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Alabama doctors are warning about a mysterious illness that has affected 10 people in the state, killing two.More >>
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -
With a digital transition comes "across-the-board" training.
Teachers at Huntsville City Schools trained Thursday with the new equipment.
They gathered at Columbia High School with the new laptops.
Instructors are helping teachers learn the new teaching system.
It's the first year that laptops will replace most textbooks - a move by the city to continue the digital advancement of public education.
"Well, one of the things about the digital curriculum, you've got to remember, that the laptop is the delivery system," said Keith Ward, spokesperson for Huntsville City Schools. "You've got the old fashioned; the textbook where you've got the material there. The laptop is just the device that delivers the curriculum."
Each student will also receive a laptop for school use. | <urn:uuid:762f5f3d-ec8d-431f-83b9-7ee2651f2405> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.waff.com/story/19300165/huntsville-teachers-receive-digital-textbook-training | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938791 | 195 | 1.664063 | 2 |
People from coast to coast are stepping up for the DREAM Act — even turning themselves into human billboardsd to send a message to Congress. Young immigrants from Arizona to Illinois are asking Congress to let them serve in the armed forces.
Several of their stories are featured on a new website: www.LetUsServe2010.org. American history is filled with stories such as that of Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant from Guatemala who was killed in a tank battle In Iraq in March, 2003 – one of the first fatalities in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Notably, Lance Cpl. Gutierrez is just one of more than 100 immigrants who have been granted posthumous citizenship after dying in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Nothing is ‘extraneous’ about the sacrifices borne by these immigrant soldiers and patriots and nothing could be more relevant to military strength than recruiting the best and the brightest to bolster our fighting forces through the DREAM Act.” | <urn:uuid:8576068d-1b81-4dcf-bdfc-b781d49b41be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americasvoiceonline.org/blog/let_us_serve_launches_new_website_on_how_dream_act_strengthens_america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953844 | 213 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Improving Access to Health Care is fourth ASC Faculty Lecture
The fourth Adams State College Faculty Lecture, "Improving Access to Health Care," by Armando Valdez, assistant professor of business, begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 26 in Porter Hall (the science building) room 130.
Health care is a topic which impacts all of us. We are fortunate to live in a country which offers some of the best medical technology, medical training, and medical care in the entire world. Unfortunately, access to this health care is available, if you can afford it. Financing of the U.S. health care system has been open to much debate. This lecture will discuss different approaches to financing U.S. health care and offer a single-payer system as an alternative approach to reform U.S health care financing.
Complimentary light refreshments will be offered. All talks are free and the public is invited. For further information on the faculty lecture series, contact Dr. Robert Astalos, assistant professor of physics, at 719-587-7821, or Dr. Robert Astalos. | <urn:uuid:678471ff-a77b-43f8-9afa-6b25750a4580> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://adams.edu/news/mar0809.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952943 | 230 | 1.570313 | 2 |
With conservatives still smarting from Mitt Romney’s 126-vote drubbing in the Electoral College, now is the hour for “rethinking” on the Right. I’m no Nate Silver, but I’ll hazard a prediction on one result of the ongoing ideological introspection: The conservative movement is finally going to rediscover a healthy skepticism toward presidential power.
Last week, in “Restoring Constitutional Checks on the Executive,” a post on her Washington Post “Right Turn” blog, Jennifer Rubin gestured in that direction: “When Republicans were in the White House more often than Democrats, they became more than a little expedient when it came to separation of powers. It is time to return to conventional checks and balances.”
Such a return would, in a way, be “coming home” for the Right.
Hard as it may have been to remember during the George W. Bush era, conservatives were the original opponents of the Imperial Presidency. After FDR’s 12-year reign, conservatives in Congress championed the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidential terms. Most of the intellectuals who coalesced around William F. Buckley’s National Review in 1955 were executive-power skeptics who associated powerful presidents with activist liberalism. In 1964, Barry Goldwater denounced “the current worship of powerful executives” as “a philosophy totally at war with that of the Founding Fathers.”
“It’s clearer than ever that the Right made a grave mistake by abandoning its traditional skepticism toward executive power.”
By the ’70s however, as the “emerging Republican majority” in the Electoral College began to emerge, conservatives set to work developing a conservative case for a dominant presidency, helped along by their new ideological allies, neoconservatives — zealous cold warriors who came over from the Left.
Rubin’s right that Republicans “became more than a little expedient” with presidential power when Team Red held the office more frequently. The GOP’s advantage in the Electoral College and the apparent Democratic “lock” on Congress led the conservative movement to “grow in office,” pushing for expanded executive power in the hopes that center-right presidents could rein in the regulators and roll back communism abroad.
By the Reagan era, prominent conservatives were calling for a repeal of the 22nd Amendment and insisting that the real threat to separation of powers lay in what Rep. Newt Gingrich denounced as an “Imperial Congress.” (For more, see “How Conservatives Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Imperial Presidency,” in my book The Cult of the Presidency.)
It’s past time for them to start worrying again. In 2002, John Judis and Ruy Teixeira published The Emerging Democratic Majority, predicting a new era of Blue Team dominance based on the rising electoral strength of minorities, single ladies, the youth vote and postindustrial professionals. After the Republicans’ congressional gains in 2002 and George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election, their thesis was basically snickered off the stage.
But nobody’s laughing now. As The Examiner’s Michael Barone noted last week, “Democrats have won the White House in four of the six presidential elections starting in 1992,” whereas the GOP has controlled the House in eight of the last 10 congressional elections. The electoral script has flipped: the Dems’ “structural advantage” is in the Electoral College, the GOP’s lies with Congress.
Today, with President Obama insisting that “we can’t wait” for Congress to pass laws before the president acts, it’s clearer than ever that the Right made a grave mistake by abandoning its traditional skepticism toward executive power. A return to first principles may be politically convenient — but it’s also the right thing to do if conservatives ever want to live up to their limited-government rhetoric.
In her blog post last week, Rubin wrote, “Until Republicans rediscover the key to presidential electoral politics, they need to re-establish some limits on presidential power.” Catch that “until”? How about “whether or not”? | <urn:uuid:6bbbf905-f354-4b57-a9dc-e187951cd6a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/right-should-rerethink-presidential-power | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952755 | 884 | 1.695313 | 2 |
We make an exception today to visit some apartment houses built by Louis Bonert in President Street between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West:
Below is the description for these buildings, copied in its entirety from the Park Slope Historic District Designation Report:
"Nos. 945-953. Begun in 1900, these five apartment houses of limestone have paired entrances and stoops except at No. 945. They are four stories high and have full-height, bow-fronted bays. Designed with a simplified neo-Classical detail, they lend a quiet dignity in this block of one-family residences." (pp.87-88)
"Quiet dignity" is a great way to describe Bonert's small apartment houses. But what's exceptional about this entry is that Louis Bonert's name appears nowhere within it. Somehow the fact that he built these apartment houses escaped the notice of the Park Slope Historic District's original researchers.
Bonert sold the President Street houses to "a Manhattan capitalist" in one of the largest Brooklyn real estate deals of 1901. A Brooklyn Eagle article describes the deal, noting that the buildings are "among the finest" of their class and that the apartments are "handsomely decorated" and "constructed of the best materials throughout":
The deal was notable not only for its size, but also for the fact that Brooklyn real estate was beginning to attract the interest of Manhattan-based capitalists. It was a kind of "break-through" deal for Louis Bonert, who would later put together even larger real estate deals, as we shall soon see.
The Eagle followed up a few days later with another article whose headline ("Manhattan Capital in Brooklyn Apartment Houses") stretched across seven columns, the entire page:
The article reviewed the deal for Bonert's President Street apartments and featured them in an illustration:
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 30, 1901, p. 17 ("Manhattan Capital in Brooklyn Apartment Houses")
Even without the Eagle documentation, the apartments are immediately reminiscent of Bonert's nearly identical apartment houses in 6th Avenue:
The classical detailing around the doorways is identical:
All of which begs the question: if the President Street apartments, with their "quiet dignity", are worthy of inclusion in a Historic District, are not the identical 6th Avenue buildings, by the same builder, equally worthy? Why are the President Street buildings included, but the 6th Avenue buildings excluded? And what about all the other Louis Bonert buildings we have been so laboriously documenting on this blog? They seem to exude as much "quiet dignity" as these President Street buildings.
Alone amongst all of Bonert's apartment houses, the President Street buildings are in the current historic district. Like much else about the current district's boundaries, it makes no sense to us.
At any rate, at least we now know who is the builder of the President Street apartments. If you are the kind of person who has a hardcopy of the Park Slope Historic District Designation Report lying about (and, if you are reading this, we suspect you are), then fetch it down off the shelf, turn to page 87, and write "Louis Bonert: Brooklyn Eagle, | <urn:uuid:45f5b508-1b5f-457d-835a-27389c1ce93c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://savetheslope.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964944 | 662 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Get involved: Send your news, views, pictures and video by texting SUPIC to 80360 or email us.
Don't be a turkey with your drains
A water company has produced a hilarious new take on a Christmas carol warning residents not to block their drains with turkey grease over the festive period.
Southern Water employees have adapted The 12 Days of Christmas for an online video highlighting some of the weird and wonderful things that we drop down our toilets and plugholes.
More than 1,000 people from 16 countries including India and Mauritius have viewed the video since it went online last week.
The video sees the water company’s employees listing mobile phones, cuddly toys, knives and nappies among the items found in the county’s sewers.
And while the song is drawing smiles from web users, the matter of unwanted items down our drains is no laughing matter with about eight blockages a day caused by fat, grease and non-biodegardable debris in Sussex this year.
The water company has had to deal with 2,700 blockages in the county in 2012 including 285 in Brighton.
Southern Water staff who run tours of Brighton’s sewers told The Argus they often find engagement rings and false teeth coming through the system on weekends.
It is thought this phenomenon is down to alcohol with drunken couples arguing and then throwing their rings away in a fit of pique while people with dentures drink too much and then throw up their teeth into the toilet bowl.
Simon Parker, Southern Water’s head of wastewater, said: “The staff who look after our sewers were only too happy to take part, as they see first-hand the devastation sewer blockages can cause.
“The film is a fun and festive way to deliver this serious message to our customers.
“We always notice an increase in fat in the sewers around this time of year as so many people are at home cooking Christmas dinners and more fat than normal ends up down the sink.
“However, our message applies all year round – sewers and treatment works are built to deal with human waste, toilet paper and water.
“Anything else should be put in the bin.”
See the latest news headlines from The Argus:
- Political coup to oust Brighton and Hove council leader fails
- Open day at well-being centre in Hove
- Sussex Boat owners urged to carry out safety checks
- Sussex mum of eight guilty of £350,000 benefit fraud
- Plans for rooftop gardens in Brighton and Hove | <urn:uuid:fe0a8074-9e1b-491c-85f9-6c182eab0ed6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10098784.Don_t_be_a_turkey_with_your_drains/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937184 | 535 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Going green ‘about future, not ROI’-A A +A
By Mia A. Aznar
Sunday, June 24, 2012
IF entrepreneurs expect a return of investment for going green, an architect wants it known that they won’t get it.
Architect Gene Arthur Go, who spoke on sustainable green design for retail spaces during the Cebu Regional Retail Conference last Friday, said the decision to go green should not be to expect a return of investment.
“When you go green, you are not doing it for the ROI. You are doing it for your children and your children’s children,” Go told participants.
Go admitted that most clients want to be sustainable but suddenly back off when they see the bill.
When building sustainable retail spaces, Go said that elements to be considered are the circulation, lighting, materials used, visual branding, ambience and the market being targeted.
He noted that most think that going green is more of a public relations stunt but want to start changing plans when they learn being sustainable means it could cost more.
Go said that sometimes, there is no other way around it.
For retailers to go green in their shops, Go said they did not have to invest in solar-powered items or embark on complicated projects. He said the simple way is to be conscious of how energy is being consumed.
For shops that are not in malls, Go suggested investing in solar air conditioning, which is available online from companies based in China, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Though it could cost more, Go said it can save the user 40 to 50 percent of standard power charges.
In building a retail space, using recycled, eco-friendly materials creatively can go a long way.
Stores, he said, can use LED lighting and use recyclable packaging for starters. He also showed photos of retail shops abroad using reclaimed wood, old shipping containers and volatile organic compound paints. He noted that stores need not use new
materials and stuff from an old house can be given a fresh new look.
As for building green structures, Architect Joy Onozawa of Environment Design said going green does not have to be about technology or an expensive lifestyle.
Onozawa, in another discussion on green building at the Emerging Industries Forum, said going green just means being connected to the natural environment and remembering that people have to co-exist with nature.
She said it should not be treated as a trend.
In designing a building, Onozawa said architects should take full advantage of the light, make sure heat is kept out by adding awnings and balconies, collecting rain water and bringing it back to the ground, take note of the wind flows and try not having any waste.
Like Go, she said creativity plays a part in designing green spaces.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 25, 2012. | <urn:uuid:6a7f08b2-69f7-4451-8ff4-930e52daee13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2012/06/24/going-green-about-future-not-roi-228493 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960986 | 599 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Last year, iNACOL, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Educause, League for Innovation and CCSSO, launched the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grant initiative.
Since then, the initiative — created to address the barriers to educational innovation and tap the potential of advanced learning technology to improve upon college readiness and completion in the U.S — has awarded $17.5 million in grants to 48 organizations and institutions in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom.
The grants, which are made through multiple funding waves, are launched every six to twelve months via Request for Proposals, and target specific challenges associated with the barriers to educational success.
Now, with two full waves of funding behind us, and a third currently underway, we are enthusiastic about the innovative work we are seeing around the country, and we look forward to the new opportunities and ideas cultivated by the NGLC initiative.
With our third wave of funding, or “Wave III,” which totals $12 million in grants, we are seeking to find solutions that apply technology to whole school models and complete degree programs that significantly reorganize the learning process and redefine student experiences in an effort to create comprehensive, breakthrough models that fundamentally change the way education is designed and delivered across secondary and postsecondary institutions.
The first round of Wave III applications, submitted back in November, produced some very compelling examples, though there is still the opportunity to respond to the high bar for transformational change set in the Wave III RFPs.
To help pave the way to implement meaningful change in next generation learning, I encourage you to reach out to your colleagues and networks and invite them to learn more on NGLC and the Wave III Challenges at: http://nextgenlearning.org/the-grants/wave-iii-challenges.
Still interested in the Wave III RFPs?
The NGLC is offering two “program officer chats,” where interested parties will have the opportunity to ask NGLC staff questions related to the RFPs. The “college readiness” chat, for those interested in secondary education grants, will be held via webinar on December 13, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. EDT and will focus on “Wave IIIa: Breakthrough School Models for College Readiness.”
To join the webinar:
- Visit http://educause.adobeconnect.com/nglc and select “Enter as a Guest.”
- Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions via the text-based chat feature or over the conference call line.
- The conference call line is: 1-877-944-2300. The access code is: 99290#
- Each web seminar is free and open to all, but virtual seats are limited. Please note, sessions will be recorded and archived for later viewing. | <urn:uuid:cb57bb7f-b2dd-4388-a1fb-7b0d36ea87d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://susanpatrick.inacol.org/2011/12/nglc-and-the-third-wave-of-grant-initiatives/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934709 | 607 | 1.835938 | 2 |
One important part of the suspected covert war with Iran, in addition to the drone surveillance and cyberwarfare, concerns the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists. Several scientists have been murdered under questionable circumstances over the past several months. And now, another death has been reported:
An Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility has been killed in a bomb explosion, the latest in a series of assassinations and attempted killings linked by the country’s authorities to a secret war by Israel and the US to stop the development of what Tehran insists would be a peaceful nuclear capability.
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran, died after two assailants on a motorcycle attached magnetic bombs to his car, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Two other Iranian nationals were reported injured in the blast, which comes at a time of rising international tension.
Safar Ali Baratloo, a senior security official, was quoted by Fars as saying the attack was the work of Israelis.
“The magnetic bomb is of the same types already used to assassinate our scientists,” he said. “The terrorist attack is a conspiracy to undermine the [2 March] parliamentary elections.”
Israeli officials have previously hinted about covert campaigns against Iran without directly admitting involvement.
Maybe this has nothing to do with Israel or the US. I can see why the Iranians would want to blame them. I can’t see why they would want to kill their own nuclear scientists just to give them a talking point about Israeli mischief. You would think they would want to hold on to their assets. The case for Iranian duplicity makes little sense, and the most obvious explanation of the car bomb-style assassinations suggests that they come from those who want to stop Iran from furthering its nuclear program. That’s the Occam’s razor argument here.
I mean, we’re not talking about car accidents or other unfortunate events. We’re talking about remote-control car bombs, suicide attacks and drive-by shootings. There’s nothing subtle going on here, and the killings have all the hallmarks of covert operations. In fact, as much as the assassinations are presumed to have the intention of degrading Iranian nuclear capability, they may also be intended to kill the nuclear scientists in the most showy way possible, to deter other Iranian intellectuals from joining up on the nuclear program.
Keep in mind that the Secretary of Defense confirmed on national television just a few days ago that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. There’s no public, credible evidence to the contrary. And yet, over the past couple years, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Western or Israeli interests are spying on Iran from above, designing cyberworms to disable their technologies and killing their scientists.
Like Glenn Greenwald, I remember when Glenn “Instapundit” Reynolds suggested that the US should kill Iranian nuclear scientists, and how liberals unanimously condemned him for such a wild suggestion. Now someone is actually carrying out the assassinations. Where is the outrage? | <urn:uuid:65f61cc9-da19-4348-a5fa-eadc5c27d14c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/01/11/another-iranian-nuclear-scientist-assassinated/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962432 | 648 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The University of Minnesota is a unique case in which to look at finances — it usually involves millions of public, private and donated funds whirling through students, faculty and administration — a population of a big suburb. With as big and complex of a budget as the University has, it is vitally important to consistently reassess where funds are going and how expenses have changed over time.
“If we don’t measure things, we won’t know how we can improve them,” said University President Eric Kaler in a news release. “As we continue to focus on operational excellence at the University, these analyses establish a structure for our work. They also provide transparency and accountability about what we do.”
Kaler has recently been praised for one of the smallest increases in tuition in the past 11 years, at 3.5 percent. Though any increase in tuition will hurt students, especially when interest rates on student loans will compound this amount over time, temporary need-based aid will attempt to offset the increase for thousands of students.
The most profound part of this assessment of the budget is the role Dr. Peter Agre of Johns Hopkins University will play in advising Kaler to strengthen several aspects of the University, without compensation. These actions by the Board of Regents support the University’s mission of creating an environment of responsibility and integrity. Like their government, students rely on the University to keep transparency in its finances so that they are ultimately accountable to the smallest cog in the University machine.
Nominate an exceptional graduating senior for the upcoming Ski-U-Mah Issue!
UMN students have traveled to Florida colleges to collaborate with students on various projects.
When UMN students plan for a vacation, having trip cancellation travel insurance is a worthwhile commodity to check out.
Minneapolis Used Cars
Give back to the Minnesota community with a boat donation at boat4causes.org.
