text
stringlengths 211
22.9k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 14
371
| file_path
stringlengths 138
138
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.93
1
| token_count
int64 54
4.1k
| score
float64 1.5
1.84
| int_score
int64 2
2
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Situationism in the Blogosphere – July, Part II
Posted by The Situationist Staff on August 27, 2010
Below, we’ve posted titles and a brief quotation from some of our favorite non-Situationist situationist blogging during July 2010 (they are listed in alphabetical order by source).
* * *
From Jury Room: “Deliberations: Jurors think and feel as they make decisions”
“Our legal system assumes jurors will make their decisions without bias. This assumption echoes the ancient words of Aristotle: “the law is reason, free from passion”. Yet, most of us realize that decision-making encompasses both reason and passion. So how do you take that into consideration as you prepare and then present your case?” Read more . . .
From Psyblog: “How to Banish Bad Habits and Control Temptations”
“Anyone who has ever found themselves trying to turn on the bathroom light seconds after phoning the power company to ask how long the power cut will last, knows how easily habits bypass our conscious thought processes.” Read more . . .
From Science of Small Talk: “Every Little Bit Counts”
“On a regular basis, we see or hear about the negative behaviors of others and think, what is wrong with this person? We tell ourselves, I would never do that, firmly convinced in the veracity of our assessment.” Read more . . .
From Social Psychology Eye: “Protecting the powerful”
“Minnesota representative Michelle Bachmann has had her share of questionable moments in the past. For example, she once referred to President Obama and his wife as “anti-American”. She also seems to side with the powerful. The most recent example of this comes in regards to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” Read more . . .
From We’re Only Humans: “No Exit: Living With Walls and Fences”
“The right to move around is a fundamental human right. Back in 1948, in the wake of World War II, the United Nations declared that all men and women have the right to roam freely in their homeland, to leave, to return if they choose, and to exit again. That political vision recognized a basic psychological truth—that it is a violation of human nature to fence people in.” Read more . . . | <urn:uuid:97f14ff4-2b58-4636-beaa-0e77a2802225> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/situationism-in-the-blogosphere-july-part-ii/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=f35e2c39af | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952172 | 509 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Aurora Public Library permits patrons to connect their own equipment to the Internet via a wireless network, or "hotspot." The Library has designed the wireless network so as to reduce the chances of patron equipment being "hacked.” However, the parties acknowledge that security errors and hacking are an inherent risk associated with wireless Internet use and hotspot services. For that reason, users expressly agree that they knowingly assume such risk, and further agree to hold the Aurora Public Library harmless from any claim or loss arising out of or related to any such event of hacking or other unauthorized use or access into their computer.
The Library accepts no responsibility regarding the ability of patron owned equipment to connect to the wireless network.
Individuals accessing the Internet using their own equipment via the Library’s wireless connection must comply with this policy while on Library premises.
The Aurora Public Library accepts no responsibility for any software downloaded and/or installed, e-mail opened, or sites accessed while patrons are on the wireless Internet connection. Any damage to the patron’s equipment from viruses, plug-ins or other Internet born programs is the sole responsibility of the patron.
Library users access the Internet at their own discretion. The Library has no control over the information available on the Internet. Information may be inaccurate, out of date, or unavailable at times. Some content may be offensive to some patrons.
Patrons should remember that computers using the Library’s Internet connection are located in public areas, which must be shared by Library users of all ages and backgrounds. Individuals may not access potentially disruptive or harmful material and images, such as pornography or obscene images. Although the Library cannot consistently and effectively monitor the public’s use of the Internet, the Library reserves the right to:
Patrons are asked to respect the privacy of those at nearby computers and to refrain from attempting to view or read material being used by others.
Patrons shall use network resources only for lawful purposes and respect copyright regulations.
Destruction of, damage to, or alteration of the Library’s equipment, software, or network security is prohibited. The Library’s equipment is capable of monitoring and detecting viruses and other inappropriate intrusions. The Library will take necessary action against anyone violating this policy, up to and including prohibiting and/or quarantining patron-owned equipment from accessing the network. | <urn:uuid:ded90d39-c11d-44bc-8a2d-7cd48fc47551> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/about-the-library/policies/wireless-internet-access-policy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930248 | 478 | 1.742188 | 2 |
November 30, 2009
Caffeine related question?
Is there any type of sugar (processed or natural cane) that has caffeine in it? Does granulated sugar have caffeine added to it, or any natural caffeine? What about brown sugar?
Thanks for answering honestly!!
Bonus question (if you're interested):
Do you think caffeine will eventually be made an illegal drug in a few years, based on all the increased health risks caused by drinks like Monster, Rockstar, and Red Bull that have too much caffeine in them. I mean, the energy drinks business practically sprung up overnight, with the exception of Red Bull. If it becomes too common, people could possibly start dying from caffeine overdose, just like you could die from an overdose of any other addictive substance!
Also- if you DO think it might be made illegal eventually, do you think this might be a good thing? Or are you totally against it?
Any good answers are VERY appreciated!! whitefleur:
good point on the alcohol thing. People drink caffeine on a daily basis a lot more than they drink alcohol or cigarettes. opular demand makes it unlikely for it to ever be banned. Thanks for answering my question!
Filed under Uncategorized by admin | <urn:uuid:3d133f6f-9443-4404-a46a-b9636e2b93a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caffeineandhealth.net/caffeine-amd-health/caffeine-related-question/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952604 | 254 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The Government has published its mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, setting out the new Board’s objectives and how its progress will be measured, including how it should fulfil it’s duty to promote research. In September this year we responded to a consultation on a draft version of this mandate, welcoming its focus on research and highlighting areas where it could go further. We’re pleased to see the emphasis on research is still there in the final mandate, including a commitment to paying the treatment costs for patients in research trials and a focus on the value of working in partnership to translate scientific developments in benefits for patients. But as an overarching mandate setting objectives, this doesn’t give much detail of how these objectives will be delivered in practice. We’re looking forward to seeing more detail from the Board on how they plan to do this, in particularly how they will fulfil their duty to promote research.
In the new structure of the NHS, the government has passed the day-to-day running of the NHS over to a new autonomous body, the NHS Commissioning Board. This oversees all the local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and commissions some services directly.
The government sets the NHS Commissioning Board objectives which the Board is then in charge of delivering. These objectives take the form of a mandate given to the NHS Commissioning Board by the Department of Health. The mandate will be a multi-year document, revised each year, with objectives rolling forward until they are achieved. The Board’s progress will be measured against the objectives set in the mandate.
As everything is getting up and running, the government has been developing the NHS Commissioning Board’s very first mandate. They published a draft in July which we responded to – welcoming the focus on supporting research and increasing opportunities for patients to participate in this. We also highlighted where we thought objectives could be improved to better embed research as a core role of the NHS – particularly around education & training and improving information.
The government has now published the final mandate in light of the comments they received. It has been published alongside the NHS Outcomes Framework, which sets out in detail the health indicators that the Government wants to see improvements in.
What does it say?
The layout of the final Mandate is quite different to the draft version – it is structured around the five parts of the NHS Outcomes Framework. Research still features but is spread across the document (it had its own section in the draft).
The Board’s duties to promote research and innovation feature in section 6 of the Mandate, titled Freeing the NHS to innovate. Specifically in allowing local NHS organisations to be inventive, and to “support diffusion and adoption of good practice”.
This section includes recognition of the increasingly localised nature of the new NHS structures and the Boards role to balance local and national delivery:
The objectives in this mandate can only be realised through local empowerment. The Board’s role in the new system will require it to consider how best to balance different ways of enabling local and national delivery.
- the power of its expertise and its professional leadership, working with partners such as the Royal Colleges;
- its ability to bring NHS organisations together across larger geographical areas, not as the manager of the system, but as its convener;
- its duties to promote research and innovation – the invention, diffusion and adoption of good practice;
We’re looking forward to more detail on how this will work in practice. I’m interested in particular in the mention of the Board’s ability to bring NHS organisations together across larger geographical areas – will this be linked with/through Academic Health Science Networks?
We’re also really pleased to see a commitment to supporting NHS patients to be involved in commercial and non-commercial research in Section 7 The Broader Role of the NHS in Society. This objective was included in the draft version of the mandate and sets out to ensure that the new commissioning system promotes and supports participation by NHS organisations and NHS patients in research funded by both commercial and non-commercial organisations, most importantly to improve patient outcomes, but also to contribute to economic growth. This includes ensuring payment of treatment costs for NHS patients taking part in research (also known as Excess Treatment Costs) funded by Government and charities.
This section also emphasises the value of partnership working, setting an objective to make partnership working a success for, among other things,
improving services through the translation of scientific developments into benefits for patients;
This is brilliant to see. Translating research into real benefits for patients – new treatments and improvements in their care – can only happen with lots of different partners working together. The Board can play a valuable role in fostering these partnerships.
The Mandate also retains another objective previously in the research section of the draft – that the Board must ensure drugs and treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are made available to patients, which is good news for patients and will also be welcomed by the UK pharmaceutical industry.
As in the draft, these are the only areas where research specifically features by name. We flagged up several other functions and objectives of the Commissioning Board that are important for research in our response to the draft mandate. On these:
- Education and training - The Board has a statutory duty to regard the need to promote education and training, and to support an effective system for its planning and delivery. In section 4.7, the Mandate says “the Board should support Health Education England in ensuring that the health workforce has the right values, skills and training to enable excellent care.” It’s really important this includes supporting them to engage with research – staff need training to conduct research and understand and implement its outcomes. We’re looking forward to more information about how this will work in practice as the NHS Commissioning Board and Health Education England get up and running.
- Putting mental health on a par with physical health - This was a core theme of the draft and remains in the final Mandate. This is an area where research will play a vital role. As part of this, David Cameron announced greater funding for dementia research and a commitment to increase opportunities for people to take part in research back in March.
- Information services – Section 2.6 of the Mandate sets a commitment for the Board to “achieve a significant increase in the use of technology to help people manage their health and care.” in particular by promoting the implementation of electronic records in all health and care settings and working with relevant organisations to set national information standards to support integration and secure linking of electronic records wherever they are held. As we’ve said many times before, data saves lives! Researchers need access to health records to study the causes of disease and also to identify patients to invite to take part in clinical trials. Services like the CPRD will help this but will rely on the NHS having solid information infrastructure. So this is good to see. (the Department of Health is currently asking for views on an update to the NHS Constitution which will help clarify how patient data is handled)
- Redesigning services to ensure high quality care - The Board has a responsibility where clinicans are proposing significant changes to local services to ensure these meet four tests: (i) strong public and patient engagement; ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice; iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners. It’s really good to see this commitment to be led by a clear evidence base as services are redesigned. The process of redesigning services provides an excellent opportunity for the board to champion steps to embed and support research as services are redesigned.
- The Board’s own commissioning - The Board itself will be responsible for around £20 billion of direct commissioning, particularly for specialised services for patients with rare conditions – this will include research and research infrastructure, such as diagnostic labs. The Mandate flags up the importance of this for rare conditions in section 9.2 alongside an objective that all commissioning – directly by the board or by others – will be subject to the same assessment and standards.
- Patient choice – The draft mandate included a Choice Framework, outlining all the choices which patients should be able to expect to have about their healthcare. Following consultation they plan to publish this Choice Framework shortly and also work further with Monitor on how choice can best be used to improve outcomes for patients.
We’re looking forward to seeing this – in the draft choice framework, we were really pleased to see “choosing to participate in research” – meaning there is an ambition for all patients to have a choice about whether and how they participate in research. We really need to get this right as we know that patients want to be offered opportunities to participate in research and not all of them are being offered these opportunities at the moment. Only 33% of patients taking part in the Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011/12 said that taking part in research had been discussed with them but of those who were asked, 95% were glad they had had the opportunity.
We’re pleased the core objective of supporting research, patient participation and payment of excess treatment costs is stated loud and clear in the final document. But this is quite a “top level” document and doesn’t go into the details of how these will be delivered – details that need to be ironed out as the system gets up and running.
We’ll continue to push for these details, working with the Department of Health and the NHS Commissioning Board to ensure we get this right and these objectives really deliver better research. It’s important that the emerging NHS institutions truly embed research throughout the new system to improve care and treatment and deliver efficiency. As we said in our response to the draft mandate, research should be embedded across the NHS.
To help us better understand what this will look like in practice and feed into the developing system, we are holding a meeting on 10 December to begin shaping a vision for research in the NHS. We’re inviting people from across the NHS to discuss how research is conducted now and the steps already being taken to embed research in the NHS, exploring how barriers to research within the NHS can be overcome and how the public can become more involved. This will help us develop a vision for research in the NHS which we can use to constructively engage with the NHS as the new structures get up and running. If you’re interested in joining us email Martin at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:0d6aab38-0c7a-4b86-ae36-6fbf92c4bd7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://policyblog.amrc.org.uk/2012/11/20/mandate-for-the-nhs-commissioning-board-published/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957675 | 2,169 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Posted Sep 23, 2004 22:10 UTC (Thu) by walters
In reply to: Complexity
Parent article: An introduction to SELinux
How do you propose to transition uids? How to keep them unique? What about the problem of applications which will want to look up little details like the home directory or user name in /etc/passwd? How do I grant access to this new uid for certain objects?
That's just a random selection of generic problems.
Now, even if you ran mozilla under a separate uid, you'd have to grant it access to your X connection. And at that point, you've lost, since with X any malicious client can sniff keystrokes, spawn a terminal and synthesize rm -rf / into it, etc.
SELinux doesn't solve that either right now - but it will, once we have Security-Enhanced X. And that's already in development.
to post comments) | <urn:uuid:247ac21f-ee35-4f9e-bc43-d1bc41bee21c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lwn.net/Articles/103507/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942386 | 202 | 1.828125 | 2 |
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave up on the minimum wage hike last week. He was premature.
Though he likes the proposed increase from $7.25 an hour to $8.50 an hour, indexed to inflation in the future — and though the Assembly easily passed the measure, championed by Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan — Cuomo acknowledges the state Senate is the obstacle.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, calls the minimum wage hike a “job killer,” and doesn’t even want a Senate vote. Cuomo, a Democrat who has worked successfully with Skelos, said a wage hike is “not in the realm of the possible” this election year.
But if the opinion of voters — including business leaders — matters, Cuomo and Senate friends should reconsider.
New York voters want a minimum wage hike. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed 76 percent of respondents in favor, with only 21 percent opposed. Even Republicans favor a raise, 53-43. Upstaters are big backers, 75-23.
Many small retail and service businesses already pay well over the minimum. Mark Jaffe of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce said 80 percent of his 25,000 members favor a living wage of at least $11.50 an hour. “Fast food chains and some retailers want us to believe raising the minimum wage will chase business out of the state,” he said in a conference call last week. “Not by our survey.” Paul Sonn of the National Employment Law Project said a minimum wage hike would not hurt small- and medium-sized firms, which typically pay 80 cents an hour more than big retailers.
There are two pragmatic reasons to raise the minimum wage, business leaders explain. One is lower employee turnover. “It’s the best way to grow our business,” said Jeff Long of Costco, the giant retailer who breaks the mold with an $11 per hour starting wage. “Low turnover reduces our operating costs and training costs.”
David Bolotsky starts workers at $11 an hour at Uncommon Goods in Brooklyn. “We could afford to pay less, but we wouldn’t get the same employee loyalty,” he said.
The second big payoff? “All this money will be spent locally to help our businesses grow and prosper,” said Jaffe. Melanie Beam, who advocates for local businesses through Capital District Local First, agreed: “It’s good for business to have more money out there getting recirculated into the community.”
Researchers say raising the minimum wage won’t hurt employers or the economy. Said Jeannette Wicks-Lim of the University of Massachusetts: “We find the cost is quite modest and wouldn’t force businesses to respond by laying off workers.”
There another compelling reason to hike the minimum wage. “If you have to work 80 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment, you don’t have the time to shop locally,” said Beam. Raise the wage and “businesses would have a better image,” said Jaffe. “If workers were better rested, participated more in the economy, they’d smile and be happy.”
Advocates for the wage hike are due to rally one more time today in Albany. At least 18 other states already have higher minimums than New York, and 10 index their wage to inflation. There is still time to get this done. Are you listening, senators? | <urn:uuid:6dd0a5c1-ffaf-4948-ba2b-cf1741f8a5cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2012/05/its_not_over_yet_minimum_wage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953937 | 743 | 1.617188 | 2 |
In this challenge your task is to show the interaction of aliens and humans. You must depict the interaction of humans, and at least one other species.
You can base your aliens on the species described in David Brin’s classic Uplift series or you can dream up your own.
You can use any setting you like - planet bound, interior, exterior, or in a space ship. However the setting is secondary to the depiction of human - alien interaction.
Entries must be made in one of the following categories:
All entries will also be eligible for any of the following awards:
The story is the primary component that will be awarded the highest weighting in all judging. The emotive impact and implication of “the story behind the image” is the aspect that is most important. Your work must capture the imagination of the viewer and draw them in without relying on any prior knowledge of the story.
Duration of the Challenge.
Commencement Wednesday 19th March.
Both Image and Video categories will commence at the same time but they will run for different periods of time:
• The Image category will run for 8 weeks. Finishing on Monday May 12th.
• The Video categories will run for 12 weeks. Finishing on Monday June 9th.
The awards will be judged at the close of each main category.
How the Challenge will be Run
This challenge will be a WIP (Work in Progress) Challenge to ensure everyone can learn from each other and offer feedback and critiques. Each challenger or team is required to submit Work In Progress (WIP) images.
- Enter the Challenge by registering yourself as a CGTalk or CGSociety member
- Submit your Work In Progress on a regular basis.
- Participate in the Community by critiquing other challenger's works in the respective forums.
- Submit your final entry before the end of the challenge (to avoid the last-minute rush - get your entry in early).
- All winners are required to be available to write 'making of' articles accompanied with high-resolution Work In Progress stills, to be eligible for prizes.
Teams can be comprised of any number of members. Each Team must nominate a Team Leader who will be responsible for posting WIP images as well as being the principal contact for all correspondence between the team, its members and Ballistic Media. The Team Leader will also be responsible for the allocation and distribution of prizes between members of their team should they win. We recommend that prize allocations be prearranged and agreed upon before the team enters.
If teams wish to be considered in the various Open Categories then they are encouraged to list their team members and clearly note the relevant roles allocated: Lighter, Art Director, Cinematographer (or Director of Photography), Editor, Compositor, Effects Artist, Screenwriter.
Ballistic Media will not become involved in the resolution of any team member disputes and will not hesitate in disqualifying teams that disagree amongst themselves. All team members must be registered with CGTalk and must be credited on the team's entry.
Individual team members may also enter their work in the Image category. This is recommended if individual team members want their work to be considered in the following open categories: Modeling, Matte Painting, Texturing.
Teams may be comprised of individuals working in commercial environments. However, material in commercial production cannot be entered in the challenge.
We have set up a 'Looking for Groups' thread to assist entrants who wish to set up or join teams.
Individuals are allowed to enter in both Image and Video categories. Individuals are also allowed to make completely separate entries in both Image and Video categories in addition to being part of a Video Team entry. However we strongly encourage Individuals to focus their strengths into one great entry rather than diluting their effort over several weaker entries. | <urn:uuid:07dc987c-7c15-4d40-90f6-784f311a9936> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/uplift_universe/instructions.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938135 | 789 | 1.625 | 2 |
So, lo and behold: While poking around a shop in St. Paul, I stumbled across a sandwich cookbook put out in 1942 by the Duluth Universal Flour company.
Written by “Frederic H. Girnau, Culinary Expert” and purporting to share “400 New Ways of Making Delicious Sandwiches,” the Sandwich Book of All Nations takes a nominally international approach to its material. I say “nominal,” because in most cases, the relationship between the sandwich and the supposed nation of origin is not merely thin but actually preposterous (see the “Chinese Oriental” sandwich below, for starters.)
Still, a lot of the sandwiches looked relatively tasty, many were provocatively bizarre, and the whole book is a delightful time capsule of received gastronomic wisdom from 60 years ago.
Here are a few of my favorites from among the 400 recipes provided, with commentary:
Chinese Oriental Sandwich
Mash four bananas; add one-half cup of maraschino cherries, two tablespoonfuls of honey, and two tablespoonfuls of sweet thick cream. Mix and spread on thin slices of lightly buttered white bread, cover with another slice, and garnish top with a cherry.
COMMENTARY: Ah, Chinese cuisine. Well known the world ’round for its liberal use of bananas, maraschino cherries and dairy products. Also: this sandwich is more absurd than a fluffernutter, and that’s saying quite a bit.
Split twelve figs, scrape out the soft portion and rub this to a paste; butter thin slices of fresh white or brown bread, remove the crust, spread on the fig paste and roll the bread carefully; press for a moment, then roll it on a piece of tissue paper, pressing the ends as you would an old-fashioned motto, or it may be tied with a baby ribbon of any color.
COMMENTARY: I quite liked this recipe for its roll-up technique; we’re all pretty well sick of wraps, but the idea of rolling white bread into a tube of tastiness is a pretty interesting one. I could actually see adapting this.
Wisconsin Tomato Jelly Sandwich
One cupful of boil and strained tomatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and a little tabasco sauce. Dissolve quarter box of gelatine in one-half cup of water, add to the tomatoes, and mix thoroughly. Cool in forms that will slice in shape of sandwiches to be used. Place between thin slices of lightly buttered white bread.
COMMENTARY: Nothing says “The Badger State” like gelatinous tomatoes. Seriously, though, this sandwich is just crazy.
Place peeled bananas, sliced across, between thin slices of buttered brown bread from which the crusts have been trimmed. Place in the oven and leave until bread is toasted and you will have delicious and nourishing hot sandwiches. Very good for invalids.
COMMENTARY: “Invalid” is a word few of us have probably heard in quite some time, and for good reason. Also: are hot bananas actually supremely nourishing for those on the mend? Not clear.
French Violet Sandwich
Cover the butter with violets over night; slice white bread thin and spread with the butter; put slices together and cover with the petals of the violets.
COMMENTARY: This sandwich is filled with nothing but butter and tiny purple flowers. Charming and strange.
On thin slices of Swiss cheese, spread fresh butter and put the two slices together.
COMMENTARY: Uh-oh, somebody let Salvador Dalí make lunch, and he used the cheese… as bread!
Bummers Custard Sandwich
Take a cake of Roquefort cheese and divide in third; moisten one third with brandy, another third with olive oil, and the other third with Worcestershire sauce. Mix all together and place between split water biscuits toasted. Good for a stag lunch.
COMMENTARY: Is a “stag lunch” an archaic event wherein everybody arrives at the meal totally high? Did people ever really consume brandy, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce-soaked cheese between toasted crackers as a meal? And what, exactly, are bummers? And how does this relate to custard? This recipe raises far more questions than it answers. | <urn:uuid:acadcad4-7cf3-4cf4-918e-ab6be592635c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mnsandwiches.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/duluth-universals-new-sandwich-book-of-all-nations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930364 | 924 | 1.828125 | 2 |
CFPB Unveils Sweeping Changes to Mortgage Rules
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled new mortgage rules Thursday that are expected to change how home buyers go about getting approved for a home loan.
Every company that issues mortgages will be required to follow the new guidelines.
Loans that meet the agency’s new lending criteria now will be called a “qualified mortgage.” Qualified mortgages will be given protection for the bank from lawsuits filed by troubled borrowers or buyers of mortgage-backed bonds.
A “qualified mortgage” will consist of the following:
- Lenders must prove that income and assets are sufficient to repay the loan (this applies to jumbo loans as well).
- Borrowers must be able to document their jobs.
- Credit scores will have to meet a minimum standard.
- Borrowers will have to be able to show that they can also still afford other debts associated with the home, such as home equity loans as well as property taxes.
- Lenders will consider borrower’s other debts before issuing a mortgage too, such as student loans, car loans, and credit card debt.
- Monthly payments must be affordable to the borrower.
Home buyers who fail to qualify for a “qualified mortgage” can still get a mortgage, but mortgage payments must not be more than 43 percent of the borrower’s pre-tax income.
Also, the CFPB plans to make some borrowers exempt from the new rules, such as applicants looking to refinance out of subprime adjustable-rate mortgages or some mortgages issued by non-profits that target low-income home buyers.
The new rules will take effect Jan. 21. Lenders have a year to fully implement these rules. | <urn:uuid:b67794e6-d4bc-4e3d-847a-b5f5e244d5ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hampshirereview.com/realestate/2013/01/11/cfpb-unveils-sweeping-changes-to-mortgage-rules/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954343 | 360 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Oil companies may be facing major detours if road and bridge improvements aren’t made to southwest Manitoba, according to the RM of Pipestone reeve.
Oil from the south is trucked up to Cromer where the pumping station is located and Reeve Ross Tycoles said he’s worried about access to the area.
"Our concern is if the companies can’t get their oil there and the roads are getting to a point that they can’t handle that, how are they going to get to market?" Tycoles said. "I think that alone will stop or slow down the industry."
Highway 83 is of particular concern.
"As you go up 83, there’s bridges that are now 70 (km/hr) because of the wear and tear," Tycoles said, adding Provincial Road 255, which cuts across to Cromer is also poor.
"That access there is a bad road in the spring and it was impassable at times," he said.
A bridge right at the Cromer valley is what Tycoles calls a "suspect bridge."
Tycoles also noted a bridge in the valley on PR 256, two on Highway 83 north of Pipestone and east-west bridges in the RMs of Edward, Arthur and Brenda.
"All of those bridges have to be maintained so that they can handle the traffic," he said.
Tycoles said PR 256 is not a permitted road, so in the winter season oil companies cannot haul on it.
"It causes them to go whichever way they can go, which is usually up 83 and then across 255," he said.
PR 250 at Souris also can’t handle oil loads during the winter and Highway 21 at Griswold is "awful," Tycoles added.
Oil from southeast Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba in the Pierson and Waskada areas all come up the roads to Cromer.
"What’s going to happen here is if the bridges and the highways are not looked at and the roads are not looked at, there will be access problems to the Cromer pumping station," he said.
The Coulter Bridge near Waskada along PR 251, which was a casualty of last year’s spring flooding, is still out of service. There has been a detour in place while Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation works on a permanent replacement.
"Obviously between the flood and whatever else that has gone on, there are crises in this province with bridges, etc.," he said. "We have a major industry that needs to have some funding put into bridges and that to keep it running."
Tycoles said if key bridges or roads are shut down for safety reasons as time goes on, the traffic may have to be rerouted up Highway 10 to Brandon and then on to Virden and south on Highway 83.
"That’s a long way out of the way," Tycoles said. "We’re talking 250 to 300 trucks a day hauling oil."
Tycoles said a long-term plan to improve highways and bridges in the area needs to be put in place.
"The Coulter bridge is immediate, but the future is the industry so it’s going to be something that we want to try to work towards, to put funds into a pot, to fix the bridges as they need to be fixed," he said.
Tycoles had a meeting with provincial officials on July 26, which included representatives from Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation and Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak.
"The government has worked with us in trying to come up with a project, they’re having a steering committee formed," he said. "We know it’s not something that’s going to be immediate … it’s got to be a long-term plan because we think it’s here for 10 years and how are we going to be sustainable?"
Tycoles said the next step is another meeting with the province and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in September.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition August 7, 2012 | <urn:uuid:80d01f65-637c-4f72-89f0-b862512c38a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brandonsun.com/local/reeve-road-conditions-could-pose-problem-for-oil-industry-165252226.html?path=/local&id=165252226&sortBy=rank | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97571 | 861 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Plan your guest list.
Figure out how many guests to invite. Consider the size of your home; the number of chairs, tables and dishes you'll need; and your ability to cook for that many people.
Gather menu ideas.
Plan the menu, keeping in mind your guests' tastes, ethnic backgrounds, allergies and any other factors. Vary the menu all you want but remember that if your guests are traditionalists they'll expect the following dishes at Thanksgiving: turkey, turkey gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
Balance your menu.
Plan to balance the many heavy, starchy Thanksgiving classics with lighter dishes, emphasizing fresh vegetables.
Decide whether you want to ask people to help you, either by bringing parts of the meal (wine, dessert and appetizers), or by coming early to help out.
Scratch vs. ready-made.
Be realistic about what to make from scratch or what you'll try that you never have before; perhaps your efforts should go into a special cranberry sauce or an unusual stuffing, with everything else on the menu an old standby.
Assess your oven space.
Remember the classic Thanksgiving challenge: The turkey will occupy the oven most of the day - a crucial factor if you also plan to bake pies and you have just one oven. This means writing out the timing and preparation of each dish, so you'll know that you really can manage them all in your kitchen.
Remember what’s important.
Keep your eye on the reason you're doing this: To have a special time of togetherness with your family and friends. | <urn:uuid:44073b9f-a1ef-479e-a807-7b6a24e0de5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.verybestbaking.com/Resources/Baking-Life/Articles/How-to-Plan-a-Thanksgiving-Meal.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939222 | 335 | 1.617188 | 2 |
And whereas, in the course of human events games must be played:
And whereas, it is occasionally necessary for people to assemble in person
and in great numbers to play such games:
That the inhabitants who play these games hailing from the District of Colombia,
the state of Maryland, the commonwealth of Virginia and other points beyond, in the
great and United States of America, by the immutable laws of nature, the
principles of the American constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have
the following RIGHTS:
Resolved, That they are entitled to peaceably assemble to play a wide variety
of games with only a minor fee of entrance.
Resolved, That they are entitled to join tournaments
of skill, so long as games are present to accommodate them.
Resolved, That by such arrangement, the market for games is to be opened
such that vendors might display their wares with little cost, used games may
be sold at the bring and buy, and that
math trades may be made.
Resolved, That all that enjoy the liberty of free and open gaming are
entitled to the space necessary for such gaming, without fear of quartering
another's game at one's table or the egregious offense of spilled drinks
upon a board.
Resolved, That all that desire to demonstrate a new an innovative design shall
be given that opportunity.
All and each of which the aforesaid deputies, in behalf of themselves, and their
constituents, do claim, demand, and insist on, as their indubitable rights
and liberties, which cannot be legally taken from them, altered or abridged
by any power whatever, without their own consent, by their representatives in
their several provincial legislature and so long as they are in accordance with
the applicable rules and regulations. | <urn:uuid:8a1a87da-260c-44a7-8461-fe0325e2086c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://emsps.com/cog/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952271 | 382 | 1.757813 | 2 |
And they found Fair Trade chocolate gelt! (Don't be surprised if you see all this stuff on ModernTribe soon.)
Ilana Schatz and David Lingren, the creators of fairtradejudaica.org, educate site visitors about the Fair Trade movement, but the biggest service of the website is that they outline how Fair Trade fits with Jewish values. They go into more depth and explanation on their site -- which I recommend you visit. But basically, they assert as Jews:
- We are obligated to work for economic justice.
- We are obligated that workers are treated justly.
- We are obligated to be responsible consumers.
And all these things are supported when we support Fair Trade. They continue with information about Jewish organizations involved with Fair Trade -- and add to that list the inspiration for two of my previous posts: Progressive Jewish Alliance's Anti-Sweat Shop Campaign.
(See It's Not Easy to Be Sweat Shop Free and Celebrate Fair Trade Month with Kosher Kippot.) | <urn:uuid:2d207442-ae33-4521-adb6-45c4fb948243> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.moderntribe.com/2008/02/fair-trade-judaica.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94334 | 209 | 1.601563 | 2 |
News Release Issued by Volunteer Ireland
Monday, April 30, 2012.
Dubliners rallied for first National Volunteering Week
97% in Dublin survey say Volunteering makes them happier
People across Dublin were today rallied to get involved in Ireland’s first National Volunteering Week which takes place from May 14 – 20.
Last year more than 10,000 volunteers participated in hundreds of charity and community projects across the country on National Day of Volunteering.
Following five successful National Day of Volunteering campaigns, this year the campaign is being expanded to seven days, making it easier for volunteers, organisations and companies to get involved.
Research carried out by Volunteer Ireland in advance of National Volunteering Week (NVW) has found that being involved in volunteering makes people happier. Among the Dublin volunteers surveyed 97% responded that ‘volunteering makes them a happier person’, which was just slightly below the nationwide response of 98%.
The research also pointed to a strong sense of community in Dublin as the most common reasons for people to volunteer were to:
- Help people (67%)
- Contribute to the community (59%)
- Add experience to CV (37%)
- Keep active (36%)
- Occupy spare time (34%)
- Find work through volunteering (24%) and
- Develop contacts (21%).
"National Volunteering Week is being co-ordinated nationally by Volunteer Ireland and delivered across the City South area by Dublin City South Volunteer Centre, www.volunteerdublincitysouth.ie
The flagship national project for NVW 2012 is a National Inland Waterways Clean up, with local events organised across Dublin. In the Dublin City South area there will be a canal clean up at Sally’s Bridge in addiiton to other activities people can join. The centre would love to hear from volunteer photograhers or videographers who could capture events as they unfold during the week.
Edwina Dewart, manager of the volunteer centre, said that the survey was reflective of a growing particpiation in volunteering in Ireland and she highlighted evidence in the survey of differing reasons for volunteering among older and younger people.
“59% of people in Dublin said they beileved there is a difference between why younger people (aged 14-50) and older people (50+) volunteer. Also among those in the city and county whose employment had been negativly effected by the recession 68% said it made them more likely to volunteer.
“The responses do show a pattern that older people were most likely to volunter in order to stay active and socially engaged, while there was a greater emphasis among younger people on volunteering as a way of improving employment propects in the current recessionary climate.”
Edwina encouraged as many people as possible get involved in National Volunteering Week: “If it’s only for a minute, an hour, or a day – volunteering is a wonderful way to connect with your community, meet new people and make a real difference.”
1. Look up projects in your area and register to get involved.
2. Develop your own project and register it.
3. Participate in the flagship project – A National Inland Waterways Clean Up.
4. Check out the list of 30 ‘Random Acts of Volunteering’ examples to get some inspiration.
National Volunteering Week is being supported by Irish Rail.
Ronan Cavanagh, Cavanagh Communications: (086) 317 9731.
Phil Boughton: Volunteer Ireland: (085) 742 7017.
Edwina Dewart: Dublin City South Volunteer Centre (086) 174 1317
About Volunteer Ireland
Volunteer Ireland is the national volunteer development agency and a representative body for all local Volunteer Centres in Ireland. Volunteer Ireland’s vision is for an Irish society in which everyone who wants to has access to meaningful volunteering opportunities and where the contribution of volunteering is valued and recognised as an intrinsic component of active citizenship. | <urn:uuid:e0670f3f-d934-432c-bec1-da9eb44dd925> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.volunteerdublincitysouth.ie/Press-Release,142.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957988 | 833 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Denton is home to major commercial manufacturers and distribution centers such as Peterbilt Motors, Target, Acme Brick, Sally Beauty Supply, and ALDI (among many others). The City would like to make sure that we are doing everything possible to attract major employers and commercial tax base to Denton but still provide high quality commercial areas with character and livability. Businesses typically locate and stay where they can provide their employees with an excellent quality of life (ex. schools, retail, entertainment, real estate, etc.) and in cities that are development/business
The City of Denton has a comprehensive plan that was adopted in May of 2000 called The Denton Plan. The Plan can be viewed online here. It was created through a collaborative process of public meetings and public input gathering that resulted in a vision for new development. This vision was established by citizens who took the time to participate in their city’s future with the help of professional City staff and elected and appointed officials. The Denton Plan covers numerous areas such as growth management, neighborhoods, streets, and economic development. Although The Denton Plan was developed to guide community growth until the year 2020, it is time to update the Plan to reflect issues considered important to life in Denton now and in years to come. This question was developed to gather valuable input on the topic presented to guide the update of The Denton Plan. | <urn:uuid:a2d76fbf-db8a-41c7-a4cd-b1146fa9e548> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.engagedenton.com/denton-texas-attract-major-employers/archived | 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 | 0.978318 | 280 | 1.523438 | 2 |
JK Rowling became one of the best known authors ever thanks to the huge global success of the Harry Potter books and films. JK has since taken a step away from children’s books to write something a bit more grown up but has now admitted that she is set to return to writing for children.
