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Development programs implemented in 2012 make positive impact in the livelihood of inhabitants: Administration of Anseba region
Keren, 27 December 2012 – The Administration of Anseba region indicated that development programs implemented in 2012 have made visible impact in improving the livelihood of inhabitants. It made the statement at an assessment meeting during which it was stated that various educational facilities have been put in place at an expenditure of 136 million Nakfa, 85% of which task has been finalized.
The regional Administration further disclosed that potable water supply facilities have been put in place in 7 villages, while electrification process is underway in 15 others. Accordingly, 12 schools have been opened, while 4 Elementary Schools were upgraded to junior level and 2 others to that of High School.
Moreover, instance of communicable diseases is decreasing in line with growing community awareness to this end, according to reports.
In concluding remarks, the Administrator of Anseba region, Mr. Gergis Girmai, pointed out that remarkable accomplishments have been made as regards livestock and horticultural production, as well as soil and water conservation. He further called for enhancement of integrated efforts in this regard. | <urn:uuid:75c25594-dddc-4210-a822-a42e4d984545> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shabait.com/news/local-news/12029-development-programs-implemented-in-2012-make-positive-impact-in-the-livelihood-of-inhabitants-administration-of-anseba-region- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979799 | 233 | 1.609375 | 2 |
America's best chefs train for culinary Olympics
June 6, 1996
Web posted at: 5:45 p.m. EDT
From Correspondent Holly Firfer
(CNN) -- While American athletes are flexing their muscles for this summer's centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, a Team America of nine celebrated chefs is training for the 100th Culinary Olympics.
Like athletes, the chefs' training involves speed, agility, dedication and discipline. Each of the chefs is an accomplished master who had to earn a slot on the team by winning qualifying events.
Unlike the athletes, the chefs also must balance taste, aroma and texture.
The competition is a mix of endurance and artistic presentation. The chefs must prepare a gourmet three-course meal for 120 people in four hours -- and neatness counts.
Judges shave off points if the chefs have not utilized all their ingredients or if they are 1 second late in completing the meal, which must be served elegantly and efficiently.
The chefs practice once a month to hone their unity and precision.
"Every motion must be thought out ... It is very important how the team reacts in the kitchen," Chef Keith Keough explained. The judges are strict about details. (1.0M QuickTime movie)
To prepare for the main event, the chefs invite 120 people to attend a lavish dinner and serve them their specialty, a uniquely American dish.
Round one is the appetizer: Sweet pea mint flan with a mini crab cake in a spicy bean and lemon aoili broth.
Round two consists of the entree: buffalo meat with roasted Poblano pepper paté and sliced andouille sausage over roasted vegetables.
Dessert is a caramel vanilla mascarpone cream poured on a warm chocolate, a roasted banana and a honey pecan cookie.
According to the guest "judges," the Americans certainly will win a medal. The meal was described as "delightful," "lovely" and "intense."
The competition takes place in Frankfurt, Germany, in September.
FeedbackSend us your comments.
Selected responses are posted daily.
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. | <urn:uuid:31feec96-87ba-4014-93e9-b5e3422bdd8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9606/06/culinary.olympics/index.html?_s=PM:HEALTH | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937857 | 466 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In Memoriam: Professor Edward W. Arian
April 17, 2010 —
Dr. Edward W. Arian had a distinguished career during his twenty years at Drexel University. After leaving the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he served as assistant principal bass violinist under Eugene Ormandy (1947-1967), he earned a Ph.D in political science from Bryn Mawr College in 1969. When Dr. Arian came to Drexel in 1970, he joined the faculty of Drexel's College of Humanities and Social Sciences now known as the College of Arts and Sciences. While Dr. Arian created many important programs for the University, he is especially known for creating our highly regarded graduate program in Arts Administration. Founded in 1973, the Arts Administration program was one of the first Arts Administration programs in the nation. “Dr. Arian was a visionary who understood the need for good management in the cultural community,” said Cecelia Fitzgibbon, Arts Administration Program Director. “His understanding of the public role of the arts and the impact of class on cultural participation influenced a generation of arts leaders,” said Fitzgibbon. “Dr. Arian was an important figure in the development of arts administration as a field of study and he will be missed by many."
At Drexel, Dr. Arian also founded and directed the graduate program in Environmental Planning and Management and the undergraduate program in Public Administration, which utilized student internships through grant funding to aid local governments in technical assistance. In 1979, Dr. Arian was appointed chairman of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts by Governor Milton J. Shapp. He is the author of numerous publications, including two books, Bach, Beethoven, and Bureaucracy: the Case of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and The Unfulfilled Promise: Public Subsidy of the Arts in America.
In the Philadelphia Orchestra, Arian served as labor negotiator for Local #77, American Federation of Musicians. In 1966, he helped lead an eight-week strike that yielded the musicians their first guaranteed 52-week salary. He is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. Dr. Arian is survived by his wife of 67 years Yvette, daughters Anne-Lesley and Carol and his five grandchildren. | <urn:uuid:6ea9cc32-e2ce-4623-8734-ad1d1ad0b493> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/news/archive/2010/2010-03-03_In_Memoriam_Professor_Edward_W_Arian/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971728 | 473 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Pretzels. Inc. Issues Allergy Alert On Undeclared Milk In Better Made Brand Corn Pops
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 21, 2011 - Pretzels, Inc. of Bluffton, Indiana is recalling its 8 ounce packages of Better Made brand Corn Pops because they may contain undeclared milk. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.
The recalled Corn Pops were distributed to retail stores in Michigan and Ohio.
The product is packaged under the Better Made brand Corn Pops label with an expiration code of MAR1411. The UPC code on the package is 041633-003716.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.
The recall was initiated after it was discovered that the milk-containing product was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of milk. Subsequent investigation indicates the problem was caused by a temporary breakdown of the company’s production and packaging processes.
Consumers who have purchased 8 ounce packages of Better Made Corn Pops are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Pretzels, Inc. at 1- 800-456-4838 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Recalled Product Photos Are Also Available on FDA's Flickr Photostream. | <urn:uuid:148b1e34-14d5-4ee2-8478-81cb8fdb2b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm240710.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94207 | 357 | 1.507813 | 2 |
8. Criminal background checks. Chwat said that around 20 industries and organizations have access to the FBI criminal background check database (the guard services industry is one), and ESA hopes to gain access for this industry. Why it matters: If you can’t check your employees nationally, you might have an employee in Texas that jumped over from another state where he/she was wanted or convicted of a crime.
9. Spectrum issues. Our industry uses radio spectrum to transmit monitoring information, and the ESA and the Alarm Industry Coaltion Committee (AICC) is working to keep our access to the radio spectrum we use. There were efforts federally that almost meant we would have loss the 450-470 Mhz spectrum, but it was preserved (Chwat was instrumental). They continue to watch these FCC types of issues.
10. Municipal monitoring. It centers around some towns in Illinois, but there are efforts from some cities to require that life safety monitoring be done only by the city’s own monitoring center. Where this has happened, companies have already lost hundreds of accounts. It pits cities against well-established services of the private industry. Mt. Prospect is one city that seems to be moving in that direction. Some states have pre-emptive legislation that blocks such efforts to infringe on private industry, but those states (Texas and Georgia among them) are rare.
11. CO detection. Together with the Security Industry Association, there are efforts to establish consumer product safety rules for carbon monoxide detectors.
12. POTS hanging by a thread. You’ve probably already heard about it already on SIW – some of the primary POTS line owners are interested in killing POTS and would do so sooner rather than later if given permission by the FCC. Being that most of our industry’s customers still rely on POTS for alarm monitoring, this is serious business. Yes, there are IP communicators and cellular radios, but installing those communicators and radios costs money and time. One idea is that if and when POTS is slated for death, there would be some federal health to pay for the conversion – much as there were low-cost and free set-top boxes to help convert analog TV subscribers over to digital a couple of years ago. The industry needs to be involved in the discussion of how (and when) POTS is killed.
So there you have it, 12 issues that really stand to impact your business. What do you do? Get involved. Write letters to representatives. Join your local association chapter and band together. Some other things you can do is join ESA for the Day on Capitol Hill (April 17-18, 2012) and attend an upcoming webinar from ESA and SIA about the credentialing issue for access to emergency zones (#7 on this list). Whatever you do, don’t put your head in the sand and pretend these won’t affect you, because these issues will!
(Many thanks to John Chwat for helping us explore these issues.) | <urn:uuid:ee115c74-ca33-45d1-bc4b-541019784560> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.securityinfowatch.com/article/10612947/12-legislative-issues-to-watch-for-in-2012?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961607 | 615 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Fri December 14, 2012
Amid Food Shortages, Syrian Opposition Now Runs Many Towns
Originally published on Fri December 14, 2012 2:18 pm
As the Syrian opposition gains control of large swaths of territory in the country's north, local councils are emerging as the first alternative authority after 21 months of revolt.
It is still unclear if the civilian councils can impose order in war-torn areas where rebels have the power of arms. And at least parts of major cities remain in the hands of President Bashar Assad's forces.
However, as humanitarian aid trickles in, these activists hope the balance of power will shift to an elected civilian authority and fulfill the dreams of the revolt, which include democracy in Syria.
"We have established a number of offices, financial relief, medical and refugees," says a lawyer from the city of Idlib, in the northwest. He's taking a break from a lively council meeting in a barely furnished office in southern Turkey.
He's part of an 18-member council, elected in early December when 250 activists held a vote. The council members cross the Turkey-Syria border for meetings because it's safe. Like most local governments, this council has come together to discuss the budget.
"We are going to find ways for people in need," says Yasser, a lawyer, who can't be fully named for his security.
He pulls a bank book from his pocket to show that there is something to discuss. The government of Qatar donated $8 million to Syria's provincial governments in a meeting in Istanbul this month. Idlib's share is $800,000. But the gift won't go far, he says.
"Flour, food and some for the displaced people," he says. "We will make a vote in a democratic way."
Local Councils Are Strongest In The North
These formal local councils are strongest in Idlib and Aleppo province where the regime's hold, even over the central cities, is weakening.
The local councils, which now exist in all 14 Syrian provinces, are linked to the newly formed Syrian National Coalition, now recognized by the U.S. and more than 100 governments as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The new structure, an opposition group outside the country, with direct ties to the leadership in the provinces, is intended as a building block for a new government.
"Money will create social legitimacy, " says Gokhan Bacik, an assistant professor of international relations at Fatih University in Gaziantep, Turkey, and a specialist on Syria. "If it's used correctly, the opposition groups can create local authority."
But the humanitarian crisis is driving budget decisions.
The crucial problem is bread, a staple of the Syrian diet. There isn't enough to go around, and prices are soaring, in some places up 200 percent. The Syrian air force has targeted bakeries, the fuel has run out, and the basic commerce has broken down.
For the Idlib council, bread is the most important issue: how to get it into the province and how to pay for the flour. The projects for a salaried civil police department will have to wait.
Growing Food Shortages
The food crisis is especially dire in Aleppo province, where the main city, Aleppo, has been without water and electricity for weeks.
"There is hardly any bread," says Syrian journalist Samir Kanjo, who lives in southern Turkey but still has family in Aleppo. People who still have money can buy bread at 20 times the price, but 70 percent of the people in the city can't afford bread at any price, he says.
The civilian authority in Aleppo, called the Transitional Revolutionary Council, is a group of well-known activists headed by Dr. Jalal Edeen Kangi, a civil engineer and a professor from Aleppo University.
"Aleppo is led by people who are educated professionals; many of us were educated abroad," he says. "It's not a group of conservative, religious people."
Aleppo received $1 million from the Qatari donation, which immediately went to purchase wheat. Other needs were put on hold — like paying the salaries for 400 police officers and collecting a mountain of garbage festering on the city's outskirts.
"We have 6 million people in the province. We need 1,200 tons of bread a day," says a former city official who has been advising the council. He asked not to be identified by name for his security. "What is happening is crisis management. We are only thinking of the crisis."
The crisis is the first test of the governing skills of the Transitional Revolutionary Council. The legitimacy of this local leadership will depend on their ability to supply bread for an increasingly desperate population.
But the success of the local council depends on the international community, says Kangi, the head of the Aleppo council.
After recognizing the Syrian National Coalition in Morocco last week, Western and Arab governments pledged more than $200 million to back the new group. For Kangi, the money needs to come soon, because, he says, the councils need to provide more than bread to survive.
"We want to build a new Syria based on the 21st century," he says, but Syria right now is a land of ruins. | <urn:uuid:81e0fb5f-db17-4f79-ab8d-3069f5603c9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wkar.org/post/amid-food-shortages-syrian-opposition-now-runs-many-towns | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971649 | 1,077 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Inventory of the Dorothy E. Roberts Papers, 1903-1993
Dorothy Roberts worked in the Dept. of English's administration office from 1948 until her retirement in the late 1980's-early 1990's.
The collection includes correspondence, clippings, photographs, printed material and other items created and collected by Dorothy Roberts about the Dept. of English at Duke University. Files largely pertain to the history of the department, focusing heavily on departmental faculty. The collection ranges in date from 1903-1993.
- University Archives, Duke University
- Roberts, Dorothy Elaine.
- Dorothy E. Roberts Papers, 1903-1993
- Language of Material
- 2.5 Linear Feet, approx. 2000 Items
- For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
The collection largely consists of material compiled by Roberts, who functioned as historian of the Dept. of English. Of note are the various lists of faculty, Ph.D. candidates and staff of the department over a number of years. Also included are files she maintained on faculty members, which include correspondence and clippings as well as a file Roberts kept on herself regarding her career at Duke. She also provides her impressions of key departmental staff, namely the chairmen she worked for. In 1982, Roberts donated 14 letters between her and Guy Davenport, a Duke alumnus, regarding Paris and other European cities as well of Davenport's appreciation of James Joyce and Roberts' own love of traveling abroad. Roberts' friendship with Reynolds Price is represented in the collection. There are several folders on him which include correspondence, Christmas cards, photographs, clippings, and an envelope which holds locks of Price's hair. Of particular note is a sketch Price drew of Emily Dickinson that he gave to Roberts. There is also a caricature of Ph.D. candidates, including Price, from 1962.
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the University Archives to use this collection.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Dorothy "Dot" Roberts was born in Crewe, Virginia and graduated from the University of Richmond with a major in history and a minor in English. She was hired by Duke University in 1948 to work as the office manager for the Dept. of English and was made administrative assistant in 1967. During her time with the department, Roberts worked for 12 different chairmen. She also established many long-lasting friendships with students and faculty during her time at Duke, including Reynolds Price for whom she typed many of his books, her favorite being "A Long and Happy Life." She retired from Duke in the late 1980's/early 1990's and passed away on Feb. 10, 2002.
- Roberts, Dorothy Elaine.
- Price, Reynolds, 1933-2011.
- Davenport, Guy.
- Duke University. Dept. of English.
- Duke University--Faculty.
- Duke University--Employees.
- Duke University--Students--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Joyce, James, 1882-1941.
- Authors, American-20th century--Correspondence.
- Europe--Description and travel.
- Dept. of English Records (Duke University Archives)
[Identification of item], Dorothy E. Roberts Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
The Dorothy E. Roberts Papers were received by the University Archives as a gift in 1982, 2011.
Processed by Kimberly Sims, September 2011
Encoded by Kimberly Sims, September 2011
Accession UA2011-0025 and Roberts' gift from 1982 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant. | <urn:uuid:2a03d34a-a1db-45b1-a969-a55ab663ddd2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/uarobertsdot/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948195 | 884 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Flexi-Drive is a very versatile product consisting of two stations, joined by a unique patented linear drive cable.
This equipment enables valves and other wheel-operated devices in remote, hard-to-reach or hazardous locations to be operated easily from a conveniently located and safe hand wheel station.
Developed originally for use by the US Navy to operate valves in inaccessible locations on board ships, Flexi-Drive can now be applied to any conventional wheel-operated valve/device, in oil, gas and chemical processing plants. It is suitable for underwater applications and will function reliably in all climatic
The cable system can transmit drive to a valve up to 60 metres from the operator station. The flexible cable system facilitates up to 540° of bends in the cable run.
The cable system can be passed around and through walls, bulkheads, floors and any other obstacles to reach the valve. | <urn:uuid:13581c50-3ee2-450f-b113-0f2f6716f6b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teksalcontrols.com.au/pro_valve_remote.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93851 | 181 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Down East 2013 ©
Image Rita Tenaglia/Dreamstime.com
This winter, Maine witnessed a political maelstrom unlike any in recent memory. The normally placid halls of the State House filled with protestors. Fired-up crowds shouted at legislators at public hearings in Belfast and Bangor. National television hosts and London newspapers were quoting the state’s chief executive saying surprising and divisive things, while the editorial boards of the state’s dailies pilloried him for his controversial range of positions, pronouncements, and policy proposals. Business leaders in the Portland Regional Chamber gave him standing ovations, even as progressive activists were organizing a satirical press conference thanking him on behalf of Monied Out-of-State Executives.
Since taking office in January, Governor Paul LePage has shaken the quiet world of state policymaking, polarizing Mainers and generating more controversy than most Maine politicians accumulate in an entire career. A poll conducted March 3-6 showed more Mainers disapprove (48 percent) than approve (43 percent) of him, with self-declared liberals and moderates strongly opposed and conservatives overwhelmingly supportive. Love him or hate him, it’s clear that LePage intends to profoundly reshape the state and isn’t afraid to break a lot of eggs in the process.
Much of the controversy thus far has been generated by the governor’s “Phase 1” regulatory reform proposal, a sixty-four-point plan that would effectively roll back a half-century’s worth of environmental and public health protections. It calls for a repeal of regulations that ban the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol-A (BPA) in children’s toys and baby bottles and require medical sharps to be shredded prior to disposal. Air and water pollution standards are to be replaced with much weaker federal ones, as are rules pertaining to universal solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Product stewardship laws — which require manufacturers to contribute to recycling programs for car batteries, mercury thermostats, and electronic waste — are also on the block as, indeed, are any “Maine statutory and regu-latory standards” that exceed federal ones. “Not less than 30 percent” of Maine’s vast unorganized territories — some three million acres of the North Woods — are to be rezoned for development, while the short-staffed Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be given just thirty days to review any development anywhere in the state.
“The proposals the governor is throwing out are shocking, taken as a whole,” says Horace Hildreth, Jr., chairman of Diversified Communications in Portland, who helped draft some of Maine’s early environmental regulations as a Republican state senator in the late 1960s. “I hope he has the common sense to understand that one of the biggest draws the state of Maine has for bringing businesses, retirees, and other people to Maine is for our environment and our quality of life. If he’s oblivious to this, it’s a little scary.”
“If we allow these repeals to happen, it would really take Maine back to the 1950s, to a place we thought we had left long, long behind,” says Lisa Pohlmann, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “We have a great deal invested in the tourism economy in Maine, and that completely relies on us maintaining the environment we — and many people across the country and around the world — love.”
LePage — whose staff declined to participate in this article — campaigned on a pledge to “get government out of the way” so as to “allow Maine’s small businesses to create jobs.” After the election, his transition team held a series of “Red Tape Workshops” for Maine business-people. Attendees at these and other public hearings say the refrain was to improve the state’s frustrating and cumbersome regulatory process, not to repeal the regulations themselves.
“What we hear from small businesspeople across the state is the need to be more reasonable in how we implement our regulations and to stop the attitude inside the DEP that people who are trying to run businesses are treated as the enemy,” says Senate President Kevin Raye (R-Perry). “Everyone I know drinks water and breathes air, as do their kids, and they want to be clean and healthy and free of carcinogens. There’s no agenda to try to loosen those protections.”
Indeed, protecting Maine’s environment has long been a bipartisan endeavor, and came in response to a mounting economic and environmental crisis in the middle of the last century. Prior to the 1950s, large out-of-state paper and energy companies controlled the State House, which in turn gave them free reign to treat Maine’s rivers as an open sewer. But after World War II, these industries started a long-term withdrawal to the American South and beyond. “Tourism was becoming the primary replacement for that heavy manufacturing economy and an important part of Maine’s image,” says University of Maine historian Richard Judd. “There was this recognition that if you wanted to project yourself as a tourism paradise, you had to clean up the rivers and the air.”
By the mid-1970s, Maine had emerged as a leader in environmental protection, with wetlands, land use, shoreland zoning, air pollution, and industrial siting laws passed by Republican legislators with the strong support of Democratic Governor Kenneth Curtis and U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie. “The environmental movement was largely spearheaded by Republicans,” says Judd. “The current rollbacks threaten an image of Maine as a natural state that’s important for business, for tourism, and for people’s image of themselves.”
“The real head-scratcher is that none of the governor’s proposals actually create new jobs here in Maine,” says Representative Bob Duchesne, the ranking Democrat on both the environment and regulatory reform committees. “The public isn’t asking for this stuff. Even the business interests are saying they don’t want to repeal this stuff. It’s a list of things that the lobbyists got beat on and now they want a second bite at the apple.”
Indeed, in February it came out that the governor’s “Phase 1” reform list had actually been written by one of the state’s premier lobbyists, Ann Robinson, who heads the lobbying division at Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, an influential Portland law firm. Robinson, who served as co-chair of LePage’s transition committee, is the registered lobbyist for the Toy Industry Association of America, the drug industry association PhRMA, and other companies that would benefit from the changes. This placed her in the enviable position of being able to ghostwrite the governor’s policies on behalf of her paying clients.
Shortly thereafter, LePage announced he had hired another Preti Flaherty attorney, Carlisle McLean, as his natural resources policy advisor. (She is an expert on the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC), the agency that regulates development in the unorganized territories, and represented the Plum Creek Timber Company in their efforts to build the largest real estate development in the state’s history on Moosehead Lake.) He also named a new deputy commissioner at the DEP: Patricia Aho, a Pierce Atwood lobbyist whose pharmaceutical and oil industry clients hired her to oppose the Kid Safe Products Act banning BPA, and who fought the ban on a toxic flame retardant on behalf of the manufacturers.
“We’ve been battling with these powerful national consumer product associations and chemical manufacturers for the last five or six years, and now they actually have their lobbyists being employed by the LePage administration,” says Hannah Pingree, the Democratic Speaker of the House from 2008 to 2010. “They don’t want to see little states like Maine take action, because that can lead to a domino effect where California or Illinois follow suit and that starts having an effect on their bottom line.”
Meanwhile, the governor is bunkering down. His communications director, Dan Demeritt, refused to speak to Down East about this story or to answer any of a written set of questions submitted at his office’s request. However, Phil Harriman, a retired Republican legislator and sometime political pundit, says he knows all the lobbyists in question, and he came to their defense. “These are people of high integrity who have earned their reputations long before Paul LePage was governor and I suspect will be engaged in public policy discussion long after LePage,” he says. “I think they will demonstrate with their deeds that they won’t put themselves in a situation where their reputations will be sullied by a perceived conflict.”
But it’s difficult to find sources willing to support the governor’s proposed repeal of the bans on BPA and other chemicals, which appear to have become politically toxic. Demeritt has claimed the BPA ban was requested by the Maine Grocers Association (MGA), and the governor’s office produced a letter they received from the group to back their assertion. But the letter’s author, MGA Executive Director Shelley Doak, denies this, pointing out that the letter asks that the implementation of the ban be postponed, not repealed. (“What I was suggesting was that we make sure by postponing the rules that we’ve given it a thorough reviewing of the science and go from there,” she says.) Even the pro-business Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce has distanced itself from parts of the governor’s “Phase 1” agenda. “I don’t think anyone in the business community thinks we have to sacrifice the quality of our environment to make business better,” Vice President Chris Hall told the Portland Press Herald, adding that ending recycling of e-waste would likely cost Maine jobs. “Let’s just have conversations and see what makes sense.”
Meanwhile, legislative sources say these and other more controversial proposals appear to have little hope of being implemented as they seek to undo laws passed with strong bipartisan support. “The agenda seemed to include any idea put forward from anywhere, and a lot of the ideas may have come from out of state companies and their lobbyists,” says Representative Dana Dow (R-Waldoboro), who co-sponsored the Kid Safe Product Act. “I’m the type of person who likes to put everything on the table and take a look at it, but it doesn’t mean everything that’s there is worthy of eating. There’s probably some junk food there that you’ll probably feed to the dog.”
Indeed, the governor has already apparently bowed to pressure, removing many of the most controversial items from the draft of the initial regulatory reform bill, though his staff has promised to reintroduce them later. Many of the remaining measures do have a local constituency, such as eliminating the Bureau of Environmental Protection (a citizen’s review board) or repealing the Informed Growth Act (which requires studies of how “big box” retail developments affect local economies). Others expected to surface later have political traction as well, including proposals to revamp or replace LURC. (“It has the tendency to diminish the views and concerns of the people who actually live in the unorganized territories, and to treat private property there as if it isn’t quite private,” says Senator Raye. “This isn’t an environmental question, it’s about the control of the land and about rural Maine’s destiny.”)
“It could be that the governor just put this forward as the opening move in a negotiation,” says University of Southern Maine political scientist Ron Schmidt. “But if he’s trying to carve out a position as an independent figure who can appeal to people from across Maine’s political spectrum, it wasn’t very effective.” | <urn:uuid:2b5d0e88-f2f9-4085-afe8-d2563d738e2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://downeast.com/print/magazine/2011/may/the-great-rollback | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96533 | 2,551 | 1.53125 | 2 |
I have an imaginary friend. I admit it. In fact, I have many. They live in a world outside the real world in which we live, a world I know doesn't really exist, but it's terribly real.
This is known as PARACOSM.
What is Paracosm?
a prolonged fantasy world invented by children; can have a definite geography and language and history -- from dictionary.com"Yes, Clarissa, but you're a writer. Of course you imagine these worlds. You need to in order to write about them."
True, but I don't write about this particular imaginary world. It's different. And I'm not crazy and I'm not the only writer who has created paracosms. Have you? That's the reason I had you fill out the five questions on my sidebar. Most people have created imaginary worlds as children with places and characters very real to them. And, as adult writers we have also created imaginary worlds in order to write fiction.
So, what is the difference between a fantasy world used in a work of fiction and paracosm?
That is what I'm trying to research. You see, it's not been well-researched--paracosm is a term coined in 1976 by a self-proclaimed paracosmist. Why? Probably because most adults won't admit to having imaginary friends or worlds. It's considered odd to talk to yourself or anyone that you can't see (this doesn't include prayer--many people talk to a deity they can't see on a regular basis).
So, I want to do my own research project with the people most likely to create worlds--writers and artistic types that read my blog.
So, now I ask you (and feel free to leave your comment as anonymous if you don't want to disclose your identity):
- Have you ever 'lived in' or created a fantasy world? (If you answer no to this question, disregard the rest.)
- How long have you had this imaginary world--since childhood or has the new world developed in adulthood?
- Do you just watch the characters or are you in fact one of the characters?
- Do you believe the world is real or are you aware that it's only in your mind?
- Is the world completely made up--with its own language, laws, names--or is it based on the real world?
- Do you escape into this imaginary world when faced with emotional trauma?
- How often do you spend in that imaginary world? Do you talk to your characters while washing dishes or taking a shower or does it interfere with your life (This may fall into another category called Maladaptive Daydreaming)?
Worldplay and the Writer
Impact of playing with imaginary worlds on adult creativity Paracosm-Childhood Fantasy World | <urn:uuid:f176f88b-539a-423c-b64c-78d048ba1976> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://clarissadraper.blogspot.com/2012/01/paracosm-and-writer.html?showComment=1327414549268 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975171 | 587 | 1.835938 | 2 |
26 George Street Luton
George Street in 1901 - to see a larger version, please click on the image
26 George Street is first listed in directories in 1885 when it was occupied by John Welch, fishmonger. By Kelly's Directory of 1894 the occupier was Mrs. Mary Ann Cawdell, tobacconist. By 1903 E. Deacon and Sons, jewellers, which also occupied Number 24 ran their business from the address. The firm is last mentioned at the property in 1914.
The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every piece of land and building in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Most of Bedfordshire was valued in 1927. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is lucky in having the valuer's notebook covering most of George Street. Evidence in the book shows that the survey of George Streettook place in 1928. At that date the property was occupied by Barclays Bank along with their original premises next door at Number 28.
Kelly's Directory for both 1939 and 1950 shows the property in shared occupation - Barclays Bank and Charles H. Butcher. Folowing this the property is not mentioned again in any surviving directories and the site now lies beneath a modern building.
22 to 30 George Street June 2010 | <urn:uuid:eec6a55d-d714-4942-987c-ce3cf337ced7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/Luton/InterestingbuildingsinLuton/26GeorgeStreetLuton.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958171 | 263 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Shocker today at the Boston Globe: an article which noted how effective the Bush administration's AIDS programs have been. Usually, we read things like this, published earlier this week at Lifesite News:
"Canada’s largest city, Toronto, is currently playing host to many of the world’s most influential movers and shakers as the world’s largest international AIDS conference gets underway.....The general flavour of the conference, however, was made abundantly clear during (Bill) Gates’ opening remarks, where the thousands of delegates violently booed one of the rare mentions of abstinence and sexual fidelity as possible solutions to AIDS, and enthusiastically cheered for latex, pharmaceuticals, and increasing acceptance of prostitution and hard drug use."
Par for the course for academics, feminists, leftists, etc. So it was a bit of a marvel indeed to read this in today's Globe, from reporter John Donnelly, former Africa bureau chief:
"Dr. John Idoko (of Nigeria) now treats nearly 6,000 HIV-positive patients. He has expanded his clinic three times in five years, and his waiting room once again is too crowded....The major reason for Idoko's success is the Bush administration's AIDS program, which in the last three years has sent billions of dollars to Africa and helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. When I moved to Africa three years ago, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, was just getting off the ground. As I return to Washington this month, the $15 billion program is just hitting its stride, and many Africans believe it has become the single most effective initiative in fighting the deadly scourge....Only you wouldn't know it in America-or Canada, or Europe, for that matter-given the tenor of the AIDS debate in Washington and the nature of the international media coverage."
Donnelly delves into the many criticisms leveled at the Bush administration's AIDS program, including its ABC policy (abstinence, being faithful to one's partner, and failing that, using condoms) and funding faith-based organizations. Never mind that the ABC program is a small part of the overall program to fight and treat AIDS. Secular progessives want nothing to do with notions of abstinence or faithfulness. Steven Lewis, the UN special envoy on AIDS in Africa referred to Bush's push for abstinence programs as "incipient neo-colonialism." Puh-lease! Back on the ground in Africa, there is a different mood:
"In Africa, the kind of polarized debate that dominates Washington policy circles is rarely heard. Among those working on US-funded AIDS programs, there's a sense of energy and optimism and a belief that they are making history. Every week, faith-based and secular groups, encouraged and funded by US AIDS specialists, are finding new ways to treat people, prevent new infections, and care for the ill....Pragmatism rules. Two years ago in the southwestern African nation of Namibia, Lucy Steinitz, a Jewish Brandeis graduate who was then the head of Catholic AIDS Action, told me that US officials sought out faith-based groups because of common sense: Churches were running many of the country's hospitals and clinics already. The same is the case in many African countries."
Hello! This is another example where the Bush administration has implemented an effective program which is showing real successes, but you rarely hear about it. Kudos to John Donnelly and the Globe for this article. Read the whole thing! | <urn:uuid:81277445-f86d-4715-a368-49b6a8cb0ba3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://misskelly.typepad.com/miss_kelly_/2006/08/us_programs_eff.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958169 | 720 | 1.617188 | 2 |
(CNN) -- I've heard thousands of sermons over the years, and a ton of them were about sex and money (or substitute: lust and greed). It's as if the two issues are synonymous, and in a way, they are.
Find peace with what you have, advises Roland S. Martin.
I can't think of any two other topics that dominate the focus of the three major religions -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
It seems that human beings are in a constant battle with the flesh -- money and lust -- as opposed to their spiritual desires.
Now let me be clear: I like money and sex. No, I LOVE money and sex! But what happened to the notion of restraint or doing things within boundaries?
For instance, it's never been my desire to have all of the latest clothes, gadgets and cars. The key is being content with what you have.
I find it mind-boggling that some people will work themselves to death in order to buy a $700 pair of shoes or a leather jacket. A few years ago the New York Times had a story about low-paid assistants starving themselves to buy the "in" handbag. That's dumb.
When I turned 14, my parents bought me and my brother a pair of Jordache jeans and a Polo shirt. Now at the time, Jordache was all the rage in America. It was one of the hippest designer jeans. But I politely asked my parents to return the items and buy me a few pairs of Levis. It made no sense to me to have one pair of jeans when I could buy three for the same price!
Call me "old school," but I also don't understand why you would spend $200 for a pair of Nikes. Now, if you have the means -- meaning your house note, car, life insurance and light bills have been paid -- then go right ahead. But, really, what's the difference between a $200 and $50 pair of sneakers? The box?
We all want to make enough money so we don't have to pinch pennies. But when we cross the line into greed, when no amount of money is enough, when we keep pushing and pushing till we're willing to sacrifice our integrity for a buck, then we all have a big problem.
And that's also what people of faith preach about sex.
There's an "inner voice" in most of us that says sleeping with multiple partners isn't healthy. (But are you listening?) It may make you feel good physically. But there's an underlying problem with that kind of behavior, and that's what you really want to address.
Last year, my ordained minister wife and I held a workshop at a marriage conference. I made the point to the few men in the room (that's another story!) that I don't want to work all day and then dream about bedding Halle Berry, Salma Hayek or some other starlet. God has blessed me with a gorgeous wife, and she should be the one that I desire.
That requires both of us to see each other as sexually appealing, and not just say, "Oh, well, that's my wife or husband." Dismissing your partner is never a good thing.
But people of faith are also going to have to stop being so rigid when it comes to sex and money. Don't label me "greedy" because I make a good living. If I earn $1 million a year, and I tithe 10 percent (or $100,000), what is the problem? If someone's heart is in the right place, making them feel bad about getting paid and living well is counterproductive.
We should also stop this nonsense about admonishing open discussion of sex. If your religious convictions tell you that sex is off limits before marriage, that's fine and good. But that doesn't mean you can't talk about this wonderful creation of God, Allah, Yahweh. So many people are confused when it comes to sex because we don't want to discuss it.
When churches, mosques and synagogues engage in healthy dialogue about sex and money, we are all better off for it. But when they force the issue underground, it allows non-spiritual forces to gain a foothold. That's why we have a culture that promotes promiscuity and materialism.
Roland S. Martin is a nationally award-winning, multifaceted journalist and CNN contributor. Martin is studying to receive his master's degree in Christian Communications at Louisiana Baptist University, and is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." You can read more of his columns at www.rolandsmartin.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend
|Most Viewed||Most Emailed| | <urn:uuid:ddc96792-bcce-414c-9ede-74a8655e0e1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/08/20/martin/index.html?iref=nextin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972123 | 1,000 | 1.578125 | 2 |
products address D&D needs
The largest supplier of radiation protection personnel
and decontamination services to the U.S. nuclear power industry is
also providing equipment and specialized services that are lowering
costs for DOEs D&D market. Bartlett Nuclear, Bartlett Services,
and other Bartlett affiliates of Plymouth, Massachusetts are supplying
two D&D products to DOE sitesthe Super Sleever and the Excel
Automatic Locking Scaffold (Tech
ID 2320). These products are cutting the time required for typical
D&D and maintenance tasks.