If you have been involved in a car accident call a Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer for a free consultation. | <urn:uuid:29f42f4d-d3be-4255-9ada-ad6e0bf7a8a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mndaily.com/2012/06/13/regents-look-u-budget | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95116 | 414 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Canyonlands is a gigantic park that encompasses all of the canyons created as the Green River joins with the Colorado River. It’s about half the size of the Grand Canyon, which is still pretty big! The north half is called the Sky Island because you overlook the canyon from an island carved out over millions of years by the rivers. The bottom half, a 60 mile drive away, is deep within the canyon. We had one fun hike in the northern part, up some slickrock that looked like a big whale. But otherwise, we had a lot more fun within the canyon on day 2.
Snow! And lots of it! Bryce is the highest point we’ll be hiking - around 9,000 feet. So there’s still a lot of snow up here, which made for a good impromptu snowball fight on our hike! We also came upon what looked like a vortex - just like in Sedona there are all these little rock stacks signifying where the energy vortex is heading to the sky… or something like that. Whatever it is, the kids love making them!
Off to Bryce. This place is amazing. For people used to hiking in Arizona, it’s hard to impress us! But the hoodoos here are just spectacular. Sophie was especially excited about seeing Thor’s Hammer - a tall hoodoo topped with a rectangular boulder. The hiking here was freakier - lots of thousand foot dropoffs with not a single fence or barrier in site. Yikes! | <urn:uuid:73063625-f6ee-41d1-98b4-1780009644b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rothgordon.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950488 | 309 | 1.507813 | 2 |
With video: High winds, illegal activity blamed as at least 85 fires hit Detroit in four-hour span
In one of the hardest hit areas -- on the city's east side near 7 Mile and Van Dyke -- firefighters battled close to 20 fires that spread across three blocks and through several vacant buildings, according to Fox 2.
Detroit officials and witnesses offered several explanations for the various fires and how they spread so rapidly.
High winds: Detroit Fire Capt. Steve Varnas told The Detroit Free Press some of the fires likely were caused by tree limbs falling on power lines as the result of strong wind gusts, which the National Weather Service says reached 50 mph. DTE Energy says it is unaware if power lines sparked the fire but confirmed that roughly 50,000 customers lost power last night and 15,000 remain in the dark this morning.
Illegal hook-up: Mary Hargrave, displaced by fire Tuesday, told Fox 2 and The Detroit News she witnessed a man tampering with power lines near her east side home on Friday. She said she called DTE to report the suspected illegal electricity hook-up, but claims operators brushed off her calls -- including one made Tuesday morning. Capt. Varnas told the television station a heating contractor witnessed a line snap and start a garage on fire, the same line Hargrave says she reported. DTE says they're investigating her allegation.
Arson: Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack Jr. told CNN the department is investigating at least one report of suspected arson on the city's northeast side. WDIV reports authorities are questioning a suspect.
Overwhelmed department: Dozens of fires spread across the city overwhelmed Detroit's fire department, which has shrunk in recent years along with the city's population and revenue. Despite the best efforts of exhausted firefighters, residents complained of slow response times and in some areas reportedly helped crews pull hoses once they arrived. "The issue was demand," City Spokeswoman Karen Dumas told The Detroit News, noting firefighters from Dearborn and Warren were called in to assist.
The good news? It appears the fires did not cause a single fatality or serious injury. | <urn:uuid:853755cc-9eb1-4f78-a0cb-1ede822f56f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/09/with_video_high_winds_illegal.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971233 | 436 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Cebu Pacific gets new aircraft with fuel-saving feature-A A +A
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
CEBU Pacific Air took delivery of its first A320 equipped with Sharklets during a ceremony in Manila, becoming the first operator of the new fuel-saving wing tip devices in the Philippines.
Sharklets are newly designed wing-tip devices allowing airlines to reduce fuel burn by up to four percent on longer sectors. They are an option on newly-built A320 Family aircraft and are standard on all members of the A320neo Family. Cebu Pacific Air operates 34 A320 Family aircraft, and has 48 more on order for future delivery, comprising 18 A320ceo and 30 A321neo.
“In line with our strategy to operate the youngest, most modern fleet possible, we are delighted to become one of the first airlines in the world to introduce the A320 with Sharklets,” said Cebu Pacific president and CEO Lance Gokongwei. “Thanks to the four percent fuel savings offered by the Sharklets, we will further benefit from the A320 Family’s unbeatable operating costs, making sure we remain competitive by offering low fares, together with the most extensive route network, to our passengers.”
“Cebu Pacific is one of the great success stories in the Asian low cost market,” said John Leahy, Airbus Customers chief operating officer. “The additional economic and environmental efficiencies offered by the Sharklet-fitted version of the A320 will enable the airline to benefit from even lower operating costs and further enhance its competitive position in the fast-growing Asian market.”
Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 meters tall. Cutting airlines’ fuel bills by around four percent, Sharklets offer the flexibility to A320 Family operators of either adding around 100 nautical miles more range or allowing increased payload capability of up to 450 kilos. (PR)
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 23, 2013. | <urn:uuid:c1e1c31f-8f6a-4eed-b08b-122909fb08dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/business/2013/01/22/cebu-pacific-gets-new-aircraft-fuel-saving-feature-264227 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954265 | 427 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Mitt Romney / AP PHOTO
Mitt Romney and his campaign don't believe the latest jobs report has been doctored.
They believe the reported numbers are bad enough.
Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie brushed past the latest conspiracy theory today, focusing instead on the fact that the unemployment rate remains at a high 7.8%.
"This economy is not doing well," Gillespie said on ABC's "This Week." "And the fact that you have a White House celebrating an unemployment rate of 7.8% with 23 million Americans out of work or unemployed or underemployed tells you a lot about the failure of this administration's policies."
Former General Electric boss Jack Welch and others challenged the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report after its release Friday, noting that the unemployment rate dropped sharply -- 8.1% to 7.8% -- even though only 114,000 jobs were created in September.
Welch tweeted: "Unbelievable jobs numbers ... these Chicago guys will do anything ... can't debate so change numbers."
Many Republicans scoffed at the notion, noting that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is an independent agency; Romney's aides prefer to focus on numbers as reported.
On ABC, Gillespie cited the number of people who have left the work force during Obama's term: "If labor force participation was what it was when the president took office, unemployment would be around 10.7%."
On the stump, Obama says the lower unemployment is a sign of economic recovery -- and he criticized Republicans for negative spin of the numbers.
The new jobs report "should give us some encouragement," Obama said Friday in Cleveland.
He added: "It shouldn't be an excuse for the other side to try to talk down the economy just to try to score a few political points." | <urn:uuid:26d49d53-31a9-41ff-bfa0-6aab031c3f6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freep.com/article/20121007/NEWS15/121007008/1002/business | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9573 | 366 | 1.546875 | 2 |
|Previous / Next UK album Reviews & comments Covers & additional information Beatles history|
Beatles for Sale
First released: 1964, December 4
New and used from $0.42. List price $18.98 (save up to 50%) at Amazon.com
Piano/Vocal/Chords songbook at Sheetmusicplus.com
Sheet music, guitar tabs, song books at Sheetmusicplus.com
Producer: George Martin
Liner Notes: Derek Taylor
George Harrison: Vocals, Guitar, African drum
John Lennon: Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Paul McCartney: Vocals, Bass Guitar, Piano, Hammond organ
Ringo Starr: Drums, Vocals, Bongos, Timpani, Percussion
George Martin: Piano
A testament to the abundance of perseverance and talent found within The Beatles' ranks, their fourth album was recorded in and around North American and British tours. BEATLES FOR SALE also marked their last full-length release loaded with cover songs, as the Fab Four moved towards writing more of their own material. Interspersed between future Beatles classics such as "Eight Days A Week" and the Dylan-inspired "I'm A Loser" are faithful renditions of songs by Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins (featuring the only lead vocals by Ringo Starr and George Harrison on this album). The bossa-nova flavored take on Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music" is only superseded by a tremendous medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey," that finds Paul McCartney's exuberant vocals placing a decent second to his hero Little Richard and making this the centerpiece of BEATLES FOR SALE.
|1964, December 4||Parlophone PMC 1240 / PCS 3062 (UK)|
|Reviews & comments|
Joe (2011, June 2)
My opinion on this one is that it is not the worst but not the best either. It doesn't really feature any memorable songs apart from Eight Days a Week.
Indra K (2007, October 5)
Good album... but why must the CD be released officially in mono version, while the old cassette tape I bought in 1970's is a stereo recording? Because there are songs which are different between mono and stereo version. Such as "Mr Moonlight" and "Kansas City". The stereo version of those songs are longer than the mono released in the CD.
All Music Guide (2002, March 10)
It was inevitable that the constant grind of touring, writing, promoting, and recording would grate on the Beatles, but the weariness of Beatles for Sale comes as something of a shock. Only five months before, the group released the joyous A Hard Day's Night. Now, they sound beaten, worn, and, in Lennon's case, bitter and self-loathing. His opening trilogy ("No Reply," "I'm a Loser," "Baby's in Black") is the darkest sequence on any Beatles record, setting the tone for the album. Moments of joy pop up now and again, mainly in the forms of covers and the dynamic "Eight Days a Week," but the very presence of six covers after the triumphant all-original A Hard Day's Night feels like an admission of defeat or at least a regression. (It doesn't help that Lennon's cover of his beloved obscurity "Mr. Moonlight" winds up as arguably the worst thing the group ever recorded.) Beneath those surface suspicions, however, there are some important changes on Beatles for Sale, most notably Lennon's discovery of Bob Dylan and folk-rock. The opening three songs, along with "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party," are implicitly confessional and all quite bleak, which is a new development. This spirit winds up overshadowing McCartney's cheery "I'll Follow the Sun" or the thundering covers of "Rock & Roll Music," "Honey Don't," and "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey Hey," and the weariness creeps up in unexpected places — "Every Little Thing," "What You're Doing," even George's cover of Carl Perkins' "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" — leaving the impression that Beatlemania may have been fun but now the group is exhausted. That exhaustion results in the group's most uneven album, but its best moments find them moving from Merseybeat to the sophisticated pop/rock they developed in mid-career. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine | <urn:uuid:76bfb91b-d209-4a38-802e-367ea8362157> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dmbeatles.com/disk.php?disk=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950839 | 926 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I am Josefina Ayerza, the editor of lacanian ink.
Let me thank you all for coming… and let us all thank Jacques
Tilton for his unyielding desire with hosting
this event. Again, we want to thank Janine Cirincione for her thoughtful help with putting it all together.
This is lacanian ink's 19 year of existence - we are launching issue 33 - the general subject is the symptom.
What is the symptom? How is that Lacan gets to articulate it as the sinthome? What are its clinical implications?
In line with the necessary, with the obsessive or "what doesn't stop writing itself…" Jacques Lacan proceeds to make of the symptom a sinthome.
Actually relevant to the direction of the cure, Jacques-Alain Miller, in his "Logic of the Cure of Little Hans," analyses how the phobic symptom may have the role of Name-of-the-Father, and that, he says, "is but a step to understanding and formulating the Name-of-the-Father is only a symptom - one prone to replace the other… Lacan's stand is that "little Hans elaborated a little Name-of-the-Father."
Says Miller "… it is a matter of a process of symbolization on an essential element: the phallus." Thus you can summarize the cure of Little Hans going from the imaginary phallus to the symbolic phallus; and you can situate the moment of the malady of Little Hans - his symptom - in the apparition of the phallus as real… be it in Little Hans's phallic jouissance or in the apparition of the little sister, both destabilizing elements... Little Hans's cure is almost the cure par excellence - there is a perfectly discernable symptom and this symptom disappears. There is a cure. The phobic symptom disappears, however the logic of the cure is confused with the elaboration of the paternal metaphor; in this case, the case of a childhood analysis, the logic of the cure is identical to the paternal metaphor.
Alain Badiou brings up the Lacan very question… "Is not the Wagnerian project to show that what takes place at a given moment is not all, precisely in that it can be transformed? Should not the infinite melody be understood in the sense of transformation, endless and infinite, such that at no moment is what-is everything, what-is is not all… […]" And it is here, precisely at the site of de-totalization… […] that all his power to captivate the subjective must be situated.
Says Gérard Wajcman in "The Animals that Treat Us Badly," "We record whales singing their whale songs capable of transmitting messages to other whales thousands of kilometers away, but in truth, brandishing our microphones, we only aspire to one thing–that those whales would sing us a song."
François Regnault confers sainthood on the subject supposed to know, who is the analyst, again the symptom, and eventually the sinthome. "A saint's business, to put it clearly, is not caritas. Rather, he acts as trash (déchet); his business being trashitas (il décharite)."
In Jean-Luc Nancy "Self from Absence to Self," the sinthome enters sleep "he slept every night and he still sleeps upon all those nights that separate all the days he continues to make, or that continue to make themselves without him…"
Richard Kostelanetz offers an update to his 2003 book SoHo: The Rise and Fall of an Artists' Colony.
Cathy Lebowitz and I talk about Ridley Howard.
Cathy asks, "I am curious about "her way," and it being maybe happiness. And this being dependent on her maintaining the "macho" image. Can you tell me more about this?"
JA: We know how "woman does not exist," and how Lacan will go as far as to say "Woman does not exist as an entity with full ontological consistency, but only as a symptom of man." If however we conceive the symptom as it was articulated in Joyce le sinthome – a particular signifying formation which confers on the subject consistency, enabling it to structure its basic, constitutive bearing to jouissance – the entire relationship is reversed. The subject dissolved – it loses the ground under its feet, disintegrates – "woman is a symptom of man," meaning that man himself exists only through woman qua his symptom – is externalized in his symptom. In other words, man literally exists: his entire being lies "out there," in woman. Woman on the other hand, does not exist, she insists… has "her way," it being maybe happiness. But not her coming to be. She does not come to be through man. Something in her escapes the relation to man… excess. Lacan tried to capture this excess through the notion of "not all"–"not all" feminine jouissance.
For Slavoj Žižek the sinthome has a name: Josephine. And "Josephine le sinthome" is together "the Singer, or the Mouse Folk," in Franz Kafka's story. Žižek's writing takes you through strange corridors of identification, where you could be writing your testament while knowing you are dying… If Josephine is the allegory of the fate of Kafka-the-artist himself: he had already lost his voice because of his inflamed throat, at the story's end Josephine disappears/ Kafka himself WANTED to disappear, to have all the traces erased after his death, the totally unwarranted dimension to get introduced is Kafka himself as a mice-singer and his relation to mice people.
With you Slavoj Žižek. | <urn:uuid:a189065d-4749-4739-90a2-2d5a29fe0cef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lacan.com/issue33.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95524 | 1,217 | 1.84375 | 2 |
EC funding brings research closer to market
The European Commission is close to agreeing ambitious plans designed to strengthen cooperation between commercial and public researchers in Europe. So-called Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), part of the 2007-2013 7th framework programme (FP7), will pump billions of euros into several key sectors. First calls for research proposals are expected early next year.
Three of the six JTIs so far proposed are in areas of particular interest to chemists: innovative medicines; nanotechnology; and the development of fuel cells and hydrogen technology.
Dirk Beernaert, head of nanotechnology at the Directorate General for Information Society and Media at the European Commission, told Chemistry World that while current and past EU framework funding has emphasised research at the university or institute level, the JTIs will give industry a much bigger role. 'We are trying to place some research a bit closer to the markets,' he said.
No JTIs have been officially approved by the EU Council of Ministers, which represents national governments and has ultimate authority on final guidelines, with discussions still ongoing between the European Commission, industry representatives, the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. Most observers believe any lingering disagreements over such issues as financing, governance, and auditing will be overcome for four of the JTIs by December 22-23, when the Council of Ministers next meets. First calls for proposals from those four JTIs would likely be issued in the first quarter of next year.
Beernaert said he was '95 per cent certain' the nanotechnology JTI would get final approval before Christmas. He said the other three JTIs likely to be approved then are innovative medicines, the Clean Sky initiative (designed to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions by around 40 per cent), and the embedded systems (specialised computer components) initiative. Other JTIs were not as far advanced.
Technical guidelines and funding schemes for the JTIs vary, Beernaert explained, with some JTIs funded only by the EU and industry and others by the EU, industry and member states. For example, nanotechnology funding could reach 450 million from the EU,900 million from EU member nations, and more than 1.35 billion from industry, while the innovative medicines JTI is expected to be funded with
1 billion from the EU and a matching amount from industry.
Exact funding decisions, including sectors and timing, are still under discussion, emphasised Norbert Lehner, chairman of the support group of the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) which is working closely with the Commission to develop the nanotechnology JTI. 'Everything is still in planning,' he said. 'Nothing is concluded yet.'
Lehner believes initial calls in nanotechnology will likely be issued for research projects involving electronic design automation and an area he described as 'More than Moore,' which includes all technologies based on silicon but which do not simply scale with Moore's law. Beyond those two segments, he said other areas likely to be funded later would include equipment/materials and heterogeneous integration, which he described as 'the glue between the world of nanoelectronics devices, and systems that humans can interact with.' 'We believe ENIAC offers the best chance we ever had to combine all forces in Europe and to reach critical mass for research and development projects,' he said.
As for the innovative medicines initiative (IMI), Ian Ragan, co-chair of the IMI governance taskforce, said it would not involve development of new drugs, but instead will focus on development of new methodologies and tools to better predict the safety and efficacy of new drugs.
Ragan said chemistry would play a big role in JTI research to develop computational methods for predicting the toxicity of molecules. 'That is very high on our agenda,' he added.
Guidelines for the fuel cells/hydrogen initiative are still under discussion, Perrine Tisserand, a spokeswoman in Brussels for the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform (HFP), told Chemistry World. The goal is to have a final document ready in March or April for approval by the Council of Ministers, she said.
Under current proposals, the EU and industry would both contribute 450 million with additional contributions possible from member states. Research details, Tisserand added, are yet to be decided, but will likely be in four main areas: hydrogen vehicles and refuelling stations; sustainable hydrogen production and supply; fuel cells for combined heat and power generation; and fuel cells for early markets - including portable generators, specialty vehicles and micro fuel cells. | <urn:uuid:8e3161c5-1708-43ad-8348-8834d695eb54> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2007/December/ECFundingBringsResearchCloserMarket.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95075 | 943 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I'm back in good old Northeast Ohio now, but my mind is still 3,000 miles and four time zones away in Alaska -- a rough and wonderful land of 21-hour sunshine and more wild birds and animals than you can imagine.
Over the previous two weeks, my son Bret and I hiked up alpine trails, over spongy tundra and through mosquito-ridden spruce marshes. We slid down rocky ledges, drove in a snow storm and rode on wave-tossed boats in pursuit of some of the toughest and handsomest birds that North America has to offer.
Our adventure kicked off in Anchorage -- less than an hour after our arrival -- at the Westchester Lagoon, an urban pond teeming with red-necked grebes, a Barrow's goldeneye, mew gulls and Arctic terns, including a pair feeding fish to chicks on a tiny island.
Excited by our beginners' luck, we headed for the foothill trails of the Arctic Valley ski slopes a few miles outside of the city limits. The stunted willows there were alive with the songs of Wilson's and orange-crowned warblers, Swainson's thrush, white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows -- "Oh dear me."
Then, surprise! A rock ptarmigan popped out of the brush and scurried across our path. It posed warily for a half-minute, flaring its bright red eyebrows and fluffing up its feathers, in mid-molt from its winter white to its summer brown plumage.
The ptarmigan would be the first of several encounters with these often tame mountain grouse, which had a knack of showing up when least expected.
We devoted the ensuing six days to exploring the bountiful interior region of the 135-mile Denali Highway and Denali National Park, a 6-million acre tract of the highest mountains in North America, surrounded by pristine subarctic forests and tundra.
