up because a pod of whales is bubblenet feeding, it takes the camera 3-4 seconds and I miss the shot. Again, this is not a sports photographer’s best camera. Or wildlife, to be honest.
I found the Quick Select (QS) menus to be confusing at first but then very helpful. Rather than crowding the body of the camera with a ton of buttons for various settings, they incorporate those settings into two screens accessed with a QS button. From there, it is a simple presses of the back paddle controllers to change things like ISO, focus type, metering, white balance, compression, etc…
When I was home and had more time to compose my images, the SD-1 Merrill was very enjoyable to use. And that, I feel, is really what it is built for; someone who wants to take the time to compose their images and wants high quality images. Landscape, portrait, nature. Those types of photographers.
One thing that did annoy me was the proprietary lens mount. It’s ironic that Sigma, a company that manufactures lenses for various other camera companies, chose its own mount for this camera. I had to lug along extra gear because the camera would not work with my Canon lenses. I understand there are patent and licensing issues at play here, but if Sigma can make a camera with mounts for Canon, Nikon, etc… lenses, I would be seriously interested in adding this camera to my lineup for nature and landscape work.
How sharp are those images? Take a look. (click 100% crops of each image for larger version) All images are produces with “out of the box” SPP settings.
I found the metering on the SD-1 Merrill to be adequate, but nothing to write home about. It does the job and mostly grabs proper settings for ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. There isn’t a lot of variation from shot to shot and I like that. It’s consistent and practical.
No post about the SD-1 Merrill would be complete without touching base on the software, Sigma Photo Pro. I am not going to write a full How-To about using the software, just my impressions.
First, it takes a while to get used to. I come from the land of Adobe (and some Picasa and iPhoto) and found myself wishing the interface were more intuitive. Maybe that’s because I’m an old curmudgeon nearly stuck in my ways.
The software is intended to handle the basics as you can see in the “Review” panel above. Exposure, highlights, noise control, etc… I like that I can save settings and batch them in the future and this is useful because most editing, for me, will be handled in Lightroom. The histogram display is a little amateurish and, unlike Lightroom, a separate click on “Full res” is needed to view full sized image, as compared to simply clicking on the image. It’s also missing a means to crop images.
What works for me is the ability to choose white balance from a spot on the image as well as different export options (JPG, TIFF and a variety of color spaces). As well as the ability to apply settings to multiple images. The software is a little clunky, but it does get the job done and the more I use it (while testing the SD-1 and DP2) the more I’m okay with it. Just okay, not blown away because, honestly, I don’t want Sigma spending their time recreating Lightroom. I want Adobe and Sigma to work together to make support for the Foveon sensor native in Lightroom as that would be a huge benefit to most peoples’ workflow when using this camera.
Down to the bottom line: Would I buy this camera? Currently, I’m not likely to purchase the camera even with its phenomenal detail. Why? Because it means laying out $4500 for a decent setup with one lens. And it means I have to double up on lenses.
What would get me to switch to the SD-1 Merrill? Making the camera compatible with Canon lenses (and Nikon, Pentax and Sony for my friends who shoot with that gear). That would be huge, honestly. It would bring down my ‘get started’ cost to the cost of the camera alone (currently $1999 at B&H Photo with an instant $300 savings). I would still have to deal with the extra software but I am finding that is a minor issue for the quality this camera provides.
It delivers to the market for which is it designed; landscape, portrait, nature. If the speed can be upped, especially the review speed, I would seriously consider it for travel work (it was not my first camera of choice in Jordan because of the review time, especially when showing others photos I shot of them). I am hopeful this issue will be fixed in future versions or possibly in a firmware upgrade (which Sigma has been producing regularly) as the DP2 already has these problems fixed.
The current $2000 price tag makes this camera competitive with the likes of Canon and Nikon. Sigma needs to make a few tweaks to really make the quality this camera can produce shine as it should.
Please Support The Phoblographer
We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website. | <urn:uuid:59de20cf-6478-465d-9688-7b970d6d11be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thephoblographer.com/2012/09/21/review-sigma-sd-1-merrill-35mm-slr/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930673 | 4,092 | 1.53125 | 2 |
As pencil touches paper it makes blackened marks against what is perfectly clean and white.
It seems a shame to mark on it, alter it, or change it from its former purity.
Pencil touches paper and marks it much the same way you have marked my soul with your ways of hurting and causing pain.
You never could face the scars of your soul or your own black marks, you just took pencil in hand and began marking on the souls of others whether they loved you or not, whether undeserving or not.
In a state of blindness you draw upon the marred expressions within you to help you draw the tears and pain of others.
Your pencil forms a razor because you are not satisfied until the lead breaks through the paper and you feel the damage is permanent.
I have come to realize that paper is empty and incomplete unless marked upon. Without a mark it awaits it’s purpose and usefulness but with marks it is a story and my story is this:
My soul is more than paper and your razor edged pencil never had the power to write so deeply that God couldn’t erase it. My life is a book and God saw you write in it things that should not have been there.
It is to your shame that it is now part of my story but to my Victory that I am now so much more than you ever wrote me off to be.
Because of God my pages are no longer filled with the confusing etches of your pencil. My pages are not torn. God took the black marks of my soul and gave them expression of grief, tears and a voice. He then erased and rewrote me…Renewed and restored me.
I look at you still trying to lash out and draw tears and pain upon my pages but it is the life of Christ that covers my book, which means you don’t even have the power to open it.
Anything left of you in my story is only there to show others what they too can overcome through God. Perhaps one day you will see how much you need to turn your pencil over to God and let Him rewrite your life but if not, it is still time that you know my life is a closed book to you.
By Kimberly DuBose
Written January 11, 2004
I know that given the name of this blog, it is completely ironic that this particular thing is what I chose to share first. My life is pretty much an open book. I don't hide who I am or what I'm about, but I do close the cover to anyone who spends his or her time simply looking to hurt others. There are resolutions through love, but there are people that seek to hurt due to their own inability to deal with their own pain. I love them but I distance myself and refuse to allow things they have said or done to have a place in my life let alone my heart or mind. I get to chose what has relevance in my life.
If you are hear to encourage and exhort, welcome to my page, if not...leave. Simple as that! | <urn:uuid:6a7b5b85-4654-4d26-97e9-956299b24598> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://openmindandbook.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975498 | 627 | 1.539063 | 2 |
What's behind the London riots? - VIDEOS
Posted on Tuesday, August 09, 2011 at 09:39 AM
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If you've ever been to Tuscany in Italy you'll know how near to Heaven the region is. Grapes grow effortlessly on the vine, olives and tomatoes can be plucked right from the kitchen window and the air at night is filled with stars.
But Britain, on the other hand, just had the coldest July for 50 years.
Like Ireland, the ordinary working class folk there are settling in to a hard diet of austerity, rising taxes and biting social welfare cuts. Times are getting pretty thin. It's about as far from the perfumed opulence of Tuscany as its possible to get.
So spare a thought for David Cameron, the beleaguered British Prime Minister, who had to curtail his idyllic Italian holiday this week to return to the grim situation rooms of Whitehall - all to contend with the horrendous and rapidly spreading riots engulfing England.
As Cameron's plane landed in London on Monday he must have felt the world was coming unglued.
First he has had the massive News of The World scandal to contend with, as revelations of years of corruption and breathtaking arrogance threatened even his own premiership. Then at the weekend a protest over a police killing lit an all-too flammable fuse and sparked epic street riots that have now spread to Liverpool and Birmingham.
It began as a protest but it quickly descended into anarchy and lawlessness; these nightly confrontations are terrifying in their violence and frightening in their pointlessness; but they have not come out of nowhere and they're about more than just urban alienation or aggression.
Anyone who tells you otherwise has no appetite for reality. It's not erroneous to accuse the rioters of criminality - but you shouldn't just stop there. Something's shifting in the wider British culture and you're kidding yourself if you pretend not to see it.
All you need to do is look at the scale of the riots now engulfing London - they pass from district to district, they're highly organized and they're growing.
It's not just the thought of stealing a HDTV or the entertainment factor of petty vandalism that luring these masked youths onto their own streets to set them alight. As report after report is showing, the rioters do genuinely hate the police - who they see as hired flunkies - and behind that they hate their government.
Deep cuts to education spending and welfare, the closing doors of opportunity, the near certainty that the economy won't get better for years, and the sense of having been completely cut off and left adrift - these awarenesses are all in the mix.
Thinking back we got our first foretaste of what was to come when the Rolls Royce carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall was attacked on their way to the theatre last year.
A mob of around 50 demonstrators managed to muscle past their police escort to throw paint bombs at their car, kicking its doors and smashing its rear window — all the while chanting 'off with their heads!' and 'Tory scum!'
Armed protection was traveling with the two royals on the night and someone could quite easily have been shot dead. It's a measure of how far the times are out of line that had become a real consideration.
But there's a sense, in England, especially among young working class people there, that their leaders have no plan for them and no interest in their futures. The Murdoch trial has just shown them a world where the absurdly rich and well connected can make and play by their own rules, without - as yet - significant consequences.
Inside her Rolls Royce, dressed in a green evening gown with a diamond-encrusted emerald necklace, Camilla's shock was clear on her face. Every aristocrat in every decade of history has worn a similar expression when confronted by underclasses who have decided they've had enough.
I imagine Cameron is contemplating his options now, with the memory of those olive groves and August sunlight still fresh in his mind. He lives a world away from the people who's fates he now has to contend with. He always has. I don't think he'll be in a mood to compromise.
And I don't think shooting these kids off the streets is going to work at all. They've already had most of the hope squeezed out of them. They're more dangerous than most of us imagine. I suspect we're at the start of something, not the end. | <urn:uuid:6ce73225-f8a8-4e3f-8951-89041ae24ad7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/manhattan_diary/whats-behind-the-london-riots-127299108.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976906 | 1,015 | 1.585938 | 2 |
When you think about the word diva, you immediately think of artists like Mariah Carey or Beyonce. Typically a female artist who is known for having an attitude if things don’t go their way, and who will be the first to admit they deserve nothing but the utmost respect. However, most people are unaware that the heavy metal realm actually hosts more diva behavior than any other genre. How is this possible, you ask? Well lets break it down into some key points that show just how dramatic some of these metal heads can be!
Dress For Success
One of they key elements to a metal head is their wardrobe. Many other cultures are open to interpretation of any unique style, this is not the case with metal fashion. Typically you are limited to black clothing, and must have an extensive collection of band t-shirts. The band t-shirt isn’t taken lightly either, its some what a show of dominance over each other in public. Much thought goes into the selection of a band shirt and when to wear it. Your entry level metal head will pull a rookie mistake by showing up with say a basic Metallica shirt, and will always be upstaged by the senior metal head wearing something on the level of Diamond Head.
Hair plays a huge part in the fashion of this culture as well, and is one of the first giveaways at your level of devotion to the genre. Typically your intense metal devotee will possess hair past their shoulders. There are other variations of the metal head haircut, including but not limited to versions like the short spiky look, and even the shaved head. You may think they just leave their hair as is once they wake up, but a lot more thought and care goes into this element. The front hairs entering the facial region are most important, and must be strategically placed. You might notice one of them constantly playing with this area while in conversation, and occasionally you can witness them looking for the nearest reflection where they can make a crucial adjustment.
Probably the most important element to a metal heads wardrobe are the accessories. This is also a very carefully planned element which gives people a better understanding of what brand of metal the person is reflecting. Your black metal fans will typically dawn some kind of wrist cuffs or even neck chokers, both dawning spikes of some sort. While other metal heads might choose to stick with a necklace, chain wallet, or even in some cases a belt buckle.
There are even some metal heads who put a large amount of time into wearing makeup to enhance their appearance. We have all seen black metal musicians do it, and in some cases the fans will imitate this by putting on the corpse paint themselves. Goth metal heads who embrace the more dramatic side of the genre have also been known to feature heavy eye makeup and even lipstick in some cases.
Stubborn As a Mule
If you’ve ever gotten into an argument with a metal head you know exactly what Im talking about. You will never get them to admit they are wrong, and chances are they will always hate your favorite band. Even though they are the easiest people on the planet to make angry, you must be ready to hear a long and over detailed explanation on why they are right and you are wrong. One thing they absolutely loathe more than anything is having their flaws pointed out, in which case they will most likely shift blame on you for addressing such an issue.
Bitching and Moaning
In addition to being some of the most stubborn people on the planet, they are also notorious for complaining more than anyone. Many of them spend their time voicing to the world why everything is wrong, and how their ideas would fix everything. They also hate being introduced to new things such as movies or bands they have never heard of. You’d have better luck convincing an atheist that god exists than you would trying to convince a metal head that a new band is just as enjoyable as their old favorites. Some of them complain so much they even take it to a more public level by writing long winded articles on their own website.
Did you know that heavy metal is one of the most pirated genres in the music industry? This is because many of the more extreme ego ridden metal heads feel they are some how entitled to free music, and don’t need to pay for it like everyone else. You can also find examples of ego mania within lots of metal bands out there today. What most of them lack for in song writing ability, they easily make up for with blast beats and simply ripping off other bands who are more successful. There are even metal heads with such huge egos, they refuse to work with other musicians and prefer the spotlight only shine on them by starting their own solo project.
They spend so much time trying to make themselves look scary, mean, tough, and evil, but the harder they try the more they come off as lovable little pets that you want to collect like Pokemon. For example, male metal heads are the most deceiving of all and their girlfriends will be the first to identify this. When the lights are out and nobody else is around, the tough guy exterior is replaced by silly voices and a strong desire to watch female cartoons like My Little Pony.
