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NY Times profile of Baidu, China's main search engine and currently the 4th biggest website in the world. It has a market value of $3 billion, but "some analysts" question whether Baidu can keep out competition from Google and Yahoo:Interesting
"While Baidu continues to gain market share in China — and does so with a Web site that the Chinese government heavily censors and that gives priority to advertising rather than relevant search results — some analysts question whether Baidu can withstand competition from Google and Yahoo, which possess superior technology and global work forces."
I actually think the question is the wrong way round - it should be: can Google and Yahoo withstand competition from Baidu, in China?
While I'm not able to judge whether Baidu's technology is inferior to Google and Yahoo's - although I'd love some comments on this from techies who are familiar with Baidu - I think Western companies (even Google) will be hard-pressed to compete against Baidu in China. In our Top Web Apps in China post, we noted that government regulations, language and cultural barriers are all difficult for western companies to overcome. While there continues to be a lot of hype about China being the next big market for Silicon Valley companies to conquer, the reality may be completely different.
Does US have a lock on innovation?
And who's to say Google's technology is better? Netanel Jacobsson is one person who should know - he runs the up and coming browser Maxthon from China. In a recent post Netanel commented on whether America still has a lock on innovation. In short he doesn't think so and indeed had this to say:
"China should not be seen as a copy cat - but a great force on future innovation. Between 2004-05 there was an increase in close to 40 % in filed patents from China."
Baidu gaining market share, while Google struggles
Also, regarding Baidu in particular, China Web2.0 Review noted recently that Baidu gained market share last year and strengthened its leadership in China’s search market. Meanwhile Google China lost a significant amount of market share:
"According to CNNIC report, 62.1% users choose Baidu as their preferred search engine, representing an increase of 10 percentage in one year, while Google China’s market share decreased 8 percentage to 25.3%. In Mr. Lv’s research, Baidu gained 13% market share in last year, almost two third users use Baidu as their first choice, during the same period, Google China lost about 12% shares."
Why the market share slump for Google in China? According to Tangos Chan, who is the publisher of China Web 2.0 review, "Google China did not think locally."
This theme that localization matters has come through very strongly in our series of posts on international web markets. Perhaps it even matters more than the technology. | <urn:uuid:b7b08e14-4828-406b-8808-96dfd4450bfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readwrite.com/2006/09/17/baidu_google_compete | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955724 | 611 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Joyce Bone's blog
"There falls a shadow, between the conception and the creation. "- T.S. Eliot
I talk to LOTS of budding entrepreneurs. They are always so full of enthusiasm. I love that! What I don't love is when I check in six months later they are still, "sitting and spinning" with little or no momentum. That sucks. It sucks for them and for the world that could benefit from their products or services. Everyone gets cheated.
If you want to overcome fear and gain courage the easiest way to do it is to always remember that your life is but a quick blip on the radar of time. It is such a gift to be here. Don't waste it being scared of your shadow!
I just read Steve Job's biography. It's fascinating. He gave Stanford's commencement address. The final story he shared was how his thinking and awareness changed after his cancer diagnosis. At the time he thought he had beat it.
I am constantly asked, "How do you do it all Joyce?" There are several layers to that answer but the top three ways I manage to run multiple businesses, raise three boys, stay fit and all the dozens of other "to do's" is (1) I prioritize using the Pareto Principle (2) I have an accountability partner and (3) I delegate or delay as much work as possible.
Seven Steps to Developing a New Habit
First, make a decision. Decide clearly that you are going to begin acting in a specific way 100% of the time, whenever that that behavior is required. For example, if you decide to arise early and exercise each morning, set your clock for a specific time, and when the alarm goes off, immediately get up, put on your exercise clothes and begin your exercise session.
* List all your debts, total owed, payment amount, and percent of interest charged. Start with the one you owe the least on and concentrate on paying it off. After you have paid it off, add that payment to the payment on the next debt in sequence and watch your debt disappear.
Here is an email I sent today to an inventor who was looking for an investor. These words hold true for anyone looking to fund a business. Here is what I wrote. I hope you find some value in it too. | <urn:uuid:ab5948bd-5542-4fed-95b5-d43c3dbb6b21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.millionairemom.com/blog/3 | 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 | 0.974592 | 479 | 1.5 | 2 |
Teaching will take the little boy (or girl) right outta ya.
If you are a teacher and if you are anything like me, chances are that you waltzed into your classroom the first year with delusions of grandeur. I had visions of Robin Williams dancing in my head, and chants of “oh captain my captain” perpetually ringing in my ear. I thought I’d revolutionize the school, confront the principals, and show the ol fuddie duddies a thing or two.
Go ahead and laugh. Reality is kinda funny, you know.
In the process of eating humble pie, I’ve learned a thing or two about classroom management. I am not a Jedi by any stretch (I don’t think the mindtrick will EVER work on a 9th grader.), but hopefully the following list will give some perspective to both newbies and seasoned vets.
10) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It’s a cliche, but oh so true. You’ve gotta have a plan B, C, D….ZZ, etc. Basically, make sure your lessons are well thought out. There will always be some idiot out there that lives to ruin your plans. Sometimes, its an administrator or another teacher, not necessarily a student. When you write up the lesson, think, “How could Larry, the jackleg fool in the back corner, possibly ruin the lesson?” Anticipate and have something to “cut him off at the pass.”
9) Body language speaks more than spoken language. Thanks to Fred Jones for hammering this into my head. He says, “it takes one fool to open his mouth, two to make a conversation out of it.” So true. Larry talks back, and you have an option: keep silent or enter into the fray. What do you think Larry wants?
“Looking” a student back to work while fully facing him (as opposed to you just looking at him with your feet pointed in the other direction) is much better than verbally nagging (what Jones calls “pheasant posturing”). Proximity won’t work all the time, but it sure beats squawking incessantly only to have the student go back to being a nuisance.
You must have the eyes of an assassin (figuratively!) .
Jones has more here.
8) Structure, structure, structure! The more specific procedures you have, the less you will have to spend energy on discipline. The procedures will do the “heavy lifting” for you. Students want to know that there are boundaries and rules. This keeps the stress level low.
7) There is no such thing as “sometimes consistent.” If you say something, follow through….period. Sometimes you must actively follow through for quite some time before the procedure becomes “natural.” If you put a procedure in place, you must enforce it with draconian consistency, because students will be confused if you don’t. The fools in the room will also take a mile out of that inch you give. Almost everytime I’ve wavered on a specific rule, the next time I actually enforce it, my students act as if I’ve never had that rule before. I know what they are up to, but it’s a headache I don’t need. (thanks again, Jones)
An example in my class is cell phone and IPOD use. Every time I announce the rules, I know darn well someone will soon choose to call me on it. Sure enough, within the hour, someone has out a cell phone. When I confiscate it, they look at me like I just slapped them. With IPODs, they’ll usually say something like, “I wasn’t listening to it, I just had my headphones out.” Whatever. I’m not interested in being an IPOD use Pharisee and writing a Torah for Teaching; if I listen, I’ll end up making a thousand different rules about what counts as an infraction..another headache I don’t need, so just give me the contraption and lets be done with it. I can’t enter into those conversations. It’s suicide if I back down and just tell them to “put it away.”
It usually takes a month or two of me following through every time before they really “get it.”
Bottom line: talk is cheap.
6) The more students are active in the room, the fewer discipline issues you will have. A current catchphrase in education is “bell to bell work.” It really helps. If they start working as soon as they enter and don’t stop until they leave, not only does that minimize time for idle hands to get in trouble, but it sends them a strong message about the kind of teacher you are.
5) Calm is strength; anger is weakness. Only use anger in the rare and absolutely necessary circumstance. Most of the time, when you get angry, it’s entertaining to the students. Best not to give indulgence to the entertainment bug.
4) It’s ok to be hard on students. Really, it is. Sometimes we teachers have a soft spot for youngsters. We think that if we push them it will somehow damage their psyches. Not so. When I was a wrestler, I felt like cursing out my coach on the 25th or 30th sprint after practice. But, I felt like thanking him when it was overtime in a “season-in-the-balance” match and I still had gas left in the tank. My opponent wasn’t going to go easy on me; why should my coach?
The same applies in the classroom. If they think I’m tough, wait until they get to college. Wait until they have a boss. Wait until they have a spouse to love or a family to raise. Reality has a way of being pretty unforgiving. If we shield them from that now by blunting the force of consequence, that only increases the hardship later.
3) In the end, you have yourself to rely upon in your classroom. Sometimes you can get a few colleagues to help out, but learn to rely upon your own tools to get the job done. If you lean on administrators or security guards too much, they will let you down time and again. The administrator will be busy. The security guard won’t arrive. No one will answer the phone in the office. The counselor is with another student. You don’t want to have that sinking feeling in your gut as the teacher in each of those instances.
2) Environment can torpedo your management. Seriously! You need to be able to get to every student within a few steps. This is critical because the students most likely to goof off are the ones furthest from you. The longer it takes you to get to them, the more the goofing off will spread. If you have the typical desk arrangement of 5-6 straight rows, it can be quite difficult to reach these students. There are other desk arrangements that allow you greater mobility. You can see a few in by reading this book (cautionary note: Jones is a behaviorist. Best that your overall teaching philosophy doesn’t start and stop with his views. Still, he can give some good strategies for beginning teachers to manage problems…that’s the reason why I’m referencing him so profusely in this post).
1) Idle hands are the devil’s handiwork, and a long, 30 minute lecture is his Siren’s song. Nothing will give a student ants in the pants like a bunch of information thrown at him. Not only will he forget it immediately (we can only process a very, very, small chunk of verbal information at a time), but he’ll tune out and start looking for something distracting to do. When you give a lesson, make sure you are allowing the students to interact with the information with their classmates every few minutes or so. Several cycles of “say, see, do” teaching goes a long way in this vein (more here, here, and here).
Basically, students hate to be bored, so don’t bore them! Give them something to do. For many boys, something to do in the kinesthetic realm is a must. Yes, sometimes life is boring, and students must learn to deal with this. Also, our job is not to entertain them, but to teach them. But that doesn’t mean your classroom has to be boring. I sometimes think we overdo it on the boredom scale just because its easier for us…don’t get me started on this one.
Teachers, what other tips can you add?
Check out the following related posts:
If you liked what you read, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed (RSS button at the top right in the sidebar), and/or stumble this post (Stumbleupon button below). | <urn:uuid:47abe40a-b841-4d9c-bfd0-e4d0aaa0922d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pugnaciousirishman.com/2009/02/16/classroom-management-not-for-the-faint-of-heart/ | 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 | 0.959674 | 1,905 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Best known for his gritty, black-and-white documentary pictures of world events, Paolo Pellegrin is not the first person that springs to mind when you think of fashion photography. But this year Magnum Photos
picked the photographer to head up its seasonal fashion magazine—an annual, limited-edition publication for which the agency marshals one of its star members (Martin Parr, Bruce Gilden, Alec Soth and Lise Sarfati have previously taken charge of the project) to explore fashion in a way that is new, original, and above all, personal. For 2010 Pellegrin—a contract photographer for Newsweek
and eight-time winner of World Press Photo awards in various categories—has created Storm
, which he describes as “a rethinking of how we conduct ourselves, of how we inhabit this world.” This conceptual slant translates into some unconventional spreads, with stories visiting unfamiliar landscapes, from condensed Asian metropoles to volcanic Iceland and bleak Siberia. The intention is to highlight the inter-connectedness of man and nature, the latter of which “has a fascinating way of reminding us of its presence and power,” he says, referencing this April's ash-cloud debacle. Alongside these dramatic images are portraits of key visionaries—chosen by Pellegrin for their progressive and influential ideas about the environment and lifestyle—including Bruce Mau, founder of eco-design think tank “Massive Change,” outspoken fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney, and postmodern anthropologist Mark Augé. Today we offer an exclusive preview of Storm
, which is released by Magnum Photos on June 16. | <urn:uuid:87837edc-5980-4eeb-a82d-821801d600b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowness.com/day/2010/6/15/700 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943622 | 339 | 1.640625 | 2 |
An insurance tax bill has been adopted by Parliament and will come into force from 1 January 2013, subject to it being signed by the Hungarian president.
The main features of the new tax will be the following:
- It will be levied on insurance fees from comprehensive insurance, as well as most non-life insurances. Agricultural insurance, mandatory third-party liability insurance and sickness-insurance will not be covered
- The rate will be 15% on comprehensive insurance and 10% on the rest
- The tax will be payable by insurance companies but may be recharged to policyholders
- The tax will apply to risks arising in Hungary and will also be payable by insurers operating on a freedom-of-services basis. According to Hungarian case law, no relief from double taxation will be available, as the tax is unlikely to be regarded as a tax on capital or on income
- The 30% insurance tax on mandatory third-party liability insurance will remain unaffected. However, the special tax on insurance companies as well as the fire protection surcharge will be repealed.
Insurers, including those offering their services in Hungary without a physical presence, should review their pricing policies in the light of this new tax. | <urn:uuid:a0bc1c39-e0ac-435e-ba9a-b8a7e349fa03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=bbddb6b5-e0e5-454c-a8cf-06682833ecbd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970719 | 244 | 1.765625 | 2 |
WASHINGTON -- Lawyers in at least two recent high-profile U.S. trials say they'll appeal the verdicts due to jurors who posted on Twitter during the trial.
The situations have legal scholars pondering the implications of social-networking by jurors who are routinely ordered not to discuss the cases they are involved in with anyone.
"Our (legal) doctrine is not made for a wired universe," Daniel Richman, who teaches at Columbia Law School, told ABC News.com.
ABC said Tuesday the Twitter postings were being used as grounds for appeal by attorneys for an Arkansas company hit with a $12.6 million civil verdict and by former Pennsylvania State Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, who was convicted Monday of obstruction of justice.
Fumo's motion to halt the deliberations last week contended that although the unnamed juror's posts didn't indicate which way the panel was leaning, his penchant for online communications could have led him to read postings from others stating opinions on Fumo's guilt or innocence.
Although the judge had ruled the juror could remain in the case, experts tell ABC that comments on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere in cyberspace will have to be considered by judges across the country.
"There's one simple rule that I tell everyone," Anne Reed, a Milwaukee attorney and jury consultant, said to ABC. "If the person said the same thing offline, what would we do?"
Copyright © 2009, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:2d1db978-52d0-467a-a120-73124a17f398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bendweekly.com/Nationwide-News/16474.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980187 | 303 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The ever changing global market continues to drive change within the transportation market. The automotive market, for example, over the past few decades has adopted the use of plastics in many interior and exterior applications that were once steel. Today an average vehicle contains more than 300 lbs of plastic. The continued demand for reduced weight which leads to improved mileage and reduced emissions has driven the rapid acceptance of plastics. Throughout this transition, Dow Elastomers lead the way with innovative products such as ENGAGE™, VERSIFY™ and the recently developed INFUSE™ Olefin Block Copolymers. These products deliver the toughness and impact necessary to allow plastics to substitute many exterior parts that were once steel. | <urn:uuid:ee6f3448-c4a8-4fbc-8ec7-e08d1b6203c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dow.com/elastomers/markets/transport/internal/impact.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966411 | 136 | 1.84375 | 2 |
3 Words Could Increase Drug Costs By $1.2B Annually
Arizona governor Jan Brewer has generated a lot of press lately and a lot of jokes with her proposal to require some of the state's Medicaid members pay an annual $50 fine for engaging in certain unhealthy behaviors like being obese and smoking.
Google "Arizona + obesity" and more than 6.8 million results from last week appear concerning Brewer's fee proposal along with plenty of references to a so-called flab-and-fat tax.
I have no opinion about the fairness of a flab tax, but it does make me think about how easily our national debate about healthcare can be bogged down and distracted by some nickel-and-dime proposals. If every man, woman and child in Arizona's Medicaid program paid the fine the state's coffers would swell by $50 million, which is a drop in the state's annual $8.9 billion Medicaid budget.
Meanwhile, according to a recent study, three words cost our healthcare system several billion dollars each year. "Dispense as written," or DAW is used by some physicians to avoid the generic equivalent of brand name drugs. Some states allow the patients themselves to request a brand name drug even if the prescribing physician will allow generics.
Researchers at Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark studied 5.6 million prescriptions for 2 million patients. Here is what they discovered:
- Some 4.7% of the prescriptions were designated as DAW.
- For the most part physicians, used DAW when no generic alternatives were available.
- In 2% of the prescriptions, patients opted for brand name drugs even when a generic version was available and the physician approved the substitution.
- CMS Seeks to 'Rapidly Reduce' Medicare Spending with $1B in Grants
- Building a Better Healthcare Board
- Case Study: Advance Care Conversations
- Patient Harm Data to Remain on Medicare's Hospital Compare Site
- Quiet ORs Better for Patient Safety
- Hard-Nosed About Physician Teamwork
- Hospital Pricing Data Dump Won't Hurt You, Yet
- CMS Releases Hospital Pricing Data
- Tavenner Confirmed as CMS Administrator
- Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research: Avoiding Confusion | <urn:uuid:4c9c8ba4-139b-42e4-9d0d-4071d87ba486> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/hep-264624/3-Words-Could-Increase-Drug-Costs-By-12B-Annually | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947382 | 468 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Survey of Energy Resources Interim Update 2009
SER 2007 version >Wave Energy Country Notes update
The Australian Federal Government and the State Governments are currently supporting the development of wave energy by issuing licences and by being party to MOU's. There has been considerable testing and development of the various wave schemes in recent years.
Energetech (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Energetech Australia Pty Ltd. changed its name to Oceanlinx in April 2007. The company reports that a power purchase agreement has been signed with the utility Integral Energy for the supply of electricity from the 450 kW prototype Port Kembla wave project which is undergoing an extended production test. Oceanlinx also reports progress in obtaining the necessary permits required for the installation of the 27 MW Portland wave scheme in Victoria.
Carnegie Corporation Ltd.
The first and second pilot-scale CETO 2 wave energy units, developed by Seapower Pacific, a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Holding Plc/Carnegie Corporation Ltd., were deployed in January and February 2008 respectively at the CETO test site in Fremantle, Western Australia. Subsequent units were deployed later in the year. Testing of CETO 2 is occurring concurrently with the development of CETO 3. A full-scale, deepwater, commercial demonstration version of the latter is expected during 2009.
In August 2008 Carnegie Corporation announced that the company had been awarded a wave energy licence and an option to lease a site off Albany by the Western Australia State Government. The company hopes to develop a commercial wave farm.
An MOU between the Australian Department of Defence and Carnegie will allow Carnegie to determine the feasibility of a WA wave project which would ultimately supply electricity and/or desalinated water to the Stirling Naval Base on Garden Island.
Early in 2009 Carnegie and Synergy, Western Australia's largest electricity retailer, signed an MOU. Carnegie would sell wave-generated electricity to Synergy from its CETO projects in Western Australia.
Carnegie has signed a Licence Agreement with the South Australia State Government to investigate an 17 000 hectare offshore area in the region of Port MacDonnell, suitable for a 50 MW demonstration wave scheme.
The MOU signed between BioPower Systems and Hydro Tasmania in May 2008 will allow BioPower to test its pilot bioWAVE™ device in the waters off King Island. The 250 kW unit will feed the electricity generated into the grid. The company has stated that it hopes to launch its first commercial units in 2010.
The emphasis in the Danish wave sector is currently on developing the technology by private enterprise, rather than on a governmental policy for utilising wave energy.
Until January 2005 Wave Dragon was tested at its location in Nissum Bredning. A modified prototype was re-sited and subsequently tested. In mid-2008, the unit underwent maintenance and repairs; re-deployment and final testing in its original site is planned for March 2009.
In December 2008 WavePlane A/S reported that it was ready to deploy its first full-scale prototype. After initial testing it will be towed to an anchorage site at Hanstholm where further testing and connection to the grid will take place.
Wave Star Energy has been extensively testing its Wave Star plant, also anchored at Nissum Bredning. The original unit was a 1:10 scale model, producing 5.5 kW, but the company is now working to construct a 1:2 scale model. The plan is ultimately to build and market a 6 MW unit.
Floating Power Plant A/S deployed its demonstration Poseidon 37 floating power plant in the Vindeby offshore wind park in September 2008. Following testing, the company plans to develop hybrid power plants which act as a floating foundation for offshore wind turbines.
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI, Ireland's national energy agency) and the Marine Institute prepared the National Strategy for Ocean Energy in 2006. The aim is to introduce ocean energy and then to develop the sector as part of the renewables portfolio. To this end, the Strategy has four phases - Phase 1: 2005-2007, a test site for quarter-scale prototypes developed in Galway Bay, R&D; Phase 2: 2008-2010, continues work of Phase 1 together with demonstration of pre-commercial single devices and establishment of a grid-connected test site; Phase 3: 2011-2015, testing and evaluation of pre-commercial small array wave units; Phase 4: 2016 onwards, formulation of strategies for commercial development of wave power.
The Ocean Energy Development Unit (OEDU) was created to assist with the implementation of the Government's policy to hasten the development of ocean energy in Ireland. The current targets for wave and tidal are 75 MW by 2012 and 500 MW by 2020. Furthermore it is planned that Ireland will become a centre of excellence for ocean technologies. It is hoped that several sites on the west coast of Ireland will be granted permission for development.
In January 2009, it was announced that the Swedish utility Vattenfall had acquired 51% of Pandion Ltd, an ocean energy site development company. The remaining 49% is owned by Wavebob Ltd. The Wavebob device continues to be tested and evaluated.
During mid-2008 Ocean Energy successfully completed first sea trials of its OE Buoy prototype wave energy converter. At the beginning of 2009 the company reported that it was finalising its strategic business plan prior to raising capital for developing a full-scale device.
Portugal plays a leading role in the wave energy sector and saw the world's first commercial wave power project installed during 2008. The Wave Energy Centre (WavEC), founded in 2003, continues to promote and support the implementation of wave energy technology and the commercialisation of devices.
At the beginning of 2007, Government approval was given for the creation of a Pilot Zone at São Pedro de Muel, Marinha Grande, 150 km north of Lisbon. The Zone was set up in January 2008 and later, in December, a Decree approved the bases of concession to harness the wave energy resource and also granted this concession to the national grid operator, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) to manage the site. The stated objectives of the Pilot Zone are: to create an industrial cluster by attracting demonstration and development to the country; to increase renewable energy production and to promote innovation, supported by R&D. The area covered by the Zone is approximately 400 km2, lying between 5 and 8 km from the coastline. It will be connected to both the local distribution network and the national grid.
Pelamis Wave Power (PWP)
On 23 September 2008, the world's first commercial wave power project was inaugurated at the Aguçadoura Wave Park in northern Portugal. The three semi-submerged, articulated 750 kW Pelamis Wave Energy Converters (PWEC) lie 5 km off the Atlantic coastline and are connected to shore where generated electricity is fed to the national grid. The Scottish company, PWP (formerly Ocean Power Delivery) will supply a further 25 PWECs bringing the total capacity to 21 MW in the second phase of the project.
Testing followed the successful deployment of a WaveRoller 13 kW prototype at Peniche, 100 km north of Lisbon in April 2007. WaveRoller, a product of the Finnish company AW-Energy Oy is a bottom-mounted flat plate oscillating device. By mid-2007 AW-Energy had formed a partnership with the Lena Group of Portugal to create a new entity to finance and develop a 1 MW power plant based on the WaveRoller technology. In April 2008 a second WaveRoller prototype was deployed in Peniche, where it is undergoing testing and evaluation.
Globally, the UK remains at the forefront of the development of wave energy technology.
The UK's Energy Act 2008 became law in November 2008 and will implement the legislative aspects of the 2007 Energy White Paper: Meeting the Energy Challenge. In part, the Act will strengthen the Renewables Obligation to drive greater and more rapid deployment of renewable energy in the UK. In December 2008 a draft Renewables Obligation Order 2009 was published.
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), completed in late 2003 in Orkney, Scotland, provides developers with the wherewithal to test full-scale grid-connected prototype wave and tidal devices. A first of its kind in the world, EMEC's wave test centre is sited off Billia Croo, Mainland island, Orkney.
Although not all wave energy devices conform, EMEC has identified six main types of wave energy converter (attenuator, point absorber, oscillating wave surge converter, oscillating water column, overtopping device and submerged pressure differential) and approximately 100 wave energy concepts. However, many concepts are still at the R&D stage.
England's South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) exists to promote and develop a sustainable economy in the region by identifying its business potential. Having established the SWRDA in 1999, the Government announced in August 2006 that funding would be available for a seabed unit for connecting wave energy converters. Located 16 km offshore from the north Cornish coast, Wave Hub is planned to have up to four devices connected to it, ultimately sending up to 20 MW of generated electricity ashore by sub-sea cable to Hayle. The objective of Wave Hub is that whilst connected, the devices can be tested and evaluated in a pre-commercial environment.
Approval for the construction of Wave Hub was given in September 2007 and, subject to the necessary approvals, it is hoped that the project will be operational in early 2010 with electricity generated by end-2011. Covering a total area 4 km x 2 km, each device will be granted a lease of between 5 and 10 years in an area of 2 km2. The initial four companies to deploy their devices have been chosen: Oceanlinx, Ocean Power Technologies, Fred. Olsen and WestWave (a consortium of E.ON and Ocean Prospect, using a Pelamis device). In time, up to 30 wave devices are expected to be deployed.
The Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power (PWP) was the first to see its technology deployed in the commercial Aguçadoura wave farm (see Portugal). Within the UK, ScottishPower Renewables was granted planning permission in September 2007 to install a wave farm at the EMEC test centre. Four Pelamis devices generating approximately 3 MW of electricity will utilise EMEC's infrastructure to send power to the grid.
In February 2009 it was announced that the utility, E.ON had ordered a next-generation wave device from PWP. Known as P-2, the 750 kW unit will be installed and tested at EMEC before the expected fully operational date of 2010.
Wave Dragon Wales, a subsidiary of the Danish company Wave Dragon, has been granted funding for its Welsh Demonstrator project. The intention is for the site of the Wave Dragon device to be some 3-5 km offshore from Milford Haven and to be tested for 3-5 years.
In early 2009 the Scottish Assembly consented to the Siadar Wave Energy Project (SWEP). The near-shore SWEP will be located on the western coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides. When operational - expected 2010-2011, the 3-4 MW project will be one of the first to operate under the Scottish Government's proposed multiple Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC)4 scheme. SWEP is a joint project between npower renewables (RWE Innogy's UK operating company) and Wavegen (the Scottish subsidiary of Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation) and is based on the latter's 100 kW LIMPET device. | <urn:uuid:91d070c0-d53a-49af-9b6e-2fbd91e4519c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/survey_of_energy_resources_interim_update_2009/wave_energy/1825.asp?textsize=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942955 | 2,415 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Kinder Morgan deal will likely make the company the largest natural gas pipeline operator in North America. This comes at a time when more people in the U.S. are becoming reliant on the fuel. For more, Robert Siegel speaks with Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Associates and author of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World.
A huge deal in the energy business is just the latest signal that natural gas is a hot commodity. One of the largest natural gas pipeline operators, Kinder Morgan, is buying its rival El Paso for $21 billion.
In farm communities, there are mixed feelings on conservation payments. Farmer Don Teske, of Wheaton, Kansas, says "the perception is that you're being paid to do nothing." They don't want to be park rangers, they want to farm.
Scientists and regulators have concluded time and time again that labeling genetically modified foods is unnecessary because they are no different than other foods. But food policy experts say just label them, already, so people can make their own choices.
One of the brightest supernovas in the last century is now visible. Discovered shortly after its light reached Earth in August, the supernova will last for more than a decade, but it won't stay in view for amateur astronomers for much longer.
Ned Kelly was tall, manly, often on horseback, chivalrous to ladies, a sucker for babies, a revolutionary, a bank robber and even an Irish nationalist. And now, 130 years later, Australia's legendary outlaw hero has been found.
Federal officials continue to probe allegations of misconduct related to a famous report on dead polar bears that raised concerns about climate change. Later this month, officials plan to re-interview one of the two government scientists who wrote that report.
The origins of a stash of 220-million-year-old, 40-plus-foot-long ichthyosaur bones at a Nevada site have long puzzled paleontologists. Paleontologist Mark McMenamin explains his controversial theory that the bones were put there by a giant, ancient octopus-like creature.
When you give to WAMU, your tax-deductible membership gift helps make possible award-winning programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Diane Rehm Show, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, and other favorites. | <urn:uuid:fa98e97c-97c0-4b30-b921-bdced115774e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wamu.org/topic/science?page=276&width=605&height=485&inline=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947808 | 493 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Stephen Harper should pick special envoy for talks with native leaders: Tim Harper
Theresa Spence and Attawapiskat have become a sideshow to the larger need for the PM and aboriginal leaders to help each other out of a corner.
Theresa Spence was never a good fit as the public face of aboriginal discontent in this country.
The Attawapiskat chief essentially hijacked the Idle No More movement that had begun about a month before she started drawing the wrong type of attention to her fast on Victoria Island.
Her demands began shifting and there were already questions about spending and accountability in her James Bay community.
Television clips of her hopping in a car for a nap and a shower at a nearby hotel provided ammunition for her enemies on the right and the parade of opposition MPs and former prime ministers to her teepee began draining attention from a larger issue.
It culminated with an unsurprising leak of a damning audit showing a lack of accountability with taxpayers funds; a leak that just as predictably became fodder for her supporters who accuse the government of a smear campaign.
All of this is a sideshow. This was never only about Attawapiskat, certainly never all about Theresa Spence.
Instead, a Friday meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a handful of key cabinet ministers and a delegation of First Nations leaders must move beyond the conflicting layers of this saga because the stakes are huge.
They are huge for both sides and there is reason for hope because both sides need the other.
Harper may not be looking for a legacy but he has been pushed to a place in which such a legacy could be forged, or his well-honed reputation as the reliable, steady hand on an economy that has held firm as all hell breaks loose around him could be trashed.
Likewise, native leaders need to prove that they are indeed capable of representing their constituency and can make strides in protecting treaty rights, safeguarding the environment on their traditional lands and garnering their fair share of revenues from the riches beneath the Canadian terrain.
Harper has oil he wants to move and minerals he wants to extract. He has staked Canada’s economic future on such a strategy. Without a more equitable arrangement with First Nations, that strategy will fail.
First Nations populations need proper education and the jobs that will flow from that. A younger generation, understandably frustrated, cannot be further marginalized, and Harper needs them to be part of his economic solution — not working against him.
As 2013 dawns, the two sides are suddenly symbiotic.
This is a file for Harper, a man who has shown us he likes to take control of the bigger challenges to his government.
Everyone else on his side Friday will be window-dressing.
Of the many theories and trial balloons floated in search of a solution to this latest iteration of aboriginal discontent, the most intriguing I have heard involved Harper appointing a special envoy to negotiate the many hurdles between First Nations and a government now seen as the enemy.
Harper would be wise to choose a representative to handle negotiations, issue-by-issue, going forward from Friday’s meeting, someone from outside cabinet who would report to only him and would be beholden to no one else.
Names have been floated. Former Indian affairs minister Jim Prentice is one, but a man who may harbour leadership ambitions may not be eager to take on such a loaded file.
Senator Hugh Segal is one of the nation’s best progressive thinkers. Stephen Lewis may be 75 year old, but shows no sign of slowing down. Former prime ministers Paul Martin, whose championing of native rights may put him at odds with the pragmatic thinking in the prime minister’s office, and Joe Clark have been mentioned.
But maybe the man for the job is already in Harper’s office.
Nigel Wright, Harper’s chief of staff, is still technically on leave from Onex Corp., but it is a leave he has extended.
Wright has a solid reputation as a man who can get things done, a man who leaves his ideology at the door if a deal can be struck.
But the Friday meeting must also make one thing clear.
Who is speaking for First Nations in this country?
It is not Spence. There is no shortage of those in the Idle No More movement who have publicly stated that Shawn Atleo and the Assembly of First Nations does not speak for them.
If the government is to start a dialogue with clear goals — as it must — it must know who it is dealing with on the other side of the table.
Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. [email protected]
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- Updated Many reasons to delete documents, says former McGuinty chief of staff
- Updated Rob Ford’s alleged attacker will have her day in court, lawyer says | <urn:uuid:de6b7129-afdf-4754-b336-f7810ccfb744> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/01/08/stephen_harper_should_pick_special_envoy_for_talks_with_native_leaders_tim_harper.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969326 | 1,077 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Return of the Spirit
The Comic Book Reader
When Harvey Comics, publishers of Casper the Friendly Ghost and Baby Hucy, stopped reprinting early Dick Tracy strips, they became just another comic book factory, part of the creeping comic book decay of the early 60's.
Now, with the publication of The Spirit, Harvey swings back where the action is, and joins the comic book Renaissance started by Marvel Comics with Captain America, The Hulk and Spiderman.
Will Eisner, The Spirit's creator, was one of the best of the comic book artists of the '30's and '40's. He wrote his own strips, and drew them in a violent graphic style related to the German expressionist approach to moviemaking practiced by Fritz Lang, G. W. Pabst, and F. W. Murnau. Eisner's strip was filled with horrifying close-ups, weird shadows, and strange angles. Jules Feiffer claims that The Spirit's world looked "more real than the world of other comic book men because it looked that much more like a movie."
The premiss of The Spirit is pleasently aboard. The hero is (quoting Eisner) "really Denny Cok, a young criminologist presumed dead by the public but who continues to assist sosociety behind the maskk of The Spirit. That he operates out of Wildwood Cemetery where he is supposed to be buried, is known only to commissioner Dolan, and his daughter Ellen..."
Although Eisner's plotting and characterization (he specialized in lush villainesses) made The Spirit an early comic book excursion into Terry and the Pirates-type-exoticism, The Spirit himself was a genial, middle-class fellow in a baggy blue suit and a Lone Ranger mask: hardly one of your invincible superheroes. Perhaps the magnetic appeal of Denny Colt resulted from Eisner's combination of a wholesome American hero and a sinister world of shadowy evil. In any case, Eisner and his Spirit were a tremendous influence on comic strip artists of the next generation.
The current version of The Spirit isn't Eisner's; the stories are new, although no efforts have been made to make the characters or the situations up-to-date. They are drawn by three or four artists, among them Wallace Wood and Jack Davis.
Wood and Davis helped create EC Comics (E for Educational) and were responsible for much of the art in Tales From the Crypt, Veuls of Horror, Two-Fisted Tales, and the original Med. Although the content in EC Comics was offensive enough to cause the formation of a national Comic Code Authority, the level of artwork was extremely high, with Eisner's influence visible throughout.
The current Spirit says true to its model. The drawing emphasizes the detail of light, shadow, and angular point-of-view that distinguished the dramatic visualization of sound effects: one superb panel shows a progression of muddy footprints on concrete, the words "click" and "clack" written in tiny lettering next to each foot puddle. With the possible exception of Leonard Starr's newspaper strip On Stage, The Spirit is comic strip art at its most inventive.
If your method of reading a comic book doesn't include careful analysis of the artwork, The Spirit is also funny and well-written. In the current issue, Denny Cok encounters a blonde named Lorelei who lures truck-drivers to their doom, and a Martian bank-teller named Miss Cosmek, who doesn't want to leave Earth. The next issue promises a run-in between The Spirit and a Parisian temptress who calls herself Plaster of Paris. | <urn:uuid:bd594cb5-289e-4ba7-b8a3-63b36d833ce8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1966/7/26/return-of-the-spirit-pwhen-harvey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953676 | 751 | 1.59375 | 2 |
(For those of you who don’t know, who for some reason have internet but don’t check news or Facebook or twitter and hang out with people who don’t check news or FB or twitter, Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, had an earthquake with catastrophic consequences this week).
