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"Art making is a form of alchemy, in a way, because you are trying…to make gold from nothing. When it works very well is when you manage to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary."
ART21: Your film, The Music of Regret, has a romantic element to it.
SIMMONS: I’m surprised to think about the film in terms of being romantic because romance has never been an issue that I’ve grappled with or brought up consciously in my work, except in one series of pictures, [also titled] The Music of Regret, where the characters were two dummies, male and female. But maybe it was the influence of the things I love—music, musicals—which are absolutely unafraid to address that topic. I was thinking so much about the American Songbook and musicals and moving a narrative forward. Maybe that’s why romance finally came into my work. And at this time in my life, I’m ready to accept or own a kind of romance and melancholy or melodrama that I wasn’t ready to reveal before.
ART21: Does nostalgia play a role in the film?
SIMMONS: I’m so resistant to the idea of nostalgia. I know that it exists in my pictures and in the film, The Music of Regret, but I feel like I work against my tendency to go back in time. Nostalgia can be an easy shot, just an easy recreation of another time or another mood. I think there needs to be more there. And of course, nostalgia’s been used so much in film and fashion and art. And I’m just always thinking there must be another place to go, besides mining my own past, the look and feeling of my past, or everyone’s past.
ART21: What is the relationship between the film and your photographs?
SIMMONS: In making the film, I did something that I’ve always wanted to do, which is, literally, to bring my work to life. I got a chance to really revisit my work—the characters and the ideas [in] just fleeting, still images or just a glimpse of a narrative—and figure out what would happen if, suddenly, I was looking at a photograph and the characters started to talk to me, or sing or dance. It’s a fantasy that I’ve had for a really long time, but I never really thought I would or could make a movie.
ART21: Did it make you push ideas further?
SIMMONS: Making a movie is such an incredible undertaking. There are so many things to think about. The initial image is one of my photographs. But everything’s moving, everything’s talking, everything’s in color over a period of time. So, I had to think about things in a way that I’d never thought about them before, with a kind of depth and breadth that was unimaginable to me before I actually did it. Fortunately, I had a lot of help. I’m really proud of the movie, because I did it, and I really love it. Meeting the challenge was really, really satisfying for me.
ART21: Making a film is so much more theatrical than making a picture. Was this a natural thing for you to do?
SIMMONS: My inner life about my own work is very theatrical and narrative. But that’s something I was always afraid to express because I came of age in a time when cool distance in the work and a more conceptual turn of mind were very important. So, I had a very secret inner life about the pictures that I was making. I had music in my head that was playing while I was shooting. Sometimes I had a narrative; sometimes I was thinking about a more specific situation. But I always wanted my still photographs to be cool and simple and to have an almost abstract edge. If the movie brings a kind of different reading to the work that I did twenty years ago, that’s okay; I’m ready to own that. But I was always a little shy about having that kind of information come out in the still photographs.
With the movie, I was ready to deal with everything that came out, even the idea that I would create a situation that could potentially cause someone to feel emotions or shed a tear. The idea of a movie and time-based work are completely wide-open in a way that the still photographs were not for me—because how much narrative could you pack into one image? And how interested was I in packing an image with narrative? I wasn’t. But a film? That’s a different story.
ART21: Were you always interested in musical theater?
SIMMONS: I was always fascinated by musical theater, but it’s something that I had to be sort of secretive about. It’s the music that was playing in my home when I was growing up. My father had this big record collection that I took back to my room. And of course, I was listening to Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and old blues in high school. And I became really interested in jazz; I kept these records hidden underneath my Bob Dylan records. And I would bring them out—I was really obsessed with the lyrics, the melodies, the emotions that I felt.
But I had nobody to share that with, because I certainly wasn’t going to tell my father that I was interested in the same music he was. And my friends, if they did happen to catch me playing these songs, they were not amused. So, it was my guilty, secret pleasure. I’ve been studying this kind of music for so long, and I finally realized that I have more than a passing interest and knowledge in this kind of music and its history. So, when I did have the opportunity to make this movie, I thought, “I’m going for a musical.”
ART21: How did you start thinking of using ventriloquists in your work?
SIMMONS: I had a lot of old recordings of ventriloquists talking to their dummies—those kinds of narratives. I had songs by Shari Lewis, singing with Lamb Chop. Things that I remember from when I was a kid: Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney dialogues. So, I had all of those dialogues that I was listening to and working with.
ART21: There is a very particular type of humor in these dialogues.
SIMMONS: Humor goes in and out of style; it has its own fashion. Some of the jokes and dialogues—they’re very acerbic, very sarcastic. The jokes aren’t specifically funny. They’re very off. But I liked the way they were off because they’re off in the same way that I like my photographs to be slightly off.
ART21: How did the dummies in Act Two of the film originate?
SIMMONS: Those are dummies that I made for a series of works in the early ’90s. They came out of a time when I was tired of photographing dolls and female characters and wanted to introduce a male character. Of course, I didn’t want to use a real human male, because that’s not what I do. I tried to think of the way that men have been portrayed. Store mannequins didn’t interest me. And then I thought about ventriloquists and dummies—that relationship where they speak to each other like brothers or friends. They’re like foils. They’re like enemies.
And also I thought about how the dummy is such a metaphor for lying and telling the truth. The way the ventriloquist is able to say whatever he or she wants to say through this other character—that’s pretty amazing. You don’t have to take responsibility for anything that you’re saying, because the dummy said it or the dummy did it. And that reminded me of a lot of things, from newscasting to public speakers, to politicians, to friends. The whole relationship made me think about so many aspects of life.
ART21: Are the dummies a way to investigate certain cultural ideas?
SIMMONS: The interesting thing about the group of dummies that I made in the early ’90s is that they’re all identical. I think in total I made eight, and they’re absolutely identical except for different suits of clothing. And the series was called Clothes Make the Man. It was about these kinds of minute differences in the way we look or act that make us feel like we’re so profoundly different. Like, “I’m not like you because you’re wearing a blue shirt; I’m wearing a yellow shirt. You’re wearing a bow tie; I’m wearing a string tie. We are so different.” But really, these differences ultimately are not so great.
ART21: There is also a real person in the film. How did that come about?
SIMMONS: The original idea was to use the girl dummy, the wooden dummy, all the way through Act Two. As the music and lyrics became more complex, and the emotions became more complex, I wasn’t sure that a puppet could actually carry Act Two. That was when I decided that the puppet would become a real woman. I was nervous about it because the woman in Act Two was the only real person emoting or responding in the whole movie. Yes, there are dancers’ legs in Act Three, but they’re carrying around huge props; you never deal with their faces. So, that was a big consideration, to actually introduce a real woman into the mix. But I really felt it was important, and I’m glad that I did. I meant that I had to direct an actress, and that was new, but I did it.
ART21: Did the actress, Meryl Streep, become a surrogate for you?
SIMMONS: Well, initially, but after a while I stopped thinking about that. It would have been too uncomfortable to think about Meryl Streep portraying me in the movie. So, once she claimed the part, I stopped thinking about the part as representing me or my life. The first time I saw her, which was at a wig shop, it was very unsettling. I walked in, and Meryl had her back to me. And she stood up and turned around, and I saw her in the dark wig. And there was one moment where I thought, “This is very eerie; this is very odd.” And she looked absolutely beautiful in this long, dark wig.
Once she became the character, it wasn’t about me anymore. And in fact, right after that, I went back to the studio and had the dummy’s eyes painted blue; the dummy’s eyes had been brown like mine. And I stopped claiming that character as a surrogate self, as a version of me. That made it much easier to proceed, when I didn’t have to think about that character as being me.
ART21: Why does the theme of regret interest you? It seems to occur and reoccur throughout your work.
SIMMONS: Regret is the prevailing emotion in the film. It’s very much about the different guises of regret. That’s what keeps coming up. It’s something I’ve been exploring for a long time. Every way that I could think about it, I tried to make it come up in the movie. It interests me as a state of mind, as an emotion, as something that people become mired in. I think that, right now, the whole country’s in a state of regret. No matter what you think, no matter what you feel, you’re wondering if this was the right thing to do, no matter what side you’re on. Everybody seems like they’re wondering. On a small level, in their own lives, people are thinking about what might have been if they’d made a slightly different decision or about how one decision can cascade through the rest of your life and impact everything else that you do. So, yes, I’m really interested in regret. | <urn:uuid:27e2015c-b00b-4446-a3ff-a1e1fed5dc83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.art21.org/texts/laurie-simmons/interview-laurie-simmons-the-music-of-regret | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984285 | 2,607 | 1.601563 | 2 |
I was determined to get out and use the telescope during the March new Moon, but had planned to go observing with the guys at Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea. At the last minute I decided to accept an invitation from the Hilo group to observe from Mauna Loa instead. The guys planned on running a Messier Marathon, something I have enjoyed many times before.
Our usual observing location is Hale Pohaku, at 9,000ft on the south side of Mauna Kea. Hale Pohaku is a great observing site, high enough to be above the clouds, but well below the summit where thin air, wind and frigid temperatures can be miserable. It is impossible to do a complete Messier Marathon from Hale Pohaku, the bulk of Mauna Kea blocks too much of the northern sky making a few objects, most notably M52, difficult to impossible.The road and climate research station on Mauna Loa sit on the northern face of the mountain, offering a perfect vantage point for the Messier catalog objects given our 20° latutude. The only issue is the road. While Hale Pohaku is reached by six miles of quite nice state highway, Mauna Loa requires navigating an 18 mile drive up a single land paved road. Use of the word “paved” is somewhat casual, as is the maintenance on the road. The first few miles feature new pavement. Beyond that? Not so much, the road becomes a pothole obstacle course. Driving the road with a delicate telescope in the back is rather nerve-wracking.
The night was pretty good, featuring very good transparency and a clear, dark sky. The seeing was marginal, hoped for views of Mars near opposition and Saturn were soft. The only real problem was a stiff wind sweeping down the mountain from the snow covered summit. The biting cold was promising to be an issue, one we fortunately moderated through careful selection of a setup site.
Several members of the night’s star party work at the facilities on Mauna Loa. Thus we were able to open the gate and set up near the research station. Just before the station is a small borrow pit, a spot where machinery dug into the mountainside. There was room to park several vehicles and set up several telescopes against a 15 foot embankment. The shelter offered by the little gravel pit moderated the wind to merely annoying in place of miserable.Quite a few folks showed up, nine observers set up five telescopes, and several cameras were set out in the darkness to do time lapse photography. Of these, three of us planned on running the marathon… Josh Walawender would use a Stellarview SV90mm APO refractor. Mike Connelley brought his 20″ ball telescope.
I had two telescopes along, but never set up the 18″ in the wind. Instead I used my 6″RFT for the night. The telescope is a marathon veteran, having chased these objects many times before, including a perfect score in 2001 at the All Arizona Messier Marathon.
We all achieved perfect evening scores, hitting M52 first, having little trouble with the M31 group, M77 was easy, I had a bit of a struggle with M74 in the bright glow of zodiacal light. All of us are skilled observers with many years experience, it showed as we nailed many of the objects from memory. None of the telescopes in use provided computers, Josh had setting circles on his Losmandy mount but I never saw him use them, or even polar align the ‘scope. This was a marathon run on purist rules. Nothing but finder ‘scopes and charts to locate each object.
The rest of the evening was spent working our way across the sky, with more time to enjoy the sights in the telescope as we used a two century old observing list. As usual the list is pretty easy until you arrive in the Virgo Cluster. Here the swarming galaxies offer a midnight challenge for any observer. My little 6″ is perfect for this area, a wide field that allows me to hop from galaxy to galaxy, and a smaller aperture that picks up the brighter messier objects without too much clutter from the numerous fainter objects.
After Virgo one must wait for more objects to rise to complete the list. Nebula Row in Sagittarius is a pleasant section of the sky to work through, with rich starfields so well suited to a rich field telelscope. M24 was particularly worth noting. The star cloud is too large for higher magnification instruments, while perfect for a wide field ‘scope. The field was studded with clusters and dark nebulae, worth a moment to pause and admire before continuing the list.
The challenge of the morning was M73 and M73, not because of the light of dawn, but because of the Moon. A 15% crescent was sitting betwixt the pair! The usual challenge of a Messier Marathon, M30, was downright easy. We struggled with the asterism and the globular.
In the end we all managed to score 109′s. With a split on seeing either M72 or M73. Josh and I managed to detect 73 with our smaller apertures. It was tough, averted vision and rocking the ‘scope was necessary to pick out a small hazy patch. I repeated the experiment a couple times more to be certain. Mike used his 20″ to find this asterism of four stars, but could not see the globular. Quite a feat when you realize that the group was a mere 15 arc-minutes from the illuminated limb of the Moon.
Without the Moon complicating M73 and M73 all three of us would have managed perfect scores. The site is nearly perfect, the latitude is an advantage, and all three observers have the skill needed. I wonder if I should try again from Mauna Loa next Messier Marathon season. | <urn:uuid:c49905c2-33d6-484d-b653-57254a0a06e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://darkerview.com/wordpress/?p=3383 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959613 | 1,221 | 1.617188 | 2 |
One of our readers asked us this question - we'd love any feedback you have:For the climate in Denver, do air source heat pumps with natural gas furnace backup make sense from an energy savings and…Continue
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Hi all! One of our readers sent us the following question. Can you please help him out?"I clean air ducts and would like to expand into duct testing. What is a common fee to test for air duct leakage…Continue
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Most of us will agree that it’s technically feasible to build homes that consume dramatically less energy than today’s typical home. And in most locations we can build a home that draws net zero energy from the utility. But it’s economics that makes us hesitate. Specifically, it’s the value of those energy savings. Can the additional investment be offset by anticipated reductions in energy costs? It’s the same thing for retrofits of existing homes: Do the lower energy bills justify the…Continue
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The Appraisal Institute’s An Introduction to Green Homes is yet another valuable tool from the Institute, paving the way for appraisers to handle green home assignments. The book, authored by long-time appraiser, REALTOR, and educator Alan Simmons in 2010 helps appraisers new to this work “know what they don’t know.” The book equips appraisers to identify green building certifications, techniques,…Continue
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We all have stories about losing power in our home for several hours—or days—and many people suspect that power interruptions are becoming more frequent. They may be right; unfortunately, the utility data are so sketchy that nobody can say for certain. But declining investment in maintenance on the part of utilities, plus the increased frequency of extreme weather caused by climate change, are almost certain to keep the blackouts coming.
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The insurance industry, the world's largest business with $4.6 trillion in revenues, is making larger efforts to manage climate change-related risks, according to a new study published today in the journal Science.
"Weather- and climate-related insurance losses today average $50 billion a year. These losses have more than doubled each decade since the 1980s, adjusted for inflation," says the study's author Evan Mills, a scientist in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory…Continue
Posted on December 18, 2012 at 12:58pm | <urn:uuid:2f7ff86c-6cbc-4bcc-aa26-ab8da2a35fd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/HomeEnergyMagazine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942938 | 572 | 1.75 | 2 |
LONDON — Foreign Secretary Robin Cook on Friday rebuffed a request by his Chilean counterpart that former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet be freed to return home rather than extradited to Spain to stand trial for human-rights abuses.
Cook told Chilean Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Insulza that neither he nor other ministers could interfere in the decision, which is to be made by Home Secretary Jack Straw.
Straw, who must decide Pinochet's fate by Dec. 9, said he would not meet with Insulza or other Chilean officials. Straw has stressed that he will be acting in a quasi-judicial capacity in deciding the case.
Since Britain's Law Lords ruled on Wednesday that Pinochet was not immune from prosecution for any human-rights crimes committed by his regime, there have been suggestions from Conservative Party politicians and others that Straw should allow him to go home on compassionate grounds because of his age, 83, and poor health.
But several legal experts have suggested Straw may have no such discretion. Lawyer and author Geoffrey Robertson wrote in The Guardian on Friday that compassion was "no option" for Straw "unless he is satisfied on medical evidence that the general is at death's door."
"The only `compassion' that can be shown to a perpetrator of a crime against humanity is at the behest of his victims," Robertson wrote. He said the British Extradition Act gave Straw little option except to grant extradition, as requested by a Spanish judge who wants to try Pinochet for the killing of Spanish citizens.
Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Conservative leader William Hague and Michael Howard, the shadow Conservative foreign secretary, have urged that Pinochet be freed on compassionate grounds.
The Times of London said Pinochet's attorneys hoped to convince Straw that the general was mentally unfit to stand trial. It said a psychiatrist treated Pinochet on Thursday and that he was being assessed for "stress and stress-related disorders." Pinochet is under police guard in a London hospital.
Cook, speaking before he met Insulza, stressed Britain's desire for continued good relations with Chile, whatever the outcome of the legal proceeding.
"I think we share a common agenda that we understand the good relations that Britain and Chile have enjoyed over the decades, and we want to ensure that those relations continue into the future," he said.
Some Conservative politicians have expressed concern that British trade with Chile could be affected if Pinochet is not released.
In Madrid, the newspaper El Pais reported on Friday that Ricardo Izurieta, commander in chief of the Chilean Army, suggested at a meeting of the seven-member National Security Council on Wednesday night that Chile break diplomatic relations with Britain and Spain over the issue.
It said he was backed by other military leaders, but President Eduardo Frei and ministers at the meeting rejected the suggestion.
On Friday, a leader of Chile's Mapuche Indians said his group would file genocide charges if Pinochet were sent to Spain.
"If he is extradited to Spain, we will send a delegation to present formal charges on grounds of genocide," said Alihuan Antileo, alleging that more than 300 Mapuches were killed during Pinochet's 1973-90 rule. | <urn:uuid:794701c6-c1be-40b2-aa56-9c26417a74d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-11-28/news/9811270893_1_augusto-pinochet-britain-and-chile-chilean-army | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975051 | 651 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The eyes have it
What do your characters’ eyes look like?
This is one reason I like speculative fiction. With any other genre, your characters’ eyes will be the normal colors – blue, green, hazel, brown, grey, black. Maybe violet, if you’re writing romance or women’s fiction, and I’ve seen mismatched eyes once in a thriller. But with SF, the sky’s the limit.
There needs to be some reason for a character’s eyes being unusual, though, other than the coolness factor. For instance, Phedre in Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart has a speck of red in one eye because that’s a sign of her being chosen by a god – struck by Kushiel’s dart. I have a character who’s able to change her appearance and who alters her eyes to be permanently orange (the color of flames) after she’s forced to watch her son’s execution by fire.
Eye color can also be an indication of race, such as the blue-on-blue eyes of the Fremen. Just one caveat here, though – avoid giving an evil race red eyes. That’s been done so many times already (drow, vampires, etc.) that I really want to see characters with red eyes who aren’t automatically the villains. Red eyes can be pretty too – just make them look like star rubies.
I love the augmentations made to Molly in William Gibson’s Neuromancer.
…she has in fact had her eye sockets sealed with vision-enhancing mirrored lenses that were surgically attached to her face.
A character in a fantasy could have something similar – perhaps through a symbiote attached to one eye or simply because their unique biology gives their eyes unusual abilities (e.g. seeing in the dark).
This is where you replace the eyes with something else entirely, which can be very disturbing. Or what about having no eyes at all?
If eyes are the windows to the soul, what do you make of creatures which have no eyes? Wayne Barlowe’s Expedition is a detailed and illustrated description of a journey to another planet where none of the species evolved the ability to see. As a result, they appear – and are – incredibly alien.
A similar thing can be done with fantasy races. I have humanoid races whose eyes are replaced by glass, bubbling liquid mud or clusters of small tentacles, though unfortunately these races tend to be hostile. And I’d love to mention a person (or an animal) with a rose blossoming in each eye socket as well. That would be nicely creepy.
In Mark Smith’s and Jamie Thomson’s role-playing gamebook series The Way of the Tiger, the main character has a magical gem inserted into an empty eye socket. And while this isn’t exactly a substitution, Elle Driver from Kill Bill just wouldn’t the same without that eyepatch. | <urn:uuid:25864d58-4878-4491-bb88-8eb2d6df72d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marianperera.blogspot.com/2009/03/eyes-have-it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937679 | 645 | 1.5 | 2 |
Around this time each year we take a nostalgic look back at the last 12 months, nominate our best bits, and try to identify a theme that brings them all together.
In 2009 we went from “nothing to something” and nominated our first customer as the highlight of the year.
So how did 2011 play out?
6) Learning at your fingertips
2011 started with a significant arrival to the BrainPOP UK family: our featured movie App for Apple devices. We were all App-ed up. A fresh movie and quiz every day, delivered to you where you are at the moment you needed it.
Since its launch tens of 1000s of iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch owners have downloaded our App. Schools with Apple devices have embraced it on a grand scale such as Anson Primary:
“The film is animated, fun but clearly gives a message, a process or a piece of information. This can be followed up by a quiz which helps to promote listening, concentration or note-taking among the class. The questions are multiple choice and tackle inference as well as deduction. It’s a smart looking app and one that the (Anson) team are looking to build into their weeks as a fundamental part of the day to promote speaking and listening skills.”
…to little mobile learning moments when kids have woken their parents with facts they’ve just discovered. And everything in between.
5) Tap Magazine top spot
In a similar vein we were bowled over when Tap magazine gave us a place in their Top 100 greatest Apps of all time. A core value of BrainPOP is that learning should not stop at the school gates but blossom wherever learners need it. The App is just the first step along this path. Wait and see what’s coming in 2012. Our lips are sealed. At least for a few weeks.
4) Kids evaluating BrainPOP with their teachers
For BrainPOP to truly work in a school both teachers and pupils need to endorse it. We animated an Audioboo review by two pupils at Menston Primary who reviewed us as part of their school’s evaluation of BrainPOP. This directly inspired us to create a practical evaluation worksheet for teachers to give to their classes. They turned out to be a HUGE hit at the Scottish Learning Festival.
3) The number of kids interacting with BrainPOP/Tim & Moby
Every BrainPOP movie starts with something personal – a question from a learner. It’s not an urban myth – these are genuine letters and emails. Rather than existing to satisfy a dry set of curriculum objectives we place the exploration of the world at the heart of the BrainPOP experience.
As we’ve been embraced by more and more schools and homes the volume of kids “asking Tim & Moby” has seen a massive increase this year. The “Ask Tim & Moby” blog post has now seen over 150+ comments from kids around the world; our postbox is graced several times a week with hand made letters, drawings, treasure hunts and word search submissions (if you’re a subscribing school you’ll know what these are). Our email box contains, every morning without fail, several questions from kids.
It’s proof that learners often form a direct connection to Tim & Moby. They are there to help them place life, the Universe and everything into context. And have fun with it, of course.
It’s a wonderful thing to see. Please keep them coming – we read and enjoy everyone’s contributions.
In July we reached out to discover great class blogging stories that we could showcase. Called “Digitalk” it was one of our favourite social initiatives of the year. We welcomed incredible kid bloggers in a 4 part series starring teachers and children from Greenpark school, Ferry Lane school, Bearwood school & Heathfield school.
These posts have gone on to support and inspire other schools that want to introduce blogging to their schools. The culmination was a class from Heathfield primary who’s pupils recorded 4 audio interviews that we then animated for them.
1) The personal touch
Last year YOU were ALL our No.1 highlight. Our extended network of customers, supporters, professional friends and fans. It was about the power of a whole network.
This year’s No.1 highlight is at the other end of the spectrum, something that ties together much of 1-5 above: the personal connection.
We worked on dozens of micro projects with individual schools, parents and kids throughout 2011 on an eclectic range of bespoke activities, guest posts, student & classroom stories and lots more. We delved into the detail of working with our customers and friends this year.
Thank you to everyone that contributed – it’s been emotional. We can’t list every micro-moment of the year but here’s a few of our personal favourites from 2011:
- Seeing a teacher do the hokey cokey for a King Moby badge
- A home educating family telling us why BrainPOP helps with Dyspraxia & encourages independent learning
- Moby the Travel Bug geocaching its way from Scotland, to Ireland, through Germany and into Florida
- Designing a special blog badge based on a pupil’s design for Staining Primary school
- When Redhill Academy shared their student voice stories on “What makes a good lesson?“
- Celebrating our VIBs birthday’s by asking them to nominate their favourite movie for the featured movie calendar.
Well, BrainPOPpers, that’s it for another (awesome) year at BrainPOP HQ. The delights heading your way in 2012 will make your head spin, and, of course, your Brain-POP.
Wishing you all a very merry Xmas & new year,
Tim, Moby and the BrainPOP UK Team x | <urn:uuid:cfe10d67-2f82-425d-aede-52ff79e16a79> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brainpop.co.uk/blog/tag/2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95318 | 1,240 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Perhaps the most famous oratorio ever written, George Frideric Handel's Messiah is the powerful presentation of Jesus'
life according to the Christian doctrine and remains centuries later just as captivating as it was upon debut. Handel's
Messiah tickets are available now, but this historic production is sure to sell out quickly, so get tickets while you
still can and come witness history in the making!
Composed in 1741 and first premiering to the public in 1742 in Dublin, Handel's Messiah is one of the most famous oratorios
ever and features a libretto by Charles Jennens, containing verses from the King James Bible. The Messiah is split into
sections concerning the birth, the passion and the aftermath, and these parts all pull together to make Handel's Messiah
one of the most highly-praised oratorios in the world.
If you're looking for classical vocal tickets to an upcoming performance, get tickets
to see Handel's Messiah and prepare to be absolutely touched and moved by this stunning production. Tickets to see Handel's
Messiah in a theater near you are still available but won't be for long, so don't hesitate another minute and get tickets
now to see this George Frideric Handel delight! | <urn:uuid:48b1a247-4767-4789-a7b5-bda081e1ba8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stubhub.com/handels-messiah-tickets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94332 | 264 | 1.773438 | 2 |
A nappy-free newborn?
We assume babies have to wear nappies from the minute they’re born, but this mom tried another way.
By Sally-Jane Cameron
When I was pregnant with my first child, I stumbled across mothers on some of the parenting forums talking about EC (elimination communication) or Nappy Free.
Article originally in Parent24
The idea seemed crazy to me. After all, we are so conditioned that a baby needs a nappy.
I started to research more, and I found out that what sounds like a radical 'new age' concept, has in fact been common practice for centuries in many African, Asian and South American cultures. It's a general Western misconception, that infants have no sphincter control.
I like the term elimination communication because this is more about communication with your baby, than it is just about being nappy-free or potty-trained as early as possible. It works on the idea that babies from newborn can let us know when they want to eliminate, just like they are able to communicate being hungry or tired. If we tune into these signals, we can help them eliminate in an appropriate place and not in a nappy worn on their body.
Signs of impending pee
You start by watching your baby and seeing what signal they give when they go. Look for facial expressions, grimace, and cries, and when they do go, you make a sound like water, psst psst. Within a few days they learn to associate the sound with elimination.
Once you know their pattern you can pre-empt their need to go and hold them out in your arms over a toilet, basin, plastic bowl or outside. Thus helping them eliminate in a dignified way and not all over themselves in a nappy.
I tried it with my daughter when she was born, and was amazed to see how quickly she learnt my signal. You also learn your own baby's rhythm, and how long after waking or feeding they will need to go. You learn to trust your instincts. If there is a small voice in your head saying they might need to go, the chances are they do. Trust your instinct.
I had lots of flat towelling nappies that I had under her, in case we missed a wee, I would just make the sound to reinforce the association. I used a sling a lot, as having them close to you helps you know and read their signals in time.
There were times when I did use a nappy but then I used cloth so I could feel when she was wet and change her immediately. It also helped her associate a wee with being wet, which a disposable does not do.
Dry by a year
She was totally dry at night by a year, by this I mean she did not wee at all at night and would go the next morning on waking. Before this, if she woke I would just hold her out, feed her and let her go back to sleep.
We caught most wee from very young, and by 15 months she was able to verbally tell me consistently when she wanted to go. Before that she would use sign language. Sure we had misses and accidents but we were learning together.
Although the goal is not early potty training and there is no punishment or control used in this method, it does make them more aware of their elimination patterns and able to communicate to you.
With my 2nd child it was harder to be as focused and dedicated as with the first, but we still tried. Although I did use back-up nappies more and he was potty- trained slightly later than his sister, it was still a great way to bond and communicate with him.
To learn more about elimination communication feel free to email me ([email protected]) or visit earthbabies.co.za for starting tips and photos of how to hold the baby at different ages.
Is nappy-free is an option you would try? | <urn:uuid:741cf0fb-868a-4bc5-9551-d7c492c9810e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parent24.com/Baby/development_behaviour/A-nappy-free-newborn-20101025 | 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 | 0.985894 | 826 | 1.75 | 2 |
The Fed just realized it’s in big trouble and needs to manage down expectations of further stimulus.
As we noted earlier this year, the Fed, while attempting to appear committed to endless money printing via its QE 3 and QE 4 programs, was in fact decidedly split on whether to commit to more as well as the risks inherent to additional QE. Indeed, the Fed FOMC minutes indicate that some Fed members were concerned about whether QE even worked as a monetary policy.
Below are the notes from the Fed’s December 2012 FOMC minutes (the meeting during which the Fed announced QE 4). I’ve added highlights to emphasize the shift in tone.
With regard to the possible costs and risks of purchases, a number of participants expressed the concern that additional purchases could complicate the Committee's efforts to eventually withdraw monetary policy accommodation, for example, by potentially causing inflation expectations to rise or by impairing the future implementation of monetary policy.
Participants also discussed the implications of continued asset purchases for the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. Depending on the path for the balance sheet and interest rates, the Federal Reserve's net income and its remittances to the Treasury could be significantly affected during the period of policy normalization.
Participants noted that the Committee would need to continue to assess whether large purchases were having adverse effects on market functioning and financial stability. They expressed a range of views on the appropriate pace of purchases, both now and as the outlook evolved. It was agreed that both the efficacy and the costs would need to be carefully monitored and taken into account in determining the size, pace, and composition of asset purchases.
There are three key implications here:
- The Fed acknowledged that QE causes inflation expectations to rise (red text)
- The Fed was divided on the efficacy of QE (green text)
- The Fed was not committed to employing QE forever despite its public declarations to that effect (blue text)
This shift in tone went largely unnoticed by the media. However, the implications are very serious. By way of explanation, let’s quickly review the Fed’s primary moves in the post-Crisis era.
In 2008 the Fed had its back against the wall in terms of saving the system. Since that time every new Fed intervention (verbal or monetary) has been aimed at propping up the Too Big To Fail Banks and pushing the stock market higher.
The first wave of this came via QE 1 and QE 2 in which the Fed collectively monetized nearly $2 trillion in assets. However, once QE 2 ended in 2011, we noted the Fed began to realize that it could get the “positive” effects of additional stimulus (higher asset prices) without actually having to engage in more stimulus, simply by issuing verbal interventions at critical moments.
Thus, between QE 2’s end (June 2011) and the start of QE 3 (September 2012), the Fed became increasingly reliant on verbal intervention as opposed to actual money printing.
During this period, any time the markets began to dip, a Fed official, usually an uber-Dove such as NY Fed President Bill Dudley or Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, would indicate that the Fed was ready to act aggressively if need be and VOOM the markets would take off again.
This changed in May 2012, when the entire financial system began to implode courtesy of Spain (see our issue The “C” Word for an explanation of this). At that time the Fed switched back into aggressive monetary policy mode, first promising to provide more QE before launching QE 3 in September 2012 and then QE 4 in December 2012.
Unlike previous QE programs, which had definitive timelines, QE 3 and QE 4 were open-ended, meaning that they can continue forever. This was the Great Global Rig we referred to earlier this year. And while it did push the stock market higher, it did next to nothing for the US economy.
Which brings us to today. The US economy is contracting sharply again (without the massaged data inflation, real GDP growth would have been -1% last quarter) right as stocks close in on new all-time highs (the S&P 500 and Dow) or have already broken to new highs (the Russell 2000).
This is happening at a time when earnings are falling (despite companies booking profits), the economy is slowing, and stocks are closing in on all-time highs.
In plain terms, the stock market has become totally detached from economic realities. There is a term for when asset prices become detached from fundamentals, it’s called “A BUBBLE.”
THIS is the reason the Fed is beginning to shift its tone. It realizes it has blown another bubble and that we’re likely headed for another Crash. And this time around the Fed will be totally out of ammo to stop it.
Individual investors needs to take steps to prepare themselves for this risk in advance. We offer several FREE Special Reports designed to help them do this. They include:
Preparing Your Portfolio For Obama’s Economic Nightmare
What Europe’s Crisis Means For You and Your Savings
How to Protect Yourself From Inflation
And last but not least…
Bullion 101: Everything You Need to Know About Investing in Gold and Silver Bullion…
You can pick up free copies of all of the above at:
Phoenix Capital Research
[VIA Zero Hedge] | <urn:uuid:eb9da4ad-b42e-440c-9dcc-225b5c63ebfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nwotruth.com/the-fed-has-succeeded-in-blowing-another-bubble-which-will-lead-to-another-crash/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966682 | 1,129 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Hailstorms decimate Mosel
- Wednesday 31 August 2011
The most damaging storm, in which hailstones the size of tennis balls crashed through roofs and windows, lasted about 15 minutes around 3.15pm last Friday.
It was sufficient to decimate some vineyards. The storms were so localised that neighbouring vineyards suffered varying damage – some losing half their crop, others only a small percentage.
Dr Loosen, which has vineyards throughout the valley, lost 10% of its grapes overall, with some vineyards untouched and others losing 30-50%.
Anja Möll, export manager at the winery, told Decanter.com that their vineyards near Urzig - Erdener Prälat and Urziger Wurzgarten - were untouched, as were those at Berncastel.
But at Wehlen and Graach to the west, up to 30% of their grapes were destroyed and the worst hit were vineyards at Lösenich and Kinheim, where up to 50% of the grapes were destroyed.
At SA Prüm in Wehlen there was ‘heavy damage’, Raimund Prüm said. ‘Some of the hailstones were 17cm across,’ he told Decanter.com. ‘Whatever they hit was smashed.’
They would be able to salvage half the crop, he said, and what remained would be 'very, very good' - which was particularly hard, especially after last year's very small harvest.
Prüm said that while grapes were destroyed the vines themselves did not suffer too badly.
This was not the case at Weingut Max Ferd. Richter in Mülheim, which lost 30-50% of its crop, Dirk Richter said, as well as suffering major damage to vines.
‘There were hailstones the size of golf balls which tore down branches, hurt the skins of the grapes and damaged the canopies. The buds for next year have also been damaged.’
The only ‘positive thing’ to come out of the chaos, both Prüm and Möll said, was that the hail was followed immediately by rain, which washed the surviving bunches clean of juice and sugar from the damaged grapes, reducing the danger of further damage from fruit flies.
Winemakers are now praying the current good weather – warm dry days and cool nights – continues. If there is any more rain, the damaged bunches could quickly rot, and harvest is still over a month away.
The general mood in the middle Mosel is one of shock, a local resident, Sarah Washington, said. She is a key member of the Pro-Mosel lobby group campaigning against the new bridge across the river and saw first-hand the extent of the damage.
‘People are more shocked by the damage to their houses and cars. In one village, Veldenz near Mülheim, every single roof was smashed. It looks like a war zone.’
She said some people reported open wounds from hailstones. One which fell in Veldenz weighed 800gms.
Richter estimated that 1000ha of the middle Mosel had been damaged to a greater or lesser extent.
Additional reporting by Madeleine Pitt | <urn:uuid:762ccacd-2e40-42b0-ad70-6f9e2e59d3c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529239/hailstorms-decimate-mosel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981544 | 691 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Mohammad Sidique Khan, a 30-year-old married father-of-one, was the oldest of the four suicide bombers who attacked London's transport network, and is thought to have taken the lead role in the plot.
The naming of Mohammad Sidique Khan as the suspected ringleader of the four men behind London's day of terror stunned many of those who had known him.
Colleagues struggled to reconcile their memories of the dedicated classroom assistant with the knowledge that he had detonated enough explosives on a Circle Line underground train near Edgware Road to kill himself and six others.
The classroom assistant was respected by teachers and parents
Born in Leeds on 20 October 1974, Khan was - in common with two of the other three 7 July bombers - the son of Pakistani immigrants who had taken British citizenship.