So the next time you pass by a metal head and think they are simple folk who don’t have a care in the world, remind yourself that there is a lot of time and effort put into maintaining such vanity. They are a very sensitive people with morals and values all their own that they don’t wish to share with you unless provoked even in the slightest sense.
By now you should have picked up on the final and most important qualities of a metal head, and that is their extreme sense of sarcasm partnered with their brash ability to speak whatever is on their mind. Even if it means trashing their own kind and making fun of themselves. | <urn:uuid:515019ab-6a60-4d8e-abeb-500c1665c427> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autumnseyes.com/?p=1973 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973118 | 1,203 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Read further into Titus 2:1-15. Mark down the definite ways that our new life takes shape. Also note the numerous kinds of people this new life transforms.
How do you need to be transformed by your new life in Jesus? Where (or to whom) do you need to announce new life?
The small island of Crete was a tough place. Knee-deep in glamour and hedonism, it was where the rich went to play. First-century tourism advertisements might have echoed the motto from modern-day Sin City (Las Vegas, Nevada): “What happens in Crete . . . stays in Crete.” The apostle Paul tells us that even one of their own, a Cretan, summarized that the populace was full of “liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12).
Into this glitzy, self-absorbed culture, Paul sent a young leader named Titus. Titus’ assignment was to step into a selfish society, where the powerful were convinced they possessed all they needed, and tell them their life was in shambles—that they desperately needed help. The Cretans were not as powerful or successful as they supposed. They hadn’t even begun to live.
“My aim is to raise hopes by pointing the way to life without end,” Paul said. “This is the life God promised long ago—and He doesn’t break promises!” (Titus 1:1-2 The Message). God sent Paul to announce life. And then Paul gave Titus the same mission: Announce life! God had chosen Crete—and other places like Jerusalem and Ephesus and Galatia—simply because it was time. The Son had died. The Son had risen. Life was ready to break through.
And this life was (as true life always is) immersed in day-to-day realities. This new way of living would form a visible community with leaders responsible for the life they would share (Titus 1:5-7). Further, their new life would reflect truth, stand against lies, and pursue integrity (Titus 1:10-11).
When Titus announced God’s life to the Cretans, he wasn’t only calling them to a future with God, but to life with God in that very moment. Life with God is always now.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 7:30-60
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Obama travels to NC to rally support for jobs plan
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama is kicking off three days of travel to rally support for the job-creation and economic proposals he unveiled in his State of the Union address.
Obama will launch the effort today in Asheville, N.C., with a visit to Linamar Corp., a supplier of engine and transmission components that has expanded its manufacturing operations. He'll make stops in Atlanta on Thursday and Chicago on Friday.
In his speech before a joint session of Congress last night, Obama called job creation his “North Star.” He asked Congress to focus on attracting jobs to the U.S., training American workers and boosting investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy.
Obama also says he wants to raise the minimum hourly wage from the current $7.25 to $9 by the end of 2015.
Obama proposals face quick opposition in Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama set up high-stakes clashes over guns, immigration, taxes and climate change in a State of the Union address that showcased a newly re-elected president determined to mark his legacy in spite of Republicans eager to rein him in.
Obama pushed a raft of new initiatives in his speech last night _ initiatives to improve preschool programs and voting, boost manufacturing and research and development, raise the minimum wage and lower energy use.
Republicans who control the House and hold enough votes to stall legislation in the Senate were quick to declare that the government helps best when it gets out of the way.
In the GOP response, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said more government won't help people get ahead.
NY school names theater after Pete, Toshi Seeger
BEACON, N.Y. (AP) The high school in Pete Seeger's Hudson Valley hometown has named its theater after the 93-year-old folk singer and his wife.
A ceremony held Tuesday night unveiled a bronze plaque outside the theater at Beacon High School in southern Dutchess County. The plaque identifies the venue as “The Seeger Theatre” and is adorned with an engraving of a banjo, Seeger's signature instrument.
The Poughkeepsie Journal (http://pojonews.co/V7FBKp ) reports that the school board voted in October to name the theater after Seeger and his wife of nearly 70 years, Toshi. The couple has lived in Beacon for decades and the folk singer helps out local students.
After the dedication ceremony, students performed a musical tribute to the couple, including such Seeger classics as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “If I Had a Hammer.”
Information from: Poughkeepsie Journal, http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
NY Assembly GOP members plan safety forum
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Some Republican members of the New York Assembly are holding a legislative forum on the issues of mental health, gun violence and school safety.
The two-hour forum is scheduled for Wednesday in Buffalo.
The lawmakers say the goal is to have a transparent conversation with individuals and organizations in light of the discussion over New York's new gun control law.
The Assembly members participating are Jane Corwin, John Ceretto, Raymond Walter, David DiPietro, Steve Hawley, Joseph Giglio and Andy Goodell.
The discussion starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Mahoney Office Building.
Legislature pushes to define `rape is rape' in law
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York's Legislature is moving to classify more types of violent sexual attacks as rapes in a bill referred to as “rape is rape” legislation.
The push is fueled by the case of a New York City school teacher who was brutally attacked at gunpoint by a police officer in 2011. She was waiting to start the first day of her dream job teaching elementary school. She was sexually assaulted in several ways, but not vaginally. That's currently required to bring a rape charge.
Instead, the man was charged with forcing anal and oral sex, which carry lesser sentences.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says Tuesday he's consulting with prosecutors while drafting a bill.
Senate Republicans have a bill that expands the definition of sexual contact as rape.
Cops: Upstate NY woman tried to burn apartment
WARRENSBURG, N.Y. (AP) A woman accused of trying to set fire to an apartment while her boyfriend was asleep has been arrested at an upstate New York airport trying to flee with their two infants.
The Warren County Sheriff's office tells local media outlets 29-year-old Sadie Robinson put a can of WD-40 in a hot oven and left the Warrensburg apartment to get $2,500 from ATMs and buy plane tickets to Florida on Monday.
Peter Moody called police when he was awakened by smoke alarms. There was no fire.
Deputies say Robinson was arrested just before her flight at Albany International Airport.
She's jailed on charges of second-degree attempted arson and third-degree grand larceny. Court officials weren't available Tuesday to say if she has a lawyer. The children are in the care of county officials.
(All stories copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) | <urn:uuid:b9166fe8-c67f-4b9a-b728-90f8bb104264> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/21441/20130213/wednesday-apos-s-news-briefs-from-the-associated-press | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967219 | 1,097 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Church Planting Movements Among Hindu Peoples
The challenge of reaching Hindus
A survey in India of the 15 most widely spoken languages revealed that six out of 10 Hindus would like a Christian to tell them more about Jesus. When Hindus hear the story of Jesus and are confronted with the gospel they often understand and respond. There is openness to the gospel among Hindus, though challenges remain intense. With nearly a billion Hindus speaking more than 300 languages among myriad castes and people groups, it is imperative that we sow the gospel among Hindus abundantly, knowing that whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Corinthians 9:6).
The Lord’s commission is to go and make disciples (Mathew 28:19). Even when we instill abundant evangelism in a movement where the gospel is spreading person-to-person and new believers are sharing their faith in Christ, there is another major challenge of discipling the new believers who come to faith in large numbers in a church-planting movement. There is also the challenge of developing new leaders for the movement. Even using discipleship chains based on 2 Timothy 2:2 pattern, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others,” leadership development that can permeate the entire movement remains a challenge. Healthy church-planting movements (CPMs) require nothing less than instilling them with biblical principles, so that every believer is sharing Christ, discipling new believers, and raising up new leaders for indigenous churches that are reproducing throughout the community.
Overview of CPMs among Hindus
With the world’s second largest population, it is not surprising that India is seeing so many church-planting movements. David Garrison’s 2004 book Church Planting Movements documented CPMs among the Bhojpuri in Uttar Pradesh1 and Bihar states, among the Khui peoples of Orissa state, and among tribals in Madhya Pradesh. Various evangelical groups report additional movements from every corner of the subcontinent. I have personally been involved with four movements that are not addressed in Garrison’s book, and will discuss lessons learned from these four. Due to widespread persecution in India over the past decade, I will obscure the actual name of some of these movements.
The K-State Movement
In the case study “K-State: Church Planting in a Responsive State” published in the Best Practices Institute Manual2 we find a CPM where over 600 house churches were started among Hindus in four years. The author worked closely with the leaders of this movement for this entire four-year period 2003-2007. The church planters used CPM methodologies because they saw them as consistent with New Testament patterns for church planting and because they found them to be effective in the Indian context particularly among Hindu peoples.
In 2004 a group of missionaries formed an urban house church to model house church for the nationals they were training. The watchman who lived in the garage of the house church was watching. He was a devoted Hindu, but came to Christ and was baptized at the house church. He was discipled by the missionaries and a local national leader and soon he was leading his friends to Christ and they were regularly baptizing Hindus. These new believers began to meet in what was commonly referred to as the Garage Church. This group of men who met in the Garage Church then started churches among their families and dozens of new churches were planted.3
Tribal CPM in Middle India
In one of India’s largest and most resistant tribal communities, this CPM saw more than 3,000 new house churches started in the four years between 2002 and 2005.4 The religion of these tribals is animism influenced by Hinduism. In this CPM new believers shared their faith almost immediately after coming to Christ. Sharing Christ with others was one of the first discipleship lessons they were taught. Church planting went hand in hand with evangelism. It was a common pattern in this movement to identify and mentor the first believers in the village to serve as leaders of their own house churches.
With a population of nearly 10 million, the Lingayats are the largest Hindu community of India’s Karnataka state. Following a 12th century reformation of Hinduism, Lingayats rejected the caste system. Until recently Lingayats were regarded as highly resistant to the gospel, and for this reason few Christians tried to reach them. However, beginning in the early years of the 21st century, a focused effort to reach the Lingayats that emphasized working through Lingayat family relationships and retention of Lingayat ethnic identity began to bear fruit. Recently, a Lingayat Christian leader visited 30 villages where Lingayat believers are spreading the gospel. In these villages he found some 200 families from a Lingayat background who have come to faith in Christ; all of them came as entire families. Today, the gospel is spreading at a rapid pace through the Lingayat community.
An inside look at CPMs
As we examine these CPMs up close, we can identify some common patterns. In each of the movements, we are typically finding a leader with a vision to reach his entire people with churches. This God-sized vision leads them to a methodology that results in a multiplication of new believers and churches: spiritual multiplication and making disciples who make disciples becomes their emphasis.
In John 14:12 Jesus said, “Greater things will you do,” and this is what we find in these movements. Miracles, signs, wonders, and dramatic answers to prayer fuel further evangelism and church formation. The basics of the faith are strongly emphasized: abiding in Christ, evangelism, discipleship, raising up new spiritual leaders and starting new churches that are easily reproduced.
A common thread that we have seen in these four Hindu-background CPMs is a shift in vision from addition to exponential increase in every aspect of ministry. In these CPMs we are seeing the evangelists immediately train new believers to share their story (testimony) of how they came to Christ. The new believers are challenged to share Christ with five family members right away; this infuses the movement with a powerful momentum of joyful evangelism that becomes normative and contagious.
What is emphasized is for the new believer to understand that God wants to save their family members through them. Citing three Old Testament examples, Noah, Lot and Rahab and four New Testament examples of the Gerasene demoniac, Cornelius, Lydia and the Philippian jailer, the new Hindu-background believer is strongly encouraged to stay in his family and win his family to Christ.
We train new believers in basic follow-up lessons that they can use with those they lead to Christ. As a part of this training, we use New Testament examples (e.g. Romans 16:5, I Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15 and Philemon 2) to encourage the new Hindu-background believer to start a new house church with his own family members (oikos) as they become believers.
Meeting in their own homes, these new believers experience a faster spiritual maturation process, as: 1) each believer is called upon to use his spiritual gifts right away, and 2) participative Bible study invites active involvement from every believer. In participative Bible study, rather than teaching a lesson, the leader typically asks open questions such as, “What does the passage say? What does the passage mean? What should I do?” Meeting together in small groups encourages accountability for an obedience-based faith.
Lessons we can learn from these movements
With so many new believers coming to Christ from Hindu backgrounds at such a rapid rate the question is how solid are these new believers in their faith? I have been involved in an analysis among high caste Hindu new believers where hundreds were turning to Christ rapidly. The interviews we conducted showed that these new believers in Christ held solid evangelical and theological understanding with a strong commitment to the authority of the Bible. The first step in this transformation begins with good follow up after the Hindu turns to Christ. Learning and quickly teaching other new believers basic follow-up lessons is a foundational building block for the new believer.
All night prayer meetings are common among new believers from a Hindu background. National leaders are men with a great burden for the lost and often suffer persecution. We have found them eager for all kinds of church-planting training that will make them more effective in their witness and ministry.
The engine driving Hindu-background CPMs is evangelism. There is a shift from the pastor doing the evangelism to every believer doing evangelism. Getting these believers to share within their sphere of influence of family and friends is much more effective than outsiders sharing with them. They are able to share their faith right away, telling a very simple version without complicated jargon in their testimony.
A widespread pattern used in these movements is: Model, Assist, Watch and Leave. The missionary or church planter first models healthy church practice with the new believer. He then assists him in forming and leading a church himself. Then, after watching to see that the new believer is on the right track, he leaves him to go and start the process all over again. In this way, CPM multiplication is built into the very framework of the movement. Every aspect of ministry is kept deliberately simple; evangelism, follow-up, discipleship and the starting of new churches so that they can be put into practice by every new believer and reproduced. These CPM methodologies have proven suitable for both literate and non-literate, educated and uneducated Hindus. In some instances, to aid oral learners, we have adapted CPM training into a storying format.6
Challenges for the future
In Acts chapters 13-21 we see how Paul’s missionary journeys resulted in multiple church-planting movements. These nine chapters give us a glimpse into how first-century church-planting movements were initiated and sustained. We have the New Testament Epistles to a large degree because these young churches had major problems about which Paul and other New Testament writers wrote to them for correction. The New Testament churches are our ideal yet even those new churches had problems. But despite the problems we know that the rapid movements of the first century produced healthy, reproducing churches.