I have been watching the images from Haiti, aghast and speechless with horror and heartbreak. For every person rescued, many others are languishing and dying under the rubble of concrete buildings. I wept last night as I ran while watching television when a man ran up to CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta with his 15-day old daughter who had a severe head laceration. His wife, the child’s mother had died in the earthquake, that child was all he head left. Every news report is accompanied by the wailing of mourners in the background.
Our fellow human beings are being subjected to suffering, and we need to not only send prayers but actual help, just as we did for Hurricane Katrina. The vast majority of us are unqualified to help, and so we *must* send money. We all have something to give, even if money is tight. Instead of dining out, send that money to aid organizations. Instead of buying that dress, send the money to aid organizations.
It’s as easy as texting “HAITI” to “90999,” which will contribute $10 to the Red Cross that will be charged to your cellphone.
If you want to donate more than $10, you can donate to the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders or go to the White House Website to look at its list of other organizations you may want to consider supporting.
We are not helpless, because we can ALL help. And should.
My friend is putting together a bakesale for Haiti on Saturday January 23rd, from 10am-2pm, in various locations throughout Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco (Pizzaiolo in Oakland, Gioia’s Pizza in Berkeley, and Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco). Spread the word. There is more than one way to send money to Haiti–you can buy a cupcake and benefit Haiti, too. | <urn:uuid:19b1a7af-b4fe-4cbe-a05c-f8bc0f0a364a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://czilka.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/haiti/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966694 | 468 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Inside North Korea DVD
SKU ID #68610
You Save: $4.96 17% off
To Order by Phone Call 1-800-344-6336
- Additional Details
- Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
- Rating: Not Rated
- Number of Discs: 1
- Run Time: 70 Minutes
- Region: Region 1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
- Language: English
- Studio: History Channel
- DVD Release Date: August 24, 2004
Intelligence experts offer a rare look at the world's most secretive and mysterious nation.
- Hear from those who have escaped the totalitarian regime.
- Trace the history of North Korea from its Cold War origins to today.
- Features and interviews with one of Kim Jong Il's former bodyguards.
One of the world's most mysterious countries, North Korea has remained shrouded from the rest of the world throughout its 50-year history. Using recent developments as a launching pad, INSIDE NORTH KOREA explores the history of the world's most secretive country.
The story is inextricable from the tale of the only two leaders the nation has ever had: Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il, who have fashioned a dictatorial cult of personality that subjects its citizens to lives of crushing poverty and want. The recollections of people who have escaped the regime, including one of Kim Jong Il's former bodyguards, paint a dark portrait of a place where the leader is revered as a God, where a deadly famine has claimed three million lives, where citizens' rights and freedoms are restricted, and of a brutal gulag system where many are unjustly imprisoned. | <urn:uuid:114e6ecd-e4e9-4d2d-bf05-28fdb98945f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shop.history.com/inside-north-korea-dvd/detail.php?p=68610&v=history-education_subjects_social-studies_american-history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935128 | 352 | 1.65625 | 2 |
ABB Robotics – Robotics on the Move
ChallengeABB Robotics (“ABB”) operates in the business-to-business product space as a leading global supplier of industrial robots and robot-based automation solutions. The corporation develops systems for Fortune 500 companies where it helps companies like Ford, BMW, Gillette and Apple improve their performance; and with global partners, where they co-develop and manage customized assembly line and plant subsystems across multiple industries. ABB has installed more than 160,000 robots worldwide to date.
The company sought to grow its customer base by implementing a B2B, face-to-face marketing campaign that would take product advantage awareness beyond the expo hall, as well as equip regional sales personnel with a means for engaging with customers, on an individual basis. To achieve these objectives, ABB enlisted award-winning experiential marketing firm EEI Global to employ a mobile solution to both increase dialogue with influencers within its existing customers and introduce its robotics technology to new clients in growing industries, like packaging and fulfillment, throughout North America. A secondary obective was to market the robotics industry as an exciting career destination for engineering students around the country, ultimately, for recruitment purposes.
Consider that, in terms of robotic marketing, even a relatively small robot weighs almost 1,700 pounds and has a working radius of more than seven-feet. Compare these dimensions to a working welding cell that weights more than 4,500 pounds, consumes 480 volts of 3-phase electrical service and needs a special exhaust system to vent harmful gasses, and the experiential marketing challenge is clear. Due to the size, weight, electrical and utility requirements of manufacturing robotics, ABB had confined prior event marketing efforts to the trade show floor.
EEI Global was also tasked with permeating a very diverse, yet related, audience, all under the auspices of a single campaign. The primary target audience focus was a dirfect business audience, including existing ABB customers, and prospects in the welding, metal fabrication, painting and fulfillment industries. The secondary audience was also B2B, but focused on "partner" industry companies that also traditionally hosted customer events. Finally, the solution needed to engage students at top engineering universities to introduce mechanical and electrical engineers to the fascinating world of robotics and begin ABB recruiting efforts for top grads. Different audiences with different needs, each which EEI Global sought to inspire with the power of ABB’s robotics technologies.
SolutionDrawing upon more than 25 years of effective B2B marketing solutions to a technology client base, EEI Global developed a mobile exhibit – the ABB Robotics on the Move (ROTM) campaign – that efficiently packaged and communicated ABB's advantages to its target customers. EEI Global designed and engineered a 48-foot, double-expandable mobile trailer to carry a custom interior and the robots that would be showcased within. Key features of the ROTM trailer included two fully operational robot cells, a cut away robot display, a flexible presentation space that served as an interactive theater for small audiences, a classroom setting for training of larger groups, eight large LCD monitors that supported both the cells and general ABB messaging, four robot 'family' kiosks that highlighted ABB product range and an ABB-branded awning that covered hospitality service and overflow for larger audience groups. EEI Mobile provided turn key tour management services.
Given the sheer logistics involved in mobilizing robotics, imagine the audience reaction when, upon entering the ROTM mobile trailer, guests were introduced to two working robot cells, a third cutaway cell and a small theater for presentation delivery. EEI Global’s mobile solution perfectly showcased ABB's technological edge, and achieved what no other robotic manufacturer had even attempted -- a completely mobile showroom that featured real, fully functional robot cells.
Results and BenefitsCompletely designed and engineered by EEI Global, the build out of the tractor and trailer units was completed in a sleepless 10 weeks. In less than nine months in 2007, the ROTM program traveled more than 25,000 miles to 25 events throughout North America. Hosting audiences that ranged from 50 visitors to crowds of more than 1,000 people per day. Most event stops consisted of two show days with total attendance averaging 500 guests.
The numbers by which all tours are measured, right or wrong, are sales, and in this respect, ROTM was most impressive. During the abbreviated 2007 schedule, ABB sold $1.2 million of product and booked another $15.1 million of future business. Due to the business’ long sales cycle (18 months), ABB does not consider the 15.1 million sold but does consider that figure sum as 'new,’ meaning that it credits the pending sale completely to the ROTM program. The 2008 program has been expanded, and its success evident in the requests for its appearance by both ABB representatives and customers, who have heard about the program and want the ROTM program to visit their facility. | <urn:uuid:e8a6f4d5-d225-466c-8288-ae3a1203326c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eeiglobal.com/mobile/?s=casestudies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954158 | 1,032 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Remember Margaret Thatcher’s sonorous declaration of TINA–There Is No Alternative (to capitalism)? Well, TINA is back!
Many moons ago (October 5, 1995, to be precise), back when Jyoti Basu was still the official party boss of the CPI(M), he had declared in very erudite terms to a New York Times reporter, that although “[a] debacle has taken place in the Soviet Union, … we don’t think it as the end of Marxism.” The “debacle” he was referring to, of course, was the collapse of the USSR, which had been understood as signaling the death of marxism. Okay, I hear you say, a leader of a communist party defended the relevance of Marxism following the collapse of the Soviet Union. What’s so remarkable about that? It’s rather mundane and predictable, isn’t it? Hmm…. Well, read on.
The NYTimes article ends thusly:
“We are not inviting capitalism to West Bengal; we are inviting capital,” said Anil Biswas, editor of the party’s newspaper.
Reaching for a dog-eared copy of the Communist Manifesto, he turned to the section on capital and added triumphantly, “Read that, and you’ll see that capitalism and capital are two entirely different things.”
What an astute, incisive, and enlightening insight: capitalism and capital are two different things! Who knew?! Not only are they two (entirely) different “things,” but apparently you can have one without the other.
What could have prompted the editor of a supposedly “communist” newspaper to make such an asinine statement? I can only hazard a guess. For the CPI(M) and its ideologues, Communists are apparently miracle-workers, and sort of like the alchemists of yore, they can take “capital” and somehow extricate it from all the icky stuff that we call “capitalism.” So, if you are stressed out about all that exploitation and oppression that you associated with multinational corporations, banks and financial institutions, don’t worry–because the Communist State will clean it all up for you.
Well, twelve years later, the good comrades have further developed their novel thesis, only this time without the pretense at cleverness. The reason for their forthrightness this time around, of course, is the absolute disaster they have on their hands thanks to their brutal attempt to impose neoliberal policies in West Bengal. (For the best ongoing analysis, see sanhati.com.) In the wake of the protests against these policies, both at home and abroad, CPI(M) propagandists and die-hard knucklehead apologists like Vijay Prashad have taken it upon themselves to issue Stalinoid rationalizations for these policies. This is old news now.
On January 3rd, according to an article in The Hindu, party stalwart and West Bengal Chief Minister, addressing an audience on the occasion of the 42nd anniversary of the founding of their newspaper, Ganashakti (“People’s Power”) put it quite clearly: “We have to accept capitalism…. This is being realistic in a situation where there is no alternative.”
Then, as if on cue, Jyoti Basu repeated the same argument two days later. Here’s an article from The Tribune, dated January 5, and titled “Basu: We want capital; socialism not possible now”:
Veteran CPM leader Jyoti Basu today conceded that socialism and classless society were Utopian ideas. He admitted that though they were communists, they had accepted capitalism since they were living in the capitalistic system.
“It is always wise to accept the situation and accordingly take necessary steps for quickly developing the country,” Basu suggested….
Strongly endorsing CM [Chief Minister] Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s policy of rapid industrialisation with the private and corporate investments, Basu complemented the CM for taking the right step.
The party patriarch said the people would have to wait some [!] more time to see the true socialism in practice and a classless society in reality.
He said the entire nation has been running under the capitalistic system and the communists, commanding only three small states, cannot enforce [sic!] socialism in the entire country…. [full]
Well, thank goodness for the fact that they “command only three small states,” is all we can say!
(Today, I read in The Hindu that Sitaram Yechury, another senior CPI(M) Politburo member has declared that in fact, the CPI(M) is looking for a “third alternative” to neoliberalism and communalism.) Moving on….
Well, what of those who don’t believe that we must accept capitalism? What of those who feel there is something wrong with neoliberalism and corporate globalization, and that a party that claims to stand in the tradition of Marxism ought not to enforce such policies? Well, the West Bengal Chief Minister has an answer. According to The Hindu, “The Chief Minister stressed the need for clearing the misunderstanding of ‘those who are genuinely confused.’” In other words, those who oppose the forcible acquisition of farmers’ land for the creation of tax-free Special Economic Zones for multinational mega-corporations like the Salim Group (with ties to erstwhile dictator Suharto’s family) are simply “confused,” and the party newspaper can presumably “clear” up the “misunderstanding.”
With Communists like these, who needs neocons?! And when will the Vijay Prashads of the world give up the charade, and accept that they too, like their party patriarchs, have accepted the idea that There Is No Alternative? | <urn:uuid:15460530-8e14-47d5-84cd-a8b9036e5f21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://leftyprof.wordpress.com/tag/neoliberalism/ | 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 | 0.955525 | 1,260 | 1.820313 | 2 |
You could say it's the weather, since Washingtonians have spent the last several days helping one another dig out from some 20 inches of snow. But a spirit of cooperation is undeniably stealing into the capital.
The Reagan White House and congressional Democrats, once locked in bitter partisan combat, are now aiming their shots at a common enemy - the recession - instead of at each other.
It is an uneasy truce, and it will be sorely tested soon over military spending and income taxes. But it almost guarantees that during the next few weeks Congress will produce, and the President will sign, a jobs and emergency aid bill including some $4.5 billion for jobs and relief, plus $2.9 billion for extending unemployment benefits.
House majority leader Jim Wright (D) of Texas this week called White House willingness to go along on the jobs-and-aid program ''the first sign'' that President Reagan is acting in the bipartisan manner he promised last month in his State of the Union message.
Rep. Thomas S. Foley of Washington, who heads the House Democratic task force on jobs, embraced the President's proposal as a starting point for fighting the recession. Even if joint action robs his party of a political issue, the Washington State congressman called for ''cooperation instead of confrontation.''
Mr. Foley even tried to smooth over possible conflict by promising that his party will not try to add several billion dollars more than the White House proposes.
Democrats will find it difficult to slam the Reagan antirecession plan, since it takes pages out of the Democrats' own book.
The Reagan proposal is similar to a bill that was passed last year by the House but dropped because of a Reagan veto threat. The President's package would put $250 million into emergency food and shelter and provide $2 billion for public-works projects in transportation, flood control, and national parks.
Local government grants would go up by $1.2 billion, and $765 million would go for jobs repairing veterans' hospitals, prisons, Indian schools, and other federal buildings, while $50 million would be added for day care. The President also goes along with extending unemployment benefits, due to run out in the next three months. | <urn:uuid:4ffed7da-e42c-4051-8b01-1924c22887c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/1983/0216/021656.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959916 | 446 | 1.835938 | 2 |
As part of its Fall 2012/Spring 2013 Performing Arts Season, Japan Society presents Seinendan Theater Company and Osaka University's Robot Theater Project, a double bill of one-act plays written and directed by Oriza Hirata. Co-presented with the Japan Foundation, this production plays three performances at Japan Society during a six-city North American tour. Performances at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street) are tonight, February 7, Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9 at 7:30pm (running time: 75 minutes including intermission).
Oriza Hirata, founder of Japan's celebrated Seinendan Theater Company, imagines a time in the near future when robots are commonly found in family households and function as much more than servants. This captivating, heartrending double bill of the short plays Sayonara and I, Worker was developed in collaboration with Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, a leading international researcher on robotics and Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University.
In Sayonara, featuring android and human actors, an android is bought to console a girl suffering from a terminal illness, but when its mechanics go awry, the meaning of life and death to humans and robots comes into question. This short play is performed by two human actors and Geminoid F -- a humanoid robot that looks identical to the woman it was modeled after, developed by a laboratory led by Dr. Ishiguro. A compelling fusion of theater arts and science, Sayonara was created in 2010. Its premier incarnation received honorary mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2011 in the Interactive Art category. Since then, a new scene in which the android faces a new mission was added as a reflection upon the nuclear disaster caused by the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami. Sayonara will be performed in English and Japanese with English subtitles.
In I, Worker, featuring robots and human actors, a husband's struggle to cope with the loss of his child is juxtaposed with the malaise of one of his robots, which has lost all motivation to work. Created in 2008, I, Worker is the first full-scale robot-human theater production born of the collaboration between Oriza Hirata and Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro. I, Worker grapples with the concept of 'work' and what it means to both humans - and robots. I, Worker will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles.
Seinendan Theater Company and Osaka University's Robot Theater Project features performers: Geminoid F (Sayonara), Bryerly Long (Sayonara), Hiroshi Ota (Sayonara and I, Worker), Minako Inoue (I, Worker and voice/motions of Geminoid F in Sayonara) and Robovie R3 (I, Worker).
Founded in 1983 by playwright and director Oriza Hirata, Seinendan Theater Company is recognized as one of the most progressive and acclaimed theater companies in Japan, with Oriza Hirata's "contemporary colloquial theater" sustaining great influence on the Japanese theater scene since the 1990s. Hirata's style of theater was a reaction against modern theater in Japan, with its long tradition of importing theater and performing techniques from the West. Seinendan's depiction of the quiet moments in daily life precipitated the Quiet Theater movement of post-bubble Japan. The theater of Seinendan reflects and distills the rhythms, subtle tones and ironies of postmodern life in Japan today. Seinendan has been invited by numerous international festivals and venues, including Festival d'Automne in Paris, La Bâtie-Festival in Geneva, Dublin Theatre Festival, Théâtre Les Tanneurs in Brussels, and Doosan Art Center in Seoul, to name a few. Japan Society produced Seinendan's U.S. debut tour in 2000 with Tokyo Note (Tokyo Notes), and another tour in 2006. In addition to performing works written and directed by Hirata, in 2002 Seinendan began the "Seinendan Links" program for apprentice directors in the company, offering them the opportunity to organize their own cast and crew from Seinendan's resources and present their own productions to the general public at the Komaba Agora Theater, where Hirata serves as Artistic Director. Through this program, numerous notable next-generation theater companies have emerged, such as Gotanda-dan, Sample and Mamagoto.
Oriza Hirata, director and founder of Seinendan, has earned great acclaim especially in France, where he has been invited for residencies to teach, direct and create new works, including those at Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Centre Dramatique National de Besaçon, Théâtre National de Marseille, and Centre Dramatique de Thionville-Lorraine. In 1995, Hirata won the 39th Kishida Kunio Drama Award with Tokyo Note (Tokyo Notes). In 1998, he received the 5th Yomiuri Theater Outstanding Director Award, for his production of Tsuki no Misaki (The Cape of the Moon), a play by Masataka Matsuda. In 2002, he won the AICT (Association Internationale des Critiques des Théâtre) Critique Award for his book Geijutsu Rikkokuron (Arts as the Basis of a Nation), published by Shueisha, and the following year, earned the Grand Prix of the 2nd Asahi Performing Arts Awards with Sono Kawa wo Koete, Gogatsu (Across the River in May). He is recognized for groundbreaking collaborations with artists in France, Korea, Australia, Ireland, Canada and the U.S., resulting in acclaimed productions of Wakare no Uta (Songs of Farewell), Kashuson (Lost Village), Mori no Oku (In the Heart of a Forest), Sunato Heitai (Sand and Soldiers), Par-dessus bord and Tori no tobu takasa (Overboard), among others. Hirata is currently professor at the Osaka University Center for the Study of Communication-Design, and lecturer and special assistant to the principal at Shikoku Gakuin University. He serves on the boards of many important theater institutions in Japan, and holds positions including President of the Japan Performing Arts Foundation, Japan Commissioner of the BeSeTo (Beijing+Seoul+Tokyo) Theater Festival, Vice President of the Japan Playwright Association, board member for the Japanese Society for Theatre Research, among others. | <urn:uuid:94546890-89a1-4064-b2e0-31ea455f9b80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://offoffbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/Japan-Society-Kicks-Off-ROBOT-THEATER-PROJECT-Tonight-20130207 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944101 | 1,371 | 1.523438 | 2 |
During my Master’s research
in Kenya, between collecting trips out in the bush, Jess and I often trooped around Nairobi. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world. It's bursting, anxious, green, spacious, and a little menacing at times. It sounds stupid, but I feel alive there. It is one of those places that forces you to be aware, acute.
Nairobi is home to about 3 million people and about half a million live in a place called the Mathare slums. It’s a shanty town with no running water, no sewage and no money. We had the incredible opportunity to walk through Mathare with a woman who lived there. She owned an NGO that was trying to bring tour groups in to expose tourists to “the other side.” She wanted our opinion on how people might like the experience.
We didn’t know what to expect. All the normal telethon phrases apply: appalling living conditions, despondent and hopeless, etc. However, we also found it full of laughter and buzzing with energy, straining and proud. Most people we met were busy, and charged through the day with an enterprising and entrepreneurial spirit. Buying, selling, trading, hauking. It was not vastly different from the market stalls downtown -- just closer-in, heavier, dustier.
As always, we found the children charming and almost impervious to the situation around them. This little girl showed us her pets -- two short-horned grasshoppers. She had pulled their back legs off to prevent her companions from hopping away. I told her, in a combination of Swahili, mime, and English about grasshoppers, their legs, mouths, eyes. She pointed to the parts with me, reciting the English and Swahili for each.
Surrounded by the lovely, dreadful chaos of the slums, this little girl and her grasshoppers defined my day in Mathare (and, if I'm honest about it, how I've chosen to spend my time since). The bright eyes of a child and nature. However they come.
It’s always amazing to me that no matter the circumstance, no matter the place, kids want to talk bugs with us. All children, all over the world speak 'bug'. It's a universal language that, unfortunately, most people outgrow.
Whenever people (scientists included) belittle our work as The Bug Chicks because it's just kids, or I start to question the scope or importance of informal science education, I think about this girl, so excited to show me her most treasured possessions. So willing to learn more about them. It snaps me right out of negativity and doubt.
I remind myself that the ability to speak 'bug' is a privilege. We feel lucky and work to learn new ways to communicate about these animals everyday. We look forward to more moments like this. However they come. | <urn:uuid:4c3f154e-c324-449c-ad1f-2038d3e62e62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sciencefriday.com/blogs/10/31/2012/magical-language-of-bug.html?interest=5&audience=2&series=17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965494 | 617 | 1.5 | 2 |
It takes four security guards, two signed permits and a phone call to the colonel in charge of Lebanon’s internal security for the gates to open. Lebanon’s Jewish community is tiny, living in secrecy in a country that has endured several Israeli invasions and occupations. But even when the synagogue is completed, it – like the Jewish community – is likely to continue to maintain a low profile.
The guards gather outside the heavy metal gate behind which Lebanon’s minuscule Jewish community is rebuilding its synagogue, destroyed during the civil war. One of the four Syrian workers trundles past with a wheelbarrow full of Damascene marble for the Bat Zion, where the torah will one day be kept, oblivious to the commotion outside the gate. For the guards are shouting into their radios, deafened by the pneumatic drill from the neighbouring construction site, where yet another luxurious apartment block is growing into the skyline, dwarfing the synagogue on the opposite side of the road.
The colonel has granted his permission for the gates to be opened just as Isaac Arazi arrives. The head of the Jewish community in Lebanon is apologetic for the delay. Security is high around the synagogue and likely to remain so, even once the building work is completed. “There was an attack a month after we started building”, he explains. A man threw a Molotov cocktail at the building site. “A crazy man who read about the synagogue in the newspaper, but he was caught and is in prison now.” Is he afraid that something similar might happen again? Isaac shrugs and gestures to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence compound overlooking the site. Hariri’s home, like many politicians’ houses, is heavily guarded, and with it the neighbouring construction site.
Hariri’s late father, Rafik, Lebanon’s post war Prime Minister pushed the transformation of the ruined downtown area through Solidere, a publically listed construction company. While the downtown reconstruction remains highly controversial in Lebanon, all the political parties were quick to give their consent to the building project. The synagogue is still located in the old neighborhood of Wadi Abu Jmil, the historical Jewish part of town.
Isaac Arazi has a vision: he wants to revitalize the dwindling community, numbering less than 200 people. Isaac Arazi is unwilling to say just how many Jewish Lebanese live in the country. “You need to be at least ten people to celebrate Shabbat,” he says evasively. There are some 6.000 Jews on the Lebanese electoral list. “But most of them live abroad. And those that live here are too afraid to vote.” If they did, he says, it would be easy to find out how many they are. He gestures to a small office adjacent to the main building. “That will be the rabbi’s office”, he says proudly. Once the building is complete, the community will bring a rabbi to Beirut, he explains. From Turkey, he is quick to add.
At the moment, services are conducted in secret without a rabbi, in the congregation’s houses. The synagogue’s torah remains in Geneva, for now at least. His two daughters have left Lebanon, his son will leave as soon as he graduates. Despite their father’s ambitious plans for the community, they, like many other young Lebanese, are more interested in finding jobs abroad.
Before the civil war, some 15.000 Lebanese Jews lived in the country, mostly in Beirut, but also in Tripoli and other cities. With the outbreak of the civil war in 1975, many Jews, just like their fellow Muslim and Christian countrymen, left Lebanon. The remaining community’s accurate figure is unknown, but is said to be around 200 people.
Rebuilding the Synagogue & the Community
Nabil de Freige is the Member of Parliament elected to represent seven minorities out of Lebanon’s eighteen recognized religious sects. After he first entered parliament in 2000, he went on a quest to find the remaining Jews in Lebanon. “I tried to find a Jewish representative. After all, I represent all the minority sects. But we couldn’t find anyone willing to come forward”, he says. He also tried to establish how many Jewish Lebanese actually live in the country. “In Lebanon you vote according to your sect. Since I was elected, only one Jew has voted.” For When it comes to voting, every polling station has eighteen booths, one for each sect. “The Jewish booths remain empty”, he says.
Isaac Arazi has been busy, flying to Geneva, Paris and New York, collecting funds for his project. Many Lebanese Jews have done well for themselves in their new countries of choice: the US, Latin America and Europe, and, to a much less extent, Israel. Isaac Arazi has been tapping into this wealth, for the construction effort is being paid for almost entirely by private funds from the Lebanese diaspora, as well as some money from Solidere. Not though, de Freige emphasizes, donations from Israel. “Israel is officially our enemy. And you don’t take money from your enemy”, he smiles.
The idea of rebuilding the synagogue goes back to 2003, when a wealthy Jewish Lebanese businessman moved back to the country and decided to partially fund the reconstruction of the synagogue. The decision was taken in the Council of Ministers to give permission to rebuild the synagogue. “As far as I know, the decision was not heated at all”, de Freige recalls. “Particularly for Hezbollah it was no problem at all”, he says. After all, it is a great way for the party to show that it is tolerant of all faiths. “We accept all people: Christians, Jews, atheists”, Ibrahim Moussawi, Hezbollah’s spokesperson emphasizes. The party explicitly supports the reconstruction of the synagogue, distinguishing between the state of Israel, which it opposes, and the Jewish religion, which it accepts.
Yet despite the official rhetoric of acceptance, Isaac Arazi is unwilling to arrange a meeting with the architect, even for an off-the-record interview. “He’s afraid, he doesn’t want to be associated with the project”, Isaac says. Unlike the architect, Antony Awad is happy to talk. “This is probably the first and last synagogue I will work on,” Antony Awad says meditatively. For him, restoring the synagogue is about maintaining Lebanon’s cultural heritage and history. “I’m proud that Lebanon is rebuilding a synagogue”, he says. He has trawled through archives to find some pictures of what the original synagogue looked like. However, the pictures he found were black and white. The color scheme – blue walls, the yellow sandstone and white cement, representing the different building stages – is therefore to a certain extent guesswork, modeled on churches and old houses in the region. The stone columns inlaid with countless tiny fossils survived the war and would have been impossible to replace, as such fossil stones are no longer quarried. “They are priceless”, Antony Awad explains.
Isaac Arazi hopes that the synagogue will be completed before summer, when the Lebanese diaspora pours back to the country’s cities and beaches, and among them many Jews. “Maybe we will be able to celebrate Shabbat in the synagogue this August or September,” he says. Yet, security will remain tight, as long as there is no real peace in the region. “We will maintain a low profile,” he says. So, the security guards will most likely continue to question anyone trying to get more than a glimpse of the synagogue from the side-alley. | <urn:uuid:72e27b78-f303-4c9f-a998-dcf7ae450928> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mashallahnews.com/?p=2411 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968595 | 1,648 | 1.71875 | 2 |
© Reuters/Luc Gnago
U.S. Marines arrive with equipment at the United States embassy in Monrovia, Liberia.
The United States Army will be deploying troops to nearly three-dozen African nations in the coming year.
Soldiers based out of Fort Riley, Kansas' 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division will begin training in March 2013 in order to prepare for a project that will send troops to as many as 35 African nations, the Associated Press reports.
Citing a growing threat from extremist groups, including those with ties to al-Qaeda, the Department of Defense is hoping to install American soldiers overseas in order to prepare local troops there for any future crises as tensions escalate.
Earlier this month, DoD sources with insider knowledge told the Washington Post
that US troops will soon be en route to the nation of Mali in order to thwart the emerging threat of Islamic extremists, including al-Qaeda aligned insurgents. With the latest news from the Pentagon, though, Mali will be just one of many African nations hosting US troops in the coming year.
According to the AP's update this week, soldiers will be sent overseas in the new year to assist only with training and equipping efforts, and are not necessarily permitted to participate in military operations. Should the Pentagon ask the troops to engage in battle, however, the secretary of defense could sign off on an order that would allow as much.
"If they want them for (military) operations, the brigade is our first sourcing solution because they're prepared," Gen. David Rodriguez, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command, tells the AP. "But that has to go back to the secretary of defense to get an execute order."
Additionally, the AP says that US troops will head specifically to Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger in order to prepare for any advances from al-Qaeda linked groups. Americans will also train and equip forces in Kenya and Somalia, reportedly, in order to stand up to al-Shabab militants. Despite the troops being deployed to more than half of the countries in Africa, though, the AP reports that Uncle Sam will try to avoid giving the impression that the United States is leaving a substantial footprint across the continent.
"The challenge we have is to always understand the system in their country," explains Rodriguez. "We're not there to show them our system, we're there to make their system work. Here is what their army looks like, and here is what we need to prepare them to do."
Sources speaking with the AP say that the United States has already prepared nearly 100 different exercises and training programs to conduct with African troops during the coming year. | <urn:uuid:b397a6cc-7efd-4a5d-9d60-06d139679c10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sott.net/article/255111-US-deploying-troops-to-35-African-countries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966334 | 541 | 1.828125 | 2 |
FAIRFAX, VA (WUSA) --- Could you go from an eviction notice to obtaining permanent housing in less than one month?
Karen Hundley did just that in all of 26 days with the assistance of Shelter House, Inc.
Hundley faced eviction this past spring. Her job had been reduced to part time, so she brought home a smaller paycheck. She couldn't keep up with the rent. Suddenly, Hundley and her four children became homeless.
"You are absolutely embarrassed when this happens...sure you are. [You feel like] I can't take care of my family, what am I gonna do? But this program helped me to not focus on that, but to focus on what you can do to get out of it," Hundley explained.
The Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter gave her a second chance. The shelter is one of six programs of Shelter House. The family shelter is designed to give families a way to save money and find permanent and affordable housing.
For about a month, Hundley and her family were provided with the basics: housing and food.
"When you come in a place like this...you're thinking what are my friends going to think, what is the impact on my kids?" Hundley said before finding out what was offered.
The family shelter provides many resources including after-school tutoring and job and health workshops.
"When I got here the concerns left because the staff never made me feel less dignified than what I am," Hundley reflected.
While staying at the shelter, Hundley was able to focus on saving her money. She also got help polishing up her resume through the job workshops offered at the family shelter.
According to Brian Ricks, the Assistant Director, "Our program is designed to be 30 to 45 days. [It's a] strict program that we focus on employment, finance and identifying housing."
Shelter House staff held weekly financial meetings with Hundley. The goal for Shelter House clients is to save 70 percent of their income while staying at the shelter.
With the help of the program, Hundley was able to save enough to sign a lease for an affordable housing unit in Manassas, Va.
The success of Shelter House comes from the generosity of many groups: corporate and community partners, businesses, local volunteers and the government of Fairfax County.
"If I had to boil it down to one word, it would be 'partnerships,' said Ronald Redmon, President of the Board of Directors of Shelter House, Inc.
NOTE: The Gannett Foundation has given a donation to Shelter House, Inc.
Written by: Elizabeth Jia
9NEWS NOW & WUSA9.com | <urn:uuid:a3705164-cf7d-4819-8110-b797ad59ddcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wusa9.com/dontmiss/208314/283/HERO-CENTRAL-Shelter-House-Inc-Empowers-Families-Facing-Homelessness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976522 | 569 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Fountain Springs Man who has crafted coal figurines for years gets ready to move
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - Children were once punished with coal in their stockings.
However, Len S. Kimmel, 79, of Fountain Springs, prefers when people give it as a gift. And over many years, he has turned coal dust and rice coal into jewelry and paperweights shaped like penguins and pigs.
"I loved doing it and going out to be a vendor at shows and meeting people," Kimmel said.
For more than 15 years, Kimmel has been crafting coal sculptures, using coal dust, rice coal, epoxy and molds, and selling his work at Schuylkill County shopping malls.
This year will be bittersweet, he said, since it may be the last time he will set up a stand in Schuylkill County. He and his wife, Arlene, are planning to move to Maryland to be closer to their four sons.
"That breaks my heart," Elaine Maneval, manager of Schuylkill Mall, Frackville, said when she heard the news Nov. 16. "He's been a Black Diamond vendor since they opened 14 years ago. They were opened before I came here and I've been here 13 years. He and his wife, they're such a sweet couple," Maneval said.
"She's a super gal, Elaine. I've been friends with her for many, many years," Kimmel said.
Kimmel said he will continue to sell his products at Black Diamond Antiques in the mall's north wing. For the holidays, he set up a stand in the mall's Food Court, near the customer service booth in the west wing. It opens today and will remain open for six weeks through the holiday season.
Born in Weishample on Sept. 15, 1933, Kimmel graduated from Hegins High School in 1951. He served in the Army for 24 years and retired from the military in 1976 with the rank of sergeant first class E7.
He worked various jobs over the years including a stint from 1977 to 1987 as a driver for Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md.
In 1984, he and his wife, Arlene, a Frackville native, moved to Fountain Springs to be closer to her family, and he developed an interest in wood carving and staining.
"My dad was a carpenter. My brother was a carpenter and finisher and I was born and raised on a farm, so you learn how to do everything. And I used to make clocks as well as furniture, like end tables, out of cypress," Kimmel said.
He started to sell his crafts in 1980 and in 1990 he opened "Len's Tree Art" at Cressona Mall. In 1991, he opened an ice cream parlor at Cressona Mall.
"We had 44 different flavors," Kimmel said.
In 1995, he closed his stores at Cressona Mall because he couldn't afford an increase in the rent.
In the mid-1990s, a fellow vendor showed him how to mold small statues and knickknacks from coal.
"People think that coal is carved but it's not, it's molded," Kimmel said.
"For the real small figures, you take coal dust and mix it with an epoxy resin and hardener to liquefy it. Then, you pour that into a rubber mold. It's basically done like you would do if you were making a cement form or statue. On the small ones, you use strictly coal dust. On larger figures, you can use pieces of coal, like rice coal, the size that they burn in stokers. You can't use pieces that are too big because you might puncture the rubber mold," Kimmel said.
Maneval said coal figures are rare.
"It's a unique product. Outside of Len's work, I don't see them anymore," she said.
"A lot of the coal artists that used to be out there, well, they're retired," Kimmel said.
Kimmel said he stopped making coal art in 2011 but he has an inventory.
"So we'll keep doing shows to get rid of what we have left," his wife said.
William Sedesse Sr., 92, who runs Sedesse's Coal Museum at 514 North St., Lykens, Dauphin County, said Tuesday that he still makes coal knickknacks every now and then.
"I still make jewelry, ash trays, crosses and other knickknacks. I've been doing it for 35 years. Coal mining is part of my family history. I had two brothers and two brothers-in-law killed in a coal mine and I was trapped in a mine myself for 11 hours. That was back 20 or 30 years ago," Sedesse said Tuesday. | <urn:uuid:df3c59e8-b3c4-4130-89f9-3b57f5c4c473> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://republicanherald.com/news/fountain-springs-man-who-has-crafted-coal-figurines-for-years-gets-ready-to-move-1.1407228 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985645 | 999 | 1.507813 | 2 |
In the business workplace, the concept of employee engagement is an important topic. As my corporate clients reach out to me to discuss this, I have a secondary question in my mind: "Who is measuring the engagement and how?"
If you’re being evaluated by a boss on this attribute (or if you are a coach with clients who are evaluated), it’s important that you understand how the boss defines and measures engagement. Is your (or your client’s) boss looking for specific activities and/or volume of movement of things and/or style?
