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LOS ANGELES — There was a time when old English sheepdogs dominated television screens and newspaper comic strips. Now it’s hard to find one beyond a dog show.
Numbers of the high-maintenance longhaired breed, which can weigh close to 100 pounds, are dropping as more owners choose pocket pets and designer puppies that are smaller, travel-ready, easy to care for and cost much less to feed.
“People have more to do and less time to do it, and they have lost interest in old English sheepdogs,” said Doug Johnson of Colorado Springs, Colo., the president of the Old English Sheepdog Club of America.
Breeders in the United States and England are concerned about the drop in the number of purebred sheepdog puppies registered in the two countries each year. At the height of the breed’s popularity in 1975, when the sheepdog was named best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, nearly 16,000 puppies were registered by the American Kennel Club, said Lisa Peterson, who went through club archives for The Associated Press.
But that number dropped within 10 years to fewer than 5,600 dogs and three years ago, the last time AKC numbers were available, there were just over 1,000, she said.
London’s Kennel Club, which put the breed on the club’s watch list, registered just 401 sheepdog puppies in 2011, said representative Heidi Ancell. The list is reserved for breeds that number between 300 and 450 registrations a year.
But the kennel clubs say they have never lost a breed to extinction. Johnson said it would be up to those clubs to generate interest to prevent the sheepdog from disappearing.
“There are too many of us old die-hards that will go ahead and keep this breed alive,” said Johnson, who has 22 sheepdogs under the Bugaboo kennel banner.
David Frei, director of communications for the Westminster Kennel Club and co-host of Purina’s annual National Dog Show, said he wasn’t too concerned that the breed is in danger. “If you have a dog that can have six, eight or nine puppies, is that a horribly endangered species? Endangered animals are those that have single offspring in a litter,” he said.
“We aren’t going to lose any of these breeds. But we might have to go to shows to see them,” he said.
Most historians believe the dog’s origins were in Sussex, England, where they drove sheep and cattle to market. They were called Sussex sheepdogs then, Smithfields when they took ponies to Smithfield Market and bobtailed because their tails were traditionally docked or cut off, Johnson said.
The tails were docked to prove their occupation and to exempt owners from taxes because of their working status, he said. The dogs are smart, adaptable, obedient and agile, and they have a distinctive bark, like two pots clanging together, Frei said.
Pittsburgh industrialist William Wade introduced the dog in the United States in the late 1880s. The breed’s club claims five of the 10 wealthiest American families owned, bred and were showing the dogs by 1900.
But, Johnson pointed out, the Morgans, Vanderbilts, Goulds, Harrisons and Guggenheims all had kennel managers and staff to care for the dogs. Sheepdog hair can grow up to 10 inches, which meant grooming could take hours.
Sheepdogs later entered popular culture through Hollywood, which featured them in movies such as 1959’s “The Shaggy Dog,” and on TV in “My Three Sons” (1960-1972) and “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” (1965-1967). Looney Tunes paired one — Sam Sheepdog — with a wolf (Ralph Wolf) in cartoons depicting them clocking in and on duty as predator and guard: “Mornin’, Sam.” “Mornin’, Ralph.”
But by 1982, when Lynn Johnston’s newspaper comic strip “For Better or For Worse” added a sheepdog named Farley to the Patterson family, the breed’s popularity was already sliding. It still caused a hoopla though, when the real Farley died in 1995 and Johnston wrote his death into the comic strip.
When Jere Marder started breeding sheepdogs 35 years ago, the Valparaiso, Ind., resident said there were 40 instantly recognizable sheepdog breeding kennels across the country. Only about 20 remain, and specialty clubs in cities such as Dallas and Detroit have closed, she said.
Marder, who keeps three show sheepdogs at home, understands the breed can be a burden.
“Breeders that are really dedicated are getting older and we don’t have as many young breeders coming into the game,” she said. Her business, Lambluv OES, breeds only one litter every couple of years, but she co-owns about 100 sheepdogs around the country.
“The breed is a labor of love. You have to love the breed to labor so much,” Johnson joked.Copyright © 2013 Paddock Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:f9b9e6ce-f6cb-4253-8e38-d7a05320ee6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121208/entlife/712089977/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969276 | 1,121 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Tweet: "Rip Chuck Brown"
Wale sends a virtual bless up to the godfather of go-go on the one-year anniversary of his death. His music paved the way for The Gifted rapper's success.
(Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
In the early '70s, Chuck Brown and his famous band, The Soul Searchers, signed to Sussex. The heavy percussive and afro-Latin-influenced sound of Brown's music helped define a new funk sub-genre, Go-Go music, coming out of Washington, D.C.
Chuck Brown, affectionately dubbed the "Godfather of Go-Go" music, died from undisclosed causes on May 16. He was 75. (Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The four are famous patrons of the Washington, D.C., restaurant.
The music man was a songwriter, guitarist and performer whose hit "Bustin' Loose" is the Washington Nationals baseball team celebration record.
(Photo: David Corio/Redferns)
Celebrity painter pays homage to Chuck Brown. | <urn:uuid:6df82ad6-e523-4aae-980e-39792840ee2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://search.bet.com/topics/c/chuck-brown.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943517 | 241 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Anyone who follows climate change politics knows that China’s coal consumption is a huge concern. As this chart from the U.S. Department of Energy reveals, Chinese production has doubled in the last decade (click to see full-size image).
In addition to the implications for global warming, that increased production is associated with all sorts of other negative externalities. For example, Chinese coal mining is an incredibly dangerous occupation:
5,000 of China’s 5 million coal miners are killed on the job each year, a death rate of one in 1,000 on average. By comparison, an average of nine of the 83,000 miners in the U.S. die each year, a death rate of one in 10,000.
Jasper Becker, an award-winning journalist and consultant who has covered China for many years, says that even this estimate is wildly off-the-mark:
Chinese coal is cheap to buy but the human cost is high. Officially, China has three million coal miners who mostly work in 580 big state mines. But in reality, China probably has 6.6 million miners. The rest work in 70,000 mines run by villages and local governments where equipment and working conditions are extremely primitive. Most are local peasants who earn low wages and whose lives are worth little. As a result, about six thousand die every year, a death rate that is 100 times the rate in America or Australia . China , which produces a third of the world’s coal, therefore accounts for 80 percent of the mining industry’s fatalities. In addition, some 600,000 miners suffer from pneumoconiosis, a number grows by 70,000 a year. Some estimate that perhaps the real death toll from mining, if the deaths from lung diseases are included, is around 20,000 lives a year.
The conventional wisdom suggests that China needs this coal to maintain its remarkable economic growth rates (9.5% annual average for 26 years). And, of course, the Chinese government is said to need this truly impressive economic growth to maintain its political legitimacy and power.
Interestingly, however, China’s government is actually making significant investments in green alternative energy technologies — and at a rate much greater than the U.S.
A new Pew study estimates that $162 billion was invested globally in renewable energy and biofuels last year, up 230 percent from 2005, despite the weak economy. Given their financial heft, the G-20 countries dominated clean energy investments. And who was number 1? China, with $34.6 billion invested. The U.S. was second, at only $18.6 billion. If you count the European Union’s 27 countries as one bloc, the EU was tops at $41.1 billion, making the U.S. a distant third.
Eventually, China’s investments in green energy might make a major dent in its substantial coal expansion plans.
From the U.S. point of view, this news about China could surely be used more frequently in domestic debates to spur far more green energy research — and purchasing. The U.S. spent much of the past 15 years arguing that it would not agree to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because nations like China and India would make those reductions moot — and the policies would create an unfair economic burden on U.S. businesses.
It looks like China is now determined to blast by the U.S. on green energy and make Washington’s past decisions seem very short-sighted. Unfortunately, the present and immediate future appears to look like the past — with slightly different political calculations at work. The climate change legislation is officially dead in the current Congress, which means activists are focused on a waterer-down replacement “clean energy” bill. It is not certain to pass this year given the looming November elections.
In a future post, I’ll revisit the notion that autocratic states like China might have an advantage in environmental decision-making. | <urn:uuid:fac044d4-aaed-454f-bc8e-774d1fcff406> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.e-ir.info/2010/08/14/chinas-energy-future/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959772 | 820 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Medieval Tamil Nadu
was ruled by four main Dravidian dynasties: Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and
About Tamil Nadu
The majestic hills of the Western Ghats; filled with profuse incense of the
towering temples and gopurams; vibrant festivals of music and dance;
shimmering silk fabrics of brilliant colors; endless silver lined beaches
conjures up the breathtaking image of Tamil Nadu. The Muslim invasion in the
14th century was followed by Hindu rule of the Pandayas and Nayaks. There
was a dominant British presence in the state in the eighteenth and
nineteenth century, which led to the creation of the Madras Presidency in
1947. Today, Tamil nadu is an independent state of India Union, with
numerous places of tourist interest.
The rich alluvial soil of the perennial river of the state, the Cauveri,
which originated in Coorg in the neighbouring state of Karnataka and its
delta in Thanjavur irrigate the fertile Coromandel plains, while the mixed
deciduous forests of the region hides over 3000 plant species. One of the
most noteworthy flowers is the Kurinji of Kodaikanal, which blooms once in
every 12 years.
Culture and Lifestyle
The People of Tamil Nadu learns to appreciate culture from a very young
age, and have a deep interest in music, dance and literature. Classical
dancing in the form of Bharatnatyam, continues to be followed with a lot of
fervour and dedication in Tamil Nadu.
Carnatic music is another art form that has flourished over the ages,
producing artists of great repute. Pongal, Navaratri or Dussehra, Deepavali
and Christmas are the popular ones. The unique festival of Carnatic music,
Thyagaraja festival is held annually in January at Thiruvariyar.
Tamil Nadu is bounded by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the north and
Kerala in the west.
Tropical climate prevails with little difference in temperature in summer
and winter. April and May are the hottest months with the mercury often
soaring above the 40ºC mark.
Places of Interest in Tamil Nadu
It is a beautiful hill station with a charming ambience with thickly wooded
slopes, well laid out walking paths through picturesque locations,
tumultuous waterfalls and steep rock outcrops. There are a number of
picturesque walks like Coaker's Walk and Priest's Walk. Kodai's best
viewpoints are Pillar Rocks and Green Valley View.
With a rich cultural heritage and 2500 years history, Madurai situated on
the banks of river Vaigai, is the second largest city of Tamil Nadu.
Goddess, Meenakshi with her lovely fish-shaped eyes, together with her
consort, lord Sundareswar or Shiva, presides in her magnificent Meenakshi
Temple in the heart of the town.
Oatacamund or Ooty as is popularly known spreads amidst tea and coffee
plantations is an ideal holiday destination for the travellers known as the
Queen of southern hill resorts of India. Among the viewpoints around Ooty
are Elk Hill, Green Valley View and Snowden Peak. From the Dodabetta Peak,
the highest point in the district, one can see the plains of Coimbatore and
the Mysore plateau.
The metropolitan capital of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, formerly known as Madras,
is the largest city in South India. Located on the Coromandel Coast, off the
Bay of Bengal, the city is intersected by the waterways of Cooum, Adyar and
Buckingham Canal. Chennai has an obvious British touch, evident in various
cathedrals like Fort St George and the 13 km long Marina Beach is the pride
of Chennai and is much sought after for the cool evening breeze.
Wildlife in Tamil Nadu
Sanctuaries like Mudumalai and Annamalai or Indira Gandhi wild life
sanctuary are situated in the hills of the Western Ghats and are the habitat
of elephants, tigers, bisons and a variety of monkey and deer.
Madumalai Wildlife Sanctuary
Madumalai,is the first sanctuary in south India. The terrain here is highly
varied with hills, valleys, ravines, watercourses and swamps. The fauna
consists of tropical moist deciduous forests Langur, bonnet macaque, mouse
deer, wild boar, rodent and flying squirrel are some of animals found in
Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary
Annamalai boasts of various kinds of animals like Elephant, Gaur, Tiger,
Panther, Sloth Bear, Deer, Wild Bear, Wild Dog, Porcupine, Flying Squirrel
and is home to a large number of crocodiles.
How to Reach :
By Air : Directly linked to the major metro cities. The
Anna International Airport, is about 16 km south of Chennai.
By Rail : The railway station at Chennai has connecting
trains to and from all major cities in India connecting it with important
places like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Coimbatore and
By Road : The entire state is connected through an
extensive network of metaled roads. Nearest important place to reach by road
is Bangalore at a distance of 334kms | <urn:uuid:467d6995-a9ed-47ab-9946-7ac8344952f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timelessexcursions.com/tamilnadu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905093 | 1,170 | 3.296875 | 3 |
| ||Food for Thought || |
Resveratrol -- A Fountain of Youth?
November 5, 2010
By Beth Klos, R.D., L.D.N.
Brigham and Women's Hospital
"Ads for this juice say it contains resveratrol to keep me young forever no matter what I eat! But, my dietitian advised drinking only small portions of fruit juice because more may make me gain weight and will spike my blood sugar. Hm, maybe a resveratrol supplement is the way to go?"
Resveratrol has attracted interest for its potential to reduce the effects of aging, prevent cancer, inflammation, diabetes, blood clotting and heart disease.
What is resveratrol and why has it garnered so much attention? Is there evidence to support taking resveratrol supplements?
What Is Resveratrol?
Resveratrol is part of a group of chemicals called "phytoalexins." Plants make them to fight fungal and bacterial infections. It's their own supply of medicine. When under stress from infection, exposure to UV radiation or physical injury, some plants make resveratrol.
Resveratrol has many interesting properties. Among them are its antioxidant and phytoestrogen qualities.
Red wine is a well-known source of resveratrol. But it's also found in:
- Peanuts and pistachio nuts
- Cranberries, blueberries, strawberries and some other berries
- Japanese knotweed, from which Itadori tea is made
Red wine and Itadori tea have the highest amounts of resveratrol. But resveratrol content is affected by growing conditions and varies by type of plants. For example, different cultivars of grapes have different amounts of resveratrol.
We are still learning details about the sources of resveratrol and their exact content because the compound has been studied for very a relatively short time.
Because it is found in grapes, some people claim that resveratrol is responsible for the lower rates of heart disease in France, despite cuisine that is rich in saturated fat. (This is called the French paradox. ) But it's unlikely that any one substance is a "magic bullet." Instead, the phytochemicals and botanicals found in the fruit and juice of grapes used to make European table wine probably work together.
Back to top
Is There Proof?
There are no human studies to support the use of resveratrol supplements to fight aging and improve longevity. The buzz about resveratrol comes from studies in mice, flies, round worms and even yeast. For example:
- A study published in Science in 2003, found that resveratrol extended the lifespan of yeast by 70%. (Yeast is a useful model of aging because it divides often.) Researchers think that the effect on lifespan is largely due to resveratrol's impact on enzymes in the body called sirtuins that are also activated by calorie restriction.
- A study of mice published in the journal Nature in 2006 found that resveratrol lengthened lifespan, and improved motor function, insulin sensitivity and other metabolic factors in mice fed a high-calorie, high-fat diet that was also high in resveratrol. The group of mice consumed resveratrol in amounts roughly comparable to a 150-pound adult drinking over 1,200 glasses of red wine, 800 cups of Itadori tea or eating over 3,200 cups of red grapes (using data from the EPIC food database). Although they gained weight and 60% of their calories came from fat, the mice lived longer than another group of mice that ate a high-calorie diet without resveratrol. In fact, their survival was similar to normal weight mice, though at the time the mice had not reached the end of their lifespans. Given their improved survival, researchers believed they would live as long as the healthy-weight mice on a lower calorie diet. Because foods and beverages contain relatively small amounts of resveratrol, the authors and others believe resveratrol's potential as a treatment for aging (or other conditions) may lie in putting it into a pill.
These studies may provide a model for what may happen in humans, but they are only the starting point for further study. For example, one study is tracking the resveratrol intake among a Spanish population. More research like this could shed light on the possible beneficial effect of foods with resveratrol.
While taking resveratrol supplements does not appear to result in severe problems, long-term data are lacking. Taking these supplements may not be safe for children, pregnant or lactating women, or women who are trying to become pregnant.
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Maintaining Your Health While Aging
Until we know more about resveratrol's potential as a treatment for aging, what can we do to age "successfully" right now? I interviewed Dr. Juergen Bludau, Acting Chief of Geriatric Clinical Services and Director of the Center for Older Adult Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. His book, Aging, But Never Old: The Realties, Myths and Misrepresentations of the Anti-Aging Movement, was just published.
He graciously agreed to share four practical ways to age successfully:
- Keep up with current trends to maintain cognitive abilities. One way to be a lifelong learner and keep mental functions sharp is to stay up-to-date with changes in society, including those in technology. The most recent research indicates this kind of practical learning is more potent mental exercise than games and puzzles.
- Develop strong social connections. Keeping current also helps elders remain socially engaged, another key to healthy aging. Using a cell phone, for example, helps maintain social connections. Dr. Bludau noted that there is increasing evidence that meaningful relationships, such as strong marriages and friendships, help sustain health.
- Maintain mobility. While Dr. Bludau feels the new data on physical exercise indicates it will not help maintain mental abilities, physical activity will help maintain mobility another key to longevity. Mobility helps seniors be independent when it comes to daily activities that demand agility, such as getting dressed, which requires standing on one leg. Even activities like vacuuming or taking the stairs improve mobility, not just going to the gym.
- Enjoy the passage of time. Lastly, Dr. Bludau suggests enjoying "the passage of time" as we age, which encompasses accepting new limitations, and capitalizing on our remaining abilities. He suggests that rather than romanticizing the past at the expense of enjoying the present, "be a member of the community of 2010" by getting on the Internet and learning about new technologies such as social networking.
As for resveratrol, Dr. Bludau agrees the research so far does not indicate it improves longevity in humans. While the future may bring interesting new research, you can still protect your longevity now with Dr. Bludau's practical suggestions.
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Beth Klos, R.D., L.D.N., is a Senior Nutritionist who counsels outpatients at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She completed her undergraduate degree at University of Rhode Island and her dietetic internship at Brigham and Women's Hospital | <urn:uuid:4fcacf1c-2998-4984-b9e5-9e61b57985e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSRNM000/35320/35327/1379142.html?d=dmtHMSContent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950473 | 1,513 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance
A small number of babies have reactions to a protein found in cow's milk. Signs of cow's milk protein intolerance include:
- Reference Hives Opens New Window.
- Swelling of the face, tongue, mouth, or throat.
- Difficulty breathing, wheezing, or Reference asthma Opens New Window.
- Abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Most infant formulas contain cow's milk protein. If your baby has symptoms of a cow's milk protein intolerance, talk to your doctor. He or she may recommend trying a soy-based or hypoallergenic formula.
Some babies who have cow's milk protein intolerance are also sensitive to soy. But soy formulas are often tried before hypoallergenic formulas, because they cost less. If your baby continues to have symptoms after switching to a soy-based formula, he or she may need the more expensive hypoallergenic formula.
It is important to talk with your doctor continuously throughout this process of trying formulas and monitoring your baby for symptoms.
|By:||Reference Healthwise Staff||Last Revised: Reference August 1, 2011|
|Medical Review:||Reference John Pope, MD - Pediatrics
Reference Thomas Emmett Francoeur, MD, MDCM, CSPQ, FRCPC - Pediatrics | <urn:uuid:c3f2093c-d28b-4196-b495-18165438d6c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pamf.org/healtheducation/healthinfo/index.cfm?A=C&hwid=tj8033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908481 | 277 | 2.6875 | 3 |
March 2nd, 2009
03:29 PM ET
By Jo Parker
“Keep your kids in booster seats until they are 4-foot-9 and 60 pounds.”
Finally, vindication in the form of a public service announcement. I’ll take support anyplace I can get it!
As my daughter got closer to 8 years old, I’d felt increasing pressure from other parents to ditch her booster seat and let her ride with just an adult seat belt. “None of her friends will be in a booster seat,” they warned. “Will she be using a booster seat on dates?”
Is it just me, or does that sound an awful lot like, “C’mon! All the kids are doing it!”?
We’ve faced the pressure before. First to give her solids before she was 6 months old. (“Will she be breastfeeding in kindergarten?”) Then to turn her car seat to face forward before she was 20 pounds. (“How can she enjoy the ride if she can’t SEE?”) Then to let her play outside without a parent. (“But she’ll be with other kids – they can watch each other!”)
Now that she’s 8, state laws no longer protect her in the car seat department. No state insists that a parent measure an 8-year-old to ensure an adult belt fits properly (over the hips, not tummy and across the shoulder, not neck).
However, many of those states don’t even mandate that children ride in the back seat, even though the risks of that are well documented – and automakers post warnings about the dangers of children riding in the front seat right on the sun visors of vehicles.
Don't get me wrong - I know that adults around today survived without car seats. My childhood trips were spent sandwiched between brothers Roger and Mike trying desperately not to vomit while breathing in cigarette fumes. The one trip I didn't spend vomiting was when four of us rode from Illinois to Florida in the back of a pickup truck.
I’d looked at research by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that showed kids in booster seats had 59 percent fewer injuries than children using just seat belts.
And my daughter is on the small side, just under 50 inches tall and 45 pounds. She’ll be in that booster seat for a long time to come.
During those years, I guess we’ll be wrestling with when it’s OK to drop her off at a movie, leave the building when she’s at ballet practice and let her go to a boy-girl party. And don’t get me started on dating.
I’ll try really hard to not criticize parents who aren’t as conservative on these issues as I am, and I hope they’ll give me the same latitude (and, maybe, a bit less attitude?) as I keep her a bit closer to the nest.
What about your kids? Do you think it’s worth risking social stigma to keep them in booster seats until seat belts fit properly? Or are parents like me just being too overprotective?
Editor's Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.
About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. | <urn:uuid:5b42718d-f049-4c07-979c-83913c57d134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963888 | 834 | 1.539063 | 2 |
With the different weblog-tools available nowadays, anyone can create a website in just a few days. But people already online exaggerate the technological knowledge of people who do not yet publish online. Now Weebly brings the DIY-possibilities to the next level. By simply clicking and dragging you can create your website. Add content and there you go! Although you are limited to a few design templates, this will do for people who are now still intimidated by the technical nitty-and-gritty of WordPress, ExpressionEngine, TextPattern, MovableType and alike.
According to Bill Gates, technology will advance so far for local advertising that when voice and data truly combine on mobile phones, the usage of venerable yellow page directories to find businesses will be near zero for anyone under 50.
That might be news to publishers who drop hefty books full of business listings at doorsteps all over the country each year. Microsoft’s chairman Bill Gates, speaking at the company’s Strategic Advertising Summit, told attendees the age of the print directory has been numbered. Read more | <urn:uuid:64ba05a6-b59b-448a-87c4-4b08575d710e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dradv.nl/wp/2007/05/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913812 | 220 | 1.875 | 2 |
|Created with the Web Accessibility Wizard||Slide 16 of 38|
This plan view map shows the maximum of 850 mb frontogenesis located over southwest Pennsylvania at 00 UTC. The blue shading is negative EPV in the 850 to 500 mb layer. This figure implies that a large area of mid-level instability was located along and south of the frontogenesis maxima. The strong east-southeast flow below 500 mb was drawing this unstable air northwestward, up and over the frontal boundary. | <urn:uuid:9c0a48a4-5ea7-49e4-9cc3-b397cd5a6229> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/bgm/casestudy/2004/Frances_files/TextMostly/Slide16.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952576 | 103 | 1.9375 | 2 |
alians were most guiltie of the accusations written by the king of Poland.
This king Sigismundus [Footnote: Sigismund II, the last of the Jagellon race, added Livonia to his kingdom. He reigned from 1548 to 1572. It was after his death that the King of Poland became an elective instead of an heritary sovereign.] (whose ambassadours very sumptuous I haue seene at Mosco) was reported to be too milde in suffering the Moscouites. [Sidenote: Smolensko won by the Russe.] Before our trafficke they ouerranne his great dukedome of Lituania, and tooke Smolensco, carrying the people captiues to Mosco. [Sidenote: Polotzko taken.] And in the yere 1563, as appeareth by Thomas Alcocks letter, they suffered the Russe likewise in that Duchy to take a principall city called Polotzko, with the lord and people thereof. Likewise the said Sigismundus and the king of Sweden did not looke to the protection of Liuonia, but lost all, except Rie and Reuel, and the Russe made the Narue his port to trafficke, not onely to vs, but to L | <urn:uuid:f0317edd-68d5-4e49-8d7a-7734cd1db355> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://manybooks.net/titles/hakluytretext058hk0410.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968383 | 278 | 2.03125 | 2 |
The Bishops' Position Prior to the War
USCCB issued four major letters/statements prior to the war: Bishop Wilton Gregory letter to President George Bush (9/13/2002); U.S. Bishops' Statement on Iraq (11/13/2002); Statements of Bishop Gregory (2/26/2003 & 3/19/2003). Bishop Gregory summarized the bishops' position: Our bishops' conference continues to question the moral legitimacy of any preemptive, unilateral use of military force to overthrow the government of Iraq. To permit preemptive or preventive uses of military force to overthrow threatening or hostile regimes would create deeply troubling moral and legal precedents. Based on the facts that are known, it is difficult to justify resort to war against Iraq, lacking clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave nature or Iraq's involvement in the terrorist attacks of September 11. With the Holy See and many religious leaders throughout the world, we believe that resort to war would not meet the strict conditions in Catholic teaching for the use of military force. (2/26/2003) Current Situation
The election of January 2005 was a welcome sign of progress for Iraqis in their efforts to build a democratic society. While establishing security is still paramount, the need to rebuild the economy of Iraq and develop a constitution that respects fundamental human rights, including religious liberty, are key tasks before the new government.
Iraqis will vote on a proposed constitution on October 15, 2005; it is unclear if this constitution will adequately protect religious liberty or gain enough Sunnis support to undermine the insurgency.
Tragically, the security situation remains dangerous and uncertain. Terrorists and insurgents continue to target both security personnel and civilians in an effort to destabilize the new government. The U.S. remains in a difficult position as it must continue to provide basic security even though its presence is still resented by many in Iraq and across the Muslim world. The additional reports of prisoner abuse and mistreatment of detainees, on a wider scale than previously thought, further compromise the role of occupation forces. On the other hand, many Iraqi leaders have made it clear that the presence of U.S. and Coalition forces is important during this time of transition. As the occupation continues, political pressures within the U.S. are building supporting a withdrawal in ways that may not promote stability. Other important ways to enhance security are to accelerate economic and social reconstruction in Iraq; but both seem to be lagging.
For Iraqi Christians, the security situation remains very tense. Many Christians view the attacks on Christians over the last several months as attacks on all Iraqis. Nevertheless, a high proportion of Iraqi refugees are Christians. Statements by Shia leaders that they will respect the rights of minorities and not create a theocracy are encouraging. However, there is still some fear that the new Iraqi government may not fully respect religious liberty. The proposed constitution has contradictory clauses regarding religious liberty. The key now is the implementation of the constitution in law and practice. Many agree that the role of Islam must be respected, but this must be done in a way that protects the rights of religious minorities, including Muslim and Christian minorities.
USCCB President Bishop Wilton Gregory issued a major statement on Iraq (June 22, 2004); on August 8, 2005 Bishop John Ricard, Chairman wrote to the Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor to urge stronger action to protect religious liberty in the new constitution; and on October 4, 2005 Bishop John Richard, the Chair of the International Committee, wrote to the US Senate regarding abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Although the U.S. bishops initially raised fundamental questions about the decision to go to war, they now say that the United States has a grave obligation to work with other countries and the United Nations on sustained, long-term basis to work with Iraqis to build a just and enduring peace in their country. In December 2004 the International Policy Committee affirmed the following framework:
- Political/Military Situation
- In the wake of the Iraqi elections, urge the United States to: (1) send a clear signal that the U.S. goal is to help Iraqis assume full control of their governance and not to occupy the nation for an indeterminate period; and (2) remain only as long as it takes for a "responsible transition" (leaving sooner rather than later). A "responsible transition" implies sufficient military and economic support to achieve security and economic reconstruction.
- Promote a renewed and intensive effort to engage the international community and the United Nations in providing for security and economic reconstruction.
- Re-emphasize the urgent need for humanitarian relief and substantial rebuilding.
- Address any use of force that seems to fail the tests of proportionality and discrimination. In light of further evidence of persistent and new human rights violations, urge immediate steps be taken to end these violations, especially the mistreatment of prisoners and detainees, and to prevent future occurrences.
- Continue to offer pastoral support to members of the military and their families.
- Religious Liberty: Plight of Iraqi Christians
- Assist those seeking to promote respect for religious liberty in the new permanent constitution. Consult with others, especially the Christian community in Iraq, on how best to achieve this goal.
- Support the Christians in Iraq-continuing to press their case with the U.S. government. Deepen the bonds of solidarity with the Christian community in Iraq.
- Preventive War, International Law and U.S. Policy
- In consultation with the Holy See, explore moral questions regarding preventive or preemptive war, international law and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- Oppose funding for new nuclear weapons, promote restraint and encourage the Administration and Congress to embrace nonproliferation. (See "Nuclear Weapons and Landmines" Backgrounder.)
- In concert with the Holy See, reiterate the Church's support for the mission of the U.N. and the function of international law.
- Encourage the Administration to engage in diplomatic and substantive initiatives with Iran and Syria to engage them in constructive ways to help secure regional peace. Support appropriate security guarantees for Iran to reduce the drive to acquire nuclear weapons
For further information: Stephen Colecchi, Director, Office of International Justice and Peace (IJP), USCCB, 202-541-3160 (ph); 541-3339 (fax); [email protected]; or Walt Grazer, IJP, 202-541-3182 (ph); 541-339 (fax); [email protected]. Also visit: /sdwp/peace/index.shtml | <urn:uuid:559eb7b9-471d-454a-b70e-d705e522d1de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://old.usccb.org/sdwp/international/200510Iraq.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937336 | 1,358 | 2.125 | 2 |
Earlier this year, SPRI—originally the Single Ply Roofing
Institute—celebrated its 25th anniversary. Its original
mission was to promote and advance the use of single-ply roof
systems, which it did so successfully that product promotion now is
of less importance to the organization than standards development
and technical programs.
We can go back a little further in the industry's history to
mark the real emergence of single-ply roof systems—to 1977
and the First International Conference on Roofing Technology held
in Gaithersburg, Md. There, the industry was made aware of the
technical and performance successes and potential of a new
generation of materials. We knew we'd need to learn a new language
of roofing—partly the language of chemistry (polymers, most
notably) and partly the language of application methods (who'd ever
heard of heat welding?).
Although a 30-year span during our industry's entire history is
the equivalent of the click of a nail gun, it's worthwhile to
consider what the advent of single-ply roofing has meant.