The youngest of six children, he grew up in Beeston, a deprived, ethnically mixed area of the city. Educated locally, he is remembered as a quiet, studious boy who was never in trouble but was sometimes bullied.
Friends from his teenage years recall a highly Westernised young man who insisted on being called "Sid".
After school, he worked in low-level government clerical jobs before leaving to study for a degree in business studies at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Here he met his future wife, Hasina, a British Muslim of Indian origin. Despite initial disapproval from their families, they married on 2 October 2001 and had a daughter in May 2004.
While still at university, his interest in helping disadvantaged young people appears to have developed, and he took on part-time youth and community work before graduating with a second-class degree in business studies in 1996.
After his marriage in 2001, Khan moved out of Beeston to nearby Batley, and then to Dewsbury, but remained a part of the local community through his work as a primary school teaching assistant and youth worker.
His role at the school was that of "learning mentor", working with children who were struggling with their work, as well as those with behavioural problems.
He was highly regarded by both teachers and parents, showing a real talent for encouraging difficult children, many of whom viewed him as a role model.
MOHAMMAD SIDIQUE KHAN
Oct 1974: Born in Leeds
Late 1990s: Starts youth work
2001: Begins work as learning mentor
Oct 2001: Marries
Early 2003: Makes Hajj visit to Mecca with wife
Apr 2003: Camping trip with fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer and other young men
July 2003:Attends Pakistan training camp
Feb - Mar 2004:Comes onto MI5 radar amid surveillance of separate bomb plot
May 2004: Daughter born
June 2004:MI5 focus on more dangerous and urgent suspects
Sep-Nov 2004: Long absence from work, job ends
Nov 2004-Feb 2005: Visits Pakistan with Tanweer
June 2005: Recce visit to London
7 July 2005:Bombs Tube train near Edgware Road, killing six
Sep 2005:'Video will' filmed in English released to an Arabic news channel
By the time he began this job in 2001, he was clearly serious about his Islamic faith. He prayed regularly at school and attended the local mosque on Fridays.
He told associates that he had turned to religion after a far from blameless youth that had seen him involved in fights, as well as bouts of drinking and drug-taking.
Colleagues said there was no suggestion of extremism in the way he talked about his religion - in fact, he had spoken out against the 11 September attacks on the US at school.
But some now recall a subtle change in his character after he had been in the job for about a year. He is said to have become more introverted, and on a couple of occasions displayed an intolerant attitude at odds with his normal easy-going manner.
Throughout his time at the school, Khan's social life revolved around the mosques and Islamic groups of Leeds, Huddersfield and Dewsbury - and included some voluntary work with Muslim youths, arranging activities such as camping and white-water rafting.
In common with his work at the school, Khan became identified as someone whom young people looked up to.
It is possible that he used this as an opportunity to identify candidates for recruitment to the radical brand of Islam he was now espousing. He and two of the other 7 July bombers, 22-year-old Shehzad Tanweer and 18-year-old Hasib Hussain, were observed spending a lot of time together in the months before the bombings.
Khan's once-promising career in education ended with his dismissal in late 2004 after a period of increasingly poor attendance at work that culminated with a period of sick leave stretching from 20 September to 19 November.
He then travelled to Pakistan, accompanied by Tanweer. It is unclear if the pair received any particular training while here, but they are thought to have had some contact with members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
After the 7 July attacks, MI5 said it had come across Khan and Tanweer "on the periphery" of another operation, the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee reported.
That operation - and fuller details of what the security services knew - has now been revealed. Khan is now known to have been monitored on four separate occasions in February and March 2004 because he was an associate of a group of men plotting to build a massive fertiliser bomb.
Khan got to know the men through mutual sympathisers in a broad but loose jihadi international network spanning North America, the UK and Pakistan.
In evidence that emerged during the 2006-07 trial of the seven men accused of planning a fertiliser bomb plot, the Old Bailey heard that Khan had been to the same terrorism training camp as other members of that conspiracy and maintained links on his return.
What MI5 then knew of Khan's intent remains unclear. In the report to MPs, and subsequent briefings to the media, security sources have stressed that Khan and Tanweer, who also came onto the radar, were not considered "essential" because there was no intelligence they were actually planning a terrorist attack.
At worst, Khan was thought to be involved in fraud and, according to the MPs' report, he had not been identified, only watched. With mounting workload, including the uncovering of a separate major plot in the middle of 2004, anti-terrorism officers focused on other suspects.
Khan was also the subject of reporting to the security services from "detainees" outside the UK, but his true identity was not revealed until after the 7 July attacks.
Failures to show a photograph of Khan to these detainees before the attacks was a "missed opportunity", the report said.
One of these detainees was Mohammed Junaid Babar, a jihadi sympathiser who became a key prosecution witness in the fertiliser bomb plot trial. Babar attended the same 2003 training camp as Khan and recognised his photograph on television after the London bombings.
In June 2006 computer expert Martin Gilbertson claimed he had warned West Yorkshire police about the extremist views of Khan and Tanweer when he worked at an Islamic bookshop in Beeston. The police later said they had no record of any letter from him.
Two months after the deaths of the four bombers and their 52 victims, a video statement recorded by Khan before the attacks surfaced.
In an unmistakeably Yorkshire accent, he defended the impending suicide attacks, declaring himself "a soldier" fighting a war against Western governments and their supporters in the general population. | <urn:uuid:d485df04-74a2-4620-972d-2b364a8a7267> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4762209.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985704 | 1,565 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Life in the 1970s was hard. One minute you're minding your own business, and — the next thing you know — Wonder Woman and her invisible jet come screaming out of the gossamer to lecture you on crosswalks. Nosy Amazon!
In old Super Friends public service announcements, Wonder Woman was the mouthpiece for all behaviors salubrious and healthful. Never mind the fact that she was way more qualified to take down The Legion of Doom than say, the Wonder Twins, Wendy and Marv, or heck, even Aquaman. No, it was the other Princess Di's job to teach dumb children that they shouldn't eat plastic cups or strange plants growing in their backyards. Let's take a look at the first clips...
What did we learn from the following commercials?
"Traffic Safety" - Wonder Woman is watching you always and will reward your servility with a handshake.
"Plant Safety" - Don't eat random plants you find growing in vacant lots. Also, if you invite Wonder Woman to dinner, she'll laugh it off like the supercilious ice queen that she is.
"Dog Safety" - Don't be afraid to prostrate yourself before strange animals. Wonder Woman says it's fine.
"Germ Safety" - If you're a deranged child who eats styrofoam cups, Wonder Woman will get all up in your shit rather than overthrowing some equatorial junta.
Here's the next salvo of ads. In this series, Wondy pontificates on eye care and emergency numbers...
Other than the fact that Wonder Woman is strutting around the state fair in her unmentionables, I have no quarrel with the first ad. The second ad is a roiling maelstrom of "Huh?" Dubya-Dubya doesn't assist the fire department and encourages a nonplussed child to scrawl emergency numbers on his kitchen wall. We're not even going to get into Wondy's arts and crafts excursions. Seriously, she'd break into your house on a rainy day and teach you how to make a rocket.
No matter how nosy or unhelpful Wonder Woman was, at least her commercials had a narrative. The same can't be said for this Black Vulcan oral hygiene ad, in which B.V. rides the lightning into a little girl's bedroom uninvited (and pantsless) after she starts yammering to no one in particular about halitosis.
Or how about this Superman ad? Who in God's name sponsored this spot? Friends of the Letter "S"? The Alphabet Defense League? The American Association of Plural Nouns? | <urn:uuid:d82bc7b9-2565-4408-a211-d6befa8a251e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://io9.com/5558409/in-old-super-friends-psas-wonder-woman-was-the-ambassador-of-banality?tag=psas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942572 | 549 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Allergic to Dissent: Khartoum and Washington
After five days of voting, the withdrawal en masse of virtually all the opposition presidential candidates and countless accusations of ballot tampering, voter intimidation, and worse, Sudan’s elections drama has drawn to an unsurprising conclusion.
Indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir has maintained his ironclad grip on the presidency with 68 percent of the national vote, and the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) held on to the reins of power in the south after obtaining 93 percent of the vote in that region. Sudan, post-elections, appears strikingly similar to its teetering-on-the-edge pre-election incarnation.
Although the staging of elections in and of itself might provide an opening for democratic change, immediate concerns in Sudan have returned to the prosaic. Bashir looks set to continue thumbing his nose at the International Criminal Court for the foreseeable future. Southerners appear unwilling to do or say anything to endanger the January 2011 referendum on independence for the south. And stillborn diplomatic efforts and low-intensity conflict keep plodding along in the western region of Darfur, with no apparent end in sight.
For their part, outside powers appear largely content to play along, with U.S. officialdom in particular generating a steady stream of sanguine commentary about the elections and in general the Sudanese state's future prospects to survive its various crises. Glib comments, such as U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration's eyebrow-raising assertion that Sudan's elections would be "as free and fair as possible," raise an important and oft-obscured question: What is Washington actually looking to accomplish in Africa's largest nation?
Alliance of Adversaries?
In the eyes of the Save Darfur Coalition (SDC) and the other liberal establishment voices that dominate Western discourse on Sudan, Washington has a deeply felt, long-term interest in Sudan's democratization. To this end the Obama administration, like the Bush team before it, is said to be engaged in a horn-locking, mano-à-mano diplomatic struggle with the evil Khartoum genocidaires, as it seeks to "save" Darfuris and other Sudanese from the Bashir regime's evil clutches.
In this storyline, NGOs will criticize U.S. policymakers for at times failing to put Sudan high enough on its list of priorities (a common complaint during the Bush administration though the SDC praised its "good work" in handling the Darfur crisis), or for appeasing the evildoers (a charge often leveled against Gration now). Yet no one questions whether Washington formulates policy with the best interests of the Sudanese people at heart. Any bumps along the road or potential aberrations are interpreted merely as good intentions gone awry, or as a U.S. failure to fully grasp the unique criminality of Khartoum's ruling clique.
Such a worldview fails to account for decades of U.S. policy toward Sudan, as we document extensively in The Scramble for Africa. For example, Washington provided an "air bridge" of weaponry to the Khartoum-based Nimeiri dictatorship in the 1980s as it prosecuted a catastrophic civil war against Washington’s current allies in the south. This history, as well as the contemporary U.S. machinations in Sudan, is enough to disprove the well-traveled thesis of U.S. benevolence.
In truth, Washington and Khartoum aren't quite at such loggerheads as their frequent verbal sparring would suggest. As the Darfur conflict was peaking in the years after its 2003 outbreak, Washington was in fact actively collaborating with Sudanese officials and groups directly implicated in the violence, and developed a close intelligence-sharing relationship with Sudan's notorious intelligence agency (Mukhabarat) during the “war on terror.” The CIA flew one especially odious figure — then-intelligence chief Salah Abdallah Gosh (against whom the UN recommended instituting sanctions) — to Washington for meetings in April 2005. A few years later, in 2008, the Bush administration was even forthrightly dangling the offer of normalized ties — never realized — before the Sudanese government's expectant eyes.
Engaging South Sudan
Open Washington-Khartoum rapprochement is unlikely, given Sudan’s bad PR image and China's well-cemented position in the country's booming oil industry. As a result, the United States has turned to cultivating a budding alliance with oil-rich and increasingly oppressive south Sudan, which is poised to join the ranks of independent nations after the 2011 referendum.
To this end, the 2011 U.S. congressional budget includes $42 million "to continue to build and transform the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Southern Sudan from a guerilla army to a professional military force," funding for the south's "criminal justice sector and law enforcement institutions," and ample resources for smoothing the implementation of the 2005 north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) — the final act of which is to be a 2011 southern vote for independence.
Undoubtedly, south Sudan is one of the world's poorest regions and is desperately in need of disinterested aid. The United States, however, is not purely focused on state-building. After all, most of Sudan's oil reserves lie in the south. Washington’s prior backing to Nimeiri as he waged a brutal war against south Sudan, as well as the current actions of regional U.S. allies like Ethiopia and Kenya in providing the SPLM with a steady stream of weaponry, suggest that energy and geopolitics, not democracy promotion, are shaping U.S. policy. According to The New York Times, south Sudan “has shown itself seemingly allergic to dissent, despite billions of dollars in aid money and democracy-building projects” from Washington’s coffers.
Save Darfur's myopic view of U.S.-Sudanese relations and failure to grasp Washington’s motives in the region are regrettable in their own right. Such deference to U.S. "reasons of state" also have grave effects on the ability of such NGOs to be effective advocates for the Sudanese people.
The Save Darfur Coalition's activism around the Sudan elections has crystallized around two reasonable-sounding demands: that the United States "make clear" that the vote is "not credible," and that "the timetable for the referendum in the South should not be affected by the election results."
The elections have certainly fallen far short of even the abysmally low standards set by liberal Western democracies. A resumption of north-south conflict in Sudan could well make the mass atrocities in Darfur pale by comparison. What's not to like, then, in Save Darfur's seemingly common-sense campaign?
First, the campaign is decidedly vague, almost meaninglessly so. After all, how are honest activists to gauge when Washington has made it sufficiently "clear" to Khartoum that it disapproves of Sudan's bad behavior? Was it enough when a State Department spokesperson commented that "to the extent that the Government of Sudan was looking for redemption or legitimacy in what happened here (in the elections), they will get none of it"? Surely, Save Darfur's legalese provides Washington enough wiggle room so that it can claim it fulfilled the demands no matter what. And if words aren’t enough, what does Save Darfur have left? To return to its earlier, militaristic roots and suggest backing some sort of "humanitarian intervention" (that is, invasion) in Sudan?
Further, Save Darfur's elections advocacy is predestined for failure in that it offers nothing beyond calling on Washington to engage in another round of ineffectual finger-wagging.
Sudan under Bashir has survived 17 years on the U.S. "state sponsors of terrorism" list, 13 years of comprehensive sanctions, a 1998 cruise missile attack in the capital, and numerous threats from Washington of "regime change." Will another round of tongue-lashing actually accomplish anything for the people of Sudan?
No matter what Obama says about the elections, the peace process in Darfur will continue in its moribund state, millions of internally displaced Darfuris will still be living precariously, and the peacekeepers and humanitarian aid agencies charged with their protection and well-being will still be dramatically underfunded by wealthy nations.
Save Darfur's concern with Sudanese state pageantry, over which it has very little influence, looks even worse when compared to its reticence to hold Washington's feet to the fire. It could, for example, launch a serious campaign calling on the United States to provide or find a provider for the two dozen support helicopters that the joint UN-AU peacekeepers have been seeking since 2007, quit collaborating with Sudanese officials implicated in human rights abuses, and furnish humanitarian organizations with sufficient financial support.
A more fundamental problem with U.S. policy is supporting anti-democratic regimes on Sudan’s borders and elsewhere in Africa.
A shared opposition to democracy
On Sudan's eastern border, U.S. stalwart Ethiopia has been preparing for late May elections by "waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists, and rights activists," in the unvarnished words of Human Rights Watch (HRW). As documented, the ruling party has been using its "near-total control" of the state apparatus to "systematically punish opposition supporters" and "severely restrict the activities of civil society and the media." One opposition politician was recently stabbed to death during a raid on his home, in highly suspicious circumstances.
As HRW comments with some understatement, "Ethiopia is heavily dependent on foreign assistance, which accounts for approximately one-third of all government expenditures"; however, "The country's principal foreign donors — the World Bank, United States, United Kingdom, and European Union — have been very timid in their criticisms of Ethiopia's deteriorating human rights situation."
Elsewhere, in the heart of Africa, the U.S.-allied government of Paul Kagame in Rwanda is greasing the wheels for its own elections by "doing everything it can to silence independent voices," according to HRW. "We've seen a real crackdown on critics," says HRW's Africa director, which includes "increasing threats, attacks, and harassment" against opposition parties. Tellingly, an article in The Economist noted that while Kagame "vigorously pursues his admirers in Western democracies, he allows less political space and press freedom at home than Robert Mugabe does in Zimbabwe."
That Kagame also won his second term in office in 2003 with a curiously high 95.1 percent of the vote, and has continued a longstanding Rwandan policy of ravaging the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaks volumes about Washington's legendary commitment to human rights and democracy.
In Egypt, Sudan's neighbor to the north and the recipient of more U.S. aid than any country in the world except Israel, president-for-life Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year-reign continues unabated — as does the shared U.S.-Israeli-Egyptian policy of sealing off the people of Gaza into the world's largest open-air prison. Notably, the announcement by Mohamed El-Baradei — "Egypt's most high-profile dissident" — that he would be willing to contest Mubarak in 2011 in the normally rubber-stamp elections seems to have elicited few smiles in Washington. El-Baradei, the former U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, was a vocal critic of the U.S. rationale for invading Iraq, and recently commented that U.S. policy in the Middle East "has been a total failure." Though casual observers may expect a warmer reception from the democracy-lovers in Washington for this movement to peacefully oust a ruthless dictator, the kindler, gentler Obama White House appears none too concerned.
Honest Darfur activists should not lose sight of the U.S. support of virulently anti-democratic regimes just beyond Sudan's borders, and indeed in south Sudan itself. To do so means not only wildly misunderstanding the U.S. role in Africa and the world at large, but also failing to formulate meaningful advocacy calls for Darfur as well.
To effectively advocate for the people of Sudan, we must first understand that Bashir's open disdain for democracy in the region is amply matched by Washington's.
This article is a much expanded version of an opinion piece that first appeared in the Los Angeles Times as part of their Blowback series.
Steven Fake and Kevin Funk are Foreign Policy in Focus contributors, and the authors of “The Scramble for Africa: Darfur – Intervention and the USA” (Black Rose Books). They maintain a website with their commentary at scrambleforafrica.org.
Steve Fake and Kevin Funk, "Allergic to Dissent: Khartoum and Washington" (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, May 17, 2010) | <urn:uuid:9ef29555-1d9a-4cb4-8533-a90347d591d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zcommunications.org/allergic-to-dissent-khartoum-and-washington-by-steven-fake | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952109 | 2,716 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The facts are sobering: the majority of small businesses fail within five years of starting up. While there are many reasons that businesses fail, including some that have nothing to do with an owner’s skills, it’s also possible that many of those same businesses collapsed simply because they couldn’t get enough customers to buy their product or service. In other words, the owners founded their business on a strategy of “build it and they will come” where, unfortunately, the customers never came. In fact, a recent study undertaken by the Blackbox seed accelerator found that many tech start-ups failed because they focused more on their product than on their potential customers.
The good news is that there are a variety of ways you, as an entrepreneur, can conduct some market research to assess the potential demand for your product or service without spending a lot of money or hiring an expensive market research team.
Ask the Right Questions
As a first step to determining the potential market for your new product or service, you want to focus on asking a couple of questions of yourself first, says Victor Kwegyir, a business consultant, business motivational speaker, and author of The Business You Can Start: Spotting the Greatest Opportunities in the Economic Downturn. Some of the questions you may want to begin with, Kwegyir says, include:
- Is this product or service I have in mind going to satisfy a market need?
- Who are my potential customers, and where can they be found?
- What competition is out there? Is it direct or indirect, local, national, or international?
- How distinct is my product from what is being offered by the competition?
- Can the product stand the test of changing trends or take advantage of it before it dies out?
- Does the law of the land allow for such a business to be established?
- At what prices are consumers prepared to buy my product, and can I make any profit at any stage?
While it may seem obvious, using Google and other search engines can be an effective way to gauge the potential market for your idea and whether or not you’ll be facing competition. “Believe it or not, you can do a simple keyword search using either Google keywords or any reputable marketing software such as Market Samurai or Magic Bullet to see if your idea already has a demand,” says Jesue Walker, a serial entrepreneur and president of The Ultimate Emergence Company. Once you have the keyword results in front of you, click on them and pay attention to the right column of the search, which lists the paid advertising. “Click on each of these and see what they are offering,” says Walker. “This is your competition, if any at all. Going back to the search page or keyword results and [seeing] how many times a day and week this keyword is searched for…is the beginning of finding out if you can gain at least one percent to two percent of this market.”
Getting direct feedback via surveys or interviews can be another very effective way to gauge interest in your product or service. The easiest way to test a new business idea is by crowdsourcing your idea first,” says Ian Aronovich, CEO and president of GovernmentAuctions.org, a site that compiles and provides information about government auctions of seized and surplus merchandise from all over the country. “Get the perspective of a large group that you already know is capable of giving you truthful and helpful advice. Crowdsourcing is quick, easy, and you will get an array of positive and negative criticism.”
To do this, you may want to draw on an increasing number of online tools that will allow you to tap into the wisdom of the virtual crowd for modest prices. Examples include: uSamp, UserTesting.com, UsabilityHub.com, CrazyEgg.com, GutCheckit.com, and Ask Your Target Market.
You can also consider creating a video, says David Ciccarelli, CEO of Voices.com, where you hire a professional to narrate the features and benefits of your product or service. “Then upload it to YouTube and see the response in the comments,” he says.
If your big idea is a new product, you might also consider pitching it to a product development company like Edison Nation, which, for a modest application fee, evaluates your idea based on the potential market for it.
What you don’t want to do, however, is base your decision on the opinions of your friends and family, says Lolo Siderman, the founder of Gypsywing Media, a virtual ad agency based in Los Angeles. It’s a mistake to ask people you already know, she says, because they cannot be objective. “Of course they’re going to tell you it’s a good idea,” she says.
Read full article here | <urn:uuid:79e80f37-79f9-4ade-b77a-58dc63fdc7e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.socialtikmag.com/do-you-have-a-bright-idea-at-your-fingertip/?feedsort=more | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955269 | 1,018 | 1.6875 | 2 |
1. In A Jam
2. Lord, I Give You My Children
3. Peg o' My Heart
4. Red Hot Flo (From Kokomo)
6. Pardon Me, Pretty Baby
7. Reaching for Someone
8. Mister Tram
9. Because My Baby Don't Mean Maybe Now
10. Crying All Day
11. Three Blind Mice
12. Mississippi Mud
13. Peaceful Valley
14. Buddy's Habits
16. Make Believe
17. I'd Climb the Highest Mountain
18. Someday Soon
19. Why Couldn't it Be Poor Little Me?
20. Rose of Washington Square
21. How Could We Be Wrong?
Dick Sudhalter - Cornet, trumpet, flugelhorn, with the Anglo-American Alliance, Eva Taylor & her Anglo-American Boyfriends, Bill Rank and his Anglo-American Friends, the New Paul Whiteman Orchestra, the Sioux City Seven, Lou Lanza (vocals), Keith Ingham (piano), Barbara Lea (vocals), and His London Friends.
Dick Sudhalter was a man of many parts. His main day-job was as a journalist, working as European correspondent for United Press International for many years and as jazz critic for the New York Post for a decade but additionally writing numerous articles and sleeve-notes. He was also an accomplished musician, starting on the piano but inspired by hearing Bix Beiderbecke to take up the cornet, later adding the flugelhorn. In addition, he wrote or co-wrote several books, including acclaimed biographies of Bix Beiderbecke and Hoagy Carmichael. The last of his books - Lost Chords - made him a controversial figure, as his championing of the contribution that white musicians made to jazz led some critics to accuse him unjustly of racism.
The main impetus of Sudhalter's life seems to have been his devotion to the styles of jazz played by the likes of Bix Beiderbecke and Paul Whiteman. When he got hold of the Whiteman band's arrangements, he initiated the New Paul Whiteman Orchestra, which tried to reproduce that music faithfully. He was also involved with bands called the Anglo-American Alliance, the Classic Jazz Quartet and the New York Repertory Company.
This album collects together some of his recordings dating from 1967 to 2001 (he died in 2008). Many of the tracks have never been issued before. I haven't listed all the personnels, as they are so complex - and, in some cases, misleading. For example, did Sudhalter really play the trumpet (as listed) and not the cornet on most of these dates? And drummer Jock Cummings (well remembered from his days with the Squadronaires) turns up as Jack Cummings in one list.
Many of the items come from Dick's years in England, where he founded
the New Paul Whiteman Orchestra and played with such British luminaries
as John R. T. Davies, Harry Gold, Keith Nichols, Pat Dodd, and my
old friends trumpeter Duncan Campbell and saxist Al Baum. Davies plays
memorable solos on such tunes as Peg o' My Heart and his punctuations
behind the vocals in Rose of Washington Square are just what's
needed. Gold's bass sax underpins several tracks, and Al Baum sounds
absolutely authentic in the theme statement of Mister Tram
with the Sioux City Seven (a group formed to represent the small groups
from within the Whiteman orchestra). Davies, Nichols and Campbell
form the New Rhythm Boys to do the vocals in the immortal Mississippi
I am not always a fan of musicians claiming to reproduce the sounds of old-time bands, but the sincerity of Sudhalter and his associates is evident on the Paul Whiteman sides. Their faithfulness to the Whiteman style is clear even in the use of violins and especially in their measured approach to the arrangements. Sudhalter himself supplies a clear lead for many ensembles, playing with a tone that is reminscent of Bunny Berigan as well as Bix.
Some artists were taken out of retirement for some of these recordings. Trombonist Bill Rank was a stalwart with Beiderbecke and Whiteman in many classic recordings. His solo on Dinah shows that he had lost none of his singing tone. And vocalist Eva Taylor had not sung for 30 years when she recorded with a small Sudhalter group in 1967.
Singer Chris Ellis's compilation of this album was obviously a labour of love and it is a good thing to remember Dick Sudhalter's contribution to reminding us of the riches which reside in old recordings that so many jazz fans seem in danger of overlooking or underestimating. | <urn:uuid:df84add8-0e73-405e-807a-d0258ab2c207> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.musicweb-international.com/jazz/2010/Dick_Sudhalter_CR73298.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961118 | 985 | 1.5625 | 2 |
March 10, 2013
John Adams' Gospel: A Musical Triumph
The Gospel According to the Other Mary, composer John Adams’ sixth music drama created in collaboration with stage director Peter Sellars was given its staged premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall on March 7. Music Director Gustavo Dudamel had to fly to Caracas directly after the opening to attend and conduct at the funeral of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez. But he was back in time to lead a musically incandescent production on March 10, which was what I saw and heard.
The “Other Mary” is the woman often called (though never here) Mary Magdalen, not to be confused with Mary the mother of Jesus. (Jesus never appears: When his words or presence are required, other people sing or mime them.) Like Adams’ and Sellars’ El Niño, Gospel is more a staged oratorio than an opera. There are only three singers, plus a trio of countertenors (a concept also used in El Niño) who serve as narrators and fill in occasional roles, and a chorus (in casual modern dress), which remains in place above and behind the musicians, although it also does a fair amount of bouncing around.
Of all of Adams’ scores (and I’ve heard all the music dramas in live performances, and most of the other music as well), Gospel (along with A Flowering Tree) is perhaps the most suave, continuous, and instrumentally ingenious. It lacks the powerhouse moments of Nixon in China and Dr. Atomic — although Lazarus’ and Jesus’ resurrections get full trumpets, drums, and chorus — and much of the time is unusually restrained, supporting but never overwhelming the singers, all sections and soloists held in balance by Maestro Dudamel, all entries and silences at pinpoint.
In this score, Adams returns to what was best in his early minimalist works — long stretches of rapidly repeated chords and phrases, an ever-pulsing, ever-onward beat, meeting and leading the emotions onstage. But by now he has so mastered the style that he can shift keys, rhythm, instrumentation, and phrases at will, interrupt the flow at any time for eloquent flute calls, trombone blasts, and percussion, or move to singing strings and woodwinds.
The single strongest voice among the performers was that of Russell Thomas, a big, booming tenor who played the reborn Lazarus in Act 2, where he does justice to two poetic solos. (The dying, dead, and resurrected Lazarus in Act 1 was played by Anani Sanouvi, a slim, longhaired African dancer, who had the best moves of anyone onstage.) The two sisters were sung by ardent mezzo-sopranos, Kelley O’Connor (Mary) and Tamara Mumford (Martha), both beautifully. If I preferred the rich, round lower tones of Mumford, it may have been because O’Connor had so much broader and wilder a range of emotions to convey; she is a passionate actress as well as a singer.
The trio of countertenors (Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings, and Nathan Medley) all acted as well as they sang. The two male dancers, Sanouvi and Michael Schumaker, could move in Sellars’ classic “music made visible” style, and act complex roles at the same time. Dancer Troy Ogilvie, as Mary’s haunting, evil self, was almost too intense for the stage. And the Los Angeles Master Chorale, asked to do so much more than a chorus is usually expected to do, handled its challenging role with considerable strength.
Of all of Adams’ scores Gospel is perhaps the most suave, continuous, and instrumentally ingenious.
Sellars began inserting other writers’ poetry and prose into his librettos for El Niño and Dr. Atomic, lines that sometimes had nothing to do with the story. But never have his borrowed texts made less apparent sense than in Gospel.
The majority of the lines in Sellars’ libretto come, as one might expect, from the original gospels. Old Testament sources are used as a source of “eternalizing” poetry. But also included are four powerful poems by Louise Erdrich; two at least make reference to the Crucifixion — one as a kind of hysterical nightmare, sung by the chorus. Another seems a response to parental rape. There are also three prose passages by the Catholic pacifist/activist Dorothy Day (1897-1990). One suits the moral confusion of Mary. But the other two (sung by Martha, the social worker) describe the sufferings of the American poor and oppressed of 1942 (with a reference to Churchill), and the time she spent with United Farm Workers’ pickets in California in 1973 (with a reference to César Chavez). I can find no way to relate these or other modern insertions, so alien in tone and style, to the Gospel story of Jesus’ last days, his crucifixion and resurrection, despite Adams’ and Sellars’ efforts to link suffering and violence then with suffering and violence now.
Sellars’ libretto is too often a jumbled pastiche.
Sellars also borrows freely from poets like Primo Levi (Lazarus sings Levi’s ecumenical Passover at the Last Supper), Rubén Dario, and Rosario Castellanos (in Spanish), Hildegarde von Bingen (in Latin), and Adams’ former collaborator June Jordan. The result is too often a jumbled pastiche.
The production was played on a simple two-foot-high wooden platform to the left of the conductor. To his right was a plain pine dining table, for Sellars’ stripped-down version of the Last Supper. The costumes were mostly timeless and blue; hard-working Martha wore a headscarf, her neurotic sister had her hair cut short. The male dancers wore sleeveless blue pajamas, the three countertenors gray sweatshirts. Both the male dancers, and Mary and her aggressive alter-ego dancer, engage in prolonged homoerotic caressing, wrestling and embraces.
The triumph of Adams’ music and the performance it received make me look forward to the recording.
David Littlejohn writes about West Coast cultural events for the Wall Street Journal.
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Gordon Getty: Piano Pieces | <urn:uuid:506ce1e2-7b9f-4078-8600-3170477d6946> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/john-adams-gospel-a-musical-triumph | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960444 | 1,392 | 1.664063 | 2 |
By Carl Bialik
During this year’s broadcasts of the premier European soccer club championship, TV viewers around the world have encountered a mysterious new number: the total distance, in meters, run by each player while on the field. When AC Milan’s Gennaro Gattuso was replaced in the 85th minute of the club’s 3-0 defeat of Manchester United in a Champions League semifinal earlier this month, he had run more than 10 kilometers, according to an on-screen graphic. (That’s the equivalent of running the length of an NBA court about 350 times.) This stat is again at center stage today as Milan faces Liverpool in the championship game.
AC Milan defensive midfielder Gennaro Gattuso (AP photo)
The new data could help advance our understanding of the world’s most popular sport, much like recent developments in baseball measurement have aided analysis of pitcher motion and fielding ability. But I wondered, just how did they know how much Mr. Gattuso had run? I saw these numbers on ESPN broadcasts of the games, but a spokesman for the channel told me it uses the video feed provided by the Union of European Football Associations, the governing body of Champions League games.
In response to my inquiry, the UEFA sent me a three-page document outlining the new system, which it says can also track other physical elements of the game such as shot speed and the distance of free kicks to the goal. The field, or pitch, is divided among 16 cameras ringing the stadium, with each one filming its own area. The cameras send video feeds to three laptops that extract the trajectories of the ball and players. The UEFA said it has tested the system against proprietary tracking systems used by individual clubs, and also by sending people on predetermined, fixed-length trajectories, and found it to be generally accurate within 3%.
This season’s launch is itself a test for planned usage of the system during next year’s European Championship, said Bernie Ross, head of TV production for Nyon, Switzerland-based UEFA. But he said that broadcasters have already embraced the novel stats. “They want to be able to use the statistics in their own way, and we’re finding ways of providing information, in ways they feel will be most useful for their audience,” Mr. Ross told me. So far, just broadcasters have access to the data, preventing the usual sports-number crunching. But the organization is looking into sharing the stats with teams after the game, and with fans during and after — starting with distance-run figures and heat maps showing where players roam on the field during the Milan-Liverpool game, on UEFA.com’s MatchCenter (linked from here).
ESPN commentator Tommy Smyth, who has joked about the stat during broadcasts, told me that so far, “it just seems like a novelty item.” But it could soon be seen as indispensable, much like other information presented in broadcasts. “Who ever thought the score in top corner of the screen would become so valuable?” Mr. Smyth recalled that when that feature was first introduced, some fans worried it would be distracting. “Now there’s practically no game in the world that doesn’t include it.”
Mr. Smyth said he thinks the running-distance measurement would be more useful if it were incorporated more consistently into broadcasts (for instance, one could check on the distance run in the last 10 minutes by a player who looks fatigued). The number could lend weight to allegations of immobility, such as those Mr. Smyth recalls his manager used to level at him during his bygone playing days: “The grass is worn where you were standing.”
That said, like all sports numbers, distance run by itself hardly tells the whole story about players’ contributions. “The goaltender might run 15 meters, but could save the game and be much, much more valuable than the guy who runs 9,000 meters,” Mr. Smyth says. “I suppose everything’s relative, isn’t it?”
Chelsea goalie Petr Cech ran much farther to celebrate a Champions League win against Barcelona last year. The sprint, captured by UEFA’s system when it was in testing, was the fastest run of the game, by any player, UEFA’s Mr. Lewis said. More such quirky revelations can be expected as the technology evolves.
Further reading: I wrote recently about another effort to quantify soccer performance, and in 2005 about the use of cameras to track the trajectory of tennis balls, and the accuracy of referee calls. And elsewhere in soccer numbers: Brazilian 41-year-old striker Romário de Souza Faria (who goes by just Romário) celebrated Sunday what he claimed was the 1,000th goal of his career, interrupting the game between Vasco da Gama and Sport of Recife in the Brazilian national championship for 16 minutes. But as the BBC and others have reported, Romário’s count is controversial for including goals scored in friendly (i.e. exhibition) matches, and in his days of youth soccer. Among the critics of his count is fellow Brazilian Pele, another player to reach the 1,000-goal plateau — by his own measure, anyway. (I incorrectly referred to Romário de Souza Faria as Mr. Romario in the first version of this post.) | <urn:uuid:304cb0db-7dbc-4e94-a019-07fe94b95c4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/tracking-how-far-soccer-players-run-112/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9711 | 1,136 | 1.757813 | 2 |
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will press Russia on Friday in a bid to save a crucial weekend meeting on the Syria crisis that has been threatened by objections from Moscow.
Clinton will meet her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov just one day after he angrily dismissed suggestions that Moscow backed a transition plan which Western powers said was on the agenda for Saturday's talks in Geneva.
Peace envoy Kofi Annan's proposal would hand power to an interim Syrian team without those "whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardise stability and reconciliation".
The wording appears to imply -- without saying so directly -- that Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad would have to relinquish his grip on the presidency for the idea to succeed.
Russia has recently cooled toward Assad while still providing its old ally with weapons and insisting that only the Syrians themselves can find a lasting solution to bloodshed that monitors say has claimed more than 15,000 lives in the nearly 16-month long conflict.
And Lavrov on Thursday rejected the notion that Russia was now ready to accept a prescription for the crisis "dictated from abroad."
"Foreign players should not be dictating their solutions to the Syrians," the Russian diplomat said.
Diplomats at the United Nations said both Clinton and the foreign ministers of Britain and France later told Annan there would be no point in holding the Geneva meeting with regional powers unless Russia was also on board.