Engagement has a very discernible vibration. For example, a few people (really very few) can multitask and be fully engaged in the multiple tasks at the same time. However, for most people, multitasking scatters their energy making, it easy for others to be confused wether they are engaged in one task or another.
Telephone conference calls are ripe for multitasking because others do not have visual clues to additional activities. But those who are tuned in energetically will know when someone is shifting attention from the conversation to other things. I always know when my clients or friends are distracted. Sometimes I call attention to it ("Do you have to attend to something else?") and other times I do not.
To me, "engagement" means being involved, being present, caring. I’m sure that many other words can also help to define the word and/or concept. I don’t think there is only one dynamic or element. I think many dynamics work together.
So, I’ll tell you a story out of school … When I was very young, I learned the importance of "looking" engaged at school. My farther was a college professor so I had good training on that one. There were times that I was totally bored but looked engaged because I knew the body gestures and facial expressions. (I wanted to maintain my status as a favorite student.)
Most of the time, I really was interested in school subjects. A fascinating dynamic happened as a result of this occasional facade. I found that when I put out those "fully engaged" signals, I soon moved from thinking about other things to actually being fully engaged. Sometimes I tuned into the subject from a totally different perspective and learned at a deeper level.
So, in fact, I ended up being even more engaged, and differently engaged.
So, you can LOOK engaged or you can BE engaged. How engaged are YOU?
Usually I focus on positive self talk. Every once in a while it’s helpful to bring to conscious awareness the negative talk that might be sabotaging you.
What do you say to yourself that is negative that keeps you from manifesting what you want in your life? Do you know the words? Do you know how often you say the words to yourself? Do you say them out loud to others?
One of the things I love to do is to help people to transform their language from negative to positive. Of course, the thoughts behind the words need to be changed, as well, but sometimes the language itself is like a key to unlock those negative unconscious thoughts and bring them into conscious awareness. And, once unlocked, the thoughts can more easily be transformed.
To identify your statements of negative self talk, focus in on any subject, but here are a few suggestions to prime the pump.
Health: Do you talk to yourself or others about an illness or affliction you have? For example, "I’m tired of being sick." Or, "My knee is still hurting me."
Money: Do you have disempowering thoughts and chatter about money? For example, "We can’t afford that." Or, "I don’t have enough money." Or, "This economy is really getting me down."
Career: Do you get into conversations with yourself or others about your job or career? For example, "I don’t feel confident in my job." Or, "I don’t seem to be getting anywhere in my career."
And, on and on. You know what a negative statement is, especially when you hear others say one. When you’re paying attention, you hear it in yourself, also. However, sometimes when the statement is yours, you may find that it has become so familiar that you believe the words are the truth. You may even be able to "prove" they are true.
Those negative statements can be an avenue to making a simple change that set you on the path to creating what you want in your life.
I invite you to read and follow the process in a Self Development Technique called Self Empowerment by Transforming a Phrase.
"Energy work" as been an integral part of my professional life for over 25 years. I’m not exactly sure when I first started using the phrase. My early influences were with Barbara Brennan, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Chiropractors and massage therapists, Chinese medicine, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Richard Gerber, M.D., and others.
And there have been so many others since those early days. Energy work means so many different things to so many different people, and I won’t even attempt to give the definitive definition. I can only tell you what it means to me.
In a few words: "Energy Work" means working with subtle energies in non-invasive ways. I am able to perceive the energy field that underpins each person, place, thing, or idea. Sometimes the "work" is to notice the energy. Other times the "work" is to make an adjustment.
The REAL truth of how I learned about energy is this: I have learned primarily from my clients. Collectively, they are my greatest teachers. They ask me questions that I could not possibly know from ordinary reality, and so I access the energy field (the subtle energies) for the information.
That makes me look smart. But it is not so much a matter of intelligence (which I also have), but a matter of a finely-tuned skill. My perception makes use of all my physical senses, my sense of balance, my intuition, and my feelings.
Often, I believe more in my clients’ magnificence than they do themselves. So I hold a vision — I hold the energy — until they can step into it. It’s both natural and easy for me to see the maginfiicence, even while others are trying to convince me of their limitations or deficiencies.
Of course, you may have come to the idea of energy work from a totally different path. All paths are valid, enriching the whole area of understanding the power of subtle energies.
Years ago, I started writing a book, called the Symbolic Language of Energy. Some of my students of the MAP Energetics Process have read
it and encouraged me to return to it and publish it. Maybe. In the meantime, I make the knowledge available in my client sessions and my TeleSeminars. In the meantime, also, I am excited that so many others who have done energy work over this span of time have also been publishing.
I think that the language of energy is more potent that the language of words. Don’t get me wrong, I love words. I use them a lot! But I also know that the real way that we communicate and impact change is with subtle energies, including images, and waves of light, and sound vibration.
Far more in our world is invisible than visible to the physical eye. Energy work makes me more aware of our expansive and expanding world.
Jeanie Marshall is a Personal Development Consultant and Coach
and a QEC Level 1: Certified Practitioner
Call her at 310-392-1987 for an Private Consultation
Personal Consulting and Coaching • • • Energy Work and QEC Sessions
Years ago when I trained managers and trainers, I liked to be playful with each group. The company I was working with one day had a culture that was closest to Acronym Heaven than I had ever before or since experienced. So, I wrote on the flip chart in large letters: B O Q.
“Today we’re going to learn about the BOQ,” I said, pronouncing it Bock. My demeanor suggested they already knew — or should know — what the letters stood for, just the way that most acronyms are stated. Came a flurry of activity as they wrote the letters, trying to jog their collective memories of the words that B, O, and Q might possibly represent.
I did not leave them long in this state of mild confusion. They knew me well enough to know that I liked to play. They rose to the occasion and expressed their relief in laughter as I said, pointing letter by letter: Basic Operating Question.
One way of thinking of the Basic Operating Question is to consider it your “default” question. It is the question you think of first when you are facing a certain type of situation. In some situations, you might be well aware of your BOQ, but in others you may not. Questions guide you all day long, and some are more empowering than others.
For example, when the phone rings, you are likely to wonder who is calling and may formulate the question “Who’s that?” or just think, "I wonder who that is." While it’s customary to answer out loud with your name or with "hello," still you will be silently questioning who it is until you know.
If you have a tense relationship with your boss who motions you to his or her office, your BOQ might be “What have I done wrong now?” If your relationship is cordial, perhaps your question is "What can I do for you?"
You walk into a room with others present and your BOQ in your thoughts might be “What’s going on here?” If you have arrived late to a meeting, your default question might be "What have I missed?" Often, others will answer your questions even if you have not verbalized them because they are predominant in your thoughts, and so you are projecting them.
A BOQ can be positive, negative, or neutral. It can be empowering or disempowering. It can be easy to answer or not. It can be verbalized out loud or only thought about. It can be a neat sentence or a disjointed thought or a crisp, clear question. The Basic Operating Question itself, as well as its quality and resonance, guide the quality and resonance of the answer.
The purpose of identifying your Basic Operating Questions is to discover if they are helpful and empowering. And, if not, to craft more helpful and empowering ones. A long-time habit of asking a particular Basic Operating Question will not necessarily be instantly changed just because of discovering one that you consider better, but that is a good starting place. After identifying one or more of these, it is important to practice your new, empowering Basic Operating Questions as often as possible.
I invite you to read Ask Questions that are Empowering, an article that gives you additional information on empowering questions.
What’s your BOQ in each of the common situations you regularly face in your life? For example, when you get up in the morning, when you get to your place of work, when the phone rings, when you see coworkers, when you go to a meeting, when you get into your car, when you go to sleep at night?
Once you have identified the situations that are most important to you, note the default question, and adjust it if it needs to be more empowering. Now, practice, practice, practice.
Years ago when "Stress Management" was a hot topic that few people were addressing in training and workshop events, I taught a 4-week course on the subject in a college evening course. In this program, I suggested many different ideas and practices to help participants to be more calm and relaxed.
I led groups in what I then called "relaxation techniques." An important aspect of all my relaxation techniques and guided meditations is breathing. In those days, I made the suggestion (as I have thousands of times since then) to practice focused, intentional breathing, three to more times a day, for three to five breaths. When counting, I consider one breath is composed of an in-breath and an out-breath.
The hardest part of this exercise is remembering to do it! It’s so easy. There’s nothing to buy or carry around. There’s no special place to arrive at or proper clothing to select. You can even do it secretly right in front of others.
I suggest you identify some activity that serves as a reminder to do the exercise — waiting at stop lights, riding elevators, answering phones, and other regular activities you’re already doing.
In one course in those early Stress Management workshop days, I had about 20 participants who were eager, responsive, and mostly stressed. They had come to the right place! I made the suggestion about using the focused, intentional breathing exercise at the first class. I also led them through some intentional breathing so that they would have a direct experience for themselves and to discuss with classmates.
I noticed that one man didn’t return after the first class. He had seemed so eager and responsive, that it seemed unusual. To the surprise of both of us, we rendezvoused unexpectedly months later — in an elevator. He expressed appreciation beyond what I might have expected for the one class he attended.
He explained that he put the focused, intentional breathing exercise to use beginning the next day. He said "that was what I enrolled in the class to learn, and I learned it! I knew I would enjoy the rest of the class, but with my very heavy schedule, I decided that finding something that worked so effectively could not be topped."
So, breathe. Breathe intentionally, one in-breath followed by one out-breath. And then do it again. And again.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES. I have gathered together a list of helpful resources to support you in your meditation practice. At different times, you might be interested in different resources, so check in frequently for Meditation CDs, ebooks, courses, etc. at Meditation Resources.
Finding the Balance in Your Breath gives you the relaxing break you
need to regain your balance and enhance
your personal development and success.
You will discover how, with practice, you can find your balance,
especially in your breath. You can learn through experience how it
feels to lift yourself up or calm yourself down by focusing fully on
your breath. When you listen to this guided meditation regularly,
you’ll more easily and naturally experience balance, peace,
strength, and fulfillment throughout your daily life.
This guided meditation is available at my web site in mp3 format,
and in CD format at Amazon.com.
I know that many people associate certain conditions with their happiness (or unhappiness). Happiness from the outside, though, is short-lived — for example, until the conditions change.
You may define "happiness" in any way you want, but the happiness I want to speak about is the kind that comes from the inside. I mean happiness that tells you that you are free, peaceful, perfect as you are. It is peace of mind. It is happiness without demands on others.
In a true state of happiness, there is no guilt or shame or jealousy or self-doubt, or any other negative feelings, thoughts, or emotions. Surely, it’s important to experience and recognize negative emotions … to feel them fully and then respond appropriately. I feel negative emotions fully takes a matter of seconds or minutes, by the way, when you are generally in a state of happiness.
If it takes you many hours or even days to overcome negative emotions about a situation, you are in a state of non-happiness or false happiness. Some people ACT happy, when they really are not. Acting happy can be helpful when dealing with others, from time to time, and it can also be helpful to you when pretending makes true happiness a little more accessible. But it’s important that you not fool yourself into believing that the facade is a state of happiness.
Happiness in 2012
In this remarkable year 2012, you might have powerful goals and dreames. The goals and dreams you envision may or may not facilitate your happiness when you achieve them. However, if you are happy right now in the midst of your unfulfilled goals/dreams, you will also be happy when you achieve them.
Life is in the journey, not the destination, as you know. And the journey needs to be energized by happiness and love, so that each destination is a celebration and not a disappointment.
The Right Kind of Loser
Do you resent being called a loser? If so, reframe that immediately. Set your sights on losing negative emotions and anything else that holds you in a state of unhappiness. Or perhaps you find yourself in a state of boredom or disinterest. Call the lack-of-happiness state whatever you want. Lose that! Lose the boredom and you can more easily feel the vibration of happiness. Happiness is a distinct vibration, with a range of frequencies.
Your happiness is already inside you. You don’t have to find it. You can’t change someone else to get to your happiness. You don’t need to do anything at all outside yourself. Certainly it is inspiring to be with others and to learn and to be in motion. Anything you do can facilitate your happiness. But to be happy is an inside job.
Release or let go of (other ways to talk about losing) any of the clouds that are in your energy field. Notice when you have negative thoughts, which can take many forms: complaining, criticizing, doubting, and so many other examples. Notice, and let them go. Turn off (lose) the television, as it is designed to dampen your Spirit and numb your intellect.
When you lose the negative stuff, what is left? Yup, happiness. In addition to happiness, love and freedom and playfulness are more accessible.
Decide to be Happy
So, I end this with a challenge. Make the decision to be happy. The decision takes only a few seconds, yet if it is a powerful enough decision, it will assist you in making many, many other decisions.
A strong decision to be happy will alert you to notice immediately when you are in a state of non-happiness. As soon as you notice, shift your attention to a happy thought or put a smile on your face or get up and take a walk. Almost any action can begin the shift of your energy so that you can have greater access to the state of happiness in which I am challenging you to decide to live.
As you establish new happiness patterns, you will live more frequently in this magnificent state. Yes, you will forget at times. Yes, your attention will be drawn by challenges or negativity. Notice, and turn your back, recommitting to your decision to live in a state of happiness. You cannot be happy by giving your attention to unhappy ideas.
Your happiness patterns will get stronger, building your confidence. You will step into your own power, and stay there longer. You will love life more fully. Decide now to make future decisions from inside your state of inner happiness. In other words, move to a state of happiness before you make any major decisions.
What decision do you want to make today about your relationship to happiness? | <urn:uuid:08b203e0-a861-4a7a-b89a-c8f37ce20913> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mindfulinformation.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964366 | 4,098 | 1.726563 | 2 |
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The Toronto Zoo is a peaceful place on an overcast weekday afternoon -especially at the African elephant exhibit where Thika, Toka and Iringa live. They are outside, kicking up dirt.
A mother points out Thika’s long, stringy eyelashes as she saunters by. Toka seems to linger in the background as a young couple poses for a picture, and Iringa sways like she’s listening to music in her head.
Earlier, in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a forest, Toronto’s three pachyderms were the subject of an emotional, politically charged meeting that concluded with the Zoo board deciding it’s time for “the ladies” to go. It’s not yet known where the aging animals will be relocated; the board wants to move them to a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but they could end up in an animal sanctuary, as activists and many residents have urged.
At the elephant exhibit, visitors had mixed emotions about the impending departure.
“Every time I come here, we feel sorry for them,” said Jackie Cooper, who was at the zoo with her fiancé, her daughter and grandson.
“My question would be, where are they going to? Is it significantly better so that our kids don’t get to see them here?” asked Gary Cooper. “And why are the elephants any different than other animals? What about the bald eagle in the 12-by-12 cage?”
And therein, many believe, lies the heart of the molten controversy around moving elephants out of zoos.
Councillor Gloria Lindsay-Luby called it the “thin edge of the wedge” and accused “special interest” groups of goading the zoo into getting rid of its pachyderms. Indeed, zoos are under unrelenting pressure from activists who scrutinize their treatment of animals. In Toronto, for example, groups such as Zoocheck have argued it’s too cold and their quarters are too cramped for a decent elephant life. That swaying exhibited by Iringa could be a sign of boredom or stress, animal rights groups say.
Toronto Zoo staff stress their recommendation to shut down the elephant exhibit “is not an ethical issue;” it’s about money. They dismiss studies cited by animal rights groups as “flawed” and note that “zoos provide expertise in nutrition, reproduction and veterinary care, which is not available to elephants in the wild.”
But officials also acknowledge there is a lack of research on the welfare of captive elephants. A major, three-year U.S. study of all 290 elephants at accredited North American zoos is meant to shed light on how their environment affects their physical and mental health, the results of which will likely affect captivity standards.
That means Toronto may soon have to upgrade its elephant grounds -and it won’t be cheap. One design that would have tripled its barn and paddock space came with a $16.5million price tag.
In an age of financial austerity at the City of Toronto, officials were scratching their heads about how they would come up with the cash. The zoo already has a $90-million repair backlog, and hopes to make $63-million worth of capital investments over the next 10 years in areas such as the penguin, orangutan and mandrill exhibits.
It costs about $46-million a year to run the zoo -$35-million of which comes from sales, and the rest through City funding. More than 1.3 million people visit it every year.
“Ultimately, the Toronto Zoo can no longer afford to have [the elephants]. The zoo has never shown it can raise this money, we don’t have it, and the city won’t give it to us,” Councillor Josh Colle, a member of the Zoo board, said on Thursday. “We have to look at this as an opportunity. We have to reinvent ourselves. We have to be meaningful to more Torontonians.”
There is the traditional route -the Zoo hopes to welcome two giant pandas on loan from China in the coming years. It could also happen through new interactive exhibits, like the $15-million Elephant Labyrinth that was pitched this week as a “more meaningful” way for children to experience the zoo. Children could listen to audio clips of the pachyderms, feel the ground rumble beneath them or perhaps view Toronto’s trio in their new home, via webcam.
There is no suggestion such an approach would become the norm at the zoo, which has the expressed mission of connecting people to nature.
“Much of the marketing around zoos is ‘Come to the zoo, have a good time,’” said Dr. William Rapley, “but what is happening with the evolution is that the zoos have become the major driving force in conservation.”
Dr. Rapley was the zoo’s first vet and now, as the executive director of conservation, education and wildlife, he is a passionate ambassador of its work. The “invisible zoo” is all around us, said Dr. Rapley, from cre-ating a wetland 500 metres from its doorstep to breeding endangered animals such as the black footed ferret and reintroducing them into the wild. “Zoos have changed tremendously over time, and the bar is always rising,” said Dr. Rapley.
Elephant sanctuary owner Ed Stewart agrees that the living conditions of captive elephants have come a long way from the days when they were chained to the ground, even if there is further to go. Half of accredited AZA zoos use a controversial bull hook to manage their pachyderms, according to animal activists (Toronto is not among them). Mr. Stewart co-founded PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society), the California animal sanctuary that has offered to take in Toronto’s elephants.
What started as an organization to enlighten the public about exotic animal issues has evolved into a fullblown retirement home for captive animals, including 80 acres dedicated to female African elephants.
But it’s always a fight to place a zoo elephant there because the institution is not accredited by AZA. “They can eat grass, they can rub on trees. It’s big enough where they can get away from each other, and get back to each other if they want to be,” said Mr. Stewart. It’s not state of the art, though. “State of the art would be in Zimbabwe, or Botswana.”
As for the thin edge of the wedge, that’s up to the people of Toronto, he said. “But I don’t think that’s anybody’s motive behind this whole thing.”
"I do not use crack cocaine nor am I an addict of crack cocaine."
—Mayor Rob Ford, speaking to a media at City Hall.
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DAB: The View From the Bubbling Mudbath
In defence of British digital radio
These are troubled times for DAB, with the UK's go-it-alone strategy getting a mauling from analysts, the press and from Reg readers . But it's only fair to get the view from inside the industry. Nick Piggott is chief techie at GCap, with a decade's experience in developing and implementing the technology.
GCap is the UK's biggest radio broadcaster, operating Classic FM, Xfm national stations and over 40 local stations. It recently grabbed the headlines when it announced it was cutting back on its DAB broadcasting, although it apparently shelved plans to abandon DAB altogether.
Nick's argument is that DAB is here, the broadcasters are using it, and there's nothing else that can do the job as well for low-power, low-cost reception - particularly when mobile.
Of course, there's not much GCap can do about the regulatory decisions that have shaped the market, and remember that the buck stops with Ofcom. Which then throws the buck out of the window. (Be careful when strolling along Southwark Bridge Road.)
Piggott constantly stressed that while much of the industry is sympathetic to listeners' frustrations, we're at the tail end of the first ten years of implementation. The codecs were licensed for ten years, and the back-end equipment was bought with ten or more years in mind.
So first off, DAB+. With Germany ending its ten year "experiment" with DAB in favour of DAB+ next year - when will we get the superior tech?
Nick views DAB+ as a beautiful and elegant implementation that should delight any engineer.
"The codecs we use today were state of the art in 1999. The latest codecs are astounding. These have been added to DAB+ so bubbling mud should no longer be a problem. Bubbling mud kicks in when the error rate is 1 in 1000; 1 in 100 means the bubbling is unlistenable."
But he says that a DAB+ move wouldn't necessarily translate into a gain for broadcasters:
"If all the radio stations adopted DAB+ and took the opportunity to reduce their capacity, it wouldn't save them any money. The cost of the infrastructure doesn't change, as they have the same transmitters, links, and headend costs, and the proportion used by each operator is the same. So the price stays the same - but 66 per cent of the multiplex goes empty."
"If new stations come on-air in the free space, then obviously the cost gets divided across a larger number of stations, and everyone would pay a little less, but in most cases (outside of London) the multiplexes already have a bit of free space, so it's unlikely there would suddenly be new companies entering the radio business and paying for capacity."
What vexes people is that DAB radios being bought today in the UK are not future proof, although the sets arriving this year for the (larger) German market are. Countries that came late to digital radio can take advantage of the latest technology.
Nick said there were massive inventory issues for the retail channel. If DAB+ was announced today, then nobody would buy a DAB radio.
I replied that since that day was inevitable, postponing it would merely add to the sense of the public having been swindled.
But that's something only Ofcom can decide. And the longer it stalls, the longer the problem festers.
What about audio quality, we wondered?
"We can have high quality, eg Classic FM, but through satellite and cable. It's not for a kitchen top radio. But these sets aren't capable of Hi-fi quality anyway."
The proposition behind DAB was never about better sound quality, he stresses, but choice, program data and the extra services.
We agreed that the data potential of digital radio had barely been tapped, he saw a lot of opportunity for new services, with public transport information a no-brainer.
So. Any regrets?
One, he told us, was that perhaps broadcasters should have ramped up coverage more gradually, rather than arriving with 90 per cent coverage on Day One of the relaunch in 2002. Perhaps 40 per cent coverage would have been an adequate start - and instead of spending that capital on transmission, it could have gone on marketing and promotion.
Even now, however, coverage is far from complete. Muxco received a license for Mid and West Wales last month, in which it promises to roll out "indoor coverage" to 40 per cent of the local adult population... by 2012. Won't broadband internet have overtaken this hobbling nag by then?
Piggott said GCap was committed to transmitting its streams over the net, but that it was most suitable for the "thick part of the long tail" of stations. He talked about taking advantage of new spectrum that could be used by Wimax.
More positively, there were some interesting new devices that could tap into the unused data capabilities, with the mobile networks providing an uplink.
And for low power, there's DVB-H. The French have gone their own way, with a Gallic flavour of DVB-H audio. There's no point replicating that here, thinks Nick, because it means a new infrastructure:
"Both WiMax and DVB-H have been designed to do specific things, and they'll probably do that to some degree or another. However, in both cases access to the network is predicated on a device/subscription model, and the network densities - in terms of number of sites and towers required - are very high. The infrastructure costs are far in excess of those of DAB, so DAB still looks like the right combination of economics and functionality to carry mass-market broadcast radio and associated data services.
DAB's flexibility is its greatest asset, he says:
"I would like to think that DAB is a technology that can span a very wide set of devices. DAB strengths are that it has superior cost of delivery other other forms of wireless. It's handheld, it's mobile, and battery power requirements are lower."
"At one end is the 'kitchen radio', which is a cheap, simple, low-functionality radio device - the ones that now sell around the £20 mark. Towards the other end is a fully integrated, fully connected, handheld, battery-powered media device where DAB is still adding value through a good variety of free-to-air radio channels and data services."
Piggott agrees that the data promise of DAB - which we first highlighted over seven years ago , has been neglected. Public transport is a great example where the one-to-many data stream could be used.
And don't forget the potential for using 3G as an uplink, or phones as a UI - something else we were talking about in 2000. Nick highlights TTP's nanoDAB , due in September. It's a Bluetooth headset with a built-in DAB receiver, and uses the phone as the display. If they build it, will they come? ® | <urn:uuid:6bd36195-9ca3-43d2-91d0-4c309ba4c428> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/08/nick_piggott_dab/print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969914 | 1,494 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Church and Peace Memorandum
for discussion at the
Second European Ecumenical Assembly,
principally at the Peace House,
in Graz, June 1997
As members of the Historic Peace Churches as well as peace church-oriented congregations, communities and groups who have joined together in the Church and Peace European network, we released the following statement at the First European Ecumenical Assembly in Basel in 1989: "God, as he revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ, is a God of non-violence...all Christians are called to live here and now as a reconciled and healing community." We referred to the authority and boldness with which Jesus guides his followers in the spirit and encourages them to seek dialogue with their estranged brothers and sister in any conflict that arises. At this assembly we committed ourselves, against all resignation, to take responsibility and work with loving hearts in concrete ways for peace. We renewed this commitment at the Second European Peace Church Consultation in Wetzlar, March 14 to 16, 1997.
In the face of the increasing number of conflicts in Europe and the rest of the world, reconciliation was chosen as the theme of the Second European Ecumenical Assembly. The premise of the Assembly is that our belief in non-violent, reconciling, Christian peacemaking is centered in Jesus Christ. On the basis of this fundamental belief, we invite all participants at the Graz Assembly to live out a personal commitment to peacemaking. This commitment should include an acknowledgment of the fact that responsibility for reconciliation, justice and the integrity of creation is realized through concrete actions.
It should be clear to all that:
- we are guilty when we remain passive observers in a conflict situation;
- there are nonviolent means of building trust and resolving conflict which are stronger than all military or terrorist weapons.
In the face of the growing readiness to employ violence and engage in full-fledged warfare, we call all churches, congregations and Christian groups to renewal and commitment to reconciliation through the following concrete actions:
1. To work actively for peace wherever conflict on an interpersonal, societal, political or religious level is developing or already exists and to personally enable the involvement of trained peace workers such as mediators.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons and daughters of God." (Math. 5:9)
2. To recognize conscientious objection as a faith conviction for all Christians and churches rather than merely as a matter of personal conscience, and to walk with those on the path of resistance even when this results in hostility and prejudice. (This also includes resistance to other forms of violence, for example, the refusal to pay military tax.)
Jesus' crucifixion is an expression of God's love for our enemies (John 11: 47-53); it is the reason for which Christians in the Roman army were executed.
3. To actively resist all that encourages or demands the use of violence or promotes inhumane ways of relating to others and to educate others from childhood on to resist such tactics.
"We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29)
4. To publicly support pertinent individual actions, for example the refusal of Christians to participate in military training, to take part in any kind of weapons production or to support economic and monetary policies which make a majority of the population dependent upon a rich minority.
We make reference to that which those involved in reconciliating peacemaking have learned:
- Violent acts and a readiness to employ violence often have their origins in deep-rooted wounds from the past. Lasting reconciliation is not possible unless healing of these wounds occurs for each person involved in a conflict and the resolution process, and each is truly liberated from fear of the other.
- Trusting relationships cannot develop unless those involved in a conflict and the resolution process realize that their past behavior contributed to the conflict and acknowledge their guilt on a historical (societal) and personal level. | <urn:uuid:2ba7de03-08ba-47c2-b35f-636371386a0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.c3.hu/~bocs/chpmemoa.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951198 | 809 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Marseilles is a city with an ancient seafaring vocation, so an essential route to see the attractions of Marseille should depart from the ‘old port’ of the city. Built in an area protected by the hills of Saint Lorent, Moulins and Carmes and two fortress (Saint Jean and Saint Nicolas) it is also a characterful place with its wharves dating back to the seventeenth century, and the sight of colourful fishing boats at anchor, the fish market and a great number of bistros.
Nearby you can visit the Musée des Docks, which contains examples of goods dating back to the first century B.C. and the Musée du Vieux Marseille, where you see a model which reproduces the city as it was in Roman times. Also dedicated to local history is ‘Musée d’Histoire de Marseille‘, which also contains the remains of an old boat (3rd century BC) discovered in the Old Port area.
Also interesting for visitors to Marseille is the old ‘Panier district, with the ‘Maison diamante’ and the ‘Vielle Charité’ (XVII-XVIII century) – an architectural work by Pierre Puget and today the home to several museums (including the ‘Museum of African Arts‘ and ‘Mediterranean archaeology’), among which stands out the Marseille Mediterranean Archaeology Museum with its Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian artefacts (statues, votive offerings, texts on papyrus).
Art galleries and Art Museums in Marseille
Also of unquestionable value is the Musée des Beaux Arts in the Palais de Longchamp, very rich in the work of artists of many different nations, including paintings by Corot (‘View from the shore’), Courbet (‘The Deer’) , Tiepolo (‘Christ and the adulterous woman’), Perugino (‘The family of the Virgin’), Guercino (‘The departure of Cato from Utica’), and Rubens ( the ‘Wild-Boar Hunt’).
Entirely dedicated to the painting of the twentieth century is the Cantini Museum, with work by Picasso (the ‘Head of a smiling woman’), Signac (‘The entrance of the port of Marseilles’), and then Ernst, Matisse and others.
For contemporary art in Marseille visit the the Musée d’Art Contemporain. Opened in 1994, it presents the most diverse trends, with work by Raymond Hains, Cesar, Orozco and Tinguely.
Other Marseille attractions
To the north of the river in the Old Port stands the 19th century Cathedral of the Major, built on the the site of the ancient cathedral, which was itself said to have been built where once stood the Temple of Diana, the goddess to whom the Phoceans colonists were particularly devoted. The church was built around the eleventh century, with a plan typical of the first basilica in paleo-Christian churches, in Romanesque style. By decree of Louis Napoleon (1808-1873) in 1852, they established that the church would be rebuilt at great expense, and the new Marseille cathedral has a Byzantine style, with front stripes and green marble stone from Cassis.
Moving south you can admire the ancient and huge 15th century arsenals, which once housed crews but also acted as a prison. They were largely demolished in the mid eighteenth century. Here we find also the Church of Saint Victor, altered over the centuries although dating originally to the eleventh century, with three aisles and vaults: it has an imposing structure, notable for the presence of two fortified towers and a structure similar to that of a castle. The interior has antique and valuable paintings, such as The Virgin by Michel Serre (1658-1733). Also interesting are the underground crypts (13th century), rich in precious artifacts including sculptures and sarcophagi.
Another building of considerable value is the Notre Dame de la Garde (19th century), built in Romanesque style with Byzantine influences: in ancient times the site was an observation post on which a chapel stood, and above which the figure of the Virgin is silhouetted against the sky.
There is more to absorb than just the key ‘Marseille attractions’ during your visit: to enjoy the atmosphere take a stroll along the most famous route through the city, the Canebiere (XVII century) – so called because it was here that industries and the merchants of hemp were based . The Canebiere is an elegant street, with very beautiful buildings. It was once more lively, but today is home to numerous shops, and is very popular with visitors.
Attractions and places to visit near Marseille
The region around Marseille offers a great deal of attractions to lovers of the natural environment. There are the magnificent Calanques along the coast to the east of the city which extend for tens of kilometers to Cassis, forming a rugged Mediterranean coastline. Visit also the beautiful islands of Frioul, with the Chateau d’If, made famous by the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by A. Dumas.
There are many other very beautiful places and small villages where, after exploring, you can taste the authentic dishes of Marseille such as the famous bouillabaisse (fish soup), and other local dishes such as the tapenade, accompanying it with the Cotes de Provence wine (white and pink) that is produced in the Marseille region. | <urn:uuid:eb20681e-9e46-48a2-b965-de3769627eb7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.south-of-france.com/marseille-attractions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949738 | 1,192 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I READ WITH INTEREST THE ARTICLE "TIME'S UP FOR PUBLIC Power," in the July 1 edition of your publication, written by Charles Bayless, the former CEO of Tucson Electric Power Co. (and now CEO of Illinova - Ed.). Particularly striking was the sidebar on page 34, which accuses the Western Area Power Administration, a power marketing administration within the Department of Energy, of hiding costs and inappropriately handling a number of financial issues such as depreciation. I welcome the opportunity to respond to this misinformation.
The Bayless article relied erroneously relies on selected information from Western's 1994 annual report, hardly the most recent information available. While the sidebar asserts that Western must reflect depreciation in its rates, no mention was made of the footnotes to the financial statements published in the annual report, which clearly state that Western's rates, pursuant to law, are not depreciation-based. Congress has approved the use of amortization in the setting of our rates, recognizing the variable nature of hydrology and hydroelectric power generation. Far from "hiding" costs, Western fully and clearly disclosed its business practices, which were found by an independent auditor to be "in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles."
The article also omitted critical statements published in Western's 1994 annual report. That report explains that accumulated net deficits "represent differences between the timing of the recognition of expenses and the related revenues." Consider the article's criticism that Western's cumulative deficit totaled $248 million in 1994. This statement ignores the fact that the deficit is being amortized at current Treasury Department interest rates and was reduced to $8 million by the end of 1997. This reduction is due in no small measure to cost cutting by Western.
The "excess collections" of $267 million represent accumulated net revenues committed to repayment of the Federal investment in power and transmission. These revenues stem from factors such as better-then-expected hydrology and cost containment. Western is proud of the fact that it repaid $109 million in investment to the U.S. Treasury last year, and has repaid a total of $5.1 billion for interest and principal to date. This information is readily available in Western's 1997 annual report.
The article states that Western "has over collected revenues and underpaid expenses, charging $515 more to customers than paid in book expense." While admitting no knowledge of where the $515 million difference goes, the author speculates that the cash generated from over-collected depreciation "may have been used to subsidize water rates, recreation or other purposes." This statement again reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how Western sets its rates.
Pursuant to law, Western assists in the repayment of irrigation investment at Bureau of Reclamation projects - investment that goes beyond the ability of irrigators to repay and a cost that is not recovered by investor-owned or other utilities. Western has no discretion to collect excess revenues to subsidize recreation or other purposes unless Congress specifically mandates the repayment of such costs. The FERC has specific authority to reject rates that contain unauthorized costs.
The article questions non-recovery of all employee retirement costs and life insurance premiums in Western's power rates. Again, this accusation is based on out-of-date information. Western is a rarity among Federal agencies engaged in business-like, revenue-producing activities, in that we will recover these costs in our rates.
Just like Tucson Electric, Western sets its rates based on costs. Despite some moves toward competition, most of the electric utility business still markets cost-based power to consumers. Western markets hydro-based resources that remain are relatively inflation resistant as compared to non-hydro generation, due to the absence of fuel costs. In addition, Western has no responsibility to meet load growth with relatively expensive additional power. It is because of these factors that Western's hydropower resources remain reasonably priced - not because of the alleged subsidies.
Kenneth G. Maxey
Chief Financial Officer
Western Area Power Administration
Editor's Note: For the record, we cut some portions of the original manuscript submitted by Charles Bayless, including these two sentences pertaining to his interpretation of WAPA's financial statements:
(1) "What makes this important is that the Flood Control Act of 1994 specifies that 'Rate Schedules shall be drawn having regard to ¼. the amortization of capital investment allocated to power over a reasonable number of years.' "
(2) "To me, not versed in public power accounting, reading WAPA's financial statements reminds one of Clairol advertisements - only their accountants know for sure." - B.W.R.
Articles found on this page are available to Internet subscribers only. For more information about obtaining a username and password, please call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-368-5001. | <urn:uuid:8deb7f4a-59d1-44f8-b0fa-fb365d848364> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fortnightly.com/print/9885 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950469 | 978 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Posted by nickbaines under Economics
| Tags: farming
| Comments
I never thought I’d be interested in the details of the price of milk. But, I am and have posted on the matter recently here and here. And now look what has happened after the farmers’ protests…
It seems that the interdependency of the retailers and the producers has been recognised. If farmers have to sell their milk for less than it costs to produce it, they cannot continue in business. Is common sense invading the ‘market’? | <urn:uuid:6a5f1174-7a6d-4d15-af55-888011dfb72b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nickbaines.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/milk-churning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969074 | 115 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Harold Chestnut: Biography
Died: 29 August 2001
Harold Chestnut was born in Albany, New York, in 1917. He earned BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from MIT in 1939 and 1940. He received Honorary Doctorates in engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1966 and Villanova University in 1972.