When extension cords, cables, and hoses are used during routine maintenance
or D&D operations in contaminated areas, they inevitably become
contaminated. Since most sites dont have the ability to easily
clean the hoses and cables to meet free-release standards, these items
are typically disposed of as low-level wastes. Another practice at
sites is for workers to hand-wrap cables and hoses in plastic to protect
them during D&D operations. Both practices have drawbacks: disposal
is wasteful, and hand-wrapping is time-consuming and expensive. Having
an efficient way to protect cables and hoses from contamination would
save many sites either labor hours or the costs of disposing these
materials as low-level waste.
The patented Super Sleever, developed by an operator at DOEs
Savannah Rive Site, is a device for quickly and easily encasing cords,
hoses, and air lines in polyethylene protective sheaths, or sleeves,
to prevent them from becoming contaminated during routine maintenance
or D&D operations in contaminated areas. The labor required to
apply and remove the plastic sleeving dispensed from a Super Sleever
is much less than the cost of cleaning or replacing these items or
of wrapping them by hand in the conventional manner.
The Super Sleever is outfitted with a disposable cardboard tube onto
which polyethylene sleeving has been shirred. After insertion of the
disposal sleeving tube into the Super Sleever, the leading end of
a cord or hose is passed through the Super Sleever and taped to the
free end of the sleeving. As a worker pulls the hose through the tube,
the hose is encased within a sleeve. A worker can sleeve 50 feet of
hose in 15 seconds. When the entire length of the hose is contained
within a sleeve, the worker cuts the sleeve and tapes it to the end
of the hose.
Bartlett sells the Super Sleever for $500 per unit and also supplies
sleeving refills in various lengths and widths for accommodation of
cables, hoses, and cords up to 2.5 inches in diameter.
has sleeving experience
The idea for an improved sleeving method was conceived of by an operator
at DOEs Savannah
River Site (SRS), who engineered a portable device for manually
dispensing a sleeve over long and comparatively narrow objects in
less than 1/10 of the time it took to sleeve objects without the device.
This device was licensed for manufacture to Bartlett, which markets
it as the Super Sleever and has supplied units to six nuclear power
plants, including Big
Rock Point near Charlevoix, Michigan, which is undergoing D&D;
in Southport, North Carolina; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
in Salem Township, Pennsylvania; Pickering-Ontario Power Generation
Company in Ontario, Canada; and the U.S.
Enrichment Corporation, which operates gaseous diffusion enrichment
plants in Kentucky and Ohio.
SRSs use of the product, beginning
in January 2000, is helping the site reuse hoses, cables, and cords
that were previously either manually sleeved or disposed of after
a single use as low-level waste. SRS expects to increase the Super
Sleevers use across the site as
more applications are identified during the devices
field deployments. With full use of the sleever, the site expects
to avoid 17,000 cubic feet of low-level waste annually.
finds a better way
Roger Brown, a Westinghouse Savannah
River Co. employee and senior operations specialist at DOEs
Savannah River Site, has nothing good to say about hand-sleeving.
I hate sleeving. I guess you could say Im lazy.
But when thats your job for eight hours, you know theres
just got to be a better way. Browns dislike of the
slow and tedious process of wrapping plastic around cords and
hoses led him to invent a device that makes sleeving seem like
childs play. Thanks to Brown and his inventionthe
Super Sleeverhe and other workers at DOE sites and nuclear
power plants may soon be able to strike hand-wrapping from their
to-do lists. Sleeving 150 feet of hose once took two people
45 minutes to accomplish; but with the Super Sleever, the same
job takes one person only 45 seconds. Brown proudly reports
that his invention can potentially save the Savannah River Site
$4 million annually in labor hours and waste reduction.
Brown is enjoying the recognition his invention is earning him.
Among the awards hes received are an Excellence in Technology
Transfer for the Southeast Region, given by the Federal Laboratory
Consortium, and a Pollution Prevention Award given by DOE, one
of four that the Savannah River Site received for 2001. Brown
also has a good chance of earning some money for his invention.
Westinghouse and Brown will share royalties on any nongovernmental
sales of the Super Sleever.
It's a snap
with an Excel scaffold
together the modular pieces of Bartletts Excel Automatic Locking
Scaffold is akin to erecting a tower using an adult version of Tinker
Toys. Bartletts snap-together attachments, including swing gates,
floor hatches, ladders, trusses, cantilevers, lifting devices, and
trolley systems, offer increased safety and utility when carrying
out D&D tasks such as characterization, demolition, and asbestos
abatement. Because workers can minimize the use of hand tools while
attaching the systems trigger-release horizontal bearers to
vertical legs, they can avoid tedious and repetitive clamp tightening
associated with the baseline scaffold. The Excel scaffold is also
faster to set up than the baseline scaffold, which contributes to
reduced labor expenditures for D&D operations, as well as for
routine maintenance chores.
The Excel scaffold was demonstrated during three months in early 1999
as part of the D&D Focus Areas Large-Scale Demonstration
and Deployment Project (LSDDP) at the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The
demonstration investigated the feasibility of using the Excel scaffold
to access pipes, ductwork, and boiler tanks insulated with asbestos-containing
material. Comparative performance and cost data for the Excel scaffold
and the baseline tube-and-clamp scaffold substantiated Bartlett's
claims of the superiority of its Excel scaffold: | <urn:uuid:01f0b0bf-4591-45b4-be6a-44017a884ec9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/14/13978.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93062 | 1,499 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Australia’s major new arts, theatre and ‘culture palaces’ from Canberra to Melbourne to New York, and the architects who designed them, are among major winners at this year’s top architecture awards.
The Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards are the country’s most prestigious annual architecture prizes. The 2009 awards were presented to the nation’s most inspiring recent architectural projects and architects, at a special ceremony tonight (Thursday 29 October) in Melbourne. A total 32 awards and commendations across 12 categories were awarded to projects in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, the ACT, NSW, Western Australia, South Australia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Topping the list of winners, is the recipient of Australia’s top annual national architecture award – the 2009 Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, awarded this year to the National Portrait Gallery in the ACT by Sydney-based practice Johnson Pilton Walker (JPW). In a double win for the firm, the gallery also received a National Architecture Award for Interior Architecture. The gallery is the most recent in a long list of major arts facilities designed by JPW, including the New Asian Galleries at the AGNSW and the Museum of Sydney, and is their first Sir Zelman Cowen Award. For images of the other award winners and more go to The Age: Gallery gets gong, but could have been ‘grander’
A rebound in business confidence has not yet translated into investment intentions, with Queensland, Australia relying on a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects to drive the economy to more stable ground.
The latest Access Economics-Arup Investment Monitor shows business investment in Queensland was notably worse in the September quarter, while infrastructure remains dominated by water and transport-related projects.
The $4.3 billion Regional Rail Link project has reached another major milestone with the appointment of Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) and Arup to complete the final planning and geotechnical work before construction starts in 2010.
“Regional Rail Link was Victoria’s highest priority project for action submitted to the Infrastructure Australia and will improve reliability for Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo V/Line services and free up capacity for more trains on the Werribee, Craigieburn and Sunbury (Sydenham) suburban lines.
FEDERAL Labor MP Kelvin Thomson has savaged the Victorian Government’s handling of urban planning in a blistering newsletter to constituents.
Mr Thomson said the State Government’s planning blueprint Melbourne 2030, which aimed to reduce urban sprawl, had failed badly. He attacked State Government plans to increase Melbourne’s boundary by 41,000 hectares. | <urn:uuid:a24dac28-2c42-4da6-8713-12bce39e362e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldlandscapearchitect.com/category/geographic-region/oceania/page/14/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935108 | 556 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Licensed venues urged to tighten up on fire safety
A health and safety body is urging pub, club and restaurant owners in the West Midlands to tighten up on fire safety, to make sure staff and customers are properly protected against potential tragedy.
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Fire Risk Management Group gathered yesterday, at the HMV Institute, in Birmingham, to discuss how in some licensed premises there are accidents ‘waiting to happen’.
During the event, IOSH also urged pub, bar, club, restaurant and hotel businesses to ask for advice on how to protect their staff, customers and premises against the risk of fire.
Paul Graham, IOSH Fire Risk Management Group chair, said: “We know that many businesses feel that fire safety is a daunting task, but we’re finding there are accidents just waiting to happen in many licensed premises.
“Any business needs a proper fire risk assessment, which would particularly discourage using flammable materials and pyrotechnics. What makes a good fire strategy even more essential for licensed businesses is the crowds they often need to manage – the most important thing is to be able to get people out quickly and safely. The human, financial and reputational costs of dealing with the ramifications of a serious fire far outweigh the cost of robust fire safety management.”
IOSH also called for proper training and supervision for people with responsibility for fire safety and urged businesses, where necessary, to seek advice from properly qualified professionals, such as its Fire Risk Management Group and the Fire and Rescue Service.
West Midlands Fire Service fire safety inspector Graham Homer spoke at the event and said: “The consequences of fire can be devastating and as well as the overriding risk to life, businesses also face the prospect of losing their livelihoods if their premises go up in flames.
“That is why officers from West Midlands Fire Service are keen to work with club and bar owners to ensure that they are aware of their responsibilities under the law. Not only that, how best to assess the risks from fire and put in place the precautions necessary in order to protect their staff, clientele and naturally their premises.”
During the event, fire safety experts were reminded of several fires in restaurants, pubs and clubs in and around Birmingham. This included its historic rock club, Edwards No. 8 in 2006, where all 500 inside the building escaped and only 10 were treated for minor injuries. More recently, in 2008, TGI Fridays caught ablaze on Hagley Road, while in Wolverhampton, Manhattan’s bar in Chicago Rock Cafe fell foul to the same fate in 2009.
Darren Read, fire, health and safety manager for Birmingham-based Mitchells and Butlers, gave advice on how the company had put its fire strategy into place. He said: “Having a pub, bar and restaurant business with several brands that operate all over Birmingham and the rest of the UK means you really have to have an incredibly effective fire safety strategy that works for everyone.
“Across our premises there were kitchens, laundry areas, alcohol and upholstery, as well as crowds of people, to factor into our fire strategy. So today I’ve been talking about how licensed businesses should be taking a good look at the risks that their business involves, from the chance of a fire starting, to the ability they have to prevent the spread of fire, and to get everyone out safely.”
For more information on IOSH’s Fire Risk Management Group, visit www.iosh.co.uk. | <urn:uuid:39c7fff7-81e6-4ae2-81bb-ad5fb3212a23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebirminghampress.com/2012/06/28/licensed-venues-urged-to-tighten-up-on-fire-safety/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969175 | 736 | 1.726563 | 2 |
For most of my life, happiness meant satisfying the hunger for life’s mysteries, discover love, pain, or understand social justice through an astonishing amount of reading. As a lonely and rather peculiar child, I was engulfed in books most of my free time.
Born in the same town the roman poet Ovid lived his last years and died I came to be inspired by the written word and its power. Ovid’s Metamorphosis were always on my desk even if for a couple of years they made little to no sense to me.
I also devoured Russian, British, and French literature and I did my best to read it in its original language. I did the same with Dante’s Divine Comedy as I was convinced, and I still am to a certain degree that translation loses some of the subtleties the writer intended.
So when it comes to my own writing, the influences are very transparent. Chekhov and Pushkin felt like always guiding my quill while Zola and Flaubert helped me choose my subjects without being concerned if a beautiful or ugly one. The perfect use of the word, an honest and well-established rhythm, as well as a good structure was what I absorbed from the masters and tried my best to implement in my stories. When crafting my stories I always tried to combine the dispassionate attitude of a scientist with the sensitivity and psychological understanding of an artist. | <urn:uuid:738a4d78-5633-4a59-87aa-71b6d9601d20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=107364 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976489 | 291 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Parents can be discerning customers.
Take these moms and dads, who showed up at a new schools fair earlier this year—to shop.
DAD: If I have to put them in a faster pace school, that's what I intend to do.
MOM: It's crowded with a lot of kids, and I want them to get into another school with less students.
MOM: Safety issues like gangs—it's something that we really don't want our child to be around.
MOM: I really liked the school with the solar windows and the chickens running around. You know, it was like an organic elementary school.
New schools at the fair are competing for these parents. And so are traditional neighborhood schools.
ambi: We begin Week 20 today, Week 20. Please stand for the Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag …
Principal Marian Strok says she's pushing a darn good product.
ambi: classroom at Evergreen
Test scores at her southwest side school—
But Strok is lsoing kids—so she's stealing a page from the competition's playbook.
STROK: The charter school down the block from us had an ad in the paper. They also had a large open house—again, touting the fact that they just put on an addition. And they're really marketing all over the place, and that's what we have to do in order to get children. I'll do it, I will do it because I think we're that good a school.
For Strok, this is the world tipped on its head: the public school principal is now thinking of advertising for students in the Sunday bulletins of nearby Catholic churches.
And you can understand why. There are real consequences to losing students. Programs and staff can be cut. And in the last 7 years,
UNO radio ad
In Pilsen, principal Zoila Garcia of Whittier Elementary says she's up against radio ads like this one and recruiters from nearby charter schools who go door to door through the neighborhood. Thirty-seven percent of kids in the area now go somewhere else.
GARCIA: We don't really have the personnel or the expertise, because we never thought that was going to be part of our job.
And there are teachers at Whittier who resent the whole idea.
TEACHER: We're not marketers, we're teachers. But yet we have to go home and grade papers and on weekends we have to man tables to try to get our schools populated.
RANGEL: They should be out there, in the street, going door to door, and hustling like everybody else. This is a tough business.
That's Juan Rangel, CEO of the United Neighborhood Organization, which runs UNO charter schools. Rangel says recruiting students is like running a political campaign. You do radio ads, you go door to door. UNO uses volunteers and spends less than $3,500 a year total on student recruitment. Rangel says any school can do this.
RANGEL: But if people are complacent in their classroom—in their little office, and then just complain that, ‘We don't have a marketing budget,' they're not thinking outside of the box, as everybody likes to say. But I think that's what's required.
Rangel says it's neighborhood schools that have the big advantage in this competition. They get students routed to them by default.
UNO schools have had to recruit every one of their 3,300 kids. With eight schools across town, UNO is building a brand. Rangel has found a niche market among Mexican immigrant parents. He says parents know quality when they see it.
RANGEL: Our children wear uniforms, and uniforms does not mean a white T-shirt with baggy pants. It means full uniform with a tie, and that's what parents want. We say that our teachers do home visits. They're committed to visiting you twice a year in your home. That's what parents want.
Millions of public and private dollars have been spent on creating
ROBOCALL: Hello. This is Ron Huberman, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools. I'm calling to invite you and your family to the New Schools Expo…
This automated call went to 260,000 households. And it left many neighborhood schools feeling like the district is favoring charters. CPS has struggled in the past with how to level the playing field when it comes to marketing. The district prints a directory that lists every school in the city; part of the initial idea was to get parents to see options beyond big brand-name magnet schools.
If you're wondering what the future might look like for schools and marketing, check out Hamilton Elementary. The North Side school came close to death last year, but then won a last-minute reprieve.
PARADIS: And actually what Ron Huberman said was, ‘Why would I close a high performing school that just needs to be marketed for more people?'
Since then, local school council chair Stacey Paradis and others at
PARADIS: It is very much about the positive buzz or the negative buzz that was out there. And not that
Paradis talks about “branding”
GRAY: This was a counselor's office, we tore everything out and created a student art gallery.
The first two rooms you see when you enter
GRAY: Marketing only gets people interested in a school—so that's the first part of it. Once they come to the school, we have to sell them on the school, and that's really where the parent signs on the dotted line.
Gray says part of marketing has been figuring out what parents want. They seem to expect a science lab, he says. So now the school is fundraising to build one. Then they'll tout it. If that leads to more students, there's more benefits. The district could send
All the time schools spend on marketing can take time away from the business of educating kids.
GRAY: Last summer, probably half my time was spent on a marketing strategy, thinking about what we were going to do to get more applicants to our school.
But Gray prefers to see that as an investment. And it seems to be working. In just a year, | <urn:uuid:baff7079-2537-46cf-b737-373e12f7e3a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbez.org/story/news/education/schools-struggle-sell-themselves | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976867 | 1,329 | 1.84375 | 2 |
By Jarrod Jacobs
It came to my attention a while back that the most shoplifted book in the world is the Bible. Whether this is true or an urban myth, just think of the irony of a Bible being stolen.
It is ironic because there are many Bible passages that tell us not to steal, for example, Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11, 13; Deuteronomy 5:19; Ephesians 4:28. Imagine someone stealing something that plainly states, “don’t steal.” Too, we are told in this same book that someone who is guilty of stealing will be lost in hell (1 Corinthians 6:10). | <urn:uuid:1eb82401-9f5e-469d-9216-628d140b0d55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.graysonrecord.com/features/religion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944821 | 141 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Jamie Morin addressed more than 320 Airmen, industry officials and Air Force Association members at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 15.
Morin opened the symposium with a discussion on space superiority as an enduring source of American strength.
“Space is a fundamental pillar of (America’s) military and our economic might. It’s an enduring source of American strength and American advantage,” Morin said. “Through space superiority, our Air Force can continue to provide the nation with the global reach, global vigilance and the global power that the nation’s come to rely on.”
During his remarks, Morin addressed the work the Air Force is currently performing in space, key challenges and some of the ways the Air Force and industry partners can help meet those critical challenges.
“The technological and the organizational advances are frankly amazing. But the advances of today stand on the shoulders of innovative pioneers who laid the ground work,” he said, lauding the efforts of Hap Arnold, who commissioned a study during World War II to look at advances in technology and where it would take American airpower in the decades to follow.
“That study came out in 1945 with a clear finding – the satellite is a definite possibility,” Morin said. “And the pendulum of progress swung and by 1992, we were ready to stand up our own Air Force Space Command to put that organizational focus on the space business.”
Now in its 30th year, Air Force Space Command saw a drastic change in mission at the onset of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. It was then that the Air Force realized space could do more than serve in purely strategic roles, but could be a vital enabler for tactical capability.
“That shift from purely strategic to both strategic and tactical roles for space changed fundamentally how this nation fights war,” the under secretary said. “Today, we have a space force that maintains mature and integrated systems that can provide effects down to the individual tactical user level every day.
“All those leaps in space capability are fundamentally enabled by innovative airmen and our industry partners. Our innovative airmen are the core of our capability,” Morin said.
But it’s a capability that requires aggressive maintenance.
The barriers of access to space have dropped dramatically, Morin said, describing space and the space environment as congested, contested and competitive – where other nations are advancing technology to individually reach space on their own.
“Your Air Force is actively pursuing multiple avenues that will allow us to maintain resilient systems, and an architecture that accomplishes mission but also at every step with a keen eye towards affordability,” the under secretary said.
This includes aggressive modernization efforts to meet war fighter needs, which is why space investment makes up 20 percent of the Air Force investment budget.
“It is a critical time for space and it’s a critical time for those capabilities upon which the nation relies,” Morin said. “Those space capabilities are things that not only the Department of Defense, joint team and the rest of government relies on, but things the whole civilian economy and the population of the country and the world rely on.”
Despite the challenges ahead, Morin said he considers the future very promising, thanks to the strong partnership with industry and international allies.
“We’re leveraging each other’s space-based capabilities, communication, situational awareness. And we keep looking for new ways to do that and are finding great opportunities,” he said.
But more importantly, the future is bright because of airmen.
“Those are folks who are dedicated and excited to find the right solutions for the warfighter, find the right solutions for the taxpayer, find the right solutions for the nation,” he said, adding a sincere thank you to all the Airmen in the audience and the 42,000 space professionals of AFSPC. “You are truly the key to our continued advantage in space that America is relying on because we are an Air Force that is driven by airmen and powered by innovation.” | <urn:uuid:11260bf8-5ac8-478e-ae0a-e3ce7acd8ebd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aerotechnews.com/laafb/2012/11/30/morin-talks-space-superiority-at-afa-conference/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942739 | 881 | 1.703125 | 2 |
With a sense of panic I suddenly awake at 2:30 am. In just a matter of days I will be leaving Iran and heading for the Indian Subcontinent, and my soul is sad. For the past three years I have dreamt of exploring the country’s magnificent mosques, labyrinth bazaars and ancient archeological sites, and the last five weeks in the Islamic Republic have not disappointed. As I lay in bed, my mind races as I debate whether I should extend my 30-day tourist visa yet again, a surprisingly simple procedure that I have already done once while in Tehran. A second extension, while not as easy, would definitely be possible, thus allowing me to remain in the country for an additional two weeks.
Just a stone’s throw from my $3.75-a-night room at the spartan, but spanking clean, Tous Hotel stands the Imam Reza Holy Shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s most holy city. According to Shi’ites, 12 supreme holy leaders, imams, descended from the holy prophet of Mohammed, with Imam Reza, the eighth, being among the most important. It was in a small village on this spot in the 9th century where he was murdered, with his tomb quickly becoming a place of worship for Shi’ites worldwide. Pilgrims from around the globe flock to the city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, and last month alone over 11,000 foreign pilgrims visited this extensive religious complex, which consists of mosques, schools, research centers and religious offices.
At 4 o’clock that morning the muezzin’s call to prayer at the shrine breaks through the night’s silence. For the past two days I have been rudely awaken by his ear-piercing prayers, which my foam ear plugs prove defenseless against. But that morning, instead of rolling over and putting my pillow over my head, I spring out of bed and stand in front of the window.
A small, but steady, stream of worshipers makes its way to the shrine, and without even thinking, I scramble to get dressed. Female visitors to Iran must observe the hejab, a term referring to the proper Islamic female fashion code, and while in Iran I have been sporting what I term my poor-Polish-immigrant-just-off-the-boat look: a beige headscarf tied under my chin and a billowy beige coat, called a rouposh, which comes to just above my ankles. Many Iranian women, both old and young, wear a chador, literally meaning “tent,” an unwieldy cape, almost always black, that they enshroud themselves in and cinch closed with their hands or, when their hands are busy with babies, bags or the like, with their teeth.
Female foreigners, however, most often opt for the more manageable rouposh, which generally is long, but in recent reform-minded years sometimes reaches just to the knees. The only perk to wearing a rouposh is that it doesn’t matter what you look like underneath. And so that morning I wrap my headscarf around my rumpled hair and cover my long underwear and baby-blue tank top with my baggy coat. I then commit fashion’s most serious faux pas: I wear white socks and sport sandals.
The only thing stopping me from running out the door is that I need a chador, for all women, even if they are properly covered with a scarf and a rouposh, must don a chador when entering the shrine. For my earlier daytime visits I had borrowed the hotel cleaning lady’s chador, but it is now four in the morning and so I have to improvise.
With a quick tug, the white cotton sheet comes off of my twin-sized bed and – voila! – I have a chador. The sheet is only about half the size of a normal chador, and so as I dash out into the darkness, I do my best to cover myself with it as much as possible. With my hands tucked underneath the fabric, I clench it to my face and to my chest. Only my long underwear, socks and sandals are showing, as well as my still sleepy face.
Enshrouded in my bedsheet, I follow the flow of women to the special female-only entrance. There I open my sheet, exposing my long underwear and tank top, under which I haven’t even bothered putting on a bra, while a weary-looking woman thoroughly pats me down. Following a deadly 1994 bombing at the shrine security was severely tightened, resulting in body searches and the prohibition of all bags and cameras. Maybe I am being paranoid, but she seems perplexed by my appearance, and she then asks me where I am from. My hope is that she would think I am just an odd Muslim from another country, but without thinking I mumble “Am-er-ee-ka.” Her face breaks into a smile, and with a wave she welcomes me.
Non-Muslims visitors are restricted in their access to the complex, and during an earlier visit a female guide from the Office of Guidance for Foreign Visitors rapidly showed me where I could and could not venture. But once on my own I quickly lost my way, eventually stumbling into two courtyards, which I later found out were off-limits. I wouldn’t dare enter into the mosques or the golden-domed holy shrine itself, but once in the open courtyards, I didn’t see any harm, and so I stayed for a spell. That morning it is to the congested courtyards that I return.
As I step into the main courtyard, the call to prayer continues to cry out from the mosque’s minaret. Even though I had seen it before, as I stand there in the early morning hours, wrapped in my white bedsheet, it takes my breath away. Worshipers scurry across the courtyard into the mosque, with its segregated sections for men and women. Me, I plop myself down against a wall, sitting with my knees curled against my chest and my sheet completely covering me. And I watch.
I watch the bottoms of black chadors brush by me, I stare up at the stunning tiled minaret from which the muezzin is calling out to his fellow Muslims, and I glance up at the glistening tile work that surrounds me. In the wee hours of the morning the lit-up shrine sparkles like a priceless gem. With my eyes closed, I will every fiber of my body to remember the moment. And then I get teary-eyed. But only for a moment as the feeling passes as quickly as it came over me, and suddenly a stupid smile of pure, unadulterated bliss spreads across my face.
Near 4:30 the call to prayer picks up, and the courtyard empties out as people scramble into the mosque for the start of prayers. Within minutes I have the courtyard to myself, save for a few men who sleep soundly in the complex’s colorful corners and stragglers scurrying into the mosque.
With my head up and my heart happy, I aimlessly wander throughout the many courtyards and buildings that make up the massive complex. Through large, open glass doors, I spy men standing up and down as they follow the holy leader’s prayers, and behind a rich, green velvet curtain, the women worship. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter mosques during prayers, and so I stand outside and take it all of it.
The worshipers’ prayers eerily echo into the courtyard and send shivers down my spine, and as I stroll the grounds I decide that never have I ever seen a more magnificent monument. My many travels have taken me throughout Europe and deep into the Middle East, but nothing could compare to the breathtaking beauty of the Imam Reza Holy Shrine this morning.
After about 30 minutes, prayers wrap up and hundreds of men and women silently stream out of the mosque. Daylight is slowing breaking; fatigue suddenly washes over me, so I follow them to an exit.
I had awoken two-and-a-half hours earlier filled with fear and sadness at the thought of leaving Iran. But as I step out of the shrine it is with a spring in my step. At first I am tempted to turn around for one last lingering look at the shrine’s golden minarets, but I don’t have to because I will recall the beauty and emotions of this morning for many years to come. My original plan was to say goodbye to the Islamic Republic with a lavish meal at one of the many traditional teahouses in which I had spent endless hours during my stay. But without planning it, I have just made peace with my impending departure from Iran, and am now ready and eager for the Indian Subcontinent. | <urn:uuid:002df7d4-4aa5-4df3-bcf9-ad59fb6f8cea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/01-09/magical-mashhad-iran.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963504 | 1,862 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Most investors are familiar with the concept of “capital gains.” A capital gain is a profit that results from the sale of an asset that has appreciated beyond its purchase price. While capital gains are taxable, long-term capital gains (those from investments held more than a year) are taxed at a favorable rate as compared to ordinary income.
What about capital losses?
While nobody wants to lose money, there are some advantages to booking an investment loss. In fact, capital losses can be used to offset capital gains from other investments or, if you you don’t have any (or enough) gains to offset, they can be used to reduce your ordinary income. While you’re limited to offsetting $3k/year of ordinary income, you can carry your losses forward until they’re used up.
Tax loss harvesting
This ability to offset gains and/or income with losses makes possible a strategy known as “tax loss harvesting.” Suppose you’ve invested in a certain mutual fund, and the price has tanked. Assuming that this is an investment you want to hold for the long term, you might be inclined to sit tight.
Instead, you might opt to sell your shares to book the loss so you can take advantage of your bad luck at tax time. Now that you’ve locked in your loss, however, you don’t want to miss out on a possible rally, do you? So the next question is… How soon can you buy back in? This is where the “wash sale” rule comes in.
What is a wash sale?
The wash sale rule requires that an investor wait at least 31 days after selling a security for a loss before repurchasing the same security, or a “substantially identical” investment. If you buy back in within 30 days, the IRS will treat it as if you never sold in the first place, and you’ll lose the ability to claim a loss.
Oh, and before you try to get clever, keep in mind that the IRS will also treat it as a wash sale if you make your purchase within the 30 days before the sale of your downtrodden shares. Thus, you can’t simply buy shares ahead of the sale to avoid triggering a wash sale.
What is “substantially identical”?
Unfortunately, the IRS hasn’t defined exactly what “substantially identical” means. The general consensus seems to be that, for example, a mutual fund and its corresponding ETF from the same company are likely to be viewed as substantially identical.
On the other hand, two funds tracking different indices (e.g., S&P 500) are unlikely to trigger a wash sale. The intermediate case, in which funds from different companies that track the same index are exchanged, is less clear. Experts are split, and the IRS hasn’t provided any guidance, but I wouldn’t risk it.
As always, be sure to check with a professional tax advisor if you’re unsure, as the stakes are often quite high in these sorts of transactions. | <urn:uuid:7db23659-a259-4405-a535-affeeecf7ffd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2010/04/26/investment-losses-and-the-wash-sale-rule/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961936 | 650 | 1.726563 | 2 |
By Clifford D. May
Abd al Rahim al Nashiri is charged with organizing three al-Qaeda attacks including the suicide bombing that killed 17 American servicemen aboard the USS Cole in 2000. Reed Brody, counsel with Human Rights Watch, is concerned about him. In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Brody argues that it is unjust and outrageous that Nashiri is to be tried by a military tribunal in Guantanamo rather than in a civilian court in America. Brody claims he’s concerned for America, too. The U.S., he asserts, “needs a trial that is accepted around the world as a fair search for the truth.”
Around the world? Like in Iran? Syria? Saudi Arabia? Sudan? China? Russia? What exactly are the standards for fair truth-seeking in Cuba and Venezuela?
Such questions do not appear to interest Brody and the many other “progressive” activists aggressively seeking to expand the rights of those waging an unconventional and blatantly illegal war against liberal democracies. Simultaneously, the activists seek to restrict — and often criminalize — the rights of those liberal democracies to defend themselves.
Let’s stipulate that unlawful combatants such as Nashiri deserve due process. That raises the question: What process is due an unlawful combatant? Surely, not the same process that is due an honorable prisoner of war. That would reward terrorists and make chumps of warriors who abide by the laws of armed combat even when to do so imperils their lives. And certainly they do not merit the same process that is due an American citizen accused of a criminal transgression — that’s an entirely different kettle of fish.
Nor can there be serious doubt — even within the hallowed halls of Human Rights Watch — that American military tribunals provide much more fairness and truth-seeking than do the civilian courts of any of the authoritarian states that dominate the U.N.’s Human Rights Council and General Assembly.
What’s really going on here: Brody is one too many lawyers, diplomats, and academics engaged in “lawfare” — a term Peter Berkowitz, the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, succinctly defines as the “use of international law as a political weapon.” It will come as no surprise that Israel — the proverbial and perennial canary in the mineshaft — is on the front lines of this conflict. In response, Berkowitz has written a slender but intellectually muscular volume: Israel and the Struggle over the International Laws of War.
Those who proclaim themselves jihadis recognize no international rules governing their behavior. They abide only by their interpretation of sharia, Islamic law, which permits — indeed encourages — violations of the fundamental laws of war such as targeting non-combatants, using non-combatants as shields, disguising combatants as non-combatants, and summarily executing non-combatants.
Curiously, few “human-rights activists” have much to say about these practices. Their goal is not to persuade the barbarians — they would never call them that, though when you’re talking about people who behead civilians on camera, the shoe fits — to reform. Their goal is not to persuade all combatants to uphold a single and humane standard of warfare, what Berkowitz calls the post–World War II “revolution in military affairs” aimed at bringing “the conduct of war under vastly greater legal supervision.” On the contrary, they contort legal reasoning to advantage unlawful combatants over warriors who fight by the rules.
Two examples that Berkowitz explores in depth: the U.N.’s Goldstone report in 2009, which essentially condemned Israel for defending itself from relentless missile attacks while exonerating Hamas for those attacks; and the Gaza flotilla in 2010, which challenged Israel’s right to prevent weapons from being delivered to terrorists. In both cases, Berkowitz writes, U.N. officials, prominent lawyers, and diplomats put forward specious legal arguments that “threaten not only Israel’s national security interests but also America’s because they work to severely restrict the legitimate use of force by liberal democracies generally.”
The legal case made against the naval blockade rests on the claim that Israel is the “occupying power” in Gaza, a territory administered by Egypt until 1967, when Israel seized it in a defensive war against its Arab neighbors. In 2005, however, the Israelis withdrew all troops from Gaza and dismantled every settlement — they even dug up and moved their graves. They left nothing behind except industrial greenhouses meant to be used by Palestinians to grow fruits and vegetables (and which Palestinian “protesters” immediately trashed). Yet according to such activists as Noura Erakat, adjunct professor of international human-rights law at Georgetown University, Israel remains the “occupying power” in Gaza to this day. By what logic? She argues that Israel has “the capacity to send troops within a reasonable time to make the authority of the occupying power felt.”
Based on this criterion, Berkowitz points out, the U.S. occupies both Canada and Mexico, Egypt is the occupier of Libya, and Russia occupies Latvia. Erakat also chooses to ignore long established principles of international law that would undermine her assertions. Among them: For a territory to be considered occupied, the occupier must exercise “effective control” in that territory, and the enemy forces there must have surrendered. But Hamas, not Israel, is the ruling power in Gaza. And far from surrendering, Hamas continues to fight, launching missiles against Israeli towns, sending terrorists into Israel to stage attacks and kidnappings, and vowing to defeat Israel and exterminate Israelis.
It is inevitable, Berkowitz argues, that the discriminatory standard being applied to Israel will be applied to America and other nations attempting to defend themselves from terrorism. That is already happening: Brody’s appeal in behalf of Nashiri is only the most recent of many examples that could be cited.
If these efforts are successful, whatever progress has been made to reduce the brutality of war will be reversed. The integrity of international law itself will be undermined. All this ought to be both obvious and alarming. Which raises another question: What motivates Brody and other activists to want to take us down this road?