Lay house church leaders in the context of traditional churches has posed a significant challenge to CPMs. Pastors and leaders of traditional churches often view rising numbers of lay leaders as a threat if they do not have a kingdom vision beyond their own ministry. Authority for a house church lay pastor to baptize has been a key issue that we have faced. Without encouragement, a new house church leader may be reluctant to exercise his authority to baptize new believers. Hindus are only familiar with the priest performing special functions in the temple. It has been helpful to expose these emerging leaders to others who have effectively put CPM principles into practice.
Sometimes existing Christian leaders negatively impact the movement. For example, a traditional pastor who disciples new believers and then assimilates them into a large church rather than starting multiple home groups undermines a movement. Pastors who want to see growth in their own congregations often resist forming new house churches. These traditional church leaders see church buildings as essential and even new believers may share this view thus stunting the growth of the CPM.
Our challenge is to get pastors and evangelists in the CPM to think of themselves as master-trainers, leaders of movements, rather than leaders or planters of single churches. They need to raise-up other leaders who will raise-up still more leaders, each planting multiplying house churches. Only as thousands upon thousands of new churches multiply exponentially among Hindu-background believers will the vision be realized: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14) | <urn:uuid:7eb5fea0-aec1-450c-bd08-32b0bb55ca39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/church-planting-movements-among-hindu-peoples | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964678 | 2,458 | 1.828125 | 2 |
At this time of year, even Santa needs a little help making wishes come true. For the fourth holiday season, local law enforcement officers stepped in to take 30 kids from Ionia, Saranac and Clarksville schools to do their holiday shopping at the Meijer store in Ionia Tuesday.
Volunteers from the Michigan State Police, Ionia County Sheriff's Office and Ionia Department of Public Safety participated in the "Shop with a Hero" event, hosted by Meijer. Each department was allotted 10 kids, and worked with the schools to select the children, who were from age 6 to 6th grade.
The children, their parents, school officials and officers were treated to lunch before heading down the aisles together, some with lists in hand. Children each were given a $100 gift card, donated by Meijer, and encouraged to buy gifts for themselves.
"We try to tell them to purchase for themselves, but they always want to buy for their families," said Lt. Roger Vander Molen of the ICSO.
Deputy Chad Bustraan from the ICSO said he is "thankful" to participate again in "Shop with a Hero."
"You recognize kids from the community that are most deserving of the experience, and they have the opportunity to buy for themselves, but instead think of others. They want to buy for their siblings despite our encouraging them to buy for themselves," said Bustraan, who has volunteered every year. "It's one day of the year when it's not routine police work. It's a sobering and very rewarding experience."
So many times on the job, police officers see the negatives in the community, said Craig Pickens of IDPS who also serves as a school liaison. This is his third year volunteering.
"To do something positive like this – you live for these moments, when you can give these kids a happy start to the holiday season," he said.
Some of the kids who are invited to shop with a hero come from "a hard, hard life," said Pickens. "It's through no fault of their own or their parents. They've been given a hand to play and they just don't have as much. It brings tears to my eyes to see kids like that."
Ionia mom Amanda, who was shopping with her son, Duane, 11, called "Shop with a Hero" "amazing, especially that it takes kids who are high risk and spends time doing things that are just for them." Duane picked out a wallet for himself with a University of Michigan logo on it, which he proudly showed off.
Niki Brehm with the Michigan State Police also is a third year volunteer with "Shop with a Hero." Brehm said when she entered the store, she was greeted by a little girl whose mother said she'd been up since 4:30 a.m. in anticipation of coming to shop with an officer.
"She was so excited, and that's what it's all about," Brehm said. "There are a lot of kids who don't get the opportunity to be handed $100 and told, 'Go get whatever you want.' What brings me to tears is a lot of the kids say they want to get something for their brothers and sisters. We encourage them to buy for themselves, but it's not just me-me-me. Their siblings are on their minds, too. This is a feel-good day."
Summer, 11, said she was "really excited" to participate.
"This is new to me to shop with a cop – I've never seen one up close before," she said.
Although she didn't buy anything strictly for herself, Summer did buy a snow-art set for her and her sister to work on together so there will be "no fights involved. I want to be on Santa's nice list."
"This means a lot to us. BreAnna's very excited," said Sonia of Clarksville of her daughter. "Her experience lately with officers has been negative (due to family issues). This is going to leave a positive experience on my daughter. For me, it brings me to tears. (Shopping and buying gifts) just hasn't been possible. For Meijer to do this – she's ecstatic, and I'm thrilled. It's amazing."
"It's wonderful for these guys to do this. I can see that they enjoy being with the children," said Emerson Elementary School Principal Mitch Mercer. "Without their support, a lot of kids would not have a positive Christmas. This puts a lot of smiles on a lot of kids' faces today." | <urn:uuid:819abdca-2ef7-43fc-b61b-f0a18a06b3a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sentinel-standard.com/article/20121204/NEWS/121209825/0/homepage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989274 | 955 | 1.609375 | 2 |
As used in this article:
(a) An "affiliate" of or person "affiliated" with a specific person is a person that, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by or is under common control with the person specified.
(b) "Commissioner" means the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, his or her deputies or the West Virginia offices of the Insurance Commissioner, as appropriate.
(c) "Control" (including the terms "controlling", "controlled by" and "under common control with") means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services or otherwise, unless the power is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote or holds proxies representing ten percent or more of the voting securities of any other person. This presumption may be rebutted by a showing made in the manner provided by subsection (k), section four of this article that control does not exist in fact. The commissioner may determine after furnishing all persons in interest notice and opportunity to be heard and making specific findings of fact to support the determination that control exists in fact notwithstanding the absence of a presumption to that effect.
(d) "Enterprise risk" means any activity, circumstance, event or series of events involving one or more affiliates of an insurer that, if not remedied promptly, is likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity of the insurer or its insurance holding company system as a whole, including, but not limited to, anything that would cause the insurer's risk-based capital to fall into company action level, as set forth in article forty of this chapter, or would cause the insurer to be in hazardous financial condition, as set forth in article thirty-four of this chapter.
(e) "Insurance holding company system" consists of two or more affiliated persons, one or more of which is an insurer.
(f) "Insurer" means any person or persons or corporation, partnership or company authorized by the laws of this state to transact the business of insurance in this state, except that it shall not include agencies, authorities or instrumentalities of the United States, its possessions and territories, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia or a state or political subdivision of a state.
(g) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization, a depository institution or any similar entity or any combination of the foregoing acting in concert, but does not include any joint venture partnership exclusively engaged in owning, managing, leasing or developing real or tangible personal property.
(h) A "security holder" of a specified person is one who owns any security of such person, including common stock, preferred stock, debt obligations and any other security convertible into or evidencing the right to acquire any of the foregoing.
(i) A "subsidiary" of a specified person is an affiliate controlled by such person directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.
(j) "Voting security" includes any security convertible into or evidencing a right to acquire a voting security. | <urn:uuid:ee64dd21-692b-4882-ac56-62efd70bc2c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/code/33/WVC%2033%20%20-%2027%20%20-%20%20%202%20%20.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934708 | 715 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Council of Europe rapporteur says CIA abduction claim "credible"
Tuesday, December 13, 2005Swiss member of parliament , the 's rapporteur of the probe investigating whether secret CIA detention centers existed in Europe, has said that the information gathered so far "reinforced the credibility" of allegations that the United States secretly transferred detainees through Europe and held them there at such centers.
In a report presented to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights intoday Marty also stated that it is too early to tell whether there has been "any involvement or complicity of member states in illegal actions" but added that if any European country was involved it would "stand accused of having seriously breached their human rights obligations to the Council of Europe".
Marty urged the U.S. government to officially deny or confirm the allegations, which it has, according to him, thus far refused.
At a press conference later in the day Marty said that regardless of whether the U.S. operated secret detention centers in past he doesn't believe that it would be holding prisoners there today.
Poland and Romania, named by Human Rights Watch as countries hosting such centers, have denied any involvement.
- "Council of Europe planning to use satellite images in prisons probe" — Wikinews, December 8, 2005
- Dick Marty. "Alleged existence of secret detention centres in Council of Europe member states" — , December 13, 2005
- "Probe backs CIA prison allegations" — , December 13, 2005
- "CIA abduction claims 'credible'" — , December 13, 2005 | <urn:uuid:eca798ac-d234-45cd-8934-92cae3773ff1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe_rapporteur_says_CIA_abduction_claim_%22credible%22 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958213 | 332 | 1.703125 | 2 |
|(Posted 4/16/2007) |
By Josh Rabinowitz for SkateboardDirectory.com
Norway * -- The Liberal Party Congress of the Northern European * country Norway has moved to change their copyright law to adapt to modern society. Recognizing that new technologies give artists and consumers new opportunities to distribute and receive art and media, the party has moved to forward the following goals:
1) Free File Sharing. The party would like to see new ways of compensating artists and copyright holders so as to make free file sharing more acceptable there.
2) Free sampling. The business and legal structures in lace today make it difficult for musicians, writers, moviemakers and other artists to rework or reuse old works and productions. The party wants to simplify the situation and allow use of older works under "Fair Use" provisions and use only existing plagiarism statues for regulation in commercial for-profit contexts.
3) Currently in Norway (and similarly in many other western nations), copyrights remain valid for over 70 years. The party wants to shorten this.
4) Ban DRM (Digital Right Management). You might not be aware of the inroads that many copyright holders and technology providers have been making in keeping you from using your media as you want. Digital music bought through most online sources has so called DRM "features" that stop you from copying the files, often even between devices you yourself own, which leads to a situation where you might have to buy a particular song or piece of art multiple times simply to play it on the devices you own. (In America, Sony * and Apple have been moving away from DRM'ed art somewhat, but DRMed art is still quite common and pervasive. For this reason we at SkateboardDirectory.com recommend against using DRM-ed files in any format, including AAC and WMA formats. It is our understanding that MP3 files are currently never DRM-encumbered. Various DRM restrictions are also a big part of Microsoft *'s push for their Vista operating system.). At the very least, Norway wants vendors to clearly label which media has DRM embedded and which restrictions the technology places on the contents.
The party mentions that copyright owners and large media distributors systematically abuse copyrights, thereby slowing development and innovation of media. We at SkateboardDirectory.com applaud Norway's legislative movement towards a more free flow of media between copyright holders and users.
This article based on the author's research and on the article Culture Wants To Be Free, found at http://www.uv.no/politics/translated-items/culture-wants-to-be-free?set_language=en
Search this site for more about Norway Moves Legalize File Sharing Change... * | <urn:uuid:2814671f-8226-4ab8-9eca-19d6c486a009> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skateboarddirectory.com/articles/801981_norway_moves_to_legalize.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942314 | 558 | 1.640625 | 2 |
I consider Spot Us, which launched today, to be one of the more important news experiments out there right now.
For those just hearing of it now: The site, dreamed up and guided by the brilliant David Cohn, shares editorial power with the community. It can begin with a story pitch by a journalist, or a news tip from your average resident. Once a story is pitched, the community votes with its wallet on whether or not to write the story. If you believe the story is worthwhile, you offer a small contribution. Once enough money is raised to hire a reporter, the story is written and offered to whatever media would like to use it.
It allows the community to be the assignment editor. The community directly tells you how much value they place on a story based on their own pocketbook.
What makes the concept so important is that it’s a much-needed juke away from the sacred advertising model, the altar to which newspapers have prayed for so long yet is crumbling before us. This isn’t the kind of cosmetic change we’re used to hearing from news organizations trying to reinvent themselves — More blogs! Users can now comment on stories! — this is a turn-everything-upside-down-and-tear-it-all-apart attempt at finding a new business model. Or at least part of one.
Yes, I must add that I have my skepticisms, the ones that probably have immediately stirred in your head. But here’s the fun part: David is aware of these skepticisms, and as far as I know he embraces them. He knows this is an experiment (funded by a Knight News Challenge grant).
It’s part of the evolutionary process that has mostly passed news organizations by. I’ll be watching closely to see what works and what doesn’t. One way or another, we’re going to know more about our future. | <urn:uuid:8d17a8d3-5240-4c75-a24e-8c8a9b5a1faa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bydanielvictor.com/2008/11/ | 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 | 0.954616 | 400 | 1.75 | 2 |
Latest posts by Muhammad Karim
18 July 2012
One of the world's greatest icons of the modern age, Nelson Mandela, known fondly in South Africa as Tata [father] Madiba, celebrated his 94th birthday today. His birthday has not only been celebrated offline but also online as Muhammad Karim shows.
17 January 2012
The African National Congress (ANC) has just celebrated its 100 years in existence in South Africa, moving from a radical resistance movement to the leading political party in the country. Bloggers' views are as diverse as the country itself.
10 November 2011
South Africa's most controversial character and politician Julius Malema has been suspended from the ANC for five years. Malema is regarded by his supporters as the genuine voice of the poor in South Africa particularly with his call for nationalisation of South African mines.
7 March 2011
A change of government and the destruction of an entire political, cultural, social and economic system like that of Apartheid does not necessarily guarantee the destruction of its legacy. The last couple of months have seen South Africa go through an interesting dilemma and debate with regards to its race relations.