Rowling explained at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Saturday, “As the writer of Harry Potter, I’m always nervous of committing myself to another children’s book, but yes, the next thing I write will be for children. I have a lot of things on my laptop currently, including a couple of things for children - for a slightly younger age group than Harry Potter was aimed at - which are nearly done and will, I think, be the next thing I publish. I have run them by my children and they seem to like them which is always a good sign.”
She added, “I also have some ideas for another book for adults but it isn’t too far on [in development].” JK also touched on her battle with depression, stating that he tendencies to go a bit darker with some of her storylines really do affect her in her everyday life.
Rowling said, “I do have a tendency to walk on the dark side sometimes. I have suffered from depression, I know how that feels, I have an innate inclination that way. Writing does help with that [depression].”
If the new children’s book is half as successful as the Harry Potter series then we could have another global phenomenon on our hands. | <urn:uuid:84edc8b1-4363-4f69-b02a-e07db77b0b42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fansshare.com/news/harry-potter-author-jk-rowling-is-set-to-write-another-children-s-book/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982125 | 330 | 1.539063 | 2 |
For 25 years, Tom Allio led the social action office in the Cleveland Diocese and worked on issues as diverse the bankruptcy of LTV Steel, the danger of nuclear weapons, payday lending and northeast Ohio’s alarming poverty.
Allio retired in 2010, leaving a legacy that few in the church-based social justice movement can match. Not satisfied to sit on the sidelines though, Allio continues to be a voice for justice in Ohio even if his role is not quite as public as it was before.
The veteran advocate for justice was honored Saturday for his leadership with the Servant of Justice Award from the Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors, which met in Washington over the weekend in conjunction with the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, which concludes Wednesday.
But Allio had to wait until Sunday to give his acceptance speech. In it he credited retired Cleveland Bishop Anthony M. Pilla for his vision of justice that allowed the Cleveland social justice program to become the largest in the country — with five separate offices — during the 1980s and 1990s.
“He taught us that anyone who aspired to be a ‘Servant of Justice’ must always strive to manifest Christ’s love for the poor and most vulnerable,” Allio said of Bishop Pilla. “He insisted that we effectively give voice to the least in the halls and offices of the powerful. He also taught us that respect for the leaders we oppose is a requirement of Catholic social action.”
Allio said the collaboration that Bishop Pilla fostered could serve as an example these days for the American Catholic community, which in recent years has experienced widespread incivility among people holding opposing views on justice concerns. Allio particularly singled out Catholics who “unfairly demonize” lay social justice leaders as “social progressives, liberals, activists and radicals.”
“We cannot allow the secular media and their friends in the blogosphere to define us,” Allio told the social action directors. “Despite what some pundits say, social justice is not a dirty word. In fact, Catholicism without social justice is a contradiction in terms.”
Allio noted that despite smearing and name-calling Catholics share far more common ground because of their beliefs than there are differences.
He called upon the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to undertake an effort to unite Catholics and work to end divisiveness within the church on social issues. He cited Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, who recently addressed the topic of Christian discourse when he wrote: “Christians must not only speak the truth but must also do so in love.”
“My sincere hope is that new leadership of the USCCB might consider taking on this challenge of ending the civil war within the church,” Allio said.
The round table also honored the Education for Justice project at the Center of Concern in Washington with its Harry A. Fagan Award for an outstanding contribution to spreading the Catholic social teaching. Accepting the honor were Sister Katherine Feely, a Sister of Notre Dame who is project coordinator, senior adviser Jane Deren, and Jesuit Father Jim Hug, the center’s executive director.
Filed under: CNS | <urn:uuid:6ff9e034-ab9f-4d13-b899-07881ba6e5e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/clevelands-retired-social-action-director-honored-calls-for-civility-rather-than-divisiveness-in-church/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=c7a699f16c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964793 | 672 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Earlier this year, members of the Yale College Democrats asked students at their school what change means to them. During the first few days of the “Change is...” campaign, over a hundred students submitted responses—ranging from “Change is repealing ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’” to “Change is student loan reform.” The photos were featured in a student-created Youtube Ad in support of President Obama.
"We're out to show that the voices of college students can still be heard amongst the barrage of SuperPAC ads," said Josh Rubin, a sophomore who organized the project. "We put this together with time, creativity, and a college-student budget of $0."
The “Change is...” campaign has since drawn hundreds of participants from across the country, including students from University of Scranton (Pennsylvania), University of Texas - Austin, Iowa State University, University of Ohio, as well as former governor Howard Dean and Congressman Barney Frank. | <urn:uuid:860461cc-cb08-4348-9ac3-2e241de1b6f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.barackobama.com/ct/entry/CT-change-is | 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 | 0.978004 | 210 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Two storms are bearing down on southeast Queensland, but the Bureau of Meteorology says they won't pack much punch.
BOM forecaster Michael Knepp said the two storm cells, one near Wivenhoe Dam and the other near Archerfield, would bring steady rain and a few lightning strikes to the southeast corner tonight.
Mr Knepp said at 4.50pm, Ipswich had received about 24 millimetres of rain.
"There are thunderstorms and showers moving through, particularly the southern district of Brisbane tonight," he said.
Mr Knepp said neither thunderstorm was strong.
"They are both relatively weak thunderstorms, not really even a lot of lightning or thunder in either," he said.
"The main thing about both of them is they will bring rain and they are both moving relatively slowly.
"They both have a bit of rain in them, but not enough to cause any flash flooding."
No storm warning has been issued, he said.
The storms have moved north from the Border Ranges and are moving slowly towards the Moreton Bay coast.
"Most people in Brisbane might get a bit of rain out of it and a bit of lightning," Mr Knepp said.
"It will only last this evening and tomorrow will be fine and mostly sunny."
He said the risk of thunderstorms tomorrow was "very, very low". | <urn:uuid:cea00a28-ddaa-40d2-8cd4-f83ade273336> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/1151965/approaching-storms-lack-punch/?cs=12 | 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 | 0.980857 | 285 | 1.53125 | 2 |
I spent this morning at a data governance seminar sponsored by Dataflux, at which Jill Dyche or Baseline Consulting spoke about her experiences of data governance best practice in client organisations, and Philip Howard of Bloor gave his perspective. Data governance seems to be something very much in its infancy despite the long-established issues it addresses, with only a tiny proportion of organisations having made a lot of progress (according to an IBM Global Services 5 point data governance maturity scale, no company is further along than stage three, and only a handful of companies even manage that). There seems little in the way of a silver bullet here, just missionary work to convince the business that data ownership needs to be taken seriously. Sometimes a “burning platform” can stimulate interest. Recently Nationwide Building Society was fined GBP 1 million due to the theft of a laptop on which customer data was stored (albeit in encrypted form). Interestingly, the fine was not directly due to the loss of the data but the fact that they had no processes in place to determine that there was actually customer data on the laptop. Such cases illustrate the risks, at least in regulated industries, of having poor data governance polices.
Another aspect of data governance often overlooked is the proliferation of data in corporate spreadsheets. Apparently Allied Irish Bank have a stunning 185 TB of storage devoted to spreadsheets alone, and who knows how much of this is duplicated. With studies showing that, in a spreadsheet with over 200 rows there is a 90% chance of an error, the potential for problems is self evident. When I was at Shell there was a whole group on the corridor opposite me who built spreadsheet models and audited existing ones, some of which are highly important (e.g. financial models used for capital intensive projects). This group paid its way many times over by uncovering flaws in existing operational models. Yet I suspect they only scratched the surface, and how common are such initiatives? This should be a promising area for companies such as Compassoft, which do spreadsheet “discovery and control”. Indeed there are no shortage of scandals related to manipulation of spreadsheets, including the USD 700M one at Allied Irish. And you thought you had enough data quality problems in your corporate systems…. | <urn:uuid:2cdc83a1-a71e-4b88-b0fc-470f785a2a79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://andyonsoftware.com/2007/10/data-mis-governance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970407 | 454 | 1.601563 | 2 |
- Story Ideas
- Send Corrections
What would Detective Olivia Benson make of Ken Burns, daughter Sarah Burns and David McMahon’s galling and riveting documentary “The Central Park Five,” about the now-infamous case of five teens convicted of the assault and rape of a female jogger in 1989?
It’s not entirely flippant to wonder what the lead character on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” would think about the behavior of her law enforcement peers and the D.A.’s office as they doggedly pursued the arrests, confessions and convictions of youngsters Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Jr., Kevin Richardson and Korey Wise.
After all, one of the show’s assistant district attorneys was modeled on Linda Fairstein, who was head of New York City’s sex-crimes unit during the time District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s office tried the teens.
The accused were black and Latino. The victim was a white investment banker. The clashes of gender, class and racial politics couldn’t have been more potent. The case unfolded in a city so persistently riven by race that while most media outlets honored the rule that the name of a sexual-assault victim not be printed, two of the city’s African-American newspapers published her name. Their reasoning? The other media outlets had printed the accused juveniles’ names.
In 2002, convicted serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime. The police had a sample of his DNA all along.
The documentary may strike fans of filmmaker Ken Burns’ work as a departure. But he says that after reading a draft of his daughter’s 2011 book “The Central Park Five: A Chronicle of a City Wilding,” he “felt like this story touches many of the themes that have informed my other films including — obviously — race in America.”
The doc is rife with smart or wrenching or shameful moments. The fresh interviews with the accused, now men, are invaluable.
The city’s usual suspects weighed in. Donald Trump acquits himself much the way one might expect, seizing the moment to call for the renewal of New York state’s death penalty. But he was not alone.
The Rev. Calvin Butts, a civil-rights mainstay in New York, said of that era when crack was conquering so many neighborhoods that “many of us were frightened by our own children.” Particularly good at providing context — cultural and emotional — is MIT history professor Craig Wilder. “I felt ashamed for New York,” he says.
There is nothing comfortable about the film’s conclusions. But there is ample opportunity to learn how coerced confessions and a rush to prosecution can betray not only the accused but also the victims of crimes.
Two months after the Central Park attack, Reyes raped and killed Lourdes Gonzalez while her three children were in the next room. | <urn:uuid:724c8e06-2fd1-4ae8-b797-f67d18c5c409> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailylocal.com/article/20130106/ENTERTAINMENT01/130109902/rememberingpa.us/dailylocal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956337 | 626 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Many in Japan’s large and lively dance community centered on hip-hop, house and other styles are becoming increasingly upset at what appears to be a police crackdown on an essential part of their lives.
Since 2010, with more and more clubs being shut down on the grounds they don’t conform with all the small print involved in their licenses, many are now thinking the authorities nationwide are trying to turn back the clock to some real or imagined era of strict societal control.
Among those disillusioned with this turn of events is Ryo Isobe, a freelance writer specializing in club music whose book titled “Odotte wa Ikenai Kuni, Nihon (Japan: the Country Where You Must Not Dance)” was published last month.
In the book, Isobe explains that the chief weapon being used by the nation’s control freaks is a piece of legislation called the “Fuzoku Eigyo-to no Kisei Oyobi Gyomu no Tekiseika-to ni Kansuru Horitsu (Entertainment Business Control and Improvement Law)” that prohibits clubs with a floor space less than 66 sq. meters from allowing customers to dance. To make things even worse, a 1984 addition to 1948′s law governing popular entertainment (including sex businesses) banned dancing after 12 midnight.
“It is very difficult for clubs in big cities to find somewhere affordable with a 66-sq.-meter floor allowing them to get the license,” Isobe said in a recent interview with The Japan Times. “It is also unreasonable to prohibit late-night dancing in a society where many restaurants stay open around the clock.”
Nightclubs where DJs spin music such as hip-hop and electronica first appeared in Japan in the 1980s, and their popularity soon took off, Isobe said. He also explained that a form of the music remixed by DJs developed a new genre termed “club music” — though the clubs were generally small and had no dance license because they were registered as bars or restaurants.
Isobe, who’s now a 34-year-old veteran of the scene, said that since the 1990s he’s spent most of his free time at clubs in the central Tokyo entertainment districts of Shinjuku and Shibuya.
But he said he’s known about the clubs’ license problems since the 2000s when the staff at one club he was at suddenly cut off the music and told the customers to sit down. “They had noticed that police were standing outside of the entrance,” he explained — adding that the music started again after the police left.
However, Isobe said that such harassment only occurred “once in a while,” and that police generally overlooked the unlicensed clubs.
Then things changed. In December 2010, police raided two clubs in the so-called Amerika Mura (American Village) district of southern Osaka, where there were around 20 clubs — many of them not licensed for music and dancing. Since then, Isobe said, it has become worse as the owners of several clubs there have been arrested.
In view of this sudden string of swoops, Isobe officially asked Osaka Prefectural Police why they had moved to shut down the clubs at that time.
In his book, he details the police response as follows: “Residents who live near the clubs had reported loud music from the clubs late at night and into the morning. In addition to that problem, young people who drank at the clubs had had fights, damage has been caused, and some club customers had had belongings stolen. We have constantly been going to the clubs even before December 2010 to cope with the problems, and the owners have been warned to obtain the correct license and prevent noise late at night. Despite our repeated warnings and instructions, the situation never improved and even worsened as the number of clubs increased.”
Police also mentioned an incident in January 2010 when a fight broke out at a club in Amerika Mura and one person died as a result. However, Isobe pointed out that the fight between club customers had happened on the street, not in the club, according to media reports.
He also maintained that, “Although some clubs in the district have been responsible for noise late at night, that doesn’t explain why police should crack down on all Amerika Mura’s 20-odd clubs.”
But the recent police purge against such clubs has not been confined to southern Osaka. Indeed, the crackdowns spread to Kyoto and Fukuoka in 2011, and this year Tokyo has been hit, too. Altogether, according to a July 10 report in the Nagano Prefecture-based Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, there were 10 such police strikes nationwide in 2010, rising (in the latest data available) to 21 in 2011. How many of the affected clubs were actually put out of business is not known, though anecdotal evidence suggests many were.
In his book, Isobe relates various speculations to explain the sudden crackdown. He cites Mobu Norio, a writer based in Osaka who wrote in the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper that Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, who was formerly the mayor, was aiming to have casinos in Osaka and he wanted to clearly separate entertainment and residential areas.
Meanwhile, a club owner (who isn’t named in the book) suggested the authorities want to closely control clubs because hip-hop dance became an official school subject in April this year.
Isobe also noted that since 2004 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG)had been cracking down on unlicensed sex-business clubs in the notorious Kabukicho area of the central Shinjuku district in what it dubbed “a purification mission.” He maintains that the same minds behind such “purification” are also likely pushing the stricter control on dancing clubs.
“The entertainment businesses and the authorities used to co-exist in a power balance in which police sometimes warned unlicensed clubs and they would change their operations so the police overlooked them. But since the Kabukicho ‘purification mission,’ the authorities have stopped overlooking.”
However, the forced closure of sex-related clubs in Kabukicho has simply driven the business underground and worsened the conditions for women selling sex services, Isobe said.
He also noted that a man named Kaoru Funamoto, who led the Kabukicho “purification mission” as top of the TMG’s security section under hawkish Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, has moved to Osaka to lead the crackdown on clubs there.
This year, though, clubbers started fighting back. In May, a group of them got together with DJs and lawyers and started by launching petitions to get the legal prohibitions relating to dancing removed. The movement they started, called Let’s Dance, aims to collect 100,000 signatures and present the petition to the Diet for consideration.
Isobe said Let’s Dance — which is supported by numerous celebrities including Ryuichi Sakamoto — is making progress toward its goal. However, he said it was also vital to create an association of dancing clubs to speak with one voice and lobby policymakers.
“The connections between the clubs are weak. But they should cooperate with each other, lobby politicians and avoid attracting criticism by checking the ID of customers to make sure that they are adults (which in Japan means being at least 20) and ensuring there are no drugs on their premises,” Isobe said.
Even so, there are many who wonder if such initiatives will suffice to satisfy those elements in society who are temperamentally inclined to control every aspect of life — and particularly the lives of fun-seeking young people. | <urn:uuid:0f198908-79df-4141-8fd9-a980b993db85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/09/23/general/antidancing-law-out-of-step-with-japans-youth-culture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981151 | 1,620 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Installing Windows is a complex operation that provides an incredibly unique capability—the ability to run a new version of Windows on a vast array of hardware configurations and combinations that were designed with no knowledge of a future Windows, even a version with substantial re-architecture of the Kernel. While most people do not experience the full code path of setup/upgrade (because they buy new PCs and choose to get a new version of Windows that way), even orchestrating the new PC “out of box experience” (OOBE) is a complex technical challenge. Our aim in improving setup is to reduce the time from start to finish so that customers can get to Windows and use the full power of Windows to further customize and ultimately enjoy their new Windows experience. – Christa St. Pierre
During planning for Windows 8, we wanted to hear from customers who chose not to upgrade to Windows 7 even though their PCs would run it. In 2010 we commissioned a study of how people make PC purchase decisions, and talked to customers in three global markets to find out more. While the list of reasons as to why a customer chose not to upgrade varied by market, we have received notable feedback that upgrading the PC was perceived as difficult. So even though many customers wantedto upgrade, the current setup experience might be something that just wasn’t easy enough to make them feel confident in doing so.
So if setup and installation was easier, and possibly more affordable, more people would upgrade to Windows 8. I would suggest that they add the ability to create an image of your system before, and after the installation, kind of like a snapshot so you can roll back if you so choose, and if you are satisfied with Windows 8, it would be nice to have a restore point if your HDD dies, which happens all to often!
Thoughts anyone? If Microsoft manages to streamline the install, backup, and maintenance, are you willing to make the jump? Its kind of like asking you to upgrade from Windows XP to Vista, will it be better, or will the interface drive you nuts? FYI There is supposed to be a way to have the Windows 7 UI… which is a good thing.]]> | <urn:uuid:8ee5d90e-aa33-48e9-a4ca-ac3abbd636ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/information-technology/tag/streamlined-upgrade/feed/atom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967653 | 446 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Oh, look what President Obama inherited from President Bush — two wars, the worst economy since the Depression, soaring deficits and a White House TV room where the president can almost choke on a pretzel without anyone noticing.
The reply, which gains traction after 3½ years in power, is: "Quit whining. You've been in the Oval Office since 2009. What happened to the hope, you dope?"
So the standoff over recent history continues, except among most Americans, who, polls show, know so little about history they believe the Whiskey Rebellion was a dust-up over an alluring woman at the Jack Daniels factory.
I'd drop this quicker than a 5-pound treatise on the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway but for the constant carping from conservative thinkers over something that happened not just four years ago, but nearly 50 years ago.
What happened back then, of course, were hippies.
The way they see it, hippies were and continue to be responsible for the breakdown of all that is good about America — ethics, morality, self-suffiency, self-restraint, the family, churches and, possibly, the morally bankrupt Penn State football program.
By their logic, the Wall Street traders who rolled up trillions of dollars of dicey home loans into dicier securities were really narcissistic hippies rolling the biggest doobie in history. They just wanted to look cool. And beads and Roman sandals won't do any more. They must take their trips on private jets and nine-figure
Real hippies declared the hippie dead in 1967, a few years before the counterculture — a term as dated as "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" — was embraced by Madison Avenue, Hollywood and corporate retailers to make big bucks off a bong-full of products with a rebel-rebel allure to Middle America.
The caricature of a hippie, mastered by conservative cartoonist Al Capp in the 1960s, of a scraggly longhair with flies buzzing around smelly armpits, supplanted the Cadillac-driving welfare fraudster as the most popular conservative cartoon figure of the past half-century. It returned in force with the recent Occupy Whatever protests, along with the "Get a job" taunts.
Republicans have controlled the presidency for 28 years since 1969, compared with 15 years of Democratic (overt hippie-philes, by the way) semi-control.
Still, the hippie worldview (through a kaleidoscope, preferably) continues, somehow, to undermine the country's foundations. That's the steadfast opinion among the crowd that clings to Chappaquiddick and Hanoi Jane, their own 1960s amulets.
I grant that hippies are guilty for drum circles, reams of information about whale songs, strip-mining power crystals and a good share of overbearing self-righteousness. But why blame hippies for all that's gone wrong in the past 50 years? The crash of 2008, the Vietnam War's tragic denouement, decades of covered-up sexual predation by Catholic priests. These are but a few events that I've seen linked — with a few giant steps of logic — to free concerts in Golden Gate Park many years ago.
This is not serious history nor serious thinking.
The "blame it all on the hippies" impulse actually is evidence of a simple-mindedness summed up by a catch phrase from those distant days. "If it feels good, do it."
Larry Parsons is a staff writer for The Herald. | <urn:uuid:63e687f6-371e-4bec-9737-78ef3f2df73c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.montereyherald.com/larryparsons/ci_21267702/larry-parsons-blaming-hippies-decades-decline | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953836 | 737 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Learn to cook Nyonya Food at Tropical Spice Gardentoday.
The Nyonya’s of Penang are indeed an ‘endangered’ breed. So I had the pleasure of having Pearly Kee, a Nyonya descendant and passionate Nyonya cook, to stroll down memory lane as she regaled me with stories of what being Nyonya means to her. Ever ready with a hearty chuckle, Pearly described herself as ‘one of the last Mohicans’ as we plunged into her personal recollection of tales from her Nyonya kitchen as a child.
Before we started on the intricacies of Nyonya cooking, I thought I should first uncover who really are the Nyonya…
KatChua: So Pearly, Who are the Nyonya?
PearlyKee: Actually we are Chinese who came over here some 200 years ago in 18 th Cent. to set up a home. The first descendants were running away from the opium war in 1850 to find work and find a new life.
You must remember that these immigrants were coming on small boats, much like the way we hear of illegal immigrants today arriving across the shores. And they would be arriving with nothing. They would have heard that there were opportunities abound here and so came.
And of course when they arrived they needed to adapt to the living culture here. The Chinese are renowned for their good cooking and so in their learning to use the local spices like chillies and lemongrass they produced their own blend of cooking.
The Chinese people eat to ensure healthy bodies – yin and yang. So every dish they created was fundamentally done to enhance the value of the spices and food
KatChua: Can you tell me how far back your family stretches?
PearlyKee: My great grand father 4 times removed, Kee Lai Huat is the
founder of Sungai Bakap and Valdor. http://www.my-island-penang.com/Kee-Lai-Huat-Vision.html
And his brother in law is more famous. Khaw Boo Aun was involved in the Larut War, a fierce leader of the Ghee Hin triad society. Their sugar plantation was so huge that even a bird flying have to stop many times to get out of his estate. (30 hectares). You might see photos of http://www.my-island-penang.com/Khaw-Boo-Aun.html in Penang Teochiews Ancestral Hall in Chulia Street, as he is one of the generous founders.
So that makes me 5th generation of the Kee descendants in Penang but 25th in China. We are now in the 8th generations outside China.
I still go back to our Kee Kongsi [clanhouse] for ancestral worship, Cheng Beng, hungry ghost festival, solistic month.
KatChua: So Nyonyas are Chinese predominantly?
PearlyKee: Yes, Straits Chinese. That is, Straits Settlements Chinese
We are the only Chinese who still practice the old age practices of 18th / 19th Century practices such as ancestral worship, filial piety, visiting the temple for special occasions, following of Confuscious teaching which teach us to honour God, parents and teachers. So we keep this very close to us. Even in China, you wouldn’t find these practices upheld today.
KatChua: Why are they called Baba & Nyonyas?
PearlyKee:It is erroneous to make generalizations and say that the Baba Nyonyas inter married into the Malay culture and hence created our unique culture.We adapted a lot of local culture of the time which in itself was such a rich cultural melting pot and yes the Malay culture was certainly one of it but it would be inaccurate to say we intermarried with the Malays only. Until today we still practice ancestral worship and many of our dishes include pork so with our culture being so tightly preserved, it would have been hard for our forefathers to inter marry with cultures that couldn’t embrace these ways.
Initially there were no inter marriages but certainly down the generations there were inter marriages into all races.
Especially so in Penang, the Baba & Nyonya’s influence is more from Siam, Phuket
KatChua: Can you interchange the terms Baba Nyonya/ Straits Chinese and Peranakan?
PearlyKee: I would loosely say yes. They are all co-related
KatChua: What are the differences between Penang and Malaccan Nyonyas?
PearlyKee: Loosely again, the Malaccan nyonyas influence is mainly from Indonesia whereas the Penang Nyonyas influence were more so from Siam. Also in the language, Penang Nyonyas spoke Hokkien which adopted a few Malay terms whereas the Malaccan Nyonyas mostly spoke Malay with a few adopted Hokkien words
For example Babi ponteh [used in Malacca] and Hong bak [used in Penang] is actually the same dish.
[Eds note: this dish is a non-spicy pork stew and Pearly is currently teaching a duck variation at our cooking classes at Tropical Spice Garden]
KatChua : Can you describe the essence of being Nyonya in 3 words/ phrases?
Importance of food
KatChua: What makes Nyonya food special
PearlyKee: It is the combining of all the local herbs and spices that make it very special. Also each Nyonya family have their own secret, hand-me-down recipes that are so unique. They are very refined food. For example, you can eat Bangkwang Char (Stir Fried Yambean) in any Kopi Tiam selling economy rice. Jiew Hu Char is the refined version of Stir Fried Yambean. Nyonyas refined it by adding dried cuttle fish strips. The taste is oceans apart.
So in short Nyonya food is refined food with a good balance with sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Spicyness we got it
from the Siamese
For a Nyonya there must always be a sweet at the end so that when you leave there will be sweet memories and good feelings of the meal.
KatChua: Is cooking Nyonya food difficult to do abroad due to the difficulty in accessing the fresh herbs and spices?
PearlyKee: No because there are are Chinatowns and Chinese and Vietnamese supermarkets which supply all our South East Asian herbs and spices like cekur [sand ginger]
You’ll be surprised even sand ginger is available in Hong Kong
KatChua: Can Nyonyas be found in any other part of the world?
PearlyKee: Penang, Malacca and Singapore.
KatChua: What are the distinguishing features of a modern Nyonya? Can you tell apart a Nyonya descendant from a local Chinese Penangite?
PearlyKee: It’s very hard to tell as the Nyonyas are very much assimilated into local Chinese culture.
But if you go to the Burmese temple in Burma Lane in Pulau Tikus to look for my cousin she is always wearing her sarong with a light cotton blouse. This is one sure way of telling apart a Nyonya – the sarong!
Mr. Lim also exclaims how many people these days claim to be Nyonyas but yet they don’t even know how to cook authentic [chneah tor] Nyonya food!
KatChua: I have heard you mention Mr. Lim so many times. Who is he actually?
PearlyKee: Dato’ Lim Bian Yam is a true Baba of the 4th generation. His great grandfather was Lim Hua Chiam. [Whispers: He was the headman of the LIM clans. Powerful and fierce]
KatChua: Who is he to you?
PearlyKee: My cooking master way back in the eighties. He ran his school in Air Itam, Hykett Estate. Guess how many students he had in his class? MINIMUM 60 – 70 students per session! He was a great story teller!
KatChua: What made his classes so popular?
PearlyKee: He is witty and very talented in cooking and made each class so fun and enjoyable and he is a true Baba in every sense of the word. Even when we returned at night, we were still dreaming about all his jokes! He is also good with flower arrangements and is the President of the Penang Floral Arts Society [flips open a book which Dato' Lim wrote on flower arrangement]
KatChua: Is this where you learned your cooking skills?
PearlyKee: I learnt how to cook from growing up in a Nyonya kitchen. Mr Lim refined my cooking with him. For example, I was able to have a better palate for tasting – its an acquired taste to eat Nyonya food
KatChua: What was it like growing up in a Nyonya kitchen?
PearlyKee: I grew up using the grinding stones to make laksa noodles and bedak sejuk [rice face powder] for sale and for home consumption. They are certainly bitter sweet memories as using the grinding stones was tough. Grinding chilies and rempah [spice pastes] would sting your hands and it would be painful.
I didn’t like it. I used to cry when my hands were so painful. Only when I started using blenders to create the same original flavours did I begin to enjoy the cooking process!
KatChua: So this IS where you learnt how to cook.
PearlyKee: I learnt how to cook by myself. My aunts never gave me recipes or exact measurements they just told me what they needed to be added to the dishes by handfuls or pinches
KatChua: What are some of the common ingredients found in Nyonya food?
PearlyKee: Coconut cream, gula melaka [natural palm sugar], lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, banana leaf, banana, sago, dried chillies, tamarind, cekur [sand ginger], pandan, tapioca, yam, sweet potato, ang cho [red dates], mata kucing [longans]
[at this point, Pearly breaks into song of the jingles they sang as children for all the wonderful foods they used to eat with a lot of giggling]
KatChua: What were some of your own family traditionas/ rituals passed down to you that you still practice?
PearlyKee: Tea ceremony [performed during wedding to introduce the young nuptials to their respective new families]
Muah guek [full moon party in celebration of a new born baby's first month of life]
Giving ang pows [red packets of money given from the married elders to unwed younger ones during Chinese New Year]
Cheng beng [Chinese Old Souls Day]
Going to the cemetries of our ancestors to paint the gold guild on the departed names, cooking nyonya food – we have the best taste!
I still go back to our Kee Kongsi [clanhouse] for ancestral worship, hungry ghost festival, solistic month
KatChua: Is there a present day Nyonya culture?
PearlyKee: There are very few true Nyonyas left.
But there is somewhat of a revival happening now. Even my cousin is still sewing the Nyonya sarong kebaya [traditional dress] and going to Australia for exhibitioms
But either way,I live for what I have – I have no attachment. Im just happy and proud to have been born into a Nyonya family.
Even the horrible, laborious skills – I treasure them even though it felt like a punishment then.
If not for those days, I would not have the tastebuds and feel for cooking that I have now
Are you interested to learn from the best and passionate cook? Authentic Nyonya food are well kept secrets and Pearly Kee is now sharing her hand-me-down recipes with you in our new cooking school.
Learn to cook Nyonya Food at Tropical Spice Garden today.
And you need not wait till April 23rd to register, book today as we have classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. As what Terry and Dorothy says, it is quite an experience cooking and eating outdoors. So there you are, have lunch in our new pavilion.
Stroll down memory lane with Pearly on her website http://www.my-island-penang.com as she delves deeper into Nyonya culture and Penang – her 2 absolute passions! | <urn:uuid:6e57244d-081a-4be2-af53-99415bb65845> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tropicalspicegarden.com/2011/03/what-is-nyonya-cooking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960015 | 2,708 | 1.75 | 2 |
Dining A La King: Group learning why California makes great wine
Posted: 02/11/2013 at 6:30 am
By: Marshall V. King
Dining A La King
Dining A La King
Click here to view in a gallery.
Pizzas filled the tables when the Dining A La King wine tour group ate at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Tom Kaylor raises a glass at the beginning of the wine tour. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
The Dining A La King wine tour group tastes wine in the Louis M. Martini winery barrel room. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Jeremy Grenert of Lagunitas Brewing Co. talks about the brewery. Grenert is a South Bend native. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Brian Nuss, owner of 20 Rows/Vinoce winery, talks to wine tour participant Lew Naylor. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
The Dining A La King wine tour group gathers for a photo near the Golden Gate Bridge. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
The Dining A La King wine tour group enters the barrel room at Louis M. Martini Winery in St. Helena, Calif. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Paul Cataldo, Kurt Janowsky and others enjoy pizza at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. The group went to the restaurant because of Cataldo’s connection to the owner, Tony Gemignani. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Napa Valley vineyards benefit from rocky soils, moderate temperatures due to mountains and rivers, and clear skies much of the year. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
A margherita pizza is enjoyed at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. (Truth Photo By Marshall V. King)
Grape vines are held up with wires and supports, in neat rows stretching back from the road and often up a hill. Nearly 60,000 acres of the county are covered in vineyard, according to tourism information.
Vineyards are as common here as cornfields in northern Indiana. In the 1800s, people figured out that you could grow grapes here and make wine and that the moderate temperatures from a series of mountains and the Russian River would help impart a flavor that made excellent wine.
This weekend, a group of 32 of us has been in a tour bus visiting this part of the world where there are around 370 wineries in this county and another 400 or so in Napa County.
We’re going to a total of five.
Jay Fields, a representative from Indiana Wholesale Wine & Liquor Co. in South Bend, made arrangement with wineries he knows here. Most of them are boutique wineries that produce small amounts, but on Friday we visited Louis M. Martini Winery in St. Helena, Calif. It’s one of the six original Napa vineyards and still produces Cabernet Sauvignon that is very drinkable and easy to find in northern Indiana.
Louis Martini made his first wine as a 15-year-old in 1906. He survived Prohibition by selling sacramental wine and wine that could be used for medicinal purposes, according to Alexis Sarantinos, the wine ambassador who led us on the tour Friday.
“His true love was dry table wine,” she said.
In the 1938, he purchased a property on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas Mountains and renamed it Monte Rosso because of its red, volcanic soils. It’s one of the most valuable pieces of property in the area now, according to Fields.
In 2002, E & J Gallo purchased the winery and built a facility that could also make small batches of wine. Michael Martini, Louis’ grandson, is the third generation winemaker.
When the group walked into the facility where the Cabernet is made in 15,000-gallon tanks, Paul Cataldo gasped a little. He makes wine, as well as some others on the tour.
When the group walked into the barrel building a few minutes later, you could smell the wine and oak from stack after stack of oak barrels aging the wine. Sarita Cataldo, who with her husband orders two semi-loads of California grapes for Midwestern winemakers every summer, exclaimed a little bit.
We sampled some wines in that room, including a 2009 Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon. Kurt Janowsky, owner of Cafe Navarre, said he sold three cases (36 bottles) a week of that in 2012 at the South Bend restaurant. “I went through 14 cases just at my wedding,” he said. He’s the largest Louis Martini customer in Indiana, he said.
This week, we’re here to learn the stories and taste some of what another part of the world can offer us.
We spent some time Friday at the Vinoce/20 Rows Tasting Room in downtown Napa. Brian Nuss moved to California from New Jersey, worked in construction and eventually became a winemaker. Now he and his family make award-winning wines and bottle wine for Carl Tiedemann of Elkhart, who started a wine company.
The Nuss family harvests, blends and bottles wine made from grapes grown in this temperate climate where soil contents vary widely and change the flavors of the wine.
We sampled some of their wine and olive oil in their tasting room, including the Glenwood Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc that they bottle under Tiedemann’s label. The 20 Rows and Vinoce labels are also available in the Elkhart and South Bend markets due to Tiedemann’s work. The Vinoce wines are aged on oak longer and have a deeper flavor. And in case you were wondering, the name Vinoce is Italian for “wine nut,” showing a bit of the whimsy the Nuss family has.
This trip continues through Monday, Feb. 11, so you’ll read more about it in later columns. You can also read about it on the Dining A La King blog.
Other highlights in the first two days of the trip were:
• An unplanned evening in San Francisco. After arriving from Chicago, the group agreed to visit the North Beach neighborhood where pizza legend Tony Gemignani has Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. All 32 of us squeezed into a restaurant and bar that has a capacity of only 95 people. And we sampled some of the best pizza we’ve ever had, which is saying something because there are some people on this trip who make pizza for a living.
• A stop alongside the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to San Francisco. The group gathered for some photos and marveled at the 1.7-mile-long structure we just crossed as the sun was setting and the light started to soften.
• A tour of Lagunitas Brewing Co., a fast-growing brewery in Petaluma. Jeremy Grenert, a South Bend native, is the national sales manager there, though the title on his sales card is “Translator of Mumbles.” The brewery grew from a stove-top operation in 1993 to having just installed a big 250-barrel system.
I’ve been asked why I write so much about alcohol. I know some readers abstain for personal health or for religious reasons. I was raised that way, but no longer do. I now try to use it responsibly and enjoy the flavor that it brings.
The focus of this trip isn’t just on the alcohol, it’s on the food and seeing another part of the world and laughing together with a group of new found friends.
And it’s been a blast.
I’m hungry. Let’s eat.
You can read more about the trip at blogs.etruth.com/diningalaking. Marshall V. King, news/multimedia editor and food columnist for The Elkhart Truth, is also posting to Twitter @hungrymarshall, Instagram @hungrymarshall and the Dining A La King Facebook page. | <urn:uuid:610b3b62-395f-4235-9ec0-56342b7dc66d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elkharttruth.com/article/20130211/LIFESTYLE08/702119999/1008 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943244 | 1,759 | 1.546875 | 2 |
JACKSON, Tenn. – April 27, 2006– Union University Christian studies professor Randall Bush has written a hymn and dedicated it to Union President David Dockery by naming the hymn’s tune “Dockery.”