Clinton herself said prior to her Thursday arrival that "it was very clear from the invitations that were extended by special envoy Kofi Annan that people were coming on the basis of the transition plan that he had presented."
The talks are scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm (1600 GMT) after Clinton attends a regional forum on women's role in the economy and meets top local officials in Russian President Vladimir Putin's native city.
Russian state press reports said Lavrov was also prepared to defend Moscow's decision to send refurbished attack helicopters to Syria -- a shipment that returned to port last weekend after the ship's British insurer dropped cover.
The Russian government's daily said Clinton will find Lavrov in combative spirits because the talks also come on the heels of a US Senate panel decision to back sanctions against officials who are implicated in a human rights case.
The state Rossiyskaya Gazeta remarked that "in recent days, we have not witnessed the slightest signs of a rapprochement" between Moscow and Washington on the crisis.
"On the contrary, with every new report of the American secret services' involvement in operations to arm the Syrian opposition, the prospects of a US-Russian dialogue on Syria look more spectral," the state daily said.
The Vedomosti business daily for its part said Moscow was still keen to hold the Geneva meeting because it gave Russia a chance to keep its influence in the future government.
Russia should try to make sure that the interim Syrian team includes "local specialists who were not involved in the conflict and received their education in the Soviet Union and Russia," said the paper. | <urn:uuid:99dad703-8982-471c-bfde-5ebcce36f53c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/06/29/Clinton-to-press-Russia-on-Syria-before-crunch-talks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974005 | 610 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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Study: Few carry policies for employees
Less than one-fourth of the nation's small businesses are covered under a group disability income insurance policy, according to a study by the Consumer Research Business unit of the Connecticut-based Life Insurance Management Resource Association.
Although the costs of disease and disability can be staggering, there has been an 8 percent decline in disability coverage from 1987 to 1995.
Employees who become disabled without coverage will immediately face increased medical expenses and lost wages.
They also will suffer a reduced ability to accumulate retirement funds, which threatens long-term … | <urn:uuid:86914639-6161-4e9b-bc15-7b414473346d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-58186679/disability-insurance-ignored-small.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946944 | 133 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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5 Ways to Be a Rock Star at Work
6/28/2011 1:44:29 PM
By Angela Rose, BioSpace.com
Thanks to movies such as “Rock Star,” “Almost Famous” and “This is Spinal Tap,” we all know what it means to be a rock star in the traditional sense. However, partying all night, sleeping all day, drinking a lot, groupies and amplifiers that go to eleven do not fit naturally within a normal, successful career. You’re never going to dive off the break room table and body surf a crowd of adoring fans from accounting (though if you do, make sure you put it on YouTube). So what does it mean to be a “rock star” at work?
1. Don’t take it too seriously.
While this doesn’t mean that you should not care about your job, it does mean that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Too often we get so caught up in the minutia that we fail to keep one eye on our ultimate goal. Whatever that goal may be, your current job is a means to that end –not the sum total of your life.
2. Be solution-minded.
If a situation at the office has you stressing and worrying, you have two options. One is to continue stressing and worrying. The other is to do something about it.
3. Speak up.
Think your boss is making a big business mistake? Tell him so (tactfully, of course). In most cases, if you make suggestions in a non-threatening, yet informed manner, your boss will appreciate them. While he may proceed on his own course, he’ll remember that you spoke up and could even solicit your insight in the future.
4. Remember the saying about birds of a feather.
If you want to be a rock star at work, associate with like-minded individuals. This means inviting the woman who always gets the best projects to lunch, not hanging around the water cooler with the office whiners. You may learn something from her, while the others only serve to drag your spirits down.
5. Attitude is everything.
Maybe you’re not that excited by your position. Perhaps you’re stressed by challenges in other areas of your life. Whatever it is that’s contributing to your discontent, shove it aside and do the best job you can, every single day. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
If you take steps to become the office rock star, others will take notice. Don’t be surprised if co-workers invite you out to talk about what they can do to be as successful as you have become. Hmmm… maybe office rock stars do have groupies after all.
About the Author
Angela Rose researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for BioSpace.com.
Check out the latest Career Insider eNewsletter - June 30, 2011.
Sign up for the free weekly Career Insider eNewsletter. | <urn:uuid:0ae48baf-934a-4a82-bc38-7163342ca8e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biospace.com/News/5-ways-to-be-a-rock-star-at-work/225625 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931379 | 770 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Miami Herald last Friday reported on a Facebook Internet Cancer Scam. A copy of the article can be found here. The article discusses Cindy Choi's long-running cancer deception/scam using Facebook and underscores the dangers of predators on the ubiquitous Facebook social networking site.
Although Choi broke hearts and sometimes apparently stalked some girls, she (acting as a he) never introduced herself physically. And no underage girls admitted to sexual activity over the phone or online.
Ultimately, prosecutors could not bring a case against Choi, who deleted her accounts and a blog before investigators could preserve them. If a user deletes a page, Facebook claims, the records are gone for good, although the company admits "some information may remain in backup copies or logs for up to 90 days."
No U.S. law exists that requires Internet providers to retain records for a certain time period. Across the nation, authorities have made many arrests of Facebook users who prey on young people or defraud the sympathetic.
Occasionally, the site provides police tips. In March, the site tipped off Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents that a 32-year-old Orlando man was seeking sex from a 13-year-old girl through the site. He was arrested.
In many more cases, perpetrators are caught after the fact.
In January 2010, a Key West man was arrested after authorities said he posed as a sorority sister on Facebook, blackmailing young women at Louisiana State University into posing nude.
Oscar Garcia, 30, was arrested in February after Miami police say he created a fake Facebook page to look at the page of a 11-year-old girl. He found a cell number on the girl's page, offering to send her photos of his penis, police said.
In one extreme case, a British registered sex offender, posing as a teen in 2009, murdered a 17-year-old girl he met on Facebook.
As for cancer fakes, a New Jersey woman was arrested last month after investigators say she posed as a cancer patient, duping supporters into giving her more than $15,000. In September, an Arizona woman was jailed for one year after she falsely claimed to have breast cancer -- using donations instead to pay for breast implants.
One recent Facebook scam, for instance, involved a fake page offering free gift cards. Together with a similar trick pulled just a few weeks earlier, more than 100,000 people fell for it.
Victims had to sign up for the supposed deal, giving their names, addresses, and other details, but the gift cards never arrived.
In another Facebook scam incident, victims were invited to complete a credit registration form, but downloading it installed malware that crashed their PCs -- but only after capturing all their confidential information.
A particularly sneaky recent Facebook scam masquerades as an antivirus service. Victims are invited to download a product called Facebook Antivirus, which then hijacks their list of "friends" and asks them to download the product too, then posts pictures on their pages.
Also, Facebook was targeted by a phishing agent inside an unsolicited email that tricked users into thinking they were resetting their usernames and passwords. They were taken to a bogus page where they had to key in their real username and passwords, information that was then used to hijack their accounts.
You'll find similar types of scams on other social networking sites.
Tips for Avoiding Facebook and Other Social Media Scams
1. Install Internet security software from one of the big-name providers and keep it up to date. Never download or install supposed security programs that purport to be linked to a specific site you use, like Facebook. Use a security program or a browser that includes an anti-phishing website checker.
2. If you follow a link that's supposed to take you to another page on the same site, check the address bar of your browser to make sure of where you really are. For example, if it's a genuine Facebook page, the address will begin with www.facebook.com.
3. When you receive emails, posts or messages, never assume they're from who they say they are -- even if they're friends.
Be especially wary if:
- They ask for money; don't send it without independently verifying the source.
- They invite you to download a program.
- They contain an attachment (most social networking site operators, including Facebook, don't send attachments).
4. Don't give your password to anyone. Make it a tough one to guess and change it frequently. See Get Tough With Computer Passwords and Secret Questions for more advice on passwords.
If, for any reason, you're asked to change your password, visit the social networking site by keying its address into your browser, not by clicking a link.
5. If you receive or hear of an offer, like a free gift card, it's often a scam. If you're not sure, go to the website of or contact the company that's supposedly offering the card and check it out with them.
6. Know that if you post your picture and personal details about yourself, you are, at least to some degree, laying yourself open to a possible identity theft.
Many people do choose to do this, but you should, at least, know the risk.
Click here for the FBI's page on Internet scams.
About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.
The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495. | <urn:uuid:19358253-e0fc-4ac0-aed8-1b26079324cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miami-lawyer-blog.com/internet-fraud/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95585 | 1,188 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Two things combined to get me in trouble on that chilly March day.
First, I wasn't dressed properly.
I had on blue jeans, cotton socks, cotton underwear, a cotton T-shirt, a long-sleeved flannel shirt, a medium-weight jacket and a mesh baseball cap. The misty drizzle dampened my clothing, and the long boat ride down the river exposed me to 30 mph winds that quickly stripped heat from my body.
Second, I underestimated the conditions.
The air temperature that day was in the high 40s, but the rain and wind effectively made it colder. Had I not been fishing with an observant physician, the outcome might have been much worse.
The best way to avoid hypothermia is to stay warm and dry.
To accomplish that, experts say to dress in several relatively thin layers and to avoid wearing cotton. With those guidelines in mind, here's how I should have dressed for my Cave Run trip:
For a proper base layer, I should have worn two pairs of thin wool socks, long polyester underwear and a long-sleeved polyester undershirt.
My outer layers should have included a pair of nylon wind pants, a thin wool sweater, a water-shedding medium-weight jacket and a wool stocking cap. And for the boat ride downstream, I should have donned a rain suit.
It only took one brush with hypothermia to make me very, very careful about dressing properly for winter outdoor activities. I've waded trout streams when snow was on the ground. I've taken 20-mile bike rides on 45-degree days. I've attended football games where the snow was blowing sideways.
I haven't yet been cold. Dress as I do, and you won't be either. | <urn:uuid:12b25dbf-2d1a-4d88-b182-ac6e99c8c1ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wvgazette.com/Outdoors/JohnMcCoy/201201070074?page=2&build=cache | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967098 | 368 | 1.625 | 2 |
When the commodity boom and rising food prices took hold last year, optimists argued that this might cause people to switch to organic and sustainable foods, because the premium was no longer so high compared with mass market fare.
I was skeptical of the argument then, and even more so now. There are ample signs that consumers are cutting back in the face of a slumping economy and if anything, downsizing to discount retailers that skew towards cheaper food. Sales of Spam are growing. The more committed organic food shoppers will always be there, but much larger number of dabblers are scaling back, unable to see the real value above the cost.
At Whole Foods, which has built a business on sustainable, organic and high quality perishable foods, sales growth is at a historic low, leading the company to cut back on new store openings and eliminate its quarterly dividend. Executives are emphasizing its value products, many sold under the 365 store brand, and trying to shake its Whole Paycheck image.
I can see why they are concerned. I was shopping in the Whole Foods store in Denver last Sunday in the middle of the day, before heading up to the mountains with the family. Last year, when I was in the same store in Cherry Creek on the exact same weekend, I recall it was bustling. This year, there were fewer shoppers, the aisles sparse.
In contrast, the Whole Foods Markets in Washington, D.C., are still crowded on the weekend to the point of discomfort. But DC or New York City -- where a high number of shoppers don't drive at all -- might be the exception.
In an interview in May, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey pointed out that people were driving less, which meant fewer trips to the store. What shoppers seem to be maintaining, or even increasing, are buying trips to discounters -- hence the single-digit sales gains at big box retailers like Costco. (Wal-Mart, which has cut food prices in the face of the slowing economy, is also doing well, though I don't view them in the same retail universe as Whole Foods. Costco likely has greater overlap).
Whole Foods is not unusual on the retail landscape since many companies are experiencing a sales slowdown, or worse. But the more interesting question is what this means for all the grass-fed beef ranchers, artisan cheese makers, organic produce farmers and even organic dairy farmers. Are their products now viewed as a "luxury" that must now be economized out of the family budget? Is this a road bump in the real food movement, or a more fundamental end of the road?
Right now, I'd argue it's a road bump, though it's uncertain how long or how big the series of bumps will be. The length, depth and vast impact of this current credit-infused economic downturn is unknown. The wisest assessment I've heard is that no one knows, because the financial engine of the economy -- banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies, and the like -- keep surprising on the downside with ever increasing credit losses. If the finance companies don't know the depth of their losses, evident by the repeated quarterly write-offs they take, how can anyone pretend to know when the worst will be over? Or to put it in simple turns, how can anyone predict how large the mortgage bust will be and what will be left when it's over.
This is a horrendous climate for any company but look at the long-term trends. I've repeatedly stated that organic foods, sustainable foods, farmers' markets, and the like, are not a fad. They have only been growing against a troubling drumbeat of news about food safety and health. There is ever growing awareness about rising obesity, tainted food, and what we're actually putting down our gullets. This supra-economic food trend is evident in everything from the nutritional information now demanded on New York City menus to the fear of imported food from China. Cheap, we know, has a price, and more than a few of us are unwilling to pay it regardless of our shrinking family budgets.
Do you think the questions about where food comes from, how it's produced, and what it's doing to our bodies, or more importantly, our kids bodies, will suddenly disappear because we are now more budget-conscious?
You can actually make a convincing counter-argument that values become more important in tough economic times. You jettison the superfluous in favor of what's really important -- and for some, that might be humanely raised meat rather than premium cable-TV. If you must economize, you might peruse 101 Cookbooks for a great tofu or soba noodle recipe rather than throw in the towel and buy industrially raised meat or pesticide-laden foreign farmed shrimp.
Local foods present a good case. As consumers grow more concerned about the economy and the foreign provenance of foods, local will become more pertinent. Just as in 9/11, when restaurant sales dipped in favor of home-cooked meals, local food might well see a long boom in the face of growing economic pressures. In tougher times, sure, people want to economize but they also huddle closer to one another, want to connect to and help their local communities, and support their farmers. Community provides solace, and what better way to define community than around food.
In an interesting case in Petaluma, California (about 90 minutes north of San Francisco), an inventive non-profit called Petaluma Bounty started an urban organic farm and a series of community gardens to produce food for low-income people. Now it is gleaning fruit from trees growing in people's backyards -- 20 tons of it that would have rotted on the ground -- and distributed it to food pantries. This work connects locally produced organic food with a larger social mission in tough economic times.
So sure, in a tough economy, consumers will scale down and look for ways to save money. They might cut out superfluous purchases, like the $4 afternoon latte, $5 chocolate bar, or grass-fed T-bone steak. They might spend more at big box discounters. More recent dabblers in organic and sustainable foods -- who don't really get the compelling reasons for buying this food -- may decide it's an unafforable luxury.
But the worst mistake retailers and sustainable foods companies can make right now is too lose their sense of their mission and alienate the core customers who do get the argument, who do find real value in this food and who are economizing in other areas of the household budget in order to buy it.
These core shoppers, many of who are young, well educated, but on tight budgets, are looking for ways to save money too. Who doesn't like a sale for organic or grass-fed ground beef or a 79 cent can of organic black beans? But they are not going to economize at the expense of deeply held values. The case for sustainable food is simply too strong. They might look for more affordable options, but they are not jettisoning their deeply held values.
Neither will the smarter companies in this business as they batten down the hatches and ride out the storm. They will stand out from the perhaps less-committed companies who got in, like so many companies nowadays, for a touch of the green aura. Those wannabes will be the first to exit, concerned about a shrinking consumer base and fears about fading fads. Let them go. They never understood what this was all about in the first place, which is about changing the food we eat and the way it's produced.
Those values -- and the trends driving them -- will be around long after this shake out is over. | <urn:uuid:ed2ea35c-095a-452e-9796-a4b027f8a8bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14079.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965881 | 1,580 | 1.570313 | 2 |
A new false advertising action filed by jewelry retailer Sterling Jewelers Inc. in the Northern District of Ohio (Sterling Jewelers Inc. v. Zale Corp.) presents a unique question about the line between puffery and misleading advertising claims, specifically claims based on product testing. The defendant in the case, Zale Corporation (Zales), also a jewelry retailer, recently began promoting its line of “Celebration Fire” diamonds as “The Most Brilliant Diamond in the World.” Some of its advertisements explain that the claim is “based on independent laboratory testing conducted in 2012 of round-cut diamonds from select leading national jewelry store chains.”
Sterling challenges the truth of Zales’s claims, arguing in part that because the laboratory tests were limited to “diamonds from select leading national jewelry store chains,” Zales necessarily did not test all of the diamonds “in the world.” According to Sterling, “Zales’s claim that it has proven its Fire diamonds to be more brilliant than any other cut of diamond in the world can be true only if its Fire diamonds have been tested against every other cut of diamond in the world.”
Sterling also asserts that because the brilliance of a diamond is a recognized property within the jewelry industry and is capable of being objectively measured, Zales’s claims are not mere puffery—i.e., an exaggerated, subjective opinion about a good or service. Typically, the vaguer a statement is with respect to a product’s specific characteristics, the more likely the statement is to be puffery. For example, courts routinely find that a general claim to be the “best…in the world” constitutes puffery. Statements amounting to puffery are not actionable under false advertising law because consumers recognize them as such, and are therefore not deceived or misled by them.
Certainly, the fact that Zales singled out a specific product characteristic—the brilliance of its diamonds—distinguishes its advertising claims from most common types of puffery. Zales’s own reference to its laboratory testing also indicates that it intended to go beyond a subjective opinion in describing its diamonds as the most brilliant in the world. Yet, the phrase “in the world” is one that often appears in statements of puffery and some courts have, in fact, explained that the phrase is precisely the sort of exaggerated generalization that consumers do not interpret literally. As a result, Zales’s advertising claims are not easily categorized.
While the court has yet to weigh in on the issue, the case raises a number of questions about how false advertising law should apply to advertising claims that may contain both puffery and non-puffery. If the court or jury were to treat the entirety of Zales’s advertising claims as non-puffery, for example, Zales’s failure to test its diamonds against all other diamonds in the world could be fatal. But are consumers really deceived on this point? Do they truly expect Zales to have tested every other diamond in the world? Is that even possible? At the same time, it makes little sense to treat the entirety of Zales’s advertising claims as mere puffery.
Instead, Zales’s claims would seem to require a nuanced approach, one that distinguishes between puffery and non-puffery. Even this approach presents challenges, however. For example, if Zales need not have tested every diamond in the world in order to support its claims, how many did it need to test, and which ones? In the end, the issues of consumer deception and puffery both present questions of fact, and there will likely be no bright line to draw.
Regardless of the outcome, this case is a helpful reminder of the need to balance effective, consumer-friendly marketing jargon with careful phrasing that lowers the risk of a false advertising suit. Advertisers should be aware of the inherent tension present in an advertising claim that both relies upon product testing and uses puffery. More specifically, they should be aware of what terms and phrases in their advertising could be problematic if interpreted literally. | <urn:uuid:38feb3f2-2753-4b47-9b18-a05bf9825681> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidecounsel.com/2012/12/20/litigation-product-testing-and-puffery-collide-in | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954065 | 859 | 1.710938 | 2 |
US firms are competing with Russian and European rivals for a multi-billion dollar deal to sell India fighter jets.
Mr Gates has said he wants to "expand" India's
"significantly improved relationship" with the US. India has largely
relied on Russian arms imports.
India meanwhile says it successfully tested a new type of ballistic missile.
The nuclear-capable missile was launched from an
underwater platform off the south-eastern coast of India, a defence
ministry official told the AFP news agency.
The new missile is expected to serve a nuclear submarine being built by India.
Mr Gates is expected to spend his two-day visit lobbying
for US firms that hope to win a contract to supply India with 126 new
US-based Lockheed and Boeing are competing for the deal, valued at between $10bn-$12bn.
Other firms fighting for the contract include Russia's
Mig, France's Dassault, Sweden's Saab and the Eurofighter consortium of
British, German, Italian and Spanish companies.
The deadline for the bids expires next week.
A US official told Reuters news agency Mr Gates would
aim to show that Americans offered not only the best product but the
best maintenance package too.
US firms "operate with integrity", the official said,
"which is different than what India has seen with other partners in the
Speaking before his visit, Mr Gates said the improved
relationship between India and US had been one of the most significant
changes since he was last in government 15 years ago.
"I want to see what we can do to not only strengthen that [relationship] but perhaps expand it in other ways," he said.
Defence co-operation between India and the US has
increased dramatically since the end of the Cold War, with both
countries seemingly driven by a desire to check China's growing
India earlier this month agreed a $1bn deal to buy military transport aircraft from US firm Lockheed Martin.
However, a key deal that would see the US supply India
with nuclear technology for civilian uses has yet to be approved by
The deal, which would end a three-decade US ban on
nuclear exports to India, is opposed by the Indian government's
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LinuxPlanet: Massachusetts' Bold Steps To Open Source
Sep 30, 2003, 17:00 (2 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Rob Reilly)
"Late last week, it was announced that the Massachusetts
Department of Administration and Finance has taken the bold step of
pursuing Open Standards and Open Source Software for that
Commonwealth, whenever and wherever possible. Eric Kriss, the
department's Secretary, has charged the government office to begin
looking for alternatives to many of the legacy systems that the
agency currently uses.
"Such a step is certainly within the purview of Secretary Kriss,
but how did such a bold move come to pass?
"Kriss cited the obvious technical reasons for pursuing Open
Source options, such as robust environments, stability, high
quality testing and interchangeable software. Of course, there were
other benefits and challenges, too..." | <urn:uuid:9a3d56a5-5bf6-42a6-b42b-40a5ecabb365> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxtoday.com/it_management/2003093001726NWSWPB | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932925 | 187 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Shaykh Kamal El Mekki is a young dynamic speaker and lecturer in the United States who dedicates his time and efforts into educating the people through...
Shaykh Kamal El Mekki is a young dynamic speaker and lecturer in the United States who dedicates his time and efforts into educating the people through his various talks. He teaches a number of intensive courses designed for the youth and also specializes in the field of Islamic History. The most famous of his talks is his vibrant Dawah workshop called "How to Give Shahadah in 10 minutes," which has led hundreds to Islam.
Previously, he has served as the Imam of George Mason University and has also served as a radio talk show host for a large Islamic radio station in America. He has been teaching Islamic studies in more than five mosques across the Washington DC metropolitan area for over four years. He also teaches various courses designed especially for the youth growing up in the West.
Currently he is the imam at Islamic Information Society of Calgary where he dedicates his time in coordinating programs for the youth and creating a supportive environment for non Muslims. | <urn:uuid:cb968ec8-38a1-4b63-828d-6eb7b58d0820> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.islamictube.com/watch/d1b0e2111b045201aebc/Imam-Ahmad-ibn-Hanbal-3-Sh--Kamal-el-Mekki | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986917 | 224 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Loyola Names Dean of College of Arts and Sciences
Loyola press release - April 8, 1998
(New Orleans)—The Rev. Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., university president, announced today that Frank E. Scully, Jr., Ph.D., has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University New Orleans. Scully will assume his responsibilities on August 1, 1998.
As dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Scully will oversee Loyola’s largest college which is comprised of 2,000 students and 150 faculty members.
For the last 14 years, Scully, 51, has held several administrative posts at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. Most recently, he was interim dean of the College of Sciences. Prior to that appointment, he served as chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department from 1990-96 and was director of the bachelor of science program in biochemistry from 1986-90. He joined Old Dominion University in 1975 as assistant professor of chemistry. In 1980, he was named associate professor and in 1986 he was named professor.
As interim dean and department chair, Scully has considerable experience with planning and budgeting; recruitment and retention of faculty and students; curriculum and program development; fund raising; and alumni relations.
Recently, Scully was awarded the 1998 Excellence in Teaching Award by the Old Dominion University chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. The award is designed to allow student members to recognize faculty members for their excellence in teaching.
Prior to joining Old Dominion, Scully was an instructor of organic chemistry at Yale University. While at Yale, he also held a postdoctoral research fellowship that supported his research on some of the sunlight-induced oxidation reactions, which can lead to skin cancer.
In making the announcement, Knoth said, “I look forward to working with Dr. Scully and to his contributions to the continuing success of the College of Arts and Sciences. Given his extensive experience and proven record, I am confident that he will provide the leadership and creative energy essential to the future direction of the College of Arts and Sciences.”
Upon accepting his appointment at Loyola, Scully said, “I am honored to have been selected and I am excited about the opportunities I will have to work with the creative faculty and outstanding students that have given Loyola University the reputation it enjoys. As a graduate of a liberal arts college, I am an advocate of a strong liberal arts education. I believe it is this type of education that best prepares students to handle graduate school or the vicissitudes of the job market.”
Throughout his illustrious 25-year academic career, Scully has published more than 50 papers in refereed journals and has made numerous presentations at professional meetings and conferences. His research and teaching interests lie in the environmental chemistry of water disinfectants. As an international and national expert in this area, he has served on several prestigious advisory committees including the National Academy of Science’s Subcommittee on Disinfectants and Disinfectant By-products and the National Research Council’s Advisory Committee on Reclaimed Water for Space Station. He also has served as a consultant to the Canadian government on the analysis and toxicology of chloramines.
In addition, he has been active in several professional organizations. He is a member of the Standard Methods Committee of the American Water Works Association and several project advisory committees for that organization. He also is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Water Environment Federation.
Scully earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from Spring Hill College in 1968 and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Purdue University in 1973. | <urn:uuid:829eb2ce-43c1-47a8-9fe0-8d0da1c75148> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.loyno.edu/news/story/1998/4/8/351/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974258 | 747 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Survey gives picture of what Geauga residents like, hate about county
Geauga County voters are happy with the small town atmosphere, amenities, and quiet living in their communities, but are not crazy about uncontrolled growth, high property taxes, and snow, according to survey results released this week by the Geauga Planning Commission.
Planning Director Dave Dietrich showed commissioners the 17-page report “Geauga County General Plan Survey 2010,” prepared by the planning commission and tabulated by Jay Lee of Operations Research, Inc., Kent State University.
“The planning commission decided to do a survey in the spring of this year, doing a random sampling of registered voters in each precinct,” Dietrich told commissioners.
“It’s a good idea to periodically check the pulse of the voters,” he said, adding that he will present the study to townships, solicit their feedback, and use the study as a discussion tool that will help communities make decisions in the planning process.
The planning commission sent out 600 random surveys and received 315 back, which is a 52.5 percent return, usually considered a good sampling. The largest percentage came from the western townships, while the smallest number of responders came from Chardon City and the county’s five villages.
The largest age groups were 46-55, and 66 and over.
Thirty-one percent of respondents said they have lived in the county for 11-15 years while 40 percent said they owned two to four acres of land.
According to the survey, most indicated they especially like the small town atmosphere and open space of their communities. Some listed proximity to shopping and city amenities, while others listed quiet living, friendly neighbors, good parks, large lots, and low traffic congestion.
Under “dislikes,” fast, uncontrolled growth topped the list, followed closely by high property taxes and snowy winters.
A large majority agreed that protection of the environment in the county is important, and approved of the county’s ongoing monitoring of the well water supply and quality. Most agreed that residents should be required to pump out their septic systems regularly, and 91 percent agreed that conservation easements should be encouraged to protect wetlands. Continued...
Residents strongly opposed more commercial development in the county, but were split on whether the county should try to attract light industrial development. However, when asked to list one private sector employment opportunities that should be pursued, most mentioned “light manufacturing” as the most important.
“It all goes back to how important it is to create jobs in Geauga County,” Commissioner Tracy Jemison said.
Probably the biggest surprise to commissioners was that 80 percent of respondents were in favor of central sanitary sewers to serve industrial areas. Dietrich said he believes that people still want their homes to have septic systems, and said he believed the response supported the county’s “208” sewer plan for industrial areas.
“I kind of see a common thread throughout,” Dietrich said. “People are looking for a balance. And in the framework of a report card, you’d get maybe an A minus.”
Location, ST | website.com
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News-Herald writers, editors and photographers share the inside stories of today's headlines and what goes on behind the scenes.
As Northeast Ohio gears up for a local election, get the latest on what's happening behind the scenes.
Staff Writer Jeff Schudel brings 25 years of experience covering the Browns to his regular offerings on team performance and player moves.
Sportswriters from The News-Herald go behind the scenes of the area's high school and professional sports. | <urn:uuid:08d323f7-7310-4287-beed-008e5efca11f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/09/16/news/doc4c9230077f739216352861.txt?viewmode=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946311 | 1,022 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Windsurfing is a great sport for your body and mind, as you step on the water you leave your worries behind, tone muscles you didn’t know you had and give your heart a fantastic work out. There is even more we can do on land to insure we are windsurf fit and to aid our bodies recovery after a sail. Having the right attitude, food in your stomach, and working out will all help you progress and enjoy your windsurfing as well feeling the benefits in other areas of your life. A host of female windsurfing health professionals, from physiotherapists and sports psychologists, to personal trainers and yoga instructors, share their knowledge and expertise with FLOW.
Health and Fitness contains windsurf and female specific fitness advice - core stability, strength training, myth busting, outside workouts, injury prevention, mental preparation, yoga and stretching plans and much more.
Windsurfer's Workout with Nes
Annabel Anderson, Starboard Team Rider and one of the fastest female Stand-Up Paddler in the world, rev
All too often I chat to windsurfers on the beach who actually consider their windsurfing time 'fitness training' and when I ask them what
Like with most sports, windsurfing has its own individual kind of fitness, you’ll get better at it if you windsurf! However, it can
The breeze is picking up, no time to chat with anyone. It is now time to be on the water living the lifestyle we’ve chosen while do
Ankle injuries are common in windsurfing, particularly when you enter the twisting spinning world of freestyle trickery.
From beginner to pro we’ve all experienced the painful cramps in the forearms after a good days windsurfing, but what causes it and how can we prevent it cuttin
Yoga is one of the best things you can do to make sure you are fit and ready for windsurfing. Not only does yoga have incredible physical benefits, but it | <urn:uuid:7abfb6ae-39d4-4711-bf51-e866a73a0c8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flowindsurfing.com/taxonomy/term/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94948 | 421 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Michigan Senate has voted to restrict and regulate abortion practices, which requires private medical offices to be licensed to perform the procedures.
The legislation, passed Wednesday, also requires health care professionals to screen patients to make sure they are not being forced into an abortion. It also requires “all fetal remains resulting from abortions to be disposed of by means lawful for other dead bodies, including burial, cremation or interment.”
The Michigan House will review the legislation, making any changes before it goes to Gov. Rick Snyder.
Students at Oakland University had mixed feelings about the legislation.
Meilani Wilder of Detroit thinks it is “ridiculous” that the Michigan government is trying to pass this because many of the male lawmakers are not seeing the woman’s side of the story.
“There’s so much restricting women, and as a young woman myself, it’s just we want to be able to have options and we want to be able to feel safe in the United States of America and I feel that the men being in charge don’t understand it from our point of view,” Wilder said.
Some were for the bill because of their views on abortion.
“I think it should be more difficult to get abortions. I think they should be licensed because I do not agree with abortions, I’m against it,” said Deanna Ames of Woodhaven.
Myshia Liles of Saginaw had mixed feelings on the issue.
“I think the clinics should be licensed, I don’t want to make it harder for people to get abortions, but the clinics should have a license,” Liles said. Continued...
She said she hopes that the legislation reverses itself.
Jeff Henderson of Macomb worried the legislation might pose risk to women’s health.
“I find that this bill right here, though it may aim to restrict or kind of move against getting an abortion, they kind of have underlying problems that we cannot see right now,” Henderson said. “I know that individuals that may not be able to bare children later on, that the morning after or other pills don’t work previous to this, it could create complications to ... women’s health.”
Contact Megan Semeraz at 248-745-4628 or email [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @MeganSemeraz.
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Stephen Frye has covered the police beat and courts for The Oakland Press and now serves as online editor for www.theoaklandpress.com.
Informs on and discusses current matters of legal interest to readers of The Oakland Press and to consumers of legal services in the community.
Caren Gittleman likes talking cats. She'll discuss everything about them. Share your stories and ask her questions about your favorite feline.
Roger Beukema shares news from Lansing that impacts sportsmen (this means ladies as well) and talks about things he finds when he goes overseas to visit his children, and adding your comments into the mix.
Join Jonathan Schechter as he shares thoughts on our natural world in Oakland County and beyond. | <urn:uuid:3d15733a-e38d-4dc5-a1c1-9724cffabbce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/12/13/news/local_news/doc50ca6d483a736760603624.txt?viewmode=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946793 | 990 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Nearly 3,000 miles later, the 32-year old Floridian stopped in Vacaville on Monday to talk about walking across America to aid Haitian and Ugandan orphans and the strong faith guiding each step.
"It's just beautiful," explains the Cornell University Ph.D. candidate of his journey, which ends Saturday in San Francisco. "I've met so many great people."
The Plant City, Fla., native is a Christian who believes it's his life's work to give back to the community. A friend's trip to Haiti showed him how.
As Keene tells it, his friend, a youth pastor, joined the Global Orphan Project and spent 20 months in Haiti. There, he helped orphans and community members by helping to start a sewing center. Keene later joined the cause.
Youths, he said, need uniforms to attend school. But some are so poor that the cost is beyond them, which is where fundraising comes in. Donations of $20 are requested. Of that, $10 goes to making the uniform and the other half goes toward orphan care. Parents and community members sew the uniforms, for which they are paid a living wage, and the children get the uniforms -- and care -- they so desperately need.
"They're so wonderful. They're so incredibly inspiring. They're fighting through challenges I can't even imagine," he said. "It's our opportunity to be able to serve them."
Especially, he pointed out, 10-year-old Ellison.
As a baby, the boy
"They knew he couldn't get out," Keene said. "They left him to die."
But his cries caught the ear of Pastor Claude, who rescued him and took him home.
That, in a nutshell, mirrors his own story. As a Christian, Keene said, he lives an imperfect, flawed life because he is an imperfect, flawed soul. But God embraced him, adopted him as a son.
"He's an inspiration to me," said Keene of the boy.
Wanting to make more of a difference, Keene embarked on the walk from Miami to California on Jan. 28. It was a chance not only to raise funding and awareness for the kids, but to do some soul-searching and work on his dissertation, as well. Walking anywhere from 17 to 20 miles per day, sometimes with friends along, Keene has reached out to others in every city. They reached back, offering him shelter.
The group didfit.com also got on board, paying for all of his expenses.
Thus far, nearly $2,300 has been raised for uniforms and Keene has clarified some goals.
After graduating with his Ph.D. in May, he plans to find a job that will help people grow and develop as leaders. He will return to Haiti in January to do a half marathon. And at some point, he wants to get married and adopt a child.
In the short term, Keene will cross into San Francisco on Saturday and serve a meal to the needy in the Tenderloin. He'll meet up with his parents and friends, who are flying in to celebrate the completion of his journey, then he'll go visit his girlfriend, a teacher in East Harlem.
He will also take time to contemplate on his experience.
"There will never be a time in my life again to think and reflect deeply, I think," he said.
For more information on Keene or to donate to his cause, go online to gowalkamerica.org.
Follow Staff Writer Kimberly K. Fu at Twitter.com/ReporterKimFu. | <urn:uuid:72eae117-ff1d-4415-92a6-9a02112ec15e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thereporter.com/ci_21985747/florida-man-walking-across-u-s-raise-awareness?source=most_viewed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986356 | 751 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Scholarship opportunities for high school seniors
Are you searching for scholarships focused on helping Hispanic students? Are you a high school senior and looking for ways to help pay for college? Or, is your son or daughter considering college, and you are looking for financial aid opportunities? Here are a few scholarships for future college students who are Hispanic.
Read this article to get some information on several of the major ones available and links to website for all the details.
Author’s note: Please note this is not a complete list. There are many other scholarship opportunities available to both Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. Ask your school guidance counselor for advice on finding scholarships. Never pay a fee to learn about scholarship opportunities.