20 December 2010
Like much of the world of late, everyone has been affected by the revelations contained in WikiLeaks cables. South Africa is no exception. Here's South African bloggers' take on WikiLeaks.
23 May 2010
Zapiro, South Africa's premier cartoonist, known for his controversial style in picking on politicians and commenting on societies issues, has come into the limelight in South Africa for jumping on the “Draw Muhammad Day” bandwagon.
21 May 2010
With 20 days left to the the greatest spectacle showcasing the “beautiful game” in South Africa, there has been a lot of preparation going on behind the scenes and a lot of talk in the South African blogosphere on various issues surrounding the World Cup.
8 April 2010
On the night of the 3rd of April 2010, the leader of the Afrikaans Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), an Afrikaner resistance movement, Eugene Terre'Blanche, was murdered. What do South Africa's digital citizens have to say about his death and the future of race relations in South Africa?
14 March 2010
While the antics of President Zuma have always generated intense and lively debate in the South African blogosphere, this time it is the controversial politician and the president of the African National Congress Youth League, Julius Malema, who's making headlines. Recently, Malema led students in singing an old Anti-Apartheid struggle song called Kill the Boer.
23 February 2010
I will keep it simple: The South African President Jacob Zuma has had a child out of wedlock despite having 3 wives of his own. What do South African bloggers think of a president with 3 wives, who has been married 5 times and now has a child out of wedlock? | <urn:uuid:87461940-9673-478e-8425-01bd177b53b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/muhammad-karim/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972163 | 596 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A good way to start learning dark slides is to practice the type of jump it requires first, without the sliding. You want to be somewhat powered. Start with a small pop that gets you just two to three feet off the water. At the same time start moving the kite slowly backwards towards and beyond 12. This should generate just enough power to keep you in the air at your low level. The result is a very low, long jump that curves towards downwind. Once you feel the kite is no longer generating the power you need to stay up in the air pull aggressive on the backhand to force the kite into a loop. The later the loop comes the less powerful it will be. Vary this a bit to get the feel for the right moment.
Once you can do this well, start with the dark slide or any of the other of the tricks mentioned earlier that can be done from this kite move.
Users browsing this forum: Flight Time, Majestic-12 [Bot] and 11 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum | <urn:uuid:015131c2-ac1a-41ec-a337-838537b7a1a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2378237&p=772287 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937826 | 248 | 1.695313 | 2 |
EVERYTHING ABOUT A MOVIE?
|UNTIL THEY SAIL (director: Robert Wise; screenwriters: Robert Anderson/based on a story by James A. Michener; cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg; editor: Harold F. Kress; music: David Raksin; cast: ean Simmons (Barbara Leslie Forbes), Joan Fontaine (Anne Leslie), Paul Newman (Major Jack Harding), Piper Laurie (Delia Leslie), Charles Drake (Capt. Richard Bates), Sandra Dee (Evelyn Leslie), Wally Cassell ("Shiner" Phil Friskett), Adam Kennedy (Andy, Delia's Lover), John Wilder (Tommy); Runtime: 92; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Charles Schnee; MGM/UA Home Entertainment; 1957)|
a soap opera love story that delves into
questions about morality during wartime."
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
It's a soap opera love story that delves into questions about morality during wartime. It's set in New Zealand during World War II. Four New Zealand sisters are living in Christchurch on their own since their mom's death and their father being lost to the war. They are the soon to be war widow, the warmhearted but proper Barbara Leslie Forbes (Jean Simmons), and her three younger sisters: the prudish Anne Leslie (Joan Fontaine), the man-crazy Delia Leslie (Piper Laurie) and the 14-year-old flirtatious youngest one named Evelyn Leslie (Sandra Dee, the 14-year-old model's film debut). They all have wartime romances with American marines waiting to be shipped out to the war zone soon after Pearl Harbor, because they are lonely as all the local eligible men are already fighting in the war. Though Evelyn sees American soldiers, in the end she will marry local boy Tommy when he returns alive from the war front. The fate of the others ranges from tragic to some chance of hope that all will work out despite their affairs.
After all the locals go off fighting the war, Delia weds the only eligible local who remained behind, "Shiner" (Wally Cassell). He soon incurs the wrath of all the sisters because of his abusive behavior towards Delia. They are relieved when the army bags him. Later Shiner becomes a POW. In the meantime, Delia meets an American marine lieutenant named Andy in Wellington and wishes to marry him and divorce her husband. When Barbara intervenes, Andy introduces her to his handsome pal Major Jack Hardy (Paul Newman), a friend of Andy's, who is a cynically divorced officer assigned to investigate the potential New Zealand brides of American soldiers. There's an immediate attraction, and it's more than hinted that the two have an intimate relationship that might continue back in the States. Spinster Anne meets the courteous Captain Richard Bates (Charles Drake) and is immediately attracted to the gentle American, who proposes and knocks her up; he later gets killed in the war before their marriage can be approved, and she has his baby.
It's set around a trial for murder, where the victim was killed by a returning jealous soldier with a Japanese sword and Major Harding is called upon to testify at the trial about the female victim's adultery during the war. The ensuing story unfolded from a flashback from its opening courtroom scene, at a time the war ended. It's a film that goes a long way in advocating compassion for promiscuous women during the war, but one that went under because of its many contrivances and too few moments of genuineness and heartfelt emotions.
It's based on a story by James A. Michener and
scripted by Robert Anderson. The "woman's pic" is
capably directed by Robert Wise ("Somebody Up There
Likes Me"/"The Set-Up"/"The Curse of the Cat People")
and the acting by Newman and Simmons is first-rate. I
can't say the same for the performances of Fontaine,
Laurie or Dee,
REVIEWED ON 9/10/2007 GRADE: C+
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ | <urn:uuid:46a8d012-401d-4711-bdd1-14c2c04677f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/untiltheysail.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936777 | 878 | 1.578125 | 2 |
High Winds More of a Concern Than Flooding, Residents Say
Winds causing trees and telephone poles to fall throughout the township. Some roads are closed.
Police are reporting that trees, telephone poles, and live electrical wires are down throughout the township.
Totowa Road and Rivewview Drive are closed due to downed wires and a telephone pole, Police Chief John Reardon said in a statement released this afternoon.
More roadways continue to close “by the minute,” Reardon said.
There is a pole down on Beechwood Drive that caused a gas line rupture, Reardon said. Several houses are being evacuated as a precaution.
Reardon did not say where the residents are being evacuated to.
Officials are urging residents to stay off roadways.
Wayne residents seem to be optimistic that Hurricane Sandy won’t be as bad as Tropical Storm Irene was last year.
“I’m a little nervous but we’re more prepared that we were last year,” said Bill Shepherd, a South Road resident.
Shepherd and his wife Ashley live in the Rivewview section of town, historically one of the worst flooded areas in Wayne. “I think the town has handled it better this year than last year.”
Shepherd said he is more concerned about strong winds causing problems and power outages than he is about flooding.
The Pompton River in Pompton Plains is currently at 8.6 feet; it crested at nearly 11.6 feet Monday at 5 p.m.. Flood stage for the river is 16 feet. It is expected to crest Wednesday at 13 feet.
The Passaic River is well below flood stage at only 1.6 feet high. It crested at 3.1 feet earlier today. It is forecast to crest tomorrow at 4.9 feet. Flood stage is 7 feet.
The floodgates on the Pompton Lake dam were raised Saturday to drain five feet of water from behind the dam. A spillway on the dam was kept open to allow additional water to drain out and downstream.
“Of course we’re worried about flooding but they opened the gates early and kept them open so it’s not going to be as bad not because of the weather but because of what they did,” said Tyler Froatz, a Shore Road resident. “Hopefully, they learned from their mistakes they made last year.” | <urn:uuid:ca049188-6b5f-4bfd-bad8-8ab4be95fecf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wayne.patch.com/articles/high-winds-more-a-concern-than-flooding-residents-say | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976508 | 507 | 1.609375 | 2 |
ATLANTA -- It's only open during the the most severe storms. The Georgia Power storm center was last in operation back in August, as people in the Gulf hunkered down for Hurricane Isaac.
But Monday, the room lit up once again. Georgia Power has dispatched 340 employees to help restore power in Sandy's aftermath. The crews will assist in Baltimore and could stay there for weeks, depending on damage.
The storm center was activated specifically to monitor those crews; checking in every few hours, watching weather conditions and directing crews to outages.
Tuesday morning, Georgia Power is expected to send more than 200 additional workers up north, where they will head to Pennsylvania and Maryland. | <urn:uuid:1af9a102-560a-4c39-ad2a-aae9e74d0905> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/262347/3/GA-Power-mans-storm-center-during-Sandy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959148 | 138 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Now, this is interesting. Columbia Business School and the New York American Marketing Association found that 29% of marketers have “too little or no customer/customer data” and, most strikingly, believe what they have is not appropriate to decision making.
The study was mostly focused on real-time data, such as from social networks, mobile and online advertising and so on. But here’s the rub: 74% of them rely on traditional survey data concerning demographics and 60% concerning usage.
Customer research that’s projectable to the market as a whole is the only kind of research you can count on because of its projectability and its means to eliminate the outliners that social media and other online processes can’t.
So why are marketers so disappointed with it?
Easy. Because they aren’t asking the right questions.
In most cases, the questions asked are only usage and attitudes, which only gives you a sense of the marketplace without uncovering the strategies to change it. Marketers are then left with data that’s simply not actionable.
Here’s a story I often tell: We’ve done research and brand strategy for several beers and it always amazing me the research they’ve previously conducted. For example, many of them will have asked the question: “Why do you prefer the brand of beer you drink?” The answer is almost always: “I like the taste.”
How actionable is that answer? Funny enough, many beers fall into the trap of thinking that’s actionable, which is why most of them advertise taste – when taste is not a switching trigger. You only switch for what you currently do not have. Who prefers a beer they think tastes terrible? (More about the beer industry is listed here.)
That, however, is usually the kind of data marketers are struggling to use, especially at a time when 70% of them said their efforts are under greater scrutiny than in the past.
To understand consumer behavior and how to change it, you have to understand human behavior. That means testing true switching triggers, brand meaning and, most importantly, precepts – the belief systems that drive behavior.
It comes as no surprise to me marketers are struggling with their data. The real surprise is that, despite continuing pressures, most haven’t done anything meaningful to change it. | <urn:uuid:8d1cf412-9e26-41ed-8ec1-d156c164b650> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stealingshare.com/blog/?p=3360 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961396 | 494 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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Controlling your personal information
John will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless he has your permission or is required by law to do so.
If you believe that any information he is holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email him as soon as possible. He will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect. | <urn:uuid:49222b40-ef9a-4660-bb3b-bb67a01f816a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.john-truscott.co.uk/Privacy-cookies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932296 | 806 | 1.625 | 2 |
As writers and artists, all too often we focus so much of our energy on Creating that we forget about the impact it will have on the people who will See it.
Consider: How do we want people to FEEL after they experience our work?
That's why people read stories, view art, and even watch movies--for the Feelings it gives them.
"I could care less about the reader. I'm writing this story strictly for myself!"
-- Oh, really? Then why are you posting it in a public place where people can find it? When "I" write strictly for me, I certainly don't post it where other people will see it--not even on my private, friends-only Live Journal. No one sees it but me.
Tell the truth and shame the devil.
-- If you're posting your work where others can see it--even if it's merely a private art/story site like Deviant Art or Y! Gallery, CLEARLY you want other people to see your work and hopefully, like it. Which means that during the creative process, you really ought to consider what you want your readers to feel when they're done reading it:
Touched - tears of joy
Poignant - tears of heartache
To quote Edgar Allen Poe:
In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design. And by such means, with such care and skill, a picture is at length painted which leaves in the mind of him who contemplates it with a kindred art, a sense of the fullest satisfaction. | <urn:uuid:ceee5f30-0f70-4910-94fb-43e4eec4fe9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ookamikasumi.deviantart.com/journal/10-Second-Tip-quot-What-about-your-Readers-220144225?offset=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956007 | 337 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The language used is pointed, the warning clear: “There are great similarities between the activities of fixers in corrupt gambling and the activities of paedophiles - in both cases we call it ’grooming’.”
It is typical of the tone of the PCA tutorial, which is being taken by 300 professional cricketers in England as the main training tool for educating and preventing today’s players travelling the same path to jail as former Essex fast bowler Mervyn Westfield.
The tutorial starts with an introduction outlining three crimes: fixing, releasing sensitive information and gambling on cricket matches, followed by the punishments ranging from a six-month suspension to a life ban.
A link to the tutorial is emailed to players and is designed to take 30 minutes. It is split into three modules with 12 multiple choice questions in total. There is no pass mark and all players receive a certificate for finishing the course, which is now mandatory.
There is particular emphasis on the methods exploited by fixers to gather information via Facebook and Twitter as well as the use of entrapment. “This is your classic ’mafia’ type tactic,” players are warned.
The multiple choice questions are a notch above the difficulty level of daytime television and include different scenarios.
One example runs as follows: “You are introduced by a long time club member and fan who is well known to you to a guy who might be interested in doing a personal sponsorship deal with you. He comes across as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fan who believes you’re going to be the next big thing. What is the correct response to his overtures of friendship and support?”
There are four possible answers: a) Tell him you’re not interested in support or in acquiring new friends; b) Be cautiously welcoming, get his business card and contact details and then check the guy out thoroughly before further contact; c) Start discussing the proposed sponsorship and negotiating the deal; and d) Report the meeting as an approach to your team management.