Chestnut began a life-long career in the control field with the General Electric Company in 1940. His early control work concerned stability issues in electric power systems. During the Second World War he was both a student and instructor in GE's well-known Advanced Engineering Program. During the Second World War he moved into the aeronautics and ordinance divisions of the company and remained there until 1956. In 1951 he co-authored Servomechanisms and Regulating Systems Design, Vol. 1 with R. W. Mayer, which was the leading text in the field for many years. He later wrote Volume 2 of that book, as well as System Engineering Tools, and System Engineering Methods.
Dr. Chestnut was active in the formation of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), which grew out of discussions started in 1956 among representatives from West Germany, the USSR, France, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA. He served as IFAC's first president from 1957 through 1959 in a cold-war compromise that gave the USA the first president and the USSR the first International Congress in Moscow in 1960.
Dr. Chestnut continued with the General Electric Company until retirement in 1983. Major assignments included serving as manager of the Systems Engineering and Analysis Branch of the Advanced Technology Laboratory working on a wide variety of technical problems including reliability issues in rapid transit and the Apollo mission to the moon. Even later in his career he returned to the field of electric power. This time the focus was power systems automation.
Following retirement he concentrated on one of his long time passions in the control field - the potential for control concepts to provide insight into problems of international stability. It seems that his dedication to the use of control concepts in societal problems arose from his success in working with wary representatives from many countries to set up IFAC and with proud representatives from various US engineering societies to set up the AACC. Two years before his retirement, Dr. Chestnut received the prestigious Honda Prize for ecotechnology and with it a substantial financial award. After retirement he used this fund to create the "SWIIS Foundation", a private foundation devoted to identifying and implementing "supplemental ways to improve international stability". He devoted the last productive years of his life in the 1980s and 1990s to this effort.
Before 1963, he chaired the AIEE Technical Committees on Automatic Control and on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics. He later had several other leadership roles in the IEEE, culminating in his term as President of the IEEE in 1973. He was a Fellow of the AIEE, ISA, and AAAS. He was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 1974 and selected as a Case Centennial Scholar in 1980. He won the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984 and the AACC Bellman Heritage Award in 1985.
On the personal level, Harold Chestnut is remembered as a quiet but persistent man. Once he determined something ought to be done, he worked until he found a way to make it happen. He viewed life as one large control system that needed to be nudged from time to time to keep it running smoothly and on course. He and his wife, Erma Ruth Callaway Chestnut, were married for 57 years and had three sons. He was a devoted family man who enjoyed hiking and sailing with his family, especially at their cottage on Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks.
On August 29, 2001, Harold Chestnut died at the age of 83 in Schenectady, NY, the town in which he spent essentially all of his long and productive life.
Would you like to help us? Use the edit tab to contribute to this article. | <urn:uuid:b4f8f68b-ae7e-43f9-b900-40dece2fccf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki6/index.php?title=Harold_Chestnut&oldid=25577 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978192 | 812 | 1.75 | 2 |
Skin care during winters can be a cumbersome task and those who have relatively dry skin, it becomes a disaster. Even before you take out your sweaters and shawls, your skin begin feeling the chill out in the environment. So before winter take a toll on your skin, you stay well prepared.
Here are the simpler tricks that you should follow to maintain your glowing and hydrated looks.
Let’s see what all you should do:
- For that Gentle Glow –
Winter is the time when your skin needs extra care and pamperness. So collect those shower gels and facials that can help revitalize your skin and also retain its moisture. Go for oil based products so as to help your outer shield to trap the moisture inside. A Simple Trick – If you want to stay moisturized for longer time, and then apply one as soon as you complete bathing, as the pores are open and can absorb moisture faster.
- Hydration is Important –
Eating and drinking right is also crucial to maintain your skin during winters. Eat foods that are rich in omega 3 fatty acids such as salmon, walnuts, flaxseeds etc. Drink adequate amount of water everyday so that your skin does not look patched and can glow in the harsh weather as well.
- Apply Sunscreen –
If you think that applying sunscreen is a waste during winters then you are wrong. Sunscreens are equally important regardless of weather. Go for the one containing 15 SPF and apply it half an hour prior going out. If you have dry patches then you can use a moisturizer along.
- Hands and Heels are Important Too –
No one likes cracked heels and dry hands and they are common sight during winters especially. So apart from getting a manicure and pedicure done use a good moisturizer to help them lock in moisture. Simple Trick – Use petroleum jelly once a week and sleep with gloves on, this will help you manage the situation better.
- Go Warm –
It is no doubt tempting and soothing to have a hot water bath but they can badly affect your lovely looking skin as they are capable of soaking moisture back leaving you dry. Have a shower under lukewarm water and use a good cream daily.
Follow the methods carefully and regularly and you are sure to get some relief. And if you still find some serious issues prevailing, do consult a dermatologist. | <urn:uuid:624755a1-f485-43f4-a5ca-a25731d519f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mixle.com/category/skin-care | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954179 | 491 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Do you remember my homemade ricotta? That recipe is wonderful – I’ve received comments and emails from many of you who have tried it too, with great results. I have made it dozens of times already and used it in both savory and sweet dishes. I thought it was about time I tried another recipe from Donna Hay’s cheese making spread (issue 35), especially after seeing the wonderful cheeses my friend Ana Elisa has been making lately.
If you liked the ricotta, you’re gonna love the labna: it’s even easier to make – no cooking involved, no need for a thermometer – and tasted really good. I highly recommend it.
Labna (yogurt cheese)
from Donna Hay magazine
2 cups (520g) plain, full fat yogurt
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
olive oil to cover
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
Place the yogurt and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Line a sieve with fine muslin and place over a deep bowl – the bottom of the sieve should not be in contact with the liquid released from the yogurt. Pour the yogurt mixture into the sieve. Cover, set aside in the refrigerator and allow to drain for 5 days, removing the liquid every once in a while.
Roll 2 teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place in an airtight jar. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Add the oregano and peppercorns and cover with oil*. Store the labna in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
* the olive oil coating may solidify in the refrigerator so allow the labna to return to room temperature before you serve it. | <urn:uuid:b50ce79b-4bdd-4b7f-88b3-423641e64614> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com/2009/12/labna-yogurt-cheese.html?showComment=1260886387749 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93504 | 356 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Microsoft's next-generation operating system will be available in October as the software giant strives to stay relevant in a blossoming mobile era centered on tablets and smartphones.
"This will be the biggest product and services launch year in our company's history," Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said at an annual gathering of gadget makers and other partners in the Canada city of Toronto.
The new Windows 8 operating system will be available in August for computer, tablet or smartphone makers to build into hardware, according to Microsoft.
Windows software designed to power the range of Internet-connected devices popular in modern lifestyles will be available to consumers as an update beginning in late October, the technology firm announced.
Microsoft reported that it has sold more than 630 million licenses of Windows 7, and that the software powers the majority of business desktop computers.
Windows 7 went public in October 2009.
Communications manager Brandon LeBlanc said Windows 8 will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide.
It "is simply the biggest deal for this company in at least 17 years," Ballmer told the gathering at the annual Worldwide Partner Conference, referring to the time since the launch of the game-changing Windows 95 operating system.
"It's the glue; it's the foundation of everything Microsoft is built on."
The latest version of the operating system that is the norm for personal computers will also be used on many smartphones and tablet computers, including Microsoft's own Surface tablet to be launched this year.
The Redmond, Washington-based firm has gone on record stating that Surface tablets would hit the market when the Windows 8 operating system became publicly available.
Windows 8 allows users readily to store and share personal data among various devices under the "SkyDrive" cloud computing service.
Rivals Apple and Google offer such services, which let people store digital data on servers in the Internet "cloud" and access files from devices of their choosing.
The new Microsoft system will support a wider range of devices, including touch- and stylus-based smartphones and tablet PCs as well as desktop and laptop machines.
Versions of Windows 8 have been tailored for chips used to power various mobile devices.
The software giant has been trying to expand its presence in the booming market for smartphones and tablets, which is currently dominated by Apple and Google.
Microsoft said separately it would release a new version of its popular Office software suite called Office 365 Open, which allows its partners to resell.
Microsoft also said it would acquire Perceptive Pixel, which makes large-scale, multi-touch displays.
The company makes what it calls "the world's largest projected capacitive, optically bonded multi-touch display," which is 82 inches (two meters) in size.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Explore further: Ecologists warn of overreliance on unvetted computer source code by researchers | <urn:uuid:4b3b3c33-1fc6-4174-9dca-035f119b7b6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news/2012-07-microsoft-windows-sale-october.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95079 | 580 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Paecilomyces lilacinus (LPS 876) efficiently degraded keratin in chicken feather during submerged cultivation producing extracellular proteases. Characterization of crude protease activity was done including its compatibility in commercial detergents. Optimum pH and temperature were 10.0 and 60 °C, respectively. Protease activity was enhanced by Ca2+ but was strongly inhibited by PMSF and by Hg2+ suggesting the presence of thiol-dependent serine proteases. The crude protease showed extreme stability toward non-ionic (Tween 20, Tween 85, and Triton X-100) and anionic (SDS) surfactants, and relative stability toward oxidizing agent (H2O2 and sodium perborate). In addition, it showed excellent stability and compatibility with various solid and liquid commercial detergents from 30 to 50 °C. The enzyme preparation retained more than 95% of its initial activity with solid detergents (Ariel™ and Drive™) and 97% of its original activity with a liquid detergent (Ace™) after pre-incubation at 40 °C. The protective effect of polyols (propylene glycol, PEG 4000, and glycerol) on the heat inactivation was also examined and the best results were obtained with glycerol from 50 to 60 °C. Considering its promising properties, P. lilacinus enzymatic preparation may be considered as a candidate for use in biotechnological processes (i.e., as detergent additive) and in the processing of keratinous wastes.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase polymorphism G298T in association with oxidative DNA damage in coronary atherosclerosis
Content Type Journal Article
Category Research Note
RAJESH G. KUMAR, Department of Genetics, Osmania Univers ... more
A micropropagation protocol was developed for multiplication of seedless lemon (Citrus limon L. cv. Kaghzi Kalan) using nodal explants. The maximum shoot regeneration was observed on low level of BAP (0.1 mg l−1) or kinetin (0.5 mg l−1). BA was recorded to be better than kinetin in terms of ... more
The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity, kinetic behavior, and thermal inactivation kinetics of peroxidase (POD) in aqueous extracts from two kinds of milk ripe stage corn, sweet corn and waxy corn. Optimum activities using guaiacol as the hydrogen donor were obtained for s ... more | <urn:uuid:d9c51053-e609-4a4c-904a-0e5664c9199f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bionity.com/en/publications/367090/biodegradation-of-a-keratin-waste-and-the-concomitant-production-of-detergent-stable-serine-proteases-from-paecilomyces-lilacinus.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936268 | 539 | 1.78125 | 2 |
“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined…. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…”–Isaiah 9
Before the bustle of the coming Holy Day consumes our time, now would be an opportune moment for us to pause and look ahead for opportunities to seize this time in order to share Christ with another. How often are we given such a favorable time?
Most of our attention during this Season is focused inside the box, inside the four walls of our church and our home. We rejoice in sharing Christmas through our church programs and presents; through worship and family gatherings.
Many churches follow the Advent calendar, seeking to prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ birth, the Incarnation, the Light of the world. And we ought to remember His words to us: “You are the light of the world.”
What would this Christmas look like if every follower of Jesus Christ would prepare his heart to share this Light, this Story with one other person who is outside the box?…with someone who needs Good News?…with someone on the fringe of Christianity?…with some friend or co-worker or acquaintance who does not know Christ?
Such an event would be an amazing display of His lights in this world!
Such an Advent seems impossible, certainly improbable! But it begins in each place with one person at a time. Let it be you no matter what others may do.
Prepare your heart. Pray and seek God to guide you to that person. Prepare to open the conversation. Perhaps a Christmas book or video or cd can be the conversation starter. Pray for God to guide you and to open the door.
Then, make a commitment to God to do it. And ask fellow Christians to pray for you in this endeavor. Trust in His strength and wisdom, not your own. Leave the results in His hands. All that any of us can do is to simply sow the Seed, give the Bread, shine the Light, and leave it in God’s hands as we remain open to whatever way He chooses to use us in this.
In this busy time of preparing for winter or for holidays or for travel and with so many heavy burdens, it would be easy for any of us to give up on such an idea.
But what if God had given up on us before that first Christmas? | <urn:uuid:c82ee6e7-1beb-40ba-8bd2-47d18bad0848> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://textsincontext.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/improbable-advent-prepare-ye-the-way/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951368 | 511 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Posted January 3, 2012 LaGrange
Research News & Publications Office
Contact John Toon
OrthoCare Labs was preparing to move into a new manufacturing facility when it contacted Derek Woodham, a Georgia Tech regional manager who serves west Georgia companies. The collaboration that resulted helped the company expand its sales by more than $1 million per year, add seven jobs, save nearly a quarter million dollars -- and make a big investment in the LaGrange, Ga. community.
The seven-year-old company, which makes custom orthotics -- shoe inserts -- for athletes, diabetics and others, is now poised for additional growth.
"We would not have been able to grow at the rate we have grown if we were still making our product the way we did before Derek helped us," said Dr. Ric Hollstrom, the company's owner. "Derek helped us change the complete flow of our process to make it smoother."
Orthotics are by their nature custom products. Physicians make molds or take three-dimensional measurements of patients' feet, then send the casts or data to OrthoCare. The company's first production step is to carve a wooden replica of each patient's feet using a precision router. From a variety of orthotic-grade polymer sheets, the devices are then vacuum-formed around the replica feet, finished and packaged for shipping.
Prior to the move, Dr. Hollstrom's five staff members produced the orthotics in a departmental-type flow, in which one person was responsible for each aspect of the production, and would pass the products on to the next department in batches. This batch process created the potential for quality issues, and sometimes order confusion, because hundreds of individual products had to be kept separate.
"One of the issues was consistency of our product," said Dr. Hollstrom. "Maintaining consistency when each product was custom-made was difficult. It was also difficult to judge if the required consistency was there every time."
Woodham, who is part of Georgia Tech's Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP), visited the company's old facility to learn the production process and talk with the staff. He listened to Dr. Hollstrom's concerns and heard his interest in adopting lean processes, which systematically reduce wasted time and resources. And Woodham understood the company's potential for growth.
What he recommended was a complete change in the organization of the manufacturing process. Instead of producing the orthotics departmentally and in batches, Woodham recommended creating flow cells in which a small team works together to complete products in one continuous operation.
Because a pair of orthotics could be made by the same group of workers in a continuous process, quality issues could be identified and addressed immediately. Having fewer products in process reduced the potential for mix-ups. In the new system, most orders were completed and shipped in a single day, besting the old process, which could take a week or more.
"The flow cell creates a better communications path from the beginning to the end," explained Woodham. "It's easier to keep up with custom orders because you don't have a large number of products waiting to be completed."
For a fast-growing company, switching to manufacturing cells also had an important benefit: production could be ramped up simply by adding cells following the plan Woodham designed.
"The company felt an urgency to get this right before they moved into their new facility," he explained. "Our work was a matter of understanding their processing steps and developing what would be the best layout for the equipment and the best way for the staff to work together."
Dr. Hollstrom said the flow cells allowed the company to expand production from approximately 80 sets of orthotics per day to 250 -- a more than 200 percent increase. The improved product quality reduced the number of products returned by the doctors ordering them, and faster turnaround time increased customer satisfaction.
The improvements also caught the attention of a company that sells footwear for people who have diabetes. That customer has already sent some business to the company, and is discussing the possibility of expanding its orders. If that happens, OrthoCare's sales could again grow dramatically, putting as many as 25 more people to work.
Dr. Hollstrom believes that growth can be accommodated without changing the processes Woodham established. He'll just add more workers and cells.
Not surprisingly, he is pleased with the work done by Georgia Tech and Derek Woodham.
"We added more than a million dollars worth of business to the company as a result of Derek's work," Dr. Hollstrom said. "Derek always told me what I needed to know, even though I didn't always want to hear it. For instance, I thought batching was better than the cell process, but he timed it and convinced me otherwise. What we are doing right now works very well."
About GaMEP: The Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP) is a program of Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute and is a member of the national MEP network supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The GaMEP, with offices in nine regions across the state, has been serving Georgia manufacturers since 1960. With a broad range of industrial expertise, the GaMEP helps manufacturing companies across Georgia grow and stay competitive. It offers a solution-based approach through technical assistance, coaching, education, and connections to Georgia Tech, industry and state resources designed to increase top line growth and reduce bottom line cost.
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA
Writer: John Toon | <urn:uuid:d9b0d44a-99cf-472b-b66f-88c968ecd25b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=75771 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969576 | 1,156 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Legendary astronaut NEIL ARMSTRONG is recovering in hospital after heart surgery.
The first man to walk on the moon is believed to have undergone cardiac bypass surgery just after he turned 82 years old on Sunday (05Aug12).
Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the moon, has sent support to his former Apollo 11 crewmate in a post on Twitter.com, writing, "Sending my best wishes for a speedy recovery."
NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. also writes in a post on Facebook.com, "Neil's pioneering spirit will surely serve him well in this challenging time and the entire NASA family is holding the Armstrong family in our thoughts and prayers."
Armstrong and Aldrin made history when they spent nearly three hours walking on the moon in 1969.
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Paul McCartney is kicking off the North American leg of his "Out There" tour in Orlando. Sir Paul will be in Tulsa on May 29 and 30 at the BOK Center. | <urn:uuid:8e6d1310-c734-4cbc-994a-40158bcb1a3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/entertainment/celebrity/Astronaut-Neil-Armstrong-recovering-from-operation_04633461 | 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 | 0.930974 | 217 | 1.59375 | 2 |
10 Random Facts About Shooting LOTR
Last time I got one of these I did 10 Interesting Facts About Tolkien. For this one, I thought it’d be fun to do random stories from the filming of the Peter Jackson LOTR movies. After watching all the DVD commentaries/documentaries a few more times than I care to admit, I’ve picked up a few fun stories. I linked as many youtube clips of the commentaries as I could find.
Alternative Title: 9 Times Someone Almost Died While Filming LOTR, and 1 Time Someone Was Smart Enough to Actually Prevent It
- The big fight scene at the end of Fellowship was pretty exciting for Viggo Mortensen. At the beginning of the battle, when he jumps off the wall and tackles several Uruk-Hai, he actually chipped a tooth. However, he refused to stop shooting and insisted that instead they simply glue the tooth back together until the scene was finished.
- The location used to shoot the battle at the gates of Mordor during Return of the King was actually a land mine. Actors were warned to avoid digging into the ground or kicking anything to avoid hitting a bomb, and throughout the day they’d accidentally unearth rockets and landmines, which the army would then come and pick up.
- In Two Towers, when Aragorn is floating down the river face-down, Viggo had to do the same thing (obviously.) However, he and the crew underestimated the strength of the current and eddies in the river, and combined with the heavy costume Viggo was wearing, he nearly drowned.
- During Bilbo’s Birthday Party, when Merry and Pippin set off Gandalf’s giant firework, Peter Jackson didn’t warn Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd that the firework was actually going to explode. He told them only that it would spark and fizzle a bit. So when the firework did, in fact, explode, Billy’s shriek is quite genuine.
- At the end of Fellowship, when Sam runs into the river after Frodo, Sean Astin accidentally stepped on a large shard of glass. His foot was bleeding pretty bad, so he had to be choppered to a hospital.
- During the scene in Two Towers when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find the pile of orc carcases, and they believe that Merry and Pippin have been killed, Aragorn kicks one of the helmets down the hill. Peter Jackson wanted Viggo to aim the helmet as close to the camera as possible, and so Viggo did four takes with increasing accuracy. On the fifth take, the aim was great, and then Viggo let out this great scream and fell to his knees. Jackson was pretty impressed, and only found out later that, when kicking the helmet, Viggo had broken two of his toes. Despite that, it was the best take, and is actually the version that appears in the film.
- During one of the scenes in Two Towers, Orlando Bloom and Gimli’s scale double Brett accidentally fell off their horse. Brett fell on top of Orlando, and Orlando cracked a rib. Luckily the injury wasn’t too serious, though the cast teased Orlando about all his complaining.
- While filming the sequence in Two Towers of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli chasing after the Uruk Hai (basically 10 minutes of all three of them running nonstop), Viggo had two broken toes, Orlando had a cracked rib, and Brett Beattie (Gimli’s scale double) had a dislocated knee, but they did the shots anyway. Such troopers.
- While shooting the scene where the hobbits run down to the Buckleberry Ferry in Fellowship, Dominic Monaghan got a splinter in his foot. Yep, it really is that underwhelming. But they make it sound really funny.
- During Two Towers, when Faramir has caught Frodo and Sam and Gollum, there’s a scene when Faramir uses his sword to lift the One Ring from under Frodo’s shirt. David Wenham, who plays Faramir, was worried that he might accidentally stab Elijah Wood, so he insisted that a trained swordsman come and do that scene. Thus making him probably the smartest guy on set. | <urn:uuid:470b5482-da1b-4f62-bf3a-641ec5724662> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fuckyeahlotrcast.tumblr.com/tagged/filming | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96608 | 915 | 1.609375 | 2 |
WPSU’s This I Believe / Personal Philosophies and Core Values
Tell us the personal philosophy and core values that guide your daily life and hear stories from others.
This I Believe is based on the 1950s radio program of the same name and the media project (launched in 2005) from This I Believe, Inc. and Atlantic Public Media. WPSU invites you, as a central Pennsylvania resident, whatever your background, to speak out.
I just finished my sophomore year at Penn State. The school boasts thousands of students, hundreds of clubs and an endless number of opportunities. With all those choices, you may wonder how I managed to achieve anything in college. Well I’ll tell you how: I’m a firm believer in indecision.
I believe in penny loafers, plaid skirts, navy blue stockings and white Oxfords. I used to sigh each morning as I threw on the same school uniform every day, wishing I could wear something more comfortable to school. I never had to worry about dressing to impress in a small all-girls Catholic high school.
I believe that a woman’s place is in the home. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that women shouldn’t work or that men shouldn’t help out around the house. But I believe that the woman is the one who makes the house a home. No matter how humble or how grand, it’s the feminine…
In June of 2009, I went with my family to Key Largo, Florida for a vacation. We headed out into the emerald waves nearby to go SCUBA diving. As we skimmed across the choppy water, I felt a mix of emotions. I was excited to try SCUBA diving for the first time, nervous to put my…
When I was 10 years old, my grandfather died. I was so sad and cried for a long time. But then I remembered a promise I made to my grandfather. Even now, I believe that keeping the promise is my duty.
First there’s a hushed suggestion. Then, the grandchildren start to whine. As my mother tries to calm everyone, my dad puts down the paper and issues the decree. We hold our breaths, fingers crossed.
I believe in leprechauns. Well at least this month I do with Saint Patrick’s Day approaching. Next month, I’ll believe in the Easter bunny.
I believe in books. Reading books became one of my hobbies on the day my mother led me to the library in our village and introduced me to the librarian. At that time I was a fourth grader and it was my first visit to the library. The librarian showed me a thin red book. The…
WPSU invites you, as a central Pennsylvania resident, whatever your background, to speak out. Tell us the personal philosophy and core values that guide your daily life. | <urn:uuid:c219e67f-1ec7-482f-bca2-fddd6990d644> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wpsu.org/radio/program/thisibelieve/24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950799 | 615 | 1.53125 | 2 |
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By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
The Happiness Makeover
How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day
M. J. Ryan
Broadway Books 5/05 Hardcover $14.95
M. J. Ryan is the founder and long time publisher of Conari Press, and the author of three very insightful volumes: The Giving Heart: Unlocking the Transformative Power of Generosity in Your Life, Attitudes of Gratitude in Love: Creating More Joy in Your Relationship, and The Power of Patience: How to Slow the Rush and Enjoy More Happiness, Success and Peace of Mind Every Day. In this salutary work, she takes on a subject that is a part of everyone's personal agenda and yet seems to prove a stumbling block to so many.
Ryan is convinced that happiness is a feeling of lightness and well-being that can be achieved through mind-training, "the creation of new habits of thought that in turn generate positive feelings." The problem is that we all have our own habit energies, as Buddhists call them, that interfere with our natural ability to tap into contentment in our lives.
Ryan deals with some of these happiness hindrances including discontent, envy, negative self-talk, grudges, worry, expectations, regret and perfectionism. At the same time, she recommends that we make positive use out of thinking optimistically, reveling in life's simple things, finding ways to enjoy work, making peace with money, practicing gratefulness, and accepting the duty of delight. Ryan also presents twenty-two happiness boosters that can be practiced throughout the week. The book contains many fine quotations on happiness. Here are a few:
"Happiness is the grand mistress of ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route."
"Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."
"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy that makes happiness."
Books and Audios Recently Reviewed
Reviews and database copyright © 1970 – 2012
by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
The Most Spiritual Books of: | <urn:uuid:3ceb64ef-2ee9-4e8d-a2ee-7e5cda4b29f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=10116 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931132 | 482 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Dr. Prasad honored twice by Indo-American community
Ananda Prasad, M.D., Ph.D., distinguished professor of internal medicine and renowned zinc expert, has been honored with two awards of achievement as an immigrant hero and leader in Detroitís Indian community. Dr. Prasadís landmark discovery of the importance of zinc for human nutrition has stimulated worldwide research on the health consequences of zinc deficiency and the health benefits of zinc supplements.
In the fall 2003, Dr. Prasad was named to the International Institute of Metro Detroitís Heritage Hall of Fame for his strong leadership in the medical and the Indo-American communities. The International Institute helps immigrant families adjust to life in southeast Michigan while preserving and celebrating the cultures and traditions they bring.
In addition, Dr. Prasad was presented with the Outstanding and Inspiring Leadership Award during the Independence Day of India celebration at the University of Chicagoís International House.
In addition to his notable work in science and medicine, Dr. Prasad is the founding president of the India League of America Michigan, an organization that has helped create better India-U.S. relationships through meaningful dialogue and education with elected state officials since 1976.
Congratulations to Dr. Prasad for his work in bridging understanding and promoting cultural exchanges.
The Wayne State University School of Medicine is the largest single-campus medical school in the country.
Together with the Wayne State University Physician Group, the school is a leader in patient care and
medical research in a number of areas including cancer, genetics, women's and children's health and | <urn:uuid:fb38913a-1ff5-4ff5-8e27-beb90f968416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.med.wayne.edu/news_media/2004/prasadhonor.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954199 | 325 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Brussels, 21 June 2012
Maritime Safety: Commission takes Poland to Court
The European Commission has today decided to refer Poland to the EU Court of Justice for failing to communicate what measures were being taken to organise safety investigations after serious accidents at sea1. The purpose of these investigations is to establish what has caused the accidents and draw lessons to improve maritime safety in the future. By failing to put in place an independent body to carry out these investigations, Poland is slowing down possible maritime safety improvements.
The EU rules
The EU rules aim to improve maritime safety and better prevent pollution from ships by requiring Member States to organise safety investigations after serious accidents at sea. They lay down the basic principles governing investigations into accidents including the establishment of an independent body to carry out such investigations in the maritime transport sector and required Member States to bring these into force before 17 June 2011.
The practical consequences of non-transposition
The purpose of these investigations, which are separate from any criminal investigations and should be carried out by independent bodies, is to establish what has caused the accidents and draw lessons to improve maritime safety in the future. If they fail to take the necessary measures, Member States prevent possible improvements in the future and slow down progress across the EU in this important area.
The next steps
Referral to the Court of Justice is the normal procedure in the event of a persistent failure on the part of a Member State to communicate measures, despite a formal notice and reasoned opinion.
For more information please see:
Helen Kearns (+32 2 298 76 38)
Dale Kidd (+32 2 295 74 61)
Directive 2009/18/EC on the investigation of accidents at sea | <urn:uuid:00bf780d-011c-48d5-bdf5-443265f5f956> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-643_es.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935925 | 342 | 1.757813 | 2 |
OneVoice Palestine youth leader Ahmad Omeir speaks with an Italian tourist in Manger Square on why her country should support the Palestinian bid in the UN and what it means for the two-state solution.
New York, September 21, 2011—United behind the mantra ‘independent state,' OneVoice Palestine (OVP) youth leaders stood on the forefront of change in this week’s OVP campaign to spread support on the upcoming Palestinian bid for statehood.
Much like their Arab Spring predecessors, Palestinian youth, both men and women, assembled as activists collecting on college campuses and bustling Palestinian holy sites to renew anticipation for a brighter Palestinian future embodied by a sovereign state within the United Nations. Their support for the Palestinian bid comes with the primary intent to mobilize thousands of Palestinians behind the two-state solution. Their activities will lay the basis for nonviolent and constructive responses in the aftermath of the vote.
“The youth are the future for Tunisia, Egypt, and Palestine. They negotiate the future by deciding what Palestinians want,” said Mohammad Asideh, OVP youth council delegate.
Negotiating this future for Palestinians, OVP youth leaders took to the streets in an OVP weekend outreach to Bethlehem’s Manger Square distributing flyers with the logo 193 plus one – the number of UN member nations with the addition of a Palestinian state. International tourists joined this conversation as OVP youth leaders urged visitors to push their government in support of UN recognition.
“We came to Bethlehem today to send a message of regards to the countries who decided to support Palestine as well as to encourage those who have not yet decided,” said OVP participant Mohammed Zaid.
In tandem with the Bethlehem outreach that affected an estimated 1,000 individuals, OVP also launched a signature drive at Al Quds University in Jenin appealing to the distinctive climate of the university on Saturday.
“The majority of the university is women, so it is important for them to have a role in the discussion,” Asideh said.
Desiring to engage the female demographic, OVP youth leaders collected hundreds of signatures from students waiting up to ten minutes in line to show support of a future Palestinian state. Partaking in heated discussions with peers, OVP youth leaders also elaborated on the necessity for peaceful approaches to achieving statehood.
“Palestinians want to see progress. They want to see change. We are at a juncture, it can get worse or it can get better,” Samer Makhlouf, OVP’s executive director, said on the need for Palestinians to continue nonviolence regardless of the UN’s decision.
Makhlouf spoke at a women’s empowerment event in Salfeet on Sunday where guest speakers Fadwa Barghouti, wife of political prisoner Marwan Barghouti, and Najat Abu Baker, Palestinian Legislative Council member, were in attendance. Allowing women a place in the deliberation within the West Bank, this event encouraged the estimated 250 women present to have a voice in their community for promoting a Palestinian state.
“The role of women must be greater and broader,” said Abu Baker. “The voice and the role of women is important to carry the message, and I urge that their role not be artificial. I appeal to Palestinian women to engage in political action and empower themselves.”
As the world watches the Palestinian bid unfold, OVP has continued to rally support empowering the diverse demographics of Palestinians to hope for change.
“There is big hope and expectations are increasing,” said Makhlouf. “Even in the best case scenario, it doesn’t mean that there will be no more war, settlers, or occupation, but this UN bid represents a big step.” | <urn:uuid:a0d14e13-1bf6-44e7-a00b-e5e251d90e62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.onevoicemovement.org/one_voice/un-vote/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940072 | 785 | 1.570313 | 2 |
I often think that it is in the final line of a poem that the reader’s relationship to a poem really begins: it’s the last line that sends a reader back to the beginning of a poem that they will really love. These endings may open the poem out, resist a definitive “reading”, or they may feel like everything shuts up tight, a sprung trap. I’ve certainly heard arguments for both, and there are poets that have a decided preference for “open” or “closed” endings. For myself I find both approaches offer much to the reader: the widening view, the well-handled but slightly diffuse ending of course invites rereading as we seek to find out more about the processes, mechanisms, language, world of the poem; on the other hand, that sprung-trap feeling of a poem that brings everything together does not cut off the relationship of reader to poem, and invites the question “How did he/she do that?” just as much as the poem that contains, in Whitman’s words, multitudes.
David Campbell is a poet whose work I first encountered as an undergraduate: I was in a teacher’s office, and he was looking at some bits of poems for what I thought might turn into a verse novel. A particular phrase made him pull down a volume from the shelf and open to this poem, “Mothers and Daughters.” The longer I’ve spent with this poem the more astonished I am at its simplicity, and the way in which is simply works. Though I doubt I will ever write a verse novel now, I’m grateful that this long-aborted project brought me the gift of this poem.
The whole poem is a single sentence—a difficult feat, not made much easier for being just eight lines long; the lines are short, with two or three “beats” per line. There is enough regularity here that the poem may, overall, be considered formal, though enough variations in that regularity that the suddenly straight iambic motion of the last two lines have the effect of great propulsion; similarly, the rhyme scheme—a balladic ABCB—is only gentle in the first stanza of the poem, as the slant rhyme of “forty” and “beauty” hits the ear as intentional, but also loose. That slant rhyme also plays out something of the poet’s vision of the relationship between “forty” and “beauty”: in this poem they don’t quite meet. As such when the second and final stanza uses the full rhyme in conjunction with the regular meter, the whole poem falls—seemingly effortlessly—into place.
So much here, too, is carried in the adjectives: there is nothing flashy about the words Campbell chooses, but they all feel terribly apt and irreplaceable. The once-“cruel girls” are held up against their “subtle daughters”; it is not just the eyes of these daughters but their stare that is “blue” (a hue that, of course, has both visual and emotional registers) and “cool” with surprise; against the subtlety and coolness of the new generation, the “anxious mothers” almost bristle, so that when these two generations are collapsed into one attitude, the tensions rise even as the poem locks into place. The girls who stare at their mothers “with their mothers eyes” presumably bear the cruelty and anxiety of their mother, while those mothers reflect coolness and a hint of mockery. The poem is elegant and taut, but in its eight lines presents the complexity of the relationship depicted with a startling clarity that is anything but simple.
A selection of David Campbell’s poems is available in the volume Hardening the Light, published in 2006 by Indigo.
Mothers and Daughters
The cruel girls we loved
Are over forty,
Their subtle daughters
Have stolen their beauty;
And with a blue stare
Of cool surprise,
They mock their anxious mothers
With their mothers’ eyes. | <urn:uuid:72799db6-3ae9-48a8-8cb1-3ad2780ea865> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sydneycitypoet.tumblr.com/archive/2012/4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962523 | 872 | 1.773438 | 2 |
"Swamp Wars" (Sun., 8 p.m. ET on Animal Planet) shows some intense and shocking footage of dangerous and wild creatures, but the show also serves as a cautionary tale for people who think they can manage exotic animals as pets. It's certainly not as easy as heading down to the local pound for a dog or a cat.
Those are domesticated animals, whereas an exotic animal is a wild animal, no matter where it's found.
That was the case for the Venom One team, when they were tasked with bringing in a dangerous lizard found in a public park restroom. Thank goodness no one was injured by the animal, as the show spotlighted just how dangerous this African Nile monitor lizard can be.
They're a new threat to Florida, and seem to fear nothing and eat everything -- including human flesh. Since people don't know much about them, it makes them even more dangerous, as their claws are razor sharp and they're not afraid to use them.
See amazing new creatures every week on "Swamp Wars," Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Animal Planet.
TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser. | <urn:uuid:386fd47b-17e0-4519-a4bb-fbc1204fa318> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sidereel.com/posts/212142-news-swamp-wars-team-captures-flesh-eating-lizard-in-public-park | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973909 | 262 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Exodus 6:23 - Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Exodus 24:9 - 10 - Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up. They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
Leviticus 10:4 - Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Draw near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp."
Leviticus 10:6 - 7 - Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, "Don't let the hair of your heads go loose, neither tear your clothes; that you don't die, and that he not be angry with all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which Yahweh has kindled. You shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; for the anointing oil of Yahweh is on you." They did according to the word of Moses.