— Clifford D. May is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a policy institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. | <urn:uuid:d818f22c-9c80-4d8e-8c82-4f410d2dbf12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conservativeunderground.com/forum505/showthread.php?48896-Law-Games&mode=hybrid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945265 | 1,345 | 1.625 | 2 |
The value of your claim, if you have been injured in the course of your employment, is defined by the workers' compensation law of the state in which you are employed. If your job takes you to various cities and states, your claim should be governed by the state in which your employer's company was formed and/or where you were hired. Workers' compensation laws generally provide limited benefits for medical expenses, temporary total disability and permanent injury in the form of disability or partial impairment. Partial impairment is otherwise known as partial incapacity. Partial impairment or incapacity generally occurs when an injury disables a worker to perform part of the usual tasks of the job, though such disablement does not fully prevent the worker from working. Medical evidence will determine the extent of your temporary as well as permanent injury. The value of your claim depends, in large part, on the extent of your permanent injury. For more information on workers' compensation, contact a qualified attorney. | <urn:uuid:fad0abad-7a81-4042-9bcd-7ba28fa3d9aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wetmtv.com/guides/legal/workerscomp/story/Value-of-your-work-related-claim/aCxnWeeBPUORqnfE5DWwOA.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974584 | 192 | 1.5 | 2 |
Homeland Security Grants:
Observations on Process DHS Used to Allocate Funds to Selected Urban Areas
GAO-07-381R, Feb 7, 2007
- Accessible Text:
In fiscal year 2006, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided approximately $1.7 billion in federal funding to states, localities, and territories through its Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism or other catastrophic events. The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) is a discretionary grant under this program, and since fiscal year 2003, Congress has directed DHS to target UASI funding to high-threat, high-density urban areas to assist in building capacity. To meet this requirement and inform funding decisions, DHS developed a method to estimate the relative risk of terrorist attacks to urban areas. From fiscal year 2003 through 2005, DHS used a number of risk indicators such as population density and threat to allocate UASI funds. UASI funding increased during this period from about $96 million to $830 million, while the number of urban areas that received grants grew from 7 to 43. In fiscal year 2006, DHS awarded approximately $711 million in UASI grants--a 14 percent reduction in funds from the previous year--while the number of eligible urban areas identified by the risk assessment decreased to 35. For fiscal year 2006, DHS made several changes to the grant allocation process, including modifying its risk assessment methodology, introducing an assessment of the anticipated effectiveness of investments, and combining the outcomes of these two assessments to inform funding decisions. The results of the UASI eligibility and funding allocations in fiscal year 2006 raised congressional questions and concerns about DHS's methods in making UASI determinations. Several congressional members requested that we examine aspects of DHS's UASI funding process, and the fiscal year 2007 DHS Appropriations Act directed us to examine the validity, relevance, reliability, timeliness, and availability of the risk factors (including threat, vulnerability, and consequence) used by the Secretary of Homeland Security for the purpose of allocating discretionary grants. On November 17, 2006, we responded to the mandate and the request by briefing congressional staff on the results of this review. We specifically examined (1) DHS's method of estimating relative risk of terrorism in fiscal year 2006; (2) DHS's process for assessing the effectiveness of the various risk mitigation investments submitted in UASI applications; (3) how DHS used estimated relative risk scores and assessments of effectiveness to allocate UASI grant funds in fiscal year 2006; and (4) what changes, if any, DHS plans to make in its UASI award determination process for fiscal year 2007.
In fiscal year 2006, DHS used its risk assessment to identify urban areas that faced the greatest potential risk, which made them eligible to apply for the UASI grant, and based the amount of awards to all eligible areas primarily on the outcomes of the risk assessment and a new effectiveness assessment. DHS enhanced its risk assessment by including three components--threat, vulnerability, and consequences--to estimate the relative risk of successful terrorist attacks to urban areas. The risk assessment was used to inform DHS's selection of eligible urban areas. DHS also implemented a competitive process to evaluate the anticipated effectiveness of proposed investments to address homeland security needs by using peer reviewers, who were homeland security professionals from fields such as law enforcement and fire service. The peer reviewers scored the investments using criteria, such as regionalization, sustainability, and impact. According to DHS, it combined the outcomes of the risk and effectiveness assessments to inform the funding allocation decisions in fiscal year 2006, but the Secretary of Homeland Security made the final UASI grant decisions. Officials also reported no significant changes to the risk assessment process for next year's grant cycle, but other decisions, such as the identification of eligible urban areas through the risk assessment and how much weight risk and effectiveness will be given in determining amounts, have yet to be made. For the first time since the inception of the program, DHS required urban areas to submit investment justifications as part of their grant application, so it could assess the anticipated effectiveness of the various risk mitigation investments urban areas proposed. The investment justifications included up to 15 "investments" or proposed solutions to address homeland security needs, identified by the states and urban areas through their strategic planning process. DHS used peer reviewers to assess the investments submitted by the 46 urban areas. DHS and the states collaborated to identify and select these peer reviewers who were homeland security professionals and managers from disciplines such as law enforcement, fire service, and emergency communications. According to DHS, it arranged 17 peer review panels that included reviewers from a variety of professions, all levels of government, and representatives from different regions of the country and from both large- and small-population states. These reviewers evaluated, discussed, and scored the urban areas' investment justifications, initially on an individual basis, then in panels. The risk and effectiveness scores did not automatically translate into funding amounts, but rather, the scores informed funding decisions, according to DHS. While all eligible urban areas that applied for UASI grants would receiving funding, DHS had to prioritize how funds would be allocated. DHS prioritized those areas estimated to have the highest risk of a successful terrorist attack, while still rewarding those areas that proposed ways to address homeland security needs that were anticipated to be effective. DHS used the combined scores to assign the 46 eligible urban areas into four categories. DHS officials said that they made the decision to give Category I the highest funding priority and Category IV the lowest funding priority. Once the amounts for each category were decided, DHS used a formula to determine the grant award for each urban area, giving the risk score a weight of 2/3 and the effectiveness score a weight of 1/3. According to DHS, these weights reflect its decision to prioritize risk over effectiveness. DHS officials reported presenting funding options to the Secretary of Homeland Security, who made the final decision about funding allocations. The final funding decision resulted in 70 percent of UASI funding going to "higher risk" candidates in Categories I and II. | <urn:uuid:2f01b945-49eb-4144-9004-77481020a3ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gao.gov/products/GAO-07-381R | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94533 | 1,239 | 1.75 | 2 |
You could say Cliff Ratcliff’s 1930 Chevrolet roadster/pickup is a gem among collector cars.
The green car’s story certainly has many facets.
One facet is the historic significance of the vehicle. Another is the story of how Ratcliff rescued it from decay and neglect.
Yet another facet is the car’s possible connection to one of the best-known characters in the history of Calgary.
The story, as Ratcliff had it from his late father-in-law, is the Chevy was purchased new in 1930 by James (Cappy) Smart, who spent 35 years as the chief of Calgary’s Fire Department.
Born in Scotland, Smart came to Calgary the same year as the railroad, 1883, and was a founding member of the city’s volunteer fire brigade.
For the rest of his life, Smart was a tireless advocate for modern firefighting techniques and equipment and one of the most prominent personalities in the city.
Smart, the story goes, sold the pickup to an Olds-area farmer who later sold it to Ratcliff’s father-in-law, who was the blacksmith, welder and mechanic in the hamlet of Harmattan.
“Him and his boys ran the supreme out of it, and parked it in the slough — like happened to a lot of (old cars),” Ratcliff says.
“We used to Ski-Doo around it in the wintertime and bike around it in the summer. One day, I said, ‘Somebody should take that old thing and restore it.’ He said, ‘Anytime you want to, just take it and do it.’ So I did, and eight years later I got it restored.”
The car was originally parked beside the slough, but out of the water, in the mid-50s, Ratcliff thinks.
It was another four decades before it was back on the road — because there was a lot of work to do.
“When I got the truck, the box was rotted right away,” Ratcliff explains. “It was a metal box, even the floor was metal.”
Fortunately, Ratcliff was a welder and machinist with his own shop.
“I had my own shear and brake. I made a set of dies to match the creases in the box and I formed a brand new box. That is the only part I made new.
“The rest I managed to restore from the old material that was there. It was quite an experience. It was the first time I’d restored a vehicle, so I learned a lot.”
The first year Chevrolet offered a vehicle with a pickup box was 1930. Until then, all Chevrolet pickups were made by end-users installing after-market bodies.
The Chevrolet car-based pickups introduced in 1930 only lasted through 1932 before being replaced by pickups that had been designed as trucks from the start.
Another feature of the 1930 was its in-line overhead valve six-cylinder engine — the famous Chevrolet Stovebolt Six introduced in 1929 and used by the division until 1962.
“When I hauled it in here and stripped the motor down, the head had been cracked,” Ratcliff remembers.
“It had frozen and broken, like 99 per cent of them did back then. There was no antifreeze.”
Efforts to repair the head failed, but Ratcliff was able to find an auto-wrecker in Red Deer with a brand-new head.
Although it was for a ‘31, the new piece fit easily onto Ratcliff’s engine.”
The car’s carburetor was shot, too.
“I had to put on an updraft carburetor off a tractor,” Ratcliff says, but once again the right part appeared — this time a new carburetor in the original box.
The car’s canvas top had disappeared long before Ratcliff acquired the car and the elements had taken their toll on the wooden framework that once supported the top, and on the car’s interior.
“The seats had rotted away, but the springs were still there,” Ratcliff says.
“I used the springs and had them re-upholstered. For the roofline, all I could go on was pictures. Because I’m a welder, I made a metal roof frame rather than the wooden slats.”
Finding the parts he needed, Ratcliff says, was an arduous process.
“It took a lot of years and a lot of hunting. We went to every swap meet going to try to find parts. Prewar machines are pretty nearly impossible to find parts for.”
There is one part Ratcliff would love to find. With the original serial number of the ’30 Chevy, it might be possible to prove the Cappy Smart connection.
“The serial number on an open car was put on the wooden seat frame,” he explains.
“That frame was absolutely gone. It was a little metal plate with the numbers on it, nailed on. I looked high and low when I got (the car), but I couldn’t find it.” | <urn:uuid:3aad54a6-0d41-4377-ba54-c74e1ba85d8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theprovince.com/cars/Chevy+roadster+pickup/5174025/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983223 | 1,142 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Shield (Screen) Connecting SystemToday's industry requires that equipment have some form of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Minimising sensitivity and transmission of magnetic flux provides achieves this goal. These magnetic fluxes can cause many different types of errors (frequency converter, quicker load change, etc).
Taking measurements is the only way to detect any interfering magnetic fluxes. When they are detected, precautions need to be taken such as a good grounding of the enclosure and a large area for the shielding (skin effect when the magnetic fluxes are at high frequency). WAGO's shield system offers a broad range of very effective products. Both the EMV and the nominal values given will be controlled within the expected range. Installation at a later date is also a simple process. The WAGO shield system is insulated and can also be used as a grounding potential.
The spring material is part of the clamping saddle, giving good electrical connection and compensating for any deformation in the braiding. The system also acts as a partial strain relief.
The WAGO shield (screen) connecting system is easy to handle and has several mounting options.
The WAGO shield (screen) connecting system is highly effective because the clamping unit can be brought very close to the unshielded part of the cable.
The busbar carrier, which can be mounted on a DIN rail, holds the shield close to the connection point. | <urn:uuid:d3befa52-0029-4754-a922-c5c486fe83c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wago.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-E9BE6655-6FCD00C8/wago/style.xsl/eng-287.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93306 | 290 | 1.710938 | 2 |
A trip away would be about as heavenly as winning the lottery, but who has the time, right? Well it looks like you better clear some space because experts are now saying that regular holidays are a vital necessity, not a luxury.
"Our bodies need a break from the stresses of work," says Andrew McCombe, author of Activate Your Life. "We often overlook the importance of proper rest and relaxation, but without it our bodies don't have time to repair, recuperate and grow."
The unfortunate thing is that today's workaholic climate makes many of us feel guilty, weak or bad for taking the downtime that's owed to us. "Australians have a staggering 70 million annual leave days stockpiled," says Geoff Buckley, Acting Managing Director, Tourism Australia. "That means tens of thousands of Australian employees are in need of a holiday."
So are you one of those people who are chained to their desk 24/7? Need a little encouragement to schedule in some R&R? Well, here are 10 super reasons why you should dig out and dust off that old suitcase pronto.
1. Regain your fitness
Experts believe that we can reclaim up to 30 percent of our fitness just by going on holidays. Vacations force us to exercise because we walk greater distances, swim, chase the kids around and play sports. Just standing upright instead of sitting down at a desk all day help you look and feel fitter. Regular movement during the day also boosts your circulation and gets your blood pumping which ups your heart rate and immune system.
2. Rebuild your body
Without the stress of the nine to five grind our bodies have enough time and freedom to repair themselves. It's easier for our system to fight sickness when we're on holidays because it's not working so hard trying to fend off all the other environmental baddies. It's a widely accepted truth that chronic disorders, such as back pain, migraines and sore throats, also disappear when we're on a break. "I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and when I'm at work I suffer from the worst cramps," says Emily, 29. "But last year I took myself off to the Whitsundays for three weeks and it miraculously vanished. I could eat whatever I wanted to and the pain was gone!"
3. Breathe easier
Ever camped in the mountains and thought, "Gee, the air feels clean here?" Well, you're right. City pollution means the air in urban areas is more congested and dirty. To give your lungs and bloodstream a chance to clear you need around 72 hours in pure, fresh air every few months. And where will you find this? In holiday spots that are less populated, towns that are high above sea level, the snow fields, and places that are near rainforests. Your lungs are built to repair themselves so as long as you give them time to dispel any unwanted carbon monoxide you should be breathing better in no time.
4. Feel inspired
If you've lost your gusto for work then it's time for an inspiration top up. Visiting places that move you and doing things that you're passionate about are an instant fast-track to idea heaven. Stagnant surroundings make for a bored and dull you, so get your juices flowing by pumping some good endorphins into your body. And how do you do that? Sunlight, laughter, healthy food, exercise, sex and fresh air are all guaranteed to have you bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm.
5. Reconnect with your partner
Tiredness and stress are instant sexual zappers. Holiday sex on the other hand, is always hot. So the best way to reclaim that intimacy and passion is to move out of your boring, old bedroom and get it on somewhere foreign and fabulous like a secluded mountain cabin or a seaside bed and breakfast. Studies have also shown that female and male fertility rates are higher outside of polluted and congested cities. Bonus!
6. Heighten your senses
Takeaway food, cigarette smoke, pollution and sickness all affect our sense of taste and smell. "I love nothing more than tucking into a beautiful steak over a nice glass of red wine, followed by a rich chocolate pudding," says Belinda, 28. "But I've found that lately I'm just not enjoying my food as much as I used to. I'm either too busy worrying about my never ending to-do list, or I'm fighting off a cold so I can't taste anything anyway." So if you truly want to enjoy a nice, wholesome meal you need to do it on holidays.
7. Sleep better
Lower stress levels and the relative peace and quiet that comes with any good holiday are key in helping you catch up on lost sleep. There is a reason why traffic controllers are required to take break every 15 minutes, you know! Cities are noisy and traffic, boisterous colleagues, nasty neighbours and exuberant air-conditioning can all raise your cholesterol, blood pressure and the likelihood of headaches. So find somewhere peaceful to chill out and turn the volume down in your head.
8. Do your kids a favour
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics an increasing number of children are growing up in a family where both parents work full time with more than a quarter of Australians working more than 49 hours a week. Not only does this means that parents are missing out on quality time with their family, but children are being forced to hang out with their mum and dad when they're stressed, tired, moody and touchy. So why not do everyone a favour and take some time off together?
9. Be more productive
Ever ventured into the countryside and thought, "Wow the hills are so green and the sky is so blue?" There's a good reason for that you know. We're so used to the drab greys and blacks of the city that our eyes forget how much we love colour. The same goes for our brain cells too. Seeing and doing the same thing every day reduces our mind's efficiency so we need new stimulants to ensure we're operating at our peak. This means taking a holiday will help you perform better at work when you get back. Is there a better excuse than that?
10. Become a nicer person
Naomi, 32, is the manager of her own fashion company and says that when she comes back from holidays her staff always comment on how much nicer she is. "It's a confidence boost for me because it reminds me that I can be a pretty cool person when I want to be," she admits. "Seeing how people respond to me when I'm calmer and more relaxed is an incentive to try and act like that all the time. When you strip away the hustle and bustle of the working week, you get to the core of who you really are. So I have vowed to take more leave in the hope that my "nice" months start to outnumber my bad ones." | <urn:uuid:5443dc97-9505-4a52-b935-3180c5033ede> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.ninemsn.com.au/pamper/spasandgetaways/694472/10-reasons-why-you-need-a-holiday | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965502 | 1,431 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Fri 19 Feb 2010
I have been seeing “setting a property that has only a getter error” poping up in my firebug for a while, which I believed was a Firefox extension conflict with new version of firebug.
A recent post to dojo-interest mailing list caught my eye: basically, a user can reproduce this problem by just loading dojo from google CDN.
I decided to take a look at this and try to figure out why.
A firebug bug report is filed about this error: with FireFox>3.5.2, modifying window.console (or attributes on console) would trigger this error. However, in the test case mentioned in the post, even if dojo is not loaded, the error still pops up in firebug, so it must be in some firefox extension, rather than dojo.
The only other extension I have in my development firefox profile is Selenium-IDE 1.0.4. Disabling it, and the error immediately goes away. Searching selenium-ide bug report, it turns out it has just been fixed in Selenium-IDE 1.0.5 (direct link to the xpi file).
In a summary, if you are getting “setting a property that has only a getter error” Error in FF 3.6 with any page, make sure you have at least Selenium-IDE 1.0.5. If you don’t use it, then you are probably messing around with window.console. (the error message would be much more helpful if it states what property is being accessed) | <urn:uuid:26e1c869-6586-4e8c-a089-6edf85f5cb50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.liucougar.net/blog/archives/207 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93742 | 337 | 1.75 | 2 |
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Johannesburg - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela will release her report on the City of Johannesburg's electricity billing system on March 31, her office said on Wednesday.
Madonsela's intervention followed complaints by Johannesburg residents about exorbitantly high and incorrect bills.
She called on the city to resolve the problem while her office monitored progress. She advised the city to consider international benchmarking with other billing systems in the world, and establishing an ombudsman to address complaints.
Last year, the city announced it would establish its own ombudsman, a move Madonsela welcomed. She said this would provide correct systems through which people's anger could be channelled, in the process reducing people's frustration and streets protests.
The presidency also met with the city officials after its hotline received 8 000 complaints about the city's billing system.
At the time, the city had a total of 66 000 outstanding billing queries.
Later in 2012, Madonsela said she was satisfied with efforts by the city to address its billing problems. - Sapa | <urn:uuid:b7c6e824-370b-4899-a050-1aca02c470fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/joburg-billing-probe-nearly-done-1.1461375 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965139 | 231 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Making a New Home & Learning About Air Plants
I am always looking for fun and interesting ways to bring new life into our home. I have been curious about these little Air Plants (Tillandsia) that I have been seeing around and when I found them for sale at our local nursery, I decided to bring one home.
When I showed the girls our new plant they got busy making a new home for the Tillandsia. We chose a basic vase and rocks so that we could easily remove the plant for watering. The girls enjoyed hand selecting the stones that would go in our new Air Plant’s home.
What makes Air Plants unique is that they absorb water through their leaves, which means that they do not need to be planted in soil. In the natural world they usually attach themselves to other plants using their roots as anchors. This allows for a lot of creative ways of displaying the plant.
More Air Plant (Tillandsia) Inspiration… | <urn:uuid:73036fa6-4c8e-4687-a39a-3f7fe850c164> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://playfullearning.net/making-a-new-home-learning-about-air-plants/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954853 | 199 | 1.671875 | 2 |
I feel like this piece nicely summarizes some of my reflections on the psychology of Facebook
…Rather than eradicate shyness, Facebook seems to generalize its pathology to all its users. In this, it serves a broader project of institutionalizing a kind of subjectivity suitable to neoliberalism, that is, to socioeconomic conditions of pervasive risk in which isolated individuals are expected to be perpetually flexible, unattached to any particular identity, and willing to bear much more responsibility for coping with instability. Whereas it was once plausible to talk of orderly and predictable stages and roles in one’s life, economic destabilization has rendered such a course unlikely for most people. Instead, most face precarity — economic insecurity as a structured and permanent component of life rather than a temporary anomaly. Because work conditions are subject to change without notice and work itself is not guaranteed, the distinction between work and nonwork blurs. One must adopt an entrepreneurial attitude toward the business of life, identifying opportunities whenever they come and cultivating resources to replace what was once offered for merely adhering to the standard life pattern.
The shy person’s fear of social failure once seemed disproportionate to what was actually at stake ; it seemed a strictly personal matter with few economic ramifications. But now they shy person’s apprehension of social risk seems entirely rational, as who you know and what they are willing to do for you may be the key to one’s economic survival. Social capital has never been so important, seeming to dwarf the significance of the unexploitable aspects of friendship. This is a reason more and more social interaction registers as inconvenience. Social media allows us to feel we can draw on a huge wealth of information while participating in social life at our own convenience, controlling it to our advantage as a way of managing risk without having to make any compromises or sacrifices to partake in a community, which recedes as a utopian ideal.
Older media forms once offered vicarious entertainment in exchange for our passivity. We could escape from ourselves by projecting into fictional worlds designed to welcome us and to reinforce our sense of the rightness of the roles tradition forced upon us. The refuge for the shy person, beyond the illusion that entertainment addresses us directly and renders us less alone, was in the rigidity and pervasiveness of such standards. One could disappear into conformity, unthreatened by the sense that everyone else was leading a more exceptional life. But now traditional roles have been discarded, and individuals are instead expected to develop original lifestyles, aspects of which can be appropriated to drive an economy that increasingly relies on stylistic innovations for growth. Social media is at once the field in which these lifestyles are deployed and where they harvested for economic advantage as marketing information. Facebook demands interactivity and does not tolerate passivity. It promises not escape from the self but immersion in it. Under such circumstances, when total self-involvement serves as a perfect substitute for gregariousness, shyness becomes irrelevant. Eventually, it will become nostalgic. | <urn:uuid:0a2b2155-8133-46d8-92e6-16c810857705> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thatneedstogo.tumblr.com/post/5835202779/social-media-puts-an-end-to-shyness-by-generalizing-its | 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 | 0.955405 | 605 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Colum Lynch and Nora Boustany
July 11, 2008
UNITED NATIONS, July 10 — The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the nation’s Darfur region during the past five years, according to U.N. officials and diplomats.
The action by the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, will mark the first time that the tribunal in The Hague charges a sitting head of state with such crimes, and represents a major step by the court to implicate the highest levels of the Sudanese government for the atrocities in Darfur.
Some U.N. officials raised concerns Thursday that the decision would complicate the peace process in Darfur, possibly triggering a military response by Sudanese forces or proxies against the nearly 10,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers located there. At least seven peacekeepers were killed and 22 were injured Tuesday during an ambush by a well-organized and unidentified armed group.
Representatives from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — met with U.N. officials Thursday to discuss the safety of peacekeepers in Darfur. U.N. military planners have begun moving peacekeepers to safer locations and are distributing food and equipment in case the Sudanese government cuts off supplies.
“All bets are off; anything could happen,” said one U.N. official, adding that circumstantial evidence shows that the government of Sudan orchestrated this week’s ambush. “The mission is so fragile, it would not take much for the whole thing to come crashing down.”
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, said rebels are responsible for the attack on U.N. peacekeepers, and insisted that Sudanese forces will not retaliate against foreign peacekeepers. However, he warned that the announcement of charges against Bashir or other senior officials would “destroy” international efforts to reach a peace settlement in Darfur.
“Ocampo is playing with fire,” Mohamad said. “If the United Nations is serious about its engagement with Sudan, it should tell this man to suspend what he is doing with this so-called indictment. There will be grave repercussions.”
Bashir has been at the center of international efforts to seek a political solution to the crisis. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President Bush have routinely reached out to Bashir on issues such as counterterrorism and the deployment of peacekeepers. Bush envoys have met regularly with Bashir, and former envoy Andrew S. Natsios delivered a missive from Bush to the Sudanese leader in March 2007 urging him to allow more U.N. and African peacekeepers in Darfur.
“I will present my case and my evidence to the [ICC] judges, and they will take two to three months to decide,” Moreno-Ocampo said in an interview Wednesday, referring to a pretrial panel made up of judges from Brazil, Ghana and Latvia. “We will request a warrant of arrest, and the judges have to evaluate the evidence.” On Thursday, Moreno-Ocampo’s office said in a statement that the prosecutor will “summarize the evidence, the crimes and name individual(s) charged” at a news conference Monday in The Hague.
This article was posted: Friday, July 11, 2008 at 3:27 pm | <urn:uuid:86723706-f11c-4111-bffc-d3c2858333a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/sudan-leader-to-be-charged-with-genocide/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960646 | 781 | 1.554688 | 2 |
A regional partnership that helped secure more than $120 million to advance medical knowledge and treatments has won a new form of recognition: the national Health Improvement Institute’s Award for Excellence in Human Research Protection.
The honor, one of just three the institute granted this year, highlights a joint initiative designed to speed the process involved in turning research questions into real cures.
Case Western Reserve, the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth System and University Hospitals Case Medical Center—all participants in the university’s two Clinical and Translational Science Awards—created a review process that lets scientists secure one Institutional Research Board (IRB) approval that applies to all institutions.
IRBs are committees that evaluate research proposals to weigh ethical considerations, and assure protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects in research. Prior to the initiative, researchers operating at more than one institution completed a separate IRB submission for each institution. Through the award-winning model, called the Collaborative Review Structure, an investigator who has secured approval from one institution’s IRB can ask other institutions’ boards to accept the approval.
The change not only maintains the highest standards of legal, ethical and quality assurance but also limits redundant assessment—which, in turn, allows research projects to launch more quickly.
“Today, we’re saying that it’s not good enough to just go from bench to bedside—because if all the knowledge rests in the academic-medical center, we still have to translate that outside of the academic-medical center to use in the community,” said Philip Cola, vice president for research and technology at UH Case Medical Center, the primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve, and the CTSA’s designated “Champion for Change.” “We have to get the most advanced treatment to patients everywhere, and these agreements allow us to reach more people than we ever have before.”
The Collaborative Review Structure grew out of a 2007 collaboration to secure a $64 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Members of the CTSA’s IRB Advisory Committee, led by Cola, then built upon the nascent efforts.
The greater Cleveland model since has extended to Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati—each of whom has won CTSAs as well. The arrangement marked the first reciprocal agreement among multiple CTSA organizations and encompassed eight legally separate institutions across the state.
The cross-institution IRB agreements already have expedited research on many studies, including two involving heart failure, one designed to reduce obesity and high blood pressure among Cleveland children and another targeting a rare disease responsible for kidney failure.
The initiative also means clinical research studies can quickly recruit individuals for trials from multiple cities, benefiting patients across the state, said Suzanne M. Rivera, associate vice president for research at Case Western Reserve.
This year is the first time Case Western Reserve or any of the partner institutions have received an award from the Health Improvement Institute.
“We are very proud to be recognized for thinking creatively about how we can effectively uphold all applicable ethical standards while reducing burdens and maximizing beneficence for research subjects,” Rivera said. | <urn:uuid:b0aa5e3a-0902-443e-8ec6-bfa8a9aceaaa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cwru-daily.com/news/northeast-ohio-medical-collaboration-earns-national-accolades/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936933 | 652 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Filed under: Auctions
On April 11, William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers will hold an auction featuring an important Imperial Russian silver box, among other antiques and fine art.
The Russian silver and enamel covered box with a gilt interior has an enameled scene of an 1883 painting, "A Boyar Wedding Feast," by Konstantin Makovsky, signed I.P. Khlebnikov, and measures 1½ by 2½ by 35/8 inches.
Besides being a beautiful work of hand craftsmanship, the silver box is also interesting because of the circumstances surrounding its sale a year and a half ago. In fact, this is the second time William J. Jenack will be selling the silver box because the winning bidder the first time around refused to pay for his purchase.
Indeed, in September 2008, the box was sold at a William J. Jenack auction to a phone bidder for $400,000, which was the result of a heated competition that involved several members of the live audience and half a dozen phone bidders from around the country.
The box, which then had an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000, attracted a great deal of pre-sale attention. "Needless to say, no one anticipated the response that the box achieved," says William J. Jenack, auctioneer and owner of William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers and Auctioneers. "The comparables in the marketplace at that time, never reflected numbers that we were able to accomplish at that time."
Before the box even went up for auction, the auction house received countless calls from interested buyers around the country. "We had people submitting offers to purchase the box before the auction," says Jenack. "Some of the offers were so large---in the $70,000 to $90,000 range---that we realized our pre-sale estimate was way off the mark."
During the 2008 auction, Jenack noticed many people in the audience he did not recognize. The bidding opened at $40,000 and the bidding bounced around the audience until it reached $100,000 when phone bidders entered the competition. "The people in the audience gave up at $150,000 and the phone bidders carried the bidding to $400,000," recalls Jenack.
The silver box was sold for $400,000 (not including a buyers premium of 15% and any applicable taxes) to a phone bidder, who was a Long Island, N.Y.-based dealer who specializes in Imperial Russian works of art.
"The buyer later contacted us to see how much the amount would come to," says Jenack. "We provided him with that information and sent him an invoice." Subsequently, the dealer defaulted on the purchase, and litigation ensued.
In early March, a New York Supreme Court Justice awarded damages against the defaulting purchaser of more than $497,398, representing the successful bid, taxes and buyer's premium. The decision is currently the subject of an appeal in New York State courts.
"Now we have to sell the box again," says Jenack. "Whatever it brings will be deducted from the total that the dealer owes us."
The box is important because it was made by Khlebnikov, who was a craftsman who worked for the House of Fabergé, the jewelry firm in Imperial Russia that designed elaborate jewelry, silver and the famous Easter eggs for the Russian Tsars. Khlebnikov is known to have created objects on his own, such as this piece, without the Fabergé seal of approval. The Khlebnikov box has a pre-sale estimate of $100,000 to $400,000.
The April 11th auction will also highlight Period American, French & Chinese furniture; Chinese & African works of art; American & Continental paintings & prints including signed works after Nikolai Egorovich Sverchkov, Milton Avery, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Bruno del Favero, Rolph Scarlett, Florence Kroeger, Charles Zacharie Landelle; animation art; fine & costume jewelry; small collection of stamps including Duck stamps; door stops; art pottery; Victorian porcelains; Vatican Papal Grand Cross Set of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; fossils including a fine ammonite (15 ½ x 18"-approx. 60 lbs) and decorative accessories.
Previews will be held at the William J. Jenack auction facility located at 62 Kings Highway Bypass, Chester NY 10918 on April 7th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm; April 8th from 2:00 pm to 5:45 pm; April 9th and 10th from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm; and on the day of sale from 9:00 am to 10:45 am. For further information contact (845)469-9095 or email [email protected]. The catalogue for the sale will be available on-line Friday, April 2nd.
The auction, which will be held live in William J. Jenack gallery, will also be held simultaneously online at www.liveauctioneers.com. It will take place on Sunday, April 11 beginning at 11:00 am. The William J. Jenack website is www.jenack.com. | <urn:uuid:575b48f8-7c4b-4bb0-b5bc-30221aff1215> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luxist.com/tag/I.P.+Khlebnikov/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969671 | 1,115 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I had a classical education, raised on organic veggies and E.B. White. I recently came across a list of 100 classic book you should before you die–I had read 66 of them before I was 17. Because we didn’t have a TV when I was young, classics were my Muppets, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and Saved by the Bell. They have a special place in my heart. Which is why this line (heard quite often around the lit blogosphere) grinds my gills:
“You can’t write books like they did back then, no one would publish it.”
To which I reply:
WHY THE HECK NOT?
I mean, are the classics only good because they are old? Is it true that publishers these days wouldn’t take a second glance at A Little Princess, Little House on the Prairie, Little Women [okay, why do they all have little in them?], White Fang, Ivanhoe, The Black Arrow, A Tale of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, The Time Machine, etc.?
To which I respectfully and humbly say: THAT IS MORONIC.
A Little Princess isn’t a classic because it’s old. It’s a classic because it has characters and themes that people relate to today just as much as they did when it was first published. It’s still ingested and digested and given to nieces for their 9th birthdays.
One of my good friends, fresh off drugs and now addicted to reading–is getting a buzz from all the classic horror novels–Dracula, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Hound of the Baskervilles–and you can’t say the vocabulary is too lofty for modern day readers because she only has a 9th grade education. Why does she buy them? Why does she like them? Because they’re darn fine stories!
I just talked to an 8th grader who loves to read, and guess what she’d recently picked up and couldn’t put down? Wuthering Heights. It seems Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff acting like selfish asses is just as fun to read today as it was a hundred years ago. And (more importantly), readers will still buy it even with all of the competition it has on the library shelves.
Classics have plenty of things that you could criticize. Dumas was paid for the word and he . . . wanted to make a lot of money when he wrote a book. Les Miserables has so many characters it’s hard to get through. Upton Sinclair can get preachy and Jane Austen can be shallow. Jack London can get lost in the woods, and Mark Twain can get too goofy. But good heavens, their characters! Just saying their names illicits some kind of connection or emotion:
Darth Vader! (wait, how’d he get in here?)
Athos! Porthos! Aramis!
Meg! Jo! Beth! Amy!
I could go on and on and on . . .
Those characters give modern day writers a challenge–it’s hard to top them. In fact, it might be just compensation syndrome when writers start bashing the classics.
Perhaps the next writer I hear say that the classics couldn’t be published in today’s market, I’ll ask which classic they are specifically talking about …
is it Moby Dick … who has such lines as:
truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more.
Or perhaps no publisher would take Charles Dickens anymore, with such words as:
“In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast substantial smile.”
“Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he’s well dressed. There ain’t much credit in that.”
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”
No, it is Oscar Wilde who cannot make it in this modern publishing arena, with such quotes as:
Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Or the father of fantasy, who is oft charged for adding too many mundane storyworld facts, perhaps he wouldn’t be accepted with such lines as:
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
What I’m NOT saying is “gone are the good ole’ days,” and “they don’t’ write ‘em like they used to,” because I’ve read just as many nowadays amazing books as I have old time classics.
But no more classic bashing. At least not on my lawn!
What do you think of the classics?
What can be said against them? Which are your favorites? | <urn:uuid:1f622bb2-dd87-4fb2-abd1-9503d34cdec5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ellieannsoderstrom.wordpress.com/tag/jack-london/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962476 | 1,149 | 1.75 | 2 |
Costume and Textiles
Woman's Coat and BeltMade in Paris, France, Europe
Designed by Hubert de Givenchy, French, born 1927
White double-faced wool twill, leather
Currently not on view
1979-114-1a,bGift of Mrs. William McCormick Blair, Jr., 1979
LabelRestrained elegance is the basis of Hubert de Givenchy’s style; the words distinguished and discreet have been applied to both his clothes and his clients. Givenchy’s designs emphasize line rather than decoration, and he carefully balances volume and proportion. The classically simple silhouette of this slim coat is set off by beautifully finished horizontal seams in the double- faced wool that produce a ribbed effect. The purity of the coat’s design is complemented by a narrow belt and plain buttons. | <urn:uuid:d2af7238-9ecf-4830-84f4-cf9a0a74a678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/210287.html?mulR=12467%7C11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934811 | 174 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Agile can inflict a lot of irreversible damage to companies and teams and it can, in most cases, not be repaired. I sometime encounter companies that have implemented a form of Agile. Sometimes they use Scrum or Kanban and in other occasions they only use a few things from these Agile work models. But no matter what level they applied it, damage is happening.
