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Members of Congress routinely fail to report millions of dollars worth of costs that they are racking up on foreign trips, according to Treasury Department reports on the actual price tag of foreign travel.
Over the past 10 years, the cost of Congressional travel abroad has tripled, from about $6.4 million in 2001 to $19.4 million in 2008, dipping to $17.6 million last year, according to annual reports published by the Treasury Department covering the account that the State Department uses to pay travel costs for Members.
In total, according to the Treasury reports, the government has spent about $110.5 million on Congressional foreign travel since 2001.
That is $30 million to $40 million more than Congress detailed in routine reports published in the Congressional Record on foreign travel expenditures, though those reports are so rife with errors and inconsistencies that it is impossible to get a reliable total for any single year, let alone an aggregate for a decade.
A Roll Call tally of reports published in the Congressional Record indicates that the House and Senate combined have spent about $78 million on foreign travel since 2001. A study published by the Wall Street Journal last year came up with a total of about $73 million.
Whatever the year-by-year or cumulative total, two trends are clear: The amount disclosed by Congress in its public reports is far below the actual costs reported by the Treasury Department, and the total spent on foreign travel has skyrocketed in the past decade.
For example, in 2006 the Senate reported $3.84 million in foreign travel costs and the House reported $5.91 million, for a joint total of $9.75 million for the year.
According to the Treasury Department reports, the total spent out of the Congressional travel accounts that year was $13.94 million.
Neither the Treasury numbers nor the Congressional Record reports include the millions of dollars that the Pentagon spends each year on air travel for Members traveling abroad.
Roll Call reported earlier this year that Congressional foreign travel costs are paid out of a bottomless Treasury account that is replenished without any action by Congress. The account was established by a Korean War-era statute that allows the government to use excess foreign currency to pay the costs of Members and staff traveling abroad.
Travel arrangements are made by the State Department, which also approves the expenditures out of the account. But the State Department refused Roll Calls request for details about the expenditures and said that a Freedom of Information Act request for details on the spending will take a year to process.
Congressional committees and the bipartisan leaders of both chambers are required by law to provide public reports on the expenditures made on their behalf from these accounts to cover the costs of foreign travel. These reports are full of errors and inconsistencies, some of which provide a hint to the millions of dollars that are missing from the disclosures.
Most of the Congressional reports include the per diems that Members and staff are entitled to during their travel, as well as the cost of their transportation (which is frequently zero because the Pentagon is providing the travel). But few of the reports include the on-the-ground costs that the State Department racks up in support of Congressional delegations and charges back to the foreign currency accounts.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously. | <urn:uuid:c0f92007-d1b2-43d6-a6de-689c3b742651> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_156/-47895-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959135 | 764 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Rising Scores on Intelligence Tests
Test scores are certainly going up all over the world, but whether intelligence itself has risen remains controversial
The Visual and Technical Environment
Child-rearing practices and modes of schooling are just instances of culture, and culture in a general sense has undergone enormous changes in all the "modern" countries where test scores have risen. Everything is changing: what people aspire to, whom they respect, how they live, how much they know about the world, what they do with their time, what skills they have acquired and how they treat other people and expect to be treated themselves. Given the scope of these changes, it is often suggested that modernization results in fundamentally different modes of thought. What might those new modes be? Although this question may be too vague to allow a general or comprehensive answer, one possibility leaps immediately to mind.
Perhaps the most striking 20th-century change in the human intellectual environment has come from the increase in exposure to many types of visual media. From pictures on the wall to movies to television to video games to computers, each successive generation has been exposed to far richer optical displays than the one before. People once regarded pictures as museum pieces or as occasional decorations for the homes of the rich; now they are everywhere, and everybody takes their own photographs. Schoolchildren of all ages devote far more time to visual "projects" today than they did a generation ago. (They devote correspondingly less time to the old "three Rs" of reading, writing and arithmetic, with the predictable consequence that skills in those domains have diminished.)
Beyond merely looking at pictures, we analyze them. Picture puzzles, mazes, exploded views and complex montages appear everywhere—on cereal boxes, on McDonald's wrappers, in the instructions for assembling toys and in books intended to help children pass the time. Even the answer sheets for standardized tests—often on pages separate from the questions—assume that the test-takers can locate the right places to record their responses. And static displays such as pictures and diagrams are only the beginning. We have had movies since the 1920s, television since the 1950s and video games since the 1970s. Patricia Greenfield of the University of California at Los Angeles argues that children exposed to these media develop specific skills of visual analysis, skills in which they routinely excel their elders. The assumption that children can program a VCR more effectively than their parents has become a cliche of American society, one that recognizes an important generational shift.
It is possible, then, that exposure to complex visual media has produced genuine increases in a significant form of intelligence. This hypothetical form of intelligence might be called "visual analysis." Tests such as Raven's may show the largest Flynn gains because they measure visual analysis rather directly; tests of learned content may show the smallest gains because they do not measure visual analysis at all.
Although little direct evidence exists for the visual-analysis hypothesis, it does offer the advantage of focusing our attention on the diversity of mental abilities. Flynn's argument that real intelligence cannot have gone up as much as scores on the Raven assumes that there is a "real intelligence"—some unitary quality of mind not unlike Spearman's g. Abandoning that assumption, we may think instead that different forms of intelligence are developed by different kinds of experience. The paradox then disappears: We are indeed very much smarter than our grandparents where visual analysis is concerned, but not with respect to other aspects of intelligence. This is hardly a final answer, but it may be a useful way of thinking about the worldwide rise in test scores.
- Brody, N. 1992. Intelligence. Second Edition. New York: Academic Press.
- Cahan, S., and N. Cohen. 1989. Age versus schooling effects on intelligence development. Child Development 60:1239-1249.
- Campbell, F. A., and C. T. Ramey. 1994. Effects of early intervention on intellectual and academic achievement: a follow-up study of children from low-income families. Child Development 65:684-698.
- Carpenter, P. A., M. A. Just and P. Shell. 1990. What one intelligence test measures: a theoretical account of the processing in the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. Psychological Review 97:404-431.
- Ceci, S. J. 1996. On Intelligence: A Bioecological Treatise on Intellectual Development. Expanded edition. Camidge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
- Cronbach, L. J. 1970. Essentials of Psychological Testing. New York: Harper and Row.
- Flynn, J. R. 1984. The mean IQ of Americans: massive gains. Psychological Bulletin 95:29-51.
- Flynn, J. R. 1987. Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: what IQ tests really measure. Psychological Bulletin 101:171-191.
- Flynn, J. R. 1994. IQ gains over time. In R. J. Sternberg (ed.). Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence. New York: MacMillan, pp. 617-623.
- Lynn, R. 1990. The role of nutrition in secular increases in intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences 11:273-285.
- Neisser, U., G. Boodoo, T. J. Bouchard, A. W. Boykin, N. ody, S. J. Ceci, D. F. Halpern, J. C. Loehlin, R. Perloff, R. J. Sternberg and S. Urbina. 1996. Intelligence: knowns and unknowns. American Psychologist 51:77-101.
- Schmidt, I. M., M. H. Jorgensen and K. F. Michaelsen. 1995. Height of conscripts in Europe: Is postneonatal mortality a predictor? Annals of Human Biology 22:57-67.
- Tuddenham, R. 1948. Soldier intelligence in World Wars I and II. American Psychologist 3:54-56. | <urn:uuid:a1422ca0-4af4-4f5e-bd50-273ccbbb7e15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/rising-scores-on-intelligence-tests/9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910277 | 1,237 | 2.78125 | 3 |
I heard a great quote recently from Pastor Rick Warren. It went something like, “we are free to make choices but we are not free from the consequences of those choices”. This got me thinking.
It is a balance between good and bad choices we make. Having the freedom to choose is . . . → Read More: Choices & Consequences
Imagine being in a wheelchair. You choose to attend a university that is designed for people with physical disabilities. There are tunnels between every building on campus so you can go between the buildings without being effected by the weather. There are elevators, of course, in every building so it is easy to get . . . → Read More: Are you a giver or a taker?
People with a bad attitude do a great job feeding their negativity. With a bad attitude come connections with things that support and perpetuate a difficult life.
Your bad attitude can affect your ability to:
Give feedback. Your attitude can affect your credibility to give advice. Who wants to take . . . → Read More: Why I think attitude defines success
We allow ourselves to be distracted. Yes, I said we “allow” distractions. I will defend distractions by saying “I can’t help it”. But that is ridiculous. I have complete control of choosing to be distracted or not.
I define a distraction as anything that interrupts or stops your progress to . . . → Read More: A distracted life
Money can only buy so much happiness. Beyond that, happiness is your choice and you are the only one who can take responsibility for your happiness.
This responsibility is described by Stephen Covey as your ability to choose your response. Simply said, it is your responsibility to be happy and to take . . . → Read More: Key to happiness = action | <urn:uuid:c2c84b6e-200b-4ce6-b5d3-614bffd1c640> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mysimpleinspiration.com/tag/choice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970568 | 375 | 2 | 2 |
Company Sculpts Sold Gold Bust of Justin Beiber
If you’ve ever wondered what Justin Bieber‘s head would look like if it were made of solid gold, this is your lucky day. At great cost and presumably over the course of many hours they will never get back, a team of 10 artists has produced one of the oddest sculptures you’re ever likely to see — a golden Bieber head.
Yes, you read that right — a company called 1st Gold Bullion decided to commission a solid gold bust of Justin Bieber, at a final appraised value of $1.023 million. You have to admire the craftsmanship that went into this thing, don’t you? The detail in the hair alone is something to behold. The whole thing is very…interesting. And more than a little unsettling.
According to the company, “This sculpture was created in order to demonstrate how versatile gold and other precious metals are, and to show how it can be used in displaying modern art.” So there’s that. And for any Bieber fan with a million bucks to burn, it’ll make for a most unusual conversation piece. | <urn:uuid:0dfc5aee-985a-4183-a044-c63ab4d06410> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://929jackfm.com/justin-biebers-head-worth-1-million-in-gold/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958168 | 243 | 1.609375 | 2 |
In our busy lifestyles, spending time together at the holidays is precious. But the colds and flu that follow these get-togethers are definitely not precious. When we get together for the holidays we share love, laughs, joy and germs. Then, until mid January, we are down for the count with a cold or flu, spending too much time in the pharmacy line, and wishing “they” would come up with a magic pill to cure the common cold.
Well, there is no magic pill. But here here are 6 things you can do to make sure the laughter flows freely, the joy overwhelms you, and the only thing unhappy is the germs who don’t get to spread around and get you sick. This list of 6 ways comes from Germ Smarts for Kids with Germy Wormy.
6 Ways to Stop Cold and Flu Germs From Spreading
- Cough and sneeze into your sleeve. The CDC and doctors are recommending this rather than covering your cough/sneeze with your hands. If someone is sick and using their hands it is not a good idea to touch anything they touch before they wash their hands! Be extra careful of doorknobs, sink faucets, light switches, the fridge door and handrails.
- If you need to touch your face, the back of the hand is the place. Don’t touch germy surfaces with the back of your hand; touch them with your palm. Using your palm to touch your face is like creating an autobahn for germs. When out and about shopping, at parties and in large groups, consciously try to touch your face as little as possible. But if you have to, flip your wrist and keep your palms away.
- Keep germs from getting inside you – no fingers, hands or things in your mouth, eyes, ears and nose. Germs are invisible, so we don’t realize that we are giving germs a free ride when we put things in our mouth. If you find yourself with something in your mouth, image there are tons of germs all over it because it is probably true! A good gargle with a mouthwash is highly recommended.
- Things that touch mouths are not for sharing. This is a great one liner to use with kids when they reach for a siblings cup or food. At parties, have some way of labeling cups and glasses so that there is no accidental sharing of cups. Especially for the kids plastic cups. A Sharpie next to the stack of cups works wonders. Wine glass trinkets are excellent at get-togethers, as well. Remind your kids and grandkids about the dreaded double dipping. They should always take a spoonful of the dip on their plate with whatever they are dipping.
- Make sure you keep your distance when someone is sick – no hugging or kissing until everyone is better. Funny thing about holiday parties, no one likes to fess up that they are sick. If someone is coughing and sneezing and using their hands, casually start a conversation about how you heard the CDC recommendation about “cough and sneeze into your sleeve” since hands touch everything and elbows don’t touch very much.
- Wash your hands and face with soap and water – sing the ABC song! So many things to do, so many people to talk to, mingle, socialize, but don’t forget this very key germ stopper! Especially focus on washing your face. We don’t get sick from getting germs on our hands. We get sick by letting them get a ride on our hands to our face. Also, at a party, everyone is using the same hand towel in the bathroom. If you are hosting a party, splurge a little and get disposable hand towels for your guests to use. If you are a guest, bring some disposable hand towels with you. | <urn:uuid:cdd72ec1-dc94-4a99-a6f8-cb3d9030bc92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gagasisterhood.com/health/6-ways-to-stop-cold-and-flu-germs-from-spreading/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952975 | 807 | 2.375 | 2 |
I have always believed that the foundation for animal health originates with a pet’s diet. I routinely advise my clients to feed the best pet food they can afford, and I address proper food amounts and appropriate snacks at every visit. I also believe if a pet looks good on the outside, it most likely is healthy on the inside. I make this assumption based on skin being the largest “organ” of the body, and therefore, a great representative of general health.
If diet plays such a large role in animal health, it seems natural to use nutrition to provide veterinary care. When ailing pets are diagnosed, veterinarians will commonly make dietary recommendations for the patient. Or, in the case of chronic conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, or food hypersensitivities, pet owners may be advised to make a permanent change in their pet’s diet to a specifically formulated pet food.
Many pet food companies, including Hill’s Science Diet, Purina, and Iams, have veterinary food lines that require you to purchase the food directly from your veterinarian. Some examples of these veterinary diets include low sodium diets for heart failure, high fiber diets for diabetes, and low protein diets for chronic kidney disease. Because these foods have scientifically determined formulations, they must be used only for their prescribed health reasons, and the pet needs to be under the care and supervision of a veterinarian. Similar to pets on long-term medications, periodic wellness testing should be performed for pets consuming these special diets so adjustments may be made as needed.
To read the rest of this article please subscribe or sign in | <urn:uuid:87279e16-8dff-490f-ad27-289d73c2f6b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://delphosherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8379:could-your-pet-benefit-from-a-nutritional-supplement&catid=31:general&Itemid=44 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939753 | 327 | 2.5 | 2 |
AKRON, Ohio - An endangered species of penguin hatched at the Akron Zoo and it expected to be on exhibit any day now.
There were several Humboldt penguin eggs laid this spring at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, so they called on the Akron Zoo to help foster eggs.
On March 26, the Akron Zoo received two fertile eggs, but only one hatched. The zoo said that is not uncommon. The successful egg was fostered by a pair of penguins, Carlos and Penva, who already had a few chicks of their own.
Antia was born on April 8 and now weighs 5.5 pounds. Her name means “invaluable,” which seems pretty appropriate for this critically endangered penguin.
While Antia is still in the burrow with her parents, she could emerge at any time and will be on exhibit at Penguin Point. The penguin chick cannot eat on her own so her parents chow down on capelin and smelt, then regurgitate it into her mouth.
Humboldt penguins are endangered mostly because of commercial harvesting of guano for fertilizer in Peru and Chili. It is estimated they will be extinct in the wild in the next 10 years.
The Akron Zoo is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Admission is $10 for adults, $8.50 for seniors and $7 for children ages 2 to 14. Children under 2 years old are free. Parking is $2. For more information go to www.akronzoo.org
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Summit Co. Headlines
Two Kent State University geographers, who specialize in disaster analysis, are heading to Moore, Okla. to survey the massive tornado damage.
If you don't feel safe from a tornado in your basement or the lowest level of your home, how about investing in a 10-gauge steel shelter buried seven-feet below ground? | <urn:uuid:240032a3-b2d7-4e58-874a-1ed7e8514258> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_summit/endangered-humboldt-penguin-hatches-at-akron-zoo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958972 | 423 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Innate Scents therapy offers a gentle approach for starting sick, diseased, and injured animals onto a self propelled path to health and suitable for all animal species, including birds, reptiles, livestock, equine and pets. It has its’ roots in zoopharmacognosy,which describes the behaviour of how wild free roaming animals locate and utilize their natural environment as a source of healing remedies to effectively counteract sickness, disease and maintain or restore their own health. This innate skill has allowed animals to extract not just their nutritional needs but also their remedies they are in need of.
Applying these principles of zoopharmacognosy with knowledge of the individual remedies themselves, this therapy can be offered to animals with existing and veterinary diagnosed health problems whether it is of a physical or emotional (behavioural) problem.
This therapy allows individual animals to re-access nature’s pharmacy, using their innate instincts and well developed sensory systems and an opportunity to self-select and utilize the healing remedies they innately recognize and are in need of and which is beneficial to them. It can help provide emotional and physical support the animal may be in need of, as well as helping to alleviate existing symptoms such as pain, inflammation, anxiety and external conditions such as skin problems. Boosting and supporting the animal’s natural healing processes and immune systems plays a central role and offers some resistance to disease and can also helps animals towards the end of their life to bring calm and help them deal with emotions such as fear.
One needs to experience and participate in this therapy to appreciate its effectiveness and see how easily animals not previously associated with these natural remedies, respond to this therapy. | <urn:uuid:96b8ca22-d7d2-4436-9e6d-a52f321271ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linku2.co.uk/profile/2532/innate_scents | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963294 | 341 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Adjunct professor of conservation
- By Megan Morley Thomas
The wood shavings smell like bread dough. They fly off the lathe, covering Ralph Tursini's arms in pale yellow confetti. Tursini again pushes a long steel chisel into the spinning block of black cherry, inward and down. In response, a circle seems to move outward, like a slow-motion ripple in a pool of wood. He's turning a humble bowl from freshly cut wood.
"I like the functional aspect, that people will use this as their everyday bowl," says Tursini after turning off the lathe.
More about Ralph Tursini:
For Tursini, who works as a bowl maker and teaches a one-credit course, Conservation and Wood Turning, each bowl is the artful extension of the UVM degree in forestry he received in 1999. For David Brynn, who directs the new Green Forestry Education Initiative at UVM's research forest in Jericho, the bowls show students one path from forest to finished product. And for the university, these humble bowls make an elegant gift for distinguished visitors.
Three recent speakers at UVM — Laurie David, who produced the film An Inconvenient Truth, Native American activist Winona LaDuke and forest ecologist Jerry Franklin — have more in common than concern for the environment. They all own one of Tursini's bowls.
Humble means modest and unassuming. But it also shares a root with the word humus: of the soil.
For Turisini, humble bowls carry both meanings. Their slightly irregular shape, mottled grain, obvious knot holes and remnant tool marks remind a bowl's owner of the hands that shaped the bowl, the tree that yielded the wood and the earth that bore the tree.
"We wanted to do something that demonstrated for students the value-adding process, like making furniture or flooring," says Brynn
It's his interest in the "tree within the bowls" and understanding of the whole forest that made David Brynn think Tursini would be an excellent instructor in the Green Forestry project.
"Humble bowls say a lot about stewardship — and stand for some of the best and unique parts of this university," Brynn says. | <urn:uuid:a7241824-964e-4e70-b545-fad0d3d4a1d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uvm.edu/about_uvm/?Page=news&storyID=12968&category=story_f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940648 | 464 | 2.515625 | 3 |
| 8 January 1998
For Immediate Release
Awards Presented to APL and Three Staff Members
The U.S. Navy's Program Executive Office for Theater Air Defense (PEO(TAD)) presented Surface Missile Systems (SMS) awards on Dec. 17, 1997, to The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and three of its staff members for significant contributions to the success of the Talos, Terrier, and Tartar missile systems.
While making the presentations, Retired Rear Adm. David Altwegg, Deputy Program Executive Officer, Theater Air Defense, praised APL for its "fundamental role in the development of system engineering techniques that produced the Navy's anti-air warfare capability," and its "steadfast dedication over five and a half decades to the well-being of the U.S. Navy." The plaque cites APL's "outstanding service as technical direction agent of the Naval Sea Systems Command's Talos, Terrier, and Tartar AAW systems."
In accepting the award for the Laboratory, Eugene Hinman, Assistant Director for Programs, thanked the Navy and applauded the efforts of the individuals honored. He noted that the "fundamental purpose of APL has not changed [for more than five decades] - service to the nation, principally the Navy."
PEO (TAD) also bestowed awards on Alexander (Lex) Hughes, Donald C. Mitchell, and Sidney Taylor for their significant impact on the Terrier, Tartar, and Standard Missile Systems, and their many years of "outstanding contributions to the Surface Missile Systems Programs."
In presenting the SMS plaque to Hughes, Altwegg said it was "in recognition of his key systems engineering work contributing to the success of fleet AAW." Hughes, a group supervisor, has worked at the Laboratory for 35 years developing and evaluating radars, and conducting system analysis and testing of shipboard weapon and missile systems.
Mitchell was recognized for his "28 years of professional experience dedicated to the development of guided missile weapon systems for the U.S. Navy." An 18-year staff member at APL, Mitchell has been involved in system engineering in the design and development of the CGN/SM-2, Tartar New Threat Upgrade, and Terrier weapon systems.
Taylor was honored as an early developer of technology for Navy shipboard radars. Employed by APL in 1952, Mr. Taylor pioneered in the development of signal processing for shipboard fire control radars. Altwegg said of Taylor, "His commitment to technical excellence and maximum system performance at sea have won him respect throughout the Laboratory, peer organizations, the acquisition community, and the Fleet."
The Applied Physics Laboratory is a non-for-profit Laboratory and independent division of The Johns Hopkins University. APL conducts research and development primarily for national security and for nondefense projects of national and global significance. Located midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., in Laurel, Md., APL employees 2,700 full-time staff members.
more information, contact APL Public Information Officer Helen Worth; phone: 240-228-5113 or 410-778-5113. | <urn:uuid:fbceb8af-ec81-452a-8ad3-fefcc90ecdae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/1998/awards.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935212 | 651 | 1.523438 | 2 |
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The globally dominant culture is suffering from an economic, ecological and social crisis that has deeper roots than failing budgets and environmental degradation. Do we have a role to play if our culture is headed towards its eventual death? Though our economic system has trained us to be needy, can we approach these challenges as if we were needed?
In Extraenvironmentalist #51 we speak with Stephen Jenkinson about our cultural difficulty with death. Stephen draws on lessons learned from decades of working with death to describe how we can frame our civilization’s trajectory. We ask how to find sanity in a time of alienation and if we can be a human in difficult circumstances. Stephen describes the distinct jobs given to us as our family members die. Also, John Michael Greer joins us briefly to talk about the death of Western culture.
// Listen to each segment on Soundcloud:
// Music (in order of appearance)
Van She – Don’t Fear the Reaper via The Fader
Kaki King – Bowen Island via KCRW
Trails and Ways – Animal (Miike Snow Cover) via IndieShuffle
Elle Goulding – Anything Could Happen (Blood Diamonds Remix) via Salacious Sound
Crystal Fighters – At Home (Passion Pit Remix) via Fist In the Air
// Extended Clips (in order of appearance)
[Break] – 40m
John Michael Greer speaks on death
// Production Credits
Kevin via Sustainable Guidance Youtube Channel
Hi there Awesome,
Did you know that you are the reason The Extraenvironmentalist exists? Seriously, you are! We make XE because people like you listen, care about, and share these ideas. We are working hard, trying to produce some of the best long format interviews possible. Do you think you could help us out? Here are some of the many different ways you can contribute and keep new episodes of XE coming. | <urn:uuid:a6a0a699-2131-4dd2-ae91-68d41ac9ee1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/2012/10/15/episode-51-culture-dying/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914898 | 419 | 1.523438 | 2 |
We first heard about Olympus, a new herbicide from Bayer CropScience, in 2000. But it has taken until 2004 for the EPA to register the herbicide for wheat growers. It's worth the wait: Olympus promises good postemergence control of cheatgrass, downy brome and Japanese bromegrass, without crop rotation restrictions that plague competitive herbicides.
"We are confident, based on a number of years of research, that Olympus will control winter annual brome grasses, particularly cheat," explains Phil Stahlman, Research and Extension weed specialist at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center in Hays. Olympus offers the flexibility of a fall or spring application, but control is most effective when the herbicide is applied in the fall, Stahlman adds.
Olympus contains the new active ingredient, propoxycarbazone-sodium, which is a key characteristic of this herbicide.
"It has similar activity to a sulfonyurea herbicide, but is a completely new class," Stahlman explains. "That is a major advantage. The rotation restrictions are considerably less than competitive herbicides."
With competing herbicides, the crop rotation interval was at least 24 months. Although the Olympus label has not yet been made public, you should be able to plant grain sorghum and corn the spring after harvesting wheat without crop injury.
Use-rate of Olympus is 0.6 to 0.9 ounces per acre in a single application. Apply the herbicide when weeds are actively growing and wheat has emerged, but before jointing. You may follow a fall application of Olympus with a spring application up to 1.2 ounces per acre. Olympus can be tankmixed with many broadleaf herbicides for one-pass control of troublesome weeds.
Bayer CropScience advertises that Olympus is effective on jointed goatgrass, but Stahlman believes Olympus will suppress, rather than control, this obnoxious grass weed. "It may reduce the competitiveness of jointed goatgrass and reduce seed production, but control has been inconsistent," he says.
Bayer CropScience claims it is one of a few crop protection companies to invest in herbicides for the cereal grains market. "Olympus herbicide is just one of several new products Bayer CropScience is developing for cereal growers," says Dave Feist, product manager with Bayer CropScience.
For more information visit www.cerealexperts.com | <urn:uuid:f4c1c1f2-bb40-47fc-8b50-292f95a830a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://farmprogress.com/story-olympus-gains-epa-approval-0-1926 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929401 | 504 | 1.929688 | 2 |
is an index of all convict ships that came to New South Wales.
history of all convicts on these ships has been researched by History Services
FREE CONVICT INFORMATION CHECK
To receive a free check of the type of information that History Services has
on your New South Wales convict ancestor please email the
(A) name of the convict,
(b) name of transport ship, and
(c) year of arrival, to History Services.
We will promptly reply to your email, and then you may use the Order Form to
get a Result of Search which will contain full details of the information and
Email: click here
After the English authorities began to review the
system in 1801 the ships were dispatched twice a year, at the end of May and the
beginning of September, to avoid the dangerous winters of the southern
Convicts to Australia)
To see information about
the First Fleet ships, click
To see a
photograph of the Convict Ship, Success, at the State
Library of Victoria, click
"The old Australian convict ship SUCCESS. [picture] : Which survived three years
immersion in Sydney Harbor [i.e. Harbour]. The Success was built in Teak at
Moulmein for the East India Co. in 1790 and is still seaworthy. 12.12.1921."
State Library of Victoria website)
History Services NSW will consider undertaking further searches of its databases to accommodate any special research requests. Please
email your request.
© HISTORY SERVICES NSW | <urn:uuid:ac5695eb-bece-48f0-be8a-961cddbaefb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historyservices.com.au/convict_ships.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907899 | 323 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Puerto Rico and U.S.Virgin Islands Severe Rainfall
November 12-14, 2003
Heavy rains over Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands during the week of November 10-15 2003, led to widespread flash flooding, and numerous mud, land and rock slides. In Puerto Rico, 19 municipalities were declared a federal disaster area, with total damages estimated around 45 million. The U.S. Virgin Islands were also declared a federal disaster area, with damages estimates around 25-30 million.
On November 10, 2003, an active tropical wave approached the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as a mid to upper level low pressure trough advanced towards Eastern Hispaniola from the Bahamas. All ingredients for heavy rains were beginning to come together across the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rio. As the strong tropical wave crossed the area from east to west, it set up a south to southeast wind flow over the Northeast Caribbean that allowed for abundant low level moisture to slide into the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. By Tuesday November 11, 2003, the strong tropical wave evolved into a broad area of low pressure which developed across the Caribbean Sea southwest of Puerto Rico. This low pressure at the surface extended from Hispaniola eastward into the Leeward Islands and was expected to slowly strengthen through Wednesday, and to eventually move northeast. A reconnaissance aircraft flew into the suspect low pressure area on Tuesday, but was unable to find a closed circulation center at the surface. However, it did find that the lowest sea level pressure was just east of the Eastern tip of Hispaniola. The combination of all these factors, an almost stationary broad low pressure, a mid to upper level trough to the west, southeast low level winds, and a plume of moist mid to high level air stream from northern South America, led to a period of widespread and continuous heavy rains across all of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, resulting in generalized flash floods and river floods. The heaviest rains affected Puerto Rico through Friday November 14, and the U.S. Virgin Islands through early Saturday morning, November 15.
The period of widespread and heavy rainfall tapered off after November 15, but it was followed by a three day stretch of occasional showers associated to a cold front, from November 15-18, for both the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The cold front approached from the northwest, moving southeast across the local area Saturday, and reaching into the Leeward Islands. By late Sunday into Monday, November 16, the low level trade winds became southeast across the Northeast Caribbean, forcing the remnants of the cold front, to move back over the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Although rainfall amounts were not significant across the U.S. Virgin Islands, the ground was so saturated, that even small amounts of rain resulted in additional flooding, and landslides. In Puerto Rico, many parts of the island received heavy rainfall amounts, and the highest was again, in the municipality of Naguabo, where over 10 inches were recorded at the Rio Icacos USGS sensor.
The greatest rainfall amounts
across Puerto Rico for the period from November 12-14, varied from 10 to 20 inches, although the eastern Puerto Rico municipality of Naguabo
received 21.01 inches.
The highest 4-day rainfall accumulation
, ending @ 0800AM November 14th, were recorded at : Naguabo - 22.70 in, Sabana Grande - 19.73 in, Ponce - 17.77 in, Rio Grande - 17.13 in, Guayama - 17.09 in, and Aibonito - 15.79 in ( Tables 1- 4 ).
The highest rainfall intensity occurred in the upper part of Naguabo. Comparison with TP- 42 charts indicated: the 50 yr - 4 day rainfall was exceeded in Naguabo and Aibonito, and the 25 yr - 4 day rainfall was exceeded in the south and eastern coastal plains from Juana Diaz to Naguabo as well as in the northern parts of Yauco, Aibonito and Guayama.
The highest 1 hour, 2 hour, and 3 hour rainfall totals of 2.95 inches, 3.97 inches, and 4.73 inches were recorded at Salinas, Sabana Grande and Naguabo, respectively. The highest 6 hour and 12 hour rainfall totals of 5.83 inches and 8.19 inches were recorded at Sabana Grande.
Extreme river rises were observed during the event. These were widespread around the island. Gaged sites that exceeded 15 feet rise were:
- Rio Grande de Loiza below Damsite - 26 feet
- Rio Grande de Manati at Hwy 2 near Manati - 22 feet
- Rio Gurabo at Gurabo - 21 feet
- Rio Jacaguas at Juana Diaz - 20 feet
- Rio de La Plata at Hwy 2 at Toa Alta - 19 feet
- Rio de La Plata below La Plata Damsite - 18 feet
- Rio de La Plata at Comerio - 16 feet
- Rio Caonillas at Paso Palma - 15 feet
- Rio Guanajibo at Hwy 119 at San German - 15 feet
- Rio Culebrinas at Hwy 404 near Moca - 15 feet
- The highest reservoir water levels rises were observed at:
- Lago Cerrillos at Damsite near Ponce - 39 feet
- Lago Toa Vaca at Damsite - 16 feet
Rainfall amount across the U.S. Virgin Islands for the period from November 10-15, varied from 10 to 15 inches
. The recorded rainfall intensity for St. Croix during the period from November 10-14, exceeded the one hundred year return period. For St. John approached the one hundred year return period, and for
St. Thomas it was below the 25 year return period. Cumulative rainfall for the three day period beginning Saturday November 16 at 8 am, and ending Tuesday November 18 at 8 am, reflected rainfall amounts ranging from 8-10 inches in the area of Naguabo to 4 to 6 inches in many other places of east and central Puerto Rico.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, rainfall varied from 2.6 inches in St. Thomas to 3.65 inches in St. John. This additional rainfall exacerbated the pre existent flood situation even more, since not much rainfall was needed to cause flooding.
In Puerto Rico, flood effects on the population were considerable. A total of 19 municipalities were declared a federal disaster, Arroyo, Cabo Rojo, Canovanas, Fajardo, Guanica, Guayama, Juana Diaz, Loiza, Luquillo, Maunabo, Naguabo, Patillas, Rio Grande, Salinas, Santa Isabel, Toa Baja, Yabucoa, and Yauco. The most seriously affected were Guanica, Santa Isabel, Salinas, Juana Diaz, Yabucoa and Maunabo. Infrastructure and personal losses were estimated at 8 million. Agricultural losses accounted for approximately $ 31 million. The greatest crop loss was coffee, followed by plantains, oranges, and sugar cane. Total damages amounted to around 45 million. There were two deaths in Puerto Rico, one in Aibonito by drowning and another in Ciales. The highest rainfall fell in Naguabo. Approximately 860 people across the island were forced from their homes into shelters due to flooding. Many bridges and roads sustained damages.
There were many livestock lost due to the flooding.
The rains were heavy in St Croix on November 11 where around 8 inches accumulated. There were landslides from the hills above Charlotte Amalie. Roads and culverts flooded. Water and mud covered the streets. The commercial district in Christiansted was flooded with debris and mud. Some roads in St Thomas were closed due to damage. The U.S. Virgin Islands government estimated the losses at 25.5 million, St Croix 8.8M, St Thomas 10.6M and St John 6.1M. | <urn:uuid:9124e78a-0dbc-4924-aec4-2e5c611b109c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/?n=2003_flood01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957345 | 1,677 | 3.03125 | 3 |
We were let in to the cemetery through Pinkas Synagogue, which was used for worship last time in the 1940ies. The walls of the rooms were covered with names of the Jews who died in the holocaust… 78,000+ Bohemian and Moravian victims of Nazis. There is a room which displays children’s art. The sights depicted by the little hands choked me with emotions. Tender lives cut short. All drawings there were made by children captured in Theresienstadt concentration camp during WWII. No photography was permitted here and for once I was glad it wasn’t permitted! These are feelings that are not to be posted around and so right they are!