The hymn, “Thou Son of Man in Light Arrayed,” was performed publicly for the first time April 25 as part of a recital given by music professor Ronald Boud.
“I am deeply grateful and honored that Randall Bush would dedicate this new hymn to me and name the hymn tune after me,” Dockery said. “When it was sung for the first time in public, I was deeply moved by the tribute. I trust that the singing of the hymn will bring glory to our great God and Savior every time it is sung in days and years ahead.”
Bush said the hymn was the poetic expression of an article he wrote about the significance of the concept of the “Son of Man.” The first verse of the five-verse hymn says, “Thou Son of Man in light arrayed on clouds of glory come; ’till conquered kingdoms shall parade; and bow before thy throne.”
Bush said the hymn had been sung once publicly before, at the C.S. Lewis Oxford Summer School in Great Britain, but that was before he named the tune in Dockery’s honor.
“I decided if a hymn tune had not been named after him, that it needed to be,” Bush said. “He’s just such an outstanding president.”
Bush wrote both the words and the music for the hymn. Boud arranged the harmonization. | <urn:uuid:119d8d6f-104f-4b96-a03c-904a5d5b08e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uu.edu/news/release.cfm?ID=1035 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961382 | 362 | 1.539063 | 2 |
"I didn't want to repeat my parents' life. I saw in their lives a routine and a lack of dreaming, a lack of the possibilities, a lack of passion. And I didn't want to live without passion."
-- Hugh Hefner
What makes an evangelical entrepreneur. He/she is a staple image of the technology world. They are everywhere, willing new worlds into being...Gates, Ellison, Jobs, Sergey & Co, the list goes on. For most entrepreneurs, day to day existence is much more practical and mundane. What drives this difference and what is the dangerous other side of that coin?
I came across the idea for this post in church this past Sunday. The sermon was on "Which Excellence" and started by diving into the escalating issue we all, as parents are facing...the race to the lowest denominator in which we uber-program our children earlier and earlier. A local Winnetka Wall Street Journal writer is quoted as saying:
"Every weekday morning this summer I have dropped my granddaughter off in front of the New Trier High School, in posh Winnetka, Illinois, with a slight feeling of depression...Yet I feel a slight sadness when I contemplate their (students') energy, their too-early-in-life resume building, all devoted to a path of success set out for them by others."
He goes on to talk about the Lutheran and Puritan work ethics that drove the initial creation of the country (matched by equally disciplined ethics from other religions and cultures over time). "Americans have always worked harder than everyone else, believing that their identity and self-worth depend on it." Entrepreneurs have this in spades as they are one step ahead of the undertaker in the dog-eat-dog worth of technology.
Hard work, discipline, maniacal focus are all key to successful entrepreneurship. However, evangelical entrepreneurs have something else, something that shields them from the daily grind and frequent disappointment. They are driven by a deep care, passion and moreover, often, love for what they are doing and, better yet, hoping to achieve.
Before you cast off this post as another 20,000 ft high touchy, feely drabble about passion, let me be specific. I am not saying that you need to be passionate about what you are doing because you likely are. I am saying that you need to be clear about what it is, exactly, that is the heart of that passion. Why did you jump into your current endeavor and what is the impact on the world that you hope to leave? Remember this, write it down and revisit because, just like the high school senior, as you get into the bowels of execution, very quickly it will become about small tactical achievements. It will become about amassing a resume of pseudo events and successes...many being defined by others. Inevitably, you will lose sight of what originally got you into the business to begin with and it will become about closing the next customer, getting the next press release and trying to make as much money as possible.
The issue here: just like with our kids, you risk burning out, losing touch with yourself and ending up winning the battle and losing the war. My simple advice is to care. Care about what you do. Care about the impact your business has on the world around it. Care about your employees. Care about your family. Care about helping others (you can still "care" about crushing your competition also...). Remember what drove the initial passion and why your cared about it. Most entrepreneurs, within a matter of a couple of years, lose sight of this. You can see it in their eyes. They have lost the Northern Star and are just grinding it out. They have little resilience and often, at this point, they burn out. They can often grow bitter of the "lot" that fate or the market cast their way. This does not need to happen if you continually revisit, remember and refresh. That Northern Star will drive others to see you more in an evangelical role than as a grinder.
Of course, this still leaves open the question about our kids and what society (and parents) are doing on that battlefront. I am torn daily between pushing my kids as hard as possible to succeed in an increasingly competitive world and letting them set their own pace and appreciation for what they do and what they care about. But, alas, that is for another post... | <urn:uuid:1622ac3a-eed7-456e-80d6-7825ec53fdcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcconfidential.com/2006/09/evangelical_ent.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974412 | 907 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Located in prophecy (Rev 3:7-13) and devoted to expounding biblical prophecies, The Philadelphia Church is an association of autonomous fellowships theologically united in delivering the good news that all who endure to the end shall be saved (Matt 24:13) as a witness to all nations (v. 14). The association teaches that all disciples that self-identify themselves as Christians comprise spiritual Israel, or the greater Church of God. The association further teaches that the history of physical (i.e., circumcised) Israel is the actual shadow of the history of spiritual Israel in the supra-dimensional realm usually identified as heaven. Therefore, just as there were holy men and women in every generation of circumcised Israel even though the holy nation (Exod 19:5-6) did not keep covenant with God, refusing to walk in His laws and profaning His Sabbaths, there have been faithful disciples in every generation of spiritual Israel even though this latter holy nation (1 Pet 2:9) embraced iniquity. Faithful disciples are those individuals who live by faith, spurning hypocrisy, while continuing to grow in grace and knowledge. They are not confined to any denomination, or to any specific doctrine. They will keep or have kept the laws of God that were written on their hearts and minds when they were drawn by the Father, as they know to keep them.
Physical Israelites became physical bondservants in Egypt. Likewise, spiritual Israelites became bondservants to sin (i.e., lawlessness - 1 John 3:4) in spiritual Babylon. The Philadelphia Church teaches that spiritual Israel will be liberated from spiritual bondage just as physical Israel was liberated from physical bondage, that at a second Passover all spiritual and physical firstborns not covered by the blood of the Lamb of God will be slain as the firstborns of humans and beasts were slain in Egypt. Therefore, in love for its spiritual brethren, the association has open Passover services. The association encourages all disciples, regardless of denominational affiliation, to take the Passover as Jesus established the example and as Paul instructed the saints in Corinth.
The Philadelphia Church teaches that the Tribulation is the birth pains of spiritual Eve. The Church will not escape her labor pains of bringing many heirs of God to glory.
The Philadelphia Church teaches that spiritual Israel will be liberated from bondage in the first half of seven years of tribulation, that halfway through these seven years the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of the Most High and of His Messiah (Rev 11:15), that all of humanity will then be liberated from spiritual bondage to Satan, that all of humanity will receive the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28), that all of humanity has been already called by Christ (Rev 18:4), that everyone who endures to the end without accepting the mark of the beast (Chi xi stigma, or the tattoo [stigma] of Xx [Chi xi]) will be saved; i.e., glorified in the resurrection to life. On day 1260, Satan is cast from heaven (Rev 12:9) and comes as the true antiChrist, claiming to be the Messiah and requiring his former slaves to accept the physical mark of the beast. When cast from heaven, he can no longer control the mental landscapes of humanity by being the prince of the power of the air. He must use physical means to recapture his former slaves. Therefore, the primary evangelistic effort of The Philadelphia Church is to take to the world the good news that all who endure to the end will be saved. This will require that individuals live by faith when it would seem more reasonable to accept the tattoo of the Cross so that they can do business. This will require true endurance. This will require spiritually understanding endtime prophecies. The return of Israelites from the north country that will cause the exodus from Egypt to no longer be remembered (Jer 16:14-15) will be of spiritual Israelites leaving spiritual Babylon.
The Philadelphia Church encourages all disciples and fellowships that desire to join or partner with the association in taking the good news that all who endure to the end will be saved to contact us via email: seekers at the philadelphia church dot org or by snail mail: | <urn:uuid:0e1835ad-44d4-4158-92e1-6859aafa9d7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thephiladelphiachurch.org/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949499 | 865 | 1.71875 | 2 |
This was a commission by two architects who wanted a poem on the frosted glass of their bedroom door. I wrote the poem after a visit to their home, a cup of tea and a conversation. It was designed by one of the architects who is a master of type. In winter light, the sun comes through the letters and the words stretch out on the floor.
Hart House, University of Toronto
In 2010, I was invited by the Warden of Hart House at University of Toronto to help animate their discussions around the Mission and Vision for the House. Taking as its basis the original Founder’s Prayer, and pointing in the directions of self-reflection, active engagement, and the enormity of what and who is available to you at Hart House, I wrote the poem ‘What’s Inside”. The poem has been used widely in their advertising and promotions. The phrase below I wrote to accompany the mission statement. It has had multiple appearances, including on T-shirts! Here it is:
“Who you are is welcome; who you are becoming is why we’re here.”
It’s as though
we always stood here
side by side
in the middle
of a conversation, even
before we had words—excerpt from “Here We Are”
Did you ever see such a place?
Did you ever wonder
when you went into a public park
or through a field or over water
what you’d find there?
Did you ever pick up an album, plastic
slipping through your fingers, as you tried
to get to sound?
Did you ever go somewhere thinking you wanted x
only to discover a totally different y?
—excerpt from “What’s Inside” R.Bloom, 2010 | <urn:uuid:e1baf1ea-b782-4921-bda8-1ba2b8972c25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ronnabloom.com/the-door/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978344 | 375 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Almost 900 people are RSVPed for a July 4th march on Washington, D.C. where protesters plan to carry loaded rifles. In D.C., openly carrying guns is against the law. But the organizer of the event, libertarian radio host Adam Kokesh, says the march is an act of “civil disobedience” that attempts to prove gun advocates’ point in the “SUBTLEST way possible.”
The event’s Facebook invitation describes the march as a nonviolent demonstration, “unless the government chooses to make it violent”:
This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event. We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny. We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent. Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & returning with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free.
There’s a remote chance that there will be violence as there has been from government before, and I think it should be clear that if anyone involved in this event is approached respectfully by agents of the state, they will submit to arrest without resisting. We are truly saying in the SUBTLEST way possible that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
It is not exactly clear whether Kokesh will carry through with the event, since he says it needs to reach a critical mass of 10,000 RSVPs first. However, the National Rifle Association is newly reenergized after the Senate filibuster of background check legislation.
Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald notes that Kokesh has expressed increasingly radical views on his show and on Twitter. Just this week, he called for the abolishment of the U.S. government.
Generally, open carry demonstrations have occurred in places with weaker gun laws, as well as a litmus test for how far gun violence laws can be challenged. Most recently, a group of men brought their rifles to intimidate moms who rallied for action on gun violence. “Another group brought guns into a Virginia public library full of children, while demonstrators in Oregon brandished assault rifles in the State Capitol. | <urn:uuid:1cd6893a-9362-4b24-8639-7da84aee336e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/justice/issue/?m=20130505&mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952903 | 516 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Pat Thompson is a legend on the south coast of NSW, a cabaret star in Australia and Europe, and the Grand Madam of The Famous Spiegeltent. Her musical career spanned a history of musical styles, performers, and venues from the Melbourne Tivoli in the 1920s to the Edinburgh Festival and Parisian jazz cellars in the 1980s, to her last performance, at 84, in the Famous Spiegeltent in 2008. This feature documentary is published online as a series. Part One begins with her final performance in Melbourne, December 2008. As a tribute to Madam Pat, the documentary was screened on the opening day of the 2012 Four Winds Festival.
Next: Part Two
Pat Thompson first sang professionally as a seven year old.
She was a self-educated child of the Great Depression, with a spirit forged by a loving family, music, poverty, loss, humour, and soul.
Throughout her life she was a dedicated activist for social justice and a peaceful society; and a dedicated wife and mother who with her husband Jim travelled the Australian bush as a shearer's cook.
She was known for her influential spirit and wisdom that comes from great age and a life spanning music, political activism, and literature, all expressed with great insight by a loving and compassionate soul.
This segment features David Bates who in the 1980's gave Pat Thompson a role in a theatre production in Canberra that brought Pat back to stage, and who would later establish the 'Famous Spiegeltent', with Pat Thompson billed as its Grand Madame.
After that Canberra production they soon formed a band that would travel the world to rave reviews.
"In 25 years with Pat the strike rate of the band is absolutely flawless, of making that emotional connection with people.
"Its a great emotional journey as anyone would testify who has come into the orbit of Pat Thompson."
Tony King took up bass just to be around Pat Thompson, who he describes as 'the most inspirational person I've ever met.
Author and close friend Barbara Blackman describes Pat Thompson as 'a blues mamma whose spirit comes smoking out of her chimney of a voice.'
Pat Thompson's Edinburgh Festival performances received reviews such as:
"Pat Thompson is a phenomenon. Hers is a performance straight from the soul", The Scotsman.
"The seventy two year old singer received three proposals of marriage, a less decent proposal to spend a night of cramped passion in a British Rail sleeper train to London, and thirty four bottles of malt whiskey.
"Irresistible, irrepressible and addictive; should not be missed," BBC Radio 2.
"74 year old Pat Thompson filled the Spiegeltent with a huge presence. There is a great, sleazy grandeur here of the old blues shouters, as well as a hilarious, unpretentious semi-pastiche," The Guardian
Pat Thompson passed away at home in Canberra on 26 July 2011. | <urn:uuid:4a18ac19-cd6b-4ee2-a6ea-0a92a9472ecb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2010/05/28/2912304.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960198 | 605 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Osborne price plea to energy firms
Chancellor George Osborne has urged energy firms to reconsider price rises that have sparked warnings of more households being plunged into a "long, cold winter".
Amid union and consumer group demands for Government action to tackle rising fuel prices, he said British Gas and Npower should make sure the hikes were the "absolute minimum" necessary.
British Gas announced an extra £80 on its typical annual dual fuel bill, with an average increase of 6% affecting 8.5 million customers from November 16. Npower followed with an average rise of 8.8% for gas and 9.1% for electricity. Both companies blamed rising costs largely outside their control.
With food and some mortgage costs also on an upward path, there were fears about how the elderly and hard-up will cope with the latest rises.
Mr Osborne, who is attending the IMF/World Bank conference in Japan, told ITV News yesterday that the Government had programmes to help people reduce their household energy costs.
"But of course I'm concerned when I see electricity bills going up and partly that is because of things beyond our control - what's happening in the world with oil prices and gas prices. We've also got to do everything we can in Britain to try and keep those bills down. I would urge those energy companies to look again at any increases to see if they are absolutely necessary at a time like this."
Asked if rising energy firm profits were excessive, he said: "I think these energy companies should make sure they're only adding to their bills the absolute minimum they need to add to continue investing in our energy supply and they're not going beyond that."
The pre-winter move from British Gas comes months after parent group Centrica posted a 23% rise in half-year profits at its residential arm to £345 million.
Unions and consumer groups attacked British Gas and called on the Government to take urgent action to tackle rising fuel prices. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "With winter approaching, low-waged people will now be terrified about how they are going to find another £80. Money from the poor is going to the pockets of Centrica shareholders. This is further shameful abuse by out of control, greedy fuel companies, sitting on piles of profit."
Consumer Focus recently said six million households in England were planning to cut back on heating this winter because of cost worries. It has encouraged customers "to do what they can" to cut bills by switching tariff, payment method and supplier. | <urn:uuid:673c462c-65bc-4cab-8eab-b950614af4d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.leek-news.co.uk/Home/Osborne-price-plea-to-energy-firms-0-1857893.xnf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975175 | 512 | 1.539063 | 2 |
LIVERMORE -- Yesenia Sanchez is the first of many students that Livermore school district leaders hope to pull off the sidelines and help smash the opportunity gap for its disadvantaged students.
Sanchez was one of 120 students statewide and the first from the Livermore school district selected to participate in the Summer Math and Science Honors (SMASH) Academy, a five-week program designed to prepare high-achieving, low-income students of color for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
"Yesenia is our pioneer," said Melinda Hall, the Livermore school district's director of curriculum and special projects. "We want to remove the barriers that keep students like Yesenia from applying to academies like these. If students don't feel included at the district or high school, they will sit on the sidelines."
For the next three summers, Sanchez, a freshman at Granada High School, will spend five consecutive weeks at Stanford University taking a variety of science, technology, engineering and math courses and learning how to improve other skills like public speaking and how to survive college.
SMASH is the brainchild of Frieda Kapor Klein and her husband Mitch Kapor, who founded the San Francisco-based nonprofit Level Playing Field Institute in 2001 and its SMASH Academy in 2004. The academy had been based at UC Berkeley for the past seven years before expanding to Stanford last year and will open at UCLA and USC this
"My parents pushed me all they way through this and really wanted me to go," said Sanchez, who has never been apart from immediate family for more than a week. "They never had this opportunity back where they grew up, so they wanted me to succeed and do this."
Sanchez was one of six students from the Livermore school district who applied for the program, which has an application similar to those for most colleges. She had to fill out an application, send in her transcripts, obtain letters of recommendation from teachers, write a personal essay about why she wanted to attend and take a math assessment test.
She was one of three students from Livermore to make it past the initial phase and was then chosen for an interview before being selected in early May as one of 30 students to attend the Stanford academy.
One of seven siblings, Sanchez could be the first in her family to go directly to a four-year college. She has two older siblings attending Las Positas College.
"Our kids are capable and we just have to expose them to opportunities," said Marta Urrutia, the districts migrant education program recruiter. "We are making progress and growing and more opportunities will be there, and we just have to be ready to take advantage of them."
According to a report by the Level Playing Field Institute, there will be a projected 2.4 million STEM-related job vacancies by 2018. To stay competitive in the global job market, the country needs to provide more opportunities for kids of color to graduate with degrees in science or engineering.
For Sanchez, science and math are two subjects she said come easy to her, but she had never really thought about majoring in those fields. Livermore school district officials hope this summer will help change her mind.
"I think the program is amazing," Sanchez said. "People don't always get this type of opportunity, and when they finally do, those that take advantage of it get so much out of it."
Contact Robert Jordan at 925-847-2184. Follow him at Twitter.com/robjordan127. | <urn:uuid:6d450b1b-5dac-4dbc-9bc8-10017a12b7c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20787177/livermore-student-hopes-smash-opportunity-gap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971678 | 726 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The soaring bill to fund Britain’s army of jobless has cost the country more than £28billion for every year under Labour.
Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday launched the Government’s latest attempted blitz on unemployment.
She unveiled a new “work credit” scheme to encourage the long-term jobless into employment and vowed to create “thousands” of new public-sector jobs for youngsters.
There will also be a crackdown on housing benefit excesses to stop claimants receiving up to £1,600 a week to live in plush mansions.
But she faced an immediate backlash as critics claimed the measures would do nothing to curb the rising benefits bill. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Theresa May said: “Labour has had 12 years to get to grips with welfare reform. They have failed.
“Now in the dying days of Gordon Brown’s government, they are rushing out a series of policy announcements aimed at grabbing votes as the election looms.
“Why should anyone believe they will do what they say when they’ve done nothing to deal with these problems for so long?" In the Commons yesterday she accused the Government of “moral failure” over benefits dependency.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “We need to see root-and-branch reform of our welfare state.
“There is something wrong when you can make more money from handouts from the state than going out and earning an honest day’s living, even if you are fit and well.”
Ms Cooper yesterday unveiled plans for a £400million blitz on unemployment over the next 18 months.
She claimed the move would create 100,000 new opportunities for young people, with anyone under 25 to be guaranteed a job, training or work experience after six months’ unemployment.
Ms Cooper told MPs: “In the 1980s, youth unemployment continued to rise for four years after the recession ended. We are determined that must never happen again.”
Almost one in five people aged between 18 and 25 in the UK is now jobless, according to the latest survey by the Office of National Statistics.
But many of the new posts are set to be in the taxpayer-subsidised public sector rather than in wealth-creating private firms.
Officials said jobs being created for young people include “police community support officers” as well as other posts “in the health sector, working to build a national cycle network and in the probation service.”
Backing the welfare overhaul, Gordon Brown said: “We really don’t want to have a generation of young people who are out of the labour market for too long because it does hurt ambition and it causes a cycle for the next generation.” Other initiatives announced yesterday include a Government pledge that anyone on benefits for six months will be at least £40 per week better off in a job.
Ms Cooper also vowed to stop workless claimants getting handouts of more than £1,000 a week to live in the type of lavish homes that working families can only dream of moving to.
In one case, a Somalia-born couple and their eight children were paid £1,600 a week in housing benefit to live in £1.8million London mansion.
Under the plans, housing benefit will no longer be based on the average value of homes in a given area as luxury properties can distort the figures. | <urn:uuid:d9a43492-57a6-4e76-aab0-2238b1da1b9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/146272/Benefits-cost-families-20-a-week | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958181 | 722 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Over at American Thinker, an excellent history lesson, and how it applies to Obama:
The only way to explain this disinterest in Obama’s past and its relationship to his present is that Americans no longer consider the label “socialist” to be a pejorative. To them, it’s just another content-neutral political ideology. In our non-judgmental age, it falls into the same category as Liberal vs. Conservative, or Left vs. Right. To most people, it just means Obama is a more liberal Liberal, or a leftier Lefty, and they already knew that.
In order to stir ordinary Americans to the sense of outrage those of us in the blogosphere feel, we need to remind them that socialism is not simply a more liberal version of ordinary American politics. It is, instead, its own animal, and a very feral, dangerous animal indeed.
It helps to begin by understanding what socialism is not. It isn’t Liberalism and it isn’t mere Leftism. Frankly, those terms (and their opposites) should be jettisoned entirely, because they have become too antiquated to describe 21st Century politics. The political designations of Left and Right date back to the French Revolution, when Revolutionaries sat on the Left side of the French Parliament, and the anti-Revolutionaries sat on the Right. Terms from the internal geography of the French parliament as the ancient regime crumbled are striking inapposite today.
Likewise, the terms Liberal and Conservative date back to Victorian England, when Liberals were pushing vast social reforms, such as the end of child labor, while Conservatives were all for maintaining a deeply hierarchical status quo. Considering that modern “liberals” are seeking a return to 20th Century socialism, those phrases too scarcely seem like apt descriptors.
If it were up to me to attach labels to modern political ideologies, I would choose the terms “Individualism” and “Statism.” “Individualism” would reflect the Founder’s ideology, which sought to repose as much power as possible in individual citizens, with as little power as possible in the State, especially the federal state. The Founder’s had emerged from a long traditional of monarchal and parliamentary statism, and they concluded that, whenever power is concentrated in the government, the individual suffers.
And what of Statism? Well, there’s already a name for that ideology, and it’s a name that should now be firmly attached to Sen. Obama: Socialism.
I swear, I’ve been thinking about writing this same thing, inspired by F. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom, which I am now almost two-thirds of the way through.
One of the most frightening things about Serfdom, which was written in the opening years of WWII, is that Hayek identifies the socialist sources of so many ideas, memes, if you will, that are simply passed on as assumed fact, the intellectual water in which we swim.
My previous notes on this subject: | <urn:uuid:4ef3f291-a4f5-4e1d-8ca7-a8f3325005dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ricketyclick.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/13/the-statist-individualist-spectrum-and-obama/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956931 | 645 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The Ghost Steppers is a band formed in 2009, dedicated to exploring the old American folk musics: early blues, old time, jug band, gospel, etc. The core membership is Samm Bennett on vocal and walking drum, TOMO on guitar, and Suzuki Junzo on harmonica. They are sometimes joined by Yuichi "Ushi" Ushioda on banjo.
They perform no original songs, preferring to explore the rich heritage of musical Americana. But their goal is not to slavishly reproduce the music "authentically", in some sort of museum curator fashion, but rather to breathe new life into the old tunes that they love so dearly. They take their own liberties with the material, which, after all, was what so many of the original performers were doing with the songs they had learned as well. The Ghost Steppers believe that this is precisely the point of "traditional" music: that it should live and grow and be interpreted by new players, throughout the generations, in new ways.
Their repertoire includes tunes originally recorded in the 1920s and 1930s by musicians such as Tommy Johnson, Clarence Ashley, Dock Boggs, Geeshie Wiley, Skip James, the Carter Family and many more.
Samm dissolved the band in 2011, when guitarist TOMO put down the six strings in order to devote more of his time to perfecting his technique on the hurdy gurdy! | <urn:uuid:d61dbf83-f32c-45e8-9d4e-cb0b028e0350> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.polarityrecords.com/ghost-steppers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972326 | 290 | 1.578125 | 2 |
A majority of Catholics voted for Obama, and gay activists won every referendum.
One archbishop said the 31 October celebrations were promoting paganism to young people.
What we tend to get is music appropriate to cheerfulness rather than joy, balm for scratches rather than deep wounds ...
The procedures are spelled out in the U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
A dispute between Catholic Charities Clothes Bank in Lethbridge and Bishop Frederick Henry, whose Calgary diocese covers much of southern Alberta, has resulted in a bitter court battle
Martin Regg Cohn, the Toronto Star’s Queen’s Park reporter, has the Catholic Church all figured out. In a column last week, he went after Cardinal Thomas Collins, the head of the Archdiocese of Toronto, for defending the Catholic position on gay-straight alliances in religious schools. Mr. Cohn notes that the Church “cannot countenance this social […]
The Ontario government’s decision forcing Catholic schools to host anti-bullying groups called “gay-straight alliances” has brought to the fore a deep divide between Roman Catholic teaching and secular society, even calling into question whether public funding for Catholic schools should continue. At the root of the issue is a polarizing debate about whether public money […]
From Time Magazine Nestled amid farmland and forests in central Switzerland, the tiny hamlet of Edlibach is not a likely hotbed of controversy. But that may change in May when a Jesuit priest and a Catholic theologian begin offering sex classes for couples at the village’s Jesuit center. The seminar, entitled “Make Time and Room […]
More than a hundred University of Notre Dame professors have demanded that Illinois Bishop Daniel Jenky renounce comments he made criticizing President Barack Obama’s stance on religious liberty that compared him to dictators Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.
A Vatican report on the sexual abuse of Irish children by Catholic clergy accused Ireland's religious leaders of negligence and called for more reforms there to avoid a similarly "shameful" scandal in the future.
Vision Loss in Canada: A statistical look at blindness and vision loss
The first time Braydin Trickett told his mother he had a headache and needed to rest, Samantha Trickett put it down to her rambunctious six-year-old trying to cram too much life into too little time. It turned out that Braydin had amblyopia – lazy eye – so severe that what most people could see...
Managing your child’s eye health requires vigilance, an early start and a little bit of ingenuity. Here are some top tips from the experts. | <urn:uuid:aa650400-f6a6-47b3-9e2a-fc7cb40b303d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.nationalpost.com/tag/catholic-church/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958895 | 543 | 1.570313 | 2 |
by Shane Magee Dublin Sri Chinmoy Centre
People often ask me if I find a conflict between my research in particle physics and my interest in meditation and yoga. I would answer by pointing to the lives of the great scientists, who braved tremendous opposition in their quest to offer the world new truths, new insights into the nature of reality.
Meditation is not an escape from the world! It is a way, rather, to explore and understand ourselves, and by extension, the world.
I look upon my work in physics as an opportunity to overcome barriers in my spiritual life. Patience is one thing I need more of; the ability to persevere in work without getting attached to its outcome is another. And in the field of particle research you need to develop both of those qualities if you’re to stay in the game. After all, results in particle physics have a time-scale of their own, almost wholly independent of how much you push or shove to get them.
Science, in its own right, is a spiritual path of sorts – it may not necessarily lead to the top of the mountain, but the people in that path search for Truth in their own way, and are basically aiming to expand their horizons as best they know how. The same yearning spiritual aspirants have to understand why we’re here and what’s our purpose is aflame in their hearts too; it’s just that they still think the mind holds all the answers.
Or do they? The people on this ‘path’ of science can essentially be divided into 2 main groups: the rishi-scientists who change the way we view the world (of which in the entire history of mankind there have perhaps been about 20), and then the rest of us who fill in the gaps and do a spot of tidying-up here and there once this new world view has been handed down. The former group are, of course the Newtons and Einsteins, the ones we draw the inspiration from when we look at the world of science, and their accounts of their discoveries invariably have this tinge of divine revelation about them, the sense that their discovery was an uncovering of a higher Truth that had always lain there.
For example, consider this: The modus operandi for great scientific discoveries seems to be to strain and strain yourself searching for the answer until it almost kills you (and in doing so preparing the mathematical framework to assimilate what you are about to receive), and then give up and go for a spot of hiking in the mountains, or something similiar. The French genius Henri Poincaire would describe such a process and then recount how the answer came to him as he was stepping off a bus. Einstein always shaved very slowly in the morning, wary of repeating one particularly bad experience where the Truth burst in on him unannounced. Another great scientist, Wolfgang Kohler, when asked the formula for great discoveries replied -and I’m definitely paraphrasing here-, “Bath, bed and bus.” Richard Feynman would describe experiences of floating around in complete bliss for four days after a major breakthrough, which apparently happened to him three times. Is 12 days of bliss enough return for a lifetime of slavery? I’m not sure!
Sri Chinmoy believes you can draw inspiration from different paths as long as you maintain one-pointed concentration on following your own path and don’t try to put a foot each in two different boats, as he would say. In my search for the highest Truth, I already have a path, and I’m sticking to it. But when I take my physics research not as a search for Truth in itself but as a golden opportunity to progress in my spiritual life – that’s where the satisfaction lies.
Originally posted on Inspiration Letters at Sri Chinmoy Centre | <urn:uuid:3562e2e2-7b70-4d82-81c6-115633d0292c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.writespirit.net/sri-chinmoy/writings-sri-chinmoy-centre/research-and-revelation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965892 | 799 | 1.523438 | 2 |
- Aspiring Principals to Train
- Innovative Project Sets Standards
- Mendy Yusewitz to Head Teacher Training Program
- Why Now?
- New Program to Support New Jewish Teachers Launched: The Jewish New Teacher Project
The Menachem Education Foundation was established to professionalize Jewish Schools, and offer the highest caliber of education to our children.
It is the vision of the Menachem Education Foundation to see graduates leave Jewish schools with the skills and ability to be able to pursue successful, self-sustaining lives.
Menachem accomplishes this by building the leadership capacity of school leaders, training new/existing teachers and by implementing professional practices in schools. All our programs are developed and implemented at the lowest cost possible, maximizing the value of every dollar donated to the Foundation. | <urn:uuid:9391e6e9-4274-4c5a-9ef7-2d2fd8f82cce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mymef.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938519 | 165 | 1.84375 | 2 |
- Message Boards
- Buyer's Guide
- About Us
As I sat at my desk trying to come up with a relevant topic for this month's tip, it hit me! I can't believe that another year is soon going to be coming to an end. It got me thinking about my plans for 2013. So I am going to share some of the top things you can do at your wash to plan for 2013.
The first thing when you start your planning is to set goals. It is a good idea to involve your staff when coming up with the goals you will use to measure them and the performance of the business. Let's start with the definition of a goal; An observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe. A simple and effective way to set goals is by using SMART model (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound). SMART goal setting is one of the most positive and rewarding habits you can develop in business. It is a process by which you can evaluate the current situation and develop strategies to move forward. Moving forward is what gives you the business growth and success that most people in business aspire too. If it is your desire to own a highly successful car wash then you most certainly don't want to accept the "status quo". The only way to make sure you are not sitting in exactly the same place you are sitting in today, in 6 months, 1 year or 10 years time is to implement SMART goal setting as one of your primary business success practices.
Exactly what it is you want to achieve? The more detail and thought you put into this step the more likely you will be to succeed.
Specific is the What, Why, and How and Who of the SMART model.
- WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build, etc.
- WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
- HOW are you going to do it?
- WHO is needed to accomplish it? Do you have the current staff in place? Does it require outside help?
Ensure the goals you set are very specific, clear and attainable. Instead of setting a goal to wash more cars or raise your average ticket, set a specific goal to wash 10,000 more cars this year and raise the average by fifty cents per car.
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, then it is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal.
Choose a goal with measurable progress, that will allow you to experience success and move you toward the realization of more goals. You need to be specific when coming up with the measurable outcomes! "I want to provide a car with zero spotting when dry and find a new tire shine to reduce cost by 10 percent by the end of January" shows the specific targets to be measured. "I want to provide a better service and reduce cost" is not as measurable.
"What gets measured gets managed." Peter Drucker
When you identify the goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can achieve them. You develop that attitude, ability, skill, and financial capacity to reach them. Your begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals. A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you.
"You set your goals to a point where they're attainable, but far enough away that you have to really go get them. And every year I push my goals a little bit farther away, and every year I work a little bit harder to get them."
Realistic doesn't mean easy! Make sure that the skills needed to do the work are available; or can be brought in and that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them. Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment.
Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren't very capable.
In order for a goal to ever be reached it needs to have specific time frames. Saying I want to accomplish this as soon as possible is setting the stage for failure. All goals should clearly state the time by or in which the goal must be achieved. I want to accomplish X by Y date or time.
If you take the time to set out a goals using the SMART approach you should achieve success! I challenge you to set your goals for next year by the first of December. If you have any questions or would like to share your goals and the followed successes, I would love to hear about it. And remember, "Failure to plan, is planning to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
Robert Andre is the President of CarWash College. Robert can be reached at [email protected]. For more information about CarWash College certification programs, visit www.carwashcollege.com or call the registrar's office at 1-866-492-7422. | <urn:uuid:09bc2805-5ec9-4e81-9f04-b1c68d84b371> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.carwash.com/articles/86463-setting-smart-goals-for-2013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966597 | 1,145 | 1.507813 | 2 |
TALK about going from the doghouse to the penthouse.
Esky the kelpie-cross is one lucky dog.
Two months ago the precocious pup was on death row at the Esk pound.
Today she is in training to become a RAAF explosive detection dog and will soon help protect some of the world's most important people.
RAAF dog handler Corporal Heath Webber is Esky's trainer and one of the people directly responsible for the lovable pup's stay of execution.
After contacting the Somerset Regional Council to assess unwanted dogs for the RAAF, Cpl Webber was pleased to stumble across such a promising pooch.
"Esky was supposed to be put down but she has pretty much saved herself by wanting to chase a ball," Cpl Webber said.
"She was a bit timid in the kennels but we put that down to shyness.
"We did an assessment with her by throwing the ball and her ball drive was just fanatical. That's the key.
"If they are desperate to chase the ball and hunt for the ball they are a very good candidate for training."
Esky is two months into her training and already is ahead of the curve.
Cpl Webber expects her to be ready after eight months, compared to an expected training period of up to a year.
Equally happy about Esky's new career is Somerset Regional Council local law supervisor Steve Burgess.
Mr Burgess said Esky had been a dumped dog who stood little chance of a reprieve until the RAAF came along.
"She was found wandering down in the Fernvale area and had no identification or microchip," Mr Burgess said
"We get quite a lot of dogs dumped on the Brisbane Valley Hwy and often they are kelpie breeds. We had tried to rehouse her but with no success, so she was set to be euthanised in two days."
Mr Burgess said the RAAF looked for specific attributes in their dogs and had trialled about 20 dogs from the Esk facility.
So far Esky is the only dog to make it through to training.
"It makes my boys feel great. Euthanasia is not a job any of us like," he said.
"Anything that gives a dog a second chance is good for everyone."
Esky will soon join other RAAF explosive detection dogs that have been used at events such as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the visit of the US President.
- Esky was dumped at Fernvale with no identification or microchip.
- She was set to be put down two days after she was saved.
- Her fanatical ball chasing ability saved her life. | <urn:uuid:8df1cb9a-63fa-4803-bfd1-88bcf0cc3c7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/stray-dog-blows-minds-ipswich-raaf/1366738/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98498 | 558 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Judging by the record-breaking 7.3 million viewers who tuned into the premiere of the second season of The Walking Dead on AMC Sunday night, zombies haven’t lost a step.
Like that requisite black dress or suit, they never go out of style. And, of all the sub-genres of horror, including those hard-to-kill vampires, zombie-themed entertainment frequently includes black people who aren’t always the first to die. Because, as even the casual viewer of horror fare knows, black characters can virtually vanish right before a viewer’s eyes.