Does that mean that starting to use an Agile way of thinking is harmful for the business. In a way yes, but rest assured, it is just from what perspective you look at it. You must realize one thing. As soon as you allow it, things are going to change. People are going to feel more confident in taking matters into their own hands. Elaborate planning is thrown out of the window. Time management must change. Sales people will have to use a different strategy in selling. And management has the feeling it is loosing control (we all know that they gain more but that’s a different story). But it is save to say that al lot of things are being converted. I was asked by someone at a party who’s’ business was not yet using anything Agile, if I would go back to the old ways. I simply answered his question by relaying the question to a few people in the room that already use Scrum. “What would you do if your company decided to quit with Scrum” I asked them. “I would resign!” was the immediate and honest answer. “No way in hell!” said the other while spilling his beer. It was sold to the new manager but can you imagine what would happen if one day a fresh and eager manager would walk into your Agile company and decided to do things the old way. It would not work. A lot of people would get upset and probably resist to the reverse change. A few would start looking for a new job and overall motivation would definitely plummet to an ultimate low.
Once Agile is infested within people, and they make what your company is, you have applied irreversible damage. You can see this as positive damage but never the less it is just that. And why do I use this negative word? Well, that’s very simple. Think of what would happen if you didn’t do it all the way. If you just do some of it. Then you are stuck in the middle. Going back can be very dangerous. So the only way is moving forward. Once you have made the incision you have to go through with the entire procedure. Starting with Agile isn’t just a fling of the moment. It is serious stuff that does hurt and makes changes. It does damage the old way of working. And it is absolutely very demanding in getting it to work. And if you want to reverse it, watch out it bites back. So take it serious and apply well and plenty. Make use of a good Scrum master or Agile coach and get everyone involved. What was that war thing again? “Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war”. Every time I walk into a new company that starts to work with Scrum or Kanban, I hear a little barking and growling in the back of my mind. A little sweet puppy is preparing to show it’s teeth. | <urn:uuid:6defdd4e-3e85-4b26-8bda-e78f3076f7e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://agilethings.nl/agile-does-damage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980977 | 688 | 1.585938 | 2 |
FOGO. Our job is pretty straightforward. Faceoff, get off. As simple as this may seem, there is a wrong way to do this. Right now, I am sure you are saying to yourself, ‘I’m not just a fogo!’ Lucky you.
The point is, the faceoff is not over once possession is gained or lost. The actions a faceoff mid takes following the 10 to 20 seconds after the draw can mean the difference between playing college lacrosse and taking draws with grandma in the basement after a daily afternoon nap.
There are a few general outcomes that follow a faceoff: A neutral zone possession or loss, a fast break, and an illegal procedure call. Knowing what to do in these situations is important in order to put yourself in a position that will help your team the most.
Your coach will usually tell you what your role is following the face, however there are a few general things you want to keep in mind.
- Support the ball before subbing off the field. If your team wins possession off the draw, get open or get out of the way of the ball carrier. Get the ball settled in the offensive end, then sub off through the mid or elsewhere if that is what your coach has told you. Some coaches will also have substitution play but I will leave that up to them.
- Don’t be over aggressive if you lose the draw. Making overzealous checks around the midline will often cause you to get a flag. Get back in the hole and substitute yourself with your opponent.
- Don’t be afraid to make plays. A player on the field that is unable or doesn’t have the confidence to make necessary plays when he is stuck on the field will only hurt the team.
- Listen to your coaches. Most of the time, the coaching staff can see changes that need to be made regarding your positioning after the face.
For me, Bart Sullivan and E. Covey were my second and third pair of eyes, and were highly responsible for successful post-draw situations that I was in. Not to mention, practicing face-offs in a parking lot lit by Sully’s car headlights in the pouring rain had a major impact on the effectiveness of my post-draw play.
Face-Off Country Club forever, | <urn:uuid:8f6aeeaf-37ae-4a56-9f53-5d6099ac4a76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://e-lacrosse.com/blogs/insidelook/2009/01/26/substitutions-%E2%80%93-how-to-get-off-the-field-and-not-create-errors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967677 | 480 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Buying a business? Don't be left screaming
A little research before buying a business can ward off potential horrors. Illustration: Greg Bakes.
Anecdotal evidence suggests small business sales have flatlined, which paradoxically means now is an excellent time to explore opportunities to purchase well priced enterprises that complement your existing business.
But if you're in the market to purchase another business, how do you know what you're buying is good value and what are some of the traps you should look for before signing on the dotted line? According to Garry Pritchard, a solicitor with Emil Ford & Co lawyers, which has an established practice advising clients that are buying and selling businesses, the reason the market for small business sales is so flat is because “mum and dad businesses have been put under pressure as large shopping centres have proliferated. I suspect a lot of small business owners just close down and walk away”.
When it comes to undertaking due diligence when you want to buy a business, Rudy Weber, a business broker from Lloyds Business Brokers, says the requirement for businesses to produce a business activity statement has made it much easier to trust a prospective vendor's financial data.
But if you want to verify figures, especially those of retail businesses, it's an idea to “stand across the street and watch how many people go in and out of the business,” to make sure the numbers you have been given are accurate, says Weber.
“If you're buying a micro business it can also be a good idea to do a trial and stand by the till to make sure they're taking what they say they are taking,” he says.
“You also need to make sure any lease terms and conditions are sound and it's also an idea to talk to the local council before you buy a business. A client once bought a shop in [Sydney's] Taylor Square where most of the trading was done after 10pm at tables outside the shop. A week after the business was sold council said they couldn't trade after 10pm,” says Pritchard.
In addition, says Pritchard, “businesses in shopping centres are largely franchises and people buying those businesses appear to be less likely to get legal advice – they just accept the franchise documents.” A better approach is to have a lawyer check all agreements and documents.
Interestingly, Weber says a business doesn't necessarily have to be profitable to be a good buy. “I've sold many failed businesses to people who understand why it failed and how they can make a go of it,” he says.
David Henderson, principal of professional services firm ROCG, says there are many reasons for buying a business. “You might look for something that does what you do well, or you might buy something that does what you do badly so you can do it better.” Henderson specialises in providing advice on business sales, working with family business and corporates.
From experience, Henderson says there are also many other reasons to purchase a business.
"I owned a supermarket in a country town and bought another supermarket in the same town to protect our market and to prevent a big supermarket chain from entering the market,” he says.
Of course, the reason for the purchase will also affect the price the acquirer is prepared to pay.
“I was involved in the purchase of an interstate registered training company and the purchaser was prepared to pay an over-the-top amount compared to the profit the business was making because it was an easier way to enter the market than starting from scratch and the business also came with a license,” says Henderson.
Whatever the reason for buying a business, it's essential to find out why the vendor wants to get out. Weber says as a reason for selling: “bad backs are a real worry. In micro businesses burnout can often be a factor as well. I often see takeaway businesses change hands because of burnout.”
Glenn King, executive general manager, small business, the National Australia Bank, says in terms of accessing finance to buy a business it's important to “engage your banker early in the process to maximise the chances of acquisition plans being successful.
"Getting a loan is one of the most common ways you can finance your business growth. When considering how much to borrow, factor in details such as what your final payment will look like including interest and fees.”
Financial considerations aside, Weber says if you're going to buy a business “you have to like what you do – don't go looking for trouble. If you're not a hospitality person, don't buy a hospitality business.”
Says Pritchard: “people should always be a little bit frightened when they buy a business – but also aware of the potential of the opportunity in front of them." | <urn:uuid:b688f7e3-a0e6-4026-94b2-2ecc1f07a22b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/startup/buying-a-business-dont-be-left-screaming-20100824-13lka.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97997 | 1,009 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Permanent Webstand VIII.The Webstand in the right sidebar is a list of articles that I recommend to read. You can get a complete listing of all news quote posts on the original Permanent Webstand post.
Resolved: Fix the Filibuster, Walter Mondale, New York Times, January 1, 2011.
Reducing the number of votes to end a filibuster, perhaps to 55, is one option. Requiring a filibustering senator to actually speak on the Senate floor for the duration of a filibuster would also help. So, too, would reforms that bring greater transparency — like eliminating the secret “holds” that allow senators to block debate anonymously.4 more after the jump.
Our country faces major challenges — budget deficits, high unemployment and two wars, to name just a few — and needs a functioning legislative branch to address these pressing issues. Certainly some significant legislation passed in the last two years, but too much else fell by the wayside. The Senate never even considered some appropriations and authorization bills, and failed to settle on a federal budget for all of next year. Votes on this sort of legislation used to be routine, but with the new frequency of the filibuster, a supermajority is needed to pass almost anything. As a result the Senate is arguably more dysfunctional than at any time in recent history.
Chewing Gum for Terrorists, David Cole, New York Times, January 2, 2011.
I argued just that in the Supreme Court, on behalf of the Los Angeles-based Humanitarian Law Project, which fought for more than a decade in American courts for its right to teach the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey how to bring human rights claims before the United Nations, and to assist them in peace overtures to the Turkish government.Let's stop pretending the Constitution is sacred, Michael Lind, Salon.com, January 4, 2011.
But in June, the Supreme Court ruled against us, stating that all such speech could be prohibited, because it might indirectly support the group’s terrorist activity. Chief Justice John Roberts reasoned that a terrorist group might use human rights advocacy training to file harassing claims, that it might use peacemaking assistance as a cover while re-arming itself, and that such speech could contribute to the group’s “legitimacy,” and thus increase its ability to obtain support elsewhere that could be turned to terrorist ends. Under the court’s decision, former President Jimmy Carter’s election monitoring team could be prosecuted for meeting with and advising Hezbollah during the 2009 Lebanese elections.
Beginning with the adoption of the federal Constitution, some Americans have sought to promote reverence for this particular Constitution, while others have emphasized the power of the Constitution-making people. Thomas Jefferson thought that laws and constitutions should be updated frequently, while his friend and ally James Madison thought that constitutions and laws should be changed only infrequently in the interest of stability. John Adams thought that the founders of constitutions should be revered, as in ancient Greece and Rome."Spiritual Doorway in the Brain": The science of near-death experiences, Katherine Don, Salon.com, January 12, 2011.
Madison and Adams won the argument. The folk culture of American constitutionalism blends themes from 17th-century English Protestantism and 18th-century neoclassicism. From Protestantism comes the rejection of the "Catholic" idea of an evolving scriptural tradition interpreted by an authority -- the Vatican or the Supreme Court -- in favor of the idea that the Christian or American Creed is in danger of corruption if it strays too far from the literal words of the original, perfect revelation. According to the Washington Post, one Tea Party member in Louisiana "has attended weekend classes on the Constitution that she compared with church Bible study."
From 18th-century neoclassicism comes the idea that citizens of a republic must be taught that their constitutions are perfect and were handed down by superhuman lawgivers or "Legislators" -- Solon in Athens, Lycurgus in Sparta -- and must be preserved without alteration as long as the republic endures.
The blending of Protestant fundamentalism and neoclassical Legislator-worship explains the semi-religious reverence with which the Founders or Framers or Fathers of the Constitution have long been discussed in the United States. Other, similar English-speaking democracies -- not only Canada, Australia and New Zealand but modern Britain itself -- achieved self-governance or universal suffrage generations later, when these Protestant and neoclassical traditions had died out in their domains. The Canadians do not revere their first prime minister, John Macdonald, and to this day the British do not even have a formal, written constitution. Our Anglophone peers regard American constitution-worship as bizarre and quaint, like our fondness for displaying the national flag.
English-speaking democracies tend to be stable and free even when, like Britain, they lack a written constitution. But Latin American republics have been afflicted by dictatorship and civil war for generations in spite of having formal constitutions modeled on that of the United States. The contrast demonstrates that the true security for freedom is a culture of constitutionalism, not a particular constitution, or any written constitution at all. The details of a particular democratic political system -- presidential or parliamentary, bicameral or unicameral, unitary or federal -- are ultimately less important than the unwillingness of the citizens to resort to violence when they lose an election, unlike the Confederate ancestors of so many of today's white Southern Republicans, who tried to destroy the country upon losing an election.
First things first: What's the deal with the tunnel and the light?Nice Speech, But We Won't Be Coming Together, John McWhorter, The New Republic, January 13, 2011.
The tunnel is easy to explain. Much of the near-death experience is caused by low blood flow to the brain and to the head. When this happens, the eye fails before the brain fails. The outside field of vision goes first, but the center is preserved until the very end, so you develop a tunnel-like sensation. This sensation is also common in people who are about to faint.
As for the light, when your eye loses blood flow, light might become all that you're capable of seeing. Another reason for the light is the REM system, which is the "rapid eye movement" state of sleep. When the eye and the retina shut down, the remaining control system for vision is the REM system -- this is why you can see things when you're dreaming, and this type of vision might be activated during a near-death experience and cause a person to see light.
U.S. News and World Report found that as many as 18 million Americans have had a near-death experience. Must you be on the actual verge of death for this to happen?
People don't realize that fainting -- a common experience -- produces symptoms very similar to a near-death experience. Most people who say they had a "near-death experience" were not actually near death, but their experience was the same as those who were. In one experiment, scientists actually induced fainting episodes in the test subjects, and many of them had an out-of-body experience while they fainted, which also commonly occurs during real near-death experiences. So in fact, many individuals know what it's like to have a near-death experience.
The call for us all to just “get along” founders on two things Obama is surely aware of.
One is that when it comes to how to run a nation, disagreement may be profound, based on diametrically opposed philosophical visions. More to the point, those visions may be starkly distinct enough that opponents see one another as working counter to the very philosophical foundations of the republic itself – i.e. Republicans’ “socialist” charge or Democrats’ accusation that Republicans do not understand the Constitution as they claim to.
This is tough stuff. The quest for the good life, the quest for the best way to run a society – these are challenges that found the entire liberal arts tradition. And the idea that the conflict between different preferences will occasion no anger, impatience, misunderstanding, or name-calling is one proposing that we are a different species than we are.
Certainly some citizens seek to rise above this as much as possible, such as Phyliss Schneck, the Republican grandmother Obama mentioned who had come to hear Giffords out anyway. But for every Phyliss Schneck there are plenty of ordinary citizens who cheer along with Sarah Palin or Paul Krugman. Partisanship feels good – you get intellectual clarity, a sense of morality, and the warmth of fellowship all in one.
It was ever thus, and there is an element of ahistoricism in the idea that American politics is uniquely “broken” today. The period in our history in which politics was reflective, courteous and nuanced is elusive. Congressmen like Daniel Webster, enshrined as an august orator in portraits, was nakedly on the take. For most of the twentieth century, bigoted Southern senators essentially ran the country from their committee posts (Mississippi’s James Vardaman: “If it is necessary every Negro in the state will be lynched”). | <urn:uuid:c6c0f2fe-fb5f-4ad8-9e4d-1d4394eb2fa4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://norwegianshooter.blogspot.com/2011/08/permanent-webstand-viii.html | 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 | 0.956882 | 1,915 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In the 8th grade, I was about 13 or 14, I was elected student body president. My teacher, Ms. Kane, was very passionate and talented at instilling patriotic ideals and an appreciation for the little we possessed as well as reminded us of the world that lay at our doorstep.
Her mother was a Holocaust survivor; a slowly fading tattoo of her serial number that was her only identity during the war, still marked her for what she had lived through. When they came to America, they were dirt poor, completely displaced from their home, their bearings still rattled by one of the most grotesque series of events in human history.
Someone was being immature in class and teasing another student about what they were wearing. Ms. Kane became another person. Always on task, she became impassioned and emotional as she described how she only had one black skirt and a white long sleeved collar shirt that she wore to school every day. This was her uniform. But problem was she was the only one wearing it at school. It was her only outfit. As she described how she would be so very careful not to soil her outfit for the next day and how she would fanatically wash it every third day, I fought to check my tears. A few students looked to me to see whether they should laugh and teaser her too and I scowled at them, trying my best to look hard (as hard as I could now look as a student body council prez) and communicate it was best to just stay mum.
Ms. Kane’s story hit a chord with me then, it made this Jewish woman much more relatable to me, a Mexican-American teenager whose only exposure to white people were through a handful of teachers. It also reminded me how important it was that we had uniforms.
You remember how you used to detest wearing school uniforms? Those awful, often scratchy, completely unflattering plaid or horrid solid jumpers and skirts (that I am sure manufacturers dye just to embarrass legions of youth every year), you remember right? Or as my fellow Latinos and/or George Lopez fans would say, “You member right? You member!”
I remember them too. The deep evergreen jumper that I owned when I was in elementary school where some genius decided to send home flyers advising parents that they would be implementing a uniform policy and the colors parents should purchase for their children. All the while in small print it mentioned that this would be a voluntary measure and no one would be forced to purchase or wear these uniforms.
The first day of school I arrived in my jumper, one of two that I owned, and found myself the only one in said jumper in my class. It was quickly pointed out to me by other students in the school yard that I was the only kid that they could see that was wearing the uniform. Well apparently they had not caught sight of my sister.
Every day I walked to school knowing I would be ridiculed, that I would be bullied by the older kids, taunted for being poor and only having the one outfit. I became highly skilled at using words to make those bullies feel stupid but I still walked away feeling wounded, feeling small, feeling inadequate.
I am a PTA member at my daughters’ school, I became the Fundraiser Chair this year, and one of my highest priorities was enacting a school uniform policy. There were complains about the lack of self-expression, about forcing parents to purchase these uniforms, as well as supporting arguments that it would be good for the sixth grade students to have their wardrobe choices checked with the new guidelines. The usual supporting arguments of it lowering the gang and/or explicit music affiliation were mentioned and it became a back and forth stalemate.
I got up and said, “I’m a single parent. I would have no problem making the initial investment of purchasing uniforms for my children since the benefits of not worrying about them being up to the latest fashions, reducing the time of getting ready in the morning, and quite frankly it is much more affordable than buying them several different outfits throughout the year.” Another parent piped up and brilliantly mentioned that we could fundraise for those unable to purchase the uniforms and we could hold an exchange of uniforms amongst parents as children outgrew their uniforms. We pushed and went through the motions and months later my kids are happily wearing uniforms.
It’s not just about leveling the field in the shallow self-expression through clothing amongst children, it’s about leveling the field of the haves and have not’s and instilling a sense of inclusion at a young age for our next generations.
I went to Washington D.C. with Ms. Kane that year and we wore our uniforms all week. We groaned, hollered, and dragged our feet but when we got there we frequently received compliments from elderly white women (again pardon my then limited interaction outside my East LA school neighborhood) about how polished and classy we looked compared to the scantily dressed youth of nowadays. We spend many lunches having a conversation with strangers about where we were from, where they were from, it was almost as if we forgot if we were white or not, we were just human.
So remember, even as awful as these uniforms may seem, they make everyone seem human and approachable, at least a little bit more so, at least as approachable as LA people can be…
Native Angeleno (so don’t rag on me for talking smack about LA ) | <urn:uuid:df83f40e-8663-4db9-b62b-7e88d9ae5a05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://superflyingmonkeys.com/tag/elementary-school/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991234 | 1,133 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Forest Park Dental, located in Glendale, was honored to take part in a dental humanitarian mission to help the people of Barahona, Dominican Republic. This mission lasted four days and took place on July 16 – July 19, 2009.
Dr. Walter Sabolboro was one of four dentists who worked early morning to late night to restore the oral health needs of the Barahona community. He was accompanied by his wife, Linda, who assisted the dentists with procedures.
Sabolboro spent the first three days performing oral surgery in a local jail while his wife Linda assisted the other doctors in a mobile van stationed outside a local church. In the evenings, Sabolboro returned to church grounds to perform restorative and preventive dentistry on the locals.
An estimated total of 600 patients were seen who ranged in ages 3 to 85. Of the many touching stories that were experienced during this mission, a 15-year-old girl with a front tooth too badly decayed to be saved was told that an extraction was needed to avoid infection. The young girl refused to have this tooth removed and would have rather lived with a horribly decayed tooth rather than no tooth at all. Restorative materials donated by Patterson Dental Supply Co. made it possible to extract the decayed tooth and bond on a new prosthetic tooth for this young girl.
Not only did Dr. Sabolboro extract the tooth to get this young girl out of pain, but he also performed cosmetic dentistry to restore her self-esteem and allow a young her to smile again.
This was Sabolboro’s first humanitarian trip abroad, and he looks forward to serving the oral health needs of the global community again very soon.
Barahona is a poor community and it is located about 30 minutes from the border of Haiti. Due to its proximity to the Haitian border, it is currently being used as a key staging area to aid in the relief efforts due to the devastating earthquake.
Forest Park Dental is located at 80-15 Myrtle Ave. For more information, call them at (718) 821.4680 or visit them on the web at forestparkdental.com. | <urn:uuid:f34fd162-0ba3-49f4-bfad-c36e517ee214> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/dentist-s-humanitarian-trip-to-help-the-needy/article_2428f40e-e5a2-5d27-9bbb-afa0f91c7b7e.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984232 | 445 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Fisheries Council takes welcomed steps towards sustainable Baltic Sea fisheriesAll Press Releases…
However Oceana disappointed in decision to set Baltic salmon fishing limits twice as high as scientific advice.
October 23, 2012
Contact: Marta Madina ( [email protected] )
Yesterday, the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers discussed the 2013 fishing opportunities for the Baltic Sea in Luxembourg. Oceana is pleased with the Council decisions on cod, plaice, herring and sprat but disappointed in the decision to set the TAC for Baltic Salmon more than twice as high as the number given by scientific advice.
“The Commission proposal – and the decisions taken yesterday on most Baltic stocks - were relatively in line with scientific advice, but we are deeply concerned about the agreed TAC for salmon, as many of the river populations in the Baltic are threatened, or on the verge of extinction,” stated Hanna Paulomaki, Baltic Sea project Manager. “Last Friday, the Finnish Parliament decided to go against their own ministry’s proposal to set the salmon quota at 109 000 individuals, proposing instead at yesterday’s Council to limit the quota to 54 000 – the level recommended by scientists. We are disappointed that other Baltic Sea Minister did not support Finland’s text.”
Salmon is listed on the HELCOM red list as a threatened and/or declining throughout the Baltic Sea area, yet last year Member States set fishing levels above what was scientifically recommended in contradiction with the harvest control rule of the proposed Baltic salmon management plan.
The salmon stock in the Gulf of Finland is in poor status and according to the scientific advice, fishing of this stock should be minimized. The stock is also under pressure from the fishing that takes place in the Main Basin of the Baltic Sea, which is controlled under separate advice. Oceana requests that the fishing of these mixed stocks be banned to protect the weaker stocks.
TACs should be set in line with scientific advice and at levels that ensure the restoration of fish stocks above levels which can produce the Maximum Sustainable Yield by 2015. Therefore the decisions to cut the Eastern Baltic cod TAC by 6 %, and to reduce the TAC for the Western Baltic cod stock beyond the Commission proposal were welcomed.
During the meetings this week, the Fisheries Council of Ministers will also attempt to reach a partial general approach on the Commission's proposal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Based on yesterday’s public debate Oceana strongly urges the five countries (Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and the UK) who oppose including subsidies that fuel overfishing in the EMFF to stand strong in today’s negotiations. | <urn:uuid:86cb6a65-94d0-47dc-8577-04adcae83145> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oceana.org/en/eu/media-reports/press-releases/fisheries-council-takes-welcomed-steps-towards-sustainable-baltic-sea-fisheries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942982 | 552 | 1.59375 | 2 |
I would really like to know how Succession created these images.
found at voodoovoodoo
black, design, glitch, graphic design, patterns, whiteFacebook | TwitterPosted in design, graphic design |
[...] today and tomorrow [...]
the fisrts one is a graph of an equaliser with a mirror in between and tjhe second and third is a broken monitor with the colours turned to blak&white
sorry for the broken english in my comment above, just woke up..
I’ve seen stuff like that happen on my monitor by zooming in and out of a high resolution bitmap (halftone) of a gray area in a photoshop file.
Images 2 & 3 could also be derived from some cellular automata stuff:
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Notify me of new posts by email. | <urn:uuid:447c168f-2f6a-4dd5-9a64-905e1f83dc14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/2009/09/25/succession/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94232 | 194 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) is providing financial assistance for energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects requiring technical assistance. Project funding can support technical assistance services (labor costs only, such as for a consultant, design professional, installer or student labor), for projects in all seven Minnesota CERT regions (Central, Metro, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest and West Central).
All applications are due no later than 4:30pm, November 2nd, 2009.
The primary objectives of this funding project are to:
- Encourage the implementation of community‐based energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in CERT regions; and
- Provide a forum for community education about energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and their economic, ecological and community benefits.
Funding for these projects is provided through the MN Department of Commerce, Office of Energy Security (OES).
Visit the CERTs website to learn more about this opportunity and to download the application materials. You can also read more about previous projects that were successful in receiving these funds. | <urn:uuid:29cc3dc4-3ff9-41c2-b76a-6e2f74c0f2d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://windustry.org/news/seed-grants-available-community-wind-projects-minnesota | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93643 | 215 | 1.71875 | 2 |
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Catching the Stockton Syndrome
Just a handful of days after the city of Stockton, California declared bankruptcy, the city of San Bernardino in Southern California has done the same. As an aside, the small mountain community of Mammoth Lakes, located in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, also declared bankruptcy between the two, but let’s not count that one, since it was due to a $43 million legal judgment…
But San Bernardino? That does count…big time.
What’s the deal with California cities going bankrupt and why does it matter? It matters not just at the city level, but also at every level. The truth is that some cities are better governed than others; just as some state and national governments are in deep financial mire while others are not.
Simple; poor decisions made over and over again.
What do I mean by that?
When it comes to financial resources, there is the constant tension between economics and politics. Too often, political gain wins out over economic prudence. It’s not just a conflict that is found in city councils or in state legislators or in Congress. The conflict between doing what is fiscally and economically wise versus pleasing some group of people is virtually every where, in every spending decision, in every tax decision, at every level of economic strata.
Easier to say ‘yes’ than ‘no’
And believe me; it’s pretty easy to get caught up in that conflict. I’ll give you a very recent, true-life example. Last night we went to a nice restaurant on the beach named after the famous Hawaiian surfer and Olympian. Of course, being on the beach, it was packed. And, our table was on the lanai, overlooking Huntington Pier and the ocean. It was really beautiful.
The waiter brought us our menus, and I looked it over. Most of the menu items were clearly marked with a price, but the king crab leg entre was not priced. Instead, it has the word “Market” next to it. My wife ordered the prime rib and I chose the Parmesan and caper encrusted Ono fish with wild rice. Our 6-year old? Chicken tenders and fries. But my 15-year-old son, however, decided that he would have 1-pound order of king crab legs.
Now, like most of you, I have a budget that I want to stay within for this vacation. Part of that budget is for dining, of course. Dinner and drinks for my wife and I came to about $100. Now, I knew that “Market” pricing for crab legs is very subjective. Which “market price” was used to determine the price?
My wife and I had had crab legs the night before at about $30 a plate. But that restaurant hadn’t been on the beach. In my mind, I estimated that they would cost around $35-$40, given the better location. I was weighing two choices. Do I act responsibly –and be a total buzz kill, by the way--and tell my son to order a cheaper item?
Or do I rationalize it and give in to my desire to make my son happy and not worry about the budget? I was conflicted. Economic reason told me to at least find out the “Market” price of the legs. But that would only put a damper on our mood. Political expediency told me to forget it, don’t worry about the cost, it won’t break the bank.
What did I do?
My older son ordered the king crab legs without incident…
Except that immediately after he did so, my 12-year old soon decided that he too, would like the king crab legs. Again, the economics of the meal kicked in. It’s now going to cost twice whatever it was going to cost me. But politically, I could hardly deny my 12-year old boy what I had granted my older son, could I? That wouldn’t have been fair, would it? And, of course, politically, to put the kibosh on two orders of crab legs would have made me unelectable in the next Dad election, if there were one. So, in the interest of fairness and in pleasing my constituency, along with the rationale that we are on vacation, after all, I let it slide.
Two pounds of king crab legs coming right up
Of course, the meal was pleasant and delicious, as was the totally unnecessary and absurdly large chocolate fudge ice cream cookie dessert that they placed before us.After the meal, the bill came… I stared at the amount; it was over twice what I had originally thought it would be when we walked in!
The slippery slope of wanting to please people and not be a downer, as well as be fair and not rock the boat, led my dining budget into Stockton, California territory. My wife looked at me as if I had bone in my throat. “How much” she asked. I shook my head, whipped out my card, and gave it to the waiter.
Politics had triumphed over economics…again. The only difference is that I can step back from the Stockton Syndrome, where as, apparently, Stockton, San Bernardino, and quite likely, much of California, is unable to do so.
As for us? Well, today we’re eating at McDonalds…and I’m loving it.
And those are…The Gorrie Details. | <urn:uuid:f4b6c39c-85f3-4de5-aab4-74ca863fcb69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.absolutewealth.com/catching-the-stockton-syndrome/ | 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 | 0.970722 | 1,336 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Here's the question the publishing industry is trying to figure out: Does it make sense for Google (GOOG) to have the rights to exploit "orphan" books, those whose copyright holders can't be found? Is it bad if Google has the exclusive rights to those books through its book search initiative?
Now the president of the U.S. arm of Oxford University Press is asking Congress to prevent Google from having the "exclusive" rights to orphan books. Tim Barton is proposing that Congress give others the same rights over these works as Google. The issue at hand is the settlement Google made last fall with publishers, which has been endorsed by the major U.S. publishing associations, though it's being investigated by the Department of Justice and has been criticized by libraries and law professors.
As part of a larger plan to scan books, Google has a deal with publishers to help them sell some current books. The idea to scan books and make them available online is intriguing, and it seems could ultimately help a struggling industry. But the question remains whether it's dangerous to put one company in control of so much information. Google already scanned 7 million books without permission. Will this, along with the Kindle, be the turning point that brings the publishing industry into the 21st century? Or does it represent a wresting of power away from content owners? Documents in the case are due in September.
Every quarter publishing divisions of media conglomerates report grim results. There's Harper Collins at News Corp (NWS), Simon & Schuster at CBS, and Random House at Bertelsmann. Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle is helping distribute books in a new digital format, but the revenue stream from this business is still minimal. Bottom line, publishers need all the help they can get. They might think it's worth fighting over the right to "orphan" books; the real question is whether they can negotiate some sort of profitable partnership with Google, without allowing the behemoth to win a power struggle. | <urn:uuid:b8651795-37af-476c-89d2-36a6bb874e18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/146347-is-google-hurting-book-publishers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96085 | 406 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a number of health problems, including liver damage, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Additionally, alcohol has been linked to hair loss due to the changes in hormone levels, most notably estrogen, that occur in the body with alcohol consumption. Studies have shown that increased levels of estrogen can accelerate hair loss, specifically temporary hair loss known as Telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium results in sudden and drastic hair loss, but can be reversed once the experience is over and the body goes back to the normal stage prior to the shock to the system. In addition to increasing estrogen levels, alcohol decreases the amount of important nutrients in the body that are essential in promoting hair health, including zinc and iron. Decreased levels of zinc result in dry, brittle hair that can break easily at the roots, while decreased levels of iron prevent hair follicles from receiving important nutrients that are needed for hair health and growth.
If you are experiencing hair loss or thinning due to excessive alcohol consumption, the best remedy to return your hair back to its normal state is to cut back on how much you drink. Unfortunately, those who have been drinking heavily for a long time are more likely to suffer permanent hair damage. If you believe you are experiencing any kind of excessive hair loss, you can find much more information about what could be causing it and the available treatment options during a Bosley Consultation, which is offered free of charge. | <urn:uuid:69867cff-e922-44dc-8b25-d701a9efebed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://askbosley.com/the-relationship-between-alcohol-consumption-and-hair-loss/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958762 | 294 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The Maine Warden Service is warning people that ice conditions across the state are becoming dangerous.
The warden service said a man went through the ice in his truck while getting and ice fishing shack from Hermon Pond in Hermon.
Officials said the man was able to get out of the truck safely.
Wardens said the incident is a reminder to take safety precautions as the temperatures get warmer.
The Warden Service said everyone going out on the ice should to test the thickness using an ice chisel or ice auger and check with local bait shops for known thin ice areas.
Ice that forms over flowing water and currents, especially near streams, bridges and culverts, can be particularly dangerous. | <urn:uuid:e01dfc5b-45bb-48b2-a982-5bd16778b060> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wmtw.com/news/maine/Wardens-Maine-ice-conditions-becoming-dangerous/-/8792012/19223870/-/7996maz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96858 | 141 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I have been running for about two years now, on and off, and recently I have had a mild - but annoying - pain behind my right knee. I went to an orthopedist, who gave me a cortizone shot, but told me it was most likely a tendonitis. Since then, I've determined that the tendon which runs behind my leg - on the outside - is unbelievably tight on the right leg (I determined this by comparing with my left leg). When I say "unbelievably tight", I mean to the point that a nurse thought it was initially a bone. Now I am still able to run, but that nagging pain is always there, whether I run or not. What can I do to loosen this tendon? I mean in terms of stretches, exercises, even medicinal treatments. Do I need to see a doctor, or is this mild enough to take care of on my own?
Thanks for any help. Also, I don't know the exact name of the tendon, but from various pictures on Google, I would guess it's the hamstring tendon. | <urn:uuid:01c624dc-a015-49b8-910b-d8232dd3c93a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/6050/tightness-in-tendon-what-can-i-do-to-fix-it/6072 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982518 | 222 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Strengthening Isaac Storms Toward Gulf Coast, Still Presents Threat to GOP: VIDEO
Nearly seven years to the date, Tropical Storm Isaac appears headed as a category 2 or 3 hurricane for the exact same region devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Louisiana and Alabama have both declared states of emergency as the entire area from east of Morgan City, Louisiana, to Destin on the Florida Panhandle is under a hurricane warning.
The NYT Caucus looks at the nightmare it presents for Republicans, aside from having the first day of the GOP convention pushed:
Searing images of wind-damaged homes, flooding and mass evacuations — all fraught with the memory of Hurricane Katrina — may well compete on television with Mr. Romney’s bid to seize the initiative in his battle with President Obama for the White House.
“Images of revelry by Republicans at a time of suffering by other Americans — no party wants those optics,” said Steve Schmidt, who helped lead Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “You have terrible awareness of all that stuff.”
Four years ago, Mr. Schmidt and other Republicans postponed the first day of the Republican convention in Minneapolis as an even larger hurricane headed through the gulf toward New Orleans. Mr. Schmidt said the fact that the canceled day would have fallen on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, was foremost in their minds.
“The optics of that were not good,” Mr. Schmidt recalled.
What a horrendous confluence of events. Tropical storms never get on people's radar, and the fact that Isaac passed Key West with less effect than a gusty afternoon thunderstorm made the situation worse. Even with a Cat 1 hurricane, will people take action tomorrow that may save their life Tuesday night?