From here we were led to the cemetery where 12,000 gravestones are visible. Such a tiny space and so many gravestones… but in reality, the actual figures are 100,000 burials. According to Jewish tradition old graves are not destroyed and with no new land available they were forced to place layers on layers. Some of them had twelve layers of graves.
The tombstones there tell stories too. The size indicated how important the person was, there are names inscribed in Hebrew and some signs on the tombs indicated their professions. The grapes probably indicated wine making as the person’s occupation. The grave was in use from early fifteenth century to 1787. Standing amidst the tombstones I found it hard to think of anything… we are all human beings and there is an end to all!
A new life clings to old life, tries to survive, so there is hope! | <urn:uuid:1d01c27e-f6fe-4002-a3bf-a638ea9a8ca1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://isharethese.blogspot.com/2012/03/old-jewish-cemetery-prague.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980739 | 324 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Let us consider the humble stir-fry.
The concept is simple enough – you stir as you fry. Not quite brain surgery.
However, during my 27 years on this planet, I’ve come across quite a few people who seem to find this equation a little perplexing…
I’ve had more than a few friends partake in my stir-fries and the most common comment that I receive is that the dish is full of flavour and texture. The compliment regarding flavour I contribute partially to the stir-fry sauce that I like to use, but texture is something that comes down to one important factor:
All foods take different lengths of time to cook.
See, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?
I quizzed each friend that commented on my stir-fries and there appeared to be a common problem – they were all dumping all the ingredients into a wok at the same time and cooking till the final firm vegetable was cooked…at which point, half of the other ingredients were overcooked.
Anyone who has ever cooked vegetables should understand that capsicum cooks quicker than carrot but slower than snowpeas (as an example), and this is the rule which you should bear in mind when making this dish. The ‘difficult’ part of a stir-fry is the preparation – it might take 15-30 minutes to prepare all the bits and pieces that you want to use, but once they are ready to go, their progression into the wok should be quick and uniform.
From the photo above, you can see the components of today’s stir-fry:
snow peas / mangetout
bok choi (you can see that I’ve actually separated the leafy tops from the stalks since they take different lengths of time to cook)
red & green capsicum
half a rump steak, trimmed of all fat and sinew and finely sliced
6 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
a brown onion, trimmed and cut into 8 segments (not actually in the photo)
I like to brown my main protein (whether beef, chicken, seafood or tofu) in a separate frying pan before adding to a stir-fry, but that really is a personal quirk. A high heat will help you to cook quickly without liquid seeping from the veg into the bottom of the stir-fry and making it ‘soggy’, and veg that takes almost no time to cook (such as snow peas and bok choi) can actually be stirred through once everything else has cooked and the heat has been turned off – the residual heat of the dish will cook these veg during their trip from stove top to the kitchen bench.
Once you have ordered your veg in order of those which take the longest time to cook to those which cook in a heartbeat, you’ll need to actually go ahead with it. Heat up the wok with 1-2 tbsp of oil till it begins to smoke, then add the veg in progression – starting with one and adding the next as soon as the veg in the wok begins to soften.
Whatever you have in the fridge or pantry!
I generally make a stir-fry when I have bits of veg in the fridge…the odd bit of cabbage, a handful of snowpeas, half a capsicum, a few lonely bunches of bok choi. There is no rule and there’s generally no limit – but I’d suggest sticking with vegetables that cook relatively quickly (so root vegetables are generally not great, except for lotus root!)
The other rule with preparing vegetables for a stir-fry is that you want to cut them into similar sized pieces. This is because a stir-fry should be cooked quickly, and ensuring uniform size means they cook quickly and evenly.
Most people flavour their stir-fry with a simple drizzle of oyster sauce, however my preferred is sweet, salty, spicy sauce that can be boiled and bottled up and stored in the fridge for up to a month, ready to flavour any dish which needs a little boost.
1/2 cup kecap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce)
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1-3 thai birdseye chillis, finely sliced (depending on how spicy you like your food)
1/4 cup cold water
Combine these into a small saucepan over a low heat and bring to a simmer, allowing to cook until the mixture is reduced by 1/3. Pour into a clean container and store in the fridge for up to a month.
[tags]stirfry, Asian, noodles, beef[/tags] | <urn:uuid:6fe0a277-751e-4450-921d-8d860ce699bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insanitytheory.net/kitchenwench/stupidly-simple-stir-fry/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95038 | 981 | 1.6875 | 2 |
About the Program
MBA in Management
The MBA program at CBU offers a multidisciplinary curriculum that promotes knowledge across multiple areas critical to effective leadership and management. Students gain understanding of key business principles in finance and accounting, change management, business modeling and research, technology, innovation, leadership, organizational dynamics, marketing, strategy, international business and more.
MBA courses are also designed to prepare ethical and effective, leaders to create and shape organizations and to become responsible, accountable members of their communities and the world at large. CBU MBA graduates share an understanding of the positive impact they can have on the people they work with, as well as the importance of earning the trust of shareholders and stakeholders.
MBA in Accounting
CBU's MBA in Accounting was designed for students with undergraduate degrees in accounting who would like to obtain their Certified Public Accountant licensure. The program fulfills California's 150-hour requirement and satisfies the licensure requirements of most other states. Visit the program page to learn more.
MBA in Healthcare Administration
CBU’s School of Business has partnered with the College of Allied Health to design a program that will meet the high demand for healthcare administrators. Students will receive a premiere business education that is focused to meet the needs of the healthcare industry.
MBA in Construction Management
The MBA in Construction Management is designed to prepare undergraduate construction management students, as well as, experienced professionals that have a desire to obtain additional education to gain a competitive advantage in the growing and thriving environment of construction.
International Business Experience
Beginning in Fall 2013, tuition will include a trip overseas to Europe for an international business experience. Students will learn about conducting business across borders and grasp an understanding of the key differences in business practices across cultures. Students will also visit business leaders and major business locations on each continent.
The Europe option will be held in Oxford. Trip details subject to change.
Students, who are not able to attend one of these exciting options, will have the opportunity to supplement this experience with an international business course.
Academically Qualified and Professionally Accomplished Faculty
Faculty members in the Jabs School of Business are accomplished educators as well as experienced business leaders who bring a range of valuable insight, acumen and practical knowledge into the classroom. Academically qualified, the MBA faculty is comprised of successful entrepreneurs, managers, consultants, researchers, authors, business owners and leaders who have practiced what they teach. Equally dedicated to student success in the workplace as well as in the classroom, MBA professors provide students the practical skills to implement working solutions in their current situations.
CBU’s MBA program reflects a dynamic community of working professionals from a diverse range of business cultures and organizational environments. Students have the opportunity to build business connections, while building their leadership skills. Small classes provide an interactive learning experience that allows students to strengthen networking, team-building and interpersonal skills while defining their unique business visions. Supportive relationships, with faculty and fellow students, begin the first day of class and last a lifetime.
Practical Program with Practical Applications
Designed for the working adult, MBA classes are scheduled one evening per week for eight weeks each to allow students to pursue their careers while also pursuing their degree. Candidates complete one or two courses at a time, enabling them to focus their energies and valuable time while balancing professional and personal obligations.
Classes closely model real-world working environments, in which actual cases are discussed to illustrate the connections between coursework and the workplace by recreating the boardroom in the classroom, courses motivate students to think, react and function like managers. Studies culminate in an interdisciplinary final project, in which students develop solutions to challenges within their current workplaces.
Competent Leaders with Competitive Skills
Widely recognized and respected by the region's business community, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) from California Baptist University equips graduates with the skills, knowledge and experience demanded by today's organizations. The MBA from CBU positions you to reach your professional goals, advance your career and compete effectively for a range of leadership roles in an array of organizational environments, in the public, private, not-for-profit and religious sectors.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
The highest ranking organizational officer responsible for managing the overall organization and reporting to the Board of Directors and/or owners.
Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE)
Certified Fraud Examiners can be found in a wide range of government, corporate, and private settings. They prevent, investigate, and help prosecute fraud and mismanagement. Fraud examiners may also help victims recover fraud losses through asset tracking and civil remedies.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Primarily responsible for financial planning, reporting and record-keeping of the organization.
Certified Internal Auditors (CIA)
Certified Internal Auditors work within companies to assure accurate financial reporting and compliance with company rules and regulations, industry standards, and legal requirements.
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Certified Management Accountants work in companies to allocate costs and improve operations through cost analysis.
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
The COO is typically responsible for monitoring and improving an organization's daily activities and reporting to the CEO. The COO may also be an executive or senior vice president.
Certified Public Accountants (CPA)
Certified Public Accountants are business leaders trusted advisors. CPAs can be found in all industries providing assurance to financial statements and reports, providing tax advice, and leading the accounting and finance operations of companies.
Individuals seeking to launch an enterprise and/or product, find an MBA from CBU provides a wealth of knowledge, skills and techniques independent entrepreneurs can use to reach their goals.
To learn more about the many rewarding career opportunities that come with the MBA, please attend an upcoming Graduate Program Information Session.
Management consultants evaluate and analyze existing organizational problems, and provide expert insight and strategies on resolving those issue and improving organizational performance.
MBA graduates have the opportunity to explore and pursue vice president career tracks within organizations, in a myriad of capacities including finance, marketing, human resource management, and technology. | <urn:uuid:b112fbf6-0244-4266-a1a2-39ed87cecb91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://calbaptist.edu/explore-cbu/schools-colleges/school-business/master-business-administration/about/ | 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 | 0.945367 | 1,261 | 1.742188 | 2 |
This article originally appeared in one of our newsletters. The concept of an office boy in most cultures would seem a somewhat bizarre existence – a boy paid minimal wage to prepare your tea, do the photocopying, deliver documents, and attend to your every need. At a time, where the majority of the UAE workforce is talking about cost of living increases, we speak to an office boy and examine the real poverty line.
Babu, our office boy (or Furraash, as it is termed in Arabic), seemed quite willing to divulge all sorts of information. Let’s give you the numbers first. Babu, as an office boy, earns 800 Dirhams a month. (That’s about USD220 or GBP120) In addition to this, he receives ‘bedspace’, food, transportation to work, and a ticket home every two years. Babu believes this is a good deal. He had the option of taking a salary of 1200, without the food and board, but with housing prices as they are these days, there would be an almighty struggle to keep costs down.
And what are Babu’s expenses? From the 800 Dirhams, he spends only about 100 each month. This is used to buy credit for his mobile (30), to chip in for the satellite costs for his room (20), the odd occasion where he decides to live large and share a taxi back to camp (5) and finally to treat himself to a ‘quality’ 2 Dirham breakfastevery few days. Where does the 700 go? He sends it home. You see, for Babu, to come here is somewhat of a luxury as far as earning potential goes. However, to get here Babu has had to borrow the equivalent of 8500 Dirhams from friends and family to pay for a company to get him the job and get him out here. Does that make sense in the real world – does it sound legal? I don’t think so – but sacrificing 1 year or so for further future potential makes sense to Babu when he sees that his options are limited.
For Babu, it is do or die. His current earning potential in India is low and would give him barely enough to live the life he aspires to. Amazingly, Babu has an undergraduate degree in chemistry. And his big plan is to go back to university and do a masters degree, before taking up a research technician job, which will earn him enough to lead the lifestyle that he wants back home. In order to cover the costs of his second degree and living expenditure, Babu needs to do another year and a half (or a total of 3 years) and he will have 10,000 Dirhams saved up.
You may feel sorry for him, but Babu deems himself lucky. In the labour camps where he stays, his life is a step up from some of the other workers. Babu works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for 800 Dirhams, allowing earning potential from time in a second job. For the others, life is slightly different: gardeners work 12 hours a day through the scorching heat and earn 850 Dirhams; and cleaners work 7 days a week, 8 hours a day for a paltry 300 Dirhams. Almost blase, he threw in the fact that they could earn overtime for doing more hours. What could the upside be? - 450dhs for 12 hours per day or 590dhs for 16hours a day. If you assume a 30 day month, their hourly rate is 1.25 which incredibly drops to 1.16 if you go into the post 12 hour category. And remember, we are still talking Dirhams here. How would you feel if you earned 30 cents an hour?
Babu was eager for us to see his pad, so we ventured to Mussafah to see the splendour of the labour camps. There are thousands of labourers that support the UAE economy and are often not spoken of or ignored – and so while visiting a place of potential squalor was not particularly appealing, there was an interest in visiting a place that no one really sees.
Mussafah is an industrial area about an hour from Dubai and thirty minutes from Abu Dhabi, known primarily for cheap housing and the labour camps. On approaching the area, and seeing the signs for ‘labour camps’, it felt as if we were entering aprison of some sort. Ironically, some of these labourers are imprisoned in a life because their existence here supports a life for their family which they could never provide from their home town.
The men come predominantly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and there are probably three categories of why such people opt for this life: stepping stone; sacrifice; and desperation. Although Babu falls into the first category, many fall into the latter two. In the world of no minimum wage, some of the men are here simply to exist. We voiced our concerns about this to Babu, who said that if they were back in India, most labourers would struggle for food everyday, probably begging on the street - at least here, they are guaranteed food and a bed.
I had perceived the area to be made up of a number of buildings similar to university dormitories. However, all the buildings were of one level, somewhat similar to an industrial wasteland. In the desert, you’re not really paying a premium on space but on entrance to Babu’s room, we saw that he shared a 150 square foot room with 7 others. Other rooms held 10 poor souls in the same space. Their wardrobe which was about the size of three shoe boxes was the only space they had to store all their worldly possessions, including their clothes.
With no room, many congregate on the street when not working. With perhaps thirty to forty thousand residing in the near vicinity, this could be classed as a small city in itself. Some of the workers spent their spare time earning some extra cash. Those with the time take on extra jobs, packing and stacking, clothes tailoring or other cleaning positions. One individual had started a media duplication service, copying and selling the latest Bollywood and Hollywood tunes and flicks to the labourers on site. Others traded in alcohol or even acted as loan sharks. Now, all these are all illegal in various degrees of gravity, but this underworld existed to the point that these guys were protected by the Mafiosi within the camp. Backhanders and corruption happens at all levels, you know.
Babu’s camp consisted of roughly 400 men, although some others had more than a 1000. One kitchen serves about 14,000 workers each meal. A brief look at the preparation of the rice would have failed the most basic health and safety examination, and we were unable to stay for a longer period of time simply for the thought that this ‘cuisine’ is consumed by so many. Babu confided in us that he didn’t eat much of the food, and on most days just survived on bread and hummus.
It’s difficult to get a real picture of what this place is like, so we have posted a few snaps so you can actually see what the camps are really like yourselves:
Photos from the Labour Camps (not viewable from within the UAE)
The question is this – are these young men exploited? Probably.
Do they think that they are being exploited? Probably not.
We asked Babu whether he likes being in the UAE. “Oh yes, Sir – UAE is very good for me” And, he’s probably right. We gave him a few hundred Dirhams for an Idd treat - I have never seen a grin so wide. | <urn:uuid:12bb02d3-0213-4ccf-8a28-54ad04867605> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grapeshisha.com/living-working/interview-with-an-office-boy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980615 | 1,614 | 2.09375 | 2 |
After reading Molly MacDonald’s assertion that Canada’s English-singing talent wasn’t putting more effort into singing about Canada’s history, I thought, “Ha! I bet I can prove her wrong.”
Although my two-hour search was by no means exhaustive, it appears that it was I who was wrong. There are a lot of quality Canadian artists putting out music that refers to Canadian culture, but few songs deal with our history. Even Stompin’ Tom Connors’ songs were for the most part historical because of their age!
The lone song that I could that I was sure referred to Canadian History was Sam Roberts’ “An American Draft Dodger in Thunder Bay;” however, there were a number of songs by Sarah Harmer, Susan Aglukark, The Tragically Hip, Classified, Moxy Fruvous and The Weakerthans that could refer, in a poetic, abstract sort of way (Gord Downie – you make good music, but I don’t have a clue where you come up with your lyrics!), to Canada’s past.
So Molly, it seems that you’re right; we need to make some intentional music about Canadian History. I’m thinking we listen to The Guess Who, Sarah Harmer, Sloan, The Hip, Sam Roberts, Sarah Slean, and The Trews for our influences and think about what events have defined each decade since Confederation – that will give us about sixteen songs for our first album. That covers Confederation, every conflict Canada has been in, the addition of new provinces and territories, the expansion of women’s rights, aboriginal rights, and minority rights, prohibition, the evolution of the welfare state… and we can always sing about Prime Ministers if we’re a loss! | <urn:uuid:d22680d5-f579-4b0c-8040-a7645f8aabb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jeremysandor.blogspot.com/2007/02/history-lp.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970968 | 384 | 2.328125 | 2 |
The lake created by the land slide on 4th January, 2010 submerged 4 villages in this lake including my village. After two years today, the sustained disaster is there imposed by NDMA and GoP on us. The land slide location village name is Attabad, a village submerged down to the Hunza river and blocked the main river. 19 people died in village at the bottom of the land slide area, the lake created upstream area Gojal contains 26 villages and around 25,000 population stranded in this valley. Now the lake is frozen and no ground access available. The main Karakorum highway to China, some 17Km out of 23Km lake area is under water. Causalities have increased mainly for children & aged due to shortage of resources, medical supply. Please raise voice. "Ali Rehmat Musofer & residents" | <urn:uuid:b87ac595-206b-4bac-8719-6b11008c0ff5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.local.com.pk/hunza/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97005 | 172 | 1.929688 | 2 |
The answers you seek are in "Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox (avail only in paper last I checked). For primarily cultural reasons, sign was ignored by academia until very recently, and this book happens to compile a lot of the recent work. By the quip the book is about the author's trip to the middle east to observe linguists studying a newly formed sign language. To fill in the gaps of the book and to explain what she was seeing, the book talks a lot about the similarities among the sign languages of the world. Some of the similarities are due to genetic relationships (ASL is descendant, roughly from French SL). Nicaraguan ASL and the middle eastern one the book studies are nearly a priori or at least as close to that as you can get in the real world.
Some things that appear in many sign languages (even unrelated) are verbs that show spatial agreement, like when in ASL you sign , I-give-you, it is a single sign moved from me towards you. The same pattern pops up in unrelated sign languages, hinting at the possibility of SL universals. But like I said earlier, the research on global sign language is pretty new and suffers the same sort of problems that endangered languages suffer, few speakers (compared to English and French) and few researchers.
Here is a tangentially related question | <urn:uuid:dac4b7bd-85e8-4d31-85b2-833feddb7010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/2941/what-similarities-are-there-between-nicaraguan-isn-and-american-asl-sign-lan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964498 | 278 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Current Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 03:48:59 -0400
Sport has its fair share of fabled traditions, but none is more storied — nor ancient — than wrestling.
Wrestling first appeared in the first Olympic games in 708 B.C. and has remained an undisputed fixture of international competition.
Until Tuesday morning, that is.
In a widely and vehemently criticized decision, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee rescinded wrestling’s Olympic status. Wrestling will appear at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro but will have to apply for reinstatement to gain entrance to the 2020 Games, the site of which has yet to be selected.
The IOC’s full membership must ratify the executive board’s decision during its meeting this September.
Decreed from its headquarters in Switzerland, the IOC’s bombshell sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling community and the world — including Chapel Hill.
North Carolina wrestler Tanner Eitel admitted to tearing up when he first heard the news.
At Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas, Eitel trained under Kenny Monday, who captured wrestling gold at the 1988 Games in Seoul.
His longtime coach and mentor inspired Eitel to dream about performing on the world’s biggest stage, a dream that abruptly shattered Tuesday morning.
Eitel had his sights set on the 2020 Games — in light of the IOC’s decision, he “won’t be afforded that opportunity.”
“It hurts,” Eitel said, “but I hope it’s just 2020 and not future Olympics.”
In its official press release announcing the removal of wrestling, the IOC cited its obligation to “remain relevant to sports fans of all generations.”
Never mind that, generationally speaking, wrestling predates the most distant ancestors of the committee members.
“I think it’s a shame that wrestling is the oldest sport known to man, and yet they’re talking about taking it out of the Olympics,” said North Carolina coach C.D. Mock.
But The Games have become as much about lucrative broadcasting rights fees and maximizing revenue as athletic valor. In weighing the interests of younger audiences, the IOC deemed wrestling a more prudent casualty than, say, depriving young males the sight of scantily clad women’s beach volleyball players.
“All of these sports that get on TV that people love to watch — they’re the ones they’re going to keep,” Mock said. “And that’s the way the world works.”
In a battle of dollars and cents, wrestling can’t even muster a dime.
“It’s all about money,” said Mock. “People get mad when you say that, but money rules the world, and that’s the way it is.”
Mock isn’t looking for martyrdom, however — he claims wrestling’s declining popularity is partly self-inflicted.
“As far as I’m concerned, wrestling in the Olympics is boring,” Mock said. “If you don’t know the guy, if you don’t know wrestling, if you’re not a wrestling coach or a wrestler, you’re not going to watch it.
“We need to do something about that, or it’s going to be done for us.”
The relative irrelevance of wrestling within the public sports arena belies its athletic integrity, said Mock and freshman Nathan Kraisser.
Mock pointed to the steady growth of high school wrestling as a clear sign of the sport’s vitality. And Kraisser, a four-time state champion in Maryland, is not ready to pen wrestling’s obituary.
“There’s still a lot of fans — not just (in the) U.S., but worldwide,” said Kraisser of the sport’s following. “I think it deserves more credit than it gets.
“I think we work harder than a lot of the other athletes — not to take anything away from the other athletes that are still in (the Olympics), but wrestlers work extremely hard. It’s one of the hardest-working sports out there.”
And without a professional league, wrestlers don’t have an alternative to The Games. It’s Olympics or bust.
If the IOC’s decision holds, wrestlers will hit a dead end after college. Bust will become an inescapable reality.
“They (IOC) continue to take away any possible chances of those individuals (in high school) of having a future beyond college,” Mock said. “And that’s really a shame.”
Tuesday’s announcement ignited a groundswell of indignation and uproar on social media. Eitel said he hoped the backlash would give the IOC pause.
That certainly appeared to be the case Wednesday, when IOC President Jacques Rogge agreed to meet with the president of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA).
Rogge and Raphael Martinetti, the president of FILA, will brainstorm ways to boost wrestling’s appeal and keep the sport in the Olympics. Martinetti has until September — before IOC membership can officially sound the death knell of wrestling — to placate Rogge and salvage the sport’s dwindling stature.
The business side of the Olympics, often unsightly, doesn’t taint Kraisser nor Eitel’s enthusiasm.
Competing under the glow of the Olympic torch remains a vision and ambition that the tentacles of the IOC will never touch.
“All my life, my greatest aspiration has been to compete in the Olympics,” Eitel said.
Likewise for Kraisser, who clings to optimism in hoping his passion, livelihood and pastime survives its trial of legitimacy.
“It’s kind of discouraging, but hopefully it can get reinstated,” Kraisser said.
“That would be great.” | <urn:uuid:070202ad-d2dd-474a-886f-7677d0925a2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailytarheel.com/blog/press_box/2013/02/mock-tar-heels-weigh-in-on-iocs-wrestling-decision | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92618 | 1,303 | 2.46875 | 2 |
In the last few months there have been many reports released on many issues related to fire fighter safety issues. See the following links for a copy of each report.
A Multiphase Study on Firefighter Safety and Resource Deployment - Many fire departments across the nation are being challenged by budget crises, rising call volume, personnel and equipment shortages, security issues and the overall expectation to do more with less. These and other factors, all too often, have our responding crews encountering increasing line of duty risk of injury and death as they continue to work to reduce civilian injury and property loss. Even with the technological advances of the last decades, we have not yet been able to scientifically quantify our experiences to determine what staffing levels, asset configurations and response time frames are best when responding to various levels of fire or EMS events so that we minimize risk to the firefighters, paramedics and the public. We believe the time has come to change that. Get reports here.
Quantitative Evaluation of Fire and EMS - Mobilization Times - Comprehensive data on fire emergency and EMS call processing and turnout time is largely absent from the published literature. Operational benchmarks for alarm handling time and turnout time specified in the NFPA peer consensus standards 1221 and 1710, respectively, would be greatly enhanced with strong empirical validation. This study presents a clear statistical picture of actual recorded alarm handling times and turnout times for fire and EMS emergencies across a group of large fire departments. Additionally, the study identifies some significant factors that affect variation in alarm handling times and turnout times in those departments. These results provide an objective basis for further development of the relevant codes and standards as well as contributing critical information for fire chiefs and other government decision makers tasked with optimum deployment of emergency response facilities (ERFs) and emergency response units (ERUs). Get report here.
NIST Study on Charleston Furniture Store Fire Calls for National Safety Improvements - NIST’s team of experts traveled to Charleston to gather data within 36 hours of the Sofa Super Store fire. Using these data and other information collected in the following months (such as building design documents, records, plans, video and photographic data, radio transmissions, interviews with emergency responders, and informal discussions with store employees), the NIST study team developed its computer model to simulate and analyze the characteristics of the fire, including fire spread, smoke movement, tenability, and the operation of active and passive fire protection systems. Get report here. | <urn:uuid:ec85dc15-817e-4e4c-8748-0258d0164222> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nfpa.typepad.com/fireservicetoday/2010/11/reports-released.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923187 | 489 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Celebrating freedom a backbreaker
By Christie Appelhanz
SELESHCHINA, Ukraine -- The fall of the Soviet Union changed the way the world works from Beijing to the Beltway.
It didn't, however, change the way Luda works in this quiet village of 5,000, where the cows still walk down the main street unescorted every morning to graze.
Well, maybe things are a little worse, she says, since they lifted price controls and the cost of food soared. Luda survived the economic collapse of the past decade the same way many other Ukrainians did -- thanks to her garden plot.
Today seems like just another day for Luda. She rose at 5 a.m. for the chores that keep her family fed.
Gathering eggs. Milking cows. Bringing in water from the well. Except today she won't go work as a nurse because it's not just another day. At least not to me.
Ten years ago today, the Supreme Rada declared independence in Ukraine shortly after the failed Soviet coup. Ten years ago, 84 percent of voters thought statehood would bring political freedoms and economic prosperity. This day, I think, is everything the Peace Corps recruiter was talking about when she offered the chance to work in a country "at a critical juncture in its young history."
But that hope and optimism of 10 years ago has faded as the work of building a democratic nation turned out to be slower than expected. For Luda, at least, the day is cause for celebration simply because her three sons are home. Nothing more.
Her oldest son mentions it's convenient the holiday comes in August because it gives everyone an extra day to dig up potatoes.
That's why I'm here. I wanted to celebrate this historic day in true Ukrainian style. Whatever that is. Not even the Ukrainians know.
So I asked Svieta, the English teacher at the school I work at, to let me tag along to her in-laws so I could find out.
It's such a new holiday, she said, we don't have any traditions. Maybe one day Ehor will have his own traditions.
Ehor is Svieta's 7-year-old son who is outside chasing butterflies. For five years after the Chernobyl disaster, Ukrainians tell me, there were no butterflies.
Inside, Luda is preparing the first of what will be three meals of mashed potatoes.
The youngest son returns from the outhouse, and an argument breaks out about a new gadget he bought. A mobile phone.
This is when I learn the word "unnecessary." The parents take a break from scolding their grown son and look at me embarrassed until I assure them it makes me feel right at home.
But there really isn't time for arguments. The so-called kitchen garden is bigger than I expected. A lot bigger.
The family chats about the village gossip as they work together on the potatoes. The men dig. The women gather.
My friend the English teacher asks me the word for "the thing you use to cut grass." A lawn mower, I say confidently, until I realize she was talking about a sickle.
In Kiev, the family tells me, there are fireworks and parades. The long-standing tradition of completing construction in time for an anniversary was preserved -- a new monument and remodeled train station in the country's capital.
The family works on. They point out a bug called "kapustyanka" and tell me it's also the name of someone who lives in the village. Everyone laughs.
I ask what the holiday means to everyone. The answers reflect the same combination of desperation and hope of the country's national anthem, "Ukraine Has Not Yet Died."
I want to go to America, Luda says, where things are better.
You should love your country because it is your motherland, her daughter-in-law tells her gently.
Things will get better.
There is nothing to love, Luda answers firmly, and the conversation ends. They aren't avoiding my questions. The topic simply doesn't interest this family.
The differences between Ukrainian moonshine and the American version is another story. I mention that while Ukrainians use sugar, Americans use corn.
They don't believe me when I tell them I've never made it, I just happen to know. They want a recipe.
The youngest son asks for the sixth time if I am tired of gathering potatoes.
I lose patience. "Do you think Americans get tired faster than Ukrainians?" I ask.
Americans don't work, they cheat, he tells me.
I don't know if he learned this during his Soviet education or if it's a harmless joke.
Either way, I work faster and harder. Fill the bucket with potatoes. Dump them in the giant bags. Repeat.
The sorting will be later.
I work as if I can change the minds of every Ukrainian citizen. But the truth is, I'm exhausted.
I ponder bringing up the mobile phone in front of his parents to retaliate. Since my job is to bring "peace," I reluctantly decide against it.
The last row of potatoes finally arrives. We walk back to the house down the main street.
There are no flags of blue and gold waving in the breeze. I didn't exactly expect a giant clothing retailer to mass produce shirts, but I did think the day might be, well, somehow more historic.
Then we stroll past the new cafe in town. A sign reads "this cafe is dedicated to 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence."
It's not state run, the teacher tells me. It is his very own, and he is proud to be Ukrainian.
Fighting the bureaucracy and corruption to open the cafe undoubtedly took the kind of perseverance that comes from centuries of hardship the Ukrainians have endured. A Coke at the cafe was the best I've ever had.
After the rest, the time came to gather fish for dinner. We sit by the pond as the three sons work.
I wonder if the sky is as blue anywhere else in the world, the teacher says.
She wouldn't know. Virtually no foreign travel was allowed during Soviet times. Now it's the economy that prohibits it.
Luda's husband asks me about the retirement age in America. Tomorrow, he will go back to work at the collective farm.
It isn't a collective farm anymore because a private company bought it up, but that's what everyone still calls it. The work certainly hasn't changed. He looks tired, but he has plenty of energy when his grandson Ehor plops down in his lap.
Back at the house, I bring out a Frisbee. Ehor grabs the "flying Ukrainian plate" and starts showing off to his friends, ordering them exactly where to stand and how to throw it.
He may be president one day, I tell his mother.
And it's true. For all of Ukraine's problems, mayors, lawmakers and the president are now elected by a free vote.
When it gets dark, I bring out the Uno cards. Ehor helps me explain to his grandfather the difference between a "draw four" and a "wild."
I wonder for a second if we should be doing something a little more important on this day that brought such hope and optimism to the country 10 years ago. Then I realize, maybe, just maybe, we are doing something important.
We just spent a day building Independence Day traditions for Ehor. I think about the national anthem again. Especially the line "Luck will still smile on us brother-Ukrainians."
For Ehor's sake, I hope it's true. | <urn:uuid:6eb68738-de5e-4c20-a524-0054c31a7949> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thirdgoal.org/story/view/celebrating-freedom-a-backbreaker | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971179 | 1,594 | 1.992188 | 2 |
From The Guardian:
The Pope today reignited the controversy over the Catholic church’s stance on condom use as he made his first trip to Africa.
The pontiff said condoms were not the answer to the continent’s fight against HIV and Aids and could make the problem worse.
Benedict XVI made his comments as he flew to Cameroon for the first leg of a six-day trip that will also see him travelling to Angola.
The timing of his remarks outraged health agencies trying to halt the spread of HIV and Aids in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated 22 million people are infected.
The Roman Catholic church encourages sexual abstinence and fidelity to prevent the disease from spreading, but it is a policy that has divided some clergy working with Aids patients.
The pontiff, speaking to journalists on his flight, said the condition was “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems”.
Rebecca Hodes, of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, said that if the Pope was serious about preventing new HIV infections he would focus on promoting wider access to condoms and spreading information about how best to use them.
Hodes, the director of policy, communication and research for the campaign group, added: “Instead, his opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans.”
Millions of lives are at stake owing to the sad fact that this man’s ill-informed and anti-scientific utterances are taken seriously. (That, compounded with the—hopefully diminishing—human desire to flush one’s brain down the toilet, ignore reality and prostrate oneself before dogma and self-appointed authority.) | <urn:uuid:c1e354ef-660a-4848-859e-b0172a59964f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fivepublicopinions.wordpress.com/tag/condoms/ | 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 | 0.974972 | 368 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Click on any phrase to play the video at that point.Close
Good afternoon, everybody. I've got something to show you. (Laughter) Think about this as a pixel, a flying pixel. This is what we call, in our lab, sensible design. Let me tell you a bit about it. Now if you take this picture -- I'm Italian originally, and every boy in Italy grows up with this picture on the wall of his bedroom -- but the reason I'm showing you this is that something very interesting happened in Formula 1 racing over the past couple of decades. Now some time ago, if you wanted to win a Formula 1 race, you take a budget, and you bet your budget on a good driver and a good car. And if the car and the driver were good enough, then you'd win the race. Now today, if you want to win the race, actually you need also something like this -- something that monitors the car in real time, has a few thousand sensors collecting information from the car, transmitting this information into the system, and then processing it and using it in order to go back to the car with decisions and changing things in real time as information is collected. This is what, in engineering terms, you would call a real time control system. And basically, it's a system made of two components -- a sensing and an actuating component.