The correct answer is (b) - not surprisingly, perhaps, but I could not claim a 100 per cent score. I answered two incorrectly, let down over the correct way to report approaches and the use of social networking. Must do better. | <urn:uuid:5729d224-c564-4574-8219-6a088fd0822b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/counties/9181746/Match-fixers-use-similar-tactics-to-paedophiles-PCA-online-anti-corruption-tutorial-warns.html | 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 | 0.963908 | 472 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Cisplatin versus Carboplatin
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
Two respected oncology doctors have given [me] conflicting advice for stage IIIa NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) and chemotherapy after surgery. One advised cisplatin, saying it was somewhat more effective than carboplatin. The other said cisplatin is not used much in the U.S. any longer because it has about the same results as carboplatin, but carboplatin has much less serious side effects. I've been unable to find much comparison data on the effectiveness of these two drugs. What would you suggest?
Barbara Campling, MD, Medical Oncologist at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, responds:
You have been given conflicting advice about the use of cisplatin vs. carboplatin as chemotherapy for stage IIIA NSCLC after surgery. I am assuming that the patient in question had a complete resection of their lung cancer. If that is the case, we are talking about "adjuvant" chemotherapy, which is given after surgery to improve the chances of cancer cure. A number of recent randomized clinical trials have shown that adjuvant chemotherapy is quite effective in improving long-term survival rates in resected NSCLC.
Most of the randomized trials comparing adjuvant chemotherapy to no further treatment after surgery have used "platinum-based" combinations of drugs. Most of these platinum-based regimens used cisplatin, and only one used carboplatin. In this one particular study, carboplatin was combined with paclitaxel, and only patients with stage IB NSCLC were included. Preliminary reports of this trial look at least as promising as trials of cisplatin-based chemotherapy combinations, with a 12% improvement in 4-year survival for the patients who received the adjuvant chemotherapy, compared to those who did not (1)
There has never been a direct comparison of cisplatin-based to carboplatin-based regimens as adjuvant treatment for lung cancer. However, there have been 8 studies which have compared cisplatin to carboplatin in advanced NSCLC (stages IIIB and IV). These are summarized in a recent meta-analysis, which is cited below (2). Some of these studies showed improved response rates and overall survival for the drug combinations that included cisplatin as compared to carboplatin, whereas others did not. When the results from all these trials were pooled, there was a small improvement in response rates in favor of cisplatin (which was statistically significant), and a minimal improvement in survival in favor of cisplatin (which was not statistically significant).
While there is ongoing debate over whether cisplatin is a more effective drug than carboplatin, there is no question that carboplatin is better tolerated. Side effects such as nausea, kidney damage, and peripheral nerve damage are all more severe with cisplatin than carboplatin.
In summary, either cisplatin or carboplatin in combination with one other chemotherapy drug is appropriate adjuvant treatment for Stage IIIA References: | <urn:uuid:24e825de-0413-43fa-a516-965d9143fba2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oncolink.org/includes/print_article.cfm?Page=2&id=2250&Section=Ask_The_Experts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959893 | 649 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Draw of Different
- India, China call for end to incursion issue, sign 8 deals to boost ties
- Aarushi murder case: Rajesh Talwar claims he was asleep when killings took place
- Railgate: BJP protests against CBI DIG for shielding Pawan Bansal
- Spot-Fixing: Sreesanth reveals bookies lured India players with cars, women
- Jagan Reddy case: Accused Andhra ministers Sabitha, Dharmana Rao resign
Stepping out of one's comfort zone is a challenge that often tempts artists. And graphic novelist and artist Sarnath Banerjee is likely to give in soon. "I might draw a lot less in future," he says, even though he is not sure what his next phase as an artist is going to be. Seated in Project 88 gallery in Mumbai, he toys with several possibilities — written performance or a cinematic project.
Banerjee confesses that he "leans on drawing". Even though he has famously combined this art with writing for his graphic novels, Corridor and The Barn Owl's Wondrous Caper, he wants to lose the comfort of it to reach the next stage of his career as an artist. "Writing may become a primary source of my work. But what I would do with my writing is something I am still to decide," he says. The artist, however, is sure of one thing. "I am not ever going to write a novel," he adds.
This kind of future plan — risky and hazy — comes across as a fitting climax to his latest series "Barwa Khiladi — a tribute to people hardwired to loose", on display at Project 88 gallery till November 3. The Gallery of Losers is a collection of a dozen graphic vignettes that were displayed individually on 48 large billboards across the eastern boroughs of London as part of a public art project organised by the Frieze Foundation, London.
Before his career charts a different course, he is expected to pick up the paintbrush for two projects. One of them is about Mumbai and is tentatively titled "The Uncanny History of Mumbai". The other has an Indian looking at the secret history of Berlin. Before this, another phase of life awaits him — fatherhood.
- Former Ranji player among 3 more held
- Rajasthan Royals to file FIR against tainted trio
- If found guilty, BCCI to ask ICC to erase Sreesanth records
- Top cops among 42 named in death of blast accused
- Manmohan-Li talks: PM takes tough line on incursion issue
- Security forces blame Maoists, villagers say CoBRA man was killed in 'friendly fire' | <urn:uuid:eadcb3f6-6002-435c-ba3e-e2f1e357ff13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-draw-of-different/1020106/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97707 | 556 | 1.578125 | 2 |
This Step: Take Drivers Education
Take Drivers Education in Missouri
Missouri does not require its beginner drivers to complete a drivers education course to legally get behind the wheel. However, to get an MO instruction permit, you must pass a written test that covers the rules of the road.
Taking drivers ed can help you pass the permit test the first time around. The course covers:
- Missouri traffic laws
- MO road signs
- Safe-driving practices and more
Find a Local Driver Education Provider
Find local driver education locations in Missouri along with business profiles, reviews and contact information. | <urn:uuid:3b01795b-071a-4a7e-8c06-2fde8f789de5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drivers-license.dmv.org/mo-missouri/new-license/drivers-ed.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93055 | 120 | 1.59375 | 2 |
To encourage greater involvement from the community, the Warren County Sheriff's Office offers this web-based form for reporting information about crimes while staying anonymous, if desired.
It is important to provide as much accurate and detailed information as possible. This web hotline should not be used for initial reporting of crimes that have just occurred. If you have just witnessed a crime, please dial 911.
Although this hotline provides for anonymous reporting, you are encouraged to leave contact information in case the investigator working the case has additional questions they think you might be able to help with. You may have a crucial piece of information but not realize its value.
If you do not want to provide your name or email address, please enter the following: Name = Concerned Citizen | Email Address = [email protected].
Copyright © 2009 Warren County Sheriff's Department
All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:23087ab3-1d82-49ad-9bc3-9188d5d6bab9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://warrencountysheriff.org/contact-us/crime-tips-hotline | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940748 | 182 | 1.539063 | 2 |
In 1985, the artists of the Coney Island Hysterical Society created and operated a Spookhouse behind Nathan’s, exhibited artwork at Sideshows by the Seashore and had a group show at LaMama. Society co-founders Richard Eagan and Philomena Marano continue to collaborate on Coney-themed art. A recent visit to the Gowanus studio shared by Eagan and Marano inspired this two-part post…
I began my career as a visual artist with a series of dreams about Coney island. Ten in one year (1978) – Steeplechase, The Thunderbolt, many locales, and I realized I had hand skills to evoke those places. Eventually I understood that’s what artists did. It snuck up on me. Generally speaking, I launched into a series of realist-based portraits of many of the places I had known in Coney Island. I needed to bring these places to life. Although my work has developed and changed through the years, I still return to the architectural portraiture of my early work.
Oddly, though, one of my very first pieces was an installation for “Tricks and Treats at the World in Wax Musee” curated by Dick Zigun back in… 1980? I filled a display case with a piece evoking the demolition of the Steeplechase Pavilion of Fun, titled “I Must Have Been Dreaming”- the curving space of the Panama Slide was filled with jagged, broken shards of wood.
During the Spookhouse Project of 1984-85, I began a series of paintings with bulls-eye imagery, and I imagined a few of them might want to have those shards bursting through the picture plane into real space, as if a wall had exploded out. Though they were not executed then, I returned to the idea in a series of small 12″ square canvasses in the 1990′s. They were an immediate hit, and I sold quite a few of those.
The short hop to combining the Coney work with the exploding architecture was a no-brainer once I accepted that the Coney Island of my childhood was imploding, burning, and would never return. I didn’t foresee the Thor paradigm, of course, but I needed to create pieces expressing my anguish over the ruins of my beloved playground. Hence the work with exploding shards, broken glass, and faded, ghostly signage. “Oceanic Baths” (not an actual Coney place name) was the first in this series, and the piece that helped me combine constructed sculptural work with abstract expressionist-style paintwork and pop culture imagery.
I expect I will be working the various styles in different combinations for some time to come as the future of the place of my inspiration and dreams unfolds.
Related posts on ATZ...
October 26, 2010: Studio Visit: Philomena Marano of the Coney Island Hysterical Society
October 1, 2010: Oct 2: Coney Island Hysterical Art on Gowanus Artists Studio Tour
October 31, 2009: Traveler: Carnival Rides as Public Art at Toronto’s Nuit Blanche | <urn:uuid:e709d4cd-98e4-41de-bf55-b8a6f0558921> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amusingthezillion.com/2010/10/26/studio-visit-richard-eagan-of-the-coney-island-hysterical-society/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964133 | 663 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Read this if you are interested in knowing more about Orochimaru.
And find out about how:
- Senju defeated Orochimaru's clan.
- How Orochimaru can summon Hydra.
- And who Orochimaru really was.
If you don't like reading, there are many pretty pics below..XD
You've seen the sinister character called Orochimaru in this series; you've seen the mystery surrounding this character and the chaotic mind of his. It's impossible to fully describe him and his nature. Ambitious genius, twisted, spontaneous, unremorseless, inhuman, human, constantly on war, confident, reckless, malevolent mastermind, the list goes on. We can all agree whether he pleases you or not, he is an entity that cannot be described. To go deeper with his character we have to look way back:
:::::::::: YAMATA NO OROCHI::::::::::
A short introduction and the mythical creature called Yamata no Orochi.
Most of the readers of the Naruto manga see Yamata no Orochi as weak summoning creature, insignificant because of the outcome of that last battle, it come off as pathetic for such majestic creature. While in myth and legends, it’s greatly appreciated. It has the name 'Orochi' from the Orochi clan. (In which will later be explained)
Yamata was a chthonic creature from the ancient world. Stories told about Yamata all seem to agree that it was truly magnificent and terrible, and that it had multiple heads and a gigantic body that was said to stretch across eight hills and valleys. While the poets mentioned it had more heads than the vase-painters could paint and poisonous breath. Some sources offer that the number eight may be indicative of simply an indiscriminate large number, and that Yamata might be much more massive than some may think.
Pay attention to the bolde'd text: "Secret jutsu", using the "power of rebirth" and "dragon god".
::::::::::::::::1800 years ago, in the times of Feudal Japan, there lived many religious sects. Of the hundreds, there was one that was called the Orochi, roughly translatable as "Serpent". Members of this clan became numerous and it became large, dark natured and brutal. It began to seek greater power amongst the other clans and began to fight and defeat smaller clans and became one of the largest clans in Japan. They became very powerful because of a spiritual link to the mystical creature Yamata (Hydra\Dragon God).
::::::::::IN THE BEGINNING: THE OROCHI CLAN::::::::::
The Orochi harnessed this power from the dragon-God and become extremely powerful. For the Orochi to wake the Yamata, they sacrificed 8 young souls to release it from it's slumber. After the souls were sacrificed to Yamata and reaped the enormous powers of the dragon-god, symbolized by the stained purple Orochi blood.
When they became powerful, three large clans baded together and vowed to stop the slaughtering of the Orochi clan. They were the Kusanagi, Senju and Yata clans. They gathered in Fire Country, and they combined their forces to defeat the Orochi clan. After many decades,the the Kusunagi and Yata were defeated by the Orochi clan, but the Senju eventually defeated the Orochi clan, The Senju growing in power and dominance, created an eerie and fatal blood-pact with the Orochi clan. The Senju had to let one of the Orochi live through with the Yamata, the dragon-god in his own blood. As they only sealed the Yamata no orochi and did not destroy it. The clan agreed to this and the Yamata lived again through the blood of what was left of the Orochi clan. A young boy called Orochimaru. And that is where the tale of the snake sannin started.
::::::: Historical representations :::::::
Orochi literally means > 'Serpent'. Regardless of their dark nature, the Orochi clan were representative of the 'Ouroboros' system and good fortune.
Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.
I can hardly think of a more fitting description for the snake sannin and his nature. Snake biting it's own tail can represent evil and good. If you really wanna get more into it then here is more representations to the Orochi clan:-In Gnosticism, this serpent symbolized eternity.
-In some representations the serpent is shown as half light and half dark, echoing symbols such as the Yin Yang, which illustrates the dual nature of all things.
-The Ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end
This describes the eternal snake. The nature of the Orochi.Spoiler!
A very short conclusion
Hopefully this theory explained why Sarutobi was so dear to Orochimaru, and held him close more then anyone. We can notice Kishimoto is not ready to let go of this character. What we have yet to see is unknown, but it's rather unlikely that, at that one last moment, Kishi would reveal Yamata and it's presence filled the air heavily and immediately dispatched of it with Susano'o. My guess is only reason he has done that is because he gave us a glim's of what we will see more of and that the end is only the beginning.
Notice: The myths mention > sacrifice souls to the Yamata. Orochimaru has done sacrificing souls to manda and Edo Tensei. I's also likely he would sacrifice souls to yamata just like his clan.. The way the myths described it.