If you are trying to choose a career path to follow please read, “How to Decide on a College Major: Tips for Choosing a Career Path.” Also, you might browse “High Demand Jobs that Pay Well Over $50,000 a Year” and “Jobs that Pay $50,000 to over $100,000 a Year.” Also, check out “Jobs that Pay Over a $100,000 a Year” and “Jobs that Pay Well Over a Million Dollars a Year.”
the original article from Yahoo! Voices, written by Rachel Carpenter | <urn:uuid:21ad2c90-6f20-4919-9af1-e9821769cf90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.highschoogle.com/7-scholarships-for-hispanic-latino-students/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94175 | 275 | 1.671875 | 2 |
From the Bench to the Field
Viren Javadekar, an engineering manager for a large electrical product manufacturer, used to use at least two and sometimes three instruments to test his company's active harmonic filters, which improve power quality in electrical distribution systems. Now he uses only one — a TPS2000 series digital storage oscilloscope from Beaverton, Ore.-based Tektronix. Part of the beta testing group on this product launch, Javadekar had been looking for a tool that could show low and high voltages simultaneously. “The product we manufacture has analog, digital, and power electronic components, which require sort of a unique measurement tool where we can see analog signals, digital signals that typically have fast-changing edges, and high-voltage power signals that are usually 400V and higher,” he says. “This instrument makes it much easier because it gets rid of the other instruments we have to use, and it puts everything on one screen at one time.”
According to Mark Lindsey, product marketing manager for Tektronix, this new line was developed based on feedback from customers who asked for battery power on the company's most popular oscilloscope. All units deliver up to eight hours of continuous battery operation using two hot-swappable batteries. In addition, the OpenChoice software and integrated CompactFlash mass storage options allow easy data transfer and documentation.
In addressing customers' requests for increased portability, there were two ways to go, explains Lindsey. To ensure operator safety, the company could have put an external ground strap on the oscilloscope, which would mean dealing with voltage limitations, or isolate the input channels so they'd be electrically isolated from ground. They chose the latter, implementing a patent-pending technology that allows users to make multi-channel floating and differential measurements with up to four fully isolated and floating channels and isolated external trigger input.
Javadekar says the scope will boost his team's productivity in the design and testing phases of the manufacturing process. “We used to have these heavy, bulky oscilloscopes in the lab,” he says. “Having this instrument helps us because we can use it in the lab and in the field,” he says.
Floating measurements up to 30V rms can be made using the standard P2220 probe. However, when equipped with the TPS2PBND power bundle option (including the P5120 passive high-voltage probe), the TPS2000 models are capable of measuring up to 1,000V rms CAT II from the probe tip to earth ground. With theses probes users can take measurements on all channels simultaneously on voltages floating up to 600V rms CAT II (300V rms CAT III).
Putting four floating signals on a screen is something engineers haven't been able to do very well until now, explains Lindsey. “The big thing is simply productivity,” he says. “This product allows you to take more measurements with less effort in less time.”
Visit www.tektronix.com for more information and to see a product demo. | <urn:uuid:d1f27a49-165e-4ae2-b112-e265281fca6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ecmweb.com/content/product-month-17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940261 | 642 | 1.71875 | 2 |
All Green on the Western Front: San Diego Algae Pioneers Provide Glimpse of the Future of Biofuels
[Corrected 9/03/09, 7:20 am. See below.]
It felt almost anti-climactic when retired Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn arrived in San Diego last week to meet with some of San Diego’s leading algae biofuels scientists and tour a local biofuel research facility.
McGinn, a former commander of the Navy’s Third Fleet in San Diego, is a member of a blue-ribbon panel warning that continued U.S. reliance on fossil fuels (as well as the nation’s strained electric grid) pose significant threats to U.S. security. As a result, the retired admiral represents an unanticipated ally in efforts by San Diego’s emerging cleantech community to rapidly advance algae-to-biofuels technologies. The blue-ribbon panel, actually the military advisory board of CNA, a non-profit research group near Washington D.C., is urging the Pentagon to bolster its national-defense strategy by boosting energy conservation and by embracing alternative energy technologies as a way to end U.S. reliance on unfriendly foreign sources of crude oil.
McGinn’s support was welcomed, of course. But San Diego’s biofuels industry has gained so much momentum in such a short time, it’s not like McGinn was bringing badly needed reinforcements to a desperate struggle for survival.
Lisa Bicker, who heads the non-profit industry group Cleantech San Diego, marks the dawn of San Diego’s “green crude” revolution in mid-2008, when local scientists and industry officials first met to discuss their various efforts in algae biofuels research. The implications were obvious at the time, because U.S. gasoline prices were skyrocketing beyond $4 a gallon nationwide. Since then, news concerning San Diego’s advances in algae biofuels technology has been flying fast and furious.
One of the more significant developments occurred last September, when it was disclosed that San Diego’s Sapphire Energy had raised $100 million in venture capital to develop algae biofuels—and the investors included Bill Gates. Then there was a flurry of news in April surrounding the formation of SD-CAB, the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, and the formulation of a $10 million Algae Fuel Prize competition organized by Del Mar, CA-based Prize Capital. All that, however, seemed to be eclipsed in July, when Exxon Mobile said it was investing $600 million to develop algae biofuels through a partnership with San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics, and the intense J. Craig Venter.
Even since July, much has happened. So what McGinn had to say to Bicker and local scientists wasn’t nearly as interesting to me as the update he got from the front lines of algae biofuels development in San Diego.
McGinn met with Bicker, Stephen Mayfield, an expert in algae genetics at The Scripps Research Institute (and who broke the news that he is moving to UC San Diego San Diego in November), Greg Mitchell, a marine biologist at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Robert Knox, the oceanographic institute’s deputy director for research. Here are some of the insights I gleaned from their briefing:
—Mayfield told McGinn that federal funding to support algae biofuels research and development is still urgently needed, despite highly publicized infusions of venture capital in Synthetic Genomics and Sapphire Energy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based in Golden, CO, “killed their algal program in ’96, and they just started it up again,” Mayfield says. (At SD-CAB, the research consortium formed earlier this year, a lot is riding on an application being prepared for a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.)
—Much of the federal government’s existing funding for algae-based biofuels research is coming from the U.S. Air Force, which is the largest energy consumer (aviation fuel) in the Department of Defense. As Mayfield puts it, “The Department of Defense is one of the natural customers on this.”
—The number of companies developing algae-based biofuels in the region has more than doubled from the nine startups I counted last December in a roundup of San Diego’s algae mini-cluster. After checking Cleantech San Diego’s database, Bicker says the number of algae companies is “in the mid-20s.” Many biofuel startups remain in stealth mode.
[An earlier version of the paragraph below mistakenly attributed a comment made by Greg Mitchell to Stephen Mayfield. The scientists also said they were talking about SD-CAB, and not Synthetic Genomics. We regret the error.]
—SD-CAB was negotiating with Exxon Mobil for funding before the oil giant announced its deal in July with Synthetic Genomics, according to the scientists. As Mitchell puts it, “Eight months of negotiating, and we got left at the altar.”
—Synthetic Genomics plans to build a San Diego facility to test various methods of growing algae, including whether it makes more sense to grow algae in open ponds or in large closed-system tanks known as bioreactors. Renowned genome pioneer J. Craig Venter, who is Synthetic Genomics founding chairman and CEO, seemed to indicate his preference for bioreactors when he belittled the agricultural approach to algae-based fuel production at an Innovation Summit in San Diego in April. In contrast, Mayfield says, “I don’t see any way to do it except in open ponds.”
—Even though algae biofuels technology is making rapid advances in the laboratory, the industry must overcome significant technical hurdles in developing industrial-size plants capable of producing biofuels at prices that are competitive with petroleum-based products. Using current technologies, Mayfield and Mitchell estimate that algae can produce more than 3,000 gallons of green crude oil per acre each year. They hope to dramatically increase the yield. One of the biggest challenges, though, is finding ways to increase the concentration of algae, which typically accounts for only 0.1 percent of the volume in each gallon of water. Another technical challenge is finding ways to efficiently strain the algae. As Mitchell put it, “It’s expensive to get all that water out.”
As McGinn absorbed the information, he said, “From a national security perspective, this is exactly the sort of thing we need to do in the United States. Business as usual is no longer going to work. We need to transform to a new energy profile.” | <urn:uuid:f08f0954-4cb3-455d-92db-031ca534d9a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/08/27/all-green-on-the-western-front-san-diego-algae-pioneers-provide-glimpse-of-the-future-of-biofuels/?single_page=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955687 | 1,436 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Last week I was cleaning out my closet and found sweaters and handbags that I hadn't worn in a decade or two (but who's counting). I decided to resurrect a few of my favorites -- and the young women I work with were full of compliments about my "new" clothes. It made me think about where we are now and where we were then in the women's struggle for equality.
When I was in bellbottoms and platform shoes, it seemed that we were moving past this place of politicizing women's health -- battles were being fought, but we were going to win this war. The recent standoffs surrounding breast cancer screenings and birth control reveal that the momentum we felt in the 70s has slowed down. But as I am seeing familiar clothes and shoes in fashion magazines today, I wonder, are we headed for another upswing?
Nearly 40 years ago the future for women seemed bright -- after tremendous struggle, we saw a wave of landmark victories:
• The Equal Rights Amendment, which was introduced for the first time in 1923 by Alice Paul finally passed both houses of Congress in 1972.* It attempts to modify the U.S. Constitution to include this basic affirmation: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
• Title IX (1972) ended discrimination in federally funded education activities and has led to significantly increased participation by women in high school and college sports.
• Roe v. Wade (1973) affirmed women's Constitutional right to privacy that allowed women to control their own bodies.
• The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974) made credit discrimination illegal, so women may now apply for credit and buy cars and houses without needing her father or husband to cosign.
Today, personhood amendments and mandatory ultrasounds continue to chip away at women's access to health care. In fact, these attacks inspire some more equal-minded leaders to propose satirical legislation. Oklahoma State Senator Constance Johnson's "every sperm is sacred" measure is a sharp rebuttal to assertions that the government should mandate that life begins at conception. Virginia State Senator Janet Howell's narrowly-defeated amendment would have required rectal exams before doctors can prescribe Viagra was in response to her fellow lawmakers who are intent to require women to undergo unnecessary procedures before granting an abortion.
While these amendments are clever and even funny - most important, they are making a point. It is simply ludicrous that legislators (in Oklahoma, the state legislature is 87% men; in Virginia, 81% men) are continuing to spend their time restricting access to women's health instead of creating jobs and bolstering the economy.
Have we finally reached the tipping point? Have we been pushed too far when breast cancer is battling birth control?
Fortunately, new efforts are springing up across the country to swing the pendulum the other way. By the end of this summer women should be guaranteed access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services and the Pentagon now formally allows some women in combat. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has recently launched Off the Sidelines to get more women to make their voices heard about the issues they care about. Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom's MissRepresentation is a powerful documentary film and a call-to-action campaign that seeks to empower women and girls to challenge limiting labels in order to realize their potential, and to encourage men and boys to stand up to sexism and the 2012 Project is a national non-partisan campaign to increase the number of women in Congress and state legislatures by taking advantage of the once-in-a-decade increase in open seats due to redistricting and reapportionment in 2012.
Whether you're in bellbottoms or skinny jeans, one thing is clear -- We can all start taking action today and help rebuild the momentum towards equality. It's common sense and it's time.
(* ERA expired in 1982 since it had failed to be ratified by enough States).
Follow Barbara Lee on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BarbaraLeeSays | <urn:uuid:9afc171c-bbfa-43e2-b476-4ae1bcea582d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-lee/bellbottoms-and-skinny-je_b_1277112.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96943 | 831 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the Vail Homeowners Association monthly report. We publish weekly excerpts from the association, which keeps a close eye on economic and political trends in and outside of the town. The newsletter electronic version with links to supporting documents is available at www.vailhomeowners.com.
Vail reached a tipping point and has now become a premier year-round international destination resort community which is steadily maturing beyond being a small town.
This is a categorical shift that is firmly resting upon the legacy of strength set down during the founding decades.
The next 50 years will be a dynamic time for the community. The challenges to sustain and guide a qualitative tourism economy cannot be accomplished by the town of Vail or Vail Resorts alone.
Success will require new forms of inclusive collaboration and communications that embrace the spirit of internationalism in shaping the future for the entire community.
We look forward to being an important part of that collaboration.
Dr. Gail Ellis President,
Vail Homeowners Association
Vail in the next 50 years: One of the biggest challenges for Vail in the next 50 years is to encourage the participation in the affairs of the community by a much higher percentage of non-resident property owners.
Within the next 20 years, the composition of today's local population will shift toward a higher percentage of non-resident owners.
If Vail is to attain and maintain global leadership as a mountain resort community, it will need to make its government and corporate processes inclusive for non-resident property owners both nationally and globally.
The town of Vail has taken its first steps in that direction by making Town Council meetings available through the posting of its upcoming agendas and associated meeting documents on-line, video live streaming and archiving of its public meetings on the Internet.
More of the town's boards and commissions need to do likewise, particularly the Planning and Environmental Commission and Design Review Board as these are two entities that directly affect the property owners' interests.
Whether climate warming or normal cyclical weather patterns, the effect of repetitive December droughts upon the community's small-businesses could have a lasting impact.
The combination of drought and the prolonged affects of the great recession are causing some local business interests to be more inclined to turn to local government for financial subsidies, which occur in a variety of forms.
Some of these subsidies are adversarial, including preferential zoning decisions, pitting the commercial and residential beneficiaries of the past 50 years of economic success against each other.
Adversarial subsidies may bring short-term gains for some local businesses. But in the long term, such subsidies undermine the community's sustainability.
Adversarial subsidies that cause residential properties to be devalued for the gain of some commercial interests are not productive.
They will have the effect of deterring investment in residential properties which is one of the primary sources of capital that has sustained the local economy since its inception.
It is the view of affected residential property owners that several development proposals are seeking financial gain to the benefit of commercial interests at their expense.
An example is a residential-commercial conflict which arose when the town of Vail allowed a cadaver surgery lab in a mixed commercial and residential building in Vail Village.
The atypical use and the manner in which the town applied its review processes offended the sensibilities of the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
This and similar actions heightened awareness that the balance of power in Town Hall appeared to have shifted toward commercial interests and farther away from protecting residential quality of life and values.
Vail Homeowners Association helped organize neighborhoods: Many property owners in neighborhoods affected by these development projects recognized that their only defense was to mount an organized offense.
The homeowners association took steps to assist property owners to organize, providing them resources with which to assess the proposals, identify concerns and communicate them to town authorities and the community at large.
This collaborative approach has already resulted in a positive outcome for property owners in many instances.
The association is still at work on behalf of others. | <urn:uuid:37331eca-eb9b-4fa7-b737-bbeaf225b13c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20121229/EDITS/121229839 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953127 | 825 | 1.546875 | 2 |
This state-of-the-art port is a striking contrast to the wonders of antiquity you will find in Cairo. The city unfolds in layers, beginning with the Great Pyramids of Giza, resting mysterious and silent on the sands of time, and the wealth of antiquities in the Egyptian Museum, where many stories are told. The medieval Islamic city is full of monuments: mosques, elegant old houses, and the Citadel of Saladin, famous 12th century caliph and warrior. Here too is Khan al-Khalili, the giant bazaar enjoyed by today’s shoppers as it was by the 14th century traveling traders who first haggled here. Woven throughout are the modern city, and the lives of its 17 million inhabitants.
Athens has quite a reputation to live up to. Named for Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, the city is credited with being the cradle of European civilization and birthplace of democracy. Ruins and relics of its glory days are scattered throughout the modern city, popping up where you least expect them. Its crowning glory is the Acropolis, perched atop a hillside, and covered in carved and columned temples of varying degrees of antiquity. Not quite so old is the Plaka, an appealing neighborhood for a stroll down cobblestone streets, past old mansions and a plethora of outdoor tavernas ideal for watching the world go by, while munching tasty Greek snacks. | <urn:uuid:13e0028a-02e0-4002-a7b0-e4b2bf28e450> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/pre-post-cruise-hotels/mediterranean-black-sea/suez-sokhna-egypt-athens-piraeus-greece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94936 | 289 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Greek culture has sparked many Black Swan-Huckleberry Finns throughout human history. These are the outlier anomalies that unsettle conventional wisdom. Modern science, art, technology and the many renaissances would not exist without Greece. The Flash Crash of May 6, 2010 is a great example of this. After this day, no one could help but feel that the stock market was a rigged financial casino, and that the sanctity of our institutions is dangerously fragile. The spirit of Prometheus has never been stronger. | <urn:uuid:bc96670a-94ba-4b62-885c-b92b35266846> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://godsofgreektown.com/tag/platos-republic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964382 | 105 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Russia’s Orphans at Risk Again
— Monday, December 17th, 2012 —
As I write this, I am waiting for my wife and children to return from a few days away visiting some of her relatives. In that van headed for Louisville are our first two sons, whom we met for the first time a decade ago in a Russian orphanage. Other babies, like they were, are in jeopardy again.
ABC News is reporting that the ruling United Russia Party is threatening to ban all U.S. adoptions in retaliation for President Obama signing into law sanctions for Russia’s abysmal record on human rights. In order to defend their horrifying lack of respect for human dignity, some Russian bureaucrats are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own children, languishing by the thousands in orphanages as we speak.
This would be no issue, of course, if the orphanages of Russia were empty. That’s what we should pray and hope for, everywhere.
Adoption is an important but secondary aspect of orphan care. The first priority is to keep families together, and to alleviate the conditions (poverty and substance addiction, chief among them) that create fatherlessness in the first place.
But, in the meantime, the orphans are there, in a country with very little adoption culture. If international adoption were restricted or outlawed, the stakes are too awful to contemplate.
Even with adoption possible, mass numbers of Russian orphans never make it out of the orphanage, until their eighteenth birthday when they are “aged out,” and suddenly on their own.
These children, with a background of trauma, non-existent family support systems, and no preparation for independent life typically turn to a life of drug abuse, prostitution, and suicide.
We in the Moore family have a stake in this. Two of us are Russian by birth; the rest of us are Russian by adoption. When Ben and Timothy came into our home, the rest of us were tied, inextricably, with what the Apostle Paul would call our “kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:3).
But, more than that, all of us have a stake in this. The orphans of the world, whether in Russia or India or Alabama, are among the most vulnerable imaginable. And Jesus has identified the “least of these” as his brothers and sisters (Matt. 25:40). When we care for them, we care for him.
So take a moment to pray for the orphans and widows. Remember particularly the hundreds of thousands of little ones looking out the windows of Russian orphanages today, wondering if their future is with a family or trembling alone on a sidewalk.
In a few hours, I’m going to hug my Russian-born sons, and I’m going to pray that many now where they once were will know, soon, what it’s like to have a mom and a dad and, best of all, a capital-F Father. | <urn:uuid:cd83a80f-3a3b-479e-81e0-094f037fa7a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/12/17/russias-orphans-at-risk-again/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963486 | 623 | 1.742188 | 2 |
CRS: Air Quality and Electricity: Initiatives to Increase Pollution Controls, October 25, 2002
Wikileaks release: February 2, 2009
Publisher: United States Congressional Research Service
Title: Air Quality and Electricity: Initiatives to Increase Pollution Controls
CRS report number: RS20553
Author(s): Larry B. Parker and John E. Blodgett, Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Date: October 25, 2002
- As of January 22, 2001, the EPA has declared 11 states and the District of Columbia as failing to submit revised SIPs required under the Ozone Transport Rule; the EPA has approved four section 126 petitions; and one of the NSR lawsuits has resulted in a consent decree, and two others have been settled in principle. Legislative activity focuses on developing a multi-pollutant strategy as an alternative to these piecemeal initiatives. In June 2002, the Bush Administration recommended new rulemaking be commenced on the definition of "routine maintenance." Legislative activity focuses on multi-pollutant strategies as an alternative to these piecemeal initiatives. In June 2002, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported out S. 556, a comprehensive, multi-pollutant reduction bill. | <urn:uuid:c084f3e1-aade-40a4-9dea-b728774c348e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wikileaks.org/w/index.php?title=CRS:_Air_Quality_and_Electricity:_Initiatives_to_Increase_Pollution_Controls,_October_25,_2002&oldid=52506 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933137 | 252 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Video Story is located here.
I was at Royal Oak Middle and granted an interview with Prince Fielder and Phil Coke as they talked about bullying as they grew up. For Phil Coke, it was extremely painful. My video story and interview links will be available over the weekend.
‘Strike Out Bullying’ event held at Royal Oak Middle School
ROYAL OAK — Phil Coke was just a little guy when he remembers getting a “pink belly,” but Prince Fielder was a big guy and he got bullied by the little kids.
“People tend to notice if you’re easy going — people have to pick on you,” Fielder told students at Royal Oak Middle School for the school district’s first ever “Strike Out Bullying” event on Thursday.
“It’s a tough thing to go through,” Fielder said as the crowd in the jam-packed school auditorium listened to its baseball heroes talk about when they were bullied.
“I was one of the little athletic kids,” Coke told the audience made up of students, teachers, parents and out-of-district students who won essay contests to be part of the event. “It was always words. Kids can be so cruel. It can be as bad as being punched in the face.”
Coke said the “pink belly” he received came from kids holding his arms and legs while other kids “slap your belly as hard as you can.”
“Let someone know,” Coke said. “They (bullies) like to pick on the big guy or the little guy.”
Fielder and Coke were joined on stage by Mario Impemba, the Fox Sports Detroit television broadcaster for the Tigers.
“Today these kids have their heroes telling them not to be a bystander when someone is getting bullied,” he said.
The former Sterling Heights Stevenson graduate said he was routinely bullied. “For me in high school it was mostly words,” Impemba said. “I decided to disarm them and just laugh at what they said.”
Zoe Marcus, principal at Royal Oak Middle School, said Thursday’s anti-bullying events reinforced what teachers in the Royal Oak Schools are preparing their students for.
“For the Royal Oak community, we have a huge focus on bullying in our schools,” she said. “We kick off an anti-bullying program called Olweus on Feb. 15.”
Royal Oak Middle School science teacher Debbie Taylor brought her 9-year-old son, Brennan, to the event. “There is a bullying presentation program we are going to be implementing called Olweus, which is named after a Swedish gentleman that helps kids become aware of bullying in their schools. I wanted to see today’s program and wanted to bring my son.”
The Tigers and school officials from Royal Oak, including Superintendent Lewis Lakin, were graced by the presence and presentation from U.S. Attorney General Barbara McQuade.
“I am also a mom,” McQuade told the overflow audience, then asked the crowd questions.
“Bullying is when someone is mean to you,” one young boy answered as McQuade had the crowd screaming in unison to stop bullying.
“You might be a bystander,” she said, “but if a bystander steps in then it helps.”
Robert Foley, a special agent for the FBI Detroit office, spoke briefly before the Tigers arrived to tell their stories.
“This is about taking the positive steps to create a positive environment,” Foley said. “Create a culture of support.”
The support was none more evident than with the children and students in the audience.
Hannah Hutton, 10, of Wilde Elementary School in Warren, and Isabella Johnson, 11, of Hunter Elementary School in Trenton, were both able to sit on stage with the players after they won essay contests at their schools.
“I wrote about a girl getting bullied: They told her she was pretty and they pranked her,” Hutton said. “She is truly an inspiration to me.”
Still, the inspiration on Thursday was Fielder and Coke telling their stories of being bullied and how to combat it.
“You and your friends can tell the bully to stop, but if that doesn’t work, tell an adult,” Fielder said. “If you don’t speak up, the bullying will go on.”
According to statistics, bullying can take place at school, on the playground or in your neighborhood.
Guest speakers also warned students that bullying is now taking the form of taunting and verbal abuse through electronic devices and the Internet.
Cellphones, smart phones, laptops and home computers have given kids ways to communicate that their parents could only have dreamed of. And increasingly, text messages, blogs and social websites such as Facebook are being used to embarrass, taunt, threaten or harass other students.
According to the Strike Out Bullying website, the problem has grown to the point that the nation’s Centers for Disease Control, which monitors health and social problems, released a package of materials to help students, parents and schools push back against what it calls “electronic aggression.”
As many as one in three adolescents may now be victims of electronic aggression each year, according to studies by the CDC and the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Electronic aggression is a bigger problem than what used to be called “cyber bullying” on the Internet, because it’s more than an Internet issue.
“If you see someone getting bullied, you know it’s not right,” Fielder said. “Help them out; tell someone; tell a teacher. Tell the bully what he’s doing is not nice.” | <urn:uuid:7b5eb5c0-e90c-4d31-bf04-65318d40b6fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://themastereducator.blogspot.com/2013/01/tigers-and-fbi-combine-to-stomp-out.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977462 | 1,263 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling Friday that Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional is only part of the story. The rest of the story, with maybe the biggest impact, is that the court would let the rest of the law stand without the mandate.
And allowing that to happen could bankrupt the private health insurance industry — and put on the track to full-blown socialized medicine — even faster than an intact Obamacare threatens to do.
Everyone, from the Obama administration to the 26 states, including Georgia, that brought this lawsuit, agrees that the individual mandate is the key to the law because it is the mechanism for making people buy insurance before they become sick. The administration argues this is a reason for keeping the entire law intact; the states argue this is a reason for throwing out the entire law.
Supreme Court precedent confirms that the “ultimate determination of severability will rarely turn on the presence or absence of such a clause.” … Rather, “Congress’ silence is just that — silence — and does not raise a presumption against severability.”
The court did examine two particular reforms to see if they should go out along with the mandate — noting that, without the mandate, the “guaranteed issue” and the ban on denials based on pre-existing conditions could “have significant negative effects on the business costs of insurers.” But it deferred to Congress nevertheless:
Just because the invalidation of the individual mandate may render these provisions less desirable, it does not ineluctably follow that Congress would find the two reforms so undesirable without the mandate as to prefer not enacting them at all. The fact that one provision may have an impact on another provision is not enough to warrant the inference that the provisions are inseverable. (italics original)
That may well be the right judicial decision. But it’s a policy disaster in the making.
At The Atlantic, Megan McArdle puts it this way:
Presumably, the insurance market across the United States [would end] up looking a lot like New York’s market, where during the debate over health care reform it was reported that the cost of the average family policy in the individual market was over $4,000 a month. That’s because New York has the other features of Obamacare — community rating and guaranteed issue — without the mandate. The result was that all the healthy people dropped out of the pool, leaving a few very sick people to buy insurance.
There’s a slight difference though: the government is going to subsidize individuals in the private market. If the subsidies keep pace with the cost, Obamacare’s nominal deficit reduction is going to turn into a gaping hole in the federal budget.
As she goes on to argue, Congress may not have the will to take away the other reforms piecemeal once they’ve come on line, even if they become financial drains.
All of which is why Republicans in Congress should continue pushing to repeal the entire law and replace it with market-oriented reforms, rather than counting on the courts to set things right.
(Note: See my commentary about the rest of the ruling here.)
– By Kyle Wingfield | <urn:uuid:dc72b542-b188-48e5-812b-6ca5ea7199bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2011/08/12/obamacares-threat-goes-beyond-the-individual-mandate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954178 | 665 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Media Watch: The Sharyl Attkisson approach
**Posted by Phineas
I’ve written before of the self-defeating, bloody-minded stupidity underlying my state’s recent passage of a law forcing internet retailers with in-state affiliates to collect sales tax. (The “Amazon tax,” for short.) A few days ago, Portfolio.com provided a good example of the unintended consequences of this law with the story of a young, successful entrepreneur who left for Texas because the business environment here wasn’t worth the trouble:
Unnecessary Paperwork: The state mandates that all businesses that gross over $100,000 a year set up an account where they report quarterly on the sales tax that customers pay for goods sold. Although her company sells services, which are not taxed, rather than goods, the state told Douglass she would still have to fill out the laborious paperwork four times a year.
- “When I closed the account (by going into a local office and spending nearly an hour explaining my situation), they forced it open again and sent me a nastygram explaining that I would owe fines for not filing the quarterly report,” wrote Douglass.
High Taxes Plus Business Fees: The state charges an income tax of 10 percent on all income over $47,055, which comes on top of federal income tax of 25 percent on income over $34,000. On top of that, state residents pay sales tax ranging from 8 to slightly over 9 percent.
- “I paid enough in income tax for 2010 to the state of California alone to hire another new worker for my business,” wrote Douglass.
The state also charges an annual fee of $800 for a business to be a corporation in California.
The Amazon Tax: The final straw for Douglass, though, came when Jerry Brown, the state’s governor, signed a budget that included the so-called “Amazon tax.” The argument is that if Amazon has affiliates in California it has to collect sales tax. Douglass, who sells products on Amazon as a modest side business that yields a “few thousand dollars per year,” is one of the affiliates. Amazon cut California affiliates out because of the law, and according to Douglass, both she and the state of California lost out because of Brown’s move, since she paid income tax on the money she made via Amazon.
Douglass notes that she chose Texas because because it is one of only four states (the others are Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming) that has no personal income tax, plus no corporate income tax.
In other words, not only did a state desperately in need of new jobs lose out on at least one (and how many others at other companies?), but the state didn’t just not get new revenue, it lost existing revenue, an outcome anyone with sense would have foreseen.
Times are bad enough without Sacramento aiming a shotgun at the state’s feet and pulling the trigger.
via Big Government
(Crossposted at Public Secrets) | <urn:uuid:39e39861-2d1c-4cf6-9b90-9e55e65241c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2011/08/16/why-california-is-circling-the-drain-the-amazon-tax-effect/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954515 | 636 | 1.570313 | 2 |
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has started to limit sales of ammunition to three boxes per customer per day due to limited supplies, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Sales of guns and ammunition have risen across the United States since the Dec. 14 shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
Walmart U.S. is the largest unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer and the largest U.S. gun seller. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer had said that it works to strike the right balance between serving hunters and sportsmen and ensuring that it sells firearms responsibly.
“In order to take care of as many customers as possible, starting Thursday, Jan. 24, all ammunition sales were limited to three boxes per customer, per day as supply is limited at this time,” spokeswoman Ashley Hardie told Reuters on Wednesday.
Walmart was a charter member of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s coalition against illegal guns and adopted a 10-point code established by the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership that goes beyond what the law requires.
Data released on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed that nine of the top 10 days for firearms checks from Nov. 30, 1998, to Jan. 27, 2013, including Dec. 14, 2012, occurred since Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School and then shot and killed himself. Lanza also killed his mother before the school massacre.
Walmart’s policy change was reported earlier by The City Wire, an Arkansas news outlet. | <urn:uuid:575b4827-cc58-4e3f-b6c3-885abb325544> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2013/01/30/business/walmart-sets-limits-on-u-s-ammunition-sales-after-demand-surges/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961223 | 334 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Ever feel like you're not sure how to parent your teenagers? You're not alone.
Author Jonathan McKee--a parent of three teenagers--gets vulnerable as he draws on his own parenting (mis)adventures and almost twenty years of studying youth culture.
Like you, he's not perfect. You'll definitely laugh with him, and you might even laugh at yourself while you learn from his practical advice.
In this enlightening and entertaining book, Jonathan McKee shares how to connect with your kids, how to teach lasting values to teenagers in an R-rated world, and how to put parenting blunders behind you. You'll discover how to:
- notice communication arenas--like cheap breakfast spots--where your kids will naturally open up.
- get from "What's your favorite pizza topping?" to "What's troubling you right now that you're too scared to talk about?"
- let them mess up--even big time--and not overreact when you discover things like how they really talk on Facebook.
- help them begin to make mature decisions about things like what song to download or what outfit to buy. | <urn:uuid:0a51d725-b195-429f-b669-306aaeb871e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parable.com/i.Candid-Confessions-of-an-Imperfect-Parent-Building-Relations.9780784731840 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953872 | 231 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Before the 2010 USA 20K Championships, Stephanie Rothstein was excited. And worried. After two years of sickness and injury, the 26-year-old from Flagstaff, Arizona, was concerned about her ability to maintain a fast pace.
So she did a workout of five progressively faster one-mile repeats starting at 5:30 pace to remind herself that she could be competitive. "When I ran the last mile of the workout in 5:07, I knew that if someone threw down a fast mile in the race, I'd be okay," says Rothstein, who finished second in 1:08:26.
"A lot of confidence is built by overcoming fears," says Peter Gilmore, a 2:12-marathoner and online coach (infiniterunning.com). "These sessions show that you're physically capable, so mentally you become more self-assured on race day." Typically, competitors use confidence-building workouts every week in the four to six weeks before an event, but you can also use them throughout your training to boost belief in your abilities.
When you head out to banish fears, pay attention to how you feel. If it's not your day, bag it. "A bad day just means you're human," says Stan Beecham, Psy.D., a sports psychologist who works with elite runners.
If a workout bombs, don't try a redo, which can heighten anxiety. Instead, reboot your confidence with something different. "If you had a bad track session, do a tempo run; if your long run was debilitating, knock out 800s at the track," says Gilmore. "You'll gain the benefits of the workout, and put confidence back in power." Here's how:
The Fear: Not Finishing
New distances can intimidate runners. To move beyond the fear of the unknown, focus on volume with long runs that extend beyond race distance (except for marathoners). "Physically, it's essential," says Gilmore, "and mentally, you see that you can accomplish it."
The Workout: Long Runs
Complete three long runs that are one to two miles longer than your goal race distance (22 miles for the marathon). One run proves you can do it; three seals the deal. Slow the pace so you end strong—another confidence-booster, says Gilmore.
The Fear: Starting too Fast
"No matter how experienced you are, it's easy to get caught up in the energy of a race and go out faster than planned," says Gilmore. To learn to resist that temptation, practice nailing—not exceeding—your goal pace at the beginning of a workout, rather than at the more conventional middle or end. This gives a sense of how the pace feels when you're fresh.
The Workout: Race-Pace Miles
Half and full marathoners should run three to six miles at target race pace (warm up and cool down with a two-mile jog). Those preparing for a 10K should run 2 to 3 x 1 mile at goal pace with a 90-second recovery; 5K runners should do one mile at race pace, followed by a 400-meter recovery, then 2 x 800 at race pace with a 90-second recovery, says Gilmore. | <urn:uuid:77e749ee-7f58-48b9-9d1c-7bf48572e953> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.active.com/running/Articles/4-Ways-to-Conquer-Your-Running-Fears.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960543 | 666 | 1.65625 | 2 |
EDITOR'S CHOICE -- SCOTT SUTTELL
President Obama talks up Cleveland Clinic's money-saving practices, but ...
11:00 am, October 5, 2012
In one of his few coherent remarks during Wednesday's night debate/debacle, President Barack Obama cited the Cleveland Clinic as an example of how better health care is cheaper health care.Miner matter
But The Wall Street Journal reports that it's “unlikely the Medicare cost-control board would adopt many of the practices that have lowered costs at the renowned clinic.”
“The Independent Payment Advisory Board, known as the IPAB, recommends spending cuts if Medicare's cost growth exceeds certain targets but is barred from suggesting a host of specific changes to Medicare, the federal health care program for the elderly and disabled,” The Journal notes. “The 15-member board can reduce the rates that Medicare reimburses providers for treatments and drugs, and its proposals will take effect unless Congress comes up with an equivalent alternative.”
That means it can't “ration care, increase taxes, change Medicare benefits or eligibility, increase beneficiary premiums and cost-sharing requirements, or reduce low-income subsidies under Medicare's Part D prescription drug program, according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation,” the newspaper says.
“IPAB is not going to tell (a hospital) how to practice medicine. IPAB is going to say, 'Here's how we're going to pay you and you figure it out,'” says Len Nichols, a health economist at George Mason University.
Both President Obama and Mitt Romney “blurred that point in Wednesday's debate,” according to The Journal.
Mr. Romney attacked the board as a panel that “can tell people ultimately what treatments they're going to receive.” President Obama said the Clinic's experience shows that health care could be cheaper and better, and that the board would “institutionalize” such changes.
Clinic officials maintain that other hospitals could adopt its practices.
“A lot of what we do is transferrable,” Dr. Toby Cosgrove, the Clinic's CEO, tells The Journal.
The paper notes that Dr. Cosgrove cited examples the president didn't: The Clinic places price tags on items in the operating room, making surgeons and nurses think twice about using a given piece of equipment. It also pays doctors an annual salary, lessening their incentive to perform more procedures.