Isaac's extremely large circulation is one of the factors that should make it intensify relatively slowly, and a track that misses the high heat-content pools in the Gulf should help in that direction as well. Plus it has less than two days over the water before landfall. But, the water ahead is still plenty warm - over 85 degrees - and the atmospheric pattern looks very favorable for strengthening. Taken together, the NHC's Cat. 2 forecast looks reasonable, though preparations should be made for a Cat. 3, given the lack of skill inherent in intensity forecasting.
In any case, that same large circulation will move a lot more water toward the coast than an average hurricane. The entire Hurricane Warning area - from Louisiana to the western Panhandle - is extremely vulnerable to storm surge flooding.
Watch a CNN report from Key West, AFTER THE JUMP... | <urn:uuid:937c5dff-f3da-453d-86ac-16b762e366ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.towleroad.com/2012/08/strengthening-isaac-storms-toward-gulf-coast-still-presents-threat-to-gop-video.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945708 | 542 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A day after leaving Iraq last week, U.S. Army soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division lined up their armored vehicles near Kuwait City, Kuwait. Armored equipment will not stay behind after troops leave Iraq, but other property may.
Credit Pool / Getty Images
U.S. troops leave Al Faw palace at Camp Victory in Baghdad earlier this month. The complex was a significant point of logistics for the Iraq War and was recently transferred to Iraqi control.
The final American troops are set to leave Iraq in a matter of days. Just a few thousand remain, and they will be heading south toward Kuwait — the starting point for a war that began nearly nine years ago.
The last American military unit out of Iraq will be part of the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. The division fought in some of the war's toughest battles and suffered nearly 300 killed.
As cold weather descends on most of the country, we're asking for winter songs — songs that evoke the season, and the memories that come with them. So far in our series, we've heard some lighthearted or slightly wistful tunes, but this next song goes to a far icier place. It's the choice of the celebrated dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones.
Staff Sgt. Joshua White (center), Command Sgt. Maj. John Troxell (left) and Brigade Sgt. Maj. Mike Boom (right) observe a joint patrol of U.S. Army and Afghan National Army soldiers and Afghan police in Paktika province, Afghanistan, on Oct. 3. The mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has become a new front line in the Afghan war.
The mountains along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan would be cruel enough without the war raging on below — cliffs drop from 8,000-foot peaks that are spotted with only a few trees among the rocks.
But Afghanistan's eastern border has become the focus of the conflict as militants plot their attacks inside Pakistan, then slip across the rugged frontier to carry them out.
In Afghanistan's southeast Paktika province, Forward Operating Base Tillman looks across toward Pakistan over craggy peaks that American troops have nicknamed "Big Ugly" and "Big Nasty."
This time of year, you might be thinking about what sort of gift or tip you'd like to offer your child's teacher for Christmas.
In Alabama, they won't let you get away with that kind of illegal behavior.
Alabama's new ethics law, which took effect in March, bans nearly all gifts to government workers — not just elected officials, but all state, county and municipal employees. That includes schoolteachers, as a lengthy opinion from the state ethics commission makes clear. | <urn:uuid:51e46d8f-60ca-45fe-97d2-4f68614d97a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wknofm.org/npr-news?page=5294 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958941 | 554 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Hansa - Baby Tiger, 8 Inches
Hansa is respected the world over for its finely crafted collection of our planets animal kingdom. Originally created for exclusive European collectors, each plush animal is meticulously handcrafted from portraits of real animals in their natural habitat. By themselves, or paired with other Hansa Animals, these marvelous creatures make wonderful best friends for children, adults, and collectors alike. In addition, interior designers the world over often turn to Hansa animals when designing unique, one-of-a-kind spaces. Display them in groups, or use their large, signature animals to set the theme of a room.Hansas chief designer pulls from his background in anatomy when researching each animal. The fabric used for the spotted and striped animals is all custom designed to Hansas exacting specifications in small quantites. And all of the fabric used is hand-cut from intricate patterns and hand-trimmed by Hansa artisans, never stamped out by machines. An average of 42 seperate pieces are used for each small animal (some animals have as many as 240 different pieces). The face and body of each Hansa Animal is carefully sculpted inside-out to create their distinct features and musculature that are unique to each animal. And each face is hand finished, which means that each animal is unique just as in real life.And every Hansa animal comes with a Toys that Teach tag describing each animals habitat, lifestyle, gestation period, care of their young and eating habits. Hansas goal is to help educate children and adults alike about the natural lives of these magnificent creatures, and to understand, respect and appreciate the importance of our co-existence with all animals. | <urn:uuid:205aac71-1563-4820-bc8c-e7bf56389c0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=204593715&c=102965648 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930146 | 342 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Mumbai/New Delhi: One of the mysteries of the unravelling coal scam in India is how relatively unknown and small-time companies managed to acquire the balance sheet strength required to apply for captive coal blocks.
The answer, well known to most people who move in banking and finance circles, is that some non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) played a crucial role by lending their net worth to the coal block applicants for augmenting their own—for a fee. Later, these NBFCs exited the consortium.
“It is a common, but reprehensible practice,” said Anish De, chief executive of Mercados EMI Asia, an energy consulting firm.
The IL&FS Group’s IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd (IIDC) and IDFC Ltd are two NBFCs that seem to have done this, although the first denied it had and the second declined to comment.
According to an advertisement placed in several newspapers (including Mint ) by Jas Infrastructure and Power Ltd , a subsidiary of the Abhijeet Group, its application for the Mahuagarhi block in Jharkhand “was jointly submitted on 11.01.2007 in partnership with Inertia Iron and Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd (IISPL), a company of Abhijeet Group and IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd, of the IL&FS Group”.
“The company was allocated the Mahuagarhi coal block jointly with another company CESC Ltd with equal share of both,” the advertisement added.
Paritosh Gupta, chief executive officer of IIDC, denied jointly applying for the block and said in an email: “The application to the ministry of coal was submitted by Jas Infrastructure Capital Pvt. Ltd (JICPL), that was a 100% subsidiary of the Abhijeet Group and its individual promoters. Prior to the application, Inertia Iron & Steel Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Abhijeet Group, proposed to partner with IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd for the joint development of a power plant along with a captive coal mine. Accordingly, an MoU (memorandum of understanding) was signed between IISPL and IIDC on January 8, 2007, for the development of an integrated power plant with a captive coal mine.”
At some stage after this, this MoU seems to have translated into a stake in JICPL.
“The IL&FS Group exited its holding in JICPL in early 2011,” Gupta added.
While applying, the Abhijeet Group added IIDC’s net worth to its own, to meet the criteria for applying for coal blocks.
Questions emailed to an Abhijeet Group spokesperson on Wednesday remained unanswered at press time.
Mint couldn’t independently verify several media reports that claimed the Abhijeet Group similarly added IDFC’s net worth to its own while applying for coal blocks. In response to a detailed questionnaire, K.V. Venkatraman, senior vice-president (corporate communication) at IDFC, declined to comment.
To be sure, as Mercados’s De pointed out, the practice appears a common one.
“NBFCs give certificates, sign MoUs and charge money to give credentials. There is no intent or commitment to invest,” said a power industry expert who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The instance of NBFCs tying with private power producers to form SPVs (special purpose vehicles) is a common practice to boost private power producers’ eligibility to secure projects,” said Amol Kotwal, associate director (energy and power systems practice) for South Asia and the Middle East at consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. “In such instances, the NBFC partnership assists in enhancing the net worth of the SPV, to enable it to meet the eligibility criteria. Once the project takes off, the NBFC would exit the SPV. NBFCs get paid a fee.”
Last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked five companies—Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd, JICPL, AMR Iron and Steels Pvt. Ltd, JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd and Navabharat Power Pvt. Ltd, a unit of the Essar Group—that had been allotted coal blocks allegedly on the basis of misrepresentations and false claims.
JICPL, JLD Yavatmal Energy and AMR Iron and Steel, three of the five companies named by CBI in its first wave of bookings—the agency has said there will be more, with five expected shortly—have a common director, Manoj Jayaswal.
Executives at NBFCs weren’t exactly willing to discuss this practice. “We don’t have any knowledge of any such instances. We have neither come across such situations or been involved in any such deals. Our mandate does not allow us to finance such projects because we are permitted to finance only government-operated and approved proj-ects,” said S.K. Goel, chairman and managing director of India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd.
Sunil Kanoria, vice-chairman of Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd, an NBFC, said, “Srei is not aware of NBFCs giving letters of comfort to companies seeking captive coal blocks. We don’t think that this is a common practice. We have not given any such letter to any company nor do we have any such tie-up with any company.”
Suneet K. Maheshwari, chief executive of L&T Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd, didn’t respond to emailed queries.
In February 2010, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) created a separate category for NBFCs in the infrastructure sector. Such companies have a minimum 75% of total assets deployed in infrastructure and net owned funds of Rs.300 crore or more.
More importantly, it gives these companies the ability to borrow up to 20% of their net worth from banks versus 15% of the net worth for non-infrastructure NBFCs. The increase in capital allows infrastructure NBFCs to lend more funds while staying within limits stipulated by RBI, currently at 15% of equity while lending to a company and 40% for lending to a group.
Ruchira Singh in New Delhi contributed to this story. | <urn:uuid:a78a9ce9-339a-47cb-98b4-b004ff7c2304> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livemint.com/Page/Id/2.0.57596321 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955792 | 1,364 | 1.585938 | 2 |
UK 'number one al-Qaeda target'
BBC | October 19 2006
Comment: How can a computer database target anything?
Al-Qaeda has become more organised and sophisticated and has made Britain its top target, counter-terrorism officials have told the BBC.
Security sources say the situation has never been so grim, said BBC home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore.
They believe the network is now operating a cell structure in the UK - like the IRA did - and sees the 7 July bomb attacks "as just the beginning".
Each cell has a leader, a quartermaster dealing with weapons, and volunteers.
According to our correspondent, each cell works on separate, different plots, with masterminds controlling several different cells.
They were often aware they were being followed and so were meeting in public spaces.
In addition, training is taking place in the UK and Pakistan.
It was thought that five years ago al-Qaeda was a number of "loosely-connected organisations" with common aims, but it is now more organised, she said.
Security officials are concerned the group is targeting universities and the community, and are "less worried" about mosques, she added.
The network is targeting "carefully selected" new recruits - mainly young Muslim men - according to the Guardian newspaper, which also quotes security sources.
The paper tells how recruits are then put through a "psychologically compelling" indoctrination of weekend and evening briefings.
This starts with religious lectures and prayer, but moves gradually to more radical teachings and political discussions about the position of Islam in relation to the western world.
BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the view was Britain was particularly vulnerable because "it may be easier for al-Qaeda to strike the UK than other targets".
He said these views were "based on activity they are actually seeing. Plots they're disrupting, trials which might be coming up soon".
"There is hard evidence behind it, rather than just theories," said our correspondent.
"That's based partly on what they are seeing, in terms of the types of activity, and partly based on the coincidence, that al-Qaeda's leadership is based in the tribal areas of Pakistan where there are links to the UK and flows of people going back and forwards.
"It makes it easier to make the UK a target than the other countries it might wish to target."
The network also appeared to be better organised, he continued.
"The leadership of al-Qaeda does appear to have been re-grouping and to be more coherent and organised than had been thought in recent years.
"The view is it clearly was an organised group before 9/11, but the campaign in Afghanistan disrupted that leadership very heavily.
"But in recent years, particularly in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the al-Qaeda leadership has been able to re-group and re-organise itself.
"In doing so it's able to open up channels of communication, contact, recruitment and planning around the world, and operate those in a more coherent fashion than maybe we were seeing three years' ago."
However, intelligence analyst Crispin Black said another attack in the UK "was not inevitable", citing the UK's "considerable successes against the IRA".
He said the security services had a good idea about who they were dealing with, saying: "We still have that expertise and training present within our military forces and intelligence."
"It is no longer about looking for a needle in a haystack. We have some pretty good clues and information on where we should be looking."
Infowars.com is Copyright 2006 Alex Jones | Fair Use Notice | <urn:uuid:f6b8f38e-14f8-407a-a4cd-ffaf8125a7fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/articles/terror/uk_number_one_al_qaeda_target.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979909 | 746 | 1.578125 | 2 |
This post contains talk of unwanted sexualized touching as well as jokes and victim blaming regarding said touching.
If I’d retained any chance of not hating gym up until this point in my ninth grade year, this unit squashed that hope like a crunchy, sticky bug.
First, it required our previously gender-segregated PE classes to become co-ed — and co-ed in ways that required touching. Additionally, it was sprung on us without warning, sort of like this:
[Clip from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, uploaded by adithyasampath100 via YouTube.]
With the notable exception that Mrs. D was nowhere near as awesome as Professor McGonagall.
Furthermore, instead of letting us pick our own partners, Mrs. D — along with the boys PE teacher, whose name I do not remember, possibly on account of I never had him for any class ever — assigned the boy-girl pairs for the unit.
“Tori, you’ll be with C.”
To this day, I view that pairing as punishment for something I’d done in a past life. Because I believe the technical term for C’s school persona was “entitled as fuck,” with an unhealthy side of “it was only a joke” deflection. Some choice vignettes from my memory:
Square Dance Caller (one of the teachers or a recording): Bow to your partner.
(I turn to C, either curtsying as I’m supposed to or — forgetting that “bow” doesn’t mean “bow” for me, on account of I am a girl — bowing.
C raises his chin, leans over toward me, and peers at the gap in the neckline of my gym shirt, either actually trying to see cleavage or pretending he is trying to see cleavage. I do not know which, nor do I care.)
Me (pulling shirt collar back): Watch it!
C: It’s okay. There’s nothing to see there anyway.
Because clearly, whether looking down my shirt is inappropriate or not is dependent on whether there are actually any boobs to see.
Square Dance Caller: Promenade left.
(I hold out my hands for C to take them. C reaches instead for my ass.)
Me: What are you doing?
C: Sorry. I thought this was the one where I hold your waist.
Me: There is no one where you hold my waist. There is definitely no one where you grab my butt.
C: I guess I still have a lot to master in the fine sport of square dancing.
Like how not to be a giant jackass? I mean, I realize that’s not spelled out in any kind of “how to square dance” instructions, but I think that if a student if a student deliberately did steps incorrectly in order to harass another student, it would not be unfair to deduct points from his grade. On a purely technical level, he has not demonstrated mastery of the skills.
Also, and I see this fully only now as a teacher myself, he was creating a situation where gym class was not safe for me. Like, even though I didn’t think he was likely to become more aggressive than he was being, he was still treating my body as though it existed for his pleasure. Defending myself against even just the humiliation was stressful, was tiring, was more than I should have had to do as a student.
About a week into the unit, I found Mrs. D in her office after class.
“I don’t want to be partners with C anymore,” I told her.
She raised an eyebrow. “We don’t always get what we want.”
I flushed. “No. I mean — He puts his hands in places –”
She cut me off. “It’s your responsibility to show him where his hands should go. Do you understand me?”
I understood perfectly: I would get no help from her. | <urn:uuid:12374a2d-eefe-4a01-a421-962bfe9878be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anytimeyoga.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/hating-gym-square-dancing-edition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978696 | 869 | 1.78125 | 2 |
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|Santa Monica's Civic Center Parking Structure Runs into Another Design Hitch|
By Jorge Casuso
June 25, 2012 -- Santa Monica's award-winning Civic Center Parking Structure is requiring more tweaking to live up to the kudos it received for design and sustainability.
In April, The Lookout found that five years after the structure was opened, there are clear signs that the building's details are degrading, with some of the vertical panels that line the façade of the structure losing their bright colors.
On Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to address another design hitch when it is expected to approve a $207,000 contract to replace light fixtures that were meant to improve energy efficiency but are proving costly to maintain.
"The existing indirect light fixtures bounce light off of the walls and ceiling of the garage to light the parking spaces," Dean Kubani, the director of the Office of Sustainability & the Environment, wrote in a report to the council.
"These fixtures require increased maintenance to sustain light level outputs because dirt from the garage and the air settles on their upward facing lenses, making frequent cleanings necessary," Kubani wrote.
By replacing the lighting with a more efficient system, the City will save some $32,000 a year in energy and maintenance costs, potentially making the $29 million parking structure the City's first Zero Net Energy building, Kubani said.
Staff is recommending that the City hire the California-based Golden Sun Firm & Company, Inc., to design and construct an energy efficient lighting system.
Unveiled in March 2007, the six-story structure with 882 spaces -- which sits near the entrance and exit ramps at the end of the 10 Freeway -- was touted as one of the nation's most energy efficient parking facilities.
Critics hailed it as a "sparkling destination point" and City officials touted it as a signature gateway to the city. Its design, by local firm Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, won an American Architecture Award.
The Civic Center structure is expected to see increased use under a City staff proposal that would lower its rates by more than half, from $1.50 every 20 minutes to $1 an hour, with the first hour and a half free. It would also reduce the daily maximum from $9 to $5.
In an effort to draw employees from the public parking structures that line the Third Street Promenade, staff's proposal also lowers the cost of an unrestricted monthly parking pass rate from $82.50 to $65. The proposed plan also would increase the cost of parking Downtown.
|Copyright 1999-2012 surfsantamonica.com. All Rights Reserved.| | <urn:uuid:0762735f-e1ae-486e-a2a6-29104293af69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2012/June-2012/06_25_2012_Santa_Monicas_Civic_Center_Parking_Structure_Runs_into_Another_Design_Hitch.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950262 | 570 | 1.539063 | 2 |
THE DANIELS CORPORATION - A history of innovation
The Daniels Corporation brings integrity, creativity and vision to every community we build. You see our commitment to excellence in every exquisite detail.
Over the past two decades, The Daniels Corporation has evolved into one of Canada’s foremost builder-developers, with a reputation for quality and integrity that has been reflected in the wide range of residential communities we have created over the years. Company founder and Chairman, CEO John Daniels has been a leader in the North American building industry for over 50 years. As Chairman of the Cadillac Fairview Development Corporation, John Daniels participated in the creation of such Toronto landmarks as the Eaton Centre and the Toronto-Dominion Centre. He was also a moving force behind the ‘New Town’ of Erin Mills, the largest master-planned community in North America, before founding The Daniels Corporation in 1982.
Under the direction of a dynamic management team, Daniels has developed and built over 18,000 homes and apartments in a diverse range of master-planned communities throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). | <urn:uuid:75cbaaa0-c2f4-4bdc-9b97-87aface27046> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://livehigh.com/condo-builder-developer/64/daniels | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948529 | 220 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Riverston’s Upper School is tailor-made to meet the needs of young people as they continue their adventure in education and grow as responsible young adults. Our small size and low teacher-pupil ratio provides a highly personal and bespoke curriculum for each student
Year 9 to Year 11
Continuing in its focus of inclusive education, Riverston’s Upper School provides opportunities for students of all abilities as it seeks to enable them to become increasingly independent in both their learning and attitude.
There are opportunities to follow the more traditional route of academic GCSEs including English, Mathematics, the three Sciences, French, Humanities, Art, ICT, Psychology, Physical Education and Business Studies with Economics. All students also follow the progressive and functional Financial Capabilities and Life Skills.
For students who benefit from a more practical bias, Riverston School provides an increasingly complex vocational studies programme. Currently, this comprises BTEC opportunities in Travel and Tourism, Childcare Learning and Development, Business Administration and Performing Arts.
The flexible nature of Riverston’s timetable and the focus on individuals allows some students the opportunity to complete courses over three years rather than the more traditional two.
For some students, weekly lessons in Social-Communication, Independent Travel Training and Skills for Life continue as do extended opportunities for Sport and recreational activities.
Compulsory participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme provide students with the essential skills of teamwork and leadership, tolerance and perseverance. | <urn:uuid:b6ef71f3-ea45-4ed8-b3ab-1b212ebf2baa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.riverstonschool.co.uk/Upper/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941012 | 300 | 1.734375 | 2 |
August 16, 2007
Israeli Web site Debka.com at center of New York ‘dirty bomb’ tip
An Israeli couple who blog about terrorism have achieved international fame -- and a bit of notoriety -- by setting off a "dirty bomb" scare in New York City.|
The brouhaha began last week with a report on DEBKAfile -- the 7-year-old Web site operated from the Jerusalem home of veteran journalists Giora Shamis and Diane Shalem -- asserting that al-Qaeda had vowed on the Internet to plant a "dirty bomb" in New York.
It seemed like a standard posting for the site, which claims to attract hundreds of thousands of daily users with its potpourri of Hebrew and English alerts, predictions and analyses focused mainly on potential Islamist threats and the West's military counter-campaigns.
This time, however, it wasn't just news junkies paying attention.
Prompted at least in part by the Debka report, New York City officials went on high alert, and the city's Police Department set up checkpoints around lower Manhattan and deployed radiological monitoring equipment on land vehicles, boats and helicopters.
Nothing untoward transpired, and city officials made clear that they had responded to a vague tip.
"These actions are like those that the NYPD takes every day -- precautions against potential but unconfirmed threats that may never materialize," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
Mainstream media frequently write-off Debka -- the word refers to an Arab folk dance -- as a fringe outfit catering to conspiracy theorists. But the recent episode marked the second time in recent months that the site caused a stir in more mainstream circles.
In June, following what quickly proved to be a false report in Debka, The Associated Press and Reuters filed news stories incorrectly suggesting that Turkish forces were now operating inside northern Iraq.
Critics claim the site, which often relies on anonymous sources, relies on information from parties with an agenda.
"DEBKAfile has frequently promulgated materials put out by rightist elements of the Republican Party, whose worldview is that the situation is bad and is only going to get worse," Yediot Achronot investigative reporter Ronen Bergman wrote.
Bergman said Israeli intelligence officials do not consider even 10 percent of the site's content to be reliable, and that the New York alert suggested U.S. authorities are still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
But Shamis and Shalem, both of whom worked for more than 20 years covering foreign policy and intelligence issues for the London-based Economist, have said that 80 percent of what Debka reports turns out to be true.
The site predicted in 2000 that al-Qaeda, having tried to blow up the World Trade Center in the 1990s, would strike the landmark again.
It also predicted the second intifada, the Palestinian uprising, and warned well before last summer's war in Lebanon that Hezbollah had amassed 12,000 Katyusha rockets that were pointed at northern Israel.
Shamis voiced surprise at the New York alert.
"We did not think it would make such a stir," he told the Ma'ariv newspaper. "This is the first time that a Debka story prompts a security alert in the United States."
In an Aug. 9 posting, Debka reported that its analysts had picked up an al-Qaeda pledge over the Internet to strike "by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material against America's biggest city and financial nerve center."
A day later New York police kicked into action, with police officials reportedly saying that the measures were in response to the Debka report.
Shalem said she was "absolutely sure that we were only one source" in the decision by the New York authorities to go on alert.
In a post on Monday, the Web site declared that "the chatter continues" and said that the New York police had come up "with a further piece of information which was not sourced to DEBKA suggesting that a dirty bomb may go off on Friday evening around 34th Street in Manhattan, where the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden and Macy's department store are located."
Debka proceeded on its Web site to slam its critics, complaining of "unbridled, gratuitous assaults on this publication's credibility from the publications which missed the story, prominently Associated Press, the International Herald Tribune and FoxNews."
Shalem said the Israeli media in particular "is hostile because we scoop them."
Like any journalistic enterprise, Debka doesn't always get it right, Shalem acknowledged, noting the corrections and clarifications found daily in major newspapers.
"What we're doing is not scientific," she said. "We specialize in looking a little bit ahead. We don't claim to be prophets, but we are taking much more of a risk. Most of the time we are justified," she said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem.
Shalem said they have 11 reporters stationed around the world. They have followed al-Qaeda since 1988, she said, using analysts trolling the Web for "chatter" from al-Qaeda sympathizers that could provide details on upcoming attacks.
Debka is free, making its money from advertising, though it also provides special e-mail bulletins for paying customers.
Paul Goldenberg, national director of a security network that services American Jewish organizations, described the New York Police Department's intelligence-gathering operation as top notch and said it was impossible that the force would respond solely on the basis of a Debka report.
As for his operation, known as SCAN: The Secure Community Network, Goldenberg said it would only issue warnings or take other steps after consulting with government agencies.
In general, Goldenberg said, Internet users need to understand that privately operated Web sites are often less reliable than official government sources.
"The information should not be taken as 100 percent factual," said Goldenberg, who in the 1980s headed up an intelligence unit in the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
That said, Goldenberg added, several private organizations -- including the Anti-Defamation League, journalist Steve Emerson's Investigative Project and MEMRI: The Middle East Media Research Institute, a group that translates media reports from the Arab and Muslim worlds into various languages -- maintain longstanding relations with law enforcement agencies and have proven to be valuable sources of information.
JTA editor Lisa Hostein and managing editor Ami Eden in New York contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:057b1718-c7d3-4c87-af44-4bc1ad39bcd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/print/israeli_web_site_debkacom_at_center_of_new_york_dirty_bomb_tip_20070817 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959369 | 1,327 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Identity, Equality, Unity
Amnesty International’s South Asia Director.
I am Pakiza Zahra, daughter of a victim of Shia genocide.
My father, Shaheed Mehmood Ali Dost Hazara had come from abroad for his vacations to Quetta – Early morning of 13-2-2010, Shaheed Mehmood Ali dost with his cousin Yousuf Ali started their journey from Quetta to Karachi – They were travelling on 2D rented car, after travelling 1 1/2 Hour (Almost 90 KM) they reached Mangocher, City district of Kalat, where they caught by heavy traffic blockage due to strike, when unknown motorcycle riders, selectively targeted only Mehmood Ali and his cousin Yousuf Ali in their car, leaving car’s driver un-scratched – Mehmood Ali embraced martyrdom on the spot, where as 2 bullets of Automatic machine gun (AK47) passed through Yousuf’s abdomen – He was critically injured, but as usual up till 45 minutes neither any volunteer not any security forces helped them by carrying them to hospital – Till 1 hour they were lying un-helped on road, and then they were taken to hospital somehow – Miraculously Yousuf Ali survived but his cousin Mehmood Ali didn’t last. I am still waiting for justice.
Being a part of an organization ‘which campaigns to end grave abuses of human rights and campaigning for an effective system of international justice to ensure justice, truth and full reparations for crimes under international law: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances’, we would like to draw your attention towards Shia genocide in Pakistan
Amnesty’s reports of last three years on Pakistan’s human rights situation worryingly lack the research and shows that the gravity of the issue is not being communicated to the authorities, thus neither considered nor addressed.
For example, while the report of 2010 mentions just one incident:
‘Sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shi’a communities increased in Kurram Agency as Sunni Taleban exerted their control’.
Resources are available that give a detailed account of adversities and atrocities. Fefer to Shia genocide Database:
Similarly reports of following years also show laggardness and show ignorance about intensity of the situation at a time when serious attention is needed: Refer to the following news items:
2010: On 1 September, at least 54 Shi’a worshippers were killed and some 280 others injured when suicide bombers attacked a procession in Lahore.
On 3 September, a suicide attack killed at least 70 people in a Shi’a gathering in Quetta and injured another 150; the Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack.
2012: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the execution-style killing of 26 Shi’a pilgrims in Mastung district and three of the victims’ relatives as they travelled from Quetta to collect their bodies, on 20 September.
A similar attack on Shi’a pilgrims on 4 October claimed 14 lives.
On 25 January, a suicide bomber targeting Shi’a worshippers killed at least 13 people in Lahore. Fidayeen-e-Islam claimed responsibility for the attack.’
In 2011, 33 such incidents took place in which hundred lost their lives (Shia genocide database: http://criticalppp.com/archives/132675) and details about this year’s persecution which are on the rise are as follows.
Reports also did not mention the problems and hardships the Shias, especially the Hazara Shias, are facing in Quetta due to the deteriorating situation. They are not safe anywhere. It is difficult to earn livelihood, to pursue education (University bus attacked which is mentioned in Shia genocide data base shared above), to visit hospitals, to avail transportation facilities and thus are forced to find safety, and leave their home land.
Unfortunately the issue is dishonestly and vaguely reported as a sectarian strife i.e. ‘a string of tit-for-tat attacks by Sunni and Shia groups’ and never recognized as a systematic genocide which in itself is very distressing for the persecuted Shias around the country.
What is even more dishonest is that the very same militant groups (such as the ISI-backed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat/Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) that are killing Shia Muslims are also responsible for the bombings of Sufi shrines that have killed hundreds of Sunni muslims. These same groups have also targetted Ahmadis and Christains.
By ignoring, misrepresenting and diluting Shia Genocide, Amnesty International is putting Pakistan’s citizens at the mercy of State-backed Jihadist groups.
Pakistani Shias are protesting on number of forums when an eminent forum like yours is among the silent witnesses, which should lead to introspection given its big status in the international community.
Human rights commission of Pakistan is quite vocal about condemning the ongoing Shia genocide.
‘Such targeted killing of people because of their religious beliefs is unfortunately no longer an anomaly in Pakistan. Those keen on creating new minorities in Pakistan have made sure of that. However, HRCP has no hesitation in stating that the terrorists managed to strike on Thursday only because those behind earlier target killings in Kohistan and Quetta had not been tracked down.’
Similarly Amnesty International can also be helpful in campaigning against Shia genocide in Pakistan through a concerted effort by mobilizing the international community to ‘put pressure on governments, armed political groups, companies and intergovernmental bodies via public demonstrations , vigils letter-writing campaigns ,human rights education, awareness-raising concerts, direct lobbying ,targeted appeals, email petitions and other online actions partnerships with local campaigning groups community activities, co-operation with student groups’.
Furthermore, the prestigious organization needs to employ some honest and courageous researchers and activists to contribute in a country like Pakistan where ‘Human rights situation is poor’ (Amnesty international report 2012). We urge you to reevaluate the work of your current representatives in Pakistan – it is shoddy, dishonest and insensitive and a disservice to your organization.
After a sustained campaign by non-mainstream human rights activists affiliated but not limited to LUBP, Al Ufaq and Pakistan Blogziine, HRCP has improved considerably in this regard (as highlighted earlier).
Ban Ki-Moon is appalled by sectarian killings (http://tribune.com.pk/story/423332/un-leader-appalled-by-mansehra-sectarian-killing/) and we are appalled by the silence of Amnesty International. You are Condemning the Ongoing civilian war in Syria, but strangely hesitant to condemn Shia genocide in Pakistan. | <urn:uuid:9496e7e0-f65c-4434-9ad7-cf12cf6e826b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldshiaforum.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/a-letter-to-amnesty-international-from-concerned-citizens-of-pakistan-by-zainab-binte-ali/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951241 | 1,415 | 1.75 | 2 |
It's All Politics
Fri January 18, 2013
For Cartoonists Who Cover Obama: Four More Ears
Four years ago, when the nation's first African-American president was inaugurated, even conservative editorial cartoonists marked the moment with reverence.
As Scott Stantis, now of the Chicago Tribune, tells All Things Considered host Audie Cornish: "There are times in our history where we can just take half a step back from our partisanship and revel in the history and wonder of something."
Stantis' left-leaning peer, Matt Wuerker of Politico, concurs. "It was a very epic moment. I think that everybody was really suddenly embracing this moment of idealism."
But, says Wuerker: "Four years later, so much of that is gone."
President Obama would not be the first president to suffer a diminishment of his cartoon image over eight years in office. Jimmy Carter, says Stantis, "was diminished to about — he was standing about 3 1/2 feet tall. You had Bill Clinton, who just became this big, doughy, sensualist character." George W. Bush, he adds, "devolved into a demonic Keebler elf."
So what's happened to Obama's image?
Cartoonists were careful at first in their depictions of the president, fearful of racial sensitivities, Wuerker explains. But "Obama is now just another goofy guy that we get to have fun with and play with his big smile and make his ears bigger."
So what to do for Obama's second inaugural?
"I'm still flummoxed," says Wuerker, who won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his work. "What was extraordinary four years ago is ordinary."
This weekend and Monday, when the president is inaugurated again, editorial cartoonists will be sketching and scribbling, trying to decide what story to tell and what symbolism to use, as a president besieged by critics on both sides begins his second four years in the White House.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
And I'm Audie Cornish.
Four years ago, a group of people known for being irreverent created some unusually reverent drawings. Editorial cartoonists, the jokes and critiques on hold as they mark the inauguration of the first African-American president. Now, four years later, those same cartoonists are figuring out how to depict Barack Obama's second inauguration. And we asked two of them to join us. Matt Wuerker is editorial cartoonist for Politico, and he's the 2012 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. Matt, welcome.
MATT WUERKER: Hi.
CORNISH: And Scott Stantis comes to us from the president's adopted hometown, Chicago, where he is editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune. Hi there, Scott.
SCOTT STANTIS: Hey. Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: So to start, I'm going to ask you both to describe your drawings from four years ago. And, Scott, starting with you, you described yourself as a conservative, not exactly an Obama supporter, but you did draw a cartoon - I have the image here - that is honoring the moment. Describe it to me.
STANTIS: Well, I think there are times in our history where we can just take half a step back from our partisanship and revel in the history and the wonder of something. And this was a cartoon - I actually drawn for USA Today. And it's Uncle Sam looking at a big screen TV, and there is President Obama being sworn in, and Uncle Sam is simply saying wow.
CORNISH: And he has his hat off, and the drawing is still pretty, you know, it's still kind of a caricature image of President Obama.
STANTIS: Yeah. That...
CORNISH: The ears are very prominent.
STANTIS: That's as close as I can come to reverence. I'm sorry. It comes with the territory.
CORNISH: And, Matt, for you, you drew something that is sort of, in a way, depicting the inaugural scene outside the Capitol.
WUERKER: Yes. It's the swearing-in, and it was, again, sort of, you know, it was a very epic moment. I think it's interesting how quickly we moved on from it. But I depicted the swearing-in, and Obama is standing there on the platform and is a cutaway, and you can see inside the platform. And he's literally standing on the shoulders of MLK, the civil rights workers, Abraham Lincoln, abolitionists and all of the people who sort of led to that historic moment.
CORNISH: Though as you kind of look back on your art from that period, what most strikes you about the evolution of the Obama image because his image was such a big part of the pop culture feeling around him? I mean, Matt, what's different this time around?
WUERKER: Oh, boy, it's so entirely different. I mean, four years ago, I think the country was sort of stunned. We are coming out, frankly, from eight years of Bush-Cheney. You know, we forget. The economy was cratering. It was a moment where I think that everybody was really suddenly embracing this moment of idealism. And I think four years later, so much of that is gone for different reasons. And there's just this drumbeat of hysteria, and I think that politically it boxes Obama in, in a way.
CORNISH: But at the same time, if you look at this - and I don't know. Scott, if you want to jump in here, you know...
CORNISH: ...the Obama campaign courted this. You know, there was Obama kind of iconography.
WUERKER: Oh, yeah.
CORNISH: There's lots of images and the art of Obama and the pop stars and...
STANTIS: Well, the first...
CORNISH: ...there was a lot of...