What is interesting today is that real time control systems are starting to enter into our lives. Our cities, over the past few years, just have been blanketed with networks, electronics. They're becoming like computers in open air. And, as computers in open air, they're starting to respond in a different way to be able to be sensed and to be actuated. If we fix cities, actually it's a big deal. Just as an aside, I wanted to mention, cities are only two percent of the Earth's crust, but they are 50 percent of the world's population. They are 75 percent of the energy consumption -- up to 80 percent of CO2 emissions. So if we're able to do something with cities, that's a big deal. Beyond cities, all of this sensing and actuating is entering our everyday objects.
That's from an exhibition that Paola Antonelli is organizing at MoMA later this year, during the summer. It's called "Talk to Me." Well our objects, our environment is starting to talk back to us. In a certain sense, it's almost as if every atom out there were becoming both a sensor and an actuator. And that is radically changing the interaction we have as humans with the environment out there. In a certain sense, it's almost as if the old dream of Michelangelo ... you know, when Michelangelo sculpted the Moses, at the end it said that he took the hammer, threw it at the Moses -- actually you can still see a small chip underneath -- and said, shouted, "Perché non parli? Why don't you talk?" Well today, for the first time, our environment is starting to talk back to us. And I'll show just a few examples -- again, with this idea of sensing our environment and actuating it.
Let's starting with sensing. Well, the first project I wanted to share with you is actually one of the first projects by our lab. It was four and a half years ago in Italy. And what we did there was actually use a new type of network at the time that had been deployed all across the world -- that's a cellphone network -- and use anonymous and aggregated information from that network, that's collected anyway by the operator, in order to understand how the city works. The summer was a lucky summer -- 2006. It's when Italy won the soccer World Cup. Some of you might remember, it was Italy and France playing, and then Zidane at the end, the headbutt. And anyway, Italy won at the end.
Now look at what happened that day just by monitoring activity happening on the network. Here you see the city. You see the Colosseum in the middle, the river Tiber. It's morning, before the match. You see the timeline on the top. Early afternoon, people here and there, making calls and moving. The match begins -- silence. France scores. Italy scores. Halftime, people make a quick call and go to the bathroom. Second half. End of normal time. First overtime, second. Zidane, the headbutt in a moment. Italy wins. Yeah. (Laughter) (Applause) Well, that night, everybody went to celebrate in the center. You saw the big peak. The following day, again everybody went to the center to meet the winning team and the prime minister at the time. And then everybody moved down. You see the image of the place called Circo Massimo, where, since Roman times, people go to celebrate, to have a big party, and you see the peak at the end of the day. Well, that's just one example of how we can sense the city today in a way that we couldn't have done just a few years ago.
Another quick example about sensing: it's not about people, but about things we use and consume. Well today, we know everything about where our objects come from. This is a map that shows you all the chips that form a Mac computer, how they came together. But we know very little about where things go. So in this project, we actually developed some small tags to track trash as it moves through the system. So we actually started with a number of volunteers who helped us in Seattle, just over a year ago, to tag what they were throwing away -- different types of things, as you can see here -- things they would throw away anyway. Then we put a little chip, little tag, onto the trash and then started following it. Here are the results we just obtained.
From Seattle ... after one week. With this information we realized there's a lot of inefficiencies in the system. We can actually do the same thing with much less energy. This data was not available before. But there's a lot of wasted transportation and convoluted things happening. But the other thing is that we believe that if we see every day that the cup we're throwing away, it doesn't disappear, it's still somewhere on the planet. And the plastic bottle we're throwing away every day still stays there. And if we show that to people, then we can also promote some behavioral change. So that was the reason for the project.
My colleague at MIT, Assaf Biderman, he could tell you much more about sensing and many other wonderful things we can do with sensing, but I wanted to go to the second part we discussed at the beginning, and that's actuating our environment. And the first project is something we did a couple of years ago in Zaragoza, Spain. It started with a question by the mayor of the city, who came to us saying that Spain and Southern Europe have a beautiful tradition of using water in public space, in architecture. And the question was: How could technology, new technology, be added to that? And one of the ideas that was developed at MIT in a workshop was, imagine this pipe, and you've got valves, solenoid valves, taps, opening and closing. You create like a water curtain with pixels made of water. If those pixels fall, you can write on it, you can show patterns, images, text. And even you can approach it, and it will open up to let you jump through, as you see in this image.
Well, we presented this to Mayor Belloch. He liked it very much. And we got a commission to design a building at the entrance of the expo. We called it Digital Water Pavilion. The whole building is made of water. There's no doors or windows, but when you approach it, it will open up to let you in. (Music) The roof also is covered with water. And if there's a bit of wind, if you want to minimize splashing, you can actually lower the roof. Or you could close the building, and the whole architecture will disappear, like in this case. You know, these days, you always get images during the winter, when they take the roof down, of people who have been there and said, "They demolished the building." No, they didn't demolish it, just when it goes down, the architecture almost disappears. Here's the building working. You see the person puzzled about what was going on inside. And here was myself trying not to get wet, testing the sensors that open the water.
Well, I should tell you now what happened one night when all of the sensors stopped working. But actually that night, it was even more fun. All the kids from Zaragoza came to the building, because the way of engaging with the building became something different. Not anymore a building that would open up to let you in, but a building that would still make cuts and holes through the water, and you had to jump without getting wet.
And that was, for us, was very interesting, because, as architects, as engineers, as designers, we always think about how people will use the things we design. But then reality's always unpredictable. And that's the beauty of doing things that are used and interact with people.
Here is an image then of the building with the physical pixels, the pixels made of water, and then projections on them. And this is what led us to think about the following project I'll show you now. That's, imagine those pixels could actually start flying. Imagine you could have small helicopters that move in the air, and then each of them with a small pixel in changing lights -- almost as a cloud that can move in space. Here is the video.
So imagine one helicopter, like the one we saw before, moving with others, in synchrony. So you can have this cloud. You can have a kind of flexible screen or display, like this -- a regular configuration in two dimensions. Or in regular, but in three dimensions, where the thing that changes is the light, not the pixels' position. You can play with a different type. Imagine your screen could just appear in different scales or sizes, different types of resolution. But then the whole thing can be just a 3D cloud of pixels that you can approach and move through it and see from many, many directions. Here is the real Flyfire control and going down to form the regular grid as before. When you turn on the light, actually you see this. So the same as we saw before. And imagine each of them then controlled by people. You can have each pixel having an input that comes from people, from people's movement, or so and so.
I want to show you something here for the first time. We've been working with Roberto Bolle, one of today's top ballet dancers -- the étoile at Metropolitan in New York and La Scala in Milan -- and actually captured his movement in 3D in order to use it as an input for Flyfire. And here you can see Roberto dancing. You see on the left the pixels, the different resolutions being captured. It's both 3D scanning in real time and motion capture. So you can reconstruct a whole movement. You can go all the way through. But then, once we have the pixels, then you can play with them and play with color and movement and gravity and rotation. So we want to use this as one of the possible inputs for Flyfire.
I wanted to show you the last project we are working on. It's something we're working on for the London Olympics. It's called The Cloud. And the idea here is, imagine, again, we can involve people in doing something and changing our environment -- almost to impart what we call cloud raising -- like barn raising, but with a cloud. Imagine you can have everybody make a small donation for one pixel. And I think what is remarkable that has happened over the past couple of years is that, over the past couple of decades, we went from the physical world to the digital one. This has been digitizing everything, knowledge, and making that accessible through the Internet.
Now today, for the first time -- and the Obama campaign showed us this -- we can go from the digital world, from the self-organizing power of networks, to the physical one. This can be, in our case, we want to use it for designing and doing a symbol. That means something built in a city. But tomorrow it can be, in order to tackle today's pressing challenges -- think about climate change or CO2 emissions -- how we can go from the digital world to the physical one. So the idea that we can actually involve people in doing this thing together, collectively.
The cloud is a cloud, again, made of pixels, in the same way as the real cloud is a cloud made of particles. And those particles are water, where our cloud is a cloud of pixels. It's a physical structure in London, but covered with pixels. You can move inside, have different types of experiences. You can actually see from underneath, sharing the main moments for the Olympics in 2012 and beyond, and really using it as a way to connect with the community. So both the physical cloud in the sky and something you can go to the top [of], like London's new mountaintop. You can enter inside it. And a kind of new digital beacon for the night -- but most importantly, a new type of experience for anybody who will go to the top.
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With his team at SENSEable City Lab, MIT's Carlo Ratti makes cool things by sensing the data we create. He pulls from passive data sets -- like the calls we make, the garbage we throw away -- to create surprising visualizations of city life. And he and his team create dazzling interactive environments from moving water and flying light, powered by simple gestures caught through sensors.
Carlo Ratti directs the MIT SENSEable City Lab, which explores the "real-time city" by studying the way sensors and electronics relate to the built environment. He's opening a research center in Singapore as part of an MIT-led initiative on the Future of Urban Mobility. Full bio » | <urn:uuid:48c7f8e3-cdb1-477b-8fe5-bbcbfba48230> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ted.com/talks/carlo_ratti_architecture_that_senses_and_responds.html?c=239198 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971182 | 3,003 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Shin splints - what are they?
The vague medical term shin splints has largely been replaced by the more accurate term medial tibia stress syndrome or MTSS but many athletes still use the older term.
Shin splints are a painful condition in which the bone tissue and thin membranes of the lower shin bone become inflamed. The most common causes of shin splints are over exercising, biomechanical abnormalities and poor footwear. Shin splints / MTSS is one of the most common injuries reported by runners and professional athletes.
Shin splints starts with pain along the front or inside edge of the shinbone (tibia) is commonly referred to as shin splints. The problem is common in athletes who run and jump. Shin splints is usually caused by doing too much, too quickly. The runner with shin splints typically reports a recent change in training, such as increasing the usual pace, adding distance, or changing running surfaces. People who haven't run for a while are especially prone to shin splints after they first get started, especially when they run downhill.
Shin splints on the front of the tibia are called anterior shin splints.
Posterior shin splints cause pain along the inside edge of the lower leg.
Bone shin splints cause general pain in the lower leg.
Think you require treatment for your shin splints symptoms?
Visit our sports podiatry clinic pages for a clinic near you. | <urn:uuid:4de0f78f-845c-4343-9907-907a1c4d4d5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shin-splints.co.uk/shinsplints_whatarethey.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954578 | 296 | 3.328125 | 3 |
What is marketing?
Well, according to the American Marketing Association, marketing is defined as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
Yeah…that doesn’t really explain anything.
The problem is, marketing is a very complex term to define as it encompasses so many different variables. Also, many people have an inherent distrust of marketers (with good reason) because their job is to “sell” a product based on all of its best features.
This is unfortunate, because marketing can be a very positive tool, and is a key factor for the success of many businesses.
As I start writing this blog, I will lay out some of what I feel is important in regards to marketing and hopefully it won’t be too boring in case someone decides to read it. | <urn:uuid:c51c91f6-1d67-46fb-8e7c-6f0b304e0ca6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mbdconsulting.com/what-is-marketing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973036 | 191 | 1.890625 | 2 |
To the Editor:
Healthcare reform without a public option amounts to billions of dollars of bailouts for the insurance companies.
By expanding health insurance to the uninsured, we'll be giving tens of millions of new customers to the insurance companies, along with federal subsidies to keep premiums affordable.
But there's no incentive for the health insurance companies to keep costs down, or to provide better service. By subsidizing high premiums, all we're doing is bailing them out.
The public health insurance option provides competition that will make the private health insurance industry fight for customer loyalty by offering lower premiums and better services. Lower premiums means less tax dollars going into the pockets of corporate CEOs.
Americans deserve the right to choose their own health care. Limiting our choice to the same for-profit corporations means trusting the same people who benefit from the broken health insurance system we have now.
Congress must give Americans more choices for their personal health care by allowing the availability of a non-profit public health insurance option. Requiring people to purchase health insurance from a limited pool of for-profit insurance companies only is not real reform, it is a taxpayer bailout of the insurance industry.
If the for-profit corporate health insurance companies fail us and cannot provide quality service for less, we deserve the right as consumers to choose a non-profit public option. | <urn:uuid:2ed41be6-de41-4d34-96d5-4867ab4f1328> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebraziltimes.com/story/1587331.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940692 | 272 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Maxwell’s Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of LeadingLeadership Gold, John Maxwell looks back on 60 years and distills what he has learned about leadership to date. And he stresses that he is still learning. It contains 26 important lessons about leadership and human relationships that are well worth reviewing. It’s a mentoring-style book. He says that leadership can be learned by anyone but it’s not easy. Leadership is demanding and complex. He writes:
Leadership is the willingness to put oneself at risk.
Leadership is the passion to make a difference with others.
Leadership is being dissatisfied with the current reality.
Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses.
Leadership is seeing the possibilities in a situation while others are seeing the limitations.
Leadership is the readiness to stand out in a crowd.
Leadership is an open mind and an open heart.
Leadership is the ability to submerge your ego for the sake of what is best.
Leadership is evoking in others the capacity to dream.
Leadership is inspiring others with a vision of what they can contribute.
Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.
Leadership is your heart speaking to the hearts of others.
Leadership is the integration of heart, head, and soul.
Leadership is the capacity to care, and in caring, to liberate the ideas, energy, and capacities of others.
Leadership is the dream made reality.
Leadership is above all, courageous.
The list makes a good yardstick.
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Mobile devices, and particularly smartphones, are building a silent revolution, happening at the edges of the mainstream. While many are playing Angry Birds or checking in at Foursquare, entrepeneurs have been discussing and engineering a new set of of technologies and hardware that will deeply transform commerce and culture.
The first few weeks of 2011 are rather elusive of how the talk around mobile payments will get louder. From the lively discussion at Peter Paul Koch’s blog to the recent announcement of Google allowing operator billing for their Android platform, things will get really, really interesting.
If you need further examples how deeply this affects our lives, just think about a world where you’ll travel without your credit cards, as they’ve been replaced by secure SIM cards and upcoming NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies.
E-commerce was at first a personal activity, where each user was a self-determining agent regarding products and services. With wishlists, customer reviews and ratings, recommendation or referrals it evolved into what is now usually called Social Commerce.
The past few months have brought some new patterns, that further confirmed the importance of the social graph for e-tailers as confirmed by recent studies by comScore and Performics/ROI Research , with consumers connecting with brand channels (40%), recommending products and services (32%) and finding out about new deals on social networks (37%).
Another study by Sage Pay, revealed that while on average 7% of visitors to an online store make a purchase, when directed from social media network, the percentage of visitors who will go to the transaction section goes up to 71%. Social proof is even more important for e-commerce, as Simon Black, managing director at Sage Pay, says: “The modern shopper often looks for reassurance from a positive review, a special offer to make it more affordable, inexpensive delivery options and a quick, easy and secure way to pay.”
Adding the social dimension to e-commerce websites was once difficult, but with the release of social plugins by Facebook (Like buttons, Recommendations, Activity Feed) e-tailers have now instant access to a network of more than 400 million people, used with succes by global brands like Levis or TripAdvisor. It has also expanded the reach to social services and platforms such as LivingSocial, SocialAmp or Fluid Fan Shop . And youre not limited to Facebook: with Cheap Tweet, the best deals right are delivered to your Twitter timeline, with the site picking the best ones ranked by users votes and re-tweets. Altough this latest service risks becoming obsolete with the announcement by Twitter of @earlybird.
Entertainment, by definition, is one of the more promising areas where to apply this new social dimension of shopping. Take for instance the Facebook app Tickets Together created by Disney that lets users buy tickets fo Toy Story 3, not only for themselves, but also inviting their friends.
Not only does this app makes it easy to choose where to watch the movie (local listing) but it lets you engage with the ones youd probably will watch the movie with, and invite them right on Facebook, by integrating with ticket-buying services like Fandango.com.
Exciting as it is, these are only tools and technologies. Whats really interesting are the new behaviors brought by the social web and connected consumers.
Making purchases together is one of the biggest web trends in 2010. Its easy to understand why: when users reach for their friends to get a deal (usually a minimum number of buyers is required), a viral loop is created. New models of authentication to social networks (Facebook Connect, Friend Connect, OAuth) have only made it easier and faster. From limited time offers, to price anchoring (show how much it would cost on a normal purchase), its one of the most effective ways to generate word-of-mouth.
These deals are available on social web services like Groupon, This Next, Tippr, LivingSocial, TownHog, Homerun , Milo or even as integrated applications such as Special Deal group-buy app by preferred Facebook partner Wildfire.
Groupon is the biggest player, with a simple proposal: advertise a special business offer, only valid if a certain amount of users purchase it immediately.
Launched in November 2008, it has sold over 7 million online coupons in 70 cities and is now expanding worldwide (UK, DE, ES, PT). Paying attention to small details is their main strenght: from putting a phone number on every coupon to 2 way ratings (customers rating merchants and vice-versa) it created an engaged community. Even unsubscribing from their newsletter is funny.
From June 2009 to January 2010, the number of monthly visitors went from 26,000 to over 2.1 million, increasingly engaged with an average of 2.5 visits per month for each user. And whats really amazing is that these visits are not coming from the usual sources. Last January, Facebook represented 44% of all referrals, Twitter 8% and search only around 3%.
Growth happens not only in visits but also as a platform, helping third-party developers and affiliate members get the word out about its daily specials. Groupons API has become available both as Division API (about cities) and Deals API (about daily deals for specific locations), further explored by integrating with Groupons geolocation service.
Another example on how groups and communities will become increasingly important in shopping is Woot.
The basic idea behind Woot is to offer only one discounted product each day, a “One Day, One Deal” policy until the stock is sold out, with no announcement of whats the next offering. Innovative events and product specials like Woot-Off, “Bag Of Crap” or “2-for-Tuesday” coupled with bold marketing have built one vibrant community where its members actually have fun shopping.
Woot shows their different business culture, on their Amazons acquisition wicked celebration rap
Recently acquired by Amazon, much of the coverage focused on how Amazon captured the opportunity of real-time shopping, but the real value might be on the social side, venturing into new business models where communities represent a bigger role than the usual 20th century e-commerce.
Recently speaking at TEDx Sydney, Rachel explains that “collaborative brands make it easy for communities to act on behalf of their brands”, where we are no longer defined as consumers by our personal possessions, but also by what we are part of, what we share and the groups we belong to.
New trends like swaptrading (such as Swaptree.com, sort of online dating service for all of your unwanted media), reveals new models of commerce, where trust mechanics and collaborative behaviors are principal. This groundswell of collaborative consumption is further accelerated by the rise of mobile communication.
Rachel Botsman defines 4 big drivers of the shift to collaborative consumption:
A renewed belief in the importance of community
A torrent of peer-to-peer social networks and real time technologies
Pressing unresolved environmental concerns
A global recession that has fundamentally shocked consumer behaviors
People are starting to share resources without sacrificing their lifestyles or personal freedom, supported by 3 clear systems:
Redistribution markets (stretch the lifecycle of a a product, reducing waist)
Collaborative lifestyles (sharing of resources like money, skills and time) – coworking, couchsurfing or even landshare (http://www.landshare.net/) will become mainstream
Product Service Systems, where one pays for the benefit of a product without needing to own the product outright. Examples include rental services like Netflix or Zipcar .
After the financial crisis, consumers are adopting these new behaviors that will impact e-commerce for the years to come. Group buying and collaborative consumption are the latest of these trends that brands will need to pay attention to and embrace the value of social capital and not only the monetary side of commerce.
If you know of more examples or want to discuss how communities are impacting e-commerce, please drop a note in the comments.
Last week Steve Jobs put one more nail in Adobe’s Flash coffin, further confirmed with Microsoft’s support to H.264 codec for HTML video on Internet Explorer 9. What i find amusing was the fact i left serious Flash development almost 3 years ago, becoming increasingly interested in open standarts, not only XHTML or HTML5, but also on the interoperability between systems, almost as important as openess.
Trying to figure out trends is on of the key assets for a creative technologist like me. Dealing with social media before it became popular, playing with Flash when it was still version 3, getting curious about OAuth in 2007, or betting that Facebook would become huge in Portugal, i wonder if this isn’t only a confirmation bias.
So, what are the tea leaves that i’ve been reading lately?
DIY@home The main theme at Shift10, this trend has been building up since the maker manifesto. What will happen when movements like Fabrication become accessible to the regular Joe?
Portable profiles Taking our digital identity TVs or cars, plugging our Facebook profile to our train seat, downloading a ticket using RFID authentication, adjusting enviromental data through sensors, it all feels to much like science fiction. Or maybe not.
Democratized video publishing What happened with blogging will happen again with video. We just need cheaper cameras and easier video linear editors.
Ad people be afraid. We’re seeing it already with the like button on Facebook, and it’s not far fetched to expand the notion to all online advertising. Because clicks don’t matter neither your Cannes Award. It’s the consumer, stupid.
Maybe i’m dead wrong in a few years, but prescience delivers great new challenges.
Not Fab from fabulous, but rather Fab from making and using fabbers, machines that can make almost anything, by printing three dimensional objects.
From commercial to the more open-source hardware and software solutions at Fab@home, these machines will enable people to download and print objects, experimenting with shared projects and try out new materials. Fabber owners improve these models and share physical objects with other fabbers, with the same enthusiasm as the pioneers of open source movement.
The wave of innovation brought by Web 2.0 technologies, with a sustainable co-creation by thousands of users, is now expanding to the physical world. The signs are there: from hacker (in the creative sense) communities like Make, Instructables or the more neo-Craftsy website Etsy.com, people are getting more comfortable with the idea of building something with their own hands. It’s about feeling empowered, the hands-on experience of building something, appealing not only to our darwinian survival skills but also have a bit of science fiction premonition (remember Luke Skywalker building C3PO as a young kid?). Yes, because even young kids are starting to love the tinkering, as shown on the TED Talk below, by Gever Tulley:
If all this seems futuristic to you, just try to imagine how IKEA will look in a decade: instead of boxed items, dozens of 3d printers are available at the cashier. You just take the blueprints and super fast hardware will print that out. Or even better: for smaller items, you just download the schematic at IKEA Fab Store and print them at home.
Yes, it seems far fetched. But so did Augmented Reality a decade ago. I just hope the media won’t hype Fab as much as they did with AR. Universal manufacturing is something that could change society in unexpected ways, the same way Internet did, by redefining industries and democratizing innovation. It comes nonetheless with a new set of dilemmas, such as the degree of experimentation or control of outputs.
As for companies, they’d better start thinking how their old models of patents stand up to this new paradigm, with a product’s life cycle being dramatically redefined. And, who knows, maybe even involve the consumers in true User Generated Products. | <urn:uuid:169c16a8-7c11-4540-8768-78589229e292> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.asourceofinspiration.com/category/network/thetrendwatch/ | 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 | 0.944994 | 2,521 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Change and innovation in semiconductor technology is going to continue at a rapid pace for more than the next forty years. How can that possibly be true?
After all, every industry matures and slows its rate of change and its rate of growth. During the last ten years, mature commodity industries like oil, aluminum and cotton have grown unit volumes at rates of only 1.1 percent to 2.5 percent compounded. Even with the emergence and growth of China and India during the last decade, the compound unit growth rate of automobiles and steel has been only 3.6 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. During that same period, computer unit growth was 11.5 percent and semiconductor unit growth was 8.4 percent compounded. But the rate of unit growth of transistors was 72 percent and the average cost per transistor decreased about 35 percent per year.
While shrinking feature sizes and growing wafer diameters have provided the largest share of that growth, and will continue to be significant contributors during the next forty years, there are many other ways to continue to reduce the cost per transistor. One largely untapped opportunity is in the third dimension i.e., growing vertically instead of shrinking in the XY plane. DRAM stacks of eight or more die are already readily manufacturable, although we haven’t crossed the cost per bit parity point compared to unstacked devices. Layers in the IC manufacturing process continue to increase as well. Complex packaged systems made up of multiple heterogeneous die, memory stacked on logic and interposers to connect the dice are evolving rapidly.
So what about the demand side? There is a finite limit to the number of automobiles that a family wants to purchase. Won’t there be a limit on the number of transistors? I don’t think so. It’s true that demand for most material things is less elastic (or stops increasing so fast with decreasing price) as unit volumes become large. But information is truly different from automobiles, food or most commodities. There is hardly any practical limit to the amount of information humans want. While there are limits to the amount of information they can assimilate effectively, there is a virtually unlimited desire to have access to more information if it is affordable. More than anything else, semiconductors and computers facilitate our access to information.Figure 1
shows the learning curve for transistors since the beginning of volume production in the 1950s. The unit volume has been increasing exponentially with time for the last 50 years, although in the 1960s and early ‘70s, the rate of unit increase was less stable (causing the changes in Moore’s Law at that time from doubling every year, to every two years and finally to every 1.5 years).
Click on image to enlarge. | <urn:uuid:e71aaeba-c83f-4742-8a64-b23b218bd40b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4402248/Opinion--Semiconductor-Industry-in-Forty-Years | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952581 | 565 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Santa Is Real, Track His Location Around The World All Day
If you're alone this Christmas Eve and you have a bit of an obsessive streak, then it's time to plant yourself behind your computer with a gallon of eggnog and study the NORAD Santa Tracker. Wondering where Santa is right now? He's hovering around the Philippines and steadily moving westward. NORAD, the very real North American Aerospace Defense Command, says that they use four systems to track the location of St. Nick -- radar, satellites, Santa cams and fighter jets. But how the hell did a real life bi-national aerospace defense organization become responsible for tracking the world's most notorious home invader?
According to NORAD, it's a tale straight out of a cheap ABC Family Christmas movie:
The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.
A team of 1,200, including NORAD employees and their families, still staff the phone lines all day and take over 80,000 every year.
But just in case your kid is afraid of using the phone, NORAD has just launched a Santa tracking app for the iPhone, as well as one for Android phones -- NORAD, and Santa for that matter, doesn't discriminate between platforms. | <urn:uuid:15ffbf23-6a81-4e96-9f32-5539c2696508> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/12/santa_is_real_t.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955787 | 347 | 2.375 | 2 |
The Port Wall
The medieval town of Chepstow was protected on the north and east by the Wye and the town or Port Wall, which was built in the late 13th Century to afford protection on the landward sides.
In total the Port Wall was over 1,200 yards (1,100 metres) long, 6 feet (2 metres) thick and 15feet (4.6 metres) high. Originally at least a dozen towers about 27feet (8.2 metres) in diameter were built along the wall and around the outside there was a dry moat about 18 feet (5.5 metres) wide and 5feet (1.5.metres) deep.
Access to the Town from the landward side was through the Town Gate only controlled bv means of a gate and portcullis. Although impressive in sale, the wall was built as a means of controlling entry to the town and not for defence. This type of wall was know as a “Customs Wall.”
Much of the wall is still in an excellent state of preservation and can be viewed today. Particular vantage points include the main car park (off Welsh Street), the main A48 and the Railway Station area). | <urn:uuid:caea372a-5435-4381-b496-7de696a17e86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chepstow.co.uk/Core/Chepstow-Town-Council/Pages/The_Port_Wall__4.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979461 | 252 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Feel depressed, gloomy, even? About the state of the world or the state of this country, I mean. You're not alone. In fact, a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll says those of us who fear the sky is falling are in the vast majority.
It doesn't matter if we're black, white, male, or female (although women and minorities have a history of feeling less sanguine about their situations than white men--probably because they're less well-off financially on average). Only 25 percent of us tell pollsters we believe "things in the U.S. are going in the right direction. ...That is about the lowest level of satisfaction detected since the survey started in December 2003."
What's the reason? The most prevalent, of course, is the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the daily media reports of a war that is producing no positive results, killing off thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and costing this nation untold billions. The next most popular reason is "poor leadership" (to wit, neither Republicans nor Democrats having the courage to find a way out of Iraq for us that doesn't put us in a worse situation than before we invaded). The AP reports, "Nine percent faulted the economy, 8 percent a loss of moral values, and 5 percent gasoline prices."
I'd like to add a few of my personal favorites. On the economic front, the recent rapid run-up in stock prices scares the dickens out of me. It seems irrational and cause for a coming crash. I also think government reports on inflation are woefully lacking in accurate data on the rising cost of living. Look what's happened to real estate, gas prices (which drive up the cost of everything else), food, etc. How can inflation possibly still be in the low single digits? It doesn't make sense.
Lastly, there's the lack of political or public will to address climate change and our doomed dependence on foreign oil, in any meaningful way. Left unaddressed, these problems could bring the end not just to American global dominance but to the entire globe. No wonder we're bummed! | <urn:uuid:d38df71d-c589-45e9-8f5f-b8a2b261145a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/erbe/2007/05/21/feeling-down-youre-not-alone_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950559 | 441 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Next semester I might get the chance to design and teach a class on the American Revolution. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I’ve had the assigned reading for a course like this worked out in my head for years.
My favorite one-volume history of the Revolution is Robert Middlekauff’s The Glorious Cause, part of the Oxford History of the United States. An updated edition just came out a few years ago. Comprehensive and readable, it’s the logical choice for the main textbook.
I’d supplement that with Bernard Bailyn’s classic The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, or maybe just the first few chapters. It’s a very important study that clarifies a lot of otherwise puzzling aspects of the period’s rhetoric. I don’t want to focus on politics to the exclusion of military affairs, so Joseph Plumb Martin’s firsthand account of life in the Continental Army would be a good middle-of-the-semester read. I’d love to assign Charles Royster’s magnificent A Revolutionary People at War, too; it’s one of my all-time favorites. Of course, I’d probably have to pick a chapter or two in order to fit it in with everything else. I’d wrap things up with Gordon Wood’s The Radicalism of the American Revolution, assigning a final paper asking students to assess the Revolution’s results in light of Wood’s arguments and the other material covered during the class.
This class, though, will be aimed specifically at non-history majors who are interested in taking an upper-level U.S. history course for one of their required electives. I don’t want to smother their enthusiasm with too much reading material. The Glorious Cause is massive (the new edition is over 700 pages), so if I stick with it, I’ll probably have to jettison some of the supplemental readings. I could abandon a main text altogether and rely entirely on chapters and excerpts, but as a student I much preferred the convenience of a short stack of assigned books to the hassle of downloading or copying a different assigned reading every week. My problem is that all these books are very near and dear to my heart, so I’m faced with some agonizing choices.
It’s therefore time for a little audience participation. Chime in with any suggestions you might have, but bear in mind that this class will cover political, military, and social aspects of the struggle for independence.
(My thanks to the always-handy Wikimedia Commons for the Trumbull painting of the surrender at Yorktown.) | <urn:uuid:59e585e1-8531-4ffe-8830-a28804731c29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pastinthepresent.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/reading-the-revolution/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=bc4cf9c758 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917675 | 571 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Fewer young people behind bars: research
- From: AAP
- February 14, 2013
A LAW introduced 15 years ago to help reduce the number of young indigenous offenders being jailed is working, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research says.
The Young Offenders Act (YOA) was introduced in 1998 to set up a system of warnings, cautions and youth justice conferences for juvenile offenders.
Prior to that, all young offenders arrested by police went to court.
The bureau did modelling on the fate of 9392 indigenous young offenders and 19,703 non-indigenous offenders before and after the legislation.
The model showed that before the act, just over 60 per cent of indigenous young people who were convicted of a crime would have ended up in custody, while nearly 40 per cent of non-indigenous juveniles would have ended up in jail.
According to the bureau, it's now 17.5 per cent less likely that indigenous children will end up behind bars, while the risk for non-indigenous offenders has fallen to 16.5 per cent.
Sending young people to jail was not an effective way of dealing with them, bureau director Don Weatherburn told AAP.
"In custody they learn new criminal skills from kids who are already there and it's an expensive process which costs over $300 a day of taxpayer's money," he said.
"It also makes it much harder for a juvenile with a custody record to get a job and become a law-abiding citizen in the community."
Dr Weatherburn said the challenge remaining was to find an effective way to reduce the rate at which young people reoffend.
YOA legislation does not apply to serious offences, including armed robbery, murder or sexual assault.
UPDATE: STEPHEN Milne's playing future is in doubt after being told to take leave for an 'indefinite' period.
BUILDING Holden Captivas in Elizabeth instead of South Korea is among union suggestions to safeguard northern suburbs manufacturing jobs.
FINKS bikie and once-promising footballer Dylan Jessen has pleaded guilty to firearms charges over a gun found down the front of a woman's underpants.
SOUTH Australians shivered through their sleep last night, with one town in the state's north recording a freezing -1.7C. | <urn:uuid:6d96facb-9f54-4d40-aa94-fa5c85833ad5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/fewer-young-people-behind-bars-research/story-e6frea7l-1226577934650 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966711 | 474 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Paid time off granted to an employee for working extra hours. The Federal Wage- Hour Law places severe restrictions on the use of compensatory time to avoid paying overtime, although special exemptions are allowed for public sector employees.
Time worked by certain state employees that, if not used for paid time off, results in compensation to be cashed out in accordance with regulations or agency policy.
time off that is granted to a worker as compensation for working overtime
Employers often tell employees they will get "Comp. Time" instead of overtime pay. Comp. time instead of cash for overtime is not generally permitted by non-government employers. Non-government employers who have such systems are almost always in violation of the law and owe employees for unpaid overtime. Under certain circumstances a public employer (like the government) may pay (at least some) overtime with "comp. time" instead of cash. See " The Myth of Comp Time" for a more detailed discussion
Time off with pay for authorized overtime worked in lieu of salary or wages, calculated in accordance with Section 8 of this Ordinance. | <urn:uuid:b1adee21-8024-4637-976c-b1685b5e3fe4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metaglossary.com/meanings/565443/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951706 | 220 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Sylvia the face of a "new Harlem Renaissance"
Transported to 2012, that commentator would have felt right at home on Lenox Ave. as well-appointed black families took their time going from church to one of the many restaurants.
In many cases, the destination was Sylvia's Restaurant, where one would wait with tourists from five continents during the gospel brunch.
For much of the last 50 years, Sylvia's was the one of the few destinations which could draw people into Harlem.