The New Republic takes a look at the fundraising prowess — always for Republican candidates — of Robert Murray, CEO of Pepper Pike-based Murray Energy Corp., and his employees.This and that
“This year, Murray is one of the most important GOP players in one of the most important battleground states in the country,” the magazine profile notes. “In May, he hosted a $1.7 million fundraiser for (Mitt) Romney. Employees have given the nominee more than $120,000. In August, Romney used Murray's Century Mine in the town of Beallsville for a speech attacking Barack Obama as anti-coal. This fall, scenes from that event—several dozen coal-smudged Murray miners standing behind the candidate in a tableau framed by a giant American flag and a COAL COUNTRY STANDS WITH MITT placard — have shown up in a Romney ad.”
Accounts of two sources who have worked in managerial positions at the firm, and a review of letters and memos to Murray Energy employees, “suggest that coercion may also explain Murray staffers' financial support for Romney,” The New Republic says.
“Murray, it turns out, has for years pressured salaried employees to give to the Murray Energy political action committee (PAC) and to Republican candidates chosen by the company,” according to the story. “Internal documents show that company officials track who is and is not giving. The sources say that those who do not give are at risk of being demoted or missing out on bonuses, claims Murray denies.”
The Murray Energy sources, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, came forward separately but they painted similar pictures of the fund-raising operation.
“There's a lot of coercion,” says one of them. “I just wanted to work, but you feel this constant pressure that, if you don't contribute, your job's at stake. You're compelled to do this whether you want to or not.” Says the second: “They will give you a call if you're not giving. … It's expected you give Mr. Murray what he asks for.”
Class acts: Case Western Reserve University and Ohio State University both landed on this list of the world's 100 best universities, compiled by The Times of London and Thomson Reuters. Teaching: the learning environment (worth 30% of the overall ranking score)
The news organizations set out to “judge world class universities across all of their core missions — teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook." The methodology broke down this way:
Research: volume, income and reputation (worth 30%)
Citations: research influence (worth 30%)
Industry income: innovation (worth 2.5%)
International outlook: staff, students and research (worth 7.5%).
Ohio State was the top-ranked school in Ohio, at No. 57 globally. Case Western Reserve was ranked as the world's 93rd-best school.
Topping the list was an elite, but unlikely, choice: the California Institute of Technology.
Making progress: Bloomberg reports that Journal Register Co., the newspaper company that publishes The (Lake County) News-Herald and The (Lorain) Morning Journal, received final court approval to borrow as much as $25 million to help fund operations while it works to sell its assets.
Journal Register last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It previously filed bankruptcy in February 2009.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein in Manhattan approved the loan from existing revolving-credit lender Wells Fargo Bank NA.
The publisher, based in Yardley, Pa., listed assets of $235 million and debt of $268.6 million in Chapter 11 documents filed Sept. 5. Debt includes about $13.2 million on a revolving credit owing to Wells Fargo.
Read all about it: In its drive to cover every corner of the e-book world, OverDrive Inc. of Valley View has released its OverDrive Media Console app for Barnes & Noble's Nook devices.
The app allows users of Nook HD, Nook HD+, Nook Tablet and Nook Color to borrow e-books and MP3 audiobooks wirelessly from libraries.
You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio.
PRINTED FROM: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20121005/BLOGS03/121009873/0/BUSINESS10&template=printart | <urn:uuid:c5d91ca2-b04d-47c1-aa48-bde21e41e7c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20121005/BLOGS03/121009873/0/eventsadd&template=printart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946046 | 1,452 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Heritage watchdogs are calling for three historic Birmingham pubs which stand in the Eastside development area next to the proposed new High Speed Rail (HS2) station to be saved.
The Woodman, Eagle & Tun and the Fox & Grapes could all be bulldozed when the massive station for HS2 is built.
But members of Birmingham City Council’s Conservation and Heritage Panel have called for efforts to stop them being flattened.
Their fears come after the unsuccessful campaign to stop nearby Island House being demolished because developers were unable to rent it out due to uncertainty over the HS2 scheme.
The building, dating from 1912, has now been knocked down by owner Quintain Estates.
The panel heard how the HS2 station will impact on the Eastside Masterplan now the controversial rail line has been approved.
HS2 will operate from London Euston into Birmingham city centre and will run alongside the existing West Coast Mainline. It will terminate alongside Moor Street Station with the new station taking up a huge swathe of land in Digbeth.
The HS2 station will see 12,000 passengers and 18 trains per hour and will involve the construction of a high level viaduct.
Members of the heritage panel were told planners were aware the three pubs were at risk. However, the masterplan did include the possibility of preserving them all as “heritage assets”.
But Andy Foster, from the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings, said he believed the Eastside plans were “politically driven” and they had to do all they could to protect the three pubs.
Barbara Shackley, from Warwickshire Gardens Trust, also called for more to be done to save them. | <urn:uuid:2dc986a7-40a2-49ec-b8fc-3b9bb76f5cc7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2012/03/15/call-to-save-birmingham-pubs-from-being-flattened-by-hs2-station-65233-30535392/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97271 | 354 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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The facts—which come straight from the state and federal government and are now uncontested by any party, are:
•In the 10 years since the law was passed, the number of new companies coming into the state has decreased by one-third (Oklahoma Department of Commerce 2011). Indeed, the same two OCPA staff analysts who authored the most recent RTW study—Moody and Warcholik—also published a 2010 article showing that Oklahoma has suffered a net out-migration of jobs to other states.
•In the 10 years since Oklahoma adopted its right-to-work law, the number of manufacturing jobs in the state has fallen by one-third (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011).
This evidence suggests that RTW was not an economic windfall for the state, but is not conclusive since other factors have also impacted job growth over this period. A more careful analysis (Lafer and Allegretto 2011) comparing Oklahoma to its neighboring states to control for other trends found that “[t]he adoption of right-to-work in Oklahoma had no significant positive impact whatsoever on employment.”
Rather than apologizing to Oklahoma legislators who may have been misled by their earlier predictions, OCPA recently released a new study aimed at convincing Indiana lawmakers that Oklahoma’s RTW law was a success. In pursuit of this goal, OCPA has completely revised its definition of success.
In its most recent report, OCPA admits that “manufacturing is lower today than it was before RTW” but insists that RTW doesn’t have to create jobs to be successful. Instead, all that matters is manufacturing GDP, or the value of sales created by the state’s manufacturing industries, OCPA says (Moody and Warcholik 2011). This argument makes no economic sense. A higher dollar-value of manufacturing sales only helps the population at large if it translates into more jobs or higher wages, which OCPA admits is not the case.
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Need a new car? We have a new site to help you out. | <urn:uuid:e957a291-c4d2-4335-b535-a27282e3c3b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.courierpress.com/comments/reply/?target=61:301059&comment=1083022 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940595 | 677 | 1.78125 | 2 |
What is the antidote to romantic love that all too often exhausts itself over night? Might it be to join with a partner in a spiritual search. "Love to awaken us: Body and Soul to a greater unknown." Further, what is the work which will sustain a love over a lifetime? By searching for the sacred with our lover we might well find the divine within them. Philosopher and teacher, Jacob Needleman, suggests love can be a reflection of our spiritual being. He asserts that by the time "we are living together something beyond passion is required" something intentional and conscious is needed. | <urn:uuid:0f697ba8-1fe7-4cf7-bc07-ba01a183d9a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.keplers.com/book/9781596750074 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94906 | 121 | 1.5 | 2 |
Successive rate cuts in the official cash rate during the last 18 months has precipitated undesirably high rates of inflation in the price of residential property in Western Australia, further worsening our housing affordability problem.
According to ABS data released today (http://www NULL.abs NULL.gov NULL.au/ausstats/abs null@null NULL.nsf/mf/6416 NULL.0) which measures house price movements in Australia, WA established house prices are up 6% since March 2012.Conversely, house price growth in all the other major capitals barring Darwin has been much more modest. (See graphic below fold)
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to cut the official cash rate to a record low of 2.75% adds further fuel to the inflationary fire. In fact, with rates this low and with the prospect of further cuts to come, the prospect of a housing bubble (http://www NULL.investopedia NULL.com/terms/h/housing_bubble NULL.asp) developing in the Western Australian market is becoming a real threat. | <urn:uuid:ca547654-e6be-414f-ba73-227cc19fdf4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.communityhousing.com.au/tag/affordability/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936497 | 223 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki MurakamiAnyone familiar enough with Haruki Murakami's novels will be prepared, in reading one, to be simultaneously puzzled and engrossed. Kafka on the Shore is yet another alluring enigma, its pages filled with talking cats, fish falling from the sky, and a spirit of some kind named Colonel Sanders.
There are many familiar Murakami-isms here, not the least of which is the cast of characters whose lives run parallel (until, we hope and assume, they will intertwine). We're first introduced to our narrator, the stoic Kafka Tamura, who runs away at age fifteen. Kafka's mother left home when he was four, taking his sister and leaving Kafka with a distant father. Kafka makes his way to a small private library in the country where he meets head librarian Miss Saeki, whom he quickly begins to believe is his mother.
Kafka's story alternates with that of an illiterate old man named Nakata. As a child after World War II, Nakata was one of a group of children who mysteriously collapsed in a field while picking mushrooms, and he never fully recovered his mind or his memory. (Always speaking of himself in the third person, he sweetly and frankly tells those he meets “Nakata is not bright.”) Now, he spends his days in the sunny mid-day calm of his Tokyo neighborhood, making small talk with the local cats. A bizarre and macabre encounter with a stranger named Johnny Walker -- Murakami is fond of peppering his allegories with brand names -- ends with Nakata's own cross-country trip, in the same direction that Kafka took.
Murakami has often written about lost souls searching for fulfilment, and that's true here as well. What sets this novel apart is its young protagonist. Kafka narrates in the opening pages: “My fifteenth birthday is the ideal time to run away from home. Any earlier and it'd be too soon. Any later and I would have missed my chance.” A similar statement could be made about Murakami's choice to write from the point of view of a misanthropic runaway who hates his father and misses his long-departed mother. Perhaps it's oversimplifying to call this a story of adolescent angst, but in this, perhaps Murakami's most complex work yet, the fact that adolescence is anything but simple makes Kafka is the ideal narrator.
When we first meet him, Kafka is mature, methodical, strict in his daily routines. But this is merely an attempt to bury his fifteen-year-old confusion. Nakata, with his mental handicap, is the perfect foil. While Nakata is a blank slate without memories -- he hardly distinguishes one day from the next -- Kafka tries his best to be free of the unhappy childhood that torments him. In particular, he is obsessed with the prophesy his father continually made throughout his young life: that Kafka would murder his father, then sleep with his mother and his sister.
Don't think the Oedipal reference is a rare one. While waiting for the parallels between Nakata and Kafka to become clear, Murakami strings together more than enough philosophical, historical, mythological, musical, and literary references, dropping them into his signature, dry narrative like little clues to be highlighted and underlined in the hope of a revelatory conclusion. It's this hope, and our curiosity about the meaning of this intricate enigma of a tale, that he relies on to propel us -- and propel us he does -- through Kafka on the Shore.
Murakami's near-constant name-dropping (Aristophanes, Napoleon, Hegel, Kafka, of course, and Prince are just a few) or his pointed use of symbolism (everything from mushrooms to blood to the color blue keep you looking for meaning) may add up, or may exist simply to keep us turning the pages in the hope that they will. By the time we reach that last page, however, it truly no longer matters. Again, we're left perplexed, engrossed, all in all... haunted. While a truly enjoyable read, it'd difficult to say whether Kafka on the Shore, with all its turns -- false or not -- is either satisfying or unsatisfying. Those words don't apply here. Satisfaction seems to not be Murakami's goal as much as spinning a tale that will keep us guessing and amused. He succeeds from start to finish, and even beyond. Give this one time to sink in even after it's closed -- that's just as much fun as the read itself.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami | <urn:uuid:7447d23a-575c-4278-b0e9-2f1302eb9100> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2005_03_004659.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976412 | 971 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It cannot be emphasized enough….. the fact that Jesus did not die for our sins.
It is so important that we understand this…… otherwise we will miss his entire message.
Jesus is not going to take the punishment for your sins.
You are going to be punished for your own sins.
No other person but yourself is going to be held accountable.
Understanding the above 5 lines….. will take you one step closer to realizing that “repenting is your job”……Not “Christs”.
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “MAKE A TREE GOOD AND ITS FRUIT WILL BE GOOD, OR MAKE A TREE BAD AND ITS FRUIT WILL BE BAD, FOR A TREE IS RECOGNISED BY ITS FRUIT.
34 YOU BROOD OF VIPERS, HOW CAN YOU WHO ARE EVIL SAY ANYTHING GOOD? FOR OUT OF THE OVERFLOW OF THE HEART THE MOUTH SPEAKS.
A tree is recognized by its fruits.
God will recognize you on the basis of the things “you do”.
If you are a good person….. you will do good things.
If you are a bad person…… you will do bad things.
Its fairly straight forward….. but it needs to be pointed out……
A lot of people think they are good…… even though they do bad things.
35 THE GOOD MAN BRINGS GOOD THINGS OUT OF THE GOOD STORED UP IN HIM, AND THE EVIL MAN BRINGS EVIL THINGS OUT OF THE EVIL STORED UP IN HIM.
The reality though…… is that if you are a good person…… it is highly dependent on what is in your heart.
What kind of things do you think about?
What occupies your mind?
It is what is in a man’s heart that he speaks.
It is what is in a mans heart that he does.
36 BUT I TELL YOU THAT MEN WILL HAVE TO GIVE ACCOUNT ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT FOR EVERY CARELESS WORD THEY HAVE SPOKEN.
37 FOR BY YOUR WORDS YOU WILL BE AQUITTED, AND BY YOUR WORDS YOU WILL BE CONDEMNED.”
This is not a message from someone that is going to take a punishment for you.
“You” are the one that is held accountable.
“You” will be the one to stand up in court and say the reason why you said what you said and did what you did.
What you say will either make you free and clear.
Or what you say will make you guilty.
Jesus knew that men were being deceived and we would continue to be deceived.
Jesus did not waste anytime telling us to be worried about the devil.
But he constantly warned us about the teachings of men.
To be continued…… | <urn:uuid:6422f302-78ea-422a-aa91-04fdb226c5ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radicalchicmagazine.com/mind-control-74-who-you-are-is-who-you-are/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931973 | 636 | 1.59375 | 2 |
For most people in New York, pigeons are a fact of life, a part of the landscape no more noticeable than the squirrels and the stray garbage. But a continuing battle over the worth of pigeons on East 92nd Street has some residents taking sides and declaring themselves lovers or haters of the birds.
A woman named Anna Dove (she changed it from Anna Kugelmas years ago to show her solidarity with avian creatures) has earned a reputation as a fierce advocate of pigeons in the city, and she feeds a large flock of them several times a week on the sidewalk near East 92nd Street and First Avenue. Dove has become a fixture in the area, and her actions have recently raised the ire of some of her neighbors, who say that she is creating unfair and unsanitary conditions.
“The pigeons line up on the roof of the building and on the trees across the street by the dozens,” said Priscilla O’Carroll, one of the concerned neighbors. “She has turned a quiet street corner into a hazardous, filthy mess.”
O’Carroll started noticing the pigeon problem this summer, and said that she has tried to talk to Dove about curbing the habit, but to no avail. She said that she’s reached out to 311, the Department of Health, and the police, but nothing has been done.
Feeding pigeons isn’t illegal. Dove knows this and isn’t afraid to assert her rights; she sees it as a moral issue.
“It’s nothing to do with the law, I just want to do the right thing,” she said. “I don’t want to create a problem, I don’t want to create a nuisance. I’m just trying to do the right thing as a human being.”
Dove used to be more public in her bird advocacy, heading an organization called the New York Bird Club and organizing National Pigeon Day. She has told reporters in the past that the city and the public unfairly discriminate against pigeons. She has since disbanded the bird club, saying that it became too political for her and that there wasn’t enough support, and insists that she’s not trying to be a pigeon advocate.
“I just started out by putting a little bit of crumbs down, and then people didn’t like it,” Dove said. “I didn’t even know there was a problem with pigeons and people not liking them until 10 years ago, when I started adding it to my routine.”
O’Carroll said that she worries about her family’s health more than anything.
Pigeon droppings aren’t especially dangerous, but in very rare instances diseases like histoplasmosis, a condition caused by fungus found in pigeon droppings, can be transmitted to humans.
According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), which monitors all pests including pigeons, that risk is quite low.
“When cleaning droppings, a person may breathe in some of the fungus, which in cases of high exposure can cause infection. Common activities, such as cleaning off windowsills, will not result in high exposures,” reads the DOHMH website.
When asked if large groups of pigeons, like the three or four dozen that congregate around Dove’s deposits of birdseed, cause any particular health concern, a DOHMH spokesperson said, “Pigeons do not pose a health risk to the general public. The Health Department does follow up on complaints regarding pigeon public health nuisances, such as large quantities of droppings.”
That’s not to discount the fact that the dropping are, indisputably, gross.
“I have nine windows and unfortunately the trees are right across the street from my windows,” said another neighbor, Ellie Posser, who is a senior. “When she feeds the pigeons, they come out of those trees and they eat and they land. Some of them roost on my windowsill and leave feces and so now I have work to do. I have to clean the outside of the windowsill.”
Posser said that she objects to the sheer quantity and frequency of the feedings, which attracts so many pigeons.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but unless you’re dealing with it, you don’t know,” she said. “I know God made pigeons and I have nothing against that, but why can’t she feed them where it’s not so heavily populated?”
Dove disagrees with the accusation that she is attracting pigeons.
“I don’t really feel like I’m doing anything wrong. They’re there regardless,” she said. “I enjoy it, the birds are grateful for the extra food.”
She also says that the birds eat all the seed she puts down, so none is left for rats or to litter the sidewalk.
“It’s just very frustrating because it’s not a park, it’s a sidewalk,” said O’Carroll. “The seed is usually gone, but the pigeons are just hovering.”
Dove said that she’s not going to stop feeding the pigeons no matter how many people complain, and that there’s something wrong with those who have a problem with it, not with her.
“When I was little, we were poor, and we would go to the park and feed the ducks,” Dove said. “To me, it’s part of life. Not everybody wants to sit in Starbucks and text all day.”
Trackback from your site. | <urn:uuid:fddb6430-8bbb-4fbd-8929-4f3b9be288ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nypress.com/pigeon-lady-flap-on-92nd-street/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972798 | 1,236 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Coral Springs, Florida (PRWEB) January 18, 2013
In the wake of the 2012 holiday shopping season, a trend has emerged. According to Center Link Media, an E-Commerce marketing firm, the 2012 holiday shopping season saw more people clicking into virtual malls, daily deal websites and online holiday deal malls to check items off of their gift lists.
The appeal for consumers to shop at virtual E-Malls and Daily Deal websites are many. The most obvious benefit is the convenience of shopping from the comfort of home. It eliminates the need to get in the car and drive around to all of the different the stores. There is no need to browse the Sunday newspaper, clip coupons or to wait for special sales and promotions that traditional retail stores offer. Online shopping allows the consumer to instantly shop for best prices and best deals for the products and services they want, when they want them. It also allows for comparison shopping amongst hundreds of sellers around the nation with the click of a button. E-Malls also offer Gift Guides for those who looking for ideas, or for unique and special occasion items. Online shopping puts everyone - even those who are not mobile – in direct contact with the items they want, often at an impressive savings.
E-commerce offers direct retail shopping online. It has 24-hour availability, a global reach, the ability to interact and provide custom information and ordering, and multimedia prospects. The Web is rapidly becoming a multibillion dollar source of revenue for the world's businesses. A number of businesses already report considerable success. Projected e-commerce revenues are in the billions of dollars and the stocks of companies deemed most adept at e-commerce are skyrocketing.
The E-commerce business is booming due to the general public’s overall access to - and knowledge of - computer technology as well as their desire for the ease of making a purchase while getting the best price. Center Link Media is a Florida-based marketing firm that specializes in E-commerce and online sales via Daily Deals websites. Greg Spinder, President of Center Link Media, confirms the trend saying, “The past holiday gift-giving season was all about online sales. Instead of hitting the pavement to shop, we saw more and more people clicking a mouse.” Eric Siversen, Director of Marketing at Center Link Media adds, “Consumers ordered customized letters to Santa and dedicated stars in the sky online. We expect that 2013 will see consumers becoming more aware of the benefits and more comfortable with the process of online shopping.” | <urn:uuid:a406b149-29f0-4df3-aa95-3e2f96f17b71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/1/prweb10332350.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946502 | 518 | 1.523438 | 2 |
In 2000 I was living in Ghana when my friend, a village chief, arranged for a small group of Americans to travel to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti tribe, for an audience with its king, the Asantehene. I was thrilled at this rare opportunity and fully intended to be on my best behavior—if only I had known how.
What makes the Ashanti people special is the amount of gold they own. Their gold mine is one of the largest in the world, and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (now AngloGold Ashanti), was the first African company to appear on the New York Stock Exchange.
The golden stool is part of the lore. It descended from heaven to the Asantehene’s lap, and is so valuable only a few people know of its location. When a man becomes King of the Ashanti people, his ceremony is not a coronation but an enstoolment ceremony at a secret location.
Our audience began with hand shaking, but the Asantehene’s arm was so heavily laden with gold bangles that his linguist, the okyeame, had to lift it for him. The okyeame, also spoke for him, even though everyone was fluent in English. Though at first fascinating, the conversation began to drag as it repeated itself through the channels to reach the Asantehene and then back again.
When the talk centered on another group, my friend, Stephanie, and I excused ourselves to use the restroom. While I waited for her, I wandered into the throne room looking for the golden stool but only found a plain throne. It seemed so unspecial , considering the king’s wealth. The back was a wooden frame around velvet-textured cloth. I had to know that it was at least super soft and luxurious, so I touched it.
Suddenly the guards stormed me and physically escorted me from the room.
When Stephanie found me I was apprehended and being scolded. None of which I understood. Stephanie explained that it is very bad luck for a woman to touch the throne. “Oh no,” I said.
“But don’t worry,” she reassured me, “the bad luck only comes if the woman is on her monthly.”
“Oh no,” I moaned.
Two weeks later it came to pass.
Word spread through Ghana faster than Twitter. Ghanaian paramount chiefs and queen mothers donned their red funeral garb and traveled to Kumasi to mourn the passing of the Asantehene.
I wasn’t invited, of course, but considered myself very lucky to have met him when I did. Would his spirit say the same about me?
Or—would it suggest that next time I come with knowledge of customs and traditions. Ignorance can be filled with bad juju. | <urn:uuid:5ac2d8b9-ffac-46bb-84d8-86f3af4140d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/go_blog_blog_blog/2013/02/intrigue-at-the-palace.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973634 | 593 | 1.554688 | 2 |
If you read my recent blog, True data about big data, in which I proposed that Zero Dark Thirty’s lead character, Maya was a near perfect example of a data scientist, you’ll understand today’s blog title. The unstated subtext of that blog was that it’s unwise to turn big data over to the IT group. Sure, you’ll need them around, but their discipline differs significantly from what’s needed. And. . . I’ve found plenty of IT execs who understand that reality.
I argued the case from my experience and knowledge about the thinking styles and knowledge base of IT and other business functions. My cognitive approach is one way to go at the issue. But Marchand and Peppard arrive at the same conclusion from still a different tack in their October HBR article, entitled Why IT Fumbles Analytics. They got right to the crux of their understanding in the first paragraph:
In their quest to extract insights from the massive amounts of data now available from internal and external sources, many companies are spending heavily on IT tools and hiring data scientists. Yet most are struggling to achieve a worthwhile return. That’s because they treat their big data and analytic projects the same way they treat all IT projects, not realizing that the two are completely different animals.
What this implies is that rather than emphasizing information in the big data, information is viewed not as a resource that makes possible the design and implementation of more IT systems, but, rather as something that people themselves make valuable in their discipline and for their customers. To go back to the CIA analyst in Kathryn Bigelow’s film, Maya’s task as the most knowledgeable analyst was to question the validity and usefulness of the data. Inevitably, that’s a difficult task because she had to be able to ask “what” the data means, “why” the data is in such form and why and how it’s taking such a shape before she could get around to “what next?” Her questions were constantly iterated for years. What more data do I, as knowledgeable CIA agent, need? What conclusions can I draw thus far, and is this enough data to make a decision? Then, as I emphasized strongly, she had to sell her conclusions.
to big data
Without focused theory development, the data scientist will be overwhelmed by the amount of data available. All the IT processing power in the world won’t help. Maya’s theory, of course, focused upon a strategy to locate Osama Bin Laden. Her fundamental hypothesis was that if she could locate his primary couriers, she locate him. The film began with torture tactics for gathering courier identities, and, essentially stayed on that fascinating and difficult track for nearly two hours before actually finding the terrorist. Then, she faced the intriguing task of selling her conclusions to the State Department, an issue that was just as difficult, perhaps, as locating the terrorist. In sum, the first steps after creating a hypothesis are acquiring, harmonizing and mining the data sources. Of course, in the iterations of this process, you will inevitably find new, exciting insights. That also implies, as David Meer has written, that as you gather these insights, it will be important to be open to new approaches and to challenge sacred cows.
If you’ve ever done a major hypothesis-driven, research thesis, the strategic approach to big data is exactly the same iterative process as the Zero Dark Thirty portrayed. The distinction between my two analogies (Maya and hypothesis driven thesis) and the “big data approach” is that once the hypothesis is in place, IT tools are necessary to mine the data.
At the heart of
It can’t be emphasized strongly enough that people are at the heart of the initiative, not IT tools, big data initiatives or the IT group. Marchand and Peppard are devastating in their critique of the IT logic:
The IT approach assumes. . . that giving managers more high quality information more rapidly will improve their decisions and help them solve problems and gain valuable insights. That is a fallacy. It ignores the fact that managers might discard information no matter how good it is, that they have various biases, and that they might not have the cognitive ability to use information effectively.
As I have argued previously, most IT professionals come from computer science, engineering and math backgrounds resulting in a focus on technology and the use of different cognitive approaches rather than what’s necessary. Thus, a different animal will be needed to create and make the best use of information. I have no doubt that Marchand and Peppard are correct in their recommendation of the use of cognitive and behavioral scientists. But that’s a personnel expense only the largest of firms are currently willing to fund. People who have a deep and rich understanding of the business are absolutely necessary for big data success. And then, gradually, as business understands the opportunities provided by big data, they will need to add the cognitive and behavioral scientists who. . . understand how people perceive problems, use information, and analyze data in developing solutions, ideas, and knowledge.
The evidence is already clear that data-driven decisions tend to be better decisions. Thus, I’ve attempted to lay out a big-picture of the fundamental processes to make advanced analytics work for a company. The process—simplified--is to get the right hypothesis from the appropriate people, mine the data iteratively, create the new business information, sell it to the relevant executives and implement.
Flickr photo: UWWW ResNet | <urn:uuid:a25ec329-5860-439d-b3c6-eaa38a4f534d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://danerwin.typepad.com/my_weblog/2013/01/big-data-the-it-fumble.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955263 | 1,157 | 1.75 | 2 |
Met Council approves Central Corridor planby Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio
The Metropolitan Council Wednesday approved a Central Corridor light rail plan.
The proposed line will cost $909 million and will connect the downtowns of St. Paul and Minneapolis. It could be in operation by 2014. The line is viewed by many as a keystone in an overall Twin Cities transit system.
However, compromises to rein in the cost of the plan are disappointments for the University of Minnesota and for neighborhood residents in St. Paul.
St. Paul, Minn. — The disappointment for the University of Minnesota is no tunnel.
The University wanted a tunnel for the train below the Washington Avenue portion of the route, which bisects the University's Minneapolis East Bank campus.
A tunnel, University officials argue, alleviates the mayhem a train will cause running on a street crowded with pedestrians and vehicles, including lots of buses.
But the cost of digging a tunnel is too rich for the Federal Transit Administration formula.
Federal dollars are being counted on to fund half the cost of building the line.
And the FTA is extremely careful, some say scrooge like, in deciding what fits in it's formula.
So, instead of a tunnel, the plan is for a transit mall on Washington Avenue.
The transit mall accomodates a train, pedestrians, maybe bicycles, but probably not buses and certainly not cars.
University Vice President for Services Kathleen O'Brien is disappointed, but undaunted.
She won agreement from the Met Council to allow the University to study an optional route around the University to the north, aptly named a northern alignment.
That route, O'Brien said, takes light rail by the new Gopher football stadium and next to a huge parcel of land, 78 acres, the University is developing.
O'Brien called the route the line of the future.
"There's the medical bioscience corridor underway in the east gateway district, just north of the football stadium. There's private investment in the same area, and there's the belief that even by the time the line is open in 2014 that there'll be four to five thousand new jobs in that area," explained O'Brien.
The University's suggestions are given serious weight, because the institution's students, faculty, staff and visitors will be a significant share of the light rail line's customers.
However, time weighs heavily on a so called northern alignment.
University and Met Council planners are under a lot of pressure to get all the numbers collected and crunched for the entire project by summer.
That's when they want to file the federal application for permission to enter the final design phase.
Many faces around the Met Council chambers Wednesday afternoon in downtown St. Paul wore smiles when commissioners approved the Central Corridor plan.
Emily Seru was not one of them.
The approved plan puts the light rail stations on University avenue in St. Paul about a mile apart.
Existing bus service stops nearly every block.
But when light rail is up and running some of the bus service will be cut and remaining buses may run less often.
Seru and other residents were unsuccessful in convincing the Met Council to include in the plan three additional light rail stations on University to cushion the blow of losing some bus service.
"We're not going to have a stop near us," said Seru. "We would have to walk about a mile to a light rail stop, and we'd have to wait twenty to thirty minutes for a bus, and right now we wait about seven, so it's pretty shocking, yeah."
The Met Council promised if things change, if somehow extra money is found, one extra station has first claim on the funds.
Extra money for the Central Corridor project is the hope of many.
Various interests have watched one idea after another - the tunnel, stations, alignments - go by the wayside as the numbers are fed into the unforgiving Federal Transit Administration formula.
Some hold out hope that a change in administration, Republican or Democrat, will somehow open the windows at FTA and allow a fresh breeze to blow in and dollars to flow out.
Central Corridor project manager Mark Fuhrmann, a seasoned veteran of countless sessions with FTA numbers crunchers, said yes, it's true there will be a new administration inside the beltway next year.
"But, the FTA guidelines aren't going to change on January 20th next year, so we'll still have those guidelines and parameters to work within."
By one estimate the FTA may decide about a year from now on the request to begin final design for Central Corridor.
That puts the project on track for construction in 2010 and completion in 2014.
- Morning Edition, 02/28/2008, 7:40 a.m. | <urn:uuid:2dc1b762-a837-4ef9-a0c2-fb7d06bb7a36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/02/27/corridor?refid=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943294 | 980 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Video that Changes the Debate
Session Type(s): Screening Series
Starts: Saturday, Jun. 9 1:30 PM
Ends: Saturday, Jun. 9 2:45 PM
So you’ve been told to create a “viral video,” whatever that means. How do you create media that not only succeeds online but also changes the debate? How do you make content that people pass around that also pierces the national conversation? We’ll examine these questions in-depth, speaking with those responsible for creating or spreading political videos that have made an impact—and learn how to do the same in our own activism.
Andy Menconi is a graphic designer and animator who has been creating viral content since 2000. While working as a web designer for Bank of America he won ‘Bush in 30 Years’: a flash animation contest sponsored by MoveOn.org which opened the door to being the graphics guy for many leftist political organizations.
He went on to form Agit-Pop Communications, an award winning viral media firm with partners John Sellers of the Ruckus Society and Andrew Boyd of Billionaires for Bush. On tax day in 2010, Agit-Pop communications began a new project called ‘The Other 98%’ as a meme to help shift the dialogue of the culture war to one of economic justice.
Andy Menconi was born in Texas, graduated from AAC in San Francisco, loves punk rock, the NFL, green chile and romantic dinners on the beach.
Andy Cobb is the Political Director of Second City New Media, the online video arm of the legendary Chicago-based comedy troupe. He writes, directs, and performs videos that have been seen over 15 million times online, as well as on MSNBC, ABC, CNN, FOX News (yep), Current TV, Al Jazeera, and a mess of other places. On the web, his work has been promoted, featured, and covered on sites such as DailyKos, HuffPost, Perez Hilton, Gawker, Young Turks, Wonkette, Andrew Sullivan, Americablog, Politico, RealClearPolitics, Jezebel, Alternet, Media Matters, Atlantic.com, Media Bistro, New York Times.com, Defamer, Crooks And Liars, Slate Magazine, Salon.com, and many more. Recent clients for directing, writing, performing, and producing video projects have included MoveOn.org, Courage Campaign, Americablog, Brave New Films, Current TV, SEIU, and Americans Against Escalation In Iraq. He often blogs with the fine folks at Crooks and Liars.
Haik Hoisington is a Brooklyn-based freelance animator. He strives to use animation to illustrate alternative perspectives of urgent social and political issues. His work has been shown in film festivals, broadcast on television and featured in on-line and print publications. It includes award winning music videos for musical artists Eminem and the Coup, as well as animation for the feature length documentaries American Blackout and Lockdown USA.
Haik is a graduate of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.
Anne Thompson writes, directs, shoots and edits political videos.
Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X, which has garnered critical acclaim, thousands of subscribers, and millions of internet views. From the controversial viral video What if the Tea Party was Black?, to the hard hitting truth of A Song for Trayvon, Jasiri X cleverly uses Hip-Hop to provide social commentary on a variety of issues. A six time Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Award winner, Jasiri recently became the first Hip-Hop artist to receive the coveted August Wilson Center for African American Culture Fellowship. A founding member of the anti-violence group One Hood, Jasiri started the New Media Academy to teach young African-American boys how to analyze and create media for themselves. | <urn:uuid:39cedc1b-208c-4f8b-a4e1-524eeb3adb67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.netrootsnation.org/nn_events/nn-12/video-change-debate/?filter0=Melinda%20Gibson | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942502 | 817 | 1.703125 | 2 |
President Obama's proposals for curbing gun violence are prompting some strong emotions from people on both sides of the debate.
The president on Wednesday announced a $500 million package of executive actions and legislative proposals, including a call to ban military-style assault weapons.
Reno Garthwaite, owner of Thunder Shooting Supplies in Milton, said versatility is one of the reasons some gun enthusiasts like the AR-style rifle.
"You can change it to a 22 all the way up to a 450," Garthwaite said.
He said that since the election, business is up 100 percent. Many customers are looking for AR-style rifles similar to what was used in the Connecticut school shooting.
"For coyote hunters, they love this gun," Garthwaite said. "Vermin hunters that go out in the spring prairie dog shooting out west, they love this gun. It's the No. 1 gun they take."
He said his store is struggling to keep up with the demand for the AR-style rifles and high-capacity handguns. Garthwaite said banning one type of weapon isn't going to help.
"(AR-style rifles), they've got this military look and that scares people. But there are other rifles that do the same thing with a lot more power," he said.
Garthwaite said he also recommends his customers purchase a safe so they have a place to keep their firearm.
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence said it's concerned about guns getting into the wrong hands.
"Assault weapons are rarely used in domestic-violence homicides. More typically, it's a handgun or a rifle," said Patti Seger, executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The group has been tracking domestic-violence homicides since 1999.
"We have found that there were 50 people who have been killed in Wisconsin where the killer was prohibited from possessing a firearm," Seger said. "Those killings were preventable and the loopholes in the system failed to protect those victims."
Seger and Garthwaite said they support universal background checks.
They're hoping lawmakers are able to strike the right balance to curb crime and allow law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to own a firearm.
"Calm down, take a serious look at this stuff rather than rushing to judgment on this," Garthwaite said.
"We have an opportunity here to say, 'Enough with the killing; enough with the loss of life.' Those lives are too valuable," Seger said.