STANTIS: He has a logo.
CORNISH: Right. Exactly.
STANTIS: He has a logo, a registered trademark. What I find interesting, as a cartoonist, is the evolution or lack thereof of his images over the last four years. I mean, you look at four years of, well, Jimmy Carter would be one example, where he, you know, was diminished to about - he was standing like three and a half feet tall. You had Bill Clinton who just became this big, doughy, sort of, you know, sensualist kind of character. You had, you know Richard Nixon, of course. And you had George W. Bush devolved into, like, a demonic Keebler elf.
STANTIS: This caricature has not - what's interesting to me looking at my work, looking at Matt's work and looking at work of other cartoonists over the last four years, the caricature - and, Matt, tell me if you disagree with me - I don't think the caricature has changed dramatically from four years ago, has it?
WUERKER: I think it's changed a little bit. I think that one of the changes that happened in the beginning I think the first years of the administration, a lot of cartoonists were very careful about dealing with the caricature of an African-American.
WUERKER: And it was a minefield that people were tiptoeing across in a lot of ways. And a couple of people stepped on some mines and some - one of our boneheaded brethren drew him as a monkey for Rupert Murdoch or something. And people began to have to sort of, you know, you had to deal with the legacy of some really virulent racist imagery in American cartoons going back centuries. But we got over it. And the cartoon gods work in mysterious ways, just as we're having to grapple with drawing the first black president. The cartoon gods gave us the first orange house speaker so...
WUERKER: And so...
CORNISH: I'm sure John Boehner would quibble with that description.
WUERKER: Well - but it was suddenly, you know, it was like, OK, we're drawing people of color here, so this is fun and...
WUERKER: ...everyone has been having a good time, and I think actually there's this evolution in the Obama caricature that I think is all perfectly healthy and gets back to the significance of the second inaugural in some ways. And what was extraordinary four years ago is ordinary, and I think that the caricature has actually sort of evolved. And Obama is now just another goofy guy that we get to have fun with and, you know, play with his big smile and make his ears bigger and all that kind of stuff.
CORNISH: Yeah. I have to say the ears on Scott's alone in each of his drawings...
CORNISH: ...the ears are a little bit bigger. I'm looking at one where in your art, Scott, it's Obama smoking like four, five cigarettes at once, and he's holding a box of cigarettes that says unfiltered spending, and he thinks to himself I can't seem to quit. But his ears...
CORNISH: ...take up I think fully 40 percent of his head in this picture.
STANTIS: Well, you know, here's the thing. Here's - let me give you a quick...
STANTIS: ...a quick lesson on caricature is what human beings find attractive in each other and this crosses ethnic lines, preference - sexual preference lines, all lines is that we like symmetry. And the fact of the matter is this president is actually a pretty good-looking fellow, except for those big jug handles on either side of his head. And so I can talk to grade schools. I could talk to colleges or rotary clubs. I draw just an outline of his head and if you put those ears on, instantaneously, people know who he is. So, of course, yeah, we're going to jump all over that.
WUERKER: I think that cartoonists have gotten lazy, too, because I mean, in all fairness or in our defense a little bit, I mean, we did the same thing to George W. Bush. I mean, by the end of his administration, he was just Dumbo.
WUERKER: I mean, his ears were just immense.
CORNISH: Now, going into the inauguration then, can you guys give us a preview of what you're thinking of drawing? I know actually on the way in here, Matt, you were doing some sketching in the studio.
WUERKER: I'm still flummoxed. I don't quite know what to do. I'm playing with an idea of everybody on the inaugural standing extremely well-armed with assault rifles and whatnot, and it's something about the way the NRA would like to see the inauguration. But my wife actually had a good idea. I should probably do something ripping off of - remember Aretha's hat at the last inauguration?
CORNISH: Yes, yeah.
WUERKER: I think that there's something about inaugural bonnets out there that would be really fun to do, but I've got to figure that out this afternoon.
CORNISH: And, Scott, for you?
STANTIS: Oh, my gosh, it's not 20 minutes before deadline, so I really don't have anything solid.
STANTIS: But I would go, you know, some of the stuff - I love drawing critters. I mean - so - and just innocuous, almost non sequitur, so I would have like a rhinoceros or a hippopotamus, and, you know, it could be - I think he is still facing - frankly, still facing the same issues he did four years ago. Unemployment is still unacceptably high even though it's going down slightly. We've got debt. We've got war. We've got Guantanamo. We've got civil liberties. We've got all those things, and they were, you know, I'd love having them in the stands, and they're saying, yeah, we're here four years ago.
WUERKER: That's good. I'm going to steal that.
WUERKER: Dang it.
CORNISH: Well, Scott Stantis, thank you so much for speaking with me.
STANTIS: Well, thanks for having me.
CORNISH: And, Matt Wuerker, thank you for coming in to talk to us.
WUERKER: Thanks, Audie.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
CORNISH: Editorial cartoonists Matt Wuerker of Politico and Scott Stantis of the Chicago Tribune. You can see drawings by both of them at npr.org, including their cartoons from the inauguration four years ago. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:6c4aed3c-9f7d-4947-ae69-975896168a66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kvnf.org/post/cartoonists-who-cover-obama-four-more-ears | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975048 | 2,762 | 1.5 | 2 |
Menu labeling is on the minds of many restaurant owners now that chains with 50 or more locations will be required to provide calorie information on menus. Although the federal government's final rulings aren't due until tomorrow, PizzaMarketPlace Blogger Betsy Craig, told pizza operators at the Pizza Executive Summit last week in Chicago how important it is to get a head start.
"Pizza concepts can provide this information," said Craig, the owner of MenuTrinFo, a full-service menu nutritional analysis company. "It can be helpful. Your diners are asking for it."
Craig said the process is easier than most restauranteurs would expect if they use a reputable company and standardized recipes. However, help is out there for even complicated recipes. | <urn:uuid:0052b53e-f8bf-4f0c-a525-d73045ca2a46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article/182369/Menu-labeling-doesn-t-have-to-be-difficult-video | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949238 | 151 | 1.6875 | 2 |
- The Mommy Card
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- MomAngeles TV
Oy its True! Jewish Education Rocks in Koreatown
Families in Downtown LA, Hancock Park, Hollywood, Silverlake, Los Feliz, The Grove, and West Adams rejoice! It’s true…there is a stellar Reform Jewish nursery school and elementary school in your vicinity…and its gorgeous! Wilshire Boulevard Temple the city’s oldest congregation and home to one of the largest congregations of Reform Jews in the country. It is also home to one of the top Jewish nursery schools and elementary schools in the area. If you haven’t had a chance to stop-in and tour the campus you should! Now is the time to think about applying next Fall.
The Early Childhood Centers, run by Director Carol Bovill, are nurturing environments offering Jewish values and education to young children and their families. They are a place where adults and children thrive in an atmosphere of friendship, curiosity, self-esteem, Jewish identity, joy, and respect. A family where the talents and needs of all are fully recognized.
Brawerman Elementary School, run by Head of School, Nadine Breuer, is a Reform Jewish School with the highest academic standards where students learn Jewish values, personal responsibility, a contemporary understanding of our Torah tradition, Hebrew, and the relationship of the Jewish people to Israel.
And in case you didn’t know, Wilshire Boulevard Temple is also home to a fantastic Parenting Center where they offer Mommy & Me programs starting at age 0 – 24 months. There is also a terrific Grandparent & Me course for ages 1 – 3 years and a Shabbat class for ages 1.5 – 2.5 years. Not to be missed are the Coffee with Carol monthly parenting sessions led by Director Carol Bovill that include topics such as Toilet Training, Time for Me and The Balance Between Staying Safe and Being Friendly. For details about classes or to receive a schedule of upcoming Coffee with Carol visit the WBTLA.ORG site. | <urn:uuid:85e7b8ef-3d48-48d2-b3b3-125ade6e776a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.momangeles.com/2012/06/oy-its-true-jewish-education-rocks-in-koreatown/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942456 | 432 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill – A Windy Day television program – 2005
Bottle Top Bill and his best friend Corky must travel by flying machine to retrieve their washing, which has blown away in the wind.
Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table - Episode 35 television program – 1972
With an abundance of playful silliness, Arthur and the Square Knights of the Round Table is a delightful product of its era and remains very watchable today.
Babe feature film – 1995
Unaware that 'Christmas means carnage’ for farm pigs, Babe sings a happy Christmas carol. Farmer Hoggett decides against putting him on the menu for Christmas lunch.
Bambaloo – Bird in a Boat television program – 2002
A mixed live-action, puppetry and animation show for preschoolers from Yoram Gross and the world renowned Jim Henson Company.
Bananas in Pyjamas – Banana Breakfast television program – 1999
The combination of visually appealing characters with the 'Bananas in Pyjamas’ song created a highly popular and commercially successful preschool series.
Black Beauty television program – 1978
Poignantly told from the horse’s point of view, this 1978 animated film from the classic novel tells of the heartbreaking consequences of unrestricted exploitation of animals.
Blinky Bill’s Fire Brigade television program – 1992
Blinky Bill is an iconic Australian character much loved by generations of children, through the books and more recently through these television series.
Blue Water High – Winners and Losers television program – 2005
Blue Water High successfully combines the dramatic school-based Heartbreak High with the beach setting of Home and Away.
Bush Christmas feature film – 1947
In a rare villainous role, Chips Rafferty plays a horse thief, Long Bill. He is tracked by five kids spending Christmas in the Blue Mountains.
Commonwealth Bank – The School Bank sponsored film – 1951
The bank commissioned this film to replace personal school visits by Bank Liaison Officers, recently cancelled because of postwar labour shortages.
Commonwealth Bank – Willie Wombat: Waste Not Want Not sponsored film – c1939
Willie Wombat was produced by Eric Porter – Australia’s first career animator – to promote the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia’s School Banking program.
Crash Zone – The Dream Team television program – 1998
While the technology now looks a bit dated, at the time this was an edgy, high-tech series about five kids with a dream job – testing video games after school.
Cybergirl – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 2000
Cybergirl crashes to earth. Pursued by evil replicant bounty hunters, she takes refuge with Jackson and his father Hugh.
Don’t Blame the Koalas - Episode 1, Fate Steps In television program – 2002
Gregory has placed magnets in his shoes and hat so that he won’t fall into outer space when he gets to Australia.
Dot and the Kangaroo feature film – 1977
A generation of Australian school children grew up on Dot and the Kangaroo and the six other Dot films that followed it. Really.
Double Trouble – Episode 1 television program – 2007
Double Trouble is in the vein of Parent Trap, but with an Australian spin. It is an entertaining children’s program that offers insights into the lives of young people living in the Alice.
Double Trouble – Episode 4 television program – 2007
Double Trouble allows a cultural exchange to happen for the audience as well as the characters, as we follow the adventures of twin sisters who are both 'fish out of water’.
Double Trouble – Episode 7 television program – 2007
Double Trouble has entertaining and likeable characters and boasts an experienced cast. It also wonderfully captures an Indigenous sensibility and humour.
Elephant Tales feature film – 2006
Elephant Tales tells the story of two orphaned elephant brothers Zef and Tutu and their search for a new future.
Faireez – A Chilling Plot television program – 2005
Self-reliance and a strictly non-violent resolution feature in this story of Jumpalina, the big-footed baddy in her floating castle, up to her tricks again in Faireezia.
The Fairytale Police Department – Black Day for Snow White television program – 2002
Crimes committed in Fairytale land mean the world’s best-known fairy tales won’t end the way they should. Combines genres of fairytale and detective television.
Fergus McPhail – Double Trouble television program – 2004
The hapless Fergus, who is probably the biggest dag around, is trying to be cool as he attempts to settle into his new life. Of course all does not go to plan.
Flipper and Lopaka – The Secrets of Quetzo television program – 1999
Producer Yoram Gross used animation to free up Flipper: ‘In the old series, Flipper was like an extra … we gave him the chance to be the action hero.’
Foreign Exchange - Episode 2, Shark Attack television program – 2004
In the middle of the night, Hannah comes though a portal from Ireland and arrives in Brett’s bedroom in Perth at 7 am.
The Genie From Down Under – It’s my Opal … (and I’ll cry if I want to) television program – 1995
This episode shifts the action to Australia and introduces ‘the tour guide from hell’ and his sneaky nephew, both in pursuit of a magical opal.
Grendel Grendel Grendel feature film – 1980
A lonely, philosophical monster ruminates on the stupidity of men, whose heads he occasionally devours.
H20: Just Add Water – Hocus Pocus television program – 2007
H2O: Just Add Water is about three teenagers facing everyday problems but with a twist – they become mermaids when in contact with water.
Holly’s Heroes – Crunch Time television program – 2005
Focuses on the importance of attitudes and honour in sport, in the story of basketball-mad Holly who moves from New Zealand to Australia and starts her own team.
Hoota and Snoz – Series 3 Episode 13 television program – 2003
Snoz and Hoota are squabbling rivals in this 3D computer-generated animated series. In this episode, Snoz finds a mini Hoota included with the breakfast cereal.
Hoota and Snoz – Series 3 Episode 3 television program – 2003
Squabbling duo Hoota and Snoz star in the first 3D computer-generated animated series produced in Australia.
Horace and Tina – Settling In television program – 2000
This program is an unusual combination of live action and animatronic puppets with Jasmine Ellis, the actor playing Lauren, the animation model for Angela Anaconda.
I Can Jump Puddles television program – 1981
Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Alan Marshall, this story of struggle and courage has become a classic Australian tale.
It’s Academic – Episode 40 television program – 1971
It’s Academic is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running quiz program in television history.
Kaboodle – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1987
An anthology of stories for children aged 5-12 years old produced by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation in the late 1980s.
Legacy of the Silver Shadow – The Feral Element television program – 2002
1950s superhero the Silver Shadow and his archenemy The Crab are revealed to four kids who carry on the struggle between good and evil.
Li’l Elvis and the Truckstoppers – Caught in a Trap television program – 1997
Li’l Elvis wants to be a normal kid, not an Elivis impersonator, but his mother is aghast, 'What about your fans, what about the bank, what about the king!’
Lift Off – A Load of Old Rubbish television program – 1992
EC has minimal facial features and doesn’t talk, communicating through gesture and movement. Children warm immediately to this doll and what it represents.
Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part A television program – 1992
Mixes live action, animation, puppetry and fantasy to challenge, intrigue and encourage children to think for themselves.
Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part B television program – 1992
Spruikers from the ‘Bonza’ cereal advertisement come out of the TV set to persuade Poss and Kim that buying Bonza will make all their dreams come true.
Lockie Leonard – The Human Torpedo television program – 2006
Based on Tim Winton’s novels, this series follows ‘surf rat’ Lockie Leonard who is starting high school in a new town on the WA coast.
More Winners – Boy Soldiers television program – 1990
1910 legislation required boys between 14 and 17 to register for compulsory military training . Will Barnes, a brave 14-year-old conscientious objector, refused.
More Winners – His Master’s Ghost television program – 1990
The setting of Montsalvat – a gothic mansion and former artists’ colony– is perfect for this mystery-comedy about a group of kids on a music camp in a spooky old mansion.
More Winners – Mr Edmund television program – 1990
A roller-coaster ride of raised hopes, dashed dreams and happy endings: a charming modern fairytale from the More Winners series.
More Winners – The Big Wish television program – 1990
The faeries in the Enchanted Realm are in trouble. Today is the last day to grant seven wishes to humans or they will lose their magic power – forever!
More Winners – The Journey television program – 1990
On an isolated Tasmanian mountain, 12-year-old Ada lives with her wealthy father Justus. Housekeeper Martha is plotting to secure the family fortune for herself.
Mortified – Taylor’s DNA television program – 2006
The series creator says her inspiration came from realising that, from age 11 onwards, kids begin to find things their parents do very embarrassing.
The New Adventures of Ocean Girl – Hearing The Call television program – 1999
The highlights of episode three are the comic scenes with the hammy evil Elgar and the slapstick comedy between the villainous Space Wizard’s sidekicks Elgar and Moza.
Noah and Saskia – Tomorrow Never Knows television program – 2004
The final scene of this first episode dangles compelling narrative hooks and offers interesting and quirky characters and an abundance of humour.
Ocean Girl – Series 2, Episode 3 television program – 1995
Ocean Girl is a beautiful alien that can swim at extraordinary speed and telepathically communicate with a humpback whale called Charley.
Orphan of the Wilderness feature film – 1936
Boxing contests between men and kangaroos, as shown in this film, were a frequent ‘attraction’ in travelling tent shows. | <urn:uuid:fe8f60ee-b8bf-4a2b-a3a9-72f9493b1a7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aso.gov.au/titles/genres/childrens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931984 | 2,299 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Every tourist attraction needs a grand entrance.
That's why we applaud the Springfield Museums for proposing construction of a "gateway arch" to welcome visitors to the view the myriad treasures that lie within the historic complex.
Placement of a decorative steel arch spanning the end of Edwards Street - and inscribed with the words "Springfield Museums" - is a brilliant piece of marketing.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors annually pass through the doors of the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts to view works by Claude Monet or the Springfield Science Museum to stare up at a life-size dinosaur model. And there are those who are happy just to stroll on the Quadrangle green among sculptures of Dr. Seuss' characters "Yertle the Turtle," and "The Cat in the Hat."
There is much beauty to behold at the Quadrangle. And with a new entry way, we expect that even more visitors will find their way to this tucked-away city jewel.
The proposed arch will soar over Edwards Street next to the new Museum of Springfield History, which is due to open this fall. The gateway will provide a missing link of sorts by serving as a unifying element for museums in the complex.
The Quadrangle consists of five museums, including the history museum, the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, the science museum and the D'Amour art museum.
Joseph Carvalho III, museums president, said the arch will let people know they are coming into a museum district. The project has been tentatively awarded a $50,000 federal grant under the city's new Neighborhood Centers program, funded by federal Community Development Block Grant money. The museums would seek to provide the balance of funds needed for the work, Carvalho said. The museum improvements will also dovetail nicely with the new $63 million federal courthouse and the improvements to the State Street corridor.
We look forward to the raising of the museums' own little arch of triumph. We expect it will add even more sparkle to this Quadrangle gem. | <urn:uuid:875c19e8-7180-4949-aaf2-3d770389f384> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masslive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/gateway_to_the_quad_puts_spark.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930353 | 436 | 1.78125 | 2 |
As I drove out of my driveway this afternoon, I glanced up and saw The Avengers racing around my neighbor’s yard, intent on fighting crime (or each other or the dog or some dragonflies, lol). It made my heart so happy to see childhood…just real, everyday, the-way-children-through-the-ages-have-played kind of childhood at its most honest and robust and carefree. I jumped out of my van and proceeded to confirm my neighbor’s suspicions that I’m a little off my rocker by wildly waving my camera in the air and pointing at her adorable boys roughhousing, silently asking for permission to play paparazzi. She nodded, and the boys hammed it up for me for a few minutes, posing and posturing in their wonderful world of make-believe.
I climbed back into my van amidst my little girls’ giggles (pretty sure they were laughing more at me for taking pictures of the neighbors rather than laughing at the boys’ antics). As we headed off on our afternoon errands, I thought about how the world has changed, but children haven’t. Yes, over time the world will do its share of influencing or corrupting, as the case may be, but children are born children just like they have been since the beginning of time.
Every child is born a fresh, new, open book with pages and pages waiting to be filled. Everything is new. Every day is an adventure. Every experience is an opportunity for discovery. Whether they’re boys or girls, whether they have average or advanced or impaired cognitive or motor abilities, whether they’re Asian or Caucasian, Black or Middle Eastern, Hispanic or (as a growing number are worldwide) a unique blend of races and ethnicities, they all start out the same…brand-new, innocent, precious beyond compare.
I am passionate about helping parents fill the first pages of their children’s lives with messages of gentle welcome, of needs met, of trust. I’m equally passionate about helping parents transition into later stages where they are simply there to offer guidance, support, and encouragement as their children begin filling the pages of their lives with their own choices, interests, and gifts.
I’ve heard it said that only those crazy enough to think they can change the world actually do change it. I honestly believe that changing the world starts at home with how we parent our children. Maybe my neighbor is right about me, after all.
*Book art via Anagram Bookshop*
For Captain America, the dream became a reality because of a diabolical villain trying to take over the world and a risky scientific experiment to create a hero who could stop him. (Seriously, though, who would really let strangers stick them in a radiation chamber and inject green slime into their body?!?)
For children who feel like nobodies, though, who struggle everyday, who have to work harder in class than their peers, Captain America might just be the key to unlocking the power to read.
Children like My Renaissance Girl who struggle with severe dyslexia and/or other learning disabilities as well as children who don’t have learning disabilities but are reluctant readers [ImaginationSoup.net] often rely heavily upon illustrations to help them keep track of the storyline. This provides them with the motivation to continue to read, which in turn increases their ability to read, thus increasing their motivation to read…success leading to success…a virtuous circle!
However a problem arises because, while high quality, beautifully illustrated children’s picture books abound, books appropriate for and of interest to older children often are either sparsely illustrated or not illustrated at all.
Enter the comic book!
Comic books, now generally known as graphic novels, have increasingly been finding their way into classrooms and school libraries as teachers search for tools to not only help their students learn how to read, but to tap into the vivid imagination that is the hallmark of childhood and turn their students onto a lifelong love of reading.
The Graphic Classroom founder, Chris Wilson, has made it his mission to seek out excellent graphic novels covering a wide range of subjects and styles and get them into the public education system here in the U.S.
From Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man to The Action Bible, the graphic novel industry has come a long way from the days of Archie and Jughead. The venerable Stan Lee, himself a rags to riches story on the order of his Marvel character, Captain America, is credited with a large portion of the popularity of the ever more sophisticated world of the graphic novel. His relatable characters, real-world storylines, conversational style, and stunning graphic art have contributed immeasurably to the emergence of graphic novels from the dark ages of the dime store shelves to a powerhouse industry with much to offer the literary world.
When it comes to literacy, Stan Lee brought his own superpowers into play with the formation of the Stan Lee Foundation “to do whatever I could to fight illiteracy in children. Any child who grows up illiterate, unable to read and write — or even semi-literate — can be considered handicapped. Competition throughout the world has grown so keen that every young person needs every possible advantage to even the competitive playing field. The ability to read well, to study, comprehend, and process information is absolutely vital for success as an adult.”
Utilizing graphics in teaching reading is certainly not a foreign concept. Picture books for younger children have been used for centuries to interest children in the written word. (Check out this incredibly cool Superhero ABC graphic art novel for early childhood education!) But incorporating art in the form of illustrations and graphics into curriculum for older students seems to be a relatively new and somewhat controversial concept as evidenced by the Common Core State Standards [Education Week] being adopted in all but three states so far which states “the text should be central, and surrounding materials should be included only when necessary, so as not to distract from the text itself.”
Clearly, the object of the Common Core State Standards is to focus on the mechanics of reading, in effect producing students able to read manuals and textbooks, but with no engagement of the heart, no delighting of the soul, no enrichment of the imagination. In short, the purpose seems to be to produce a generation of automatons who can pass a test on Da Vinci, but can’t think or create or imagine or invent like Da Vinci.
When you consider that “Reading correlates with almost every measurement of positive personal and social behavior surveyed, from scholarship and job success to voting and playing sports.” [BookReporter.com], it makes more sense to raise bookworms than to program robots.
Successful reading means far more than possessing the ability to read. Engaging the hearts of students moves reading success beyond a life skill and turns it into a life style. Children who love to read…READ. Adults who love to read…READ. And graphic novels are too powerful of a tool in our arsenal to be disregarded because of pride or prejudice.
Children who love to read…READ! Engaging children’s hearts in the wonder of reading instead of just training their minds in its mechanics. Raising Bookworms
8 Reasons to Let Your Kids Read Comics. Imagination Soup
It’s time for a return to childhood, to simplicity, to running and climbing and laughing in the sunshine, to experiencing happiness instead of being trained for a lifetime of pursuing happiness…it’s time to let children be children again. A Return to Childhood
Think homeschooled children are unsocialized, over-controlled, locked-away-from-the-world misfits? Think again! My Renaissance Girl | <urn:uuid:496a0b83-11a4-488a-9e66-691ca356be21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.littleheartsbooks.com/category/captain-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952638 | 1,606 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Iran TV: We Refrain from Threatening Israel and the US
The following are excerpts from an interview with Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy and Security Committee in the Iranian Parliament, Mahmoud Mohammadi. The Iranian News Channel aired this interview on February 13, 2005:
Mahmoud Mohammadi: We should create the impression that we did not and do not want to launch a military attack against any country in the region. All the concerns and threats are, therefore, baseless. We want the realization of the Palestinian people's rights according to international law. They have the right to this land. In addition, America has no ties with Iran. Iran has humiliated America, and for years has not taken America in to account in its political, economic, and security considerations. Iran has pushed America to the sidelines, and therefore, should expect these such threats and pressure by America.
We cannot oppose a superpower like America and refuse to recognize Israel – while America fully guarantees Israel's security – and at the same time try to realize our national goals, especially in the peaceful use of energy - which, in their view, may be related to nuclear weapons. That's why they are concerned. We are making an effort to get the Europeans to understand that we do not wish to threaten America or Israel. we want security in the region, and we want the realization of the Palestinian people's rights.
To view this clip, click here. | <urn:uuid:356c6971-10b1-4b9a-a732-59d3045a2835> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://regimechangeiran.blogspot.com/2005/02/iran-tv-we-refrain-from-threatening.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952363 | 289 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Women’s Center at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosts a series of events during March in honor of Women’s History Month. The events are free and open to the public.
A lecture on “Gender Agenda” by Patrick Madden, is held on Monday, March 4, 6:30 p.m. in Campus Center 306. Madden is executive director of the United Nations Association. He previously served four years as president & CEO of Sister Cities International (SCI), building a network of U.S cities partnered with more than 2,000 international communities that worked to implement economic development, humanitarian, cultural and education programs and exchanges.
A film screening of “Half the Sky” is on Wednesday, March 6, 5 p.m., Campus Center 306. Discussion and light refreshments will follow. On Friday, March 8, an International Women’s Day presentation will be held at 10 a.m. on the Campus Center Plaza. Local women’s organizations will present information, discuss ways to help support woman locally and internationally, and to network.
The Women’s Center is also hosting Yoga Tuesdays with Amanda Pierson through the end of the school year. The weekly sessions are being held every Tuesday from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. in Campus Center 301.
For more information about any of these events, or disability accommodations, contact the Women’s Center at 974-7306 or email [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:7537813c-fddc-4acb-be80-a504cf27e665> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://damontucker.com/2013/02/28/uh-hilo-hosts-womens-history-month-events/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953337 | 315 | 1.578125 | 2 |
May 30, 2011
THE African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC) is to hold its 14th bi-annual meeting from June 4 to 10 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with this year’s main themes being IPv6 deployment in Africa, cyber security and interconnecting Africa.
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is the next generation of the internet protocol that is currently in various stages of deployment on the internet.
It was designed as a replacement for the current version, IPv4, that has been in use since 1982 and is in the final stages of exhausting its unallocated address space.
AfriNIC-14 is a platform for all the continent’s internet industry players to discuss the latest development in global best practice for managing internet resources in the African region.
Primarily targeted at the technical community, governments, regulators, civil society and existing AfriNIC members, the meeting is also open to anyone, including end-users of the internet.
AfriNIC-14 will play host to vibrant policy discussions where all the stakeholders present can contribute to the development of management and distribution policies for internet number resources.
The 4th AfriNIC Government Working Group (AfGWG) meeting and a workshop for law enforcement agencies will also be held on June 10. The aim of this meeting is to strengthen the collaboration between AfriNIC and African governments and regulators, in order to create a dynamic framework to address general internet governance challenges faced by the region, and specifically those related to the role of governments with respect to internet resources.
The agendas of the meetings comprises of discussions on Africa post IPv4 global depletion, the transition to IPv6 and its challenges in Africa and the way forward.
The meeting will also be an opportunity for governments and regulators to share their thoughts and experiences as well as setting up structures to aid in the deployment of IPv6 in their respective countries.
AfriNIC-14 will also include tutorials, trainings, and presentations on sector-relevant issues such as IPv6, cyber security, internet resources management and internet governance.
The AfriNIC-14 meeting will be held jointly with African Network Operators Group AfNOG-12, a forum for the exchange of technical information, and aims to promote discussion of implementation issues that require community cooperation through coordination and cooperation among network service providers to ensure the stability of service to end users.
The goal of AfNOG is to share experience of technical challenges in setting up, building and running Internet Protocol networks on the African continent.
CHANZO: AfriNIC internet industry meeting set for Tanzania | <urn:uuid:97ecec50-07ef-4771-97da-4201da06ee02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jamiiforums.com/tech-gadgets-and-science-forum/141245-afrinic-internet-industry-meeting-set-for-tanzania.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937078 | 542 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Journey to the Past Blog by Brenda Leyndyke. In her most recent post "Recommendations for Genealogy Education And Assessing 2012 Goals" she talks about various forms of genealogy education, particularly the ones available on the internet. She also runs through the educational classes she has taken during the month of February. Let me tell you she covered a lot of ground!
Brenda's focus was primarily on live webinars and recorded online videos. She's right - there is so much available online these days that it is very easy to broaden your knowledge of genealogy without leaving home.
But there are lots of other genealogical learning opportunities such as magazines, peer reviewed journals, books, in-person classes, institutes, conferences and seminars. I'm sure there must be others as well.
I thought it would be interesting to stop and ask everyone to consider where they get most of their genealogical education. Is it from one of these sources or from something else? Are you finding that you are shifting from traditional sources to webinars and videos? Or are you sticking with books? Does your own personal learning style play into this? By that I mean do you still prefer in-person classroom learning, are videos more visually helpful or is there something else that suits the way you learn?
I can't wait to hear what you have to say.
For myself I think I have adapted to all learning opportunities. I like face to face learning but I can take away a lot from videos and webinars as well. I still do an extensive amount of learning in books and journals. As long as it makes me think and I learn something new then I find it worthwhile. Though I'm not so sure that I would like participating in an online class (as opposed to in person).
Looking forward to hearing which educational opportunities you are taking advantage of!
Photo Credit: Photo by cdsessums and used under the creative commons license. | <urn:uuid:1c2cab73-3ce4-44f4-9727-91c33f775e44> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-your-1-source-for-genealogy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974701 | 400 | 1.820313 | 2 |
- This entry is not to be confused with Romania.
Rumania has been looked down upon in the past because of some questionable pastimes. One of the most controversial being snorting kool-aid powder for days on end.
(what you are about to read, is not to be confused with ROMANIA, european country) Rumania has no geography. There is only one mountain, 5 meters tall, which Rumanian people use to call "the Hill", due to unknown reasons (most probably, antidisistablishmentaryinism). During week-ends, young adventurers used to climb "the Hill" until 1998, when a 16-years old nun died of alcoholism during such a trip. Since then, the Rumanian governement has begun demolishing "the Hill" using a strong combination of nachos and tacos. There aren't any bordering countries; due to its wise policies, Rumania neighbours itself. Natural resources are scarce and mostly located in some other remote countries.
Rumanians are still a mystery to scientists. They have furry, smelly and delicate feet. Is seem that for a long time, they used to serve Sauron, nowadays known also as "Lord of the Dance"(that is, before he tried to steal their nachos and tacos; the bloody war that resulted is known as "The War of the Ring"). The major religion amongst Rumanians is orthodoxism, an ancient form of worshiping, half way between Islam and Christianity. The paradox is that, even though they are fervant believers, Rumanians consider that were not the Lord's (whoever might him be) creation, but the spawn of "Decebal" (leader of the Dacia factory) and "Trajan" (the first immigrant to became the emperor of Rome). This is, basically, all we know about Rumanian people.
Rumania has no economy. Their major export is Ramen noodles, a food most commonly eaten by computer nerds and poor people. The people enjoy spending all of their money on women, beer, Sony-Ericsson P800 and Motorola V220. The only treasure of Rumanian people is the "Closca cu puii mei de aur" (as in: "Hen with my golden offspring")... but the Russians locked her in their basement. The Rumanian people listen to a weird series of noises which they call "manele". Most of the people do not understand these sounds but Rumanian people enjoy it very much, and probably a reason to this are nachos and tachos.
In 1756, a bloodless revolution, which ended in some 1,000,000 mutilations, 267.000 infections and a quarter of a million occurrences of malaria - but no deaths - brought to power an anarchist government . This authoritarian regime still rules Rumania even nowadays, mainly because of its dictatorial use of nachos and tacos. As Oscar Wilde once said: "Nachos and tacos are the main causes of oppression in Rumania". Wise words, indeed...
A long, long time ago, in the past few years, a great leader was born. His name was "Harap Alb" (slang for White Arab). He died with a very rare form of illness. We do not know which type was it. He was also called The Great by his close friends, a bunch of tiny guys with some very deranged habits, such as eating all the birds, drinking all the rivers or freezing everything up while sneezing because of the cold they create by themselves.
Another great leader of the peaceful people living on the Hill , by his name Vladimir Draculescu (also known as Dracula), was born in Rumania. He has become most famous for conquering all of Europe, half of Asia, and parts of Africa in less than 4 hours, while picking his teeth with the poles in which he had previously stuck around an unknown number of rich, but rotten nobles, poor and colourful gypsies and workaholic peasant thieves. Vladimir then became the Ruler of the empire which he then started calling by its middle name, 'The Glorious Democratic Empire of Rumania', all the other names having been removed from every piece of historical document ever written up to this moment.
One of the things Rumania is most famous for is its food, made from varying combinations of nachos and tacos.
Destination of the first fake pair of Nike shoes ever produced, a pair of "Air Max 94.5". The shoe went on to found the nation's first and only museum. | <urn:uuid:e9bf5abf-a747-4d0e-80ff-47a6f8364d37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rumania?diff=prev&oldid=5166047 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973022 | 953 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Mid-Day Meals: Centre picks holes in implementation across Jammu & Kashmir
Srinagar, Dec 31: The J&K Government has failed to ensure proper implementation of the Mid-Day Meals scheme in schools across the State, despite admonishing by the Government of India and the monitoring agency.
A latest communiqué from the Centre to the State Government reveals that there are large scale loopholes in implementation of the program. The findings are based on a Joint Review Mission of the program by a team comprising representatives of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, Supreme Court Commissionerate for MDM and State Government.
In the letter, Joint Secretary MHRD Amarjit Singh has apprised the Commissioner/ Secretary, School Education Department Farooq Ahmad Faktoo about the lacunas and loopholes detected by the team during its visit to educational institutions of Ganderbal in Kashmir and Udhampur in Jammu in the last week of September this year.
Even questions have been raised over transparency and accountability of the program. “In some of the visited schools, the records were not maintained properly. In several schools cooking cost is paid through self/ bearer cheques, and this increases the chances of money being siphoned off. It is important that an account is opened for all schools for managing MDM money in the school to reduce the chances of funds being diverted. Importantly, the teachers did not have any idea about the period of time they were allocated food grains last time, which has resulted primarily because the coupons/ challans provided to them by concerned ZEO office. They do not mention the month/ quarter for which food grains were provided. This has affected transparent functioning of the scheme in the State,” the communiqué reads.