In the course of our travel we were awed by the frequent appearances of grizzly bear, moose, caribou, and Dall sheep. Even a gray wolf trotted by one morning, apparently returning to its den after a night on the prowl.
But birds were our targets, and the Denali region offered some memorable sightings:
A gyrfalcon perched atop Marmot Rock, guarding its nest while surveying the surrounding canyons for prey such as snowshoe hare, ground squirrels and ptarmigan.
A long-tailed jaeger on a nest, discovered by four birders from Belgium who we had befriended along the way. The pelagic bird was incubating eggs and calling out warnings whenever we strayed to closely for comfort.
Nearby, whimbrels and American golden plovers screamed at us in protest, diving in attempts to drive us away. Golden eagles eyed us warily from overhead.
A white-winged ptarmigan and Northern wheatear were the prizes that awaited us atop Eielson Ridge in the national park after hiking through a sleet storm. The stunningly-plumed willow ptarmigans were more plentiful and easily reached at lower elevations.
The ponds and lakes lining the Denali Highway -- actually a two-lane dirt road -- were dotted with dozens of red-necked phalaropes, long-tailed ducks, three species of loons -- common, Pacific and red-throated -- trumpeter swans and a plethora of diving and dabbling ducks.
On June 10, right on schedule, we began hearing a dry, staccato trill from the roadside willows that signaled the arrival of Arctic warblers from their Russian wintering grounds. These decidedly drab green songbirds are highly sought after and provided us a bit of solace for the target bird we missed: Smith's longspur.
Next week in Aerial View: We leave the Great White North behind and head for a week on the Kenai Peninsula and the bird-rich waters near the seaports of Seward and Homer. | <urn:uuid:d9d39728-fe77-4b6a-9f25-d098440f1e58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cleveland.com/neobirding/index.ssf/2010/06/post_30.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950181 | 856 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Back in elementary school I remember us doing one particular project where we made a collage out of cut-outs from magazines and colorful scrapbook paper. From then on, I collected quotes, pictures, recipes, and clothing inspiration from magazines and catalogs and would make collages, lookbooks for back to school shopping, and even a portfolio of recipes that I wanted to try. I use the following method to create a collage or “vision board” to display things that inspire me, things that I would like to try, and exotic locales that I would like to visit.
Many popular gurus say that to make your dreams come true all you need to do is glue images of what you want to a vision board, place it somewhere where you will be able to see it often, and wait for the things to show up. In my opinion, a vision board is a great tool for inspiring yourself to try new things, but it isn’t the means by which you achieve your goals. To get what you want, you have to take action! A vision board is a great way for you to outline action steps and to serve as a visual reminder to go after your dreams. Here is how I make my vision board. The push pins allow me to change out the pictures and quotes when I have accomplished them or if they no longer inspire me (versus gluing the cut-outs down which is more permanent.)
You will need:
- A stack of magazines and catal0gs
- Push pins
- Cork board squares (You can get these at your local drug store in the school supplies aisle or online at amazon)
- 3M Command Strips (Available at the drug store or at any office supply store)
Step 1: Take your magazines and catalogs and cut out things that inspire you. This can be pictures, words, quotes, things you want to buy, etc. It may take you awhile to amass enough cut-outs for a vision board. I have been building my collection for several years. I store mine in a zip loc bag.
Step 2: Secure the cork boards to the wall using command strips. Don’t worry about making it even. Once you have the pictures posted on there you won’t be able to see the gaps.
Step 3: Arrange your cut-outs on the cork board and secure them to the cork using the push pins. This is where you can get creative. I have one board for things that I want to buy, one for places that I want to go, One for inspiring quotes, and one for uplifting pictures. Or you can just arrange them in a way that is visually inspiring to you. My finished product:
My vision board has all kinds of thing on it. Hairstyles I want to try, inspiring quotes, people jogging (because I want to start jogging again), fashion and other random things. I posted it near my desk so that I will see it often. From start to finish it only took me about 20 minutes and it is a great way to add a pop of color to your walls.
Do you have a vision board or do you use another method to set goals? Let me know in the comments below! | <urn:uuid:c7d68c60-354c-4429-b0d5-f43a0f361ba2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://slyspeaks.com/tag/inspiration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960371 | 670 | 1.820313 | 2 |
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last year my son was bullied throughout the entire school year, the same kid, still happening. As my son told the teachers, staff, recess aides, counselor,basically any adult he could find, he was told to ignore him. I started documenting each time that this happened. He is still being bullied by the same boy, threatened mostly and nothing has yet to be done. I spoke with the staff and they said that they would "deal" with it but the truth in the matter is that nothing was done. There are many things that the school hears about but in my own opinion, they would rather have to listen to a parent gripe than have to deal with angry parents stating that their kids could never do anything of the sort. As of last month, my son was threatened to be punched in the face by this kid (my son is ten) and I told the school he has met his limit, if the boy touched him again, he will fight back (he hasn't yet because I do not condone this behavior). That was the last I heard of this boy's threats. Sometimes the parents have to physically go in with their issues and speak to the principal, armed with documents in order to get anything accomplished. There is supposed to be a zero tolerance for bullying, anyone know where that went?????????
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Find searchable data, including public employee salaries, crime stats and more. | <urn:uuid:aaa018c2-c335-49e3-a483-c04b72494ff6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kitsapsun.com/comments/reply/?target=61:275783&comment=313588 | 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 | 0.972557 | 424 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Through this inaugural blog I am initiating what I hope to be a regular set of commentaries organized around harnessing the power of business enterprises in ways that address society’s policy challenges, which is at the core of the mission of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. The views expressed here are my own and should not be interpreted as representing the views of the Erb Institute, the University of Michigan, or any of my former employers, or organizations of which I am a member.
I would begin this commentary by positing that, if pressed, the CEO of a large global enterprise would find the choice between relying on either a politician or a lawyer as a foundation around which to build a business strategy to be truly a Hobson’s one and be asking for a third option. Based on recent experiences with climate change policy and in light of the outcome of the last national election, a strong argument could be made that CEOs may be forced to hold their noses and choose the lawyer. Specifically, I mean that CEOs and their enterprises will choose to back off from previous efforts to directly engage in the political process as illustrated by initiatives like the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) or the Jobs Council, and instead, focus more on putting the government and its administrative agencies to their statutorily required proof in law, when they propose to change the way business operates. Large corporation CEOs–who made personal contributions to Romney over Obama in a ratio of 4-1—have been frustrated by ineffectual political strategies and advice, and have had their fill of elected officials of both political stripes. Direct engagement has also been an unavailing strategy. CEOs are used to being listened to and to holding people accountable for their commitments, qualities in very short supply in Washington. It is in that context, that I believe the focus will shift to legal remedies as the preferred means to affect policy. This approach has, among other tactical virtues, the possibility of dragging out final resolution of some critical questions until the political winds have changed to a perceived more business-favorable direction.
Efforts such as USCAP, the Simpson-Bowles Commission, the Jobs Council, as they have played out in recent years, illustrate some of the fundamental problems with attempting to blend the political and private sector world through informal and voluntary efforts. There are inherent infirmities among all sides of the process. For politicians, frankly, they resent attempts to usurp their policymaking role. The need to create entities outside the regular political process is an admission that politicians are not, cannot or choose not to do their jobs. We have seen several waves in recent elections of anti-incumbency transformations of the political landscape and, ipso facto, these policy workarounds and their recommendations threaten incumbents of both parties.
In the private sector, holding a consensus together among organizations that are built to maximize profit and defeat their business rivals is very challenging. The motives of private competitors at the table are viewed with suspicion and outside observers are rightly concerned about concealed rent seeking or marriages of convenience motivated less by the policy issue in question than by a desire to exploit a marketplace advantage. In the climate change area the recent debates over whether the US should export excess natural gas or enjoy the price reduction benefits of excess supply show how muddy these private sector waters can become. The civil society participants are not without their own conflicting agendas. Breakdowns inevitably occur based on: a) groups resentful that they have not been invited to the table, b) pragmatists versus absolutists, c) ngo business models that benefit more from confrontation than consensus, and d) competing dimensions of the environmental and social justice global agenda in the context of a complex geopolitical world of competing sovereign states. Finally, ultimately, these informal consensus building efforts founder on the rocks when the recommendations are brought back to the political process for adoption. Carefully negotiated outcomes that are the product of months of detailed discussions are rejected outright or drastically changed, misunderstood or mischaracterized by the politicians and the media. Participants on all sides feel betrayed and begin walking back their consensus positions justified by the changed circumstances. Whatever light had been cast on the problem in question is overwhelmed by the political heat that arises as winners and losers are very publicly identified in the political process.
The often criticized legal and litigation process begins to look more attractive for business only when compared against the incomprehensible and frustrating political process. For the business community, this process is particularly scary in the post-2012 electoral environment when the anti-business forces are in full-blooded victory howl and traditional political allies seem deeply divided and rudderless. In fact, especially for larger corporations, there is a segment of the Republican party which believes its electoral defeats were in part a result of ill considered flirtations by business with political enemies. However, there are certain benefits to business of taking a more legalistic approach to public policy questions.
First, despite the legal requirement for courts to give great deference to legislative and administrative action, many of our important environmental statutes and regulations bear no resemblance to the beauty of Shakespeare’s use of language and are only similar to his “first, …let’s kill all the lawyers,” line in that they are subject to several interpretations. Government lawyers and agency heads are well aware of the issues with their statutes, and are not eager to respond to legal challenges brought by any side questioning how they have been applied or enforced. A second value for business in litigating over environmental regulation is that it drags the final resolution of an issue out. There may even be instances where some delay leads to a better outcome for all. During the legal battles over “new source review” in the power sector, the natural gas revolution has occurred and market economics are driving coal emission reductions and avoiding duplicate investments in retrofitting no longer economical generation sources. A more Machiavellian rationale for business to pursue a litigation strategy is a function of the glacial pace of the federal trial and appellate courts. When final judicial resolution ultimately arrives, the political landscape, including control of the Executive and or Legislative branches of government, could have shifted to something more favorable, especially if the current political leadership is motivated by some version of the “let no crisis, go to waste.,” or, “kick them while they are down,” strategy. Third, the court of public opinion is typically not a home court for the business community, whereas the federal courts are a much more neutral venue. In contrast to the federal courts’ Rules of Evidence, adequate briefing schedules, sanctions against frivolous pleadings and opportunities to appeal adverse decisions; businesses wade into the public debate over policy with inherent liabilities and few advantages. Lastly, litigation, ironically, brings all sides of an issue to the table with something to lose, and that includes the government. Agreements negotiated in the context of litigation impose obligations of compliance, are usually transparent and include mechanisms for enforcement. They also force both sides to admit, defend and recognize weaknesses in their own positions, as well as, fundamental problems with underlying statutes and regulations that everyone can agree need to be fixed, or at least made comprehensible.
Many of the nation’s largest and longest standing environmental and consumer advocacy groups recognized early that they needed to “lawyer up” to achieve their goals. Nader’s Raiders, Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS), the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund etc., all represent examples of using the legal system to achieve policy goals. Legislation was secured through the political process, in many cases creating the government agencies that many in business find most challenging and problematic, and the courts were used to enforce the newly passed laws or hold the government agencies to their statutory obligations. Having been burned in their recent attempts to become more direct and voluntary actors in the political process, and with little clarity, certainty or economically appetizing choices ahead in areas such as climate change policy–business may be inclined to take a page out of the environmentalists’ playbook and head for the familiar, if unpleasant, confines of our nation’s courts. Whether you view the current state of what passes for the nation’s public policy development process as a tragedy or a comedy of errors, business and civil society may well be ready to leave ‘the sound and fury signifying nothing,’ behind in pursuit of the rule of law upon which our nation was founded.
Tom Catania is Executive in Residence at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, and was formerly Vice President of Government Relations and Senior Counsel for the Whirlpool Corporation, as well as, former Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota. Click here for more about Tom Catania including a complete list of his Executive Perspective blog postings. | <urn:uuid:4d4d9056-576c-4092-8758-7b477567c641> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://erb.umich.edu/erbperspective/2013/03/13/maybe-we-ought-not-kill-all-the-lawyers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965031 | 1,785 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Medical Student Education
Welcome to the Office of Medical Student Education at Children’s National Medical Center, the home of Pediatric Medical Student Education for George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (GWUMC). This website was created to provide pertinent information about the pediatric programs offered at GWU. We are dedicated to carrying out Children's mission, which includes a commitment to excellence in teaching, and GWU Medical Center’s vision to teach with creativity and dedication. We thank you for your interest in the GWU Medical Student Programs and look forward to hearing from you. Please make a selection below and contact us with any questions.
Medical Students Interested in Medical Education Programs at Children's
Pediatric Physicians Interested in Precepting
We encourage practicing pediatricians to become involved in Medical Student Education. We thank you for your interest in medical student education and look forward to your continued participation. Please read on and contact us with any questions. | <urn:uuid:1f5bfa47-d7bd-4459-8243-df5036ab5214> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.childrensnational.org/ForDoctors/mse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959596 | 193 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Macys fires disabled man for drinking broken bottle of water.
Sponsored by: Linda J. Tillotson
On July 14, 2011 my son in-law (James Squires) was fired from Macy's Dept. store in Brea Ca. While working Jimmy noted a broken bottle of water leaking so he picked it up and drank it. He was immediately FIRED!!!! Jimmy has worked for this company for 5 years and has taken a bus from Orange Ca. to Brea everyday he is scheduled to work. He has TWO small children at home. This job has kept him from going on WELFARE to support his family and saving tax payers money. Jimmy suffers from congenital eye disease and is considered DISABLED. The CEO for Macy's is Terry Lundgren.. Please sign this petition in support of Jimmy and his family. Show this big corporation that the people will not stand for such a PETTY Termination of an
employee who has shown nothing but loyalty to this company.
From a "Miracle on 34th Street" to malls in the 'burbs, this is middle-class America's own department store..
In 1857, R.H. Macy opened his eponymous dry goods store in New York City. The tally of his first day's receipts: $11.06. These days, under the aegis of Federated Department stores, Macy's anchors malls coast to coast, tallying millions in yearly sales.
Macy's is every shopper's department store, located along the retail spectrum between Sears and Nordstrom. Crowded displays boast second-tier labels: Lauren and Polo by Ralph Lauren, Reaction by Kenneth Cole, Allen by ABS. The shoe department features many upscale selections: Via Spiga, DKNY and Martinez Valero for the ladies and Cole Haan, Skechers and basic Bass loafers for the fellas. Otherwise, rely on staples: Wamsutta sheets, Royal Velvet towels, Clinique cosmetics, Gold-Toe socks and Carter's for kids. | <urn:uuid:5fee6400-2fde-49b4-80ff-3b0dda7a2de8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://orangecounty.citysearch.com/profile/656358/brea_ca/macy_s.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965318 | 415 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Cyps don't count as "carnivores", and you might not dare it, but in a roomy tank and in the hands of an experienced keeper; Cyps and Tropheus can mix quite well.
you need to get the more robust Cyps; Jumbo-types or true leptosoma. I wouldn't try it with pavo and certainly not with microlepidotus.
actually I did try it with microlepidotus and let's say I wasn't exactly covering myself with glory there.....
don't do it.
but "regular' Cyps are fine.
the trick here is cyclops
cyclops is perfectly safe with tropheus! it has a hard shell (fibers!), it's minute (so tropheus usually miss out a lot) and it is THE favourite food for cyps.
on a diet consisting just of prime quality veggie flake (OSI, NLS, Wardley, Hikari etc) and cyclops you can succesfully breed Cyps.....
As for Cyps with Featherfins: it's a match made in heaven, but to avoid too much agression I'd leave the Jumbo types for what they are unless your tank is nice n roomy. and growing them up together (starting with juvenile jumbo cyps and juvenbile Featherfins) usually works.
I've experienced with Featherfins that yes, they are vegetarians, but far less strickt than Tropheus. you can give a Featherfin food that you wouldn't feed a tropheus. so the Cyps will thrive even better.
Cyps and Featherfins in a 240G? NO problem!
Paracyps might get a bit stressed by the hyperactive Featherfins. but if you like the combination of the reddish-brown-blue of the Paracyps in with the green-brown-yellow of the nasuta's, you might think about Cyprichromis microlepidotus.
they DO handle Featherfins just fine. I've kept 24 C microlepidotus 'Mabilibili' with 10 Cyathopharynx foai 'Kabogo' in a 132G and the colors of both species were amazing.......
Go and get a nice contrasting Cyp for your nasuta's; you will not be disappointed!
ps: as for cavedwellers: there's a load of cavedwellers that do just fine on a fairly veggie diet. they are often overlooked cause they are either viewed as "Beginner Tangs" (Julidochromis) or "lacking in colors" (Chalinochromis, Telmatochromis).
In that 132G was a breeding pair of J regani 'Malagarasi' and a breeding pair of Telmatochromis dhonti....the latter has a very bad rep as the ol' "caninus" (doggie fish?), totally undeserved cause the featherfins only harmed themselves.
you wouldn't believe the numbers of fry I got from those omn that veggie-cyclops diet!
"And he piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it" | <urn:uuid:3bf08b40-ff83-4e87-8e86-c01ebc863ec4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15041 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953847 | 694 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Weather Averages for Lisbon in May
Averages for Lisbon in MayMay brings very pleasant warm temperatures to Lisbon.
The average temperature reaches up to around 22°C (that's about 72°F), and dips now lower than 13°C (about 55°F) in the evenings.
The average monthly rain is only around 39mm and there is about 9 hours of average daily sunshine.
The average sea temperature is about 17°C (about 62°F), so you can head to the nearby beaches to top up your or try your hand at surfing.
The Parque das Naçoes, also known as Lisbon Nations Park, is situated around the River Tagus and houses the Oceanário de Lisboa.
This Oceanarium contains a huge range of sea life as well as a lifesize exhibit of extinct sea creatures.
There are also backstage tours explaining about the conservation work and care of sea animals.
The Planetarium features regular sky shows projected on to the massive domed roof. There are also diagrams and models of the entire solar system.
Tennis enthusiasts can head to the Estoril Open to cheer on some of the world's most famous players as they compete.
The Book Fair (Feira do Livro) is held in Eduardo VII Park and features discussions, readings and presentations, as well as book sales and the chance to meet some prominent authors. | <urn:uuid:22e2360e-7090-488d-beb9-60de2f83a842> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.holiday-weather.com/lisbon/averages/may | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959432 | 286 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Just one cup of this electric green fruit provides more potassium than the same amount of sliced bananas — with less sugar and calories. They may taste sweet, but there’s no worrying about cavities when it comes to kiwi, with just 7 grams of sugar in one medium fruit they have almost three times less sugar than one apple. One cup of the fruit also contains 5 grams of fiber (the green part has soluble fiber, while the seeds and skin offer the insoluble kind), or about 21% of your daily recommended intake, to help promote feelings of fullness.
Try it: Kiwi-Lime Ice Pops via Eating Well
Greatist is the fastest-growing fitness, health and happiness startup. Check out more tips, expert opinion and fun times at Greatist.com. | <urn:uuid:c5e8172a-0ec9-4dac-80d6-fedecf284b50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/07/10-summer-superfoods-with-recipes/?iid=hl-x-special-reports-widget | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937591 | 163 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Back to CBACT!