Thank you so much for reading^^ Hope you enjoyed it. | <urn:uuid:871950e6-088f-4426-b65b-cf46c6677145> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mangashare.com/forums/threads/9408-The-Orochi-clan-(Yamata-No-Orochi) | 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 | 0.96566 | 1,240 | 1.664063 | 2 |
“Data Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.
Today's column is by Mark Trefgarne, CEO of LiveRail, a provider of a supply-side platform for video.
The need for online GRPs has come clearly into focus this year. Solutions like ComScore VCE, DoubleVerify VRF and the emerging market leader, Nielsen OCR, have seen significant adoption. This movement proves that for advertisers, the ability to unify TV and online metrics provides significant value. Finally, advertisers can buy and measure online video identically to television, making it easier to merge TV and online planning and ultimately extend TV budgets to the web.
Thanks to partnerships with data providers like Facebook and Kantar, these solutions give advertisers a post-campaign breakdown of the age and gender of the audience reached by their ad. These products can then extrapolate to obtain reach and frequency data for the audience as a percentage of the population, expressed in terms of good old GRPs.
Voilà! Online video audience measurement is now "apples to apples" with Television. Everyone's happy, right? Actually, no.
GRPs are proving difficult to adapt to for online publishers. They fail to account for the biggest single difference between Television and Online Video; the ability to target individuals. This shortcoming has created a wave of semi-panic among the inventory management teams at major publishers. Without the ability to target, how can you avoid wasting inventory by showing ads to the wrong audience? And when buyers insist on paying based on GRP measurement, as they are increasingly doing, the result is lost dollars for publishers.
Here's how it typically happens: The agency will inform a publisher prior to a campaign launch that it wants to reach two million males ages 18 to 24, but the GRP measurement vendors won't provide guidance to a publisher about which individuals/streams it has determined will match that target. Instead, the publisher often must show the ad to millions of viewers and hope that there are enough males ages 18-24 -- as defined by their GRP measurement vendor. They can only find out if they were successful post-impression and in the meantime they've filled millions of inventory slots with ads for which they won't get paid.
For premium publishers who've spent the better part of a decade perfecting a science around how to optimally match each individual inventory opportunity to the highest value ad - this new approach is seriously counterintuitive.
One major publisher tells me, “We are seeing a hit rate of approximately 30% while the buyers are expecting to see a hit rate of 80% to 100% on their buy. This means we waste anywhere from 50-70% of the delivered inventory and eCPM drops by 300%. This brings us to a place that we have to triple pricing for buys that require an 80% hit rate in order to compensate our publishers.”
The response from those promoting GRP-based measurement has been that publishers need to "adjust to a pricing model that accounts for inventory waste." However, for a medium built around one-to-one user delivery, a model that requires enormous waste of a premium publisher's limited video inventory is proving hard to swallow. And telling advertisers they will have to pay 2x to 3x more per in-target impression (to make up for the value of the impressions they got but did not want) is hardly an appealing solution either.
For publishers, there appears to be no perfect solution on the horizon. Wasted impressions will be unavoidable without the ability to know whether a given user is in the targeted audience for a specific campaign pre-impression. However, due to the privacy policies of the root data providers, pre-impression data is unlikely to ever be made available.
It’s time we had a discussion as an industry about how to address this. If GRP is to succeed as a metric (and it must if we want TV dollars to flow to online) then it needs to consider the needs of all participants within the ecosystem. A solution that caters to advertisers without appreciating its impact on publishers is no solution at all.
Email This Post | <urn:uuid:fe051b7e-6ec2-4e3c-bb4d-4eeb6b134f55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adexchanger.com/data-driven-thinking/online-video-grps-place-undue-burden-on-publishers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958079 | 861 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Retail News Breaks Archives
Supreme Court: Health care reform law stays
June 28th, 2012
WASHINGTON – After hearing the first oral arguments in late March, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, the health care reform law championed by the Obama administration.
In a 5-4 ruling, with Chief Justice John Roberts leading the majority, the High Court decided that the ACA's controversial "individual mandate" — which required individuals to buy health insurance or pay a penalty — was constitutional under Congress' authority to levy taxes.
The court also determined that the ACA's expansion of Medicaid eligibility requirements was constitutional but not its stipulation that the federal government can deny states all Medicaid funding if they don't comply. If states decide not to accept the expanded eligibility, they can continue to receive funds for the rest of the Medicaid program, just not the new funding under the act.
In his opinion, Roberts explained the constitutionality of the ACA's health insurance requirement — the crux of the legal debate in the case, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.
"Under the mandate, if an individual does not maintain health insurance, the only consequence is that he must make an additional payment to the IRS when he pays his taxes. That, according to the government, means the mandate can be regarded as establishing a condition — not owning health insurance — that triggers a tax — the required payment to the IRS," the chief justice wrote. "Under that theory, the mandate is not a legal command to buy insurance. Rather, it makes going without insurance just another thing the government taxes, like buying gasoline or earning income. And if the mandate is in effect just a tax hike on certain taxpayers who do not have health insurance, it may be within Congress' constitutional power to tax."
The health reform decision means that starting in 2014, over 30 million Americans previously lacking health insurance coverage will be able to purchase health plans via newly created insurance exchanges set up by states or receive coverage via the broader Medicaid eligibility requirements.
For retail pharmacies, the court's validation of the law will provide a sense of finality and enable them to focus on gearing their businesses for a swell of new patients. Prescription volume should get a boost as more individuals are covered by pharmacy benefit plans, resulting in a positive net impact on revenue and profit. The law also will completely close the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole," in Medicare Part D by 2020, providing those patients with continuous prescription drug coverage.
Still, industry observers have said pharmacies' profit growth could be squeezed by margin compression depending on the mix of coverage for the newly insured population and pharmacy reimbursement rates paid by state Medicaid programs and insurers in the exchanges.
Another potential benefit for drug chains could be a bigger role for community pharmacy in the nation's health care system as Americans seek more affordable options for medical care. Newly insured individuals going to drug stores for prescriptions will also see pharmacies' menu of other health services, such as immunizations, primary care and medication counseling. Walk-in clinics at drug stores also are likely to get more attention those consumers.
"As we have said all along, health care reform remains a constant pursuit," Steve Anderson, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, said Thursday in a statement on the court's historic ruling. "With the Supreme Court's decision today, the best approach for future progress continues to be saving lives, enhancing patient care and reducing health care costs. NACDS and the pharmacy industry we represent have the power and potential to help achieve these goals."
With the Supreme Court's decision, B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association, pointed to some of the key issues for community pharmacies during the health reform debate.
"The health care reform law that was upheld by the Supreme Court includes bipartisan provisions intended to achieve reasonable reimbursement for Medicaid generic prescription drugs, although the implementation process to date has been disappointing," Hoey stated Thursday. "There are also transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers in the health care exchanges set to launch in 2014. Medication therapy management will be expanded in Medicare. Independent community pharmacies remain exempted from the duplicative accreditation requirement for selling Medicare Part B durable medical equipment. Mechanisms have been put in place for the inclusion of pharmacies in accountable care organizations and medical homes. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision and the government's response to it, NCPA will continue to prioritize these issues because, left unaddressed in a prudent fashion, it is patients who will suffer the consequences."
President Barack Obama said the Supreme Court ruling will enable the nation to go forward and realize the benefits envisioned by the ACA.
"The highest court in the land has now spoken. We will continue to implement this law. And we'll work together to improve on it where we can," Obama said. "But what we won't do, and what the country can't afford to do, is re-fight the political battles of two years ago or go back to the way things were."
Earlier this month, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 41% of Americans wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the entire health reform law, and 27% wanted the court just to strike down the individual mandate. Only 24% wanted the court to uphold the entire law.
*Editor's Note: Article updated with industry comment and president's remarks. | <urn:uuid:920ecb79-284a-4aa5-a241-c1ff495ef82e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chaindrugreview.com/newsbreaks-archives/2012-06-25/supreme-court-health-care-reform-law-stays | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949561 | 1,106 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I often kid with people that I save weight on my bike by riding without a seat. Now that I’ve seen this, I hope it’s not something that ever becomes a reality. Norwegian, Kurt Asle Arvesen, had a saddle failure at some point in his race, but instead of giving up, he simply stood up! 20km is only 12mi, but that’s a long way to go without the option of sitting down.
By the way, you can tell he’s spent more time in the saddle than out of it, because he looks a little out of his element constantly standing. Maybe a year on a high-geared singlespeed would be a good training option? | <urn:uuid:90f8be86-180c-4d2d-93a4-cef49e441669> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gearinches.com/blog/videos/20-km-in-paris-roubaix-without-bike-seat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982661 | 149 | 1.507813 | 2 |
West of the Beaches: Delaware Real Estate
The Essence of Small-Town Living
This part of Sussex County is known as the “land of 25 jewels” for the many small towns that gush with the charm of times past. “The people may change, but the essence of small-town living does not,” says Scott Thomas of the Southern Delaware Tourism office.
The region features several historic districts in Georgetown, Milton and Laurel. The town of Bethel, once a busy shipbuilding center, is home to the Bethel Heritage Museum. National Geographic described the museum as a “toy village come to life.”
Rural Sussex now finds itself a center for development of environmentally friendly and energy efficient homes. Five years ago Insight Homes began designing and building communities near towns such as Milton, Bridgeville, Seaford and Dagsboro that are guaranteed to be in the top 1 percent of energy efficient homes in the country, meeting requirements of the American Lung Association Health Home and the EPA, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy. Insight has built in a total of eight communities in Sussex so far. | <urn:uuid:3c103358-0b3b-4fe4-b2da-6936c610b9ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/Delaware-Ultimate-Guide/January-2013/West-of-the-Beaches-Delaware-Real-Estate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954142 | 235 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Taymour Abdulwahab the 29 year old Swedish suicide bomber emigrated to Sweden in the early 90’s and obtained citizenship, however he lived a separate life in England, living mostly with his wife and young children in Luton England. Abdulwahab’s bomb belt exploded prematurely as he was heading to his attack destination, believed to be either a rail station or shopping centre, with a larger bomb in his backpack which did not explode. Luton has a significant Muslim community and was at the center of the July05 London MET suicide bombers operation. Abdulwahab apparently became estranged from his local community and mosque when he expressed radical extremist views and was confronted by the mosque committee.
Inspired by Patrick Lannin and Niklas Pollard at Reuters http://ow.ly/3roYk
Political Arts | Ian Bunn Visual Artist
My digital art work is essentially politics and art. It’s about iconic people, places and events of our day. Recorded visually through daily compilations of manipulated digital images, posted online and disseminated via online media and social networks. The works are diaristic in nature that metaphorically record a spectator’s experience of the contemporary digital age. The resulting work intentionally has a painterly aesthetic acknowledging my historical painting practice.
Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness. The work is essentially popular culture arts, diverging from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content. The compilation of the fragmented imagery is vividly distractive, not unlike cable surfing or a jaunt through Times Square.
This digital photo manipulation art work is premised on the basis that Pop art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. With the advent of the techno age, visual information circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself. Hence this work considers fragmented elements of Popular Culture through an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of the day. | <urn:uuid:3016a02e-554a-4b20-8999-479d521d7ff7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ianbunn.com/tag/diary-of-daily-event/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944726 | 479 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Freddie & The Dreamers
Freddie & the Dreamers were the clowns of the British Invasion, playing their pop music for laughs while the other groups of the time were dead serious. Lead singer Freddie Garrity began playing in skiffle groups in the late '50s, switching to rock & roll in the early '60s. After the Beatles broke the American market wide open, Freddie & the Dreamers followed in the flood of acts that tried to duplicate the overwhelming success of the Fab Four. The group's hits were more numerous in the U.K. than in America, where they had only one Top Ten hit, the number one "I'm Telling You Now." As 1965 turned into 1966, the group stopped charting in the U.S. and the hits began to dwindle in the U.K.; by 1968 the original group disbanded. Garrity later assembled new versions of the Dreamers, and the group toured for two decades; however, Garrity's health began to decline and he became acutely ill on a plane from New York to Britain in 2001, reportedly due to emphysema. Subsequently often confined to a wheelchair, he died in Bangor, Wales, on May 19, 2006 at the age of 69. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation.
© 2013 Rovi Corporation.
Chat About This Artist | <urn:uuid:19f879ac-c11e-498f-b2db-fa93be7328ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iheart.com/artist/Freddie-The-Dreamers-9751/bio/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972553 | 285 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The Big Apple is seeing a surge in stolen Apple devices.
The latest data from the New York City Police Department shows that iPhone and iPad thefts have soared 40 percent this year so far, compared with the same period last year.
Between January 1 and September 23 of this year, a total of 11,447 cases of stolen iDevices were reported to the New York City police, a rise of 3,280 over 2011, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said in a report sent to CNET.
"As if to mirror the market place, thefts of Apple products increased this year as the theft of electronics by other manufacturers declined," Browne added in the report.
To help find mobile devices that are lost or stolen, the NYPD kicked off a new service last Friday dubbed "Operation ID."
Users can bring their iPhones and other mobile devices to any of the city's Apple stores as well as several Verizon and AT&T stores.
Police officers stationed at the stores can register the serial number of your device along with your name and contact information. Devices can also be engraved with a unique serial number to make them easier to identify if stolen. Last Friday, the NYPD registered 1,500 iPhone 5 handsets at 21 stores where they were sold, including the six Apple stores in the city, as well as seven Verizon and eight AT&T stores, according to Browne.
To deal with the rise in iPhone and iPad thefts, New York City police have been running sting operations to catch people fencing stolen devices. Acting as decoys, police officers have also been able to arrest iPhone thieves riding on the subway.