According to the letter, the systemic failure to supply food grains well in advance has resulted in disruption of the scheme.
“The field observations have shown that there has been disruption in providing MDM in almost all schools of Ganderbal and in some of the schools of Udhampur district. This disruption is primarily due to non-availability of food grains in schools,” it reads.
Virtually snubbing the State Level Steering and Monitoring Committee of the program on its failure to meet on regular basis, the Centre says: “Some of these issues could have been addressed if the State Level Steering and Monitoring Committee met regularly to review these issues. We had requested you in April 2012, in this regard, unfortunately, even now, the meeting has not been held.”
The State Government has also come in the line of fire for its failure to implement the School Health program in letter and spirit.
“The program is not implemented properly in the State. In Ganderbal, only the children in schools near urban health centres had health checkups and schools located in interior areas and far-off ones are only visited by health teams. In Ganderbal district there was lack of clarity between School Education and Health Departments as to who will take the initiative first,” the letter further reads.
The team during its visit also found that cooking costs were not reimbursed to schools on time. “In the Kashmir division, the cooking costs were not reimbursed from May 2012 onwards. In Jammu division, in some cases the reimbursement to teachers has been made after 6 months. This delayed reimbursement process would not only compromise the quality of meal provided in the schools but puts entire responsibility of managing meals on the teachers,” it further reads.
The letter also states that the norms of MHRD vis-à-vis appointment of cooks are not followed by State Government and there is also huge delay in paying honorarium to them.
Lastupdate on : Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 1 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST
- MORE FROM KASHMIR
- Crime Branch confirms Major Avtar’s death
- Court grants 4-weeks to State to file compliance report
- On New Year eve, Panchayat members ‘assault’ Bandipora engineer in public gaze
- Official apathy impairs functioning of SIC
- Mid-Day Meals: Centre picks holes in implementation across Jammu & Kashmir
- Tarigami asks Indian civil society to wake up
- KU: Prof Mustafa is new DCDC
- Timber smuggling takes sheen off prized Sonawari nurseries
- Produce witness in Laya’s case: TADA Court to Govt
- Rana to sue Harshdev Singh
- Promote Congress: Soz to Panchs, Sarpanchs
Court Closes Jaleel Andrabi Case
D A RASHID
Srinagar, Dec 31: A court here on Monday closed the case against Major Avtar Singh, accused of killing noted lawyer and human rights activist Jaleel Andrabi, after the Crime Branch submitted death More
- Srinagar City
‘WILL MAKE CITY GREEN, CLEAN’ Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Dr GN Qasba has made a New Year resolution to make Srinagar City green and clean. Enumerating his New Year resolution More
CM, Governor, DGP, Others Greet People On New Year
GK NEWS NETWORK
Jammu, Dec 31: A host of politicians, bureaucrats and police officers Monday greeted people of Jammu and Kashmir on New Year, hoping that it would ‘bring about peace and prosperity to the State.’ More
Focus on the quality of education at the primary level to achieve better results
It is result time, pick up a morning newspaper and you will come across numerous ads carrying photographs of students who have passed their 10th class annual exam with good marks. The scores and names More | <urn:uuid:c0f5e50d-846e-4f31-b32f-d97a6df5938f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2013/Jan/1/mid-day-meals-centre-picks-holes-in-implementation-across-jammu-kashmir-71.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960942 | 1,225 | 1.5 | 2 |
If You Have Joint Pains
When millions of women stopped hormones after the WHI report in 2002, some doctors were suddenly fielding fears about arthritis, says Dr. Richardson. Kathleen Kalell, who started HT in her mid-40s for hot flashes, has been on and off several times in more than a decade. Each time I go off, my mobility is really impaired, she says. Exercising and even climbing stairs become difficult because of her knee pain.
Will hormones help? HT is controversial here taking hormones for joint pain is definitely an off-label use but there are women and gynecologists who swear by it. I dont look like Im 200 years old when Im walking, says Kalell. If achiness is your only symptom, talk to your doctor about other possible causes and other forms of relief first.
If You Are Moody
Hormonal spikes and dips may prompt bursts of irritability, anxiety, depression, and overall moodiness. Its very much like PMS, but no longer confined to the week before your period, says Dr. Gass. Its one thing to cope with it one week out of the month. Dealing with it randomly and sometimes many times a month is more exasperating. But dont discount other familiar midlife stressors, like combined demands of tweens, teens, work, and aging parents, particularly if youre also struggling with hot flashes and your sleep is disrupted.
Will hormones help? Most women actually feel quite a bit better once theyve made it into the stable hormonal state of menopause, notes Dr. Richardson. But if you cant wait till then, talk to your doctor about which options make sense for you. Depending on other symptoms, you might take birth control pills to level out hormones during perimenopause, then, if youre still feeling out of sorts once your periods stop, switch to systemic HT. Some women also benefit from antidepressants or antianxiety medications, along with talk therapy or holistic strategies.
When (and How) to Get Off HT
Heres the mantra: the lowest effective dose for the shortest time possible. And, some doctors add, for no longer than three to five years. Sounds good, but as much as half the time, symptoms recur when you stop, no matter what your age or how long you used HT. So what then?
Plan ahead: Expect some rebound and be prepared with alternatives to handle annoying symptoms lubricants for vaginal dryness, for example, or dressing in sheddable layers to cope with hot flashes.
Time it right: Sometimes menopause hits when women feel they cannot deal with one more problem in their lives, says Dr. Gass. But later, life may settle down, making even bothersome symptoms more manageable. Just dont try to stop in summer, when hot flashes are harder to deal with, advises Dr. Richardson.
Taper off: Experts really arent sure whether this is better than quitting cold turkey, but many doctors suggest a step-down plan: taking a lower dose or skipping pills every other day. Dr. Richardson believes that tapering off helps, but it should be done very slowly, and a woman should stay at any given level for at least three months. If you get to the point where symptoms start to crank up slightly, stay at that level for up to a year, then try lowering some more. In any case, dont try these approaches on your own; work with your doctor.
Some women quit hormones more than once five times and counting, says Kalell and some stay on for years, having decided that its reasonably safe for them. Its critical to report unusual symptoms, especially unexpected bleeding or spotting, a possible warning sign of cancer, and to be scrupulous about mammograms. Its also important to keep revisiting the question of risk and benefit, especially as you get older and your health issues change. | <urn:uuid:634ed3b0-acfd-47ee-a3a8-4b082daec8cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/womens-health/hormone-therapy-menopause-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94696 | 792 | 1.648438 | 2 |
On 12 July 2012, the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made some important shipping-related changes to its Iran sanctions regime. These changes consist of significant additions to the SDN list.
The aim of these additions is twofold: firstly to continue to target Iran’s nuclear and missile proliferation activities, and secondly to prevent the circumvention of international sanctions by publicly identifying front companies, ships and banks which are considered fronts for, or agencies of, the Government of Iran.
Key additions to the SDN list include:
- the National Iranian Tanker Company ("NITC") and 27 affiliated entities;
- 58 NITC vessels;
- additional entities related to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines ("IRISL") and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC");
- 57 vessels affiliated with IRISL which have been renamed or reflagged since they were originally designated by OFAC;
- 7 vessels affiliated with IRISL which have not been previously identified;
- 20 Iranian financial institutions; and
- several front companies involved in Iran’s oil trade.
A full list of the amendments and additions to the SDN list is available on the OFAC website, together with a press release and detailed fact sheet.
The additions have been made with immediate effect.
The presence of an entity on the SDN list means that US persons and those within US jurisdiction are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with that entity, and any assets which that entity may have under US jurisdiction are blocked. In addition, it is prohibited (without an OFAC licence) to approve, guarantee, finance or facilitate transactions by foreign persons with sanctioned entities, if those transactions would be prohibited by OFAC if engaged indirectly by a US person or entity.
As a result, an SDN listing is likely to impact the key aspects of commercial arrangements, including bank transfers in US dollars and insurance cover reinsured in the US market. The amended SDN list and the information referred to above should therefore be reviewed urgently and closely, as commercial arrangements with any of the entities listed will require immediate attention.
Should you wish to discuss these latest developments, contact one of the authors of this alert, alternatively your usual contact at Reed Smith.
Client Alert 2012-167 | <urn:uuid:e8ca18ca-4c43-48f8-952d-238d1c5f2720> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reedsmith.com/United-States-Increases-Sanctions-against-Iran-07-13-2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948657 | 471 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Friday, July 1, 2011
50 Women Game-Changers in Food - #4 Martha Stewart - Spaghetti 101
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When I first saw Gourmet's list of the most influential women in food, I was genuinely surprised to see that Martha Stewart ranked higher than some of the other women on the list. I thought about it for a while, and, once I put my personal prejudice aside, I had to conclude that the choice and positioning of her name was probably right on the mark. While she may not be a great cook or writer, and never sparked a movement within the culinary world, the communication empire she built redefined the role of middle-class homemakers and the importance of food and entertaining in their lives. Her definition of the good life included wonderful food served in beautiful surroundings by a creative hostess who knew how to cook and entertain in a gracious and elegant manner. She was able to sell that vision to middle-class America and her empire was born. She created menus and recipes and then sold the dishes and linens on which they could be served. She was a workhorse and a powerhouse who strove for excellence in everything she did and, in doing that, changed the standard by which American homemakers judged themselves.
Picking a recipe that represents the work of this singular woman was not an easy task. There are thousands of them and not all the recipes that bear her name are actually her creations. I wanted to feature one that she considered to be the best of its kind. About 10 years ago, Martha did a series of shows that she called Cooking 101. In these shows she developed a series of recipes that she used to teach basic cooking techniques or highlight favorite family foods. This recipe comes from that series of programs, and, at that time, it had the distinction of being her most popular recipe. If you try this you'll see why. It is very easy to make. The dish has a spare elegance and it really is outstanding when it's made with San Marzano tomatoes and imported pasta. The recipe serves three people, but it can easily be doubled and you can have it on the table in 30 minutes. This is peasant food at its best. Here's how its made.
Martha Stewart's Spaghetti 101...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Martha Stewart
2 tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, drained
8 ounces thin, best-quality spaghetti
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, cut into 1/8-inch-thick pieces
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley leaves, loosely packed and torn
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, optional
1) In a tall stockpot, bring 3 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil.
2) Use a food mill or potato ricer to crush tomatoes. Reserve juice from breakdown of tomatoes.
3) Drop spaghetti into boiling water; stir. Cook until al dente, about 11 minutes, or according to package instructions.
4) Place a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat; add oil. Add garlic to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add red-pepper flakes and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook until garlic is medium golden, about 1 minute.
5) Increase heat to high. Tilting pan at an angle, add tomatoes and their juices. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until tomatoes begin to thicken, 5 to 6 minutes.
6) Drain pasta in a colander, reserving 1 cup liquid in case sauce gets too dry. Add pasta to sauce in saute pan; cook until sauce begins to cling to pasta, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in basil; cook 30 seconds more. Divide among bowls, and sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Yield:2 to 4 servings.
Additional recipes and tributes to Martha Stewart can be found on these excellent blogs.
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Everyone is welcome to participate. If you'd like to join us next Friday when we salute M.F.K. Fisher let me know via email. | <urn:uuid:a30de54f-36a3-4d20-ae35-96e9efb200ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2011/07/50-women-game-changers-in-food-4-martha.html?showComment=1309539707213 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945201 | 941 | 1.609375 | 2 |
RENO, Nev. -- Accidents can happen to anyone, but they can make daily activities seem like a hassle; something as simple as taking a shower can seem difficult. One local nurse turned her accident into an inspirational tool for children with debilitating injuries.
Molly Scott, RN stays active with three jobs and a rock climbing hobby on the side. She had decided to take a stab at indoor rock climbing one November day in 2011, which ended up changing her lifestyle a little over a year.
"It was miserable. You know it definitely took a couple weeks for me to set in what had exactly happened and the severity of it," Scott said.
Molly had fallen ten feet off the rock climbing wall and had broken her ankle in three different places.
"I was just getting into the sport, I had done some bouldering," she said.
It was an accident that confined Scott to a bed for three months, which left her in a depression.
"I definitely hit a low point. I think it was two months in, and you know laying in bed and seeing the same atmosphere every day, it gets to you," she said.
Walking, cooking and showering became daily challenges, but her doctor gave her a new perspective.
"I would start to complain about little things and he said at one point later on in the road, 'You know you're lucky to walk' and I said 'What? You never even told me that was even an option!'" She said. "I think they didn't want to put that in my head."
With a new appreciation for life, Molly had found solace through her writing.
"I just sort of envisioned this younger girl who was experiencing the same trial as me," Scott said. "I put a story on paper and every day I transformed my trials into her and what she would do and it sort of produced itself."
The book explores themes of magic and imagination--things Molly hope children can use to distract them from the pain.
"We all have scars, limitations, trials, injuries, but they don't have to define you." | <urn:uuid:19eb919d-4146-420a-ae06-29482e296efa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kolotv.com/entertainment/headlines/Local-Author--182026641.html?site=full | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.992006 | 434 | 1.59375 | 2 |
To some outside the industry, this will confirm their worst prejudice: that PR equals spin and deception. But the 350 people present at the debate saw that the reality was more complex, and much more interesting.
In a sparky, and often heated, debate, those ‘on the side of the angels' - Vodafone comms chief Simon Lewis and consultant George Pitcher - argued that PR should be a force for transparency and good in public life. But they were overturned by Max Clifford and the academic Simon Goldsworthy, whose essential premise was one of pragmatism: if you are not prepared to lie occasionally, you cannot do your job successfully.
Clifford delivered the killer blow in his summing up, citing the way he helped win compensation for the victims of the Farepak Christmas fund collapse: he had fibbed to Sainsbury's that Tesco was about to launch a rescue fund, prompting Sainsbury's (and then Tesco) to take the initiative. For Clifford, it showed how a white lie could contribute to the greater good.
Pitcher and Lewis's best defence was that lying is simply not sustainable in the long term, either on a personal or corporate level. One tends to agree.
Encouragingly, the debate on ethics in PR has become much more sophisticated over the past decade. And while the argument will rage on - in this magazine, among colleagues over a drink, at private dinner parties - there is evidence of a new maturity in the industry. The fact that PR people admit they need to lie occasionally is a sign of growing honesty and confidence in what they do.
As Goldsworthy pointed out: are journalists, lawyers - and even priests - not guilty of committing the very same sin in the course of their daily work?
See next week's issue for full coverage of the debate. | <urn:uuid:a265fff2-6d15-4356-b63e-dcb4bd2b8be2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/634571/OPINION-Honesty-display-Ethics-Debate/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968788 | 378 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Argentina joins the Orinoco heavy oil industry
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Argentina's Nestor Kirchner inaugurated Wednesday the first well in the heavy-crude Orinoco strip to be operated by Argentine companies.
The deposits are located in Block Ayacucho Number 6, Rig PDV 09, in San Tomé, south Anzoátegui state, one of four states which hold huge deposits of hydrocarbons, mostly undeveloped, in eastern Venezuela. Kirchner on an official visit to Venezuela met with Chavez in Puerto Ordaz and together they toured the oil producing area and signed investment and cooperation agreements on several fields. In a press conference President Kirchner said that "nobody should be possibly disturbed in the face of integration among our peoples. We have to put an end to paternalistic theories both institutionally and politically." "It has been said that some countries should restrain other countries, or that me or Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had to restrain President Chávez. This is a complete mistake. We, together with our brother President Chávez, are making room for South America, for the construction of our peoples' dignity", he emphasized. The Orinoco hydrocarbons zone has become a key player in President Chavez's energy and foreign policy strategies, with the potential of turning Venezuela into the country with the world's largest oil reserves. Deposits are estimated in 235 billion barrels. Government owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., PDVSA, expects 15.3 billion US dollar investments between 2006 and 2012 from partners in Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran, India, Malaysia, Russia, Spain, Uruguay and Vietnam. Such hopes also involve four heavy oil refining ventures with US corporations Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Chevron Texaco and British Petroleum, Total (France) and Statoil (Norway). Venezuela is the US fourth supplier of oil. | <urn:uuid:e080c220-29ed-4356-b830-5bcf0417e439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.mercopress.com/2007/02/21/argentina-joins-the-orinoco-heavy-oil-industry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941409 | 402 | 1.515625 | 2 |
|Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Newswire July 25, 2001 Wednesday
WASHINGTON, DC – The innovative partnership that the Glendale Police Department, Arizona developed with their local community is highlighted in a new Justice Department publication on community policing. The partnership was developed to engage the Glendale community to fight auto theft. Police – community partnerships are a core component of community policing.
A new report entitled, "Problem-Solving Partnerships: Including the Community for a Change," was recently released by the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. In this publication, seven police agencies – including the Glendale Police Department – were selected from more than 400 agencies across the country. The Justice Department report identifies this successful partnership as a model for other police departments across the nation.
Glendale police used calls for service and incident data coupled with victim surveys to analyze the causes of their auto theft problem. They narrowed their focus to one complex after discovering that 51% of the cars stolen disappeared from that complex between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. By mobilizing property managers, residential and business communities, they experienced a 50% drop in auto thefts at the target apartment complex.
Promising law enforcement practices of the top seven model cities are posted on the COPS home page at www.cops.usdoj.gov. For more information, please call the COPS office at 202-616-1728. | <urn:uuid:8d5465f1-256f-4142-8b29-0653234703d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cops.usdoj.gov/print.asp?Item=537 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955288 | 313 | 1.835938 | 2 |
4. November 2011 10:14
The world’s first RFID-based systems for counting and detecting surgical sponges, avoiding their accidental retention after surgery, have gained CE Mark approval.
The SmartSponge and SmartWand-DTX products from US patient safety specialist ClearCount are also the first RFID-based surgical products to gain approval for marketing in the EU.
ClearCount is currently pursuing commercial partners for European distribution of the two systems.
The SmartSponge is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system that verifies sponge counts and detects sponges retained within the patient, uniquely identifying each sponge used during an operation.
Retained surgical items are estimated to occur in one of every 1,500 open abdominal or chest procedures, leading to serious complications including further surgery, infections and even death.
In the UK, nearly 800 missing or retained surgical swabs or instruments have been recorded by hospitals in a single year.
“CE Mark approval of our SmartSponge System and SmartWand-DTX represents a significant achievement and major milestone for our company,” said David Palmer, CEO of ClearCount.
“We have established a perfect safety record over the past two years in the United States. Our hospital customers have never experienced a retained surgical sponge while using our technology.”
Based in Pittsburgh, ClearCount Medical Solutions is a medical device company specialising in patient safety solutions. The company received the 2009 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award. | <urn:uuid:ffb8dc2c-e466-4d71-9c45-81a63bb19116> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pharmafield.co.uk/be/?tag=/David+Palmer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937298 | 306 | 1.84375 | 2 |
On October 8, 1962, the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees played Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees took a 2 games to 1 lead into the contest.
The pitching matchup featured two future Hall of Famers, young Juan Marichal (18-11, 3.35) and veteran Whitey Ford (17-8, 2.90). This was the first matchup of Hall of Famers since 1958, when Ford and Warren Spahn squared off three times.
The Giants opened the scoring in the second inning when catcher Tom Haller hit a two-run homer off of Ford. Haller had completed a strong season at the plate, but mostly against right-handed pitchers. Against lefties, he batted only .183. Yet, on this day, he delivered against one of the great southpaws of all time.
Marichal was almost unhittable through four innings. But in the top of the fifth, he hurt his hand while batting and couldn’t continue of the mound.
Bobby Bolin replaced Marichal. He managed narrowly to escape damage in the fifth inning, but the Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. After striking out Tom Tresh, Bolin walked Mantle and Maris. Elson Howard flied out, but back-to-back singles by Bill Skowron and Clete Boyer brought in first Mantle and then Maris.
Whitey Ford was next up, with the score tied and runners on first and third with two out. Yankee manager Ralph Houk decided to go for broke. He sent up Yogi Berra to bat for Ford. Berra would face his old battery mate Don Larsen, who had come on for Bolin.
Larsen walked Berra to load the bases. Then, he retired Tony Kubek on a ground ball to first base.
Ford had pitched well (two runs on five hits in six innings). Now it would be up to Jim Coates (7-6 4.42), a goat in Game 7 of the 1960 Series. Coates, though, pitched four innings of shut out relief in Game 4 the next year. All told, he was a veteran of 4 World Series games.
In the top of the seventh, the Giants jumped on Coates. Jim Davenport walked to lead off. Then, with one out, Matty Alou (batting for Jose Pagan) doubled Davenport to third base. Ed Bailey batted for Larsen. Houk pulled Coates and brought on southpaw Marshall Bridges to face the left-handed hitting Bailey. Alvin Dark countered by sending up veteran right-handed hitter Bob Nieman to replace Bailey.
First base was open, and Houk had Bridges walk Nieman intentionally. This set up the double play but brought Harvey Kuenn to the plate. Kuenn had hit .323 against left-handers during the regular season. But Bridges got Kuenn to pop up.
Now he just needed to retire Chuck Hiller, a left-handed hitter who had batted only .238 with one home run against lefty pitchers on the season. Confounding the percentages, Hiller lit up Bridges for a grand slam home run, the first ever by an National Leaguer in World Series play. Giants 6, Yankees 2.
The Giants added a run in the top of the ninth. Hiller again was responsible, this time via a two out single that drove in Matty Alou. Again, Bridges was the victim.
The Yankees rallied with two out in the bottom of the ninth against Billy O’Dell, who had come on for Larsen in the seventh inning. Consecutive singles by Kubek, Bobby Richardson, and Tresh made it 7-3 with two runners on for Mickey Mantle. However, Mantle could only manage a game ending grounder to shortstop. Mantle was now 2-15 for the Series.
Larsen picked up the win, though he had pitched only one-third of an inning. Larsen’s victory came six years to the day after his perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 Series. On this day, he retired one and walked one.
The Series was tied at two games apiece, with Game 5 scheduled for the following day in New York. It would feature Jack Sanford against Ralph Terry, a rematch of Game 2, in which Sanford bested Terry 2-0. | <urn:uuid:223a196e-c0e8-47b5-9fea-226e0075a789> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/this-day-in-baseball-history-a-classic-pitching-matchup-aborted.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962979 | 918 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Yes, today your silence is over! (Sri Sri says to the Advanced Course Participants)
I heard two Advanced Course participants who were walking towards the lakeside. One asked, ‘When will the silence be over?’
The other one said, ‘Tomorrow morning! It will be over tomorrow morning.’
So, some people have kept such silence as well!
There are three types of
faith. Faith in yourself,
faith in the goodness of
people around you and
faith in the abstract power
which seems to be running
everything. The first two
are very essential; the third
will make life much better.
And some people kept silence with full devotion.
In silence you conserve your energy. With talking a lot of energy gets spent that is why sometimes it is good to be silent for some time.
Two or three times a year, or once in four months, it is very good to take a silence program for three to four days. There is a lot of advantage in doing this. There is physical and mental advantage. All the stress in the nervous system gets released; your batteries get charged and you become joyful!
Also with silence, our speech gets purified, and then whatever we say starts happening. That is why Sadhana has its own importance.
Questions & Answers
Expand all Q&A
How important is faith?
Sri Sri: You cannot exist without faith!
Listen, suppose you have come here in a car and you have parked the car in the parking area. Now when you are sitting here you have faith that the car will be there when you go back, isn’t it?! So, without this faith can you exist? No!
First, you should have faith in yourself.
There are three types of faith which are important
1. Faith in yourself. If you do not have faith in yourself it is called paranoia. It is a disease.
2. Faith in the goodness of people around you. There are good people in the world, you should have that faith; otherwise you cannot move one inch in society.
3. Faith in the unknown; faith in the abstract power which seems to be running everything. That is the third type of faith.
So, of these three faiths, the first two are very essential; the third will make life much better.
Even after putting efforts I do not get success?
Sri Sri: You cannot get success with effort alone. Along with effort you need faith and devotion. If you have faith and devotion and both go together then you will get success.
Also, it is not that if you only have devotion, you will get success, no! You need devotion and effort; a combination of both is required.
Please tell us about ego.
Sri Sri: In love a loss is also a win, and in ego a win is also a loss!
Gurudev, in the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says that whatever comes naturally keep doing that, even if it is not the perfect thing to do. Please advice.
Sri Sri: Yes, be in your nature, don't be unnatural. What is not in your nature, do not project that. But that does not mean you be foolish, okay!
Let us say you are attending a funeral and you feel like dancing. You think, ‘Gurudev said be natural’, and so you start dancing and clapping. No, this will not work. You have to maintain decorum as well.
You think, Gurudev has said, ‘One world family, embrace everyone and move ahead’, and so you see a woman walking on the road and you go and hug her thinking, ‘Anyways, everything is mine only!’
If you do this then you will get a stick. So don’t do that.
Yes, it is good to cultivate Brahma Bhaav – everything is One; it is all a part of me. But that does not mean you steal from someone’s pocket and say it is all mine only.
To get rid of any addiction
the only thing that can help
is Sadhana. Come here, sit
and do Sadhana. Do
Advance Courses. Not just
one or two, but keep doing,
and then the addictions will
Gurudev, I feel people don’t accept me because I am boring. What should I do?
Sri Sri: Don’t worry what people think about you. Have a goal and march ahead. If you have to walk alone then walk alone and achieve what you want to achieve in life. Then everyone will come along.
I also thought that I was very boring because I could never talk about cricket and in those days everybody would talk about cricket and I would just stare. It never interested me, when I was a teenager. I would not enjoy it but people were going crazy. For five days continuously they would put the radio on to their ear, listening to the commentaries.
At that time, I used to feel, what to talk. Everyone was only talking about cricket, no other talk.
You make your path and walk on it. Do not judge yourself and do not judge others.
Gurudev, how do we know what is the right thing to do when there are so many choices? Also when all of them are equally good, how do I pick the right one?
Sri Sri: The right choice will appear on its own. When such a situation arises, have patience, wait a little and it will happen.
Gurudev, my brother and me received the same upbringing, but at the same time we both are very different, how is it like that?
Sri Sri: This is very deep science. You need to think about it some time.
The microcosm and the macrocosm are united. In fact it is only one thing. But there is a link from the microcosm to the macrocosm. Every little grain on this planet is linked to the universe in some special manner.
The ancient people knew this. So they said that in our solar system there are nine planets, and these nine planets are linked to nine different grains, nine different animals, nine different shapes, nine different colors and nine different substances.
It is amazing how they traced the connection from one to another. It is simply amazing!
We have studied in our college and schools that it was Galileo who first found out that the Earth is round, and the Earth is going around the Sun. In the west they always thought the Sun is going around the Earth. But if you go to any temple in India they know that the Sun is the centre of the solar system.
This has been practiced from thousands of years in India. They put the Sun in the middle and the planets all around.
And what they also did is they connected each planet with a Mantra (chant) and a Yantra (diagram). And the Prana Shakti is connected with a particular gem and a particular grain. Like Mars is connected with Bengal Gram, Mercury is connected with Moong Dal, Saturn is connected with Sesame Seeds, Sun and Moon is connected with Rice and Wheat. Rahu and Ketu, the nodes of the moon are also connected with different grams.
So each planet is connected with a particular grain, a particular shape and color, and a particular part of our body.
Each part of our body is connected with a particular planet. So in your body all the planetary systems are present. It is an amazing science.
There used to be this science called Samudrika Lakshana. In that, they would look at your face and make your horoscope. Sometimes, they look at your teeth and tell you exactly which year you were born in. But this science is somehow lost. A lot of knowledge has been misused and lost.
Today, pundits from different temples have come and they are doing a Yagya of the nine planets for the welfare of the world and people. The coming few days could be very tough, so to bring more of a positive influence in the world and reduce the negative vibrations, they are doing this Yagya today and tomorrow.
Don’t worry what people
think about you. Have a goal
and march ahead. If you have
to walk alone then walk alone
and achieve what you want to
achieve in life. Then everyone
will come along. You make
your path and walk on it. Do
not judge yourself and do
not judge others.
So these are ancient things. But nobody understood them properly and there were no proper people to do this either. That is where we need to encourage the youngsters.
So, I thought that we will bring all these pundits and ask them to train the youngsters.
How does one get out of addictions?
Sri Sri: By doing Sadhana. To get rid of any addiction the only thing that can help is Sadhana. Come here, sit and do Sadhana.
Do Advance Courses. Not just one or two, but keep doing and then the addictions will go.
Keep asking, ‘Who am I? Who am I?’ That is the best. From that only you will get the answer.
Gurudev, I have only one daughter. She has moved to Canada after her marriage and I have not been able to meet her since one and half years. Will I be able to meet her?
Sri Sri: Yes, go meet her!
Your daughter also should feel, ‘I want to meet my mother.’
What has happened is that we sometimes raise our children in such way that they don’t have any feeling or compassion. We have not given them the right values or taught them any virtues, and so, when they go abroad they forget everything and become selfish.
You let go and be peaceful! Everything will be fine! | <urn:uuid:678224c6-556a-45b0-a539-d0abaf4a0573> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artofliving.org/ks-sq/faith-is-important | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970279 | 2,088 | 1.820313 | 2 |
This headline assumes a great deal. First, it assumes that you know who (or what) FM Approvals is. Secondly, it assumes that you know what RoofNav is (and why were they charging for it in the first place).
You are probably aware of a property insurance organization called FM Global. In 1999, FM Global was formed through the merger of Factory Mutual and several commercial property insurance companies, and became one new company. FM Approvals is a business unit of insurer FM Global. As a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), it tests, certifies, and approves products and services for property conservation. FM Approvals’ work helps support FM Global’s focus on helping its policyholders prevent property losses or reduce their impact.
Over the years, FM Approvals has been the accepted leader in the testing and approval of commercial roofing systems, especially when installed over steel roof decks. For certain tests of roofing materials, FM Approvals uses a calorimeter (a fire-test device that determines fire performance of the roof assembly when a building suffered from an under-deck, interior fire exposure).
Successful steel deck roofing assemblies are rated Class 1, which indicates that if the roof was constructed as tested and approved by FM Approvals, it is an acceptable insurance risk from an internal-fire viewpoint.
Because the calorimeter tests are reasonably priced and correlate well with real building fires, Class 1 became a benchmark for commercial roofing. Within the industry, the term “FM Approved” became synonymous with "the Good-Housekeeping Seal of Approval."
Wind loss can be especially catastrophic for the building owner, as well as an insurance company, because when the roof fails due to a windstorm, the interior of the building is exposed to the elements. Interior damage and inventory loss (combined with business interruption) are major disasters indeed.
Based on studies of roof failures at FM Global-insured locations, FM Approvals developed a pressure test to predict wind-uplift resistance. It was a fairly straightforward test machine measuring 5 feet by 9 feet, in which the roof assembly was subjected to positive air pressure from the bottom (interior) side. Tests were conducted in steps; the minimum requirement was that the assembly would resist 60 pounds per square foot (psf) for 60 seconds. If it did, FM Approvals would rate it as 1-60, with the 1 representing the fire resistance (Class 1) and the 60 indicating 60 psf resistance under the test conditions. In keeping with good engineering practice, FM Approvals applies a safety factor of 2 to the tested value, indicating the system would be recommended for use on buildings with an actual field of roof pressure of 30 psf or less. Systems that passed the test requirement of 60 psf could continue to be tested stepwise to 75, 90, and higher. The 1-90 classification was adopted by the roofing industry as being quite prestigious and heavily promoted because, originally, it was the highest rating available from FM Approvals.
Analysis of wind losses indicated that blow-off almost always started at corners and perimeters of buildings. Wind tunnel modeling and instrumentation of real buildings verified that corners could be subject to 2.6-times as great an uplift force as the interior of a roof area, and perimeters were roughly 70-percent higher.
FM Global reacted to these observations by implementing a series of recommendations requiring higher wind resistance in both the corners and perimeters. More recently, FM Global also acknowledged that blow-off of perimeter edge metal was a major contributor to roof failure. This information was added to some of FM Global’s roofing-related Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets, which provide users with engineering guidelines to prevent or reduce the likelihood of property damage. While FM Approvals’ ratings were primarily intended to help guide FM Global’s insured clients, the lack of other independent information on fire and wind led to the practice of designers inserting the phrase “shall meet the requirements of FM Class 1-90” in their design requirements – even though the building may have not been insured by FM Global.
Over the years, FM Approvals has kept pace with developments in roofing technology. While the 5- by 9-foot wind tester was adequate for fully adhered systems and 2- by 4-foot insulation boards, it was not suitable for the more newly developed mechanically fastened systems and certain other assemblies especially where the fasteners might be widely spaced. FM Approvals designed and implemented a larger 12- by 24-foot device for these systems.
FM Approvals also adopted a sequence of pull tests to evaluate the effects of wind forces on roof perimeter flashing. Impact tests have been introduced, with ratings for Moderate Hail (MH) and Severe Hail (SH).
What Does All This Mean, and Where Does RoofNav Fit in?
FM Approvals requirements not only provided excellent design data – there was a lot of it. FM Approvals claims that their approvals cover over 6,000 roofing products and 180,000 possible roofing assemblies. In addition, each assembly contains many options, such as different insulations or fasteners. The performance criteria consider not only fire and wind, but hail, edge performance, and much more. Add to that variables such as type of roof deck, use of vapor or air retarders, type and number of possible thermal insulations and thermal barrier boards, cover boards, methods of attachment, roof membranes, and surfacings, and it is easy to understand why it was difficult in a paper environment to find an FM Approved system that met the needs of a roof designer.
RoofNav is FM Approvals’ online roofing tool that simplifies the configuration and assembly of roofs, and provides users with the most up-to-date details FM Approved roofing products and assemblies. RoofNav was previously available via subscription.
The decision was made to offer RoofNav free of charge to better support the needs of the roofing industry – specifically, to take the guesswork out of configuring an FM Approved roof without cost being a barrier, and to help prevent roofing-related property loss due to human error.
How Does RoofNav Help?
- Roof designers select the right equipment and materials to address property threats and protect facilities by putting at their fingertips engineering and technical information on more than 6,000 FM Approved roofing products and 180,000 roofing assemblies.
- Reduce the likelihood of property loss due to fire, weather conditions, and equipment breakdown by making available FM Global’s 15 Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets most often used by the roofing industry. The data sheets comprise hundreds of pages of engineering guidelines based on 170 years of FM Global property protection research.
- Determine the proper roof classifications for fire, hail, and wind uplift using a ratings calculator.
- Easily develop one document for contractors – at the click of a button – that contains all the information they need to assemble a roof that meets the approval criteria of FM Approvals.
What is unique about RoofNav is its straightforward approach to determining what is needed and how to accomplish it. For example, once size, height of building, and location are entered, RoofNav will determine what the wind requirements will be. Type in the planned roof deck, the thermal insulation, underlayments (or overlayments planned), method of attachment, and roof system, and RoofNav will present only those systems that meet all of FM Approvals’ requirements. Construction numbers are provided, and by narrowing your search by manufacturer, only systems by that manufacturer that are FM Approved will appear on your screen.