It brought new, substantial and credible material manufacturers
that saw market opportunities and gave building owners a new set of
roofing options. It enabled the industry to attract new workers who
could work with tapes and adhesives instead of mops
and kettles. And it set the stage for technological improvements
that include having reflective roof surfaces capable of
Log in or register for FREE access to this article and other Professional Roofing online content. | <urn:uuid:aa7c66fc-015a-4eca-96b8-bd3212f30f56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.professionalroofing.net/article.aspx?id=1164 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927086 | 325 | 1.953125 | 2 |
professor, department of english
Philip O’Leary received his AB from Holy Cross and his PhD from Harvard University. His teaching integrates his current research interests in the writing of the Gaelic movement with his knowledge of Irish literary and cultural studies. In addition to classes in the Irish language, he teaches courses on Irish theater, fiction and poetry, including a comparative course dealing with the drama of the Irish and Harlem Renaissance. O’Leary guest edited a special issue of Eire-Ireland on translation in 2000 and is currently consulting editor of Eire-Ireland. He also maintains links between Irish Studies and the Celtic Department at Harvard University.
- Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival: Ideology and Innovation (1994)
- Gaelic Prose in the Irish Free State, 1922-1939: A World Turned Rightside Up? (2004)
- Deirc an Dochais: Leamh ar Shaothar Phadhraic Oig Ui Chonaire (1995)
- Cambridge History of Irish Literature with Margaret Kelleher (2006)
Connolly House 302 | <urn:uuid:302ba9e5-7d41-4fe7-8d60-301383baa08c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bc.edu/centers/irish/studies/facstaff/oleary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93756 | 226 | 1.71875 | 2 |
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Quitting smoking is a big change. People will congratulate you. You have the right to be proud. But later at times you may miss smoking. Plan ahead to resist temptation.
If you feel the urge to smoke, distract yourself for about 5 minutes. Drink water. Call a friend, walk around the room, or try deep breathing.
Don’t trust yourself to have “just one cigarette.” Many ex-smokers get hooked again that way.
Remind yourself why you quit. Tell yourself you can stay quit.
Avoid people or places that can trigger you to smoke. Ask others not to smoke in your home or car.
Spend time in places where you can’t smoke— a museum, a library, a store, or a gym.
Take your nonsmoking life one day at a time. Mark each day on your calendar.
HALT your desire. Keep yourself from feeling too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Deal with your real needs. Eat, talk, or sleep.
Put aside cigarette money and reward yourself.
You may slip and smoke again. Many ex-smokers slip on the way to success. If you do, it’s not the end of your quit process. Think about what triggered you to smoke. Then think of ways to prevent future slips. Ask yourself what you can learn from the slip. Decide how you will handle this trigger better in the future. Then get back on track—right away!
Keep telling yourself you’re no longer a smoker. Don’t lose hope. Most people have tried to quit several times before being successful. Try to stay focused on your plan to be smoke-free. Keep in mind all the benefits of staying quit. Millions of people have given up smoking. You can too. | <urn:uuid:a3bbace4-85a0-457b-840a-6f448fa5d68f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.einstein.edu/einsteinhealthtopic/?languagecode=es&healthTopicId=-1&healthTopicName=Videos&articleId=84659&articleTypeId=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929935 | 401 | 1.75 | 2 |
Vibrant designs on quilts, an art in themselves, are being taken a step further at a museum fund-raising event called Art in Bloom.
For the exhibit, local floral designers will create flower arrangements that intrepret the 34 quilts currently on display in "Who'd a Thought It: Improvisation in African American Quiltmaking" at the Long Beach Museum of Art.
The three-day event will include two lectures and a floral arrangement demonstration.
Art in Bloom will open with a party at 7 p.m. Friday for a floral preview and cocktails. A dinner at 8:30 p.m. will feature authentic African cuisine served under the stars. Cocktail or ethnic attire is requested, and tickets are $90.
On Saturday, Graham Stanley will lecture on "Drought Tolerant Garden Design" at 10:30 a.m., followed by a lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a demonstration at 1 p.m. by Shirley Kerins titled "Creative and Colorful Flower Design."
Stanley, a resident of Seal Beach, is a landscape architect specializing in residential designs. Kerins is a horticultural consultant to the Huntington Library Botanical Gardens.
On Sunday, landscape designer John Schoustra will speak at 1 p.m. on "Day Lilies and Other Easy Perennials." Schoustra is a landscape designer and co-owner of Greenwood Day Lily Garden in Whittier.
The lectures and demonstration cost $10 per person, and the Saturday lunch is $12. Reservations must be made by calling the museum at 439-2119. The Long Beach Museum of Art is at 2300 E. Ocean Blvd.
The museum galleries will be open for public viewing of Art in Bloom from noon to 5 p.m. daily. Non-members are charged $3.
Art in Bloom is sponsored by Phoenix, a support group for the Long Beach Museum of Art. Proceeds will benefit the museum and its exhibition and education programs. | <urn:uuid:704e58f2-fcb7-4371-bcc5-45d23f602215> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/1991-09-01/news/hd-2222_1_floral-designers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9393 | 415 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Hepatic Encephalopathy in Cats
By: Dr. Arnold Plotnick
Read By: Pet Lovers
Diagnosis In-depth Complete blood count (CBC). A CBC is performed to help support a diagnosis of liver disease. A high white blood cell count might be present if an infectious cause of liver disease is present. Changes in the size – usually smaller than normal red blood cells – and shape of red blood cells are often seen in cases of liver disease.
Hepatic encephalopathy is a syndrome that is diagnosed by a combination of history, physical exam findings and laboratory data that shows significant liver disease is present in an animal for which no other cause of the neurological signs can be attributed.
Serum chemistry panel. Depending on the nature of the liver disorder present, various liver parameters will be abnormal on the chemistry panel. Changes in the enzymes ALT, AST, and ALP, may be seen, as well as decreased levels of albumin, and increased levels of bilirubin. Other changes, such as a low urea level and low blood sugar, are sometimes seen.
Urinalysis. Blood and protein may be present in urine secondary to urinary tract inflammation. This inflammation is caused by ammonium urate crystals or stones that tend to form when there is liver disease, especially portosystemic shunts. The crystals or stones form because of high concentrations of ammonia in the urine.
Blood clotting tests. Patients with HE can exhibit clotting problems caused by the diseased liver's inability to make adequate amounts of clotting factors.
Blood ammonia level or ammonia tolerance test. High ammonia levels in the bloodstream is one factor that contributes to HE. Detection of high levels of ammonia in the bloodstream supports a diagnosis of HE. Alternatively, an ammonia tolerance test can be performed, whereby the animal is given a standard amount of ammonium chloride by stomach tube, and measuring the amount of ammonia in the bloodstream before the test, and then 30 minutes after giving the ammonium chloride. These tests are rarely performed anymore due to the limited clinical availability of the test, the unreliability of the values if the test is not run within 30 minutes of collection, and the fact that some animals with HE have normal blood ammonia concentrations.
Bile acid test. This is a simple blood test that is very sensitive in detecting serious liver dysfunction or portosystemic shunts. Bile acids are very stable in serum, so no extraordinary sample processing is required, as with blood ammonia measurements.
Abdominal radiographs or special dye studies. Abdominal radiographs are important diagnostic tools in evaluating patients with possible HE. Most animals with portosystemic shunts have markedly small livers. An enlarged liver silhouette can be seen in patients with HE secondary to acute hepatitis, liver tumors, or other infiltrative liver diseases. A special radiographic dye study in which dye is injected into an intestinal blood vessel to determine whether the dye flows to the liver in the proper fashion can be performed, however, this is a specialized test that is almost always performed at referral centers or universities.
Abdominal ultrasound. This test is an excellent, non-invasive way to evaluate the liver. Liver tumors and infiltrative liver diseases can often be diagnosed via ultrasound and portosystemic shunts can sometimes be diagnosed by an experienced ultrasonographer. A liver biopsy can also be obtained using ultrasonographic methods.
Liver biopsy. Exploratory surgery and liver biopsy will nearly always diagnose the cause of the liver disorder that has led to the development of HE. Animals with severe liver disease and resultant HE are often not the ideal candidates for anesthesia and surgery, and non-invasive diagnostic methods are preferred.
Transcolonic scintigraphy. This is a specialized, non-invasive test performed only at referral centers or universities. The test is designed to diagnose a portosystemic shunt, the most common condition that leads to HE. Radioactive material is infused into the animal's colon. In normal animals, the radioactive material enters the intestinal blood supply and arrives at the liver first, and then flows to the heart. If the patient has a portosystemic shunt, the intestinal blood is diverted around the liver, so that the radioactive material arrives at the heart before, or at the same time as, the liver. | <urn:uuid:35dbbc1e-6c5b-45ee-bf78-8b19c2f37f9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petplace.com/cats/hepatic-encephalopathy-in-cats/page4.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911802 | 885 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Welcome to the 2nd-ever Smart Money Debate at ReadyForZero! To see the other side of this debate, read Jana’s post: Why Teenagers Should Be Allowed to Have a Credit Card. And then let us know which argument was more convincing!
This post was written by Melissa Dawson, creator of Living with the Lioness and Hubpages contributor. After years of struggling to resolve her own issues with money as it relates to self esteem, she is proud to be debt free, content with what she does have, and more concerned about maintaining healthy supportive relationships than owning things.
When I heard the debate topic “Should teenagers be allowed to have a credit card?” I knew right away that my instinctive response was “No.” But first, let’s clarify that for this discussion “teenager” refers to anyone between the ages of 13 and 18, and “credit card” refers to any kind of charge card, including ones for gas stations and department stores for example.
In the interest of full disclosure I need to let you know that when I was in high school the idea that my parents would have let me have my own credit cards would not have even been an option. I can only remember two occasions when I was even allowed access to my parent’s card.
What Does Having a Credit Card Really Mean for a Teenager?
It is important to note first of all that technically it is not legal for any company to offer debt to someone under the age of 18. Most banks will not even open an account for anyone under the age of 18 without a parent’s permission and their name being on the account. This means is not that easy for a teenager to have their own credit card. The most common way to get around this is by having parents as the primary borrowers with the teenager as an “authorized user.” What this actually means is that you as the adult or parent have just assumed another financial liability.
In some cases it also will mean that you will not know what, or how much, has been charged to your card until the monthly bill is either received in the mail or posted to your online account. Not every card will have the function of letting you see daily activity during the billing cycle.
Why Teenagers Should Not Be Allowed to Have a Credit Card: Reality vs. Peer Pressure
We worry about the effects that peer pressure will have on teenagers when we’re talking about drugs and alcohol – so why wouldn’t we be concerned about its effect on a teenager’s use of a credit card? It’s so much easier for teenagers to succumb to peer pressure, especially in matters of money. After all, if their friends all have that $150 sweatshirt then shouldn’t they have it as well, so they can fit in?
Most teenagers would do anything rather than risk the humiliation of being “different” – which is often the ultimate curse in high school. And with access to Mom’s credit card, a teenager can take action on the desire to have all the latest clothes and/or fashionable accessories. A better path would be to help them learn the value in being frugal and in finding their own style without going into debt.
Why Teenagers Should Not Be Allowed to Have a Credit Card: “Real” Money vs. Debt
For many adults using a credit card does not feel like spending “real money” – so why would we think this would be different for a teenager? After all it only takes a swipe of a magnetic strip and they then have the consumer high of walking out with a bag from that “In” store. If many adults don’t fully realize that the $100 purchase they just made with a credit card could potentially cost them $200 or more if it is not paid off in full each month, can we really expect a teenager to?
Since a large number of teenagers do not have jobs all year long, presumably because they are in school, where would you, as a parent, think the money will come from to pay off the card that your darling son just ran up the balance on treating all his friends to the latest movie as well as paying for everyone’s drinks and snacks?
And as the account is in YOUR name, and not theirs, it is your credit history and rating that will take the hit if and when your child runs up hundreds of dollars in charges before you even realize there is a problem. While you may be able to return some items in that scenario – there are a lot of things you will not be able to dispute or get credit for: Gas, meals, movie or concert tickets.
However for the sake of argument, let’s say you had co-signed an application for your child and they do have a card in their name alone. Until the age of about 25 most young people have not fully developed that part of their brains that can realistically see future consequences and consider possible ramifications. Getting into trouble with debt at a young age can shadow a person for years, and in ways they probably don’t fully appreciate. Renting an apartment, getting a student loan, buying a car and even applying for a job – more and more these decisions are made by people who have run your credit history and made a judgment call based on that information.
I think a better way of teaching kids about money is to start them a lot earlier than 13. Get them in the habit of setting aside a percentage of any money they receive into a savings account: such as birthday cash from grandma, that extra $20 from Uncle Matthew or the $15 your neighbor gave them for shoveling their driveway.
Use the word “budget” around your child. Not in a way that will scare them or make them feel unsafe – they should not worry that Mommy and Daddy cannot pay the electric bill – I do not see that as a child’s job. But neither should you hide all discussions of money from your kids. I think it is acceptable to say “I know you want to go to the water park, but you also said you wanted to go with your friends to the movies next week. Our budget will allow for only one of these events – which one do you want more?” Children shouldn’t grow up thinking that just because they want something they will always get it. And Mom and Dad are not an endless source of income for their amusement. Of course this only works when you are able to exercise the same control with yourself. Because what children really learn from are your actions. So make sure you are living your own truths before trying to impose them on your kids. And don’t give them a credit card.
So… do you agree or disagree?
Update: We’re going to link to blog posts responding to this debate (if you post one, let us know). | <urn:uuid:3f7447f1-c100-4bbc-b434-dca595e8617f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.readyforzero.com/why-teenagers-should-not-be-allowed-to-have-a-credit-card/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974181 | 1,432 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Canada is free to bring Abousfian Abdelrazik home and doesn't need to ask for permission, the UN official overseeing the blacklist of alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects said Wednesday.
“Whether it is Abdelrazik or anybody else, it is up to the state in question whether they want to allow the person to come back or not,” said Richard Barrett, co-ordinator of the UN's Al-Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Team, which oversees the various United Nations resolutions establishing the blacklist on which Mr. Abdelrazik was placed at the request of Washington in 2006.
He said the travel ban exemption allowing for the return of a citizen is so clear in the UN resolutions that governments need not – and most don't – even apply for permits.
“States needn't notify the committee if somebody is going back to their own country, so we don't necessarily know of all the instances where that has happened,” Mr. Barrett said, dismissing the central claim of the Harper government as it fights Mr. Abdelrazik's return.
This is interesting, as is the fact the Conservatives on the committee abstained:
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
An all-party Commons committee called yesterday for Abousfian Abdelrazik, the Canadian citizen labelled a national security threat by Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, to appear before it.
"I'm convinced that this motion should allow Mr. Abdelrazik to return home, sooner rather than later," said Paul Dewar, the NDP MP who has championed the case of the only living Canadian put on the United Nations international terrorist blacklist by the former Bush administration.
The Canadian government continues to deny him travel documents, despite asking the UN to delist Mr. Abdelrazik after getting assurances from both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP that he posed no threat. Mr. Abdelrazik has been living in the Canadian embassy in Khartoum for more than a year.
"Passing this motion means that Mr. Abdelrazik will finally be able to come home," said Mr. Dewar. "It is critical that the government not block his return, to do so would be blocking the will of Parliament," he said. | <urn:uuid:a26b1999-b294-40ab-b36b-ff70e08ac272> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bcinto.blogspot.com/2009/05/conservatives-running-out-of-excuses-on.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954864 | 456 | 1.5625 | 2 |
FTC Report Shows Your Credit Scores Could Be Wrongby Steve Cypher on Friday, February 15th, 2013
A new study from the Federal Trade Commission shows that a large percentage of credit reports contained errors which could lead consumers with poor credit to pay more for everything from auto loans to car insurance
Consumers with questionable credit sometimes fail to realize that monitoring their credit reports could make a big difference when it comes time to apply for car loans.
At Auto Credit Express we know this is the case because we’ve spent the past twenty years helping car buyers with bad credit find those new car dealers that can give them their best opportunities for approved auto loans.
It turns out that, in a few cases, buyers that were turned down might’ve been approved or buyers that were approved might have received a better interest rate if they had bothered to correct mistakes in their credit reports.
In fact, new study mandated by congress and conducted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “found that one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their three credit reports.”
“These are eye-opening numbers for American consumers,” said Howard Shelanski, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics. “The results of this first-of-its-kind study make it clear that consumers should check their credit reports regularly. If they don’t, they are potentially putting their pocketbooks at risk.”
During the study, participants were “encouraged to use the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) process to resolve any potential credit report errors.”
The study also found that:
• One in four consumers identified errors on their credit reports that might affect their credit scores;
• One in five consumers had an error that was corrected by a credit reporting agency (CRA) after it was disputed, on at least one of their three credit reports;
• Four out of five consumers who filed disputes experienced some modification to their credit report;
• Slightly more than one in 10 consumers saw a change in their credit score after the CRAs modified errors on their credit report; and
• Approximately one in 20 consumers had a maximum score change of more than 25 points and only one in 250 consumers had a maximum score change of more than 100 points.
About the study
Although a number of studies have been conducted to measure the overall percentage of credit report errors, the most notable one, conducted in 2003 by U.S. PIRG, involved just 200 participants in 30 states.
The FTC study was based on a much larger base of consumers – 1,001 participants who reviewed 2,968 credit reports with a study associate that helped them identify and correct possible errors on their credit reports.
The participants involved in the study were also selected “to match the demographic and credit score information of the general public.” They were also “encouraged to dispute errors that could affect their credit standing.”
The reports that contained potential errors were then sent to FICO for rescoring. Once the dispute process was completed, participants were provided with updated credit reports and credit scores. On all reports where changes were made, the impact that these had on credit scores was then measured.
It should also be pointed out that these findings are based on an interim report. Congress has directed that the FTC provide an interim report every two years, beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2012. The final report is due in 2014.
Higher risk car loans
Although they’re taken into consideration, higher risk lenders typically look past credit scores and base much their credit decisions on an applicant’s credit habits. This is done, in part, by looking more closely at the actual information contained in their credit reports. But if that information is inaccurate, when combined with low credit scores this often could result in a credit denial for an auto loan.
As we see it
The results of the current FTC report only reinforce the fact that all car buyers – but especially those with past credit problems – should carefully check their credit reports well before applying for any type of loan.
One more thing: if, after viewing your credit reports and making any corrections, you find that your credit scores still fall below 640, we want you to know that Auto Credit Express specializes in helping applicants with car credit issues find dealers that can give them their best chances at auto loan approvals.
So if you’re ready to reestablish your auto credit, you can begin now by filling out our online auto loans application. | <urn:uuid:b65c32d0-c03f-403e-8073-2e0d5e5d713b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autocreditexpress.com/blog/2013/02/15/ftc-report-shows-your-credit-scores-could-be-wrong/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980868 | 930 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Bayli Silberstein continues her fight to make sure all students at Carver Middle School are protected from anti-gay bullying. Her school board is considering getting rid of all student clubs in elementary and middle schools.
At Pepperdine University, administrators have refused to officially recognize the school's only LGBT club, Reach OUT. Members of the club have started a petition on Change.org in hopes of persuading university officials to reconsider this discriminatory policy.
The Make It Safe Project was started by Amelia Roskin-Frazee, a 14-year-old from San Francisco, to provide resources, in the form of books, to schools that lack the resources to keep their students safe. The project sends a Make It Safe Package of 10 books that address sexual orientation and gender identity to schools across the nation.
California State University Long Beach's GSA took their Spirit Day celebration a step further, yesterday, with some eye catching public performance. CSULB GSA organizer and GLAAD Entertainment Intern Anthony Nget shares his experience of taking part and why it was so important for the whole campus to see them go purple.
More than 1,500 New Yorkers gathered today in Manhattan to mourn the death of a 32 year-old gay man, who was shot down on Friday just blocks away from the historic Stonewall Inn in an apparent act of anti-gay bias. | <urn:uuid:3d7644c9-83b9-4f46-9cfb-876a21500f12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glaad.org/tags/gsa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960332 | 279 | 1.632813 | 2 |
In Stranger Visions artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg creates portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material collected in public places. Working with the traces strangers unwittingly leave behind, Dewey-Hagborg calls attention to the impulse toward genetic determinism and the potential for a culture of genetic surveillance.
"Prior Art" is an animated short that uses Kinect motion capture to depict a friendly music contest gone horribly wrong—a musical duel between three robots and a flock of singing birds.
Quotidian Record is a limited edition LP that features a continuous year of personal location-tracking data recorded by Brian House. In compressing 365 days to 365 rotations and mapping habitual places to harmonic relationships, he hopes to prompt our musical perception when we consider our daily travels.
Occu-bot is a D.I.Y robot for occupation and picket holding. Management-bot (also known as the Financier) is a walking bot that accompanies the Occubot. Barking-bot is a megaphone-dog that confronts the Occubot and protects the Management-bot.
For more information http://taeyoonchoi.com/2011/12/occu-bot-and-financier-bot/
The Creatomatic is a piece of software designed to help its users conceive new artworks. It operates by randomly juxtaposing drawings of two everyday objects from a large selection, which a user can combine to invent something new. The software is given to a group of artists, and the results are exihibted at Eyebeam.
"Candelier" by Takeshi Miyakawa
"Cactus Straw" by Jacob Tonski
"Tape Dispenser Particle" by Greg Witt
The Spacepod is a chamber that projects auditory architecture around a listener. Using an omnidirectional array of speakers, it produces a sensation of auditory surfaces using ambisonic localization, psychoacoustic cues, and parametric mapping. Effectively, one finds oneself navigating by ear a world in which every surface is covered in sound-emitting pores. The Spacepod functions as a sort of spacecraft that sends the listener flying through auditory spaces that would be impossible or prohibitive to construct physically, without any of the constraints of bodily mass.
This piece is the outcome of research and experimentation conducted by students of the 'Collaborative Media Workshop.' This workshop, led by Andrew Demirjian at Eyebeam, introduced students to technical methods and aesthetic strategies for producing audiovisuals in spatialized art installations.
The students' final project, entitled VTE, is an algorithmically edited work composed of sound and video captured from various New York City elevators. Eight channels of rhythmic audio play while three projectors cast synced video onto a 10 ft. high cube. The cube and periphonic audio system were developed in August 2011 by Jackson Moore.
Gifpumper is collaborative web creation platform.
All changes are broadcast in real-time to anyone else viewing the page. Users can interact with one another by adding, deleting and moving elements. The resulting pages can also be used as a blog or a personal website with a custom url. Standard social-media features are present as well in the form of a 'like' button, recent activity feed and profile pages. At any given moment users can see 'active pages' on the main site indicating presence of others.
The Caloris Basin is a new technique for concentrating sunlight to useful temperatures. Presently the energy is used for cooking, and many more uses are possible. It is based on an excavated hemisphere in the ground, and so is significantly less expensive to produce than standard troughs and dishes. Materials research was done at eyebeam, and prototypes are being tested all over North America. Workshops have been held with Sweatshop in Tijuana, Mexico and in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, with more planned internationally. BjornQorn is a New York based food company that is testing the technology on a commercial scale, to make popcorn.
Wearable Weapons awaken the power of vulnerability.
Wearable Weapons is currently building visual and interactive wearable costumes for an entertainer or singer to wear during a performance or music video.
Right now we are focusing on building a new series of collars with hacked Violet Wands connected to software that pulses mini-electrical arcs through voice interaction. This is part of a larger series of interactive costumes built with different forms of electricity, fire, sound sensors, open source software, hardware, plant fibers, confiscated scissors from airport security, recycled razor blades, and zip ties.
You might ask... and what are Violet Wands?
Violet Wands are electro medical devices recommended by Edgar Cayce as a healing tool and invented by Nicola Tesla. Violet Wands are also modern, electrical, kink or highly erotic electro-stimulation tools. They are used for the application of low current, high voltage (min 25 kV to max 65 kV), high-frequency, electricity to the body. Violets Wands are sold both to the police department and the S&M community. The wands have a variety of intensity levels that do anything from burn to arouse the end receiver. | <urn:uuid:0e8a3e4a-e4be-4488-bb1f-ab76956e8a4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eyebeam.org/recent/project?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932311 | 1,072 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The French president is blind to the contradictions of his philosophy.
29 August 2012
My late friend, the eminent development economist Peter Bauer, liked to complain that while knowledge had increased, mankinds capacity for connected thought seemed to have decreased. François Lamy, Frances new minister of urban affairs, illustrated Bauers point nicely when he visited Amiens recently, a city in whose northern suburbs the week before his visit a small but nasty riot had broken out, causing millions of dollars worth of damage. As in all such French suburbs, the youth unemployment rate there is very high. The minister said that the government would carry out one of Socialist French president François Hollandes election promises—namely to allow certain tax exemptions on companies that hired young workers from suburbs with high unemployment.
Whatever the merits of such a policy, Messrs. Hollande and Lamy clearly hope and expect that it will work. What they dont notice is that this hope and expectation drives a coach and horses through their entire social philosophy.
What in effect such a policy acknowledges is that high payroll taxes on French companies discourages them from taking on new workers. This must be because the cost of their labor is, thanks to the taxes, higher than its economic value. Only by lowering the taxes can their labor be made economically worthwhile for an employer.
Oddly enough, payroll taxes are mostly spent on social welfare, or les acquis as the French call it. Those in the workforce—the majority—benefit from social welfare, while those not in the workforce are kept in a state of permanent unemployability by it. Thus the interests of the employed and unemployed are diametrically opposed, the former, of course, being electorally much the stronger. That is why no government, of the right or the left, dares tamper too much with the system. Once erected, it is difficult to dismantle. But if the unemployed become, by economic force majeure, too numerous, more and uncontrollable riots may be expected.
President Hollande is, of course, a true believer in les acquis, and would remain so even if he realized that long-term unemployment was a natural consequence of it. He has his electorate to think of.
More by Theodore Dalrymple: | <urn:uuid:2631df63-b65f-4020-891c-6c74454ef98f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.city-journal.org/2012/eon0829td.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968605 | 457 | 1.515625 | 2 |
With this leather travel journal you will want to capture your memories and keep the adventure alive for years to come. The journal features detailed artwork in the shape of flowers and the small mirrors and colored leather pieces are beautifully put together to get this mesmerizing effect.
This is a fair trade item handmade by artisans in India. These artisans have been practicing the art of paper making for generations. The paper is made from recycled cotton waste from the textile industry. The artisans collect the cotton scraps and turn them into a pulp, which in turn is used to make the paper. This paper is rich in texture. All the leather used is “Cruelty Free”, which means leather obtained from naturally dead animals. Livestock has a lot of agricultural and household value for the vegetarian population in this region (Rajasthan, India) which makes it economically unwise to kill animals for their skin.
Wasim was born and raised in Sanganer village, in west Rajasthan, India. His family has been in the paper making industry for over 80 years, and he inherited the art from his elders. Made from recycled cotton rags, the raw paper is then converted into beautiful products such as journals, albums and other types of social stationery without the aid of heavy machinery.
What better way to give than from one's hands to another. Our spirited handmade store offers gift ideas that support communities and connect cultures. Stories are shared through our handmade gifts from all over the world.
Shop Handmade Gift Ideas >
What is Fair Trade?
Fair Trade is a market based approach to solving social, economic and environmental injustice. Under Fair Trade standards, producers in developing countries are afforded economic opportunities to better their living conditions and have more control over their own lives. At the same time, environmental sustainability is given high priority as a key element in growth for current and future generations. Learn more about Fair Trade >
Some products may have slight variations in design and size - this is a natural occurrence in handcrafted goods. | <urn:uuid:fb70c2eb-bd4d-4748-815e-64c81d3b3129> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.connectedgoods.com/Fair-Trade-Products/Cruelty-Free-Leather-Travel-Journal-Flowers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962558 | 413 | 1.6875 | 2 |
What did you do this weekend? If you're in any Scouting program, the answer probably comes with a great story.
And now is the time for members of Sea Scouts, BSA to share their stories with potential recruits. The first-ever Sea Scout Recruiting Day is tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 25), and it's a great opportunity for young men and women to learn more about the program.
If you know some seafaring youths, have them search for their nearest ship online.
Sea Scouting started in 1912, so its centennial comes right on the heels of the BSA's centennial. As Sea Scouting begins the countdown to the end of its first century in operation, Sea Scouts are looking to increase their membership from 7,000 to 10,000. That means that every Sea Scout Ship would need to add six members between now and the end of 2012.
That starts with Sea Scout Fall Recruiting Week, which ends tomorrow. All week, Sea Scouts have been showcasing the best aspects of their program and asking potential recruits, "What did you do this weekend?" | <urn:uuid:9da85f49-9988-4e71-9a37-4bb3913eacfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2010/09/24/tomorrow-is-the-first-sea-scout-recruiting-day/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=104f7cb3e5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975668 | 222 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Bliss, the special care baby charity, provides vital support and care to premature and sick babies across the UK. Founded 30 years ago, we offer guidance and information at a critical time in families’ lives. We also fund ground-breaking research and campaign for babies to receive the best possible level of care regardless of when and where they are born.
Bliss is the only national charity dedicated to improving both the survival and long-term quality of life for babies born too soon, too small or too sick to cope on their own.
One in every nine babies in the UK is born premature or sick. That is over 80,000 babies every year.
Every donation from our supporters makes a difference to the work we can do for special care babies and their families, here are just a few examples:
- £5 a month will fund a neonatal nurse on a Bliss study day so they know just how to help a family when their baby finally comes home
- £10 a month will keep the Bliss text message support running so that parents can know they are not alone
- £20 a month will cover the cost of training two Family Support Helpline volunteers | <urn:uuid:d41feab1-e9e6-4304-853e-1240b2360be3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.workplacegiving.co.uk/charities/bliss/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95576 | 239 | 1.5 | 2 |
Death Penalty Representation
News and Developments - Current Year
News and Developments - Previous Years
Perhaps the most important factor in determing whether a defendant will receive the death penalty is the quality of the representation he or she is provided. Almost all defendants in capital cases cannot afford their own attorneys. In many cases, the appointed attorneys are overworked, underpaid, or lacking the trial experience required for death penalty cases. There have even been instances in which lawyers appointed to a death case were so inexperienced that they were completely unprepared for the sentencing phase of the trial. Other appointed attorneys have slept through parts of the trial, or arrived at the court under the influence of alcohol. The right to an attorney is a vital hallmark of the American judicial system. It is essential that the attorney be experienced in capital cases, be adequately compensated, and have access to the resources needed to fulfil his or her obligations to the client and the court.
Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)
(Right to an attorney in capital cases)
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
(Right to an attorney in criminal cases)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
(Two pronged standard to demonstrate ineffectiveness of counsel: subpar representation AND an effect on the outcome of the case)
Murray v Giarratano, 492 U.S. 1 (1989)
(No constitutional right to an attorney in post-conviction appeal--after direct appeal)
(Terry) Williams v. Taylor, No. 99-6615 (2000)
(Finding ineffective representation under the two pronged test of Strickland despite the 1996 restrictions on federal habeas corpus)
Wiggins v. Smith, No. 02-311 (2003)
(Mitigation investigations required in a capital case for effective representation)
Rompilla v. Beard, No. 04-5462 (2005)
(Even when a capital defendant and his family members have suggested that no mitigating evidence is available, his lawyer is bound to make reasonable efforts to obtain and review material that counsel knows the prosecution will probably rely on as evidence of aggravation at the trial's sentencing phase. (FindLaw summary)).
Note: Case links are to the FindLaw website.
An examination of 461 capital cases by The Dallas Morning News found that nearly one in four condemned inmates has been represented at trial or on appeal by court-appointed attorneys who have been disciplined for professional misconduct at some point in their careers. ("Quality Of Justice" Dallas Morning News, September 10, 2000).