1 Kings 15:25 - 26 - Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years. He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin. | <urn:uuid:6d0426e0-2660-411d-aea2-c00b7845a9b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.believersresource.com/topics/nadab.html | 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 | 0.976763 | 361 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Bias Attacks Prompt Added Security in Teaneck
Police increase already regular checks of local religious centers, offer safety tips.
Teaneck police have increased checks of local religious sites and reached out to synagogue officials as part of a proactive response to a string of hate crimes across Bergen County, the Police Department said.
The incidents began last month when anti-Semitic graffiti was found in Maywood and Hackensack. The crimes turned violent last Wednesday when Molotov cocktails were thrown into a Rabbi's home in Rutherford.
On Friday, a parks worker discovered swastikas at a park in Fair Lawn. A Fair Lawn investigator told Patch there was no evidence that case was linked to the other attacks, but may be connected to other anti-Semitic graffiti found over the past few weeks. There have been no recent similar incidents in Teaneck, police have said.
Authorities urged anyone with information to call the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office at 201-226-5651. The Anti-Defamation League is also offering a reward in the investigation.
Teaneck Police Sgt. Scott Tesser, supervisor of the Community Policing Squad, issued the following message about the attacks:
It is always a routine responsibility within the Teaneck Police Department to be vigilant around all of the township’s houses of worship. Even prior to the recent attacks on Bergen County synagogues, patrol officers on all shifts have always checked every house of worship on their posts as part of their assigned daily duties. While checking these houses of worship, the officers look for signs of vandalism and/or forced entry, open windows and doors, and for suspicious people, vehicles, and packages.
The Teaneck Police Department has responded proactively to the recent attacks on these Bergen County synagogues by increasing our already extensive patrols of the township synagogues. In addition to the Patrol Division increasing the rate of these checks, the Investigations Division has also been assigned to check our synagogues.
Following the attacks, the Teaneck Police Department’s Community Policing Squad responded to every synagogue in the township where we met with the Rabbis and/or Administrators of those synagogues. We compiled updated emergency contact lists for all synagogues and discussed security strategies and up-coming security site surveys by the Community Policing Squad’s Crime Prevention Officers.
I would like to encourage the congregants at the synagogues to actively assist in ensuring the safety around the synagogues. Congregants should be watchful, ready, and willing to report suspicious activity. These congregants should be familiar with the synagogues and they should report anything that is missing, out of place, or that does not belong.
There are many things that the synagogues may consider with regards to safeguarding their institutions. They may want to consider increasing their key control policies and possibly replacing or re-keying locks to control access to the buildings. The entrances to the buildings should be limited and monitored. Even if your institution can not afford advanced security equipment, such as cameras, intercoms, and door releases, you can still monitor your entrances with ushers, volunteers, or staff. You should always call 9-1-1 in an emergency, but you should also have this department’s non-emergency phone number saved in your telephones. That number is 201-837-2600. Another good use of your cellular telephone is its camera feature. If you observe a suspicious person or vehicle, you may want to take a picture (when it is safe to do so) of that person or vehicle, after you have called the police to report it.
One of the easiest, most important, but often overlooked security responsibilities are ensuring that the security devices your institution has are turned on and are functioning. Make sure that doors and windows are locked, outdoor lighting is working and turned on, and that windows and fence lines are clear of bushes.
Every American has the absolute right to practice their religion freely without fear of attack and the Teaneck Police Department is dedicated to the cause of ensuring that right. We will continue to work with the community and the houses of worship in this town to thwart any such attack within our borders.
The police department is available for security consultations to any religious organization.
If anyone has questions or concerns they can reach me at 201-837-2600 ext. 2288. Thank you and stay safe.
Scott M. Tesser
Sergeant of Police
Community Policing Squad – Supervisor
Teaneck Police Department | <urn:uuid:2e6ab58b-ad02-41cb-931a-af3af617b9ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teaneck.patch.com/articles/bias-attacks-prompt-added-security-in-teaneck | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956214 | 936 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Photo: U.S. Volunteers Give Dozens of Girls a Quinceañera in El Salvador
An American woman named Jenni Ramsey gave a number of women in El Salvador a party to truly remember.
For her sixth trip to the Latin American country, Ramsey brought 19 volunteers with her to help plan and host an epic quinceañeras for girls an orphanage and massive wedding for a number of couples.
Ramsey is the aid and outreach director for All Blessing International, which works through the Kentucky Adoption Services. In July, she and the volunteers were able to give 43 girls from a government orphanage in San Salvador a large quince, complete with dresses.
Noticing the younger children tend to get the most attention from visitors, Ramsey wanted to give the older children attention in a big way.
Through fundraising, donations and help from El Salvador’s nonprofit group His Children, the girls not only had a party, they were given dresses, jewelry, and even makeovers. As they entered the party, each girl also arrived on the arm of a male escort.
One of the volunteers wrote on All Blessings’ blog:
Our day started at the government orphanage, where we finished pampering and transforming these precious girls. Upon our arrival, ten of the girls in protective custody (recently rescued from trafficking), were dressed in their gowns, eagerly awaiting our arrival. The minute I saw them I began to cry (it was more like blubbering, I completely lost it)! I kept thinking that “I am so lucky!”
… As I brushed, braided, straightened, and curled, I not only felt their excitement, but also their gratitude. These girls have been abused, neglected, and abandoned. They never had a dad tell them how beautiful they are or a mother to nurture them or brush their hair. God used us to give them the attention and love they have always deserved, but never received.
Just a few days prior to the quince, Ramsey and the volunteers had also arranged a mass wedding for 14 couples at Cavalry Chapel in San Salvador. Though some had been together for decades, a few even having grandchildren, the couples had not gotten married. For many, cost was the main issue. | <urn:uuid:121a2ab0-e030-43e3-8501-5c7df04fd622> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/u.s.-volunteers-give-dozens-of-girls-quinceanera-and-arrange-weddings-in-el/18310/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972135 | 467 | 1.625 | 2 |
A former foster child recalls his time in “the closest thing that Los Angeles County had to a public orphanage.”
Hope’s Boy. By Andrew Bridge. Hyperion, 306 pp., $22.95.
By Janice Harayda
Like Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, Hope’s Boy deals with a subject so tragic you wish the book were more credible. Andrew Bridge says he spent 11 years in foster care, part of it in “the closest thing that Los Angeles County had to a public orphanage,” after being snatched from his apparently psychotic mother on a street by authorities who made too little effort to reunite them after placing him with another family. And he makes a fair case that those things did happen to him.
But Bridge undercuts his credibility by describing early childhood and later events in implausible and gratuitous detail, including pages of line-by-line dialogue. Generations of creative-writing professors have said in effect to their students: If you want to get your character out of a parking lot, you can just have him drive away. You don’t have to say that he got out his keys, unlocked the door, and climbed in the car. Hope’s Boy is full of such padding and is consequently far longer than necessary. It is also overwrought. Bridge shows his love of purple when he describes going to bed at night when he was in kindergarten: “Tired, my mind emptied slowly into the raven night of the room’s deepening corners.”
Yet amid the surfeit of detail, Bridge leaves many questions unanswered. Why doesn’t he give the real name of his high school, where he clearly did well? Why does his say nothing about his time at Harvard Law School and instead go from his acceptance in once sentence to his graduation in another, though his book carries his story well into adulthood? Why doesn’t he mention the religion of the woman who served as his foster mother for 11 years, whom he says the Nazis had imprisoned in a Dachau satellite camp for children?
Bridge says he has changed “identifying details.” But if you change details, your story still needs to cohere. It’s natural to assume, for example, that a Holocaust survivor would be Jewish and Judaism would play a role in her life. And if this was true of his foster mother, Bridge doesn’t say so. He portrays her so unflatteringly that you wonder if he ignored the religious issue for fear of appearing anti-Semitic. But because he says his foster mother spent four years a labor camp, the issue is there, anyway. His silence just makes things murky. And Hyperion has billed his book as a memoir of “one boy who beat the odds.” Don’t we have a right to know if religion helped or hurt him along the way?
In an epilogue, Bridge tries to put his experiences in a national context by drawing on court records of the mistreatment at Alabama’s Eufaula Adolescent Center in the 1990s. This final section describes practices such as confining children for indefinite periods in six-by-nine foot cells, abuses that led to the appointment of a court-ordered monitor for Eufaula. Brief and direct, the epilogue is the strongest part of the book, because it reflects a principle too little in evidence elsewhere: Real tragedies are often so painful to read about that they are best served by understatement.
Best line: “Over half a million American children live in foster care. The majority of them never graduate from high school, and overwhelmingly, they enter adulthood only semiliterate. Fewer than ten percent of former foster children graduate college; many experts estimate the number is closer to three percent. Thirty to fifty percent of children aging out of foster care are homeless within two years.”
Worst line: Another example of Bridge’s overwrought prose appears when he describes the school bell that rang daily to announce the start of classes at his high school: “Every morning, the claxon was loud enough to taunt the boundaries of silence. Pricking thousands of eardrums, the blast walloped though the wide corridors lined with amber-colored lockers, then with nothing to stop it other than exhaustion, it spread over the large campus, across the lines of concrete and grass, dicing through the chain link fences. Muted by it, students and teachers halted their progress for the slightest moment, then once it ceased, proceeded onward with their new day.”
Published: February 2008 www.HopesBoy.com
Janice Harayda is a novelist and award-winning critic who has been the book editor of the Plain Dealer and a vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle www.bookcritics.org.
© 2008 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:2d40f620-eb75-443b-bd5e-4075fe37a72a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/andrew-bridge%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98hope%E2%80%99s-boy%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-a-memoir-of-his-experiences-in-foster-care-he-says/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=744caefc44 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97662 | 1,024 | 1.695313 | 2 |
CISPA, PIPA & SOPA didn’t make it to law, so the Motion Picture Industry and the Recording Industry Association have taken matters into their own hands. They have teamed up with ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) to dog the Internet user who in anyway infringes based on claims by any copyright holder who says they did.
Without an all-encompassing file-sharing anti-piracy law as backing, they have decided to pass a six-strike law of their own, making Internet Users guilty until proven innocent and it requires Internet service providers who agree to be part of this to act as policemen. It’s called a “Graduated Response System.”
Internet users will have no due process if accused. All actions are taken on the word of the copyright holder and it is up to the alleged “pirate” to prove otherwise. We are now France where you are guilty until proven innocent.
There is no vetting of the one complaining and the accused can only object by using one of several approved methods which require $35 filing fees. There are NO consequences for those who wrongly accuse people of infringing.
The ISP will monitor you when a copyright holder says you are illegally downloading their material, the ISP then warns you with four written notices, then they take mitigation measures which includes slowing down your site or cutting off your browsing abilities, and finally, they sue you.
The written notices begin with two warnings (probably by email) which include educational opportunities for the alleged infringer. The next two are popup warnings that must be acknowledged.
The lawsuits from the copyright holder and the ISP cutting of the “pirate’s” access is in accordance with section 512 of the Digital Millenium Copy right Act )DCMA).
It was supposed to start in July but it has been delayed because Internet service providers who have signed up are still writing the wording for the popups. It is expected to begin later this year.
If you download movies or music or anything, beware.
The Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which was set up by the entertainment and ISP industries will be in charge, appointing six people to rule with the guidance of a three-member advisory board.
The big ISP”S have joined include AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon. Smaller ones are not necessarily part of this yet.
Unless there is a huge movement by the Internet community, there isn’t much you can do about any of this.
I understand the copyright owners need to protect their property but the lack of due process and the lack of any law to govern this use of the “free” Internet is only going to lead to abuses. It’s big business controlling the Internet while politicians look the other way.
It’s big business fascism. | <urn:uuid:df11c748-0af8-43f2-9f2e-1530801da5dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independentsentinel.com/2012/08/creepy-isp-spying-for-big-business-begins/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963437 | 590 | 1.75 | 2 |
The Filipino Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 outlawed cam-girls as well as hacking, identity theft and spamming.
A special unit that will supervise any activities that might fall under the Cybercrime category is being set up by the Filipino National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.
not only targets cam-girls, whose “wilful engagement” in this activity, alone, is enough for a conviction, but all those who set up, administer or maintain the websites that the girls operate on.
Any “maintenance, control, or operation, directly or indirectly,” of these websites, is considered illegal, ArsTechnica
The Filipino government plans to prosecute all those suspected of online crime in “special cybercrime courts manned by specially trained judges to handle cybercrime cases.” The “unit or center manned by special investigators to exclusively handle cases involving violations of this Act” will handle bringing those who commit the crimes to court.
Gaining “illegal access,” “illegal interception of data,” “cybersquatting,” and spam all fall under the “do and go to prison” category. Those who are found guilty will be serving jail time for up to six months. The minimum penalty for online troublemakers is 250,000 Philippine pesos ($6,000).
This could also affect those who chose to have online conversations in which they reveal private parts. The “lascivious exhibition” of body parts could get them fined or arrested, even without charging for it.
The new provision also outlaws online libel, suggesting that leaving libelous comments on blogs and social network websites falls under the Cyber-crime category. The maximum penalty for libel is 12 years of jail time, without the option of parole.
Media organizations in the Philippines are outraged, as they believe their right to free speech is being violated by the act.
The Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility made a strong and rather insulting statement on the matter, which read that this law shows “how restrictive rather than expansive is the mindset of the country's legislators.” | <urn:uuid:d003d8ef-79b8-46c7-97c6-350d23416557> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.softpedia.com/news/quot-Cam-girls-quot-outlawed-in-the-The-Philippines-294056.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939002 | 440 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions.
Invention #2: I will adapt a faster interpretation.
Invention #5: It's the ornament in the final measure that you are referring to as disrupting the rhythm, correct?
Invention #8: I'll work with the metronome on this one.
Invention #11: I have a faster interpretation of this one too that I will upload later.
Sinfonia #12: Piano playing sounding "in your face?" That's a new one for me
Bouree: I realize that I am less confident with this one. Somehow, the feel of this piece is just very awkward to me.
I appreciate your time and critique, | <urn:uuid:c341154d-e67c-49d7-8b3c-6e46b59bddf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pianosociety.com/new/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=48607 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96013 | 148 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Johannesburg - A joint venture between ferrochrome producer Merafe Resources and London-listed Xstrata will shut five of its furnaces until the end of May to help power utility Eskom manage a tight electricity supply.
The companies said 100 000 tonnes of production would be lost as a result of the agreement, but there would be no impact on supplies to customers in the second quarter.
Eskom would buy back the energy that would have been used by the furnaces, they added. The companies said the furnaces will undergo maintenance during the shutdown and there would be no job losses.
They said the Rustenburg smelter’s energy efficiency is expected to improve when a new sintering and pelletising plant, currently under construction, becomes operational in the second half of this year.
South Africa has been struggling to meet demand for power as new power plants meant to plug the shortfall have been delayed. Supply will remain vulnerable until the first units of Eskom’s new stations become operational next year.
The national grid nearly collapsed four years ago, forcing mines and smelters to shut for days and costing the economy billions of rands in lost output. | <urn:uuid:76388a14-6c90-4e65-9ff5-737ca1ee924a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Industrial/Shut-furnaces-help-Eskom-ease-shortages-20120217 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968333 | 245 | 1.640625 | 2 |
"What kind of animal is that on the cover of ...?"
"Is that a lemur or a tarsier on your Web site?"
"Does the animal on the cover relate to the book's contents?"
"Have you considered selling your cover images as posters?"
"How do you do those animal drawings? Are they computer generated?"
"Why do you put animals on books about computer languages?"
The last question touches on a bit of early O'Reilly history. Edie Freedman (now O'Reilly's Creative Director) was hired to design the first book covers. She thought the books had the strangest titles--sed and awk?--that evoked images of the popular fantasy game, "Dungeons and Dragons."
While looking for imagery, she came across the Dover Pictorial Archives, a series of books (and now CD-ROMs) containing copyright-free collections of 18th- and 19th-century wood and copperplate engravings of animals. She encountered a pair of slender lorises and had an epiphany. "That's sed and awk!"
She scanned several animals from the archive and placed them on mock-up covers, which she then presented to everyone at O'Reilly. O'Reilly had ten or so employees at the time, and people wondered if the animals were appropriate. But Edie convinced them to follow her instincts. Customers wound up loving the covers, and a brand was born.
Read Edie Freedman's account of how the animals ended up on O'Reilly books.
Those first animals appear on some of O'Reilly's classic titles: the slender lorises on sed & awk; the potto on Managing Projects with make; and the tarsier, known as the "vi guy," on Learning the vi Editor. (That's also the tarsier blinking at you from the top of the O'Reilly home page.)
Things have changed a lot at O'Reilly since those first archive images were scanned. An increasing number of the animal images are now drawn by hand.
One of our prolific artists is Lorrie LeJeune. Officially, Lorrie is an editor in the O'Reilly Cambridge, Massachusetts, office, but she's also a freelance artist on the side. She designs and makes her own jewelry, plays the mandolin and violin, and takes a wide variety of art classes. "Looking back, I probably should have gone to art school," Lorrie muses. "My degree in animal science only gets used for telling funny stories about cows and chickens."
A five-year veteran of O'Reilly, Lorrie was actually first hired to do corporate sales, "a job I never actually did." Instead, she became O'Reilly's very first product manager, brokering book information between the editorial and sales and marketing groups. "It was," she says, "like being an air traffic controller for books." After discovering she was more passionate about making books than selling them, Lorrie switched to her present editorial position.
At one point, some casual tinkering with sketches led to her taking on the lion on the cover of AOL in a Nutshell. From there her involvement escalated. To date, she's drawn the animals on the covers of some twenty O'Reilly titles, with another five in progress.
During the writing and editing process, O'Reilly book designers usually approach Lorrie with a firm idea about the animal they want on the cover of a book. The designer requests sketches, often with a very specific pose to fit the book's cover design.
Once in a while, Lorrie offers her own ideas about which animal should be on the cover of a book. When the designer was at a loss, Lorrie suggested African wild dogs for the cover of Managing IMAP (~September 2000) because she realized the animal's splotchy coat resembled a map. It was also Lorrie who championed the blue-footed boobies on Zero Administration for Windows.
Lorrie begins each assignment by researching multiple sources to produce preliminary sketches. (She also regularly visits the Peabody Museum at Harvard University and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to view animal exhibits.) Sometimes Lorrie is able to do a straightforward re-creation of a Dover engraving. Other times she must refer to multiple sources because individual drawings don't show the complete animal, or aren't entirely accurate, or the animal is depicted in a less than desirable pose. She may have to develop a composite image, as in the case of the black-tailed prairie dog for Open Source--kurz & gut Pocket Reference for O'Reilly Germany.
In this case, the designer asked Lorrie for a "fat prairie dog" to fill the cover space, but in her research, Lorrie could only find illustrations of long, skinny prairie dogs standing on their hindquarters. Finally, she stumbled across a magazine cover which featured a prairie dog in a hunkered down position, and she was then able to create an initial sketch. She also created the composite drawing of the meerkat for the O'Reilly Network's new open wire service.
Lorrie does her rough sketches in pen-and-ink, depicting the animal in different poses. Even after the designer selects a particular sketch, Lorrie may need to re-draw it several times. Once a sketch is accepted, Lorrie then draws a more careful rendering to use as a model in the final process. This detailed sketch is often used for the O'Reilly catalog mock-ups. Since the catalogs are usually printed well in advance of a new title's actual production, it's common for the final book illustration to have a slightly different appearance than the catalog version.
For the next phase, Lorrie transfers the image to a medium called scratchboard, a thick piece of cardboard coated with white clay. She applies ink to the board, creating a silhouette of the animal. Then she begins rendering the animal in more detail by carefully scratching away the ink layer using a sharp tool called a scratch knife. Scratchboard brings the O'Reilly animal images into relief for an appearance much like the original Dover engravings.
The challenge is that scratchboard requires Lorrie to use her drawing techniques in reverse. "I am literally working backwards," she explains. "Instead of drawing in the shadows, I am scratching out the highlights. The lighter the detail, the more work I have to do."
She typically begins with the animal's eyes, the pivotal feature of the entire image to Lorrie's way of thinking. Once she gets the eyes right, the rest of the drawing begins to fall into place. For the panther on Java Foundation Classes, she worked particularly long and hard at giving the animal an intense stare.
Her first round of scratching yields a basic line drawing. Then she establishes lighter and darker tones as she begins to add detail. If she makes an error, she can patch the ink and re-scratch, but she can't make major changes. Since the scratchboard surface can accommodate only one or two revisions, Lorrie says that she tries to have a complete understanding of what she's going to do and not make any mistakes.
She likens this process to watching a photographic image emerge in developing fluid. Moreover, Lorrie must recognize when the scratchboard image is "finished." After going over her work with an eraser to clean off excess ink and dust, Lorrie creates a high-resolution digital scan.
Lorrie tries to imbue her illustrations with the historical, somewhat less-than-accurate style of the old Dover engravings. Her technique has evolved with each project's demands and through trial and error. Each animal presents its own unique complexities. She was recently commissioned to draw a dragon for an O'Reilly retail bookstore promotion. This was her first illustration of a mythical creature. She pored over Asian art books for anything with images of dragons--lacquer boxes, kimonos, silk screens--to help her draw samples.
When she tackled the walking tiger for the recent O'Reilly Conference on Java, she realized she had to capture both the pattern and surface characteristics of the tiger's coat. Besides the graphical pattern of the stripes, she also had to show the underlying nap of the fur. Replicating fur, feather, and scale patterns remains one of Lorrie's greatest challenges. "That's when having a background in animal science helps!"
From start to finish, an O'Reilly animal requires anywhere from 8 to 20 hours of manual labor. And for reasons no one can fully explain, hand-drawn animals on high-tech computer books became a wild success.
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc. | <urn:uuid:217b8c68-fa72-41a5-9a9a-a4ea0c3adf2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oreilly.com/lpt/a/1932 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958808 | 1,788 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Overall, federal recovery spending is working as intended, helping states provide needed services and avoid layoffs that would be worsening unemployment rates. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
estimates that these funds are providing states with 40 percent of what
is needed to help their budgets in balance over the next few fiscal
years. The recovery plan has provided states with flexibility in
addressing key programs and priorities. Unfortunately, a number of states have wasted budget funds on trying to steal jobs from one another, as highlighted by Good Jobs First.
As battle lines are drawn on Capitol Hill over the coming battle over
health care reform, Progressive States Network is putting state
legislators in the middle of the national debate. On Wednesday, PSN led
a delegation representing over 700 state legislators to Washington D.C.
to deliver a letter to the Obama Administration and Congress urging
them to pass comprehensive health care reform with a public insurance
option by the end of the year. The letter, which was signed by a
bipartisan group of over 700 legislators from 48 states, called for any
federal reform bill to include a public health insurance option, strong
affordability protections, and shared employer responsibility for
health care costs.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed around 350 pieces of legislation
into law, but took few steps forward as budget debates consumed the
legislature. Some better bills included the nation's first mandatory
reporting of food contamination tests by food processors, enacted after
a Georgia plant released salmonella-laced peanuts. The passage of the
budget bill (HB 119) trimmed the state's spending by $3 billion rather than raise taxes.
Following Arizona's lead, Georgia has passed a law
requiring that all residents prove their citizenship before they can
register to vote. This is the most restrictive form of voter ID yet,
and it is far more restrictive than the photo ID requirements that have
been passed across the country. It has been enacted even though there
is no indication that non-citizen voting is a problem in the state; in
fact, Georgia election officials are confident that the current photo ID requirement is strict enough to prevent any problems from arising.
There have recently been a wave of rightwing resolutions asserting "state sovereignty," with Governor Rick Perry even evoking Civil War-era rhetoric about Texas having the right to secede from the United States. | <urn:uuid:36309f49-4b4a-4539-b1f3-d552a64e502f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.progressivestates.org/tags/state/11?page=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949071 | 492 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Your ramblings are great...
You said concerning the meaning of the expression "Fang song" :
<...In my opinion, the Yangs usually refer to something more specific than either of these two meanings basically they want you to continuously extend your limbs, as though you were trying to physically unlock and open your joints. In my opinion, this process takes more energy, rather than less and can be physically demonstrated. When the Yangs do this, they do so from what is basically a static posture. It is not a concept that applies only to movement and is not directly concerned with the level of muscular exertion. The focus is on the joints, tendons and sinews, not muscles, positively or negatively. To get the right feel in your joints, tendons, and sinews, you must use your muscles in a certain way. > Audi
<...This is also one of the reasons why extending the fingers ("shu zhi") is important to the Yang's system. This extension is part of te same feeling of "song" that threads throughout your body. If you merely "relax" your fingers and allow them to go somewhat limp, this will run counter to the feelings the Yang's want you to cultivate. > Audi
So, from what I understand from your posting, "Fang song" is more like STRETCHING than SLOUCHING.
A recent demonstration assisted me in understanding this concept you explained.
I find that the concept of "lowering oneself throughout the form" as I have heard said, raising the back, sinking the chest, and "loosening" or "sitting" at the waist, perhaps lends to the false "impression" of a slouched, traditional, literal type of relaxation...To the untrained observer or student...Whereas other aspects seem to really be more visibly stretching, such as the straightness in the spine and the "head suspended" from above.
Another hint at "The straight within the curved" ?
You also mentioned:
<...If one fixates too much on "waist rotations" one can convert this subtle zigzag feel into an incorrect feeling of "spin right" and "spin left" and lose the feeling of the straightness of the advance and the feel of the opening of the hip sockets to initiate the steps> Audi
Yes, I am beginning to notice coarse and subtle differences between the straight and the curved. I think it is something I must now address and cultivate posture by posture, one by one.
<...In this posture, the left hand and arm sweep first to the right and then to the left, as in "Brush knee and twist step, Left("Zuo lo xi ao bu"). These sweeps can give the feel of the "merry-go-round"plane of rotation. It is easy to transfer this feeling to the right arm, especially the initially rightward sweep of the left arm, but I believe such a tranfer to be incorrect. The right forearm should instead move in something of a "ferris wheel" plane, with the right elbow drawing back directly to the east, rather than rotating clockwise in a horizontal plane to "match" the rightward movement of the left arm. Basically the right elbow does not rotate in the "merry-go-round" plane at all in this posture.> Audi
I think this also incorporates the "cross- substantial" movement, or that's what I notice...The idea that the right and left upper limbs necessarily move quite independantly(Yin and Yang) ; with separate intent, disposition, purpose, speed etc. in unison with it's opposite sided lower limb, although this is not always apparent or visible(especially to the unrtained eye) .
You also spoke of:
<It is also easy to mistakenly ram the right arm straight backward as if cocking a gun or chambering the arm, as is done in Karate. Instead the movement of the right fist initially describes some of a ferris wheel circle. It pulls back to the level of the hip socket, not to the level of the ribs, before "reeling" of in a straight line for the punch. > Aodi
This reminds me of the "training with circles" discussion, with one ball sitting "consciously" within the crook of the drawn back right arm, one cannot close at the elbow. I find that 'circle system' to be a great way to maintain open spaces and circularity in the overall effect.
<The Yi leads, and the Qi and Jin follow>Audi
Very nice, but I am at a complete loss as to what jin means exactly and what the distinctions between Qi and jin would be.
You also stated:
<All this is, of course, quite easy to say, but not so easy to do. First you do it in one movement of the posture, then you do it in two, then three etc. After a while you begin to see many of the patterns of repetition in the form, and most of the movements begin to feel like minor variations of each other, or rather, different combinations of the same variations. > Audi
Hmmm...I'm not quite there yet...but the form does seem to grow shorter and shorter each time I do it. "Over already"...it used to go on and on and on. It's interesting to go through all these changes in perception, probably useful too
Thanks for all the explanations you have provided! | <urn:uuid:2e8a4811-02ce-4817-8b4d-5ee49fcd25ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=8557 | 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 | 0.946805 | 1,133 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Joanne Palmer's Life in the 'Boat column appears Wednesdays in the Steamboat Today. Email her at [email protected]
Find more columns by Palmer here.
Attention, all Steamboat Springs residents. Today, scientists announced the discovery of the Snowy Triangle. The Snowy Triangle is like the Bermuda Triangle where, poof, things vanish for no apparent reason. The Bermuda Triangle gobbles up aircraft and boats. The Snowy Triangle has swallowed up my sunglasses, car keys and First and Second streets. Where are they? Have you ever wondered why downtown Steamboat Springs starts on Third Street?
Historically, there was a Second Street, and according to local rancher and historian Jim Stanko, it was a very important street as it was the site of the Old Second Street Bridge. This bridge was the main route to Brooklyn. Where did the bridge go? If you’re hiding it in your backyard, the city needs it back right now because they might be able to sell it on eBay. Or use it to alleviate some of the traffic congestion caused by the resurfacing of Lincoln Avenue.
While we’re on the subject of Lincoln Avenue, why is it named Lincoln? Was there some sort of presidential theme thing going on? Could it have been named Taft? Coolidge? And why does Lincoln Avenue end at 13th Street? Isn’t 13 an unlucky number? Some large office buildings and hotels don’t have a 13th floor; they just skip from 12 to 14. Why is a tiny neighborhood of Steamboat Springs named after a borough of New York?
OK, OK. I made all of that up. I needed an explanation for where things in my house go, especially socks. I put two socks into the dryer, and only one comes out. Or I get all ready for a ski day and can only find ski passes between the years 1988 and 2002, but nothing from the current year. Or, I’m missing a glove. Now I can blame it all on the Snowy Triangle or Switzerland.
Switzerland is excuse No. 2. Given the number of things I “misplace,” one excuse is not enough. And not just anywhere in Switzerland, but Saas-Fee, our sister city. For readers who have a sister, you know the word “sister” is really just another name for “likes-to-borrow-your-things-without-telling-or-asking-you.” The same is true with sister cities. But how do these misplaced items get to Switzerland?
Remember the old water slide at the Old Town Hot Springs? I have to tell you, and please, be careful who else you mention this to as it’s a little freaky, but that old water slide now functions as a tunnel, a wormhole spaceship-y thingy that transports all missing matter directly to our sister city of Saas-Fee.
Once in the tunnel, you are serenaded by the alpenhorn, the big horn musical instrument that is in all of the Ricola commercials.
Don’t you feel better now? Isn’t it nice to know that missing car keys, sunglasses and the Second Street bridge are now happily in Switzerland? Isn’t it exciting to think that the next time you lose your house keys, your favorite fleece or your cell phone, all you need to do is buy a round-trip airline ticket to Switzerland?
However, you do have to remember the wormhole spaceship-y tunnel thing offers two-way transport. Therefore, those sneakers that you see strung over the power lines downtown? Those are Swiss sneakers. Any barefoot people walking around Steamboat in the summertime you can assume are Swiss. And the Sleeping Giant? He is Swiss. Grab some binoculars and take a close look — you’ll see his tiny Swiss Army Knife and a Toblerone candy bar.
And late at night, if you listen closely, you may just hear him yodel. | <urn:uuid:a01af4d3-715c-4c5a-9b47-714c5e5e8273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2009/nov/11/joann-palmer-beware-snowy-triangle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945736 | 848 | 1.75 | 2 |
Everybody hates bank fees, but there are two ways that you can feel better about them.
- Stop paying them.
- Profit from them.
I feel that a lot of the hate directed at the big banks is misdirected. Especially here in Canada where our banks weren’t involved in the same shenanigans that some of the big banks South of the border participated in. Besides, do you really feel like paying cash next time you want to buy a car or a house? Banks provide a necessary service in the loans that they provide.
Stop paying them
There are some great online banks that offer free checking and may even pay you a little interest! Since most banking is done online today, it has allowed these banks to do away with the costly branch locations and pass the savings on to you in the form of free banking.
Click on the links below to check out these three options.
Presidents Choice Financial – No Fee Bank Account
Coast Capital Savings Credit Union – Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account
ING DIRECT – THRIVE Chequing
Profit from them
Bank stocks have proven to be one of the best long-term investments for many Canadians. They have fared well in tough economic times and have a long history of paying out increasing dividends. When a bank profits from all those nasty fees they charge customers, they pass those profits on to shareholders in the form of quarterly dividend cheques.
I think buying shares of one of the big Canadian banks would be an excellent choice for many first time investors. By following the bank you invested in and reading articles and quarterly reports, you would learn a lot about finances and the economy in general.
Even if you are not ready to buy individual stocks and would prefer to buy mutual funds, you will find that the top holdings of most balanced mutual funds are big banks anyways.
A quick glance at the Scotia Capital Balanced Fund shows that 22.8% of it’s assets are in the financial sector. Also humorous to note that this mutual fund offered by Bank of Nova Scotia hold more shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (3.3%) than it does its own shares (1.8%).
This fund has a 3 year rate of return of 3.1%. Shares of Bank of Nova Scotia had a 3 year rate of return of 10.97%. The fund charges a 2% management fee. Shares of the bank pay you a 4.22% annual dividend.
This is my not so subtle way of telling you that I am not wild about mutual funds and the fees that they charge. I do own shares of Bank of Nova Scotia though. | <urn:uuid:8a3713a2-c862-45d6-b388-2e1b4cfb3669> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://canadianperformersmoney.com/2012/05/30/bank-fees-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95315 | 538 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Freedom of academic inquiry is critical for the operation of any university, and U of C professors certainly need it, whether they are proposing the relationship between abortion and crime or the power of an informal Israel Lobby. Commissioned in 1967 by the University, the Kalven Report, which sets the guidelines for the Universitys role in political and social issues, is the ultimate expression of the aims of a universityand rightfully so.
The Kalven Report establishes that the University operates to facilitate debate and academic inquiry. By taking explicit social, moral, or political stances, the University would marginalize the opinions of a group that might disagree. If done only once or twice, this might be an inconsequential toll. But if done repeatedly, the University only succeeds in creating an atmosphere contrary to the aims of education.
But the Kalven Report has not been absolute in its protection of academic inquiry. Numerous exceptions have obviously been made, whether they are University positions on military recruitment, ROTC meeting on campus, Dont Ask, Dont Tell, affirmative action, or the employment of migrant farm workers by Taco Bell. In all of these instances the University has decided to monolithically promote a certain political or social policy.
Regardless of whether or not these were good decisions, it is deeply troubling that the University hides behind the Kalven Report even when it need and ought not do so. The Kalven Report explicitly allows for the University to take action when its corporate ties involve an issue of exceptional social concern.
Sudanese genocide might be the most tragic event of this decade, but it apparently holds no water against the students dressed as tomatoes for whom the University caved. And in that case, an entirely legitimate argument can be made in favor of the mutually beneficial nature of migrant labor. In the case of Sudan, divestment would actually help the situation in the region and illustrate true corporate responsibility on the part of the University.
So lets have a coherent, principled policy. If we remove the paper-thin defense provided by University investment officers, we can stop profiting from genocide. | <urn:uuid:ba8d2a4f-4325-47fb-b49f-1440863d569f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chicagomaroon.com/2006/04/18/divest-from-sudan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931665 | 420 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Should President Obama be trying to persuade voters that the economy is recovering?
Some Democratic strategists think that could jar against public perceptions that things aren’t really getting better. They believe voters don’t want to hear Obama telling them things are improving. And yet, you’d think that it’s imperative that Obama rebut Mitt Romney’s charge that he’s failed to turn the economy around, that Obama has had his four years, that he hasn’t shown he has the answer to people’s problems, and that Romney does have the answer to them. How can Obama do that without doubling down on the claim that things really are getting better for people?
The Obama campaign is out with a new ad in seven swing states featuring Bill Clinton that sheds some light on this difficulty:
What we’re seeing here, I believe, is the beginning of the Obama campaign’s pivot to a more concerted effort to draw a contrast between what an Obama second term would look like and what a Romney presidency would look like. And yet, paradoxically, Clinton needs to reach into the distant past to draw this contrast.