But in the same fashion as another New Yorker of great faith and perseverance, Harriet Tubman, Sylvia Woods led Harlem out of the wilderness. As a waitress who bought the diner she worked at, Woods put her mother's' South Carolina farm on the line and never looked back.
Part of her genius was not only to attract thousands of tourists to "the world's kitchen," but also to package and project Harlem around the globe by selling her recipes as grocery items. In the process, she restored the respect and dignity which black cooks had enjoyed at the beginning of the food industry in the United States.
With four children and 18 grandchildren, Woods, being memorialized with two funeral services Tuesday and Wednesday at Abyssinian and Grace Baptist Churches in Harlem and Mt. Vernon, respectively, cast off the glass ceiling for family owned black restaurants, leaving a global brand to the generations following her.
Aunt Jemima was the only face of black cooking, Malcolm X was still preaching when Woods first purchased the diner, Rep. Adam Clayton Powell was still in Congress and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a year to go before the Lincoln Memorial "I have a dream speech." Woods' resilience stretched to a day when a picture of the first African-American president could hang on the same wall as her iconic picture. When Sylvia's face appears on a can of greens or cornbread mix, one knows it is the picture of the brand's owner.
As hundreds of other historic African-American neighborhoods face demographic shifts, the example of Sylvia's is a model of patience and fortitude that creative African-American companies can compete and serve as anchors for neighborhood revitalization.
Eat proudly from her restaurant or the dozens of products available in supermarkets nationally. She is the face of a new Harlem Renaissance. | <urn:uuid:036a1dde-3000-4abe-9491-0e57ab662bc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blackmoney.com/39452 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975804 | 464 | 2.765625 | 3 |
This workshop used a kit created inside the FabLab allowing participants the opportunity to create prints from the handcrafted source material.
The art of storytelling is as old as humanity itself. Every man, woman child & animal has a story; the question is, "How do I tell it"? The answer is start with someone else's tale that you can identify with, see how it's done, tell their tale first and then begin your own.
La Rate Blanche is a medieval French (Auvergne) folktale from the collection of Henri Pourrat. What makes Pourrat special is that he wrote the stories of the common man in a language and style that is distinctly regional and colorful in character. It is easier to compare Pourrat to the Grimm Brothers than the more famous French folklorist, Perrault. His unorthodox techniques and the lack of appropriate acclaim (during his lifetime) have kept me motivated and inspired during this 4-year project but it is the tales themselves and their timeless grace that will make storytellers of us all.
Workshops: Everyone will leave the workshops with materials to give their own readings of Henri Pourrat's 'La Rate Blanche', in his original French or English. We will construct shadow-puppetry kits, coloring books & a light show in the process of laser-cutting cardboard versions of my light-cuttings. Live music & a French narrator are on hand to work through the production process.
Materials: Participants will be working with all of the materials from my storytelling project. All of my work is produced as original: hand-painted, hand-written, block-printed, hand cut pieces.
-TEXT: A medieval French manuscript, an early Renaissance English version, and a Chinese scroll.
Calligraphy (Carolingian miniscule +3 alphabets which adapt this hand with Renaissance virtuoso
calligraphers such as: Georg Bocskay, Giovannantonio Tagliente & Ludovico degli Arrighi
-IMAGES: Miniatures based on international medieval styles. "Stained Glass" based on Salisbury cathedral motifs.
Location: Waag Society (3rd floor Media Lab)
Pakhuis de Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, 1019 HC Amsterdam.
Ages: Children and their parents of all ages are welcome. | <urn:uuid:4fb60a90-0682-49a2-9a83-76c0156a250c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediamatic.net/23746/en/storytelling-kit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917492 | 492 | 2.65625 | 3 |
» The power of the pen: In a move that shocked the Mississippi political system and jumbled up the traditional left-right orthodoxies on law and order, outgoing Governor Haley Barbour used his last day in office to pardon 208 inmates, among them 14 convicted murderers, as well as the older brother of former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. This deluge has both led Democratic lawmakers to push for future restrictions on the gubernatorial right to pardon. To be sure, it’s wrong to decry a particular pardon without knowing all the facts. But waiting until the last day of an eight-year tenure, with no more accountability in sight? That’s always going to cause controversy, and rightly so. Edit: Fixed an error. Sorry about that all :/
climateadaptation asks: Re: Perry. Fyi, a gov of TX does not have the power to pardon. That graphic uses fuzzy facts...
» SFB says: But, as the Texas Tribune’s own article (published yesterday along with the graphic) points out, Perry appoints the people who make the recommendation which would allow him to grant clemency: “Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the governor can only grant clemency when the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles — whose members Perry appoints — recommends that action. He has only disagreed with the board three times when it recommended clemency in death penalty cases, she said.” To us, that sounds like he has significant influence over the decision even if the law doesn’t allow for a direct decision. — Ernie @ SFB
» A fairly recent phenomenon: Although the pardoning of turkeys seems like a longstanding presidential phenomenon, it’s not. The first pardoning took place in 1989 under George H.W. Bush’s watch. And the shipping of turkeys to the White House only started in the 1940s, on Harry Truman’s watch. We’re guessing Truman killed the turkey himself. | <urn:uuid:4bc0d09b-bee3-4159-b869-a2d44d2e51d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shortformblog.com/tagged/pardons | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946471 | 419 | 1.75 | 2 |
Posted by Jennifer Belissent, Ph.D. on April 12, 2011
Twenty three years ago I arrived with a backpack and my best friend. Last week I went back. The city was as welcoming this time as it was the last, although the circumstances of my visit – and certainly my accommodations – were vastly different.
Pamplona is a city of about 200,000 inhabitants in Navarra, in the North of Spain. It is best known for the running of the bulls or, as it is known locally, the Festival of San Fermin, which many of us were first introduced to in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
The bulls were not what brought me to the region this time (although they were the principal reason for my first visit). Last week I participated in e-NATECH, a tech industry forum organized by ATANA, an association of local ICT companies in Navarra. From what I saw in both the audience and across the city, Pamplona is clearly a front-runner in terms of ICT (and bulls as I recall from my first visit).
The city, as described by Councilman José Iribas Sánchez de Boado, is focused on innovation, a big part of which is technology-based – from free Wi-Fi in the city center, including 21 hotspots in bus stations, public parks, and the main square, to pneumatic garbage repositories throughout the old town (see photo) to a paperless administration (or almost) and an e-government and Web 2.0 strategy, including (of course) the city website, as well as a Facebook page and presence on Twitter. These new channels expand the “The Council Listens” service or Citizens’ Information Services, similar to the US 311 services. While social media expand access to younger generations, they also serve as cheaper channels to citizens than some of the alternatives such as Pamplona’s new “registrars” or town hall extensions across the city.
The city offers a number of services via SMS such as emergency notifications by neighborhood and notification prior to the towing of your vehicle (presumably with time to react before incurring the expense of recovering your car from a city lot). The latter seems to be particularly useful and potentially lucrative if the city chooses to charge for the service.
Crosswalk signs throughout the city count down time until crossing is safe. And, the city is implementing public transportation arrival prediction, and a program in which downtown residents can sublet their parking spaces during the day when they are empty and there is need for parking in the center.
But financial times are not great. How do they fund these initiatives?
Given the state of the Spanish finances and pressures on government budgets at all levels, how has the city undertaken these new initiatives? How are they able to invest in new technology infrastructure and applications? As discussed in my report “Getting Clever About Smart Cities,” there are a number of creative business models that enable tech adoption. Pamplona has been rather entrepreneurial and has leveraged several of them: external funding, revenue sharing and concessions to vendors/developers, and shared services.
External funding. The Region of Navarra received Structural Funds from the EU as part of a regional development program. With the funds the region has focused on:
- Restoring the basis for competitiveness.
- Strengthening potential for growth and productivity.
- Strengthening social cohesion through research, innovation, and the development of its human resources.
Many of the Pamplona initiatives have been showcase projects.
Revenue sharing. The city has also been creative in revenue sharing, giving concessions to developers of parking and other infrastructure projects throughout the city. These agreements alleviate upfront capital costs and share risk across stakeholders in a project.
Shared services. Here Pamplona is certainly out in front. Back in 1985 the cities of Pamplona and Lodosa founded ANIMSA, the Navarra Association for Municipal Information Technology, as a shared services provider. The association has grown to provide shared ICT infrastructure and applications across municipalities in the region, with about 130 cities currently participating – sharing the costs of technology adoption and ongoing operations and maintenance. Shared services include: purchasing management, technology infrastructure management, organizational and process consulting in support of new projects, various technology solutions for e-Government including web projects, as well as user support and training, and a center for remote services. ANIMSA is currently also implementing a cloud computing capability. And, while always subject to competitive procurement processes, it is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. So join me in wishing a happy anniversary to shared services in Pamplona.
I’d like to thank all involved in organizing my visit to Pamplona including the ATANA and the City of Pamplona.
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A TED Talk by Ellen Dunham-Jones, speaking about updating and 'retrofitting' suburbs to more sustainable, walkable, and livable centres.
PC inside a keyboard
Here is a cool concept from Asus for a portable Media PC. Its a computer stuffed inside a keyboard. It has a small attached screen that can be used for multiple functions, such as a control panel, touch input device, and of course a display screen.
The idea is to be able to carry this little k
Fullscreen on Facebook
So I just wrote a new script:
Fullscreen Youtube & Vimeo on Facebook for Greasemonkey
After waiting a very long time for someone to do a script like this, I finally went ahead and made one myself. This script will enable the fullscreen ability/button on Youtube & Vimeo videos
Came across this GREAT video James Dyson talking about his technological innovations! Starts off slow, but once he gets into talking about his current tech it gets pretty interesting
It's a Beautiful Life
- Retrofitting Suburbia | <urn:uuid:1cd27050-a01d-43a4-8bab-7de933c36515> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.brianquan.com/archives.php?m=06&y=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90682 | 217 | 1.5625 | 2 |
"Meat is so expensive," said Amy Washabaugh, director of human services in Broadview Heights. "This is a good opportunity to get healthy protein to those who are hungry."
"The food bank was struggling last year," said Bob Stout, president of the Rotary Club. "The shelves were bare."
So Stout and Broadview Heights Mayor Sam Alai brainstormed with Washabaugh about how the organization could help. Fresh owner Mike Dunlap, who recently partnered with the city to bolster the Saturday farmers market, also agreed to help out.
"Meat the Need" will provide those families who qualify with ground venison meat. The venison comes from hunters, who legally harvest and register the deer with an Ohio Department of Natural Resources registration tag.
A hunter can contact Dunlap, at 440-740-1099, and say that they have a deer they would like to donate to the "Meat the Need" program. Dunlap, who is a state-licensed and registered meat processor, will convert the deer into ground meat for the food bank. Dunlap must be notified before a deer can be dropped of at Fresh.
Those who commit to donating a deer to the program will get a $15 discount on a deer processed for themselves at Fresh. That $15 covers the cost of the deer tag for the donated deer.
Dunlap says that a deer can yield 40-50 pounds of ground meat.
Local Ohio deer are "the original organic, free range protein," Dunlap said. He added that venison is definitely in the top five in terms of being the leanest meat and having the highest protein and iron content.
"The health benefits are just amazing," he said.
Of course processing a deer costs money, and though Dunlap is processing meat for the program at a reduced rate, it is not free.
That is where the Rotary Club comes in.
According to Stout, the club raised $1,000 to get the program started. The funds, which will cover the processing of approximately 14 deer, came from a tire sale held at Fuerst Automotive, Stout’s shop.
"Who knows where this thing will go?" Stout said. "If it flies, we’ll look for sponsors."
Stout by no means is shying away from donations for the program right now. Those who wish to donate money to "Meat the Need" can contact him at 440-526-2994.
Also a hunter, he agrees with Dunlap about the benefits of eating venison.
"Venison is good, healthy protein," he said. "One deer is about 166 servings of food."
According to Stout and Alai, similar programs are available elsewhere in Ohio and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources offers links to national programs, like Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, on its website.
For those who need the assistance of the Broadview Heights Food Bank, contact the Human Services Department at 440-526-4685. Washabaugh will sit down with clients and help them determine what they need and any other forms of assistance for which they might qualify.
Contact Kezdi at (216) 986-2358 or [email protected].
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelKezdi | <urn:uuid:f644b654-6786-4159-8682-301b5304c41f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cleveland.com/broadview-heights/index.ssf/2012/11/broadview_heights_business_rot.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96583 | 678 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Revision Date:Jan 22, 2010
Publication Date:Nov 10, 2008
Source:HBS Brief Cases
Also Available in:
When students have the English-language PDF of this Brief Case in a coursepack, they will also have the option to purchase an audio version.
CEO Jim Billings wants to attract energetic, entrepreneurial talent to Stone Finch, Inc., which comprises an older division that fabricates products like piping and tanks for water and wastewater processing plants, and a much newer division that develops biochemical solutions associated with water purification. To accelerate the company's growth, Billings sets up subsidiaries to create cutting-edge technologies that can be brought to market by the biochemical solutions division. After a few years the subsidiaries have indeed produced innovative products and driven growth; however, problems are surfacing. Much of the investment in the subsidiaries has come from the old manufacturing-based "cash cow" division, which is now suffering from turnover, loss of morale, and loss of competitive position. Moreover, the solutions division -- which has absorbed numerous employees who became wealthy by developing successful subsidiaries -- is plagued by increasing polarization between the "haves" and the "have-nots."
To examine how resource allocations and an inequitable rewards system affect employee motivation and culture. To explore the challenges of introducing innovation into a conventional manufacturing organization. To examine the challenges of balancing an innovation strategy with ongoing operations using an ambidextrous structural design. To explore problems when acquisitions and mergers are structurally made but without an integration plan for the entire company.
Business growth; Human resource management; Leadership; Motivation; Organizational behavior
- Geographic: United States
- Event Year Begin: 2008 | <urn:uuid:abd110bd-a5f3-453a-82d4-c1d20684139a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/3214-PDF-ENG | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924429 | 343 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Treasury 10-year notes rose as the highest yields since March bolstered demand while investors debated whether the economy is strengthening enough for the Federal Reserve to consider slowing stimulus measures.
Treasury 10-year notes pared a weekly loss as the highest yields since March bolstered demand as investors debated whether the economy is strengthening enough for the Federal Reserve to consider slowing stimulus measures.
Spanish and Italian bonds led losses among the securities of Europe’s so-called peripheral nations as China’s manufacturing and euro-area services and factory output all contracted, sapping demand for higher-yielding assets.
Portugal’s notes led gains in the euro area’s so-called periphery as the nation’s first sale of 10-year bonds since its bailout in 2011 attracted demand for more than three times the amount being raised.
German bunds rose, with two-year yields dropping below zero, after Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann was reported by Dow Jones as saying the European Central Bank may cut interest rates if data warrants.
German bunds fell, extending their biggest weekly drop since November, amid a global selloff in government bonds spurred by bets U.S. economic growth is gathering pace and the European debt crisis is abating. | <urn:uuid:c1156c2a-d8c2-47bc-b822-868bef0c58ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topics.bloomberg.com/peter-chatwell/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954361 | 256 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Martinsville Teen Travels to Israel in Exchange Program
Eric Lederman traveled to Israel for a leadership program with students around the country.
Martinsville resident Eric Lederman was selected among only a handful of others to participate in a special 15-month Israeli exchange program—and he has recently returned from three months abroad.
“It was absolutely amazing to travel through Israel and to see the ancient and modern existing side by side,” he said of the program.
Lederman, a student at the Golda Och Academy in West Orange, said he was encouraged by a student in another Israeli exchange program to apply for the Diller Teen Fellows program, which operates out of eight regions in the United States and Canada, plus Israel.
“Each region, or cohort, accepts about 20 teens annually into the 15-month program,” he said. “The teens come from the entire religious spectrum.”
Lederman said he had to fill out a lengthy application and get references to vouch for his leadership ability. After interviews and a selection process, he said, he was chosen among 20 teens from this region of New Jersey, and among 300 overall from North America and Israel.
“During the program period, we are required to demonstrate leadership, participate in community service projects, be willing to explore our feelings about Judaism and our relationship with Israel, host an Israeli teen in our home for 10 days and travel to Israel with our group for three weeks,” he said.
The program, according to a release from the organization, is organized by the Diller Teen Initiatives, a program from the Helen Diller Family Foundation, and it pairs incoming high school juniors from North American communities with Israeli students of the same age.
For the first 10 months of the program, Lederman said, they would gather for evenings, and spent a first weekend together at a camp just to get to know each other.
From there, Lederman said, they held study sessions, celebrated holidays together, participated in community service projects and hosted their Israeli teens.
“We began to focus on our differences and similarities,” he said. “There were lots of discussions and lots of laughs.”
And in July, Lederman said, they left for three weeks in Israel, where they had the chance to travel around the country and continue discussions, seeing all the beauty of the country in cultural and exchange activities, while also celebrating Jewish ceremonies, visiting historical sites and volunteering.
This final piece of the program, Lederman said, ended with a Diller Teen Fellows International Congress, where United States and Canadian participants joined with their Israeli teen counterparts for five days.
“During that time, we participated in workshops about Avraham Infeld’s ‘Five Legged Table’ of the greater Jewish community,” he said.
Lederman said they focused on memory, which is about Jewish history; family, from which people learn values; and covenant, or the bond between the Jewish people and God.
“[We also discussed] the Hebrew language and our attachment to it through prayer and the Torah, and Israel, the historic home of the Jewish people that is also the foundation of its future,” he said.
For Lederman, the program was all about connecting with others.
“We got to meet with Jewish and Israeli leaders, and learn a lot about each person’s perspective on Judaism and Israel,” he said. “The bottom line is that there is no one right answer on how to connect with either, it’s just important that we do connect in whatever way is meaningful.” | <urn:uuid:2bdfe0d9-fdb4-4b77-9285-a6cf2a74347a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bridgewater.patch.com/articles/martinsville-teen-travels-to-israel-in-exchange-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965913 | 759 | 1.648438 | 2 |
There are many kinds of darkness in the hospital. There are the inner darknesses of fear, despair, and sadness. There is the enveloping darkness of unspoken troubles. There is uncertainty and incomplete knowledge, the darknesses inherent in medical science. To patients, medical care itself is often shrouded in darkness, just as patients' and families' lives are dark to us. There is the quiet darkness of the ward at midnight where luminous insights are kindled from the flint of life's preciousness and the tinder of its mortality.
My grandmother Elsie is 96. She rules four generations as an empress whose powers are constitutionally limited though her herald still speaks with ancient authority. The calls come at night: another fall, a bloody stool, a sigmoidoscopy, an ulcerated ischemic colon. Her son and her daughter arrive in the early afternoon. As she has in the past, she declines surgery and repeats her wish | <urn:uuid:34b1c27d-d96f-4832-8b4e-3445e396d680> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=378962 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958494 | 193 | 1.625 | 2 |
I am a single mom to three amazing kids; each of whom just happen to have been adopted through foster care. We're now on the path of an international adoption from Haiti. Our family has grown through adoption and I am all the more blessed to know each of my children. I worship a mighty God, teach Special Ed, love bargains, and am inspired by Pinterest... come along with us for the ride!
Olivia - 11
Braeden - 9
Liam - 7
Macy - 3 - waiting in Haiti
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Haiti Adoption Vocabulary
Pre-IBESR - We are preparing your dossier to go into Haitian Social Services. There are some legal documents that must be made after you accept your proposal and some of them must be legalized at the Ministry of Justice. If we have problems getting a document, this can delay this step.
IBESR - Haitian Social Services
Parquet - Pre-Courts, they interview the birth parents and give permission for the dossier to go through the Haitian court system.
Courts - The dossier is in the Haitian Courts having the actual adoption declared and legalized.
Attestation - After court papers are finished, the Act of Adoption must be sent to the National Archives and they declare that the signature on the Act of Adoption is legal.
Legalization - All court papers must be sent to the Ministry of Justice to be legalized. They declare that the signature on all of the paperwork actually is the signature of the Judge who signed it.
MAE - Ministry of Foreign Affairs must legalize the signature of the person in the Ministry of Justice who signed your paperwork in the step above.
MOI - All Adoption passports must go through the Ministry of the Interior for approval before Immigration will print the passport.
Passport - Your dossier is in Immigration waiting for the passport to be printed.
Visa - Your dossier is in your country's Embassy waiting for a visa to be issued.
• 147 million orphans in the world
• 50 million orphans in Africa
• Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS
• 16,000,000 have been orphaned by AIDS
• Every week, AIDS claims as many lives as American fatalities in the Vietnam War
• 854 million people do not have enough to eat
• Malnutrition is associated with the deaths of 5 million children under the age of five
• Every 2 seconds an orphan dies from malnutrition
-HIV can NOT be spread through casual/household contact. HIV is not spread through hugging, kissing, shaking hands, sharing toys, sneezing, coughing, sharing food, sharing drinks, bathing, swimming or any other casual way. It has been proven that HIV and AIDS can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breastfeeding and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles).
- HIV is now considered a chronic but manageable disease. With treatment, people who are HIV+ can live indefinitely without developing AIDS and can live long and full lives.
- People who are HIV+ deserve to be treated with love, respect, support and acceptance as all people do.
Additional information on transmission of HIV can be found on the Center for Disease Control website: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources
Little did I know that the road would be so rocky
Little did I know that the trip would take so long
Little did I know that my heart could hurt so much
Little did I know that God is never wrong
Little did I know that love could be so powerful
Little did I know that a dream so far could go
Little did I know that God would place the right ones
Little did I know that my heart, so large, could grow
Little did I know that a dream has it’s own timing
Little did I know that this day would finally come
Little did I know that two souls would be sent to guide me
Little did I know that they would choose to call me mom
But God knew all along and He had a plan to follow
God knew all along that my dream would soon come true
God knew all along that we three should be together
God knew all along that I’d share it all with you | <urn:uuid:77bc6ef8-0c96-493d-90b0-48613a9b76eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://little-did-i-know.blogspot.com/2012/06/so-cute.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959331 | 902 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Microsoft News Center
I’ve been managing technology in schools for more than 20 years. And there’s one thing I know: There are very few times when you can simultaneously streamline output and lower costs, while also dramatically increasing capacity and adding new features.
But one of those rare occasions occurred during the weekend of May 21. That’s when the Kentucky Department of Education – where I work – switched its email, communications and collaboration capabilities to Microsoft’s Live@edu service. Now we can offer every one of our students the newest and best technology. We support more than 700,000 students, faculty and staff, and the move to Live@edu helps us avoid some $6.3 million in costs over four years we’d otherwise have to make to upgrade and maintain our previous system.
And when I say we made that move in a “weekend,” I mean just that. Between Friday and Monday, we moved over half a million students, teachers and staff to Live@edu. True, we had planned the move for almost two years. But the speed and ease with which we made the final transition – we called it the “big bang” – speaks well of Live@edu and Microsoft’s ability to handle that enormous influx of users. In fact, it is the largest cloud deployment, to date, in the United States and one of the biggest in the world.
We’re delighted with the new capabilities Live@edu brings to the teaching and learning environment. Our students and teachers were struggling with an older system that lacked capacity and lacked the ability to scale up. Now all of our users have cloud-based email and calendars that they can access from any Web browser and from multiple device factors. They have 10 gigabytes of mail storage and another 25 gigs of file storage so people can collaborate on documents and class projects. And they now have document sharing, instant messaging, video chat, mobile e-mail and much more so people can collaborate more effectively and communicate more easily. Live@edu really gives us the ability to take away the walls of the school and enable our students and teachers to work together in new ways.
What’s equally great is that even the most remote of our 174 districts now has state-of-the-art technology. Equity has been a cornerstone philosophy of the Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS) since 1992, and continuing to meet this goal was really an important consideration for us. We have a lot of rural districts, and we wanted to give every district the same technology whether it was in the country or in the city, whether a rich district or a poor one. With Live@edu we were able to do that.
I want to thank Microsoft for being a great partner in this project. Our Microsoft team worked really hard to make sure the transition to Live@edu went smoothly. And Live@edu itself is a great product.We’re excited about what the future holds for us with Live@edu. We’ll be able to gain access to new technology and innovative features without incurring extra costs, and grow the system as we need to. Most importantly, I think it will give a tremendous boost to the education of our young people. Which, after all, is why we’re here.
Posted by Chuck Austin
PRODUCT MANAGER FOR THE KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S LIVE@EDU MIGRATION | <urn:uuid:94bbc86a-664a-4882-86dd-490d60ffe592> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2010/06/03/live-edu-brings-the-future-to-kentucky.aspx?Redirected=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954752 | 714 | 1.804688 | 2 |
THE judicial system gave Robert Jobe a fair hearing. A lengthy hearing. And in taking 20 minutes to explain in detail his thinking on the matter, retired Lucas County Juvenile Court Judge James Ray made plain for all to see how carefully the issue had been considered.
Then he gave the decision the community expected and wanted: The teenager will be tried as an adult for the murder of Toledo police vice detective Keith Dressel.
The question of whether he should be tried as an adult or a juvenile is partly dependent upon arbitrary factors. He is 15. If he had been just a year older at the time of the killing in February, he would automatically be tried as an adult.
The law says that if certified to be tried as a juvenile he'd likely be released from custody at 21. That gives the judge a clear-cut choice - the option of an appropriately lengthy sentence if the suspect is convicted as an adult, versus an embarrassingly short incarceration for an accused cop killer if tried and convicted as a juvenile.
There's insufficient middle ground, as is the case in some sentencing guidelines where mandatory jail terms are out of sync with the characteristics of individual crimes.
Judge Ray must have been keenly aware that whatever his decision, he would get some heat. Certify young Jobe as a juvenile and be sure to hear from those accusing him of being soft on crime; certify as an adult and hear from those who see the accused as a wayward child, not meriting an adult trial or penalty.
Conflicting portraits of the young man were presented in court by the prosecution and defense, but ultimately the judge made the right call - one we believe matches the prevailing sentiment in the city.
His reasoning was sound. The community comes first, the judge said. Would a short period of incarceration provide sufficient time for a change in the suspect's attitudes and values to assure community safety? He decided it would not.
He noted that the teen had several run-ins with authorities and that he had snubbed court orders, even cutting off an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. He was caught with a gun late last year.
He could face life imprisonment but not the death penalty if tried as an adult.
Some may find it hard to imagine how a person that age could reach this point, facing the most serious of charges, accused of murdering a police officer.
It's understandable that they might look back at the 1950s, or the 1960s and 1970s, and wonder whether those were not more halcyon days when young people may have gotten up to mischief, but nothing too serious. When guns and drugs were not so prevalent, and gangs settled scores with their fists, not semi-automatic weapons.
Rose-colored glasses? Perhaps. But it is nonetheless disturbing that today a person so young in years can stand accused of a crime so adult.
However, that is the sad reality that Judge Ray had to consider, and it is that reality his thoughtful and correct decision reflects. | <urn:uuid:15165448-4b57-445d-af27-909f07344240> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2007/06/14/Adult-trial-for-adult-crime.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97991 | 608 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Prescription drugs find place in teen culture
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAYTue Jun 13, 7:23 AM ET
When a teenager in Jan Sigerson's office mentioned a "pharm party" in February, Sigerson thought the youth was talking about a keg party out on a farm.
"Pharm," it turned out, was short for pharmaceuticals, such as the powerful painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin. Sigerson, program director for Journeys, a teen drug treatment program in Omaha, soon learned that area youths were organizing parties to down fistfuls of prescription drugs. Since February, several more youths at Journeys have mentioned that they attended pharm parties, Sigerson says.
"When you start to see a pattern, you know it's becoming pretty widespread," she says. "I expect it to get worse before it gets better." | <urn:uuid:3a3cd747-d882-4814-824d-a6a37524a738> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychdata.blogspot.com/2006/06/prescription-drugs-find-place-in-teen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975052 | 182 | 1.78125 | 2 |
A Healthier You, A Happier You
Discover the health benefits of sauna and hot tub therapy.
Whether you submerge yourself in a hot tub or delight in the heat of sauna, you aren’t just enjoying relaxing “you” time, you might actually be promoting good health. This is because of something called hydrotherapy, or the process of treating an ailment with water.
If you suffer from one of the many ailments that a spa or sauna can work to remedy, we encourage you learn more about hot tub therapy here on the HotSpring Spas of Music City website (links below), and then contact your doctor to discuss the specific ways you might improve your health.
Those who suffer from arthritis, diabetes, insomnia, soreness, and stress may find that 15 minutes in the hot tub makes a world of difference. Hot tub therapy makes us feel better because of three main factors: heat, buoyancy and massage.
Many HotSpring Spas of Music City customers ask about the benefits of a sauna and we're here to tell you that spending 15-20 minutes in a sauna every day can do wonders for your skin's clarity, weight management, and overall well being. And that's just the start. Saunas provide other health benefits for more serious conditions too. | <urn:uuid:80b9e176-0fe5-43fc-b841-8a8e934e6e29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hssofmusiccity.com/health-benefits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922263 | 271 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Recent advances in building technology and construction techniques have made it easy to integrate energy saving features into the design of homes. Retrofitting existing houses with energy saving features will pay for itself in the long run with the considerable savings on utility bills. Installing solar heating panels on the roof for heating water is one such simple step because water heaters often account for a chunk of a home’s electricity bills. Considering that 1.5 pounds of CO2 is emitted for every kilowatt hour of electricity produced, solar water heaters also contribute to reduced pollution.
Maintenance is the key to energy efficiency when it comes to appliances used in every home. Cleaning air filters in air conditioners, insulating hot water tanks and pipes are simple steps that reduce power consumption. Double glazing on windows is the best way to reduce heat loss and noise. In winter, ensuring good air sealing with caulking and weather stripping and controlled ventilation are all important to make sure that heating energy is not wasted. Heat recovery ventilators can remove the heat from exhaust air that is pumped out and transfer it to the fresh air entering the home using a heat exchanger device. Insulating cavity walls, floors and lofts may require more money but the investment will pay for itself several times over with the resultant energy savings. Replacing old worn out appliances like washers, dryers, freezers and boilers with newer Energy Star appliances that consume less energy is one of the common energy saving tips given. | <urn:uuid:8ca8782f-50a7-4d37-ac3a-52ab04c8db3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homeenergymakeoveroregon.com/?cat=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932386 | 299 | 3.03125 | 3 |
When Michelle Obama arrived at an inaugural ball in 2009 in that white one-shoulder gown, it cemented her position as a major fashion influence.
But she is not the first - and by no means the last - first lady to have made a style statement in her debut appearance as the President's wife.
A new exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which opens tomorrow, will see the display of the most famous dresses worn by U.S. Presidents' wives - and a whole section has been dedicated to their first outfits in the role of first lady.
Michelle Obama wore a white one-shoulder gown by young designer Jason Wu for a ball in 2009 to celebrate her husband's inauguration. It is now part of a new display of first ladies' debut dresses at the Smithsonian
In addition to Mrs Obama's Jason Wu dress, gowns worn by Mamie Eisenhower, Betty Ford, Barbara Bush and Nancy Regan, as well as the more recent Hillary Clinton, form part of the exhibit.
All gowns are for very formal occasions, given that most were for state dinners or inaugural balls. And though they differ wildly in style, each a fascinating representation of the fashion at the time, there are also some startling similarities.The palest pastels, along with vibrant yellow, are favoured almost universally until the late Eighties, when Barbara Bush stepped out in royal blue.
From then on, we saw a riot of colour, from Laura Bush's red crystal-embroidered Chantilly lace by fellow Texan Michael Faircloth in 2001, to Hillary Clinton in 1993, who wore a violet beaded lace gown, designed by Sarah Phillips and made by Barbara Matera, a theatrical costume maker.
But Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and RosaLynn Carter all wore gowns in shades of lemon and gold, while Mamie Eisenhower, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy went for paler-than-pale hues.
Jacqueline Kennedy inaugural gown might well be one of the most memorable. She was careful to use American couturiers and her dress for the 1961 ball was made by Ethel Frankau of Bergdorf Custom Salon | <urn:uuid:e366a9d8-ade7-425e-ada2-7652367db005> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.fanbox.com/VenusCriticizedForUglyOutfit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949382 | 445 | 1.695313 | 2 |
BMW Guggenheim Lab
Ideas and solutions for modern life.
What is the Lab?
The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile laboratory travelling to nine major cities worldwide over six years. Led by international, interdisciplinary teams of emerging talents in the areas of urbanism, architecture, art, design, science, technology, education, and sustainability, the Lab addresses issues of contemporary urban life through programs and public discourse. Its goal is the exploration of new ideas, experimentation, and ultimately the creation of forward-thinking solutions for city life.
Over the Lab’s six-year migration, there will be three distinct mobile structures and thematic cycles. Each structure will be designed by a different architect, and each will travel to three cities around the globe. The theme of the Lab’s first two-year cycle is Confronting Comfort-exploring notions of individual and collective comfort and the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility.
The BMW Guggenheim Lab launches in New York from August 3 to October 16, 2011, before travelling to Berlin and a city in Asia, to be announced later this year. Cycle 1 concludes with an exhibition presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2013. Two additional two-year cycles will follow, each with a new mobile structure and theme, concluding in the fall of 2016.
Part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space, the Lab is conceived to inspire public discourse in cities around the world and through the BMW Guggenheim Lab website and online social communities.
The public is invited to attend and to participate in free programs and experiments at the Lab. In addition, the BMW Guggenheim Lab website and social communities provide opportunities for participants around the world to engage with and to contribute to the ideas and experiments generated by the Lab.
Lightweight and compact, with a structural skeleton built of carbon fiber, the mobile structure for the first cycle of the BMW Guggenheim Lab has been designed by the Tokyo architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow as a “travelling toolbox.”