Spotlight on JCC Kaleidoscope: A Theatre is a Theatre is a Theatre, April, 2012
Acclaimed for its extensive arts exploration, multicultural environment and commitment to community service, Kaleidoscope offers campers in grades K-8 the opportunity to engage in art, drama, dance, music, science and technology—-with a healthy dose of swimming, sports and the great outdoors—-in 2-, 4- and 8-week sessions.
The Kaleidoscope team—administration, specialists and counselors—play an integral role in creating a fun and nurturing experience for campers. Professional artists, performers and specialists work with counselors and campers to provide high quality group instruction. Excellent staff-to-camper ratios support individual growth and safety. We have full time on-site nursing support, and Red Cross-certified lifeguards and swimming instructors staff the JCC pools.
Throughout the summer, campers and counselors share stories, songs, scenes, music and dance at our frequent “noon-time performances.” Each 4-week session includes a full-scale musical integrating acting, singing, dance and costume and set design. Professional directors, choreographers and musicians guide campers and CITs in high-quality performances. Offstage, campers have opportunities to interact with and learn from visiting performers.
Betty Lehrman, Kaleidoscope's Director, has been involved in education, camping and the arts for over 25 years. A founding member of CBACT, she has directed arts camps and theater programs, produced concert series and festivals, and worked for many years as a professional storyteller. Betty has taught drama, storytelling and music to students from kindergarten through graduate school. Betty currently works as the Drama Director at the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School in Franklin. | <urn:uuid:d420d170-e64d-4a88-b6bc-4219782f9dd2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cbact.org/jcckaleidoscope.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946926 | 376 | 1.609375 | 2 |
To become a Baul is to become a primitive. To become a Baul is to reclaim one’s primitiveness, one’s primalness. One is reborn; it is a rebirth – the child happens again. Your body may be old, your mind may be old, but your consciousness is released from the bondage of the body and the mind. You have a past, you have many experiences, but they no longer burden you. You put them aside. You use them when needed. Otherwise, you don’t carry them continuously on your head for twenty-four hours. This is what liberation is: it does not liberate you from existence or from life or from flowers and love, it simply liberates you from your past. In fact, the more you are liberated, the more you fall in love with God. The more you are liberated, the more you become capable of rejoicing and loving.
So don’t ask me who originated Bauls. Nobody has ever originated things like that. The whole emphasis is on spontaneity. Of course, to have a theory like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, an Einstein is needed. Without him it cannot be originated, without him it would not be in existence. A very complicated mind is needed to discover the complicated Theory of Relativity.
Bauls don’t give any theories. They simply say, “All that you need be, you are already.” It is not a question of being very clever, it is a question of just being simple. No talent is needed to become a Baul. That’s the beauty of it: no genius is needed. What genius is needed to be a child? Every child is born as a child. The sages and the fools – all are born as children. No talent is needed. Childhood is simply everybody’s nature.
To be a Baul nothing is needed. In fact, the moment you need nothing, you become a Baul. The moment you are unburdened and you don’t possess anything, any past, you are a Baul. No, things like that are never originated. Nobody creates them; they happen. They are part of nature.
The second question:
So many times I can’t understand your words because the sound of your words showers on me – your sound strikes me with energy, filling me, and as a shock, I feel in my spinal cord thrills, waves and vibrations. Should I be carefully aware for the meaning of your words?
Then there is no need to be careful about the meaning of the words; that will be a disturbance. If you feel in tune with my sound, there is the meaning. If you feel you are being showered with a new energy, if you feel thrilled, pulsating in a new way you never knew before, if you feel a sort of new dimension arising in your being because of the sound of my words – then forget all about me. Then there is no need; you have got the meaning already.
That showering is the meaning, that thrill in the spine is the meaning, that vibration that cleanses you is the meaning. Then there is no need to worry about the ordinary meaning of the words. Then you are getting a higher meaning, then you are reaching a higher altitude of meaning. Then you are really getting the content and not the container. The meaning of my words is just the container.
If this is happening to you, then my words are no longer words to you; they have become existential. Then they are alive, then they have become a transfer. Then something is transpiring between my energy and your energy. Then there is happening something like what Bauls call love. | <urn:uuid:17c92014-978a-45dc-8090-1b50c8c5c358> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.osho.com/library/online-library-baul-meaning-become-e6874505-6b7.aspx | 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 | 0.971015 | 773 | 1.554688 | 2 |
We specialize in helping our clients to understand the complexities of workers compensation insurance. The purpose of workers’ compensation insurance is to provide employees with proper compensation for job-related injuries or illnesses. Although specific laws vary by state, workers' compensation insurance is generally required of companies with W-2 employees.
Many states use the standards of the National Council of Compensation Insurance to determine the rates of their workers’ compensation insurance. The NCCI, a non-governmental, private organization, uses classifications to determine the risk factors involved in particular jobs. The risk factor will obviously be greater with occupations such as mining and construction, and generally low for clerical workers.
Premiums are usually determined through a formula which includes a number of factors including salary, benefits and other variables. A remuneration number is then arrived at. It is used in conjunction with the risk factor classification of the job to arrive at the cost of the insurance. Premiums can also be adjusted by “experience modification factors”, which are standards set by the NCCI and other organizations for reducing premiums based on a company’s reputation.
The initial premiums are based on a number of prognostications including the amount of wages to be paid to workers. At the end of the policy period an audit is performed to determine the actual premium amount. The results of the audit can result in either a refund or additional premiums due.
Workers’ compensation coverage is important to the financial well being of your employees. We work with our clients to find the right coverage with quality insurance companies. Contact us today for a no obligation review of your workers’ compensation program | <urn:uuid:770ac50d-e252-40fe-8132-3644bd84f942> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nicoudinsurance.com/content/workers-compensation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953698 | 336 | 1.664063 | 2 |
[Arm-netbook] power consumption?
luke.leighton at gmail.com
Sat Jan 14 01:58:56 GMT 2012
On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 1:36 AM, Bari Ari <bari at onelabs.com> wrote:
> On 01/13/2012 07:10 PM, lkcl luke wrote:
>> hmmm... it might be worthwhile deliberately having the case at 8mm
>> (Type III PCMCIA) so that it doesn't fit into the smaller sockets.
>> that would make it possible to still fit the smaller cards into the
>> (larger) sockets. other remaining issue: power. PCMCIA's 68-pin
>> connector pins are limited to 0.5A each. if we made one of them
>> negotiable up to 12v (after power-up and reading the I2C EEPROM), that
>> would give almost 8 watts (12*0.5 + 5*0.5). do you think that would be
> I started looking at the power pins more closely today. There are a few
> more grounds than V+ currently. Part of this is for accommodating
> separate analog and digital grounds.
initally i added them more for separating the high-frequency signals
from each other. i'm taking a bit of a flyer by having the SATA pins
at the end, figured there'd be a shield nearby. also i used the two
5V lines to separate I2C from GPIO, on the perhaps naive assumption
that a) I2C is slow and wouldn't result in cross-talk b) GPIOs 0 and 1
would also be low-speed.
>We could swap a ground for 5V or 12V.
would that affect the stability of that power input? if not i'd
recommend either pin 20 or pin 54. or both.
> The GPIO's could also be configured at plugin to have a few extra 5V or
> 12V pins by reading an eeprom or pinstraps on the card.
oh duh of course, forgot about that. hmmm...
> The larger case for Type III would keep them from getting plugged into
> the smaller 5mm thick slots will work here again for EOMA68.
> Type II cards may work in either Type II or Type III motherboards or
> Type III motherboards or devices could default to Type II mode at
[initially] not sure why you'd do that... [but i do now, below].
> Type III cards won't fit in Type II devices so that problem is solved.
> Type III devices could be detected by the Type III mainboard or device
> at reset/power-on by a pinstrap or eeprom on the module. The mainboard
> could have a cheap 8 bit micro to read the pinstrap or eeprom and
> configure a couple GPIO for use as power vs GPIO.
ah. right, ok now i see what you're on about [above]
of course. darn. that's where i'd prefer it wasn't optional, and we
picked either pin 20 or pin 54 or perhaps both to be 5V
(non-optionally), and that was the end of it.
if it was both, that would make for 10 watts. which is pretty damn good.
btw i'm not keen on 12V as part of the standard, *unless* you can
show me that absolutely all EOMA68 CPU cards at the 8mm height will,
without fail, require 12V power.
i only suggested it as an idea to get extra wattage (and then
down-convert) but if you think we could get away with converting those
2 pins to 5V power that's much preferable, i think.
i'm not a great fan of "optionitis" in hardware, because it costs money :)
More information about the arm-netbook | <urn:uuid:f5b13cab-8e24-49a4-b45e-e97c9da13254> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2012-January/001822.html | 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 | 0.947654 | 841 | 1.539063 | 2 |
I may sound cynical, but in fact I am not. I strongly believe that the time is ripe for civil society to push for reform because outdated IR institutional structure is holding back economic growth. Let us look at how things stand today. The white paper clearly highlights the reasons why IR has been consistently losing market share over the years. Primarily it has been due to below-par growth: for each percentage point the economy grew, IR should have grown by at least 1.25 per cent — but it actually grew by 0.79 per cent. This has brought down the freight traffic market share from 88 per cent in 1950-51 to less than 35 per cent today. IR only contributes 1.18 per cent to GDP when it should be at least 2 per cent. The vision document aims for 3 per cent over the coming decade. If IR is to contribute 3 per cent to GDP, its existing structure has to be radically transformed. Unfortunately the vision document, while recognising the need for change, skims over the details.
Why do I say that a new structure is necessary?
Simply because any change in other infrastructure sectors has come about only after new arrangements have been put in place. The telecom sector changed only when the old arrangements gave way to the new. Modernisation of airports began only after privatisation. The politically-sensitive electricity sector is putting in place, with great reluctance, new institutional arrangements — and improvements can be seen. It is the railways that have shown little inclination to distance the role of government from that of train operator, replace the archaic fare structure, and establish a rates regulatory authority. Creating a globalised rolling stock industry is another area requiring new arrangements, in combination with private industry.
A larger question is network expansion. The document talks 25,000 additional kilometres in 10 years with at least 10,000 km of “socially desirable” lines, regardless of their economic viability in the short run. This is a tall order, when all that IR could achieve in the last 62 years was 10,000 km of new lines. The white paper laments that there is a large shelf of sanctioned projects which languish for want of funds — particularly some that are such, unviable but socially desirable. There is nothing wrong with socially desirable lines per se: globally, investments in railway lines have never been free from an element of equity. It is for these reasons that railway investments are subject of democratic debate. The Jammu-Srinagar and
Agartala-Silchar lines are good examples of projects approved on grounds of equity. However, this cannot be said of a very large number of projects accepted by Parliament.
Recently a new trend has started where projects are announced that have no reason to be built. A few examples to illustrate the point are the construction of a passenger coach factory in Singur in West Bengal and three plants in Bihar: a wheel manufacturing unit at Chapra, a diesel locomotive manufacturing plant at Marhaura and an electric locomotive unit at Madhepura. IR already has two large coach-manufacturing plants, one in Chennai and the other in Kapurthala, and a third one under construction at Rae Bareilly, hence the justification for the Singur plant — augmenting production capacity — is unconvincing. Similarly, the existing wheel and axle plant at Bangalore, locomotive manufacturing units at Varanasi and Chittaranjan are all capable of increasing production; so the units being built in Bihar are unnecessary.
Clearly the democratic debate that selects railway projects needs to be strengthened. The existing system of examining railway performance and plans during the railway budget has failed to provide leadership in halting, let alone reversing, the fall in market share or on investment decision-making. The solution lies in expanding the debate into the public domain.
The debate must compel the political executive to put in place new institutional arrangements so that the private sector can invest and multilateral organisations can lend the sums needed for transforming IR into a modern and dynamic organisation wished-for in the Vision-2020 document. A good place to start would be to take a look at the large shelf of projects suffering for want of funds and those which seem unnecessary.
The author is a former general manager of Indian Railways and former member of the Central Administrative Tribunal | <urn:uuid:1616f47d-d4cb-4455-b50a-de8e07188281> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/562920/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956979 | 870 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Audience members yelled at one another to stop yelling. The moderator talked over Representative Michael G. Grimm to ask the crowd to please stop talking over him.
And Mr. Grimm, a Republican from New York, was alternately cordial and combative on Wednesday night as he hosted the first town-hall-style forum of his term, a freewheeling and rowdy meeting that often felt more like wrestling than local politics.
Mr. Grimm stood at the front of a Brooklyn school auditorium filled with about 100 people and started off optimistically, asking for a show of hands from all who believed they were better off now than their parents were.
“That’s the vast majority, I’d say,” Mr. Grimm said, scanning the raised arms inside William McKinley Junior High School.
“I don’t,” a middle-aged man called out.
“Well, in this room, that’s how many hands went up,” Mr. Grimm said. “Are we going to debate that, how many hands went up? That’s a little silly.”
But debate they did, everything from why the wealthy might pay less in taxes than the audience felt was fair (“The Cayman Islands!”) to overhauling health care (“Single payer!”).
Many in the auditorium had come to Mr. Grimm’s event to express their displeasure with his support for the budget proposal by Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin. Some believe the plan would do away with Medicare while cutting taxes for wealthy Americans and corporations.
“We can’t dismantle Medicare!” a woman in the front called out. “Everybody gets old; everybody gets sick!”
“The deficit is due to the Bush-era tax cuts,” someone else said.
“The whole deficit is due to the Bush-era tax cuts?” Mr. Grimm asked.
“A good part, a good part,” came the resounding reply.
Former President George W. Bush was one of the evening’s frequent scapegoats, prompting Mr. Grimm, at one point, to say: “This year’s deficit is due to George Bush? That’s insanity! That’s insane.”
Later, he turned to the reporters in the room, as if looking for support.
“I want the press to document this,” he said. “The reason that the Democratic House, the Democratic Senate and the president, who’s a Democrat, and his name was President Barack Obama, not President George Bush, they didn’t pass a budget or pass any plan to stop our debt crisis because of George Bush? It was because of George Bush?”
At times, it seemed as if Mr. Grimm was leading his angry and murmuring constituents in a call-and-answer refrain, as they shouted out comments and answers to questions he had not yet posed.
The crowd had come equipped with facts and figures, and it hurled them with abandon.
“We watch C-Span,” said Peggy Devane, 68, who lives in Mr. Grimm’s district in Bay Ridge. “We know what goes on in Congress.”
Rosalie Caliendo, 64, read from her notebook for a moment, concluding, “We know what happened when Herbert Hoover was president.”
Mr. Grimm was alternatively respectful, listening to audience members who were angry with him, and confrontational, inviting the crowd to jeer.
“I’ll say it again — I supported that budget,” Mr. Grimm said, referring to Mr. Ryan’s plan. “You don’t have to yell out.”
As the crowd erupted into a loud chorus of boos, he continued: “Get it all out, get it all out. It’s good to get it out. Get it out of your system.”
Another time, when Ms. Devane continued to heckle him and shout out comments when others were trying to speak, Mr. Grimm came to the edge of her row.
“We know you disagree,” he said, growing increasingly loud. “You saying it 10 times isn’t going to change my mind. I get it. I respect it. I think you’re wrong.”
When Ms. Devane said Mr. Grimm was supposed to be representing her, he added: “You wouldn’t vote for me, and I know that. I respect that. So don’t pretend you voted for me. You didn’t.”
Finally, Mr. Grimm and Ms. Devane laughed and shook hands, and the congressman turned to the crowd.
“How many people in here did vote for me?” he asked.
Mr. Grimm was met with a roar of applause and whistles, and the girl who had sung the national anthem offered, “I can’t vote yet, but I would’ve.”
Eventually, Mr. Grimm tried to bring the event to a close.
“What did I take away from this meeting?” he said. “We need to tax the millionaires and billionaires, and that’s the magical formula.”
Mr. Grimm struggled to be heard over the din as half the audience tried to shout him down and the other half tried to shout them down, as the moderator called for a woman to put away her sign, and as someone, somewhere near the front, yelled out that it was all Mr. Bush’s fault. | <urn:uuid:c4b3e8de-5f85-4e77-a438-03e63f08318c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/rough-homecoming-for-a-washington-lawmaker/?ref=nyregion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976269 | 1,216 | 1.523438 | 2 |
It sounds like you're playing chords by plucking strings one at a time. Unless you're playing arpeggios, that's not the best way to do it: Try strumming them all in a row, in a fluid motion.
Keep in mind that some pick noise is inevitable, even desirable. In the studio, I do everything I can to emphasize incidental noises like the pick hitting the strings, the noises made by the flautist clicking the keys, or the vocalist inhaling before singing a line. It's what makes music sound human and relatable.
Unless you're getting a truly horrifically loud series of clicks when playing, don't worry about it too much. Listen to other players, and you'll hear that, to a point, this is normal and natural.
However, lighter nylon picks (like the ones put out by Clayton, for example) can mitigate this, as can lighter strings (although those would reduce the volume the strings produce, I think). There are also hybrid silk/steel strings that can give you a softer sound. (I'm guessing you're playing guitar with steel strings; classical guitars with nylon strings are generally not played with a plectrum.)
Like Matthew wrote in his answer, hold the pick more softly and play more gently and subtly. You'll have a better dynamic range, a less percussive sound, and you'll have better control over your instrument.
You also ask about playing without a pick. Sure, you can do that, but you'll be playing what's known as fingerstyle playing, a very different sort of music than strummed guitar. You'll also be wearing down the fingernails on your strumming hand, so you'll want to prepare for that. | <urn:uuid:3add32d1-0430-481a-99c2-b7ea7d650da8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/624/how-can-i-prevent-the-noise-my-guitar-pick-makes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976635 | 360 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Cyncoed Learning Centre
Cyncoed Learning Centre holds a variety of resources that primarily support the schools of Education and Sport. These extensive and varied collections cover the following subject areas:
Adult and Community Education
In addition to the main collection of books and journals, Cyncoed houses the Teaching Experience collection. This includes pupil textbooks, teacher support materials, audiovisual and pack materials. A small reference collection, including Estyn/Ofsted Reports, is also included in this room.
Cyncoed Learning Centre includes two IT suites – one of which has 24-hour access – as well as group study areas, quiet study areas, bookable study rooms and a comfortable seating area.
Computers – both PCs and Apple Macs – as well as scanners, printers and photocopiers are available throughout the learning centre.
Staff are available and happy to help during opening hours. | <urn:uuid:1aab9511-a678-49dd-ab13-0b4fb6a80542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www3.uwic.ac.uk/english/lis/using/pages/cyncoedlearningcentre.aspx?Contrast=Normal.css | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944868 | 184 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Turner v. White
When Daunn Turner, 52, a transgender woman in Will County, Illinois, applied for a name change, she also petitioned for a waiver of court fees based on her status as a low-income, disabled person. The court refused to allow Turner to proceed with her name change while the request for a fee waiver was pending. Turner waited several weeks before she heard from the Will County Chief Judge, who denied her application for the fee waiver by in a phone call and told her that the name change was “something she wanted” rather than “something that she needed.” The Chief Judge then refused to follow proper procedure, which would have assigned Turner a case number and provided her with a written denial of the fee waiver. When Turner asked the Chief Judge if she could appeal the decision, the Chief Judge claimed he was the final decision maker, and that she should ask for money from friends on her upcoming birthday to fund the court fees for a name change. Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on Turner’s behalf, urging the Illinois Supreme Court to enforce proper procedure in the lower court, so that she can continue the process to legally change her name.