Some of the president's proposals are related to recent shootings in Wisconsin. Seger was one of many people invited to the White House to talk to leaders. In addition to the shootings in Newtown, Conn., she said the Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting and Brookfield spa shooting helped inspire some of the president's plans. | <urn:uuid:7d599ea3-63f2-4103-8110-a19e89d1042a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.channel3000.com/news/President-s-gun-proposals-stir-debate/-/1648/18159060/-/14qd1do/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976819 | 585 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Hospitals Continue to Try to Lower C-Section Rates
The Illinois birth injury lawyers at our firm appreciate that surgical births are seemingly always a hot topic in the medical community. For years the rate of birth that ultimately ended in a C-section crept higher and higher. This was alarming to many because, though surgical births are necessary in certain emergency situations, they come with increased risks of birth injury harm to mother and child. Therefore, the overall harm might increase if unnecessary C-sections were performed.
These concerns have led many hospitals to institute a range of goals in order to get the C-section rate down. For example, the Lund Report this week posted a story on how one hospital is trying to get its own rate down. The facility is tracking its surgical birth rate on a month-by-month basis to closely identify any trends. Nationwide, according to the March of Dimes, 25.2% of all childbirths are C-sections. Other studies have found that rate to actually be higher. The particular hospital engaged in this tracking program has found that its own rate is slightly lower, at 21.7%. Some facilities across the country have reported surgical birth rates as high as 45-50%. Overall, the United States has the highest C-section rate of any developed country in the world.
Lowering C-section rates can be difficult, because each decision has to be made on a case by case basis. If complications develop, C-sections are often absolutely essential. Failure to conduct a timely C-section in certain situations can be malpractice. That is why the main efforts at lowering the rate involve things like talking to mothers about the potential benefits of having a vaginal birth after they have already had a C-section with a previous child. These births, known as VBACs, once fell out of favor but are once again being championed by many.
In general, the facility explains that they are working on lowering the rate by individually discussing each C-section that was performed after the fact to understand why it was performed and whether changes in the future might allow a different outcome. The hospital attributes some of its success in the “Hawthorne Effect.” When doctors know that their C-section rate is being monitored, they might not be so quick to recommend a C-section when it isn’t absolutely necessary.
From the legal perspective, there is not necessarily a right or wrong answer when it comes to the appropriate rate of C-section use. Our Chicago birth injury lawyers appreciate that the law looks at each case individually. In other words, all that matters in a birth injury lawsuit is: what conduct was reasonable, what conduct was actually exhibited, and whether that conduct caused harm. In many individual cases that may mean that a C-section birth should have been performed that was not. The fact that some doctors are working to lower the rate C-section overall is of no consequences in that individual legal determination. Conversely, an unnecessary surgical birth may be performed that leads to damaging consequences for the mother and child. While less common, that situation may also result in a suit if the harm could have been prevented had a reasonable medical care been provided.
See Our Related Blog Posts: | <urn:uuid:1ee827b8-be36-461c-9882-ed38b71c6432> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chicagobirthinjurylawyerblog.com/2012/03/hospitals_continue_to_try_to_l.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977093 | 654 | 1.671875 | 2 |
For those desperate to have a babe of their own flesh and blood, intercourse alone doesn't always do the trick.
And when that happens, couples explore other avenues. To learn more about one non–traditional method, read more.
Many doctors prescribe Clomid to women in an effort to enhance their ovulation. If that doesn't work, insemination or IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) are often next steps. While these procedures often help couples reproduce, others look to acupuncture as another fertility tool.
Acupuncture is "a Chinese medical practice or procedure that treats illness or provides local anesthesia by the insertion of needles at specified sites of the body." While it sounds a little harrowing, many who receive the treatment say the needles don't hurt at all.
Some attribute the success of acupuncture to the lowering of stress and increasing the blood flow to the reproductive system. And although it doesn't guarantee a baby, it gives couples another option.
Have you tried acupuncture? Did it work? | <urn:uuid:472d0594-9db7-4135-88d9-30e0ccc74b36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lilsugar.com/Acupuncture-Infertility-1133714 | 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 | 0.937896 | 206 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Crickets a la eeww
Principal Bob Vicari said he'd eat live bugs if grades and behavior improved. It was a challenge that his students couldn't resist.
By THOMAS C. TOBIN, Times Staff Writer
Published February 7, 2008
One stunt has always been in the principal's bag of tricks, but more so since the school accountability movement began.
Challenge the students to succeed, then let them punish you when they do.
Scores of principals have shaved their heads or sat in dunk tanks, all to prod kids toward better grades or success on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
Twice in his six years as principal of Osceola Middle School in Seminole, principal Bob Vicari, 48, has moved his office to the roof. Students have smashed pies in his face. He's been pelted by water balloons.
But on Wednesday he took the principal-as-victim shtick to a new level, downing a crunchy Fear Factor lunch of live crickets purchased from a PetSmart store. He did it three times, once for each grade.
The day produced two findings.
One: The ear-splitting screams of 400 middle school kids can rival the roar of a jet engine.
Two: "I learned something about eating bugs," Vicari confessed after downing the first cricket. "Bite it. Bite it right away."
Try as he might to mask the experience with a trace of creamy Italian dressing, the first creature crawled around on his tongue a split second too long.
One teacher asked how it tasted.
"Not bad. Like a stale peanut," said Vicari.
"Ew," came her response.
"Ugh. So gross," said Susan Alvaro, the sixth-grade administrator, in disgust and admiration.
"He is such a proactive, kid-oriented principal. He'll do anything for the kids."
Osceola has an A grade from the state, and more than 70 percent of its students test at grade level in reading and math - well above the district average.
Still, Vicari "is always challenging them to go to the next level," Alvaro said.
Recently, Vicari told students he would eat bugs if he saw increased numbers on the principal's list, the honor roll and the "E-Team," a group of students who get good marks for behavior.
The challenge was for the grading period that ended Jan. 17, a time when grades typically fall off.
The students responded with a record number (487) making the principal's list and honor roll. Membership in the E-Team rose to 658, up from 601 last year.
Carwise Middle School principal Garrison Linder said students do seem to respond to challenges and other rewards. Once he offered to shave his mustache for a fundraising drive, but never had to pay up when sales fell short. He also remembers not being able to breathe when a 60-pound middle schooler mashed a cream pie into his face.
He didn't sound likely to copy Vicari's stunt.
"Good for Bob," Linder said.
"If it wasn't for your hard work and your dedication in setting a new standard for all the other students, I would not be doing this right now," Vicari told the seventh-graders Wednesday. "So, believe me, that's the only thing that makes it worth it."
Several students said the challenge worked for them.
"I think it's kind of weird, and I think it's kind of cool at the same time," said Tyler Salyers, 11.
Said fellow sixth-grader Steven Miller: "We told him we were going to do it, and now he's going to pay."
Vicari kept the crickets in a jar, taking them to each table as kids ate lunch. To avoid any sickness, he waited until they finished before he did the deed.
"Are you sure they're alive?" asked Michael Martinez, 11.
"'Course they're alive," said Vicari, who turns out to be quite the showman.
"So, here I go," he told the seventh grade, spearing two bugs with a fork. "I'll make sure I get one of the nice juicy hard ones."
The crowd chanted, "Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"
The principal held the fork up high for maximum effect.
He put it in his mouth, triggering a massive shriek.
He stuck out his tongue and strutted in a circle for all to see.
Then he offered a comment that brought more screams: "I was told you have to floss afterwards because the legs get caught between your teeth."
His quip about the bugs possibly tasting better than the chicken nuggets at Osceola Middle fell flat on ears of cafeteria manager Donna Crews, who praised Vicari as a great motivator but said her chicken nuggets were just fine.
"I wouldn't have eaten it," she said of the principal's protein-laden lunch. "Crickets are meant to fish with."
Nutritional values of a cricket
Protein: 12.9 grams
Fat: 5.5 grams
Calcium: 75.8 miligrams
Iron: 9.5 milligrams
Source: Iowa State University Entomology Department
[Last modified February 7, 2008, 00:02:29]
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Civil Trial Against BP Seeks To Place Blame For Gulf Oil Spill
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
Today in New Orleans, a civil trial began in the case of the BP explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster happened almost three years ago, April 2010. Millions of barrels of oil poured into the Gulf, 11 workers were killed. BP has already pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Now, billions of dollars are at stake in these civil proceedings.
NPR's Jeff Brady was in the courtroom today and he joins us now. And, Jeff, to start, opening statements, what did you hear?
JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: Well, it was just opening statements and just kind of highlighting what attorneys plan to argue in this case. More than six hours of opening statements from eight different parties, starting with lawyers for the plaintiffs. That's the federal government, the five Gulf Coast states affected and a group representing thousands of individual plaintiffs. Their message was fairly uniform, that BP and its contractors put profit before safety and the environment.
They planned to argue that managers knew the crew on the Deepwater Horizon didn't have enough training, that equipment was faulty and that means the disaster could have been prevented. Now, the defense has countered those arguments, but then just as we've heard kind of all along leading up to this trial, they pointed fingers at each other.
The owner of the rig, Transocean, essentially said that this was BP's fault. It was the operator of the well. That means that BP was in charge and that Transocean employees were victims here, too. The lawyer for Halliburton, which did the cement job for the well, said it was BP and Transocean's fault for losing control of the well. BP's lawyer said rather than pointing fingers in the trial, they'll be pointing to facts. So, nice little one-liner there. The company has argued all along that this was a series of mistakes that lead to the disaster that killed 11 crewmen and that massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
CORNISH: And, Jeff, I want you to tell us a little more about settlement, because there had been a lot of talk about a settlement but I guess that didn't happen?
BRADY: No. It didn't happen. They've been negotiating over the past year. BP has been talking with the Department of Justice and the states affected. And we've heard that those negotiations continued through last night. I'm surprised that it wasn't settled today. I can't imagine the BP executives want all these events rehashed in the media again.
But they maintain the company was not grossly negligent, and that's the big question here. They say they're ready to prove that. You know, that could be the company's strategy for settlement negotiations. You know, make it seem like they have a good case and get the plaintiffs to agree to a smaller settlement. We don't know what their strategy is. Maybe the trial will play out and the judge will decide the case, or maybe this will be settled.
CORNISH: And as we mentioned, BP already pleaded guilty to criminal charges. It's paying $4.5 billion in fines. So explain to us how this case is different from that one.
BRADY: Well, this is about what happened leading up to that explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon and who's responsible for it. Allocating liability. That's a term we hear a lot in this phase of the case. And, boy, you know, there is a lot of money at stake here. Under the Clean Water Act, up to $17.5 billion in fines that BP could be subject to. That's a little lower than originally thought, actually, because both sides agreed to exclude about 810,000 barrels of oil that was collected at the blowout site. But we're still talking tens of billions of dollars.
CORNISH: And a few seconds left here, Jeff. What happens next? Is this trial going to go on for a long time?
BRADY: You know, it's always hard to predict how long these trials are going to go on for. But the folks who are involved here, the lawyers predict about three months. So we could be well into May here before this trial wraps up.
CORNISH: NPR's Jeff Brady, joining us from New Orleans. Jeff, thank you.
BRADY: Thank you, Audie.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio. | <urn:uuid:3a2160bb-0259-4b70-8ef7-a1e34b06fc06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/2013/02/25/172905428/civil-trial-against-bp-seeks-to-place-blame-for-gulf-oil-spill?ft=1&f=1025 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976104 | 1,008 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Our amazing people-powered community has just hit 15 million people -- the largest online political movement ever! Size matters, but spirit matters more, and ours is on fire.
Every week, bit by bit, we're coming together to build the world we want, bringing the legitimacy of massive citizen petitions, matched with smart citizen lobbying/messages/phone calls and a media-savvy delivery of our voices directly to decision-makers.
Here are a few examples...
THE US TRIES TO KILL ONLINE FREEDOM. WE FIGHT BACK -- AND WIN!
Late last year, the US Congress began debating a set of bills (SOPA and PIPA) to tackle online piracy. But the devil was in the details and, if passed, the bills would have allowed US officials to censor access to any website around the world, including sites like WikiLeaks, YouTube, and even Avaaz!
Along with groups and activists all across the US, we collected millions of signatures against censorship and delivered them in an hour-long meeting with top White House officials. Following our massive campaign, Obama pledged to veto the bill if it came to his desk and Congress eventually shelved it. This bill was backed by some of the world’s most powerful corporations, but people power won!
NEARLY 3 MILLION OF US TAKE THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE INTERNET TO EUROPE -- AND WIN, AGAIN!!
Right in the middle of SOPA/PIPA fight in the US, a small number of rich countries and large corporations were secretly putting the final touches on a treaty (ACTA) that would give powerful corporations almost free rein to control and censor the Internet. The EU had already signed, but still needed Parliamentary ratification. That was before Avaaz members swung into action.
Within days, over 2.8 million Avaaz members signed a petition to the European Parliament, demanding lawmakers reject ACTA. The petition was delivered directly to decision-makers in Brussels and just last month the law was overwhelmingly defeated -- a major win for civil liberties and a free internet.
Our petition was a lightning-rod for Internet-lovers around the world and created massive surge felt throughout Brussels -- Marietje Schaake, a member of the EU Parliament said: “The Avaaz anti-ACTA petition was very impressive. By showing how big the opposition was, the campaign persuaded MEPs to look into ACTA in detail, because they knew they’d be held accountable.”
INCREDIBLE VICTORY FOR OUR OCEANS
Australia has just created the largest marine protected area in the world -- and Avaaz members had a huge hand in this incredible win for the oceans and the thousands of delicate species that live in them. When Australia opened up a public consultation on the proposed Coral Sea Marine Reserve earlier this year, some commercial fishing and mining companies lobbied tooth and nail against the plan.
But hundreds of thousands of us flooded the Environment Minister with messages in favour of the proposal -- giving the Australian government a crystal clear public mandate to protect this underwater treasure from mining, oil and gas development!
A GLOBAL MEGAPHONE TO SYRIAN PEOPLE
The world has watched in horror this year as the crisis in Syria has worsened, and the Assad regime has continued to crack down with ruthless brutality on its own citizens. Throughout the conflict, our community has acted as an essential watchdog, connecting the world’s media to Syrian activists and to witnesses able to report on the government’s atrocities. Together, we have also as acted as a crucial life support system -- tens of thousands of us have donated to deliver food aid to refugees and provide humanitarian and medical aid to citizens under siege by their own government.
Avaaz has also played a crucial role in drawing attention to some of the key external actors fueling the bloodbath, like the Russian state arms company Rosoboronexport, which has continued to deliver arms to the regime even as the UN, journalists and the world’s human rights organizations reported on Assad’s increased savagery. Our campaign asking the US and India to drop contracts with this Russian company made headline news in the US and India, and helped drive the media cycle to shine a light on the role Russian weapons play in the conflict. Just this week, the Russian government announced an end to the sale of new weapons to Syria!
PEOPLE POWER AND THE DECLINE OF THE MURDOCH MAFIA
Hundreds of thousands of members signed petitions, made phone calls and sent messages to key decision makers in US, UK and Australia to win back our independent media. We found out from internal News Corp emails that “the key” for Jeremy Hunt -- Murdoch’s personal UK Culture Minister -- was “to find a way to weaken Avaaz campaign's arguments.”
THE WORLD TO DILMA: VETO THE AMAZON CHAINSAW MASSACRE!
Earlier this year the Brazilian Congress, swayed by powerful land interests, passed a catastrophic forestry bill that would give loggers and farmers free rein to cut down huge swaths of the Amazon. As part of a powerful partnership with Greenpeace, WWF, and Brazilian civil society, over two million of us called on Brazil’s President Dilma to reject the bill and save the Amazon. Avaaz staff delivered our message in a dramatic day of high-level meetings with key Ministers and colorful demonstrations in the Brazilian capital. Even though we didn’t defeat the whole bill in the end, Dilma vetoed part of the bill and ditched some of the most harmful parts of the Forest law.
AMAZING WIN: AVAAZ STANDS UP FOR EARTHQUAKE FAMILIES IN ITALY.
|When Italy’s Parliament was dragging its feet responding to a devastating earthquake, the Avaaz community took a stand and helped catapult the issue into the headlines and onto the Parliamentary agenda. 190,000 of us signed a petition that was read in front of the Senate by a key MP and carried on a march through the heart of the earthquake zone that was all over the news.||
Then, just last week, the Senate voted to give 165 million Euros of party money to earthquake victims -- money that will help rebuild the homes and roads destroyed by the earthquake and ease the suffering of affected families!
10,000 NEW AVAAZ CAMPAIGNERS?
This year Avaaz launched a new set of tools that empowers anyone anywhere to launch their own campaigns. In just a few weeks, thousands of campaigns have taken off -- in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, with more languages on the way! And in true Avaaz fashion, these new campaigns are grabbing the attention of decision makers and media, and already winning impressive victories: Avaaz members in Mexico helped save a pristine bay from becoming a tourism mega-development, and members in Bulgaria scored a major conservation win for forests. The best of these can even become global Avaaz campaigns, like the petition started by Baaba Maal -- award-winning Senegalese musician and Avaaz member -- to rally urgent food aid to the famine-stricken Sahel region of Africa. Have an idea for a campaign? Launch it right now.
OUR CALL TO END FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES GOES VIRAL
As we approached last month’s historic Rio+20 Earth Summit, Avaaz took a laser focus to one of today’s greatest threats to our planet and our climate: the one trillion taxpayer dollars given each year by our governments to Big Oil, Gas and Coal in subsidies.
Avaaz unleashed a series of campaigns targeting leaders of the G8, the G20 and finally the Rio Summit, hammering out message home again and again -- so that negotiators could never say the world’s people were not crystal clear about what we wanted them to do.
Over one million of us signed the petition to dump these wasteful taxpayer giveaways and we delivered it with hard-hitting full-page ad in the Financial Times on the key day of negotiations. Along with 350.org and other key partners we unfurled massive “trillion dollar bills” on the beaches right outside the Rio+20 and the G20 meetings in front of the media, gaining coverage worldwide.
Ultimately world leaders disappointed all of us as Rio+20 drew to a close with an agreement that failed to take strong action against fossil fuel subsidies. But in the process Avaaz members helped move an issue from the political fringes and thrust it into the mainstream, building our movement and better positioning us for a win in the long run.
THE WORLD STANDS WITH WOMEN IN HONDURAS
|This Spring the Honduran Congress proposed an outrageous law that would throw teenage girls in prison for using the morning-after pill, even after being raped. The law would even threaten doctors with jail for prescribing the pill! Nearly 700,000 Avaaz members around the world cried out against this draconian bill, and together with prominent local women’s rights groups we drew global media attention to the issue.||
The Avaaz team met personally with members of Congress, and on the eve of our action in Tegucigalpa the President of the Honduran Congress told the press he would not pass the law. The offensive piece of legislation hasn’t yet been killed for good, but now lawmakers in Honduras know the world is watching.
BRAZILIANS SLAM THE DOOR SHUT ON CORRUPTION
Earlier this year the Brazilian Supreme Court upheld the hard-won “clean record” anti-corruption law -- delivering the final blow against opponents of the law.
The Ficha Limpa law started as a bold proposal that banned any politician convicted of crimes like corruption and money laundering from running for office. With nearly 25% of the Congress under investigation for corruption, most said it would never pass. But after Avaaz launched the largest online campaign in Brazilian history, helping to build a petition of over 2 million signatures, 500,000 online actions, and tens of thousands of phone calls, we won and it was signed into law!
Check out even more victories on our website by clicking here. | <urn:uuid:48a401ab-ef8e-4ce6-b7b7-8c7ba781efb8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://avaaz.org/en/summer_report_back_2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949369 | 2,124 | 1.578125 | 2 |
State Capitol News
Fri June 8, 2012
Sonora and Arizona Talk Electric Power Sharing
The governors of Arizona and Sonora are meeting today in Tucson on cross border issues. One issue involves promoting the sale of electricity into Mexico.
Mexican law has been changed so the state-owned monopoly electric company is now required to buy low-cost energy from private firms. That includes companies in Arizona where there is an excess of power from gas-fired generators -- assuming the power can get from here to there. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she likes the idea of cross-border sales. But the issues go beyond technical. One is whether increased demand for energy from Mexico will drive up costs for Arizona consumers.
"That's an issue that probably needs to be determined," Brewer said. "The Corporation Commission would be in charge of that. That's why I weighed in at the meeting to establish the opportunity task force just to see exactly how it will affect the things that usually take place when you do something like that."
David Hutchens, president of Tucson Electric Power, said he's not worried.
"There's enough to go around," Hutchens said. "Sure it would probably pick it up a little bit from where it is today. But still, depending on how interconnected we are and how far into Mexico and how much load they brought on, that's a long term and, to me, kind of a high-class problem."
He also conceded the excess supply might disappear if federal environmental regulations force closure of the state's coal-fired power plants. | <urn:uuid:72021323-1cf4-496f-aa49-f23268fc0f59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knau.org/post/sonora-and-arizona-talk-electric-power-sharing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96889 | 318 | 1.671875 | 2 |
F. Scott Fitzgerald with his wife, Zelda. (Princeton University Library…)
A previously unpublished story by F. Scott Fitzgerald appears in this week's issue of the New Yorker. The magazine had originally rejected the 1936 story, "Thank You for the Light," when it was submitted by the author.
"Thank You For the Light" is a tiny, short story about Mrs. Hanson, "a pretty, somewhat faded woman of forty, who sold corsets and girdles." When she's transferred to a new territory, her smoking habit is frowned upon, and all she wants is to have a cigarette. It has a tidy ending, but more important to the story is Mrs. Hanson's longing as she wishes for the cigarette she can't smoke.
Is it secretly about Fitzgerald and drinking? You decide.
By the mid-1930s, Fitzgerald was suffering difficulties. After the publication of his first novel, "This Side of Paradise," he'd been the toast of New York. The New Yorker, which published its first issue in 1925, welcomed him in its pages: He had three stories and two poems published in the magazine between 1929 and 1937. But it also chronicled what it saw as his dissipation.
The New Yorker's Book Bench shares part of a 1926 profile by John C. Mosher of Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. "[His] popularity on two continents may explain something of the financial mystery which so appals him. Ever since 'This Side of Paradise,' money has poured in upon this young couple, thousands and thousands a month. And just as fast it has poured out. Where it goes, no one seems to know. Least of all evidently, the Fitzgeralds. They complain that nothing is left to show for it. Mrs. Fitzgerald hasn’t even a pearl necklace."
Fitzgerald moved to Southern California in the late 1930s and worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. He was not well; he died of a heart attack at age 44. When he died, he left the novel "The Last Tycoon" unfinished, and most of his novels were out of print.
Now, of course, Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is considered the great American novel. It will be coming to movie screens this winter, courtesy Baz Luhrman, in 3-D.
Fitzgerald's Gatsby house is doomed
F. Scott Fitzgerald's flask, on the anniversary of his death
F. Scott Fitzgerald's last secretary, Frances Ring | <urn:uuid:db506654-bad0-4f66-816c-5f1432262174> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/30/news/la-jc-new-f-scott-fitzgerald-story-published-in-the-new-yorker-20120730 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982007 | 514 | 1.75 | 2 |
ARLINGTON, TX, June 1, 2010 – Rising from the Texas landscape as grand as sunrise over the tall grass prairie, Cowboys Stadium is the largest domed stadium in the world. Home of the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys, the facility is outfitted with a communications infrastructure employing wireless systems supporting everything from the simple exchange of information behind-the-scenes to entertainment for the 80,000 fans that fill the stands on game days.
Playing a central role within a complex and rigidly-controlled RF blueprint, 16 channels of Shure UHF-R® wireless span the stadium all the way from the field through the club levels and up to the main systems control room. Joining the single and dual-channel UHF-R systems dedicated to the task, Shure PSM® 700 systems bring four channels of personal monitoring capabilities to the main bowl system.
Kevin Day, a senior consultant working from the Dallas offices of WJHW, provided a comprehensive audio spec, fulfilling the needs of the stadium. The implementation of the design was managed by Pro Media/UltraSound. With lots of experience with projects of this scale, the Hercules, California-based firm has posted credits on its resume over the course of the last decade that include the modernization of the bowl system at Candlestick Park, the installation of sound systems at Dallas’ American Airlines Arena, and high-profile sonic overhauls of the Honda Center in Anaheim and Kyle Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
“Any pro sports arena is an extremely hostile environment when it comes to wireless RF spectrum,” notes Demetrius Palavos, Pro Media/UltraSound’s senior sales and design engineer. “What made this project exceptionally demanding was its proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which is a maximum of about eight miles away. A lot of the airport’s communication towers are even closer.”
To meet the challenge, WJHW chose Shure UHF-R wireless based on the technology’s track record for providing reliability and performance. On the club levels, single channel UR124S/Beta 87A combo systems leave a handheld UR2 receiver and UR1 bodypack transmitter at the disposal of users. Kept at hand for use with the bodypacks, Shure’s cardioid WL185 lavalier microphones also see duty on each of the club levels.
Elsewhere in the stadium where wireless needs are greater (such as in the control room system used to capture on-field entertainment and the singing of the national anthem), dual-channel UR124D/Beta 87A combo systems broaden the aural palette using the same UR2-UR1-WL 185 approach. Built using wireless circuitry as robust as that included in the UHF-R systems, PSM 700 in-ear monitoring is used exclusively in the on-field entertainment system.
An active UA845-SWB antenna combiner splits a pair of UA870 paddle antennas for use across the channels in the on-field system. “The distance is a good 250 feet from the 50-yard line up to control booth-mounted receivers,” Palavos relates. “We initially talked about using helical antennas for this part of the project, but the stadium’s RF coordinator felt the Shure receivers and transmitters were already well-equipped for the job, so they wouldn’t be necessary. As it turned out, he couldn’t have been more correct.”
Keller McCrary has occupied the post as the stadium’s RF overlord since the earliest phases of the facility’s construction. Charged with giving painstaking coordination to every RF signal required for any event, McCrary brings a level of skill and authority to his ongoing assignment that Palavos credits as being one of the underlying factors in the rock-solid wireless performance found on the property.
“The other component responsible for our success is found in the Shure gear itself,” Palavos adds. “The electronics in the front-end of these systems does a great job of rejecting any off-band interference that may try to step on us. Having Keller lay down the law on who is going to occupy what frequency is vital. But some systems in use here may transmit extremely hot, or not be engineered that well. In the latter cases, a system may indicate that it’s tuned to a specific frequency, but in reality may be off-center to that frequency. The Shure gear holds its own in the face of this kind of competition and makes any potentially harmful episodes a non-issue.”
Pro Media/UltraSound tuned the Shure wireless systems with the aid of Shure’s Wireless Workbench® software for operation stadium-wide on the H4 bandwidths (518 – 578 MHz). By his own account, Palavos, along with Pro Media colleagues Richard Bratcher and Ted Leamy, “spent quite a bit of time walking around looking for dropouts. Richard exercised a phenomenal amount of patience in getting the club levels just right. All of our efforts were worth it in the end, as operation today is painless. If you go to where Keller tells you to tune and turn on the mic—wham! It works every time. We’ve never had to make any frantic changes, game-day mischief, or need to re-tune. Everything just works flawlessly.” | <urn:uuid:389c2f28-c6c2-4793-a29e-f25ec8d9a395> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shure.com/americas/news-events/press-releases/shure-joins-coordinated-rf-effort-at-cowboys-stadium?mobile=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938193 | 1,138 | 1.703125 | 2 |
A Window of Opportunity
What happens now that Zarqawi's dead?
Make no mistake: The killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a big deal, and for reasons beyond justice, vengeance, and crossing out another top mug on the al-Qaida most-wanted chart.
Just how big a deal it is will depend on what the new Iraqi government does as a follow-up—or, more to the point, what it can do, and there are still severe limits on that.
Still, one piece of good news is that there is a new Iraqi government, and this seems to be in part a direct outcome of the airstrike that hit Zarqawi and his entourage. Right after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the news, the parliament confirmed his appointments to the Cabinet's final three, most crucial slots: the defense, interior, and national-security ministries. The nominees—a Sunni and two Shiites, respectively—had been subjects of rancorous sectarian debate, which ended instantly upon the demise of Iraqi sectarianism's chief instigator.
Does this mean that national unity lies around the corner? That's doubtful, and not just because Iraq has turned too many illusory corners these past three years for anyone to take seriously the sighting of another. Zarqawi exacerbated ethnic tensions and helped ignite them in mass violence; triggering a civil war was central to his strategy. But he didn't create those tensions, nor are they likely to vanish along with him. Fires rage on, regardless of what happens to the man who lit the match.
As for future fires, there's no shortage of matches in Iraq these days—or of people willing to light them.
For a long time now, analysts and several officials have noted that jihadist followers of Zarqawi's comprise a small segment of the insurgency but commit a larger percentage of the most violent acts. Nobody has been precise about how the numbers break down. I doubt if anyone really knows. At the very least, we may be about to find out.
The dismaying point here is that the violence won't end; President Bush himself made this clear in his public statement this morning. The vast majority of insurgents have claims and ambitions that have nothing to do with Zarqawi's. Those who are his disciples will probably set off some bombs over the next several days, if just to demonstrate that they can operate without him.
But can they remain a potent force without their leader for the next weeks, months, and years? Again, I don't think anybody knows. His group, al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, has announced it has selected a new "prince" to replace him, though it seems unlikely that anyone short of Osama Bin Laden himself could match Zarqawi's organizational talents or charisma.
Does it matter if no jihadist leader emerges? In one sense, probably not. Al-Qaida International has long devolved from a centralized network to a scattered franchise, still capable of terrorism and harder to track down. In another sense, though, Zarqawi's absence might make a difference, especially in Iraq. His underlings' instant announcement of a replacement—just as mighty, the message promised—may indicate that they know how desperately such a figurehead is needed.
There were already signs that Zarqawi's operation was unraveling. Many Sunni Arabs bitterly protested his strategy of splitting Iraq's Muslims, especially his attacks on Shiites and their mosques. Juan Cole reports that, just this week, some of Zarqawi's fighters mounted an assault on a Fallujah police station—and were staved off by young Sunni tribesmen. Initial accounts of Zarqawi's death reported that "area residents" gave his location away. Later stories said the information came from insiders. Either way, it's good news. The former would mean that, for at least some Iraqis, their impatience with Zarqawi's violence outweighed their fear of his wrath. The latter would mean that his organization is about to splinter still further—with, ultimately, the same result.
Fred Kaplan is Slate's "War Stories" columnist and author of the book, The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.
Photograph of U.S. military news conference by Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images. | <urn:uuid:323a0225-4c94-4981-abb8-802299aded3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2006/06/a_window_of_opportunity.html?nav=navoa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972539 | 909 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Vanderbilt's administration decided to push secularism to the extreme --- launching a virtual vendetta against religious organizations on campus. Officials of the university informed religious groups that had been recognized student organizations that they would have to comply with an absolute non-discrimination policy. This means that religious organizations (primarily Christian) must now allow any Vanderbilt student to be a candidate for a leadership office, regardless of religious beliefs or sexual orientation. In other words, a Christian student group would be forced to allow the candidacy of an atheist. A group of Christians who believe in the Bible's standard of sexual morality would be required to allow the candidacy of a homosexual member. There can be absolutely no discrimination, the university insists, even if that means that Christian organizations are no longer actually Christian.
In reality, that is the aim. The university is embarrassed again --- this time by the mere presence of Christian organizations on its campus. It will deal with that embarrassment by eliminating the right of Christian organizations to operate on Christian principles. It will impose its own Stalinist definition of tolerance and freedom and deny the right of Christian students to participate in recognized campus organizations that can remain authentically Christian.
The provost of the university recently defended the policy, stating that student organizations may elect their own leaders, but may not disqualify any candidate based on, among other things, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
See also David French's post at NationalReview.com, "Vanderbilt University Insults Our Intelligence." An excerpt:
The reality, of course, is that Vanderbilt is trying to force the orthodox Christian viewpoint off campus. The "nondiscrimination" rhetoric is mere subterfuge. How can we know this? Because even as it works mightily to make sure that atheists can run Christian organizations, it is working just as mightily to protect the place and prerogatives of Vanderbilt's powerful fraternities and sororities --- organizations that explicitly discriminate, have never been open to "all comers," and cause more real heartache each semester for rejected students than any religious organization has ever inflicted in its entire history on campus. Vanderbilt's embattled religious organizations welcome all students with open arms; Vanderbilt's fraternities and sororities routinely reject their fellow students based on little more than appearance, family heritage, or personality quirks.
This is an important week on campus, as the Board of Trustees gathers and the students have planned several events of prayer, awareness, and hospitality. They've also produced this helpful video: | <urn:uuid:cb3a9599-7dbe-49dd-a459-80b95f281de3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thegospelcoalition.org/mobile/article/justintaylor/religious-freedom-under-attack-at-vanderbilt-university | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953503 | 505 | 1.507813 | 2 |
US regulators establish clearing supervision framework
US regulators the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the board of the Federal Reserve (the Fed) have set out plans for meeting their supervisory goals related to the clearing business.
The three agencies have to provide consistency in oversight and risk monitoring according to Section 813 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted on 21 July 2010. The supervisory framework for designated clearing entities (DCEs), provided by Congress in Title VIII of the act, emphasises the systemic risk that DCEs can create and encourages closer consultation between supervisors.
DCEs are systemically important clearing entities, defined as closed systems that provide multilateral clearing and settlement services and risk management services to their members.
To meet their obligations under Dodd-Frank, the three agencies have set out five actions. The CFTC and the SEC will consult the Fed and other agencies as they finalise rulemakings that establish risk management standards for derivatives clearing organisations, which are registered with the CFTC, and clearing agencies, which are registered with the SEC. This consultation should be continued as future agency rulemakings connected to risk management standards for DCEs are developed.
The CFTC and SEC will also develop a formal process for consulting with the Fed on proposing material changes to a DCE's operation. All three bodies will develop a consultative mechanism that promotes a shared understanding of potential systemic risks and allows the exchange of information regarding relevant risk management practice.
It is also suggested that the three should develop a process for consulting annually on the scope and methodology of the SEC's and CFTC's planned examinations of DCEs and allowing them each to comment on the examinations themselves.
Finally they will develop an appropriate process for sharing information on DCEs.
The Group of 20 agreed in September 2009 that all standardised OTC derivative contracts must be cleared through central counterparties by end-2012. The Dodd-Frank Act is partly the US response to that agreement, and these latest measures are safeguards against the consequences of central counterparty failure, made more serious for the wider financial system by the increased volumes and range of contracts that they will process. | <urn:uuid:a3787ce5-abc4-4ccf-9211-3f5562ffb2ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetradenews.com/news/Regions/Americas/US_regulators_establish_clearing_supervision_framework.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956386 | 450 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The head of the UN observer mission in Syria has called on President Bashar Assad and the country's opposition to stop fighting and allow a tenuous ceasefire to take hold.
Maj Gen Robert Mood spoke after arriving in the Syrian capital Damascus to take charge of an advance team of 16 UN monitors trying to salvage an international peace plan to end the country's 13-month-old crisis. Under the plan, a ceasefire is supposed to lead to talks between Assad and the opposition on a political solution to a conflict that has killed more than 9,000 people.
Mood told reporters that the 300 observers the UN has authorised for the mission "cannot solve all the problems" in Syria, and asked for cooperation from forces loyal to Assad as well as rebels seeking to end his rule.
"We want to have combined efforts focusing on the welfare of the Syrian people," he said. "True cessation of violence in all its forms."
The ceasefire began unravelling almost as soon as it went into effect on April 12. The regime has kept up its attacks on opposition strongholds, while rebel fighters have continued to ambush government security forces. Defying a major truce provision, the Syrian military has failed to withdraw tanks and soldiers from the streets.
Despite the violence, the truce still enjoys the support of the international community, largely because it views the plan as the last chance to prevent the country from falling into civil war - in part because it does not want to intervene militarily.
Most analysts, however, say the plan has little chance of succeeding, though it could temporarily bring down the level of daily violence.
That has largely been the case in Homs, Syria's third largest city, which has emerged as the heart of the uprising. Regime forces pounded parts of Homs for months, leaving large swaths of the city in ruins, before two UN monitors moved into an upscale hotel there last week.
Since then, the level of violence has dropped, although gun battles still frequently break out. An amateur video posted online on Saturday showed the observers walking through a heavily damaged neighbourhood, where residents collected a body laying in the street and put it in the back of a pick-up truck.