Now that RoofNav is free and online 24/7, readers are encouraged to visit the site, plug in data on a hypothetical building (or one that has been recently installed), and take a test run. To gain free access and view prerecorded online training sessions, register at (www.roofnav.com). For background information on FM Global or FM Approvals, visit (www.fmglobal.com) or (www.fmapprovals.com).
To obtain the 15 roofing-related FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets that complement RoofNav, visit (www.roofnav.com), and click on “data sheets.” (These are free downloads – a significant value, considering that hard copies sell for $25 each.) | <urn:uuid:d7abe20e-0176-46f5-a05e-c0a515dceaca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/5015/title/free-access-to-roofnav.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954216 | 1,728 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Just Keep Truckin'
Designed by David Rockwell, the customized tractor-trailer will deliver Oliver's gospel of healthy eating throughout the U.S. Photos courtesy Rockwell Group.
Generations of American school kids were exposed to cooking, checkbook balancing and the odd sewing project through home economics. In recent years, such programs have been among the first to go when budget shortfalls have struck public schools — to the point that “home ec” sounds anachronistic or even foreign to many young ears. As the programs disappear, so does a publicly funded avenue for teaching kids how to prepare food, let alone wholesome food.
Jamie Oliver, the English chef-turned-television-star, began his Food Revolution
initiative to close that knowledge gap, and teach schoolchildren how to cook — and cafeteria workers how to prepare school lunches using minimally processed ingredients — as a means of fighting obesity. Receiving the TED prize at the speaker series’ flagship conference in Long Beach, California, last year, Oliver said
he hoped to bring the initiative to underserved schools across the United States, but he lacked the means to move his message.
“Jamie was talking about Food Revolution being embodied by a kind of food truck,” says David Rockwell, the principal designer at Rockwell Group
, who was in the audience for Oliver’s acceptance speech. “In a moment of euphoria from being at TED and being inspired by Jamie, I met him after the talk and told him I’d be happy to design it.”
Rockwell Group’s 18-wheel response to Oliver’s request debuted at TED earlier this month. The customized tractor trailer will travel to schools, parks and other gathering spots this year, where it will provide a platform for Oliver’s back-to-basics food-prep philosophy. School kids and other community members will learn to cook, or improve their cooking, by getting their hands dirty.
The trailer’s exterior graphics riff on Oliver’s Food Revolution iconography, and reflect Rockwell Group’s expertise in culinary graphic design for charity groups like Citymeals-on-Wheels and City Harvest. The interior, meanwhile, is given over to cooking as collaborative craft.
There are eight mobile workstations, each painted a red powder coat and containing two heating elements, a butcher-block top and cubbies for cookware storage. The stations can be wheeled together to create a long communal table at mealtime or, during fair weather, lowered from the back of the trailer for demos and arranged in clusters or in the round.
Two sections on the trailer wall are designed to move outward laterally, like a bellows, to expand the work area, and an arcing inflatable bandshell can be deployed from the back to create an ad-hoc amphitheater.
Rockwell says his team’s recent experience designing a portable version of its Imagination Playground
, permanent examples of which are installed in many American cities, informed the truck’s modular innards.
When the amphitheater shell is inflated and children are sitting down to a meal they prepared, the takeaway should be a memory as much as a new skill set, Rockwell says. “The thrill of the circus coming to town, something that’s only there for a brief amount of time — that can create deeper memories than something that is always there,” he says. “Temporary is about a kind of ephemeral celebration, and I think this truck coming to town really has that going for it.” | <urn:uuid:f5343912-5493-4b30-9303-8aff00e52b5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/feature/just-keep-truckin/25578/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956082 | 755 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Thursday, September 1, 2005
More Bang for Your Buck: Gas
Even before Katrina, gas prices were becoming a major concern. But today, Governor Bush sent out a message for all Floridians to conserve fuel. So in tonight's More Bang for the Buck, we found a few ways to pay less at the pump.
WSVN--From nearly four dollars in North Carolina to almost six dollars in Georgia to regular gas sign - three dollars in South Florida, people are feeling pinched at the pump.
David Denberg: "Today, it looks like theres no ceiling. Theres no ceiling on it whatsoever."
Alex Ramos: "I feel like im working to put gas in my car."
But this may only be the beginning. In the weeks ahead, consumers can expect to see prices going up and fuel levels going down. Unfortunately, when the president opened the petroleum reserve, that wasn't enough. If you want to watch your wallet, you'll have to take matters into your own hands - literally next time your at the pump, do not top off. The excess gas goes into an overfill pipe and spills out when you turn off your vehicle.
Marco Baldiabaa: "This is amazing. Very amazing - the prices. But I have to fill my car. I need to work."
When it's time to pay, use a credit card issued by one of the oil companies. It will save you as much as six percent.
As for maintenance, make sure your tires are properly inflated and make sure you don't procrastinate on an oil change. Robert Brugera from 79th street auto says It will save you in the long run.
Robert Brugera from 79th Street Auto: "If a car is misfiring, it's not going to burn fuel properly so it's going to waste more gas."
Then when it's time to hit the road, try not to put the ac on full blast and try not to go over the speed limit. The faster you drive, the faster you burn fuel.
Robert Brugera: "Normally, if you keep your speed 60, 65 miles an hour you should be better off than if you speed 80, 90 miles per hour. You're going to waste more gas."
And finally, take a road trip onto the information highway. A website called miamigasprices.com lists the cheapest prices in dade and broward. Over time, you won't waste gas looking for gas.
One more note - you're going to see a lot of gadgets on the internet promising to save you money on gas. All we can say is we tried many of them and buyer beware.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Miami Gas Prices | <urn:uuid:b1e67d86-7d12-4ac9-b13b-6769b1ab2d13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/bangforyourbuck/MIA6535/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942756 | 563 | 1.695313 | 2 |
There’s an interesting phenomenon going on out there right now. Maybe you noticed it. Economists are all abuzz with it. Social scientists and psychologists are gossiping to each other about it: the exponential growth curve—or “S” curve—that we are currently in the middle of is fuelling our food shortages, oil shortages, inflation, economic collapses, tensions between countries, population rise, and everything else to do with humanity on this planet.
Ecologists have long been studying this biological—and sociological—phenomenon in nature. The typical “S” curve has three parts to it: 1) the beginning, where it lags and shows a slow rate of rise; 2) then the steep rise of exponential growth; and 3) the eventual levelling off when the supposed carrying capacity is reached. There is another kind of curve, the “boom and bust” curve that instead of plateauing at the end toward sustainability, plummets just as steeply back to or below levels in the first step (that’s a whole other topic and blog post).
Why am I talking to you about this? Because it has everything to do with your writing. The publishing industry is currently experiencing its own version of the “S” curve and the “boom and bust” curve (for traditional publishing houses, I’m afraid). We are currently witnessing a growing influx and legitimization of self-publishing and Indie publishing. Thanks to a few crazy success stories and the new affordable paradigm of POD digital publishing, publishing hasn’t been easier. This new model heralds an unprecedented renaissance of self-expression and creativity, shared worldwide.
Consider these statistics: in 2009, Publishers Weekly reported over 750,000 self-published/micro publisher titles, over twice the number of traditionally published titles that same year. The figures (I couldn’t find more recent ones—let me know when you do) are assuredly much higher today. From 8,000 to 11,000 new publishers currently enter the field every year and most of them are self-publishers or small indie publishers. Seventy-eight percent of titles brought out come from a small press or self-publisher. Fifty-two percent of books sold are not sold in bookstores; they are merchandised through mail order, online, in discount or warehouse stores, through book clubs, and nontraditional retail outlets.
As a function of this renaissance of self-expression, the number of books hitting the market is rising at an exponential rate. There’s that “S” curve again. Check out Amazon: they have over seven million books on their virtual shelves. And now, thanks to their new policies, it’s growing exponentially. What does this mean for you?
It used to be that the screening for excellence in books occurred behind the closed doors of prestigious publishing houses; if a book wasn’t deemed worthy of the standards or didn’t fit the style of that publishing house (with its own reputation), it was not accepted and didn’t see the light of day. The rejected and dejected author often went back to the drawing board to improve their artistic work before resubmitting. That was then. Now, works are published without prejudice in the open for the world to see. It used to be that writers complained of their writing being “sterilized” by the editor of the publishing house, which was only conforming to the house style and their vision of what is salable. Now authors wishing for creative control simply self-publish.
Self-publishing has created a kind of anarchy in publishing; anything can be published (so long as you have the money). And while this is incredibly liberating for authors around the world, it is also incredibly dangerous. Here’s why: once you publish your material, it will be out there for the world to see forever. That means FOREVER. It becomes a permanent record of your standards of excellence and taste; essentially a statement of who and what you are. You had better be proud of it then and for a very long time. It is no longer the responsibility of the publisher to determine publishing worthiness; the onus is on YOU, the writer. What will you do to ensure the best possible work for your readers?
Competition will become ever more fierce AFTER you’ve invested and AFTER you’ve published; your book will then compete with a world of self-published authors in addition to those published by traditional publishing houses. In order for your book to rise above the massive competition, it’s more important than ever to produce a concise, clean, clear, polished-to-perfection manuscript that you are proud of. With an awesome cover (see my post on book jacket covers).
Self-published author Dave Bricker shares that, “Poor editing is the number one complaint heard from critics of the independent publishing industry. Though the standards of mainstream publishing houses are overrated, I've read many indie books where spotty spelling and lack of polished prose present barriers to enjoyable reading. Unedited authors sully the publishing waters for the rest of us.” He’s talking about poor packaging. Poor manuscript presentation can seriously undermine an author’s chances of being taken seriously. A good reputation is earned slowly and tenuously; a poor reputation, like the plummeting “boom and bust” curve can end a writer's career.
“Why not produce a pressure-tested product that has already withstood the scrutiny of a professional critic whose standards are much higher than those of the average reader?” says Bricker. “As with your typesetting and cover design, the best route to success is to engage a professional.” He is right. If you want to be treated as a professional (by readers) then be professional and engage professionals.
What do professional editors do?
Editors aren’t proofreaders, although this might be one task in several they can provide. Most editors are what are variously called structural or story editors; someone capable of commenting on the work objectively and with competence. Is the story believable? Are there unexpected temporal jumps or unexplained threads in the narrative? Are the article’s assertions properly supported? As with affairs of the heart, it’s easy to understand the problems of others and difficult to acknowledge what we’re too close to see—and if you think writing isn’t an affair of the heart, you haven’t started your book yet. Get that third-party perspective.
No one likes to be edited. Of course you feel protective of your material; that is natural. You’ve put so much into it; how could a stranger possibly understand and treat it with the respect it deserves?
Professional editors are accustomed to interacting with authors in a mutually respectful relationship. Editors have to make a living, and they would quickly find themselves unable to if they treated their clients in any way other than professionally and respectfully. A professional editor is more likely to serve your true interests in getting published than a friend or relative who likely knows little of “storytelling”, plot and character; and may side-wind you with inappropriate advice or platitudes. In fact, showing your work to a friend or relative may be the reason why you have decided that you “don’t like to be edited.” Before I was published, I once showed my work in progress to my husband, who was too close to the subject and its writer; he made very unprofessional remarks that were more damaging than helpful. If you go with a professional you will not have this problem.
Throughout history, authors have relied on their editors to be their sounding boards, to represent the eye and ear of the reader, and to help bring a viewpoint that can't arise spontaneously in the author's head. In the past, the traditional publishing house has typically provided this service. Many publishing houses now expect the writer to provide a manuscript that has already been edited. Indie and self-publishing scenarios leave the onus on the writer.
Two of the most common excuses that authors find for not engaging a professional editor include cost and venue.
I can’t afford an Editor: can you afford to put out a book for the world to see that is full of mistakes? If you aren’t serious enough about writing and publishing to invest in your career with good guidebooks, courses & workshops and coaching and editing, then perhaps you should rethink your career. No one would think twice about training and getting professional help to become a successful nurse or pilot. Writing is the same. For it to be successful, it requires investment. Especially if you are considering self-publishing.
Self-published author Dick Margulis reminds us that “Self-publishing is a business - the publishing business - and if you hope to succeed in it, you have to manage it like a business. You have to look at your skill set and decide which of the many tasks associated with publishing you are suited to doing yourself and which can be done more effectively and more economically by others. Your time has value, and you have to decide how it is best spent.”
It’s Just an E-Book: a common mistake, particularly with digitally published books, is the notion that because you haven’t invested in typesetting or printing you can fix the mistakes later. That is a poor notion. And a risky approach that smacks of laziness. Letting your readers find your mistakes for you is a poor show and will hurt your reputation as a writer (no matter who publishes you). With books, no matter what format, the first impression is critical. For some readers that may be the first and last time they meet you and your work. Make sure it counts. Word gets around pretty fast on the Internet. Ensure that it’s a good word.
Check out my site, www.NinaMunteanu.com for more cool advice, resources and links and to sign up for my writing coaching services. My new series of writing advice e-books on Kindle is currently available for $0.99 each (like the one pictured above). Each ebook contains informative and useful articles on all aspects of writing and publishing. | <urn:uuid:c82185f4-52f7-4d1c-bca2-675dbb92aae7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/2013/01/beating-todays-s-curve-or-why-editor-is.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964098 | 2,138 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Late fees come in all shapes and sizes, attached to most of the payments you make, from your credit cards to your mortgage. Here are a few words of late payment caution:
How many credit cards are in your wallet? If you use them often and you’re not careful with your payments, the late fees can burn a big hole that could get even larger if the credit card company decides to raise the interest rate on your card because you’re now considered a risk. And, there could be penalty fees, and a stain on your credit report.
There are ways to avoid credit card late fees, including shifting the due date and requesting email payment alerts.
But remember, it’s not only a matter of paying those credit card bills on time. You also have to avoid the costs of going over your established credit limit which could have the same — or higher – consequences.
Your mortgage, etc.
Missed your mortgage payment due date and the grace period? There’ll be a late charge for that. Good Housekeeping has 4 handy tips for staying on top all your monthly payment deadlines.
Bank fees and overdrafts
Then, there’s the matter of banking fees and overdraft charges. Read what CNNMoney has to say about overdraft protection, linking your accounts, and avoiding surcharge fees. Or, stop by any office and we can help you work out the ways you can save.
Bottom line? The best way to increase your savings is to avoid late payments. | <urn:uuid:bb480a36-ee9f-41e9-917d-d071bbd32b57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.cbtc.com/?p=1426 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954841 | 312 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Hanging a flag upside down is a sign of distress. That is not desecration. I am not sure that pinning something to the flag is desecration. However, WRITING ON A FLAG IS DESECRATION. And this is the president doing this, back in 2003.
Here is the North Carolina law about the flag:
Unfortunately, this incident went a lot further than a flag issue. The deputy delivering the citation wanted to see the couple's identification. They refused. The deputy went into their house against the wishes of this couple, and without a search warrant. They got into some sort of fight, and the wife called 911. This is the scary part - the deputy felt he had the right to go into their homes without permission, and felt this issue was serious enough to use force (the couple was not using any force or threatening to do so). The deputy could have just looked up the couples information and then mail them the warrant.
Miscellaneous Police Regulations.
§ 14‑381. Desecration of State and
It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and knowingly to cast contempt upon any flag of the
The flag of the
Fascism comes to Asheville. I will be printing up the picture above along with an explanation. I will post it on my car. I will give a copy to the Buncombe County Sheriff (where the deputy worked) and the Asheville Chief of Police (those folks had nothing to do with this incident).
And I will be displaying the US flag at my HONK TO IMPEACH events. Upside down.
Here is a link to the story in the local paper. | <urn:uuid:a4a1463a-16cd-47ea-b4f0-287c40435ecd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dancewater.blogspot.com/2007/07/guess-who-this-is.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958993 | 340 | 1.65625 | 2 |
By: Mikki Kalish
When you’re trying to lose weight, do you spend time unhappily pushing the scale around the bathroom floor until you get a satisfactory reading? Do you weigh yourself once a day? Twice a day? Every day? Do you feel good about yourself -- or bad -- for the rest of the day based on the number you saw?
If so, you’re on your way to becoming what I call “scale dependent”. According to the journal Obesity Research, a whopping 46 percent of American women and 33 percent of American men are dieting at any time. And many of them jump on the scale at every opportunity.
But if you’re trying to lose weight, this is actually one of the worst things you can do. Obsessive scale hopping can sabotage your diet when you’re confronted with natural weight fluctuations. You can get so involved with the “how many pounds have I lost” game that you forget that the scale is only a tool to help you gauge your progress. It’s not the judge and jury that decides whether you’re a good, intelligent or even attractive. The worst part: Feeling bad about the number can make you give up your efforts completely.
The good news: You can break your bad scale habits and do better on your diet as a result. Here’s how:
Step 1: Recognize the reasons for ups and downs.
Everybody’s weight fluctuates, not only day by day, but even hour by hour. Here are just a few of the causes:
· Too much sodium: The amazing Tom Yum Gung you had at your favorite Thai restaurant last night can show up the next morning as a 2-pound gain because all the sodium it contained made you temporarily retain water -- not because you’ve actually gained two pounds.
· Too much stress: An argument with your boyfriend, spouse or mother-in-law (or any other pesky people in your life) can also lead to weight gain because of the stress it creates.
· Too little sleep: Studies show that too little sleep, especially over several nights, might give you a temporary reading on the scale that could send you right off to the supermarket for a consolation box of chocolate covered doughnuts.
· And don’t forget: Hormonal changes, constipation and medications you’re taking can also contribute to short-term gains that disappear when the causes do.
Step 2: Use your scale correctly.
There’s nothing wrong with keeping track of your progress. But try weighing yourself just once a week -- same time, same place, no shoes. (If you can do it in the buff, even better.) If you’re not getting the results you want (and you’re being totally honest with yourself about any extras you’ve consumed during the week), it’s time to reassess your program.
Step 3: Remember the real rewards.
Losing weight is hard work, and we all want to hop on the scale and get our reward. So sometimes we lose sight of the real prize -- and it’s not a particular number. It’s being healthier, no longer envying thin people, finally loving our thighs and saying good-bye to a closet full of black loose-fitting everything.
Along the way, on my own weight loss journey, I decided to try to live a
“scale-free life”. I shoved the scale into the back of a very messy closet, hoping it would be too hard to go through mops, brooms and a toilet plunger to get my daily fix. It didn’t work.
OK, it was time for plan B: I gave the scale to Good Will.
It was a hard thing to do, but I was proud that I broke the habit. Now when I want to check how much I weigh, I do it once a week at the gym. I’ve come to think of the scale not as a friend or foe, but as a tool that’s simply giving me one small piece of information. And as it turns out, it’s very good for my weight and for me.
Mikki Kalish is a diet expert and the author of The Dieter’s Bible: 365 Ways to Get Through the Tough Times. This is her first article for Completely You.
Do you wear sunscreen year-round?
I'm most energetic: | <urn:uuid:eb6f9688-0177-473c-90da-ed3cb47ac6aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.completelyyou.com/feature/health/step_off_the_scale/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942994 | 937 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Two male seal pups were located in the North Beach and Holgate areas of Long Beach Island in the past few days and both - as of this morning - were doing well.
"One is eating on its own already and the other is taking food fairly easily," said Robert Schoelkopf, who is the founding director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, in Brigantine.
Schoelkopf said the end of February and early March are when seals typically deliver their pups, and they are commonly seen along LBI.
He said seal pups typically nurse for 10 days, and then the mother leaves. Seal pups located on the beach often are either resting, from trying to find their own food in the ocean, or haven't quite figured out how to find their own food.
Officials with the Stranding Center encourage anyone who sees a pup on the beach to contact them immediately, so that a trained person can come out and assess the seal.
It is important, Shoelkopf said, not to approach the pup, because they are easily startled and will try and go back into the ocean. This can be dangerous if they are tired, he said. Also, seals bite and can spread infection.
"We encourage people to stay about a school bus distance away. If you want to take photos from a distance, that is fine, they actually help if you send them to us, but do not walk right up on it. If I can see your shadow in the photo of the pup, you are too close," he said.
The two pups located on LBI are at the Stranding Center, and can be seen on the center's main television screen for those wishing to visit the Brigantine site. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is located at 3625 Brigantine Blvd., Brigantine. | <urn:uuid:ddc52f39-f406-4c8b-bea5-03b8473d2b45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://barnegat-manahawkin.patch.com/articles/seal-pups-found-on-lbi-doing-well | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986947 | 398 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The news and blogosphere is full of back and forth jabs and plenty of high horses over Gov. Jindal singling out volcano monitoring as an example of federal spending that maybe should not be a priority. A sample here.
"Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" asks the mayor of Vancouver, WA self rightiously. Well, no he does not. Which raises the question of why Louisianans, for example, should be paying for volcano monitoring in Washington state. In other words, why is that a necessary federal mission paid for by all taxpayers? Why should the people who live near volcanoes pay for volcano monitoring themselves? Ditto for those in earthquake or hurricane zones.
It amazes me that as I poked around the media and blog discussion of this, that question seems not to be raised. It’s all about whether volcano monitoring is good or bad, not about whether feds or state/locals should do it. Seems obvious to me that Gov. Jindal hit the nail on the head—this should not be a federal priority. | <urn:uuid:03737bce-e205-4c04-9097-56f67f7e2e5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/blog/show/jindal-and-the-debate-over-vol | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963178 | 216 | 1.710938 | 2 |
MILITARY -- May 28, 2012 at 11:45 AM EDT
Veteran Graduate of 'Boots to Suits' Program on Dealing With PTSD
When former Army infantryman Tyler Heath was deployed to Iraq, he battled militants and became inured to gruesome sights. Once returning home to Colorado, he had to recalibrate.
The intense combat, the feelings of anger and violence, and the constant threat of insurgents became his new "normal" during the 20 months he spent in Iraq.
"When you see a big, shocking incident, it changes you. It's terrifying. You don't know what to think or say; your training just kicks in," said Heath, now 26. But the next incident of a suicide bombing or other catastrophe had a smaller and smaller effect.
Even methods of pursuing insurgents, jumping curbs in cars and pulling guns, are far removed from life in the United States, he said. "You come back and you don't really fit in. You're not really connected to people like you used to be."
It was six months to a year before Heath realized he had post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I couldn't sleep or relate to anybody. Going out and driving was a challenge. Everyday life was just a challenge," he said.
It was then he started exploring treatment, including therapy. Although the available treatment, including talking through what brought on the PTSD, helps many veterans, Heath said for him personally, going to college and gradually re-assimilating into society helped the most.
"I just tried to separate myself from [the past] and get back to normal life and live with it rather than having every decision I made be wrapped up in having PTSD," he said.
Heath said his family also played a big role in helping him.
"They were supportive and understanding and patient. They were there when I had breakdowns and was crying and when I couldn't sleep," he said. "I came from a stable home and not every veteran has that."
Heath, who now lives in Lakewood, Colo., and is an avid skier, said what he experienced in Iraq will always be in the back of his mind.
"I heard a lot of veterans say civilians just 'don't get it.' But they didn't fight those wars, so of course they don't and you wouldn't want them to get it," he said.
Heath said he hopes to correct a view some people have that those with PTSD are less capable. "PTSD makes you stronger because you've done things that are out of the normal realm of what humans do."
Now when he's asked to stay late at his job at a company that provides computer support to businesses, it seems like nothing after experiencing days-long patrols with no sleep, he said, laughing.
And the view that some in the military sill have that PTSD is a weakness needs to be corrected, said Heath. "They say you're not a good soldier because you developed this. But it's to be expected. If you go into combat and fight in a war, you're going to get this."
PTSD is estimated to impact 10 percent to 30 percent of service members, depending on their level of combat.
Heath also emphasized that veterans who have PTSD are not alone. Just knowing that when he thought he might have the symptoms "made a huge difference," he said.
Tyler Heath is featured in a NewsHour report on the University of Colorado's "Boots to Suits" mentoring program for veterans. View all of our international and military coverage and follow us on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:eeb69e1b-89b6-47e5-8d6c-c1f0c5580b91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/05/veteran-on-ptsd-recovery.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.99 | 746 | 1.5625 | 2 |
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming's congressional delegation is opposing the federal National Blueways System program for rivers.
The U.S. Interior Department says the program seeks to promote conservation and recreation on rivers and will not change private property or water rights.
But Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Rep. Cynthia Lummis said in a statement that the program is a federal "power grab" because it was created by a secretarial order and bypassed Congress.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the Wyoming delegation disagreed with the designation process, saying they believe it doesn't include people on the ground in Wyoming.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/12NKkyo) that no Wyoming rivers or watersheds are part of the Blueways program.
However, representatives of the state's delegation say the program could eventually affect Wyoming rivers. | <urn:uuid:d1abb26a-872f-4150-b9c1-dd54f31339c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/stories/Wyo-delegation-opposes-river-program-,86236?category_id=82&list_type=most_viewed&sub_type=stories,maps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931719 | 188 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has long served as a brake on progress when it comes to creating a new economy that is fueled by renewable energy. The secretive organization (it doesn’t reveal its membership) has opposed climate and energy action at every turn, and now it has its sights on the Keystone XL pipeline, a controversial proposed 1700 mile-long pipeline that would carry bitumen from Canada’s tar sands all the way to Texas.
…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 30 November 2009 by Sustainability Digest
Image credit: Hopenhagen
Editor’s note: This post is by Jessy Tolkan, executive director for the Energy Action Coalition.
There have been times this year when “hope” was thrown around like a dirty word, spoken sarcastically as though the young people who wore it on T-shirts and showcased it on poster in their dorm rooms last year had somehow grown to despise it. Their fickle attention spans and casual attitudes were cited as signs that the generation did not in fact have the intestinal fortitude it would require to execute change, as opposed to just talking about it when it’s the cool t…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 06 September 2009 by Sustainability Digest
Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Brooklyn, NY. Credit Little Cupcake Bakeshop.
Mouth watering carbon – neutral cupcakes, oh my! Hopefully I can finish this post before I run over to Little Cupcake Bakeshop (9102 Third Ave) in my neighboring-burrough Brooklyn to taste limited-edition “Tennis” cupcakes — proceeds to benefit Energy Action Coalition — and view recycled-tennis ball art installation by Hugh Hayden, Brooklyn artist and architect (no relation to our favorite design shop Read the full story on TreeHugger | <urn:uuid:03f7877e-1743-41ec-af07-ce20cb4ca270> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sustainabilitydigest.com/tag/energy-action/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957759 | 384 | 1.835938 | 2 |
The Eastern Shore of Virginia teems with wildlife. Herons, osprey, geese, deer and dolphins can be found in abundance. At a very special place on the Shore, magnificant wildlife can be seen and enjoyed at any time of the year.
This special place is Turner Sculpture, the largest facility of its kind in the United States. Under the direction of its resident wildlife sculptors, William and David Turner, exquisite statuary, primarily of wildlife subjects, are created and cast. Beauty and motion are eternally captured in bronze bringing lasting pleasure while enhancing homes, gardens, museums and public areas. Since 1983, the father and son team, have been designing and casting wildlife sculptures in bronze. To date they have created more than 500 different limited edition bronzes and more than 60 large public commissions. Come see!
Last Updated: 4/9/2009 3:00 PM | <urn:uuid:c676f783-3edd-4fe0-9895-d47bcf7b5510> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.virginia.org/Listings/Museums/TurnerSculptureArtGalleryandBronzeFoundry/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948406 | 182 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Around 40,000 household will lose up to a quarter of their housing benefit from next April when changes come in aimed at discouraging under-occupancy, warn housing associations.
A housing benefit hurricane is set to hit Wales, housing associations have warned, with thousands of people likely to be affected by changes.
Community Housing Cymru is launching a campaign to make sure tenants are aware of how UK government benefit reforms will affect them.
Around 40,000 household will lose up to a quarter of their housing benefit from next April when changes come in aimed at discouraging under-occupancy.
Tighter rules on the number of bedrooms people can have, will see people lose 14% of their benefit if they have one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more.
Paul Langley, money advisor at Community Housing Cymru, said: "What they're forcing on people is that you could have a 15-year-old girl doing her GCSEs having to share with her two-year-old sister,.or a nine-year-old boy having to share with his one-year-old sister."
He said tenants affected by this will have to find an extra £28.9m to keep paying their rent.
Nick Bennett, chief executive of Community Housing Cymru, likened the scale of the incoming changes to a hurricane about to hit.
He said: "Bloomberg said 40,000 people were left homeless after Hurricane Sandy; 40,000 people, the same number are going to be hit by these changes next year. We've got make sure people are aware of this."
CHC has launched the Your Benefits Are Changing campaign to encourage anyone who thinks they may be affected to get in contact to get advice.
Claire Griffiths, member of the tenant's participation panel, said many people currently thought they would avoid the impact of these changes, with families with two children in a three-bed house not realising the changes say those children should share.
She said: "People believe that if they turn there spare room into an office they will be spared, I've even heard of people talking about knocking down walls.
"This affects people who are working. In rural Wales, wages are so low, you've got to depend on things like a top-up and you might lose that top-up."
Tenants can seek advice at www.yourbenefitsarechanging.co.uk or on 0300 3031073 | <urn:uuid:538d0084-a392-4220-ae1d-25a1fb9d40dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/warning-housing-benefit-hurricane-hit-2018133 | 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 | 0.978192 | 501 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Saturday, November 27, 2004
The high school winter sports season is upon us.
But before you head out to cheer for the Sailors, Tigers or Rams, please remember that high school sports are not the pros.
Good, alcohol-free behavior is the only thing appropriate in a high-school sports matchup.
If you want to throw a cup of beer at an opposing player, you'll need to drive down to Denver the next time the Nuggets are playing the Pistons or Pacers.
That's the only place where fans are allowed to start a riot, players are allowed to respond by punching the fans, and they all end up in the "People's Court," where the moron who started the whole thing can sue for millions. Only in America.
This week, in response to the ugly confrontation between Detroit's fans and the Indiana Pacers, the assistant commissioner of the Colorado High School Coaches Association, Bert Borgmann, sent an e-mail to high school athletic directors and media outlets across the state regarding sporting behavior.
Basically, he asked coaches to tell their players to look somewhere besides the NBA for inspiration and not to act like all those sports superstars who typically are treated like heros.
It's like telling my 3-year-old that the Hundred Acre Woods is a great place to visit, but don't model your life after that fuzzy yellow bear or hyperactive bouncing tiger.
The truth is that our children are watching games such as the infamous one in Detroit, and yes, they will remember the actions of the players on the court that day. It would be easy simply to blame the players for the whole thing -- those great big numbers on their backs along with the videotape makes them easy to single out.
But what about the other guys, the people who were wearing Pistons jerseys and baseball caps and remind you of your dad, your neighbor or your teacher? Those people also are setting examples, and it's important that their actions are not repeated in a high school gym.
The fans are not getting paid millions of dollars to play a children's game, but they made an impression just as memorable as Ron Artest did. The fans are defining how we should act at sporting events -- what is appropriate and what is not.
It's kind of funny, but when I first read Borgmann's e-mail last week, I sort of chuckled and thought he was overreacting. But after a few minutes, it started to sink in. If American sports fans continue their present course, it can't be too much longer before their actions start to filter down to their children's and grandchildren's high school games, which they undoubtedly attend.
I hope I never see it, but I would not be surprised if it happens. | <urn:uuid:9fad5f9b-5b34-4d9b-bccc-71a6f2f19215> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2004/nov/27/john_f_russell/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9772 | 562 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Providing online Programme support has a long history at the BBC. Tom Coates (now with Yahoo! Brickhouse) announced the launch of the Radio 3 website in 2004. Then Gavin Bell (now with Nature), Matt Biddulph (Dopplr‘s peripatetic CTO) and Tom spoke [pdf] about Programme Information Pages (or PIPs) back in 2005 at ETech. At the time it was hoped that PIPs would be rolled out to all BBC programmes so that every programme the BBC broadcast had a permanent web presence. Things didn’t quite work out that way.
For a bunch of reasons this early version of PIPs wasn’t going to scale across the entire BBC programming output. At the time the only solution available to the team was a static web publishing solution and trying to collapse the entire graph down to a series of static webpages was, frankly, a nightmare. But this work did show the way forward and put in place much of the intellectual framework for what followed.
What followed was a new version of PIPs. This new version had, from certain perspectives, a much simpler brief: to provide a repository of programme metadata for all BBC programmes. Of course from other perspectives it was a more complex brief, but that’s another story. What this left however was a public representation of this data.
iPlayer of course is one representation, but iPlayer is trying to solve a different problem. iPlayer is incredible successful at delivering BBC’s Radio and TV content over IP. What it doesn’t solve is a permanent, persistent, web presence for all BBC programmes one that could support the archive and the existing BBC broadcast brands.
Last October we launched BBC programmes with the aspiration to build a true web citizen. One that would enhance the BBC’s web presence, making it a more useful place for people using bbc.co.uk and, at the same time, provide a useful service for external developers.
The last year has seen the service grow and develop at quite a rate (we’ve tried to release updates every couple of weeks), which especially given the modest size of the team is very impressive. I have tried to chart the major functional changes here on this blog. But what I’ve not tried to report on is the work of other teams who have styled and integrated the service into the existing broadcast brands, such as Springwatch, Last Choir Standing and now the TV Channel and Radio stations. This most recent piece of work – integrating the service into the relaunched TV sites – has also seen the service come out of beta which is truly fantastic.
As I mentioned the team is small, however, it is also incredibly talented. I have learnt more from them, and enjoyed working with them, more than I suspect they will every truly know. Consider that 6 people have, in addition to designing and building the service, also designed and built a light weight MVC framework and laid the foundation for a highly interlinked, modern web offering. The credit for the site lies with:
Paul Clifford [Lead Software Engineer]
Duncan Robertson [Software Engineer]
Dave Evans [Software Engineer]
Michael Smethurst [Information Architect]
Jamie Tetlow [Designer]
Stephen Butler [Project Manager]
Should you find yourself in a similar position, needing to design and develop a complex modern web service, then if I were you I would make sure your team is small and full of really smart, T-shaped people who understand the domain and care deeply about the quality of the product they are developing.
So where next? Since although we’re now out of Beta there is still much to be done. At a high level we will be working on two fronts:
Firstly we will be making the pages at /programmes richer and the navigation between them more coherent and consistent. So for example making schedules by format in addition to schedules by genre and generally linking everything up. We’re also going to be adding the missing views – those where we have a view in one format but not others.
We are also working to link between, and transclude data from, other domains. For example, tracklistings on episode pages, aggregation of programmes by artist and more programme information on artist pages. | <urn:uuid:4246c30b-8b8b-4439-bd86-371ff75318b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://derivadow.com/2008/09/17/its-been-a-long-time-coming-but-finally-were-out-of-beta/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955791 | 887 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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