In the spot, Clinton focuses on the future and on the past before Obama was president. The contrast it draws is between Clinton and Obama’s approach on the one hand and Bush’s and Romney’s approach on the other. As Steve Kornacki notes, the ad plays the Bush card without saying his name. The ad also draws this contrast without discussing what has happened under Obama. Clinton carefully says Obama has “a plan” and that we “need to keep going with his plan.” This stops just short of saying the recovery is underway, but it hints that we’re moving foward and promises recovery in the future, just as happened under Clinton.
In other words, the ad rebuts one key part of Romney’s argument (Obama doesn’t have the answer; I do) by reframing this as a choice between the Clinton and Bush approach. But it doesn’t directly take on the other part of Romney’s argument (you have already shown your approach has failed).
This is rooted, I believe, in a reading of the electorate by the Obama campaign that has gone underappreciated. The Obama camp makes a distinction between whether voters think Obama has failed, and whether they are merely disappointed that he hasn’t lived up to expectations, but find that understandable given the situation he inherited. This is a crucial difference that is central to understanding this race, one that turned up in my conversations with undecided voters in Colorado.
The Obama camp believes that the latter description is a more accurate reading of the electorate’s verdict. This allows them to make the case in the ad above — that Romney doesn’t have the answer. The gamble is that even if things are bad, Obama’s approach has not been discredited; voters won’t see this election as a decision to end a presidency that has failed; they will take a long view of the situation and see the election as a choice between two parties with differing views on a range of issues, between two overall visions of the future, and ultimately, between two men. Given the tattered shape of the GOP brand, voter willingness to blame Bush more than Obama for the current state of things, and Romney’s negatives, the Obama camp believes this framing will play in their favor.
Romney and his aides have different theory of the race: Voters are willing to accept Romney’s harsher assessment — that Obama’s presidency is “an extraordinary record of failure,” as Romney put it recently. Who has the more accurate reading of voter perceptions of the economy and of the Obama presidency?
* Obama ahead in key states, but race is tightening: The new batch of New York Times/CBS/Quinnipiac polls is out, and it finds Obama leading in Ohio (50-44) and by less in Florida (49-46) while the race has tightened in Wisconsin (49-47).
A key dynamic of this race is on display: Obama holds a sizable edge over Romney on favorability in all three states, with Obama at or above 50 percent and Romney at 39 in Ohio, 44 in Wisconsin and 45 in Florida. Meanwhile, Obama and Romney are tied on the economy in Ohio; Romney holds a slight lead in Florida on the issue (and a bigger one in Wisconsin). Obama’s best hope may be to fight Romney to a draw on the economy and win on personal attributes, entitlements and other issues.
* Obama holds advantage on Medicare: The poll finds that big majorities favor keeping Medicare as it is, rather than changing it to a system in which government would provide seniors with a fixed amount for buying insurance, in Florida (62-28), Ohio (64-27), and Wisconsin (59-32). This is a stark finding: Voters want Medicare’s core mission to remain unchanged, period, full stop.
And that’s not all: Obama holds sizable leads on who would do a better job on Medicare in Florida (50-42), Ohio (51-41), and Wisconsin (51-42). Oddly enough, despite the unpopularity of Obamacare, Obama holds a sizable edge on health care in all three states.
* Paul Ryan remains unknown: Large numbers in Florida (36) and in Ohio (40) say they haven’t heard enough about Ryan to form an opinion. So Dems will need to tie Ryan’s own actual views to him more effectively in order to define him, particularly since Romney and Ryan are working overtime to obscure the true nature of their actual differences with Obama on multiple issues.
* Romney gaining slightly in swing states: Aaron Blake has a comprehensive look at all the recent swing state polling, which does suggest Romney is making slight gains in the states that will decide the election. However, the shifts are within the margin of error, and they are coming at a time when Romney should have enjoyed a bigger bounce from the announcement of Ryan.
* GOP, resigned to Akin, rethinks path to Senate majority: Republicans seem to have decided Todd Akin is staying in the Missouri Senate race, and Caitlin Huey-Burns has an interesting look at the GOP’s rethinking of the Senate map as they try to come up with another route to winning the four seats necessary to take the Upper Chamber.
Akin means more pressure on Republicans to win in Wisconsin and New Mexico. And in Massachusetts, where Scott Brown needs to win over roughly 20 percent of Democrats to prevail — in a blue state in a presidential election year.
* Elizabeth Warren’s challenge: E.J. Dionne gest to the heart of it: Warren has the heft Massachusetts has historically elected in its Senators, but Scott Brown is doing a very good job of persuading voters he’s one of themand — crucially — in achieving separation from the national GOP.
I’d add that Warren has to effectively make a case that even if voters see Brown as likable and independent, what matters more is which party controls the Senate. This can’t only be about persuading voters that Brown is a true Republican in disguise.
* Dems will remain aggressive during GOP convention: Experts weigh in on the Dem plan to mount a full-scale assault on Romney during the Republican convention, a break with tradition that underscores both how high the stakes of this election are and how polarized our politics have become.
* And how Obama views the presidential race shaping up: As expressed by the president at a fundraisner last night:
“I can’t resist a basketball analogy.We are in the fourth quarter. We’re up by a few points but the other side is coming strong and they play a little dirty. We’ve got a few folks on our team in foul trouble. We’ve got a couple of injuries and I believe that they’ve got one last run in them. I’d say there’s about seven minutes to go in the game ... if you’ve got a little bit of a lead and there’s about seven minutes, that’s when you put them away.”
I’d say the Romney campaign has more than “one last run” in them. | <urn:uuid:c72d3011-3940-410c-a218-5ecdeb5e9955> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-morning-plum-obamas-delicate-balancing-act-on-the-economy/2012/08/23/65d1bf26-ed0d-11e1-9ddc-340d5efb1e9c_blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961057 | 1,741 | 1.773438 | 2 |
A call for Richard Dawkins to debate William Lane Craig, from the other major secular-left UK newspaper. (H/T Michael & Czar Berstein)
William Lane Craig is a formidable debater. He has done battle with celebrity academic atheists including Lawrence Krauss, Lewis Wolpert, Peter Atkins, and Sam Harris. Not long after his exchange with the philosopher Anthony Flew, perhaps the leading atheist thinker of the late 20th century, Flew converted, if not to Christianity, to deism. Harris described Craig as “the one Christian apologist who has put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists”.
Christopher Hitchens said: “I can tell you that my brothers and sisters in the unbelieving community take him very seriously. He’s thought of as a very tough guy: very rigorous, very scholarly, very formidable.” After a debate in which the two locked horns, one US atheist website pronounced: “Craig was flawless and unstoppable. Hitchens was rambling and incoherent, with the occasional rhetorical jab. Frankly, Craig spanked Hitchens like a foolish child.”
William Lane Craig is the Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in California. He is a conservative evangelical, but he is smart, with a doctorate in philosophy from Birmingham and one in theology from Munich. He has developed such a reputation that when he began a 10-day speaking tour of Britain on Monday he drew an audience of 1,700 at the cavernous Central Hall in Westminster.
The titles of his UK lectures give a clue to his breadth: “Does God Exist?”, “Can We be Good without God?”, “The Origins of the Universe – Has Stephen Hawking Eliminated God?”, “The Historicity of Jesus’s Resurrection”. He is unafraid to range across ontological theology and moral philosophy and talks with ease about new developments in cosmology, mathematics and physics. He has a ready command of easy analogy and can be funny. He is a million miles away from the evangelical rhetoric that amuses and bemuses our secularist and modernist establishment. Proof, he says, is not about scientific or mathematical certainty; it is about a cogent and logical argument which is more plausible than what opponents argue.
This is not the style of the Dawkinsites’ preferred adversaries. Their debating techniques tend to be catalogues of religion’s historical atrocities, coupled with psychological sideswipes about the Tooth Fairy and Father Christmas. Dawkins in the past has been notable for seeking out extreme oddball fundamentalists. He and his followers routinely erect a straw man – defining religion in ways unrecognisable to many mainstream believers – and then knock their caricature to the ground. But Craig is an opponent of a different calibre who focuses ruthlessly on failures of internal logic in his rivals’ arguments.
What is striking to the outsider is the ad hominem abuse that has been hurled his way. Dawkins has blogged of his “almost visceral loathing” of Craig’s “odiously unctuous, smug and self-satisfied tone of voice”. Craig, he says, is a “deeply unimpressive… ponderous buffoon” who uses “chopped logic” for “bamboozling his faith-head audience”. On Dawkins’s website his supporters have called Craig a “debased freak” and “snakeoil salesman”.
The writer of this article not so much sympathetic with Craig as he is disappointed with Dawkins for not being willing to debate and defeat Craig. I think that most of the atheists on the Richards Dawkins site have never heard Craig’s arguments, otherwise, they would be pointing out the flaws in them and linking to evidence. When someone dodges what I am saying and instead insults me personally, I think it’s fair to assume that they don’t have a case against me based on substance. If they had substance, they would argue substance.
The UK Guardian article denouncing Dawkins for cowardice is here. The conservative UK Telegraph explicitly called Dawkins a fool or a coward for not debating Craig. But I don’t think it’s going to happen, because Dawkins is a coward. That’s just what he is. And I think he isn’t even intelligent enough to lose as badly as Hitchens did – it would be a much worse defeat for atheism. The man has never expressed any substantial arguments for atheism in any of his books – it was always just bile. And I never saw William Lane Craig’s publications or those of any other major Christian thinker referenced in the footnotes of his books – he is oblivious to the arguments on the other side.
My response to Dawkins’ refusal to debate Craig is here. In it, I go over Craig’s qualifications, Dawkins’ reason for not debating him, and link to Craig’s debate with Christopher Hitchens. | <urn:uuid:bd7161b7-cd35-4277-bf99-068d1099bc84> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/uk-independent-joins-guardian-in-call-for-dawkins-to-debate-craig/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960896 | 1,046 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Review Date: October 8, 2000
Released by: Criterion
Release date: 10/10/2000
Region 1, NTSC
Widescreen 2.35:1 | 16x9: Yes
Kwaidan consists of four short stories - The Black Hair, The Woman of the Snow, Holichi, the Earless and In a Cup of Tea. Each of the stories is based on the writings of Lafcadio Hearn, a folklorist from the 19th century. Criterion has released Kwaidan onto DVD just in time for Halloween. Does it hold up to Criterion's usual high standards? Lets take a look.
The first story, The Black Hair, tells the tale of a young couple - a samurai (Rentaro Mikuni) and his wife (Michio Aratama). The couple is extremely poor and the samurai longs for a better life. He decides to leave his wife and marry into a rich family. She begs him to stay, promising to work even longer hours to provide a better life for them. But he leaves, and he does indeed marry into a rich family. He soon discovers that being rich doesn't always mean happiness. He comes to the realization that while his new wife is rich and brings him power, he doesn't love her. The samurai goes back to his first wife, begging for forgiveness. She quickly agrees to take him back and he vows to stay with her for all eternity. Little does the samurai know how quickly "all eternity" is going to come and what it has in store for him.
The second story, The Woman of the Snow, tells the tale of two woodcutters - Mosaku and his apprentice, Minokichi. As the two are doing their daily job - collecting wood in a nearby forest - they are overtaken by a great snowstorm. Eventually they take shelter for the night in a shack. The two quickly fall asleep, but Minokichi is awakened in the middle of the night. What he sees is beyond belief - a lady in white - The Woman of the Snow, who steals the warm blood of the living. He sees her blow her cold breath onto Mosaku, which instantly freezes his face, killing him. She moves towards Minokichi to deliver the same fate to him, but decides to spare him out of pity. She warns him to tell no one of what has happened that night, otherwise she will return to kill him. Minokichi recovers from the incident and keeps his promise for many years. But one night, 10 years into the future, he tells his wife what happened. He's no longer sure if it was a dream or reality, but he fears The Woman of the Snow no longer. As he soon finds out, that was a big mistake.
The third story, Hoichi, The Earless, tells the tale of Hoichi the blind monk, a wonderful musician who spends much of his time singing of ancient battles between two samurai clans. His music is so good that the spirits of the dead samurai rise up and command him to play music for them. This happens night after night, very late after everyone else has gone to sleep. The other monks begin to worry about Hoichi, but he refuses to say what he's been doing at night. One night the other monks follow him and discover his secret. The head monk tells Hoichi that the spirits will tear him apart if he obeys them again. The head monk paints Hoichi's entire body with prayer verses to ward off spirits. There's one problem, however - they forgot to paint his ears!
The fourth story, In a Cup of Tea, tells the tale of Kannai, a warrior who is menaced by a elusive spirit. Kannai first sees the spirit in a cup of tea staring up at him. Next he is confronted by the spirit in its bodily form, but before Kannai has any real chance to fight it the spirit disappears. Frantic, Kannai runs about screaming for all the other warriors to wake up, explaining to them that someone has gotten into the house. The others look but no intruders are found. Kannai tries to explain that it was a spirit - a spirit that is capable of walking through walls, but the others just laugh, telling him that he's tired and has been seeing things. Later Kannai is greeted by three additional spirits that are servants of the first spirit he encountered. He fights them and eventually destroys each, or so he thinks. It's here that the tale is cutoff - this particular tale is being told by a storyteller and the book he's reading it from abruptly ends. What was the ending for this tormented warrior? You'll have to use your imaginations to decide...or maybe not!
Kwaidan is sort of like Tales from the Crypt or Tales from the Darkside. At the end of each episode they don't always tie everything up into a nice happy ending - the bad guy dies, the good wins, the couple lives happily ever after - that kind of stuff. Instead, you are often left with a very unhappy or uncertain ending for remaining characters, and you will have to use your imagination to think of any possible future that may lie for them. Does it work in Kwaidan? Yes, I think it works extremely well. The stories are all quite good, though if I had to choose a favorite it would be The Woman of the Snow, only because I love the whole creepy concept of the story - from beginning to end. The concept has been used in numerous American movies, but for all I know The Woman of the Snow may be where it originated. The story was written in the late 1800's after all. I won't go into more detail as I may spoil it for some.
I didn't really find the stories in Kwaidan all that scary, except for The Woman of the Snow, which definitely sent some chills down my spine. I tell you one thing - I wouldn't want that creepy looking Woman of the Snow breathing on me. Like I said earlier, however, all the stories are all quite good. Not only that, but the acting is top notch. There's also some of the most incredible looking sets I've ever seen, along with terrific costumes. The attention to detail is truly amazing. It's very obvious that the filmmakers went to great lengths to provide realism here, and they definitely accomplished it.
Many horror fans may not get their "fix" from Kwaidan, but it's a beautiful looking movie with some wonderful stories. Some will definitely get creeped out by it, but many probably will not. Regardless, it's an enjoyable movie and I recommend everyone see it.
Criterion presents Kwaidan in an anamorphic widescreen transfer in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. While I mostly have positive things to say about this amazing transfer, there are a few problems in it as well. First the positive. The transfer has incredibly rich, vibrant colors. The green in the forrest, the blue water, the white snow - all look incredible thanks to extremely strong colors. With so many realistic sets and beautiful costumes this is a huge plus. The image itself is extremely sharp and detailed, remaining relatively grain free throughout the presentation. For a movie from 1965 I'm very impressed. Given the Japanese don't have anything in their movies to make it appear dated (sorry, no bell bottoms or afros here), you'd swear this movie was made yesterday if you didn't know any better. So what are the problems with this incredible transfer? The main problem, which was definitely distracting for me, were these clear vertical lines that consistently appear and disappear for a few seconds at a time throughout the majority of the film. These lines are worst in the first two stories, but they also appear, though less often, in the final two stories as well. Is this a major problem? Not really, but you're definitely going to notice it. It's not consistent, but I doubt there is even a five minute stretch where it doesn't occur. Besides that, you'll see some other blemishes such as scratches and specks of dirt which also appear in many scenes. I don't consider these problems major, especially given all the positive aspects of this transfer. I think Criterion did a good job that is more than worthy of its B+ rating.
Kwaidan is presented in Dolby Digital Mono sound. Dialogue was clear without any distortion or background noise heard. Dialogue isn't too important since it's Japanese and you'll be spending most of your time reading English subtitles. Subtitles are very easy to read - they're bright white and are located in the black bars, which is a definite plus. Of course, with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio you sure better put the subtitles in the black bars.
Liner notes by David Ehrenstein, a film critic for over 30 years. He tells of the writings of Lafcadio Hearn, who wrote each of these stories back in the 19th century. He also give a plot synopsis for each story. An interesting read that isn't too lengthy and definitely give you some more knowledge of Kwaidan. On the DVD itself you'll find a theatrical trailer to Kwaidan.
I enjoyed Kwaidan very much. While I myself only found one story to be particularly creepy, all of the stories are enjoyable, not to mention the incredibly detailed sets and costumes. I'm so glad that Criterion has released this onto DVD; not only because it gave me the opportunity to see this beautiful movie (I am one of those people who is too stubborn to see anything on VHS, regardless of how good it may be), but also because it has the high quality audio/video presentation that we expect with any Criterion DVD. There are no extras except for liner notes, but don't let that stop you from either buying or renting this DVD. I definitely recommend seeing it to find out if it suits your tastes.
Movie - B+
Image Quality - B+
Sound - A-
Supplements - C
- Running Time - 2 hours 41 minutes
- Not Rated
- 1 Disc
- Chapter stops
- Japanese Dolby Digital Mono
- Optional English Subtitles
- Liner notes by film critic David Ehrenstein
- Theatrical trailer | <urn:uuid:80ad65c4-cf71-4845-afee-74c95c276208> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.horrordvds.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=534 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977564 | 2,130 | 1.703125 | 2 |
IPEDS is part of the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education. It is a mandatory reporting system for all post-secondary institutions that participate in any federal student financial aid program. Colleges are required to provide student data on enrollment, persistence, degrees/certificates awarded, and on financial aid. Also required is information on prices, resources, and other institutional characteristics.
You can access IPEDS and get information on any college in which you might be interested. Try it out at IPEDS. | <urn:uuid:0e7ceb6b-46d4-4f93-9763-750c368f2608> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lmu.edu/about/services/academicplanning/IR/surveys/IPEDS.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934149 | 110 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Russia has made no apparent progress on a landmark gas deal with China following a visit from President Vladimir Putin and six years of talks.
The agreement, potentially worth up to U.S. $27 billion per year, remains stuck over price terms despite rosy forecasts by some Russian officials.
While announcing no breakthroughs at the latest negotiations in Beijing on June 1, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich predicted a deal "in a relatively short time," the official English-language China Daily reported.
But other officials were less optimistic before Putin's visit for meetings with Chinese leaders and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on June 5-7.
"No documents will be signed on the corporate level," Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said tersely before leaving the World Gas Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for Beijing, Interfax reported.
There have been few signs of compromise on either side, said Kevin Jianjun Tu, director of the China energy and climate program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.
"I would be very surprised if they can make progress in a relatively short timeframe because the disagreement on price has been a very sticky issue between Chinese national energy companies and their counterparts in Russia," Tu told RFA.
After Putin's meetings with President Hu Jintao and top Chinese leaders, the two sides announced a package of 17 signed agreements, but no gas pact was among them.
The two leaders have reportedly ordered specific proposals to break the logjam in time for a prime ministers' meeting in the fall.
The energy deal would potentially be one of the world's largest, but the impasse has also been one of the longest- running.
In March 2006, Russia announced plans to build two pipelines from Siberia to deliver 68 billion cubic meters (2.4 trillion cubic feet) of gas per year to the fledgling Chinese market.
The first line through Xinjiang was planned to supply 30 billion cubic meters per year. Construction was expected to start in 2008 and be completed in 2011.
But the project never got off the ground because of China's resistance to Russian price demands and its priority for gas in the more developed east.
The latest reports from China Daily and the Kremlin news agency RIA Novosti suggest positions have barely budged in several years.
While Russia's Gazprom is said to be seeking European- level prices as high as U.S $400 per thousand cubic meters, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has only offered U.S $250 per thousand at most.
"The price difference has been quite substantial," said Tu. "It won't go away very soon."
One of the problems is the way the price gap developed.
In 2006, Russia launched its gas plans for China with a dual-purpose. It aimed to develop its East Siberian resources while arguing it could sell them in Asia if European markets resisted its price demands under an oil-linked formula that keeps gas rates high.
"Is Europe prepared to buy this gas?" Miller asked in 2006, the Associated Press reported at the time. "If not ... then we must correct our investment plans accordingly, both in terms of extraction and transportation."
Since then, gas markets have changed but Gazprom's demands have stayed largely the same. China has raised its domestic gas output to over 102 billion cubic meters last year and developed the Central Asia Gas Pipeline from Turkmenistan for imports.
Coastal cities are served by two West-East gas pipelines with a third under development, as well as port facilities for imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Development of huge shale gas resources in the United States has already led to redirection of LNG cargoes to Europe and could start to boost world supplies in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
But Gazprom continues to resist price cuts in Europe, making it hard to reduce price demands on China. How long it can hold the line is anyone's guess.
Four times the price
Although gas prices are high in the Asian market, Gazprom's rate for China is about four times the price in the United States.
CNPC is believed to be paying over U.S $300 per thousand cubic meters for Central Asian gas.
Officials have complained in the past that the company loses money on the imports because it is forced to sell at state-regulated prices. CNPC PetroChina lost 21 billion yuan (U.S. $3.3 billion) on gas sales last year, China Daily said.
But at least in Central Asia, China has some control over the supplies because of its investments in the region's pipelines and gas fields.
"China has some strategic considerations in this regard," said Tu, noting that the country would have no similar control over Siberian supplies. "I don't think they put gas imports from Russia as a very high priority."
In a report that appeared timed for Putin's visit, China Daily said CNPC has imported 30 billion cubic meters of gas from Central Asia since its pipeline from Turkmenistan opened in December 2009.
Supplies from the region accounted for 85 percent of China's gas imports last year, CNPC said.
Last month, state media reported that CNPC signed an agreement to allow private investment in the third West-East pipeline to coastal Fujian province. This, too, seems likely to be filled with Central Asian gas.
This month, Interfax reported that a third strand of the system from Turkmenistan is scheduled for completion through Uzbekistan in January 2015. Construction in Central Asia is racing ahead while talks with Russia drag on.
China has been negotiating with Russia on energy supplies since at least 2001 when the two countries signed a friendship treaty, but it has been able to get only limited investment access to Russian resources.
After a decade of talks and huge Chinese loans, Russia opened its first pipeline to China for oil deliveries in 2011 and now supplies a total of 546,000 barrels per day, according to customs figures. A similar deal for gas could take just as long.
"If we look at what's been going on for the past decade, the lack of trust between Russia and China has certainly served as a barrier between these two countries to move closer on a gas deal," said Tu.
One test of trust may be a report in Britain's Daily Mail that China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) are interested in buying a stake in Russia's TNK-BP oil company following a split with British giant BP.
But major investments in the Russian oil sector have been largely off-limits to Chinese companies in the past. If Russia turns away another Chinese investment, it could be a sign that a gas deal will not materialize for some time.
"This case could demonstrate whether Russia will show more willingness to work with Chinese national oil companies," Tu said. | <urn:uuid:977d9da5-5eb1-43d2-8f81-e737568a4460> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/energy_watch/gas-06112012115307.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963928 | 1,412 | 1.78125 | 2 |
PS: We have Dell Precision workstations (were i work), and even those are silent when idle or at half-load, they only turn up there fans under heavy load (and become noisy), so companies like HP or Dell have thermal management and temperature controlled fans.
But there are also Dells and HPs that are needlessly loud. At my old workplace some of the (<2yrs old) Dells would ramp up the fans to jet engine levels while doing light browsing. If they are getting quieter in general I'd say it's mainly because Intel chips are taking less power and hard drives are becoming quieter.
PS: The Apple apologists should kiss the feet of Intel, for inventing thermal management
Intel's power management is good but thermal management not I would say. Instead of making a system themselves they leave it to motherboard manufacturers and the result is it's rare to find a desktop motherboard where the fans can be set in BIOS/EFI to turn completely off below a certain temperature.
I didn`t say all of them are quiet, but they do make models that are quiet under half-load or idle, and somewhat noisy under idle. The Lenovo desktops (at the faculty i went) are also quiet when idle (browsing, listing to music, office documents etc.) but are loud when you put the under load.
Intel doesn`t make thier own motherboards?What, in what parellel universe does that happen? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... name=Intel
Intel`s motherboards are the most stable motherboards in this branch, and Apple`s motherboards are designed and made by Intel. Same goes for Dell/HP who have custom motherboards too, just open a Dell/HP PC and try to find that model in a shop..you won`t.
As for power management of the fans, PWM rings a bell? My Asus mb with Q-Fan automatically controls my PWM fans according to the CPU/MB temps. My fans idle at 400rpm (that`s inaudible at 2 am at night, with windows/doors closed in a very sound/thermal isolated house) and go up to 900rpm under heavy load with a Q9550+8GB+9800GTX+ Corsair VX450 and 3 softmounted hdd-drives (WD640AAKS) + Ninja2 & AcceleroS1. 2 intake fans + 1 cpu fan, ArcticCooling PWM 120mm models all controlled by the BIOS, daisy-chained together on the same PWM header. And Asus Q-Fan is available on almost every board they make/made
in the last 2+ years, rangeing from cheapo 40 bucks mb to 400$ models. Gigabyte and other manufacturers have similar things, all have at least one PWM fan header and a couple of voltage controlled headers.
DFI has a function to disable the fans completely when the CPU goes under a certain temp, but it`s useless considering the fact that a 400rpm fan is almost inaudible, even at 2 am in the night.
As someone said before, good job Apple on pateting things i have been doing for the last 2 years, and people on SPCR have been doing for the last 10. | <urn:uuid:739a4392-9baa-4427-b8e2-19bc745057f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=461943 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942072 | 686 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Hope's New Method of Fencing
Use of this work is freely granted subject to the conditions of this Creative Commons Licence.Contents | Dedication | Advertisement | Poem | Introduction | CHAP. I. | CHAP. II. | CHAP. III. | CHAP. IV. | CHAP. V. | CHAP. VI. | CHAP. VII. | Postscript
To the Right Honourable
W I L L I A M
Lord Keith and Altire, Great Marischal of the Kingdom of Scotland, and Heretable Keeper of the Regalia of That Kingdom, &c.
HAVING of late discovered the Short and Easy Method of Fencing, contained in the following sheets, and which I am perswaded, will be found by practice, to be as useful as it is New; I was not long a making choice of your Lordship, as the person to whom I ought in Justice to offer it.
For not to mention, at present, your Lordship's many Personal Endowments, which I the more willingly forbear, lest I should be thought too much interested therein, not only upon account of that great but just esteem, which I have always had for your Lordship, but also (and which is indeed my greatest honour) with respect to my near concern in, and relation to, your Lordship's most ancient and noble Family.
Therefore, not to insist upon these, which are already so well known; there are Two motives, which chiefly induced me to present to your Lordship this small Essay; which I dare Boldly affirm, contains the Greatest and most Useful improvement, that ever was made in the Art of the Sword
The first is, A Generous and Publick Spirit, whereby your Lordship always endeavours to assert the Rights and Priviledges of the subject, as well as to promote the Publick Good and Wellfare of your country; For which, your Lordship has the approbation, and general applause, of all truely good country-men; Which, when your Lordship is gone, will add an everlasting Lustre to the already most Noble and Illustrious Family of the KEITHS.
The second is, The most Honourable Office of Great Marischal of Scotland, of which your Lordship's worthy Ancestors, were thought so deserving in former ages, that it has now been Hereditary to your Lordship's Family for above these Seven Hundred Years.
And what Family could so well deserve it, as that which has upon all Occasions, not only Asserted and Defended the Rights and Liberties of the people, but even in the last Great Rebellion, did after a wonderful manner Preserve the Honours and Regalia of the Sovereign? For which the Convention of Estates in the Year 1661, ordered their thanks fo be given to your Lordship's uncle, Earl William of worthy memory, declaring, that the Preservation of the Crown and Scepter were owing to him; and have orders that it should be so insert in the Records of Parliament, as an Everlasting Evidence of your Family's Loyalty
For whatever some Nice and Narrow Spirited politicians may pretend, certainly the Power and Prerogative of the Prince, and Right and Priviledge of the People, are Reciprocal; so that the Once cannot possibly subsist long, and in safety, without a reasonable condescendence to, and Allowance, of the Other.
And, My Lord, allow me to say it, without the least flattery, your Lordship's Family hath signalized itself as to Both: For by Preserving the Regalia, it declared itself sufficiently Loyal, and beyond all exception Monarchical; and by asserting the Rights and Priviledges of the subject, of which your Lordship gives daily singular instances, it proves it self to be abundantly for the Good and Prosperity of its Country, and the Liberty and Prosperity of the People: So that the Subject matter in this Essay corresponding so naturally with these two Extraordinary Characters, the one of your Lordship's Person, and the other of your Eminent Office, you are certainly, My Lord, (all other considerations laid aside), the most proper Patron I could possibly make choice of. For,
First the Art it self being a material Branch of Honour and Chivalry, falls most naturally under your Lordship's Jusrisdiction and Protection; because as Lord High Marischal, all debates about, and decisions of points of Honour, come under your Lordship's Cognizance, and are determined by your Lordship's sentence when in judgement. And,
Secondly, the chief design of this New Method of Fencing, being for the Safety and Preservation of men's Honour and Lives, tends certainly so far to the advancement of the Publick Good, as it lays down a Rational and Easy Method for that end: And This alone I know is sufficient to recommend it, and make it acceptable to your Lordship, who I know have always taken such a great deal of Pleasure and Satisfaction, in such Gentlemanny and Useful Exercises. So that, both a man's Honour and Reputation, which are indeed all his Regalia, and in place of a Crown to him, being hereby Preserved; and his Life, which is his Right and Property as a Subject, being Protected and Defended: It could not, My Lord, have possibly thrown itself under the Protection of a more Proper, as well as Generous, Patron.
Having thus given your Lordship a short Account of the Reasons, which prevail'd with me to give you this Trouble; I humbly lay it before your Lordship. And as according to your Lordships Just and Virtuous Devise, VERITAS VINCIT, Truth and Sincerity does always hold Foot, and at last Vanquish and Triumph: So I am perswaded, that the Extraordinary Improvements contain'd in this Piece, will sufficiently Convince your Lordship of my Sincerity in Writing it, and the good Effects it will have hereafter upon the Gentry, of This Nation for their more certain Defence, give your Lordship and evident Demonstration of the Truth of all I have advanced in it.
And I do further ingenuously declare, That I had no other aim in Publishing of it, next to the Safety and Preservation of my Country-mens Honour and Lives, by rectifying in it many Imperfections, which have crept into the Art as commonly Taught, than to give my self an opportunity, wherein I might discover to your Lordship and the World, the great Respect and Esteem I have for your Lordship's Person and Family.
That therefore the most Noble and Ancient Family of the KEITHS may be Preserved and Flourish, not only for Seven Hundred, but seventy times Seven Hundred Years; nay even to the CONSUMMATION of all things, is the most sincere Wish, and hearty and most frevent desire of,
Obedient and most, | <urn:uuid:890a18b7-a53f-4006-b627-669817779076> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sirwilliamhope.org/Library/Hope/NewMethod/dedication.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957285 | 1,456 | 1.757813 | 2 |
By Jean Ebeling
Published December 2011
We never knew how old Bell was when she came to live with us. The girls at the adoption center guessed her to be about a year and a half. We never found out much about her previous life before she landed at the orphanage.
There was a story around that the boys who ran a local auction barn had imported a border collie from England that fitted Bell’s description—short blocky head, thick undercoat and “soft” ears that lay close to her head. As the story goes, the auction barn folded up and Bell wound up with no home.
At any rate, she was glad to be out where there were things that needed doing--mainly herding livestock.
We never knew if Bell had any training. She just naturally figured that the goats needed to be brought in from wherever they were. After the work was done she liked to spend time fishing in the creek. She would spend hours herding minnows up and down in the creek that runs behind the barn. It requred a good bit of barking at the wiggly things so we always knew where she was.Add a comment | <urn:uuid:d2e4f854-a69b-431b-89df-f1e2bfecdbbd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ranchmagazine.com/index.php/On-The-Ranch/ | 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 | 0.983813 | 243 | 1.632813 | 2 |
By Pete Kotz
By Michael Musto
By Michael Musto
By Capt. James Van Thach told to Jonathan Wei
By Kera Bolonik
By Michael Musto
By Nick Pinto
By Steve Weinstein
On February 26, 1993, Mike Rapp, an architect, was working in the World Trade Center when the floor literally fell out from under him. He was surveying when an explosion hit and he tumbled two stories onto a slab just beneath a broken water pipe. The stream of water at the time looked like it might drown him. In retrospect, he thinks that it probably saved his life, creating a kind of wall of water against the encroaching flames.
Since that horrific day, Rapp, 41, has had half a dozen operations because of injuries sustained in the blast, and marked many anniversaries, including those for the explosion. Meanwhile, the wreckage to the WTC has long since been repaired and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has long since collected on its insurance.
But Rapp, and hundreds of others who were at ground zero when a bomb in a Ryder van exploded seven years ago, have been stuck in a legal, and often medical, limbo. Media coverage of events at the WTC has all but stopped; but the consequences haven't.
Rapp is one of approximately 80 plaintiffs whose lawsuits were filed by Sullivan, Papain, Block, McGrath & Cannavo P.C., and his is among 400 suits in total still not settled. All the cases have been consolidated and are referred to by the court index number as "600000/1994." The PA, which operates and is housed in the WTC, has used its considerable resources to fight rather than settle, says Rapp. Some people injured in the explosion are still scrambling to pay medical bills, according to attorneys. Others returned to work soon after, despite disabilities, when workmen's compensation ran out.
Until December 21, 1999, the lawsuits were essentially delayed. Some attorneys received the full documents last week. Blair Fensterstock, of Fensterstock & Partners LLP, liaison counsel for the cases and head of the steering committee appointed by State Supreme Court Justice Stanley Sklar to oversee them, says, "The Court of Appeals ruled that the PA has no more appeals on this issue."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs say now they will take depositions from the PA that they needed in order to proceed.
What held things up, and created more of a nightmare than those affected by the bombing think is necessary, depends on who is speaking. But there is agreement that the fight was over documents that would answer the questions: What did executives at the PA know, if anything, about the potential for terrorist acts?and What should they have done about it?
The plaintiffs argued that they had a right to see internal documents in which the PA was warned about precisely the type of bombing that occurred. The PA argued that these were confidential and it was in the public interest to withhold them. Essentially, one side said it was about security; the other said it was about secrecy and a continuing cover-up.
To understand the significance of the more than 70 documents, it helps to know the circumstances under which they were created. Back in the 1980s, the PA created the Office for Special Planning to investigate what should be done to beef up security and prevent terrorism. The OSP's work was very much under wraps. Between 1984 and 1987, it was headed by Edward O'Sullivan, a former marine who had once worked in antiguerrilla operations. The OSP staff used scrambler phones and other devices so its work could be kept private. The OSP consulted with the FBI, CIA, National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, Scotland Yard, and intelligence and counterterrorist agencies in Israel, France, Switzerland, and Italy.
"The relationship with these agencies was entered into only with the understanding that communications and the scope of the relationship would remain strictly confidential," says O'Sullivan in court documents. Reports and studies done by or for the OSP went to only a handful of top PA executives. Seven copies of its 1986 terrorism study were made. Each was hand-delivered and signed for by its intended recipient, according to O'Sullivan.
"[The OSP report's] primary conclusion, as far as we're concerned," says Fensterstock, "was that the World Trade Center was the most likely building to be bombed in the United States. And the way to do it would be to drive a van down into the basement, exactly the way it happened. It was negligence, gross negligence and recklessness."