Mood, a Norwegian, was appointed head of the observer mission by UN chief Ban Ki-moon. One hundred monitors should be in the country by mid-May, said mission spokesman Neeraj Singh. It is unclear when or if the full contingent of 300 monitors authorised by the UN will deploy to Syria. | <urn:uuid:200a3010-d170-4f1e-8511-6db44236c159> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/un-observer-urges-halt-to-violence-28743524.html | 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 | 0.97171 | 506 | 1.6875 | 2 |
STONYFORD -- All recyclable cans and bottles generated by firefighters at the Mill Fire Incident Command Post will be donated to the Stonyford 4-H fundraising effort.
Members of Northern California Incident Management Team 2 (NorCal Team 2) and the Mendocino National Forest coordinated with the 4-H chapter to collect recyclables in camp, which 4-H members will collect, sort and turn them in for deposit.
The Stonyford 4-H club regularly collects recyclables during the annual Stonyford Rodeo. Chapter President Sara McCabe, 16, delivered collection drums to the command post with her father Friday.
Seventeen youths, ages 8 to 16, belong to the Stonyford 4-H and learn about leadership, teamwork, community service, animal husbandry, farming, home economics, woodworking, leather crafting and other skills. Funds raised are used for the youth's registration fees and dues.
"I'm always pleased when there is some way we can give back to the community," Matt Johnson, NorCal Type 2 incident commander, said. "This will benefit the youth, who use these rodeo grounds."
"I am pleased that the Incident Command Team is taking this step," Mendocino National Forest Supervisor Sherry Tune said. "Recycling is an important part of our ecosystem services program and caring for our environment for current and future generations. Investing the recycling funds to enhance the Stonyford 4-H program, benefitting local youth, is so important for this community and I'm excited the Forest
Grounded in conservation and committed to sustainable resource management, the Forest Service has an obligation to help reduce the U.S. environmental deficit. The agency has taken a hard look at its own environmental footprint, working to make its operations more sustainable. Reducing the waste generated from firefighting operations is one way the Forest Service can achieve this goal.
In addition to can and bottle recycling, cardboard and batteries are also being recycled at the Mill Fire incident. | <urn:uuid:4226f8db-bb2e-40c7-b69d-f541a40fb77d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.record-bee.com/ci_21072831/recycling-effort-at-mill-fire-assist-area-4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942267 | 413 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Ready, set, go!
Rose was happy to have her own net.
Bug has been captured.
Analysis and recording time. We talked about the bugs as Daisy captured them, discussing patterns, characteristics and what we thought they were. Daisy drew them and then labelled the drawing with a name.
Rose was not particularly into this activity but was happy to swing the net around for a while!
Daisy’s bug journal will be used throughout the rest of the summer.
Now go catch some bugs!
PS You may also like Bug Patchwork art we made. | <urn:uuid:b691003d-3fdb-4ecf-8711-b9dbe1744b0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://2flowerslearn.com/2012/08/10/bug-hunting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974994 | 119 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Gun-rights advocates rally outside the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. / Joseph Spector, Gannett Albany, N.Y., Bureau
ALBANY, N.Y. -- More than two-dozen New York counties and local governments have passed resolutions in opposition to the state's new gun-control law.
The resolutions have come largely from rural upstate communities and range from calling the law unconstitutional, to wanting a full repeal, to raising concerns about unfunded mandates that the law may produce.
The mainly Republican leaders said they are responding to the concerns of residents. On Tuesday night, about 1,000 residents attended an Ulster County (N.Y.) Legislature meeting as lawmakers adopted a resolution opposed to the gun law signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 15.
"This gun law was poorly drafted, it was poorly passed. It really does need a lot of fixes," said Ulster County Legislature Chairwoman Terry Bernardo.
While the resolutions are ceremonial, local leaders said they want the message to get across to state officials that people are unhappy with the law.
"We hope it has influence," said Wayne Speenburgh, chairman of the Greene County (N.Y.) Legislature, which is expected to vote on its resolution Wednesday night. "Since I've been a legislator, and I'm in my 10th year, I've probably never seen the constituents on any subject more outraged than over this law."
Lawmakers and Cuomo are expected to consider amendments to the law, particularly making it clear that police officers are exempt from an assault-weapons ban.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has defended the law, which is the toughest and first in the nation since the Newtown, Conn., school shootings in December. It expands the state's assault-weapons ban, requires guns to be registered every five years and limits the number of bullets in a magazine to seven.
A Siena College poll Feb. 4 showed voters supported the gun law 65 percent to 30 percent.
"Gun safety is a politically charged issue and a lot of people have very strong feelings about guns. I understand it. I respect it," Cuomo said last week in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. "I also understand that there has been a chronic problem of gun violence in this state and in this nation. Too many innocent people have lost their lives."
The third rally to oppose the law is planned for Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Capitol. Organizers said they are bringing busloads of gun-rights supporters for the event.
Local leaders said the push for resolutions in opposition to the gun law hasn't come from one particular group. And while some counties have consulted with one another about how to craft the resolutions, there isn't one specific template that they are all using -- though many are similar.
"It's got grassroots. There's no overarching group pushing this," said Evan Hempel, a town council member in Clermont, Columbia County, N.Y., who is keeping track of the resolutions on a website, www.nysaferesolutions.com.
Most of the resolutions knock the hasty passage of the law. Cuomo bypassed a three-day waiting period for the bill to be adopted, using what's known as a message of necessity. Lawmakers approved it within hours of the bill being printed.
The resolutions in Ulster and Wyoming counties run four to five pages and both say, "This legislation effectively turns countless New York State law-abiding gun owners into criminals."
Livingston County administrator Ian Coyle said county officials are concerned about the added local cost to enforce the law. The state has indicated that it will pay expenses for the program through State Police, but local leaders are skeptical.
"It's a little bit of a joke at this point because the county clerk offices are getting bombarded," Coyle said of the state's claim. "Our phones are ringing off the hook, people are streaming in through the door for these various pistol permit provisions."
Rockland County passed a resolution Tuesday in opposition to the law, and Tioga County recently passed one. Monroe and Dutchess counties said they are considering resolutions.
"It's important to so many people that we need to discuss it," said Robert Rolison, the Dutchess County Legislature chairman.
Some counties have issued support for tougher gun laws. In Westchester County, the Democratic-led Legislature passed a resolution this month that backs tougher federal laws, similar to what was passed in New York.
On Wednesday, County Executive Robert Astorino, a Republican, announced a program, Safer Communities, to combat gun violence.
Spector writes for the Gannett Albany (N.Y.) Bureau
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: N.Y. counties pass resolutions against gun law | <urn:uuid:888f5ad6-3689-4933-8a11-bb99b3a01fb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/1933989 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962742 | 1,004 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The San Francisco Police Department has issued a public safety announcement about a check scam making the rounds. From the press release:
In this fraud, the potential victim is mailed a letter purporting to be a representative of a British organization called The National Lottery, which is non-existent. Accompanying the letter is a fraudulent Chase Bank check. The letter states that the potential victim has won $135,000 in U.S. dollars. The enclosed check, payable to the potential victim whose name appears on the check, is in the amount of $3,750 in U.S. dollars, which as the letter explains, is the amount that has been withdrawn from the potential victim’s “winnings” to pay a U.K. tax for non-residents. The check is to reimburse the recipient for this withdrawal.
The letter explains that $1,960 U.S. dollars is required to pay this tax, which is allegedly payable through a fictitious tax agent through Money Gram and Western Union money transfer. (Elated by the $3,750 check, the potential victim may overlook the fact that the subtracted $3,750 supposedly covered the tax, as explained in the letter.) Once payment is received, the lottery claims affiliate states that the balance of the winnings will be remitted.
Police are asking that people not try to cash the check, because they may either be detained at the bank for a crime in progress or told that the check can’t be cashed because of insufficient funds.
Police also warn not to call the phone numbers provided in the letter or respond by email:
If so, the sender may “data-mine” telephone numbers and email addresses associated with you. Data-mining is a technique that criminals use to extract more information from you without your knowledge. That information can be sold to others for purposes of identity theft or used for another scam.
If you’ve been a victim of this scam or have any information, police ask that you contact the Financial Crimes Unit at 415-553-1521 or the anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444. | <urn:uuid:2d1c6a44-8b66-49f1-a7ac-d8a33727c94f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://missionlocal.org/2012/07/sfpd-beware-of-check-scam/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9503 | 442 | 1.640625 | 2 |
10 Strategies To Fight Anonymous DDoS AttacksPreventing distributed denial of service attacks may be impossible. But with advance planning, they can be mitigated and stopped. Learn where to begin.
- The Untapped Potential of Mobile Apps for Commercial Customers
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"Their major campaign, Operation Payback, during the WikiLeaks saga in December 2010--against those supporting the U.S. government--was the turning point that shaped the security scene in 2011," according to the report. In short, by distributing easy-to-use DDoS tools, such as low-orbit ion cannon, Anonymous popularized DDoS attacks.
[ So you've been hacked. Learn 9 Ways To Minimize Data Breach Fallout. ]
But are DDoS attacks something that businesses and government agencies must simply endure, or, can they be more actively resisted? In fact, organizations can take a number of steps to at least mitigate the effect that DDoS attacks have on their websites, servers, databases, and other essential infrastructure.
1. Know you're vulnerable.
One lesson from the use of DDoS by Anonymous--as well as its sister hacktivist group LulzSec--is that any site is at risk. That's not meant to sound alarmist, but rather simply to acknowledge that the hacktivist agenda can seem random, at best. Indeed, after Anonymous came along, "the financial sector, which had not really considered itself as a prime target, was hit and urgently forced to confront threatening situations," according to the Radware report. "Government sites had been targeted before, but 2011 saw a dramatic increase in frequency, and neutral governments that felt themselves exempt, like New Zealand, were attacked."
2. DDoS attacks are cheap to launch, tough to stop.
As the recent Anonymous retaliation for the Megaupload takedown shows, hacktivists can quickly crowdsource "5,600 DDoS zealots blasting at once," as Anonymous boasted on Twitter, to take down the websites of everyone from the FBI and the Justice Department to the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America. "DDoS is to the Internet what the billy club is to gang warfare: simple, cheap, unsophisticated, and effective," said Rob Rachwald, director of security strategy of Imperva, via email.
3. Plan ahead.
Stopping DDoS attacks requires preparation. If attacked, "folks that don't take active measures to ensure the resilience of their networks are going to get knocked over," said Roland Dobbins, Asia-Pacific solutions architect for Arbor Networks, via phone. "They need to do everything they can to increase resiliency and availability." Accordingly, he recommends implementing "all of the industry best and current practices for their network infrastructure, as well as applications, critical supporting services, including DNS." | <urn:uuid:9730e909-cd0e-4502-8fe3-24bf1d0582e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/security/vulnerabilities/10-strategies-to-fight-anonymous-ddos-at/232600411?cid=SBX_bigdata_related_video_Regulation/compliance_big_data&itc=SBX_bigdata_related_video_Regulation/compliance_big_data | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956347 | 596 | 1.8125 | 2 |
June 12, 2012 -
Men and women training to serve and protect are honoring a Florida man who died in the line of duty.
Detective David White was working for the Clay County Sheriff's Office when he was killed in the line of duty in February 2012. Even though Clay County is four hours away, it had an impact on a basic recruit class at the Florida Public Safety Institute. Class 389 has been raising money for White's family and last money even had a memorial run in his honor on TCC's campus. They've raised more than $6000 and today presented the check to someone who knew white very well, a member of the sheriffs office. The money will then go to the family. | <urn:uuid:2a742298-bba6-448a-a72a-a77fb537d3a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wctv.tv/community/headlines/Trainees_at_Pat_Thomas_Remember_158596105.html?storySection=photo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991088 | 143 | 1.5 | 2 |
Just months after launching in Singapore, Uber, an online private car hire service, is kickstarting a major push into Asia. Already, the company has placed job postings seeking general managers, with logistics and community management roles available in certain countries.
At least 7 cities will soon see Uber’s black luxury cars on its roads, and these are: Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangalore, and Auckland.
The general manager will be responsible for developing and growing Uber’s business, requiring him or her to take charge of customer support, local marketing, supply chain management, yield management, social media, and public relations.
While Uber has not officially disclosed its timeline for regional expansion, Taiwanese tech blog Inside noted that the company has already created an Uber Taipei Twitter account. The writer further indicated that Uber has already partnered with at least one local car leasing company, and that it is set to launch in the city in a few weeks. Read more
eBUS, a New Zealand startup with a presence in Singapore, India, and Australia, has been acquired for undisclosed terms by IMD, a London-based media logistics operator.
Founded in 2005 by Carmine Masiello, eBUS deals in cloud-based video transfer services for the advertising industry. Read more
Rocket Internet is a Berlin headquartered company that is well-known for cloning successful online startups (usually from the US), replicating them elsewhere, and turning them into million-dollar businesses. It was founded in 2007 by the Samwer brothers — Alexander, Marc, and Oliver, who have together created and sold a number of successful Internet businesses before starting Rocket Internet. Most of their businesses are e-commerce related.
The company tends to hire MBA-trained executives and management consultants to become ‘founder’ and ‘managing director’ of its businesses. However, unlike startup founders, they do not hold as much equity or have as much decision-making power to shape the direction of their companies. They are primarily executors who could be fired for underperforming.
Rocket Internet has polarized observers in the startup and technology community for its practices. Critics pour scorn on the company for blatant copying, mischaracterizing its ventures as startups, an over-aggressive and results-oriented corporate culture, and rapid turnover rates. At the same time, it is widely admired for its rapid execution ability. Read more
Fashion labels, like tech startups, have a valley of death. Once sales picks up, designers will have the unpleasant task of managing an ever burgeoning inventory and customer database. It saps their creativity, takes time away from what they do best, and could ultimately destroy the business.
To help designer-entrepreneurs like these, a trio of Kiwis has today launched TradeGecko, a cloud-based customer, sales and inventory management tool that aims to fill the gap between spreadsheets and enterprise tools like SAP, Netsuite, and SalesForce. Read more
Two weeks ago, we featured Cooliris, an iPad app that aims to improve the way users view and share photos on the tablet. Now, the team has shared a major milestone with us: Cooliris is now number 1 for iPad apps in 63 countries for the lifestyle category. Read more
Facebook has launched a feature that allows users to get special deals from merchants within the social network.
The deals will appear on their news feeds, and after claiming a deal, an email will be sent to the user. The deal can then be redeemed by flashing the email at a store.
Facebook Offers is currently in beta and is being rolled out to selected businesses in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, US, and Turkey, according to The Verge. Read more | <urn:uuid:a1b89b23-9150-45d7-9835-9cabefc6a387> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sgentrepreneurs.com/tag/new-zealand/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954595 | 762 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Every year, many thousands of international students come from all over the world to study at universities and colleges in the UK. As well as gaining academic qualifications, they hope to improve their understanding of the culture and life of this country. One of the best ways of doing that is to spend time with the people of Britain in their homes and local communities.
|For the hosts, sharing their own knowledge and way of life with international students is enjoyable and worthwhile; for the guests, a stay with a family is often the most memorable event of their time in Britain.
HOST is a national charity, founded by the British Council in 1987, which introduces international students to volunteer host families, who welcome them for a short visit - for a day, a weekend or perhaps a little longer at festival times. There are hosts all over Britain, but fewer than 2000 of them, so that it is not always possible to help all the students who would love to benefit from this unique experience of cultural exchange.
HOST needs to hear from hospitable people who could offer just one or two invitations a year to different adult guests. They also want their register of hosts to reflect all the diversity the population of this country offers. And they would like to be able to help the students who ask to meet a host of a particular religious faith or ethnic background. HOST's volunteer regional organisers make every effort to match the interests of students and hosts.
For the hosts, sharing their own knowledge and way of life with international students is enjoyable and worthwhile; for the guests, a stay with a family is often the most memorable event of their time in Britain. The HOST scheme has a special contribution to make to international understanding and goodwill.
If you would like to know more, please visit www.hostuk.org or call HOST on 020 7254 3039 for an information pack.
Publicity Officer, HOST | <urn:uuid:d3c88078-d824-44f2-af93-5dfcfa379da7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcb.org.uk/index.php?option=com_newarticle&view=detail&id=106&Itemid=93 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966025 | 386 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Description: This exhibition is composed of fifty-four alumni who received arts degrees from either a BA in Fine Arts, BFA In Studio Arts, BFA in Communication Arts and Design, BFA in Interior Architecture, MA in Studio Arts or MAT at the University of Louisville since 2000. They are currently working as artists, arts educators, designers, illustrators, curators, gallery directors and arts activists. They also may be running their own business and/or continuing their education (two are currently in PhD programs). Of the alumni in “Making it: Now”, twenty-seven have gone on to earn higher degrees at other institutions including Tyler School of Art, Yale University, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, New York Academy of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, Rhode Island School of Art, University of Pennsylvania, Pratt, University of Cincinnati and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some have stayed in Louisville or this region while others have moved to New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, San Francisco and all points between.
Description: BOB THOMPSON, (1937-1966) - In 1957, the same year that Federal troops were called in to escort black students in Little Rock, Bob Thompson, an African American artist, was granted an Allen R. Hite Art Scholarship to study at the University of Louisville. In 1959 he left Louisville for New York where he quickly and steadily gained success. In his brief life, Thompson produced well over 1,000 works, many of them monumental in scale and ambition. Although Thompson has been the subject of many exhibitions across the country, including a major retrospective at the Whitney in 1998, he is still not well-known in his hometown of Louisville. Seeking Bob Thompson will reintroduce the city of Louisville to one of its brightest talents.
This exhibition is presented as part of the University of Louisville Fine Arts Department 75th Anniversary Celebration.
Description: In conjunction with the First Friday Trolley Hop and the University of Louisville Fine Arts Department 75th Anniversary Celebration, the Cressman Center for Visual Arts will host an opening reception and gallery talk for the exhibition "Seeking Bob Thompson." Curators, John Begley and Slade Stumbo, will discuss the history, artwork, and local heritage of the accomplished artist.
Description: Born into a Czech family of glass workers, Martin Janecky began working in his father’s factory at the age of 13 before attending secondary school concentrating on glass art. Since his first visit to the United States in 2003, he has served repeatedly as an Artist in Residence and instructor at Penland, Pilchuck, Corning, Tacoma and Public Glass. Janecky received the 2006 Kaiser foundation Award and the 2008 Salvador Dali World Prize.
Description: For more than ten years Stephen
Cartwright has recorded his exact
latitude, longitude and elevation
every hour of every day. This data
is embodied physically in his
sculptural objects. While working in
the exhibit industry, making displays
and prototypes, Cartwright was
introduced to the possibilities of
digital fabrication, a technique he
frequently uses in his current work.
Cartwright was lured away from the
exhibit industry to complete several
grand bicycle journeys through
North America, Europe and Asia,
totaling more than 20,000 miles. He
relished the complete immersion in
the landscape and culture that selfcontained
bicycle travel afforded.
While Cartwright continues his work
related to his latitude and longitude
recordings, other recent work
focuses on human alteration of the
Cartwright earned a BA in Studio
Art from the University of California,
Davis and an MFA in Sculpture from
Tyler School of Art. Cartwright is
currently an assistant professor in
sculpture at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign and longs for
the topographical relief that informs
Description: Bill Fischer is a life-long artist, having started painting in the late 1950’s and continuing on to as recently as 2011. The Hite Art Institute wish to recognize his accomplishments
as an artist and his contributions to young artists at the University of Louisville with a dedication ceremony and reception in his honor.
Bill Fischer has endowed the Bill Fischer Senior Project Grants which helps one student in 2-D studios and one student in 3-D studio each semester mount their Senior Exhibition based on their presentations during BFA reviews.
In addition, he has underwriten the department’s studio spaces at Our Mother of Sorrows, now referred to as the “The Bill Fischer Studios.”
Description: The University of Louisville Hite Art Institute is pleased to announce the opening of the Fall 2012 BFA Thesis Exhibition at the Schneider Hall Galleries. The exhibition will display artwork in a variety of mediums of those students graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Hite Art Institute. The Exhibition will open with a reception and remarks on November 29 at Schneider Hall Galleries on Belknap Campus from 5:30-7:30pm.
This show will feature the artwork of Arin Ashley, Benjamin Cook, Julia Davis, Lana Wilson, Rachel Hagan, Sarah Hance, Jordan Lance Morgan, Charlotte Pollock, Patrick Rademaker, Philip Rodriguez, Jeff Ruemeli, and Lana Wilson.
Each BFA candidate will contribute their unique vision as represented by a concentrated body of work developed to demonstrate their readiness to enter the professional art world upon graduation.
Description: Presented by the Hite Art Institute and the Speed Art Museum. Dr. James Crump is Chief Curator at the Cincinnati
Art Museum. With over twenty years in the field, his
career is marked by ground-breaking exhibitions,
publications, acquisitions, and programming for
learning and interpretation.
The exhibitions Dr. Crump curated in recent years
include: American Photographs: Diane Arbus, Lee
Friedlander, Richard Avedon; Image Conscious:
Photography and Contemporary Art; Garry Winogrand:
Women Are Beautiful; Doug Aitken: Electric Earth,
Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970—1980;
Walker Evans: Decade by Decade; Doug and Mike
Starn: Gravity of Light; and Herb Ritts: LA Style (with
the J. Paul Getty Museum).
Description: Benefitting the Ceramic Arts Organization. Friday, November 30, 8am-8pm and Saturday December 1, 10am-2pm. Cash and Check Only. University of Louisville, 2314 South Floyd Street, HPES Building, Room 136, Corner of Floyd and Warnock. | <urn:uuid:969a629c-d464-4148-ac1b-9341ed6a0ec9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://louisville.edu/art/calendar/month?currentDate=2012/11/30&xmy=0&xsub=ALL | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941975 | 1,371 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Panelists Review Ronald Reagan's Time In Politics
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
We'll be hearing a lot about Ronald Reagan in the coming days. This Sunday is the 100th anniversary of the birth of America's 40th president. And at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, a panel of folks who knew the late president well spoke of him. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports the group included some journalists who were there when Reagan traded acting for politics.
INA JAFFE: One of those journalists is former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. He was a local TV news reporter in Los Angeles when Ronald Reagan was getting ready to run for governor of California. The man he saw then was...
Mr. TOM BROKAW (Former NBC News Anchor): A pure product of Main Street, Heartland America. He even looked the part. People were comfortable with him from the very beginning.
JAFFE: Reagan's charm and folksy humor lead people to underestimate him, said Lou Cannon, who as a reporter also covered the beginning of Reagan's political career. Cannon's also written five books about him. But no one, said Cannon, was more responsible for people underestimating Reagan than Reagan himself.
Mr. LOU CANNON (Reporter, Author): People thought that if you were an actor, you know, it was a synonym for being an airhead, which, of course, is not true. But when Ronald Reagan was asked what kind of a governor would you be, he said, I don't know, I've never played a governor.
JAFFE: Reagan is idolized by conservatives, but they overlook his pragmatic side, said Cannon. When he became governor, California was short of money. So...
Mr. CANNON: Ronald Reagan, in 1967, signed into law the largest tax increase in the history of any state up till then - it was a billion dollars.
JAFFE: Or more than six billion in today's money. Reagan knew what he wanted and knew how to get it, said Pete Wilson, who was in the California legislature when Reagan was governor and in the U.S. Senate when Reagan was president.
Former Senator PETE WILSON (Republican, California): He was determined that he was going to bankrupt the Soviet Union, that he was going to put them in a position where they could not compete with him militarily, and he carried it out. Brilliant.
JAFFE: One reason we know so much about Ronald Reagan is that he documented his own time in office in his diaries, said historian Douglas Brinkley, who's edited them.
Mr. DOUGLAS BRINKLEY (Historian): He kept these big leather-bound books and wrote in them every day - every single day except when he was shot in Washington for about three days. So other presidents have kept a diary but not consistently over an eight-year period.
JAFFE: Reagan's failures were also noted by the panelists - the Iran-Contra scandal, for example, and the 1983 killing of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers by a suicide bomber at the Beirut Airport.
Mr. CANNON: I'm very critical of Reagan on Lebanon. I think that's the low point of his presidency.
JAFFE: Said Lou Cannon - and it was the failure that bothered Reagan the most too.
Mr. CANNON: When I interviewed him years later, he said this was the saddest day of my presidency, the saddest day of my life.
JAFFE: If there was any disagreement among the panelists, it was over where Ronald Reagan ranked in the pantheon of American presidents. Journalist and Reagan biographer Richard Reeves saw Reagan's contributions as largely political.
Mr. RICHARD REEVES (Journalist, Biographer): The Tea Party, the Wall Streeters, the religious conservatives, the gun people, the libertarians - where else can they turn? The party has no other center but Ronald Reagan.
JAFFE: But Reagan's political legacy isn't purely partisan, said Reeves.
Mr. REEVES: Ronald Reagan changed American politics in our lifetime, perhaps forever, making big government the enemy.
JAFFE: The panelists agreed that the Ronald Reagan legacy that will be discussed, fought over and celebrated in the coming days is just the one we understand right now. It's sure to be transformed by future events we can't even imagine.
Ina Jaffe, NPR News.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio. | <urn:uuid:a3057675-773e-46f5-8e81-e55aa2886743> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/2011/02/03/133456120/Remembering-Ronald-Reagan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97208 | 996 | 1.601563 | 2 |
This time the advantage would be with the Republicans — one would think.
Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland made news recently when he raised the possibility of a 1995-style government shutdown if, as widely expected, Republicans win enough seats in the coming elections to reclaim a majority in the House of Representatives. It would be the hardest of hard-ball politics, with Republicans apparently willing to bet that a shutdown showdown won’t blow up in their faces like the spectacular failure of Newt Gingrich’s gambit versus Bill Clinton.
The White House blog (part of this post-partisan administration’s permanent election campaign) noted Westmoreland’s comments on September 10: “…Republicans in Congress are busy telling partisans and Republican party activists to get prepared for the same stalemate and gridlock they brought the last time they were in charge.”
Talking heads across the television and radio airwaves played along with the Administration’s theme, casting Westmoreland’s words as “a gift to the Democrats.” They shouldn’t be so confident.
To be sure, the wisdom of a shutdown is not a settled matter even among Republicans. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey says it’s too soon to be talking about a shutdown, suggesting that “there’s a tendency to draw too many parallels between the ‘94-‘95 experience and what we think might happen here.”
Armey’s thinking on a shutdown was laid out in a 2006 interview in which Armey discussed what went wrong for Republicans in 1995:
Newt’s position was, presidents get blamed for shutdowns, and he cited Ronald Reagan. My position was, Republicans get blamed for shutdowns. I argued that it is counterintuitive to the average American to think that the Democrat wants to shut down the government. They’re the advocates of the government… Here’s the other thing: You’re heard saying rather boldly in June that you’re going to shut the government in the fall. You’ve set the stage for the press to report that the Republicans are now doing in October what they said they’d do in June. Even if, in fact, they thought it was the right strategy to shut down the government, they should have kept their mouths shut about it.
In addition to fear of repeating the ‘95 outcome, Armey now argues that it is “premature” to discuss a shutdown because, in a somewhat tautological argument, 2011 will be different from 1995 and therefore a shutdown may not be a smart or necessary tactic.
But there is another possible interpretation of the differences between 2011 and 1995, one which increases the likelihood of a shutdown being a political winner rather than tripping over one’s own landmine: 1994 gave us 4.1% GDP growth, ending the year at 5.5% unemployment. This year looks set to give us below 3% GDP growth, a particularly anemic “rebound” from the worst recession since the Great Depression, and unemployment between 9.5% and 10%, levels only seen during one other period (mid-1982 to mid-1983) since before World War II.
Barack Obama is not Bill Clinton. While President Obama’s approval rating is slightly higher than Bill Clinton’s after the same number of days in office, Barack Obama started his presidency nine points higher than Bill Clinton did; Obama has seen the sharpest drop in job approval of any president post-WWII president other than Jimmy Carter. Perhaps most importantly, Obama is simply not likable the way Clinton was, a fact not to be underestimated in retail politics.
Barack Obama has for over two months maintained a disapproval rating higher than his approval rating, according to the RealClearPolitics average of Obama job approval polls. And for almost all of 2010, the GOP has had a lead on the “generic ballot,” that is when people are asked whether they are more likely to vote for a Republican or a Democrat in the upcoming election. A recent RCP average of a 7.6% GOP lead was a remarkable number, given that until recent months there had never been a Republican generic ballot advantage greater than 5 points in almost 70 years of Gallup polling. Republicans win elections even when the generic ballot does not seem in their favor because Republican turnout tends to exceed Democrat turnout, all else being equal. This year looks to be an extreme of that phenomenon, with Gallup measuring an astounding 25% lead for Republicans on “voter enthusiasm.”
Perhaps a government shutdown is in the Republicans’ political interest, common wisdom and the rhetoric of the Obama bloggers notwithstanding. But leading Democrats think a government shutdown is a winner for them:
At a Democratic Governors Association meeting earlier this month, former Clinton advisor Paul Begala said of a possible government shutdown, “[S]hould it come, you know to quote the previous president, ‘Bring it on.’”
And in a moment of almost laughable hubris, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, offered this: “While American troops are in harms’ way, it is outrageous that Republican leaders would even consider shutting down the government.” It remains unclear which part of fighting a war requires Obamacare to be fully funded or the Department of Education to have each and every Nanny State bureaucrat rump firmly ensconced in an office chair. Still, Holland makes clear what the Democrats’ argument will be should a shutdown showdown loom: “The Republicans’ plan to shut down the government would mean that millions of seniors wouldn’t get their Social Security checks or Medicare coverage and America’s veterans wouldn’t get the benefits they earned.” The sky is falling… .
The problem for Democrats is that they’re turning into the boy who cried wolf, or more precisely cried Ronald Reagan’s nine most terrifying words in the English language: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Americans remember (and will be routinely reminded by Republicans over the next five weeks) of the infamous prediction by the Obama team that unemployment would stay below 8% if only they were allowed to spend almost a trillion dollars of our children’s money on “stimulus.”
The Administration continues to talk about a few million jobs “created or saved,” the latter being not accidentally unmeasurable, while — back in the real world — Americans know that the job market is a disaster. Furthermore, statistics covering the jobs that we know have been created show that they were no bargain: for example, in July a Government Accountability Office report said that the Department of Energy used stimulus money to create 10,018 jobs at an average cost of $194,213 per job. Not only is it hard to imagine how jobs cleaning up contaminated mining and military sites are worth an average $194,213 per employee, but it also must be noted that such jobs are inherently temporary, making the cost of these jobs even more unjustifiable. From the report:
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
H/T to National Review Online | <urn:uuid:d4b0cb8c-1494-4504-9a81-5c0516cd44b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spectator.org/archives/2010/09/28/government-shutdown-times | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953336 | 1,679 | 1.578125 | 2 |
A yoga routine to fit every morning schedule! You know that exercising in the morning is the best way to maintain a regular exercise schedule, manage weight, and energize your day. Morning Yoga Workouts makes it easy to find a way no matter how you sleep, what your energy level is, and how much time you have to spare.
Nine workouts include light, moderate, and intense sessions that last for 15 to 20 minutes, 30 to 40 minutes, and 50 to 60 minutes at home or in a studio. Poses include an in-depth exploration of the sun salutations and the full range of yoga asana and breathing techniques, which appeal to all levels of yoga experience, for building strength and flexibility, improving postural alignment, and stabilizing the inner core.
Warm-up routines are included so you can use your yoga practice to prepare for other activities, and visualization and meditation mantras improve the mind-body connection. Nutrition advice helps you balance eating and hydration with energy upon waking, and tips to improve your environment make workouts even more effective and enjoyable. With Morning Yoga Workouts, you will never tire of your morning routine again.
Morning Yoga Workouts is part of the Morning Workout series, books designed to help you get in tune with both mind and body, stay motivated, and improve your morning exercise experience.
Chapter 1. Body, Breath, and Mindfulness
Chapter 2. Morning Energy and Readiness
Chapter 3. Yoga Warm-Ups
Chapter 4. Light Practice
Chapter 5. Moderate Practice
Chapter 6. Intense Practice
Chapter 7. Visualization and Meditation
Zack Kurland is a yoga therapist in New York City. He is a member of the teaching staff at OM yoga center, where he trains teachers in yoga therapy; is certified through the Heart of Yoga Association; and is a member of the Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Kurland continues to educate himself in yoga therapy and Ayurveda in the United States and India. He has written articles for and been featured in Fit Yoga magazine and Yoga Journal.
For more information on Zack Kurland yoga therapy, upcoming workshops, and yoga therapy trainings, visit www.zackkurland.com.
“With all the popular styles of yoga, it can be challenging to understand what style of yoga is right for you. Morning Yoga Workouts outlines exactly what you need to do to achieve an authentic practice. Thank you, Zack, for this extremely useful book!”
Mark Whitwell Author, Yoga of Heart
“The book is insightful and revealing in its exploration of mindfulness, and I can't wait to put into practice all I've learned from it.”
Valerie Smaldone #1 Midday Host in New York Radio Market
"Morning Yoga Workouts has led me to exciting breakthroughs in my personal yoga practice. Zack's accessible approach taps into a heightened yoga experience that we all want in our daily lives. This book is a must-have!"
Matt Goldman, founding member of the Blue Man Group | <urn:uuid:602970d6-7a1b-45e1-b00e-5156f65aefae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/morning-yoga-workouts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930592 | 629 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The conical drilling unit Kulluk sits grounded 40 miles southwest of Kodiak City. / AP
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Officials say a Shell oil-drilling ship that ran aground near a remote Alaska island has been refloated.
The Unified Command says Royal Dutch Shell's Kulluk was floated from the rocks late Sunday night and teams are assessing its condition.
Once they're satisfied that the vessel is seaworthy, it will be towed 30 miles to shelter in Kodiak Island's Kiliuda Bay.
Responders say that so far there's no sign the hull of the Kulluk has been breached or that oil has spilled from the vessel.
The main tow line was attached earlier in the day in preparation for the refloating when ocean conditions were favorable.
The oil drilling vessel, which has no engines of its own, was being towed for maintenance when it ran aground during a powerful storm on New Year's Eve.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read the original story: Grounded Shell oil-drilling ship refloated in Alaska | <urn:uuid:d3959c24-961b-4bcf-be17-584fe8bd4402> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.democratandchronicle.com/usatoday/article/1813177 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967402 | 244 | 1.757813 | 2 |
5. WiFi Profile Manager
WiFi Profile Manager is a free utility that is designed to manage wireless network connections on a computer that is running Windows 8. The utility can make a Wi-Fi connection the default for your computer and can move access points up and down a list by order of priority. A Properties screen displays vital statistics (such as the encryption key) for connections.
One of the nice things about this utility is that it is completely portable. The utility consists of a single executable file that can be run on any Windows 8 PC without having to be installed.
Credit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic | <urn:uuid:9ed43771-7373-477f-81cb-f48a30d21887> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/five-wi-fi-management-apps/6403423?seq=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935385 | 129 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Silas Bennett: The gist of the article linked to by the DWN was that Alex Perry got to wondering how much power his Linksys switch was sucking down whilst running 24/7, and found that his Manga, an ARM based router box, not only consumed less power but was able to run full blown Debian to boot. His point was “If I am going to pay to have a switch run 24/7, I might as well have the switch be a useful server as well.” Following his article the PepLink community promptly got X11 working on the Manga and Alex’s website was updated with the screen shots, which I might add are quite amusing. While I do sympathize with the original thrust of the article, I must say that the Manga’s ARM is a rather diminutive processor for a desktop machine these days. So my question is why would you run a Manga as a desktop to get down to the 3 Watt mark when for just a few more Watts you can run a box with a G4 processor? Yes, I am talking about that little machine that all of my geek friends (me included) seem to be drooling over as of late. The Mac Mini!
To find out how Silas got his Mac mini to run off a self-contained battery pack check out his site. (Thanks HackaDay).
The new xBox 360 will run “three symmetrical IBM PowerPC processor cores running at 3.2 Ghz each”. (GamePro).