Under Illinois law, all low-income individuals who cannot afford court fees are entitled to a waiver of the fees associated with legal proceedings. Additionally, in Illinois, as in most states, name changes are permissible for any reason other than to perpetuate a fraud.
Lambda Legal's Impact
This case seeks to make sure that all people have equal access to the courts — particularly those members of society who are most vulnerable to bias or prejudice.
- January 2008 Complaint filed in Illinois Supreme Court | <urn:uuid:d34434a1-8a36-48ce-95fe-97cc7af00303> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/turner-v-the-honorable-stephen-white?qt-related_conent_for_cases=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968265 | 345 | 1.765625 | 2 |
It’s not up to us to decide when or how we die. Our times are in God’s hands. And although God doesn’t cause suffering, He sometimes allows us to suffer in the flesh as we wait for the promise of eternity.
That’s why I believe Dublin’s High Court made the right call in the controversial case of a terminally ill Irish woman with multiple sclerosis.
Marie Fleming was battling for the lawful right to die. It was the first case like it in predominantly Roman Catholic Ireland.
According to Reuters, the mother of two testified that her “life had become totally undignified and too painful to bear, and said she had planned every detail, including funeral arrangements.”
But Judge Nicholas Kearns decided it wasn’t realistic to custom-make laws governing assisted suicide: "It would be impossible to ensure the aged, disabled, poor, unwanted, rejected etc would not avail of this option to avoid a sense being a burden on their families and society.”
I feel for Marie Fleming. My heart breaks for the 59-year-old former university lecturer who is completely paralyzed. She’s is experiencing tremendous suffering. She just wants to end her misery. But that doesn’t mean she should end her life. God has her here for a reason. God is not done with her yet. Her times, as difficult as they are, are in God's hands.
Fleming’s life is not undignified because God has dignified her with life. Her life is not over and I believe God can work a miracle in her life, beginning with a saving faith in Christ that carries her through unimaginable pain and suffering.
Let’s pray for Fleming. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort her. Let’s pray for Jesus to save her from her misery. Let’s pray that the Father would encounter her with His fiery love. Let’s pray that she gets up out of that wheelchair healed and whole. Let’s just pray. | <urn:uuid:5dfa188f-37ad-48c9-b46b-39977d53c106> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/35203-why-marie-fleming-should-not-have-the-right-to-die | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97194 | 430 | 1.5 | 2 |
Disturbing new details have emerged about an incident in Miami, Florida in which police shot and killed a man who was tearing off and eating another man’s face. According to Miami’s WSVN, the victim, who is believed to be homeless, lost 75 percent of his face in the attack and is in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Police claim that the dead man was overdosing on a new, powerful form of Lysergic Acid Diethlymide, the hallucinogen commonly known as LSD.
Eyewitness Larry Vega was bicycling on the MacArthur parkway on Saturday afternoon when he saw the two naked men locked in a grisly struggle. The scene, he said, was like something from a horror movie.
“And the guy was like tearing him to pieces with his mouth, so I told him, ‘Get off!’” Vega said, “You know it’s like the guy just kept eating the other guy away like ripping his skin.”
Vega flagged down a police officer, who ordered the attacker to let his victim go. The attacker ignored him, but when the officer jumped the concrete divider and shouted, Vega said, “the guy just stood his head up like that with a piece of flesh in his mouth and growled.”
The officer opened fire, striking the suspect, who barely paused as he continued to rip away the homeless man’s face. The officer fired several more times until the attacker was dead.
More police swarmed the scene and the victim was caught on Miami Herald surveillance cameras as he struggled to sit up. His face, said Vega, “was just a blob of blood. You couldn’t really see, it was just blood all over the place.”
Police spokesman Armando Aguillar told reporters that the suspect may have been overdosing on a new, super-potent form of LSD. ”What’s happening is whenever we see that a person has taken all of his clothes off and has become violent, it’s indicative of this excited delirium that’s caused by overdose of drugs,” he said, “What’s happening is inside their body their organs are burning up alive.”
Neither man’s identity has been released to the public.
Watch video about this story, which originally aired Monday, May 28, and is embedded via WSVN, below: | <urn:uuid:5a8282ca-993d-498d-811c-a6d233fb0f8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/28/police-miami-cannibal-was-overdosing-on-new-super-potent-lsd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98279 | 513 | 1.585938 | 2 |
When you turn your control knobs all the way in, you have now taken all of the adjustment out of it. With your knobs now, one knob is backing out 2 turns further then the other. This is why one is at 5 and the other is at 3. Each adjustment bolt was not put in with a CNC machine, but more like a center punch, this is the difference in the back out. When you turn the adjuster knob all the way in, they ( the shovels) will both travel the same distance. Max travel of the carpets is what your looking for and with your knobs (feeder bolt) turned all the way in, this is what you will get. If you would take the hopper off of the stove and look at the feeder shovels you would see that the distance for max feed is the same when turned all the way in. Your shovel adjuster will only go in so farand then it stops, but if you measure from the front of the shovel adjuster to the back of the adjuster , they are the same. Thread count does not mean anything, it is a variable. I know this is confusing, but it will work. Trust me. | <urn:uuid:fd1007c9-7062-4a05-9176-03223c3f65bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nepacrossroads.com/about1167.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959201 | 248 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Staged Properties in Early Modern English Drama
- Publication date:November 2006
- 8 b/w illus.
- Dimensions: 228 x 152 mm
- Weight: 0.53kg
This collection of essays studies the material, economic and dramatic roles played by stage properties in early modern English drama. Often, the received wisdom about the commercial stage in Shakespeare's time is that it was a bare one, uncluttered by objects. Staged Properties offers a critique of this view. The volume offers valuable evidence and insight into the modes of production, circulation and exchange that brought such properties as sacred garments, household furnishings, pawned objects and even false beards on to the stage. Departing from previous scholarship which has mainly focused solely on the symbolic or iconographic aspects of props, these essays explore their material dimensions, and in particular, their status as a special form of property. The volume reflects upon what the material history of stage props may tell us about the changing demographics, modes of production and consumption, and notions of property that contributed to the rise of the commercial theatre in London. | <urn:uuid:47e1589b-2ffd-47aa-8d26-784054fade64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1116567/?site_locale=en_GB | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941404 | 223 | 1.75 | 2 |
Jerusalem — When right-wing Jews burned tires in the streets of Jerusalem and tried to break into the compound of the Israeli Supreme Court in late June, they were marking a new stage in the development of a growing movement in Israel.
The declared target of their angry protest was the arrest for a two-hour interrogation — and subsequent release without charge — of Rabbi Dov Lior, a 77-year-old Holocaust survivor and one of Israel’s most respected poseks, or determiners of Jewish law.
But Lior is also a controversial sage who affirms, among other things, that it is “permissible for the Israel Defense Forces to attack in the course of warfare a civilian population that is ostensibly innocent of wrongdoing.” This position is informed by Jewish morality, and Jews “should not feel guilt out of the morality of unbelievers,” he claimed in a 2004 ruling.
To his followers, Lior’s brief arrest confirmed their belief that a Kulturkampf, or culture war, is being waged in Israeli society, in which the secular-dominated state establishment is constantly trying to undermine the religious public and its lifestyle.
This has been a working assumption for decades of Israel’s black-hatted ultra-Orthodox Jews. But Israel’s Religious Zionists, from which the bulk of Lior’s followers come, have traditionally upheld the legitimacy of Israel’s secular authorities, until relatively recently. Over the past 15 years, some members of this movement have moved closer to the ultra-Orthodox’s view of Israel’s secular authorities as legal and moral usurpers, with volatile consequences. The new movement is known as hardal, a combination of the words Haredi, as the ultra-Orthodox are called in Hebrew, and dati-leumi, or Religious Zionists.
Buoyed by the claim that the secular state betrayed Religious Zionists with the Gaza evacuation of 2005, the hardal ideology has become increasingly popular over the past six years. Sources in academia and politics were reluctant to venture an estimate of their numbers. But all agreed they exceeded 100,000 adherents.
The arrest of Lior, one of their leaders, was related to conclusions he has articulated about Jewish religious law and its requirements that secular authorities find racist and potentially seditious. Among other things, his scholarship has brought him to the conclusion that soldiers must disobey orders if told to evacuate settlements, that it is prohibited to employ Arabs or to rent homes to them, and that children produced by sperm donations from non-Jews are at risk of inheriting “negative genetic traits that characterize non-Jews.”
In various speeches that Lior has given since his arrest he has stressed that religious law, as he interprets it, takes precedence over state law. “Israel’s rabbis must express their views without fearing that some may not like it,” he said on July 4. “The people of Israel’s power is its spiritual basis.”
Police arrested Lior, who is chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank and de facto chief rabbi of nearby Hebron, along with Rabbi Yaacov Yosef, the son of Sephardic Jewry’s premier spiritual leader, Ovadia Yosef, for suspected incitement to violence by virtue of the public endorsement both gave to the controversial book Torat Hamelech (“The King’s Torah”). Written by hardal scion Yitzhak Shapira of the settlement of Yitzhar, the book finds that babies and children of Israel’s enemies may be killed, since “it is clear that they will grow to harm us.” It also states that “the prohibition ‘Thou Shalt Not Murder’” applies only “to a Jew who kills a Jew,” and it terms non-Jews “uncompassionate by nature,” adding that attacks on them “curb their evil inclination.”
For many Israelis, the Lior and Yosef arrests sent out an impor tant message that the government will act against what it views as incitement to violence and that it will not give special treatment to those with high status. “Nobody is above the law — and I demand that every Israeli citizen respect the law,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the July 3 Cabinet meeting, echoing an earlier Justice Ministry statement.
But others saw the arrests as evidence of double standards, with the religious hard-line being denied free-speech rights enjoyed by others. “It’s a discrimination of ideas: Academics are free to say and write whatever they want, but when it comes to rabbis, it’s unacceptable that a different rule applies,” said Yishai Fleisher, a settler activist and broadcaster on the right-wing Galei Israel radio station. Such an arrest in America “would be seen as shocking” he said, adding that Israeli liberals betrayed their philosophy by supporting it.
In fact, some on the left questioned the arrests, among them the liberal daily paper Haaretz in an editorial, which asked why authorities have not instead fired Lior from his position as chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba, a government position.
Nevertheless, some figures from the more moderate dati-leumi community echoed Fleisher’s criticism. Haim Druckman, head of the mainstream Orthodox Bnei Akiva network of yeshivas and former head of the state’s Conversion Authority, told a July 4 demonstration drawing some 1,200 protesters that law enforcement bodies were being “selective” in taking action against the religious right.
Though the arrest of any hardal rabbi would touch a raw nerve, Lior’s revered status made the reaction to his arrest especially volatile.
“At this point, Dov Lior is probably the leading Religious Zionist posek around,” explained Shlomo Fischer, a fellow at the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute.
Unlike some other rabbis of the religious far right, Lior is seen widely as a genuinely gifted scholar. “He’s a very legitimate and important talmid hacham [sage]. On any other issue I respect his rulings,” said Fischer, a founder of the Yesodot Center for Torah and Democracy, which promotes democratic values in the Orthodox community.
Michael Karpin, author of the 1998 book “Murder in the Name of God: The Plot To Kill Yitzhak Rabin,” about alleged incitement by Lior and other rabbis against Rabin before his murder, said that Lior’s importance stems from the fact that “he’s able to be part of the establishment and part of the extreme right.” Besides his high reputation as a scholar, his state position as Kiryat Arba’s chief rabbi makes him “like a present” for the far right, said Karpin.
Silesia-born Lior shot to fame in 1995, after Rabin’s death, when it emerged that earlier that year, he had co-signed a letter sent to 40 rabbis, asking for their thoughts on whether Rabin, for moving forward with the Oslo process, was a “moser” — a Hebrew term for a “traitor” — who is, according to Halacha, deserving of death.
Prior to this, Lior also called Baruch Goldstein, the settler who massacred 29 Muslims at prayer in Hebron in 1994, before he was beaten to death, a “martyr.”
Many Israelis have taken the reaction to Lior’s arrest as a glimpse of what may unfold if Israel attempts any significant evacuation of settlements in the occupied West Bank — especially in Lior’s district, Kiryat Arba and Hebron. “Because of this, a lot of people will think that it’s difficult and maybe impossible to evacuate,” said Avishai Ben Haim, religious affairs commentator with Israel’s Channel 10 television station.
Contact Nathan Jeffay at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:50c6faee-049e-4849-b9ca-a72b1640738c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forward.com/articles/139518/jerusalem-riots-expose-new-rift-between-religious/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966204 | 1,719 | 1.625 | 2 |
Editor's note: An Associate Middle East Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Barak M. Seener has written extensively about Middle East issues, including the Arab Spring, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel's defense and security policies, and the Palestinianization of Israeli Arabs.
London (CNN) -- It would be a mistake to write off threats of war against Syria from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as mere bluster, assuming that Turkey will maintain the status quo in valuing its relationship with the United States on one hand, while resisting Iran's hegemonic ambitions on the other.
The recent cross-border confrontation could ignite regional convulsions as Turkey is sucked into Syria, leading to belated actions on the part of the international community.
The Assad regime knows its time is limited as the rate of military and intelligence officers defecting to Jordan and Turkey increases in momentum. Rebel attacks are inching closer to the heart of the Assad regime, such as the recent attack on the Syrian air force intelligence compound in the Damascus suburb of Harasta. This contributes to the regime's recklessness in firing upon Turkey with impunity.
Ankara may also be emboldened by the fact that Iran, a key Assad ally, could be limited in its ability to intervene due to its economic woes at home. This week its currency -- the rial -- plummeted in value due to a combination of sanctions and Tehran's own mismanagement of the economy. Turkey has less to lose by responding to Syrian aggression -- this rationale is supported by recent reports that Iran has withdrawn from Syria 275 members from a special operations unit attached to its elite Quds Force.
The conflict in Syria is no longer considered a purely internal matter. It clearly has regional ramifications. Thus I believe Turkey's aim to secure its border is inextricably linked with regime change. Its increased military operations may stem from a calculus that it would accelerate the Assad regime's demise. The Turkish parliament's assent for its troops to conduct operations inside Syria is not merely a symbolic attempt to bolster Turkish pride while responding to domestic political pressure over the Syrian attacks. It gives its armed forces the ability to do more than defend its borders.
It is also likely that NATO may assist Turkey -- a member state -- with the defense of its 560-mile border, creating a de facto humanitarian buffer zone, where the Syrian opposition could have a command post. However, this risks escalating the conflict into a NATO-led mission outside the framework of the U.N. Security Council -- the kind of interventionist measure Russia and China would oppose as they did in Libya.
The shift towards conflict with Syria is characterized by the kind of strategic shift in the region that we've seen before with Turkey. Erdogan was initially reluctant to impose sanctions on Iran and is now embracing EU sanctions on Tehran. The Turkish premier was also supportive of Iran's nuclear ambitions all the while seeking to downgrade relations with Tehran's nemesis, Israel. Now it is aligning itself with the Sunni bloc, including Gulf states and Jordan against Iran and its Syrian proxy. This could prompt an Iranian military response and in turn instigate another spike in oil prices.
The longer the Syrian civil war continues, the greater the prospect of regional sectarian tensions emerging along Sunni-Shiite fault-lines. This could result in a Middle Eastern Cold War between regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia, with its mainly Sunni population, and the Shiite-dominated Iranians.
Meanwhile, The Obama administration's apparent strategy of "leading from behind" is an excuse for its dithering over the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Similarly, the United Nations' inaction over the crisis results from a deadlock at the Security Council, with China and Russia opposed to any intervention -- implausibly advocating that the rebels conduct dialogue with a murderous regime.
Yet with the UN's extensive history of paying lip service to upholding the values of human rights while ignoring genocide in Rwanda, Sudan, Balkans and Iraq, its dismissive manner towards the current massacres taking place on a daily basis in Syria should come as no surprise. There are estimates that up to 50,000 people have been killed, with up to two million people internally displaced since the conflict started. The U.N. claims that 300,000 Syrians have fled the country.
The U.S., realistically the only nation with the necessary military and logistical capability, could easily have prevented the refugee crisis that has heightened the prospect of conflict with Turkey. Its wariness to arm rebels was to prevent blowback from the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and other empowered Islamists in Syria. Yet the protracted conflict there has generated a kaleidoscopic civil-war and vacuum of governance across much of Syria that has attracted Islamists, and even revived al-Qaeda, enabling it to infiltrate the ranks of the opposition and gain support in the wake of its attacks on Syrian military and government installations.
The U.S. and its NATO allies could also have prevented much bloodshed by using air power to target the Assad regime's military apparatus. Syria's military concentrated in Damascus, Aleppo and northern Raqqa province are strained and would be overstretched if forced to respond to external military pressure.
Yet Washington and its NATO allies could now be forced to place a significant number of troops on the ground to prevent the proliferation of Syria's stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. The Obama administration has resigned itself to wishful thinking assuming, as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has done, that Syrian security forces could be held together to secure chemical weapons sites in the wake of the toppling of the Assad regime. In a vacuum of governance dominated by Islamists, this may become a proliferation nightmare.
While the U.S. is keen on winding down its involvement in the Middle East to refocus its attention on Asia, Syria may be the instigator that sucks it back into the region for another decade to manage a second Cold War.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Barak Seener. | <urn:uuid:14b308ce-0977-4fe9-942e-ba0eac322f48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/11/opinion/syria-turkey-conflict-seener/index.html?iid=article_sidebar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957653 | 1,220 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The wearing of uniforms unites girls as Girl Scouts.
For girls ages 5 to 14, the required unifying look includes wearing a choice of a tunic, vest, sash for displaying official pins and awards, combined with their own solid white shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Girl Scouts in high school can also wear a scarf that unites their look with the sisterhood of Girl Scouts around the world. For adult members the unifying look of the uniform is a Girl Scout official scarf or tie for men, worn with the official membership pins, combined with their own navy blue business attire. Girl Scouts at the Daisy and Brownie levels will continue to have a full uniform ensemble available. | <urn:uuid:dfd581a4-13f6-49d0-b83a-c704ed86e377> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.girlscoutshop.com/s.nl/sc.18/category.42/.f?sort1desc=F&sort1=Item_NAME | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956716 | 140 | 1.5 | 2 |
Upload & Sell: On
You'll probably have to give more info to get the best input.
What lens specifically?
Assuming that you're mounting using the lens mount, not the camera mount, your setup should be as balanced as possible on the ballhead. To do this place the bracket in the ballhead with the clamp loose and the ballhead tension loose. Slide the bracket, lens and camera to get it in the most balanced position.
If your tripod and ballhead are adequate for the gear your using and properly balanced, you should be able to have "minimal" shifting. There has been much debate in other threads whether or not a very slight shift is always present and I would say that it's impossible to have absolutely no shift. In my experience, the better the ballhead, the less the shift. The amount of shift is also determined by focal length. At 24 mm the shift is usually too small to notice, at 200 mm it is usually quite noticeable. The additional weight is also a factor. | <urn:uuid:f333b802-ea47-4138-8d44-789123cd5e5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1136889 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956577 | 208 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Yesterday, we told you about how countercultural figure Stewart Brand said it was time for the environmental movement to reconsider its opposition to nuclear energy.
Coming on the heels of public statements by James Lovelock, Patrick Moore and Hugh Montefiore, it seems as if this change of heart is beginning to have an effect inside the environmental movement -- evidence of which can be found over at Grist.