So what’s made zombie fare slightly different? It certainly doesn’t hurt that a black actor, Duane Jones, played the lead character Ben in the undisputed classic in the genre, Night of the Living Dead, written and directed by George Romero.
Given the social upheaval of 1968 when the film was released, that casting decision was profound. Romero has always insisted that Duane Jones was simply the best actor for the role.
Still, there’s no disputing the cultural impact of that decision. Plus Jones, according to Joe Kane’s article, “How Casting a Black Actor Changed ‘Night of the Living Dead’”, contributed many significant changes that enhanced the film.
Even before the game, which is produced by the Japanese company Capcom, by the way, was released, the trailer alone generated much debate, most notably from Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal. In an extended interview with the gaming blog MTV Multiplayer, Croal discussed his shock in detail.
What we’ve come to accept as mainstream entertainment may have origins of which we are unaware that subtly perpetuate racist ideals that we do not cosign. Still it is noteworthy that more so than other horror genres, we seem to always have a place in the world of zombies and that isn’t all bad.
But zombies interestingly enough have always been tied to race.
Stephen Harper notes in his essay “Night of the Living Dead: Reappraising an Undead Classic” that “it is important to remember the zombie’s origin in the voodoo tradition in Haiti.” In fact, another zombie classic was titled The White Zombie, presumably for that reason. Although that 1932 film is set in Haiti, all of the main characters are white, even the voodoo master.
Zombies, as most films in the U.S., are considered a white medium. Meaning that, in most zombie films, the main characters are white. But the distinction is there’s more room for a person of color in zombie fare than in horror in general. The Walking Dead, for example, has T-Dog. He may not have gotten much action in the premiere but, as the sneak peak reveals, he will be far more pronounced in this Sunday’s episode. Even more interesting, he’s not ignoring race at all.
“And I’m the only black guy. You realize how precarious that makes my situation?” he says to the older Dale, who is white, as he tries to convince him that they should run off from the others. T-Dog even references the racism he feels and brings up lynching.
This kind of conversation is rare for any form of American entertainment of course but maybe there’s something about zombies that makes this permissible. Certainly Michael Jackson’s classic video Thriller put race out front. There are many black zombies, including the King of Pop himself. Would Thriller have been as powerful if the bleached Michael of later years had starred in it instead of the brown Michael the world initially fell in love with?
It’s hard to believe that seeing a brown MJ did not make a difference. Thriller had to have widened perceptions of the gruesome creations, especially considering that it played almost every Halloween even before Jackson’s untimely death.
The flashy zombie franchise Resident Evil, which is a video game series brought successfully to the big screen, has been very progressive, by Hollywood standards, in its casting. The list of black actors is long and includes British actors Colin Salmon and Razaaq Adoti as well as Mike Epps, Ashanti even and most recently Boris Kodjoe, who made his debut in the fourth installment Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and returns for the fifth one, Resident Evil: Retribution, due out September 2012.
Still, these films are tenuous. Although the video game for Resident Evil 5 is set in South Africa, the film was not. The problem with the game, as noted by the website Pop Culture Transgressions is “some of the scenes do not make a clear distinction between the bad behavior of the undead and everyday thugs.”
Even before the game, which is produced by the Japanese company Capcom, by the way, was released, the trailer alone generated much debated, most notably from Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal. In an extended interview with the gaming blog MTV Multiplayer, Croal discussed his shock in detail.
“It’s like they’re all dangerous; they all need to be killed,” he said of the black faces in the game’s trailer.
As Croal noted in his initial Newsweek piece, “This imagery has a history.”
Members of the Haitian community whom I knew weren’t too pleased with the 1988 film The Serpent and the Rainbow either. All of this brings attention to the fact that the zombie idea in itself can still be controversial. What we’ve come to accept as mainstream entertainment may have origins of which we are unaware that subtly perpetuate racist ideals that we do not cosign. Still it is noteworthy that more so than other horror genres, we seem to always have a place in world of zombies and that isn’t all bad. | <urn:uuid:bdb34dcb-10c5-459b-92d6-408af293a9a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thegrio.com/2011/10/18/how-the-zombie-genre-isnt-afraid-to-address-race/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963883 | 1,221 | 1.75 | 2 |
American society is learning to compartmentalize like that. It's not that people don't care. When I called around to local charities and social agencies and asked how things were going this Christmas, they unfailingly praised the generosity of Spokane people. If people are aware of a need, their natural impulse is to deliver a sack of food or take a Christmas wish from the Giving Tree and fulfill it.
And yet the same social agencies say the poor are worse off than they have been in recent memory. There are lots of people in this city who are cold, hungry and otherwise miserable, and there's little hope of lending aid. Why?
The real decisions about how the poor would fare this winter were made years ago, when euphemistically called "tax cuts" and "tax reform" started snatching away the small amenities that made life a little more tolerable for the poor.
In this state, Tim Eyman asked citizens in 1999: Would you rather pay $300 for a car license or $30? The initiative passed overwhelmingly, and there weren't many questions about the consequences. Poor people are dealing with those now.
Two years later, Eyman's Initiative 747 limited state and local property tax increases to 1 percent per year, less than the inflation rate. That meant a slow strangulation of local governments, and of course services to the poor are the first to go. The city of Spokane has cut $300,000 out of its social services budget over the past three years.
It does advocates little good to argue the depth of the needs of the poor or the merits of a program. For example, Olympia is about to eliminate Spokane's most successful program for dealing with the vilest of all problems, child abuse. The Partners With Families and Children Program, started by Sacred Heart and Deaconess hospitals in a desperate effort to handle a problem they were seeing, too late, in their emergency rooms, has demonstrated its effectiveness in academic studies. It has been defended by virtually everyone in the city knowing anything about the problem, from the chief of police to physicians' organizations to all the area's universities. No one in Olympia is listening; cutting costs is the only virtue of modern government.
Many of the kids who suffer abuse will show up at the Volunteers of American Crosswalk program for counseling. Unfortunately, the attention they get will be limited by the fact that Crosswalk just lost a $200,000 grant and four counselors -- another victim of federal tax cuts.
The same is true of programs for the mentally ill. They are being deprived of their medicines, counseling and, in some cases, a place to live -- just as quickly as Medicaid can rewrite its rules.
Marianne DeMarco, coordinator of the Northeast SNAP office in the Northeast Community Center, has never seen things so bad in her 25 years in the business. The increase of about 25 percent in the cost for fuel has already exhausted the ability of many people to order a minimum refill for their heating oil tanks. Some people are so desperate for a little heat they go to a service station and buy five or 10 gallons of diesel fuel to get their furnaces started again. It costs more and it doesn't last long, but when you're cold -- as those who can remember Ice Storm can attest -- you become desperate.
DeMarco's program has less money this year to deal with a much greater demand. Even those who get help get only a one-time fill of 100 gallons of fuel. That usually lasts no more than a month. When that's gone, "out come the electric heaters" until Avista shuts off their electricity. Then people move in with friends or relatives. Or, commonly, parents send children to stay with family or friends and elect to stay in the cold houses themselves, DeMarco says.
Things fall apart pretty quickly when the heat goes off. For one thing, pipes freeze. For most people on fixed incomes, to call a plumber would take a major portion of their monthly living costs. There is a program, also run by SNAP, that fixes broken pipes for eligible callers, but that has been cut by 40 percent.
But you wouldn't know any of this unless you were part of the small community that deals with poverty in Spokane.
Cause and effect are safely compartmentalized. A wealthy Spokane citizen can guiltlessly spend his federal tax savings downtown, get in his $40,000 Lexus with its $30 license plate, then drive home to his property-tax protected house, totally unaware that some of the homes he is passing have no heat.
Helping Hands & r & All agencies emphasize that donations are as welcome after Christmas as they are before. A few of the agencies doing widespread work among the poor are:
Spokane Neighborhood Action Program & r & 2116 E. First Ave. * 456-7111
Volunteers of America & r & 525 W. Second Ave. * 624-2378
Lutheran Community Services & r & 7 S. Howard St. * 747-8224
Catholic Charities of Spokane & r & 1023 W. Riverside Ave. * 358-4250
Union Gospel Mission & r & P.O. Box 4066 * 535-8510 | <urn:uuid:d95e0a32-e93a-40b1-92a8-dc080d032d25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inlander.com/spokane/article-6594-merry-christmas-for-whom.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969407 | 1,069 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Immigration Convictions for March 2008
Table 1: Criminal Immigration Convictions
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during March 2008 the government reported 8104 new immigration convictions.
According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 24.4% over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for immigration-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom
of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. (See Table 1)
When monthly 2008 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in
the previous year, the number of convictions was up (81.8 percent).
Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago.
Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 217.7 percent from levels reported in 2003.
The substantial growth in
these cases is partly related to increases in the matters filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. If magistrate cases
are excluded and only Federal District Court cases are counted, the overall increase in
immigration convictions is 28.1 percent instead of 217.7 percent.
The evidence suggests that part of the difference may be the result of improvements in the recording of the magistrate cases
by the Justice Department.
Figure 1: Criminal Immigration Convictions over the last five years
The increase from the levels five years ago in immigration convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1
represent the number of immigration convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month
basis. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so
that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Figure 2: Convictions by Investigative Agency
Virtually all federal criminal convictions for immigration offenses in March 2008
(100 percent) were referred by the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). The two lead investigative agencies in DHS are Customs and Border Protection (CBP) whose border patrol
agencies guard the county's borders, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), responsible for conducting
most immigration criminal investigations
under the immigration laws. See Figure 2.
Immigration Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In March 2008, 74 percent of immigration cases for these matters took place in U.S. Magistrate Courts which handle less serious
misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses."
In the magistrate courts in March the most frequently cited lead charge was
Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 involving the "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc.". This was the lead charge
for 93.1 percent of all magistrate convictions in March.
Other frequently prosecuted lead charges include: "8 USC 1326 - Reentry of deported alien" (6%).
Immigration Convictions in U.S. District Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of immigration matters
filed in U.S. District Court during March 2008.
Table 2: Top charges for convictions
"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was the most frequent recorded lead charge.
"Reentry of deported alien" (Title 8 U.S.C Section 1326) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was the 1 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324.
"Bringing in and harboring certain aliens" under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1324 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was the 2 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Ranked 3rd was "Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325.
"Entry of alien at improper time or place; etc." under Title 8 U.S.C Section 1325 was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was the 3 most frequently invoked 5 years ago..
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest
increase in convictions—up 250 percent—compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 922
that involves " Firearms; Unlawful acts
This was the same statute that had the largest increase—154.5 %—when compared with five years ago.
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest
decline in convictions compared to one year ago—down 22 percent—was
Forgery or false use of passport
(Title 18 U.S.C Section 1543 ).
Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions— 66.5 percent—was
for convictions where the lead charge was " Fraud/false statements or entries generally
" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 1001
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
Understandably, there is great variation in the number of immigration convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the
largest number of convictions of this type last month are shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Top 10 districts
The District of Arizona—with 360 convictions—was the most active during March 2008.
The District of Arizona was ranked 3 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd.
The Western District of Texas (San Antonio) was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Southern District of Texas (Houston) is now ranking 3rd.
The Southern District of Texas (Houston) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were
Eastern District of California (Sacramento), now ranked
, and South Carolina
In the same order, these districts ranked 12th and 25th one year ago and 7th and 23rd five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth
in immigration convictions compared to one year ago— 111 percent—was
Central District of California (Los Angeles).
This was the same district that had the largest increase— 109.6 %—when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the
largest drop in immigration convictions— 8.3 percent—was
Middle District of Florida (Tampa).
But over the past five years,
Eastern District of California (Sacramento)
showed the largest drop— 42.4 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new immigration crime cases resulting in convictions of this type
during March 2008 are shown in Table 4.
All 12 of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of immigration convictions . (Because of ties, there were a total of 12 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Robert C. Brack in the District of New Mexico ranked 1st with 119 convicted in immigration convictions.
Judge Brackalso appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago(ranked 1).
Judge Frank Montalvo in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 2nd with 75 convicted in immigration convictions.
Judge Montalvoalso appeared in the top ten rankings one year ago(ranked 8).
Judge Kathleen Cardone in the Western District of Texas (San Antonio) ranked 3rd with 72 convicted in immigration convictions. | <urn:uuid:9a2472c6-9f34-40fc-8352-fdf1c30a0cc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/bulletins/immigration/monthlymar08/gui/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939971 | 1,677 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Health Insurance Quotes
Ask the Health Insurance Expert
I was laid off from my job. What happens to my health insurance? How does COBRA work?
Most likely you will be able to temporarily continue your health insurance benefits.
The federal law known as COBRA (sometimes called "continuation coverage") protects the health care rights of workers who are laid off, as well as spouses and dependents of those workers, in certain situations. It enables you to keep your benefits for 18 months, and sometimes up to 36 months, depending on the circumstances.
While the law is pretty generous, there are several conditions that must be met for you to be eligible for COBRA coverage. For instance, your company is required to provide COBRA only if it has at least 20 employees total (full-time and part-time) and continues to offer a health plan to its existing employees. And you won't be eligible if you were dismissed for "gross misconduct" on the job.
To learn more about how to get COBRA and what to do with it once you've got it, read our feature, Know your COBRA rights. This story explains how your company must notify you of your rights, what to do if you're a part-timer, and who gets "custody" of the health benefits when there's a divorce. So what's the catch with COBRA?
You will be responsible for paying the full monthly premiums that your employer previously paid, plus a slight administrative fee (up to 2 percent). For a single person, premiums could easily top $600 a month, and $1,200 or more for a family.
While those payments might come as a shock to your wallet, the alternative is trying to find an individual health plan until — or if — you can get into another group plan. An individual or family plan may be more expensive than COBRA for the same benefits. These plans are medically underwritten. Most insurance companies will decline to offer coverage to applicants with a serious illness and will also exclude pre-existing conditions from coverage. This makes COBRA an especially good option for someone with an existing illness.
If it turns out you aren't eligible for COBRA or you just want to take a pass on it, here are Tips on buying individual insurance. | <urn:uuid:f9568040-9995-409e-946a-78443162b6ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insure.com/articles/healthinsurancefaq/cobra.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96453 | 476 | 1.53125 | 2 |
In the days of the late Mike Wallace, "60 Minutes" was known for hard-hitting, aggressive journalism that asked the questions viewers wanted answered and held the powerful accountable.
The Jan. 27 program on which Steve Kroft interviewed President Obama (at his request, no less) and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fell far short of that high standard. It was the kind of softball toss you might have expected if Oprah Winfrey or Barbara Walters had conducted the interview.
The president said of Clinton, "[A] lot of the successes we've had internationally have been because of her hard work." Kroft should have asked if one of those successes included Russia, a nation with which Clinton promised to push the "reset button." As the Washington Post reports, "A poisonous unraveling of U.S. relations with Russia in recent months represents more than the failure of President Obama's first-term attempt to 'reset' badly frayed bilateral relations. It threatens pillars of Obama's second-term foreign policy agenda as well." And how about the Middle East, which is not exactly headed toward peace and stability?
Late in the interview, the president rattled off his administration's foreign policy successes. He mentioned Egypt and said, "[H]ad it not been for the leadership we showed, you might have seen a different outcome there."
Kroft should have followed up with: "Different from Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's president and Muslim Brotherhood proponent, who agrees with the Quran that Jews 'are descendants of apes and pigs?' "
Kroft brought up the 2008 presidential campaign. You might think it would have been a good time to remind viewers of what she said then about Barack Obama -- including that he had little or no accomplishments to speak of. Instead, Kroft said, "I'm going to spare you reading some of the things that you said about each other ... " Why? He might have asked, "Did you mean it then, or was this a political game?"
Kroft did concede that there had been no big foreign policy achievement in Obama's first four years in office, though the president maintained that winding down two wars, keeping pressure on terrorists and "dismantling" al Qaeda's core leadership constituted success. Kroft could have countered with: "Terrorism appears not to be about leaders, but followers of an ideology. Is your policy simply to keep killing terrorists? Do you think you can kill them all?"
Kroft mentioned the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, and properly called it "the biggest diplomatic disaster of this administration," but the question he put to Clinton was limp: "Do you blame yourself that you didn't know or that you should have known?"
Before conducting the interview, Kroft should have read several questions tweeted by CBS News' investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson. As published on Breitbart.com, Attkisson wanted to know, "Who is the highest-ranking official who was aware of pre-9/11 security requests from U.S. personnel in Libya?" "Who is/are the official(s) responsible for removing reference to al-Qaida from the original CIA notes?" "What is your response to the president stating that on Sept. 12, he called 9/11 a terrorist attack, in light of his CBS interview on that date in which he answered that it was too early to know whether it was a terrorist attack?"
Politicians go on shows that won't confront them with hard questions they don't want to answer. If those questions are asked, they'll likely not appear on those shows again. The media need ratings, and to get them, they need high-profile guests. Politicians know this. That's the unholy alliance between much of big media and political leaders.
Something similar occurred on Sunday's edition of ABC's "This Week." Reporter Martha Raddatz interviewed Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., for six minutes and never asked him about reports by the Daily Caller, which have subsequently surfaced in the Miami Herald ,as well, alleging that he flew to the Dominican Republic on planes paid for by a campaign contributor and solicited prostitutes. Menendez's spokeswoman has called the report "unsubstantiated garbage." Still, Raddatz could have asked him about it.
The primary role of journalists is to question authority. In these two instances, Kroft and Raddatz fell short.
Examiner Columnist Cal Thomas is nationally syndicated by Tribune Media. | <urn:uuid:0b186ebc-2b2e-4797-92b8-71ef20ec9bb8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://washingtonexaminer.com/60-minutes-missed-opportunity/article/2520066?custom_click=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977537 | 920 | 1.523438 | 2 |
First launched in 2006 by the animal welfare and education organization Helen Woodward Animal Center, the contest started out as a fun way that pet owners could ride the surf and raise a little money for homeless animals. Today, the Surf-a-thon is considered the "world's largest dog surfing event” - attendance topped nearly 4,000 this year - and there was no certainly no shortage of people and dog watching at this crazy event!
|A shredding Shepherd? Or is that Pyrenees?|
Extra cool moment: Ricochet, a.k.a: Rip Curl Ricki, and Patrick Ivison, a fifteen year-old quadriplegic surfer, completing the first known tandem surfing ride between an adaptive surfer and a dog at the event! | <urn:uuid:fc98f011-75ba-47ab-94b4-40372446d825> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.muttropolis.com/the_muttropolis_blog/2009/09/lo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9476 | 160 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Massachusetts' New Economy
In the State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke about how the country can kick-start the great American job engine. Here in Massachusetts, we hear that we are doing well compared to the rest of the country. True: Greater Boston (though not the rest of the state) is faring better than many older industrialized states. But overall we have a stagnant job base and we face huge challenges. In the video below, Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios breaks down the numbers from our series on job creation and economic development, entitled, “Massachusetts’ New Economy.” Click here for some key takeaways, and the ppt presentation. Click image below for youtube video:
This week, Pioneer began launching a blog & video series profiling some of the awesome charter schools applying to the state board of education for approval to expand, this month. The board's decision will impact thousands of kids across the Bay State. These schools are proving that ALL kids are capable of meeting high expectations. Their student assessment scores are off the charts and tens of thousands of kids are on their waiting lists. Read our blog posts here and here.
Did you know that nearly 30% of Mass.'s public school children are trapped in the 29 districts that rank in the bottom 10% on statewide assessments? The state already covers most of those districts' education costs. That's why we think it's time to lift the cap on charter schools. Read our op-ed here.
Have you signed up for our upcoming events?
Join Us (2/21): Charter Public Schools: Preserving Quality, Autonomy, & Choice http://conta.cc/XKJvVo
Attend our 2013 Hewitt Healthcare Lecture (Mar. 6): "Who Controls Health Care? And How?" http://conta.cc/WQU1dD
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Support our work | <urn:uuid:2f7d2b3f-221b-4d21-bb51-7ea3f0a6068f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redmassgroup.com/diary/16531/this-week-at-pioneer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931053 | 397 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Mabinogion is a collection of medieval Welsh stories of Celtic origin – they are written very much in the bardic tradition of oral storytelling. The eleven tales as normally collected have the four ‘branches’ of the Mabinogion proper, a set of Native Tales and three Romances; the Native Tales also include early references to King Arthur. During my obsessive Arthurian reading period some years ago, (see the previous post) I did include the Mabinogion. Like Malory, it is not an easy read, and the Welsh names take some getting used to, but these stories are full of magic, nature, and always the cycle of life.
The publisher Seren, with its series of short novels ‘New Stories from the Mabinogion’ has commissioned contemporary re-tellings of the stories, (somewhat in the manner of the Canongate Myths). The first two are reviewed below, and I have the next pair to read very soon.
White Ravens by Owen Sheers
Based upon the story of Branwen, daughter of Llyr, the second branch of the Mabinogion. This is a tale of two brothers, their sister and the love of her life. Sheers has chosen to set a wartime story within another contemporary narrative.
We start in the near present on a farm in Wales where foot and mouth has caused Rhi”s brothers into the dangerous business of stealing and butchering lambs to supply fancy restaurants in London. Rhi hadn’t wanted to be a part of it, but one night necessity forced her to drive the van, and she abandons her brothers once in London – finding herself at the Tower of London. There she meets an old man who tells her another story, that seems to resonate with her own life.
He tells of an Irishman, Matthew, who fights for the British in WWII. Wounded, he takes up office work, but one day is sent on a mission to pick up some raven chicks from a remote farm in Wales to replenish the Tower’s complement. Matthew arrives and meets a gentle giant of a farmer, Ben and later his sister Branwen and it’s love at first sight for both of them. Then on the day of their wedding, Bran’s other brother arrives back home from the war. Aghast at losing his beloved sister he perpetrates a shocking act of revenge that makes all the blood of the other pair of brothers’ butchery pale in comparison – animal lovers beware …
The writing is very powerful indeed, and tears sprang to my eyes as I read this scene, and then again later when tragedy strikes again and again. War changes people and violence begets violence, whether physical or emotional, indeed the food cycle itself has death at its core. The moments of happiness in this book are few and far between, yet there is a moral to take from this tale and maybe it is not too late for Rhi …
* * * * *
The Ninth Wave by Russell Celyn Jones
Jones takes the story of Pwyll from the first branch of the Mabinogion and rewrites it as a dystopian vision of a world without oil. Pwyll is a rich young aristocrat who has no idea of how to rule his land. One day out hunting he kills the dog of neighbouring ruler Arawn who proposes that Pwyll should swap places while Arawn quietly does some business, and he ends up getting drawn in to a plot by Arawn’s wife to murder her sister’s fiancée…
I really enjoyed the imagery of Jones’ dystopian world in this one. A land where everyone has gone back to horses for transport, yet Little Chefs and Starbucks are still going – it’s that close to us now. Even more than now, it’s a land of haves and have-nots. Democracy has reverted back to medieval style feudal fiefdoms and tribal enclaves again which brings the story back full-circle to its origins.
Mounted up and heading along the old motorway, with a hand-drawn map in his hands, he practised the lines he was to use on Havgan. He turned off at exit fifteen and was soon catching the highlights of kids ripping copper pipes off the wall of a house. A car burned at the side of the road, with people walking casually by as if this were nothing special. From shop to light manufacturing unit, there was precious little glass left anywhere in one piece.
* * * * *
I would find it very hard to pick between these two marvellous short novels. Each brings the essence of the original story to life and expands on it to create a whole from the episodic narratives of the Mabinogion.
I loved them both and will be reading vols 3 & 4 very soon. (both 9/10).
I bought these books. For another review of these two tales, read Lizzy’s Literary Life
To buy the books mentioned from Amazon.co.uk, click below:
White Ravens (New Stories from the Mabinogion) by Owen Sheers
The Ninth Wave (New Stories from the Mabinogion) by Russell Celyn Jones
The Mabinogion (Oxford World’s Classics) trans Sioned Davies | <urn:uuid:903cc2de-73a5-4777-b4c2-fad0755807af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gaskella.wordpress.com/2010/11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960843 | 1,108 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Shots - Health Blog
Thu October 6, 2011
Budget Cuts Deal Setbacks To Community Health Centers
Community health centers were among the big winners in the health care overhaul since the law provided $11 billion over five years to expand their ability to see millions more patients.
But hundreds of health centers aren't feeling so lucky any more.
That's because the Obama administration scaled back some of the expansion plans this year after the federal budget compromise reached in March trimmed government spending.
The budget deal between the White House and Republicans cut $600 million, or half the regular 2011 appropriation for the health centers. To lessen the pain, the administration filled in for those missing dollars with money slated to staff and build new centers. As a result, the expansion dollars for this year became much more limited.
Rather than handing out $250 million to establish new patient care sites to serve more than 2 million additional people as originally expected, the Obama administration gave $29 million to 67 nonprofit organizations that will serve an additional 286,000 patients. A total of 810 nonprofits had applied.
In addition, to free up money to help with existing operations, the administration scrapped plans to distribute $335 million to health centers to boost medical, dental, pharmacy and vision services.
Advocates are concerned that future congressional spending cuts could slow efforts to build health center capacity by 2014, when the health law will begin expanding coverage to 32 million uninsured. "Now the whole process has been set back," said Dan Hawkins, senior vice president at the National Association of Community Health Centers.
At the local level, the funding changes mean:
- A dental exam room at FoundCare Health Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., will remain unused four days a week because there's no money to hire a dentist.
- Triad Adults and Pediatrics in Greensboro, N.C., may face a repeat of last winter when more than 700 adult patients were put on a months-long waiting list for care and the center had to stop taking new pediatric patients because of a lack of doctors.
- Heartland Community Health Center in Lawrence, Kan., will have to continue to tell patients they must wait at least two months for an appointment.
"When the money first became available, a lot of community organizations said here's a golden opportunity, let's try to take advantage," said Heartland CEO Jon Stewart. "But like many others, we were shocked not to be awarded a grant." | <urn:uuid:bb123a47-79ee-426c-abdc-400483a9712e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ketr.org/post/budget-cuts-deal-setbacks-community-health-centers | 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 | 0.953728 | 504 | 1.5 | 2 |
CHESTERFIELD, N.H. -- There were those who never came home, and there were those who came home but were never the same.
Dot Hunt believes her late brother, who fought in Vietnam, falls into the latter category. So her thoughts turned to him -- and to all returning soldiers -- during a Veterans Day ceremony Sunday.
"America has a deep moral obligation to these fine men and fine women," said Hunt, chaplain for Chesterfield American Legion Post 86.
Hunt, who served in the Navy and is a retired nurse, led a ceremony organized by the legion post on the Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Pedestrian Bridge on Route 9 in West Chesterfield, N.H.
A small crowd turned out to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, pray and pay tribute on the windy bridge spanning the Connecticut River.
"This day is dedicated to all of you who answered the call for service," Hunt said.
She chose to highlight Vietnam veterans on Sunday, asking a handful of those vets to step forward from the audience and noting that they had fought under unusually difficult social and political circumstances.
"They served while some avoided service altogether," Hunt said, adding that Vietnam veterans also served "without the full moral support" of a nation divided by the war.
Gary Zamore of Chesterfield was among the Vietnam veterans in the crowd Sunday. He fought in Vietnam as a member of the Marine Corps in 1968 and 1969 and suffered gunshot wounds in the arm,
"I was one of the lucky ones," he said. "I survived. There were a lot who didn't make it."
While noting that Sunday was "a day for all veterans," he appreciated Hunt's gesture toward those who fought in Vietnam.
"It's nice that we are recognized," Zamore said. "We've been kind of forgotten."
Hunt has personal experience with the plight of Vietnam veterans. Her brother, Rick Valley, returned safely home but had suffered mental trauma that, she believes, haunted him for the rest of his life.
"When he came back, he was pretty messed up -- a changed man," Hunt said, adding that her brother never took advantage of governmental programs that may have helped him.
Hunt speculates that her brother, who died of a heart attack at age 48, "felt as though he had too much pride to even seek help from the VA."
She said the experience "raised an interest in me" regarding veterans and the services that can help them transition into life after war. She believes the government has made strides toward improving those services and their availability.
"I think we've turned it around quite a bit," Hunt said. "And I think we've saved a lot of lives."
Sunday's ceremony included an empty chair dedicated to prisoners of war and soldiers who went missing in action. And it ended with state Rep. Steven Lindsey, a Democrat representing Cheshire District 3, reading the famous World War I poem "In Flanders Fields."
Afterward, attendees dropped flowers over the bridge railing into the Connecticut as a symbol of remembrance.
"This is a real community," Lindsey said as the crowd dispersed. "This is what preserves who we are -- not Facebook or some chat room you go to." | <urn:uuid:3193bbb0-2d1a-45b3-8366-df6cea533748> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_21978338/rsquo-day-all-veterans-rsquo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986793 | 666 | 1.5625 | 2 |
By Tim Leeds
Historians gathered in Havre today to discuss the past of Montana and the Hi-Line, and to conduct business of their organizations over the weekend.
Havre is hosting the 29th annual Montana History Conference, which includes meetings of the boards of the Montana Historical Society and the Museums Association of Montana and the State Historical Records Advisory Board.
Only registered members of the conference may attend the events. Registration, which includes a late-registration fee of $150, will be held from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the Heritage Center, and from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Montana State University-Northern Student Union Building Ballroom.
A workshop was scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the Heritage Center about architecture and preservation on the Hi-Line. Another on care of collections for library and archive materials was held from 9 a.m. to noon in the center, and a workshop on new ideas for teaching Montana history started at 1 p.m., running through 4 p.m.
Following a reception from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Heritage Center lobby, University of Wyoming professor and Department of Geography chair John Logan Allen will present "The Marias Adventure: Meriwether Lewis on the Hi-Line."
At 7:45 p.m., people attending the conference are invited o a light buffet in the center lobby.
At 9 p.m., Historical Society author and historian Ellen Baumler, known for her recording of Montana ghost stories, will conduct a "Ghost Walk" of downtown Havre, starting at the Heritage Center.
The conference shifts to MSU-N on Friday. Historical Society director Arnold Olsen will deliver the annual state of the society address at the SUB Ballroom from 8 to 8:45 a.m.
Concurrent sessions are set for 9 to 10:20 a.m. A discussion of research on communities of different ethnic groups in Montana will be held in Donaldson Commons, a discussion of research by university students will be at the Little Theater in Cowan Hall, and historians Alden Big Man of the Crow Tribe and Curley Bear Walker of the Blackfeet Tribe will discuss interpretation of Native American sites in the SUB Ballroom.
From 10:45 to noon, a discussion of women's lives in Montana history will be in the Little Theater, a discussion of the 125th anniversary of the Nez Perce War will be in the SUB Ballroom, and former railroaders will talk about working on the railroad in Donaldson Commons.
Following a luncheon, silent auction and awards presentations from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the SUB dining hall, concurrent sessions will run from 1:45 to 3 p.m.
Research on the history of medicine in Montana will be presented in Donaldson Commons, students of tribal colleges will present research in the Little Theater, and a discussion of how historical documents and events affect contemporary events will be held in the SUB ballroom.
Authors Mary Clearman, Judy Blund, Dierdre McNamer and others will hold a session from 3:15 to 5 p.m. in the SUB Ballroom discussing the impact of Montana history on their writing.
After a no-host cocktail party with Historical Society authors available for book signings in the Duck Inn Vineyard Room from 5:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., the conference is holding a banquet with awards and entertainment by Havre's Timely Trio from 6:45 to 9 p.m. in the Duck Inn Olympic Room.
Saturday starts with plenary sessions. From 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. in the SUB dining room Michael Hogue will discuss the journey of Cree refugees in Montana from 1885 to 1896.
From 9 to 10:30 a.m. the session will be "Jerks in Montana History." The discussion will be of people with less than sparkling records in Montana history.
A quilt registration, a new feature of the conference, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Heritage Center. Quilters from the region are encouraged to bring their new or antique quilts to be entered in a statewide quilt registry.
Bus tours from 1 to 5 p.m. will cover the "Historic Bear Paws," Hill County and a Minuteman missile silo test site at Malmstrom Air Force Base at Great Falls. | <urn:uuid:f65238d3-8981-4176-86a4-a115b45fccdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.havredailynews.com/cms/news/story-98906.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933883 | 935 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Hungry cannibals discuss killing and eating man
It is good to know that human meat doesn’t taste good, according to one of the cannibals in this provocative video. Bad tasting meat might prove to be a deterrent to someone getting the idea of killing a human being and then sautéing them up for dinner. However, as you can see from this Discovery channel documentary, there are tribes partaking of human flesh for a unique reason. The only good thing about these cannibals is that the person they killed and ate was a sorcerer who was harming one of their own.
According to these guys, the sorcerer was already eating one of their own people; therefore they felt compelled to seek revenge by returning the favor. However, it appears that the sorcerer was not actually eating anyone, but that it was more of a figurative consumption via illness and death. Apparently in this tribe, when a person becomes sick or dies unexpectedly there must be a sorcerer behind it. Modern medicine has not yet reached them, which is unfortunate for all the future accused sorcerers.
Interestingly, the one guy makes the statement, “Normal people shouldn’t eat each other because we’re all human.” Coming from an actual cannibal, somehow I don’t quite believe him. It seems when it comes to sorcerers all bets are off for not eating another human being.
- Abusive Videos Prove That Police Are Dicks
- The most wickedly roads of the world
- Top 10 baddest female MMA fighters
No comments yet. Please login to leave comments. | <urn:uuid:d3f35cf7-e82f-4e82-b32c-3d677d8e127a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://machosmag-bizarre.com/hungry_cannibals_discuss_killing_and_eating_man | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973911 | 327 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Rubinau: Revoking driver's license for life for drunk driving
11:46, — Politics
The chairman of the “council of the republic” proposes to take strict measures for drunk drivers.
Anatoly Rubinau answered questions of Euroradio:
What is your attitude towards the proposal of the Prosecutor General's Office on confiscating cars from drunk drivers?
I think the strictest measures must be taken against those who drive cars after drinking alcohol. We cannot speak about permilles and limits in our conditions and with our traditions. In out country, if one has a shot glass of alcohol, he will have another one, if one has a glass of bear, he will have some more bottles. People say we have a brutal state and the president is a brutal person. We have extra soft rules, extra! To keep order, we need freedom and severe punishment for violations. Humane treatment is being promoted in our country and in the West. But whom do they treat softly? Criminals! Humane treatment should be to normal citizens, who don't violate anything and want to have safety guarantees. We are too kind to offenders! A drunk driver is a criminal. As for a vehicle. It can be seized, but driver's license must be revoked for life. In this situation, any measures are acceptable, because a drunk driver is a killer. How can we treat a killer softly?
Does seizure of cars meet other laws and the Constitution? Does not it violate the right to private property?
People set laws for themselves. If something goes wrong, the law should be changed to serve people. The right to private property cannot contradict the fundamental and vital interests of the society. If it happens, laws should be changed. We give the highest priority to human rights, but it's wrong! A person lives in the society. Freedom of a person cannot be more important than interests of the society. A person has only the liberties that the society can offer and guarantee. If the society flourishes, every person feels good. The right to private property is indefeasible only if one fulfils certain rules and regulations.
A threat to seize an expensive vehicle creates favourable conditions for corruption...
The fact that violations are possible doesn't mean we don't need rules. We need to fight corruption. To fight it severely. People must understand that punishment is inevitable. As in case if a criminal commits a murder. In the Soviet times, all people knew that punishment, the death penalty, was inevitable. Today it is life sentence. We are made to have it. What do we see? For example, an Italian Mafioso. He gets in prison, he will do sports, watch TV, listen to the radio and write books there. How is that possible?
It should be reminded that measures allowing to seize vehicles from drunk drivers are expected to be introduced in Belarus.
Write your comment (334) | <urn:uuid:b1d3ea05-8939-47b3-a6da-e72226b68c87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2013/1/25/64433/?1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955475 | 596 | 1.75 | 2 |
If Nato won't fight, what's it for?
NATO is meeting in summit at Brussels. Sixty years after the alliance was signed, can anyone tell me what it's for?