The BMW Guggenheim Lab is shaped by a diverse and international group of individuals, ranging from architects and graphic designers to the eminent Advisory Committee and talented Lab Team members. | <urn:uuid:2aee0ef5-9a9c-4b24-a7d1-0d4098600ac2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/insights/explore/guggenheim/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937007 | 469 | 2.078125 | 2 |
President Zardari signs into law free education bill
20 December, 2012
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday signed into law "The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2012" to ensure provision of free-of-cost education to children aged 5-16 years.
The president signed the bill during a special signing ceremony held at the Chief Minister's House in Karachi that was attended among others by Sindh governor and chief minister, federal and provincial ministers, parliamentarians, senior officials and people from cross-section of society. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also present during the signing ceremony. The president congratulated parliament and all political forces on the enactment of "The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2012" into law, saying it would go a long way in ensuring free and compulsory education to the children of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the president said that pursuing Benazir Bhutto's vision of free and compulsory education the government has fulfilled yet another promise made to the people. He said that it was a historic day for the people of the country as the government has fulfilled the promise of protecting all fundamental rights after declaring education as the basic right of the citizens.
Zardari said that Article 25-A has been added to the constitution, adding that the responsibility to provide free education rests with both the federal and provincial governments and that the federal government is responsible for legislation under the article 25-A for areas under its control. The president urged the provincial governments to follow the law in their respective jurisdictions. He said that the law would ensure that that no child remains out of school hence realising country's international commitments.
Zardari said the government gave the Education Policy of 2009 as part of its policy to promote education in the country, and urged the government to ensure that that no child is subjected to any kind of discrimination whatsoever. The president said that under the law the federal government would now provide free textbooks and uniform to the children in the areas of its jurisdiction, besides ensuring that no child is deprived of admission in school and that schools have qualified teachers.
Free pre-school education, early childhood care and free medical and dental inspection would be provided to all citizens and no child will now be subjected to corporal punishment or mental harassment, the president remarked and added that government will also create professional cadre of teachers to promote quality education. He said that no fee, including admission fee, will be charged from the students and that government will provide school buildings, playgrounds, laboratories and other facilities. Under the law, the private schools will be required to provide free education to the disadvantaged students to the extent of ten percent of the class, the president said and added that school management committees will be established which will collaborate with the community for persuading parents to send their children to schools.
Zardari said that as part of government's initiative for promotion of education in the country educational awards will be instituted for teachers, educational administrators and researchers. He said that we will honour our international commitments and will achieve the targets set in Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and added that Islamabad will be made a role model in education sector for the provinces. The president said that present government would continue to work for promotion of education in the country as education holds key to socio-economic development and fighting the militant mindset. He urged the provincial governments to step forward for similar legislation. | <urn:uuid:cccb1710-f190-40c0-90bf-81bd8091ab91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paktribune.com/news/President-Zardari-signs-into-law-free-education-bill-255861.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971811 | 708 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Cyprus General Information
Cyprus is situated at the north-eastern end of the Mediterranean basin and is the third largest island with an area of 9,251 square kilometres.
Cyprus is an independent sovereign republic with a presidential system of government. On 1 May 2004 the Republic of Cyprus became a full member of the European Union and on 1 January 2008 joined the euro-system and introduced the euro as its official currency, replacing the Cyprus pound as the unit of account. Thus, the euro banknotes and coins (cents) are the country’s legal tender.
Cyprus is also a member of the United Nations and its specialised agencies, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and many other international organisations.
Unfortunately, Cyprus has been a divided country since the Turkish invasion of 1974. No country apart from Turkey recognises the occupied areas as a legitimate state. The military occupation, forcible division, violation of human rights, massive colonisation, cultural destruction, property usurpation and ethic segregation imposed since Turkey’s military invasion remain the main characteristics of the status on the island. Today, Turkey, an aspiring member of the European Union, still stands guilty of international aggression against a member state of the EU and the UN. The Government of Cyprus and the Greek Cypriots are aiming since 1974 to achieve a just, viable, democratic, financially viable and functional solution that will terminate the occupation and colonisation of Cyprus.
Self drive is the best way to travel around Cyprus. The road infrastructure is excellent. All the main international firms are represented in Cyprus, with offices in all towns. Cyprus is a relatively small island, so no matter where is your base, nowhere is too far from anywhere for a day's outing. Just get hold of a good map and head to enjoy the beauties of Cyprus.
JCC Payment Systems, the main credit card transaction processing company, operates a 24 hour service for lost or stolen cards. Tel: 22868100
Visitors are requested to respect ecclesiastic traditions and not to enter churches and monasteries wearing shorts and sleeveless clothing.
Dial 112 for police, fire and ambulance
Breakfast is usually served between 07:00 and 10:00 in the morning. Lunch is served in restaurants between 12:00 and 15:00. Dinner is served from 19:00 till late in the evening.
|Agia Napa & Protaras||23200000|
Greek and Turkish are the official languages. English is widely spoken. French and German are also spoken within the tourism industry. Russian is spoken in almost all the companies offering professional corporate and financial consulting and fiduciary services.
Cyprus Time is GMT +2.
The days listed below are public holidays in Cyprus. All public services, private enterprises, banks and shops are closed on public holidays though many shops and certain services remain open in resorts and coastal areas. Banks are closed on Easter Tuesday but not on Christmas Eve. All museums and archaeological sites remain closed on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday (Greek Orthodox).
|January 1st||New Year's Day|
|January 6th||Epiphany Day|
|February 15th||Green Monday|
|March 25th||Greek National Day|
|April 1st||National Anniversary Day|
|April 2nd||Good Friday (Greek Orthodox Church)|
|April 3rd||Good Saturday (Greek Orthodox Church)|
|April 4th||Easter (Greek Orthodox Church)|
|April 5th||Easter Monday (Greek Orthodox Church)|
|May 1st||Labour Day|
|May 24th||Pentecost - Kataklysmos (Festival of the Flood)|
|August 15th||Assumption of the Virgin Mary|
|October 1st||Cyprus Independence Day|
|October 28th||Greek National Anniversary Day|
|December 24th||Christmas Eve|
|December 25th||Christmas Day|
|December 26th||Boxing Day|
The majority of Greek-Cypriots are Greek-Orthodox Christians; other religions represented on the island, include Armenians, Maronites and Roman Catholics. The Turkish-Cypriot community is predominantly Muslim.
Risk of fire is high at the Cyprus countryside especially during the summer period where the earth is dry.
The urban centres of Lefkosia, Larnaka and Lemessos are alive all year round. Pafos is more tourist centre and is thus much quieter during the winter. Agia Napa and Protaras are mainly summer-only destinations and some hotels and eating places only operate in the peak season of April to October.
Since a 10% service charge is levied in hotels and restaurants, tipping is not obligatory but is always welcome and appreciated.
|Lefkosia||Aristokyprou 11, Laiki Geitonia, 1011 Lefkosia||22674264|
|Lemessos||Spyrou Araouzou 115A, 3036 Lemesos||25362756|
|Georgiou A 22, 4047 Lemesos||25323211|
|Lemesos Harbour, service to all passengers-boats||25571868|
|Larnaka||Plateia Vasileos Pavlou, 6023 Larnaka||24654322|
|Larnaka International Airport, 7130 Larnaka||24643576|
|Pafos||Gladstonos 3, 8046 Pafos||26932841|
|Pafos International Airport, 8320 Pafos||26007368|
|Kato Pafos||63A Poseidonos, 8042 Kato Pafos||26930521|
|Polis||Vasileos Stasioikou A 2, 8820 Polis Chrysochous||26322468|
|Ayia Napa||Leoforos Kryou Nerou 12, 5330 Agia Napa||23721796|
|Paralimni-Protaras|| Leoforos Protara-Kavo Gkreko 356, 5296 Protaras-Paralimni ||23832865|
Public service working hours during the period September 1st - June 30th are 07:30 - 14:30 from Monday to Friday and on Wednesday from 15:00 - 18:00. During the period July 1st - August 31st working hours are 07:30 - 14:30 from Monday to Friday.
Private sector working hours are 08:00 - 13:00, 15:00 - 18:00 Monday to Friday for the period September 15th - May 31st and 08:00 - 13:00, 16:00 - 19:00 Monday to Friday, for the period June 1st - September 14th .
Shop opening times vary depending on their type and location, though shops normally open between 07:00 and 09:00. During the period November 1st - March 31st shops close at 19:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, at 15:00 on Wednesday, and at 19:00 on Saturday. For the period April 1st - October 31st shops close at 20:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, at 15:00 on Wednesday and, at 19:30 on Saturday. During the period June 15th - August 31st there is an optional three hour afternoon break from14:00 - 17:00. On Sundays everything is closed.
Special shopping hours apply for Christmas and Easter. From December 1st to December 31st, shops may remain open until 20:00 throughout the week, but close by 18:00 on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Shops also remain open until 20:00 ten days before Easter Sunday, but close by 18:00 on Good Friday.
Finikoudes Beach, by Christina...
Scenery from Cyprus, photo by ...
Protaras Beach, photo by Cypru...
Ayios Lazaros Church, by Chris...
Ayia Napa photo by cypruspict...
Larnaka Marina, by Christina K...
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey" - Fitzhugh Mullan | <urn:uuid:364ca5b1-d00d-4009-8c53-23128a1dfc66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mydestination.com/cyprus/usefulinfo/6175055/cyprus-general-information | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914485 | 1,732 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Linux compatibility layers
I am not ready to ditch Windows just yet, mostly because I don't feel like getting rid of something that is working well and took me forever to get working the way I wanted. However, I have noticed that there is lots of good free software available for Linux that has not been ported to Windows.
I am wondering if there is a compatibility layer similar to Wine that allows you to run Linux software on Windows with a reasonably high degree of transparency. I would imagine that compared to Wine this would be fairly easy to implement since one could simply look at the Linux source to figure out what to do instead of reverse-engineering it, unlike the case of Wine.
I have tried CoLinux and virtual machines and I don't like these solutions because they don't allow my Linux stuff to interact with native Windows programs and are very non-transparent. I would really love something that does what Wine does only the other way around. | <urn:uuid:e3a88935-ee4e-4605-9cd5-a4c4963ffd39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/miscellaneous/linux-compatibility-layers-print-20151.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975101 | 191 | 1.625 | 2 |
Feb. 2, 1998 January 29, 1998 -- A team of researchers from the American Museum of Natural History announced today in the journal Nature the discovery of the oldest fossil ants ever found. The extremely rare 92-million-year-old ants are preserved in amber from a location in New Jersey that has produced some of the world's most important amber-encased fossils. The new specimens are 50 million years older than the most ancient fossils that were clearly recognized as ants; the find thus proves unequivocally the existence of ants back into the Age of the Dinosaurs. The new specimens have important implications for understanding both the origin of ants and their rise to a position of ecological dominance in the world today.
The new ant specimens are of particular consequence because they show the presence of a "metapleural gland," which is the distinguishing anatomical feature of ants and is a key to their ability to live in colonies underground or in rotting trees. This gland, found above the hind legs, secretes a substance that functions as an antibiotic and prevents bacteria and fungi from invading the ants' nests and infecting the members of the colony. The development of this gland is believed to be associated with the evolution of the ants' social system, which has been a key factor in their tremendous ecological dominance. Ants are so successful that they represent up to 25% of the total animal biomass in Amazonia; even in New York City's Central Park they are, by weight, the most common creature.
The new specimens comprise three worker and four male ants. One of the workers is a complete, well-preserved specimen from the group known as Sphecomyrma freyi, a primitive kind of ant. This insect was first described in 1967 by renowned entomologist E.O. Wilson and his colleagues, but because no metapleural gland was clearly visible, it was uncertain at that time whether it was truly an ant. The new fossil ant in amber resolves the debate over the identity of this ancient insect. Of the remaining fossil ants, two of the males are a new species of Baikuris (which previously had only been found in Siberian amber), a third male is from an undetermined genus, and the fourth male may be a Sphecomyrma freyi and would therefore be the first known male of this group. The two other workers represent a new genus that is much more advanced than Sphecomyrma, and is related to a group of ants, the subfamily Ponerinae, that are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas today. (Most of these ants today are known for their powerful stings.) The discovery of both primitive and more advanced fossil ants in 92-million-year-old amber shows that the major lineages of ants arose before the great extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, 65 million years ago. A reasonable estimate would place the origin of ants in the Lower Cretaceous at about 130 million years ago.
Ant fossils from the Cretaceous Period are extremely rare, but those from the subsequent Tertiary are quite abundant, indicating that the great radiation of ants did not begin until the close of the Cretaceous -- a time that also marked the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. The tantalizing question of what, in addition to their sociality, led to the unparalleled success of ants after this Period is still open.
The authors of the Nature paper are: Donat Agosti, research scientist; David A. Grimaldi, chairman and curator; and James Carpenter, curator, all of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Entomology. Funding for the research was provided by American Museum of Natural History Trustee Henry G. Walter and by Henry and Meryl Silverstein.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Museum Of Natural History.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:8f31e1a2-ad05-4d0a-94dd-f5c81beba8ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/02/980202225034.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95937 | 826 | 3.921875 | 4 |
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Introduction - Smart Buyers Plan Ahead
Deciding on the Right Screen
Need help with your next TV purchase? Truth is, television tech is evolving faster than you can say Moore's Law. Yes, gone are the days where a telly is essentially a telly and nothing more. Apart from skinnier iterations, newer flat-screen displays are also equipped with a multiplex of features such as embedded entertainment platforms and multimedia playback. Recent insertions of LED-backlit LCDs and 3D TVs have widened the HDTV spectrum as well. To add to the confusion, modern televisions are similarly plagued by a barrage of acronyms. What have we? HD-Ready, Full-HD, LCD, LED, 3D, WiFi, and not forgetting DLNA. Indeed, such specifications can be rather daunting to the uninitiated.
This is where our HDTV Buying Guide Basics come in - to prepare you for your next HDTV purchase, and to shed some light on those mystifying jargons. Before you grab that huge plasma screen priced at an alluring $999, why not spend a moment to peruse our guide first? We congratulate you on your AV wisdom if you're already a self-professed HDTV guru. However, if you know next to nothing about televisions, then this article is for you. There are various aspects to consider, such as the ideal TV size, the benefits or disadvantages associated with different TV technologies, and the features to look out for, before taking the plunge. Once equipped with the right knowledge, you'd have little reason to fear that shady telly salesman bent on confounding you.
Bottom line is, YOU make the buying decision. So, hit the Next button or the jumps below to begin your educational quest.
- Standard-Definition Versus High-Definition
- 720p Versus 1080p
- LCD Versus Plasma
- Recent HDTV Trends
- Specs that You Need to be Aware Of
- Video Inputs on an HDTV
- Things to Look Out for at the Shop front
- Installation Considerations & Picture Settings Tweaks
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- Next › | <urn:uuid:90cfcd85-907c-400a-87bf-af160d7ce626> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-hardwarezones-hdtv-buying-guide-essentials | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907588 | 449 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The owner of a trolley tour company in Annapolis, Md., has decided to close down one portion of his business — old-fashioned trolleys for wedding parties — rather than extend the service to same-sex couples. He has every right to do so, but he should knock off his attempts to persuade lawmakers to sanction his real hope: to discriminate against gay couples in his business.
Matt Grubbs owns Discover Annapolis Tours and says his Christian beliefs conflict with providing services to same-sex couples. He'd rather not serve them.
That created a problem, however. Once a business is open to the public, it cannot discriminate against racial or religious minorities or other protected groups — which in Maryland, as in California, includes gays. Grubbs' choice thus was simple: Either offer the service to all or get into another line of work. He chose to close.
Unfortunately, Grubbs now is trying something else. He has urged potential clients to push for a legislative exemption to non-discrimination laws for wedding vendors. That's important to nip in the bud. States can't pick and choose so that some people can discriminate against gay people or discriminate against them under certain circumstances. That's as unconscionable as denying service to interracial couples or those of other religions.
Religious institutions rightly cannot be required to perform same-sex weddings; religious freedom is embedded in the U.S. Constitution. But although there is an inherent right to practice one's religion, that right does not extend to discrimination in a place of business that by its nature serves the general public. Those are bedrock principles and should not be tampered with.
Meanwhile, many businesspeople in the wedding trade are taking a different approach, welcoming same-sex marriage as a chance to expand. It brings with it a whole new clientele, and it's not necessary to personally approve of individual customers in order to accept their rights and welcome their business. Or, as the owner of a Baltimore limousine company put it, "A doctor doesn't have to like you to take care of you." The owner, Gary Day — who is gay and in a long-term relationship — has supplied extra trolleys to Grubbs for large wedding parties. With Grubbs' departure from the wedding trolley business, Day expects to fill that gap. | <urn:uuid:75261021-a2a9-4ee6-acd9-8b8f7fee036c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-adv-trolley-20121228,5116994,2445602.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972654 | 479 | 1.875 | 2 |
Chancellor's Parashah Commentary
Parashat Aharei Mot-K'doshim 5755
April 29, 1995 29 Nisan 5755
The name of this week's parasha, "After the Death," captures our state of mind as Americans. In the wake of the carnage in Oklahoma City we fear acts of terrorism more than acts of nature. An earthquake or hurricane can be devastating, but never vicious. As it smashes our pride, an act of nature fills us with awe, not loathing or revulsion. In one horrifying episode, we realize again the stark truth that for all of humanity's daunting conquests of nature, we have barely begun to conquer ourselves. Americans are as vulnerable to the demented fury of the allegedly aggrieved as anyone else.
Each morning as I walk through the closed black gates of the Seminary's entrance, I dutifully open my briefcase for inspection and show my ID card. For a time after the bombing of the World Trade Center, the police department banned all parking on the streets that run along the front and back of the Seminary, an enormous inconvenience to the faculty, students and staff who park on the street. Currently the Seminary spends more than $500,000 a year for 24–hour security at its three sites on Morningside Heights. Terrorism has come to concern us more than crime, which is way down in the neighborhood and the city.
The title of our parasha is a kind of aftershock from one of the few brief narratives in all of Leviticus. Like the tragedy in Oklahoma City, it deals with the sudden and inexplicable death of children. Our parasha begins: "The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Lord (Leviticus 16:1)." The belated reference to the fate of Aaron's sons hints at a subliminal desire to revisit a wound inadequately treated when inflicted. Nothing could have been more crushing to Aaron than the public loss of two sons on the very day of his inauguration as the nation's high priest, the guardian of God's newly finished Tabernacle. The brutal sequence of triumph and defeat, of divine acceptance and rejection reduced him to a numbed silence of indeterminate grief.
The details of the story are so sparse as to be extraneous. After eight days of a carefully executed consecration ceremony, Aaron's sacrifice on the altar, the first ever, is consumed by an indisputable sign of divine favor: the fire on the altar is kindled by God. Nadab and Abihu then approach spontaneously with fire and incense of their own making and pay with their lives. The Torah taunts us with the cryptic remark that the fire had not been commanded by God and therefore was deemed to be alien.
But I have been persuaded by Professor Edward Greenstein of the Seminary's Bible Department to read this story existentially rather than critically. The death of Aaron's sons was not the result of a miscue in the prescribed choreography of the Tabernacle. Their fate conveys the far deeper and more unsettling truth that no amount of elaborate, awesome and precisely executed ritual should ever leave us with the illusion that we have brought God under human control. The very moment the Tabernacle comes into service, Israel is taught the sober lesson that God's will remains free and inscrutable, God's wisdom unfathomable. The religion of the Torah is not a set of magical techniques to get God to do our bidding, but rather a quest to invest our lives with meaning. To rein in the erratic and destructive passions of the earth's most intelligent animal, that is the Torah's desperate mission.
Hence, early in the book of Leviticus we are put on notice that all our cultic precautions will not spare us the inconsolable grief of sudden calamity. Suffering is part of life in an unfinished and ever–changing world. The unimaginable loss of two sons at the peak moment of religious achievement confirms the inescapable presence of imminent danger. To be born is to be at risk. Aaron's silence suggests that resignation is a state of anguish alleviated by insight.
Judaism asks us to praise God for the evil that befalls us as well as the good. When death strikes down someone dear to us, we struggle to intone the ancient affirmation, "Praised be the God of truth." Monotheism is inclusive; it does not tolerate an alternate source of evil. Each morning we aver in our prayers that God is the creator of both light and darkness. The scriptural basis for such a supreme act of self–transcendence, the suppression of our rage, is the second verse of the Shema: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5)." Our love of God is not to collapse even when we are sundered from our soul.
The reaffirmation of God's goodness in pain is courageous and constructive. We refuse to allow the onset of chaos to destroy the framework of our faith. We are not the victims of contending deities. Nor can the grandeur of God's creation be measured by our personal fate. Much that happens to us defies our capacity to comprehend. Nevertheless, in the midst of despair, we dare to grope for light, for meaning and for structure. The Kaddish is not a prayer of mourning and lament, but a paean to God's sovereignty and compassion.
Judaism can only help us avert the severity of our suffering, not suffering itself, and it does that by endowing us with a life–sustaining attitude. In extremity, all that is left in our control is the attitude we take toward our fate, a vestige of freedom we should never despise. Not only can an assertion of will extract a mote of meaning from a hopeless situation, but it can also leave a legacy of inspiration to those who will suffer after us. Through its precepts, Judaism fortifies us to endure life's setbacks.
Shabbat shalom u–mevorach, | <urn:uuid:dc0c7819-1f2f-49d7-8b94-7b13e9ce7ff8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jtsa.edu/PreBuilt/ParashahArchives/5755/ahareimot.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945533 | 1,267 | 1.859375 | 2 |
The Global Fund has saved more than 7.7 million lives by funding treatment and preventative care programs across the planet. But these programs are at risk. By adding your signature, you join Annie Lennox, Morgan Freeman, and Jeremy Irons calling for a stronger, healthier world. Co-sign the letter of support today.
"The Global Fund needs continued leadership from the United States to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria across the world." Read the full letter.
Friends:We stand on the verge of a major turning point in human history. By 2015, together we can almost eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem, and dramatically cut the number of deaths worldwide due to tuberculosis and malaria. For far too long, these three diseases have killed millions of people around the world, especially in developing countries, every year.
As a global community, we are now faced with a choice: If we help ensure that support for this life-saving work continues, future generations across the globe will be spared the tragedy of seeing a child born with HIV, watching a friend die from a mosquito bite or seeing a family member debilitated by tuberculosis.
Today, thanks to a decade of global health leadership by the United States, millions have been saved from needless death from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Tomorrow, with continued leadership by the United States, we can work to ensure that the next generation is born HIV-free and that millions of others will be free from tuberculosis and malaria. These diseases are all preventable and treatable.
However, if we do not raise widespread support the momentum we have already built will be lost, and we will miss this historic opportunity.
The global community needs the United States to keep leading the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria across the world.
We who sign this letter join the chorus of voices across the planet asking for support in the fight to turn the tide against these diseases by 2015.
In the past century, diseases that once seemed invulnerable have been vanquished. With continued support for global health, we can do it again. It's a fight we can win. It begins with you.
|Deepak Chopra||Enzo Cilenti|
|Alan Cumming||Minnie Driver|
|Morgan Freeman||Adam Garcia|
|Sienna Guillory||Michele Hicks|
|Djimon Hounsou||Jeremy Irons|
|Annie Lennox||Lori McCreary|
|Jaime Murray||Jason Silva| | <urn:uuid:d280966a-970e-4828-afca-8fa764c89d2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://onemillion.theglobalfund.org/pages/beginswithyou?source=BSDAds_Begins%20With%20You%20-%20General%20Global%20Fund%20-%20Exact%20MatchGlobal%20Fund%20for%20AIDS | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910927 | 518 | 1.726563 | 2 |
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When you're lucky enough to have a weekend with your family, you don't want to spend all your time cooking alone. Try one (or all) of these family-friendly recipes that people of all ages will enjoy eating and preparing.
-- Breakfasts: Real Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs
-- Lunches: Sloppy Joes, Smashed Potato Chowder
-- Sweets: Triple Chocolate Cookies
-- Main Courses: Salsa Swiss Steak, Chicken with Skillet Gravy
-- Sides: Buttered Carrots, Farm-Style Green Beans, Italian Pork and Pepper Soup
Introduce your family to oatmeal made with steel-cut oats. They're chewier and have a nuttier flavor than the quick or instant variety and they cook into a creamy, cozy breakfast.
Master the basic recipe for scrambled eggs, then personalize it to your tastes with Cheese-and-Onion, Smoky Chicken, and Greek-Style (pictured) variations. The next two slides give a step-by-step for scrambling.
To cook the eggs evenly, lift and fold the partially cooked eggs toward the center of the skillet to allow the uncooked eggs to run to the edges. The next slide tells how to recognize perfectly cooked scrambled eggs.
The egg mixture is done when it is set but still looks glossy and moist. Overcooking makes the eggs dry and rubbery.
Enjoy this tangy classic as-is, or try a pizza, Tex-Mex, or veggie variation. Either way, top the sandwich with burger fixings for a hearty meal.
Smashed potatoes add thickness to the creamy broth of this comfort soup. Bacon, cheese, and green onions dress up the basic recipe, or add ham or beans for a soup with more bulk.
Chocolate chips buried in chocolate cookies and drizzled with melted chocolate -- this is truly a dessert for the chocolate devotee. The next four slides show the step-by-step highlights for this recipe.
Heat chocolates and butter over low heat, stirring with a heat-resistant spatula until melted and smooth. Step 2 shows the sugar and egg batter.
Setting aside the melted chocolate, beat the sugars and eggs with an electric mixer until well blended and the color lightens a bit. Step 3 shows how to prepare the dough to stand.
After combining the chocolate with the sugar and egg batter, press plastic wrap onto surface of dough. Let stand at room temperature so dough sets up. The next step shows how to drop the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet.
After the dough has stood, use a flatware teaspoon to "drop" or push a scoop of dough onto a cookie sheet with a second spoon.
Canned soup and salsa come together in a slow cooker to make a satisfying sauce for round steak. Serve with corn bread or mashed potatoes.
There's no reason to deal with the mess of deep-fried chicken when you can make this pan-fried version with boneless chicken breasts. The next five slides show the step-by-step highlights for making this recipe.
Place egg mixture in a shallow dish, such as a pie plate, for easy dipping. Coat both sides of the chicken. The next step shows how to coat the chicken breast with crumbs.
Dredge the egg-coated chicken pieces in the bread crumbs, coating both sides. Step 3 shows how to test the skillet.
Once the chicken breasts are ready, check to see if the skillet is hot by sprinkling a few crumbs in the oil. When they sizzle and bubble, add the chicken. The next step shows how to start the pan sauce.
After removing the chicken, melt the butter in the skillet. Stir the flour into the butter to create a paste. Step 5 shows how to finish the sauce.
Add the broth to the butter-flour paste. Cook and stir the mixture until it is smooth and thickened.
The sweetness of tarragon or basil is a natural complement to the sweetness of the carrots, but other more savory herbs, such as thyme, dill, or rosemary, can be a nice contrast to it.
Crunchy green beans loaded with bacon, onions, and mushrooms make this nutrition-packed side an easy sell to picky kids. The next two slides give tips for perfectly cooked green beans.
Place several beans at a time on a cutting board, lining up the stem ends. Cut off stems. Cut off pointed tips, if desired, or leave attached. Leave beans whole or cut or snap into pieces.
To test for crisp-tender beans, bite into one a minute or two before the end of suggested timing. The bean should have a slight crunch to it. Or test by poking it with a fork.
Packed with fresh veggies and tender chunks of pork, this simple soup is a perfect end to a busy day. Serve with an array of crackers and cheese.
Anyone Can Cook is an innovative cookbook that encourages those new to the kitchen to make simple yet tasty meals, while providing the tools to move on to more complex recipes. | <urn:uuid:277b71b4-ec0f-47ff-9903-d258df7a43fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bhg.com/recipes/entertaining/dinner/family-weekend-menu-ideas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911523 | 1,058 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Shoe Modifications can be performed to accommodate areas of abnormal pressure that may cause injury. Shoes can also be modified to help change the position and motion of the foot as it contacts the ground during walking.
Improperly fit shoes have the potential to injure the skin by creating a blister related to abnormal friction between the shoe and the skin. A professionally fit shoe that specifically accommodates all of the contours and bony prominences of the foot can help reduce the risk of developing a blister.
Occassionally the upper material portion of the shoe must be stretched to create additional room in the shoe for a specific deformity. A Ball and ring stretcher or other stretching presses can be used to stretch small portions of the shoe which will increase the room of the shoe. Not all shoe materials or shoes are suitable for stretching. Shoes with leather uppers are often times suitable for stretching.
For patients with documented leg length differences the internal portion of the shoe can be raised up to ½ inch to accommodate for the difference. Leg length differences greater than ½ inch must be made up by adding to the outsole portion of the shoe with light weight foam materials.
Additional modfications to the outsole of the shoe can be made that effectively change the pressure patterns on the bottom of the foot if the offloading from the accommodative orthotic alone is not sufficient. Additional metatarsal bars or rockerbottoms placed on the shoe outsole can be used to reduce abnormal pressure patterns as needed based on the specific problem being treated.
Shoe Modification: Examples
The goal of shoe modifications is to correct foot imbalance during weight bearing activities. In the flexible sensate foot, the corrections will be made to achieve proper weight distribution. The rigid, and/or abnormally structured foot, may not have sensation and is at high painful ambulation. Accommodation requires that the ground be brought up to the plantar surface of the foot with modifications and insoles.
Internal modifications are changes made inside the shoe to relieve pressure or shear forces that cause pain, irritation or trauma to the foot. The orthotic added to the shoe may relieve some of the pressure, but many times the problem requires more relief. Tongue pads, scaphoid pads, metatarsal pads and stretching are commonly used as relief of irritation.
Modifications made between the shoe and outsole. It includes SACH Heel, Inverter/Everter SACH Heel, Medial/Lateral Wedge, Forefoot Wedge, Beveled Heel.
Modification made to sole of shoe . General Rocker Sole and Elevation Procedure include several steps such as Remove sole and san shoe surface, Cut crepe for elevation and sand surface, Cover both surfaces with cement and let dry etc.
Modification made to the shoe's upper construction. It includes Bunion Modification, Retrocalcaneal Spur/Haglund's Deformity/ Pump Bump, Shrinking Heel of Shoe and Stretching or Reshaping Toe Box.
Modifications that affect the entire shoe construction. It classifies to Spreading midfoot for chronic conditions, Spreading Forefoot Width for Accommodation and Stabilizers(Blsters) for Medial/Lateral Support And Heel Offset
Modification details courtesy of: bignwideshoes.com | <urn:uuid:14028878-c01c-4882-af74-e6a5030de05c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanluispodiatrygroup.com/index.php?page=patient_education&category=00005&article=00019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908714 | 690 | 3.171875 | 3 |
From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 11, 1912:
"Verne Stevens, fifteen years old, was a boy just like other boys, but he knew not as much of the joys of this big world as other boys of fifteen know and realize. The darker side of life, its cares and struggles, had been thrust upon him and they deprived him of boyish pleasures. He saw other boys at play and at school and he craved their association, he longed for the joys which were theirs. He was out of harmony with the world, it held no charms for him for his parents are poor and Verne was obliged to work while other boys of his own age played and studied. Today his lifeless body is all that remains of a boy physically like other boys but socially at odds with life and the world. That craving, the unhappiness of the lot that was his and an incontrollable desire to escape it led Verne Stevens to blot out the existence that had been so barren and unpleasant to him. The longing for that which he could not attain has passed away and Verne Stevens' little body is at rest. Dangling from a strap that body was discovered in a barn south of Lawrence yesterday afternoon. Life was gone when it was discovered. The strap had done its fatal work and the story of this boy's life ended in one of the most pathetic tragedies ever enacted in Douglas County. A boy of only fifteen years had taken his own life.... The tragedy occurred yesterday afternoon at the old Curtis Farm south of Lawrence and near the Deichman Crossing. The father of the boy is a hay and straw baler.... Verne was working with his father yesterday morning doing some work on the Curtis farm. At noon the father and the boy prepared their dinner and ate together and following that the father told the boy to choose between washing the dishes and tending to the horses. The boy chose the dishes. He performed these duties well, washing every plate and cup and saucer clean and drying them and putting them away ready for use at the next meal. He made things tidy about the tent and left everything in the best of order. Then he disappeared.... Verne did not appear to resume the work of the afternoon and the father began a search.... Finally they found him, in the old barn on the place, but it was only his lifeless body. The searchers had found him too late." | <urn:uuid:a2b757ec-2014-4a18-859d-542b472ac051> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/oct/11/100-years-ago-teenagers-suicide-most-pathetic-trag/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990238 | 490 | 1.664063 | 2 |
[...] In his book A Reporter's Life, Cronkite states that news anchors in Sweden were once known as "cronkiters", a term obviously derived from his name. This claim can be found in several other books about the history of television journalism, but without any indication exactly when the term was used in Sweden or whether it still survives.
Answer: I have never heard anybody use this expression, but on the other hand, it may just have fallen out of use. What we need is a senior member here, who remembers his glory days in the 60's, who can tell us if indeed there was such an expression. If there was, it was probably just a very temporary word, which did not live long. On the other hand, it does sound like the kind of juicy stuff that somebody would add to their biography, because they figure nobody will check it out...does anybody know?
OT: Erinnert mich an Dylan's Black Diamond Bay; Darin kommt der Cronkite ja auch vor.
I was siting home alone one night
In LA watching old Cronkite
On the seven o'clock news
It seems there was an earthquake that
Left nothing but a Panama hat
And a pair of old Greek shoes ... | <urn:uuid:60a70b6b-30f9-4a23-a494-f806cb6a5f7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewGeneraldiscussion.php?idThread=769012&idForum=&lp=ende&lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968931 | 262 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Canada's police officers may be well-paid, but they are paying dearly in terms of their mental and physical health, according to the findings of a major study of officer wellness to be released Tuesday by Ottawa's Carleton University.
The study, believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, says officers are stressed-out and stretched thin like never before — facing long hours, constantly changing shifts, understaffing, more complex caseloads and a lack of career-development opportunities, as well as growing family pressures at home.