Yesterday, environmental advice columnist Umbra Fisk was forced to admit that if environmentalists want to seriously address climate change, then they have to give nuclear energy a second look.
Over at their blog, Gristmill, there's a spirited debate going on concerning the merits of new nuclear build. Here's what one reader had to say in response to Fisk's reluctant conclusion:
Assuming the demand for power, and therefore power plants, continues to grow - nuclear power seems almost reasonable when compared to coal. Of the two, I would rather a new nuke plant be built in my state
Smokestack releases effecting global climate as well as local health and air quality would be eliminated, and destructive mining practices associated with coal would be reduced (though uranium mining is not benign, it does not consume countless tons of strip-mined material daily).
It might be time to compromise and accept nuclear power to meet the inevitable growth of power demand.
And finally, Grist is also conducting an online poll asking their readers if nuclear energy deserves a second look. The last time I checked, 56 percent of their readers said yes.
Looks to me like things are changing for the better. Too bad the Washington, D.C. Department of Energy doesn't agree.
Technorati tags: Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics | <urn:uuid:68ad2acc-9a1b-4e81-9a72-427baff03a92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2005/04/grist-grapples-with-nuclear-energy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96299 | 354 | 1.6875 | 2 |
We’re looking for short pieces (no more than two minutes) that pair a strong sense of place with an historical perspective. “Historical perspective” can be interpreted broadly — it could entail visiting the site of a famous battle or speech, but it could also deal with family stories, local lore, a quirky tradition, etc. The postcard should be driven by the sounds of the place, though narration is certainly also fine. We’d be especially interested in postcards from areas outside the east coast. Pitch in the comments below, or email us at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:11a131ac-5749-4138-a9bf-b3652766c8e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://backstoryradio.org/postcards/quote-comment-28749/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946222 | 126 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
- Friday, October 06, 2006
One thing I've noticed in working with churches around the country is that many Christians have an unbalanced view of God. In today's "culture of tolerance," many have assumed God is just as tolerant and unbothered by sinful behavior as is politically correct at the moment. We've presented a picture of God as being full of grace, love and peace -- and that's correct, but what about the "Lion" part of God? He is, afterall, the "Lion" (Revelation 5:5) and the "Lamb" (Revelation 5:12).
Would some among our Christian community have such a sense of entitlement to God and everyone else if we dusted off some of the other pages in our Bibles that tell of an almighty, powerful, even dangerous God?
Solomon said, "This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
"Fear God" is certainly not a popular command now days. It sounds too offensive, archaic and unenlightened for many of our pulpits. But Solomon said it was part of our "duty" as human beings.
Matthew 10:28 says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew is quoting Jesus in this passage and note that He (Jesus) tells us to "be afraid" of God. The worst villain in a horror movie can't send anyone to hell, but God can. A healthy dose of fear helps put things in perspective, and Jesus advised us to remember who we are to really fear.
I wish I could be poetic and use pretty words to say that the fear we should have for God is not the kind of fear we see displayed in movies, the kind Jason and Freddie Kruger conceive. But my definition is fairly similar. The Bible says, "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). God has the power to destroy me, and I deserve it. Even if I didn't deserve it, there is no earthly court or lawyer to defend me -- I am absolutely helpless and powerless.
This aspect of God will never disappear. Even with His breathtaking love, mercy and grace, He is still the God who decided He would kill Abraham in the night, but changed His mind because of Sarah's pleading. He is still the God who flooded the earth in order to kill every human except for one family.
When I was in college, it was very trendy for Theology majors to write about the grace and love of God. They often wrote short articles that seemed to be love letters. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, and I think it is a great thing to do. But respect for entering into God's presence seemed to become diluted as people started viewing God as a grandfatherly figure so desperate for our time and attention that He overlooked our sins.
Please don't misunderstand -- I stand in awe of the love of God, and can't put into words the love I have for Him. But I am also afraid of Him because His power is so much beyond any monster or superhero I could possibly imagine.
So when temptation parades itself in front of me, I have an easier time turning it away because I fear God. There are other reasons I obey, including the fact that I love God and don't want to hurt Him by my actions. But I also fear Him because I know that He holds the right to my next breath. Perhaps that's what Jesus meant when He said, "Be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
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Add Crosswalk.com content to your siteBrowse available content | <urn:uuid:bbd26295-b9c0-454d-ba81-ee10ab591585> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/be-afraid-be-very-afraid-1433292.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972248 | 844 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Schools may be closed for the summer, but it's not stopping Anne Arundel County from serving meals to students.
In fact, a good number of those students have meals delivered to their front door.
It is key for needy children who are out of school whose parents may be at work during the day. The goal is to serve more than 100,000 meals before the end of the summer.
Stella Kenny is the head of school food and nutrition services and a team of volunteers. They're on a mission to make sure students are served lunch over the summer.
The group stopped in Meade Village on Thursday where most students attend the Boys and Girls Club.
Student Destiny Jackson said kids get excited when they see the truck.
"Their lunches are good," Jackson said.
The Mobile Meals program helps to reach families all over the county. The program operates, in part, with federal dollars.
"They like it when this bus comes," resident Jessica Riggs said. "It's like something to look forward to everyday in the summertime."
"You could see the smiles on their face, and it's pretty good," resident Thelbert Marshall said. "I'm glad they have something like this. It gives something back to the community." | <urn:uuid:d0e09f6e-8068-4a6a-8e19-041f578f34a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/education/Mobile-Meals-program-feeds-needy-Anne-Arundel-Co-students/-/9379316/15417574/-/vemefa/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977368 | 263 | 1.796875 | 2 |
EYEWITNESS LOCAL NEWSSISSONVILLE GAS EXPLOSION
from Eyewitness News Online
Family Dissatisfied In Aftermath Of Gas Explosion
Reported by: Elizabeth Noreika
Web Producer: Heath Harrison
Reported: Jan. 30, 2013 3:34 PM EST
Updated: Jan. 30, 2013 3:59 PM EST
Sissonville , Kanawha County , West Virginia
Some victims from the massive gas line explosion in Sissonville said they are not getting the help they need.
Denver and Shirley McMillion’s home was wiped out by a massive gas line explosion in December, but now new frustrations as they claim Columbia Gas isn't doing its part in helping them put their lives back together. They said Columbia Gas offered them a settlement, but said it's not nearly enough.
The company has been on the ground in the Sissonville area since the blast happened. Each family who lost their home was assigned what's called a "land agent" to assess the damage.
But the McMillions said they are not getting the help they need and believe the settlement Columbia offered them isn't nearly enough.
If a deal can't be reached, the McMillions said they do have a lawyer and will do what is necessary to get back what was taken from them, even if it means going to court.
A representative for the company told WCHS that company officials are doing everything they can to help all involved.
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Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed. | <urn:uuid:0d4c05f6-a32c-47f5-a52b-623a7588699f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/130130_13429.shtml?wap=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943862 | 428 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Rockets, Radiation and Slave Labour: A Weekend Trip to Stechlinsee
This should not put you off. This trip is not only through some stunning scenery, but gives you plenty to think about, and is easily made as a day or weekend trip from Berlin. You take the one-hour train to Fürstenberg on Havel, a tiny medieval city of some 6000 inhabitants, on the border between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg (it has belonged to both) in former East Germany. From here there is easy access to the crystalline lakes reachable by dedicated bicycle paths.
We pass around the western shore of Schwedtsee from Fürstenberg, through tranquil woods, and along a quaint seashore. This calm soon brings us to the woman’s Nazi concentration camp Ravensbrück, in operation between 1939 and 1945 and ‘processing’ 132 000 prisoners, most of whom did not survive. It started as a work camp, many women working as slaves for Siemens here, and by 1944 a gas chamber was added.
I knew vaguely that the camp was nearby, but did not expect to stumble across it on our bike ride, and am struck by the proximity of it to the city. Pretty little Fürstenberg is just across the lake. Roses float on the water and lap up to the stone steps below the memorial. More macabre is the fact that the former SS housing estate, in Alpine style for Nazi officers and their families, has since 2002 been a youth hostel. This seems to me a misjudged use of space, I certainly would have trouble sleeping here.
We continue on our bikes East through the forest arriving eventually in the isthmus town of Himmelpfort, where there are the ruins of a 13th-century cloister in brick gothic (part of the complex was destroyed by fire as recently as 2010). The town has also built a Christmas post-office, so children can send their letters to Father Christmas… there is even a little hut filled with Christmas paraphernalia, opened letters and gifts. I stand in this kitschy installation for a few moments in a state of shock—after the Ravensbrück camp and seeing the contiguous camp for children on the bike ride here. Again, the proximity of the everyday, the consumeristic, the ice-cream vendors and stamp collectors, alongside the terrors of the twentieth century in such a gentle landscape of woods, light, and water, makes me slightly nauseated. I ride hard to the next stop.
Now, landscape takes over, the stillness of woods. I have never fully reconciled myself to the indifference of nature to so much terror. The forests must look the same now as they did when so many people were suffering a short distance away. The woods transport you back to the moment, but they have no memory. Suffering leaves no traces in the wild, the voices disappear. Only we, gliding through them on our fast bikes, have troubled faces. We despise the forest’s indifference and look to that neutrality for some comfort.
We pass through fields of sunflowers, little towns that seem deserted, Bredereiche and Dannenwalde. We pass in front of an abandoned villa that looks out of a Theodor Fontane novel. Where are its former owners? Who chased them out?
Deeper woods, then Zenikov, Menz, and, finally, Neuglobsow, on the shore of lake Stechlin. Here we have lunch, drink beer, take our bikes a ways along the lake, and swim. The lake, in Fontane’s 1899 novel, Der Stechlin, is the background to social change, an old aristocrat giving way to the new, the emergence of socialism and democracy in contrast to the old order. The old man’s retreat is into the loneliness and melancholy of nature.
Stechlin, 70 metres deep, is said to have the clearest water in all of Germany, it is remarkable, we dive into it suddenly very grateful. It is certainly the most beautiful body of water I have swum in Northern Germany.
But here too there is a disturbance. At the far end of the lake the East Germans built a nuclear power plant operational between 1966 and 1990. We read this after swimming on a plaque. There seems now to be something invisible, threatening, in this otherwise pristine landscape. The whole area around the former reactor is off limits for the next half century because of Cobalt 60 and Cesium 137 contamination, the groundwater is radioactive. Cooling water from the plant was directed into Stechlinsee for two decades. Fish from the lake are regularly analysed for their cesium content. This is actually very low, and well below the legal limits of contamination. We ride along the lake, the trees dipping their roots into their lapping waters. ’Now we know why we feel so clean’, we laugh. We pass a fish restaurant, but decide not to stop, and bike instead north through Dagow and pretty Steinförde.
On the way, my friend Sven makes an accidental discovery.
Hidden in the woods, just visible through the trees, and easily passed over, are a series of abandoned houses. They are painted with socialist-realist murals, and there’s been no effort to preserve them. Only later do I read that the Second Guards Tank Army (2. Gardepanzerarmee) of occupying Soviet troops was stationed here during the Cold War. These soldiers fought the battles of Warsaw and Poznan, and also the Battle of Berlin. Then they were positioned here… guarding what? Launch sites and medium-range ballistic missiles! Not far away is a series of what look like broken-down hangers, perhaps they housed the tanks? Or were they munitions stores? Or for polishing the rockets? We only learn later that the area is perhaps dangerous because of unexploded artillery, although there are no warning signs. We cycle through the ruins of recent history hidden in the woods.
The sun is getting low, we ride into Fürstenberg, its neat streets, closed storefronts, little brick church, completing our circle. We have a hot chocolate in a café run by a smiling family before taking our Regional Express back to Berlin. The trees rush by us from the train windows in a blur.
So much for an escapist bike ride in the countryside and pleasant swim in the lake. We’ve come back with much more.
You can travel to Fürstenberg/Havel by Regional Express train with an extremely affordable Berlin-Brandenburg ticket. Up to five people can travel together for 29 EUR, there and back. That’s less than 3 EUR each way per person. You need to get a VBB-Gesamtnetz Fahrrad Tageskarte (Bike Daypass) for 6 EUR each if you are bringing your own bikes. Or you can rent bikes in Fürstenberg for about 8 EUR. Call ahead. A map of the bike route we took is available here. The circle route I describe in this article takes three or four hours, or less if you are fast, and is about 50 km long. The area is well serviced for bikes, including places to stay overnight, as it is on the epic Berlin-Copenhagen bike route. | <urn:uuid:39a028ac-7caa-44d2-a1bc-eccdd1e7ec82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://needleberlin.com/2012/09/23/weekend-trips-from-berlin-to-stechlinsee/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962731 | 1,528 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Financial February presented by State Farm on Matthew’s Place
Nearly 40 percent of homeless youth are in sexual-orientation or gender-identity minority populations because of a lack of acceptance by their families. It is estimated that every year 300,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth will be on the streets for at least one night. Given the elevated risk for finding themselves suddenly without resources, LGBT teens and young adults need to be all the more vigilant about how they plan their financial future.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation believes that these numbers are far too high. For that reason we are excited to bring Financial February Presented by State Farm
to Matthew’s Place for a second year. All this month we will be sharing expert opinions on preventing LGBT homelessness, exploring steps you can take if you find yourself homeless, and focusing our youth bloggers on how they are planning for their own financial futures.
Because few schools address financial education, we believe that setting aside this month to help you think about your financial future is a good investment of our time. We are glad to partner with State Farm to bring these resources to Matthew’s Place to add to the rich, diverse tools we offer our visitors.
Many thanks to State Farm Insurance and State Farm Bank for partnering with us to talk about this under-examined part of growing up. | <urn:uuid:c647a9b9-818c-41cb-b8e5-0ba424945639> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.matthewshepard.org/home/financial-february-presented-by-state-farm-on-matthews-place | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952996 | 274 | 1.828125 | 2 |
This was in the Maryland Gazette, or as I like to call it, The Anne Arundel County Enquirer. I found it horribly sensationalized. There was huge text at the top with the quote, "The dog's "chest was covered in blood," she said. "Her face was covered in blood. She had blood dripping from her mouth."
I thought about email the author of the article, Joshua Stewart ([email protected]). Would it really do any good? I just dread the rumblings of BSL in AA County.
The farm animals at Wendy Cozzone's rescue ranch in Odenton typically live a quiet life, safe from their old owners who abused them.
But on Sunday morning, harm found them again.
A pit bull broke into their enclosure and viciously attacked the animals, tearing into the faces of several sheep, seriously wounding one goat and killing another.
At about 8 a.m., the pit bull and a mastiff ran away from their owner's property and found their way onto Cheryl's Rescue Ranch. The mastiff found a shady spot under a tree to rest, but the pit bull went after the livestock - animals that Cozzone had rescued from abusive owners to care for until they die.
Cozzone said she was feeding the dozen goats, roughly six sheep, rabbits, ducks, pigs and horses when a goat named Anna Banana started making panicky sounds. Cozzone ran around the barn and found the goat's neck in the pit bull's jaws. The large black goat was flailing and had suffered cuts all over her face and side.
Cozzone said she had fed the dog before and it was always friendly. But now it was as though a switch had flipped in her brain, Cozzone said.
The dog's "chest was covered in blood," she said. "Her face was covered in blood. She had blood dripping from her mouth. And when I went in, there was blood all over my face."
But as soon as the dog spotted a person, its temperament changed.
"As soon as she saw me, that switch flipped back again and she was like a playful puppy," she said.
Wendy jumped over a fence and put the blood-soaked pit bull in a headlock before stowing it in a shed and tending to her animals.
Anna Banana still was in pain, having survived the attack, but Buckwheat, a pygmy goat, was killed, its throat crushed by the pit bull. Wendy said she thinks the two goats sacrificed themselves, diverting the dog while the other animals ran to safety in the back of a pasture.
The pit bull was returned to its owner before it was turned over to county Animal Control. In all, three goats and four sheep were hurt, in addition to the one pygmy goat that was killed.
The pit bull was euthanized Monday morning, a county Police Department spokesman said.
Pit bull protection
In the wake of the attack, Cozzone said she wants the county to ban pit bulls. They can be aggressive animals that can do horrible things when they are not under someone's control, she said.
"I work so hard to keep them (the farm's animals) safe and then people think they can have these pit bulls as pets," she said.
According to a 2000 Centers for Disease Control study, most of the victims of deadly dog attacks against people were children.
Pit bulls - a catchall term that refers to any number of breeds with muscular, stocky bodies, snub noses and short hair - and Rottweilers accounted for about two-thirds of fatal attacks in 1997 and 1998. But during other time periods, other types of dogs were responsible for the majority of attacks.
"It is extremely unlikely that (pit bulls and Rottweilers) accounted for anywhere near 60 (percent) of dogs in the United States during that same time period and, thus, there appears to be a breed-specific problem with the fatalities," the study said.
The study also said breed-specific rules have constitutional and practical issues, while there are practical ways to prevent dog bites without targeting one type of dog. This includes things like sanctioning dog owners whose pets wander off, enforcing leash laws, or making the owners of problem animals legally responsible for their pet's behavior.
Still recovering from the shock of the attack, the rescue workers at the farm had a joyous occasion: Darla, the daughter of Buckwheat, the goat mauled to death, gave birth to two kids in the barn.
Their grandfather, with a bandage wrapped around a bloody ear, was in the adjacent stall as two balls of slime, tufts of tan fur and wobbly knees were born.
The first out was Bucky, a male named after his grandmother, followed by Jamie, named after her father, Jim Bob. They were just a bit larger than a football. Within minutes they were walking, nursing and bleating like two out-of-tune violins.
Darla wasn't expected to give birth until the end of the month, but the stress of the day before probably forced her into labor, Cozzone said.
Besides helping in the birth, workers at the rescue ranch spent the day nursing the wounded animals, changing their bandages and injecting antibiotics. Anna's wounds had stopped bleeding, but her face was oozing pus. Others had bandages wrapped around their heads.
Cozzone said she doesn't know how the dogs made it onto her property. After the attacks her husband examined the ranch's fences, but didn't find any holes.
"The death (Sunday) was absolutely heartbreaking, and I'll never get over it," Cozzone said. "Now she sends us these two little guys. It's emotions gone crazy. I thought I had cried it out yesterday, but these are happy tears." | <urn:uuid:3a8630ac-21c3-46cc-8ffe-22e0ac3ca494> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pitbulltalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=344249 | 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 | 0.988868 | 1,227 | 1.625 | 2 |
The biggest shake-up of pensions for a generation has left thousands of women concerned that they will lose out on valuable pension benefits – even though the reforms were supposed to create a simpler and fairer system.
It isn't just women who are worried that they will now have to pay more to get a full pension. Many baby boomers, who are just a couple of years away from retirement, have been told they will need an additional five years' National Insurance contributions if they want to get the new higher state pension – worth £144 a week – in full.
Those who have taken early retirement or been made redundant in their fifties, or who have moved into part-time work, may struggle to make these additional payments, particularly as those worst hit need to make up five years' of NI payments but are just four years from retirement.
Pension campaigners are now calling for the Government to put in place special provisions to ensure that people in their fifties and sixties do not lose out.
Ros Altmann, the director-general of Saga, said the reforms to the state pension were "great in principle" but she was concerned that the details disclosed this week could penalise many women who have already faced the injustice of seeing their pension age raised twice.