"What is it for?": Gordon Brown at a NATO summit in April
The revival of Russian revanchism might seem to answer that question. Except that NATO has been conspicuous by its absence from the Georgian conflict. Let's conjecture that Russia tried something similar in a NATO state. Say it moved troops into Latvia following inter-communal rioting. (It wouldn't declare war, of course. No one ever declares war these days.) Say that, as in Georgia, it agreed to remove its forces but somehow didn't quite get round to pulling them out. Does anyone really believe that this would trigger an all-out NATO counter-offensive? That Turkish troops would surge up through Georgia to harry Russia's south? That the Norwegian and Icelandic navies would blockade Archangel? That American and Canadian and British and Belgian forces would be dispatched to relieve the Baltic States?
It seems likely that that a Soviet attack on West Germany during the Cold War would indeed have triggered a military response. Certainly the possibility was strong enough that the USSR never took the risk. In that sense, NATO was a triumphant success. But is it still the best possible vehicle for the advancement of its members' collective interests?
I ask the question with genuine regret. In the days when NATO had an obvious purpose, I was one of its biggest supporters. As a teenager, I was a member of an organisation called Peace Through NATO, which used to hold debates against CND supporters. Our side would always begin by smugly reminding the CNDers that it was thanks to the nuclear deterrent that we were free to hold such debates at all. How tiresome they must have found us.
The end of the Cold War removed NATO's foundational rationale. In order to find itself a new role, the alliance took to expanding rapidly. But, in doing so, there is a danger that it has made a fiction of Article V: the clause that treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
I hope I'm wrong. I'd certainly be in favour of fighting for the freedom of the Baltics. Britain did so once before. The only direct clash between our Armed Services and the Red Army was in Estonia in 1918. We lost a number of sailors, who were buried locally. When the Soviets annexed Estonia, they dynamited every monument that dated from the independence period. But the graves of the British sailors were kept hidden and tended by local patriots. They are still there. I hope the British would fight again. But would the rest?
The EU talks of limiting tax avoidance, but its true agenda is tax harmonisation
May 22nd, 2013 6:49
The pro-EU campaign is reduced to dressing up Eurocrats as businessmen
May 20th, 2013 16:52
If you're worried about swivel-eyed loons, try open primaries
May 19th, 2013 17:49
This is the closest we have been to leaving the EU
May 17th, 2013 7:08
A small reminder of why we need to quit the Euro-racket
May 16th, 2013 7:07 | <urn:uuid:92e3f763-da93-41e8-b9f1-1c3195cf21c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/4949046/If_Nato_wont_fight_whats_it_for/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984359 | 673 | 1.828125 | 2 |
It’s too bad we don’t have more of them around here. They’re so cool!
The Tufted Duck sports a neat long plume on the back of his head. They’re pretty common in Europe. But not here.
That’s why when I got word that one was seen yesterday on Lake Champlain, just south of Plattsburgh, I made a few phone calls and rounded up a car full of eager birders.
We arrived there and met the finder of yesterday’s bird and a few other birders. No, they haven’t seen it this morning.
There were hundreds of ducks just off the causway of Ausable Point State Park. Goldeneyes, both Greater and Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads, Gadwalls, Wigeon, Shovelers, Pintails, Mallards, Blacks, Greene-winged Teal, Ring-necks, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Mergansers – both Common and Hooded, and resplendent Wood Ducks. Wow! There was action! We enjoyed just going through the flocks of ducks, picking out a new species here or there. But no pony-tailed duck.
We split up. Some of us going north along the highway to scan the flocks we saw off in the distance. The other group went east along the causeway to look over those out that way.
After a while, we went back to the original spot on the causway and tried this bunch again. Lo and behold! “There he is!”, one of our group called out. This was followed by a frustrating bit of “He’s right in front of us!”, or “I’m looking right at him!” sort of go around. There’s nothing worse than those first few moments when we know he’s right there, and could easily disappear as the entire flock lifts off with the next eagle overflight. After a while (seemed like a long while) each of the rest of us finally “got on” him. Whew!
What a neat bird. Black and white, medium size duck flaunting that trademark do, which swishes jauntily with each teasing head turn.
All the ducks were feeding actively, some diving for mussels or bottom vegetation. Others were picking pickens off the surface. Some mergansers swam along looking headless. They swim with their head underwater, for a submarine view, looking for minnows. They often coordinate their swimming to corral small fish for a group feast. I’ve seen as many as 40 to 50 of them forming a “drum line”, suddenly diving all at once when the moment to strike was right.
An eagle sat on a nearby ice floe, paying scant attention to the ducks; nor they he. Or so it seemed.
After eighteen species of waterfowl, and a few Great-blue Herons, Pileated Woodpeckers, and the expected gulls (yes, we did look them over carefully for any unexpected species), and some “dicky-birds”, we headed back home into a late season slush storm.
TUFTED DUCK brings my year list to 134 species. 166 to go to get 300. | <urn:uuid:ddcfe21b-a783-41b7-afe2-56630ff42a13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/birding/the-pony-tail-duck/15/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967032 | 708 | 1.703125 | 2 |
At this link you will find a letter that denounces NASA's support of Climate Change having human activity as a major cause: http://www.livescience.com/19643-nasa-astronauts-letter-global-warm...
On that webpage you can find a link to the report regarding this letter.
If their motive is looked at carefully, what would we find?
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Joan, My homes, which number more than John McCain's and Mitt Romney's together, are all on land high enough that they won't be inundated by a rising sea level. It's the thousands of acres of ocean front I bought, intending to resell, that may be underwater later this century.
BTW, this post is a spoof too.
Your cynical sarcasm is what's wrong with liberal arguments on this issue. Believe it or not these people aren't evil. If having a stake in technologies that are harming the climate biases their views, it's an unconscious process. People with biases aren't usually aware that they have them.
The trend of climate change itself and many of the possible warming scenarios it might cause are shockingly extreme relative to what lay people see on a daily basis. The predictions have the same level of disaster as may wild apocalypse theories that should be summarily dismissed. While they're scientifically valid, they don't pass the sniff test for a lay person.
I realize that it can be annoying to calmly explain over and over that climate really is a problem and present overwhelming evidence, but calling those people stupid and evil when they're not severely harms your ability to convince anyone.
Ben, you are correct when you state,
"calling those people stupid and evil when they're not severely harms your ability to convince anyone."
On the other hand, life takes on a "let them eat cake" quality when those who have figured out how to manipulate and exploit people who work for a living, whether in a mom and pop business or those who work for wages, do not know, don't seem to want to know, and perceive only their point of view. The investment counselor who gains his or her wealth by swindling, simply doesn't seem to care how many pension funds disappear. He or she may be a likable bloke, and give lots of money to charity, or contribute generously to political campaigns, or take on noble causes, while performing thefts and corrupting all he or she touches, but that does not make him or her a good citizen.
It is easy to throw the whole lot into a lump and label them "stupid and evil", but when one banker and one financial advisor, then another, and another, until the whole system is corrupt, which one does point to and say this one is evil, this one is greedy, this one is a thug, or whatever label one wants to choose.
If a banker is professional, he or she knows when a family who has owned a hardware store for three generations, goes broke, loses their source of income through no fault of their own but by immoral and unethical laws, and then multiply that family by the millions, somewhere a banker with moral and ethical values will recognize the failure is not in the one going broke, but in systemic crimes.
It seems to me I remember there were a lot of foreclosures on businesses and homes in another era of our history that included Harry Truman, the haberdasher. Was that era, and the one we are in now caused by debtors or creditors? Obviously, both. No one forces an individual to take out a loan or put too much on a credit card, but banks giving loans to businesses that can not service the loans and credit cards to those unable to make even the interest payments, leads one to question intent of the financial industries.
Joan and sarcasm do not mix.
Thank you, Joan, for taking my satire well.
It saddens me that so many people believe their perhaps-sociopathic leaders and get burned by their leaders' greed. There are many varieties of capitalism in the world and America's is among the most cruel. Methinks American capitalism was designed by and for the sociopaths among us.
America doesn't have capitalism right now so much as cronyism. Men in government have given their friends special privileges and bought votes with misguided attempts to help others for so long that our originally capitalism economy has been distorted beyond recognition.
Ben, are you denying the existence of crony capitalism?
Unfortunately I have to agreee Tom :-(
I do remember a time when that wasn't true, but now those times are constantly demeaned and people who think that should be true again are insulted or berated about how un-American they are. Guess Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower should be called the same.
Jessica, on the below dates in the 1787 Constitutional Convention, two of America's founders spoke as follows.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON. The people seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the rich and well-born a distinct and permanent share in the government. (June 18)
JAMES MADISON. An increase of population will increase the proportion who labor under all the hardships of life and secretly sigh for a more equal distribution of its blessings. The government ought to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority. (June 26)
I haven't read all of the records of the early Congresses, so I don't know when in our "free enterprise" system the first bailout occurred. Search on "Yazoo lands" and you'll probably read of an early 1800s bailout of land speculators who bribed the Georgia legislature to sell them land in what was then western Georgia but is now in Alabama. Way back before the Internet, I found the story in histories of the US Congress.
Despite the rhetoric we've all heard, America has always had a subsidy enterprise economy: subsidies for the well-connected and taxes for others.
Though I don't know the details, Teddy Roosevelt was, in a sense, unAmerican; during his presidency the government acted to prohibit adulterated foods and child labor.
There were certainly poor decisions that caused market distortions at the state level in our early history. But, considering that the federal government had a budget of less than 3% of GDP until the early 1900s, they didn't have the ability to subsidize failure during the founder's era the way they do now with a 20% of GDP budget.
We can't help that politicians do bad things, but if we reduce the size of government we can make them impotent so their poor decisions hurt fewer people.
Tom, I agree | <urn:uuid:fb476e88-0199-4f9c-9482-c2512cd9fbb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/atheistswholovescience/forum/topics/i-wonder-what-the-motive-of-these-49-nasa-jsc-ex-employees-is?commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A1930200&xg_source=activity&groupId=2182797%3AGroup%3A25044 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972657 | 1,371 | 1.5 | 2 |
It's that time of year again. For whitetail hunters, the most important two weeks of the entire deer season are just around the corner. Increasingly, in recent days, hunters are finding signs of the rut, with scrapes, rubs and does traveling in small groups and becoming increasingly evident. If you can find the does, you'll find a buck.
On Sunday, Nov. 7, the clocks will be turned back an hour. That adds an extra hour of sleep, but it also means it will get dark an hour earlier. Hunters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts should plan their travels accordingly and make sure the flashlight in your pack has fresh batteries.
The woods are more open now, as cooler temperatures and heavy winds have removed much of the forest canopy. Although heavy frosts have yet to appear, the forest floor is relatively noisy. On a morning watch earlier in the week, it was cold and - as always - it seemed the sun took forever to rise. As the sun's rays finally filtered through the tree tops, they silently slithered down the trunks at an interminably slow pace.
While waiting and shivering for the first ray to stretch across the scene and reach me, I could almost perceive the earth's rotation. I watched as sun slowly inched down from the tree tops, to the trunk and finally across the forest floor to my location. Just as I was about to be overcome with shivers, the morning sun finally reached out and touched me.
Although it warmed me more psychologically than physically, I was finally free of the shakes. It was daylight in the swamp and my senses were keen.
There was an odd noise on the outer edges of the swamp. Entire tree tops were being denuded as the sun warmed the air. Sheets of leaves fell like giant yellow and tan snowflakes floating down from the hardwoods. In a matter of minutes, entire trees were transformed into stark, skeletal remains of their former majesty.
The woods were awakening. Birds were calling and squirrels were chattering. In the distance, I saw a movement in the woods. It was a pine marten, black, blonde and bounding along the bank of the small stream that flowed by my watch. It approached curiously and cautiously, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
In no time, the woods were again quiet. The sun was up and I was enlivened and on my game. I could feel the warm sun on my face and taste the fresh cold air deep into my lungs.
In recent years, researchers have determined that our engagement in natural surroundings has important implications on human health. Immersion in natural settings can alter how we think and how we function. It can affect our levels of stress, both physically and mentally.
In effect, we become alive. As hunters, we tap into a deep well of undiscovered and unrealized skills and senses that are rarely visited in our ordinary daily existence.
Hunting offers an opportunity to recapture an element of genuine personal adventure that is woefully lacking in everyday life. The combination of sights, sounds and scents amplifies the reality of being there as a true component of the scene rather than a complacent outside observer.
On occasion, I experience a shiver of excitement with the realization that a deer can appear at any moment. There comes a rush of adrenaline with the simple discovery of a deer's ear or the black of its nose.
We are recreating our age-old bonds with the natural world and re-establishing our place among the predators. In some inexplicable manner, we reach into the core of our being to tap an unrealized natural skill that rests dormant within most members of our species. As naturalist John Burroughs explained, "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more."
I did not grow up in a hunting family. Even though my father was a former riflery instructor, guns were considered pretty much off limits.
However, over the years I have been fortunate to learn the skills and expertise of hunting from a wide range of experienced hunters. Although, I still consider myself to be far from an expert, I have traveled with many experts - both hunters and not. Here is some of the advice they have offered to me (in no particular order):
Know your prey, their habits and their habitats. Whitetailed deer can run as fast as 36 mph, jump as high as 8 1/2 feet, and leap as far as 30 feet. They are also very good swimmers.
Like any good coach, scout the other team in the preseason to learn their movements. A deer's home range is usually less than a square mile, but they surely have the home-field advantage.
Be prepared. Use an equipment checklist so that you don't forget essential items such as bullets, rifle clips or a hunting license.
Get out early and stay late and never believe that skill can trump luck.
Know what to do when you see deer. Have a plan.
A deer's nose is its greatest defense. Shower with scent-free soap and be sure to dry yourself with a towel that isn't washed with scented detergents.
Dress appropriately for the conditions and your expected travel. Not too warm, not too cold. Keep hunting clothes relatively odor free in a sealed plastic bag or bin with cedar or pine boughs to ensure the clothing has appropriate woodland scents.
Be alert and on the hunt from the moment you enter the woods until you depart. Use a rifle sling only when dragging a deer. At all other times have the gun in your hand, at the ready. The thrill of the hunt is the realization that at any moment an opportunity can arise.
Pick up your feet and put them down. Don't shuffle your feet. Learn to pick your feet up and step over and around obstacles, rather than kicking them out of the way.
Never walk more than 3 or 4 yards without stopping. Turn slowly when scanning the terrain and every 100 yards or so, sit on a good watch spot for about 15 to 20 minutes. Take a step, pause to sweep the woods with your eyes and your ears and repeat. You cannot detect movement or noise when you are moving.
Squat down or get on your knees to look for deer on their level and learn to view through the woods in three dimensions. A deer's back and belly are usually the only horizontal features in an otherwise vertical forest world.
Pay attention to noises. Complete silence in the forest is bad. It means other animals are on guard. Sit tight and be quiet.
Take a watch from an elevated position. The higher you are, the more land you can see and the more you can see the more likely you are to see game.
Don't track deer in the snow by watching their tracks all day. Keep your head up, move at a slow speed and pay attention to the wind and weather.
Especially after daylight savings, know when to turn back and call it a day. Make sure you have a reasonable idea of how far and how long you must walk to get back and allow yourself time to do so. This is especially important on afternoons in unfamiliar territory.
Hunt safe! Always remember that other hunters may be in the woods in your vicinity. If using a treestand, be sure to utilize a safety harness. The vast majority of current day hunting accidents, and related deaths, have come about as a result of falling out of a treestand.
Turn in poachers and unethical hunters. Don't overlook the fact that they are stealing from everyone. The deer you saved may be in your territory on the next hunt. Report activity to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's 24 hour dispatch at 1-800-TIPP DEC.
PFDs must be worn on your person, when you are on the water after Nov. 1. It is New York's new aquatic seat belt law.
Report your harvest. Remember, reporting your take within the first 48 hours of kill is a requirement in New York. Reporting your game take is mandatory and necessary for proper game management. This information is used to determine game harvests and to set future hunting seasons. Report your take toll-free at 1-866-GAME-RPT. | <urn:uuid:7a99b8d7-d2bb-4700-9f3e-8c91299c925c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/521313/Whitetail-hunting-season-close-to-its-peak.html?nav=5044 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96891 | 1,715 | 1.585938 | 2 |
|Uploaded:||February 11, 2012|
|Updated:||February 11, 2012|
I did say that I was going to submit a tutorial on a chibi version of Gale Hawthorn so here it is. I didn’t want to lie to you guys, and forgive me for saying that the mockingjay was going to be the last Hunger Games tutorial I was going to submit. Instead, this lesson on "how to draw chibi Gale", step by step is going to be the last HG submission I will make, or for a while at least. Anyways, I wanted to keep this chibi concept just as simple as the rest, and even though some chibi lessons can be complicated to tackle, I’m sure that you will be fine when you begin this one. Gale Hawthorn is one of the three main figures in Hunger Games and if you follow the book series you should already know the story. Well I guess that is all I can really say about Gale, all I can do now is shut up and let you get busy. I will be back because there is still more submissions coming your way. | <urn:uuid:2ae1ed63-3356-4f45-81b8-665c0881dbe4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/11026/2/1/88745/how-to-draw-chibi-gale-hawthorne,-hunger-games-step-7.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966586 | 232 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Go green young man.
A twist on Horace Greeley’s famous advice is growing from a suggestion into a media mandate. Everywhere, they tell us, America and the world are “going green.”
It’s more than just a buzzword term for the eco-elite. The mainstream media are saying people are going green as a reminder that we, too, must join them or risk being behind the times. Or worse, conservative.
Just this year, the three broadcast TV networks have cited the term more than 90 times. It defines everything from organic wine to former steel towns. Even the Vatican is “going green.” In print media, there are more than 2,800 uses of the expression since April Fool’s Day, appropriately enough.
Sometime Republican/sometime Democrat Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan to convert New York’s taxi fleet to hybrid vehicles early in June. According to the June 4 U.S. News & World Report, the mandate for big green taxis is “going green.”
NBC’s Brian Williams told viewers that even “a piece of the rust belt that has seen better days may now be getting a new life by going green.” That June 11 piece was about the one-time Bethlehem Steel location of Lackawanna, N.Y., which is embracing windmill power.
Journalists aren’t so much discovering a movement as creating one. Every bit of eco-insanity is now written about, talked about and celebrated – all under the journalism-approved color scheme.
You know how ridiculous things are when Ebony is “going green.” That’s right, one of the foremost magazines of the black experience is telling Americans about the green experience. “With so much focus on the eco-friendly Green movement, we’re going green with a selection of green vegetables,’ writes Charlotte Lyons in the July 2007 issue. Apparently, ebony and ivory are out, but ebony and emerald are in.
Green isn’t just “the new black,” as The New York Times claims, it’s the new white – good enough for weddings. ABC’s weatherman-turned-color coordinator Sam Champion said a wedding can be “green and great” during an April 2 broadcast. According to the eco-wedding Champion, the exchange of vows isn’t just about love “for one another.” Now, in the trendy left-wing world, couples are “sharing their love for the world around them and the environment.”
NBC beat Champion to the altar with a green story of its own nearly a month before. That one quoted a bride who actually expected “guests will take the subway to the wedding” or “share a ride.”
The rest of the wedding procession dwelled on “the commitment they’ve made to being environmentally responsible,” according to NBC’s Lester Holt. The March 4 story said the couple was planning everything green from an organic menu of “free range” chicken breasts to using recycled paper and even organic soap in the bathroom.
Holt did point out that “an organic wedding tends to be more expensive.” That’s the one green factor the media are slow to report: the cash.
Most of the solutions – hybrid cars, solar panels, organic foods – are the kind only the elite can afford. The billions or trillions of dollars in costs associated with this trend are one of the great untold stories of the eco-movement.
Much to its credit, USA Today pointed out in April that “doing the right thing isn’t easy.” The paper explained that “gas-electric hybrids typically cost thousands of dollars more than cars with gas-only engines” and can take years just to break even.
The newspaper acknowledged that “most Americans get more uncomfortable with the idea of going green if it were to mean limiting choices in daily life.” An April ABC News/Washington Post/Stanford University poll confirmed the public’s view – about 80 percent of respondents opposed higher taxes on electricity, and close to 70 percent opposed more gasoline taxes.
Limiting choices – that’s exactly what the green agenda does, whether by government mandate or not. Time magazine, which measures time as “BG” or “Before Gore,” admits companies are changing everything. Businesses “from global empire to mom-and-pop, from high tech to local government are embracing environmentally friendlier architecture, supplies and attitudes.”
Notice the term is “environmentally friendlier,” not “customer friendlier.”
Browbeaten by the media and eco-extremists, businesses are creating a cradle-to-grave eco-state filled with “biodegradable” diapers and caskets. A June 25 People magazine piece profiles biodegradable caskets. Unto dust thou shall return; just hurry up about it to keep the eco-freaks happy. The story described “eco-friendly interment” in four cemeteries.
In between birth and death, we are supposed to be “going green” even in the bathroom, according to the Modesto Bee. At least that puts the green movement right where it’s taking the rest of us – down the drain.
Dan Gainor is The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow and director of the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute. | <urn:uuid:d64af3c6-0be6-4505-a568-c15eb5826676> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mrc.org/print/commentary/going-green-media-reveal-major-color-scheme | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948382 | 1,175 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Hugo and the Really, Really, Really Long String
Hugo finds the end of a red string in his house. As he follows the string out of his house and around his town, he meets others who are convinced, as Hugo is, that there must be something wonderful at the end of this string. Children will find at the end of the adventure a truly wonderful thing, not expected by Hugo, but readily understood by children. The author/illustrator Bob Boyle is the creator of the animated show Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Fans of the show may recognize the graphic style of illustration used by Mr. Boyle.
Recommended by Kate Stehman, Librarian, Pennsylvania USA | <urn:uuid:5099ab3f-165e-4de8-a2a6-a4897808e6cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abookandahug.com/picture-books-2/21968-hugoandthereallyreallyreallylongstring | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959422 | 141 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Haruki Murakami’s dreamlike new novel
by John Updike
From The New Yorker, January 24, 2005
Kafka on the Shore
(translated, from the Japanese, by Philip Gabriel; Knopf; $25.95);
Haruki Murakami’s new novel, “Kafka on the Shore,” is a real page-turner, as well as an insistently metaphysical mind-bender. Spun out to four hundred and thirty-six pages, it seems more gripping than it has a right to be and less moving, perhaps, than the author wanted it to be. Murakami, born in 1949, ran a Tokyo jazz club before he became a published writer, with the novel “Hear the Wind Sing,” in 1979. Though his work abounds with references to contemporary American culture, especially its popular music, and though he details the banal quotidian with an amiable flatness reminiscent of Western youth and minimalist fiction in the hungover nineteen-seventies, his narratives are dreamlike, closer to the viscid surrealism of Kobo Abe than to the superheated but generally solid realism of Mishima and Tanizaki. We often cannot imagine, while reading “Kafka on the Shore,” what will come next, and our suspicion—reinforced by Murakami’s comments in interviews, such as the one in last summer’s Paris Review—is that the author did not always know, either.
Yet “Kafka on the Shore” has a schematic rigor in its execution. Alternate chapters relate the stories of two disparate but slowly converging heroes. The odd-numbered chapters serve up the first-person narrative of a fifteen-year-old runaway from his affluent, motherless home in Tokyo; his father is a world-renowned sculptor, Koichi Tamura, and the son has given himself the peculiar first name Kafka. He totes a carefully packed backpack and, in his head, talking in boldface, a scolding, exhorting alter ego called Crow—which is what Kafka means, or close to it, in Czech. The even-numbered chapters trace, beginning with a flurry of official documents, the life of a mentally defective sexagenarian, Satoru Nakata. He was one of sixteen fourth graders who, in 1944, while on a mushroom-gathering walk with their teacher, fell into a coma after an unexplained flash of silver in the sky. Nakata was the only one who didn’t wake up, unharmed, within a few hours; when he did wake up, several weeks later in a military hospital, he had lost his entire memory and, with it, the ability to read. He doesn’t know what Japan is or even recognize his parents’ faces. He is able, however, to learn to work in a shop producing handcrafted furniture, and when, upon the owner’s death, the factory disbands he supplements his government subsidy with a modest-paying sideline in finding lost cats, since along with his disabilities he has gained the rare ability to converse with cats. (Cats frequently figure in Murakami’s fiction, as delegates from another world; his jazz club was called Peter Cat.) One cat search leads Nakata to a house—that of the sculptor Koichi Tamura, in fact—where he is compelled to stab to death a malevolent apparition in the form of Johnnie Walker, from the whiskey label. Fleeing the bloody crime scene, Nakata hitches truck rides south to Shikoku, the
Both the young man and the old, though independent and reclusive, have a knack of forming useful friendships. Kafka befriends Oshima, the androgynous, hemophiliac assistant at a small library where the boy can read all day and, eventually, bunk at night; Nakata in his winning simplicity finds a disciple in one of the truck drivers who give him a ride, the lower-class, hitherto unenlightened Hoshino, “with a ponytail, a pierced ear, and a Chunichi Dragons baseball team cap.” The double plot unfolds in cunningly but tenuously linked chapters. There is violence, comedy, sex—deep, transcendental, anatomically correct sex, oral and otherwise—and a bewildering overflow of possible meanings.
In a prefatory chapter, Crow promises Kafka a “violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm,” with “hot, red blood.” He assures him, and the expectant reader, “Once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through. . . . But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.” At the center of this particular novelistic storm is the idea that our behavior in dreams can translate to live action; our dreams can be conduits back into waking reality. This notion, the learned Oshima tells Kafka, can be found in “The Tale of Genji,” the early-eleventhcentury Japanese classic by Lady Murasaki. Oshima summarizes:
“Lady Rokujo—she’s one of Prince Genji’s lovers—becomes so consumed with jealousy over Genji’s main wife, Lady Aoi, that she turns into an evil spirit that possesses her. Night after night she attacks Lady Aoi in her bed until she finally kills her. . . . But the most interesting part of the story is that Lady Rokujo has no inkling that she’d become a living spirit. She’d have nightmares and wake up, only to discover that her long black hair smelled like smoke. Not having any idea what was going on, she was totally confused. In fact, this smoke came from the incense the priests lit as they prayed for Lady Aoi. Completely unaware of it, she’d been flying through space and passing down the tunnel of her subconscious into Aoi’s bedroom.”
Read in context, in the first section of Arthur Waley’s translation of “Genji,” the episode borders on the naturalistic. Within the tight, constrained circles of the imperial court, emotional violence bursts its bonds. Both women are gravely sickened by the trespassing spirit of one of them; Lady Rokujo, a beauty of great refinement, is horrified that her dreams about Princess Aoi are full of a “brutal fury such as in her waking life would have been utterly foreign to her.” She reflects, “How terrible! It seemed then that it was really possible for one’s spirit to leave the body and break out into emotions which the waking mind would not countenance.”
From the inarguable truth of the second observation the possibility of one’s spirit leaving one’s body could be plausibly deduced in a prescientific, preëlectric age when, Oshima points out, “the physical darkness outside and the inner darkness of the soul were mixed together, with no boundary separating the two.” In Murakami’s vision of our materialist, garishly illuminated age, however, the boundary between inner and outer darkness is traversed by grotesque figments borrowed from the world of commercial imagery: Johnnie Walker, with boots and top hat, manifests himself to the cat-loving simpleton Nakata as a mass murderer of stray felines, jocularly cutting open their furry abdomens and popping their still-beating hearts into his mouth, and Colonel Sanders, in his white suit and string tie, appears to Nakata’s companion, Hoshino, as a fast-talking pimp. The Colonel, questioned by the startled Hoshino about his nature, quotes another venerable text, Ueda Akinari’s “Tales of Moonlight and Rain”:
Shape I may take, converse I may, but neither god nor Buddha am I, rather an insensate being whose heart thus differs from that of man.
Later, with some exasperation, the Colonel tells Hoshino, “I’m a concept, get it? Con-cept!” Concept or whatever, he is a very adroit fixer when it comes to such supernatural hustles as handling the entrance stone to the spirit world, where the dead and the drastically detached live in the heart of the forest like writers at the MacDowell Colony—meals and housekeeping provided and other residents discreetly out of sight.
This novel quotes Goethe as decreeing, “Everything’s a metaphor.” But a Western reader expects the metaphors, or symbolic realities, to be—as in “The Faerie Queene,” “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” and Goethe’s “Faust”—organized by certain polarities, in a magnetic field shaped by a central supernatural authority. No such authority controls the spooky carnival of “Kafka on the Shore.” To quote Colonel Sanders once more:
“Listen—God only exists in people’s minds. Especially in Japan, God’s always been kind of a flexible concept. Look at what happened after the war. Douglas MacArthur ordered the divine emperor to quit being God, and he did, making a speech saying he was just an ordinary person.”
In “Kafka on the Shore,” the skies unaccountably produce showers of sardines, mackerel, and leeches, and some unlucky people get stuck halfway in the spirit world and hence cast a faint shadow in this one. Japanese supernature, imported into contemporary America with animated cartoons, video games, and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, is luxuriant, lighthearted, and, by the standards of monotheism, undisciplined. The religious history of Japan since the introduction of Chinese culture in the fifth century A.D. and the arrival of Buddhism in the sixth has been a long lesson in the stubborn resilience and adaptability of the native cult of polytheistic nature worship called, to distinguish it from Buddhism, Shinto. Shinto, to quote the Encyclopædia Britannica, “has no founder, no official sacred scriptures, in the strict sense, and no fixed dogma.” Nor does it offer, as atypically surviving kamikaze pilots have proudly pointed out, an afterlife. It is based on kami, a ubiquitous word sometimes translated as “gods” or “spirits” but meaning, finally, anything felt worthy of reverence. One of Shinto’s belated theorists, Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), defined kami as “anything whatsoever which was out of the ordinary.”
A tenacious adherence to Shinto in the Japanese countryside and among the masses has enabled it to coexist for a millennium and a half with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, and to be subject to repeated revivals, most recently, from 1871 to 1945, as the official national religion and a powerful spiritual weapon in Japan’s imperialist wars. After Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, Shinto, under the direction of the Allied occupation force, was disestablished, its holidays were curtailed, and the emperor’s divinity—based on the first emperor’s purported descent from the sun goddess—was renounced. But Shinto shrines remain, in the imperial precincts and in the countryside; its rites are performed, its paper wish-slips tied to bushes, its amulets sold to tourists Asian and Western. Shinto’s strong aesthetic component, a reverence toward materials and processes, continues to permeate the crafts and the arts. Kami exists not only in heavenly and earthly forces but in animals, birds, plants, and stones. Nakata and Hoshino spend hours trying to learn how to converse with a stone—to divine what the stone, at times easily lifted and at others heavy to the limits of a man’s strength, wants. Kami pervades Murakami’s world, in which, therefore, many Western readers will feel, a bit queasily, at sea, however many fragments of globalized Western culture—Goethe, Beethoven, Eichmann, Hegel, Coltrane, Schubert, Napoleon—bob from paragraph to paragraph.
The novel’s two heroes interact only in the realm of kami. Of their entwined narratives, the story of Kafka Tamura is more problematic, more curiously overloaded, than that of the holy fool Nakata, with its familiar elements of science fiction, quest, and ebullient heroics. As Hoshino remarks, “This is starting to feel like an Indiana Jones movie or something.” Return and release to the underworld of his childhood coma are the old man’s intelligible goals, for which he prepares with prodigious sessions of sleep. Less intelligibly, the “cool, tall, fifteen-year-old boy lugging a backpack and a bunch of obsessions” labors under an ill-defined Oedipal curse. He hates his father enough to dream of killing him, and to feel little sorrow when he is killed, but we never see the father, unless it is in the bizarre guise of Johnnie Walker, and know only that he was a famous artist and, as such, probably pretty egocentric. Kafka’s mother left home, with his older sister, when he was four years old, and when he encounters her in Shikoku it is in the form of a fifteen-year-old spirit projection of the library director, trim, prim, reserved Miss Saeki, who is over fifty. Miss Saeki and Kafka Tamura talk like this:
“We’re not metaphors.”
“I know,” I say. “But metaphors help eliminate what separates you and me.”
A faint smile comes to her as she looks up at me. “That’s the oddest pickup line I’ve ever heard.”
“There’re a lot of odd things going on—but I feel like I’m slowly getting closer to the truth.”
“Actually getting closer to a metaphorical truth? Or metaphorically getting closer to an actual truth? Or maybe they supplement each other?”
“Either way, I don’t think I can stand the sadness I feel right now,” I tell her.
“I feel the same way.”
Small wonder, as the teen-ager admits, that “the whole confused mess swirls around in my brain, and my head feels like it’s about to burst.” The Oedipus myth, shedding its fatal Greek gravity and the universality Freud gave it, just adds vapor to the mist of fancy and strangeness through which the young hero moves toward the unexceptional goal of growing up.
In the last pages, the novel asks that it be taken as a happily ending saga of maturation, of “a brand-new world” for a purged Kafka. But beneath his feverish, symbolically fraught adventures there is a subconscious pull almost equal to the pull of sex and vital growth: that of nothingness, of emptiness, of blissful blankness. Murakami is a tender painter of negative spaces. After his coma, Nakata “returned to this world with his mind wiped clean. The proverbial blank slate.” In his adulthood, “that bottomless world of darkness, that weighty silence and chaos, was an old friend, a part of him already.” Throughout this chronicle, Murakami describes his characters falling asleep as lovingly as he itemizes what they cook and eat. Refrigerated severed cat heads, like the severed human heads of Tanizaki’s tremendous novella “The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi,” have a lulling serenity, “staring out blankly at a point in space.” Making love to a woman, “you listen as the blank within her is filled.” Kafka Tamura says, “There’s a void inside me, a blank that is slowly expanding, devouring what’s left of who I am. I can hear it happening.” Heading into the forest, leaving all his backpacked defenses behind, he thinks triumphantly, “I head for the core of the labyrinth, giving myself up to the void.” Existence as something half empty—a mere skin on the essential void, a transitory shore—needs, for its celebration, a Japanese spiritual tact. ♦ | <urn:uuid:12563027-456a-44dc-831d-ca1d94c1f122> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/KafkaUpdikeRev.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952115 | 3,549 | 1.734375 | 2 |
By KATINA TENGESDAL, Staff Writer, [email protected]
The Healthy Lifestyles group in Minot has been meeting for over seven years to discuss alternative medicine and natural health. The group was began by Clayann Almquist, after she had her own experiences with natural health.
In 2000, Almquist underwent surgery to remove a tumor in her breast. Not wanting to undergo chemotherapy, radiation, or tamoxifen therapies after her surgery, Almquist turned to alternative medicine. She underwent chelation and laetrile, or Vitamin B-17, therapies. She also changed her diet.
Katina Tengesdal/MDN - - Clayann Almquist, founder of the Healthy Lifestyles group in Minot, shows some of the books she’s collected on alternative medicine and natural health.
"I was told to go home and do chemo and radiation," Almquist said. "Those words scared me worse than the word 'cancer.'"
After her recovery, Almquist was determined to get the word out about alternative therapies.
"I thought, I need to let people know that there are alternatives," she said. "My neighbor and I, who also chose not to do chemo, decided we'd like to start a group."
The Healthy Lifestyles group meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Parker Senior Center in Minot. Anyone is welcome to attend. There is no fee, but donations are accepted to help with the cost of handout materials and other expenses.
The Healthy Lifestyles group began with just a few members, and meeting at a restaurant. It grew to include 40 to 60 people per meeting, and now meets at the Parker Senior Center. Almquist said she's kept the group's goal always in mind to educate and inform about other options.
The group has listened to individuals present on several topics, including organic farming, Crohn's disease, thermography, fermenting and vaccinations. In their most recent meeting about vaccinations, presenters explained the possible dangers of vaccination. Almquist said that many parents might feel pressured to vaccinate their children.
"People are intimidated, and they don't know they don't have to do this," Almquist said.
The group maintains that diet and exercise is extremely important for health and well being.
"What you put in your mouth is very important. There isn't good stuff in processed foods. With fruits and vegetables that are not organic, I soak them in grapefruit seed extract or apple cider vinegar and put them under a magnet to neutralize chemicals," Almquist said.
"I'm a big advocate of eating organic foods," she added.
Many group members like to research alternative therapies and share their findings with others. Almquist said that after her own health scare, she became even more interested in researching different options. The group has built a library of books for members to check out so they can share information.
The group also invites vendors to meetings that sell organic foods or health products, and they have a product fair each December where several are invited. Group members then take part in a healthy snack potluck.
"In recent years, people have really become more aware of baking healthier," Almquist said.