Managers can no longer expect officers to "suck it up," the researchers warn, adding that police agencies likely will see greater absenteeism, more long-term disability and benefits payouts, and more difficulties attracting and retaining officers if they ignore these work-life balance issues.
"I'm afraid a lot of the young people won't stay," Linda Duxbury, a professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, told Postmedia News.
While employees in other professions do deal with a lot of stress, "police perform work that is often life-and-death and requires split-second decision making," Duxbury said.
"High stress in this profession as such is potentially more catastrophic in its consequences."
Carol Allison-Burra, president of the Canadian Association of Police Boards, said the study's findings should serve as a wake-up call.
Traditionally, police boards have focused on how to sustain policing only from an economic point of view, she said. The study shows that human resources need to be addressed as well.
While boards typically don't meddle in police operations, they can play a role in pushing police chiefs and senior managers to develop a culture that is more supportive of employees and is transparent, she said.
"This is a report that shouldn't sit unread nor unimplemented."
Duxbury and her research partner, Christopher Higgins, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ont., collected survey data from 4,500 officers from 25 police agencies.
Seventy-five per cent were men between the ages of 30 and 45. Most were married or living with a partner and had children at home, and two-thirds also were caring for one or more elderly dependents. About half were in dual-career households.
Two-thirds of officers said they were satisfied with their jobs, particularly in terms of job security and pay. Fifty-two per cent earned between $80,000 and $99,000 and 38 per cent earned $100,000 or more.
However, half of the officers surveyed reported high stress levels and 46 per cent reported moderate stress levels. Two-thirds of officers miss about 14 days of work each year, mainly due to health problems or fatigue.
One key gripe was the sheer volume of work. The study found that officers are typically working 53.5 hours each week and are dealing with multiple competing and complex demands, such as completing reports and preparing court cases, where everything is supposed to be treated as a priority.
Forty per cent of respondents said the work overload has been aggravated by understaffing in their areas.
Also, officers don't know what's going to be thrown at them each day and they have little control over their work schedules, the study found. Many officers work rotating shifts, meaning their start and finish times are always changing, something that can lead to exhaustion and problems at home. As well, officers are sometimes required to attend court hearings on their days off.
"They don't want more money, they want a life," Duxbury said.
The problem is that today's policing culture still largely emphasizes work over family, and seeking help or saying "no" is frowned upon, the study found. Managers also are failing to provide enough opportunities for officers to feel they can grow within their organizations.
But a cultural shift is beginning to happen, some police officials insist.
Charles Bordeleau, chief of the Ottawa Police Service, said in an interview that his agency has given some officers the option of working fixed-day or night shifts, so they're not constantly rotating through different schedules.
The service also has introduced a limit of five to seven years for how long officers can spend in particular units to give other officers a chance at those roles.
It is also giving officers opportunities to visit holistic health specialists who will assess and give them guidance on such topics as mental health to nutrition.
"In order to make sure we are doing the best job we can, we need to make sure our officers are mentally prepared and physically able to do the best they can," Bordeleau said.
Dave Ross, acting superintendent and director of human resources at the Ontario Provincial Police, said officers are encouraged to take advantage of employee-assistance programs. There are also teams in place across the province to provide support for officers and their spouses following critical or high-stress incidents to help reduce the "mental baggage" that officers take home.
"We're really trying to open that up, so people feel free to come forward without fear of being ostracized," Ross said.
Tom Stamatakis, president of the Vancouver Police Union, said the Vancouver Police Department is offering more flexibility in work hours. Officers who work in high-risk or high-stress beats, such as child-pornography investigations, are now required to attend mandatory sessions with health professionals.
By the numbers
A survey of 4,500 Canadian police officers found the following:
- 52 per cent earn between $80,000 and $99,000 and 38 per cent earn $100,000 or more;
- 85 per cent are married and 78 per cent have children;
- 42 per cent work a rotating shift;
- A typical officer works 53.5 hours per week;
- 46 per cent agreed that the culture within their workforce emphasizes work over family;
- 50 per cent report high stress levels and 46 per cent report moderate stress levels.
Source: Study by Linda Duxbury of Carleton University and Christopher Higgins of Western University | <urn:uuid:99651e5c-e2a8-4206-9812-c175b12f8509> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Canadian+police+officers+overworked+understaffed+stressed+survey/6506477/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976205 | 1,260 | 2.140625 | 2 |
We all have a tremendous amount of natural capability. We need to just find the pathway to tapping the resource of our talents and abilities to generate progress and achievement. The Empowerment Atom releases the forces of that underlying potential.
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The Empowerment Atom releases the forces of personal and team potential. Its individual Energy Fields enable each member to… | <urn:uuid:e4678a99-0a25-463a-bfed-265ce250f3b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.achieveopedia.com/welcome/the-empowerment-atom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941554 | 411 | 1.851563 | 2 |
IF you are looking for TMJ treatment Toronto area dentist Dr. Goodfellow offers a comprehensive assessment for Toronto area patients.
For Toronto Area Patients ONLY – Call 1-877-564-9763 for an Initial Assessment
For those outside the Toronto area, fill in the form on the side for more information and we may be able to connect you with a properly trained dentist in your area.
On May 21 2012 many newspapers reported on findings from two new studies that showed a link between those people with sleep apnea and an increased risk of cancer. A few common symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, gaps in breathing during sleep and fatigue.
Due to the high correlation of obstructive sleep apnea and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), patients with these concerns are advised to get a thorough and proper assessment for TMD and a sleep study.
It has been estimated that 20% of the population has pain and health problems related to a TMJ problem. 80% of people with this type of pain are women. Visiting an appropriate TMJ dentist Toronto has available for you to choose from is a very important step in getting relief of pain as quickly and simply as possible.
The Problem Toronto TMJ Pain Sufferers Face
The big problem related to TMJ syndrome is that with many of these symptoms most people needlessly suffer in pain for many, many years. Even though many of these people seek help in one way or another, the issue people come across time and time again is that many health care professionals are simply not properly trained in how to link the numerous symptoms pain sufferers have as an actual disorder of this kind.
What is worse is that even when this type of problem is thought to be the cause of someone’s chronic pain, it can still be very difficult to determine the precise root cause.
Unfortunately, this results in people suffering with many types of pain like chronic headaches and migraines, sometimes for up to 10 years. Whether it is neck pain, or jaw pain, jaw clicking or popping, or combination of problems, searching for answers and traveling to specialists (even though no dentist is officially allowed to call themselves a TMJ specialist Toronto has) all over often only leads to more frustration when little or no real and long lasting help is found. Some people even give up hope.
The Treatment Solution For Pain Relief
The Toronto TMJ treatment solution rests in giving enough respect to the fact that the temporomandibular joint is the single most complex joint in your entire body. Being located right in front of both ears in the location where your skull joins with your jaw, it has an extremely complicated network of nerves, ligaments, muscles and bones linked to it.
Add to this the fact that you use this joint more than any other in your body (because of all the talking and eating and swallowing you do, day in and day out, every day of your life), and you have a recipe for potentially severe and long term pain. Pain from this disorder can even be felt in areas far away from your jaw joint if you have a misalignment or trauma related to this joint.
Because of all the complexities and subtleties to understand related to the jaw joint, some health care professionals invest literally thousands of hours on TMJ treatment approaches – both the study of it as well as administering treatment to patients. Toronto TMJ dentist Dr. Goodfellow certainly has.
Since 1999 Dr. Goodfellow has invested thousands of hours in both the study and treatment of TMJ disorders.
Most of this has been in the United States because of Dr. Goodfellow’s firm belief that the most research and best research is being done there. This has also led to his belief that the most efficient treatment has been done there as well.
All this training has resulted in Dr. Goodfellow achieving the degree of being both a Fellow of the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain and a Diplomate of the American Academy Of Craniofacial Pain which pain sufferers benefit from in his TMJ clinic Toronto area patients have been coming to for years. (Dr. Goodfellow is also a Founding Member of the Canadian Chapter of the American Academy Of Craniofacial Pain and since 2007 has been the Program Chair of the American Academy Of Craniofacial Pain).
Most importantly, this has led to a success rate where…
Well over 800 of Dr. Goodfellow’s patients are now free from all sorts of pain related to this disorder such as headaches, migraines, facial pain, neck pain and jaw pain etc.
Because of the complexities involved in properly assessing and treating this disorder, many dentists are simply not comfortable treating patients with this or any type of chronic pain.
Depending on where people live, they may have to drive 12 hours or more like some of Dr. Goodfellow’s patients have. Toronto area residents will be glad to know Dr. Goodfellow’s state of the art facility is conveniently located in Vaughan though.
These days, because of his training as well as all of his advanced diagnostic equipment, Dr. Goodfellow can determine very quickly if the root cause of someone’s pain is, in fact, because of a TMJ disorder and whether he can help that person. For issues related to the TMJ Toronto area patients have been seeking him out since the year 2000.
A Common Question
A very common question people have is, “How fast can I get out of pain?”
The honest answer is that because age, overall health status and the severity of the root cause of the problem all play an important role, every patients situation is considered unique from every other patient. It is therefore not possible for anyone to guarantee how long it will take to become pain free.
A very general guideline though is that some patients notice a reduction in pain within a few weeks while it may take 2 to 3 months for other patients to get the pain relief they desire.
A large study with 2,104 patients called the Brown & Gaudet Study showed that 88% of patients who were candidates for jaw related headache treatment had success from treatment.
Dr. Goodfellow has a similar success rate.
Get A FREE Report and 4 FREE Videos
You can get 4 Free Videos plus a Free Report with much more information on how TMJ treatment Toronto dentists provide could help stop your pain by filling in your name and email address on the form on this page.
Book An Initial Assessment
IF you are in the Toronto area, to book an appointment for an initial assessment regarding TMJ Toronto area dentist Dr. Goodfellow’s is available by calling his office toll free at 1-877-564-9763.
Otherwise, fill in the form on the page for more information and we may be able to connect you with a properly trained dentist in your area.
Here is a definition of temporomandibular joint disorder. | <urn:uuid:ad990f70-374d-4c04-9f4a-70ab69142a24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tmjtoronto.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961285 | 1,430 | 1.578125 | 2 |
|Part of a series on the|
Somalian literature refers to the literary tradition of Somalia. It ranges from Islamic poetry and prose produced by the region's scholars and Sheikhs of centuries past to works of fiction from contemporary writers.
Islamic literature
The Islamic literature of Somalia dates back to the early 14th century, with Uthman bin Ali Zayla'i producing Tabayin al-Haqa’iq li Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq, one of the most referenced books in the Hanafi school of Islam. Sayyid Muhammad Abdullah Hassan (1864–1921), the celebrated religious and nationalist leader, also left a considerable amount of manuscripts. One of the better known examples of Somali Islamic literature is Maja'mut al-Mubaraka, a work written by Shaykh Abdullah al-Qalanqooli and published in Cairo in 1918. Shaykh Abd Al-Rahman bin Ahmad al-Zayla'i also produced many Islamic-orientated manuscripts in the 19th century. In addition, poetry in the form of Qasidas was also popular among Somali Sheikhs, the latter of whom produced thousands of such works in praise of Prophet Muhammad.
- English translation
- Whenever you wish to make easy your objective
- Then give a prayer to your Messenger, the best of Guides
- And say seeking aid in every circle
- Blessings of God and the crier cries
- On the chosen our Master the Praised
- Beloved of God preferred to those who ascended
- His tomb is above any Throne or High Place
- As is Every pious place sincerely
- Musk and Spices give fragrance, truly
- To the tomb of Muhammad, light of Heart
- Every aspect of the Habib gives light
- The one who seeks him sees the lights with goodness
- The distance meets it along with the near
- It will encompass the Family, the neighbours of the Beloved
- As well as people of the community with knowledge of his fragrance
Somali poetry
Part of a series on
|Dastgah · Ghazal · Madih nabawi
Nation of Bards
Due to the Somali people's passionate love for and facility with poetry, Somalia has also been called, by among others, the Canadian novelist and scholar Margaret Laurence, a "Nation of Poets" and a "Nation of Bards". The 19th century British explorer Richard Francis Burton, who visited the Somali Peninsula, similarly recounts in his book First Footsteps in East Africa how:
|“||The country teems with poets... every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines - the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetic expressions...Every chief in the country must have a panegyric to be sung by his clan, and the great patronize light literature by keeping a poet.||”|
Muhammad Abdullah Hassan
Observing that "some say he was 'peerless' and his 'noble lines' .. are commonly quoted throughout the Somali peninsula", Samatar concurs with J. Spencer Trimingham's judgement that "Mahammad 'Abdille Hasan [Sayyid Abdullah Hassan] was a master of eloquence and excelled in the art of composing impromptu poems which so readily inspire and inflame the Somalis" -- although Samatar dissents on its "impromptu" nature.
One of Hassan's well-known poems is Gaala Leged ("Defeat of the Infidels"):
- English translation
- To begin with, I had neglected poetry and had let it dry up
- I had sent it west in the beginning of the spring rains.
- But let me set forth what prevented me from sleeping last night
- God's Blessing are more numerous than those growing trees.
- I will remind you of the victory he gave us
- Listen to me my council, for you are most dear to me
- If the unwashed left handed one had died yesterday,
- if I had cut his throat- may he taste hell in the grave itself
- And the wild animals had eaten him, he and his ilk would deserve this
- I would salute the hyena that would gorge itself on his flesh,as it's doing me a favor, it is dearer to me than any other animal of the wild.
- If could I would reward it every day
- That deformed one wasted a lot of my wealth
- since he kept committing wrongs again and again
- I knew all along that the hyena would devour him
- It was their insincere refusal to acknowledge the truth that put them down and destroyed them
- And made me attack their best man with a Dagger
- If they had not become ungrateful, I would have not become enraged with them
- I would have not lost my generosity and respect for them
- I would have not have withheld anything from them, if they desired peace
- But when they acted disdainfully, death marched straight at them
Function in society
As the Somali Studies doyen Said Sheikh Samatar explains, a Somali poet is expected to play a role in supporting his clan, "to defend their rights in clan disputes, to defend their honor and prestige against the attacks of rival poets, to immortalize their fame and to act on the whole as a spokesman for them." In short, a traditional poem is occasional verse composed to a specific end, with argumentative or persuasive elements, and having an historical context.
The veteran British anthropologist and Horn of Africa specialist I.M. Lewis recounts how in the latter days of the rule of General Muhammad Siad Barre, the political opposition often relied on oral poetry, either recorded on cassette tapes or broadcast through the Somali language service of the BBC, to voice their dissent. When the British considered closing the Somali language service down for financial reasons, a delegation of prominent Somali leaders met with the British, and argued that "much as they appreciated the ambassador personally, it would be better to close the British embassy rather than terminate the BBC broadcast!"
Folk literature
Somalis also have a rich oral tradition when it comes to ancient folktales, stories which were passed on from generation to generation. Tales such as Dhegdheer the cannibal woman were told to little children as a way to instill discipline in them since the dreaded Dhegdheer was said to pay a visit at night to all those who had been naughty. "Coldiid the wise warrior" is another popular Somali folktale with a positive message regarding a waranle (warrior) who avoids all forms of violence. For this abstinence, he is looked down upon by his peers. However, in the end, he manages to show that violence is no way to earn either respect or love. Caraweelo is a story usually told to girls in order to make them aware of the pitfalls of exaggerated feminism. A Lion's tale is a popular children's book in the Somali diaspora wherein two Somali immigrant children struggle to adapt to life in a new environment. They find themselves surrounded by friends that strike them as greedy, only to magically return to Ancient Somalia where they live out all of the popular Somali folktales for themselves. A Lion's tale has also recently been developed into a school play.
Modern literature
Somali scholars have for centuries produced many notable examples of Islamic literature ranging from poetry to Hadith. With the adoption in 1972 of the modified Latin script developed by the Somali linguist Shire Jama Ahmed as the nation's standard orthography, numerous contemporary Somali authors have also released novels, some of which have gone on to receive worldwide acclaim. Of these modern writers, Nuruddin Farah is probably the most celebrated. Books such as From a Crooked Rib and Links are considered important literary achievements, works which have earned Farah, among other accolades, the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. His most famous novel, Maps (1986), the first part of his Blood in the Sun trilogy, is set during the Ogaden conflict of 1977, and employs the innovative technique of second-person narration for exploring questions of cultural identity in a post-independence world. Farah Mohamed Jama Awl is another prominent Somali writer who is perhaps best known for his Dervish era novel, Ignorance is the enemy of love. Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' is considered by many to be the greatest living Somali poet. Some have compared him to Shakespeare and his works have been translated internationally.
See also
- Diriye, p.75
- Burton, Footsteps, 91.
- Samatar, Oral poetry, p. 187
- Said S. Samatar, Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism: The Case of Sayyid Mahammad Abdille Hasan (Cambridge: University Press, 1982), p. 56
- I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), p. 251
- Samatar, Oral poetry, p. 64)
- Ahmed, Ali Jimale, Daybreak is Near - the Politics of Emancipation in Somalia: Literature, Clans, and the Nation State, Lawrenceville, 1996.
- Andrzejewski, Bogumil M., Somali Poetry, Oxford 1969.
- Burton, Richard, First Footsteps in Somalia , London 1854.
- Galaal, Muuse, I., Hikmad Soomaali, London 1956.
- Kabjits, Georgij L., Waxaa la yidhi, Köln 1996.
- Lawrence, Margaret, A Tree of Poverty: Somali Poetry and Prose, Nairobi 1954.
Dirie, Shamsa, "Somali Legends" | <urn:uuid:ad8558ae-2c2f-46d7-a93d-0bf1fb4581b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_literature | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955254 | 2,053 | 2.78125 | 3 |
|May 26, 2011 - Dr. Steve Ballard Continues Cystic Fibrosis Research|
|Dr. Steve Ballard, professor of physiology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, continues to search for ways to improve the care for patients living with cystic fibrosis. His efforts are funded through a research grant by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is the fourth consecutive year that he has received the award, with $108,000 being awarded each year.
Dr. Ballard belongs to a consortium of researchers – the Mucociliary Clearance Consortium – organized by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to study the mechanisms by which the lung clears mucus and inhaled pathogens from the airways of the lung.
“This research is intended to identify critical steps in this clearance process that are adversely affected in the airways of cystic fibrosis patients, who have an abnormally high susceptibility to chronic airway infections,” Dr. Ballard said.
Cystic fibrosis, an inherited chronic disease, is caused by a defective gene that causes the body to produce abnormally thick mucus. This mucus builds up in the airways of the lung and in the pancreas, the organ that helps to break down and absorb food. The collection of mucus can result in life-threatening lung infections and digestion problems.
Dr. Ballard said cystic fibrosis patients suffer from chronic lung infections that cause progressive loss of pulmonary function. “By better understanding the physiological basis for this obstructive process, it is hoped that more effective treatments for cystic fibrosis patients can be developed.”
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was established in 1955 to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease. | <urn:uuid:052b2ec1-336d-4d9a-8d6e-c6d797a4c5ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usahealthsystem.com/body.cfm?id=2585&action=detail&ref=28 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938147 | 367 | 2.359375 | 2 |
A “greasy-haired propeller head” responds to Gene Marks' BusinessWeek opinion piece.
How much do you suppose a CPA knows about web marketing? Right: probably not much. Subject matter experts are typically not qualified to make grand pronouncements beyond their realms of expertise.
It's a mystery then why BusinessWeek would give Gene Marks, CPA, its digital megaphone in order to berate the web design industry. We Don't Need No Stinkin' Web Sites is potentially harmful to many small businesses as our economy sinks deeper into recession.
Web Site vs. Web Page
Marks contends that most small businesses can get by with a simple web page and that a full-blown website is not necessary. This is true in some cases; but in my experience with Rabbit Mountain clients, many small business owners do not distinguish between a "web page" and a "website."
Marks cites an unattributed study, which I assume to be the Warrillow study finding that only 41% of small business owners have websites. Warrillow does not make the page vs. site distinction, either: "It’s easy to miss the fact that most business owners have not yet established a basic presence on the Internet."
Marks' assertion that "we don't need no stinkin' websites" is almost certainly being interpreted by BusinessWeek's readership to mean "I don't even need to think about the web" — a potentially catastrophic position in this economy.
"Oh, they just soooo don't get it"
Basic marketing research reveals the necessity of a web presence. Here are the stats:
- When shopping for a product or service, 73% of consumers use search engines to find local businesses from which to buy (WebVisible/Nielsen NetRatings, 2008)
- Search engines are the first source to which consumers turn to find local businesses (31%), ahead of even print yellow pages (30%). (TMP Directional Marketing/comScore, 2008)
- Over 77% of people said they were more likely to make a purchase from an unfamiliar business with a quality Web site than a poor Web site from a known business (WebVisible/Nielsen NetRatings, 2008)
- Nearly 40% of multi-channel shoppers prefer to use the web for browsing and researching their purchases. Of this group, 71% complete their purchase in the store. (ForeSee Results/FGI Research, 2005)
- On every key measure driving satisfaction, retailers' websites are better at producing satisfied customers than traditional stores are. (ForeSee Results/FGI Research, 2005)
The upshot of this research is that any business lacking a web presence is losing sales, period. Significant numbers of people are looking online for businesses from which to buy, and they cannot buy from you if they cannot find you.
Now that money is tight, consumers will be researching purchases more thoroughly. This is the worst possible time for a small business to forego its “stinkin' website.” The number of customers lost could very well be the difference between surviving... or not.
Who Cares What Alexa Thinks?
Marks asserts that a hypothetical hardware store owner has wasted his money on a website because its Alexa rank is very low.
Alexa and similar ranking sites such as Compete.com are irrelevant for businesses targeting local customers. The hardware store owner's Alexa ranking might be very low in comparison to every single other website that exists, yet still place #1 in search results that get displayed for his targeted keywords within his geographic region. If his site is #1, he is most assuredly pulling in sales he otherwise would not be.
Search Engine Optimization Vampires
If 73% of people are using search engines to find your business, and 68% of those users are clicking links only on the first search results page (iProspect, 2008), how many sales are you losing if your site does not show up?
"Wow. More money spent so people can find out your address and phone number," Marks writes. Hello! Small businesses can't make sales if customers don't know their addresses or have a means of contacting them.
Dollar for dollar, a website offers greater ROI than nearly any other marketing channel available. A decent small business website with basic search engine optimization will start at about $1000 depending on various factors, and gives a small business owner the ability to communicate directly with customers 24/7, everywhere, for as long as the site remains active.
How much print, radio or television can $1000 buy? And how can these reach the bulk of consumers now turning first to the web? And how often will these other channels reach prospective customers precisely at the time that they are searching for products/services that the small business owner is selling, as a website can?
A properly planned and executed website can be a very cost-effective cornerstone of ongoing marketing efforts, driving results at a fraction of the cost of non-web marketing channels.
Unfortunately, many small business owners are undoubtedly swayed by the BusinessWeek opinion piece. For those who are still debating, I urge you: please do your own homework, do what’s best for your business, and make sure you have a representative web presence. | <urn:uuid:59a6794b-9142-4b0b-8484-fd50a51281a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.startupnation.com/business-articles/9305/1/no-stinkin-website-no-stinkin-sales.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959367 | 1,089 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Will expecting parents avoid naming their babies Sandy from now on?
The name "Sandy" is set to become one of the most unpopular names for the next several years following the large-scale devastation of Hurricane Sandy and the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, experts have predicted.
America was recently left shattered after the two tragedies left hundreds of people dead in October and December this year.
The super storm killed at least 125 people when it ravaged much of the East Coast of the United States.
When it hit New York City on October 29, it left a path of destruction in its wake which included, crushed homes, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines, and power cuts in and around the city. Many victims of the natural disaster drowned in the massive storm surge.
- FOLLOW IBTIMES
Lone gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 children and seven adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut when he carried out America's worst-ever school massacre.
Naming experts have now claimed that parents will shy away from giving their children the unisex moniker as it is now associated with death and destruction.
Nameberry author Pamela Satran told TMZ.com: "The mass murder at Sandy Hook is so horrible that we think parents will avoid Sandy as a name for a long time."
According to YeahBaby.com there is plenty of evidence that hurricane names negatively affect the popularity of a baby name.
For example, in 2005 hurricane Katrina, the name was listed as the 281st most popular baby name for girls. The year following year it had dropped to 379th and by 2010 it plunged further to 865.
Although the Sandy, which means "defender of mankind" was at the height of its popularity in the 60s it has failed to make the list of top 1,000 baby names since 2005. In 2011, it made number 614 on the list and as a result of the tragedies it is likely that will decline even further.
This article is copyrighted by IBTimes.co.uk, the business news leader | <urn:uuid:10f5d2dd-7ea7-40dd-8b71-29a7b1263ae8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/415900/20121217/parents-avoid-name-sandy-hurricane-hook-massacre.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965238 | 419 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A glimpse of trash collecting in the future
Red Deer residents got their first glimpse on Saturday of a new waste collection system now being contemplated.
An update of the city’s waste management master plan, now underway, includes converting to a system of three bins, colour coded for organics, recyclables and garbage.
The standardized bins would allow automated collection so they could be picked up and emptied by equipment mounted on a truck rather than by hand, said waste management superintendent Janet Whitesell.
She and waste management consultant Christina Seidel from Sonnevera Consulting International set up a booth at Parkland Mall on Saturday to introduce the plan and gauge public response.
The system gives residents more opportunity to divert garbage from the landfill while reducing the physical strain and injuries for trash collectors, who commonly handle 2,000 bags or boxes of trash per day, said Whitesell.
Under the plan now being considered, use of the bins — green for compost, blue for recycling and black for garbage — would become mandatory. People would be asked to buy their bins on an installment program, with the city to maintain and replace them as necessary.
Each home would have a choice of three sizes of bins, depending on their needs.
Seidel said that, as of 2 p.m. on Saturday, she had not heard anyone argue against the proposal.
Of particular note, the new system will divert a large amount of organic waste from the landfill and into a composting system.
Organic waste that could be composted currently makes up about 37 per cent of the total amount going into the landfill, not including yard waste, said Seidel.
She said a similar rollout in Calgary did create a backlash, likely because it came at the same time as a change in billing structure.
At the same time that the City of Calgary introduced the automated pickup system and its mandatory bins, it carved trash collection out of its tax structure and moved to a utility billing system.
That caused some shock among city residents who had not been aware before then of what they were paying for waste management, said Seidel.
Red Deerians will see a modest increase in their utility bills to cover the payments for their bins as the new system is rolled out here, said Whitesell.
However, the overall costs of trash collection will be reduced over time with labour savings available for waste contractors and the reduction of organic waste going into the landfill, she said.
Surveys now being gathered on the city’s updated waste management plans will be included in a report that will be presented to city council on May 13, said Whitesell.
The report will include plans for a pilot project, which has yet to be laid out, she said. | <urn:uuid:7c12ec7e-53ce-4899-94f4-798cf741a581> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/A_glimpse_of_trash_collecting_in_the_future_191759201.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962902 | 555 | 2 | 2 |
Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904.
|Cession by the Osages.|
|Tracts of land reserved for said Indians.|
|Reservation by United States.|
|Annuity to Indians.|
|Cattle, farming utensils, etc., to be furnished them.|
|Reservations for half-breeds.|
|Land to be sold for certain purposes.|
|Debts due by said tribes to United States trading houses, released.|
|Claims of the Delawares against said tribes to be settled by United States.|
|Animosities of citizens of Missouri, etc., to be quieted.|
|Land reserved to be disposed of as the President may direct.|
|Ninth article of treaty of Fort Clark to be in full force.|
|Merchandise to be delivered to Indians.|
|Amount due A. P. Chouteau and others to be in part paid by the United States.|
|Treaty to be obligatory when ratified.|
Articles of a treaty made and concluded at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, between William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Commissioner on the part of the United States, and the undersigned, Chiefs, Head-Men, and Warriors, of the Great and Little Osage Tribes of Indians, duly authorized and empowered by their respective Tribes or Nations.
IN order more effectually to extend to said Tribes that protection of the Government so much desired by them, it is agreed as follows:
The Great and Little Osage Tribes or Nations do, hereby, cede and relinquish to the United States, all their right, title, interest, and claim, to lands lying within the State of Missouri and Territory of Arkansas, and to all lands lying West of the said State of Missouri and Territory of Arkansas, North and West of the Red River, South of the Kansas River, and East of a line to be drawn from the head sources of the Kansas, Southwardly through the Rock Saline, with such reservations, for such considerations, and upon such terms as are hereinafter specified, expressed, and provided for.
Within the limits of the country, above ceded and relinquished, there shall be reserved, to, and for, the Great and Little Osage Tribes or Nations, aforesaid, so long as they may choose to occupy the same, the following described tract of land: beginning at a point due East of White Hair's Village, and twenty-five miles West of the Western boundary line of the State of Missouri, fronting on a North and South line, so as to leave ten miles North, and forty miles South, of the point of said beginning, and extending West, with the width of fifty miles, to the Western boundary of the lands hereby ceded and relinquished by said Tribes or Nations; which said reservations shall be surveyed and marked, at the expense of the United States, and upon which, the Agent for said Tribes or Nations and all persons attached to said agency, as, also, such teachers and instructors, as the President may think proper to authorize and permit, shall reside, and shall occupy, and cultivate, without interruption or molestation, such lands as may be necessary for them. And the United States do, hereby, reserve to themselves, forever, the right of navigating, freely, all water courses and navigable streams, within or running through, the tract of country above reserved to said Tribes or Nations.
In consideration of the cession and relinquishment, aforesaid, the United States do, hereby, agree to pay to the said tribes or nations, yearly, and every year, for twenty years, from the date of these presents, the sum of seven thousand dollars, at their Village, or at St. Louis, as the said tribes or nations may desire, either in money, merchandise, provisions, or domestic animals, at their option. And whenever the said annuity, or any part thereof, shall be paid in merchandise, the same is to be delivered to them at the first cost of the goods at St. Louis, free of transportation.
The United States shall, immediately, upon the ratification of this convention, or as soon thereafter as may be, cause to be furnished to the tribes or nations, aforesaid, six hundred head of cattle, six hundred hogs, one thousand domestic fowls, ten yoke of oxen, and six carts, with such farming utensils as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs may think necessary, and shall employ such persons, to aid them in their agricultural pursuits, as to the President of the United States may seem expedient, and shall, also, provide, furnish, and support for them, one blacksmith, that their farming utensils, tools, and arms, may be seasonably repaired; and shall build, for each of the four principal chiefs, at their respective villages, a comfortable and commodious dwelling house.
From the above lands ceded and relinquished, the following reservations, for the use of the half-breeds, hereafter named, shall be made, to wit: One section, or six hundred and forty acres, for Augustus Clermont, to be located and laid off so as to include Joseph Rivar's residence, on the East side of the Neosho, a short distance above the Grand Saline, and not nearer than within one mile thereof; one section for each of the following half-breeds: James, Paul, Henry, Rosalie, Anthony, and Amelia, the daughter of She-me-hunga, and Amelia, the daughter of Mi-hun-ga, to be located two miles below the Grand Saline, and extending down the Neosho, on the East side thereof; and
one section for Noel Mongrain, the son of Wa-taw-nagres, and for each of his ten children, Baptiste, Noel, Francis, Joseph, Mongrain, Louis, Victoria, Sophia, Julia, and Juliet: and the like quantity for each of the following named grand-children, of the said Noel Mongrain, to wit: Charles, Francis, Louisson, and Wash, to commence on the Marias des Cygnes, where the Western boundary line of the State of Missouri crosses it at the fork of Mine river, and to extend up Mine river, for quantity: one section for Mary Williams, and one for Sarah Williams, to be located on the North side of the Marias des Cygnet, at the Double Creek, above Harmony; one section, for Francis T. Chardon; one section, for Francis C. Tayon; one section, for James G. Chouteau; one section, for Alexander Chouteau; one section, for Pelagie Antaya; one section, for Celeste Antaya; one section, for Joseph Antaya; one section, for Baptiste St. Mitchelle, jr.; one section, for Louis St. Mitchelle; one section, for Victoria St. Mitchelle; one section, for Julia St. Mitchelle; one section, for Francis St. Mitchelle; one section, for Joseph Perra; one section, for Susan Larine; one section, for Marguerite Reneau; one section, for Thomas L. Balio; and one section, for Terese, the daughter of Paul Louise; which said several tracts are to be located on the North side of the Marias des Cygnes, extending up the river, above the reservations in favor of Mary and Sarah Williams, in the order in which they are herein above named.
And also fifty-four other tracts, of a mile square each, to be laid off under the direction of the President of the United States, and sold, for the purpose of raising a fund to be applied to the support of schools, for the education of the Osage children, in such manner as the President may deem most advisable to the attainment of that end.
Forasmuch as there is a debt due, from sundry individuals of the Osage tribes or nations, to the United States' trading houses, of the Missouri and Osage rivers, amounting in the whole, to about the sum of four thousand one hundred and five dollars and eighty cents, which the United States do hereby agree to release; in consideration thereof, the said tribes or nations do, hereby, release and relinquish their claim upon the United States, for regular troops to be stationed, for their protection, in garrison, at Fort Clark, and, also, for furnishing of a blacksmith, at that place, and the delivery of merchandise, at Fire Prairie, as is provided for in the first, third, and fifth, articles of the Treaty, concluded on the tenth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eight.
It appearing that the Delaware nation have various claims against the Osages, which the latter have not had it in their power to adjust, and the United States being desirous to settle, finally and satisfactorily, all demands and differences between the Delawares and Osages, do hereby agree to pay to the Delawares, in full satisfaction of all their claims and demands against the Osages, the sum of one thousand dollars.