"The devil is in the detail," she said. "And the detail here is a mess." She said it was "disgraceful" that the changes meant many people were not being given time to plan their retirement properly.
"People should not have to contend with substantial changes to the pension rules if they are within 10 years of retirement," Ms Altmann said.
Almost half a million women born in the early Fifties have been at the sharp end of almost every pension change in recent years. Plans to raise the pension age for women from 60 to 65 were first put in place in 1995, with the ages being equalised by 2020. But in 2010 the Government speeded up this timetable, meaning that up to 400,000 women who were already in their fifties saw their retirement age pushed back again, with some facing a further 18-month delay.
Ms Altmann said: "At the time the assumption was that these women would at least get a bigger pension, as the Coalition was planning to introduce this new single-tier pension, which would do away with means-testing and the additional earnings-related 'top-up' pensions. Now we find out that this won't be introduced until at least April 2017 – a year later than planned. Many women who have had to wait for their pension will retire before then."
One reader, Lesley Cavanagh, said she was dismayed to find that she had drawn the pensions short straw again. If she had been born six days earlier she would have received her pension at 61. Instead she has to wait another year and a half to collect it. Now she finds out that if she had been born six months later she would have got the new state pension, potentially boosting her income by almost £40 a week.
She isn't the only one furious to have missed this deadline. An estimated 3 million people will retire in the next four years, and many e_SEnD both men and women e_SEnD have complained that they will effectively become "second-class" pensioners, with far less generous pensions than those born just a few years, or in some cases a few months, later.
Many have asked if they can get the new higher payment if they delay taking their pension. But although they can delay, their pension will still be based on current rules.
But those who are due to retire after 2017 can also face problems. As stated above, some will not have sufficient National Insurance contributions (NICs) to get the full £144-a-week payment.
Currently people need 30 years of NICs to qualify for the full basic state pension. This will rise to 35 years when the new pension is introduced. Steve Bee, the founder of pensions company Jargon Free, said: "This detail was a complete surprise. Many people have taken early retirement on the assumption they have paid sufficient NICs to qualify for a full state pension. This is not now the case."
Penny Smith was one of many readers who contacted The Daily Telegraph about this change. "After being retired early (no choice), I paid voluntary contributions but stopped when the 30-year rule for full entitlement was introduced," she said. "Now the goalposts have been moved again and it appears I will need 35 years, with a retirement date of December 2017. Yet again, the proposals penalise women born in the mid-Fifties, who have seen their pension age go up at short notice. Surely it is unfair to bring in this major change with only four years' notice?"
Moira Brodie also finds herself in this position after choosing to retire early. She said: "Fortunately I am in the position where I may be able to work on a self-employed basis, but not everyone is going to be able to do that, and many may not have the funds to 'buy back' additional years."
For those who can afford it, making additional NICs can be a cost-effective way to boost your state pension. Voluntary NICs are currently £13.25 a week, or £698 for the year. The Treasury reviews NI rates on an annual basis, so previous years may be cheaper. Mike Warburton of accountants Grant Thornton said that currently this should boost your state pension by about £186 a year. "So you would only need to live for four years after retirement to recoup your money," he said.
This is, of course, based on the current state pension, so arguably becomes even better value for those retiring after 2017.
However, Laith Khalaf of Hargreaves Lansdown warned that the cost of buying back years was likely to rise to reflect the higher benefit attached. Currently you can use voluntary NICs to buy up to six years' worth of benefits. However, the Government will extend this, so those retiring after April 2017 will have until 2023 to buy back years between 2006 and 2016.
Another option is to register as self-employed and opt to pay "Class 2" contributions. These are considerably cheaper (currently £2.65 a week) but also count towards your NI record. However, they are payable for the current year and can't be used retrospectively.
Those with just 30 years of NICs should remember that, although they won't get the full single-tier pension, they should still get around £123 a week, which is more than a full pension (£107 a week) under the current rules.
Mr Bee added: "Any major change of this scale is bound to cause confusion and concern, particularly as it will create a 'cliff edge', which can seem unfair to those who retire on the wrong side of it."
But he said it was important to reassure people that the changes weren't retrospective, so those who have already accumulated additional pensions through Serps or the State Second Pension (S2P) would keep these payments. Transitional arrangements will also be put in place to protect widows and women with children who have paid very little in NICs, so they will still be able to claim a pension on their husband's record, even if they retire after 2017.
"The current system is terrible and understood by hardly anyone," Mr Bee said. "But change can be worrying. The Government hasn't done these calculations on the back of an envelope. It would be hugely helpful if they could give those who contact them realistic pension forecasts using the new rules. People may now need to take action, but how can they plan if they don't have precise knowledge of how these changes could affect them?" | <urn:uuid:60deb551-115e-4b32-b58e-c98d1923e789> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/9811343/State-pension-shake-up-the-500000-women-penalised.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986856 | 1,605 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Commuters may have noticed a change at the in Port Jefferson. For the last two months, village constables have been meeting trains as they come into the station and walking the platform to help bolster the security in the area.
“We try to meet every train," said Constable Chief Wally Tomaszewski. "It makes it a little safer.”
He said that during the daytime there isn't much of an issue but at nighttime the code officers sometimes deal with shooing the homeless out of the area and the occasional drunk.
Tomaszewski said that the commuters have thanked his staff for the extra security effort.
“They love it," he said. "Especially the village residents who use the train.”
The new initiative has been going on for about a month and a half, ever since the village received complaints from people who were being bothered by vagrants and drunks around the train station.
Tomaszewski said that code officers order people who do not belong at the train station to leave.
"If they fail to do so we give them appearance tickets that comes with up to a $500 fine," he said. "If they get to court and they don’t pay then a warrant is issued for their arrest."
He said that officers have given out a few tickets, mostly for public urination and open alcohol but the biggest deterrent is the code officer himself. Most will leave the station on their own when they see the constables coming.
“They pretty much know when they see a uniformed officer,” he said.
Have you noticed the extra code enforcement at the train station? Do you think it's helping? | <urn:uuid:b6dd38dd-5def-4f68-9e5e-e0e159bfeef3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://portjefferson.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/port-jeff-constables-presence-increases-at-lirr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987139 | 346 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Friday, November 9, 2012
When Felix Agnus put up the life-sized shrouded bronze statue of a grieving angel, seated on a pedestal, in the Agnus family plot in the Druid Ridge Cemetery, he had no idea what he had started. The statue was a rather eerie figure by day, frozen in a moment of grief and terrible pain. At night, the figure was almost unbelievably creepy; the shroud over its head obscuring the face until you were up close to it. There was a living air about the grieving angel, as if its arms could really reach out and grab you if you weren't careful.
It didn't take long for rumors to sweep through the town and surrounding countryside. They said that the statue - nicknamed Black Aggie - was haunted by the spirit of a mistreated wife who lay beneath her feet. The statue's eyes would glow red at the stroke of midnight, and any living person who returned the statues gaze would instantly be struck blind. Any pregnant woman who passed through her shadow would miscarry. If you sat on her lap at night, the statue would come to life and crush you to death in her dark embrace. If you spoke Black Aggie's name three times at midnight in front of a dark mirror, the evil angel would appear and pull you down to hell. They also said that spirits of the dead would rise from their graves on dark nights to gather around the statue at night.
People began visiting the cemetery just to see the statue, and it was then that the local fraternity decided to make the statue of Grief part of their initiation rites. "Black Aggie" sitting, where candidates for membership had to spend the night crouched beneath the statue with their backs to the grave of General Agnus, became popular.
One dark night, two fraternity members accompanied new hopeful to the cemetery and watched while he took his place underneath the creepy statue. The clouds had obscured the moon that night, and the whole area surrounding the dark statue was filled with a sense of anger and malice. It felt as if a storm were brewing in that part of the cemetery, and to their chagrin, the two fraternity members noticed that gray shadows seemed to be clustering around the body of the frightened fraternity candidate crouching in front of the statue.
What had been a funny initiation rite suddenly took on an air of danger. One of the fraternity brothers stepped forward in alarm to call out to the initiate. As he did, the statue above the boy stirred ominously. The two fraternity brothers froze in shock as the shrouded head turned toward the new candidate. They saw the gleam of glowing red eyes beneath the concealing hood as the statue's arms reached out toward the cowering boy.
With shouts of alarm, the fraternity brothers leapt forward to rescue the new initiate. But it was too late. The initiate gave one horrified yell, and then his body disappeared into the embrace of the dark angel. The fraternity brothers skidded to a halt as the statue thoughtfully rested its glowing eyes upon them. With gasps of terror, the boys fled from the cemetery before the statue could grab them too.
Hearing the screams, a night watchman hurried to the Agnus plot. To his chagrin, he discovered the body of a young man lying at the foot of the statue. The young man had apparently died of fright.
The disruption caused by the statue grew so acute that the Agnus family finally donated it to the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. The grieving angel sat for many years in storage there, never again to plague the citizens visiting the Druid Hill Park Cemetery.
For many years, this donation would prove to be quite an enigma for researchers who attempted to track down the whereabouts of Black Aggie. According to the Smithsonian, they didn’t have her. Despite some people recalling that Aggie was displayed in the National Gallery for a brief period, officials at the Smithsonian claimed they had never displayed her at all. Conspiracy theorists “smelled a rat” and believed that perhaps she was simply placed in storage, rather than put on display...because of her cursed past. "Maybe, just maybe," wrote a columnist for the Baltimore Sun, "they're not taking any chances."
The real answer would not be as strange. Somewhere along the line, the staff at the Smithsonian gave Aggie away, which explains why she does not appear in their records. They had no interest in displaying her and instead, gave her to the National Museum of American Art, where she was then put into storage and never displayed. For years, she would remain in a dusty storeroom, shrouded in cobwebs, until the early 1990's when Black Aggie would “rise from the dead”!
In 1996, a young Baltimore area writer named Shara Terjung did a story on Black Aggie for a small newspaper. After having been long fascinated with the legends, she became determined to track down the present location of the statue. Finally, shortly after Halloween, she got a call from a contact at the General Service Administration who was able to discover where the elusive Aggie had ended up. The statue can still be seen today at the Federal Courts building in Washington, in the rear courtyard of the Dolly Madison house.
The mysterious statue had finally been found!
Black Aggie may be gone from Druid Ridge Cemetery, but she’s certainly not forgotten. “We still have people coming to Druid Ridge, asking for Black Aggie all the time,” said one of the cemetery spokesmen in an interview. “I don’t think there’s a week that goes by when we don’t get a call about it.”
The Angus grave site is well cared for today...the only lingering evidence of Black Aggie is a chipped area on the granite pedestal and a faint shadow where she once rested. At least that’s the only lingering presence that can be seen...some say there is more. Who knows? Whether the Angus grave site was ever haunted or not, Black Aggie has left an indelible mark on not only Druid Ridge Cemetery...but the annals of the supernatural in America as well.
HAUNTED HOUSES [GHOSTS, VISITORS FROM THE DEAD, DEMONIC CURSES, TERRORS FROM THE | <urn:uuid:cd43b08a-31d5-4143-bdf5-f887e86c3852> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marylandfortean.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-black-aggie-legend.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977591 | 1,309 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Dubai company in Australia expansion
Dubai, December 18, 2012
Dubai-based Neutral Fuels, an expert in converting used cooking oil into biodiesel, has partnered with McDonald’s Australia to launch a new biodiesel processing facility in the Australian state of Victoria.
The new facility located just outside Melbourne, will see waste cooking oil being converted into biodiesel for fueling McDonald’s vehicle fleet right across Victoria. This will significantly reduce carbon emissions and making environmental sustainability a commercial proposition.
Neutral Fuels' Australia launch comes after the success of its first pilot program in Dubai with McDonald’s Middle East for converting waste cooking oil collected from McDonald’s restaurants into biodiesel for use in its delivery vehicles.
The first such facility was set up in the Dubai Investment Park, with the capacity to produce one million litres per annum.
Following the success of the pilot program, Neutral Fuels has now been commissioned to roll out 16 additional bio-fuel production facilities over the next three years. Three of these facilities will be in Australia, with the first now established in Dandenong, Victoria.
Speaking at the official launch, Victoria’s Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher, said, “Neutral Fuels originally developed this process in the Middle East where it has been very successful and it is now expanding into Victoria. This investment will create new jobs and add to the vast range of innovative companies we have in Victoria.”
She was addressing the gathering in the presence of representatives from McDonald’s Australia and Karl W. Feilder, Neutral Fuels CEO and the chairman.
"Neutral Fuels has been working very closely with the Victorian Government Business Office in Dubai. The realisation of Neutral Foods investing in Victoria is a clear example of the benefits of our International Engagement Strategy which focuses on seeking investment opportunities into Victoria from international markets, such as the UAE, that have been identified as having further interest in Victorian investment," she stated.
Lauding McDonald’s for its support to the innovative clean technology in Victoria, Asher said such initiatives should help in encouraging other companies to think of these types of innovations and investment into the state.
Neutral Fuels now has waste collection sites at 106 McDonald’s restaurants across Victoria with plans in place to service the remaining 105 restaurants by early 2013, she added.
The Victorian Government Business Office has worked closely with Neutral Fuels to help facilitate the partnership with McDonald’s Australia. Melbourne has been chosen given it is a strong market for McDonald’s in the geographical region of Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA).
John Butler, the commissioner to the Mena for the State Government of Victoria, said: “Victoria offers a competitive and dynamic business environment, along with a skilled and innovative workforce. We have worked very closely with Neutral Fuels to help make their investment into the State a seamless one and we are proud to be welcoming them to Victoria.”
“There has been a lot of hard work and investment from both sides to make this happen and we now look forward to watching the growth of Neutral Fuels and supporting their future trade and investment plans in our state,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service
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- Lebanese firm to invest $800m in Sudan | <urn:uuid:ecb0bbf8-9be0-4912-ac8a-c2802897f846> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tradearabia.com/news/MISC_227504.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94866 | 778 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Imagine you win a competition. And the prize is to go and watch your favourite sports team train. You turn up on the appointed day, as wide eyed as any schoolboy, and the club officials lead you out to a spot on the training pitch where you can watch from.
But you notice that your favourite player is sat in his tracksuit on the sideline. Talking to your other two favourite players. So you wonder over, and ask them when they’re going to train. And they say something like: ‘I’m not training today. I had to file a VAT return for my accountant and I don’t feel like training.’
You’d feel cheated right? Because these are professional athletes. Training is part of what they get paid vast amounts of money for. It’s part of their job. In reality they’d only get out of training if they were injured. Or ill.
What’s this got to do with learning to play the bass?
Well the practice that we do is the equivalent of a professional athlete’s training. And unless we’re very lucky, no-one’s paying us for the time we’re investing in trying to get better at the bass.
And I’ve talked about in previous articles that the best way to make consistent improvements is by using the principles of Deliberate Practice, and specifically the concept of staying in ‘the learning zone’ so that you’re always working on challenging exercises.
But you know what? Deliberate Practice is hard work. And we’re human. And life happens, whether we like it or not. Sometimes we have crappy days and don’t feel like practicing. Last week I had to stay up until 2 AM to schedule accounts for my main business and then email it to my Accountant so he could file my VAT return. And the next day I felt pretty lousy and didn’t want to practice.
Or you have days when you feel sick. Or your partner’s sick. Or your kids or your dog are sick. And often when you finally carve out some time on those days you just don’t feel like practicing. You feel like watching a Movie. Or the latest episode of ’24.’ Or ‘Lost.’ Or reading a book. Or whatever. Just not practicing.
So what do you do on a day when you don’t feel like practicing?
There’s 3 approaches you can take.
The first approach is obvious. You can decide that for today you just don’t feel like it, and you’re going to have a day off, take some down time and come back the next day refreshed and raring to go.
The second approach is also obvious. You decide that you’re just going to practice anyway.
The third approach is not so obvious. You decide that you’re going to practice, but that you’re going to practice in The Comfort Zone and not in The Learning Zone.
I thought the whole point of Deliberate Practice was to practice in The Learning Zone? Why would we practice in The Comfort Zone?
As I’ve said before Deliberate Practice is hard. There’s only so much of it you can do in a day because it’s mentally tiring due to the intense focus you have to bring to bear on your practice. And if you’re feeling crappy trying to apply Deliberate Practice to a full session can end up being counter productive and leave you giving up your session early in frustration.
So this is why we turn to the Comfort Zone. By definition activities in the Comfort Zone are things you can already do relatively easily. So when this happens to me I simply step back two or three weeks in my virtual Practice Journal (an Excel Spreadsheet if you really want to know) and pick an exercise that’s related to what I SHOULD have been practicing, but one that’s far more comfortable. And I practice that instead.
Sometimes 10 or 15 minutes of this warms up your brain and you can switch from Comfort Zone activity to Learning Zone activity for the rest of your session. But sometimes it doesn’t.
The worst case scenario is that I’ve spent my practice session solidifying my understanding of a particular technique or musical application. You’ve got to be careful though – lots of sessions like this lead – as we’ve seen in previous articles – to stagnation and the mythical ‘plateau.’
But for the odd practice session, remember you’re human and don’t beat yourself up about it. Life happens.
I can’t even face doing ‘Comfort Zone’ practicing. I want to give it a miss today…
If you genuinely feel like that then there’s probably no benefit to be gained by forcing yourself to practice. When this happens to me – which is usually when I’m ill or recovering from illness, or more often when one of my kids is ill – I give myself permission to miss a session.
There’s a but though.
If I miss a session I either make up the time later on in the week OR I listen to something so stimulating that the missed session won’t be repeated the next day.
Actually I’m not telling the truth, I do both. On the day I miss a practice session I immerse myself in music that’s so utterly inspiring that I find my fingers playing ‘air bass’ AND then I usually add 10 minutes a day to my normal practice schedule until the time has been made up.
So let’s summarize what to do when we don’t feel like practicing (for whatever reason).
We can practice anyway. We can practice at a lesser intensity. Or we can listen to music so great that we find ourselves playing ‘air bass.’
Before we get to the fortunate position of being paid to get better there’s two things you need to remember: We’re only human. Life happens.
Click on the link if you want to know more about Deliberate Practice. | <urn:uuid:b958f229-db8f-491a-8461-1d6596aca222> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deliberatepracticeblog.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943999 | 1,306 | 1.507813 | 2 |
By Andrew Kreig
Today’s column is a round-up of troubling news regarding government secrecy regarding the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus in November, as well as increased war-making, detention without charges or trial, and other police state powers by the Obama administration as it proceeds on its second term.
Just in is a report that the Petraeus affair was much deeper and darker than previously reported. This is part of the theme of my forthcoming book, Presidential Puppetry. Today, Bush biographer Russ Baker and co-author Douglas Lucas report in collaboration with WikiLeaks that:
1) Petraeus was suspected of having an extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell, shown with the general at left, nearly two years earlier than previously known; 2) Petraeus’s affair was known to “foreign interests with a stake in a raging policy and turf battle” in which Petraeus was an active party; and 3) Those providing the “official” narrative of the affair—and an analysis of why it led to the unprecedented removal of America’s top spymaster— have been less than candid with the American people.
Additional alarms documented below on related national security, civil rights, and due process topics are provided by commentators of widely diverse politics, including supporters of the president. A White House photo shows the president at right in the Situation Room. Two weeks ago, we provided coverage of his eloquent Inauguration speech and related uplifting developments at the beginning of the president’s second term. Now comes an edition of the rest of the story.