An investigation by the Texas Defender Service found that, "Death row inmates today face a one-in-three chance of being executed without having the case properly investigated by a competent attorney and without having any claims of innocence or unfairness presented or heard." (Lethal Indifference: The Fatal Combination of Incompetent Attorneys and Unaccountable Courts Texas Defender Service, 2002).
In Washington state, one-fifth of the 84 people who have faced execution in the past 20 years were represented by lawyers who had been, or were later, disbarred, suspended or arrested. (Overall, the state’s disbarment rate for attorneys is less than 1%.) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Aug. 6-8, 2001).
According to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune, 12% of those sentenced to death from 1976-1999 were represented by, "an attorney who had been, or was later, disbarred or suspended--disciplinary sanctions reserved for conduct so incompetent, unethical or even criminal that the state believes an attorney's license should be taken away." An additional 9.5% inmates, "have received a new trial or sentencing because their attorneys' incompetence rendered the verdict or sentence unfair, court records show." (
In North Carolina, at least 16 death row inmates, including 3 who were executed, were represented by lawyers who have been disbarred or disciplined for unethical or criminal conduct. (Charlotte Observer, Sept. 9, 2000).
- State standards for attorneys in capital representation: compiled by the American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project (Feb. 2009; PDF)--minimum qualifications required in each state in order to represent someone facing the death penalty
- Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in Death Penalty Cases - Spring 2008 Edition of the Hofstra Law Review by Eric M. Freedman
- American Bar Association - Summer 2003 Edition of the Hofstra Law Review, which contains the finalized version of the "ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases (PDF) (2003)
- Indigent Defense and Capital Case Representation (PDF) (2001) by Madelynn Herman. This memo, published by the National Center for State Courts in 2001, updated the qualification standards for attorneys handling capital cases with indigent defendants.
- The Compendium of Standards For Indigent Defense Systems - Standards for Capital Case Representation (2000) presents national, state, and local standards relating to five functions of indigent defense, including capital case representation. The report was prepared by the Institute for Law and Justice and supported by a contract with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, United States Department of Justice.
|DPIC Report: "With Justice for Few: The Growing Crisis in Death Penalty Representation (1995)"|
From the American Bar Association
- Guidelines on Representation (PDF)
- ABA Death Penalty Representation Project
- ABA's Confidential Practice Area for Attorneys Handling Capital Cases
- Toledo Law Review, Spring 2004 (PDF): Highlighting the work of Pro Bono Civil Attorneys in Death Cases across the Country
- Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
- National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA)
- The Spangenberg Group - "Specialist in Access to Justice." Offers a regular newsletter on indigent defense representation. For more information on this newsletter, Click Here.
State Capital Post Conviction Public Defender
Habeas Corpus Resource Center
Alternate Defense Counsel
Capital Collateral Resource Center (for Middle and Southern District of Florida only)
State Appellate Public Defender
Office of the State Appellate Defender (Capital Post Conviction Unit)
Frankfort Post-Conviction Office
La Grange Post-Conviction Office
Idaho State Appellate Public Defender
Indiana State Public Defender
Capital Post Conviction Project of Louisiana
Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel
Oklahoma Indigent Defense System
Ohio Public Defender (Appeal, State and Federal Post-Conviction habeas)
Tennessee State Post Conviction Defender’s Office
Office of Capital Writs | <urn:uuid:55b63218-fcc3-4ec3-9554-26a85a306372> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-representation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912858 | 1,414 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Today is the beginning of the anti-hejab 5 by 5 movement in Iran.
As of today, every Thursday (Thursday is panjshnabeh in Persian and has a 5 in its name) at 5pm women will unveil for 5 seconds in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Mashad and Shiraz.
Since veiling is compulsory in Iran, the short time frame is to allow for mass action without large numbers of arrests. The organisers have called on women in other cities to join in.
As one of the organisers has said: ‘We have a lot of problems in the society but the veil symbolises all of them…’
Of course, the practice of unveiling or ‘improper’ veiling is a long-time form of resistance in Iran. There have been unveilings particularly at 8 March International Women’s Day events. Women do it in all the time. See two such photos below:
Street sign below reads: Wearing the Islamic Veil is Compulsory
Street sign below reads: The implementation of the plan to raise morality is a national and religious demand | <urn:uuid:fcdbf164-ee9f-4b75-9b38-ca929e4d48ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2011/11/24/new-5-by-5-anti-veil-movement-in-iran/?ak_action=force_mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95107 | 228 | 1.585938 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — Congress passed the Affordable Care Act two years ago, but many of the regulations included in that legislation have yet to be written.
That gap leaves an uncertain answer to whether the law’s mandate to provide medical coverage applies to agricultural employers.
“It’s a definite maybe,” said attorney Leon Sequeira. Sequeira spoke to the Ohio Farm Bureau delegation Monday while the group is in Washington for an education and lobbying trip.
Starting in January 2014, companies that meet certain employee thresholds will be required to provide health insurance for their employees and employees’ dependents.
“There are a number of problems when you apply the mandate to agriculture,” Sequeira said. “They wrote the law with the larger economy in mind. There are thousands of regulations not written, and there’s a lot of gray area. … There’s a whole lot of stuff that’s not been said about this law.”
The federal law requires companies employing at least 50 people full time (30 hours a week) or 50 full-time equivalents to provide essential, affordable coverage. If the companies fail to do so, the IRS will fine them, potentially in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Because of the way the law is written, some companies may keep employees at 49 or may keep more employees below 30 hours a week. Also, it could be cheaper for employers to pay a fine instead of providing any health insurance at all, or insurance their employees can afford, Sequeira said.
“It could come down to an issue of math and cost,” Sequeira said. “Rational people will do what is best for their business.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation successfully lobbied Congress to carve out an exception in the law for employers of seasonal workers. Currently, someone who works for 120 days or fewer for a company is considered seasonal, Sequeira said, but he believes the IRS is planning to change that definition.
The formula to determine who is full-time and the number of full-time equivalents is complicated. For agricultural employers, it’s even more complicated. And, while employers need to use data gathered this year to determine who should be covered beginning next year, all the regulations aren’t yet written.
“It’s a hugely complicated issue,” said Yvonne Lesicko, senior director of legislative and regulatory policy with Ohio Farm Bureau. “And we’re just at the beginning of it.” | <urn:uuid:5d0ca05d-aff7-453e-b9fe-91eb1051edce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.limaohio.com/news/local_news/article_7c00cb14-8530-11e2-8046-0019bb30f31a.html | 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 | 0.948144 | 528 | 1.726563 | 2 |
A new study has come out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that claims to explain why the global climate hasn’t been warming over the last decade as fast as it had been. The culprit may be a gazillion new Chinese coal-fired power plants, many of which aren’t equipped with “scrubbers” that take sulfur aerosols out of the emissions. So while these new plants have been spewing out lots of CO2, which tends to warm the planet, they have also been emitting lots of the aerosols, which tend to reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the planet. Hallelujah, right? Well, the problem is that sulfur aerosols only help in the short-term, whereas lots of the CO2 we emit will be warming the planet for hundreds, or even thousands of years to come.
Read the full story in The Independent. | <urn:uuid:24bfe3ec-f6c2-43b2-88f1-a8005dd1ed8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bbickmore.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/chinese-coal-fired-plants-cool-the-planet-temporarily/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941069 | 185 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Let's Set the Record Straight About Fish Oil and Aging
Some of you have been reading online that fish oil can make you age faster and shorten your lifespan. So, you’ve written to ask if you should switch from marine-based omega-3s (like fish oil and Calamarine) to safflower oil. My answer is a resounding no!
The idea that marine-based omega-3s can accelerate aging came from a mouse study on SAMP8 mice—which are bred to age faster. They gave half the mice 5% fish oil and 5% safflower oil, and the rest 10% safflower oil. What they found is that the fish oil/safflower oil combination group had greater oxidative stress and died younger.
I would not base my health decisions on mice—especially when we have a mountain of human studies showing fish oil actually slows aging. The biggest study is the famous GISSI prevention trial in which researchers monitored more than 11,000 highly vulnerable patients who had suffered a recent heart attack. This study is considered the gold standard of fish oil studies.
What they found is that the patients who took 1 gram of fish oil each day had 40 percent fewer deaths than patients not taking fish oil. In fact, they stopped the study early because the people in the placebo group were dying at faster rates—so they had to make sure they all got fish oil in their diets.
The benefit of marine-based sources of omega-3s is that they penetrate the structure of arterial plaque within three days of ingestion, making plaque less prone to rupture. They also reduce inflammation, improve heart rate variability, and make blood less sticky.
There’s also another problem with that mouse study, safflower oil can harm your health. Safflower oil contains polyunsaturated fats which are highly oxidizable, and become pro-oxidants in your body causing free radical damage. But I want to note something here—the miniscule amount of safflower oil you get in some nutritional supplements is absolutely fine.
The bottom line for you? Everyone should get at least 1 gram of marine-based omega-3 rich oil a day, either through the diet (eat good-quality coldwater fish, such as wild salmon) or a supplement. If you have heart disease, I recommend at least 2 grams daily.
One of my new favorite sources of marine-based oil is Calamarine. This ultra-pure extract from select ocean squid has abundantly more heart-healthy DHA than regular fish oil, plus it's highly sustainable. Also, stay away from safflower oil as much as you can—that stuff is bad news. I will write more on this subject in the near future, so stay tuned.
Now it's your turn: Do you take marine-based omega-3s?
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Dr. Stephen Sinatra is a highly respected and sought-after cardiologist and nutritionist with more than 30 years of clinical practice, research, and study. His integrative approach to heart health focuses on reducing inflammation in the body and maximizing the heart's ability to produce and use energy. More About Dr. Sinatra
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Refuel your cellular engines for efficient heart function
Strength, energy, endurance--get the targeted nutrient support a man needs most
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With the economy stuck in a recession and Seattle facing a major budget deficit, a new Reason Foundation report finds that reducing traffic congestion and improving travel times could boost the region's economic output by as much as $13 billion a year.
The Reason Foundation report examines the impact that population growth and longer commute times will have on five areas across Seattle by 2030: Columbia Center, the University of Washington, Factoria Mall in Bellevue, Redmond, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Of those locations, the Reason study says the biggest economic gains would come from eliminating severe congestion around major suburbs such as Redmond and the University of Washington, which could each add $13 billion a year to the regional economy and nearly $1 billion in annual tax revenues. The report found similarly large economic benefits for suburbs in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Denver.
Improving accessibility around major retail sites, the downtown area, and SEA-TAC could each deliver $3 billion to $5 billion in annual economic benefits.
"This report shows how important it is to prioritize taxpayer money on infrastructure projects with the best benefit-cost ratios," said Adrian Moore, vice president of research at Reason Foundation. "If you focus on the projects proven to improve mobility and eliminate traffic jams, your investment will be rewarded several times over. Shorter travel times increase worker productivity, spawn more jobs and help create more shopping, entertainment and dining choices."
"We studied eight cities and the findings are clear," said David Hartgen, author of the report, senior fellow at Reason Foundation and emeritus professor of transportation at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "Reducing traffic congestion by 10 percent improves productivity by over one percent. One percent may sound small, but in a city like Seattle, it can mean tens of billions of dollars in economic gains. The biggest gains come from enhancing mobility around suburbs, universities and malls. Smaller economic increases are made around central business districts and airports."
Traffic congestion is going to have increasingly negative impacts on Seattle's economy in the coming decades. The Reason Foundation says that by 2030 traffic congestion in Seattle will be worse than it is in today's gridlock capitol of America, Los Angeles. Reason finds that if infrastructure investments are aimed at the projects that will relieve the most traffic, Seattle needs to spend approximately $5 billion (in 2005 dollars) to eliminate severe traffic congestion by 2030. That's actually just a fraction of the more than $100 billion the region plans on spending on transportation in its current long-range plans.
The study makes several recommendations, including:
- Pay more attention to the accessibility of various locations, not just downtown.
- Remove bottlenecks throughout the region. Relatively modest expenditures can have major impact on travel times, particularly if congestion is relatively concentrated geographically.
- Add road capacity in and around the rims of cities. Investment in suburban accessibility often offers a very good return rate.
The Reason Foundation study takes an in-depth look at traffic and economic growth in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle.
Full Report Online
About Reason Foundation
Reason Foundation is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing free minds and free markets. Reason Foundation produces respected public policy research on a variety of issues and publishes the critically acclaimed Reason magazine and its website, Reason.com. For more information, please visit Reason.org.
Chris Mitchell, Director of Communications, Reason Foundation, (310) 367-6109 | <urn:uuid:937470e1-87d8-4de0-ae3d-6beb450e4493> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/news/show/study-seattle-could-get-13-bil | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938234 | 710 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Creator: Dancla, Charles, 1817-1907.
Description: This is a digital copy of the four parts of Charles Dancla's first string quartet, op.5 in F minor. Charles Dancla was the most prominent member of a family of musicians and a virtuoso violinist, composer and teacher. In 1828, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory of Music, where he won the first prize in 1833. At the Conservatory, he studied violin with Paul Guérin and Pierre Baillot. Dancla played solo violin with the orchestra of the théâtre Royal de l'Opera Comique and with the Société des Concerts. In ca. 1860, he was appointed professor of violin at the Paris Conservatory and retired from that post in 1892. He wrote 14 string quartets intended for professional or amateur players (opp. 5, 7 ,18, 41, 48, 56, 80, 87, 101, 113, 125, 142, 160, and 195a) and three easy string quartets (op. 208). The library's copy includes a list of subscribers that names amateur and distinguished musicians such as: the composers [Hector] Berlioz, [Luigi] Cherubini, [Giacomo Meyerbeer], the violinist [Jean-Delphin] Alard, and pianist [Pierre] Zimmermann, among others.
Contributing Partner: UNT Music Library | <urn:uuid:99505e54-a5ab-427e-9d8f-94e4aa2ffe22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/partners/UNTML/browse/?sort=title | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914578 | 307 | 2.203125 | 2 |
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- Provides school administrators with a payback as little as one year, and improved cash flows for the life of the facility that can add up to millions.
- Energy storage is an important part of a high-performance, sustainable design.
- Provides a demand-responsive cooling system with fuel-source flexibility in an unregulated energy market.
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On August 21, 1995, the field of astrophysics lost one of its greats. Seventeen years ago this week, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar passed away. Chandra, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, was widely regarded as one of the foremost astrophysicists of the 20th century.
It's not every day that we can mention "Chandra" and the "Olympics" in the same sentence, but today we can. That's because Stacie Powell, who will compete in the 10-meter platform diving competition for Great Britain at the London Olympics beginning today, is also working on her Ph.D. in astrophysics.
Last week, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum welcomed a very unusual guest (who will be staying quite a while): the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The Intrepid, which is located on the Hudson River in New York City, will be the Enterprise's new home now that the Shuttle program has officially ended.
A little bit after midnight (12:31 am EDT to be exact) on July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Onboard was what was then the largest payload ever carried by a Shuttle: the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Back by popular demand is our video blog series, Meet An Astronomer
Julia Lee is an associate professor in the astronomy department at Harvard. We caught up with Julia at a moment when she wasn't busy with her regular duties of running a research lab, teaching students, and everything else that a full-time position at a university like Harvard entails. Julia sat down with our "Meet an Astronomer" crew to explain how various choices she made led to her current career.
This Chandra image of the Tycho supernova remnant contains new evidence for what triggered the original supernova explosion. Tycho was formed by a Type Ia supernova, a category of stellar explosion used in measuring astronomical distances because of their reliable brightness. In the lower left region of Tycho is a blue arc of X-ray emission. Several lines of evidence support the conclusion that this arc is due to a shock wave created when a white dwarf exploded and blew material off the surface of a nearby companion star. This supports one popular scenario for the trigger of a Type Ia supernova. Understanding the origin of Type Ia supernovas is important because they have been used to determine that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate
We are very excited to announce the launch of a new – and yet somewhat familiar -- project. Today, “From Earth to the Solar System” officially opens. As the name implies, FETTSS (our new favorite acronym) is a direct descendent of the “From Earth to the Universe” project.
March 8th is International Women's Day (http://www.internationalwomensday.com/), an effort to mark the economic, political, and social achievement of women. From here at the Chandra blog, we'd like to extend that concept to include scientific achievements as well by highlighting our "Women in the High-Energy Universe" (http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/taxonomy/term/19) series.
Some of our regular blog readers might be familiar with a project called “From Earth to the Universe,” or FETTU for short. FETTU was originally cast as a project for the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, but also has grown beyond that single designation. In a nutshell, FETTU puts astronomical images in public spaces like parks, metro stations, and art centers – basically any place you might not expect to run into them.
Please note this is a moderated blog. No pornography, spam, profanity or discriminatory remarks are allowed. No personal attacks are allowed. Users should stay on topic to keep it relevant for the readers.
Read the privacy statement | <urn:uuid:87e83731-0415-4bf6-8d7a-864d6bd74231> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/blog/4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951391 | 812 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Monday, September 10, 2012
Avoiding Dangerous Falls Can Keep Seniors Healthy All Winter Long
Avoiding dangerous falls can keep seniors healthy all winter long
By Kevin Berg, M.D.
One of the caveats of growing older is the increased susceptibly to falling. More often than not, the patients we see have sustained injuries by falling where you’d least expect it ─ on familiar ground such as the home, sidewalk or driveway. An increased risk to seniors who fall is the potential for more serious injuries ─ fractured hips, legs, arms and ankles or head injury ─ which can all require a lengthy recovery process. During office visits with my older patients, I routinely review the risk factors for falls, particularly during these damp autumn days and looking ahead to winter.
Risk factors for geriatric falls
- Medical conditions and side effects from medications that affect balance such as blood thinners, high/low blood pressure, vision problems, osteoarthritis and dementia and neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Unsafe clothing such as bulky slippers, footwear lacking sole grip guards, and pants, heavy coats or skirts that are too long and cumbersome.
- Darkness, even in the familiar confines of inside or outside the home, due to lack of adequate lighting.
- Not using mobility support devices such as canes, walkers, scooters and automated “help button” technology.
- Ice, rain, and snow are to blame for many falls for everyone. Autumn is no exception ─ wet fallen leaves and early morning frosts can catch anyone off guard.
How to minimize injury immediately after a fall
It is a shock to the nervous system to unexpectedly sustain a fall. As a result, panic can be your first reaction. Do not move or try to get up, which could worsen an injury. If someone is with you, talk with them about what you are feeling and where you may be injured. Ask them to call 911 if you are hurt.
If you are alone, you may be unable to reach a phone. I recommend my patients always wear a pendant emergency device as a back-up. There are many different brands and these tools can be life-saving. After activating the 911 system on one of these devices, remain in place until help arrives. While you wait, try to cover yourself to keep warm. If you feel certain you are not hurt, very slowly rise to your knees, try to locate a heavy support, such as a wall, railing or piece of furniture, to lean on, and gently pull yourself back up.
Finally, to anyone who hits their head as a result of a fall, I strongly recommend you seek immediate medical attention ─ even if you are symptom-free. Internal bleeding in the brain, which can result from even mild impact, may have few, if any, symptoms, but can be fatal.
Diagnosis and treatment services
The OceanFirst Rehabilitation Center at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold offers a comprehensive Balance and Dizziness program specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of people dealing with frequent falls, walking disorders, ongoing feelings of dizziness or vertigo and balance deficits. For more information, call 866-CENTRA7 (236-8727) or visit centrastate.com/rehabilitation-services/balance-and-dizziness.
Dr. Berg is a board-certified physician specializing in family medicine and geriatrics. He is on staff at CentraState Medical Center and can be reached at Family Healthcare at Bartley Corner in Jackson by calling (732) 363-6140 or visiting www.centrastate.com/jackson. | <urn:uuid:502fef22-40c6-4273-af66-b1faa230401b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centrastate.com/news/?nid=75&CWFriendlyURLApp=true&id=227&showBack=true&PageIndex=0&Categories=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946605 | 763 | 2.328125 | 2 |
US calls on China to free all Tiananmen prisoners
Washington, June 4 (ANI): The United States has called on China to release all prisoners still detained after Beijing's 1989 crackdown against protesters in Tiananmen Square.
The US State Department also called on China to 'provide a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing'.
"We renew our call for China to protect the universal human rights of all its citizens; release those who have been wrongfully detained, prosecuted, incarcerated, forcibly disappeared, or placed under house arrest, and end the ongoing harassment of human rights activists and their families," US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.
According to The BBC, Toner also called China's 'violent suppression' of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations a 'tragic loss of innocent lives'.
In 1989 the army shot dead hundreds of civilians rallying for democracy.
China considers the June 1989 events a counter-revolutionary revolt and defends its response.
A human rights group, the Dui Hua Foundation, estimates that fewer than a dozen activists arrested in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown remain in jail.
Hundreds were rounded up at the time. (ANI)
Read More: China | Charkhari State | Sarila State | Blunt Square Po | Mahdaiya State | June Pargaon | June Mohide | State Bank Of Hyderabad | State Bank Of India | China Nandigama | China Garlapadu | Church Square | State Bank Of Mysore Colony | State Bank Colony | College Square | June Belda | State Farm Colony | College Square Ndtso | China Dhab | Mark Zuckerberg
KIRTI AZAD TO NNIS : MEIYAPPAN, ON THE RUN TO FIND A ESCAPE ROUTE
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BJP CALLS FOR BCCI AND GOVT. TO TAKE STRONG ACTION
May 23, 2013 at 9:42 PM | <urn:uuid:166bc52b-ec5a-4161-8003-271e01cf145d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/06/04/53-US-calls-on-China-to-free-all-Tiananmen-prisoners.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920867 | 436 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Promoting sustainable inorganic fertilizer use
Nairobi, Kenya (IRIN) – There is growing need to promote inorganic fertilizer use among smallholders to improve food production and food security, especially among the world’s poorest populations, but its use must be sustainable, experts say.
“Fertilizers are an important component in ensuring that the world can produce enough food to feed its population, but there is need for farmers to be sensitized that it has negative effects, too, like posing a threat to life in lakes and coastal areas,” Joseph Alcamo, chief scientist at the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), told IRIN.
Organic fertilizers come from plant or animal matter, while inorganic fertilizers are mineral-based or synthesized. Inorganic fertilizers can leave behind harmful deposits, increase soil acidity or fail to replenish soil nutrients. Blending organic and inorganic fertilizers, experts say, is the most sustainable approach to increasing food productivity while saving the soils crops are grown on.
“While the use of inorganic fertilizers among Africa’s smallholders is till-minimal, promoting a blend with organic fertilizers is more sustainable in conserving the soil and the environment,” Jeremiah Mowo, a scientist at the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, told IRIN.
In the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for an African Green Revolution, African governments pledged to increase the level of fertilizer use from an average of 8kg per hectare, to an average of at least 50kg per hectare by 2015.
But a report by UNEP, the International Fund for Agriculture Development, the World Bank and the World Food Programme has warned against fertilizer overloading and called for sustainable use of fertilizer, among other measures, to avoid famines.
Excess fertilizer use has been known to lead to eutrophication in bodies of water – the excessive growth of algae that deprives other species of enough oxygen – which can create dead zones.
“Over-use of fertilizers in farms, and especially those near water sources, can lead to negative effects on fish and aquatic life, which other segments of the population rely on for their livelihoods,” Alcamo added.
African countries are increasingly issuing subsidies to smallholders to buy farm inputs, which experts say will see an increased use of inorganic fertilizers.
“With subsidies, farmers in Africa are increasingly using fertilizers to improve crop production, but the question has always been the sustainability over time, both in terms of saving the environment and ensuring soil fertility,” Bramwel Gumbe, a soil scientist at the Maseno University in Kenya, told IRIN.
– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks. | <urn:uuid:5ec384e0-7952-4803-ad06-e1ab4197b2a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gantdaily.com/2012/10/19/promoting-sustainable-inorganic-fertilizer-use/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920421 | 570 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Yesterday, a federal district court judge heard the closing arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case that will determine the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriages.
“This trial presents a defining moment in the history of a nation built on the promise of liberty and equality for all,” said Michael B. Keegan, President of People For the American Way, “Proposition 8 denies a large class of people their fundamental rights as citizens—it violates the Constitution’s promise of equal protection under the law and defies our core values as Americans. Laws that have divided Americans into separate classes of citizens with unequal rights have not in the past withstood the scrutiny of our collective conscience.
”Prop 8, and similar efforts to deny the right of marriage to committed couples because of who they choose to wed, is no exception. Prop 8 and its supporters are on the wrong side of the Constitution and the wrong side of history. We look forward to reading Judge Walker’s opinion, and hope that we will soon be wishing Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarillo well as they marry and receive legal protections for their families.” | <urn:uuid:c50918fb-91e6-44c4-ac3b-148204ff141e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pfaw.org/press-releases/2010/06/california-judge-hears-closing-arguments-prop-8-trial | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930933 | 246 | 1.6875 | 2 |
2010 1st edition. Skyhorse Publishing. New York.
4to. Ppxxiv, 772. Colour photographs throughout. Dark red cloth. Fine in dust-wrapper.
Adventures in big game hunting in Africa, Asia and North America. Taxidermist and hunter, Chris Klineburger grew up during the Great Depression on the Mexican border of Arizona. He devoted his life to the outdoors and went on to travel the most remote areas of the world. He almost single handedly pioneered the Asian wildlife programs that exist today including the former Soviet Union, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Iran and Afghanistan. He tells how he and his brothers, Bert and Gene, started their career as taxidermists in Seattle, expanded their business to Alaska and Africa, and helped bring together the hunting fraternity in the days of post World War II when sport hunting was in its infancy. He tells of their efforts to encourage hunters to join together to conserve the renewable resource of wildlife, helping to form conservation clubs. Chronicled here is how the Klineburger's teamed up with President Eisenhower's People-To-People Sports mission to bring common folks of the world together. The reader will learn how Chris lived with the Eskimos, hunted with the African natives and explored untouched areas throughout Asia. It shows how wildlife flourished following the introduction of Chris's Sportsmen Financed Wildlife Program. Included are some excerpts from the author's personal journals, exactly as written day by day on exploratory trips that opened Asia to outsiders. Those diaries will take you on the expedition; experiencing the people, | <urn:uuid:384a7f35-e9db-42f3-9def-a25b563d8f15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anglebooks.com/product.php/28030/gamemasters-of-the-world--a-chronicle-of-sport-hunting----an-autobiography-of-the-pioneer-of-asian-hunting-and-conservation-/8b795b3cab4f3ba6036214cca5e6cf3e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960858 | 322 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Harvest is perhaps the largest tempera painting Pissarro ever made. He probably worked on it for at least a year before exhibiting it at the 1882 Impressionist exhibition. The composition comprises eight figures working in a panoramic landscape and shows a subject familiar in French genre painting: the grain harvest. While the subject is traditional, its mode of representation is modern. Pissarro chose a wide, horizontal canvas for his painting, similar to the format used by Degas for his frieze-like compositions of horse races and ballerinas. He included equal numbers of both sexes in this outdoor scene of collective labor. His harvesters move across the surface of the earth in a manner at once free and disciplined, apparently compelled to work by no one. Thus, Pissarro’s composition reflected his radical vision for a future without private property or forced labor.
Many of the preparatory drawings for The Harvest were kept together by the artist’s son Lucien and are now in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. Several are shown here for the first time with the painting for which they were made, shedding new light on Pissarro’s process for making a modern figure painting.
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Advanced Technology Center Launched in Sha'ar Hanegev
World ORT KadimaMada will officially open on Tuesday the Advanced Center for Science and Technology at the Sha’ar HaNegev Experimental School. The Science and Technology Center will play a central role in the opening ceremonies of the new reinforced campus of the Sha’ar HaNegev School.
Attending the festivities will be Education Minister Gideon Saar, the head of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council Alon Schuster, and World ORT Director General Robert Singer.
The Science and Technology Center will enable students to study and conduct fascinating experiments in the most cutting edge and advanced areas of science and technology. The organization has als0 participated in the establishment of a Technology Center, where the students will develop professional and technological skills. Together the two projects represent a total investment of over $1 million.
Sha’ar HaNegev is a region of Israel located near Gaza. It is regularly under the threat of the rockets being fired by terrorists from Gaza at Israel’s southern communities.
According to Singer, “World ORT is proud to play a prominent role in the advancement of cutting edge science and technology education at Sha’ar HaNegev. This initiative is particularly important in order to ensure the continued development and population of this strategically important area of Israel, close to the Gaza Strip.”
Avi Ganon, National Director of World ORT KadimaMada, said, “We at World ORT believe that investing in education strengthens the fabric of Israeli society and therefore we are working to create an educational revolution to change the face of education in the coming years.”
World ORT KadimaMada is the representative of World ORT, an international organization which is active in 64 countries and with more than 300,000 students worldwide benefiting from its programs each year.
The goals of the organization are to promote science and technology education through the use of advanced technology, to strengthen the ties between Israel and the Diaspora, and to enable diverse populations to achieve economic independence through personal empowerment and achievement of their potential.
In recent years the organization has invested in a wide array of projects in Israel totaling approximately 100 million shekels. | <urn:uuid:ff864fef-275f-4fa0-92b4-c0392fdbb822> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157220 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928394 | 469 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Engaged in a high-profile political fight during the midterm elections with President Barack Obama and other Democratic adversaries, the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce seemed to have little time for the attacks coming its way from a scrappy union-backed nonprofit group called U.S. Chamber Watch.
But a cache of thousands of leaked e-mails and documents made public by a group of hackers suggests that the Chamber’s allies apparently saw Chamber Watch as something more than a mere nuisance. “All of U.S. Chamber Watch’s tactics have had varying degrees of success and have hindered the CoC’s efforts, but their messaging campaigns continue to be the most effective,” read one document.
“To degrade [Chamber Watch’s] messaging capabilities and credibility would represent a huge win for the CoC and should be a focus,” concluded the document.
That and other documents and e-mails seem to show that over the past few months, the Chamber’s law firm, Hunton & Williams, was working with a task force of three cyberintelligence firms that called itself Team Themis on a multimillion-dollar plan to discredit critics of the Big Business group.
Chamber officials have disavowed all knowledge of the Themis plan, describing it as “abhorrent.” Hunton & Williams has not commented on the controversy. But for liberal opponents of the Chamber and its pro-business agenda, the aggressive push-back described in the documents served both as confirmation of the hardball tactics employed by conservatives and as a backhanded validation of the kind of guerrilla strategy they hope to employ to undercut the Chamber and other big-spending, corporate-funded groups in the next election cycle.
To counteract the influx of corporate money, liberals envision a more robust and sustained campaign using tactics similar to — but more aggressive than — those deployed by Chamber Watch, including public pressure, private investigations of donors and complaints to law enforcement alleging violations of tax and campaign finance laws.
“It’s the only alternative to getting clobbered, demolished by Citizens United,” said Leo Hindery, a New York venture capitalist and major Democratic donor, referring to the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allowed corporate-funded groups such as the Chamber, as well as unions, to air more pointed election ads.