Another interesting feature of the x360, an “iPod-like MP3 hard drive – The unit can be removed to take with you, but does not function as a standalone MP3 player.”
(Could the xBox 360 be a trojan horse with a playload being a Microsoft “MP3 hard drive?” What’s stopping Redmond from upgrading the portable drive to make it run standalone? -Ed)
Remember the flap last month about the upcoming unauthorized biography of Steve Jobs? Essentially Apple had all books by Wiley & Sons removed from all of the Apple retail stores after reading an advance copy of iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business (US$16.47 at Amazon.com)
Wired has posted an excerpt from the book on their web site. Read more for a peek and the link…
Now you can rip up the dance floors from Big Ben to the Liberty Bell with nothing but your iPod. MacWorld UK reports: Event dates for digital DJs in London and Philadelphia have been announced later this month. “London’s Playlist Club holds its next club night on May 21 at The Progress Bar in Tufnell Park. The club’s US affiliate, Playlist Philadelphia, takes place May 23 at The Khyber. Admission to both events is free.”
DigiTimes: “With brand-name PC vendors increasing their orders for widescreen notebooks, the segment is set to dominate the market by the first half of next year, according to sources with notebook makers in Taiwan. Widescreen models may account for 80-90% of the notebook market in the first half of 2006, up from 30-40% at present, the sources said. Dell, Hewlett Packard (HP), Acer, Apple and Asustek are increasing the proportion of widescreen models in their notebook lineups for 2006, the sources said.”
MacMod (circa December 2004):
Close to 12 years ago I caught wind of an Operating System called PenPoint. This was one of the first pen driven operating systems out there. I had contacted them and spoke of how so many people had been left out of the technological revolution and I had thought it was due to the awkwardness of the current state of hardware and software design. At that time I would have hoped Apple would have risen to the challenge to develop a Tablet but as it turned out it was Microsoft who took the chance.
Working with a computer all day long, I have to say that there is nothing quite as pretty as OS X. It is by no means perfect, as a Photographer running 4 Epson printers and depending on the quality of output, it is a continuous frustration and I am afraid the fault lies with Apple not Epson.
As a Photographer and a Dyslexic the idea of being able to use a Tablet as a platform for showing photographs, editing, and an extension of my badly organized memory is very appealing. I had purchased an early QBE, which I was happy with, except for the problem of going between the QBE and all my other desktops which are Apples, it was always the odd man out, in addition to the frustration of finding cross platform software. So taking matters into my own hands I cut into a Dual USB iBook and didn’t look back. Read the rest of the tale of the first Apple tablet at MacMod.
The PowerPage has learned that a new Apple Retail store is coming to the Northbrook Court a mall in the affluent Chicago suburb of Northbrook. Trivia: there’s no arcade in the Northbrook Court but they did film Weird Science there (remember the escalator scene where Kelly LeBrock’s high-fiving everyone?). The store opens in July.
An Apple Insider story from back in January dissects Apple’s plans to build an elegant retail store in midtown Manhattan. “Specifics are lacking, but one source claims Apple will give the exterior of the store a look similar to the glass Pyramid found in the Louvre’s cour Napol
Overheard at the PowerPage meetup in Chicago tonight: I got Mac OS Tiger from my local MicroCenter for the lowest price I’ve seen, US$129 minus a US$50 mail-in rebate, for a net of US$79. Check it out.
MacObserver: Late on Tuesday, we reported that Apple Computer was granted a patent application for a device whose Illustrations clearly indicate it to be a tablet-style Macintosh.
According to a comment: “What’s new is that Apple has been granted the patent, and some illustrations that demonstrate the product. The illustrations, in particular, are important in that they definitely show the product as a handheld device with a touch screen. This was not shown in the original patent application.” | <urn:uuid:d169d6fd-46c9-4e66-a0ff-b34db860e086> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerpage.org/2005/05/page/5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96617 | 1,318 | 1.625 | 2 |
Some are so quick to point out our faults. Below is a poem I picked up about expressing why some of us are proud to be Americans.
I watched the flag Pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine Saluted it, And then he stood at ease...
I looked at Him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cuts quare... And eyes alert... He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men...Like him Had fallen through the years
How many died on foreign Soil , How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes Shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' Graves ? No, freedom isn't free .
I heard the sound of Taps One night, When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler Play, And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant 'Amen,'
When a flag had draped a Coffin. Of a brother or a friend.
A graveyard at the bottom of the sea ...width and of unmarked graves in Arlington . No, freedom isn't free. Enjoy Your Freedom & God Bless Our Troops. On this Independenct Day 2009... Pray a Prayer for our Country and all our people especialy our servicemen.
Of all the gifts you could give A US Soldier, prayer is the very best. | <urn:uuid:101c9bb5-2575-4b5d-a4a7-36be58509e46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ruthlace.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-must-never-forget-who-gets-credit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961315 | 300 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The last couple of weeks have brought about several interesting online conversations about Appalachia and what it actually looks like. While some time has passed since CNN ran Stacy Krantiz’s photographs, I think it’s important to continue to the conversation about the broader visual representation of Appalachia.
Before moving on, I want to share some additional thoughts on the CNN/Kranitz controversy. Last week, Kranitz sent me the 33 photographs she originally submitted to CNN (below). You can see the rest of her series from the project “Old Regular Mountain” here. From these, you get a clearer idea of what she chose to submit. What is still missing, however is why Kranitz chose these specific images.
Here’s some of what she had to say about her original submission:
CNN asked for me to send images to choose from. They did not specify the amount. I sent 33 images. I sent two options for: Cherokee, North Carolina, the Snake Handlers in Jolo, Scenic views of the mountains, Old Regular Baptists, swimming holes, and the Klan – because I thought they were important representations to include.
CNN front-loaded their edit with, in my opinion, a sequence of images that set up the ensuing controversy that, let’s face it, everyone expected. Was their goal to be controversial? Probably. Have they received a lot of clicks (by the way, clicks = advertisements = revenue) and comments about this picture story? Yes. One of the important things I’ve learned in writing about this specific instance (and there are many others) is that my own expectation of the media is unrealistic. I have gradually, and lazily, allowed myself to expect the truth from mass media, which is abhorrent and a whole different series of blog articles. Moving on…
In the days following, Kranitz said:
The photo editors at CNN responded and showed genuine concern for my desire to have the project presented in a way that was true to my intentions. While so much of the damage has already been done with so many people seeing the original sequence of images I appreciated that the editors where immediately responsive to my desires to change the edit to be more accurate to the project.
And the 16-image re-edit:
Finally, Kranitz has been nothing but transparent with me about the process and has taken responsibility (rightly so) for the fallout. I think there’s something to be said for that. In all of this, the only public acknowledgement from CNN I’ve been able to locate is in an article by Poynter’s Steve Myers:
CNN spokeswoman Erica Puntel said that CNN.com had chosen 16 of the 33 images Kranitz submitted, and that someone from CNN called to listen to her concerns. Puntel said by email:
[Kranitz] said that she had received a large amount of negative feedback and was concerned. She also said that she felt that the edit of the photographs did not represent her work in the way she had intended.
After some discussion, we agreed with her point that some people could misconstrue what she was trying to convey, and therefore, we changed it.
We must not overburden photography with something it cannot do – providing us with an accurate portrayal of anything. Instead, we must acknowledge the maker’s hand, and we should talk about its role – and our reactions.
But what about the framework of how we “look at” Appalachia? How has our view (yours and mine) been constructed? I think most of how we see pictures from Appalachia today coincide with the early War on Poverty images. Poor, white (and black) folks, shoeless, dirty, toothless, destitute. Charles Kuralt’s 1964 CBS feature “Christmas in Appalachia” comes to mind. Any honest look at Appalachia would yield those sorts of pictures at any point in time. Pretending that poverty doesn’t exist, or choosing not to photograph the systemic issues of poverty, don’t simply make them nonexistent. Nor do they accurately represent a place as a whole.
Perhaps the intent of some of the historical images of Appalachia are more of a survey of poverty rather than a survey of Appalachia. But I think somewhere our cultural and visual lexicon has made the two synonymous; Poverty = Appalachia and Appalachia = Poverty. In order to deconstruct that myth, it’s important to understand how it was constructed, which can’t be done unless we take a long look at the history of extractive industry in Appalachia. Human resources have always been of lesser importance than the natural in Appalachia. Coal and timber have trumped, and continue to trump, the welfare of the people.
John Edwin Mason noted, in a recent email discussion, that at the time of the earlier Appalachian photographs, folks “weren’t perhaps as sensitive to questions of representation as we are now.” He pointed out that “War On Poverty photographers were overtly engaged politically –on the side of the angels, as people like me would see it.”
And certainly photographs were being made in Appalachia prior to 1964.
Walker Evans – Farm woman in conversation with relief investigator, West Virginia, 1935.
Since the controversy of CNN’s edit of Stacy Kranitz’s photographs, I’ve taken a lengthy look at some of the Appalachian photobooks I have on my shelf in an effort to compare and contrast different photographer’s work in the region. This is by no means a complete list, but by spending some time in the four books listed below, some common themes about how Appalachia is represented emerged. For example, three of the four photographers are not from Appalachia (insider vs. outsider). Two of the four books include images of the KKK (stereotypical). None of these works tell the complete story of Appalachia (nor would I suspect their authors to claim), but rather their own idea and image of Appalachia. I would argue that there are elements of truth in all of these, but as Colberg points out again in “Photography and Place“:
Even if we assumed that it was possible to get that infinity of photographs of a place, two people would probably still come to very different conclusions. Just imagine someone living in the place and someone visiting. And that would be just the most obvious difference one could think of. As I’ve already argued elsewhere our perceptions of photography are very much based on what we bring to the table, our personal, cultural, political biases.
Some Appalachian photobooks:
Ken Light’s Coal Hollow
2006, University of California Press
Hardcover | 152 pages | 11×11″
Rory Kennedy’s American Hollow
1999, Bullfinch Press
Hardcover | 128 pages | 8.5×11″
Rob Amberg’s Sodom Laurel Album
2001, University of North Carolina Press
Hardcover | 192 pages | 10×9.5″
Builder Levy’s Images of Appalachian Coalfields
1989, Temple University Press
Hardcover | 144 pages | 7.5×9.5″
Moving forward, I’ll be writing more about the broader visual representation of Appalachia, looking at more photographs – new and old – from the region, and hopefully fostering good conversation about how and why we look at Appalachia and what that means.
- Looking at Appalachia | Justin Kaneps
- Looking at Appalachia: Les Stone
- Review: Faith, Serpents, and Fire: Images of Kentucky Holiness Believers
- Testify: the Kickstarter Project
- Where I’m From
- Sustainable Williamson | Economic Diversification in Appalachia
- Testify featured in Oxford American’s EYES ON THE SOUTH
- Testify in The Independent Weekly
- Looking at Appalachia | Joshua Dudley Greer
- Testify Update | Project Statement & Housekeeping | <urn:uuid:369c8c83-9385-463e-89a1-6b7c622c8ddc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://walkyourcamera.com/perpetuating-the-visual-myth-of-appalachia-part-three/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95865 | 1,675 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Sure, that entails a variety of functions. Sometimes it’s as a guardian, informing the public of what governmental or private entities are doing and how it may have an impact. Sometimes it’s more informal, what we typically refer to as “fluff.”
But first and foremost, whatever information news agencies relay to their audience, we have to remain impartial.
Is it a problem?
The short answer, sure.
There are times when it’s difficult being a neutral observer. We sit through meetings and don’t always like what we hear, or talk to individuals with views that oppose our own. But a reporter’s job is not to tell you what they think. A newspaper’s role in a community is to provide you with as much of the information as possible so the readers can decide for themselves.
For the most part, we tend to shy away from becoming too involved. It’s a difficult balance to keep personal interests and professional objectivity in check. But having personal gain in the game can make it too tempting to skew a story. Unfortunately, that’s something the media gets accused of far too much. Sometimes it’s deserved. Sometimes not. But any agency or staff member in the position to gain from a particular outcome opens themselves to scrutiny.
Even though it’s different for every outlet, most news organizations have a list of do’s and don’ts. We restrict what boards and offices we can take part in, and in some cases what organizations we can join. It’s largely self-imposed.
But back to the matter at hand.
Personally, I’ve been in journalism for 11 years. In that time I survived two wet votes in a nearby county (and, yes, surviving felt like the right choice of words). Some were for it, some opposed it. It’s not a subject to be taken lightly. Repealing prohibition is something likely to change any community. How much depends on the people there.
Our job isn’t to tell anyone to be in favor of or against repealing prohibition. That’s a personal choice for each of us. We welcome reader opinions here on the editorial page in the form of letters to the editor, but– as someone who once had to sort through more than two dozen letters a week– we do ask everyone to bear in mind that letters are printed as they are received and as space permits.
And I hope in the coming weeks everyone will remember this is a community. Sometimes we disagree on the direction, but we’re all still in the same boat. | <urn:uuid:6f54bfd1-be98-4709-86e6-cb8bd4c9274e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tribunecourier.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Role+of+newspapers%20&id=17677008 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966566 | 548 | 1.671875 | 2 |
You could get a 10ft dinghy
or tender, such as a baywalker, they can be rowed or sailed, and big enough for 3 adults.
Theoretically at least, people can use tenders if they have to abandon ship in the middle of the ocean, so should be quite stable.
Though if the winds are high and you're not very experienced or there are no winds to speak of, may be good to simply use it as a row boat.
Another benefit is that if you do later decide to upgrade to a keelboat, you can use it as your tender, or boat for going to and from shore, if you are at anchor
I'd strongly advise against a laser or any other racing class dinghies
, since they aren't as stable nor as roomy. For instanec in a laser there is only enough room for your shins in the boat.
wheras a tender boat while slower, is roomy enough to carry cargo along with passengers.
In terms of the three year old, as with everyone should be wearing a life-jacket, and it would be best to practice swiming beforehand. Children are old enough to swim as early as 6-months, and at 3 they can do it in a variety of ways.
It would also be a good idea to practice capsizing and recovery, it will actually enhance how safe everyone feels, as they can overcome their fear of capsizing or ending up in the water and build confidence. You may wish to take a basic dinghy
sailing course, so can learn about the proper procedures yourself first. Though basically it is, walk off the boat when it's capsizing, when in the water ask if everyone is okay and make sure, then point the bow into the wind, pull down or even get on the centerboard to right the boat, then swim around to the transom and get in, with preferably some lines
like the mainsheet to haul yourself in, then help others in, while making sure boat stays in irons, bail out the boat, ang get underway. So that way if it does happen in an unplanned fashion, everyone will know what to do, and you can continue sailing afterwards. Who knows, maybe on a hot day, when the water is warm, everyone will be up for a swim, it certainly is one of the ways of doing so.
Also it's good to also know and practice crew-overboard procedures, which is useful not only if someone falls out, but also if something gets dropped overboard. Go on a beam reach, perpendicular to the wind for around 3 boat lengths, then tack or turn through the wind onto a broad-reach or going 45 degrees with the wind, then harden sheets to a close reach, going into the wind, and loosen them to break as you approach the overboarded on the leeward side, practice with something like a spare lifejacket. | <urn:uuid:dd36ebe1-3252-45c4-9496-18458576d72b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising-sailing-children/92159-buying-our-first-sailboat.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971375 | 605 | 1.578125 | 2 |
“Cast Me Not Off in Old Age”
Death and dying are once again subjects of intense public attention. During his confirmation hearings, Chief Justice John Roberts was grilled about his views on removing life-sustaining treatments from debilitated patients and warned by various liberal Senators not to interfere with the “right to die.” In California and Vermont, state legislators are working to legalize assisted suicide, while the Bush administration is trying to restrict the practice by prohibiting doctors from using federally-controlled narcotics to end their patients’ lives. All this comes in the aftermath of the bitter fight over Terri Schiavo, a profoundly disabled woman whose husband removed the feeding tube that kept her alive, but only after years of legal battles with Schiavo’s parents and myriad political efforts to stop him.
The Schiavo case revealed deep divisions in how Americans view debility and death. Some saw pulling her feeding tube as an act of mercy, others as an act of murder. Some believed she possessed equal human dignity and deserved equal care despite her total lack of self-awareness; others believed keeping her alive year after year was itself an indignity. For many, what mattered most was discerning “what Terri would have wanted”; for many others, what mattered was loving the needy woman on the television screen, not abandoning her when the burdens of care seemed too great.
About the Author
Leon R. Kass, the Hertog fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, served from 2001 through 2005 as chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics. In somewhat different form, this essay will appear in a volume on religion and the American future to be published later this year by the American Enterprise Institute. | <urn:uuid:117f7c11-77ae-4aed-bec5-32e21f187af6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/%e2%80%9ccast-me-not-off-in-old-age%e2%80%9d/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963248 | 367 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Winter 2010 GeneaBloggers Games - Day 6
This day seemed like the same routine as before, work, nap, GeneaBlogger Games activity and now the Winter Olympics on TV. I did have a very productive day working on labeling, and adding descriptions to my documents and photos. Yesterday I wasn't sure how I was going to process my files. After a good nights sleep, I decided on putting my scanned images into a holding file. That way I would remember to go back after the games and finish my processing them. I did around 60 in all so I covered both tasks. Here's a recap
Category: "Organize Your Research!"
Task B: Organize at least 20 digital files into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
Task D: Organize at least 20 digital photos into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
Earlier this week I finished:
Task E: Create at least 20 data entries in your database, or scan 20 photos, or scan 20 documents.
Task A: Organize at least 20 hard files or ancestral items (books, fabrics, inherited items) into file folders, boxes, envelopes, containers, etc.; archival-quality where appropriate.
So far I have to complete.
Task C: Organize at least 20 photos into photo albums, scrapbooks, collages, protective holders, boxes, etc.Task F: Create a master list of your files and notify your family members of where it is stored.
Since I have completed 4 tasks I have obtained a Diamond Medal. The highest medal, Platinum, is awarded when you have completed 5 or more tasks. My goal is to complete all 6.
I did have a reader ask for more details on how I am adding labels, metadata, descriptions, and tags, etc. to my digital photos and documents.
Miriam Robbin Midkiff, author of the AnceStories blog, wrote two excellent articles in Dec 2008 on this subject.
Tuesday's Tips: Organizing Your Digital Files
Tuesday's Tips: Organizing Digital Research Notes, Emails, and Reports
Now, I don't name my files exactly the way Miriam does, but after reading her articles you can develop your own method you are comfortable with. That said this method won't work forever. I discovered that when I backed up files onto CDs that the information added in the files Summary Tab did not stay. I lost them because of the difference in file format. I understand I will have the same issue when I move them over to Vista or Windows 7 also.
To truly have your photo details saved, you need to add details to the IPTC area of the file. Very few programs let you edit and view the IPTC information. My plans are to start using my Heritage Collector program to record true embedded IPTC photo information that will survive with my files. I just need to get a few questions answered before I feel comfortable transitioning from Miriam's Windows XP method of labeling and what I want for the future.
Heritage Collector also has the capability of letting you tag people in your photos and then search for them. I did play with this feature on my 20 photos and it's really simple to do. As I learn and play more with the Heritage Collector software program I will write my finding in a blog article.
See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day! | <urn:uuid:21b8ed08-6730-4b37-a936-c44a105c55bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rzamor1.blogspot.com/2010/02/winter-2010-geneabloggers-games-day-6.html?pfstyle=wp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931453 | 712 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Those people blessed with the most talent don't necessarily outperform everyone else. It's the people with follow-through who excel.
Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck noticed the difference between a "fixed mindset" and a "growth mindset". Now people may vary in their innate abilities and potential, but which of these mindsets they choose can have a huge impact.
People with a fixed mindset assume their capabilities are already set. They therefore place a limit on themselves and will miss opportunities.
Those with a growth mindset recognise that application and experience enables them to achieve more in life. And so they usually do!
I have to admit that when it comes to new technology, I can feel like a dinosaur and then avoid learning new stuff. (There is irony in my technophobic moments: 30 years ago I used to write computer software!)
I certainly realise that I cannot afford to act like a Luddite when I'm trading under the brand, "New Generation Leaders!"
This weekend at the PSA Convention, Terry Brock (http://terrybrock.com/) was sharing with us all the latest technology tools available to us as professional speakers.
Thankfully, Terry is aware of people like me who can feel daunted by it all. To help us, he referred to a scene from the movie, "The Matrix."
In one dramatic scene, Neo asks Trinity if she can fly a helicopter they urgently need to use. Her reply? "Not yet!" She then gets the skill downloaded into her, and away they go.
Now while it might take us more than a few seconds to learn a new skill, it is often less difficult than we think.
Terry kept reminding us of the power of saying "Not yet!" It moves our focus from inability to possibility. It reinforces a growth mindset so that we can (and will) learn new things.
So when someone asks me if I can/do use a particularly useful tool, I will no longer say "No" .... I will remember to say, "Not yet!" | <urn:uuid:4206d6d2-51a6-4829-b508-e53e59b13f40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newgenerationleaders.com/comment/reply/224 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956905 | 417 | 1.664063 | 2 |
- Tue, January 29 2013
- Filed under: Fundraising essentials
A report on wealthy Next Gen donors from 21/64 and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy finds that surveying 310 major donors including in-depth interviews with 30 high-net-worth Generation X and Millennial individuals care about impact and want to feel personally tied to the causes they support. Family heavily influences their choices of causes. They are similar to other donors in these ways - but distinct in how serious they are about making real change and how heavily they use technology to engage with causes.
The study found:
• Next generation donors want meaningful, hands-on engagement with the causes that they care about and want to develop close relationships with the organizations they give to, giving their time and talent as well as their treasure.
• Next generation donors are highly networked with their peers, learning about causes from trusted friends and sharing philanthropic experiences with peer networks.
• Next generation donors seek to maintain the difficult balance of respecting the legacy of previous generations and revolutionizing philanthropy for greater impact, aiming to use new, innovative, even risky strategies to make their giving more effective.
• For next generation donors, philanthropy is a part of who they are; it is not just something they do. They start developing their philanthropic identity from an early age by learning through hands-on experiences looking to older generations, and they are eager for new personal experiences that will help them learn to be better philanthropists.
The results were based on a survey of 310 major donors including in-depth interviews with 30 high-net-worth Generation X and Millennial individuals. I find the results quite consistent with other studies I’ve reviewed here, which makes me put stock in them. You can review the whole report here. | <urn:uuid:c4bed026-66be-4068-a9d7-575053ac481a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/comments/the_next_generation_of_donors_are_serious_about_change | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964426 | 368 | 1.625 | 2 |
Watch your language ladies: US school asks girls to take a 'no swearing' vow
- From: News Limited Network
- February 05, 2013
A US school has implemented a "no swearing" rule - but only for girls.
Female students at a Catholic high school in northern New Jersey have taken a ‘no swearing’ pledge at the request of school administrators.
The girls were asked to stand and raise their right hands and vow, “I do solemnly swear not to use profanities of any kind within the walls and properties of Queen of Peace High School. In other words, I swear not to swear. So help me God.”
But some people are questioning why male students weren’t required to do likewise.
The teacher who organized the pledge says that while males weren't asked to take the vow, they have been asked not to curse when girls are near.
Teacher Lori Flynn told a local reporter at The Record there was no double-standard.
Ms Flynn says school officials want ‘ladies to act like ladies’
And school principal, Brother Larry Lavallee, said girls have the foulest language.
Apparently many female students said they would try to follow the pledge they took last Friday morning, even though they believe it should apply to all students.
Teachers said they hoped that if the girls cleaned up their language at school for a month, their improved manners would rub off on the boys.
The rewards for ditching foul language? Lollipops and pins featuring pink lips. | <urn:uuid:64f9123d-ef75-4e62-b036-170b6a354240> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.com.au/world-news/watch-your-language-ladies/story-fndir2ev-1226570452997 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973153 | 319 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Winter Olympics: Snowboarding
Very popular new sport
by Gerry Brown and Christine Frantz
At Torino, snowboarding makes its third Olympic appearance. The sport, which first appeared at the 1998 Nagano Games, is still a work in progress as events are changed and added. For the 2006 Games, a new event, snowboard cross has been added.
There are six snowboarding events: men's and women's halfpipe, men's and women's parallel giant slalom, and men's and women's snowboard cross. The new snowboard cross event has a course made up of different sections: whoops (moguls), waves, banks, kickers, and spines (jumps with 90° angles), with a series of blue and red gates and triangular flags marking the course and indicating entrances to obstacles.
Each run is scored on a scale of 0.1 to 10.0 by a panel of five judges.
One judge scores the standardized moves, another scores amplitude (the height of maneuvers), one scores quality of rotations, and two score overall impression.
For the amplitude score each maneuver is given an additional point for every 30 centimeters that the competitor reaches above the lip of the pipe. The scores for each maneuver are averaged to determine the final amplitude score.
Falls and other mistakes lead to deductions. The format for point deduction in halfpipe is as follows:
In the parallel giant slalom, the riders take qualifying runs, and the top 16 men and top 16 women are ranked according to their times. Then they face off in a bracket format with 1 facing 16, 2 facing 15, etc. The two competitors face in a two-race match (once on each course). The winner is the racer that posts the best total time.
The winners of each match move on to the next round until the semifinals. The two semifinals winners race for the gold (the loser gets the silver) and the semifinals losers race for the bronze.
The United States did well in 2002 at Salt Lake City with Ross Powers, Danny Kass, and Jarret Thomas sweeping the medals in the men's halfpipe. Kelly Clark took the women's halfpipe gold and Chis Klug grabbed a bronze in the men's parallel giant slalom. All are hoping to compete in Torin, but they'll have to contend with 2005's top World Cup boarders from Switzerland, Austria, France, and Japan.
Former X-Games champion and extreme sports pioneer Shaun Palmer made a run at the U.S. Snowboarding team in an attempt to medal in the newly added snowboarding event of snowboardcross (a pack-start downhill sprint), the same event he dominated for years in the late 1990s. At 37 years old and battling past trouble with drugs and alcohol, Palmer was a tremendous long shot, and a torn Achilles tendon suffered in a World Cup race in January derailed his inspirational comeback attempt. Without Palmer there, the Shaun to watch in Turin is redheaded mop-top Shaun White, a.k.a The Flying Tomato. The 19-year-old extreme sports demigod has proved he can compete on the concrete as well as the snow. White is also a world-class skateboarder and became the first athlete to compete in both the Summer and Winter X-Games. Snowboarding is still his strong suit as he proved this season by sweeping all five U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe events and crushing the competition in the superpipe at the 2006 Winter X-Games. You might have already seen one of his Pepsi commercials. If he takes gold in Turin, expect to see a lot more of Shaun White.
Fact Monster™ Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:9b96a1da-822e-450b-aec6-288b097e494e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/spot/winter-olympics-snowboarding.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956966 | 766 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The Penguin Young Readers Group offers mysteries, adventures and fantasies certain to please middle grade readers.
"The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 3: The Second Spy" ($16.99) continues Jacqueline West's popular series about Olive and her life in a strange Victorian mansion. In this story, Olive falls into a hole in her backyard and ends up in an underground room of jars. Wicked Annabell McMartin returns to taunt Olive and to unleash Elsewhere's hidden evils. Will Olive's three talking cats or Morton, the kind man caught in a painting, be able to help Olive?
"The Treasure Chest: Book #4 Prince of Air" ($6.99) is the latest in Ann Hood's history lessons hidden in mysteries and adventure stories. This time Maisie and Felix take a journey in the Treasure Chest to Coney Island in 1893 to meet magician Harry Houdini.
"Wereworld: Nest of Serpents" ($16.99) is the fourth in Curtis Jobling's fantasy series. War rages in Lyssia. Werewolf Drew, heir to the throne, battles Ratlords and Crowlords. When the evil wereserpent Vale joins the battle, Drew's best friend Hector turns against him and the war goes in a totally different direction.
"Stickman Odyssey Book 2: The Wrath of Zosimos" ($12.99) is Christopher Ford's fresh and innovative way of teaching Greek epics and myths. This graphic novel travels with Zozimos as he attempts to regain the throne of Sticatha. The goddess Athena plays tricks on Zozimos and confounds his efforts to be a successful hero.
"Deadweather and Sunrise: The Chronicles of Egg, Book One" ($16.99) is the first of Geoff Rodkey's sagas of life at sea. Egbert lives on a fruit plantation with his parents and two siblings on Deadweather Island. The island is surrounded by pirates but they do little harm to anyone. However, Egbert's family disappears in a hot-air balloon accident, and then a villain goes after Egbert in seach of the location of a hidden treasure. Suddenly lif eon Deadweather gets tricky.
"Shark Wars #3: Into The Abyss" ($12.99) is the third of E.J. Altbacker's highly successful forays into a magical underwater world. Gray, Barkley, Rogue, Coral and Auzy Auzy Shivers have defeated Finnivus and the Indi Shiver armada. The final battle has not been fought, as Finnivus recovers and leads the charge against Gray, no longer surrounded by his allies.
"Gods and Warriors" ($16.99) is Michelle Paver's first of a series based on mythology and ancient cultural histories. Hylas seeks his sister, who has been captured by powerful warriors. He is joined by Pirra, runaway daughter of a High Priestess. A dolphin, a lion cub and a falcon help them find his sister and withstand the wiles of the gods of sea and land.
"In A Glass Grimmly" ($16.99) is the second of Adam Gidwitz's retelling of fairy tales. Drawing on the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Anderson, Gidwitz weaves his own fantasies about what might have happened beyond the familiar childhood stories. Jack and Jill meet a three-legged frog and embark on adventures not be found in any other book. Always funny and ultimately always with a timely moral, these tales will fascinate readers of all ages.
"Gustav Gloom and the People Taker" ($12.99) is the first in a series by award winner Adam-Troy Castro. The creepy illustrations, reminiscent of Tim Burton or Edward Gorey, are by Kristin Margiotta. One day Gloom's neighbor Fernie chases her cat into the old mansion. There she finds every book ever written and attends a feast where her own shadow is a guest. The People Taker tries to take Fernie and her family to Shadow Country. Gustav must save Fernie.
"Clueless McGee" is the first of a diary series by Jeff Mack This best-selling book is about P.J. McGee, the terror of the fifth grade who fancies himself a detective. He plays video games every possible free moment, hoping to use those skills to solve mysteries. Someone fills the music teacher's tuba with mac and cheese and the school bully gets the blame. McGee learns the truth and makes a new friend in the process.
"The Daring Escape of the Misfit Menagerie" ($16.99) is the first book by Jacqueline Resnick. Illustrations are by Matthew Cook. Smalls is a sun bear who can stand on his hind legs. He lives on Mr. Mumford's farm with Tilda the Angora rabbit, Rigby the Komondor dog and Wombat. Claude Magnificence steals the menagerie for his traveling circus. Claude's nephew Bertie helps the animals and the other animals in the circus escape from his evil uncle.
"The Midadventures of Edgar and Allan Poe: The Tell Tale Start" ($15.99) by Gordon McAlpine takes off from Poe's own stories and follows the misadventures of 12-year-old twins Edgar and Allan. When their black cat Roderick Usher is stolen and taken to Kansas, the boys convince their aunt and uncle, their guardians since the twins' parents were launched into space, to go on a road trip. On the way they use their telepathic connection and their great-great-great-great-grand uncle Poe's messages to solve the mysteries of the Land of Oz and of their own futures. | <urn:uuid:2c3c9ded-8078-4aed-ae18-995d626c03cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.examiner.com/review/middle-grade-mysteries-adventures-and-fantasies?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938878 | 1,188 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Recently, I was talking to some college students about their expectations for their careers. I was happy to hear that many of them had a bright outlook for their future but became a little distressed when I learned that they didn’t realize the lengths and effort they need to put into it in order to reach their career goals. Many assumed that simply getting a degree and getting a little experience from interning could help them easily land a job. I tried to explain to them that in this economy, the bare minimum just won’t cut it.
That conversation had me thinking about people I knew that were particularly admirable in this capacity. I instantly thought about my friend, Desiree Louca, who I’ve known since kindergarten. She had always impressed me with her drive and self-motivation, even when we were younger. As we grew older, she harnessed these personal traits and worked hard to obtain the future she dreamed of. Her determination allowed her to have a successful future at the ripe age of 21 years old. Her future gave her the financial security and independence to support herself in ways that some adults may never know throughout their lifetime. With that being said, I felt that she was a perfect person to interview for this topic. Here’s the story on how her hard work paid off:
Ashley Perez (AP): How were you able to pinpoint what career path you wanted to pursue so early in your life?
Desiree Louca (DL): “Growing up, I always had a great feeling inside when I helped out people in need. I was always fascinated with the medical field, probably from watching so many reality shows of the ER in hospitals. This was the first position in the medical field I really had my heart set on. At 14, my mother took me to the local hospital and I signed up to be a junior volunteer. I volunteered for 3 years and it was such an amazing experience.
“However, after only a few months of volunteering, I quickly learned that being a nurse was not for me. I could not handle it emotionally. I always found myself to be extremely emotionally strong, but I could not bare certain situations that I watched. Maybe I was too young to have seen them and would be able to handle them better now, but it is something that will never leave my mind. I simply could not disassociate myself from my emotions on the job. You can’t have a cry break every 30 minutes as a nurse, especially in the ER!
“I still knew the medical field was for me, though, and that there were tons of other jobs in the field. Teeth were another fascination for me. At 16, I began a paid internship at a local dental office. I absolutely loved it! I worked at a multi-specialty practice, so I was fully able to experience every single aspect of dentistry. I was initially working as a dental assistant but I knew I wanted more, so I decided to go to school to become a dental hygienist. While in school I felt a deep sense of comfort, stability, and enjoyment. I knew that this career was meant for me. In conclusion, I was able to pinpoint my career path by basically going and trying out each field of employment that I felt I may want to pursue.”
AP: What course of action did you determine was necessary to get the experience and education needed to be successful?
DL: “Research and resources! We are lucky to have the internet these days but I feel that doing it the old fashioned way is sometimes better. Before receiving the internship at the dental office, I walked in to the office and asked to speak to a dental hygienist. That dental hygienist was very happy to sit and answer the questions I had written out on a notepad. My questions included; job description, schooling, and stability in life.”
AP: Did you have goals and timelines? What were they?
DL: “Absolutely. Procrastination gets nowhere. Everyone at this point in life knows that you will not get anywhere unless you make moves. Right after high school I went right on the path to becoming a dental hygienist while still working at the dental office. This helped me greatly because while learning everything I needed to know about the field, I was experiencing it hands on. My goal was to be done with school in 4 years, that way I would be starting my career at 21 years of age.”
AP: What are the sacrifices you had to make in order to stay focused? Do you regret making them?
DL: “Starting to work in a professional environment at 16 years old forced me to mature much faster than my friends. Going to college to become a health professional from ages 17-21 while all of my friends were partying at college and going out every weekend was very hard for me to deal with at the time. However, being on a career path that I loved was a constant reminder that everything was going to be okay and well worth it in the end. I have no regrets. Even though I hardly went out nearly as much as my friends, I still had the chance to occasionally, and that was all that I really needed. In the midst of my busy life, I sit back and feel very accomplished realizing where I am in life at 24 years old compared to most people my age who live in my area.”
AP: What advice would you give people just starting out?
DL: “Be a go-getter! Don’t sit back and think something is going to come your way or that the wind will blow one way and magically you will know where you are meant to be. It is a natural instinct to have things that interest you in life. Write them down, research ways you can try them out; such as volunteering, internships, or actual employment. You will not know if it’s right for you in a day or even weeks, so give it at least a few months. As I’m sure most people have heard more than once in their life, ‘Just do it’.”
Desiree provided some great insight and tips on how to pave your way to a successful future. I’ve personally seen her dedicate time and determination throughout the years and can honestly say that it seemed to work. I’m proud of her success and happy to see that it paid off early on in her life. I believe that many college students and early careerists can benefit from these tips and should try to test them out as soon as they can. Desiree is living proof that putting yourself out there can help you secure a place in your career.
Photo Source: Colourbox | <urn:uuid:8779ecef-880a-459a-b9ed-34ac3903736e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ashleylaurenperez.com/category/taking-chances-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990553 | 1,388 | 1.664063 | 2 |
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