Apple offers its own "Find My iPhone" app that can track down lost or stolen devices. As part of Operation ID, officers have been handing out information on how to install and set up that app. And they've been tapping into other Apple technology.
Earlier this year, police officers with iCloud-enabled iPhones were able to track down stolen iPhones and arrest the thieves.
Ultimately, people should always be aware of their surroundings, especially when carrying an iPhone or other expensive device out in the open.
"Individuals alert to their surroundings are less likely to become victims of thefts of iPhones and other handheld devices," New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement.
Update, 10:30 a.m.: Adds information directly from the NYPD. | <urn:uuid:958b3af5-e4ec-42e9-b272-4f5a61fb4502> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57519902-37/iphone-ipad-thefts-jump-40-percent-in-nyc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95973 | 477 | 1.601563 | 2 |
About This Slideshow:
Flooding waters continue to linger in the Brainerd lakes area causing homeowners more grief in their own yards. And now the Brainerd Community Garden is under water.
The Brainerd Community Garden — located southwest of Kiwanis Park near the Mississippi River — near where Brainerd officials closed East River Road between the Kiwanis Park parking lot and Jenny Street because of the rising river elevation.
The Mississippi River near Aitkin is expected to continue to rise to near 18.4 feet by early afternoon Tuesday June 26 then begin to fall, reported the National Weather Service of Duluth (NWS).
Lakeshore owners also are seeing high water.
Judy Brazeman, who has a home on the west side of Upper South Long Lake, said she and her neighbors have been plagued by high water and the problem has been made worse by people “speeding full throttle, back and forth.” | <urn:uuid:29fa211a-6594-435a-87c2-3b943bad5208> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brainerddispatch.com/slideshow/flooding-crow-wing-and-aitkin-counties | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975269 | 197 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Jennifer Cromley, Ph.D
An Assistant Professor in the department of Psychological Studies in Education, in the Educational Psychology Program. Her research looks at cognition and motivation in science learning at the middle school through undergraduate levels. She and five collaborators from the Colleges of Education, Liberal Arts, and Science and Technology together supervise the work of 7 graduate students and 6 undergraduate students on three federally-funded grant projects. At Temple, she has taught various courses on learning theories and also teaches various educational statistics courses. She also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Educational Psychology, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychology Review, and Learning and Instruction.
Dr. Cromley was named a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by President Barack Obama. She is one of 85 researchers to receive the award, which is bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
The Presidential Early Career Awards, established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education or community outreach
Cromley, who also has received two NSF grants to support her work, is currently involved in three large research projects that involve middle school, high school and undergraduate college students. The projects are measuring the impact of modifications to middle school science curricula, developing workbook-and-discussion-based teaching methods to assist high school students better understand biology, and assessing why undergraduate students stay in or opt out of biology and chemistry majors. The middle and high school projects involve teachers and students in school districts in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Arizona and New Jersey, while the undergraduate project examines Temple students.
Two of Cromley’s research projects also have tight links with researchers in the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC), an interdisciplinary NSF-funded center run by Nora Newcombe in Temple’s Department of Psychology. | <urn:uuid:a5139caf-f39e-41f7-b60d-1a2a74b34d1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.temple.edu/education/graduation/keynote-doctoral-may2011.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960362 | 426 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Class society Lloyd’s Register said Thursday that it has provided approval in principle (AIP) for COSCO Shipyard’s new ‘Clean Sky’ LNG-powered bulk carrier design.
COSCO, Golden Union and Lloyd’s Register began the project in June 2011 to investigate the potential to develop a commercially viable bulk carrier design based on an existing COSCO conventional Kamsarmax bulk carrier, only incorporating a gas powered propulsion systems. Kamsarmax refers to a relatively new type of ship, larger than panamax, that are suitable for berthing at the Port of Kamsar (Guinea) and have a maximum length of 299 meters.
The ‘Clean Sky’ design is notable because it allows owners to choose between dual, or tri-fuel engines able to burn, heavy fuel oil (HFO) or diesel, as well as LNG. The ‘Clean Sky’ is also said to be beyond the concept stage, with the possibility for the first such vessel to be built next year.
Nick Brown, Lloyd’s Register’s Area General Manager and Marine Manager in China commented: “This news moves the industry far beyond the concept stage. A ‘Clean Sky’ ship could be built next year. We have addressed the technology issues; the approval in principle that we issued today only comes after exhaustive risk investigations into the gas containment, bunkering systems and performance assessment.”
Various containment systems and configurations were considered by the project team, but the final choice was for a single, 1,160 m3 type ‘C’ tank that sits aft on the port side.
“COSCO Shipyard Group has a strong sense of social responsibility,” says COSCO Shipyard Group’s Head of Engineering, Zhan Shu Ming. “We are innovating to help shipowners meet new IMO emissions and performance requirements. Society is looking for alternatives to current fuels, which are also rising in price. The increased availability of gas reserves and the emissions benefits are driving interest in LNG as an alternative fuel. With COSCO Shipyard Group’s depth of experience in building Kamsarmax bulk carriers, we are now very well placed to build bulk carriers with the new gas technology. Our development in LNG as an alternative fuel technology will not be only limited to the application to bulk carrier designs, but also for other ship types. The current achievement is only the beginning of our research and development for LNG as an alternative fuel and the COSCO Shipyard Group, as a pioneer in this new technology, is committed to even more in-depth research in the future.”
A representative from Golden Union commented:
“The particularly tough environmental requirements mean vessels will have to comply with the International Maritime Organisation’s Tier III regulations by 2016 and this opens up demand for new ship propulsion solutions incorporating cost effective technologies. This could trigger a substantial shift towards natural gas-powered vessels; and in gas mode dual fuel engines already comply with the IMO’s Tier III requirements. Using LNG may be the ideal solution for meeting increased environmental performance without losing competitiveness. This design offers significant reductions in SOx, NOx and particulate – as well as CO2 – emissions by simply using cleaner LNG instead of employing costly and complex cleaning systems which do not always work.”
“Looking at the commercial perspective of LNG as a ship’s fuel, the capital expense of installing an LNG fuel system should be paid off after few years by operating expense savings, especially if a vessel is trading within ECAs. Global reserves in LNG greatly surpass oil reserves. LNG is becoming more readily available in the market. This, in combination with steady demand, should reduce price volatility in comparison with HFO. Keeping this in mind, HFO and marine diesel and marine gasoil prices will be likely to increase faster than LNG rates, speeding up the pay-off of the system.”
To date, LNG-as-fuel research, technology development and newbuilding activities have focused on specific niche sectors such as ferries, offshore vessels and short sea, or inland, trades. This project paves the way for take-up in deep sea bulk carrier trades, and perhaps even tankers.
“The challenges are similar for tankers,” Brown said. “Clearly there are benefits with using clean gas technology. The key issues now are commercial.”
Other LNG-fueled bulk carrier concepts we have seen include the ECO-Ship 2020, developed by Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and DNV, and the Green Dolphin, developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and development partners DNV and Wärtsilä but only leaves the possibility for a future LNG-fueled retrofit.
‘Clean Sky’ class design Kamsarmax bulk carrier particulars
- Length overall: 229.0m
- Breadth: 32.26m
- Depth: 20.25m
- Draft, design: 12.20m
- Draft, scantling: 14.50m
- Deadweight: 81,000 dwt
- Engine: MAN B&W 6S60ME C-8.2 – GI Tier II
- Gas containment: 1 x 1,160 cu. m ‘C’ type tank
- Speed: 14.10 knots (excluding any Energy Saving Devices) | <urn:uuid:171c3f6a-3276-4444-857a-bd747113b138> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gcaptain.com/new-lng-fueled-bulk-carrier-design-receives-lloyds-register-approval-in-principle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938511 | 1,139 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Tenacity Is The Maker’s Bastion
Kid wakes up, floor’s hard but the streets would have been harder. Getting by on the kindness of strangers ain’t a habit you want to develop, but sometimes it’s all you can do. He takes a groggy step into the mess hall and sees people getting ready for the day. Even meager breakfasts fill bellies.
The Kid hits the sidewalk and the cool sea air hits him. Sun won’t let him freeze though, it knows he’s got a mission. Today The Kid meets The Maker and there’s a whole lotta ground between ‘em. Step by step, block by block, he makes his way past the lost and forgotten to The Maker’s workshop. If there’s a lesson in this place, Kid’s gonna find it.
Maker’s a bit nervous at first, stumbling over his words but wears a welcoming smile all the while. He’s got a secret for sure, curtains pulled over his scribblings on the wall. Kid ain’t interested in secrets though, he’s got plenty of his own. There’s a bowl of noodles between them, warms their souls and the conversation. Doesn’t take long before The Maker’s opening up. Nothing breeds trust like a nice, warm meal.
The Maker was a lot like The Kid once, young and idealistic. It was The Company that stomped it out of him. He had some good times for sure, but a horse can only ride so far without getting a carrot before it just gives up. Luckily The Maker had friends, talented friends that saw a way to do what they loved without The Company.
Problem was that The Company had all the tools, even the best can’t build something from nothing. Didn’t stop The Maker from trying though. He toiled in that workshop for years, at times it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen. Spirit’s a funny thing, dreamin’ big can be all you need when it’s all you’ve got.
That dream turned into something magical. The Maker and his friends set an idea out in the world, and the world loved them for it. A lot of folks looked to The Maker for answers after that, everyone wants the secret to success from someone who’s hit the gold. Thing is, The Maker ain’t even sure if he’s able to do it again.
Kid’s got faith though, he wouldn’t be there unless he did. He can taste honesty in The Maker’s efforts, and it’s a sweet flavor that stays on the tongue. Taste like that don’t just go away, it lingers in the back of your mouth long after the last bite. All The Maker’s got to do is remember the recipe.
The Maker’s got his tools now and The Company’s heel’s stepped off his dreams. It’s still a delicate walk, but now he’s got the means to get back on the path if he falls off once. Even if he takes the wrong road he’s got the time to correct himself ’cause he knows how to do it with nothin’ at all.
Walkin’ away from the workshop, Kid’s got a new outlook on tenacity. It ain’t about stickin’ to it when things get tough, it’s about being willing to dive in when you’re certain things will. The Maker’s got that dogged attitude in spades and he’ll always be able to follow his bliss with it. Kid likes that, he likes it a lot. | <urn:uuid:7a63d01e-55db-4c7c-80d7-98cb27baa959> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gamerunplugged.com/?p=1012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945414 | 805 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Archive for November 23rd, 2010
PRIVACY (Politics & Psychology) – Blog post 5
As my previous readings within Politics have led me to identify the areas of globalization and security as paramount in relation to the issue of privacy I have extended my reading to specific books focusing on this concepts.
Globalisation, Competitiveness and Human Security (1997) – Cristobal Kay ,states that globalisation can include political negotiations, cultural trends and increased internationalisation of economic activities. It is also the process whereby enterprises become interdependent and interlinked globally via strategic allegiances and international networks. The book discusses changes occurring on a global level. Such changes are beyond the influence and henceforth the control of any individual person, community or even the government. It is therefore logical to link these dynamics to society experiencing feelings of insecurity over many related issues, including that of loss of privacy. After the end of the Cold War in 1989, which was predominantly viewed as a positive outcome as it reduced the fear of global military conflict which would have threatened peace and security, many political and economical reforms were instigated within developing countries and at the global level there was an overwhelming sense of security due to the dissolution of the threat of nuclear war. However it has been purported that there are new specific threats to human security, many of which have international or global dimensions as their root causes can be traced to events and processes occurring outside of their territories, namely globalisation and competitiveness. The UNDP (1994):23 produced a list which delineates all aspects of human security; on that list under political security was violation of human rights – privacy connotations. The implication is that globalisation and competiveness can be directly attributable to human development and to reduce people’s insecurities.
Globalization and insecurity – political, economic and physical challenges (2002) – Barbara Harriss-White, gave the definition of insecurity as ‘unsafe or unreliable’ and determined that there are four areas of physical insecurity which are interrelated:
- Threats to persons, property and/or environments
- Economic and political autonomy of states
- Instability, particularly of market
- Vulnerability – a susceptibility to damage, closely but not completely aligned with poverty and inequality
This book also discusses globalization as a political process, whereby the main forces producing it have moved away from industry and weapon production towards instead, technology, information and communications, and financial control of everything else. It is suggested that it is the political project that causes insecurity via poverty, regulation of health and the reworking of national politics.
For the psychology part of my independent disciplinary review this week I have been reading : Self – Presentation Impression Management and Interpersonal Behaviour (1995) – Mark R. Leary. Self-presentation deals with the ways in which human behaviour is affected by people’s concerns with their public impressions. The norm would be that individuals would prefer that others perceive them in a flattering light rather than in an undesirable manner. Thus people may act in a certain way in order to make an impression on someone e.g. the job applicant in an interview. It is determined that generally people’s concerns with others’ impressions constrain their behavioural options and so individuals would be reluctant to conduct acts which would be seen as morally/ socially reprehensible in public. This is not necessarily negative though as a world where no-one cares about the opinions of others would be far more detrimental. Consider people saying or doing anything without considering the feelings of others etc. However it is possible for people to be too concerned with what others think about them which can lead to feelings of insecurity building up. The book also discusses the differences between exaggerations and lies in relation to the fact that individuals are multi – faceted and can therefore convey many different aspects of their characters, the majority of which may be genuinely true attributes, depending on the circumstances. Thus rather than lying per se, people may select the images they want others to form from their repertoire of true-self images.