Chamber Watch and a forthcoming project being launched by the same team called CorporateDisclosure.org, which will focus on corporate money in politics, can expect a substantial cash infusion shortly, said Hindery, who has contributed at least $2.9 million to primarily liberal politicians and causes. Like the chamber, itself, the groups are not required to publicly reveal their donors, but Hindery said he has met with the leadership behind them and “will be there for them.” Chamber Watch, which was started last year with $200,000 in seed funding from the union coalition Change to Win, indicated on its application to the Internal Revenue Service for nonprofit status in May that it hopes to raise $1.2 million in 2011.
Chamber Watch has mostly focused on filing legal complaints against — and generating negative press for — the Chamber. But Hindery and top liberal operatives see an expanded role for such groups, including investigating whether their conservative adversaries have accepted foreign money for their election activities (which Obama and his allies alleged during the midterms without providing proof) and applying pressure on corporate directors and large institutional shareholders to withhold contributions from groups that use corporate funds to air political ads.
“The only way to beat it is through corporate responsibility, where you in effect go after the board for irresponsibly using corporate resources,” Hindery said. “I’d like the board of directors to be responsible for a claim of almost unpatriotic behavior. You may not win it, but I think the issue is to raise it,” said Hindery.
Other liberal groups also have recently launched, or are preparing, campaigns using Chamber Watch-like tactics to shame corporate funders of political activity. The nonprofit campaign finance watchdog group Common Cause this year initiated an uncharacteristically aggressive initiative that has succeeded in casting harsh scrutiny on the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers and their increasing political fundraising, which is expected to reach $88 million in 2012.
Another left-leaning watchdog group, Public Campaign (whose cooperation with Chamber Watch was highlighted in the Themis documents) intends to step up efforts to link corporate political spending to legislative action, said its president, Nick Nyhart. He called the strategy “a little bit of David vs. Goliath.”
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) described the effort to reveal and combat the anonymous funding behind conservative groups in an interview last month with POLITICO.
“There are going to be some folks that are beginning to research who’s behind a lot of these groups and try to expose them for supporting special interests … making it clear that they did not have the public interest at heart,” Van Hollen said. “The last election, these things were just springing up like weeds everyday. Now, there’s a little bit more time to focus some sunshine on these organizations.”
In the closing weeks of the midterm campaign, Obama, Van Hollen and other Democrats pressed a line of attack reminiscent of Chamber Watch’s on campaign spending, alleging that groups that supported Republicans, such as American Crossroads and the Chamber — which had pledged to spend $75 million on its midterm campaign effort — were using anonymous corporate cash to try to drown out the voices of average voters.
While there was little evidence suggesting such rhetoric resonated with voters during the midterms, the e-mails that leaked this month — which were hacked from the network of one of the cyberintelligence firms working with Hunton & Williams — seem to prove the attacks at least struck a nerve.
The document proposing to “degrade [Chamber Watch’s] messaging capabilities and credibility” was attached to an e-mail that also included detailed attachments such as a PowerPoint presentation providing biographical information about Chamber Watch employees, their allies and families.
Also included was a six-point plan to “discredit” Chamber Watch by highlighting its links to unions deemed particularly adversarial to the Chamber, as well as creating both “a false document” and “a fake insider persona” with the goal of getting Chamber Watch to publicize false material, then exposing them in an effort to “prove that U.S. Chamber Watch cannot be trusted with information and/or tell the truth.”
Some of the documents contain obvious errors in the biographical sketches of Chamber foes, such as erroneously listing Nyhart’s employer as MoveOn.org, and appear to have been intended as a template to demonstrate capabilities, rather than as a finished product. But the e-mails seem to show that Hunton & Williams was in contact with the Chamber about the Themis project.
On Feb. 3, for instance, an official at one of the three intelligence firms wrote his colleagues from the other firms that Hunton & Williams partner Bob Quackenboss believes “there is a high likelihood of selling the Chamber” on their plan and had offered to set up a “brief demo to the Chamber on 14 Feb (or potentially a few days later … based on confirming schedule for meeting with Chamber)” for them to outline their plans to the Chamber.
The e-mail also suggested that the team’s work had already been presented to the Chamber, boasting that a previous demonstration on “Iranian shipping … is what Bob Q said sold the Chamber in the first place.”
The e-mails and documents apparently were obtained and posted by a hacking collective calling itself Anonymous that casts itself as defending Internet freedom, partly by targeting opponents of the nonprofit group WikiLeaks’s effort to gather and release often sensitive government and corporate documents. Anonymous targeted the computers of HBGary Federal, one of the intelligence firms involved in Team Themis, after its CEO, Aaron Barr, boasted publicly of the ability to lift the veil of the hacking collective.
The Chamber issued statements disavowing all knowledge of Team Themis’s plans, as did Bank of America, which had been targeted by Anonymous and — like the Chamber — was a client of Hunton & Williams and apparently an intended beneficiary of Themis’s plans.
In a statement, the Chamber said the Themis plan “was not requested by the Chamber, it was not delivered to the Chamber, and it was never discussed with anyone at the Chamber. … No money, for any purpose, was paid to any of those three private security firms by the Chamber, or by anyone on behalf of the Chamber, including Hunton & Williams.”
The firm’s lawyers who corresponded with Team Themis didn’t respond to e-mailed questions about the firm’s involvement in the plot, nor did a firm spokeswoman.
The other two data intelligence firms involved in Team Themis — Palantir Technologies and Berico Technologies — issued statements distancing themselves from HBGary Federal, and Palantir placed its employee most involved in the e-mail conversations on leave pending a review.
News of the leaks drew so much attention to Chamber Watch, which promptly dubbed the episode “Chamber Gate 2011,” that its website crashed. Christy Setzer, the group’s spokeswoman, said her initial reaction to being targeted in the Themis plans was “alarm,” though she later said she allowed herself some measure of professional satisfaction.
“Given the size of our budget and staff, we should be a gnat on the Chamber’s windshield, and they are using a hand grenade to try to squash us,” said Setzer.
Chris Frates, Ben Smith and Laura Rozen contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:874a63c4-56b3-4c08-a49b-663a437d2870> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=0904485F-8582-429F-9A42-A0A231633FB4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965219 | 2,050 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is an all-risk, all-hazard training. This valuable course is designed to help you protect yourself, your family, your neighbors and your neighborhood in an emergency situation.
CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. While people will respond to others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger. In the CERT training, citizens learn to:
- Manage utilities and put out small fires
- Treat the three medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock
- Provide basic medical aid
- Search for and rescue victims safely
- Organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective
- Collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts
WHY DO THE CERT TRAINING?
Well, it's like paying for car insurance. You might never need insurance or CERT and you would hope not to use it. But if the occasion arises, having the CERT training, just like having car insurance, means you're as ready as you can be to help yourself, your family and your neighborhood.
HOW DO I JOIN?
CERT members receive 20 hours of initial training. The training can be broken down into a number of time blocks depending on availability and that of other volunteers. We may offer it a few nights spread out over a couple of weeks, a weekend, or a combination of both. We try to schedule CERT so that there are opportunities to make up missed modules. In particular, we like to hold it multiple times throughout the year, and it is important for us to know what time of the year is best for you.
The training is followed by drills, exercises, and many opportunities to assist the Nashua Emergency Management at local incidents. CERT is provided free of charge in the Greater Nashua area. If you are interested in attending, you can fill out an online form to notify us that you are interested in getting involved with Nashua Emergency Management and attending CERT. We will contact you to register you for an upcoming class. You can also find out about upcoming classes on www.nashuanh.gov/emvolunteer. If you miss a class, you can go to any other location to make it up. The registration form for CERT can be found here: CERT Registration Form
You can also organize a class for your neighborhood, business, or community group. You need a minimum of 20 people to be trained and a location to hold the training. Call the Nashua Office of Emergency Management at 603-589-3260 or [email protected] to schedule your class.
ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND CERT?
Everyone has a skill that we need before, during, and after disaster. While CERT provides some basic disaster preparedness skills, many are interested in volunteering beyond. We are looking for volunteers that are everything from certified doctors/nurses/paramedics to licensed pilots and engineers. Additionally, volunteers with useful skills in everything from Information Technology (IT) systems to traffic control to handling hazardous materials and dealing with animals are also needed. If we can’t find a use for you with our program, we can direct you to a volunteer group that can use your skills.
Volunteers can be of all shapes and sizes, with no limitation on disabilities or age. We can use volunteers that want to provide services from their own home, provide services at a shelter, help out in our Emergency Operations Center, among other opportunities. It’s a great opportunity for those that are retired or college students looking for job experience. If you are not interested in being involved during the disaster, we can use your skills to help the City prepare BEFORE the disaster. If you would are interested in volunteering with Nashua Emergency Management, please fill out the CERT Registration Form (same form that is above) and select “CERT Training and Volunteering” from the last question in the “Training” section of the form.
WHAT CAN I BE TRAINED IN?
As we continue to build our volunteer program, we are looking at offering additional classes like SKYWARN, amateur radio, damage assessment, and CPR/AED training. These training opportunities will be offered to Nashua volunteers on a first come, first served basis. | <urn:uuid:1e5f4ee6-5b58-497e-9c5f-e09cdd6d9b0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nashuanh.gov/EmergencyManagement/Volunteer/tabid/1062/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950661 | 954 | 1.804688 | 2 |
New York - The space shuttle Enterprise - named after the spaceship in Star Trek - achieved lift-off on Wednesday when it was hoisted by a crane onto a floating museum in New York's Hudson River.
Cheers and thunderous applause erupted from the crowd of New Yorkers and tourists who turned out to see the retired spacecraft moved to its new home atop the flight deck of repurposed World War Two aircraft carrier now named the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
“Beam me up, Scotty!” a man in the crowd shouted as a crane lifted the shuttle off a barge onto the museum, repeating a catch phrase from the popular science fiction television show.
“It's part of our history,” said New Yorker Cameron Fisher, 21.
The crowd grew quiet and the air was filled with the creaking of the crane and beating of a helicopter circling overhead as the shuttle rose 230 feet (70 meters) into the air.
“It inspires people to see what human ingenuity can achieve,” said British tourist Kirsty Rushen, 35.
Earlier Wednesday, as the shuttle, strapped to a barge, made its way up the Hudson River and past the Statue of Liberty, crowds ranging from small children to elderly couples strained for a glimpse of the craft.
“Did you see the shuttle?” said a police officer running up to his uniformed colleagues like an excited child.
For a shuttle that never made it into space, Enterprise has had quite a journey. In April, crowds of tourists and New Yorkers watched in awe as Enterprise flew over the city piggy-backed on a Boeing 747 Jumbo jet.
Enterprise drew more crowds on Wednesday on the banks of the Hudson to watch the Nasa spacecraft make its final approach to its new floating home on Manhattan's west side.
Despite never flying in space, Enterprise holds a special place in American history, having been the first of Nasa's space shuttles. In 1977 it was released in mid-air from a Boeing 747 for a series of gliding and landing tests at Edwards Air Force base in California prior to the first shuttle flight in 1981.
Enterprise was originally going to be named Constitution in honour of the bicentennial of the US Constitution. But a fierce letter-writing campaign by Star Trek fans convinced the White House to name it Enterprise after the fictitious spaceship that Captain Kirk and Mr Spock flew to the front lines of an intergalactic battle with the Klingons on the popular TV show.
Experts say Enterprise captured the hearts and minds of many by embodying the best of American ingenuity.
In April last year Nasa announced it would retire its space shuttle fleet to locations in New York, Virginia, California and Florida. It decided that Discovery would take Enterprise's place at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia and that Enterprise would be brought to New York.
Since its joy ride over the city in April, Enterprise has been kept in a protective tent at JFK International Airport. On Saturday, the 171,000-pound (77,564kg) Enterprise was lifted by crane onto a barge, a process that took about three hours.
Pulled by a tugboat, it toured Queens and Brooklyn on Sunday, passing by Coney Island and travelling under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge before docking in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Officials at Enterprise's new home, the Intrepid Museum, which itself is a repurposed former World War Two aircraft carrier, expect the space shuttle to be a major attraction for years to come. - Reuters | <urn:uuid:85edcdf7-b200-4f6a-8a26-841d8fcd20c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/space/space-shuttle-enterprise-docks-at-new-home-1.1313689 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952467 | 735 | 2.03125 | 2 |
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
11 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17 "You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20-21 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
21 Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands. 23 He will be killed, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.
24 The Temple Tax
24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
25 "Yes, he does," he replied.
25 When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?"
26 "From others," Peter answered.
26 "Then the children are exempt," Jesus said to him. 27 "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."
Top 10 sermons on Matthew 17
- Spiritual ADD
- Only one? “Where Are The Others?"
- The Power of Prayer with Fasting
- Glory And Majesty!
- WHAT'S KEEPING YOU FROM YOUR MIRACLE | <urn:uuid:11c53909-5ec9-4ed1-91f3-ef0c19b360ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sermoncentral.com/bible/TNIV/Matthew-17.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984466 | 854 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — Cleveland County pastures are in poor shape after two years of historic drought plagued the area. Because of this, many beef producers will rely heavily on winter wheat pastures to supplement their herds this year. Producers who are able to graze out cattle on their wheat pasture as part of a dual-purpose management system need to take stock of both livestock markets and the local effects of recent and projected weather patterns.
“A year ago, fall stocker calf prices increased counter-seasonally into early December; conditions are right for similar support to stocker calf prices this fall,” said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University livestock marketing specialist.
However, given that calf prices are already at high levels and the price of corn is sharply higher this year, Peel cautions that stocker prices may increase only slightly or hold mostly steady near current levels.
Calf prices in Oklahoma jumped as much as $10 per hundredweight during the week of Oct. 8-12, with stronger stocker demand and limited supplies both contributing factors. Feeder cattle auction volumes in Oklahoma have decreased 26 percent during the last six weeks compared to last year.
“Recent rains throughout much of Oklahoma should help to solidify stocker demand in some areas,” Peel said. “Most of the wheat has been planted and some areas may have wheat pasture available for grazing by mid-November.”
Unfortunately, most of Oklahoma’s north central, northwestern and southwestern areas received comparatively little rainfall and remain critically dry.
“Variable moisture conditions across the state means that wheat stocker demand will likely be spread out across the next few weeks as wheat pasture develops at different rates,” Peel said.
The August 2012 import total, perhaps down 10 percent from a more normal August 2011 total, suggests that the large import volumes may be over. Preliminary data for September indicates that Mexican cattle imports have and will probably continue to decrease even more sharply.
“Decreased imports the remainder of the year may offset the increases in the first seven months of 2012 and hold the annual import total to no more than last year,” Peel said. “Mexican cattle imports in 2013 are expected to be sharply lower than recent years.”
Cow-calf producers are witnessing the expected impacts of a tight cattle supply situation:
· Calf prices are currently $20 to $25 per hundredweight higher than the same time last year.
· Cull cow prices are currently $10 to $12 per hundredweight higher than a year ago, which analysts mostly attribute to continued strength in hamburger markets and decreased cow slaughter.
· Total cow slaughter is down 4.8 percent for the year to date while beef cow slaughter is down 13 percent year over year.
In Oklahoma, auction volumes for cows and bulls are down 68 percent for the last six weeks compared with a year ago. Seasonal pressure on cull cow prices could build over the next month but many analysts expect it to be less than usual this year.
Cattle and calves are the number one agricultural commodity produced in Oklahoma, accounting for 46 percent of total agricultural cash receipts and adding approximately $2 billion to the state economy, according to National Agricultural Statistics Service data.
NASS data indicates Oklahoma is the nation’s fifth-largest producer of cattle and calves, with the third-largest number of cattle operations in a state.
Heath Herje is an agriculture educator for Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service in Cleveland County. He can be reached at 405-321-4774.
For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition. | <urn:uuid:ef7bb30b-dc68-4bc8-bd72-bb731958db16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://normantranscript.com/business-beat/x1133188654/Stocker-calves-an-option-for-wheat-pasture-producers/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955208 | 747 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Helen Vendler: Poetry critic and fan of art history
This story is from BostonGlobe.com, the only place for complete digital access to the Globe.
When Helen Vendler was a graduate student in English in the 1950s at Harvard University she was barred from the school’s Lamont Library, where the poetry room was located, because she was a woman. Regardless, Vendler, who now holds an endowed chair at Harvard, went on to become one of the country’s most important poetry critics. Arion Press just published “Stone from Delphi,” an anthology of Seamus Heaney’s work selected by Vendler with an introduction by her.
BOOKS: When you aren’t reading poetry what else do you read?
VENDLER: I like art history and art criticism. Leo Steinberg has always been my favorite. He’s very original, very accurate and acute. “Other Criteria” is a favorite. I also like Edward Snow, who wrote “A Study of Vermeer.”
BOOKS: Has this been a longtime interest?
VENDLER: It started when a big collection from Dresden came to the Museum of Fine Arts after World War II. These paintings had all been hidden in salt mines during the war. It was something about the show’s beautiful catalogue, that there was something you could read about the exhibit, that made me realize I could read about art.
BOOKS: What are you reading currently?
VENDLER: I was sorting out books and I picked up John Ashbery’s “As We Know.’’ I have found him difficult in the past. You forget that after you’ve gone through something with difficulty when you go back it seems easy. I was just reading poem after poem without that undertow of difficulty.
BOOKS: How do you read a book of poems, from beginning to end?
VENDLER: People put their strongest work at both ends so I usually start with the opening and the closing.
BOOKS: Any other poets you are reading?
VENDLER: D.A. Powell, whose work I love. I’m reading his “Chronic.” I also got an anthology edited by the poet Mark Ford called “London: A History in Verse.”
BOOKS: Any poet you would like to spend more time with?
VENDLER: I would like to spend more time with Spanish poetry. I know French better than Spanish, but Spanish was my first language, and my father spoke it to us. I’d like to go back and just read the ones I’m capable of reading, such as the rhymed plays by the poet Luis de Góngora, a contemporary of Shakespeare.
BOOKS: Do you read novels?
BOOKS: Have you ever?
VENDLER: No. I’ve always felt somewhat ashamed about that. I do read them a little, but I don’t turn to them with that real hunger novel readers have. If you like the precision and concision of poetry a page of prose is unsatisfying in a certain way. And poetry is so direct. The first line of a poem is as if I heard a voice speaking to me in the same room. There isn’t that sense I wrongly have about novels that someone is telling me a story about people I don’t know. When I was young I had to teach novels, which was excruciating. I always did them wrong and badly.
BOOKS: Was there any novel you enjoyed teaching?
VENDLER: I liked teaching Henry James. When you look down at a Henry James novel from a helicopter height you find an intricate spider web that all clings together. That is true of every one I like, James Joyce or Anton Chekov. They have the sense of the global constitution of the work instead of just the linear one.
BOOKS: Do you have a favorite James?
VENDLER: What I like by any author is the thing that is most eccentric but also most individual, so I like “The Sacred Fount.”
BOOKS: Have you found any contemporary novelist with that holistic sensibility?
VENDLER: David Foster Wallace. I weep for his disappearance. I just read his biography, “Every Love Story is a Ghost Story” by D.T. Max. I’ve read Wallace’s “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” and just got “The Broom of the System.” I certainly haven’t read “Infinite Jest.” I don’t think I would read a thousand-page novel until I’m in a nursing home.
Got suggestions for future Bibliophiles? Find us on Facebook or follow us @GlobeBiblio on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:fe3df56c-9655-494e-81ea-49d7ff1c53ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boston.com/arts/books/2012/11/17/helen-vendler-poetry-critic-and-fan-art-history/wJmHTyu7KR4HU4rHPEJgdJ/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973938 | 1,034 | 1.78125 | 2 |
one-third of the total dollar amount of research and development in the U.S.
flows through or is funded by the state. Estimates of government funding in
other nations range from one-fourth to three-fourths of total R & D
all over the world massively finance, control, and regulate science and
technology. They do this (i) by levying taxes and funneling the money to
favored projects, (ii) by powerful laws, orders, and directives, (iii) by
tying science and technology into such political concerns as the military,
energy, and the environment, (iv) by favoring and supporting the influence of
some scientists and not others within scientific communities, (v) by
supporting some interest groups and not others, and (vi) by glossing over the
whole process of power by using various media to feed the public distorted
views of the science and state alliance.
such a widespread state-controlled method of prodigiously funding science and
technology be fundamentally mistaken? Can so many human beings in so many
nations be investing in science and technology projects in the wrong way, in
a way that destroys value rather than creating it, in a way that destroys
wealth rather than creates it, in a way that destroys lives rather than
saving them? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are
human beings organized into nation-states can kill each other in monstrous
numbers through wars, they certainly can undermine their own well-being and
progress through other state activities. Science and technology comprise one
such major avenue of state-directed spending and control. Many of the
world’s states certainly blundered by banning DDT in 1972 and years thereafter.
These bans have killed millions of human beings taken by malaria. They have
led to the increased spread of insect-borne diseases such as dengue and West
Nile virus. The Food and Drug Administration routinely kills people by such
means as forbidding manufacturers to inform doctors
of off-label uses of drugs, imposing obstacles on the approval
of life-saving medical devices, and delaying
the approval of new drugs and treatments. Now, in 2007,
using the propaganda of man-made climate change and flaunting the banner of
science, states and environmental interest groups all over the world are
furthering death and destruction by promoting laws that regulate carbon
dioxide and other gases.
is a good thing. In the hands of the state, science is a good thing gone bad.
and the state are tightly linked. To see how and why, it is helpful to step
back and see the big picture. In doing this, we notice in passing that the
state also wishes to control and/or exploit such fields as education, health,
economics, communications, and transportation.
be taken as axiomatic that those who run the state wish to perpetuate and
enhance its and their powers. This simple truth has broad ramifications. In
particular, since the state has a legal monopoly of violence in a given
territorial area, its members view everything within that region, organic and
inorganic, as subject to their power; and they view all of it, human and
non-human, as means to the end of enhancing their control and maintaining the
state, recognizing, of course, that they do not possess unlimited power and
must act within constraints.
state therefore views all the land (natural resources), all the labor
(people), and all the property and capital owned by people within its
territory as being subject to its manipulation, power, and control; and it
constantly acts to extend its control over all these resources and use them
to hold and expand that power. This relation between state and what it sees
as its property explains why states attempt to control vital communication
and transportation networks and focal points.
the fact that the state has the power of law over people explains why, in
health, education and economic matters, it views human beings as resources,
that is, things. It constantly measures their abilities, health, and
productivity as any rational slave owner would also do. It routinely views
people in terms of their usefulness to the state, as faceless and obedient
"citizens," as "productive members of society," as
"draftees," as "members of the workforce," as
"wage-earners," as "salaried employees," as
"employed," as "unemployed," as "troops," as
"members of the armed services," and so on. Of course, the
state’s propaganda becomes even more dangerous and sickening when it
shifts from adverting to people as robotic cogs in a national machine and
instead feigns human sympathy and makes itself seem almost human by relating
anecdotes that identify individuals by name.
picture I paint is, of course, diametrically opposed to the perpetual
rhetoric of the state with which we are inundated and which makes
full-fledged critics appear to belong to the ranks of the delusional. But
that is because all of the state’s propaganda and rhetoric is aimed at
maintaining a submissive population under its control. The state’s
rhetoric is not truth or even a pale reflection of truth. It is solely a
means of relaxing the constraints that people’s natural antipathy to
being controlled might otherwise impose. Any other view than this simply does
not accord with the state’s power and its actions, which speak far
louder than its words.
is like yesteryear
come now to science. As essential components of its extensions of power and
control over its territorial resources, the state necessarily uses science
and technology. Pronounced attention to weather, engineering, geography, and
the application of technology to military purposes by state powers have a
long history. In the case of mapping, we are told by Encyclopedia
Britannica that "The development in Europe of power-conscious
national states, with standing armies, professional officers, and engineers,
stimulated an outburst of topographic activity in the 18th century,
reinforced to some extent by increasing civil needs for basic data. Many
countries of Europe began to undertake the systematic topographic mapping of
their territories." Most of these "have been set up by the armed
forces or their responsible ministries."
Feb. 10, 1807, the ninth U.S. Congress appropriated $50,000 in "An Act
to provide for surveying the coasts of the United States." The Coast and
Geodetic Survey eventually became part of today’s NOAA (National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) which is part of the Department of
mapping came state geological surveys. The Geological Survey of Great Britain
began in 1835. The U.S. Geological Survey, still part of the Department of
the Interior, began on March 3, 1879. We frequently find scientists and
science societies intimately involved with these acts of state. Beyond
supporting them publicly, they benefit from direct subsidies, employment of
scientists, and government preference for the projects that they tout. The
supportive science societies are often already linked to the state. Congress
created the National Academy of Sciences on March 3, 1863, and this body
recommended to Congress that it fund the U.S. Geological Survey in order
"to classify the public lands and to examine the geologic structure,
mineral resources and products of the national domain."
early uses of science by the state and consequent involvement of scientists
with the state, either by outright employment, association with the military,
or by subsidies, go toward the state’s control over its lands and seas,
to boundaries, to location of critical masses, to assessment of its mineral
and other wealth, to military purposes, and to taxation purposes. They go to
questions of transportation and communications networks, often for military
ends of control, such as river traffic and telegraph stations. They go toward
subduing hostile elements within a country and at its borders. Eventually,
the state would recruit all manner of social scientists for similar purposes
having to do with human resources. But at the same time, many in the
scientific communities willingly enter a symbiotic relationship that provides
them with resources they might otherwise have to work a lot harder to secure.
should therefore come as no surprise that scientists of today, typically
located in university departments whose specialities are meteorology,
climatology, oceanography, and so on, are pushing for more and more
sophisticated and extensive mapping, measurement, and surveying of the
earth’s ever-changing geology, surface, ocean surface, atmosphere,
climate, weather, etc., using expensive rockets and satellites, all of which
are to be paid for by taxes and administered through state agencies. The
current propaganda on behalf of these projects involves the rosy-sounding
rhetoric of public/private partnerships with ample promises of public
benefits. This hides its essential features, which include immorally and
coercively extracting funds from unwilling taxpayers and distributing these
funds to the proponents of scientific projects, said scientists either being
unable or unwilling to fund their projects by other non-coercive means, such
as by voluntary contributions, businesses, or philanthropists.
should it come as a surprise that many states are anxious to gain strong
footholds in controlling vantage points in space or in knowledge of weather,
geology, or climatology that give them advantages in dealing both with their
own populations and with other states. Nothing fundamental has really changed
in these particular political ambitions. The playing fields may have changed
from surveying coastlines to surveying weather worldwide, but the essential
motivations of the states are unchanged.
is not simply scientific method objectively applied to phenomena, as
over-simplified explanations of science suggest. The justifiably high praise
directed at science and technology emphasizes that they have value in producing
knowledge as a good. In turn, knowledge as a good has value in producing
goods for consuming.
and technology make our lives better, without any doubt; but they are not
manna. Science, technology, and the goods they produce are not free. The production
processes of science and technology cost. We cannot attain the values science
brings us without using scarce factors like time, labor, capital, and natural
resources. If we devote scarce time, labor, capital and resources to
scientific stunts like placing a man on the moon by the year 1970, so that
several astronauts can spend less than a day collecting 46 pounds of lunar
rocks, then we prevent ourselves from other achievements with far greater
should be viewed in terms of the concepts of market exchange, like demand and
supply. Science is a production process. Like any such process, it requires
time, labor, capital, and land.
baker produces bread; a scientist produces knowledge. New knowledge costs. We
cannot know everything costlessly. Knowledge is produced. There are costs of
producing knowledge. New knowledge doesn’t come free. Information
costs. Learning (gaining knowledge) costs. Discovery costs. Inventing costs.
Interpreting and understanding cost.
cannot know everything, nor do we decide to find out everything, even when
this is possible, because of the costs of finding out. Doing science incurs
costs at every step of the way. We do not want to waste limited resources
learning how many grains of sand are on a beach, unless we either envision
that the knowledge has value or we happen to get utility from knowing this
abstruse fact. Even behind curiosity lie economic reasons for its chosen
must decide how to allocate scarce resources among the competing possibilities
of attaining knowledge. But we already know how to do this in a moral and
efficient way, and that is through voluntary market exchanges in which
individual consumers buy what provides value to them. The individual
purchases and non-purchases of individual consumers provide the signals to
producers as to what scientific projects are worth investing in and what are
not. Consumers are the only ones who can indicate by their freely-chosen
actions what is valuable to them. In possession of freedom, they rule the
roost. Any other dictatorial and unfree method, such as paying taxes and
subsidizing projects that "experts" want or scientists prefer, is
guaranteed not to provide value to consumers. In this case, scientists and
politicians rule the roost.
free country, science should be subject to the market test. It should pay its
way. If it has value, it will be embodied in goods that consumers want and
are willing to pay for. There is simply no need or justification for state
intervention on behalf of consumers, and such intervention invariably
destroys markets, value creation, wealth and lives.
also applies to the relations between the state and scientists. The state
needs scientists for a variety of purposes that cement its control.
Scientists need money, an infinite amount of money, to fund an infinite
number of projects. After all, the extent of potential knowledge is
uncountably infinite. Hence, scientists gravitate to the state’s
coffers and lobby for money; and their demands must always be indefinitely
great. The result is what we see, a heavy presence of the state in science.
value human life, science and technology should not be funded by the state.
This leads to nothing but the destruction of value and wealth. The cozy
relations between the state and science and technology harm us. Each of the
billions and billions of dollars extracted from taxpayers and funneled to a
multitude of eager scientific hands tears down freedom. Taxpayers are made to
pay as a group. As such, they no longer decide as individuals how to spend
their own money. Taxpayers are made to pay, and professionals decide.
Taxpayers pay, but experts and specialists rule.
are consumers. Left in freedom to spend their money as they please, their
buying signifies value creation. As direct consumers of products directly
consumed, they cannot be fooled.
science-state nexus forces wealth out of the hands of consumers, shattering
freedom; breaking down the free-market cooperation between buyer demanding
value and producer supplying value; replacing freedom with a one-way belt
conveying money from consumers to members of the scientific community who
need not produce anything of value to consumers but who, posing as knowing
authorities and benefactors of mankind, soft-soap everyone in sight with
promises of endless wealth and valuable knowledge, breakthroughs,
technological marvels, pretty photographs, fancy diagrams, charts, and
graphs, stunts, gadgets, marvels, elixirs, miracles, gimmicks, and toys. It is
relatively easy for scientists to fool and mislead Congressmen who do not
directly consume the products of science. But, on their side, the Congressmen
(and other officials) have their own political reasons for wanting to spend
taxpayer funds on various projects.
totally quixotic, ill-conceived, mistaken, and unnecessary movement
associated with climate change, an important example of
junk-environmentalism, is but one specific instance of the massive potential
and actual wealth destruction that the state’s control over science and
technology brings us.
and technology should not be funded and controlled by the state, but it is.
And this will continue because that is in the state’s interest. This
long-standing problem, along with similar problems in education, health,
economics, communications, and transportation, seriously affect the lives and
longevity of all of us.
Michael S. Rozeff is a retired Professor of Finance
living in East Amherst, New York. He publishes regularly his ideas and
analysis on www.LewRockwell.com .
Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission
to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is | <urn:uuid:60c60604-ce80-4b40-b23b-d3b602a797c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.24hgold.com/english/contributor.aspx?rss=true&article=2141164152G10020&redirect=false&contributor=Michael%20S.%20Rozeff&money=toronto | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940598 | 3,408 | 2.25 | 2 |
Author: Sam Apple
Sam Apple, author of Schlepping Through The Alps: My Search For Austria’s Jewish Past With Its Last Wandering Shepherd, first encounters Yiddish folk-singer Hans Breuer at a concert and slide show in New York. Breuer, as Apple points out, is not just your ordinary run-of-the mill Yiddish folk-singer, rather he is truly a wandering Jew and as he reveals in his book, “If you ever happen to be hiking the Alps and you see a man singing Yiddish songs as he watches a dog chasing a sheep in a raincoat, no need for concern.”
Apple, who grew up in Houston and now makes his home in Brooklyn, was quite intrigued by this forty-five year old Austrian shepherd. The result was a one thousand word article that eventually has being turned into a witty yet insightful book, wherein much of Apple’s research was accumulated while traveling in Austria as an apprentice to Breuer.
During their first encounter in New York, Breuer mentioned to Apple that he wanted to bring Yiddish to the uninitiated in the Austrian Alps. When asked if he wanted these individuals to remember their Yiddish neighbors, his reply was: “I want to make them confront for the first time in their lives this culture that their uncles and fathers destroyed.” With this in mind Apple decided to voyage to Austria and find out for himself what it was like to be a shepherd in the twenty-first century and to make sense of Han’s Jewish identity or as he states, what it really meant for him to sing in Yiddish. He also wanted to learn about sheep, Yiddish music and anti-Semitism.
Apple’s engaging narrative is what Yiddish speaking readers would probably classify as a good “meinsa,” something akin to an old wife’s tale only this story is actually true. Apple beckons us to follow his meandering through the Alps following a herd of sheep, a shepherd, his mistress and young lamb herders, while picking up along the way various shepherding tips from his mentor and learning about Austria’s past and present political landscape.
During the course of his apprentice with Breuer, Apple learns about Austria’s post-war anti-Nazi legislation that led to the sentencing to death of several Nazis and the conviction and incarceration of thousands of low-ranking Nazis. However, a few years after the enactment of this legislation, a general amnesty came into effect and all but a handful of the worst offenders were free to live happily every after. In fact, the government’s constant line about complaints about Austria’s behavior during the Holocaust was that if you have one take it to Germany.
Quite telling of Breuer’s psyche is that he associates the Austrian countryside with fascism and anti-Semitism. When he encounters people along his shepherding path, he believes that they are all staring at him with cold eyes, aware that he is not one of them. Apple notes that Breuer enjoys being a living part of a dying tradition, where Yiddish and shepherding are relics of another time- nonetheless he takes great pride in both. Moreover, he is not quite sure how much of his own romanticizing of wandering and Jewishness has drawn him to Breuer. However, what he observes about Breuer’s shepherding is “the rejection of modern society in the aftermath of the Holocaust. In his Yiddish songs I inevitably listened for the millions of missing Yiddish voices that should have been singing along.”
Apple does an excellent job of capturing the flavor of the Austrian Alps with its little villages and inhabitants who seem to either have collective amnesia pertaining to their past or consider themselves blameless. Although he never does find as many anti-Semites as he originally feared, Apple does provide his readers with some serious insights, spiced up with enough lively and sometimes humorous commentary that will unquestionably keep readers turning the pages all the way to the end.
The above review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of Norm Goldman's Reviews | <urn:uuid:ac58b627-e74d-4adb-acd2-63a2e77263f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/41/2296/Reviewer_N_Goldman/article/_Schlepping_Through_The_Alps_My_Search_For_Austrias_Jewish_Past_With_Its_Last_Wandering_Shepherd.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976372 | 870 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Posts Tagged Personality Development for students
Development of Personality for Professionals in Architecture
Personality Development is very important in the field of Architecture or for that matter in any field. Presenting yourself in a pleasant and winning hearts over is a great skill to master. Students getting out of Universities are not always aware of the necessity of “Personality Development Programme”. Every student or a newbie professional must remember that they are now into the real world dealing with variety of people with different thoughts, attitudes and personalities. I reason I am writing these articles is for students who haven’t been able to develop confidence and need be aware of certain vitally important “Personality Development aspects”. So here we go…
We often say this word ‘personality’ and say, “I was impressed by her personality”. But what do we mean by the word ‘personality’? More often than not it is used only in reference with the outward appearance. Then it is a very shallow meaning. That is why often you develop disagreement with the personality, which has impressed you to begin with.
It is very difficult to define the word personality. Though it begins with appearance, it does not end up with it. It includes the dress, the language, behaviour, knowledge and everything of that person. A British author had said, “A man is a bundle of habits neatly done up in coat and trousers”.
I find this is a good definition. ‘A personality is the total reflection of your habits both good as well as bad’. To be successful professional you must cultivate a good personality. It means a conscious effort must be made in your young age to inculcate good habits in you. These days colleges do not pay any importance to this subject. That is an apathy. | <urn:uuid:1c63c498-e04e-4384-adab-d2dccd0ed71b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.architecture-student.com/tag/personality-development-for-students/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966271 | 378 | 2.25 | 2 |
MODEL OF THE PRESENT STUDY
The Base Model
The purpose of the present study is to build on previous intent studies, and take them one step further toward servicing policy design purposes. Our intent is to develop and test a model that incorporates situational variables that can be manipulated through policy intervention. For this purpose, it is necessary to focus on environments that can be manipulated. An ideal example of such an environment is the university. University is an institution through which students pass on their way toward working life. University students will be making career decisions imminently after, and often before, graduation. It is also our impression that the career preferences of university students can be influenced, and that university students tend to gravitate toward fashionable career options. Finally, it has been shown that career aspirations among adolescents are significantly predictive of eventual career choice (Trice, 1991).
Our model is based on the model of Davidsson (1995). We have developed some modifications to account for the characteristics of university students. The base model is shown in Figure 1.
The base model analyzes the entrepreneurial intent in the context of career choice, which is a justifiable approach for a study focusing on university students. In Davidssons domain attitudes, we introduce variables relating to the image of entrepreneurship as well as to the expected payoff. As in Davidssons model, these are expected to influence conviction, together with variables relating to the social context. Entrepreneurial intent is expected to be moderated by conviction as well as by social context variables. In the model, social context variables try to capture characteristics of the university environment as well as situational variables.
In the model, personal background variables are viewed as influencing general attitudinal dispositions (money orientation, need for achievement, competitiveness, and autonomy) and the image of entrepreneurship as a career alternative. The personal background variables listed in the model include also variables that have a situational flavor in student context, such as marital status, breadth of work experience, and student status. The situational character of these variables is due to the fact that breadth of work experience, age, and even marital status tend to correlate positively with the imminence of graduation. As the graduation becomes more imminent, the question of career choice becomes more actual. It is thus possible that some of the background variables emerge as direct influences on conviction and intent in the empirical data. In his study, Reynolds (1995) found a high occurrence of nascent entrepreneurs among students. Because of ample previous findings demonstrating the importance of role models for entrepreneurial behavior, we also expect components of vicarious experience (parents or close relatives as entrepreneurs, previous work experience in SMEs) to possibly emerge as a direct influences on conviction and intent.
Operationalization of the Model
In the model, the image of entrepreneurship corresponds to Ajzens attitude toward the behavior, Shaperos perceived desirability, and to Davidssons (1995) domain attitudes. Krueger (1993) measured perceived desirability with statements such as: "I would love doing it", and: "How enthusiastic would you be?". Davidsson operationalized domain attitudes to comprise three constructs: societal contribution, expected payoff, and know-how. Of these, societal contribution and expected payoff measured respondents beliefs about what was true about entrepreneurship in general, whereas knowledge was related to the respondent herself. In the model of the present study, we have preferred to use a construct that combines influences from Davidssons societal contributions and expected payoff, and added statements relating to the respondents perceived image of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. This approach was chosen because we expect role models and the perceived fashionability of the career alternative to be important influences on the career selection by university students.
The construct statements of the Image-Payoff construct are listed in appendix 1. Unfortunately, the Cronbach alpha for this construct is fairly low, only 0,39 in the combined database. In the different country samples the alpha is higher, however, suggesting a probable disturbing cultural influence in the combined database. The general attitude constructs are based on scales generally used in the literature. To prevent the questionnaire from becoming excessively long, we used slightly abbreviated versions of these constructs. The Cronbach alphas for these constructs vary between 0,49 and 0,61 in the combined database.
The entrepreneurial conviction is adapted from Davidsson (1995). It refers to the perceived feasibility in Shaperos (1982) model and to the perceived behavioral control in Ajzens theory. This construct measures the perceived ease of starting up a new firm by the respondent, as well as to the perceived feasibility of such a choice. The construct statements of this construct include statements like: "It would be easy for me to start a firm of my own", and "Starting up a firm of my own would be the best way for me to take full advantage of my education". The Cronbach alpha of this construct in the combined database is 0,75.
The perceived support of the university environment relates to the degree to which the university is perceived as supporting entrepreneurial aspirations. This construct is measured using a set of statements like: "In my university, people are actively encouraged to pursue their own ideas"; "In my university, you get to meet lots of people with good ideas for a new firm"; and: "The university has a clear policy regarding the intellectual ownership of ideas developed during research and studies". The Cronbach alpha for this statement in the combined database is 0,67.
The ultimate dependent variable in the model, entrepreneurial intent, has been measured in different ways in different studies. Krueger (1993) used a dichotomous variable, with a yes/no statement: "Do you think youll ever start a business?". This is a fairly loose operationalization. Davidsson used a different approach, basing the operationalization of intent on an index of three questions: (1) "Have you ever considered founding your own firm?"; and (2-3) "How likely do you consider it to be that within one (or five) years from now youll be running your own firm?". Also Reitan (1996) adopted a similar approach, using an index measure of intent based on short and long term intentions as well as on the tradeoff between running ones own firm, as opposed to being employed by someone.
The present study has measured both short and long term intent as well as the preference for an entrepreneurial career. The analyses in below will be based on a fairly strict operationalization of intent, however. In the analyses of the present paper, we have used only the short-term intention to start up a new firm as a dependent variable. The operationalization of intent in the present study is based on responses to the question: "How likely do you consider it to be that you would start a new firm, on full-time basis, within one year from now?". This operationalization is considerably more strict than the ones used in previous studies, and come close to Reynolds (1995) operationalization of a nascent entrepreneur.
© 1997 Babson College All Rights Reserved
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Your factory-installed Land Rover headlight bulb has been malfunctioning for a long time, which means it should be changed very, very soon or else, you'll be in significantly greater risk of accident while you're driving. The Land Rover headlight bulb is most likely about to go out because of wear and age. To know what sort of bulb is suggested for your car, read your car manual.
Depending on your Land Rover you might have the opportunity to change to another type of bulb for your ride, like incandescent, xenon or halogen bulb. Working on a defective bulb in the headlight is actually straightforward and is achievable with simple or no tools at all, thus, if you do not desire to spend, don't even bother paying a visit to the repair shop. Nearly all forms of headlight bulbs on cars today use halogen that utilizes a burning filament to produce light. You may be able to use Land Rover xenon bulbs that burn xenon to efficiently produce light although this headlight bulbs is usually more expensive.
Parts Train surely offers the bulb for your vehicle's headlight you require'cause it offers an extensive catalog of automotive products for your Land Rover produced by brands such as Crown or OES. Our prices are the most budget-friendly in the marketplace and our website is state-of-the-art, therefore, you're guaranteed the most excellent time shopping possible. Go on and replace that bad headlight bulb or you may absolutely lose your illumination while driving.
Use our Part Fit Checker to view parts compatible with your vehicle. | <urn:uuid:e7605dab-98cf-4849-9618-51945068f524> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByDepartment/Headlight_Bulb/LAND_ROVER | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949338 | 319 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Sartay’s is a peace-loving village. But when marauding Mongolian Dzungars brutally slay most of the inhabitants, including his parents, the Kazakh youth has no choice but to raise an army of teenagers to fight back, courageously attacking the Mongolians and rallying other youths to the cause.
Across Kazakhstan, an epic historical movie with an unabashedly patriotic tale is playing to packed theaters.
Directed by Akhan Satayev for the state-run Kazakhfilm studio, “Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe” opens with the Dzungars’ vicious attack and the making of our hero. Myn Bala in Kazakh means 1,000 children – Sartay (played by Asylkhan Tolepov) actually raises an army of 100, but he tells them before the final battle scene that together they are worth 1,000 warriors.
Director Satayev is better known for making movies with subtle plot twists that tackle modern-day problems such as organized crime, but audiences don’t seem to mind the black-and-white approach to history in his latest film. At a recent showing in Almaty, viewers applauded at the end. As Tengri News reported, Myn Bala is proving a blockbuster, taking a million dollars at the box office in the first weekend after its release on May 3, a Kazakh record.
The film’s success is notable since it was shot in Kazakh (with a bit of Mongolian). Films in Kazakh often struggle in a country where only about two-thirds of people speak the language, but the movie (called “Zhauzhurek Myn Bala” in Kazakh, or “The Brave Thousand Children”) is showing in the original language with Russian subtitles in many theaters.
Myn Bala’s $10 million budget may be small by Hollywood standards but is significant by Kazakhstan’s. As EurasiaNet.org reported last year, Astana is keen to harness the power of the silver screen to promote Kazakhstan, and it’s prepared to cough up the cash to do so.
There are hopes the movie will play well with art-house audiences in the West. They will certainly enjoy the sumptuous scenery. But they may not appreciate the quotes about Kazakh statehood from President Nursultan Nazarbayev featuring at the beginning and end. The quotes appear to suggest that Nazarbayev courageously managed to finish what the hero Sartay started in the 18th century. For some viewers, that might require a leap of imagination to swallow. | <urn:uuid:66fc02d8-fe53-4681-a053-c1585185bb61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eurasianet.org/node/65400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953909 | 545 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Posted 1 year ago on May 17, 2012, 6:33 a.m. EST by ShubeLMorgan2
from New York, NY
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
A bourgeois concept "ownership" but I can understand it anyhow. People came up with a brilliant if self evident idea - "let's bring 20,000 protesters to Wall Street and Occupy the place!"
While it didn't quite work out that way still the idea was brilliant and it shook the world. Many people- I'm sure many or even most of them anarchists- sacrificed and continue to do so for the sake of the movement called "Occupy". And so a sense of ownership would almost be "natural" in this world we live in. The fact is though that if the anarchist way doesn't deliver to the masses whose well being and even very lives ride of the success of revolution - even if they don't know it- then the anarchist way will be swept aside.
I'd suggest to anarchists to look for negative example on the left - take Workers World Party. Always setting up "mass organizations" total bureaucratic control over which they can't let go of and so they get nowhere. The masses just don't show up or if they do they soon leave.
And anyhow i have some questions about Occupy's anarchism:
Is it anarchist to have demands made on the powers that be?
Aren't they making demands in Frankfurt?
When Occupy embraced the movement for justice for Trayvon Martin were't they demanding something of the "justice system"? Wasn't that the correct thing to do? I think it was.
When Occupiers sued in the government's court to get the fences taken down from around Liberty Square was that an example of ignoring the state as illegitimate? I think it is good to use all available avenues to pursue a just demand.
Wasn't it complying with the system to file a suit against stop and frisk?
I think that was a good thing. Now a judge is not going to stop police racism and brutality but this action might bring a dollop of justice and relief and open the eyes of the world to what the NYPD's reign is over the communities of color in Bloomberg's "Luxury Product" city where tourists just love to take pictures in Times Square next to these "heroes".
And read about how the anarchists in the Civil War in Spain had to compromise their "principles" and learned to do that perhaps too late adopting "hierarchical structures" in their army in order to conduct modern warfare, joining local and national government, etc.
Now there are many Occupy supporters who are thinking a lot about the upcoming elections. It's a legitimate arena for debate, not for shutting people down. While this forum cannot and should not be enveloped with that discussion wouldn't it make sense to have a thread or post or whatever that's just about that - let the debate be vigorous and whole hearted. | <urn:uuid:2e55ea52-daed-4f78-b4b6-3ec8b1f1d2db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://occupywallst.org/forum/do-anarchists-own-the-movement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963791 | 607 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Fuel efficient stoves help protect girls and women from sexual violence
By Silje M. Heitmann
MOGADISHU, Somalia, 25 July 2012 – Girls and women in Mogadishu say that they are at greatest risk of sexual violence while they are collecting firewood. Children between ages 5 and 14 are at especially high risk, as they are the age group mostly assigned to this task.
“There are not alternatives for me. I must go to the bush where they are hidden – the militias – to collect firewood as I have to cook three times a day for my brothers and father,” said a 13-year-old girl in Mogadishu. “I will never allow my brothers to collect wood, because they can be killed. Instead, I can just be raped.”
To reduce the need for firewood, UNICEF Somalia funded by the Government of Japan are supporting two projects providing fuel-efficient stoves to displaced girls and women throughout Mogadishu. These projects will both reduce girls’ vulnerability to assault and free up their time, enabling them to return to school.
Income for vulnerable families
The stoves use waste products such as maize husks as an energy source, reducing or eliminating the need to collect firewood. More than 16,000 stoves are being distributed in Mogadishu to vulnerable families and to families with more than eight children in their care.
UNICEF designed these projects to protect children, but they have had the added benefit of providing more than 150 families with an income as stove producers.
Anisa, a single mother of three, lives in the Siliga displacement camp. She now earns an income as a stove producer. “It is unbelievable how scrap metals and some dirt soil can be used to produce a very fine piece of clay stove…. This has given me hope of making a decent livelihood in future,” she said. “My daughter and I will not be going to the bushes to collect firewood anymore. We don’t have to worry about the dangers of getting raped or sexually molested.”
Amina, a mother of seven, also participated in a stove-making workshop. She was taught how to make the clay pot portion of the stoves, and Abshir, a 26-year-old father of four, learned how to make the stoves’ metal jacket. The workshops also taught them how to run their businesses.
“I thought it was going to be just like any other workshop where we were to be trained in how to do calculations, but now my thinking has broadened, and it will help me expand my business initiative in the future,” said Abshir.
Skills for a lifetime
“Before this training I was just a casual labourer at various construction sites. I sometimes used to work for more than ten hours a day and make less than five dollars. Some days I did not get any casual employment and that meant my family had nothing to eat for that day,” said Abdi Abdulla, a father of two who has benefited from the training programmes. “With this training, my expectation in life has been rekindled… Through this training, I got an opportunity of getting lifetime skills that will help me raise my family comfortably without having to worry about what they will eat for the day.” | <urn:uuid:b565433b-bf36-46be-a43e-47dc634024a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unicef.org/somalia/reallives_11503.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972789 | 699 | 2.296875 | 2 |
My daughters have a few picture Bibles that they just love. My three year old loves to tell me what's happening on each page and generally knows who each person is. To my two year old however everyone is just "Moses"
The Bible isn't just a picture book though, and I want my children to realize that. While teaching the stories of the Bible it is so important for us to teach the reality as well, so our children know and believe that God is real, and that he really loves them.
Even as adults though, it's sometimes hard to remember that those black words written on white pages are true. The people were real, they had hopes, dreams, worries, and struggles. They were like you and I. The only difference their lives were recorded for the ages.
I love reading a good book. In fact it's best that I don't pick up a fiction book unless I have some time cleared because I have a tendency to ignore the world when I'm in the middle of a new story. I love the characters and the world the author paints, I love everything about a woven story. There are times when sometimes I wish I could just fall into a book's pages.
What's so amazing about scripture though is it, is a story for all time. It is a story not only of people of the past but it is a truth extended to us in the present. Even though the written Word is completed God's plan continues in our lives every day.
God's Word is powerful.
God's Word is sharper than any two edged sword.
And God's Word is real. | <urn:uuid:7652d882-d39f-4393-95d2-21ec2b96eb0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lessonsfromivy.com/2012/08/gods-word-is-real.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985966 | 332 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Designed for Registered Radiologic Technologists
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About Adventist University of Health Sciences
Working in harmony with Florida Hospital, Adventist University, a private, Christian university was founded in 1992 by a strong commitment to quality and a passion for educating tomorrow’s leaders.
The University provides an environment where nursing and allied health students can develop spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically while pursuing professional expertise with faith-based values.
To learn more about all that Adventist University of Health Sciences has to offer visit, www.ADU.edu | <urn:uuid:518859b7-6d51-465a-a20a-bc97aab860ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.adu.edu/rad-lpkp/?src=s_searchengine2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941527 | 288 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Welcome to the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts
Solomon Islands 2012 including official updates and news. The idea of a Festival of Pacific Arts was conceived by the Conference of the South Pacific Commission (now the Pacific Community) in an attempt to combat the erosion of traditional customary practices. Since 1972, delegations from 27 Pacific Island Countries and Territories have come together to share and exchange their cultures at each Pacific Arts Festival.
6th March 2012
HCC plans to transform city face Reported this week is the Honiara City Council (HCC) acting clerk Charles Kelly said the council will..
5th March 2012
Up to 100 facebook likes and friends! Wow!! Glad to see excitment building around our Pacific on the festival.
It is expected that more than 3000 artists and cultural practitioners from 27 Pacific countries will travel to Honiara, Solomon Islands to showcase their arts and cultures making it Solomons' largest tourism event ever.
The 27 participating Pacific island countries and territories include: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.
The festival is recognized as a major international cultural event, and is the largest gathering in which Pacific peoples unite to gain respect for and appreciation of one another within the context of the changing Pacific.
Check back soon for important official Festival of Pacific Arts in Solomon Islands updates for those anticipating to come visit and explore Honiara and our great country making this Solomons' largest tourism event ever. | <urn:uuid:b153d865-b7e1-4813-ab56-0dec2259f2a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.festivalofpacificarts.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916082 | 380 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Good relations between India and Pakistan are imperative for peace
and development and both countries should join hands to fight
terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of people,
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said.
Asserting that the state
always had been a recipient of the dividends of thaw in Indo-Pak
relations, Omar underlined the need for free trade and travel across
the LoC to enhance economic activities and broad-base peoples
Addressing a well-attended public meeting in this bordering village,
the Chief Minister stressed on brotherly Indo-Pak relations and said
dialogue between the two countries in a friendly atmosphere will
pave the way for settling all issues and contributing for lasting
peace in the sub-continent.
"In the last 60 years, we have
witnessed three and half wars between the two countries without
yielding any positive result. This highlights the need for
addressing the issues peacefully," he said.
The Chief Minister said the bad
affects of gun and violence have engulfed Pakistan and there is
immediate need for that country to join hands with India to fight
terrorism and help cultivate peace for larger interests of the two
Omar welcomed the Centre's recognition of the fact that the
accession of the state to India had taken place under unique
circumstances, necessitating addressing of political issues of the
state in a special manner.
He also welcomed Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's statement on the issue of autonomy and said time
has provided a historic opportunity to the people of the state to
take the advantage of this.
On the present law and order situation in some parts of the Valley,
he said stone pelting and violence will never prove prudent for
anyone to ventilate his opinion and stress on the issues.
"We have undergone a saga of militancy
and we know it has yielded nothing for us," he said and appealed to
all shades of the people to help restore normalcy and work for
peaceful settlement of political issues on table.
"When dialogue process is available, why to resort to stone-pelting
and hartals?" he said.
"We have promised to be facilitators
in the talks at internal and external levels and my government is
actively involved in it," he added.
The Chief Minister expressed sorrow over the economic losses in
recent torrential rains in this border area and said government will
take every measure to rehabilitate affected families.
He announced six months ration for the
affected families and special recruitment drive for the youth of the | <urn:uuid:c5b61651-a239-4b53-9439-bf3ec8b9513a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ummid.com/news/2010/August/16.08.2010/omar_on_indo_pak_ties.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940716 | 538 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The technology of perpendicular recording for hard drives (technology that vastly increases storage densities in hard drives by changing the way magnetic elements are polarized) is making it possible for 2.5-inch drives to appear with capacities up to 200GB. Whilst the laptop minded such as myself will no doubt welcome this, Hollywood is a little concerned about what this might bring. The tiny drives are, of course, used in portable consumer electronics other than laptops, devices like iPods especially. Now, imagine an iPod that has 200GB of hard disk space - now it can store something like 300 Divx encoded movies on it! Not something that Hollywood likes the sound of - they are now making moves to push for the inclusion of digital rights management (DRM) facilities in such devices, to prevent the huge spread of movie piracy
that might ensue.
"Hollywood can get really concerned. What if you can carry like 20 movies with you all the time, and they can't control the content any more?" It's the possible crossing of geographic boundaries that's the problem, Michael Cai, senior analyst with Parks Associates said - a problem that wouldn't crop up if the media device were made to sit on your desktop at home, no matter how small it becomes.
If DRM does not pose any obstacles whatsoever to the adoption of perpendicular recording, then its likely that nothing will prevent Apple and others from implementing new drives from Seagate and other manufacturers with these large capacities, leading to a new wave of high-capacity portable storage devices as soon as Christmas 2006. | <urn:uuid:5b363413-4964-4dc9-9c97-f17f29020886> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techspot.com/news/18121-hollywood-may-demand-drm-in-response-to-perpendicular-recording.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95441 | 313 | 2.25 | 2 |
One of the nation's most popular national parks is 80 percent underwater and partly located in Mississippi - Gulf Islands National Seashore. The park is a collection of mainland historical sites and a string of beaches and islands stretching 160 miles from Cat Island in Mississippi to the Okaloosa area near Fort Walton, Florida.
Visit the Website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHsUKxQGX0
Length: 26 minutes
- Sunday, May 12th at 6:30 AM on KLRU Q | <urn:uuid:91aa0981-ee1c-4792-ab49-90e0d8f8e28e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.klru.org/schedule/episode/207668/ | 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 | 0.902489 | 110 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The long-awaited book Images of America: Italian Oakland, by now-retired award-winning Oakland Tribune reporter and columnist Rick Malaspina, portrays East Bay Italians through some 200 vintage photographs, interviews and commentary. Rick emailed me that his book, with the assistance of actual family remembrances and photographs, was his parting gift to the Italian community before relocating to South Carolina.
I researched the history of the East Bay Italian community, asked a lot of questions and interviewed some Colombo Club members who enlightened me how their social club fits into the cultural paradigm of Oakland, specifically those who hailed from Italy’s north-western region.
Immigrant Italians, mostly from Piedmonte and Liguria, who had settled in San Francisco’s Little Italy in the 19th century, became dislocated when the 1906 earthquake toppled The City from its foundations and entire neighborhoods were consumed by fires. They picked up their possessions and relocated across the bay to Oakland where they found ample masonry work and jobs in the rock quarries to rebuild not only San Francisco’s infrastructure, but also to gravel and macadamize miles of newly needed paved roads for the new horseless carriages—the automobile.
The rock and gravel quarries in the coastal range yielded greenish-grey sandstone and a near-basalt quartz diorite, used as aggregate which was shattered manually in mountain pits by 30 to 50 men at any given quarry during dig season. One of Oakland’s largest quarries once occupied the area where Rockridge Safeway and Shopping Centre now stands. Since the 1890s, Piedmont Hills quarries yielded about 20,000 cubic yards of aggregate a season, all shattered to pebbles by the powerful arms of about 35 men in the pit caves busting bedrock, pounding hand-forged iron plug drills, flat-wedge plugs and cape chisels weighing as much as four-and-a-half pounds apiece. There were occupational side effects unbeknownst at the time; men who literally moved mountains working the quarries were prone to lung ailments from inhaling lime dust, asbestos and other pulverized stone particles.
At those rock quarries the Piedmontese labored for meager wages; most being unmarried men who worked to save enough scudi to return to Italy, others toiled for fare money to bring their families to America—digging out the mountain, slogging in the quarry cave, nella cava—six days a week for less than $2.00 a day. After a week of hard work their Saturday nights were lonely—living in cheap overcrowded quarry-owned boarding houses they yearned for their families and talked of the Old Country. Maggiorino Lovisone, who lived across the street from the Bilge Quarry, offered the use of his basement for Piedmontese paesani to play cards, enjoy wine, traditional foods and commiserate in their native language and… voila, a social club was born! The quarry club fellowship initially had meetings in the basement which evolved to become the Oakland Colombo Club, founded in 1920 by 34 immigrant pioneers—among them Maggiorino Lovisone and Pietro Puppione.
When I asked the club’s past president, Rich Puppione, about his fondest memory he offered, “I was honored to have the opportunity to reside over the club’s 90th Anniversary Celebration—my grandfather Pietro was a charter member in 1920 and I pictured him and my grandmother Lucia with their amici celebrating the grand opening of the Colombo Club…”
Chuck Reyna kindly introduced me to his in-laws and I met with Elma Roggero Dickson and her husband Don; she told me her father was the club’s chef. “My father Marco Roggero was a charter member when he was chef at the Claremont Country Club—then he became the first main chef at the Colombo Club.” A vintage photo shows Marco Roggero happily preparing the meal for boxing legend Rocky Marciano’s visit in 1959.
Then John Penna told me about the day he met the undefeated heavy weight champ. “When I picked up Rocky Marciano at the airport I got a flat tire. Rocky sat there and watched me change the tire with his arms folded.” Penna laughed as he shared vintage photos of Rocky at the club.
The Colombo Club with a 950-men membership, plus the active women’s auxiliary, is presently the largest Italian social club in the United States whose enduring mission is to preserve Italian culture and Piedmontese traditions. The Piedmonte region, translated ‘foot of the mountain’, borders France to the west and Switzerland to the north. The capital, Torino, named Augusta Taurinorum during the Roman Empire, now thrives with manufacturing industries and is home to the Agnelli empire Fiat factories. Iverea is home to Olivetti, Alta produces Ferrerro chocolates and Monferrato is Italy’s premier wine district.
It was in 1920 when the founders bought a parcel of Oakland property at Broadway and 49th Street, within a sledgehammer’s throw of the quarry, and formed the Colombo Club. When membership expanded, they built their present building on Claremont Avenue in 1951. The club, presently under the presidency of Tony Tedeschi, not only promotes Italian-American culture, but also raises funds with the women’s auxiliary, for college scholarships for members’ children or grandchildren. The spacious banquet facility seats 565 diners and traditional Italian cuisine is prepared for weddings, social events, fund raising projects, family dinners and meetings.
A women’s auxiliary young member, Maria Falaschi 32, literally spent her childhood in the Colombo Club. “While in New York earning my MBA in Internet Marketing, I often reflected on growing up in the club and the invaluable influence so many successful individuals had on me, both in business and the Italian community…”
In addition to the club’s many social activities, Carlo Tamburrino, Laura Ruberto and Maria Grazia offer Bambini Ciao classes for children age two to eight on the first Saturday of each month where they play games, sing, do art projects and learn Italian. Carlo encourages parents and children to speak only Italian during the sessions thus promoting culture and keeping the Italian spirit alive.
The Isabella Room is the heart of the club’s historic archives, compiled by past president historian John Penna, highlighting the past with photographs of well-known visitors or images of ordinary people in daily lives capturing a certain nostalgia of Little Italy in the Temescal neighborhood. The New Americans proudly embraced their adopted country albeit still imbued with the spirit of their Italian homeland—the heritage that endures today.
“I organized the club’s history in the Isabella Room as a token of heartfelt appreciation and to recognize those who immigrated to America to provide better lives for their families…” Penna said proudly.