With a view to quiet the animosities, which at present exist between a portion of the citizens of Missouri and Arkansas and the Osage tribes, in consequence of the lawless depredations of the latter, the United States do, furthermore, agree to pay, to their own citizens, the full
value of such property, as they can legally prove to have been stolen or destroyed, by the Osages, since the year eighteen hundred and eight, and for which payment has not been made under former treaties: Provided, The sum to be paid by the United States does not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars.
It is furthermore agreed on, by and between the parties to these presents, that there shall be reserved two sections of land, to include the Harmony Missionary establishment, and their mill, on the Marias des Cygne; and one section, to include the Missionary establishment, above the Lick on the West side of Grand river, to be disposed of as the President of the United States shall direct, for the benefit of said Missions, and to establish them at the principal villages of the Great and Little Osage Nations, within the limits of the country reserved to them by this Treaty, and to be kept up at said villages, so long as said Missions shall be usefully employed in teaching, civilizing, and improving, the said Indians.
To preserve and perpetuate the friendship now happily subsisting between the United States and the said tribes or nations, it is hereby agreed, that the provisions contained in the ninth article of the Treaty concluded and signed at fort Clark, on the tenth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eight, between the United States and the said tribes or nations, shall, in every respect, be considered as in full force and applicable to the provisions of this Treaty, and that the United States shall take and receive, into their friendship and protection, the aforesaid tribes or nations, and shall guaranty to them, forever, the right to navigate, freely, all water-courses, or navigable streams, within the tract of country hereby ceded, upon such terms as the same are or may be navigated by the citizens of the United States.
It is further agreed, that there shall be delivered as soon as may be, after the execution of this treaty, at the Osage villages, merchandise to the amount of four thousand dollars, first cost, in St. Louis, and two thousand dollars in merchandise, before their departure from this place; and horses and equipage, to the value of twenty-six hundred dollars; which, together with the sum of one hundred dollars, to be paid to Paul Loise, and the like sum to Baptiste Mongrain, in money, shall be in addition to the provisions and stipulations hereby above contained, in full satisfaction of the cession, hereinbefore agreed on.
Whereas the Great and Little Osage tribes or nations are indebted to Augustus P. Chouteau, Paul Balio, and William S. Williams, to a large amount, for credits given to them, which they are unable to pay, and have particularly requested to have paid, or provided for, in the present negotiation; it is, therefore, agreed on, by and between the parties to these presents, that the United States shall pay to Augustus P. Chouteau, one thousand dollars; to Paul Balio, two hundred and fifty dollars, and to William S. Williams two hundred and fifty dollars, towards the liquidation of their respective debts due from the said tribes or nations.
These articles shall take effect, and become obligatory on the contracting parties, so soon as the same shall be ratified by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States.
In testimony whereof, the said William Clark, commissioner as aforesaid, and the deputation, chiefs, and head men, and warriors, of the Great and Little Osage nations of Indians, as aforesaid, have here-unto set their hands and seals, this second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, and of the independence of the United States the forty-ninth.
Clairmont, his x mark, [L. S.]
Pahusca, or White Hair, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chingawasa, or Handsome Bird, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wasabaistanga, or Big Bear, his x mark, [L. S.]
Waharsachais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Cochestawasca, or He that sees far, his x mark, [L. S.]
Vanonpachais, or He that is not afraid, his x mark, [L. S.]
Khigaischinga, or Little Chief, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wataniga, or Fool, his x mark, [L. S.]
Jean Lafond, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wachinsabais, or Black Spirit, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hurachais, the War Eagle, his x mark, [L. S.]
Huralu, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manchuhonga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chongaishonga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Tawangahais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ponkchinga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nicohibran, his x mark, [L. S.]
Panimonpachais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wasissegaistango, or Big Broom, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chonjaishengais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wabachequand, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wastiagais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ishtassca, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manchehamani, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hangaquechais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hanhanmani, his x mark, [L. S.]
Walutacest, his x mark, [L. S.]
Niha, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wanansonjais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Vagasidda, his x mark, [L. S.]
Tawangahe, his x mark, [L. S.]
Paigaismanie, or Big Soldier, his x mark, [L. S.]
Tagawahais, or Town Maker, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chongaismonnon, or Dog Thief, his x mark, [L. S.]
Honiaigo, or Gentleman, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hinchaacri, his x mark, [L. S.]
Wakandaippahobi, his x mark, [L. S.]
Saba, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nasa, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manchan, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manchanginda, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nichumani, or Walking Rain, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nihuchaisningaiswach in pichais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Waruhagais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Mangaischis, his x mark, [L. S.]
Mances'tpogran, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nonbaaheri, his x mark, [L. S.]
Howasabais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Nehuchaisningaischinga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Aquidachinga, his x mark, [L. S.]
Sanjaiskanha, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manpumahi, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manhinonba, his x mark, [L. S.]
Khigaiswachinpichais, or Missouri chief, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ostiehingais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hasachais, his x mark, [L. S.]
Hanhanpac'est, his x mark, [L. S.]
Manchaquida, his x mark, [L. S.]
Tiessinjais, his x mark, [L. S.]
R. Wash, secretary,
Edward Coles, governor of Illinois.
A. McNair, Osage agent,
W. B. Alexander, sub Indian agent,
P. L. Chouteau, sub agent,
L. T. Honorie, interpreter,
F. A. Chardon,
Antonie Leclaire, interpreter,
Paul Louise, his x mark, interpreter, (Osages,)
Noel Dashnay, interpreter,
Mauchaugachau, his x mark,
Thepogrenque, his x mark. | <urn:uuid:669fe696-b614-4690-980e-03c572a0ab74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/vol2/treaties/osa0217.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948993 | 3,923 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Carleton College will present its annual student-produced and performed production of Even Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues” on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. The public is invited and there is a suggested donation of $5 to $15 at the door. All proceeds will benefit The Hope Center in Faribault and the V-Day Spotlight Campaign (www.vday.org), a global movement to end violence against women and girls.
First performed in 1994, playwright and activist Eve Ensler’s play “The Vagina Monologues” “offered the world a piece of art like nothing it had seen before,” says student coordinator Lauren Chow ’14 (Weston, Mass.). The ground breaking production was based on dozens of interviews Ensler conducted with women, addressing women's sexuality and the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse. The result was a new conversation about and with women.
“The Vagina Monologues” ran Off-Broadway for five years in New York and then toured the United States. After every performance, Ensler found women waiting to share their own stories of survival, leading her to realize that “The Vagina Monologues” could be more than a moving work of art on violence; she divined that the performances could be a mechanism for moving people to act to end violence.
On Valentines Day, 1998, Ensler, with a group of women in New York City, established V-Day. Set up as a 501(c)(3) and originally staffed by volunteers, the organization's seed money came from a star-studded, sold out benefit performance at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, a show that raised $250,000 in a single evening. In support of V-Day, “The Vagina Monologues” are performed nationally each year to help support the mission of V-Day.
V-Day's mission is simple. It demands that violence against women and girls must end. To do this, once a year, in February, March, and April, Ensler allows groups around the world to produce a performance of the play, as well as other works created by V-Day, and use the proceeds for local individual projects and programs that work to end violence against women and girls, often shelters and rape crisis centers. What began as one event in New York City in 1998 today includes over 5,800 V-Day events each year.
More information about this year's Spotlight campaign can be found at www.vday.org or www.onebillionrising.org.
The Hope Center works against sexual and domestic violence through crisis intervention, counseling, and legal advocacy. Through innovative programming, they offer direct support to victims of violence in Rice County, collaborative support to other organizations that serve victims, and educational support to the entire community. For more information, visit hopecentermn.org.
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Gender & Sexuality Center. For more information, including disability accommodations, please call (507) 222-7179. Please note, this performance contains mature themes and stories about sexual violence. The Skinner Memorial Chapel is located on First Street, between College and Winona Streets, in Northfield. | <urn:uuid:69e6fe1e-0068-4de8-9386-23ec32c423ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://northfield.patch.com/groups/jessica-johnson-paxtons-blog/p/bp--carleton-students-present-eve-enslers-vagina-mono75907565dc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958472 | 688 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Professor Chung K Yeung from the Chinese University of Hong Kong teamed up with colleagues from the Prince of Wales Hospital to analyse the results of more than 16,500 questionnaires surveying children aged from five to 19.
He hopes that his findings will reassure parents of children with mild bed wetting problems, but stress the importance of seeking advice in severe cases, which can often be caused by underlying medical problems and continue into adulthood.
512 children - just over three per cent of those surveyed - reported night-time bedwetting and one in five of those also had daytime incontinence. 302 were boys and 210 were girls.
The researchers found that although bed wetting was less common as children got older, the percentage reporting severe problems increased with age.
Children and adolescents who wet the bed at night also showed a similar pattern when it came to daytime incontinence, with a higher percentage of problems reported in older age groups.
When the researchers looked in detail at the 512 children with bed wetting problems they found that:
"Bed wetting showed a general reduction as children got older" says Professor Yeung, who is also President of the International Children's Continence Society. "However, this reduction was much greater in those with mild symptoms who wet the bed three or less times a week, compared to those with severe problems who were wetting the bed every night.
"Just over 14 per cent of five year-olds who wet the bed did so seven nights a week. By the age of 19, severe bed wetting accounted for over 48 per cent of teenagers who were still wetting the bed."
21,000 questionnaires were distributed to 67 schools, with a greater emphasis on children over ten, and just under 79 per cent were returned by parents and children.
The average age of respondents was just under 14 and the largest number of responses were from teenagers aged 16-18. 24 per cent of the questionnaires concerned children under ten.
"Our findings challenge the myth that bedwetting will always get better and disappear as the child gets older" says Professor Yeung.
"In 2004 we published findings of a previous study in BJU International that showed that adults showed no significant decrease in bed wetting problems from the age of 10 to 40.
"These latest findings underline the importance of seeking help for children with severe bed wetting problems, especially if they continue into adolescence. If these individuals are left untreated, the evidence suggests that they will continue to experience ongoing problems when they become adults."
Notes to editors
Differences in characteristics of nocturnal enuresis between children and adolescents: a critical appraisal from a large epidemiological study. Yeung et al. Chinese University of Hong Kong and Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong. BJU International. Volume 97, pages 1069 to 1073 (May 2006).
Established in 1929, BJU International is published 12 times a year by Blackwell Publishing and edited by Professor John Fitzpatrick from University College Dublin, Ireland. It provides its international readership with invaluable practical information on all aspects of urology, including original and investigative articles and illustrated surgery. www.bjui.org
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system. | <urn:uuid:22597a3d-3a1c-4cba-b3c2-d3270846f447> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/bpl-oi5051706.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964939 | 688 | 2.390625 | 2 |
It took awhile but hopefully this issue is finally getting more traction.
During a Senate hearing on Democrat-sponsored legislation aimed to prohibit racial profiling by law enforcement officers, an attorney who served in the Department of Justice said the underlying problem of high rates of criminal behavior and out-of-wedlock births in the black community should be a part of the discussion.Currently 72% of all black births are out-of-wedlock. Comedian Bill Cosby has also commented on this.
Roger Clegg, who served in the DOJ’s civil rights division in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, was a witness at a Senate hearing on Tuesday and made the remarks in his opening statement.
"I think we have to recognize that it’s going to be tempting for the police and individuals to profile so long as a disproportionate amount of street crime is committed by African Americans and there will be a disproportionate amount of street crime is committed by African Americans for so long as more than seven out of ten African Americans are being born out of wedlock,” Clegg said.
“...that is the elephant in the room, and it has to be addressed,” Clegg said. | <urn:uuid:aa2b2116-0163-438c-a5a3-661b81e73f74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itdontmakesense.blogspot.com/2012/04/finally.html?showComment=1335011048183 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972663 | 247 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Crocodile is perhaps the closest we will come to realizing the natural perfection which occurs in animals. This giant reptile has been around since the dawn of the dinosaurs and in it’s present skin, has remained unchanged for over 4 million years. Indeed the Crocodile is one of the most remarkable species you are likely to hunt and often do not ever get this recognition.
Their nature bestows upon them terms such as vile sneaky killers, yet the ever present crocodile remains true to it’s history – it is a survivor! In the dry deserts of Tunisia where water flows for but 3 weeks a year, Crocodiles are found hibernating in caves, slowing down their metabolism to last the rest of the year without water and food. In times of plenty they can consume up to half their body weight and often prey upon each other. Contrary to common thought, most Crocodiles live mostly off fish, insects, turtles and birds. It is only the much larger and older Crocodiles that target animals and humans exclusively.
In Africa they are ever present and adapt to their surroundings and situation with ease making them indiscriminate opportunists that consider any living thing as food. They are adept at recognizing a pattern of behavior such as animal coming to the water to drink at a certain point during a specific time of the day. Hence the fact that they are notorious man-eaters as women and children along Africa’s rivers and lakes tend to come down to the water to bath and wash their clothes just before noon. Crocodiles can grow to enormous size, especially in girth, often resembling Hippo.
from the pages of WIKIPEDIA
Gustave is a large male Nile crocodile living in Burundi. In 2004 he was estimated to be 60 years old, 20 feet (6.1 m) in length and to weigh around 1 ton, making him the largest confirmed crocodile ever seen in Africa. He is a notorious man-eater, who is rumoured to have claimed as many as 300 humans from the banks of the Ruzizi River and the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Though that number is difficult to prove, Gustave has attained a near-mythical status and is greatly feared by people in the region. Scientists and Herpetologists who have studied Gustave claim that his uncommon size and weight impedes the crocodile’s ability to hunt the species’ usual, agile prey such as fish, antelope and zebra, forcing him to attack larger animals such as Hippopotamus, large wildebeest and, to some extent, humans. According to a popular local warning, he is said to hunt and leave his victims’ corpses uneaten.
As reptiles, Croc’s need to to refuel their body heat often and this is the most common way to seek a large trophy. Crocodile hunting is usually done by combing the banks of rivers and lakes in search for a large specimen – typically the bigger croc’s tend to sun themselves in the same spot each day. They also like to come out in the late afternoon before dusk and at these times tend to be at their most vulnerable – or deepest in sleep. They are incredibly sensitive to any movement, vibrations, smell, noise and often tend to have a sixth sense when being stalked.
Crocodiles are judged purely by their length, for record purposes that is, however a true trophy specimen will appear jurassic-like with a massive girth, a wide head with well gnarled features and a visibly thick neck. If you are hunting in an area that has many crocodiles and you see a good number each day, your trophy will immediately be obvious to you when you set eyes upon it – big crocodiles just have a certain aura about them.
Crocodile are numerous throughout the rivers, lakes and waters of Africa and the old adage, never swin in any water until you know, could not be more true. However there are certain area that simply have bigger river monsters than anywhere else. Of these, the most easily accessible and possible most reasonable from price point is that great river of Africa, the Zambezi and it’s triutaries. Flowing through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and ending in Mozambique, more big croc’s come from this river than anywhere else.
Currently Mozambique seems to be producing the biggest crocodiles on Lake Cahorra Bhassa and downstream from here – possibly due to limited hunting pressure. The Luangwa river also produces some great croc’s while the rest of the countries along the Zambezi also offer some big boys each year. | <urn:uuid:e5afe44e-faff-46bc-876c-94c5ffadb8cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huntlogic.com/all-species/crocodile/ | 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 | 0.972743 | 975 | 2.890625 | 3 |
tobacco seed bank
joseph c winter
jwinter at musca.unm.edu
Thu Jan 11 16:10:48 EST 1996
I have a living seed bank at the University of New Mexico, that
specializes in traditional Native American tobacco varieties -- i.e.,
types of tobacco raised and collected by Native Americans, for use in
rituals, offerings, ceremonies, and other traditional contexts.
If you are a Native American and you would like the seeds of your
tribe's tobacco so that you can grow it for religious and other
traditional uses, then contact me, and I will send some seeds (and leaves
if I have them) at no cost. All I ask is that you spread the word about
the seed bank.
Also, if you seeds of one or more traditional Native American tobacco
types, please send me some, so that I can add them to the bank. I will
then grow them, save the fresh seeds, and send them to other tribal
members, upon request. This service is being offered to any Native
American, as long as he or she agrees to use the resulting tobacco for
traditional purposes. Remember -- tobacco is a powerful plant that kills
when it is not used properly.
More information about the Plantbio | <urn:uuid:de424102-4cac-4596-a64d-223591ee159c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/plantbio/1996-January/009533.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927619 | 271 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Integrated Biological Science
UVM's BioCore Curriculum
Courses in BioCore (catalogue listings)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ related to BCOR enrollment and completion)
- Can I get a capacity override into a lecture?
- Can I get a capacity override into a lab?
- There are spaces in a lecture, so why is the section not open to me when I try to enroll?
- How do I find out what textbook we're using and when labs start?
- What happens if I miss a lab due to illness or something else unforeseen?
- Can I reschedule a lab if I know in advance I can't attend one week?
Last modified September 15 2011 12:20 PM | <urn:uuid:735a043f-75ed-4dfa-9d65-cda3237c5931> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uvm.edu/~intbiosc/?Page=BCOR.html&SM=bcormenu.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91894 | 152 | 1.554688 | 2 |
One of the first things we do with any study is to prepare our notebooks. I vacillate between using a scrapbook type book for lapbooking elements and these three prong folders. Lapbooking elements will be glued to cardstock and put in the folder prongs. You can fit a lot of work in here and of course we love to do work! I7 did a fantastic copy of the cover, don't you think?
We placed our story disk in Italy over the city of Rome. We also took the time to review where some other disks go. More on that soon!
We did some simple mapping of Italy this time around. The kids found Rome and added it to the map along with Pompeii. Hint: We are starting some volcano studies (having just finished caves). Notice how R9 uses capital letters for the country name Italy and just the first letter capitalized for cities. Those geography trail guides and mapping conventions are paying off.
We needed something to hold up our atlas during our mapping activities so that all the kids could see it at the same time. How can this book stay open by itself? If only...wait...it's right here...the STUDYPOD! There it is folks...it truly does come in handy.
We've been enjoying Angelo so far. On deck for next week:
- a study of birds- this is going to a fun one!
- a peek at Ancient Rome
- Learn some more Italian
- Latin- we began our Latin studies again this week and it just goes to show you...these kids love their Latin! We set it down for a long time and they haven't forgotten a thing. I'll be sure to share details about our program soon.
- family- my maternal grandfather was born in Italy so we are going to find out more about him and the town he lived in. Judging by the map he was not far from Venice (get ready Mom!)
- tonight we are enjoying an Italian meal...linguine and clam sauce with focaccia bread. R9 has been helping. Of course I have photos! | <urn:uuid:bd687582-f77a-44a1-b2cc-284bcb544338> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogshewrote.blogspot.com/2010/03/angelo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97075 | 433 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Here are the first ten:
1. Did Paul Revere Ride To Warn The British?) Sarah Palin made the dubious claim that Paul Revere actually warned the British instead of the American colonists. Her supporters even made attempts to edit the Paul Revere Wikipedia entry to make her claims sound correct. If she had taken the time to read Longfellow’s poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, she would not have made this error, as the great majority of school children know that Revere made his midnight ride to warn Americans, not the enemy.
2. Was The Shot Heard ‘Round The World Fired In New Hampshire?) Did you know that Lexington and Concord are located in New Hampshire? I didn’t. And the people in New Hampshire and Massachusetts didn’t either. When Michele Bachmann exclaimed to a New Hampshire crowd that “the shot heard ’round the world” occurred in their state, I’m sure that Massachusetts let out a roar of laughter. The sad but hilarious thing is that most American children know that the first shot of the American Revolution occurred in the state of Massachusetts.
3. Was John Quincy Adams A Founding Father?) Michele Bachmann must have failed American History in school. Because she has absolutely no knowledge of early American history. She once claimed that John Quincy Adams is a Founding Father of America when in fact, JQA was just a child when the Revolution began. He was born in 1767 and was just 14 when the war ended. And like Palin’s supporters, Bachmann fans proceeded to edit the Wikipedia page of John Quincy Adams in an attempt to make her claim viable.
4. Did The Founding Fathers End Slavery?) Michelle Bachmann isn’t through yet. During a speaking event she once claimed that the Founding Fathers were the ones who ended slavery. That’s a surprise to me since George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe all owned slaves. In fact, 12 of the first 16 American Presidents owned slaves. But Bachmann’s attempt to paint the Founding Fathers as saints is also a denial of past Republican Party history since early Republicans rose to prominence by fighting against slavery and the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, ended slavery altogether.
5. Was America Founded As A Christian State?) Ever heard of David Barton? He’s the guy that Glenn Beck goes to when he wants to distort history. David Barton claims that the Founding Fathers intended the United States to be a Christian state. Many Republicans have since picked up on this claim and have been shamelessly using it to court the Christian right-wing, and as a reason to end the separation of church and state that has been part of this country since its founding. His claim can be trounced with one question. If the Founding Fathers wanted America to be a Christian state why did they not say so in the Constitution? Instead, the Founders placed this in the document.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
~First Amendment, Bill of Rights of the Constitution
In other words, there is to be absolutely NO state religion.
6. Did Benjamin Franklin Reject Evolution?) We continue with the lack of knowledge of the Founding Fathers among the right-wing. Many Republicans have been making the claim that Benjamin Franklin rejected evolution. There are two problems with this claim. First, the theory of evolution wasn’t around until Charles Darwin published the theory in 1859, nearly 70 years AFTER Franklin died in 1790. And secondly, Franklin was a man of science above all else. It is unlikely that he would have rejected a scientific theory in favor of creationism. Franklin in fact, rejected the dogma and divinity of Christianity.
7. Was The American Revolution Fought To End Slavery?) Yet another claim that David Barton makes in an attempt to present the founding generation as perfect, is that the American Revolution was waged to end slavery. Once again, Barton makes a claim that is completely false. The American Revolution was fought to win American independence from Great Britain. And as I recall, the slaves were certainly not freed before, during, or after the war. They remained as slaves and would be slaves until the Civil War.
8. Was The Civil War Fought Over State’s Rights?) Republicans claim that it was all about state’s rights and not about slavery. The truth is, state’s rights only played a small role. The South feared that President Lincoln would end slavery, so they took preemptive measures by seceding from the Union and attacked Fort Sumter without any provocation. Slavery was, without a doubt, the main cause of the war between the states. Without slavery, white plantation owners would have to pick their own cotton, or, pay people to do it for them. They also believed Africans to be inferior and would not tolerate their freedom. We should all keep that in mind as the South/Republican home base continues to make claims that they aren’t racist.
9. Do States Have The Right To Secede?) After President Obama took office, many Republican legislators and governors, particularly in the South, began threatening secession. They say secession is a right but is it really? The answer is absolutely not. Not only did the Civil War settle this dispute, James Madison and Andrew Jackson (both Southerners) also rejected this claim. Nowhere in the Constitution will you find the right to secede. The Constitution was created by the people “in order to form a more perfect union” and by seceding, a state breaks up the nation, thus breaking a legally binding contract. And Andrew Jackson once threatened to march an army to South Carolina after that state threatened to secede. In fact, Jackson felt that secession was treason. The Supreme Court has also weighed in on this issue. In Texas v White, the court held that the Constitution did not permit states to secede from the United States, and that the ordinances of secession, and all the acts of the legislatures within seceding states intended to give effect to such ordinances, were “absolutely null”.
10. Was D-Day All About Health Care?) Republicans have been very vocal about the Affordable Care Act and Rick Santorum is no exception. He has made the claim that Americans stormed the beaches at Normandy on D-Day because they opposed Obamacare. He said, “Almost 60,000 average Americans had the courage to go out and charge those beaches on Normandy, to drop out of airplanes who knows where, and take on the battle for freedom … Those Americans risked everything so they could make [their own] decision on their health care plan.”
This is absurd. The men that stormed the Omaha and Utah beaches were fighting to liberate Europe from Nazi rule. They weren’t thinking about health care 67 years into the future. They were thinking of their families and whether they’d ever see them again. Santorum also fails to realize that military personnel and their dependents have government-run health care. And the soldiers aren’t complaining about it either. And as a matter of fact, many World War II veterans and their families also have Medicare which is also run by the federal government. That blows Santorum’s claim out of the water.
- Abraham Lincoln’s dilemma on display at New Brunswick exhibit (nj.com)
- Did northern aggression cause the Civil War? (salon.com)
- More On Dishonest Abe’s Liberty-Destroying Legacy (personalliberty.com)
- Conversation Starters for That John Quincy Adams Birthday Bash You’re Probably Throwing (mentalfloss.com)
- History Buffs Name David Barton’s Latest History Book As The Worst In History (joemygod.blogspot.com)
- The War of Northern Aggression (jacobinmag.com)
- Cantor defends Bachmann (politico.com)
- David Barton is a Liar and a Rat Fink, and NPR Thinks So Too (crooksandliars.com)
- Did Northern aggression cause the Civil War? (thesunnews.typepad.com) | <urn:uuid:b25f13f0-9ab3-40b4-bf1a-3ad07aa59255> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kstreet607.com/tag/john-quincy-adams/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957349 | 1,694 | 2.375 | 2 |
By Barry Martin
COPA Flight 57 in Charlottetown held their COPA for Kids day on June 9. With one twin, seven singles and two helicopters, we were able to fly around 130 kids before the ceiling came down on us.
The day started around 9:30 a.m. with a pilot briefing. The route was outlined and loading and spacing procedures were gone over. The gates opened at 10 a.m. with registration.
The kids then were sent to a pre-flight safety briefing where they were told of the various aspects of flight and safety around aircraft. From there, they went to the flight line to wait their turn for a ride.
They were then ushered to either an aircraft or helicopter, whichever was next in line to be loaded. We had given the registered kids staggered times to show up so they wouldn’t have to stand in line too long.
The helicopters loaded on one ramp and the fixed wings on another. The aircraft were under the control of a ground controller and Marshaller.
Once off the active taxiway, the ground controller positioned them in a holding area waiting for the Marshaller to take control and direct the aircraft to a loading area. The aircraft didn’t move, shut down or start up without the direction of the Marshaller.
Once an aircraft was in position and the engine shut down, COPA Flight 57 volunteers ushered the kids to and from the aircraft.
The system seemed to work very well as we started flying around 10:30 a.m. and shut down around 1 p.m. after the rain started and the ceiling dropped, giving around 130 kids a coast to coast view of the island.
We also had great support from the community. The Charlottetown Police Department had their antique Dodge police car on display, the Charlottetown Fire Department with their antique fire truck, the Militia and Air Cadets had displays along with the Coast Guard, Island EMS and Great Hobbies.
Tim Horton’s and Wendy’s provided refreshments. The Charlottetown Airport Authority provided fencing to separate the static area from the flight line area. A couple of radio stations had their roaming reporters on site to inform people of the aviation displays.
The turnout was so great that we had to turn away kids. We even wore out a fax machine from all the registrations that were faxed in. And most were sent by E-mail.
Even though the day was rainshortened, a lot of kids went home with wide smiles on their faces. And the COPA volunteers also had a lot of fun, so much so that no one thought to take any pictures. | <urn:uuid:0260469f-077a-45dc-95dc-c2648a96dae2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.copanational.org/CFNAug12-57.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983498 | 546 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Tags: Measure M2
Relief is on the way for commuters traveling on the Orange Freeway (SR-57) as the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) start work on a new lane that will help improve traffic on one of ...
The results are in, and signal synchronization projects along three major corridors in California have decreased travel times for commuters by 14 percent, decreased the number of stops by 31 percent, and increased travel speeds by 17 percent. Completed in June, ...
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- Bobcat breaks ground on $20 million Bismarck expansion112 Views | <urn:uuid:395945a0-cd81-4b77-9902-fbc443873ad0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aggman.com/tag/measure-m2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906179 | 190 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Seems that no matter where I go, someone has a question about organizing. Here are a few I have been asked recently.
Q: Help! My refrigerator is always a mess.
A: Designate areas for certain purposes. The top shelf holds dairy products and juice. The second shelf is for items that need to be used quickly, such as leftovers. Leftovers can create a real congestion problem, so be sure to keep these items together. Store them in clear plastic containers.
To save space, use square or rectangular containers. Round containers waste space. Be sure to put items in their pre-assigned drawers or on the door. When items have a customary spot, family members will be more likely to put them back in that same spot.
Eggs should be stored in their original carton, not in the container on the door. They stay fresh longer in the carton and are exposed to less contamination.
Q: What are your top three time management tips?
A: Use a calendar for appointments and other time commitments.
Have a daily routine, and stick with it.
Overestimate the amount of time needed for an activity.
Q: Why do you think so many people resist getting organized?
A: Probably because doing so requires an initial investment of time and energy. Many people feel they can't afford to spend the time to get organized -- even if it means they'll eventually have less stress and more time to do the things they want to do instead of things they have to do.
Q: What are a few simple things I can do to maintain order?
A: Put things back where they belong when you are finished using them. If everything is returned to its proper place once a day, things will stay organized.
Never leave a room before closing closets, cabinets and drawers.
Pick it up, don't pass by it. When moving from one room to another, train yourself to pick up and move the items that belong where you're going.
Q: What are the guidelines for keeping perfumes, colognes and aftershaves?
A: According to the Fine Fragrance Group, fragrances have a shelf life of about one year after being opened. After a year, they begin to sour as the formula oxidizes. Unopened, they will last two years.
Q: All the extra cords we have around the house are driving me crazy. I have no idea to what appliance or piece of technology most of them belong. Got any ideas?
A: Cover cardboard toilet tissue rolls with colored contact paper. Label each roll with an indelible pen. Twist the cord and slip it in the appropriate roll. Store the rolls in a clear plastic container.
Maryanne Macdonald is the founder of Organize by Design and a consultant and instructor on organization and time management. Get more organizing tips on her website: organizebydesign.biz. | <urn:uuid:26912060-a95b-4339-a0f1-ad357a253a18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/dec/24/you-asked-here-are-answers-on-getting-organized/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957888 | 602 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Improvised explosive devices — the hand-cobbled roadside bombs that have taken a terrible toll on troops in Iraq and Afghanistan — are a lot like malaria, the Army’s chief scientist said Friday.
You can treat malaria, you can eradicate the conditions in which it occurs, but it’s been around a long time and probably it always will be, Army S&T boss Scott Fish told journalists at the Military Reporters and Editors conference outside Washington. That’s why the Army won’t stop searching for high-tech strategies to prevent, find and disable their use even as the wars wind down, he said.
Fish said a key goal is to try to force insurgents to make larger IEDs, because even though they pack a bigger punch, they’re harder to hide and easier for allied troops to spot and avoid. That means American commanders need to make the smaller IEDs as least effective as possible, so insurgents have no choice but to go for bigger bombs. To do that, the Army wants its vehicles to take damage better, troops’ helmets and armor to protect them better, and understand how to help soldiers recover quicker.
For example, Fish said the Army is studying the way reptiles and abalone develop their natural armor to try to make stronger materials for soldier gear. The future vehicles it wants to buy, including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Ground Combat Vehicle, are being built from the wheels up with the IED threat in mind. And, Fish said, the Army wants to get to the point where it monitors individual soldiers to see how they respond to explosions.
The Army and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are collaborating on sensors that soldiers would wear on their uniforms to measure the blasts they absorb if they are caught in an IED, Fish said. That information might follow a soldier for the rest of his life, giving doctors detailed information that could help them prescribe treatment for traumatic brain injuries even years later.
Fish hinted there’s a lot more in the works to help tomorrow’s troops fight IEDs — but said he didn’t want to give many more details for fear of tipping his hand to the bad guys.
– Phil Ewing | <urn:uuid:6b369500-afe8-4b34-8d41-2f5952196f67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://defensetech.org/2011/11/18/army-wont-quit-counter-ied-research/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957997 | 456 | 2 | 2 |
Throughout the course of 60 years in video game history, we have seen its share of trailblazers and the mason’s that have built the very structure of the video games industry. They are the pioneers that erected the very pillars of the gaming industry which gave birth to our culture; Fusajiro & Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nolan Bushnell, Ralph Baer, Raymond Moloney and more are the forefathers of the gaming industry.
Considered by millions around the world as Nintendo's #1 supporter, Isaiah TriForce Johnson recently posted news of his attempt to stand the line and become the first person to commercially purchase the Nintendo Wii U at the Nintendo World Store in New York City on November 18th, 2012. Only a few days after Nintendo World hosted a private event showcasing the Nintendo Wii U "Nintendo TVii" application, TriForce post on his Twitter the following:
THE FIRST RENAISSANCE
In 1981 Walter Day founded Twin Galaxies which was later recognized as the foundation to competitive gaming and the cultural landscape for gaming world wide. Walter worked towards establishing video game playing as a professional sport and inspired the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame in Ottumwa, Iowa. His work made him a luminary and is considered by many as the “Patron Saint of the Video Game Age.”
After the Nintendo Wii U Press conference concluded, TriForce along with the Founder and President of Street Pass NYC headed down to Nintendo World found only in New York City to be one of first few to stand the line to celebrate and exclusive performance of the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses inside the Nintendo World store the following day. The event started at 6:00pm and ended at 9:00pm on September 14th, 2012.
On September 13, 2012 Nintendo announced that they will hold a Press Conference in New York City, revealing details about the Nintendo Wii U's price, launch date and other gaming details. Nintendo invited media such as CNN, G4TV, Destructoid and more to cover the press event and check out the 50 titles in which they will have after the launch of the system; also invited to the press conference were special guest Gaming Ambassadors of Nintendo, Isaiah TriForce Johnson, Jordan White and Sam "Nintendo Fan Girl" O'Neil.
On September 9th, 2012 the official list of registered champions who competed under the Empire Arcadia brand both past and present has been submitted to Guinness World Record for the Gamers Edition 2013 book. We would like to once again congratulate all members who participated in Empire Arcadia through the years. Below is a list of the official names that were submitted. Name not found on this list were due to insufficient informtaion for tournament wins to be accepted by Guinness World Record Standards.