There are two prevalent thinkers in relation to self-presentation: Erving Goffman who was a sociologist and wrote ‘The presentation of self in everyday life’ (1959) in which he determined that much can be gained by focusing on public behaviour, and Edward Jones (1990) ‘The study of impression’, in which he discussed management and self – presentation being an integral part of the study of interpersonal perception as it is not possible to fathom how people view each other without knowing the dynamic to self-presentation at the same time.
I will be continuing my reading further into these areas within my two disciplines as I feel that there is far more valuable information to be obtained towards the overall research.
This week, I’ve been pushing on with “Complexity: A Guided Tour”, and continued attending the Complexity lectures. Their subject matter are converging towards “in what sense do real-world distributed complex systems compute?” (e.g. ant colonies or the Web). This is very relevant to my key theme of collaborative problem solving. It builds on last week’s introduction to cellular automata. Most fascinating was an experiment that used genetic algorithms to evolve cellular automata to perform global analysis despite being highly distributed. The results was the emergence of Feynman-diagram like particles, operating at the abstracted level equivalent to the programming level of a traditional von-Neumann-style computer. Obviously, computation has been a key theme throughout, so there’s a happy overlap with the theory of computation COMP6046 lectures. I’ve enjoyed the introduction to information theory and Shannon entropy, and have chosen Comp Thinking coursework on encryption in order to build on that. The other key ingredient this week has been thermodynamics, and this has been a happy stroll back to my time in Physics. Above all the Darwin-like obvious-yet-brilliant central observation of Boltzmann that things will always tend toward the more common state – hence the mighty 2nd law of TD. So, several really engaging themes have been weaving together. Looking forward to what comes next. | <urn:uuid:7d8b88a3-2030-41d9-8194-3e0827fbbcff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.soton.ac.uk/comp6044/2010/11/23/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959839 | 1,258 | 1.789063 | 2 |
My friend Angela Faris Belt has just published the second edition of her book The Elements of Photography – Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images. What I like about the book is that it addresses both the technical as well as the creative components of photographic art. Too often as photographers we focus on the technical at the expense of the creative; probably because it’s much easier to master the technical. Here is the publisher’s description of the book:
Photography is a complex craft. Some excel at the technical side of image-making, focusing perfectly on the subject, releasing the shutter at just the right moment and making exposures with the precise amount of light. Others are artists and storytellers, capturing a fleeting moment in time which inspires a viewer to gaze upon an image and ponder its meaning.
The best photographers are masters of both.
In the book Angela features 40 artist’s work including my portfolio “The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau.” Here is what she had to say about the series:
These images made in former Nazi concentration camps speak of a specific genocide, but Cole Thompson’s approach really speaks to the ghosts of all genocides. They were created using 10 to 30-second long exposures during daylight hours using a tripod and stacked Singh-Ray ND filters totalling 13 stops of light reduction. The challenge of making images reflective of the enormity of his subject was made all the more difficult by casually dressed tourists sporting cell phone moving all around, and that’s where Thompson’s understanding of photographic language came in. He solved two visual problems at once using shutter speeds and time. By adding neutral density, he was able to negate the rather irreverent scenes of tourism, changing them to scenes of ghosted figures haunting the history of these places.
I’m honored to be featured in Angela’s book and appreciate her analysis. You can read more about the book and take a peek inside at Amazon.com | <urn:uuid:738cbaa3-b55b-442e-9647-1c9068244bcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.photographyblackwhite.com/tag/nd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959451 | 406 | 1.734375 | 2 |
If disaster strikes, will you be home? Will you be at work, school, or at the store? Is it possible that you or someone you care for will face the daunting task of trying to get home during the most perilous times possible? How would you get home and what would you take with you?
The new book Getting Home by Alex Smith is a great guide for the person seeking to learn more about traveling after a disaster/during times of chaos or someone trying to refresh their knowledge. It is not marketed as a guide for the experienced prepper, but I would go so far as saying that there might be some longtime prepper’s that have a solid grasp in many areas but could benefit from this book. While Getting Home is not only straightforward and easy to read, it is 136 pages of preparedness knowledge about:
- Every-Day Carry (EDC) – The items on you…all day, every day.
- the Purse/Man-Purse/Daypack (DP) – The next step after your EDC items.
- In Your Office – Items to keep on hand in the workplace.
- In Your Vehicle – Gear to keep in the car to assist in getting home.
- the Get Home Bag (GHB) – A bag full of goodies to help you stay alive when it all goes south!
- Caches – Extend your capabilities by stashing additional supplies along your route.
- Getting Home – Tips and tricks for different environments and situations.
This collection of preparedness knowledge cannot possibly be summarized into the seven categories above though. There are numerous pieces of information spread throughout the pages of Coming Home that not only demonstrate the knowledge and equipment necessary to get home alive and safe, but also will assist the reader in achieving peak performance for survival. A sample of Alex’s writing in Coming Home is below:
The following excerpt is from Getting Home by Alex Smith,
Chapter 6: the Get Home Bag (GHB)
* Selecting a GHB *
Much like your DP, your GHB should stand out as little as possible, but let’s face it – you are going to stand out with a ruck on your back. However, try to minimize your visibility as much as possible by:
- Avoid tactical bags (MOLLE, military surplus, etc.).
- Avoid camouflage patterns.
- No military/survival/firearms patches on your GHB.
Instead, opt for a pack that a hiker might wear. Select from quality, brand-name bags with earth tones. Remember it must be relatively comfortable when loaded, and you must be capable of carrying the load.
Before you choose your GHB, consider the following:
- How long will it take you to get home? How many miles are you from home? How many miles can you hike (because you will basically be hiking with a pack) in a day? Remember, walking is not hiking; hiking (walking with a loaded pack) works different muscles and will exhaust you much quicker. Your physical condition will dictate how far you can hike; some may be able to only hike 5 miles, while others might be able to hike 30. Terrain will affect your progress as well. Divide your miles/day into the total distance from home and you will know approximately how long it may take you to get home. The following is a very rough guideline with regards to pack capacity (Note – CI = Cubic Inches / L = Liters):
- Trip Length = < 2 Days: Pack Capacity = < 3,000 CI (50 L)
- Trip Length = 3 Days: Pack Capacity = < 3,600 CI (60 L)
- Trip Length = 4 – 5 Days: Pack Capacity = < 4,900 CI (80 L)
- Trip Length = > 5 Days: Pack Capacity = > 4,900 CI (80 L)
- Will you pack light or pack heavy? Does your physical condition and preferred level of preparedness require you carry a lot or very little? What use is a large pack if you are unable to carry more than what a small pack can carry? Opt for the smaller pack and save several pounds in pack weight.
- What is your body type? By body type, we mean torso height, since that is what the GHB will interface with. Measure your torso and determine what pack size will be most comfortable for you (requires help):
- Locate your C7 vertebra (the bony protrusion at the top of your back when you lean your head forward).
- Locate your iliac crest (the pelvic “shelf”): Have your friend run their hands down your side until they feel your hip bone.
- Have them place their hands on top of the hip bone with thumbs pointing inward.
- Measure from C7 to the point that your friend’s thumbs “point” to.
Now that you know your torso length, the following are some guidelines for your body type:
- Torso Length < 15.5”: Extra Small Pack
- Torso Length 16” – 17.5”: Small Pack
- Torso Length 18” – 19.5”: Medium Pack
- Torso Length > 19.5”: Large Pack
- Gender? Take a long look in the mirror and determine what gender you are. Many brands offer packs that are designed specifically to fit the contours of the female body.
- Climate: The colder your climate, the larger the pack you will need. Cold weather sleeping gear and clothing take up much more space.
Now that you have an idea of what to look for in pack size, let’s examine several options you have to improve fit and make the pack more comfortable:
- Load-lifter Straps: Found at the top of the shoulder straps, load-lifter straps prevent the pack from pulling away from your body, disrupting your balance. When pulled snug, they should form a 45 degree angle with your shoulder straps and the pack itself. The heavier your load, the more important load-lifter straps are.
- Sternum Straps: The strap across your chest. Improves stability and balance.
- Hip Belt: The strap across your hips. Improves stability and balance.
- Pack Frames: Internal (usually lacks ventilation), External (often heavier) and Perimeter (a hybrid that strives to combine the benefits of internal and external) Frames are all designed to direct pack weight towards your hips – one of the body’s largest bone structures supported by some of the body’s largest muscle groups (the upper legs). Hikers and adventurers have debated which frame system is superior, but there is no clear winner. Choose based on what “feels” better to you. The heavier your pack, the more important it is to have a frame.
- Pockets/Panels/Compartments/Attachment Points: To easily access your gear, you will need a pack with a variety of storage compartments and attachment options. Imagine choosing an old military-style duffel bag as your GHB and needing a pair of socks located in the bottom. You will have to remove everything from your GHB to get those socks.
- Ventilation: Very important in hot humid climates, especially if an internal-frame pack is chosen. In such a scenario, your GHB needs a ventilation system to prevent your back from getting drenched in sweat.
- Hydration: Most packs allow you the option of inserting a reservoir (such as a Camelbak). Water is very heavy, but if you live in an arid climate with little access to surface water, you may be forced to carry much of the water you will need for your trip.
- Padding: Padding is important, especially if your pack is heavy. Ensure the padding on your hip belt and lumbar pad is sufficient for your needs.
- Durability: Your pack could be the most important component of your GHB; buy a quality pack from a respected brand. Be careful if you decide to purchase an ultralight pack. Ultralight packs utilize lighter materials that are often not as durable. Some brands to consider include: Osprey, the North Face, Black Diamond, Kelty and Gregory.
Now that you have an idea of what to look for in a pack, let’s transform that pack into a GHB.
Armed with this introduction, would you consider the basic knowledge to get back home safely after a disaster worth $1.00? I would! Alex let me know that the current price of $0.99 will be good for the rest of the week and then next week the price will likely go up to $5! If e-readers or technology are not your preferred reading method, Alex also let me know that a paperback should be released within a few days. I would emphatically recommend this book to anyone that believes that it is possible that there will be any natural or other disasters in the future of the world.
Don’t let a dollar stand between you and the safety you will find at home…get your copy of Getting Home (making it back to your family after disaster strikes) now! | <urn:uuid:60553c5e-ccc5-49d3-b06f-880f3e62cc9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thepreparedninja.com/book-review-getting-home-by-alex-smith | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941234 | 1,913 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The shining silver façade of the Liverpool Department store emulates the fast-paced traffic that encircles the structure – it’s positioned at the junction of several highways and overpasses. Using 3D models, the architects designed and fabricated the building’s double-layer façade. The outer layer is clad in stainless steel, and is designed to create a futuristic spectacle while shielding visitors inside from the chaos of traffic that surrounds the building. The steel layer also blocks emissions and pollutants that the traffic produces, creating a relaxing and serene space, in the midst of one of the loudest and busiest part of the suburbs. The stainless steel layer is also perforated to allow sunlight to infiltrate the expanse of each floor during the daytime. A three story atrium also creates openness, bringing light into the interior. At night, the look of the building transforms entirely. A wall of light shines between the two skins, creating beautiful colors and patterns that are reflected on the steel façade.
Aside from shopping space, Rojkind also incorporated community balconies and a roof garden, creating a new and much-needed park space for pedestrians to enjoy. Here, anyone from the community can come to relax, read, meet, or play. The project is a win-win solution for the neighborhood of Interlomas – it’s a state of the art shopping center that brings a park to an area otherwise devoid of green space.
Via Arch Daily | <urn:uuid:5bed1831-a063-484e-9cbd-79cd78298392> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inhabitat.com/futuristic-blade-runner-style-liverpool-department-store-opens-in-mexico-city/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93045 | 301 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Necklace, 'Steel heart chain', steel, Sue Lorraine, Adelaide, South Australia, 1996
Designed and made by Sue Lorraine (born Melbourne 1955). Lorraine studied Gold and Silversmithing at RMIT (1975-76), completed a Diploma od Art and Design at PIT (1979-80), and graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1989 with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies. She was part of the Workshop 3000 (1982-84), and was one of the founders of the Gray Street Workshop in Adelaide in 1984. The Gray Street Workshop provided both personal and access workshops, and was an arena for the exploration of personal and social issues. She is represented in collections such as the WA Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of SA, and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.
Lorraine says that the current trend in her work is to combine the technical with the wearable. This theme has developed from a previous exhibition in 1994 called 'em/body'. The work in 'em/body' sort to 'explore the metaphorical use of the body, using the whole body as a site for jewellery and its parts as jewellery, to describe the space between the physical and the emotional'. From this Lorraine has moved toward a marriage of exhibition and production both in style and materials. The theoretical basis is not so prominent, rather the focus is on a piece that is wearable.
Lorraine likes the effect of the flat graphic piece, like a shadow or a cross-section. The steel oxidises easily, and is sandblasted several times to clean it back after soldering. It is finished with a silicon wax and baby oil ( industrial oil is too thick, olive oil too smelly, baby oil (and clove oil) are just right.)
This piece was exhibited in the 'Tags' exhibition (4-29 September 1996, curated by Helen Aitken-Kuhnen). It was shown within a group of 11 of Lorraine's pieces alongside work by such designers as Mari Funaki, Marian Hosking and Catherine Truman.'Tags' was a significant exhibition in that it sought to showcase the unique and recognisable styles and workmanship of some of the most respected jewellers in Australia. In the context of the exhibition, 'tags' is a personal identification or signature, much the same as a dog tag is to a soldier.
See 'Tags' catalogue and 'em/body' catalogue in file. | <urn:uuid:75555006-b1ec-4101-b782-fc37e1b96b8c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=158865 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96676 | 506 | 1.742188 | 2 |
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