The Colombo Club — Home Away from Home
The Colombo Club, a longtime hub for the mutual benefit of the Italian-American community, boasts a host of renowned visitors; athletes, civic leaders and politicians alike. Oakland was home to the Oaks, a baseball club managed by Casey Stengel who in 1948 took the team to the Pacific Coast League Championship. Many players, sons of Italian immigrants, stopped at the club to socialize and enjoy traditional Italian wine and food, fellowship and camaraderie. Among the athletes were Billy Martin, Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds, Harry “Cookie” Lavagetto, Brooklyn Dodger’s third baseman, Dario Lodigiani of the Philadelphia Athletics and Martinez-born Joe DiMaggio, who signed with the New York Yankees in 1936, and was a one-time celebrity bartender at the club, rumored to shake up the best Martinis.
Boxing Hall of Famer, Rocky Marciano, was a guest in 1959. He retired in 1956 as the undefeated, Heavy Weight Champion of the World. He has a place of honor in the Isabella Room’s photo gallery that tells the club’s visual history, the essence of the past—rekindled by images of those who passed through the storied doors—the Italoamericani who impacted the culture and heritage of Italian communities.
On my first visit to the Colombo Club, I was warmly welcomed by Ray and Pat Frantangelo. An instant home-away-from-home ambiance was twinned with genuine warmth. I was a guest of Tom Gallinatti, retired Battalion Chief of Oakland Fire Department and Fire Fighter Engineer Jennifer Schmidt, board members of the non-profit Police and Fire: The Fallen Heroes. After introductions, I was promptly spirited to the heart of the club—the bustling kitchen—where chefs were cooking for 500 diners on family night in the spacious banquet room and then I was given a tour of the storied Isabella Room. Yes, the Colombo Club truly lives up to its reputation as being a place of familial camaraderie and a home away from home.Organizations such as the Colombo Club keep the flame of pioneering Italians alive, reminding us never to forget the courageous generations who immigrated to this once unknown land in search of better lives. The generation that is now gone once told us first-hand stories of their odysseys; enduring weeks in steerage with children, arriving at Ellis Island—Isola delle Lacrime, isle of tears—or journeying endless days by train in search of prosperity in California, some with but one suitcase, the clothes on their backs and a pocketful of dreams. With raw courage they ventured west, many laboring in back-breaking jobs for less than a buck a day—in agriculture in the Santa Clara Valley, fishing in Pittsburg and Monterey, the Napa Valley vineyards or the Oakland rock quarries. Some returned to their homeland but many remained forever.
The Great Italian Diaspora
Those who immigrated in the 19th and 20th centuries were not the first waves of intrepid Italians, besides of course, the Genovese, Christopher Columbus. Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to enter New York Bay in 1524. The first permanent resident was Pietro Cesare Alberti and the Venetian Tagliaferro family was the first to settle in Virginia. In the 16th century, Antonio Pigafetta from Vicenza circumnavigated the world with Magellan. Filippo Mazzei was Thomas Jefferson’s friend whose maxim was ‘all men are by nature free and independent’ and we all know that Amerigo Vespucci gave his name to the Americas five hundred years ago.
In 1823, an explorer Giacomo Beltrami from Ferrara discovered the mountain headwaters source of the Mississippi, in a location later to become Minnesota. Italian Jesuits and Franciscans founded the universities of San Francisco, Santa Clara and Gonzaga and the six Piccirilli brothers carved the Lincoln Memorial sculpture and Italians painted the Capitol murals. Italians served in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, fought in WWI and one million Italian-Americans served in WWII.
What were the catalysts to spark such massive migratory waves from Italy to America you ask? The first transatlantic wave started after Garibaldi’s 1861 Unification of Italy. The country’s once powerful City States became rapidly integrated causing a breakdown of agrarian societies; the Mezzogiorno region of Southern Italy and Sicily saw soil erosion, deforestation, a lack of coal and iron for industry and tenant farmers and landowners’ crop productions diminished by the emerging fierce competition from the industrial north. Birth rates rose, death rates fell—overpopulation meant fewer jobs and between 1876 and 1924 4.5 million migratory ‘birds of passage’, so-called by historians, emigrated to South and North America with the intent to work abroad and return home.
Natural disasters also played an important role in driving migration; when Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and Etna in 1910, the homeless fled, but the catalytic thrust for the mass exodus was the 1908 Messina 7.2 earthquake and forty-foot tidal waves in the Straights of Messina that destroyed Sicilian and Calabrian coastlines, killing 100,000 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and jobless. The devastated survivors looked to the western horizon and most sojourners stayed forever.
My children’s great-grandparents were part of that Italian diaspora—as intrepid ‘birds of passage’ they migrated to America—the land of golden opportunity. Now a century later we celebrate the pioneering spirits of Rocco Venezia from Montescalioso who journeyed from Basilicata in 1909 and Giuseppe Brocato from Cefalu, Sicily who stowed away in 1911—both men on the same daring quest; to work and earn passage for their families who were to ultimately reach California and achieve better lives in America. If those valiant exiles who arrived on these shores, from all over the world, could have telescoped into the future and witness what their descendants have achieved—they would be gratified in the realization that their sacrifices were not in vain.
Those Italians, who often sadly left their homeland, braved the cramped steerage quarters, often with just a pocketful of lire, were the same ones who built the soaring skyscrapers, subways, roads and bridges—they built American cities with the sweat of hard labor and a fierce determination to succeed. Statistics show that ninety percent of public works projects involved Italian labor—and many moved west, to already-established enclaves where religion, traditional foods, ideals, and family values gelled with their own. As early as mid-1800s, a thriving Italian community had already settled in San Francisco and by 1869 The City was celebrating Columbus Day with parades and festivities.
In 1908, two years after the earthquake and fire, the San Francisco Italian community was able to secure their savings and apply for loans through the concept of branch banking when A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy—later to become Bank of America—thus spring-boarding Italian-Americans into business ventures all over northern California.
Many Italian-owned businesses later burgeoned to multi-million dollar industries. Such as the example of the resourceful Genovese folk from Genoa, who when they saw the need for trash pickup, bought wagons, horses and bins, then established neighborhood collection routes. To identify themselves as bona fide scavengers, the then-term for trash haulers, they painted their ‘honey-wagons’ blue and climbed the Oakland hills from sunup to sundown gathering refuse from backyards. There were ancillary recycling angles too, before such a word was invented; bottles were washed and sold to wineries, metal to scrapyards, rags to repair shops, newspapers to paper mills, and food scraps sold for compost or hog-feed at Italian-run pig farms. The refuse was sorted by hand, wearing no gloves or aprons, and the unusable surplus was dumped.
By 1920 the Genovese-Americans had organized co-operatives consolidating operations into one major Oakland Scavenger Company where men worked for a buck a day and two on Saturdays. In the 1980s, owing to labor disputes, many original share-holders sold to corporations thus disintegrating the long-held privately-owned enterprise. Now big blue trucks collect garbage, and high-tech efficient ‘honey-wagons’ are corporately camouflaged with new-fangled words; waste management, recyclers and ‘recologists’.
So how do we measure the cumulative impact of quintessential Italian historical culture on our own contemporary culture? We could look back in time two millennia when Julius Caesar and Mark Antony lead the expansionist Roman Empire, influencing twenty million people in the Mediterranean Rim. We could be awed by their still-standing lithic monuments in Italy, North Africa, Spain, England and Turkey. We could touch just the tip of the Italian cultural iceberg and identify centuries of influence; monumental sculptures or the enduring art of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Caravaggio, the music of Rossini, Puccini, Vivaldi and the 20th century tenors Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli and Luciano Pavarotti.
But wait, we must not be remiss in mentioning how Italians first impacted this great land when Columbus, a man from Genoa, financed by Queen Isabella, landed on San Salvador in 1492, followed by cartographer Amerigo Vespucci after whom the Americas are named. We may refer to the Renaissance Medici dynasty, the banking and infrastructure giants, or the explorer Marco Polo who traversed continents from Venice to China and altered siege warfare tactics with gunpowder, and Galileo whose scientific footprints forged more than just a cultural impact.
And we celebrate contemporary Italian-American ‘cultural icons’; the two Franks, Capra and Sinatra, Fellini, De Sica, Pirelli, Enrico Fermi, Alberto Moravia, Joe DiMaggio, Henry Mancini, Vince Lombardi, Yogi Berra and Joe Montana or Andretti, Zamboni, Rudy Giuliani, Mario Cuomo and Leon Panetta.
Is it an odd observation on my part that the aforementioned Italians and Italian-Americans do not carry deserved cultural weight in the media or in films? Hollywood and the mass media insist on ignoring centuries of precise Italian culture by grossly perpetuating demeaning and inappropriate images of Italian-Americans as stereotypical swarthy mafia-types such as the defaming ‘Vinnie the Whacker’, and offensive typecasting of Al Capone, and fictional Vito Corleone or Tony Soprano personas—criminal thugs all.
A long-overdue recognition should be duly afforded Italian-Americans who have made this country great—recognized and celebrated by organizations like the Colombo Club who proudly strive to promote Italian philosophy by honoring those generations before us who tirelessly toiled to propel their quintessential cultural achievements to the forefront.
Images appearing with this article are provided courtesy of Rick Malaspina, author of Images of America: Italian Oakland, published by Arcadia Publishing. Images of America: Italian Oakland is available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665. | <urn:uuid:19cbb913-6255-4256-8ccb-24d2f72c74e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aliveeastbay.com/category/archives/august-2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955075 | 3,872 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Essential Leadership Skill - Managing Office Politics
One of the skills that successful leaders need to master is a bit of a dirty word these days. It's not the sort of thing they offer leadership training courses on, but it lies at the heart of most business relationships. When we call someone 'A political animal', we're often not being complimentary. We tend to mean that they're manipulative and untrustworthy, maybe even immoral or dishonest. A person who's good at politics, in our eyes, is someone who likes to score points over others, who try to scramble to the top of the heap over his or her colleagues. | <urn:uuid:43b4abfb-a863-4ef2-9101-fd9057f7e230> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techrepublic.com/whitepapers/the-essential-leadership-skill-managing-office-politics/378236?promo=100511 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962972 | 127 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Smoking During Pregnancy (cont.)
In this Article
How Can I Quit Smoking Before or During Pregnancy?
Comment on this
There are many smoking cessation programs available to help you quit smoking. Ask your health care provider for more information about these programs.
Here are some tips that may help you kick the habit:
Can I Use a Nicotine Replacement During Pregnancy?
Comment on this
Nicotine gum and patches release nicotine into the bloodstream of the smoker who is trying to quit. Although these products can reduce withdrawal symptoms and decrease cravings in smokers who are trying to quit, the safety of these products hasn't been adequately evaluated in pregnant women.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommend that nicotine gum and patches be considered in pregnant women only after other non-drug treatments, like counseling, have failed and if the increased likelihood of quitting smoking, with its potential benefits, outweighs the unknown risk of nicotine replacement and potential smoking.
Reviewed on 5/26/2012
Viewers share their comments
Smoking During Pregnancy - Quitting Question: Please discuss your experience with quitting smoking before or during pregnancy.
Smoking During Pregnancy - Nicotine Replacement Question: Share your experience using nicotine replacement when you quit smoking during your pregnancy.
Smoking During Pregnancy - Secondhand Smoke Question: Were you exposed to secondhand smoke during your pregnancy? If so, what are your concerns?
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:d09e5f0a-f0c9-43ac-9af1-b6fcc04b0fa8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/smoking_during_pregnancy/page2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944326 | 305 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Forwarded from Skyking. A must see.
Just great pictures great aircraft - see link at end and enjoy
That's what's so nifty about Lancs. Four Merlins for the price of one.
Allegedly true story, I think from Robin Olds.
Ye Olde Pub, UK, 1944. RAFish lad and cheeky Yank fighter pilots comparing kites.
B: "The Spit is the finest fighter aeroplane going."
Y: "The Mustang is the best fighter in the world."
B: "Is not"
Y: "Is too."
B: "Is not."
Y: "Is too."
B: "What-say we put it to the test?"
Y: "OK, pal, you're on."
B: "Meet you at angels 15. Say when and where."
Y: "Noon tomorrow, 300 miles off Land's End."
B: "But...but...that's preposterous! I cawn't possibly get there and back."
Y: "If you say so, bub."
The Spitfire was one of the most aerodynamically beautiful planes of WW II.
Taken at Duxford RAF and USAAF Museum in England. Two of the greatest WWII fighter planes of their era....the American P51 Mustang and the British Supermarine Spitfire. Both planes were powered by the powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engine......which emitted that wonderful sound that became known to many as 'The Sound of Freedom' during the 1940s. P-51 pilot does a great job staying in his position as he has more power and is faster than the spitfire. They must have done more than a little practicing!!
Click on the link below and view in full screen with the volume up: | <urn:uuid:5b9e012f-7a56-437d-847f-0fafdcc0db71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?69908-Merlins-my-buddies-are-sending-good-links-today&s=e49f2de420c079edf51a9580b456e7c6&p=737633 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95848 | 372 | 1.617188 | 2 |
How To Build A Dog House
It is amazing the emotional attachment a human can form with a dog. With that level of attachment comes a desire to keep the dog happy, healthy, and safe. One of the necessities that a dog owner will need is some type of outdoor shelter for their pet. There are many premade products available on the market to keep your pet sheltered from inclement weather. These products are sometimes either cheaply made or outrageously expensive. There is a better and more affordable way to provide shelter for your dog though; the solution is to build your own doghouse.
First, you have to figure out what size doghouse is needed. The size of the doghouse will determine the amount of materials you will be using to build the doghouse. The type of doghouse you build will depend on how basic or fancy you would like to get. Many free plans are available. Keep in mind that plans for some of the more extravagant doghouses may only be available for purchase.
You will need an assortment of lumber, including plywood, two by twos, two by fours and some excess wood to use for trim pieces. You are also going to need screws, nails, and L-shaped brackets. Insulation is an optional material for your doghouse. You will want to cover the top of the doghouse with shingles to make sure that everything stays nice and dry. Bricks, patio pavers, or concrete blocks can be used as a base for the doghouse, or you can build a wooden base. You are also going to need tools for this project. Most of these tools are basic items that you may already have at home, including saws, screwdrivers, a measuring tape, a caulk gun and a level. You may also need a crowbar, a paintbrush and roller, and a sawhorse.
After you have decided on a plan, you also need to figure out where you want to put the doghouse. Once you have gathered all of your tools and materials, it is time to take a look at your plan and make all the necessary lumber cuts. Be sure to measure twice prior to cutting, so that you do not end up with a crooked doghouse. Use caution when cutting and be sure to take all safety precautions to avoid injury. Once the cutting is done look over everything before you start assembly.
Now it is time to start assembling your doghouse. You will first put together a platform base, followed by the sides of the doghouse. When those steps are complete, the back and the front need to be assembled, followed by each side of the roof. The sites are then attached to the base followed by the front and back of the doghouse. Once everything is secured together, you will want to be sure that there are no splinters, rough edges or nails poking through to the inside of the doghouse. This ensures your dog’s safety.
No matter what type of doghouse you choose to build, your dog will be happy to have a nice place to rest outdoors; a place that allows him to get out of the rain, take a break from the sun, or simply just take a nap. If desired, you can decorate the doghouse to match your own home, or maybe you even want to get a little more creative with it. | <urn:uuid:60500b16-58f9-4a67-8590-71be2de27585> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.puptopianyc.com/nyc-dog-walking-resources/how-to-build-a-dog-house/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963263 | 698 | 1.804688 | 2 |
A key part of the mission of the Office of Financial Research (OFR) is to promote best practices in financial risk management. Today, in the second paper of its Working Paper Series, the OFR issued a paper that provides a broad assessment of risk management practices and how risk management can be improved: Forging Best Practices in Risk Management.
The paper approaches risk management from three perspectives: risk measurement by individual firms, governance and incentives, and systemic concerns. Although the paper separately evaluates each approach, it also includes a discussion on the importance of considering these three dimensions of best practices in risk management as interrelated. The paper concludes by defining important areas for continued research and for modifying the role of risk management in financial firms’ business decisions.
The Dodd-Frank Act established the OFR to, among other things, improve the quality of data and analysis for assessing threats to financial stability and responding to them. The OFR Working Paper Series makes accessible the OFR’s in-depth work to analyze and measure these threats. We expect each paper, developed in partnership between the OFR and national experts, to trigger a collaborative cycle of lively discussion among researchers and subsequent feedback that will help us fine-tune our research.
The paper’s authors are Mark J. Flannery of the University of Florida and the OFR; Paul Glasserman of Columbia University and the OFR; David K.A. Mordecai of Risk Economics, Inc., and New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences; and Cliff Rossi of the University of Maryland and the OFR. The paper was produced while Flannery was employed by the OFR, and Glasserman and Rossi were under contract with the OFR. The authors presented a preliminary version of the paper at an OFR conference in December: The Macroprudential Toolkit: Measurement and Analysis.
In January 2012, the OFR’s first working paper—A Survey of Systemic Risk Analytics—focused on quantitative tools for assessing threats to financial stability.
We invite researchers and other interested parties to review our working papers, discuss them, and join the new nationwide debate and process of discovery about improving financial stability.
The OFR Working Paper Series is available here.
Jonathan Sokobin is Chief of Analytical Strategy for the OFR. | <urn:uuid:ff34802b-56c6-4e80-8aff-d504813dcaac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/OFR-Working-Paper-Series-Continues-with-Forging-Best-Practices-in-Risk-Management.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943405 | 474 | 1.671875 | 2 |
I never knew my maternal grandfather, Howard Arthur Turner, as I lost contact with my mother and her side of the family when I was very young. One day I discovered his obituary on GenealogyBank.com and became intrigued with knowing more about him.
From his obituary I learned he died on June 26, 1992 and that he was survived by his wife Carol; son Tom Turner; daughter, Mrs. Kathy Currier; brothers, James Turner Jr., Michael Turner; two stepdaughters; two grandchildren; nephews and nieces. 1
That would be the first piece of information that is wrong. He was survived by at least 4 grandchildren. My sister and I are the daughters of Kathy Currier by a previous marriage.
When reading obituaries, family histories, newspapers, wills and other documents we use to understand genealogy it is important to remember details are often presented to fit current realities. Given that my sister and I had not had contact with the man since we were very young and that we haven’t had any contact with the family for well over 30 years, it is understandable. And a different story for a different day.
The paragraphs that I find the most intriguing from the obituary are:
A radio newscaster at WBT (1110 AM) in the early 1940s, Mr. Turner also taught David Brinkley, now host of the Sunday news Program “This Week With David Brinkley,” who was a UPI news reporter at the Charlotte Station, how to announce on the radio – or so the story goes, says Mr. Turner’s son, Tom.
“My dad would like to tell us about how he taught David Brinkley how to announce on the radio. I don’t know if it’s absolutely true, but he sure liked to tell the story,” said Tom Turner, now president of his father’s supply company. From 1941 to 1946, Mr. Turner paired with Grady Cole, for whom the Grady Cole Center on Kings Drive is named, to produce morning news reports on WBT.” 2
There is a story there. How much of it is true? I know there are already missing pieces in this brief summary of his life. One thing I do know, the story is probably interesting. Tomorrow I’ll start trying to unravel it.
1. “Howard Arthur Turner,” obituary, The Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, June 28, 1992; digital images, Genealogybank.com, (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 5 April 2009), Newspaper Obituaries Collection.
2. “Howard Arthur Turner,” obituary, The Charlotte Observer, June 28, 1992. | <urn:uuid:94c36a4c-09c4-4019-b1d3-1127966ed4bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://finding-forgotten-stories.com/2012/06/20/just-because-its-in-print-doesnt-make-it-true/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974575 | 580 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The Barn Raising
In Pioneer times in the United States families would hold barn raising events. Barn raising was something that needed a lot of hands for a short period of time (and no it was not an Enigin Scam ). The family would put on a big fun filled event and their friends and family would come, raise the barn and then have a party.
Barn raising could be a brilliant model that we bring into modern times to help families survive in these tough economic times. These days when there are big jobs to do around the house, most families are likely to call in a professional at great expense. This could be for everything from painting to installing a new kitchen.
There is a bit of finesse to having a barn raising because you need the type of jobs that benefit from a lot of hands and don’t fall into the category of ’too many cooks spoil the broth’. Floor stripping and sanding is a good example. Floor refinishing can take a long time, but only one person can do it at a time. This is where the finesse of the host can come into play: making sure helpers are organized and possibly staggering their arrival.
Painting can be another good task, but it is important that the host displays excellent leadership. People need to have jobs that match their skills. To avoid any horrible misunderstandings, it is a good idea that you make quality issues very clear from the start. The last thing you want to do is end friendships because your best friend’s new boyfriend dripped paint on your carpeting!
If you are the first person in your group of friends to host a barn raising, set a good example. You should provide a lot of good food and drink and promote a fun and convivial atmosphere.
Comments are closed! | <urn:uuid:4a9c6aa6-7fb0-4df7-bed1-5d1b1e33206b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.folksiness.com/2011/03/04/the-barn-raising/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963774 | 369 | 1.914063 | 2 |
- Budget Message
- Issues in Brief
- Closing the Achievement Gap
- Investing in Job Creation
- Positive Youth Development & Youth Violence Prevention
- Addressing Health Care Costs
- Reforms to Local Housing Authorities
- Initiatives to End Homelessness
- Investing in Community Colleges
- Criminal Justice Reforms
- Support for Our Veterans
- Improving Children, Youth & Families Services
- Investing in Our Communities
- Government Accountability & Transparency
- Social Innovation Financing
- Innovation & Technology
- Modernizing the Bottle Bill
- Health Promotion & Wellness Investments
- Quasi-Public Entity Reforms
- Improved Facilities Management
- Fiscal & Management Reforms
- Budget Recommendations
- Local Aid to Cities and Towns
- Capital Budget and Debt
Quasi-Public Entity Reforms
[ index ]
FY 2013 Budget Recommendation:
Issues in Brief
Deval L. Patrick, Governor
Timothy P. Murray, Lt. Governor
Under Governor Patrick’s leadership, the oversight authority of the Finance Advisory Board has expanded since 2007, and it is now charged to “promote transparency, public accountability and adherence to best practices by all state entities with respect to investments, borrowing or other financial transactions made or entered into by state entities and involving public funds.”
Last year, following the release of the Report of the Quasi-Public Authority Compensation Review Commission (also known as the Crosby Report), the Legislature adopted several recommendations to promote transparency and best practices at quasi-public authorities.
In accordance with its mission, the Finance Advisory Board’s activities have included gathering information about the existing debt management practices of the Commonwealth and state entities, acquiring general market and state entity-specific information, establishing emergency regulations to ensure there were no unintentional delays to certain pending transactions, and drafting and adopting comprehensive permanent regulations.
The Governor’s FY 2013 budget proposal would further expand the Finance Advisory Board’s authority to include governance oversight and the ability to coordinate the implementation of best practices by all quasi-public authorities and their boards. The Board would be renamed as the State Finance and Governance Oversight Board to reflect these changes. The budget would allow the Secretary of Administration and Finance to hire a limited, dedicated staff to serve the Board, funded by an assessment on all state authorities that manage public funds.
Crosby Report Results
The Crosby Report made a number of recommendations on compensation terms and conditions, and best practices for setting executive compensation, board training, transparency and oversight at quasi-public authorities. The Administration has worked with the quasi-public authorities to implement these recommendations. In addition, eight of the top 10 executive compensation packages have been substantially reduced through renegotiation or personnel changes.
The FY 2012 budget included reforms (listed below) for quasi-public authorities to increase accountability and transparency related to the management of public funds. In addition, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance has promulgated regulations and additional guidance for implementation. These new requirements include:
- Annual audit by an independent auditor, reporting to an audit committee of its governing board and filing the audit with the State Auditor;
- A separate audit on state funds if received over $500 K, providing transparency of taxpayer support for authorities;
- Set compensation for management by compensation committee of its board, based on comparable compensation for similar officers in state government as well as the private sector;
- Prohibit executive pay-outs for sick, vacation and other leave greater than would be allowed for state employees;
- Prohibit severance pay for executives removed for cause and limiting severance pay to not more than three months salary for early termination without cause; and
- Prohibit the Commonwealth from subsidizing the pensions and health insurance of state authorities’ retirees, requiring authorities to fund their liabilities.
The Governor’s FY 2013 budget proposal would further expand the Finance Advisory Board’s authority to continue the reform agenda by adding governance in addition to the oversight of financial affairs. The Board would be renamed as the State Finance and Governance Oversight Board to reflect these changes. The budget proposal includes the following recommendations:
- Amendment to various parts of MGL c.6, s.98 to include “governance” as part of the scope of oversight by the Board;
- Amendment to MGL c.6, s.98 (c) to add to the Board’s activities a convening, training, and dissemination of best practices function, including conducting meetings, conferences, or training sessions, maintaining a website, publishing materials, or any other activities deemed by the board to be necessary to disseminate best practices to state officials, board members and managers of state entities, and the public;
- Authority to charge an assessment to the Commonwealth and state entities overseen by the Board. Rates would be set annually by the Secretary, would be held in trust and would be assessed based on debt issued and assets under management; and
- Authority to hire an Executive Director and limited dedicated staff.
top of page | <urn:uuid:41e49d9c-581b-453d-a310-02f32a9e1f56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy13h1/exec_13/hbudbrief17.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939742 | 1,026 | 1.828125 | 2 |
An 8-week course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) begins in Pleasantville September 27, 2012. MBSR combines the art and science of meditation to help reduce stress, promote physical health, and cultivate emotional well-being. MBSR is non-sectarian eight-week program designed to introduce you to mindfulness meditation practices and apply these practices in your daily life. This program follows the curriculum developed by Dr. Jon-Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Mindfulness. For information about costs, or Mindfulness and MBSR, contact Instructor Alisha Aum at (917) 972-7291, email [email protected] or visit her website.
In addition to this new Thursday course, free meditation gatherings continue to be held in Pleasantville by the Many Branches Sangha on Saturday mornings at 8:30, also held at the United Methodist Church of Pleasantville, and at Pleasantville Community Synagogue, Saturday mornings at 9:00 am. All are welcome to these gatherings, regardless of membership, religious affiliation or background.
Rabbi Mark Sameth is the spiritual leader of Joyful Judaism: Pleasantville Community Synagogue an inclusive, progressive synagogue – with members from twenty towns, villages and cities all across Westchester and “A Hebrew School Your Kids Can Love.” Read The New York Times article. Follow Rabbi Mark on Twitter . Weekly meditation at the synagogue every Saturday morning at 9 am is open to the public; everyone – without exception - is welcome and warmly invited. OUR MEMBERSHIP DRIVE IS ON. See “Top Ten Reasons to Join PCS” at www.ShalomPCS.com. | <urn:uuid:5bf9831c-a723-4151-8492-decd23365391> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pleasantville.patch.com/groups/rabbi-mark-sameths-blog/p/bp--mindfulness-based-stress-reduction-mbsr-program-b9600595f75 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909977 | 360 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Troglodytidae - Birds Who Creep into Holes, Part 2
With one exception, our local wrens are more likely to be seen than heard. The exception is the House Wren, and even he tends to stay hidden. While many birds will sing their song from a prominent perch, the House Wren usually stays hidden in the foliage. His incessant activity and abiding curiosity in our open backyards, allows us to see him as he hurries about his business.
There are four representatives of the Wren Family in southeastern Vermont: House Wren, Winter Wren, Carolina Wren, and Marsh Wren.
Marsh Wrens (size about 5 inches), inhabit reedy marshes. They epitomize the elusiveness of wrens. They are far more likely to be heard than seen. Occasionally, if you are lucky and very patient, you might see a Marsh Wren singing in the open, or glimpse one as it pops up to investigate some noise. But more often you will get only fleeting impressions as it flits furtively through the dense marshes.
Carolina Wrens have smaller repertoires (about 32 songs per male) and use them differently. They sing the same song over and over - up to 250 times, then switch to another song. When encountering other territorial males, they switch songs more often. “Researchers hypothesize that matched counter-singing in the Carolina Wren calibrates the distance between two rival males. Since both males know how each song should sound, they can determine how far away their rival is by how degraded (by trees, brush, and incidental noise) his song sounds. Thus if a male gives a song known by his neighbor, he very clearly announces his presence and location on his territory, possibly preventing territorial incursions.” (Sibley)
With such large song repertoires, how does one go about learning the songs? The Marsh Wren is the easier of the two. It has a “wren” quality to it: bubbly and rattled, but reedy. When you hear a wren, or a rather long, complex song, in a dense marsh (for example, the marshes in the Retreat Meadows or Herrick’s Cove), it is almost certain that you are hearing a Marsh Wren. The Carolina Wren is more difficult. It is very loud and clear-noted. Kaufmann describes the Carolina Wren’s song as “rollicking, full-toned chant, ‘liberty-liberty-liberty-whew.’ Many variations.”
Since both the Marsh Wren and Carolina Wren are members of the Family “one who creeps into holes,” they both nest in cavities, of a sort.
The Carolina Wren is “flexible” about the cavity in which it nests. It will choose a natural hollow in a tree or stump, an old woodpecker hole, the middle of a brush pile, a nest box, the crevice in a building, the shelf in a garage, and any other spot that may catch its fancy. The nest is often domed with a side entrance. Twigs, leaves, weeds, and many other material go into the bulky mass that makes up his home.
A cavity for a Marsh Wren is a bit more problematic. There are no logs, stumps, woodpecker holes, or convenient nest boxes dangling from branches in a marsh, and cattails, bulrushes, and marsh grasses hardly provide holes to be crept into. So what does the Marsh Wren do?
A few summers ago, I kayaked in the marshy mouth of the Missisquoi River in northern Vermont. Marsh Wrens were occasionally popping above the marsh grasses singing their reedy wren song, then dropping back down. I drifted with the desultory current along the edge of the grasses, catching glimpses of the wren as he popped here and there, hoping that he might give away his nest location. Searching through the thick, reedy vegetation, I looked for some anomaly. I found an oval brown mass, like the boil on a tree trunk, except this was attached to a cattail. Through binoculars I could see that it was intricately woven out of old wet grass and assorted marsh detritus. The wren continued popping here and there. One of his pops landed him on the top of the oval mass of grasses, a hop put him halfway down the side of the mass, and then he disappeared into the side of the mass. Inside, I later learned (from books - not from destructive investigation) the Marsh Wren’s artificial cavity was lined with fine grass, plant down, and feathers.
In the course of my drifting, I found two more Marsh Wren nests near the edge of the reeds. The homesteaders who had built these cozy nests vociferously protested my near invasion of their claim, but stayed hidden from sight.
Troglodytes - that avian family of the Wrens, the family of birds who creep into holes - always provide entertaining moments. Perhaps that’s why they are my favorite birds. | <urn:uuid:4c2d955d-7cc3-4d80-b12a-0ba184a49ce4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tailsofbirding.blogspot.com/2010/06/troglodytidae-birds-who-creep-into_26.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967936 | 1,098 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Kindergarten Size Robot Interacts With Humans (Video)
In addition to the two smaller, dare we say 'younger' infant robots we covered in our earlier post, the Asada Synergistic Intelligence Project team also demonstrated “M3–Kindy”, approximately the size of a five year old.