The information the group provides is aimed at informing individuals that they do have many options for health and well-being.
"We put out the information so that people know what's going on out there. We feel you should have a choice in what you're doing," Almquist said.
Almquist herself believes that alternative therapies and a good diet have greatly enhanced her life.
"My goal is to live healthy until the day I die. To this day, I'm not on any medication. I've learned to really watch the foods I put into my mouth and how important exercise is," she said. | <urn:uuid:1fc6ffa6-8218-4d4a-ae7a-753f4119f3be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/530179/Eating-for-one-s-health.html?nav=5019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974342 | 803 | 1.632813 | 2 |
- Title - County of Longford
- Cartographer - Published by Murphy & McCarthy, New York, Revised by P.W.Joyce.
- Date - 1898
- Size - 240mm x 180mm
- Condition - Age-toning, blank verso, colour lithograph. Very Good
Interesting map from the "Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland", which was published by Murphy & McCarthy Publishers, in New York in 1900. A large and detailed volume, the first part of the book was written P. W. Joyce, LL.D, and proclaimed the authors work in the rather long-winded sub-title as......
"A Comprehensive Delineation of the Thirty-two Counties. With Beautifully Colored Map of Each, Arranged Alphabetically, Showing over 11,000 Cites, Towns, Villages and Places of Public Interest...."
Patrick Weston Joyce was President of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland from 1906 to 1908, an association of which he was a member from 1865.
Joyce was a key cultural figure of his time. His polymath interests included the Irish language, Hiberno-English, music, education, Irish literature and folklore, Irish history and antiquities, place-names and much else. He was principal of the Training College, Marlborough Street, in Dublin from 1874 to 1893.
Each of the maps are colour lithographs, a relatively new process at the time, and all are finely detailed with baronies, towns, roads, canals etc. They are printed one side only. Inexpensive and attractive. These maps Frame up very well.
Nice Starter Map!!
Item ID: 15463-1-0
: €28.00 (€28.88 Inc. VAT) | <urn:uuid:4b1f55ed-8690-496b-9b8d-923535d5f98e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldirishmaps.com/proddetail.php?prod=MurMcJoyceLongford1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95142 | 369 | 1.664063 | 2 |
This IDC study provides 2008–2010 revenue share data for the worldwide public platform-as-a-service (PaaS) market. This is a competitive market that reports vendor revenue for application development and deployment products that are delivered as services via a public cloud. This market has been renamed from last year's worldwide application development and deployment-as-a-service market. Worldwide public PaaS revenue increased from $1.6 billion in 2009 to $2.2 billion in 2010, reflecting 36.3% growth.
What is also now very clear from the nature of the announcements made by the leading platform vendors is that delivering a comprehensive array of public platform products requires a level of delivery and management capabilities involving automated provisioning, dynamic scalability, and multitenancy. "Cloud management capabilities are the foundation of any platform-as-a-service offering," said Stephen D. Hendrick, group vice president for Application Development and Deployment research. "The challenge in delivering public cloud services is bounded by two opposing forces: the need for security and the desire to leverage resources efficiently in order to deliver the best possible economics."
IDC Opinion | In This Study | Situation Overview | Future Outlook | Essential Guidance | Learn More | <urn:uuid:742cc0e2-9f0b-4a67-bc65-fe7a794b445f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=232178 | 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 | 0.933523 | 250 | 1.5625 | 2 |
In a recent poll question, the Clarion asked readers if they were looking forward to the new year. Results were mixed, with about half voting that they see positive things happening for themselves or their community, and half predicting the coming year will be a tough one.
As a community newspaper, we make it our business to make sure our neighbors are well informed. We hope they, too, are involved in the good things strong community can foster.
Most New Year’s resolutions will look something like this: better manage the family finances, get healthier and lose weight, finish that project, reconnect with old friends, quit smoking, or perform better at work. You get the picture; we’ve all toasted them at midnight only to wonder what happened a year later.
We’d like to offer a few new resolutions you can accomplish this year that will not only make a difference personally, but also in the community. Who knows, a service-oriented resolution could change your year from “challenging” to “positive” or do the same for some one else.
Please consider these five resolutions:
■ Run for political office. The beauty of our nation is that it runs how the people want it to from the ground up. But as more and more people see the ugly side of government — lazy, spendy, inflexible — they feel less compelled to get involved and more reason to complain. In the fall, however, several positions on the area’s city councils, community councils, borough assembly and service area boards will open up. Step up and help.
■ Volunteer. The Kenai Peninsula is home to many non-profit organizations that are successful thanks to their strong volunteer base. Give your time to something you believe in whether that is a local library, food pantry or church. Even an hour a week helps.
■ Become better informed. As a newspaper we take our job to provide readers with accurate information about local events and people doing noteworthy things seriously. However, the majority of our nation is grossly underinformed about current events. An educated and well-informed person is a community asset. Seek out information and consider others’ perspectives.
■ Vote. A usual voter turnout for our community is about 20 percent. That means four out of five people would rather let everyone else decide these important issues for them. Cast a ballot, register to vote or encourage others to do both.
■ Solve a problem. Judy Fandrei’s Peninsula Spay/Neuter fund is a great example of the attitude we’d like to see spread. One person saw a problem and did what she could — behold a success that helps many people.
If you find yourself constantly saying, ‘I just wish somebody would …’ then you’ve got your opportunity. Take it. | <urn:uuid:a32ecc71-499b-4099-91a7-4b6936d7611e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peninsulaclarion.com/opinion/2012-12-29/this-year-resolve-for-a-better-community | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967658 | 584 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The Gift of a Clean Heart
By: Jennifer Frick
The psalmist writes with a radical dependence on God.
Create in me a clean heart,
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
sustain in me a willing spirit…
The psalmist assumes that God will do these things, that God creates a clean heart. In the psalm, a clean heart is not something we do, but rather a gift which the divine gives to us, a joy which is restored.
When I read the above excerpt, I immediately think of honesty and wholeness, for how can we have a clean heart without honesty? I cannot enter the presence of God, cannot have true intimacy with God, (or anyone) without honesty. Sin, for me, is anything I do that alienates me from God, others or myself. All of the 10 commandments are in this definition, for the breaking of any of them causes breaking of relationship and alienation.
I've never understood the point of lying to God. Lying to other people may not be right, but I can certainly see why it is done. But lying to God? Where can we go that that God is not? If we are called to wholeness, to connection, to truth, surely we are called to be uniquely and wholly ourselves. Pretending to be other than we are leads only to lack of intimacy, connection and relationship. It's like putting on dressy, uncomfortable clothes, going to a party for someone we don't really know, and making only politically correct small talk the entire evening - it does not make for deep relationship with either party-goers or God.
It can be so hard to keep a clean and honest heart when fear comes slinking in, but there is, alas, no intimacy without vulnerability. The psalm in its entirety is a plea for forgiveness after committing a sin. The specific sin is not mentioned in the psalm itself, although the introduction states that it was written by David after the prophet Nathan confronted him over his behavior with Bathsheba.
Questions for reflection:
In what relationships and areas of my life have I been dishonest and thereby harmed relationship?
Have I broken relationship in other ways?
To what does God call me in these situations?
Where is joy to be found?
Jennifer Frick is the youth leader and the Welcoming Ministries Coordinator at West Richmond Friends in Richmond, IN. She received an M.Div. from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
Copyright © by the author All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:4a3f981e-343a-44d8-9796-3e7a104045a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whosoever.org/v13i3/frick.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950717 | 526 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Based on ground-breaking work on the unconscious mind’s ability to observe and communicate forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew G. Hodges has developed a method of profiling and examining forensic documents and oral communications. This method is known as thoughtprint decoding. This discovery reveals that the unconscious mind possesses a brilliant deeper intelligence vastly superior to our conscious mind’s ability to observe and communicate.
Joran van der Sloot’s temper tantrum on January 11, 2008—when he
threw wine directly in the face of investigative reporter Peter de Vries—can be
decoded so that we can understand the messages indicated by such behavior,
messages as revealing as those found in his written communications. If we again
apply the principles of thoughtprint decoding, we can undertake “behavior
decoding” and thus read his symbolic (unconscious) messages.
First let’s put the January 11 incident in context. Following his
being released by Aruban authorities for lack of evidence on
Shortly after his release in December, Joran agreed to be
interviewed on a late-night Dutch television show called “Pauw & Witteman” whose
panel also included investigative reporter Peter de Vries. Over the past year, De
Vries had made clear to his viewers that his study of the Holloway case pointed
to Joran’s guilt.
Joran’s mother and father appeared with him on the Jan. 11 program,
and Anita had coached him to remain in control and make a good appearance.
Joran had declared this would be his last public interview. Despite his
parents’ presence and best advice, Joran simply could not control himself.
The interaction between Joran and de Vries was tense at times.
After the show was over, Joran stood up as he prepared to walk off the set and
suddenly picked up a glass of red wine that he had been drinking and threw it
in de Vries’ face. The young man’s behavior spoke volumes. First, Joran seemed
to think the cameras were off when he resorted to his hostile behavior—which
again suggests his sneaky nature. (Sources in
Throwing wine in de Vries’ face was a shocking, unexpected personal
attack—precisely what the thoughtprint record shows Joran did to Natalee. It
illustrates just how capable Joran is of suddenly striking out and how easily
he would degrade someone. We couldn’t miss the anger, but we must not miss the
In throwing liquid in a person’s face (a person who represents
Natalee, speaking for her and pointing the finger at him), Joran is saying,
“See me throwing liquid on someone, see me throwing Natalee in the liquid, in
the drink or ocean.”
Don’t forget, Joran could have expressed his frustration with de
Vries in many other ways—cussed him, stood over him and intimidated him, shoved
him, pushed his chair over, thrown a notebook or pencil, but he chose to throw
a glass of liquid. His deeper intelligence had him choose the wine because of
its symbolic implications.
As de Vries sat there helplessly with liquid dripping from his
face while Joran stood over him, we also have a picture of the victim Natalee
with liquid dripping from her face (she had vomited and aspirated, which led to
her death in Aruba) as Joran stood over her. (Liquid dripping from her face
suggests as well her tears during the assault.) Joran also threw the wine/alcohol into de
Vries eyes momentarily blinding him and incapacitating him—just as he and his
two accomplices incapacitated Natalee on that fateful night in 2005. By decoding
this incident a subtle step further, we see that Joran points to a head injury
that Natalee experienced, namely that she became unconscious from choking, a
result that is reflected in de Vries’ suddenly closed eyes.
It is likewise easy to see that Joran wanted to blind his accuser,
to prevent him from seeing the truth exactly as he blinded Natalee with alcohol
to induce her into going off with the three suspects. Last but far from least,
he is pointing to his own utter blindness in carrying out his stupid plan to
assault Natalee, a plan which blew up in his own face. Surely, too, the fact
that he was drinking before he lost control on television reveals how constantly
he is on the verge of losing it, and as well a confession of how alcohol
contributed to his loss of control with Natalee.
We must pay close attention to Joran’s specific body language at the moment of his abusive behavior. As he towered over his seated victim, de Vries, he shows us how he towered over a helpless prone Natalee during the sexual assault.
Continuing to see the symbolism in the incident, note that Joran
splashed de Vries with a red liquid, red wine. So now we have blood dripping
from de Vries’ face creating a crucifixion image plainly suggesting that
Natalee was Joran’s victim and that her blood is all over him. Joran could have
just as easily thrown a nearby glass of water on de Vries, but he chose the
wine instead to make his point. This again demonstrates how the brilliant
unconscious mind carefully sets the scene to make the powerful statements it
wants to communicate via this show-and-tell activity from Joran. Likewise,
instead of confronting de Vries man-to-man verbally, Joran throws the wine and
walks away, which tells us once again that he’s a man on the run. It
illustrates how he handled the entire matter by running from it, telling us
that—despite his aggressive behavior and imposing size—he’s still just a scared
Indeed this television show was Joran’s trial: he was on trial for the world to see, being cross-examined by a skeptical prosecutor (de Vries), and under that pressure Joran’s true character showed itself. Down deep he wanted us to know what really happened to Natalee. And the verdict speaks for itself. All in all, his wine-throwing incident is one giant confession.
I had previously predicted that Joran would continue to
unconsciously punish himself because he had gotten away with his crime—and here
nd him doing so in spades. With one quick out-of-control impulsive act, Joran
speaks loudly. Police talk of the “prison of the mind,” and a guilty
perpetrator can only take so much before he must try and break out of that
prison constructed not from cement stones and steel bars but of his own guilt.
There is one final striking message. In the de Vries’ incident, Joran
is symbolically speaking to the search boat telling the crew members that they
are indeed on the right track: “See how I throw a drink—see how I threw her in
the drink” and “See how Natalee’s body lies with her eyes closed covered in
water.” In his own way, Joran encourages
I wonder what Greta van Susteren of Fox News is thinking now after she largely vouched for Joran’s credibility during a lengthy interview with her in 2006 during which he stayed calm and tried to pass himself off as innocent. | <urn:uuid:488c7e27-6307-4f27-ba08-db26d5c034df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forensicthoughtprints.com/?20080202 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976581 | 1,600 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Mokena SD159 expanding ‘Rachel’s Challenge’ anti-bullying program
By Susan DeMar Lafferty [email protected] August 31, 2012 4:44PM
Updated: October 3, 2012 6:13AM
Mokena School District 159 will expand an anti-bullying, character education program into its elementary and intermediate schools, and offer a session for parents.
Rachel’s Challenge – a program based on the writings and life of 17-year-old Rachel Scott, who was killed at Columbine High School in 1999 – was introduced in Mokena Junior High School two years ago.
School officials recognized the value of the program early on at the junior high and decided then to expand it to other grades, said Sarah Boldman, social worker at the junior high.
Student assemblies will be held Wednesday at Mokena Elementary School and Mokena Intermediate School, and Thursday at the junior high. A program for parents and community members will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the junior high.
According to its website, Rachel’s Challenge is a series of “student-empowering programs and strategies that equip students and adults to combat bullying and ally feelings of isolation and despair by creating a culture of kindness and compassion.”
Earlier this year, Heidi Herrmann, mother of a Mokena Intermediate School student who has been bullied, launched a Facebook page titled “We want an anti-bullying program in Mokena School District 159.” She and other parents addressed the school board on the issue in June, saying existing anti-bullying policies were not working.
At that time, Supt. Steve Stein said the Rachel’s Challenge program would be coming to the schools in the fall.
The assemblies are not in response to the parents’ request but were booked prior to that board meeting, Boldman said.
“It is important to note that Rachel’s Challenge is more than just an anti-bullying program. It is about being better people and having strong character. The challenges are good for all kids,” she said.
Also this year, the board made changes to its student handbook to add bullying and cyber-bullying to its list of offenses that could warrant discipline.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” Herrmann said. She is hoping to work with the Parent Advisory Board to update the school district’s website to make it easier for parents and students to report bullying. | <urn:uuid:d9dff6b9-d9d7-46c5-855b-e6638361bd86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/neighborhoodstar/frankfort/14832441-521/mokena-sd159-expanding-rachels-challenge-anti-bullying-program.html | 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 | 0.962996 | 532 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The costs and risks of maintaining the eurozone system are already immense and rising. So is an exit possible? Intuitively, the exit from the euro should be as easy as the entrance. Joining and leaving the club should be equally simple. Leaving is just undoing what was done before. Indeed, many popular articles discuss the prospects of an exit of countries such as Greece or Germany. However, other voices have rightly argued that there are important exit problems. | <urn:uuid:2cfffd2a-1593-4d4a-a62c-1009a51a695a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.e-telescope.gr/en/economy-and-business | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98419 | 92 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Please contact the department for requirements and application information on any of the following scholarships.
This scholarship was established by Dr. Adolph Dial, the first chairman of the American Indian Studies Department at UNC Pembroke. The award is made annually to a student majoring in American Indian Studies.
The Jane Oxendine scholarship was established by the Pembroke Chapter of the UNCP Alumni Association in recognition of Mrs. Oxendine’s dedication to the preservation of the American Indian culture. The recipient must have a major or minor in American Indian Studies. The recipient shall be enrolled in good standing at the University and be in need of financial assistance. The recipient must be actively involved in cultural activities on and off campus.
The Thomas Oxendine Endowed Scholarship is established by family and friends to honor his distinguished military service and life contributions to American Indian people. The family’s intent is to establish an award which will affirm and promote their belief in the enduring value of education with an appreciation for the academic discipline of American Indian Studies. The donor will commemorate the memory and legacy of the late Thomas Oxendine, who was the nation’s first American Indian Navy fighter pilot. Thomas, a highly decorated officer who fought in WWII and in the Korean and Vietnam Wars served his country with distinction. This endowed scholarship is meant to encourage and inspire recipients to recognize the importance and relativity of American Indian’s contribution to this country. The donor believes that education is a means of broadening one’s horizons, not only in the pursuit of a career but also in the quest to serve all humanity.
Candidates qualified for this scholarship award shall be an American Indian Studies major pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Recipients are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA and must be a sophomore or above in order to qualify for the scholarship. The Department Chair shall establish a committee to determine the recipient that is most deserving based on the criteria stipulated. The award will be made annually.
The Donor wishes to establish this scholarship—a tribute to her husband’s lifelong commitment to education, entrepreneurship, and his American Indian heritage—to encourage and financially assist young American Indian students pursuing an education at UNC Pembroke.
The recipients of the William Lonnie Revels, Sr. Memorial Scholarship shall be native residents of North Carolina majoring in American Indian Studies, Education, or Business at UNCP. The awards should rotate within these majors—the first year awarded to an American Indian Studies major, the second year to an Education major, the third year to a Business major with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship, etc. Recipients must maintain a 2.5 QPA and be full-time undergraduate students in any year of study. The award will be made to an American Indian student of demonstrated financial need in the fall and is non-renewable.
The HELEN MAYNOR SCHEIRBECK ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP is established by family and friends to honor Helen’s distinguished service and lifelong contributions to American Indian people and, in particular, to the Lumbee Tribe of which she was a member. The intent of this scholarship is to establish an award which will affirm and promote Helen’s belief in the enduring value of education; and to commemorate the memory and legacy of one who dedicated her life to the advancement and advocacy of American Indian justice and her appreciation for the academic discipline of American Indian Studies.
This endowed scholarship is meant to encourage and inspire recipients to recognize the relevance and the importance of the contributions of American Indians to this country and the belief that education is a means of broadening horizons, pursuing a meaningful career, and advancing the quest to serve all humanity.
Candidates for this scholarship: shall be American Indian Studies majors pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke; must maintain a 3.0 GPA; must be a sophomore, junior or senior; and, must be of demonstrated financial need. Recipients shall be of American Indian descent and enrolled in a State of North Carolina or Federally recognized tribe. Recipients must have residential status from one of the following counties: Robeson, Cumberland, Scotland, or Hoke. If there should be no qualified American Indian candidates, the scholarship should be awarded to an American Indian Studies major.
This scholarship was established by UNCP professor and Thorpe scholar Dr. Robert Reising to reward a deserving student as well as to honor “the Greatest Athlete in the World.” Jim Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Indian, Olympic and professional athlete, was a one-time resident of North Carolina. Criteria for award of this scholarship include a demonstrated financial need, full-time undergraduate student status, and, preferably, majoring in American Indian Studies. One scholarship will be awarded in the fall of the year. The scholarship is renewable.
Note: * indicates geographically restricted scholarships
Updated: Monday, April 1, 2013
© The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
PO Box 1510 Pembroke, NC 28372-1510 • 910.521.6000 | <urn:uuid:0ea922c9-629f-464d-96d7-1ba2f7d4b373> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncp.edu/ais/scholarships.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951642 | 1,062 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Tarot For The New Aeon (A Practical Guide to the Power and Wisdom of the Thoth Tarot), by P.C. Tarantino
Alternative Insights Publishing, 9780976618409, 402 pp. (incl. endnotes, appendices, and bibliography), 2007
In the introduction Tarantino describes the aim of the present book, noting that “While this book respects the original spirit of Crowley’s work, it has been crafted to make his timeless illuminations readily accessible to the modern reader.”1 This sounds promising, but ultimately Tarantino cannot deliver.
Tarantino claims that tarot is “an Egyptian word meaning ‘Royal Road’”2 though this has repeatedly been demonstrated to be the strange invention of an eighteenth century Frenchman whose etymological fabrications were eccentric to say the least.
The section on tarot’s history opens in typical newage style, stating that the “origin of the tarot is shrouded in mystery”.3 No, not quite. Well, save for that shroud repeatedly tossed over it by occultists lax in their investigation of tarot’s well documented history. Indeed, there really is little excuse for any tarot book published after 1996 – when Decker, Dummett and Depaulis’s excellent work A Wicked Pack of Cards was published – to make this claim. (Of course, now, in the nills, a simple Google search would provide similar verification.)
At this point I checked the bibliography and noted that, with the exception of a few books by Joseph Campbell, the titles listed were written almost exclusively by newage writers and occultists. There is not a footnote to be seen. This did not bode well.
The founders of the Golden Dawn are cited as “Samuel Liddell Mathers, Wynn Westcott and W.K. Woodman”4. To most, these are better known as Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, William Wynn Westcott, and William Robert Woodman. (To her credit, she does manage to get Aleister Crowley’s name correct.)
Descriptions of how the cards work almost always come across as flakey, and this book is certainly no exception. Tarot further viewed here as a “tool for empowerment”, which “function as an extension of your psychic awareness”.5
In the section on reading the tarot, a list of twenty-four questions is given; some open ended, others more specific. A few sample readings demonstrate how they may be used, along with descriptions of suggested spreads.
The rest of the book is broken up into three sections “Thoth Tarot Advisor”, which lists single page descriptions of the cards for upright and inverted meanings accompanied by black and white images of the cards (and, yes, the cards are pictured upright and again upside down…)
The second section, “Symbols of the Thoth Tarot”, the cards are redescribed in two pages, one with a description of the symbols and another with a list of keywords for the symbols themselves and the interpretations for the trumps and court cards, and half-page descriptions for the pips. The images are repeated here – upright only, this time.
The final section is titled “Personal Guidance Cards”. The trump cards are reinterpreted a third time for “Personality and Soul Cards”. Interpretations for the court cards are presented again for “Inner Teacher Cards”. The pips are reinterpreted for “Challenge and Opportunity Cards”. The trump cards are interpreted for a fourth time for “Growth Year Cards”. Fortunately we’re spared a fifth reinterpretation for the “Lifetime Collage”.
Unfortunately, for all the reworking of the same five or six keywords in each reinterpretation of the cards, nowhere in this book does she demonstrate any depth of understanding of what the “original spirit of Crowley’s work” entails as cited in her introduction. One gets the feeling that any deck could have been used, that it was the Thoth Tarot is only evidenced by the images depicted on the cards and the images described – her symbolic analysis bears no relation to magickal symbolism or Thelemic thought.
Tarot for the New Aeon is incredibly formulaic, unbearably repetitive, and ultimately misguided. There are no redeeming features.Footnotes: | <urn:uuid:67927b3c-db53-4152-bf7d-eec7829e0981> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spiralnature.com/reviews/tarot-oracles/tarot-for-the-new-aeon-p-c-tarantino.html?wpmp_switcher=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938262 | 949 | 1.820313 | 2 |
SPI Dynamics has an interesting proof-of-concept page that can snoop your browser's cache of visited URLs and figure out whether you've searched for specific terms on Google. Or rather, I assume it can on some people's computers... for some reason it always returns "yup, you searched for that" on both Firefox and Safari on my Mac.
According to this graph of spam volume by spam blacklister TQMcube, spam volume has increased more than tenfold in the past six months. I'm not sure if this is some kind of attempt to overwhelm spam-filters and blacklisting services or just another ratcheting up, but I do find it disheartening that doing a news search for "major increase in spam" results in posts and news reports that span several years. (Thanks to Jeff for the link to the graph.)
Radio Lab had a great hour production called Where Am I?, all about how mind and body collaborate to determine where you and all your assorted parts are in space and how that can sometimes get out of whack. Audio is available for streaming and download, and well worth the listen.
It reminds me of the "That's my hand!" illusion, where you can give someone the uncanny feeling that an obviously-plastic severed rubber hand is actually their own by simply hiding their real hand from view and then simultaneously touching each hand in the same spot at the same time. After about 20 seconds of such touching the illusion kicks in, and is a wonderfully eerie feeling. They have a station for trying this out at the SF Exploratorium, but my first introduction to it was from reading a recent study where scientists induced the illusion while the subject was being scanned by an MRI. What they found was that the illusion corresponds with activity in the premotor cortex, a part of the brain that receives input both visual and touch information, implying that we build our idea of where different parts of our body is in space by correlating our own sense of touch with what we can detect with our other senses. (They also have a more recent study showing that it's not just vision combined with touch — you can get the same effect bindfolded by making the subject think she's touching her left hand with her right when actually she's touching the rubber hand.)
patently obvious, adj. An idea so blazingly obvious, only the patent office would think it novel enough to patent.
Economics professors at Cornell and Indiana U. have found a possible correlation between watching TV before the age of three and autism. The evidence looks even more circumstantial than the study linking early TV viewing to ADHD, but still interesting: really what they've found is a correlation between diagnosis of autism and the number of rainy days in a particular county for a given period, which is known to correlate with hours kids spend watching TV. I wonder if they also looked at birth month and whether that has an effect — if it did that might imply a critical period of only a few months. (Thanks to Andrea for the link.)
Anders Sandberg has posted some fabulous Warning Signs For Tomorrow over at his blog. And in a similar vein, check out how Dow Chemical designed the biohazard symbol. (By way of Schneier on Security.)
Today's the last day for Californians to register to vote in time for the November 7th election. If you've not yet registered, download the registration form and mail it directly to your county elections official. Forms must be postmarked by today's date.
A few days ago Reuters opened a bureau in Second Life, the online virtual world that's more second home than game to some 400,000 (presumably part-time) residents. Adam Pasick is bureau chief and sole reporter, and is dedicated fulltime to Second Life. As science fiction writer Charlie Strauss put it a month ago, "Truth stranger than fiction? Must write faster, the clowns are gaining ..." (Via NPR's Marketplace.)
A Fox News cameraman was about 20 blocks away when the New York small-plane crash occurred last week, so he broadcast live via his Palm Treo smart-phone. (Thanks to Jamey for the link.)
Google just added support for the Treo 600, Treo 650 and Treo 700p to their Google Maps Mobile software (a client application that runs on your phone). Looks pretty good, and includes the ability to see the current traffic conditions along your route, which ironically the main Google Maps software can't do. (Thanks to GirlPurple for the link, via Jill!)
Bruce Schneier answers the question "why do we bother making people with security clearances go through airport security?" with the obvious answer "how would an airport screener know if you have a security clearance?"
Heck, as long as we're living in fantasy land, why don't they let non-terrorists bypass security and just focus on The Terrorists? After all, it must not be too hard to tell who's a Terrorist and who isn't, since we're already single them out for torture, rendition to Syria and indefinite detention without review. What's forcing them to spend extra time in line at the airport compared to that?
Google just launched a page for searching through publicly-posted source code (including the ability to search by regexp, language and licence), and Kottke.org has compiled a list of some interesting searches people have uncovered, including password files, backdoors, inside jokes and kludge alerts.
(Thanks to Rawhide for the link!)
You've probably already heard about the cell phone that screams after it's reported as stolen. My friend GirlPurple has suggested the perfect add-on market: Custom Scream Tones.
Kevin Drum has posted an email exchange between convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Karl Rove's assistant, Susan Ralston, part of a larger set released in a bipartisan report by The House Government Reform Committee. Apparently Abramoff sent an email asking for favors to Ralston's personal(?) pager, and that email was forwarded to the Deputy Assistant to the President and then on to a White House aide. That aide in turn warned a colleague of Abramoff's that "it is better not to put this stuff in writing in their email system because it might actually limit what they can do to help us, especially since there could be lawsuits, etc." Abramoff's response to his colleague's warning: "Dammit. It was sent to Susan on her mc pager and was not supposed to go into the WH system."
Political scandal aside, this teaches a fundamental security issue with email. I have no idea whether Ralston's pager was set to automatically forward email while she was on vacation or (more likely) that she forwarded it on to the Deputy Assistant herself as a way to keep him in the loop. Regardless, it's clear that Abramoff recognized that having such emails in the official White House system would be a liability, but he had no control over whether its recipients (either Ralston or possibly her automatic forwarder) would be as prudent.
People who want to speak "off the record" usually think about whether a communication channel is likely to be archived, is subject to subpoena, is secure and so forth. But as it becomes easier to transfer between channels that becomes harder to predict. You might not expect me to archive my voicemail, but if I automatically forward my messages to my email as audio attachments then it probably will be. Similarly, you might expect email sent within a company to stay protected inside the firewall, but if just one recipient forwards his email to his GMail account then that security is blown wide open. The folks involved in the Abramoff scandal deserve to be outed, but the next person to be tripped up by this kind of error might not be so deserving.
The overall winner of this weekend's Open Hack Day at Yahoo! was Blogging in Motion, which mounts a camera and pedometer in a handbag and then uses the Flickr API (and I presume a cellphone) to automatically blog one picture every minute. Sounds like a purse version of Steve Mann's Wearable Wireless Webcam, and more recently Microsoft Research Cambridge's SenseCam system, all hacked together in just one 24-hour marathon.
In an interview with NPR's On The Media, New York Times Deputy Foreign Editor Ethan Bronner had this to say about what it would take for the Times to decide that Iraq has finally turned into a civil war (question is 3:10 into the interview):
I don't think I could answer that you know, sort of, we need to see X, Y and Z. I think that broadly speaking if it seemed that the sides of conflict in Iraq had separated themselves into full-blown millitias / armies and war was the full-time occupation in Iraq, that would be a civil war and I imagine that's when we would start calling it that.
At a certain point it will, if in fact it grows to the point where the sides have divided into clearly defined groups fighting one another, I mean the government for example is a mix of Sunni, Shia and Kurd. Is it a player in this "civil war" that other people see? It's not clear to me.
I wonder how the Times reconciles this whole Blue vs. Grey definition of civil war with the fact that wars are increasingly being fought by networks of loosely-affiliated like-minded allies rather than clearly defined armies. If they can accept that the US is at war with a "transnational movement of extremist organizations, networks, and individuals" (to quote a recent Defense Department publication) why insist on clearly-defined armies in the case of a civil war? If anything, civil wars have historically been messier and more complicated than other wars, not simpler.
If the Times is waiting for the situation in Iraq to congeal into a simple pie chart before they decide it's in a state of civil war, I expect they'll be waiting quite a while. | <urn:uuid:5c340771-be44-42aa-8c1b-63c66bd6e3c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docbug.com/blog/archives/2006_10.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964252 | 2,047 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Thu February 7, 2013
'Lore': After Hitler, An Awakening For The Reich's Children
It took years for our fictions to consider the Holocaust narrative. And for an even longer time, a stunned silence hovered over the fate of "Hitler's children" — ordinary Germans during and after World War II. That embargo, too, is lifting, with a significant trickle of novels, movies and television dramas that imagine what it felt like to be the inheritors of the worst that humans can do to other humans.
Lore, a new film by writer-director Cate Shortland (Somersault), is based on The Dark Room, a novel by Rachel Seiffert about the dilemmas faced by children of Nazis or Nazi collaborators. But Seiffert, who lives in England, drew sympathetically on her German grandmother's experiences in the immediate aftermath of World War II; Shortland, who's Australian, directs a less forgiving gaze on the eponymous teenage girl trying to steer her four younger siblings through a ravaged Germany in 1945.
Abruptly separated from her Nazi parents when they are imprisoned after the German surrender, Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) gathers up her sister, her twin brothers and the family's new baby. Armed with little more than a fistful of her mother's jewelry, Lore struggles to make her way through a countryside in free fall, arbitrarily carved up into three zones by the Americans, the Russians and the British.
The landscape they travel is lush and green — and littered with flyblown corpses, gutted ruins and temporary shelters overwhelmed by displaced refugees scrabbling for food, clothing and somewhere to sleep. Like Lore, they have little left to cling to but tattered illusions and their desperate efforts to explain away the damning photographs of emaciated Jewish bodies posted in plain sight by the Americans.
Trying to shore up her belief in "the final victory" promised by her adored father (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and the Fuhrer himself, Lore encounters a bewildering mix of hostility, indifference and grudging kindness from her fellow casualties. Brutal barter is the order of the day, and when Thomas (Kai Malina) — an enigmatic young stranger carrying the papers of a Jew from the Buchenwald concentration camp — attaches himself to the bedraggled family, Lore finds herself caught between the reflexive anti-Semitism in which she's been schooled and the need for a protector to help ferry her siblings to safety at their grandmother's house in Hamburg. A twisted bond grows between Lore and Thomas, at once fragile and infused with a warped sexuality that's not in the original novel, compromised from one minute to the next by the possibility of abandonment or betrayal.
Shortland's camera creates a world that's shockingly fractured, shot at weird angles and pocked with truncated body parts, heads hanging upside down and undefined realities filled with quiet dread. Never mind that we already know what Lore can't permit herself to discover: We see what she sees, and begin to comprehend as she does when no further denial is possible.
Trying to make sense of this chaotic universe, Lore is filled with despair, not least at the small atrocities that she and Thomas are forced by their circumstances to commit. She knows; she doesn't know; and it's not until she and her depleted family reach the seeming haven of her grandmother's home that Lore gives vent to pent-up rage. Only now her anger is directed at its deserving source — the fallen idols she must now acknowledge as criminals.
Unlike Seiffert's novel, Shortland's film ends in a minor orgy of destruction visited upon a sentimental symbol of Lore's shattered harmony. The climax Shortland offers us is much harder to take than Seiffert's gentler vision, yet far more evocative of the bitter price paid by the children of the Third Reich for the sins of their parents.
One longs to know what becomes of Lore and her unenviable cohort. Here's some Monday-morning quarterbacking: Project Seiffert's Lore into her country's political future, and she's the equivocal voice of German social democracy — cautious, placatory, inclined to see all sides of the question. Pay Shortland's Lore forward, and she's running the Baader-Meinhof gang. (Recommended) | <urn:uuid:446e62f4-e276-49b7-8b2d-5caf074373fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kccu.org/post/lore-after-hitler-awakening-reichs-children | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955755 | 891 | 1.789063 | 2 |
The bulletin of Atlanta University
|Previous||1 of 8||Next|
Loading content ...