The PA has collected millions from its own insurance policies, but insists it isn't liable for the 1993 bombing incident and estimates it has paid out $250,000 to people injured in the blast.
For Rappwho lives in Queens and works for the SCR Design Organization in Manhattanand many others, the explosion has had long-term repercussions that they never expected. And while there is concern over threats of future acts of terrorism, WTC victims are still dealing with the results of one already past. None of them has spoken out until now for various reasons: Many have been afraid that to do so would further delay, or hurt, their cases. And for years, some were afraid that if they criticized workmen's compensation, their care would be held up even further.
"They would like to see it come to a closure. But they're just not going to walk away and just not do anything," says Cyrus Diamond, representing clients through Sullivan et al. "There are people who have never returned to work. People have been afraid to go back to the building, to go into buildings where there are elevators, to go into high-rise buildings, to be in the borough of Manhattan. They're still paying medical bills. A lot of them are still receiving medical treatment."
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Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city | <urn:uuid:9932d041-2b98-49cd-a6ec-08c548e41f2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-01-04/news/the-wtc-bombing-revisited/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984266 | 1,251 | 1.84375 | 2 |
by Marco Canora with Catherine Young
Foreword by Tom Colicchio
2009 Rodale Press
When most people watch me salt a pot of boiling water for the first time, their reaction is disbelief. To them, the handfuls of Diamond Crystal kosher I dump in before adding pasta or vegetables seem excessive. What they don’t realize is that a healthy dose of salt is essential to bringing out the natural flavors of almost any ingredient you can think of, and adding salt to water is actually a subtle way to season food, because it absorbs only a small amount of the salt it is boiled or blanched.
Salt is a critical ingredient in every dish I make. Too much salt, however, can make any dish inedible. The obvious question then is how much is enough and how much is too much? I “salt to taste,” but I want to stress that there are a few basic things you should know in order to follow my lead. You need to consider the flavor of all your ingredients. Some foods are inherently salty - Parmesan cheese, for example, has a lot of salt in it, so if you are using significant amounts, you won’t need as much salt. The same goes for anchovies. You also need to think about what happens to the salinity of a liquid as it cooks. A sauce that simmers away on the stove for hours will get saltier as the water evaporates and the flavors concentrate; the same thing happens with soups and braises. You need to be careful not to add too much salt in the early phases of cooking. Generally speaking, the best way to determine the perfect amount of salt is to add a little at a time, tasting as you go so that you can decide when no more is needed.
While trying out the recipes on the following pages, let your preferences be your guide. If you’re not a fan of rosemary, substitute sage, thyme, or some other herb you like. If a spicy kick is not your thing, leave the peperoncini or red pepper flakes out of the clams casino or use half the recommended amount. When all is said and done, I think tastebuds are far more reliable than measuring spoons when it comes to determining the right ratios of spice and seasoning for whatever dish you are making.
If I can leave you with one last piece of advice, it is this: Cooking is not a mere chore but a creative outlet and a pastime, one that requires you to use all your senses, your intuition, and you resourcefulness. Don’t be afraid to experiment and learn to accept the fact that sometimes your experiments will flop. Take the occasional failure with a grain of salt (so to speak) and learn from your mistakes. Start to think of the recipes in the pages that follow as templates, with information that you can apply to a wide variety of dishes, foods, and cooking situations, and this book will have served its purpose. If the food you are inspired to make brings smiles and satisfaction to those who eat it, then you will be doing something to make this crazy world we live in a better, more hospitable place.
“Cooking for many chefs is a job. But for Marco, cooking is a
lifestyle. He cooks at home, much to the enjoyment of family and their
wide circle of friends. This book reflects that multidimensionalty - by
nature, cooking at home is different than done in a restaurant, but it
comes from the same place: true passion, knowledge and love of fine ingredients,
and a conviction that one should do only as much to a dish as it needs
to be great, never more. Marco Canora cooks with his heart and soul.”
“Marco Canora’s intuitive sense of the delicious is renowned
throughout chef circles, but this magnificent tome takes it to the home,
simplifying his cooking into a beautiful, lyrical melody. The photos are
inspiration, and the recipes pull me toward the greenmarket and then back
to the kitchen every time I open the pages. His words are my new poetry.”
“Leafing through Marco Canora’s “Salt to Taste”
was like traveling back in time to my first trip to Italy. His dishes
reminded me of the excitement and wonder I felt while discovering its
distinct regions and tasting its time-honored recipes.”
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Rodale Books (October 13, 2009)
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 1 inches | <urn:uuid:ca370cd6-07a9-422f-b82c-7040695e6584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marcocanora.com/about/cookbook.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950058 | 962 | 1.695313 | 2 |
From the office of Colorado Representative Diana DeGette:
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) joined with Democratic and Republican colleagues to announce the introduction of the “Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act” which would ensure that state laws regarding marijuana will not be pre-empted by the federal government.
“I voted against Amendment 64 and I strongly oppose the legalization of marijuana, but I also have an obligation to respect the will of the voters given the passage of this initiative, and so I feel obligated to support this legislation,” said Rep. Mike Coffman (CO-6).
“The people of Colorado and Washington voted in overwhelming numbers to regulate the sale of marijuana. Colorado officials and law enforcement are already working to implement the will of Colorado voters, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in Congress and officials in the administration to deliver clear guidance that ensures the will of the people is protected,” said Rep. Jared Polis (CO-2).
“Residents of Colorado and Washington have made it clear that the public is ahead of the federal government in terms of marijuana legalization,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3). “It’s time for Congress to pass legislation – such as the ‘Respect States’ and Citizens’ Rights Act’ – that allows states to implement their own laws in this area without fear of federal interference.”
“All across the country, states are choosing to reform their marijuana laws. As Justice Brandeis observed, states are the ‘laboratories of democracy’ and they should be given the opportunity to go forward with this social experiment,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-9). “I’m proud to cosponsor this important bill, which will ensure that the federal government respects the people’s judgment.”
“The federal government’s failure to develop a reasonable approach towards the varying state marijuana use laws has made this legislation necessary,” said Rep. Sam Farr (CA-17). “From increased raids on legal dispensaries to denying defendants in court the right to present evidence of their legal marijuana use, the federal government has chosen to trample on state rights rather than work with them as a partner to address this issue.” | <urn:uuid:5ec31e86-4acf-4fe8-9412-ca1ad713ca77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radicalruss.com/rep-degette-announces-respect-states-and-citizens-rights-act-to-protect-legal-marijuana-consumers-from-federal-law/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953075 | 497 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Singaporeans Work Life Balance Shifting
Time does not stop for Singapore workers even as they took a well-deserved breather on May Day.
In the last 10 years, the Singapore workforce has aged noticeably. But the typical worker is now more educated, earning more, and more likely to be in a white-collar services sector job. Companies are competing with each other to hire the best talent from around the world, with an increasingly globalized jobs market. They are also managing the higher aspirations of the young, of whom three in four now have a diploma or degree.
At the other end, a shrinking pool of less-educated workers combined with curbs on cheap foreign labour are resulting in a shortage of menial laborers. These Singapore workforce trends show up in government statistics and are highlighted by employers, unionists and labor experts interviewed by BT.
Given these trends, they say the pressure to cut costs, improve productivity and move towards higher-value jobs to attract jobseekers is stronger than ever before. Take transport services company Woodlands Transport, for example. The average age of the 220 bus drivers there is now 50. Many have been loyal employees for 20 years or more. The drivers are mostly Singaporean.
Foreign drivers from China and Malaysia make up less than a fifth of the workforce. ”Local drivers are getting older and older, while we are trying to improve the pay package to attract younger drivers,” general manager Roger Wong tells BT. ”But younger drivers would rather become taxi drivers as there is better income and more work-life balance.
“The government tells us to boost our productivity but ultimately I still need one driver per bus. Service quality can be improved. But my drivers have a lower secondary education, and some of the older local ones cannot even speak English,” he says. For workers aged 45 to 65, those with secondary education comprise the biggest educational grouping. But for those born after 1965, degree holders form the biggest group.
At the 30-34 age range – where many diploma holders who wanted to get a degree have done so – nearly 50 per cent of the workforce are degree-holders. Diploma holders make up another 25 per cent. Ernst & Young country managing partner Max Loh says the way the company attracts and retains talent is being shaped by the young.
They want “broadened career experiences and opportunities to progress quickly”, he says. The company thus has programs in place to give people working exposure in different places, a structured development program, and a coaching culture to maximise staff potential. Singaporeans are also concerned about work-life balance, he adds. The company is looking at providing more “staff engagement and wellness activities” and flexible work arrangements, such as for working mothers. | <urn:uuid:f6eccdc4-c865-44e3-b2d8-2ac193c93ec2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inewstoday.net/2012/singaporeans-work-life-balance-shifting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962419 | 566 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Washington (CNN) - Presidential leadership or kowtowing to allies? Abuse of power or decisive action in the face of imminent catastrophe?
Supporters and critics used Sunday talk shows to debate President Barack Obama's Libya policy on Sunday, the day before the president addresses the nation on the issue.FULL STORY
Sen. Carl Levin (D), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, on CNN's "State of the Union"
"There's other means for moving Gadhafi than military. We've seen that in other countries as a matter of fact. We saw that in Egypt where the people of Egypt removed their dictator. The people of Libya can remove their dictator. But we are not the ones to remove him. We are the ones that is part of an international coalition that are going to prevent him from massacring his own people."
Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.) on CNN's "State of the Union"
"Frankly, Candy, there [are] capabilities that only we have. If there is any stress in this mission when it comes to electronic warfare, jamming, suppressing enemy air defense, refueling, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, combat search and rescue, precision strike, there's no one in our class within NATO. So those are the American forces conducting those actions."
Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that he expects to be running for president within a month.
“I think within a month, we’ll have that taken care of and we’ll be running,” Gingrich said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s my hope that all of this will work out and I’ll be able to run.”
Washington (CNN) - Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Sen. Joe Lieberman said if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attacks his own people, an international coalition should intervene as they did in Libya.
"If Assad does what Gadhafi was doing, which is to threaten and go house-to-house and kill anybody who's not on his side. There's a precedent now that the world community has set in Libya. And it's the right one," Lieberman, I-Connecticut, said on "Fox News Sunday." "We're not going to stand by and allow this Assad to slaughter his people like his father did years ago."
Washington (CNN) - Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. Carl Levin defended U.S. involvement in Libya as a mission with a "clear purpose," but said it is up to the Libyan people to remove their leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Michigan Democrat on Sunday said support from the international community is vital to the success of the mission that began when the United Nations Security Council voted March 17 to authorize a no-fly zone over the African country and to "take all necessary measure" – without using an occupation force – to protect the civilians under attack in Libya. | <urn:uuid:abe8d574-d51c-4d50-94a9-c543378fc3db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/27/ | 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 | 0.961861 | 610 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Hours after the late-night explosion outside the Jewish community center in Malmo, Sweden, the scent of baking challah already was wafting from the center’s ovens into the chilly morning air, as it does every Friday morning.
Later, the Jewish preschool at the site would open as usual.
A smashed bulletproof glass window and two police officers standing watch were the only evidence of a Sept. 28 attack in which assailants set off an explosive device and threw bricks at the center’s door, according to Rabbi Rebecca Lillian, who lives in the building.
Swedish police arrested and then released two 18-year-old male suspects whom witnesses had placed at the scene; the city’s prosecutor is considering whether to indict them.
Some Swedish Jews said the attack was yet another unwelcome reminder that they must bolster their public campaign against anti-Semitism, which only recently began to gain steam in the Scandinavian country after years of attacks and intimidation against Jews, often by local Muslims.
“The attack on the synagogue may have been an attempt to intimidate us back into submission,” said Annika Hernroth-Rothstein, a 31-year-old Jewish woman from a city near Stockholm who has helped organize some of the recent Jewish solidarity rallies in Sweden.
“The decision by Swedish Jews to rally against anti-Semitism is perceived by perpetrators as provocation,” she told JTA. “We must go on: It may need to get worse before it gets better.”
Fred Kahn, board chairman of Malmo’s Jewish community of approximately 1,000, said he insisted on a business-as-usual approach after the attack “to show our enemies they have no chance of intimidating us.”
The rallies against anti-Semitism in Sweden – at least 10 so far – began last December when a few Malmo synagogue-goers decided to keepon their kipahs after services and, in violation of security protocol, marched with them through town. Several more “kipah walks” followed, all organized by members of the community through Facebook.
One gathering in August in Stockholm drew about 400 Jews and non-Jews, including government ministers. A similar number showed up for a rally in Stockholm on Sunday, including some leading politicians.
Another solidarity march is planned for Oct. 20 in Malmo. | <urn:uuid:0c77338d-8de9-42d8-a28e-66d1d33c2a0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forward.com/articles/164047/malmo-jews-not-cowed-by-new-attack/?p=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974005 | 489 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The prosperity and popularity of successful companies is obviously the result of continuous training. Without proper sales training, a business is unable to stand out from the rest, thus having poor exposure and low credibility on the market. In order to achieve and maintain the success of their companies, business owners need to make sure that all their team members benefit from frequent sales training. While a short sales training course or seminary can familiarize your sales staff with the fundamentals of sales, the long-term success of your business can only be achieved through the means of ongoing sales training. Ongoing sales training is vital for maintaining the pace with other businesses in your branch and it can also help your company to get ahead of the competition.
Ongoing sales training programs are very important for any business, as they can help salespeople to maintain a good level of sales performance. It is important to note that the great majority of salespeople only improve their selling performance at first, being unable to progress further without frequent sales training interventions. Considering the fact that marketing and sales are a marathon, not a sprint, it is vital to frequently intervene with new, effective sales training solutions among the members of your business.
Proper sales training programs work on multiple levels: they provide the members of your business team with the latest marketing solutions and strategies, strengthen the relationships between the members of your team and also boost the morale and the motivation of your entire sales staff. An effective sales training program can have a very refreshing effect on the entire business, announcing a new stage in the activity of the company.
There are two main categories of sales training: self-study oriented sales training, which allows the trainees to learn on their own and trainer-oriented sales training, taught by a sales “coach”. The first category of sales training includes multimedia training, tradebooks and textbooks that contain various selling techniques and strategies. Trainer-oriented sales training includes programs that involve active participation to courses, seminaries or laboratories. In contrast with self-study oriented sales training materials, trainer-oriented sales training programs are by far the best means of acquiring a wide range of skills and abilities that can considerably increase the sales efficiency of your business.
Trainer-oriented sales training programs have the advantage of offering trainees the chance to engage in role play situations, thus allowing attendants to quickly polish their skills. During the entire program, the trainees are encouraged to express their opinions and ideas, being provided with proper feed-back from their trainers. Trainer-oriented sales training programs can effectively improve the skills and abilities of your business team members, thus enhancing the overall performance of your company. | <urn:uuid:92a2450a-1f9b-4a24-b6b9-374dec804c25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcdarc-ohrid.org/category/uncategorized | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963707 | 532 | 1.695313 | 2 |
HPPR hosts & contributors
Mon June 11, 2012
From Our Readers: Don't Be That Guy (Fawkes)
When we asked whether the Occupy movement has "crashed or just begun," "Rock Trimlove" took issue with our image of a protester in the Guy Fawkes mask, pointing out that the mask was worn by hacker group Anonymous "long before the 'Occupy' movement began." Ultimately, however, the commenter found the picture to be an appropriate "mistake":
"More than a year after it began, the Occupy movement apparently has no central character or theme, and the best the media can do in attempts to portray it is borrow iconography from a completely different group that may or may not show up at Occupy events ... "
"Paolo Signoria" resents the mask's connotations, calling long-term OWS campouts "entitled liberalism." He writes, "If the movement is dying, I hope the next incarnation stops with the Guy Fawkes mask."
Fawkes and his Catholic compatriots engineered the "Gunpowder Plot" of 1605, an attempt to blow up the British parliament. Though parliament never burned, Fawkes' effigy is torched annually on November 5.
His mask originated in the 1980's comic strip — and later Blockbuster — V for Vendetta, the brainchild of artist Dave Lloyd and writer Alan Moore. In his essay Behind the Painted Smile, Moore writes that the idea to incorporate Fawkes, "was all contained in one single letter that [Lloyd] dashed off the top of his head and which, like most of Dave's handwriting, needed the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone to actually interpret." He includes what he could gather of the letter:
"Re. The script; While I was writing this, I had this idea about the hero, which is a bit redundant now we've got [can't read the next bit] but nonetheless... I was thinking, why don't we portray him as a resurrected Guy Fawkes, complete with one of those papier mache masks in a cape and conical hat? He'd look really bizarre and it would give Guy Fawkes the image he's deserved all these years. We shouldn't burn the chap every Nov. 5th but celebrate his attempt to blow up Parliament!"
(Marissa Alioto is an intern on NPR's Social Media desk.) | <urn:uuid:6d90eb6b-9042-4c10-b6db-8c9212f752df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hppr.org/post/our-readers-dont-be-guy-fawkes | 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 | 0.963426 | 493 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Victorian fined for trekking underprepared
A Victorian who went trekking in New South Wales' Blue Mountains with only potatoes and naan bread has copped a fine for being underprepared.
The 29-year-old embarked on the trek in the rugged bushland on Wednesday afternoon.
He had told friends it would take him three days to reach Colo Heights from Newnes, near Lithgow, where they had dropped him off.
They contacted police when the man failed to arrive on Saturday, sparking a search of the area involving two police helicopters.
Polair 2 found him in the Wolgan Valley while its sister craft Polair 3 was able to winch the trekker to safety.
He had suffered a minor ankle injury, police said in a statement.
The Victorian declined treatment and was taken to Katoomba police station, where he spoke with officers about his time in the bush.
"We believed the 29-year-old placed himself and the search teams at risk through his lack of planning and preparation, and through carrying inadequate provisions," NSW Police Force Rescue commander Brenton Charlton said.
"The man had with him a kilo of potatoes and naan bread."
Mr Charlton said the man's intended route through remote terrain would have been extremely difficult to complete safely and it had taken much longer than he had estimated.
"Getting the basics right with trekking is so easy - all people have to do is notify the police or other responsible person of their trip intention and carry a personal locator beacon," he said.
"Making use of available technology, together with some commonsense trip preparation, could mean the difference between life or death."
The man has been given a $500 infringement notice for engaging "in activity that risks the safety of self/others". | <urn:uuid:55109d90-03bf-4bed-853b-29853265343c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/victorian-fined-for-trekking-underprepared-20121230-2c1ej.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984017 | 371 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Flood maps could affect homeownersPublished 6:26pm Wednesday, June 29, 2011
On July 18, updated FEMA flood maps will go into effect for Tallapoosa County, which may force some homeowners on Lake Martin to either buy flood insurance or get an exemption certificate from FEMA.
When the maps are released, anyone who has land that touches water will be in the flood plain. If the homeowner also has a mortgage or credit line, mortgage companies could deem that home as flood prone and require flood insurance.
FEMA offers flood insurance at a more manageable rate than commercial insurance companies for those who choose to purchase flood insurance.
To avoid buying flood insurance, homeowners can go through a surveyor to obtain an elevation certificate, which determines the elevation of the lowest finished floor of a home. If it’s proven a home is above 492 feet mean sea level, FEMA can waive the flood insurance requirement.
Ken Meredith, state coordinator for the national flood insurance program, said the new maps will mainly affect those who fall into one of the following categories:
n A person who is purchasing a home in a flood plain area;
n A person who is refinancing a home in a flood plain area;
n A person who extends a loan on a home in a flood plain area;
n A person who increases a loan (second mortgage, credit line, etc.) on a home in a flood plain area.
Anyone who does not have a mortgage is not susceptible to the new guidelines. Meredith said that while some current homeowners could receive a notice from mortgage companies that requires flood insurance, people who are caught on one of those four tripwires are the ones who will be mainly affected.
“(Current homeowners) don’t have to do anything,” Meredith said. “It’s mostly only going to impact people if they’re in a situation where one of those four things happen.
“These laws have been in place since 1968, but they’ve been amended to put some teeth in them. We started the revision process a couple of years ago, and though we had to do some shucking and diving at first, once everyone understood what was going on, everything was alright.”
The new maps have already been released for Coosa and Elmore Counties, and Meredith said the change has gone smoothly.
Meredith said not to worry if you get a notice from the mortgage company.
“If you get a 45-day letter from the lender, don’t panic,” Meredith said. “I would just buy the flood insurance from FEMA. Then, if you don’t already have it, get an elevation certificate. If you don’t need the insurance after that, you can get a full refund.
“This is about the relationship between the home purchaser and the lender. The lender determines whether the insurance is necessary.”
Information provided by the Lake Martin Home Owners and Boat Owners Association was used in this story. For more FEMA flood insurance information or for an exemption application, visit lakemartin.org. | <urn:uuid:5d87e22b-c694-4455-b066-5d0a20a841c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alexcityoutlook.com/2011/06/29/flood-maps-could-affect-homeowners/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956854 | 641 | 1.804688 | 2 |
HOME | LAWS | ORGANIZATIONS | CASES | LEGISLATION | HEADLINES
District Demands More Information
A member family in the Rochester City School District recently received a letter from the district’s homeschool coordinator stating that their quarterly report was incomplete. The district insisted that Mr. and Mrs. Bell* had to provide more of a description of the material they covered for each subject area for the quarter.
Believing that they had submitted all that was required, Mr. and Mrs. Bell contacted Home School Legal Defense Association for help. Attorney Thomas Schmidt reviewed the quarterly report the Bells had submitted and found it contained all that was required under the law.
According to Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education the quarterly report must contain the number of hours of instruction for that quarter, a description of the material covered in each subject, and a grade or written narrative evaluating the child’s progress. If at least 80% of the material the parent had planned for that quarter has not been completed then they must provide an explanation for that as well.
Schmidt wrote a letter on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Bell informing the school district what was required and pointing out that their quarterly report form had contained all of that information. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have had no further difficulties from their school district.
* Not their real name. | <urn:uuid:92d173c2-3575-45d4-9f88-144d8459a20f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ny/200702080.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980028 | 284 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Denmark-based Bavarian Nordic has received an advance payment of $50m (€35.4m) from the US Government for meeting milestones in one of its smallpox vaccine supply contracts.
The $50m will be paid under the RFP-3 contract, the $500m five-year contract the biopharmaceutical company was awarded in June.
Under the contract, Bavarian Nordic is to manufacture and deliver 20 million doses of its smallpox vaccine, Imvamune, to the US Strategic National Stockpile for individuals to be considered "at risk", such as those who are immuno-compromised.
"We are very satisfied that we have now already fulfilled several significant milestones as agreed with the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). With the advance payment and the future milestone payments, we have created a solid financial base for our further development," Bavarian Nordic president and chief executive Anders Hedegaard said in a statement.
The contract for Imvamune is the first next-generation product procured by the HHS under the government's BioShield program, which was put in place following the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to guard against bioterrorism.
Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the disease eradicated worldwide in 1980, with the last case of smallpox occurring in the US in 1949, there are concerns that should the virus get into the hands of terrorists, it could be used as a biological weapon with potentially devastating consequences.
Smallpox is a highly contagious disease and kills about one-third of the people it infects. There is no treatment and the only prevention is vaccination.
Imvamune is expected to be a much safer smallpox vaccine than those already stockpiled, which use live replicating vaccinia viruses and can cause side effects and complications in up to 25 per cent of the population.
Imvamune, on the other hand, is based on the Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) virus, which is in a weakened form that does not replicate in the body and cannot be accidentally transferred to other people.
The company expects to receive two additional milestone payments each of $25m this year for fulfilling other significant milestones.
Delivery is expected to start once an Emergency Use Authorisation for Imvamune is granted.
Last week, the company's RFP-2, 2004 contract with the US Government was extended to 2010.
The $15m extension will see the initiation of Phase II studies with Imvamune in people diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, a form of eczema.
The company is expecting the additional revenue at the end of 2008 and 2009.
In 2006, the Denmark Government approved the large-scale commercial production of Imvamune at the facilities there, which has the capacity to produce a minimum of 40 million doses of Imvamune per year, and the capacity to be expanded to 180 million doses per year.
A spokesman from Bavarian Nordic was unavailable for comment. | <urn:uuid:ba4123ff-9a73-4b5f-a592-d290531531bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Processing/Bavarian-Nordic-meets-milestones | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96115 | 618 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Click on each class link below to view details and requirements for each class
This NEW Scene Study / Technique Class at the Elephant Theatre is designed to help the gifted actor / performer and the singer / dancer / comedian, who is transitioning into acting, to develop their technique.
We will build a foundation through observation and exploration of historical and traditional methods of acting, as a means of discovering the unique and individual point of view and a method that will be personally crafted by the actors themselves. We will be performing contemporary scenes, monologues, improvisation, and original works of new writers.
The objective will be to work on material that is both relatively new (for contemporary stage and cinema) and reflective of the kind of work that is of a high standard and exemplary of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Elephant Theatre Company.
(with Patrick Pankhurst)
Preparation and Performance Mondays. Learn how to translate all your stage training into camera technique. Each week the actors will be given appropriate material from Film and TV. You'll prepare the scenes and put them up in class, and learn a film style of acting by watching your own work. Classes are small and everyone works on camera at least twice a night.
Level II On Camera Workout/The Art of Auditioning....Tuesdays
Challenging scenes from TV and Film scripts will be distributed on line and actors are expected to come to class prepared to audition. You'll learn a preparation process that will help you to memorize and discover material quickly. Our focus will be on making your auditions an arena where you can express yourself as an actor/artist. People who have upcoming auditions can bring material to class and work on it on camera. This is a class for working actors and is not a cold reading class. This class is guaranteed to challenge your approach to auditions.... and maybe show you why you're not booking as much as you think you should.
(with Patrick Pankhurst) A more hands on approach for hard working advanced actors. Each class you will come prepared to audition and film scenes from current productions. Actors will act, direct, and shoot material every week. We will also work on location as much as possible.
(with Dave Fofi) Page2Stage/Contemporary Scene Study. This class focuses exclusively on contemporary plays and those up and coming playwrights writing the most talked about plays for the American stage. David Fofi, who is known for his no-nonsense approach and incredibly detailed and nuanced direction, brings his unique style to the classroom. Warning: There will be no walking on eggshells in this class.
This class is ideal for actors who want to work in an atmosphere geared towards live performance and refining the relationship and communication between director and actor. Class will culminate into a live presentation of the work created on the Elephant Stage. Sessions will include guest artists including industry professionals
Rick Pagano and Michael Arabian.
(with Michael Arabian) A reality based approach where the actors work “moment to moment” from themselves, living truthfully in any given situation. Emphasis is on text work, breaking down the script and uncovering the subtext. Michael will also direct the scenes so the actor gets practice taking direction and being challenged to have the courage to express ones self fully.
(with Chris Game) Learn on camera skills and commercial audition technique with casting director Chris Game of Chris and Jed casting. Chris has over ten yearsexperience casting national commercials such as Toyota, Pepsi, Taco Bell and Gatorade.
(with Michael Arabian) Tools will be given that the actor can actually use in developing their craft. These tools will be discovered through exercise work using techniques by Uta Hagen, Meisner and Strasberg. For example: repetition, moment to moment, given circumstances, etc. We will then utilize the tools learned from the exercises, in scene work later in the sessions. The goal is to empower the actor to create truth based, inspired work that is uniquely them in any acting situation whether it is theatre, TV, or film.
View Larger Map
6322 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90038
Tel: (323) 962-0046
Dave Fofi: General Partner/ Producing Artistic Director
Don Cesario: General Partner/ Managing Artistic Director | <urn:uuid:8fd34f6d-54c4-4262-9ec4-fb77a9bbf01d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elephantstages.com/classes/2012-06-06 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949837 | 888 | 1.5 | 2 |
Built in 1888, the pink-granite Texas Capitol building in Austin is the largest state capitol in the country and even taller than the US Capitol in Washington, DC—proof that everything is, indeed, bigger in Texas. Yet Austin stands apart from the rest of the state politically and culturally, a fact that locals seem to revel in.
"Keep Austin Weird" is a popular motto here, appearing on bumper stickers and T-shirts. The weirdness manifests itself all over town: perch on a ripped-up recliner amongst the towering Cathedral of Junk—which stands in a local’s backyard—or pay a visit to the Museum of Natural & Artificial Ephemerata, which counts one of Marilyn Monroe’s cigarette butts as one of its less-bizarre relics. Even nature plays along: each night at dusk (from mid-March to November), an estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge to embark on their nightly insect hunt.
Austin has been dubbed the Live Music Capital of the World thanks to the city's nearly 200 venues, where bands play everything from blues to punk rock. In fact, Travel + Leisure magazine named Austin one of America's Best Music Cities, calling it the "mother ship for indie rock and alternative-country types." Stubb's Bar-B-Q books some of the bigger acts that come to town, including the White Stripes, Umphrey’s McGee, and Snoop Dogg. In addition to the live entertainment taking place on a nightly basis, two massively popular music festivals—South by Southwest and Austin City Limits—draw in huge crowds each year.
The University of Texas brings its share of cultural attractions to the city as well. For starters, the sprawling campus is home to the Blanton Museum of Art, which boasts one of the country's most impressive private collections of old-master paintings. UT-Austin is also where you’ll find the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, dedicated to preserving and exhibiting artifacts related to the 36th president.
On any given day, there are multiple “only in Austin” things to do, each one uniquely different from the next. | <urn:uuid:8c2d8d72-9b89-44da-af6a-adf6ea928340> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.groupon.com/local/austin/things-to-do | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937807 | 452 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Syrian forces in Damascus loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired at least four Scud missiles inside Syria, presumably at rebel groups, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
U.S. military satellites picked up and confirmed the infrared signature of the four short-range Scud missiles, which were launched from the Damascus area into northern Syria, according to an official who declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
The missiles did not land on the Turkish side of the border but "came close," the official said.
And as Syrian forces dabble with longer-range weapons with increased lethality, authorities say NATO is also preparing to send a Patriot missile defense system to neighboring Turkey after it made the request at a meeting in Brussels last week.
Within days, the Obama administration is expected to issue orders determining the number of Patriot missile batteries and personnel to be sent, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
Earlier this month, a U.S. official said the Syrian government was "ratcheting things up," noting that Syrian forces had already fired some 20 rockets with the relatively long range of 60 miles.
Analysts say the Assad government maintains up to 400 of the short- and medium-range Russian-developed Scud missiles, while State Department officials point to so-called barrel bombs -- incendiary explosives with flammable material similar to napalm -- that are now apparently being deployed by the Syrian government.
NATO issued a statement Wednesday saying that the alliance had "detected the launch of a number of unguided, short-range ballistic missiles inside Syria this week," and that the "trajectory and distance traveled indicate they were Scud-type missiles."
The move represents an escalation in the 20-month civil war, which has threatened to destabilize the broader region and draw neighboring countries and militant groups into the conflict.
"As the regime becomes more and more desperate, we see it resorting to increased lethality and more vicious weapons moving forward," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "And we have in recent days seen missiles deployed." | <urn:uuid:5d4a3a8a-2811-43e5-ba10-f16d090213dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wyff4.com/news/national/Officials-Assad-forces-fire-Scud-missiles/-/9324256/17748620/-/ff1np1z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958874 | 429 | 1.59375 | 2 |
How the Church Can Reclaim Art's Draw & Creative Power
- Thursday, October 28, 2010
Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of W. David O. Taylor 's recent book, For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts, (Baker Books, 2010).
Early in the church's history, Christians created art that glorified God and drew people closer to His Son, Jesus Christ. From Michelangelo's sculptures and paintings to Bach's symphonies, art helped pull people both inside and outside the church into something bigger than themselves, and shaped the culture in ways that encouraged them to pursue faith.
Today, however, too many churches neglect the arts, squandering opportunities to present the Gospel message in creative ways that draw people closer to Christ. If your church invests resources in the arts, you can create sacred art that God can use to reach out to others in powerful ways. Here's how:
Look beyond usefulness for art's true value. If you think that art must have a practical use to be valuable, you're missing out on its real significance. Just like worship, art's value goes far beyond whether or not you deem it useful for your own ends. Art brings people into contact with the pain and play of life in fresh ways, helping them to learn more about themselves, other people, and God. Art is valuable even when it's not practical because it shows that God's grace will penetrate any situation in this fallen world. Art matters because it reveals more about God to the people who encounter it.
Let art deepen your congregation's worship. Art can be a powerful means for people to strengthen their covenantal relationship between God and themselves. Different types of artwork can help the congregation worship in different ways. A dance can help illustrate a story that the pastor is preaching so people can understand it in more tangible ways. A song can help the congregation express their sorrow and concern about an injustice in deeper ways than they could by simply talking about it. People can look through art to perceive something new about God's beauty, love, and grace. Art can show people new facets of God than can break the idols people have made of Him in their imaginations and discover more of what's true about Him.
Recognize the difference between success and significance. Artists often pursue their work even without financial payments or acclaim from others, because their work isn't just a job - it's a vocation, a calling from God to which they seek to be faithful, even when they're not considered successful from the world's perspective. Everyone in your congregation can follow artists' examples of faithfulness by pursuing the callings God gives them - whether or not their work is deemed successful by others - and trusting that God will use their work to fulfill His purposes.
Use art to make abstract concepts more tangible. People in your church can understand abstract spiritual concepts more if those concepts are illustrated through art in concrete ways. Create art that illustrates your church's sermons through details made out of everyday materials such as fabrics, wood, and glass. Use beautiful, artistic materials to help tell the story of who God is and who the people in your church are as you worship together, such as banners that proclaim a particular message or silver Communion goblets that shine with a glorious radiance. Let art help your congregation see, hear, smell, touch, and taste biblical truths in fresh ways that break up clichés about faith and lead them to discover more about Christ. Let art inspire people to pursue Christ with passion.
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Listen to Your Favorite Pastors
Add Crosswalk.com content to your siteBrowse available content | <urn:uuid:e439ade5-feeb-415b-97b8-e0c1dc6c3a41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/how-the-church-can-reclaim-arts-draw-and-creative-power-11640190.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956327 | 768 | 1.820313 | 2 |
_ Makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally by specifically requiring immigrants to have proof of their immigration status. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Repeat offenses would be a felony.And here is how Rasmussen polled on the question:
_ Requires police officers to "make a reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of a person if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that he or she is an illegal immigrant. Race, color or national origin may not be the only things considered in implementation. Exceptions can be made if the attempt would hinder an investigation.
_ Allow lawsuits against local or state government agencies that have policies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws. Would impose daily civil fines of $1,000-$5,000. There is pending follow-up legislation to halve the minimum to $500.
_ Targets hiring of illegal immigrants as day laborers by prohibiting people from stopping a vehicle on a road to offer employment and by prohibiting a person from getting into a stopped vehicle on a street to be hired for work if it impedes traffic.
Do you favor or oppose legislation that authorizes local police to stop and verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant?Granted, there are some ambiguities about what the law actually does. And coming up with the appropriate poll wording for complex questions like these is never easy.
But Rasmussen's portrayal of the law is very gentle. There's no mention of the provisions that liberals and civil libertarians find most odious: that the law would charge legal immigrants with trespassing for failure to carry documentation papers (although -- note -- this is already required under federal law); that it would give law enforcement officers new powers of detention (rather than mere "verification"); that it would allow officers, without a warrant, to arrest people who they suspected might be guilty of offenses that could lead to deportation, and that it would prohibit certain types of work-for-hire involving moving vehicles.