To emulate the motions, sensing, perception, and interaction of a kindergarten age child, the robot was equipped with microphone ears, video camera eyes, and over 100 tactile sensors as well as 42 servos.
Thanks to KMoriyama, here are a series of videos from today's symposium:
M3–Kindy waking up, rolling over, and starting to crawl:
Seeing another person smile, responding with a smile, and interacting with others:
You might also enjoy: | <urn:uuid:fb9be754-a80c-4678-ae97-dcbc508a4412> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.robots-dreams.com/2010/06/kindergarten-size-robot-interacts-with-humans-video.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930534 | 168 | 2.34375 | 2 |
LONDON (AP) — Some beef lasagna products recalled from British stores contained more than 60 percent horsemeat, U.K. food safety authorities said Thursday. It was the latest revelation in a growing scandal surrounding the use of horsemeat and the mislabeling of meat products in Europe.
Frozen-food company Findus recalled the beef lasagna meals earlier this week after French supplier Comigel raised concerns that the products didn't "conform to specification." The U.K. Food Standards Agency said the lasagnas were tested as part of an ongoing investigation into mislabeled meat.
Already this month, millions of burgers have been taken off shop shelves as it emerged that beef products from three companies in Ireland and Britain contained horse DNA.
Eighteen beef lasagna products were tested by Findus, which found that 11 contained horsemeat in the 60 to 100 percent range, the Food Standards Agency said. It would not say if any of the meals were 100 percent horsemeat.
The agency said there's no evidence yet of a food safety risk, but added that tests have been ordered on the lasagna to see if it contains the veterinary drug phenylbutazone. Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain because it may pose a risk to human health, the agency added.
People who had purchased the meals were advised not to eat them but to return the products to the shops they were bought from.
Eating horsemeat is not generally a health risk, but the recent incidents have triggered disgust in Britain and Ireland, where horsemeat is not traditionally eaten. They also have raised fears over food security and labeling along the supply chain.
The revelations have shaken Ireland in particular, because beef exports are a key industry. Irish government officials and an Irish meat company have blamed meat imported from Poland, but Polish authorities say they have found no evidence backing those claims.
Findus UK apologized to customers and said it was confident it has "full resolved" the supply-chain issue. "We understand this it is a very sensitive subject for consumers and we would like to reassure you we have reacted immediately," the company said.
Catherine Brown, chief executive of the U.K. Food Standards Agency, said that following its investigations into Findus, the agency is demanding more comprehensive meat testing from the food business "in order to demonstrate that the food it sells and serves is what it says it is on the label."
"We are demanding that food businesses conduct authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagna, and provide the results to the FSA. The tests will be for the presence of significant levels of horsemeat," she said in a statement.
Comigel earlier this week had advised Findus — and the store chain Aldi — to remove frozen beef lasagna from store shelves. Supermarket chain Tesco also decided to withdraw its spaghetti bolognese, which was produced by Comigel. | <urn:uuid:7ddeb2c4-f5ae-49d4-93ea-cb19fc775c16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foodmanufacturing.com/news/2013/02/uk-lasagna-products-60-percent-horsemeat?qt-recent_content=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977699 | 607 | 2.125 | 2 |
Club: none | Opening: 1930 | Capacity: 50,093 seats
History and description
Stade Roi Baudouin (French) – Koning Boudewijnstadion (Dutch) is the largest stadium of Belgium, and the stadium where the Belgian national team plays most of its home matches.
Construction of the Stade Roi Baudouin, then still called Stade du Centenaire, came forth out of a desire by the city of Brussels to have a stadium that could cater for “every sport”. Construction started in 1929 and on the 23rd of August 1930, 100 years after the Belgian independence (hence the name Stade du Centenaire), the stadium was officially inaugurated.
Three weeks later, on the 14th of September, and with King Leopold in attendance, a derby between the national teams of Belgium and the Netherlands was the first match played at the stadium. The bowl-shaped stadium could hold over 70,000 spectators at that time.
Soon after the Second World War the stadium got renamed Heysel Stadium, after the area and plateau it was built on.
The Heysel Stadium underwent its first major redevelopment in 1974, when a new all-seater covered stand got built. In those years the stadium regularly hosted European Cup finals, however by the mid 1980s the state of the stadium had severely deteriorated, contributing to the Heysel stadium disaster of 1985.
That year the final of the European Cup between Juventus and Liverpool was to be contested at the stadium. An hour before the match rioting started, and when a group of Liverpool supporters charged the Juventus fans, the Juventus fans retreated and were pushed towards a side perimeter wall. Trying to escape by climbing over the wall, the wall collapsed, and 39 people died. Even though the match continued to be played, English teams were subsequently banned from European competitions for 5 years.
It took a few years though before the city of Brussels finally decided to extensively renovate the stadium. This happened in 1994 and at the same time it was renamed Stade Roi Baudouin – Koning Boudewijnstadion.
In 2000, Stade Roi Baudouin hosted the opening match of Euro 2000 along with two more matches in the group stage, a quarter-final, and the semi-final between France and Portugal (2-1).
Apart from the disaster final in 1985, three more European Cup finals were played at the stadium: the first in 1958 between Real Madrid and AC Milan (3-2), the second in 1966 between Real Madrid and Partizan Belgrade (2-1), and the third in 1974 between FC Bayern and Atlético Madrid (1-1 and 4-0 in the replay).
On top of this the stadium hosted four Cup Winners’ Cup finals: the first in 1964 between Sporting and MTK Hungária, the second in 1976 between Anderlecht and West Ham United, the third in 1980 between Valencia and Arsenal, and the last in 1996 at the newly renovated stadium between Paris Saint-Germain and Rapid Wien.
(photos of the present Stade Roi Baudouin below)
Stade Roi Baudouin – Koning Boudewijnstadion is located in the north of the city of Brussels, about 6 kilometres from Brussels’ city centre.
Three metro stations lie within walking distance of the stadium: Heysel, Roi Baudouin, and Houba-Brugmann, of which the first two are the closest. They can be reached with line 6 which circulates the centre of Brussels and also stops by railway station Gare du Midi (Zuidstation).
Stade Roi Baudouin can be easily reached by car from the Brussels ring road. Take exit 8 (Wemmel) from the northern part of the ring and drive a few hundred metres south. The stadium will be on your left.
Address: Marathonlaan 135/2, 1020 Bruxelles – Brussel.
Eat, drink, and sleep
Stade Roi Baudouin is part of a complex that includese the famous Atomium, the Brussels Expo, and is located close to Parc d’Osseghem. There is also a water park located next to the stadium, as well as the Mini-Europe miniature park, though both attractions are arguably more for children.
This does, however, mean that there are quite a few eating and drinking options in the immediate surroundings of the stadium. The rest of the area is mainly residential, but it being Belgium, this means that there is always a bar or restaurant near.
There are also a few hotels close to the stadium. Alliance Hotel Brussels Expo and Best Western Hotel Expo are both a very short walk away. Hotel Le Centenaire is another option, whereas the Ibis Expo Atomium and Hotel Auberge are conveniently located if you arrive by car.
Stade Roi Baudouin offers two options for stadium tours: a self-guided tour following a route through the stadium, or a group tour with a guide. The group tour lasts about 60 minutes, the estimated duration of the self-guided tour is up to 90 minutes.
The self-guided tour is available Monday to Friday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. Guided tours are available one Saturday per month (generally the first of the month). The self-guided tour costs €6.00 and the guided one €8.00.
Relevant Internet links
Prosporevent.be – Event manager of the Stade Roi Baudouin – Koning Boudewijnstadion.
Visitbrussels.be – Official website of the tourism bureau of Brussels.
STIB.be - Timetables, network maps and journey planner for Brussels public transport. | <urn:uuid:dc8d4ee2-e57c-44ae-ad3a-944ae5326ecd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stadiumguide.com/koningboudewijn/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946013 | 1,215 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Money management, consumer finance, personal financial planning, these terms are often used interchangeably. Personal finance is all about grasping the “big picture” as it pertains to our money. Our wants are seemingly infinite but unfortunately, our money is not. Personal financial planning can teach us how to effectively allocate our money (as well as our time) among competing needs and objectives, and ultimately, enhance the quality of our lives. It encompasses and influences almost every aspect of our life; borrowing, credit, budgeting and recordkeeping, debt management, education, estate planning, housing, insurance, investing, saving, spending and taxes, not to mention consumer and legal protection and wealth-building.
Finding a thoughtful, well-researched book on personal finance is not any easy task. A quick stroll into any retail bookstore reveals the multitude of books on money management. Some of these books are highly specialized, primarily written to appeal to a popular niche audience. A great number of books in the personal finance category, however, are just plain “fluff.” Flimsy, offering simplistic solutions to complex problems, overly trendy and anecdotal in nature, they make for enjoyable “weekend-end” reading but provide little or nothing in the way of any meaningful knowledge. Other types of books that crowd the shelves in the personal finance section are devoted towards wealth-building, specifically “how to get rich quick.” These types of books with provocative, attention-grabbing titles are overwhelmingly written by self-styled “experts” who are thrilled to share their unique financial insight and money-making strategies with the public. Most of these millionaire-making strategies involve “investing in commodities, buying and selling options, risky stock trading or leveraging real estate. It’s always interesting to peruse these sorts of books but, as a general guideline, your money can be put to far more productive use.
Here is a brief list of “core” books that can be an integral part of your personal finance library. A core book can serve as a comprehensive, stand-alone reference resource. It should provide a clear and accurate description or explanation of a personal finance topic. Ideally, it can serve as a starting point from which to seek out additional resources for specialized study on a given topic. One or two core books are more than sufficient. In putting together this brief list, more recent publications were selected. Older editions may be available. Although most of these books take an academic approach, they present the concepts, formulas, principles and terminology of personal finance in a thoughtful, cordial manner which can be easily understood. The material presented is far from dry and boring. Readers will find the use of “realistic” case examples to explain personal financial planning concepts helpful. These books are excellent for beginners and even fairly seasoned students of personal finance will gain fresh perspective from the thorough presentation of the subject matter and will likely pick up new concepts, formulas and terminology along the way.
Personal Finance/Financial Planning
1. Personal Finance: Planning And Implementing Your Financial Goals, Vickie L. Bajtelsmit; John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005. A workbook edition is also available separately. Personal Finance: Skills For Life, Vickie L. Bajtelsmit; John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005.
2. Personal Finance, E. Thomas Garman and Raymond E. Forgue; Cengage Learning, 2007.
3. Personal Finance: An Integrated Planning Approach, Ralph R. Frasca; Prentice Hall, 2008.
4. Personal Financial Literacy, Joan Ryan; Cengage Learning, 2007.
1. The Mathematics Of Personal Finance: A Complete Reference, Donald E. Lutz; iUniverse, 1999. Mathematical formulas can help us greatly to solve everyday financial planning problems and concerns.
2. Standard & Poor’s Dictionary Of Financial Terms, Virginia B. Morris and Kenneth M. Morris; Lightbulb Press Inc., (McGraw Hill) 2007.
For informational purposes only and not intended as recommendation. The writer is not affiliated with any of the authors and publishing companies. | <urn:uuid:fae92035-fa58-4d5b-9cde-7d78420ee61a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art56750.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918815 | 855 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Colfax Fluid Handling understands the challenges you face. From the flight deck to the engine room, from the superstructure to gun turrets, our products and expertise are found globally and operate reliably 24/7.
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Whether you are an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm designing a new system, or a power plant operator looking to improve the performance and reliability of an existing system, here are 5.5 things to consider regarding pumps and pumping systems.
Volute casing centrifugal pumps of inline design have a variety of uses including sea and fresh water, supply and transfer, HVAC and more. This spec sheet outlines component specifications, performance data and global product contacts.
Though pumps are the workhorses of many industries (refining, chemical/petrochemical, and pump and paper), for some reason bearing lubrication is often not considered a high priority. However, concern for pump reliability is growing as a result of record keeping, increasing repair costs, and professional papers that continue to give lubrication issues attention.
Centralized systems have certain advantages that cannot be overlooked when taking into account tight plant production schedules and OSHA safety regulations.
Oil-mist lubrication systems have been used for many years. Properly applied, they also represent a proven and environmentally clean technology for lubricating rotating equipment in the hydrocarbon processing industry.
Why oil mist? In and of itself, oil-mist lubrication does not “cure” or prevent every conceivable lubrication-related failure of rotating equipment. Oil mist will not “heal” a compromised bearing, and a pre-existing defect can culminate in a bearing failure. However, properly applied oil mist will indeed extend bearing life when compared to most alternative lubrication methods.
Savings in driver maintenance, lower operating manpower, reduced lubricant consumption and energy savings should also be included in a cost justification.
Oil mist lubrication is a proven and environmentally clean technology for the lubrication of rotating equipment in process industries. The use of oil mist lubrication has grown dramatically worldwide delivering increased reliability to many types of rotating equipment.
Even today, with every weapon, tool and piece of equipment that we use, we continue to look for ways to improve on its reliability. To do that, however, we can’t just focus on the piece of equipment itself, or the way it’s operated. Rather, we also must target the various ancillary systems that support equipment operation. Lubrication is one of these important systems.
Major oil companies were the first to adopt and use oil mist. Now many of the smaller and even the independent refineries recognize the benefits of oil mist lubrication and are using it to achieve improved reliability with their smaller workforces.
An electric utility reduced installation time, expense and equipment footprint with a packaged pumping system.
In recent years, COT-PURITECH has made inroads into the refinery and chemical plant market in the Gulf Coast region, opening a satellite office in League City, Texas. In just three years, it had already outgrown that space, and the company recently broke ground on a new 15,000-square-foot facility that will allow it to sustain expansion.
Transporting crude oil from remote fields to the consumer market is a long haul. Along this intricate network of pipelines, processing facilities and tank farms, the crude oil must be repeatedly moved, treated, separated, boosted and ultimately refined prior to its delivery to various end markets. The total process is immensely energy intensive.
Colfax discusses pump and system efficiency in Power Engineering Mag.
A look at the importance of the consulting/engineering approach in customizing a packaged pumping solution.
This primer on twin and three screw pumps describes how they are uniquely suited to many applications in the oil and gas market. | <urn:uuid:7458b532-16aa-4189-bea4-bcb9e4e7c6cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colfaxcorp.com/articles | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946778 | 814 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Cycling training require disciplines. From the intensed workout, an aerobically demanding speedway events to the ultra-endurance stage races. Each discipline requires a unique road bike training tips and approach. Even with the same discipline, variations in distance will have an effect on a cyclist fitness regime.
Cyclists who know the sport and can tell you how to get a good performance from each ride. You can listen to the wannabes, but they can’t teach you the proper and correct road bike training tips and they’re not able to know ways on how to minimize the possibility of injury. If you want to ride like a professional, you have to be able to know the techniques used to gain that edge.
Not everyone who loves cycling want to ride like a professional. Some do it because they just want to have a healthy body and they want the discipline to be able to say that they completed the marathons. If you want to improve your riding speed like the professionals, you need to learn the road bike training tips from them.
High performance begins before you get on the bike. You need to know how to build endurance, how to upgrade your training from level to the next. In the mean time, you wouldn’t want to suffer from unwanted injuries because it can slow down your progress.
Road bike training tips from MyCycling benefits the ordinary racer to the person who has the goal of becoming the next Lance Armstrong. Most improvement isn’t based on how many miles you completed, but by getting the knowledge to ride better.
When you get mentoring by those who’ve traveled the road you want to take, you can learn everything from outfitting yourself with the correct and proper attire and gear to discover the right way to pedal. There is a correct way professionals pedal a bike that separates the way from an ordinary rider. You’ll see how to hold your posture and how to use your legs for more power and effective speed.
road bike training tipsIf you’re not riding the way you want to, it’s time to get into a proper road bike training program that will help you reach the goal, that will guide you to a precise strokes and faster winning time. In this sport, the right posture can make a winner while the wrong form can put you finishing near the last.
If you can’t find terrain that’s made to give you an easy and smooth ride, you have to know how to escape the problems and whatever obstacles lie between you and the end. When you want good results, you have to be willing to work hard to get them.
You have to practice hard and road bike training takes a lot of time. But who has the long hours to spare for months of training? By learning road bike training tips, you can take weeks off the time it takes to train and yet get the best ride of your life. Becoming a better cyclist is something that the right cycling training program will achieve.
- Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Review
- How To Choose A Mountain Bike
- Cycling Is About Much more Than Training
- Cycling – Enjoy Getting Fit With This Fun To Do Activity
- Discover Time To have In your Bike
Author: TempestDelap381This author has published 7 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon. | <urn:uuid:2d4f393d-1f8d-439a-b651-bd497864f372> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articleblastpro.com/road-bike-training-tips-for-beginners | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947726 | 689 | 2.015625 | 2 |
English Vocabulary refers to the words in the English language. Learning English requires many skills, and vocabulary can be seen as knowledge you can’t do without.
The English Words in this section is that required by the IELTS external exam, and represents a good to very good level of the English language.
At English we believe that English learners would benefit greatly from a large word in all areas of their language ability.
In this site, you could find many lists of words related to Places, Profession, Number, Character, Church, Governmenr, Marriage, Medicine,Science,Art etc...
Take your own time to go through all these lists of Vocabulary and note down the words which you may need for your writings.
From English Vocabulary to HOME PAGE | <urn:uuid:7b6724e3-e384-4fc9-970f-c65b21b6ab2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.english-for-students.com/Vocabulary-Z.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927918 | 159 | 3.5 | 4 |
The phrase force of nature implies unbounded energy and brings to mind the dangers of hurricanes, tornadoes and the rarely-seen-in-these-parts typhoon. But Mother Nature also has a softer side; shes as responsible for the gentle breezes and cool spring rains as she is for the lashing winds and deluge. Forces of Nature, the current show at Art Saint Louis (917 Locust Street; 314-241-4810 or www.artslouis.org), graphically portrays both the wild and mild powers of the natural world. Greg Barths digital print, Old Barn, draws more on the stolid might of nature. A blanket of snow covers the titular barn and the surrounding ground and trees -- but a few blades of tough grass poke up through the crust, revealing the enduring power of life. Even in the dead of winter, the grass survives, albeit in a dormant state. Forces of Nature is on display through Thursday, June 28; Art Saint Louis opens at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: May 19. Continues through June 28 | <urn:uuid:0bea990a-6238-4376-bb37-bb0098f208c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2007-05-16/calendar/nature-revealed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923625 | 232 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Driving the Day: 12/19/12
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Dec 19, 2012
This will be the last edition of Driving the Day as we adjust our content to better meet our readers’ preferences.
Need to know…
- Boehner Announces “Plan B” to Avoid Tax Hikes. With slow progress in negotiations over the looming fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner announced a "Plan B," legislation that would avoid the tax increases set for the end of the year. If passed, the plan would extend tax rates for tax payers earning $1 million or less a year, increasing the top marginal tax bracket to 39.6%. The plan would not, however, address the debt limit, sequestration or unemployment benefits. Such a plan would likely pass the House, but it would not pass the democratically controlled Senate. A House vote on the plan is expected this week.
- U.S. Trade Imbalance Lowest Since 2010. The U.S. current account trade deficit fell to $107.5 billion in the third quarter, the lowest level since 2010, reports the Commerce Department. The Q3 imbalance is down 9% from $118.1 billion last quarter. The current account tracks commerce and investment flows between nations, which is an indicator of how much the United States will borrow from abroad. Some economists think this drop in the deficit will be short lived, with the continued global economic slowdown hurting demand for U.S. exports and potentially swelling the country's trade imbalance in the coming months.
- “Fiscal Cliff” Failure Could Hurt U.S. Credit Rating. The ratings firm Fitch says the United States could lose its AAA credit rating if the federal government is unable to address spending reduction and tax increases before the end of the year. The firm's 2013 global outlook notes failure to avoid the fiscal cliff would increase uncertainty and throw the country into a recession. Fitch reports a negative current outlook on the U.S. sovereign rating and could potentially follow the 2011 AAA downgrade implemented by its rival rating firm Standard & Poor's.
Worth the read…
- Builders Hanging Help-Wanted Signs as Industry Rebounds – Bloomberg
- House Republicans to Vote on "Fiscal Cliff" Bill Thursday – Reuters
- How Soon Could Jobless Rate Reach 6.5%? – USA Today
- U.S.-China Talk Trade in a Time of Transitions – Washington Post
- Fitch Warns U.S. Could Lose AAA Status if Fiscal Cliff Hits – Fox Business
- VC Predictions for 2013: Good, Bad, and Ugly – CNBC
- Once Proudly Web Only, Shopping Sites Hang Out Real Shingles – New York Times
- Five Small Business Finance Trends of 2012 – Fox Business
- For Sale: U.S. Highways and Bridges – CNN Money
- Jack Frost Arrives Just in Time to Save Retailers' Holiday – CNBC
- The Government Policies That Are Suffocating Entrepreneurs – Business Insider | <urn:uuid:14341e06-21ef-47a1-b9dd-66e4daf50ee3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freeenterprise.com/driving-day-121912 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91411 | 657 | 1.523438 | 2 |
joie de vivre here only intermittantly
I was in the desert, somewhere in the middle east – Iraq maybe. We were in some sort of large mobile fortification. We viewed as a threat. We thought it was funny – inside the fortification was a group of diverse women. We had come together for a cultural exchange and celebration. We were guarded by our brave and (very) handsome men who were posted around the fortification. The men all were wearing keffiyehs and carried large automatic weapons. This is why we were being viewed as a threat. But they were only gallantly guarding us – they would not attack anyone unprovoked.
Is it important? The fortification was hexagonal in shape, not uniform. I had in my mind a sketch of the fortification and the women inside as stick figures.
At the very end of the dream, I was teaching the group how to sing Kumbayah in harmony, the melody and the alto part. As I was entering waking consciousness, I thought it was funny that we would all be holding hands and singing this stereotypical song, when those who saw us as a threat came to pre-emptively attack. | <urn:uuid:099407cc-59ef-4179-b6eb-1014279772ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.43things.com/entries/view/5526895 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.993994 | 245 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The Prophet In Aenon
The purpose of the life and ministry (see the Fact Finder question below) of the prophet John (commonly known as "John the Baptist") was to announce the arrival of the The Messiah:
"3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance [see The Origin of Baptism]: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with The Holy Ghost, and with fire:
3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire [see Baptism Of Fire]" (Matthew 3:11-12 KJV)
"And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there"
John had a very popular ministry at a time when Jesus was almost unknown. But John made clear that "I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him."
"3:22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples [see Disciples of Christ] into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
3:23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 3:24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 3:25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan [see The Jordan River], to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
3:31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 3:32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:22-36 KJV)
Fact Finder: (a) Was the prophet John born of a miracle? Was the entire purpose of his life to be the prophet that would announce the coming of the Christ? Was that mission announced to John's father before John was even conceived? (b) What happened to John after Jesus began His ministry, as John prophesied would come?
(a) Luke 1:11-17, Luke 1:76-80 and see The Other Miraculous Birth
(b) See John's Last Days | <urn:uuid:e4ba0545-2cfe-4b67-8321-541ff1a2e711> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.keyway.ca/htm2008/20081204.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978796 | 776 | 2.53125 | 3 |
We’ve written before that progress in understanding the folding of RNA molecules could lead to building molecular machinery from RNA—an RNA nanotechnology. Because RNA is a chemical cousin of DNA, with slightly different properties from DNA, the Watson-Crick base pairs that constitute the molecular recognition code for DNA nanostructures are supplemented by other significant interactions, thus giving RNA molecules a wider range of structural and functional properties, including mimicking protein enzymes in some cases. A developing understanding of these non-Watson-Crick interactions places RNA nanotech on a firmer foundation. PhysOrg.com led us to a press release from the Université de Montréal (UdeM): “The structural alphabet of RNA“:
UdeM bioinformaticians make an important discovery: a very small number of motifs of 8 nucleotides or less are sufficient to reconstitute the RNA structures that are found in experimental databases
A team of bioinformaticians at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) report in the March 6th edition of Nature the discovery of a structural alphabet that can be used to infer the 3D structure of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules from sequence data.
With the growing recognition of the importance of small RNAs in cellular metabolism, the ability to predict accurate RNA structures from sequence data has become an important research goal. Thanks to the work of François Major, principal investigator at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer of the UdeM and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research, and Marc Parisien, a graduate student in his laboratory, a significant step has been made towards this goal.
Unlike its DNA cousin, which is made of two complementary strands that are wrapped around each other in a monotonous double helix, RNA molecules are made of single strands that can fold into an array of complex structures.
The structure of an RNA is determined in large part by the pairing of its constituent nucleotides over short regions of the molecule. Until now, RNA structure has usually been modelled by looking for the most stable combination of such paired regions. The classical approach, however, suffers from an important limitation: it only takes into account the canonical Watson-Crick interactions A:U and G:C, that is those where the nucleotides are facing each other.
The non-canonical Hoogsteen and sugar interactions, those where the nucleotides are side by side or on top of each other, are not taken into account by conventional modelling algorithms. The result can be incomplete or erroneous models which can mislead researchers.
The attempt to remedy this problem led Major and Parisien to propose a radically different approach to model RNA structure. Their idea was to assemble the structure in silico starting from motifs that combine all the possible interactions between a nucleotide and its neighbors. While working on this approach, the UdeM bioinformaticians made an important discovery: a very small number of motifs of 8 nucleotides or less are sufficient to reconstitute the RNA structures that are found in experimental databases. | <urn:uuid:d35f2df5-9e27-4bde-a81c-5543b928c2fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2683 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93614 | 638 | 3.625 | 4 |
Have you ever wondered what weaves and hair extensions are produced of? The process is quite fascinating for some and for others; they could in no way look at hair extensions clip in hair extensions uk, weaves and wigs the exact same once more.
When you obtain merchandise made from human hair, the hair is basically produced from real humans. Humans in 3rd world countries, mostly from Asia (China and India) will sell their lengthy locks for funds. European hair is very popular in today’s marketplace but the texture does not match most hair texture of African American ladies which is why most afro weaves are created from real Indian human hair, Brazilian human hair or just plain old synthetic hair.
When females in these third world countries are seeking to sell their hair, the buyers will essentially suggest that the girls do their ideal to obtain their hair healthy. The directions to get their hair healthy are: eat a wholesome diet plan, refrain from using too a lot of goods and in particular no heat appliances. For most females the heat appliances and products are not the problem, the problem can be a healthy diet. The donors are normally quite young ladies and virgin hair is ideal. Virgin hair indicates that it has in no way been chemically treated. Virgin is one of the most expensive kinds available on the market.
Often when you are buying ‘human hair blend’ a mixture of actual and synthetic strands. In the 1960′s yak hair was utilised in weaves and unfortunately yak hair had a horribly musky odor to it that could not be washed away. This kind employed to be referred to as ‘Yaki’ weaves and was introduced by the Koreans but these days the term ‘Yaki’ has absolutely nothing to do with the animal anymore but has more to do with the texture of the hair. Yaki is truly a more relaxed texture of hair but not as relaxed as the ‘silky’ texture which is normally Asian.
Today’s’ low-priced and imported weaves use actual human strands but simply because of its poor good quality the price will also be drastically lower. Low good quality hair does not tolerate considerably actual wearing hair extension clip, styling and washing. Excellent real human hair costs rather a bit more but may be worth a pretty penny. | <urn:uuid:d4652e97-f675-4936-bf7e-79dd12f01665> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boeversgiiv.over-blog.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972415 | 471 | 2 | 2 |
This article was originally distributed via PRWeb. PRWeb, WorldNow and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.
SOURCE: Kids Activities Blog
If space is at premium, a triple bunk bed is the solution. Kids Activities Blog has published great build a bed plans that fit into anyone's budget and look amazing.
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) February 06, 2013
If space is at a premium at home, Kids Activities Blog may have the perfect solution to build a bed for any family with multiple kids. The triple bunk bed idea looks cute, is easy to do, and most of all a budget friendly solution to the dilemma of space in the kids bedroom.
Materials needed for the triple bunk bed can be purchased at any home builder store. They include 18 carriage bolts and nuts, 2X6 boards, 2X4 boards, and 2X3 boards, 3 sheets of plywood, a box of 3" wood screws, gel stain, and rub-on polyurethane.
To make the building a bit easier, Kids Activities Blog published some tips. They include letting the hardware store, such as Lowes, cut the board according to the specifications and help them load into the car. Another great tip suggests to borrow the needed tools such as a table saw, router, drill and power sander. Another alternative is to rent the tools instead of buying them.
Building the bed can be completed within a weekend. Once completed, the kids as well as parents will love the bigger floor space in what was once a crowded room.
For the complete set of instructions and the Triple Bunk Bed plans, check out Kids Activities Blog this month.
About Kids Activities Blog
Kids Activities Blog is a website created by two moms (who collectively have 9 children), Rachel Miller and Holly Homer from June Cleaver Nirvana. It is their daily goal to inspire parents and teachers to play with kids. This interactive website publishes simple things to do with kids twice a day. Kids Activities Blog is a great tool for moms and teachers to find kid-friendly activities that create memories and sneak learning into the fun.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/2/prweb10348122.htm | <urn:uuid:23fb62db-b9b2-4b77-a34c-2317c7968473> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kcbd.com/story/20979077/ingenious-plans-to-build-a-bed-are-published-on-kids-activities-blog-together-with-a-clever-triple-bunk-bed-plan-that-will-fit-into-anyones-budget | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939033 | 468 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Bute or Buteshire, former county, W Scotland, consisting mainly of the islands of Bute and Arran. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Bute became (1975) part of the new Strathclyde region. In the local government reorganization of 1996, Strathclyde was dissolved; Bute island became part of the council area of Argyll and Bute, and Arran part of North Ayshire.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
More on Bute from Fact Monster:
See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish Political Geography | <urn:uuid:0b337254-0785-495c-8cb2-5aae20b49f40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/world/bute.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921327 | 138 | 2.78125 | 3 |
By Iain Martin
7:00PM BST 19 May 2012
Pressure is building in Britain for an in/out referendum.
What does the European crisis mean for Britain?
The uncertainty over the future of the euro and the accompanying recession in parts of Europe could not have come at a worse time for the struggling UK economy. Estimates of how much of Britain’s global trade is with the eurozone vary. It is somewhere between 40 per cent and 50 per cent, perhaps higher.
Either way, our single largest trading partner being in crisis creates practical difficulties for British businesses trying to sell goods and services to Europe. It affects orders, investment, profits, growth and jobs in the UK. There is some good news. British banks are not directly overly exposed to stricken Greece, unlike the French and German banks and governments who lent far too much. The Treasury took precautions last year and asked UK banks to reduce their exposure. Britain also retains its own currency and our trade outside the EU is showing serious signs of improvement. During the crisis the pound has also recovered, making this a good year to holiday in Europe.
If Greece leaves the euro, how will the rest of Europe be affected?