NUMBER 65. ATLANTA, GEORGIA. MAY, 1895. ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GA., Is a Christian Institution, unsec-tarian in its management and influence, wholly controlled by an independent Board of Trustees, and receiving no aid from city, state or national government, or benevolent society. Has 216 students in College, Normal, College-Preparatory and Sub-Normal departments, under 15 officers and teachers. Trains teachers and leaders of their race from among the sons and daughters of the Freedmen of the South. Has sent out 275 graduates from College and Normal courses, nearly all of whom, together with hundreds of past undergraduates are engaged in teaching and other useful work in Georgia and surrounding States. Owns four large brick buildings, on sixty-five acres of land, one mile from the centre of Atlanta, Ga.; library of 8,000 vols., apparatus and other equipment—all valued at not less than a quarter of a million dollars. Having no endowment (except about $33,000, mostly for special objects), the Institution inquires at least $20,000 a year in donations from its friends, to continue the work now in hand, and a fund of about $500,000 to put that work on a permanent basis. Annual scholarships of $40 each are asked for to provide for the tuition of one student for one year, over and above the nominal tuition fees paid by the student. Subscriptions of $100 and upwards, or any smaller sums, are solicited for general current expenses. Remittances of donations, or inquiries for further information, may be addressed to Pres. Horace Bumstead, D. D, Atlanta, Ga. Under the will of the late Mr. John H. Cassedy of Haverstraw, New York, the Atlanta University becomes the residuary legatee of his estate. The amount that the school will receive cannot be definitely ascertained at present, but it is several thousand dollars, and no directions concerning its use are given. Mr. Cassedy had previously made two gifts of $5,000 each to the University, the income of which is to be used in aiding needy students. The letter from Mr. Frank P. Fel-ter, printed below, tells how Mr. Cassedy accumulated his money, and explains the motive that led him to give to such an institution as this. The Christ-like lesson from such a life of economy and self-denial for the sake of others, and those strangers to him, ought not to be lost upon our students. A WORTHY EXAMPLE. Dear Sir—Your favor of March 30th at hand. In reply to your request for a sketch of the life of Mr. Cassedy, I would say that he died leaving very few relatives, but 1 am glad to say many sorrowing friends. It is very difficult to get any information from which to write a few lines for you, as his relatives do not live here at present, and I have very little I could send you from the papers, as he lived about five miles out of town, and was not very well known to the younger class, especially the young newspaper men. Mr. Cassedy was born in the town of Ramapo, Rockland county, N. Y., about 78 years ago. After getting the best education to be obtained at the common schools in his native town, he started out in the world to get a living for himself, being at that time without a cent. In his search for work, it is said he walked entirely across one of the Western States. Tiring of this he returned to New York City and took a position as clerk in the store of Mr. Castree, late President of the Irving Savings Institution, and afterwards with Mr. Totten, the present head of the same institution. He finally, after many years of industry and frugality, saved enough to start himself in the grocery business. In this, I think, he was aided more from the confidence his friends, Mr. Castree and Mr. Totten, had in him, thus enabling them to aid him financially, than from the capital in hand at the time. For this confidence and aid I find Mr. Cassedy was ever grateful, for upon opening his safe I found he had patronized their bank as far as his means would permit. He was known far and wide for his sterling honesty and moral and religious worth. It is said of him at one time that he got out of patience with a clerk for giving him down weight on the balance, when he himself was the gainer, telling the clerk if he kept on so he would ruin his employer. Our friend was never married, having a greater part of his life lived alone in his store. But for the last few years he lived very nicely by economy on his farm, having a niece to keep house for him. In a political way he was non-partisan, but during the Rebellion he was a staunch advocate of the abolition of slavery. The enslaving of a human being seemed to be hostile to his nature. Not caring for outward appearances of any kind, his whole life was devoted to the welfare of others. Many kind acts of charity can be passed to his credit, but of all the good traits of his character, the one that predominated was his love for the colored race. Yours respectfully, Frank P. Felter.
|Title||The bulletin of Atlanta University, 1895 no. 65|
Universities & colleges
|Description||The bulletin of Atlanta University was a publication sent to faculty, friends and alumni of the institution; Telling of the institution's progress and present needs. This issue is May 1895, no. 65.|
|Holding Library||Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center| | <urn:uuid:7fc2f9da-6586-46b5-ba1d-a3b782be8ada> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.auctr.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/rwwl/id/888/rec/9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981116 | 1,213 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Seeking a start-up guru, but coming up short on content
Anthony David’s book on pioneering tech investor Yossi Vardi offers a portrait of a swell guy with laudable goals, but offers no new insights into the world of Israeli entrepreneurship that Vardi so significantly shaped.
A few pages before the end of Anthony David’s book on Yossi Vardi, the subject comments on some of the author’s dull observations. "Whatever you say. It's your book. But if you ask me, people want a good story, and if you’re boring me, you can only imagine how they're going to react.” A perceptive comment indeed.
Yossi Vardi has been one of the most prominent figures in Israel’s high-tech industry over the past 15 years. One of the reasons he’s so well known is because he was a personal investor in Mirabilis, a company started by his son Arik, which later changed its name to ICQ – after the name of its main product, an instant messaging service.
The cash sale of the company in June 1998 to the American technology giant AOL for $407 million gave the burgeoning dot-com bubble a distinctive Israeli stamp. In the years that followed, “The Mirabilis effect" led to the establishment of hundreds of start-up companies, a considerable amount of which went bust when the bubble burst. One of the people who remained standing after the smoke cleared was Vardi.
In his book “I Seek You!” (a play on the name of Vardi’s famous company, which loses all its cleverness when translated to Hebrew), writer Anthony David sets out to get to the bottom of Vardi’s personality.
It’s hard to think of an industry conference, event, panel, television program or newspaper list where Vardi hasn’t been honored. In the process, he’s managed to accumulate quite a few nicknames: "Internet Guru," (“call me Guru, call me Buru, it doesn't matter” – he says to David), "The Godfather of Israeli high-tech," the "Prophet," and a plethora of other titles designed to shower him with glory. He despises them all.
The manner in which Vardi refers to his reputation reveals quite a bit about his personality, as reflected in David's book. Vardi isn’t shy, he doesn’t shirk from making public appearances, is not intimidated by giving interviews or lectures or meeting world leaders. He’s the center of attention, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’ll have a laugh at his own expense and at the expense of his hosts, will throw in a joke or two (or three), and will downplay his role in the success of the businesses he’s invested in, especially when it comes to the company that made him a multi-millionaire.
The question is whether these qualities justify a whole book. The first half of “I Seek You!” tells the story of the sale of Mirabilis. But despite the story consuming over 160 pages, there are hardly any new details. The little new information consists of nothing more than amusing historical trivia. The details surrounding the sale of Mirabilis was relevant back in the age of the dot-com bubble, but that time has passed. Even the intimidating technology giant AOL is no longer the same company it was. Same goes for the internet-services company Excite which is also mentioned occasionally. Even Microsoft is no longer the same formidable force it was in the mid-90s.
David dedicates the second half of the book to Vardi's search for his own secret to success. Vardi is not indifferent to the fact that ICQ’s $407 million valuation wasn’t actually about the product itself but rather its vast, loyal, user community that numbered tens of millions (until a certain point when many deserted him).
So if this is where true value lies, it begs the question how such a success can be replicated. How do you persuade web users to return, use new services, and stay? How do you make these services go viral? How do you make the users themselves into the company's best marketing and sales agents? In other words, Vardi's looking for the secret of “cool,” and he does so in the methodical manner that has characterized his process since he was a civil servant.
The problem with the book is that what David learns from Vardi is nothing new, at least not for those who read the high-tech sections of the newspaper, and especially not for those familiar with the culture of start-ups.
The writer learns that Vardi is a big believer in unorganized conferences where you simply have fun, ones that don't have a set itinerary. He learns that Vardi believes that the secret to his success lies within the ability of high-tech companies to motivate their users to collaborate, communicate and, primarily, to enjoy themselves. He also learns that Vardi himself realizes that there isn't really a secret recipe for success. If such a thing existed, all of the companies Vardi invested in would have succeeded – and not all of them did.
As you read the book you get the sense that David's tome is a magazine article that spiraled out of proportion, or alternatively one that suffers from an inflated sense of its own importance. Too-long sections are devoted to descriptions of David's own experiences at conferences organized by Vardi. These sections don't provide any real insights, rather just banal personal reflection. Other parts are devoted to an already heavily chewed over historical summary of the major changes that affected various industries, such as the music industry. Even Vardi's own insights are repeated over and over again in different formulations, and they all lead to the same conclusion: Vardi is an entertaining guy with nothing unusual about him – for better or for worse.
Despite this, those who wish to get to know Yossi Vardi will find that the book does its job. The readers learn about an eccentric and charming personality, goofy yet sharp, sloppy but organized. Vardi is the king of schmoozing, making connections, tying off loose ends. He is the ultimate matchmaker, connecting entrepreneurs with ideas, investors and companies. He is a human switchboard.
No less importantly, Vardi recognizes his own limits. He knows what he doesn't know, he knows that he works alongside those that are smarter and younger than he is but who haven’t been blessed with his money. In entrepreneurs he is looking for hunger, talent, independence, integrity, the willingness to take risks, and, especially, likeability. Yes, Vardi chooses his investments according to whether or not the entrepreneur is a nice person. It's hard not to be fond of such a character.
However, Vardi's recipe is far from the ideal formula for the entire Israeli high-tech industry. He is interested in lean, agile companies, ones that gather millions of users over a short period, enabling him to sell them to the highest bidder while he gets a fat cut on a small investment. He’s not looking for companies that will develop over years and employ thousands of workers; he's not looking to establish the "Israeli Nokia," or even another Check Point, the Israeli company that partnered with Nokia.
And although he is a patriotic Israeli who makes a point of investing in Israeli entrepreneurs, he probably doesn’t believe that Israelis are willing, or able, to create valuable content or generate big bucks on their own. He is here to build, so he can sell.
“I Seek You! Inside Yossi Vardi`s Head” by Anthony David (translated from the English into Hebrew by Yaron Ben-Ami), Aliyat Hagag and Yedioth Books, 319 Pages, NIS 98.
Dr. Yuval Dror is the head of the Digital Studies track at the College of Management's School of Communications. | <urn:uuid:7837b881-72c8-42cb-9fac-843debe8bfc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.haaretz.com/seeking-a-start-up-guru-but-coming-up-short-on-content-1.451101 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969315 | 1,681 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Cambodia and the limits of World Bank accountability
News||5 April 2011|update 75|
The World Bank Inspection Panel released an investigation report in March, which found that the Bank breached its operational policies by failing to properly design and supervise the Cambodia Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), contributing to “grave harm” to affected families. The Bank’s Inspection Panel found that the Bank’s failures contributed to the forced eviction of some 20,000 people living around Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake. Residents were wrongly denied the right to register their land ownership under the $28.8 million Bank-financed land titling project shortly before the government leased the area to a private developer and began a campaign of intimidation to force more than 4,000 affected families to sell their property for a fraction of its market value.
The project was established with the stated aim of developing the land market and improving security of tenure for the poor by systematically registering land and issuing titles across the country. However, the Panel found that many poor and vulnerable households have been arbitrarily excluded from the titling process, denying them an opportunity to claim and formalise their land rights. The Panel attributed this failing to non-compliance with the Bank’s operational policies and procedures on project appraisal and supervision.
Despite strong evidence to prove their legal rights to the land, Boeung Kak residents were excluded from the titling system when land registration was carried out in their neighbourhood in 2006. Shortly after, the Cambodian government granted an unlawful 99-year lease over the area to Shukaku Inc., a company chaired by a senator from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and close associate of the prime minister. Residents of the area covered by the lease – many of whom have lived lawfully in the area since soon after the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979 – were suddenly accused by the government of being illegal squatters on state-owned land.
The Inspection Panel also found that the Bank breached its operational policies by failing to supervise the government’s implementation of a resettlement policy framework, which was included in the LMAP loan agreement. The framework established a process of adequate resettlement and compensation, in accordance with the Bank’s policy on involuntary resettlement, for people found to be residing on state land. The framework was not applied by the government in the case of Boeung Kak or in other areas where households have been excluded from titling and subsequently forcibly evicted.
Following advocacy by civil society groups, the Bank acknowledged that the involuntary resettlement safeguards had been breached in Boeung Kak, and approached the Cambodian government to discuss measures to bring the project into compliance. The government disagreed that the safeguards had been violated and responded to the Bank’s entreaties by abruptly ending its agreement on LMAP, citing the Bank’s “complicated conditions”. Since that time, the Cambodian government has rebuffed all attempts by the Bank to remedy the situation and forced evictions of Boeung Kak families have continued unabated.
The predicament in which the Bank finds itself highlights the limits of its ability to be accountable to those harmed by its projects – even if it wants to be. The institutional architecture of the Bank requires it to rely on the cooperation of borrowing governments in any effort to remedy harms resulting from safeguard policy violations. This structure becomes highly problematic when the government in question is notoriously unaccountable to its own people and is the perpetrator of the violations at hand.
More than 15 years since the establishment of the Inspection Panel, there continues to be no guarantee that claimants whose rights are vindicated by the Panel will receive any remedy whatsoever. If the Bank continues to lend to governments that consistently violate safeguard policy obligations and refuse to remedy harm, then it must be prepared to provide reparations unilaterally. In the absence of such a redress mechanism, the Bank will continue to suffer from an accountability deficit and demands for stripping the Bank’s legal immunity will grow ever louder.
This text may be freely used providing the source is credited.
Published: 5 April 2011 , last edited: 5 April 2011
Viewings since posted: 6649
Climate Investment Funds Monitor 7: April 2013 25 April 2013
Working paper: The private sector and climate change adaptation: International Finance Corporation investments under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience 24 April 2013
The UK's role in the World Bank and IMF: Department for International Development and HM Treasury 13 March 2013
The World Bank and industrial policy: Hands off or hands on? 6 December 2012
Climate Investment Funds Monitor 6: October 2012 26 October 2012 | <urn:uuid:826c07bf-adb4-4469-b41b-2a4080e64718> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-567913 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962545 | 940 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Just look at the University of Southern California football team. Not only are the physical specimens that make up the Trojans’ roster a group of huge men; the team plays in the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a venue that seats more than 93,000 and is historically epic as the host of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games.
USC looms large in the minds of college-football historians as well. The team has won 11 national championships, claimed seven Heisman Trophies for having the best player in the country, and sent hundreds of athletes on to play professionally in the National Football League.
When it comes to college football, there’s little arguing that bigger is better. Schools across the country—a legion of wannabe USCs—are navigating their way into new conference affiliations, all of them looking for a bigger and better deal for their students, faculties and athletic teams. And the deals are being driven largely by squads of 11 behemoths bashing in each other’s heads for control of a pigskin on fall Saturday afternoons.
The University of Utah is a canary in the conference-realignment coal mine; the school’s jump from the Mountain West Conference into the powerful Pac-12 is one of the more dramatic examples of upward mobility in the realignment process currently playing out in towns from Syracuse, N.Y., to College Station, Texas, to Boise, Idaho. They are the first school to move from a “small conference,” the Mountain West, into one of the six major conferences: the Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East.
It makes sense, then, that Utah’s inaugural Pac-12 season would start with a football game against the mighty Trojans, in that historic L.A. Coliseum, on a campus where fans of both the home team and visiting squad crowd into Heritage Hall to get a glimpse of those Heisman Trophies, where thousands gather at the Tommy Trojan statue to follow USC’s legendary marching band toward the stadium, where wandering through the Exposition Park Rose Garden can quickly make people forget they’re on a college campus, let alone at a tailgate scene.
More than 10,000 Utah fans decided the chance to watch the Sept. 10 game in person—60 minutes representing the University of Utah joining the “major leagues” of college athletics—was worth the trip to Los Angeles. For a state, and a school, after decades of feeling like outsiders and also-rans, this game meant Utah had officially arrived.
Looking around at the thousands of Utah fans dotting the Coliseum during the game, and tailgating across the Los Angeles campus alongside USC boosters for hours beforehand, it was resoundingly clear the Utes and their fans weren’t in Kansas anymore, so to speak. Or, more accurately, they weren’t in Laramie, or Fort Collins, or Provo.
The move has been a long time coming for Utah fans and alumni who have seen the east-bench campus evolve from largely a commuter school into a more traditional athletic power—with a vocal and active community of boosters—over the past decade. On game days, the U campus and Rice-Eccles Stadium fill with people from all walks of Utah life, now joined by the common cause of cheering for a football team. And while football—and its affiliated revenue—is the driving force of the U's decision to move to the Pac-12, it is far from the only reason for the mountain school to go coastal.
Movin’ On Up
When Chris Hill took over as the U’s athletic director in 1987, the school was still a part of the Western Athletic Conference, a sprawling group of smallish Western schools. Fans recall the ’80s as some dark days for Utah football, when the only guaranteed home sell-out was the BYU rivalry game. Students couldn’t be bothered to actually show up the rest of the season, despite having free access to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Even in that environment, Hill was already thinking of bigger things, like eventually landing in the same conference as USC, Stanford and Cal-Berkeley.
“I think it took a few years in my own mind that it could be a possibility, and that it would be the right place for the next 50 years,” Hill said. “It’s been a goal of ours, pretty strongly, since the mid-’90s.”
The ’90s will be forever known to Utah fans as the heart of the Ron McBride Era, when the former coach turned a downtrodden program regularly pummeled by the LaVell Edwards-led BYU into a competitive crew that often went to bowl games and regularly beat the Cougars, even if the Utes never won an outright conference title under his watch.
In 1996, the WAC expanded from 10 teams to 16. Feeling that the conference had become unwieldy, eight of the schools—the U, BYU, UNLV, Air Force, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State and San Diego State—left in 1999 to form the Mountain West.
McBride was fired after a losing season in 2002, replaced by Urban Meyer, who, in two years, led the Utes to a conference championship and then to an undefeated season in 2004, making Utah the first school from outside one of the Bowl Championship Series conferences to earn a spot in one of the BCS bowl games—a major windfall both money-wise and attention-wise. Meyer left for a job at Florida, but current coach Kyle Whittingham kept up the winning ways in the Mountain West, leading another BCS-busting campaign in 2008, ending the perfect season with a win against Southeastern Conference power Alabama in New Orleans’ Sugar Bowl.
Given the success of Utah’s football team under Meyer and Whittingham, a move to a conference affiliated with the BCS—with automatic access to a BCS bowl game and the money that comes with it—became No. 1 on every Utah booster’s wish list. And when an invitation came on June 17, 2010 to join the Pac-10 and create the Pac-12 with fellow conference-shifter Colorado, it was an easy decision.
“I’m kind of a dreamer, and what we knew was that what we did to be successful in the WAC and Mountain West is what we need to do to be successful in the Pac-12,” Hill said. “It doesn’t change. You have to put together great coaches, great student-athletes, great facilities. You gotta win. And the advantage that we also have is a great university that’s a Research I institution that’s growing, that’s more prestigious, that’s nationally known. You put that together, and it puts us in a common place with the Pac-12 schools.”
It will actually be a little while before the University of Utah has much in common with its new conference rivals, financially speaking. The school joins the Pac-12 fray with the smallest athletic-department budget in the league. But at face value, joining the Pac-12 is most definitely an economic windfall for the U.
Consider this: As the Bowl Championship Series is currently set up, the five BCS bowl games—the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and the national championship game—generate $142.5 million from TV revenue and ticket sales, according to David Rudd, one of the U’s authorities on the move to the Pac-12 and the dean of the College of Social & Behavioral Science.
Of that $142.5 million, $124.5 is divvied up among the six BCS conferences. The remaining $24 million or so is left to be divided by smaller conferences like the Mountain West. | <urn:uuid:445c892a-2799-4232-8d4b-a7128caa3757> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/article-137-15056-the-new-u.html?current_page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962525 | 1,656 | 1.546875 | 2 |
How Bin Laden Went Undetected
I always wondered how Osama Bin Laden was able to stay hidden for so long. The military had a hard time pinning him down, and how was he not detected in cyber space? Didn’t he leave a digital footprint like everyone else? We know now that he was able to communicate through emails, but how did those emails remain undetected? New details show that the terrorist had an elaborate scheme to foil the search for him. | <urn:uuid:c02388e6-c73c-46a7-9eae-9d0c19fe9ecd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kbear.com/how-bin-laden-went-undetected/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985323 | 96 | 1.625 | 2 |
Microsoft just released the beta of the Kinect for Windows SDK. Although, “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products” it appears Microsoft have changed their tune and released APIs for C++, C# and Visual Basic seven months after the Kinect was officially hacked.
We’ve seen libraries being developed since the launch of Kinect, culminating in the OpenKinect project. The Microsoft release covers the same ground as the OpenKinect project, and will hopefully improve on attempts to get audio out of the Kinect.
We’ve seen Kinect hacks run the gamut from telepresence, to robotics, to 3D modeling, so the Kinect seems like a great tool in the builder’s arsenal. The Kinect is a wonderful tool, and even though most of the functionality has already been replicated by the open-source community, it’s nice to know there’s official support for all the great projects we’ve seen. | <urn:uuid:d36d5c58-1222-4e6f-a9bf-baa7f22079c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/2011/06/16/official-kinect-sdk-released/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956234 | 196 | 1.609375 | 2 |
During the week of 7 – 11 November 2011, the Booth Museum was closed for a well needed spruce up. The plan for the week was for staff from across Brighton Museum service to descend upon the Booth Museum and give it a thorough clean, whilst overhead contractors surveyed the skylights and roof. The following is a diary detailing the main jobs of the week:
Monday: Early arrivals helpedto clear the Victorian study in preparation for contractors coming to check the skylights and roof throughout the week. Staff removed the insect and egg cabinets from beneath the skylights above the first mezzanine to allow the construction of temporary walkways for the contractors. Mobile scaffolds and a lift were set up to allow cleaning and maintenance of high level cases and surfaces.
Keeper of the Booth Museum, Gerald Legg, gave a short demonstration on removing the Booth bird display cases from the walls, and removing the glass from the cases. Once shown, various team members started opening cases and polishing the inside surface of the glass, cleaning the birds inside and finally polishing and dusting the outside of the cases. This work continued across the week and took up a large portion of the week’s work.
Following a review of disability access at the Booth, the sailfish display case outside the bone gallery was moved and the wall behind it altered. The case now slides back into the wall, and can be pulled further out for viewing when requested. Whilst this work was carried out, it was noticed that mould had grown on the tail fin. The case was opened and the mould was cleaned off, with the rest of the case being dusted and cleaned in the process.
Tuesday: The heating pipes at the Booth Museum are situated in a trench circling the entire museum, and covered by metal gratings. The gratings were systematically lifted and the trench below was vacuumed out, with any loose change added to the donations piggy bank: over £15 was found in the grates around the pig alone!. However, during Tuesday’s cleaning of the heating pipes, a mass of fibrous material was found, causing everyone to be evacuated from the main building whilst experts were called to check for asbestos. Thankfully, the all clear was given after lunch and work could recommence.
Most of the staff who had come to help on Tuesday had returned to the Pavilion after the scare, so a skeleton crew got back to work. Unfortunately, whilst a steeplejack was hanging safety nets, dust from the roof was disturbed and set off a fire alarm, resulting in more disruption as the building was evacuated again.
Wednesday: A number of trophy heads stored on top of the rearmost cabinets were brought down for the first time in thirty years. The temporary store on top of the case was floored with wood panels making it a lot stronger for both storage and access. After a good clean up of the heads and horns previously stored here, it was decided that they should be exhibited rather than being put away for another few decades. At the end of the week, the heads and horns were mounted around the outside of the Victorian study, and are now on display to visitors.
Thursday: The cleaning continues, with the insect and egg drawers in the stores given a good clean, and checked for damage and pests. Downstairs, objects on open display, such as the bone gallery and discovery gallery, are dusted and vacuumed. Gum and other stains are removed from carpets, and damaged carpet tiles are re-laid or replaced.
Friday: All week the killer whale skeleton had been undergoing repairs. The right flipper was removed from the rest of the skeleton at the beginning of the week as the plaster filler originally holding the bones together was cracked or broken. A number of makeshift repairs in different colour fillers had left it looking patchy.
A strengthened plaster mix was applied to the flipper as well as to other parts of the skeleton still hanging in the gallery. When dry, the filler was sanded down and painted. The flipper was re-hung, and a much improved skeleton was ready for its adoring public!
The Victorian study was put back together, and the various ongoing jobs were gradually wound down. Equipment for high level cleaning was packed back into the van and taken back to the Pavilion. After a final vacuuming and last minute dusting and polishing, the museum was ready for visitors once more.
Many thanks to all the staff who came to assist during the closed week, and a special thank-you to Lucy Mutter for organising everyone and providing encouragement in the form of cakes and biscuits!
Lee Ismail, Curator of Natural Sciences | <urn:uuid:4a916740-60cf-483e-ae20-831c87a562cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/spruce-up-at-the-booth-museum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980506 | 950 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Howling Over Halloween
Devil's playground or child's play?
Christians seem to be in a real quandary about this one: should they celebrate Halloween in a uniquely Christian manner (All Saints Day); or should they encourage their kids to use their imaginations and have fun while trick-or-treating; or should every good believer shun this festival of Satan? Beliefnet has a whole series on this very question which includes answers from a witch and a piece by Diane Baker (A chilling mixture of an episode of Martha Stewart's Living and Cultic Ancestor Worship 101: "When the children come home from school on Halloween, worn out from the excitement and parties, I have a snack waiting: their own roasted pumpkin seeds, a seedcake, and the bread of the dead we've made the night before. We light candles on the altar and read Samhain stories. Then we cast a circle and stand around our altar and pray together.") For Christians Beliefnet also has an essay by Richard Mouw, "Making Real Decisions About Halloween." Its tone is very similar to some of the stories CT has run on the topic, like Harold Myra's "Is Halloween a Witches' Brew?" and Anderson Rearick's "Hallowing Halloween." Mouw writes that Halloween has become such a popular and prevalent celebration that Christians can "no longer take 'innocent' Halloweens for granted ... we must be especially diligent in teaching ourselves and our children that the real antidote to the threat of evil has been provided through the death and resurrection of the One who is the Lord of all our days and nights."
Halloween Banned? Apparently Christians aren't the only religious group worried about the quasi-religious implications of Halloween. According to this news story, Halloween celebrations are beginning to be routinely ... | <urn:uuid:85186057-4482-4750-9574-407f614cdb01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/octoberweb-only/12.0d.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94428 | 366 | 1.734375 | 2 |
A large bushfire in Victoria's south-west and is expected to be brought under control today, while another on the north-east border burns out of control.
And with lightening expected in parts of the state on Sunday and high temperatures forecast for this week, the public has been warned to be wary of fire risks.
“We're asking campers to be very careful with campfires,” a CFA spokesman said.
“Tuesday is the next day we're most concerned about. There will be some severe fire dangers in the state's north and north-east.”
On Sunday, areas in Victoria's north are tipped to be above 40, while southern and central districts will be mostly in the high 20s.
Authorities responded to 95 bushfires across the state on Saturday, 49 of which had been declared safe by midday on Sunday.
A large bushfire at Kentbruck, near Portland in the state's south-west, is being controlled by the Country Fire Authority.
Seven water-bombing aircraft and six helicopters have battled the blaze, which had burned through 2763 hectares by 9am on Sunday morning.
With much of the fire occurring in swampy areas, a CFA spokesman said normal fire trucks had been less effective than usual. He said they were having more luck battling the fire from above and with more mobile utes with water-spraying tanks attached.
Thick smoke is surrounding neighbouring communities, with smoke from the fire sighted about 100km away in Hamilton.
The Portland Nelson Road has re-opened but drivers have been asked to reduce speeds in areas where visibility is poor along the Winnap Nelson Road and the Princes Highway, between Greenwald and the South Australian border.
Meanwhile, Victorian and New South Wales firefighters are also battling an out-of-control bushfire on the north-east border at Ournie. The fire has already burned through 300 hectares, with smoke affecting communities on both sides of the border. No homes are under threat, but residents have been asked to monitor conditions and check their bushfire survival plans. | <urn:uuid:47242f00-01c5-46ee-8426-4534e4aea61a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1219077/hot-week-ahead-prompts-cfa-fire-warning/?cs=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97728 | 428 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Employers may order employees to take seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, the nation’s principal workplace safety and health agency has stated. OSHA offered this opinion in a letter of interpretation, published recently on the agency’s website.
The letter is addressed to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), who relayed to OSHA a letter from a constituent asking whether her employer could mandate that she accept a flu shot. According to the constituent, her employer had “threatened the employees with mandatory time off” if they did not accept the flu shots.
OSHA responded, first, by reiterating its guidance that healthcare employers should offer both the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines to employees and that employees should be informed of the vaccines’ benefits. It added, however, that employers may require employees to take the vaccines, even though OSHA has no published standard containing this requirement. OSHA also provided a cautionary note: an employee who refuses to be vaccinated because of a reasonable belief that he or she has a medical condition that creates a real danger of serious illness or death may be protected from job retaliation under Section 11(c) of the OSH Act, which prohibits discrimination against employees who exercise their safety and health rights.
The issue of whether employers can require employees to take flu vaccines has been controversial for both employers and employees. OSHA appears to be stepping directly into this controversy. Even though media attention over the H1N1 virus has subsided for the moment, the issue of mandatory vaccines for employees is one that likely will recur during the next flu outbreak.
While employers should be aware of OSHA’s interpretation, they also must be mindful of other laws and regulations that may be applicable to issues affecting mandatory vaccinations. Collective bargaining agreements also may be relevant. Employers should consider all of this information before adopting any vaccination policies. | <urn:uuid:c567d6c5-ef1a-4cc5-9db8-508fb4e0187d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oshalawblog.com/tags/mandatory-vaccines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962519 | 385 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Story Highlights• U.S.: Iraqi insurgents being trained in Iran to assemble Iranian weapons
• Army tours in Iraq extended from a year to 15 months
• Red Cross report says conditions in Iraq "unbearable and unacceptable"
• U.S.-led coalition forces: Suspected regional terrorist leader arrested
Adjust font size:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi insurgents are being trained in Iran to assemble weapons and Iranian-made weapons are still turning up in Iraq, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The statement comes two months after the United States said it had asked Tehran to stop the flow of weapons into Iraq.
Coalition forces found a cache of Iranian rockets and grenade launchers in Baghdad on Tuesday, spokesman U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Wednesday.
"The death and violence in Iraq are bad enough without this outside interference," Caldwell said. "Iran and all of Iraq's neighbors really need to respect Iraq's sovereignty and allow the people of this country the time and the space to choose their own future."
Caldwell showed reporters photographs on Wednesday that he said were found in the weapons cache. In February, Caldwell said the United States had asked Iran to stop the transfer of weapons.
President Bush has said a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard called the Quds Force is behind the supply of Iranian weapons. Tehran has denied interfering in Iraq.
Caldwell also said Wednesday that two militants who were recently detained said they had received training in Syria, another nation the Bush administration has accused of meddling in the region.
He accused the Quds Force of supplying Iraqi insurgents with armor-piercing roadside bombs, called explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs. Caldwell said extremists are getting training on how to "assemble and employ EFPs."
"We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them," Caldwell said. "We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees' debriefs."
He said Shiite extremists are being trained inside Iran and said the use of such weapons requires "very skilled training." Much of the violence in Iraq is blamed on fighting between Shiite and Sunni insurgents. An overwhelming number of Iranians are Shiite.
"There has been training on specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive, also, training on ... what we call a more complex kind of attack, where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an explosion to small-arms fire, to being done in multiple places," Caldwell said.
Munitions from Iran were found in a black Mercedes sedan in Baghdad's Jihad neighborhood on Tuesday after a tip from a civilian, he said. An Iranian-made rocket was found in the back seat and Iranian weapons were found in the trunk and around a nearby house, Caldwell said.
In an unusual development, he said coalition forces have found evidence that Sunni insurgents in Iraq received help from intelligence services in the Shiite nation of Iran.
"We have in fact found some cases recently where Iranian intelligence services have provided to some Sunni insurgent groups, some support," Caldwell said. "We do continue to see the Iranian intelligence services being active here in Iraq in terms of both providing funding and providing weapons and munitions."
Pentagon extends Army tours
The Pentagon announced Wednesday that the standard yearlong tour of duty for U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan has been extended to 15 months to meet targets for troop buildup. (Full story)
The tour extension, announced by Defense Secreatry Robert Gates, is intended to make tours more predictable and avoid the situation of giving troops little advance notice they will have to stay.
Red Cross report blasts Iraq conditions
Military operations in Iraq are forcing thousands of Iraqis from their homes, while the U.S.-led coalition or Iraq are holding tens of thousands of people against their will, according to an International Committee of the Red Cross report released Wednesday.
"The suffering that Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable," said the ICRC's director of operations, Pierre Krohenbuhl. "Their lives and dignity are continuously under threat." (Watch how Iraqi students must live and study under the threat of attacks )
The report "expresses alarm about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Iraq and calls for urgent action to better protect civilians against the continuing violence."
The report was issued ahead of next week's international conference in Geneva and also points to the "critical condition" of Iraq's infrastructure due to "lack of maintenance and because security constraints have impeded repair work."
The ICRC "deplores the daily acts of violence such as shootings, bombings, abductions, murders and military operations that directly target Iraqi civilians in clear violation of international humanitarian law and other applicable legal standards."
CNN's Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.
The U.S.military said this photograph shows rocket-propelled grenade rounds from Iran found in Baghdad. | <urn:uuid:9726e59f-427f-4a24-a65e-5d844a39f1f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/11/iraq.main/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971806 | 1,044 | 1.679688 | 2 |
It seems totally unfair that many people with cancer are also struggling with financial problems. Unfortunately, the baseline for many people in today's world is that money is already a concern. Add cancer and treatment to the mix, and there can be real trouble. Many patients are not able to sustain their usual work schedules throughout treatment; this often results in lowered income. Even those who are fortunate and have short and/or long term disability generally receive less than they would for their full salaries. Within the last month, I have met two women who had very recently changed jobs and were not yet eligible for disability. Their situation, although for different reasons, is similar to those who have jobs where they do not receive benefits. Many people don't get paid if they don't show up and do the work.
Reduced or missing income is one part of the equation. The other parts include a partner's possibly reduced income for some of the same reasons; partners/spouses may miss work, too, as they go to appointments and pick up other household responsibilities. Cancer can be expensive in and of itself. There are high co-pays for many medical appointments and prescriptions. Some insurance does not cover everything that is recommended. There are parallel costs of, perhaps, hiring additional childcare or other help, take-out meals, parking at the hospital, etc. The bills add up quickly.
Most hospitals have financial offices that can help with uncovered bills. For women with breast cancer, there are some funds and organizations that can help. Since these generally are local, it isn't very helpful for me to list them here. If you are a BIDMC patient, do speak with me or another social worker, as we do have ways to help.
Here is an article from Health Day about these issues for people with advanced cancer. It has been my experience, however, that patients with early cancer face many of the same problems.
Financial Worries Add to Cancer Patients' Burden
Caregivers also affected by concerns over bills, possible bankruptcy,study finds
By E.J. Mundel
WEDNESDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- A small study gives a snapshot into the financial anxieties that plague many patients with advanced cancer and their spouses, even as they struggle against the disease itself.
Four of every five such American patients and their spouses-caregivers in the study said they had concerns about meeting medical costs and suffered "financial stress." Worries about paying medical costs also were tied to lower mental and physical health, the study found.
"Across the board, the longer they were in treatment or reaching the end of life, there were [financial] concerns. There were concerns whether it came to their own well-being or their families' well-being," said study lead author Fay Hlubocky, a clinical psychologist and ethicist at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
She reported the findings this week at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in Chicago.
Read more » | <urn:uuid:f2c51949-936f-4b21-a539-d01475b9c3ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/BIDMCInteractive/Blogs/LivingwithBreastCancer/2012/June/Financial-Worries.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98342 | 625 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Provision for spouses/children does not interfere with property rights
LB v Ireland and the Attorney General and PBNeutral citation: 2012 IEHC 461. High CourtJudgment was delivered on November 9th, 2012 by Mr Justice Gerard Hogan.
The requirement under the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 and the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to make proper provision for spouses and children does not amount to an unjustified State interference with the property rights of the affected spouse for which compensation is payable.
A divorced father of five claimed damages and various declarations from the State arising from family law proceedings that resulted in court orders excluding him from his family home, providing for sale of the property and division of the proceeds, and for a pension adjustment. He claimed he bought and paid for the family home out of his own resources.
The couple married in 1964. The wife brought judicial separation proceedings in 1998 which led to a judgment directing sale of the family home with each spouse receiving 50 per cent of the proceeds. The sale did not go ahead at that time.
The man then brought divorce proceedings resulting in a High Court decision, on appeal, directing the family home be sold with the man to get 40 per cent of the proceeds and the wife 60 per cent. She was also to get 25 per cent of his pension between 1964 and 2004.
In further proceedings , the High Court rejected challenges by the man to the constitutionality of those sections of the Family Law Act 1995, the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 and the Family Law Divorce Act 1996 providing the legislative basis for the making of property and pension adjustment orders.
In his judgment on that case, Mr Justice John MacMenamin also dismissed claims that section 2.1.f and section 3.1 of the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989 were unconstitutional on grounds they amounted to a failure by the State to protect with special care the institution of marriage as guaranteed by article 41 of the Constitution.
The enactment of laws requiring proper provision were not just constitutionally permissible but also constitutionally required as those laws reflected fundamental constitutional values relating to the family, the judge said. In July 2009, the Supreme Court affirmed that decision on appeal.
Mr Justice Hogan said, in directing the transfer of part of Mr B’s assets to his wife, the State was doing no more than giving effect to that which is inherent in the nature of marriage itself as marriage involves mutual giving and sacrifice.
While there could not be unnecessary and disproportionate interference with family autonomy, article 41.3.2. of the Constitution not just permitted but enjoined the State to enact legislation providing for proper provision to be made for the benefit of another spouse.
Such obligations stemmed from the very nature of marriage and, by providing for such laws, the State acted to uphold and safeguard the institution of marriage in the manner required by article 41.3.