On September 1st, 1982 what was thought to be an impossible feat was made possible by one man. Activision a 3rd party software developer, designed and produced a video game for the Atari 2600 in 1980 called “Dragster”. The purpose of the game was to shuttle your dragster down a quarter mile track in the fastest possible time. Thousands of gamers purchased the game to see who would be the fastest in the world. | <urn:uuid:f4a1624e-7d37-4182-ac34-1946c519f12e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.empirearcadia.com/Archives | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965808 | 659 | 1.515625 | 2 |
1. To provide debt reduction and solvency relief for Greece – but it is important to note that a potential debt restructuring would not necessarily remove the need for fiscal austerity and structural reform, as both these are necessary to achieve a primary surplus and recover competitiveness – nevertheless, it can reduce the execution risks.
2. Win political support in creditor European Union (EU) countries – particularly in Germany, Netherlands and Finland – and with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for continued financial support for Greece.
3. Identify the unintended consequences of restructuring, namely potential contagion and the accompanying policy measures that could counter a disorderly process.
1. Greek BanksThe Greek banking system would be the most affected by any restructuring because of its large holding of Greek government debt. According to the Bank of Greece, Greek banks held €47 billion in Greek government securities in May 2011 compared to only €28 billion of capital and reserves (excluding bad loan provisions).
The first problem for Greek banks is the ECB’s insistence that Greek bonds would be ineligible as collateral in a repo transaction if downgraded to a “selective default.” This is a big deal as Greek banks currently borrow €98 billion, mainly backed by Greek government bonds or government-guaranteed paper. A withdrawal of ECB liquidity would therefore trigger a bank run in Greece and raise the odds of something similar occurring in Ireland and Portugal. But the policy response here is relatively straightforward. If the ECB refuses to waive its collateral standards for regular open market operations, it could provide liquidity for other non-government collateral, such as loans, through the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) program. This is currently being used in Ireland where Irish banks are receiving Eurosystem funding via the Irish Central Bank for assets that are not eligible for regular ECB open market operations.
The second issue is a recapitalization of the Greek banking system. Regulatory forbearance means that Greek banks are not marking Greek government bonds to market and hence retain the fiction of healthy regulatory capital. This could continue after a restructuring but it would prevent Greek banks from returning to the market and means that the Greek international trade would be constrained by the increasingly worthless letters of credit from Greek banks.
It also means that the steady depositor outflows would continue, draining the system’s lending capacity and creating the risk of a sudden loss of confidence and a bank run. The ideal policy response would be a recapitalization of the Greek banking system alongside a sovereign debt restructuring. Ideally, the capital will be invested directly in the banks by an EU entity, such as the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), as lending money to the government to invest in banks will increase sovereign solvency pressures.
2. European Banks and the Payments and Settlement SystemThe direct exposure of the European banking system to Greece appears manageable and the detailed data in the bank stress tests should allow investors to precisely identify the potential direct losses and related capital raise.
European banks have reduced their exposure to the Greek government and banks over the last year (see Figure 3). Aside from Germany, the total exposure of the main European banking systems to Greece, Ireland and Portugal is now well below 10% of capital. However, contagion is often more about risk aversion in the face of what is not known rather than what is known. As such, we would expect investors to hoard liquidity both in euros and in the USD funding markets. Some banks may need to raise more capital to reassure investors.
The policy response to a liquidity crisis is now well established following the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008. It typically involves unlimited liquidity, loosening of central bank collateral standards and a reutilization of the Fed-USD swap lines.
Some banks may be able to raise equity from private markets but for banks that are forced to turn to their governments for their funding needs, the ideal vehicle would be a Europe-wide bank recapitalization fund. With a small change in its terms and conditions this function could be performed by the EFSF. A Europe-wide bank recapitalization fund would avoid a repeat of the Irish problem, where the cost of recapitalizing the banks raised doubts about the sovereign’s solvency, ultimately raising the cost of credit and resulting in the loss of market access for the whole economy.
Finally, to reduce the risk of bank runs in case of future sovereign crises, a Europe-wide deposit insurance scheme backed by a single European regulator and guaranteed by all eurozone governments should be introduced. Without such a deposit insurance scheme the cost of credit to eurozone households and corporations will vary from country to country, thereby placing at odds with the single monetary policy set by the ECB. This would also help reduce the counterparty credit risk in the payments and settlement system.
3. European Sovereigns
Contagion to other European markets will be the most politically challenging channel to contain. Repeating the policy prescription for Greece, Ireland and Portugal (i.e., combining fiscal austerity with liquidity support) will not restore confidence and overlooks the problem with increasing the size of the EFSF to fund Italy. Instead, European leaders need to take steps toward greater fiscal integration. The obvious example is the proposal for a common eurozone bond, but less radical measures include making the EFSF a joint and several liability system where the liability is shared between member states, increasing its size substantially and allowing it to buy bonds without the sovereign necessarily being on an IMF program (i.e., a flexible credit line). Alternatively, governments could guarantee other sovereigns’ debt issuance in a way similar to the post-Lehman government guaranteed bank issuance schemes. The objective has to be to ensure that higher rates and volatility associated with a liquidity crisis do not create self-fulfilling prophecies and trigger solvency crises.
Clearly there has to be political compromise. In return for fiscal union governments will also have to accept limits on their own fiscal sovereignty. Such pooling of sovereignty will take time to legislate and in the interim the ECB is the only institution with the size and credibility to contain the crisis by executing a large-scale asset purchase program in a similar fashion to the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.
No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, 840 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660, 800-387-4626. ©2013, PIMCO.
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August 29, 2011
USU students help hearing impaired kids in Vietnam
They also took with them thousands of dollars worth of hearing aids and other equipment to help treat Vietnamese children who have hearing loss.
The USU group was invited on the trip by Seattle-based Global Foundation for Children With Hearing Loss. Thirteen other audiology and deaf education professionals from around the country joined them to share their knowledge and latest techniques.
“They don’t have access to appropriate technology,” said Lauri Nelson, an associate professor in Utah State’s department of communicative disorders and deaf education. “There are no graduate training programs in Vietnam, so the teachers there don’t get specific training in how to work with kids with hearing loss.”
Ninety instructors from several dozen schools throughout Vietnam gathered in Ho Chi Minh City from June 23 to July 29 to learn the latest techniques from the U.S. hearing specialists.
Each day, the professionals worked with the Vietnamese instructors, lecturing and teaching the latest techniques in audiology training and deaf education.
“They were so gracious and so thankful that we could come,” said Jeanette Smoot, a USU speech language pathology graduate. “They just told us over and over again how excited they were.”
The group also met with several dozen families with hearing-impaired children. The children were fitted with new hearing aids. More…Posted by: psilberman | <urn:uuid:b79c8a7f-494a-4944-b535-b77355733bb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.higheredutah.org/usu-students-help-hearing-impaired-kids-in-vietnam/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967422 | 304 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Civil Rights Groups Sue Over Race Bias in Michigan Merit Scholarship Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DETROIT, MI -- By relying on an inappropriate test to award state college scholarships, Michigan is denying deserving students whose race, ethnicity, and educational disadvantages are factors in lower test scores, a coalition of civil rights organizations charged today in a federal lawsuit.
The coalition, which includes the American Civil Liberties of Michigan, represents five graduating seniors and the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP. They are calling for the State of Michigan to revise its selection criteria, allowing for a fairer method that considers grade point average and other measures of achievement.
"The State of Michigan has a chance here to fix or compensate for some of the problems in our educational system," said Kary L. Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan. "Instead, officials are making it worse by using a selection criteria that everyone knows will help least those who need it the most."
Today's lawsuit is only the second such action in the nation challenging the use of standardized tests as the sole criterion for making scholarship awards, Moss noted.
Moss said the coalition is seeking an injunction requiring the state to immediately discontinue use of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) High School Test as the sole criterion for awarding Michigan Merit Award Scholarships. Others in the coalition are the state NAACP, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.
The lawsuit charges that the use of MEAP test scores discriminates against high school students on the basis of race, ethnicity, and educational disadvantage. The MEAP test has never been validated as a means of assessing individual student achievement but rather was designed to measure school performance.
"By relying on the MEAP test to award scholarships, the state of Michigan is misusing the test," Moss said. "All students should be judged fairly, by looking at the range of their accomplishments as individuals, in the same way that college and universities evaluate applicants."
While 34 percent of eligible white students qualified for scholarships in 1999, only 7 percent of African American students, 20 percent of Hispanic students, and 19 percent of Native American students taking all four MEAP tests qualified.
That is, 1 in 3 white test takers received a scholarship, whereas only 1 in 14 African American test takers, 1 in 5 Hispanic test takers, and 1 in 5 Native American test takers received a scholarship. Disparities also occurred among the state's school districts, with students of wealthy suburban school districts consistently reporting higher test scores than those in large urban or smaller rural districts.
The first lawsuit to bring such charges, Sharif v. New York State, challenged New York's practice of using the Scholastic Achievement Test scores to grant the prestigious Regents and Empire awards. A federal court agreed that the practice violated Title IX of the 1964 Civil Rights Act because it had a discriminatory effect on girls and directed the state to devise a non- discriminatory method of selection.
In today's case, White v. Engler, the groups are charging that the selection process violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits recipients of federal funding from engaging in race discrimination, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The groups are asking a federal district court to order the State to discontinue use of the MEAP test to award merit scholarships, adopt new procedures for selection, and reevaluate the scholarship eligibility of those students denied scholarships this year.
They emphasized that they are not asking for those students who have been announced as winners to lose those scholarships.
Anita White, who lives in Ypsilanti, attends Belleville High School, and was denied a merit scholarship, said that she wants all kids who deserve it to get scholarships to attend college.
"A scholarship would have made a big difference in my choice of a college," said Ms. White. She has a grade point average of 3.4, ranked 53 out of a class of 345, is a member of the National Honor Society, and will be attending Central Michigan University in the fall.
According to Donald E. Heller, Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Michigan, and an expert witness in the case, "The evidence is clear that the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship program will do little to further the legislation's stated goal of increasing access to higher education in Michigan."
"Based on what we know from existing research," he added, "a great number of these awards are likely to go to students who will attend college anyway. Many of these students come from relatively wealthy school districts that already send a large percentage of their high school graduates on to college."
The Michigan Merit Award Scholarship Program was created by the Legislature in 1999 and is funded by the state's share of revenues from the multi-state settlement agreement with tobacco manufacturers. Scholarship awards of $2,500 are available to graduating seniors attending in-state colleges, and $1,000 to students attending out-of-state colleges. Winners are selected on the basis of obtaining minimum scores on the MEAP test. The first Michigan Merit Award Scholarships were based on the MEAP High School Tests administered in Spring 1999; scholarship awards were announced last month for students who will begin their post-secondary education in the Fall of 2000.
The students in the case are represented by Kary Moss, Executive Director, and Michael Steinberg, Legal Director, of the ACLU of Michigan; Leonard Mungo, of the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP; Pat Mendoza and Marta Delgado of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund; Michael Pitt, Peggy Goldberg Pitt, and Judy Martin, as Cooperating Attorneys for the ACLU of Michigan, and Adele P. Kimmel of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, P.C.
Copies of the complaint will be available on the ACLU of Michigan Web site at www.aclumich.org. | <urn:uuid:6c722491-19dd-403d-9e89-5397bca84165> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/civil-rights-groups-sue-over-race-bias-michigan-merit-scholarship-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963398 | 1,208 | 2.03125 | 2 |
This article originally appeared in the spring 2001 issue of IMPACT!, the quarterly newsletter of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Teachers and police officers have important jobs to do. That's why they can't afford to spend their time fighting their unions over how their dues are spent. But two recent victories obtained with free legal help from Mackinac Center for Public Policy labor attorneys should hearten all employees whose rights are being denied by workplace unions.
West Branch high school teacher Frank Dame was tired of involuntarily surrendering part of every paycheck to the political and social causes his union—the Michigan Education Association (MEA)—championed, but which he personally opposed.
In April 1998, Dame sent a resignation letter to his local union president and objected to paying any fee not related to the union's duties as employee representative. Under U.S. Supreme Court decisions, public-sector unions can charge nonmembers only for the costs of representing them in collective bargaining situations.
The MEA refused to accept Dame's resignation because it did not fall within the one-month period of each year when the MEA allowed members to resign. Dame would have to continue underwriting all union activities—including political lobbying—until August, when the union accepted resignations.
Frustrated, Dame turned to the Mackinac Center labor team, headed by former National Labor Relations board member and Director of Labor Policy Robert Hunter, for volunteer legal help. Dame then successfully resigned in August and filed unfair labor practice charges against the MEA for refusing his April resignation.
In December 2000, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC), which adjudicates public-sector workplace disputes, found that the MEA unlawfully rejected Dame's resignation and ordered the union to reimburse him, with interest, for any dues overcharges occurring after April 1998. The ruling also effectively overturned the MEA's "one-month" resignation policy.
"The principles achieved by my case can help other teachers throughout Michigan experience a measure of freedom," says Dame. "This would not have been possible but for the effective legal assistance provided by the Mackinac Center."
DeWitt Township police officer Scott Ciupak faced similar problems with his union, the Police Officers Labor Council, when he resigned in March 2000. Ciupak knew his rights from reading Mackinac Center studies and commentaries, so when the union threatened to have him fired if he didn't continue paying full dues, he contacted the Center for assistance.
Hunter volunteered to help Ciupak file a complaint against the union with MERC, which scheduled a hearing for late March 2001. Before the hearing, the union relented and agreed to an independent review of its financial records to determine how much spending was political or otherwise not chargeable to Ciupak as a nonmember.
"I am so grateful for the Mackinac Center and its guidance and support," Ciupak told Hunter. "Without your watchdog vigilance, the union would have been able to trample all over my rights."
"The message to union officials is clear," says Hunter. "The law is on the side of those workers who want to make their own choices about how their dues are spent." | <urn:uuid:aa20b972-fb25-4389-bf04-40fad195b4d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=3403 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970429 | 651 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Researchers in Denmark have found a naturally occurring substance called green rust can help protect groundwater against radioactive contamination from stored reactor waste. Bo Christiansen’s findings are published in the March issue of the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (paid subscription required).
Christiansen (pictured left) is a geochemist at the University of Copenhagen who has made green rust his specialty. Green rust was long considered a nuisance, at best, that formed on reinforced concrete. In recent years however, a group of chemists, physicists, and geologists including Christiansen in the university’s Nano-Geoscience Research Group have been studying the substance’s beneficial properties.
One of green rust’s beneficial properties is its ability to control pollutants, in some cases dangerous substances. Green rust is a type of clay known as an anionic clay. Because it consists of iron which has not entirely rusted, green rust has an electron deficit. This makes it react very readily with other pollutants.
One drawback of green rust is its high level of reactivity. While it’s easy to make — green rust will form if iron sulphate and caustic soda are present in water — it won’t last long. As soon as oxygen is added to the mix, green rust becomes ordinary red rust.
Spent reactor fuel needs millions of years to stabilize. The element neptunium, a waste product from uranium reactors, could pose a serious health risk should it ever find its way into groundwater. Typically, reactor waste with neptunium is disposed in iron-lined copper canisters, which is suitable as long as the canisters are surrounded by water.
However, any draw-down or disruption of the water table could remove or reduce the surrounding water. In these circumstances, should the copper dry, the reactor waste will begin to decay. And as the copper disappears, it would take a short time for the iron to begin rusting away, leaving the reactor waste exposed to the groundwater.
Christiansen’s team conducted experiments demonstrating green rust’s ability to immobilize neptunium at the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management’s pilot research facility at Okskarshamn on Sweden’s east coast and at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. “Our study shows that even the safest encapsulation of radioactive waste could be made safer if radioactive waste canisters are buried in a place where green rust will form,” explains Christiansen.
To ensure the security of radioactive waste, green rust could be established to surround the canisters. Christiansen points out that green rust is not a quick fix for cleaning up radioactive pollutants, but rather part of the defenses built into the waste sites protect the groundwater.
* * * | <urn:uuid:291ea4b5-4ab8-4d7d-af7f-4c1be5655141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sciencebusiness.technewslit.com/?p=3628 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945585 | 579 | 3.859375 | 4 |
Data peeking is always wrong (except when you do it right)
Imagine that you have entered a charity drawing to win a free iPad. The charity organizer draws a ticket, and it’s your number. Hooray! But wait, someone else is cheering too. After a little investigation it turns out that due to a printing error, two different tickets had the same winning number. You don’t want to be a jerk and make the charity buy another iPad, and you can’t saw it in half. So you have to decide who gets the iPad.
Suppose that someone proposes to flip a coin to decide who gets the iPad. Sounds pretty fair, right?
But suppose that the other guy with a winning ticket — let’s call him Pete — instead proposes the following procedure. First the organizer will flip a coin. If Pete wins that flip, he gets the iPad. But if you win the flip, then the organizer will toss the coin 2 more times. If Pete wins best out of 3, he gets the iPad. If you win best out of 3, then the organizer will flip yet another 2 times. If Pete wins the best out of those (now) 5 flips, he gets the iPad. If not, keep going… Eventually, if Pete gets tired and gives up before he wins the iPad, you can have it.
Doesn’t sound so fair, does it?
The procedure I just described is not all that different from the research practice of data peeking. Data peeking goes something like this: you run some subjects, then do an analysis. If it comes out significant, you stop. If not, you run some more subjects and try again. What Peeky Pete’s iPad Procedure and data-peeking have in common is that you are starting with a process that includes randomness (coin flips, or the random error in subjects’ behavior) but then using a biased rule to stop the random process when it favors somebody’s outcome. Which means that the “randomness” is no longer random at all.
Statisticians have been studying the consequences of data-peeking for a long time (e.g., Armitage et al., 1969). But the practice has received new attention recently in psychology, in large part because of the Simmons et al. false-positive psychology paper that came out last year. Given this attention, it is fair to wonder (1) how common is data-peeking, and (2) how bad is it?
How common is data-peeking?
Anecdotally, lot of people seem to think data peeking is common. Tal Yarkoni described data peeking as “a time-honored tradition in the social sciences.” Dave Nussbaum wrote that “Most people don’t realize that looking at the data before collecting all of it is much of a problem,” and he says that until recently he was one of those people. Speaking from my own anecdotal experience, ever since Simmons et al. came out I’ve had enough casual conversations with colleagues in social psychology that have brought me around to thinking that data peeking is not rare. And in fact, I have talked to more than one fMRI researcher who considers data peeking not only acceptable but beneficial (more on that below).
More formally, when Leslie John and others surveyed academic research psychologists about questionable research practices, a majority (55%) outright admitted that they have “decid[ed] whether to collect more data after looking to see whether the results were significant.” John et al. use a variety of techniques to try to correct for underreporting; they estimate the real prevalence to be much higher. On the flip side, it is at least a little ambiguous whether some respondents might have interpreted “deciding whether to collect more data” to include running a new study, rather than adding new subjects to an existing one. But the bottom line is that data-peeking does not seem to be at all rare.
How bad is it?
You might be wondering, is all the fuss about data peeking just a bunch of rigid stats-nerd orthodoxy, or does it really matter? After all, statisticians sometimes get worked up about things that don’t make much difference in practice. If we’re talking about something that turns a 5% Type I error rate into 6%, is it really a big deal?
The short answer is yes, it’s a big deal. Once you start looking into the math behind data-peeking, it quickly becomes apparent that it has the potential to seriously distort results. Exactly how much depends on a lot of factors: how many cases you run before you take your first peek, how frequently you peek after that, how you decide when to keep running subjects and when to give up, etc. But a good and I think realistic illustration comes from some simulations that Tal Yarkoni posted a couple years ago. In one instance, Tal simulated what would happen if you run 10 subjects and then start peeking every 5 subjects after that. He found that you would effectively double your type I error rate by the time you hit 20 subjects. If you peek a little more intensively and run a few more subjects it gets a lot worse. Under what I think are pretty realistic conditions for a lot of psychology and neuroscience experiments, you could easily end up reporting p<.05 when the true false-positive rate is closer to p=20.
And that’s a serious difference. Most researchers would never dream of looking at a p=.19 in their SPSS output and then blatantly writing p<.05 in a manuscript. But if you data-peek enough, that could easily end up being de facto what you are doing, even if you didn’t realize it. As Tal put it, “It’s not the kind of thing you just brush off as needless pedantry.”
So what to do?
These issues are only becoming more timely, given current concerns about replicability in psychology. So what to do about it?
The standard advice to individual researchers is: don’t data-peek. Do a power analysis, set an a priori sample size, and then don’t look at your data until you are done for good. This should totally be the norm in the vast majority of psychology studies.
And to add some transparency and accountability, one of Psychological Science’s proposed disclosure statements would require you to state clearly how you determined your sample size. If that happens, other journals might follow after that. If you believe that most researchers want to be honest and just don’t realize how bad data-peeking is, that’s a pretty good way to spread the word. People will learn fast once their papers start getting sent back with a request to run a replication (or rejected outright).
But is abstinence the only way to go? Some researchers make a cost-benefit case for data peeking. The argument goes as follows: With very expensive procedures (like fMRI), it is wasteful to design high-powered studies if that means you end up running more subjects than you need to determine if there is an effect. (As a sidenote, high-powered studies are actually quite important if you are interested in unbiased (or at least less biased) effect size estimation, but that’s a separate conversation; here I’m assuming you only care about significance.) And on the flip side, the argument goes, Type II errors are wasteful too — if you follow a strict no-data-peeking policy, you might run 20 subjects and get p=.11 and then have to set aside the study and start over from scratch.
Of course, it’s also wasteful to report effects that don’t exist. And compounding that, studies that use expensive procedures are also less likely to get directly replicated, which means that false-positive errors are harder to get found out.
So if you don’t think you can abstain, the next-best thing is to use protection. For those looking to protect their p I have two words: interim analysis. It turns out this is a big issue in the design of clinical trials. Sometimes that is for very similar expense reasons. And sometimes it is because of ethical and safety issues: often in clinical trials you need ongoing monitoring so that you can stop the trial just as soon as you can definitively say that the treatment makes things better (so you can give it to the people in the placebo condition) or worse (so you can call off the trial). So statisticians have worked out a whole bunch of ways of designing and analyzing studies so that you can run interim analyses while keeping your false-positive rate in check. (Because of their history, such designs are sometimes called sequential clinical trials, but that shouldn’t chase you off — the statistics don’t care if you’re doing anything clinical.) SAS has a whole procedure for analyzing them, PROC SEQDESIGN. And R users have lots of options. (I don’t know if these procedures have been worked into fMRI analysis packages, but if they haven’t, they really should be.)
Very little that I’m saying is new. These issues have been known for decades. And in fact, the 2 recommendations I listed above — determine sample size in advance or properly account for interim testing in your analyses — are the same ones Tal made. So I could have saved some blog space and just said “please go read Armitage et al or Todd et al. or Yarkoni & Braver.” (UPDATE via a commenter: or Strube, 2006.)But blog space is cheap, and as far as I can tell word hasn’t gotten out very far. And with (now) readily available tools and growing concerns about replicability, it is time to put uncorrected data peeking to an end. | <urn:uuid:70825b95-9961-44e8-bc80-bca012706ec8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hardsci.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/data-peeking-is-always-wrong-except-when-you-do-it-right/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=4e28c04ab9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94939 | 2,080 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has advocated cool roofing as a very high payoff tool to improving energy efficiency in the built environment, reducing heat island impacts, and helping to move us forward in climate change mitigation. Yesterday, Secretary Chu announced a series of initiatives to spur cool roof deployment in (on) Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and the rest of the Federal government. In short
Secretary Chu has directed all DOE offices to install cool roofs, whenever cost effective over the lifetime of the roof, when constructing new roofs or replacing old ones at DOE facilities. With cool roofs, these federal buildings will consume less energy, offset additional carbon emissions, and save taxpayers money.
In essence, cool roofs cost the building owner a little bit more upfront but cost far (FAR) less to own due to reduced utility and maintenance costs. They are very fast payoff upgrade investments. (Wal-Mart, according to one of its executives, counts the payoff time for the additional upfront cost in terms of a few weeks.) Putting in cool roofs also contributes to reducing the heat island impact (urban areas being warmer than surrounding rural areas) and help reduce climate change impacts.
As Secretary Chu put it in the press release:
“Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest cost ways we can reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate change,” said Secretary Chu. “By demonstrating the benefits of cool roofs on our facilities, the federal government can lead the nation toward more sustainable building practices, while reducing the federal carbon footprint and saving money for taxpayers.”
Energy efficiency is one of the lowest cost options for reducing GHG emissions. Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. energy use — and about 35 percent of the Nation’s GHGs. An effective method for reducing building energy use is installation of a cool roof, which reflects sunlight and reduces heat gain. By reducing heat gain, a cool roof lowers the need for air-conditioning and saves energy. Yet, cool roofs do even more. In an urban or campus setting, they reduce the “heat island effect,” lowering ambient air temperature and improving air quality.
Because cool roofs provide significant energy savings and environmental benefits, they should be used whenever practical. Accordingly, effective immediately, unless determined uneconomical by a life-cycle cost analysis, roof replacements and roofs for new construction shall be cool roofs.
As per the press release, DOE has already begun cool roofing:
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy, has already installed more than two million square feet of cool and white roofs at NNSA sites across the country. Through the Roof Asset Management Program (RAMP), NNSA currently saves an average of $500,000 a year in energy costs and expects to save more than $10 million over the next 15 years. Overall, NNSA has reduced building heating and cooling costs by an average of 70 percent annually on reroofed areas by installing cool roofs and increasing insulation.
As part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to implement cool roofs on its facilities, Secretary Chu also announced that design will begin this summer on cool roof replacements at DOE Headquarters in Washington, DC. Cool roof projects are also underway at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Collectively, these projects will cover over 350,000 square feet and save thousands of dollars for taxpayers annually
Secretary Chu has sent a letter to all other US Departments urging them to take similar actions in their own buildings.
Secretary Chu’s step is a quite sensible one, worthy of applause.
This policy will pay off for the taxpayer, in relatively quick time frames, as cool roofing will (a) lower utility costs, (b) reduce maintenance costs (due to lower extreme temperatures stressing roofs), and (c) reduce future costs for repairing / replacing roofs. These are simply the direct ‘on budget’ paybacks, there are additional direct fiscal benefits due to lowered air conditioning costs as the ambient temperature is lowered with increased cool roof deployment. And, of course, there are the ancillary benefits of reduced urban heat island and reduced climate change impacts.
The question you might ask: why is it that you hear only one hand clapping?
First off, while great that this is happening at DOE, cool roofing should simply be building code for most of the United States. While the Federal government is large (huge), it is only a small share of all the buildings (commercial, industrial, and residential) in the nation.
Secondly, a very simple question: Why did it take so long? Why didn’t Secretary Chu take this action almost the first day he entered the office?
Secretary Chu is the decision-maker, this is something that could be (and, in essence, was) done with the stroke of a pen — not requiring a new law or Congressional authorization or … and, this is something that Secretary Chu has long understood was a no-brainer option. After all, more than a year ago, Secretary Chu spoke powerfully about the value of cool roofing.
He said global warming could be slowed by a low-tech idea that has nothing to do with coal plants or solar panels: white roofs.
Making roofs white “changes the reflectivity … of the Earth, so the sunlight comes in, it’s reflected back into space,” Chu said. “This is something very simple that we can do immediately,”
The most recent calculation is that cool roofing and making reflective relevant surfaces in all cities, globally, of 1 million or more people would have an equivalent offset more than two-years of greenhouse gas emissions. E.g., cool roofing isn’t a panacea solution but it can make a dent in the problem.
If something so straightforward, so clearly understood as viable and valuable by the key decision-maker, takes over a year to become “immediately”, what does this suggest about more complicated and less clear-cut options?
UPDATE: A response to the question “why not sooner” from the Department of Energy:
Under Secretary Chu’s leadership, the Department has been moving toward cool roofs over the past 18 months. The Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, for example, launched a number of cool roof renovations in 2009. Secretary Chu’s order formalizes the process and is the next step in the overall effort.
Sigh … yes … but … it still would have been good to see this become US government policy a year+ ago. (Well, 10 years ago, but I’m arguing since reality-based thinking retook the reins of government.) And, it is something that should be national policy — not just USG action. Still, again, it is good that DOE is doing this … even as we need more and faster action.
- Guidelines for Selecting Cool Roofs (pdf), DOE/EERE, July 2010
- Cool Roofs, California Consumer Energy Center
- Cool Roofs & Heat Island Effect, EPA
- White Roofs are the trillion dollar solution, Joe Romm, Climate Progress
- White Roofing as Silver Bullet to slay Global Warming?
- Geoengineering: basic principles, some thoughts, some questions laying out win-win-win strategy approaches for tackling climate change mitigation — with cool roofing as a key example.
NOTE: DOE just initiated a blog. | <urn:uuid:ed3e6034-0cf0-46bc-ad19-b49d75deedb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://getenergysmartnow.com/2010/07/20/energy-cool-roofing-is-cool-secretary-chu-takes-action/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943695 | 1,546 | 3 | 3 |
162. Concerning the Hazak We Say After Completing the Series
The Hazak we say after completing the series means that the completion should give us strength to complete all the degrees. As the body has 248 organs and 365 tendons, the soul, too, has 613, which are the channels of the soul by which the bounty extends. And these channels are opened through the Torah. As long as not all of them have been opened, even if a deficiency appears in a particular degree, the particular degree is included in the whole.
Thus, if an element is missing from the whole, that same discernment is missing from the individuals, too, and they gradually incarnate by the order of degrees. And when they are all completed, this will be the end of correction. Prior to that, they will emerge and become corrected one by one.
Now we can understand what our sages said, “the Torah preceded the world.” This means that before the limitation of the world appeared, the Torah had already been there.
And how could it then shine within the world, which is a boundary? Rather, the Torah shines by way of one after the other. And when all the discernments are completed, one must leave this world, since he has harvested all the discernments of the Torah. Therefore, each ending should give us strengthening to continue further. And the five books of Torah correspond to the seven Sefirot, which are essentially five, since Yesod and Malchut are not the essence, only included.
Hazak means strong; it’s a blessing said after finishing each book from the Five Books of Moses (the Pentateuch). | <urn:uuid:674f0c71-c627-4a56-98f4-6284b5540fcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/full/58264 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967991 | 347 | 2 | 2 |
In just a few pages you can find all you need to know about UNESCO, the World Heritage Sites, oceans, biosphere reserves, climate and other subjects at the heart of the organization’s work.
The Discovering the World series is a collection of compact guides aimed at making subjects accessible for a young readership (from 10 years old onwards). They are perfect for students of school or college age who need to prepare a text or presentation on any one of these subjects. Parents and teachers will also find these little books an interesting read.
Tell me about the Oceans
Did you know that three-quarters of the globe are covered with seas and oceans ? This is just one of the interesting facts that you could learn by reading this compact book about oceans, their beginnings, their role in regulating world climate and the rich resources within.
Also available in the series:
Explaining Biosphere Reserves (Paperback)
Explaining the Climate (Paperback)
Explaining the Earth (Hardback)
Tell me about Living Heritage (Hardback)
Tell me about the Slave Trade (Hardback)
Tell me about World Heritage (Paperback)
Tell me about UNESCO (Paperback)
Tell me about Crafts (Hardback) | <urn:uuid:6502290c-498f-43ef-9d7a-8424641d1765> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://publishing.unesco.org/details.aspx?Code_Livre=4094&change=E | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928525 | 256 | 3.234375 | 3 |
During a series of hearings beginning today, Texas child protection workers are expected to tell a judge that members of a West Texas polygamous sect must renounce an alleged decades-long practice of marrying underage girls to older men if they want to regain custody of their children.
The hearings -- individual status meetings for all 464 children in state custody -- are the latest step in what is believed to be the largest child protection case in U.S. history, a sprawling process that already has cost millions of dollars and promises to continue into next year.
Texas officials will present a series of steps that Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints parents will have to follow in order for their children to be returned, including proving they can provide a home free from potential child abusers and demonstrating the ability to protect children from abuse.
"You can't be in bigamist marriages, and the other thing you can't do is marry off young teenagers to very old men," said Scott McCown, a former Texas district court judge.
"If they are not willing to give that up, the state's position is going to be that the children are never going to go home. That's going to be state's non-negotiable bottom line," McCown said.
But this is not the first time the sect's practices have been challenged by state authorities, and it was unclear what the long-term impact will be on the polygamous group, which has been raided by authorities in several states four times in the last 75 years.
Though Arizona arrested dozens of men and took hundreds of children into custody in 1953, that raid appeared to have little effect on the group's beliefs or practices, leading some to question whether the results will be any different in Texas.
"I think it will be a repeat of history," said Martha Bradley, a University of Utah professor and author of "Kidnapped From That Land," a study of the now-infamous 1953 raid on the town known then as Short Creek.
Within two years of the raid, all sect members were back in Short Creek.
"Every one of them came back home," said Benjamin Bistline, a former sect member who was 18 at the time.
Texas officials took all of the sect's children into custody last month, claiming the group encourages marriages between underage girls and older men, placing the children at risk of abuse, which sect members deny.
The state believes as many as 31 girls in state custody are under age and either pregnant or are already mothers, a number that has been disputed by the church. The state also claims it has evidence of broken bones and sexual abuse among the boys.
Texas Child Protective Services has said that its ultimate goal is family reunification by April, though if a judge finds the FLDS parents cannot create a safe environment, they can permanently lose custody of their children.
Some lawyers for the children and the sect already have criticized the state's reunification plan, claiming it could require mothers to disavow their religious beliefs and could be read to mean that the mothers would not be allowed to return to their homes on the Yearning for Zion Ranch.
"Every indication from CPS [child protective services] that we have from their actions suggests that would be the case," said Rod Parker, a longtime FLDS lawyer who is acting as a family spokesman.
Patrick Crimmons, a CPS spokesman, called that "rank speculation." | <urn:uuid:e068660d-444a-4df4-a391-bd8dddfc4c0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4873901&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980716 | 695 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Subsets and Splits