Against a backdrop of gridlocked negotiations, and with evidence of runs on some banks in the eurozone, it looks as though it is all but over for Greece in the euro. In European capitals, contingency planning is under way.
f Greek withdrawal happens, and that could be within days, it will be very sudden. An emergency government in Athens will have to relaunch the drachma and probably impose something close to martial law to keep order. The real difficulty for Britain comes if there is then contagion, with panic spreading to bigger European countries such as Spain and Italy, which are also struggling with debts and uncompetitive economies. If that cannot be contained, expect the return of the “credit crunch” across Europe, which would make banking difficult, freeze trade and deepen Britain’s recession.
What is the likely cost?
According to UBS, the Swiss bank, even if Greece stays in the euro it will mean 60 billion euros of bailout money already lent to Greece by European taxpayers having to be written off. If Greece leaves the single currency, thus defaulting on its debts, estimates start at 225 billion euros of losses.
Robert Chote, the head of the Government’s Office for Budget Responsibility, warned last week that Britain might never recover from the resulting deep recession or depression.
However, even in current circumstances, that is an uncharacteristically melodramatic analysis. Britain, and Europe, have recovered from much worse, such as war, in the past.
Of course, what lies ahead is potentially chaotic and thus terrifying. But if the euro can be stripped back to its stronger core members and weaker countries such as Greece leave, to devalue, those nations will have some hope of eventual recovery. In contrast, it is difficult to see where growth and recovery are going to come from with the increasingly untenable status quo.
What will be the political impact in Britain?
The eurozone crisis could change the game. It vindicates Eurosceptics and is a humiliating defeat for the Europhiles who advocated British membership of the single currency. British public opinion is becoming more hostile to the EU and pressure is building for an in/out referendum, to settle the question at last.
David Cameron is usually good in the immediate aftermath of a crisis; following a eurozone meltdown or reorganisation he would have an opportunity to renegotiate a looser British relationship with the EU. But it is highly unlikely he would do that, particularly as he is in coalition with the Europhile Nick Clegg, who wouldn’t let him. And if the longer-term result of a Greek departure is the misery of a sustained economic depression, it will surely be hard for an incumbent prime minister to hold on to power.
Labour is already recording large poll leads, and some of its leading figures – such as Tony Blair, Lord Mandelson and David Miliband – have started to rally round the current leadership. They clearly sense that, contrary to expectations, events are conspiring to make an Ed Miliband premiership perfectly possible.
What if other eurozone countries are caught in the contagion and pressure is applied on Britain to contribute more money?
Britain will not join in any future European driven bail-out of the single currency. But if countries beyond Greece, such as Spain, are at risk of falling out of the euro, the sums required to prop up the European economy will be so vast that there will immediately be a call made by eurozone governments for funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The US, and other leading world economies including Britain, will comply, for fear of the consequences of refusing short-term aid to stricken Europe. If there is such a euro meltdown, forget the current argument over the Government’s so-called Plan A, involving austerity, or Plan B, the Opposition’s call for even more spending aimed at stimulating the economy. At that point Mr Cameron and George Osborne will need to come up with a Plan E (E for Emergency), to deal with the dire consequences of prolonged recession and global economic chaos.
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Photo credit: Isabelle Oliver
Don Miguel Ruiz
says four things can bring you the freedom, happiness and love you're
looking for. Read on as he answers common questions about applying each
one of The Four Agreements to your daily life.
Agreement #1: Be Impeccable with Your WordKeep reading >>
All the magic you possess is based on your word. Depending upon how it is used,
the word can set you free, or it can enslave you even more than you know.
Question: Does “being impeccable with your word” mean that you
always tell the truth, even when it hurts someone’s feelings? How can I
be impeccable without damaging my relationships or hurting others?
don Miguel: Well, you are also impeccable when you don’t put your
nose where nobody wants it. You don’t have the right to try to fix
other people’s points of view. You don’t need to be right and make them
wrong because of what you believe. They have the right to suffer if
that’s what they want to do. Many times, people don’t want you to tell
them the truth; they only want you to tell them what they want to hear.
You have to be wise enough to understand that when they ask you
something, they are expecting a certain answer. You can go along with
the game or not; it’s up to you. But you don’t need to create a lot of
enemies by telling them what you think is true. That is not what they
want to hear.
You can avoid the question, or you can tell them that you don’t have any
opinion about it. The problem is that they can take your words and
change your words, and use them for gossiping. Many people only want
your point of view to get evidence of what they believe about themselves
or about someone else. They will come to you and ask, “What is your
opinion? What do you think about this or that?” and you can give your
sincere opinion, but they will change it. And then they will say that
you said that about them, and involve you in gossip.
Sometimes you give information to your friends because you trust them
and believe they are loyal to you. Maybe it’s your best friend, and you
gossip about yourself and tell her what you feel about yourself, about
other people, making the assumption that she will not share it with
anybody. And perhaps this is true, until she is no longer your friend.
If something happens and she gets hurt or angry and breaks the
friendship with you, a way for her to get even with you is to gossip
about all the information you gave her. Something you have to learn
about gossiping is that it begins with yourself. Don’t gossip about
Question: When someone is gossiping, what is the most tactful way of stopping the gossip?
don Miguel: The best way to stop others from gossiping is by not
reacting to their gossip. If you react, you encourage them to gossip
even more. If you don’t react, and they see that it’s not affecting you,
at a certain point they just let it go. If you don’t accept the poison
they send, that poison doesn’t affect you.
Question: If I am talking to a friend of mine about another
person we both know, does this mean I am gossiping even if I don’t say
anything bad about that person?
don Miguel: Gossiping can have good intentions, bad intentions,
or no intentions at all. But even when the originator of the gossip
doesn’t have a bad intention, the receiver of the information can change
it into a bad intention. Whoever hears the information digests the
information, and then changes it according to his or her perception.
That’s why it’s better not to gossip at all.
Question: If someone asks me what I think about someone else, and
I tell the truth, I feel like I’m gossiping. If I don’t tell the truth,
then I’m lying to that person. What should I do?
don Miguel: Just don’t give any information. It’s the same advice
as my grandfather used to give me: “Don’t put your nose where nobody
wants it.” Just say, “I have no opinion” or “It’s not my business.”
Question: Whenever I think about improving myself, I get confused
because then I’m not accepting myself exactly as I am. How can I accept
myself exactly as I am and still try to improve myself?
don Miguel: You can be aware that you want to improve yourself,
but not because you believe you are not good enough. It is possible to
improve yourself without rejecting yourself. By having this awareness
and not judging yourself, you have already improved. If you accept
yourself, you no longer judge yourself or find yourself guilty. If you
don’t find yourself guilty, you will not punish yourself, and right away
things start changing for the better. | <urn:uuid:0e7d99a7-eba4-416b-89e6-d2b75d1ae88f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsunday/blogs/How-to-Live-The-Four-Agreements-QA-with-don-Miguel-Ruiz | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949844 | 1,144 | 1.679688 | 2 |
At this time of year, it’s quite common to find fawns that appear to be abandoned. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division encourages citizens not to remove these animals from the wild because it is illegal to be in possession of any live white-tailed deer.
Chances are that a seemingly abandoned fawn isn’t abandoned at all, but is actually being protected by its mother. “How is a doe protecting her fawn by leaving it?” you ask. Since fawns are virtually scentless and well camouflaged, the doe moves away while feeding so that her scent doesn’t attract a predator to the fawn’s location. She is using natural instinct to protect her fawn.
Many people believe that because the fawn is alone it must have been abandoned. They decide that the fawn needs “rescuing,” so they remove it. Often they take the fawn home where someone attempts to raise it. Doing so will negatively affect the welfare of the animal.
Fawns, as well as other young, wild animals, have needs that humans do not realize. Once habituated to humans, these deer, even if raised to adult age, can rarely be successfully returned to the wild. So, if you come across one of these fawns, the best advice is to just leave it there. If you have already removed one, then it is best to return it and release it exactly where it was found.
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Each year, millions of Americans are diagnosed with digestive disorders, ranging from the occasional upset stomach to the more life-threatening colorectal cancer. They encompass disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
About 70 million people in the United States are affected by all digestive problems. Digestive disorders account for more than 104 million physician office visits per year. In 2004, digestive disorders totaled more than $141 billion in medical costs.
Most digestive diseases are very complex, with subtle symptoms, and the causes of many remain unknown. They may be inherited or develop from multiple factors such as stress, fatigue, diet, or smoking. Abusing alcohol imposes the greatest risk for digestive diseases.
Reaching a diagnosis requires a thorough and accurate medical history and physical examination. Some patients may need to undergo more extensive diagnostic evaluations, including lab tests, endoscopic procedures, and imaging techniques. Physicians who specialize in the treatment of digestive problems are called gastroenterologists. | <urn:uuid:6995484b-f369-4c7e-9d20-3d3be896a81f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nebraskamed.com/health-library/adult/digestive-disorders/32177/home-page-digestive-disorders | 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 | 0.948453 | 204 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Looking east along dam axis. View shows up- and down- stream cofferdams of new enclosure. Barges, with pumps for concrete cooling, anchored near dam, in the center. Stream shows ice flowing.
Seen here are the diversion channels and the high and low construction trestles from the top of the west bank. Notice the flooded cofferdam areas ad the ice flowing down the Columbia through the central channel | <urn:uuid:d6159665-0b20-4dfb-a960-50e3be4218ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/banks/id/1514/rec/30 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918378 | 86 | 1.570313 | 2 |
CONFESSION: I take way more than the recommended dose of Advil when cramps or headaches hit.
The recommended dose of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Advil is two tablets, or 400 mg, every six hours. But that doesn't always do the job. So taking three tablets, or 600 mg, is fine on occasion, says Seth Feltheimer, M.D., an internist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in New York City. Docs often dole out prescription NSAIDs like naproxen in higher doses than the OTC recommendation. However, unless it's prescribed by your doc, don't rely on high doses for more than a day or two; "by the third or fourth day, they may irritate your stomach," says Feltheimer, and over time you could put yourself at risk for side effects such as acute liver failure. As for acetaminophen, talk to your doctor — high doses can be hard on the liver. If cramps or headaches won't let up, ask your doc about a plan to manage the pain.
CONFESSION: My family won't eat anything that doesn't come in a box, in a wrapper, or on a bun.
How bad is it? For little ones, a refusal to eat veggies on any given day won't harm them — so stop stressing, says pediatrician Laura Jana, M.D., a media spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and coauthor of Food Fights. Besides, how many grown-ups always choose broccoli over ice cream? However, "it becomes a problem if kids don't eat vegetables on a regular basis. Not only are they missing out on vitamins and nutrients like fiber and potassium, but they're also at risk of developing unhealthy eating habits that can hang on for life," she says. So here's how to raise a family of produce monsters: Make fruits — oranges and apples, for example — look more appealing by placing them in colorful bowls. Then set them out where the kids run around, like on the counter or kitchen table, says Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, whose study found that this trick increased fruit sales in schools by 104 percent. Wansink also found that young kids are 20 percent more likely to eat their greens if you give them a cool name (broccoli bites!) or associate them with a story ("Did I ever tell you that your awesome cousin Mike loves peas?"). Although vitamins shouldn't replace fruits and veggies, you can also check with your child's pediatrician about supplementing with a multi if you're worried.
CONFESSION: My husband and I both have heart disease in our families, but we still love to hit the local steak house on date night.
Detour, detour, detour! It's tempting to think that pigging out once a week is harmless, but if you're already at risk for heart disease, any number of Bloomin Onions can damage your health. Research shows that eating just one high-fat meal can impair blood-vessel function for several hours; that puts too much pressure on your arteries. You can't control your genetic makeup, but you can influence the way your genes behave. Researchers in Canada found that some people with genes known to boost the risk of heart problems who also ate a diet high in trans fats and simple carbs were 200 percent more likely to have a heart attack than people without those genes. But gene-carriers who ate a fruit- and veggie-rich diet had normal risk levels. Diet matters. | <urn:uuid:26b1c4c6-b0d7-40c8-b268-f3f757f0ad73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/advice/unhealthy-habits-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960202 | 748 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Community Technology Centres Program
|About this Item||Subjects||Technology; Community Centres; Rural Conditions; Information technology
||Speakers||Fazio The Hon Amanda
The Hon. AMANDA FAZIO [5.11 p.m.]: In recent months I have had the opportunity to either open or present awards at a number of community technology centres [CTCs] in New South Wales. For those who are not familiar with CTCs, the New South Wales Community Technology Centre Program [CTC@NSW] is a partnership made up of the New South Wales Government, the Commonwealth Government and regional New South Wales communities. Through the partnership, small regional New South Wales communities are supported in planning, gaining seed funding and implementing community-owned information technology enterprises that provide communities with the ability to enhance service and program delivery in their towns.
CTC@NSW improves the social, economic and cultural life of small regional New South Wales towns through the implementation of local information technology infrastructure that enhances service and program access. It supports small regional towns in taking up the opportunities of the new information economy through community designed and planned facilities. The Commonwealth Government, through its Networking the Nation Program, has provided $8.25 million to CTC@NSW as seed funding for CTC establishment. CTC@NSW manages the funding program and development work with communities through the New South Wales Government funding of $7.2 million. CTC@NSW was launched in March 2001 and has been funded up to June 2004.
In May 2001, CTC@NSW was successful in gaining further funding of $1.29 million from the Networking the Nation Program for business planning and recapitalisation programs for existing telecentres, the establishment of a videoconferencing network based in CTC@NSW network centres, and the establishment of a number of specific purpose learning centres. CTCs provide community members, business groups and organisations with access to affordable, quality information technology for services and programs that enhance community access to services and programs such as online New South Wales government services, business services, training programs, e-commerce incubators, online banking, teleworking, web site development services, virtual office facilities, youth programs, and digital media facilities.
On 12 March this year I had the pleasure of opening the CTC at Tambar Springs, a small village in the electorate of Upper Hunter, which is in the Gunnedah council area. The level of community involvement in that small village, which is commendable, shows what a group of committed people can do to ensure that their locality does not miss out on the opportunity to embrace new technologies and the advantages that that brings for all residents, regardless of age or familiarity with new technologies. The access that people like those have to technology through CTCs will help to build strong communities outside the metropolitan area and in larger regional centres. It is part of the State Government's commitment to rural New South Wales to ensure that equal access, regardless of where one lives, becomes part and parcel of the delivery of government services.
In August I had the privilege of presenting awards to winners in the CTC photographic competition, which this year had the theme "Things We Do Together". That competition was run by 28 community technology centres across New South Wales. Young people had the chance to participate in the competition through their local community technology centres as part of the 2003 Youth Week celebrations and throughout the Easter school holidays. The competition encouraged young people to make use of digital cameras, scanners, computers and a wide range of other technologies. The competition was divided into two categories—best photograph and best digital photograph.
The centres participating in this year's event were Boorowa, Bowraville, Canowindra, Cobar, Coonabarabran, Delegate, Dungog, Eden, Gundagai, Guyra, Hay, Ivanhoe, Khancoban, Lake Cargelligo, Lithgow, Merriwa, Mudgee, Mullumbimby, Narromine, Oberon, Port Stephens, Tambar Springs, Tibooburra, Tweed Valley, Ulladulla, Walcha, West Wyalong and Wilcannia. Over 470 entries were received from across the State. In Mullumbimby I presented awards to two young winning photographers. In the 15 to 18 age group Nelson McKev was the winner with his photograph "Butterflies". In the 19 to 25 age group, Aimo Kostiainen was the winner with his photograph "Tyagarah Reflections". Two other young photographers, Steve Kostiainen and Kimba Kuhlamnn, were runners-up.
In Mudgee I presented an award to another young talented photographer. In the 15 to 18 age group Nicole Thompson was the winner with her photograph "The Show". The winners in the major categories were presented with certificates, framed copies of their winning photographs and a digital camera, so that they can continue to develop their skills in photography. All entrants in the competition were presented with achievement certificates. Last Saturday I represented the Minister for Commerce at the opening of the Tea Gardens CTC, which was also attended by Bob Baldwin, Federal member for Paterson. The Tea Gardens CTC is now part of a network of 88 community technology centres across regional New South Wales. Eighty-eight small towns and villages now have access to a range of information technology equipment and services and expert advice to help them keep abreast of the cyber world. None of those centres would have got to first base without a lot of hard work by local committees and a team of volunteers.
That was certainly the case in Tea Gardens. I congratulate the Tea Gardens CTC committee on its commitment, patience and hard work in getting the centre off the ground and up and running. Through that commitment the initial steering committee was successful in gaining State and Federal funding of $150,000 to give the project a kick-start and to help make its vision a reality. I also note the significant support given to the project by the Port Stephens Masonic Lodge. The official opening of the centre signalled a marvellous day for the whole Tea Gardens community and it coincided with the inaugural Myall River Festival and the opening of an art walk along the riverbank, which will play a major part in the festival in years to come. | <urn:uuid:b527cab8-4e25-442d-9b3a-69c42d1da754> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20030917049?open&refNavID=HA8_1 | 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 | 0.958174 | 1,302 | 1.585938 | 2 |
(ARA) - Today's service men and women are facing particularly challenging circumstances. Many soldiers have been deployed several times to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, often serving in prolonged combat operations. Army Secretary John McHugh recently told Congress that, for perhaps the first time in history, there are more than 50,000 soldiers in uniform who have had at least four deployments, and some have even served 10 or more.
The full impact of multiple deployments is still unknown. A recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse reveals growing trends in a range of mental health issues, as well as prescription drug and alcohol abuse, among soldiers and veterans. A 2012 report from the U.S. Army Public Health Command found that, since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, the rate of suicide among U.S. Army soldiers has increased. This coincides with a rise in other conditions including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"Our men and women in uniform are making the world a better place and their contributions are invaluable," says Dr. Joseph Hullett, a Vietnam-era Marine Corp veteran and senior medical director of Clinical Strategy for OptumHealth's behavioral health business. "But many soldiers, veterans and their families may have trouble recognizing the signs of a mental health condition or may even be afraid or embarrassed to reach out.
"A mental health condition is not a weakness and it's nothing to be ashamed of," says Hullett. "The good news is there is help available to support soldiers and veterans so they can enjoy a full, healthy life."
Hullett offers military families tips for recognizing a mental health condition and knowing when it may be time to seek help:
* Signs of depression: Depression often manifests itself in feelings of hopelessness, lack of interest in the things you once loved, and having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much.
* Signs of anxiety: Anxiety is marked by needless worrying, indecisiveness, difficulty concentrating, irritability and physical symptoms such as sweating, heart pounding and dizziness.
* Signs of PTSD: PTSD is not limited to combat experiences. In fact, women veterans suffer disproportionately high rates. Moreover, people suffering from PTSD often don't talk about the traumatic events. Look for:
- Intrusive memories and nightmares
- Emotional extremes
- Anxiety and guilt
- Unreasonable or disproportionate fear
- Substance abuse
"If you or a loved one is experiencing these symptoms for more than a few days and they are interfering with work or relationships, help is available," says Hullett. "And if the problems are severe, talk to your doctor right away."
Hullett suggests a few resources for soldiers, veterans and their families:
* The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration "Military Families" webpage (www.samhsa.gov/militaryfamilies).
* The National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans' Resource Center (www.nami.org/veterans); and the National Center for PTSD of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (www.ptsd.va.gov).
* The Defense Center of Excellence (DCOE) for Psychological Health's website on military behavioral health (www.dcoe.health.mil).
* Visit www.liveandworkwell.com website to access useful resources to help military families get connected with the right support services. | <urn:uuid:b0176e41-e01f-4063-924f-271ab4206f4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/18442392/article-Military-families-and-mental-health--Understanding-the-issues-and-available-resources?instance=Health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952436 | 694 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Architects are professionals in the building industry. A professional meets the highest standards within any specific industry. When you hire a professional you have chosen to seek specialized knowledge based on intensive academic preparation combined with technical and ethical standards.
Architects put the interests of their client, and of the public, above their own.
However, even where it is not required by law, you will want to consult a professional, an architect, to help ensure that your building project is as successful as possible.
When you hire an architect, you are assured that he or she:
Whatever your project – whether you are building a new home, institution, commercial or industrial development or planning some renovations or an addition – your architect will bring value to your project by taking care of your interests and creating a quality building.
Hiring an architect means peace of mind for you. The route to a completed building project is complex and challenging. There are many decisions to be made along the way which will have a major impact on how your project functions and looks. Your architect can see you through the process, not only easing the way by helping you avoid wrong turns, but leading you to creative and innovative solutions.
The result you want is a successful project; one that fulfills your dreams, meets practical and functional requirements and contributes to the quality of our culture and environment. Such projects are the result of a positive and constructive working relationship between informed clients and skilled architects.
This article initially appeared on the Ontario Association of Architects Website.
CLICK HERE to find an architect. | <urn:uuid:f08082b3-311b-4423-b164-9c7a7040dbdb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aiamiami.org/resources/working-with-an-architect/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965536 | 315 | 2.09375 | 2 |
David McNew/Getty Images
The National Weather Service has issued high wind warnings for much of Southern California.
UPDATE 10:33 a.m.: Parts of Southern California are feeling the effects of gusty Santa Ana winds, according to the Associated Press.
The National Weather Service says the strongest of Thursday's northeast winds are in the mountains, and wind advisories have been posted for many areas from Ventura County south to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Among the highest gusts recorded since late Wednesday was a 63 mph blast in the Malibu hills.
The weather service says conditions could be hazardous for drivers of high-profile vehicles, and trees could be blown down because the ground is saturated from recent rains.
Forecasters say that after winds drop off later in the day the region will be in for another cold night.
Early Thursday, Lancaster came within a degree of tying its record low for the date, 12 degrees set in 1976.
PREVIOUSLY: Southland residents are waking up to cold temperatures and gusty winds that are forecast for most of the day Thursday.
The cold has many citrus growers across the state taking measures to preserve their crops.
A National Weather Service wind advisory, which means winds of 35 mph, will be in effect until 2 p.m. for the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, coastal areas, metropolitan Los Angeles, the Hollywood Hills and both the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.
Expect clear skies for most of Southern California. Temperatures are forecast to be a few degrees warmer. | <urn:uuid:fca38b2a-ab86-4ccc-9c77-78c22975f437> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2013/01/03/11815/cold-windy-weather-forecast-southern-california/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941526 | 317 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Garden Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs
Helping Nebraskans enhance their lives through research-based education.
Harvesting & Storing Garden Produce
by Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator
Are you a gardener with excess produce and would like to keep some for this winter. So, what can be done to preserve these vegetables and fruits for a longer period of time?
It really begins at the harvesting of the fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables are easily bruised if not handled carefully. When harvesting, treat produce as if it were fine china. Tossing fruits and vegetables into baskets or boxes may not leave visible bruises and damage, but decay will begin under the skin. Seemingly sturdy vegetables such as sweet potatoes are actually quite delicate and will not store well if bruised.
Not all produce should be washed upon harvest. Berries, for example, are very delicate and fragile. Rinse them in cold water just before consuming, as prior washing will cause them to break down and turn mushy. Potatoes store better if they have a fine layer of soil left on the skin to reduce moisture loss and prevent the infestation of water-borne bacteria or fungi.
Some produce, however, is washed and dried before storing. Vegetables that will benefit from rinsing with water include winter squash, pumpkins, along with green and red tomatoes.
Several vegetables benefit from post-harvest curing. Curing heals injuries from harvesting operations. It thickens the skin, reducing moisture loss and afford better protection against insect and microbial invasion. Curing is usually accomplished at an elevated storage temperature and high humidity.
Root crops such as beets, carrots, rutabagas, parsnips and turnips can be left in the garden into late fall and early winter. A heavy mulch of straw will help prevent the ground from freezing deep so the roots can be dug when needed. Many people prefer the taste of these root crops after they have been frosted because their flavors become sweeter and milder. When temperatures drop low enough to freeze the ground under the mulch, finish harvesting the roots.
Store onions in shallow boxes, mesh bags or hang them in old nylons in a cold, dry well-ventilated room. The tops may be left untrimmed and braided together. Temperatures close to 32 degrees F. will give the longest storage. Products prone to absorb odors or flavors should not be stored close to onions.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County is your on-line yard and garden educational resource. The information on this Web site is valid for residents of southeastern Nebraska. It may or may not apply in your area. If you live outside southeastern Nebraska, visit your local Extension office
Contact InformationUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
in Lancaster County
Web site: lancaster.unl.edu
444 Cherrycreek Road, Suite A,
Lincoln, NE 68528 | <urn:uuid:4bd92d21-0cfd-4002-927e-b6155557bd33> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articles/2007/harveststore.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909469 | 614 | 3.296875 | 3 |
You Probably Heard One of TheseThe classic Concentration memory game. The cards begin face down. Click one to turn it over. Try to find the second card that matches the first. If the second does not match, click a third card to look for a new match. Your previous selections return to a face down position. If they do match, the cards are removed to reveal part of the background rebus. Try to determine the rebus message in as few number of turns as possible.
Focus on Safety
Severe Thunderstorm Watch is issued by the NWS when conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. The size of the watch can vary depending on the weather situation and are usually issued for a duration of 4 to 8 hours. During the watch, review severe thunderstorm safety rules and be prepared to move a place of safety if threatening weather approaches.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued when either a severe thunderstorm is indicated by the WSR-88D radar or a spotter reports a thunderstorm producing hail ¾" or larger in diameter and/or winds equal or exceed 50 kts (58 mph). If you are in the affected area should seek safe shelter immediately. | <urn:uuid:bf7f3bf8-8d98-4953-b7ea-108522e51e90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/coolstuff/3/43.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925483 | 251 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Gerda Boyesen was born in 1922 in Bergen. Her first marriage was with Carl Boyesen. In 1947 she read a book by Wilhelm Reich which made a strong impression on her. Shortly thereafter she began therapy with Ola Raknes, a vegetotherapist who had been trained by Reich. Later she studied psychology in Oslo and received training as physiotherapist which led to work with Aadel Bülow-Hansen. Through her own therapy Boyesen got to know the connection between repressed emotions and muscle tensions. In her book Über den Körper die Seele heilen she established and partly described in a very personal manner how she developed her own therapeutic method linking the beginnings of Wilhelm Reich, Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud, through her own studies, her own therapeutic experience as well as her own practice.
Gerda Boyesen is the founder of "Biodynamics Psychology and Psychotherapy". In 1968 she left for London and opened a practice and later an international teaching and training institute. In addition to client-oriented work other focus areas were included, most notably she was the first woman in Europe to establish her own psychotherapeutic training institute.
Gerda Boyesen lived and worked in different, mostly European, countries, however, her work influenced body psychotherapy worldwide. Her books were translated into other languages. She trained psychotherapists over several decades and throughout her life she continued to develop her ideas and methods. She was the mother of three children (Mona Lisa, Ebba and Paul) who all got involved with Biodynamics and psychotherapy and partly carried on the work of their mother or continued in their own directions.
Gerda Boyesen developed, among other things, the theory that the dismantling of psychological stress is also connected with the digestive system. She came to the conclusion that certain massage techniques could bring to completion the expression of unwanted feelings, or "incomplete cycles," and this would entail similar noises from the intestines as during digestion of food. She called these noises psychoperistalsis. This process of "digesting" psychological problems is often accompanied by new insights. For this reason Gerda Boyesen was often called "the lady with the stethoscope" in body psychotherapeutic circles as she used the stethoscope to get a clearer impression of the bowel noises of her clients. She could allegedly differentiate a multiplicity of peristaltic noises, diagnostically arrange and make inferences on the subconscious processes of the clients. To Gerda Boyesen it was a good sign when the client's "psychoperistalsis" was in a particular way at the end of a session. That meant it was resolving somewhat and would be able to organize anew without the old restricitve pattern.
Apart from the emphasis on gentle unloading through massage she also worked with Wilhelm Reich's vegetotherapy as well as the theories of Jung and Freud, and she continued to develop these into her own method. In this manner the client is to be encouraged to discover his or her own mental experience (introspective ability), to follow and to express his or her bodily-psychological impulses. Unconscious conflicts would in this way be brought to the surface and to conscious attention and could then be further processed with psychotherapy and finally resolved.
A further element is the Deep Draining, a special kind of massage aimed at affecting "deeper layers," which is supposed to contribute to attitude changes, physically as well as psychologically. Neurotic patterns would thus be traced, loosened and finally resolved.
Beside Jay Stattmann (Unitive body psychotherapy), Alexander Lowen (Bioenergetics), David Boadella (Biosynthesis), and Ron Kurz (Hakomi), Gerda Boyesen is one of the founders of modern body psychotherapy. Gerda Boyesen was honorary member of the European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP) as well as honorary president of the German Gesellschaft für Biodynamische Psychologie (Society for Biodynamics psychology), the professional association for biodynamics therapists in Germany. The education of Biodynamics body psychotherapists through the European School for Biodynamics and Erogenetics (ESBPE) in Lübeck is recognized by the EABP as a psychotherapist education.
Like most body psychotherapeutic schools, Biodynamics isn't recognized by the health insurance companies in the United States as a scientifically based therapeutic intervention.
Nevertheless the scientific psychotherapeutic research continues and many of its theories are later confirmed.
In Switzerland, Biodynamics is covered by heath care insurance and is on the verge of being accepted as one of the first methods in alternative medicine.
In several other counties Biodynamics isn't recognized by evidence-based medicine as a scientific method. Thus the German compulsory health insurance scheme (AOK) states: "The idea of "emotional residue" which is delivered via the bowels is scientifically baseless. Also there are no scientific studies to attest to the efficacy of the therapy. (...) It is surely so that anxiety and stress have effects on the vegetative nervous system of the intestines and would express itself as changes in digestive activity. However, the idea that intestinal noises is an expression of the psychological situtaion of the patient cannot be established."
However, this does not alter the fact, that Biodynamics can be well received by clients but this may be due to [placebo effect]].
- Boyesen, Gerda; Boyesen, Mona Lisa, "Biodynamische Theorie und Praxis", in: Hilarion G. Petzold [Ed.], Die neuen Körpertherapien, 1st ed. Paderborn: Jungfermannsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1977, pp. 140-157
- Boyesen, Gerda; Boyesen, Mona Lisa, Biodynamik des Lebens: Die Gerda-Boyesen-Methode - Grundlage der biodynamischen Psychologie, Essen: Synthesis, 1987, 183 p.
- Boyesen, Gerda, Über den Körper die Seele heilen: Biodynamische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Munich: Kösel, 1994 (7th ed.) ISBN 3-466-34167-1
- Boyesen, Gerda; Leudesdorff, Claudia; Santner, Christoph, Von der Lust am Heilen: Quintessenz meines Lebens, Munich: Kösel, 1995, ISBN 3-466-34323-2
- Boyesen, Gerda, Entre psyché et soma, Payot, 1996 ISBN 2-228-89064-2
- Boyesen, Gerda; Bergholz, Peter, Dein Bauch ist klüger als du, Hamburg, Miko-Edition, 2003 ISBN 3-935436-13-0
- The Gerda Boyesen International Institute
- ESBPE (German)
- U.S. Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP)
- European Association for Body Psychotherapy (EABP)
- The London School of Biodynamic Psychotherapy (Gerda Boyesen Method) Ltd a non-profit Training School offering introductory workshops and UKCP recognised (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) Diploma Course (4 yrs part-time) and Therapist referral in the UK
- Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy - London
- London based Biodynamic Body Psychotherapist
- REDIRECT Template:Deutsch
- de:Gerda Boyesen
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