Neither the 1989 Act nor the 1996 Act should be seen as involving the taking by the State of property of a spouse because they provided for the inter-spousal transfer of capital assets, he said.
Insofar as the legislation did involve the taking of property, that was not an unjustified interference with the property rights of the affected spouse for the purposes of article 40.3.2 as the legislation was designed to give effect to fundamental values cherished by article 41 and sanctioned by article 41.3.2.
That situation was not at all affected by the fact compensation is not payable to the spouse whose property is transferred in this fashion, he said. Compensation was not payable as that would mean the State assuming a responsibility in relation to the financial obligations one spouse owed to the other.
The laws providing for making proper provision amounted to the State doing no more than providing for an independent dispute resolution mechanism, via the judicial system, of disputes between family members as to the extent of such provision, he said.
The State was effectively sanctioning the transfer of assets of spouses between each other following separation or divorce.
This situation could not be compared with either the compulsory acquisition of property or the de facto sequestration of assets by legislative action without compensation as this was not a situation of the State taking Mr B’s assets.
As Mr B’s claim for compensation must fail, he would exercise the court’s inherent jurisdiction to strike out his claim, the judge said. He also struck out the proceedings on grounds they effectively relitigated, in a slightly different form, the matters decided in Mr B’s earlier proceedings.
Mr B represented himself. | <urn:uuid:f7e41395-97f5-4e1d-b89d-00fd75d300d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/provision-for-spouses-children-does-not-interfere-with-property-rights-1.2039 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970253 | 933 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Click Image to Enlarge
The move to setup carts was one of the most important and fundamental changes. Approximately 30 toolboxes--all individually managed and outfitted differently--have been replaced by eight setup carts such as this one. Just one of the savings is the cost of unknown inventory that all of the toolboxes used to contain. Employees designed the layout of these carts to ensure that each one contained every tool that would be needed.
Letting any machine run any job might seem flexible, but in fact it wastes time. Dedicating part families to machines helps setups remain in place longer. As can be seen from the part family here, the same or similar workholding and cutting tools can be used to run each one of these part numbers.
Raw material is now located closer to the machines, but the relocation was only the beginning of the time savings. The rack with numbered slots at the right of this photo is where the stock for each particular machine’s job is now staged. Operators look here for their material; they don’t need to look in the racks nearby, or anywhere else.
Company president Bryon Bettinardi says that at a cost of about $150,000 and 3 weeks of time, the reorganization of the shop was “a bargain.” The savings from lean go beyond what the shop anticipated. Here Mr. Bettinardi, at right, speaks with company vice president Dennis Gilhooley Jr.
Here is the CNC Swiss-type area at Bryco. Formerly this area had only mostly Swiss-types, with other machines placed here too.
The shop also has the same amount of space that it did before, but Bryco now does more with that space. A new layout, organized around a leaner workflow, freed up enough space for the shop to add four new machines.
Even better, there is still space left over for even more machines, he says. The shop is more ready for additional growth than it has been in a long time.
Mr. Bettinardi says floorspace was the issue that drove this shop to commit to lean. The shop had grown the way almost any job shop grows—by adding machines and workstations as needed, and sticking them wherever space allows. Over the years, this led to a muddled layout that wasted space and wasted employees’ time in ways that never even became fully apparent to the shop until the lean process was in place.
The move to this new layout happened at the end of 2007. Similar machines were moved together, related workstations were moved together, and material stocks were moved closer to the machines they fed.
“A bargain,” Mr. Bettinardi says.
The savings from having a more logical layout went beyond what the company could have predicted, because it never realized the extent to which the old layout wasted effort and time.
Does this matter? It might seem as though the move would not make all that much difference because the walk across the shop is not all that long. However, whom an employee talks to depends on where that employee is stationed.
The Toolbox Transition
By January, the commitment to lean manufacturing was fully implemented. It involved more than just the move. It also involved changes in the way shop personnel thought about various steps in their daily work. In fact, perhaps the most dramatic change did not involve equipment relocation at all. As part of the commitment to achieving a less wasteful process, the shop concluded that individual toolboxes had to go.
The eight carts belong to the shop instead of to any employee. Two versions of the carts correspond to the Swiss-type side of the shop and the turn-mill side of the shop. Employees carefully designed these carts, equipping them with standardized sets of all of the tools they determined to be essential, and using foam pockets in the drawers to establish a standard place for every tool. These standardized cart designs were one of the most important engineering achievements on the shop’s journey to lean.
Dennis Gilhooley Jr. is Bryco’s vice president. He says he handled machinists’ concerns in this way: Anyone who wanted to keep his toolbox was free to do so. The condition was that the toolbox reside in his office. Mr. Gilhooley wanted to know if a machinist had to go to his toolbox for some tool that could not otherwise be obtained, so that this tool could be added to the standard carts.
Still, every process improvement also reveals the way that improvement should have been done. In retrospect, Bryco discovered that the setup carts should have been color-coded. In the future, they probably will be. Time is still sometimes lost on the confusion about which tool goes to which cart, and coloring each tool to match a specific, individual cart would easily solve this problem.
Not all of the shop’s setup time delays came from the toolboxes, however. Even more of the setup delay had to do with extreme setup changeovers. This was particularly true on the turn-mill machines.
However, the turn-mill machines (from Eurotech) can accommodate a much larger variety of workpieces. Here, switching from one part number to another can involve time-consuming changes to both the cutters and the workholding.
Bryco identified 13 distinct part families among its recurring turn-mill parts. Mr. Gilhooley says the most efficient solution would have been to give each part family its own machine—if only the shop had 13 of these machines. Instead, the shop has eight, and at least one of these has to be kept free for short-run, unexpected jobs. Therefore, most of the machines were assigned multiple part families. Machine number six, for example, is now dedicated to part families “6A” and “6B”—two unrelated and dissimilar groups of parts.
However, those long setups are no longer commonplace, and that is key. Most setups now involve only minor adjustments to shift from one part to a related part, and the shop can schedule jobs so that work remains “in the family” in this way for as long as possible. Long setups may not have been eliminated, but the more organized process dramatically reduces how many long setups the shop has to bear.
An example relates to the cost of cutting tools. On one part family in particular, cutting tool price increases began to affect the economics of the part, and the shop did not want to have to pass along the increase. The shop therefore began to experiment with how to control the tooling cost. Having a single, fixed machine running a single, fixed process provided an excellent test bed for experimentation—something the shop rarely had before. The shop was free to play with the relatively few variables that still remained, adjusting the speed, feed rate, depth of cut, tool entry and clamping. None of these changes significantly improved the cost of the part. However, changing the brand of coolant finally did it.
“It was the last thing we tried,” Mr. Gilhooley says. Without lean manufacturing, they never would have tried it.
blog comments powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:9839c01a-1cac-43cc-af86-901d7e4302a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/bryco-before-and-after | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976334 | 1,482 | 1.609375 | 2 |
ELECTIONATE NOVEMBER 15, 2012
When the initial national exit polls showed an increase in Hispanic turnout and support for President Obama, political commentators immediately resolved that Romney's deeply conservative immigration stance doomed him. The “immigration” explanation, or perhaps excuse, quickly easily attracted bipartisan support. The argument satisfied Democrats who had long anticipated a Latino surge to inaugurate a new era of Democratic dominance in national elections. And the immigration excuse was quite convenient for Republicans of all brands, minus Lou Dobbs, Pat Buchanan, and Tom Tancredo. The establishment wing of the Republican Party supported comprehensive immigration reform all along, and pinning the blame on immigration reform allowed true conservatives to avoid questioning deeply held position closer to the core of their beliefs.
Certainly, Republicans need to improve with Latino voters, and quickly. The Latino share of the electorate is poised to increase incrementally in every election for the foreseeable future, raising the GOP's burden with Hispanics each year. Romney's performance among Latino voters was abysmal, and it wasn't helped by his stance on immigration reform. But the immigration explanation for Romney's defeat isn't quite as good as it sounds. As mentioned over the last few days, the GOP also fell short of their benchmarks with rural Midwesterners, voters in well-educated and affluent suburbs, and African Americans. Hispanic voters were just one of many components of Obama’s victory, not an overriding factor. The GOP will have miscalculated the breadth of their challenge if they adopt immigration reform as their one-plank plan for recapturing the White House in 2016
The numbers illustrate the folly of relying too much on a Latino turnaround to produce a Republican victory. Obama leads the national popular vote by about 3 points, but the exit polls indicate that Hispanics represented just 10 percent of the electorate. Finding 3 points worth of gains in 10 percent of the electorate is extraordinarily challenging: for Republicans to win the popular vote by means of Hispanics alone, they’d need to gain a net-30 points among Latino voters, reducing Obama’s 44 point lead to just 14 points. While there’s nothing wrong with the GOP aiming high for 2016, it’s very difficult to imagine Democrats falling beneath 60 percent of the Hispanic vote in a competitive national race. Republicans will need to compliment improvements among Hispanics with plenty of gains among other demographic groups.
And the importance of the Hispanic vote is diminished by the Electoral College. While Hispanic voters were truly decisive in Florida, Latinos are inefficiently concentrated in non-competitive states, like Texas and California. In many battleground states, the Hispanic vote plays a vanishingly small role. Obama won New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Iowa by a larger margin than the Hispanic share of the electorate, suggesting that Obama would have won if Romney had won every Hispanic voter in those states. The exit polls suggest that Hispanics represented just 3 and 5 percent of the electorate in Virginia and Ohio, only slightly more than Obama’s 2 and 4 point margins of victory. Even in the southwestern states where the Latino vote has played a critical role in the recent fortune of Democratic candidates, Obama’s strength among non-Hispanic voters in Colorado and Nevada gave Democrats breathing room to withstand considerable losses among Hispanic voters.
Here’s a simple way of looking at it: if Hispanics swing 20 points in the GOP’s direction in every swing state, Obama would have won the Electoral College by a 303-235 margin. While losses among Hispanics would cost Obama his narrow win in Florida, even a net-20 point GOP gain wouldn’t swing Colorado or Nevada. Even if it did, Obama would have still won through either Virginia or Ohio.
And although “evolution” on immigration reform is probably prerequisite to any serious GOP effort to repair its support in the Hispanic community, many commentators have correctly observed that moving to the left on immigration isn’t a panacea. There are many reasons why Hispanics lean-Democratic, and it’s an open question whether concessions on immigration reform could erase the memory of a half-decade’s worth of immigration fights. It might also be significant that the state where the Latino vote figures most prominently into Republican fortunes is Florida, the state where immigration might be expected to have the least importance, since Puerto Ricans and Cubans are probably less connected to the immigration debate than Hispanics originating in Mexico or Central America.
The Republicans have a Hispanic problem. But they also have a problem with young voters, African Americans, affluent suburbs, and the rural Midwest. A winning GOP coalition in 2016 will involve gains with each of these groups, not just one. And if Republicans assume that a quick flip flop on immigration reform will produce massive gains among Hispanics, they'll probably be disappointed. | <urn:uuid:e85cd8f1-3db3-4eca-a817-06af3a9b6a8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newrepublic.com/blog/electionate/110159/the-gops-challenge-extends-beyond-hispanics-and-immigration-reform | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959303 | 970 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A question I've heard often is: Is it correct, in Scrum methodology, to track an individual's performance? This question has only one answer: No. Tracking and measuring the productivity of a single member of an Agile team is against the spirit of Scrum. The real question should be: If you were able to calculate such a metric, what would you do with the data? I suspect the answer is that you would use it to reward or punish on the basis of productivity, and this is something you don't want happening within a Scrum environment.
The Scrum framework doesn't prevent you from measuring whatever you want to measure. However, you'd be missing the spirit of Scrum if you measured the work of a single team member. Productivity metrics for knowledge workers are generally flawed, studies show, so you'd likely end up playing with incorrect data. The fundamental point is that if a Scrum team member is not able to contribute, then this points to a team problem. The Scrum spirit means that everyone jumps in to help; ideally, all team members work together on all of the stories. Different skill levels or types contribute to the best of their abilities. To create metrics for individuals, besides being inaccurate, would probably cause competition and division within the team. Individuals should work as a unit, be tracked as a unit, and succeed or fail as a unit.
It's unfortunate that Scrum tools have an "assigned to" field. Members should volunteer for stories and tasks; they should not be assigned work. It's better to think of this field as merely naming the primary person working on a task or story. I strongly feel that any team member who only does his own stories or tasks and doesn't help others in the team is a poor Scrum team member. Such behavior should not be rewarded, especially not in some kind of performance review. The best teammates are helpful and collaborative, and you can't measure their personal contribution to the team's velocity. You can only measure the entire team's velocity.
My conclusion is that tracking an individual's performance constitutes crime in the Scrum world. The fundamental idea of Scrum is team collaboration, and team members "volunteer" for tasks rather than having them assigned. One of the core values of Scrum is courage, and it's not a bad practice to announce at the daily stand-up, "I missed my task timeline today." If that's the case, the Scrum team collaboratively aligns itself to meet the sprint backlog, at least enough to result in a shippable product when the sprint ends. It's certainly possible that not all tasks in the sprint backlog get completed at the end of the sprint, but the Scrum team should be smart enough to plan the next sprint in a way that avoids a similar pitfall.
The keys, then, are accurate sprint planning and a "must-do" sprint retrospective. Most important, don't wreck the Scrum by measuring an individual's work items. | <urn:uuid:8005aef0-22ae-4f80-b71d-fb002741d156> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scrumalliance.org/articles/388-tracking-individual-performances-in-scrum | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969836 | 611 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Kids aren’t going into technical trades anymore, at least not at the levels needed, and not with the proficiency in foundational skills they need to start off well.
I agree that the problem really does stretch back to at least the Reagan era – I entered junior high in 1981, and even then “the trades” in the form of shop classes were looked down upon. (And don’t get me started on the counterproductive-verging-on-malpractice “guidance counselor” advice I received urging me to go into social science instead of engineering.) While I abhor the straitjacket elements of the German educational/career system (the part about making your life’s career choice at thirteen and being stuck with it, in particular), they do seem to have the right idea in exposing students to industrial work early and in the intensive training in trades those with interest and inclination in them receive. Even the German engineers I’ve worked with have had what to me seems like an extensive trades-level education in relevant areas as part of their engineering program — it’s embarrassing to call myself an engineer around them, given that they typically have extensive hands-on experience with machining and lab work and the like that I somehow managed to obtain a BSME without. (Sadly, I have far more hands-on experience from my summer internship in Germany and my various at-home engineering projects than I obtained even in fifteen years of employment with Lockheed Martin.)
What the article seems to overlook (consciously or otherwise) is the reason for pushing more kids into college prep courses and then into college, regardless of inclination or ability: status consciousness.
As noted above, the trades path was looked down upon even in the early 1980s. It was considered low-class, something the poor or dumb kids did – the ones too dumb to get into the military, which career was held in similar low regard at that time. Those of us in the “gifted and talented”
sham track were most certainly conditioned to see ourselves as “better” than that, as destined for college and white-collardom, and therefore above getting our hands dirty with shop classes or candystriping or the like even if they might later enhance higher-status careers like engineering or medicine. And no doubt this was pushed on the parents as well – my hometown at that time was extremely status/class conscious, so imagine the horror of your average doctor or lawyer parent being told by a teacher that their brilliant little snowflake has an aptitude and potential interest in something as crude as a trade: “No, no, my little Johnny is going to college, to be a doctor/lawyer like me, or at least something white-collar or academic enough that I won’t be embarrassed when the boys at the Country Club ask about his career. Tradesman just won’t reflect well on my status at all.”
One essential element in turning this situation around needs to be a change in perspective on the economic status of trades. This seems to be happening, given the trend in articles over the past several years musing on how plumbers and electricians and the like are making good use of their scarcity to rake in white-collar-level incomes (on top of often being independent small businessmen, something that in itself should afford one a healthy economic status anyway). Once these SWPL parents realize that Johnny’s choice nowadays is between fixing plumbing, running wires, programming a CNC machine, etc. and making a decent and productive living at it, or putting both himself and them on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt to fund a college-level credential in a trendy niche subject whose job prospects consist exclusively of fast-food management, telephone customer service, stripping for truckers, or a futile chase after increasingly scarce Non-Hierarchical General Assembly Facilitator positions at what’s left of the local Occupy squat, they may find new competitive value among their status peers in aggressively pushing their kids in the former direction.
(Note that “Johnny” here is your average kid – many kids have certain aptitudes, for instance in STEM subjects, which make it economically worthwhile and personally rewarding to go on to college and then compete for comparatively scarce career positions. The problem is treating all kids like this by default, forcing them onto the white-collar college track when there are insufficient career positions to support such a policy and when they as individuals may have other – or no – inclinations and talents. It’s just as unfair to the “Johnnys” as it is to the kids with aptitude but fewer resources, who bear the opportunity cost of indifferent kids getting unwanted and unusable credential degrees instead of the useful educations the latter might have obtained in their place.)
Hat tip to Rand Simberg, who observes: “The entire educational establishment in this country is a disaster, from top to bottom.” Indeed. | <urn:uuid:9d3fec52-17ff-4939-9948-e4606f1094a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marsblog.net/wp/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96966 | 1,029 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Two art exhibitions are running concurrently on the Adams State University campus. Each has special appeal here, although they are quite different from one another, and I greatly enjoyed what I saw.
I have to admit that I am a philistine, sometimes perplexed about what is in vogue in modern art museums and about what the artists are trying to say. Sometimes I just give up.
There was no such struggle for me at “Art for the Endangered Landscape,” which opened at Community Partnerships on November 30 with a reception, music, film, spoken word, and refreshments.
Running through December 29 during regular hours, this exhibition is benefitting the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, with sales from the present exhibit helping to support SLVEC.
David Montgomery, who organized and mounted the large exhibit, with the assistance of Cynthia Cutts, deserves our thanks. The images emphasized the San Francisco Creek area particularly and elsewhere in the San Luis Valley as well.
With the work of about 30 artists being featured, it drew a crowd, and I enjoyed mingling with so many friendly artists and guests. But I decided to return again the next week at a quieter time to take a closer look at the images. That is how I like to look at art, with more time and space to cogitate.
With “Endangered Landscape,” the cumulative message was: “Look at these beautiful landscapes and close views of nature, and treasure them, as we artists do lest they disappear.” The messages were deeply personal to the artists and viewers alike.
The concentration of so much artwork in one room at a gallery made a powerful impact, with a counterpoint being some large canvases by well-known Denver artist Joellyn Duesberry. She depicted scenes of destruction such as urban junkyards, an eye-popping statement about what we do to the environment.
Meanwhile, about a block away, “Mestizo Hybridity” had opened at ASU’s Art Department, featuring prints by Tony Ortega.
This show will be running through December 14 during regular weekday hours in the Cloyde Snook Gallery, so hurry before it closes.
Ortega is a nationally-known, contemporary Latino artist who is represented in major museum collections in New York, the West Coast, New Mexico, and Mexico City. He is an associate professor at Regis in Denver and has visited public schools.
He offers programs that educate public school kids about art. Another activity is the creation of murals, a form of public art that is reaching out to communities.
At ASU he presented a lecture attended by the art department’s students, and he has worked at Ventero Open Press, a vital part of creative life at San Luis. Other artists in this installation were Professor Eugene Schilling, Randy Pijoan, and Matt Capell, as well as Evelyn Mclean of Dallas. (No, not Evalyn Walsh McLean of Hope Diamond fame.)
Ortega’s subjects and techniques were quite different from “Endangered Landscape” but equally interesting to me. Ortega’s prints showed Latino traditions from the viewpoint of a native of rural New Mexico and resident of urban Colorado — its culture, current political and social issues, and vivid color. Some subjects had a bite and others humor, like his Warhohl-esque can of pozole.
Interestingly, he does not include faces of people. I had to stop and think about what was Ortega saying with his faceless images and his other subjects.
For me, his images became a first-class lesson about the possibilities of printmaking, employing old and new techniques.
His may be silkscreen or monotype/silkscreen or those plus watercolor or relief or hand-colored lithography or solar etching. In his hands, there seem to be few limits.
The exhibit at Community Partnerships also revealed the great variety of materials used by our talented artists in the San Luis Valley. Oil and watercolor, of course, but also gouache, acrylic, pastel, crayon, pencil, ink, prismacolor, photography, clay, and some stunning bronzes.
About 500 artists live in the Valley, I am told, and ASU has students and guest exhibitors at its respected art department, so we can enjoy many opportunities to see artwork here. Take a look, a close one. | <urn:uuid:9ccaaaf9-a84e-4a48-b456-0fece0975e0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alamosanews.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=74&story_id=27574 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975755 | 925 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Spaniards rage against austerity cuts, tax hikes
Young demonstrators protest against austerity cutbacks on September 25, 2012, in Madrid. / Denis Doyle/Getty Images
(AP) MADRID - Spain's government was hit by the country's financial crisis on two fronts Tuesday as protesters enraged with austerity cutbacks and tax hikes clashed with police near Parliament while the nation*s borrowing costs increased in an auction of its debt.
More than 1,000 riot police blocked off access to the Parliament building in the heart of Madrid, forcing most protesters to crowd nearby avenues and shutting down traffic at the height of the evening rush hour.
Police used batons to push back some protesters at the front of the march attended by an estimated 6,000 people as tempers flared, and some demonstrators broke down barricades and threw rocks and bottles toward authorities.
Television images showed officers beating protesters in response, and an Associated Press television producer saw several people dragged away by police and one protester with his head bloodied. Spain*s state TV said at least nine people were injured, including one officer, and that 15 were detained.
The demonstration, organized with an "Occupy Congress" slogan, drew protesters from all walks of life weary of nine straight months of painful economic austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his solid majority of lawmakers. Smaller demonstrations Tuesday attracted hundreds of protesters in Barcelona and Seville.
Angry Madrid marchers who got as close as they could to Parliament, 250 meters (yards) away, yelled "Get out!, Get out! They don't represent us! Fire them!"
"The only solution is that we should put everyone in Parliament out on the street so they know what it's like," said Maria Pilar Lopez, a 60-year-old government secretary.
Lopez and others called for fresh elections, claiming the government's hard-hitting austerity measures are proof that the ruling Popular Party misled voters when it won power last November in a landslide.
While Rajoy has said he has no plan to cut pensions for Spaniards, Lopez fears her retirement age could be raised from 65 to as much as 70. Three of her seven nieces and nephews have been laid off since Rajoy ousted Spain*s Socialists, and she said the prospect of them finding jobs "is very bleak."
Spain is struggling in its second recession in three years with unemployment near 25 percent. The country has introduced austerity measures and economic reforms in a bid to convince its euro partners and investors that it is serious about reducing its bloated deficit to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2012 and 4.5 percent next year.
The deficit reached $64.8 billion, equivalent to 4.77 percent of GDP, through August, the government said Tuesday. Secretary of State for the Budget Marta Fernandez Curras said the deficit "is under control."
Spain has been under pressure from investors to apply for European Central Bank assistance in keeping its borrowing costs down. Rajoy has yet to say whether Madrid will apply for the aid, reluctant to ask since such assistance comes with strings attached.
Concerns over the country's public finances were evident earlier Wednesday when the Treasury sold $5.15 billion in short-term debt but at a higher cost. It sold $1.8 billion in three-month bills at an average interest rate of 1.2 percent, up from 0.95 percent in the last such auction Aug. 28, and $3.3 billion in six-month bills on a yield of 2.21 percent, up from 2.03 percent.
The government is expected to present a new batch of reforms Thursday as it unveils a draft budget for 2013.
A day later, an auditor will release the results of stress tests on those Spanish banks, which have been hit by the collapse of the country's real estate sector. The government will then judge how much of a $129 billion loan it will tap to help bail out the banks. Initial estimates say the banks will need some $78 billion.
Popular on MoneyWatch
- Seeking solutions to the student aid mess
- Reverse cell phone lookup service is free and simple
- Amy's Baking Company: Post-meltdown PR campaign
- LinkedIn: 3 tips for building a better profile
- Yahoo buys blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion
- Kellogg re-inventing Special K brand
- Fired for violating an unwritten policy
- Student loans -- public or private? | <urn:uuid:a8c08f60-fc64-4b49-bfbd-b83055b2a43c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57520138/spaniards-rage-against-austerity-cuts-tax-hikes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965885 | 919 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Verizon, Google Among Possible Spectrum Auction WinnersBy Reuters | Posted 03-18-2008
A U.S. government auction of wireless airwaves ended on Tuesday raising a record $19.59 billion, but winners of the valuable spectrum were not immediately identified.
Analysts view Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone, as the most likely winner of a nationwide piece of the airwaves called the "C" block that attracted a $4.74 billion high bid.
"This is spectrum that's obviously ... very valuable -- will be critical to trying to provide additional wireless broadband services," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters after the auction ended.
The C block spectrum includes a requirement sought by Internet leader Google that would make it accessible to any device or software application.
The winners of the hundreds of licenses were expected to be announced within days. Martin said the announcement would come after the FCC's four other commissioners approved an order he said is needed to formally end the auction.
The 700-megahertz spectrum is being returned by television broadcasters as they move to digital from analog signals in early 2009. The signals are valuable because they can go long distances and penetrate thick walls.
Potential winners in the auction, that began January 24 and went through 260 rounds of bidding, also include entrenched carriers like AT&T and possibly new competitors like Google, EchoStar and Cablevision.
Under rules set by the FCC, bidders' identities have been kept secret during the auction.
The order Martin has proposed to end the auction would "de-link" the one block of airwaves that did not meet its minimum bid requirement -- the "D" block -- from the rest of the spectrum.
Under FCC rules, the winner of the D block would have had to give police, firefighters and other public safety groups priority use during an emergency.
The FCC could decide to re-auction the D-block airwaves and possibly modify the rules and the minimum price to make it more attractive to potential bidders. FCC officials have declined to comment specifically on what they will do. | <urn:uuid:3f3c7c9b-55ad-4a4e-8956-8e22af1868b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cioinsight.com/print/c/a/Past-News/Verizon-Google-Among-Possible-Spectrum-Auction-Winners | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971958 | 431 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Finally, I've read "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. I've heard so many people comment on this nonficiton story of Louis Zamperini, a runner on the US Olympic team who became a World War II hero by surviving for weeks on a life raft, and months in Japanese Prisoner of War camps.
And it was good, one of the titles on this year's American Library Association Notable Books list.
Laura Hillenbrand (who has an interesting story of her own) follows up her stellar "Seabiscuit" with this compelling story. She tells it straightforwardly and chronologically. Hillenbrand has that gift for telling the story in a way that is clearly shaped and considered, for example, in how people are introduced and then brought back into the story, and yet her style gets out of the way of the story.
What I'll remember from this book is both the evil behavior of many of the Japanese captors, and the survival of the prisoners. How DO people maintain their dignity and selfhood in the face of so many attempts to break them? In Zamperini's case, he was made a target of beatings and cruelty because of his fame. Yet he survived. I knew that the sections set in the POW camps would be horrifying, but I found myself especially touched by Zamperini's return to home. He was beloved, a hero, and yet he was falling apart, drinking himself nearly to death, before he turned himself around at a Billy Graham event.
I noticed how HIllenbrand goes out of her way not to judge the behavior the men who were stranded, or were prisoners. She works hard to set a context where every rule and every expectation are turned upside down, where people survive by doing things they never thought they could do. She also makes a point of developing characters, not allowing all Japanese or all American people to be presented a certain way.
I finished this book on Independence Day. It seemed an especially fitting day to reflect on the people who have been called the "greatest generation." I'll recommend this to a lot of people--fiction readers will appreciate the strong story, history fans will find sound information, and people who enjoy "extreme" stories of survival certainly will find much to value. I think that many people have avoided reading this because they shy away from the depictions of the camps, and I understand that. And yet I'd still encourage people to read this with open eyes and mind. The book's subtitle, "A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" reflects Hillenbrand's success in showing that even out of this horror, goodness survived. | <urn:uuid:3ca92f39-e4c1-43b6-9658-73c703808575> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lincolnlibraries.org/tags/Louis_Zamperini/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979733 | 547 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Results 1 to 1 of 1
Hi everyone. I got this weird clustering / networking setup I want to do Ok, I realize that this is probably stupid and I should do it the way everyone ...
Enjoy an ad free experience by logging in. Not a member yet? Register.
- 03-10-2006 #1
Really Weird Networking Idea
I got this weird clustering / networking setup I want to do
Ok, I realize that this is probably stupid and I should do it the way everyone else does it, but I have my reasons
I want to cluster a group of xboxes, a few computers and my main computer.
the setup is something like this
(4) Xboxes boot Dyne:bolic from DVDROM Drive
(2) P4 Desktops boot Dyne or minimalist OpenMosix Distro from NAS
(1) Main Computer VNC's To main xbox, does most ofd the work there and leaves the cluster of computers and boxes to render and compile
Then the main PC shuts down and leaves the Node Master Xbox to its work
Yeah, the reason for this is I don't want my main computer wasting power and I can't get linux to boot on it andway, plus the P4's and xboxes are way quieter. Also, were ever I go the cluster of xboxes go to so i could pause the work and only take the xboxes and run them headless at a friends house or something.
I got the PC's to network boot dyne (but thinking of using a smaller, floppy based distro since it would use less memory).
The only problem(s) I have are
(A) How do I remote desktop Into the Xbox? VNC or XTERM?
(B) is it possible to do Dual display W/seperate resolutions over VNC? So that the TV can display (for example) the video that is being Rendered or the 3D Images? Then use the Monitor on the main computer to actually do the work?
Yeah, its a messed up set up but I think it makes a great cheap clustering system for a student we space money and noise are an issue. Plus you can always borrow another xbox from a friend and add it to your cluster if your running short on time.
The last thing is .... Is it possible to make a linux distro in one file (I guess just the kernel) that could connect to a network and use NFS to fetch the rest of the files? I know that's probably even weirder than my last question but you see, If you softmod an xbox (don't have a chip) you can't unlock the harddrive so you can't run linux from the harddrive so I figured if I could make an .xbe that would automatically boot and join the cluster, it would make the xbox clustering project so much easier!!
BTW: If I figure this out, I will release a tutorial and all the files you need to do this | <urn:uuid:b4176659-d198-4bb0-ab36-292da2125465> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/miscellaneous/56991-really-weird-networking-idea.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939739 | 627 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Today’s Weekend Website is called Docstoc. If you’ve ever looked for a web-based service for sharing and discovering documents, you’ll want to check it out.
What is Docstoc?
Docstoc is a platform for web-based sharing and discovery of documents. Sound familiar? That’s because its main competitor is Scribd who offers something similar. Docstoc is aimed more towards professionals, so you’ll find professional types of documents in various categories and languages. All documents are free to upload and free to view. At the moment they have documents with various file types available including .doc, .pdf, .xls., .ppt., and .txt.
Categories of Documents
As mentioned, Docstoc is geared towards professional documents, so you will find various document types under the following categories:
Aside from viewing documents in categories, you can also view documents by those that have been viewed the most, those that were downloaded or reviewed the most, those that have been uploaded most recently, or those rated the highest.
I decided to view the “educational” documents and then filtered it down by the most downloaded to see what types of documents were available. The overview for this section was interesting because it explains that you can “find and share free educational documents, free term papers, and class notes. Download sample class outlines, college essays, graduate materials and much more.” So in other words, it seems as though Docstoc is promoting users to cheat, by pointing out the fact that users can find and share term papers, for free.
You can filter the documents that you view by either document type or language. Examples of document types you can view include:
- Adobe PDF
- MS Word
- MS PowerPoint
- MS Excel
- Rich Text Format
- Plain Text
It would take us too long to go through all of the languages that are supported because there are many of them which makes this a Global service. A few examples include English, Dutch, French, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and more. In all there are over 65 different languages.
One of their latest features allows you to monitor your private documents to track who is viewing, downloading, and emailing them. Another feature allows users to allow only viewers of their documents to simply view the document and not download them.
Below is a screenshot of what a document activity log shows — it tells the document owner which visitors viewed the document, and which ones downloaded it:
Using Docstoc as File Storage
Once you create an account, you can begin uploading your documents. At this point there is no limit on how many documents can be uploaded. And because you have the option of keeping your documents private, Docstoc could potentially be a solution for backing up your documents. They did say that at some point in the future, they might have to put a limit on the number of documents people can store, but for now it remains unlimited.
Then it’s just a matter of determining whether you feel comfortable or not leaving your documents in the hands of Docstoc which is in beta.
Request a Document
If there’s a particular type of document that you are looking for, they offer the option to request it. What you’ll do is fill out a form of the key elements like name, tags, a category, language, and file type. Should someone upload a document that meets your request, you’ll receive an email.
Docstoc wanted to make it easy for users to email large documents without needing to attach files. Their solution for this is Docstoc OneClick. Once you download the OneClick application (for Windows only, unfortunately), you will be able to right click on supported file types and choose the option to email them (either as private or public). They do limit you to 50mb in size per document.
Docstoc does a decent job of providing users a place to find and share documents. They’ve got a community rating and comment system that could potentially be useful, but it doesn’t get used nearly enough. Whether you are looking for a sample contract, a budget planner, or a term paper, Docstoc does a pretty good job of helping users find the documents they need online. | <urn:uuid:5cdb17ef-6487-43f7-9316-b27a94a406d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cybernetnews.com/cybernotes-use-docstoc-to-share-and-discover-documents-online/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947522 | 895 | 1.570313 | 2 |
§ Ms. Richardson
asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures for the numbers and proportions of (a) one-parent families and (b) two-parent families living in (i) private rented housing, (ii) local authority housing, (iii) owner-occupied housing with a mortgage, (iv) owner-occupied housing owned outright, (v) shared accommodation and (vi) housing association accommodation, respectively.
§ Sir George Young
The latest available information is for 1981 and 1982 and shows percentages of one-parent families and other families with dependent children in different tenure groups in Great Britain. The information was published in the report "General Household Survey 1982", a copy of which is in the Library. | <urn:uuid:99274e33-cfcf-49fc-a218-38501f9c738a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1985/jul/26/families-and-housing-statistics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939477 | 151 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohammed Morsi, center, speaks… (Ahmed Gomaa / Associated…)
From the moment it was announced that Egypt's authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, was stepping down, experts in that country and abroad warned that the Egyptian military wouldn't be content with a limited and transitional role.
That prophecy has come to pass, posing a challenge not only for democrats in Egypt and for its newly elected president but for its ally and benefactor, the United States. The Obama administration, which earlier this year waived congressional restrictions in order to keep sending military aid to Egypt, should reconsider that decision if the armed forces continue to thwart democracy.
On Sunday, 20 minutes after the end of voting in a runoff presidential election in which Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood apparently finished first, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a constitutional decree cementing its authority in both the near and long term. The order gives the military the authority to veto a presidential declaration of war, control over the national budget and immunity from presidential oversight, among other broad new powers. It follows last week's dissolution of the Islamist-dominated parliament pursuant to a decision by a panel of Mubarak-appointed judges.
Taken together, these actions undermine the assertions by the military — repeated at a news conference on Monday — that it does not seek political power. And worse may be in store. If a court disqualifies members of a constitutional convention chosen by the now-dismissed parliament, the military will name a new group of its own to write a permanent national charter. And if that document is not to the military's liking, it will be able to challenge it as inconsistent with "the revolution's goals and its main principles" or "any principle agreed upon in all of Egypt's former constitutions."
With its latest decree, the armed forces have betrayed the Egyptians of all political and religious opinions who thronged Tahrir Square a year and a half ago to demand democracy. That they may be motivated in part by policy preferences agreeable to the United States — such as support for a peace treaty with Israel or a distaste for Islamist-run government — is no excuse.
The Egyptian military's self-aggrandizement has already provoked calls in Congress for a suspension of military aid, which totals $1.3 billion a year, more than to almost any other country. On Monday, a State Department spokesperson alluded to that option when she warned that decisions taken by the military "are naturally going to have an impact on the nature of our engagement with the government and with the [military council] moving forward." She reminded the armed services that they "made a commitment to allow a transfer of democratic power, and we want to see them meet those commitments." We hope that message is being conveyed to Egypt's generals in private in much stronger terms. | <urn:uuid:5e875a8d-be33-4c19-846b-3cf46c4c2d3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/19/opinion/la-ed-egypt-20120619 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957431 | 575 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.