The Rasmussen poll says that 60 percent of Americans (and 70 percent of Arizonans) favor the new law, but how would those numbers change if people were read a longer or more complete description of the measure? Since there's been no other polling on the subject, we have no idea. It wouldn't shock me if the law indeed proved to be popular, especially in Arizona, if a fuller description were read. (Liberals, who uniformly seem to think that the law will be unpopular with certain key demographic groups, are a bit too sanguine about this). But this poll is so simplistic as to provide very little informational value.
To their credit, Rasmussen later asked people whether they were concerned that "efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants will also end up violating the civil rights of some U.S. citizens"; 58 percent said they were in fact somewhat or very concerned. But that finding did not get their lede, nor was that concern expressed relative to Arizona's law itself.
And in general, this poll seems to be emblematic of a commercial polling industry that gravitates toward surveys that are about a mile wide and an inch deep. That approach might be perfectly fine for horse-race (election) polling, where many of the "non-traditional" pollsters (including Rasmussen) do just fine. Polling on policy issues, however -- particularly policy issues like a new state law on which the public is liable to have limited familiarity -- ought to inspire more thought and more finesse.
EDIT: One of the commenters writes:
"That seems a pretty fair representation of the law if you are going to summarize it in one sentence."
That could be the case, although I'd probably use the verb 'detain' somewhere in there. But the whole point -- which undoubtedly I haven't made clearly enough -- is that this is an artificial constraint. Some issues, particularly a law like this one that has a number of relatively unrelated provisions and with which the vast majority of the country is unfamilar, aren't really done justice by a question battery that consists of one 25-word sentence. Provide, god forbid, a multi-sentence description when it's appropriate. Test multiple question wordings. Get at the issue from a number of different directions.
Granted, the IVR (robocall) pollsters probably have to be more economical about their wording, because people are simply going to have less patience when they're talking to a recording. But if you can't provide for a reasonably neutral and complete exposition of an issue -- whether through one question or through several -- there's nothing saying you have to poll on the subject at all. | <urn:uuid:018083e0-c653-42be-9062-b47d7434165c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/04/stop-drop-and-poll.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966094 | 960 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Are packaged accounts a stitch-up?
In theory, fee-charging current accounts should represent good value to some customers. But are they still good value if you’re not eligible to use some of the account’s benefits?
Many banks sell packaged current accounts that come with a number of assorted benefits, such as travel insurance, mobile phone cover and car breakdown protection.
However, the Financial Services Authority is taking action to make sure customers are getting good value from these fee-charging accounts. After all, if you can’t access the benefits, there’s no point in paying for them.
The problem with packaged accounts
Let’s take travel insurance for instance – it’s not always right to trumpet this as a major benefit of a packaged account. For example, you could have an HSBC Advance account costing £155.40 a year, but you can only claim on the travel insurance policy element if you’re under 70 years old. It would be easy for an account holder to miss this exclusion and carry on under the impression that they’re covered.
I mention travel insurance specifically because, when we last surveyed Which? members about packaged accounts, more than 80% of respondents told us it was the most recognisable benefit. However, only half of them had actually taken advantage of it.
There’s a similar problem with ID theft insurance – a product we believe is useless considering you have adequate protection under consumer legislation. Some banks have removed this from their packaged accounts, but haven’t actually reduced the cost of these accounts as a result. As far as I’m concerned, that just about sums up the true value of ID theft insurance.
Checking before selling
The goods news is that, as of 31 March, current account providers will have to check whether customers are eligible to claim under each policy that’s bundled with the account before selling it. Sales staff will have to highlight features that won’t be suitable, and annual statements must show claims requirements.
It’ll be interesting to see if all UK banks respond in a positive way and make sure that packaged accounts aren’t mis-sold in future. It still remains to be seen if they were mis-sold in the past. Do you have a fee-charging current account? Do you know if you’re eligible to use all the benefits that come with it?
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Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked | <urn:uuid:fd7d71aa-3cbc-4973-b006-b25a1c13b515> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://conversation.which.co.uk/money/packaged-fee-charging-current-accounts-problem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946695 | 515 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Consultation on child performance legislation
Paul Dancey on 22/07/2012
This is a joint consultation by the Welsh Government and the UK Department of Education on proposals to reform the procedures safeguarding children who take part in performances.
The proposals affect people under school leaving age (ie aged 16 or over on the last Friday in June) performing or playing in front of a paying audience or in a licenced premises.
The 1968 Child Performance Regulations and three sets of amendment regulations seek to safeguard the health, welfare and education of children taking part in performances from a variety of risks.
The existing regulations are however thought to be too detailed and prescriptive in some respects. Following an independent review to consider the issues and challenges arising from the legislation, officials have been working with partners to consider what changes are required to the law.
The aim is to ensure that robust protections are in place to safeguard children, but that these measures are proportionate and can facilitate opportunities for children to perform.
The proposals include specific exemptions for recognised sport (Sport England or Olympic) whether they are paid or unpaid, and children under 13 are exempt if they are unpaid. But in this context the term "paid" covers commercial or other financial sponsorship and goods as well as wages. There are also grey areas in the consultation with respect to paid involvement, and therefore a danger that non-monetary contributions like goody bags, badges, etc could end up being classified as payment unless this is clarified.
Unrecognised sports may however find themselves classed as a performance, and therefore require a licence.
Although these proposals are intended to cover England and Wales, only Sport England is mentioned and there is no reference to Sport Wales. Any clear definition of what is regarded as a recognised sport must surely take account of the existing structures across England and Wales, and not simply focus on arrangements within Sport England.
For further information please visit the Welsh Government website.
Further information is also available on the Sport and Recreation Alliance website.
To respond to this consultation please email your comments to [email protected], or send them by post to:
Support for Learners Division
Department for Education and Skills
back to article index | <urn:uuid:5faf6cc2-2fd5-4efb-9915-a3605c3dce30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.welshsports.org.uk/news/index.asp?action=goNews&naction=viewArticle&category=9&uID=&ID=2543 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94978 | 460 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Every year, the Sunrise Theatre attracts more out-of-town visitors to downtown Fort Pierce. The venue has been the centerpiece of the area's revitalization since it reopened in 2006 and is helping change the city's image from crime infested to an entertainment spot that hosts performers of the caliber of Diana Ross and Tony Bennett.
That is why merchants say things would be a lot worse without the theater.
While downtown shows signs of prosperity — at least half a dozen new businesses have opened or will open in the area soon — 40 percent of its commercial spaces remain empty, according to research by the Downtown Business Association.
Business owners and advocates still are trying to determine how to bring a constant influx of people to the area despite the success of the theater and street events such as Friday Fest. The issues to tackle range from doing more to improve Fort Pierce's image to adding more retail to keeping businesses open late.
For Sunrise Theatre Executive Director John Wilkes, the main issue is branding. He said the theater, the city, other art venues, business owners and their associations should gather resources and better market and advertise downtown. That cooperation has not happened, he said, because of lack of leadership and organization even though there have been informal talks about it.
"Fort Pierce and the Sunrise need to be said in the same sentence," Wilkes said. "We have a great inventory of attractions, and marketing is the key. It's getting everybody in one room and seeing if they want to participate."
Wilkes envisions buying ads in newspapers and on television and building a gateway to downtown to attract the attention of drivers along U.S. 1. Something similar is in the works in Delray Beach, which had a successful revitalization in its downtown area. The city is erecting six curvy, 30-foot-tall concrete columns to welcome its visitors.
Marjorie Ferrer, executive director of Delray's Downtown Development Authority, said the success of the city's revitalization was a combination of having special events, attracting upscale restaurants and retail and investing in housing in the downtown area. She said the city and different business organizations invest heavily in marketing in different platforms, from newspapers to Facebook campaigns.
"Delray did something most cities have a hard time doing," Ferrer said. "The Chamber of Commerce, our Community Redevelopment Agency and the Downtown Business Association all got together."
In Fort Pierce, there are no numbers that indicate how much money the Sunrise generates in the downtown area, according to Wilkes. A 2009 research by national cultural advocacy group Americans for the Arts shows Florida cultural event attendees spend an average $29 plus the cost of admission. Most of that money goes toward meals and refreshments.
Retailers — especially restaurateurs — say they see an increase in customers on nights the Sunrise is open.
Rinelli's Yellow Tail is one of the few restaurants open after shows. Owner Don Rinelli said on those nights his clientele grows 50 percent compared to when the Sunrise is not open.
But many businesses close their doors before the Sunrise opens. Downtown Business Association President Joe Testa said he understands many owners run their stores as one-man bands and do not have enough employees. Still, he thinks more stores need to work with each other to stay open late when there are shows at the Sunrise or street events.
The lack of nightlife is the reason why Janet Birdsall decided to open CharDognay, a pet-friendly wine bar on Orange Avenue, in October. She plans to stay open until 2 a.m. on weekends.
"That's exactly what Fort Pierce needs," Birdsall said. "After 9 p.m., nothing stays open here."
She also plans to stay open after shows at the Sunrise are over. The venue attracts clientele from wealthier areas, such as Martin and Indian River counties, who have more money to spend, business owners said.
Fort Pierce as a place where shootings and other crimes happen still is an image plaguing the city.
Violent crime has dropped by 43 percent in the last five years, the Police Department reported in July. Still, the city's crime rate last year was three times higher than in Port St. Lucie, Florida Department of Law Enforcement numbers show.
"I talk to people from Port St. Lucie and ask them about coming to Fort Pierce," Testa, the DBA president, said. "They say, 'I don't come to Fort Pierce.' It's like we have a disease. People don't know what downtown is and how beautiful it is."
Talks about revitalizing downtown started in the 1980s when vacant storefronts filled empty streets. The area has gained a variety of quaint restaurants, a $12 million parking garage and the federal courthouse on U.S. 1 and Orange Avenue. The city is also rebuilding its marina to accommodate more boats and is cleaning up the former H.D. King Power Plant site on Indian River Drive to make eight acres of downtown waterfront available for development.
Since Main Street Fort Pierce was established in 1988, the Sunrise has been the centerpiece of downtown redevelopment. The theater was built as a vaudeville house in 1923, became a movie theater and went out of business in 1983.
The Sunrise reopened in 2006 thanks to a $13 million restoration, including the purchase of neighboring buildings. The money was raised through grants, county and city commissions and private sources.
Last year, the Sunrise had a record number of sold-out shows. This year, sales were up 43 percent on the first day tickets went on sale compared to the previous year, Wilkes said.
The theater received $400,000 from the city in its most recent budget. That amount was $1.9 million in 2007, Wilkes said, and he hopes to decrease that funding in the next budget year, but he does not know by how much.
Critics have spoken against city money paying for even part of the theater operations. But for Main Street Fort Pierce Executive Director Doris Tillman, downtown would not be same without that investment. She said the fact that new businesses like CharDognay are flourishing in the area shows Fort Pierce is headed in the right direction.
She also said the high number of vacant stores is caused by the fact that some of the empty stores are too large and would require a lot of investment by renters.
"If downtown were doing bad, do you think all those people would be opening new businesses?" she said. "Every summer slows down, but most businesses I talked to held their own. They are looking forward to a good season."
Sunrise Theatre in numbers
2012-13 budget: $3.85 million
Funding: $400,000 from Fort Pierce in 2012 ($1.9 million in 2007), ticket and bar sales, donations and grants
Ticket sales last year: $2.7 million
Sold-out shows last year: 21
Employees: 6 full-time, 200 part-time, 230 volunteers
Source: Sunrise Theatre | <urn:uuid:f894dd0d-301d-43b4-ba32-0443a0e12015> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/dec/02/sunrise-theater-increases-downtown-business/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970632 | 1,439 | 1.554688 | 2 |
July 12, 2006 11:44 AM
Games had always caught my attention right from the Pac-Man days. No matter if it was the adventurous and stylish Lara Croft or the goofy Mario, gameplay was what held me glued to the screen. Awesome graphics were a plus, that was it. These days, most of us take mind blowing graphics and outstanding AI such as that featured in Black and White 2 for granted.
If you'd rather skip the commentary and find out what the fuss is all about, see Deskworld.
It is fascinating to study the evolution of games and note how they have advanced in both graphics and gameplay. Computer graphics is an exciting subject that never ceases to amaze with clever rasterization algorithms such as Bresenham's algorithm for plotting a line. Efficiency of algorithms can be observed visually as the cleverer the algorithm is, the faster the program will run. But how do you take it to the next step? How do you convert from a programmer and gamer to a creator of wonders, a game programmer? Well, there are plenty of websites out there that could help you1.
I must confess that it is this in-built passion for gaming that tempted me to toy with the idea of developing a game for my main project2. But since my teachers didn't approve of a game as a main project much, I stumbled upon an idea that did gain their approval. The proposal was to develop a 3D Desktop and File Explorer which would run on Windows and Linux. Though it sounds exciting, the project has not risen to my initial expectations even after 40,000 lines of C++ code and many sleepless nights. But there is one fact that makes it worthwhile: I enjoyed working on the project immensely.
Where were we? Ah, yes. The decision to go ahead with the project was made. My good friend Jijith agreed to the project as well and we began to spend most of our free time in the seventh semester learning about computer graphics (2D, 3D), opengl, etc. I found out about SDL and we decided to use that instead of glut. The first hurdle to starting OpenGL programming on Linux is video card drivers. You must have hardware accelerated OpenGL to get decent performance. Sadly, this means fooling around with Nvidia/ATI binary drivers that is a minor pain to install and setup. Once that is done, the enlightening can begin.
Names like John Carmack, Mark Kilgard, NeHe, etc. become second nature when you actively prowl the net for game programming related information. Carmack's early arguments (direct3d vs opengl)3 provide valuable insight into the situation the gaming industry was facing in '96 though the scenario has changed currently. Mark Kilgard's articles on reflection and shadows using opengl are easy to understand and implement. They are available on the usenet and shows how easily amazing things can be done in opengl. NeHe is a great resource for beginners and advanced programmers alike.
- 3D Desktop with shortcut menu.
- Process Launching, Killing and Status.
- 3D Visualization of Filesystem.
- Create Folder, Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete, Rename Files / Folders.
- Animated Copy / Paste to Clipboard.
- Preview few lines of text files with 3d text (Textured font).
- Preview picture files supported by SDL_image such PNG, JPG, GIF, etc.
- Play sound files supported by SDL_mixer such as OGG, MP3, WAV, etc.
- Scripting support via Lua. (work in progress, API not fully exported)
- Weather effects such as rain, lightning, day and night.
Screeshot 1 - 3D Desktop
Screeshot 2 - File Explorer
As you might have noticed, the artwork is still incomplete. Once that is done (volunteers, anyone?), the project will be published. The main limiting factor of this project is the fact that it is a pure application and does not work at the X server / Window manager level.
I'd love to hear any feedback regarding this project.
This is not one of them.
All engineering students are required to submit two projects: the mini and the main. The former has to be submitted at the sixth semester while the latter at the end of the course.
Personally, I'd rather not comment on direct3d vs opengl as I haven't worked with direct3d at all. There was no choice for me since only opengl ran on linux. | <urn:uuid:bf1dec1c-89b2-4025-8dbc-36b3d5e34b3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anirudhsasikumar.net/blog/2006.07.12.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954635 | 940 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Is there a way to tell the command to run a program by looking at something in the files? For instance, Firefox in a terminal launches firefox. That one is easy to figure out and you could get it if you didn't already know just by taking a wild guess. Some programs don't seem to be so straightforward. So, is there a way I can tell by looking at the pakage or a particular file that tells me what the command line to launch it is? | <urn:uuid:7f57d19b-a90e-40d7-a99b-e35ce416173d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?p=1083064&mode=threaded | 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 | 0.976574 | 98 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Login Wednesday Jun 19, 2013
The focus of the debate today is on the tax cap. NYSUT has gone to court to overturn it; while the Business Council opposes that move. Both have their points. A rigid tax cap doesn’t allow for local needs. Although the 2% limit can be breached, there’s a cost in terms of people power and money to do so. On the other side without a cap, local government administrators lack any incentive to increase efficiency.
Gov. Cuomo’s solution––borrowing from future pension savings––has not won over a number of mayors and other officials. (See Stephanie Miner’s op ed “Cuomo to Cities: Just Borrow” in the New York Times)
The long-term solution is still consolidation. I’ve made this argument many times before. So if you don’t like my reasons, consider another data point offered by UB Prof. Bruce Fisher. Writing in ArtVoice, Fisher points to the success the cities of Toronto and Montreal have had with regionalization — merging small inefficient local governments into their regional structure. (See “Bashing Cuomo, Ducking Mergers“)
Let’s review the facts:
The State Department and our friends at the Government Law Center of Albany Law School and the Rockefeller College are doing their best to help local governments face the music, but the progress is too slow. Read the Comptroller’s audit reports of local government financial management and you’ll see that too many tax dollars are being mismanaged if not outright stolen.
The solution: Increase the incentives AND the penalties for not consolidating. Also, we need political leaders who will carry this water. Tell your constituents that they’re putting nails in their communities’ coffins every day they delay in merging with other jurisdictions. That includes some counties which ought to merge given how few people live within their borders.
Final point: Isn’t consolidation a solution both NYSUT and the Business Council could agree on? Wouldn’t both win with stronger school districts and a friendlier climate for the business community? | <urn:uuid:b6469077-b18e-4c6e-b976-df9b0a3a3b6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.empirepage.com/2013/2/21/consolidation-is-still-the-best-solution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936344 | 443 | 1.5 | 2 |
[Journals]: Policy reforms 'demoralizing' teaching profession, scholar argues
November 07, 2011
A provocative new article in the American Journal of Education argues that many teachers in the age of rigid curricula, high-stakes testing, and reduced classroom autonomy are finding it difficult to access the "moral rewards" of their profession. This demoralization of teaching threatens to drive away even the most passionate and dedicated of teachers.
"The moral rewards of teaching are activated when educators feel that they are doing what is right in terms of one's students, the teaching profession, and themselves," writes Doris Santoro, a professor of education at Bowdoin College. But, she argues, current policy reforms often take away a teacher's ability to be responsive to students' needs, and blunt the sense that a teacher is doing what is right for students. This in turn leads to feelings of frustration and hopelessness that are too often misdiagnosed as "teacher burnout."
"However, the burnout explanation fails to account for situations where the conditions of teaching change so dramatically that moral rewards, previously available in ever-challenging work, are now inaccessible," Santoro writes. "In this instance, the phenomenon is better termed demoralization."
To illustrate her point, Santoro describes the experience of Stephanie, a teacher Santoro interviewed in 2008 for a project on why once-passionate teachers decide to leave the profession.
Stephanie taught at a diverse elementary school in Virginia she felt was "a collaborative, respectful environment that enjoyed a cooperative relationship with parents and the community," Santoro writes. "Stephanie felt as though she was able to exercise her professional judgment and engage in good teaching … and students, while underprepared, were eager to learn."
Stephanie drew moral rewards from her freedom to respond to her students' needs. For example, she told Santoro how she relished finding innovative ways to help her students understand scientific and mathematical terminology in her Spanish-language immersion classes. But Stephanie's sense of having the authority to do good work for her students was ultimately undermined by a new set of statewide curriculum standards adopted in Virginia. The reforms prioritized testing over "real teaching," Stephanie lamented. She came to see herself as not a teacher but as a dictator of facts.
"What had been hallmarks of good teaching for Stephanie—connecting student learning with their experiences, helping them learn to think in ways that will transfer to success in higher-order analysis and their everyday needs, and maintaining creativity in her work and her students' problem-solving—was being jettisoned by the exigencies of passing the test" and satisfying state standards, Santoro writes. "The moral rewards that she enjoyed previously by learning about her students' needs, finding new ways to reach them, and connecting learning to concerns beyond the school became stunted by mandated curriculum and scripted lessons."
Stephanie ultimately decided that, "This is not what I signed up for," and left the profession.
What happened to Stephanie is not burnout, Santoro argues. Burnout indicates a personal failing on the part of a teacher—an inability to cope with the stresses inherent in the work, or an exhaustion of the personal resources needed to do the job. Stephanie's case was not one of personal failing. Rather it was a case in which the profession itself changed in a way that nullified the moral rewards of doing good work.
"Policy makers, educational leaders, and teachers need to find ways to promote, protect, and assess quality teaching that takes into account good teaching and successful (or effective) teaching," she writes. "Attracting practitioners with the moral significance of the work, while at the same time eliminating the moral dimension of the practice in assessing teacher quality, is a recipe for demoralization."
Doris A. Santoro, "Good Teaching in Difficult Times: Demoralization in the Pursuit of Good Work." American Journal of Education 118:1 (November 2011)
Founded as School Review in 1893, the American Journal of Education acquired its present name in November 1979. The journal seeks to bridge and integrate the intellectual, methodological, and substantive diversity of educational scholarship, and to encourage a vigorous dialogue between educational scholars and practitioners. To achieve that goal, papers are published that present research, theoretical statements, philosophical arguments, critical syntheses of a field of educational inquiry, and integrations of educational scholarship, policy, and practice. | <urn:uuid:667bbf6b-f344-4ff0-8d3b-2c9091a40f70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.press.uchicago.edu/pressReleases/2011/November/AJE_1111_demoralizing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968395 | 912 | 1.78125 | 2 |
For some reason Hanna Barbera sold more toys than any characters in history.
These bodies look like Ed Benedict's actual model sheet drawings. That's kind of cheating because they actually look well designed on purpose. The heads are on-model too, which is also against classic toy design laws.
MushMouse's proportions here are a natural wonder.
They go well with Betty's below.
LESS FUN BUT STILL AMUSING
I was never too much into "realistic" characters as toys, but when they do weird things to them like this they're still kinda fun.The giant heads make them more fun than the cartoons themselves.
Encasing them claustrophobic body bags helps.
Like everything else, puppets suffered the devasting mass devolution of the 1970s. Climate change caused all fun design to go extinct.
NOT A PUPPET BUT MODERN TOY NO FUN ANYMOREThis isn't a puppet but it's a good example of what happened to toy design after the 70s. Everything became bland, lumpy and wrinkly. | <urn:uuid:878c8530-e70a-4741-87c4-e1023c93fed1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/03/puppet-fun.html?showComment=1269290396474 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958989 | 220 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Matt Damon Surprised To Learn His Anti-Fracking Film Was Funded By Foreign Oil Wealth
Actor Matt Damon was surprised to learn his new anti-natural gas fracking movie was funded in part by Mideast oil nation the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hydraulic fracking is a technique used to get natural gas out of the ground which could help make domestic natural gas a cheaper competitor to foreign oil.
"The Promised Land," starring Damon and John Krasinski of "The Office," is being financed in part by Image Nation, a film company completely owned and operated by the government of the UAE.
Damon was asked about the foreign-oil funding by documentary director Phelim McAleer at a Dec. 3 promotional event in New York. McAleer, who is directing the upcoming pro-fracking film "Frack Nation," asked Damon:
"How does it feel to be a fully-paid advocate for an oil-rich Middle Eastern government - and, doesn't that really negate any artistic credibility... that 'The Promised Land" might have?"
Damon, who also serves as writer and producer on the movie, replied, "[T]he first time we were aware that Image Nation was involved with our movie was when we saw the rough cut and saw their logo."
Damon explained that part of the funding comes from Participant Media which has a "blind slate deal" with Image Nation that pays for ten percent of all of Participant's films. Participant is known for making liberal issue movies such as "Food Inc.," "Syriana," and "An Inconvenient Truth."
Many oil-rich nations stand to lose a substantial amount of income if fracking opens up an alternative fuel source inside the United States. Crude oil represents a full 45 percent of the UAE's exports, according to the CIA World Factbook.
The Heritage Foundation had previously reported on Damon's conflict of interest, noting that there was "a direct financial interest on the UAE's part in slowing the development of America's natural gas industry."
"Hollywood elites such as Matt Damon don't seem to think that the rules they want to impose on the rest of us apply to them," McAleer told the Media Research Center. | <urn:uuid:173c495b-e882-4d5a-b95e-f9860745e836> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnsnews.com/blog/mike-ciandella/matt-damon-surprised-learn-his-anti-fracking-film-was-funded-foreign-oil-wealth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978572 | 457 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Tamara Hinton (202) 225-0184
WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Frank Lucas, along with six of his colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee, introduced a bill (H.R. 6087), which clarifies that the use of a pesticide consistent with its registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) should not be subject to a costly, redundant, and unnecessary permit process under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency has interpreted the act to exclude lawful pesticide applications regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. However, in January 2009, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that longstanding practice in The National Cotton Council of America, et al., v. United States Environmental Protection Agency. The court ruled the EPA did not have the authority under the CWA to exempt application of pesticides. Last year, Rep. Lucas joined several of his colleagues and supported a petition to the Supreme Court to hear the case, but the petition was rejected.
Ranking Member Lucas' bill would make clear that producers who are in compliance with the requirements of FIFRA do not need to obtain Clean Water Act permits.
"Instead of challenging the courts' misguided decision, the Obama administration has chosen to leave our farmers, ranchers, foresters, mosquito-control districts, and even States to face an enormous regulatory burden never intended by Congress
"Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, the EPA had interpreted the act to exclude lawful pesticide applications. Under the Bush administration, the EPA issued a final regulation codifying this long-standing practice. The current political leadership of the EPA has chosen a different path. It is one that on a daily basis adds more and more regulatory burdens on our agricultural producers.
"It is now up to the Congress to fix this problem before the EPA imposes this new bureaucracy on American agriculture. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in this effort." said Ranking Member Frank D. Lucas.
H.R. 6087 is a companion bill to S. 3735, which was introduced by Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). | <urn:uuid:ff1c85d2-22b3-4a42-8a36-74725a621256> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://agriculture.house.gov/press-release/lucas-introduces-bill-protect-ag-producers-threat-more-epa-regs | 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 | 0.941098 | 485 | 1.84375 | 2 |
One comment below asked the question about free will in heaven and whether or not the saved will have it. It's a good question, and Christian philosopher Paul Copan has dealt with it. Here's my response:
Paul Copan offers three possibilities with regard to free will in heaven [in “That’s Just Your Interpretation”, (Baker Books, 2001), pp. 106-108].
1) That through our truly libertarian free actions on earth we gain access to heaven where we no longer have this freedom to sin. But if heaven is a place where we longer have the freedom to sin, then God could’ve bypassed our earthly existence altogether. If there is no free will in heaven then why not just create us all in heaven? What does it matter what we did or didn’t do on earth? Furthermore, why reward someone by taking away their free will? If free will can be taken away without a loss of goodness, then why create us with it in the first place?
2) That God foreknows that no one who enters heaven will freely choose to sin. But if God has that kind of foreknowledge then again, what is the purpose of creating this particular world? It appears to be a cruel game of hide and seek, where God hides and we must find him, and only the few who find him will be rewarded while the many who don’t are punished when they die. If God has foreknowledge then why didn’t he just foreknow who would find him even before creating them, and simply place them in heaven in the first place?...then there’d be no one punished for not finding him. If heaven is a reward, then “it seems absurd for a wholly good God to force humanity into a position of ignorance regarding correct moral choice and then hold people accountable for such a choice.” [Suffering Belief, Weisberger, p. 136]. Furthermore, if this world is to teach us the virtues of courage, patience, and generosity in the face of suffering, then most all of those virtues are irrelevant in a heavenly bliss where there is no suffering or pain.
3) That those who enter heaven will be in “the unmediated presence of God” such that “not sinning will be a ‘no brainer’—even though it remains a possibility.” But if this is the case, then why do Christians think the Devil rebelled against God, since he was supposedly in the direct unmediated presence of God? How was it possible for the traditional Devil to have such an experience of absolute goodness and absolute power and still rebel against God? | <urn:uuid:ffdce45d-a7ae-4708-9a48-66275e4fa632> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2006/10/paul-copan-and-free-will-in-heaven.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938397 | 551 | 1.710938 | 2 |
As usual, Walt nails it with an incisive critique of US foreign policy. (If you don’t read him, you should.) He argues that the US grand strategy has become ‘selective retrenchment.’ That is a good term that captures well the post-Bush hangover US power is enduring. After W’s dreams of global democratic imperialism, we have crashed into reality. W overreached and infuriated the world. In 2000, the US was the ‘indispensible nation.’ Today, we talk about the coming of non- or multi-polarity, or the ‘post-American world.’ For all W’s strutting machismo about defending and strengthening America, he left us far worse off than the pot-smoking draft-dodger did.
For Americans, this should be rather sad, especially if you think that US hegemony is more benevolent than any others would likely be. Consider the possible list of other leaders: The EU is paralyzed and inward looking, India is too weak, China is undemocratic and culturally arrogant, and Russia is too mean. In short, the list of replacements for global US power are unappealing. For all that US arrogance and messianism under Bush, the US has by and large supported good, liberal things like human rights and democracy. (Compare Chinese and US behavior in Africa, e.g.) Don’t expect the realist Euros or nationalist Chinese to advocate this way. (For the longer version of this argument, read this.)
So, once again, you can blame W for this. Under Clinton, for all his personal shenanigans, US power was relatively secure. Foreign respect for the US was reasonable, US overseas commitments were manageable, the US budget – the long-term foundation for US power projection abroad – was improving. In just 8 years, W did astonishingly damage to US power, and now we must retrench, as Walt says. We must increasingly give up important projects (possibly even AfPak) and share leadership with others in some flimsy multilateral collective effort more likely to induce free-riding and buck-passing than joint leadership. Obama has to run around the world telling to telling foreigners we are not a bully. How humiliating. Andrew Sullivan said the Bush administration was one of the worst presidencies in US history. Any American should be embarrassed at this low ebb of US power. Like the overstretched and widely perceived as imperialist British in the 50s, we now have to start to pull back. It did not have to be this way.
But so hath W wrought. He convinced even a lot our allies that the Pax Americana didn’t have much pax in it. The notion that the US was a gentle giant, a benevolent hegemon flew out the window; we became Thucydides’ Athenians – right down to our own Sicilian expedition in Iraq and Melos at Abu Ghraib. Under the preemptive war doctrine, the US became something unheard of in IR – a revisionist hegemon. IR theory doesn’t even know what that means – hegemons, by definition, are supposed to be status quo seeking. It’s an oxymoron. Yet the Bush people pulled it off. We looked like we wanted to rewrite global rules – the very ones that we helped build after WW2. To the rest of the world, we became imperialists. I spend enormous amounts of time here in Asia trying to convince Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese that we are not in fact global imperialists. It’s terribly embarrassing.
To boot, W broke the bank. The budget flew out of extremely out of balance; W added 50% onto the national debt in just 8 years ($6T to $9T). No rainy day fund for crises like the Great Recession was ever even contemplated. The Clinton-Rubin opportunity to place US power on a durable financial footing was squandered. Now we borrow $20B a month from the Chinese. If you think we can hang on at the top doing that, go take Econ 101. We are, literally, selling American preponderance to the PRC – ast0nishing, heartbreaking. No ‘empire’ can survive very long when it becomes a debtor; yet the Bush people pursued a costly foreign policy while simultaneously stripping the government of the resources to pay for it (through tax cuts we could not afford). This was simply insanity, and the pain of the Great Recession is deserved because we brought it on ourselves. For an example of serious budgeteering, including cuts and tough choices, try Korea, instead of US fantasies that we can spend without worrying about where it comes from. What a waste, what a squandered opportunity to make the world a better place… | <urn:uuid:b9692cf0-7004-489c-9da2-87f035551c6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://asiansecurityblog.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/us-strategy-is-selective-retrenchment-how-humiliating-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959072 | 996 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Date of Award
Open Access Dissertation
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Using the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, this research explored the multi-faceted influence of the accessibility of housing environments on the occurrence and characteristics of residential adjustments made by older adults aged 70 or older. A range of housing adjustment outcomes were examined, including home modifications and relocation into age-segregated senior housing. Analysis of the accessibility gains following relocation was also included in the empirical analyses.
The Ecological Theory of Aging (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973) provided the conceptual framework for the research. The longitudinal design of the HRS empirically advanced understanding of the key theoretical constructs by sensitizing the results to how change in competency and how competency uniquely intersects with housing environment in later life.
The analyses findings suggested that structural supportive environmental features in homes, such as wheelchair accessibility, reduce the odds of making subsequent housing adjustments. Declines in physical competency and negative person-environment encounters were shown to be predictive of increased risk of housing adjustment. However, the preference of older adults to age in place was underscored by the findings showing that home modification rather than relocation was predicted by greater person-environment misfit. Age-segregated senior housing moves were not found to be influenced by the built environment of prior homes, but more so by spouse competency and household financial wealth. Moves that resulted in gains in accessibility features were also predicted by greater levels of person-environment misfit.
The person-environment misfit variable, introduced in this study as an exploratory methodological advance, highlighted the heterogeneous nature of older adults in their interactions with the built home environments. The analyses findings revealed that it is the unique intersection of competency and the built environment for each individual that has the greatest impact on subsequent housing adjustments made in later life. This research provides empirical backing for policy advocates seeking to promote universal design and visitability standards for housing as a way to support successful aging in place within the aging population.
Stoeckel, Kimberly Joy, "The Role of Home Environments in Residential Adjustment Decision Making in Later Life" (2011). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 52. | <urn:uuid:44960170-856e-441d-aad3-33923e2c3c3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/52/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956176 | 446 | 1.554688 | 2 |
It is true that Relationships tend to be complicated, but it is much more worthy to work through those complications instead of "letting the whole thing be".
In any case, complicated relationships fit to complicated people. You can not blame neither one of them for being what and who they are.
Complication in a relationship is not aways negative. It could also mean Steps to a Common Path. When two totally different people set their differences aside to make things work, it is not called "complication". It is called "effort".
Letting go, or letting be, is the easiest thing to do. If you want to have a relationship to remember, choose a challenging one. Leave the easy things to others.
A relationship can never be too complicated. Consider it as the Gordian Knot. If it took one brain to solve it, imagine what two brains could do. | <urn:uuid:8267c2b2-a531-41b2-b3f3-1bb53ae828fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shewrites.com/profiles/blogs/my-dear-relationship | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970242 | 182 | 1.703125 | 2 |
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
Who to ask, How to ask and What to expect
How do I decide who to ask for a recommendation?
The application materials can really help you in choosing the correct person to write your letter. Some applications, for instance, may ask you to submit a letter that speaks to your academic ability. Obtaining a letter from a former professor who can speak on your academic achievements may be preferable to a former boss who may know more about your work style than your academic abilities.
If you need multiple recommendations
If your application requires more than two letters, it is wise to seek letters from people who can comment on your different strengths and comment on a diverse range of attributes. You want to paint a complete picture of yourself for the selection committees. For example, one letter could talk about your outstanding leadership skills, one could address your passion for your research project or honors thesis and one could comment on your time as a volunteer at the local homeless shelter.
How and when to ask for a recommendation.
Make and appointment
Do not stop someone in the hallway on the way to class and ask if she can write you a letter of recommendation. Make an appointment with the individual to discuss whatever you are applying for and how she can help you. Ask them if they would be able to write a strong letter of recommendation for you.
Let each recommender know who your other recommenders are, so that they can write letters that can complement each other and not repeat each other.
What to provide the individual
Prepare a packet of concise information about the scholarship/award for which you are applying. It is also helpful to provide them with:
Be prepared to remind the writer of an upcoming deadline. But so not to be a pest.
Finally, be sure to write your recommender a letter of thanks and let them know what happens.
What if they say No
How to respond
If someone you ask seems to be saying "no" to you, you should ask someone else. The person may be inappropriate, too busy or may not know you well enough to write you a good letter.
If they do not directly say "no", but respond in a way that makes you uncertain about the strength of their support letter, gracefully accept that, thank them for their honesty and ask someone else. | <urn:uuid:e8be0f21-d024-4018-96a0-47d82ecfabb6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.case.edu/provost/ugstudies/scholarships/H-recommendation.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954467 | 478 | 1.5625 | 2 |
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