The news items below are especially timely in advance of Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearing for John Brennan, the administration’s nominee to become CIA director. Brennan, deputy national security director and chief of counter-terrorism at the White House, is a career CIA employee for the most part. In 2008, Brennan was president of a private security company that performed government work, and he also served as national security advisor for the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. On Feb. 6, the White House bowed to pressure to release its legal justification for the killings without trial. Details below n Obama will let lawmakers, see targeted-killings memo.
Under Obama, the the CIA’s traditional intelligence capabilities have been augmented with paramilitary and drone warfare activities. Brennan is reputed to lead Tuesday briefings whereby the White House chooses kill targets for drones.
Columns below include an exclusive from NBC News describing the government’s leaked analysis claiming a legal basis for such a killing program, which has included a U.S. citizen living in Yemen and regarded as a terror threat. Other columns analyze that rationale, as well as diminishing due process safeguards for terror suspects and domestic U.S. citizens accused of crime.
Among the authors are human rights advocates Ralph Nader and Naomi Wolf, each loss of traditional American freedoms.
Some of the commentaries become more compelling with the addition of biographical background about the authors. Former Reagan assistant treasury secretary and scholar Paul Craig Roberts, for example, raises the question of why guns rights advocates do not fear and protest vastly greater deprivations of their freedoms than gun laws. Chicago public defender Jeanne Bishop, whose sister and brother-in-law were murdered two decades ago by a thrill-killer in a mystery long unsolved by police pursuing mistaken leads, calls for stricter gun laws.
read the rest of the article at the Justice Integrity Project | <urn:uuid:21bae175-0af3-4740-9368-6e42afd51166> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politiva.com/2013/02/07/186366/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953376 | 700 | 1.59375 | 2 |
An attractive black kurta. This kurta is full sleeves giving it a formal look with traditional Phulkari embroidery enhancing its beauty.
Art - Phulkari Embroidery- Phulkari embroidery actually means flower embroidery ,popular since the 15th century . Phulkari embroidery depicts beautiful patterns and designs of flowers and gardens in varied colours.
Size - Large, Medium, XL
Region – Punjab. Punjab lies in the northwest of India. Famous for the Golden Temple , Punjab is the largest agricultural state in India. It is rooted in tradition and culture, and renown for its music and dance, including the bhangra and its vast variety of rich cuisine.
Social Impact – At Craftsvilla we are dedicated to supporting the artisans, who have preserved our rich and diverse heritage and culture and are now finding it difficult to sustain it. We support them by providing them employment and bringing to the world their priceless art in the form of our products. Often we have been able to revive a form of art dying out, due to lack of funds and provide a source of income to countless families. Taking this one step further we have also established a Craftsvilla fund in support of these artisans. | <urn:uuid:78561c77-910b-4724-9658-57b1bb4d40b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.craftsvilla.com/dia-burn-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951751 | 255 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Books in review
By Colleen Cook
In this issue:
- When horse became saw: A family's journey through Autism, by Anthony Macris
- Duelling Surgeon, Colonial Patriot, by Robert Lehane
- Dancing with Empty Pockets: Australian Bohemians, by Tony Moore
- Extreme South, by James Castrission
- Ladylike by Kate Lilly
- Trieste goes to Australia, by Gianfranco Cresciani
- Dead men don’t drive, by O J Younessi
Penguin Books $34.95
Anthony Macris (BA ’91) is father of Alex, a severely autistic child. He also writes lyrical prose with style and sensitivity, generously engrossing us in his very personal world. The title indicates the moment when his bright little toddler began to regress into autism, propelling his family into a journey that would draw on all the love, resourcefulness and stamina they could muster.
The need to learn about his son’s world led Macris to investigate everything he could find out about autism. It wasn’t very much. It also became clear that early intervention was the key, but that therapies were vague at best, and heavily reliant on parent involvement. The best one-on-one therapy was privately run and very expensive.
Anthony and his wife Kathy were faced with daily worries about income, balancing work and the emotional intensity of being their son’s full-time therapists, perhaps for the rest of their lives.
Macris’s descriptions of treasured moments, unconditional love, daily family struggles and triumphs, and the joy to be found in repetitious mundane daily tasks make this book about so much more than a journey through autism. It is deeply moving. It invites us to wake up to how we perceive our own worlds, and to appreciate each moment.
Australian Scholarly Publishing $44.00
So many early Australians fail to receive rightful recognition. Robert Lehane’s (BSc ’65) meticulous research reveals a portrait of one such man. In so doing, he provides lively snapshots of the chaotic life of a fast-growing colony.
William Bland was sent to Australia after fatally wounding a fellow naval officer in a duel. He was headstrong, vocal and unafraid to speak his mind. He was also compassionate and benevolent, an excellent surgeon, a prolific writer, an inventor and a leader, an animal lover, gardener and philanthropist.
That a convict could come to this country and become one of its leading statesmen led Bland to support the rehabilitation of convicts. He argued against capital punishment and supported trial by jury. He set up the precursor to Sydney Grammar School, and was central to establishing the University of Sydney, elective legislature and public education.
Bland cared for the sick, whether they could pay or not. He himself died insolvent and though loyal friends praised his contribution to the colony, it was not widely acknowledged. Does anyone know he invented an early form of fire extinguisher and an airship? Lehane has given us more to think about next time we drive down Bland Street.
Murdoch Books $29.99
Most of us secretly long to be part of a bohemian subculture, taking risks and not caring about money. Now we can experience this world vicariously, through Tony Moore’s (BA ’84 PhD ’08) riveting investigation of the past 150 years, which avoids romanticising the bohemian lifestyle.
From dandy remittance man Marcus Clarke in the mid-1800s through to Julian Assange, these rebels were clearly not the least bit ordinary, and that is their attraction. A surprising number of them are second-generation bohemians, such as Mirka Mora’s son Philippe, Frank Hardy’s grand-daughter Marieke and Norman Lindsay’s son Jack.
There was a good deal of drinking, sex and disobedience to be had, but more significantly, our culture owes much to the audacity of those who were prepared to go out on a limb in favour of free speech and artistic autonomy. It’s a rich legacy which, Moore argues, will continue as long as there is a need to “outrage the bourgeoisie”.
Hachette Australia $35
It's easy to be cynical about adventures that follow in the footsteps of pioneers, assisted by lessons learnt, supported by new technologies. Instead, the journey of these two adventurers, James Castrission (Cas) and Justin Jones (Jonesy), is inspiring. Though they made history with the longest unsupported polar journey of all time from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole and back, their tenacity to survive required the kind of spirit of endurance and friendship which surpasses the need to break records and win races.
Cas wrote this book in record time. They only finished the journey in January 2012. It is a vivid account of meticulous planning, and a journal of daily challenges. They defy unforgiving weather conditions and freezing cold temperatures to cover 2275 kilometres in just over three months, and it is hard to put this book down until they're safely home.
UWA Publishing $19.95
In a rapid and playful exploration of words, constructed and deconstructed on the page, Kate Lilley (BA ’83) looks at her academic life, psychoanalysis and history, and draws heavily on female images and relationships in her poetry.
Lilley's mother, Dorothy Hewett, died in 2002. In a section dedicated to her, the poem Dress Circle deals with the dilemma of mother-daughter forces that linger after that death. Each of the four parts in this book of poetry creates a different mood, but Lilley's wit and stinging phrases keep the reader alert and searching for messages below the surface.
Much of the poetry is built on references and our comprehension is richer for understanding what they are. However, the poems have an autonomous strength, and maybe that's already enough to enjoy them.
Around 20,000 triestini (almost 10 percent of Trieste's population) migrated to Australia during seven years in the 1950s and '60s. They were educated, employed and well paid. Australian historical accounts have grouped them with the Italian collective, but theirs is a different story.
Gianfranco Cresciani is not only the author of this book, but one of those immigrants. Having written several books about Italians in Australia, his research and knowledge is exceptional. He is able to enliven this objective history with his own subjective viewpoint.
With bad memories of post-war turmoil, these emigrants left their national identities behind and assimilated quietly into Australian culture. Finally there is a book which tells us not only about the triestini here, but also those who returned to find a very different place.
O J Younessi
This collection of stories hovers around satire and humour. Its author, James Younessi (MDSc '97), spent his childhood in his native Iran, and has chosen to write these stories in Persian and translate them himself. His fable, The Pomegranate, reflects his ties to this world. An intriguing tale of an ancient world, told from mother to daughter, it illuminates timeless human foibles, and is the star of this collection.
Equally memorable is the piece from which the book's title is drawn. It will resonate with anyone who has had to deal with the frustrations of bureaucracy.
The topics for each story are as varied as you would expect from a writer who is also a surgeon with a passion for coins and fountain pens. | <urn:uuid:eb8a4518-c7f1-4f73-a216-a233f978fff3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sydney.edu.au/alumni/sam/october2012/books.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97018 | 1,577 | 1.625 | 2 |
How To Make Falooda (Indian Dessert Drink)
Falooda is a yummy drink/dessert made with milk, a hint of refreshing rose flavor and healthy basil seeds...all topped off with a scoop of ice cream. Falooda...funny name, serious dessert. Enjoy. For a detailed recipe, click: http://www.showmethecurry.com/2007/09/04/falooda-indian-drinkdessert/
Step 1: You will need
- 2 cups (500ml) Whole Milk
- 1/2 tsp Basil Seeds, Can be bought at any Asian grocery store
- 1/2 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 handful Falooda Sev Strands
- 5 Rose Syrup
- 1 1/2 Sugar, or to taste
- pinch Cardamom Powder
- 1 tsp Coarsely Ground Pistachios
Welcome to Show Me the Curry.com. I’m Hetal. I'm Anuja and today we’re going to show you how to make Falooda. Falooda is a rose flavored milk with ice cream in it. It’s visually good-looking and it’s perfect as a drink or as a desert.
Here’s what you’re going to need. Two cups whole milk, 1/2 teaspoon basil seeds (can be bought at any Asian grocery store), 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, one handful of Falooda Sev strands, five tablespoons of rose syrup, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste), a pinch of cardamom powder, one teaspoon of coarsely ground pistachios.
We’re going to start off by boiling approximately two cups of water and that will be for our Falooda Sev to be cooked in. At the same time, we can get our milk also going. We’re going to boil two cups of milk, whole milk. While the milk is boiling, we’re going to go ahead and soak our basil seeds, also known as tukmaria. That can be bought at any Indian grocery store. They need to be soaked for, about a half an hour. When you soak basil seeds, they actually plump up and gives a nice texture to your Falooda.
Our water has finally come to a boil, so we’re going to drop the Falooda Sev in. Now this, when it comes in the package it’s a big mess of Sev. It’s really hard to cut and to eat, when it’s that long. What you might want to do is to take some kitchen shears and chop it up a little bit before you drop it into the water. It makes it a lot easier to eat later. You’re going to cook it for only about two to three minutes.
It’s been about three minutes since our Sev has been cooking. So it’s softened up really nicely. I think we can switch our stove off. Just let it sit there for a few minutes. Looks like our milk has already come to a boil, so at this point we can go ahead and add our sugar and our cardamom powder. Stir that in a little bit. Anuja:Falooda, again, is one of those sweet foods in India. People on carts go around with these big urban pots and that’s how they sell it. Because they don’t have provisions for icing and for making it cold. Urban pots work out very, very good. It’s absolutely delicious.
We have to put the rose syrup now? We can go ahead and switch this off now, because it’s come to a boil. Add the rose syrup. This rose syrup is sweetened. So not only does it add this wonderful rose flavor, but it also sweetens it up a bit. The Falooda is traditionally served chilled. We’re going to put this into the refrigerator for a little while and let it cool down. Then we can add the remaining ingredients in there. Actually, we can go ahead and add the Sev at this time too. It will cool down at the same time. We’re first going to have to drain the Sev and remove all the water. Then add it into Falooda. It’s really easy if you have a nice small Sev. It works really well. Give it a nice mix. It already looks great. We’ll be back once this gets chilled.
We’re back with our Falooda. It’s been chilled. Now we’re going to strain our basil seeds. You can see they’re nice and plump now. Let’s go ahead and strain them first. We’ll go ahead and add our basil seeds into our milk. At this time, we can also add a little bit of ice cream. This ice cream is actually going to be melted into the milk. We’re going to use some separate ice cream to actually serve it with. We’re using vanilla ice cream. It’s everybody’s personal choice. A lot of people use a padam pistachio ice cream or you can use strawberry if you like also. Anything that you like, it usually goes well with this. We mix it around and try to just to melt up a bit. We’ve actually added the ice cream in the Falooda to give it more flavor and to pink it up a little bit. It’s melted nicely, so I think we’re ready to serve.
All right. Here are our glasses. I’m going to go ahead and put a scoop of ice cream in it. You might have some trouble getting it out. Then we just pour this in. This is the challenge. You want a little bi | <urn:uuid:8ce9829c-0b18-483a-9e71-23040440bf8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-falooda-indian-dessert-drink | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934638 | 1,231 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I learned over the weekend of the passing of a couple of loyal Baylor Bears: economist, educator and civil servant Dr. Richard Benjamin Goode and philanthropist and champion of education Mildred Cornelius Carlile.
Goode, BA ’37, earned his bachelor’s in economics from Baylor and spent the majority of his career in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. Bureau of Budget, U.S. Treasury Department, International Monetary Fund and the Fiscal Affairs Department. Recognized as an expert in his field, he also served as a consultant to the U.S. Treasury and the United Nations and taught classes at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University. He passed July 18 at age 93.
“[Dr. Goode] once shared with me that his life would’ve looked completely different if he had not had the opportunity to attend Baylor through scholarship support,” said Bill Dube, director of Baylor’s Endowed Scholarship Program. Goode paid that forward in 1999 when he and his wife established the Richard and Liesel Goode Endowed Academic Scholarship Fund at Baylor.
Carlile joined the Baylor family through marriage (her late husband, Quinton, was a 1947 graduate), but she poured her heart into BU and was eventually honored as an Alumna Honoris Causa — the highest distinction awarded by Baylor to individuals who did not graduate from the university. Like the Goodes, she and her husband also established an endowed scholarship fund, the Quinton B. and Mildred C. Carlile Endowed Scholarship Fund, from which Baylor students are already benefitting. She passed Aug. 4 at age 86.
The Carliles’ love of Baylor lives on through their three sons and their wives: Ken (BA ’69, DDS ’73, PhD ’96) and Celia Carlile, Steve (BBA ’73, JD ’75) and Penny (BA ’73) Carlile, and David (BBA ’72, JD ’74) and Susan Carlile. Mildred and Quinton’s desire to share their good fortune was passed on, as well; inspired by their parents’ philanthropy, the three boys were instrumental in the creation of the Quinton and Mildred Carlile Geology Research Center (now the Carlile Geology Building).
Sic ’em, Goode and Carlile families, for your lives of service and your legacy of Baylor pride! | <urn:uuid:25b08a73-f697-4c58-92d4-e396256567c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.baylor.edu/baylorproud/2010/08/pair-of-bears-leave-legacy-of-loyalty-and-service-to-baylor-after-passing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969868 | 513 | 1.5 | 2 |
Just in time for Easter: a chocolate Easter egg with a toy inside that's legal to sell in the U.S. Until now, mixing toys inside candy has been a no-no in the U.S. But this company seems to have found a simple way around it.
The Easter Bunny's got a new egg in his basket: a chocolate egg, with a toy inside.
Sound like an instant choking hazard?
The folks at Candy Treasure say the new Choco Treasure egg is legal, safe and Easter-friendly. Similar treats have long been sold by other manufacturers in Europe, but most have been outlawed in the U.S., because of safety concerns.
"It's been a long, long process," says Kevin Gass, co-founder of Candy Treasure, which makes the Choco Treasure egg, which sells for about $1.49 and measures about the size of a jumbo hen's egg. "It hasn't been easy."
For a nation that gobbles up chocolate to the tune of nearly $20 billion annually, just about any twist, turn or -- in this case -- hop, may be marketing-worthy. If nothing else, the Choco Treasure -- which is available at Target, Cost Plus and Kmart -- has the potential to be a seasonal hit.
"It could be a one-hit wonder," says Bernard Pacyniak, editor at Candy Industry, a trade publication.
Fearing both food safety and choking issues, historically, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have frowned on most candy creations with small toys inside. In 1997, the CPSC banned Kinder-brand chocolate eggs and in 2006, reminded retailers that the brand was banned when the eggs showed up again.
Officials from both agencies, which don't comment on specific companies, declined to comment on Choco Treasure. But no complaints against the brand have been registered with either agency. In 2011, the most recent year recorded, there were seven toy-related choking deaths, reports the CPSC.
Candy Treasure took a different path with its product. The chocolate egg, itself, isn't whole. It's made in two pieces, wrapped around a plastic, toy-holding capsule, that don't quite connect. This way, the toy isn't technically inside the chocolate. Rather, it's two pieces of chocolate separated by plastic.
"Our toys are safe for all ages," Gass says. Among its products: all sorts of plastic critters, even a tiny deck of playing cards.
The former Colgate-Palmolive executive says he and a business partner got the idea while working in Europe several years ago. "It's huge in Europe," he says. "It's eye-opening to see how passionate people are there about chocolate eggs with toy surprises."
The company hopes to replicate that European success, he says, but with a "safe" product that "meets U.S. guidelines." The chocolate is Swiss-made. The plastic balls are from Turkey. The toys inside are made in China.
Beyond its Easter version, the company also sells chocolate Christmas ornaments with toys inside, as well chocolate Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns with toys inside. There's even a chocolate Spider-Man head with a toy. | <urn:uuid:1b9bed69-b3f7-409f-a981-e55ecbea51b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/12/chocolate-easter-eggs-candy-treasure-choco-treasure/1979685/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomMoney-TopStories+%28Money+-+Top+Stories%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968999 | 681 | 1.835938 | 2 |
While we’re talking about all things Fort Related, there was a press release by TEDCO Wednesday [warning, PDF] and several FredCoBio companies won funding to support product development activities with Ft Detrick scientists.
BioAssay Works, LLC, located in Ijamsville, Md., is working to develop an optimized, sensitive, lateral-flow visual diagnostic test able to detect and differentiate from a single sample multiple pathogenic poxviruses, including variola, vaccinia, and monkeypox. A prototype diagnostic assay will be designed, manufactured, and tested for the ability to accurately identify and discriminate between vaccinia and monkeypox.
APE-Bridgepath Scientific, Inc., located in Frederick, Md., is working to further develop the GeNova Screen, which is a rapid technology for the identification, isolation, and production of antibody-like molecules using a selectable bacterial-surface display system. The GeNova Screen will consist of an engineered bacterial collection in which each bacterium is capable of expressing one of a library of different receptor proteins on its surface. The identified proteins can be used as therapeutics, diagnostics, and research reagents.
CynerGene IDMP, located in Frederick, Md. in the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, is developing, validating and implementing a supplemental diagnosis of Malaria, HIV, and Dengue using CynerGene’s Infectious Disease Multiplex Panel(IDMP) approach. The IDMP will assist existing industries in becoming more productive by creating innovative biosensors which can become rapidly mainstreamed to meet the surging demand of the new market for rapid, accurate, and non-invasive diagnostics.
Imagilin Technology, LLC, located in Frederick, Md., is working to evaluate the effect of Imagilin patented probiotics as a food supplement to enhance the immune responsiveness of guinea pigs upon immunization or challenge with virulent pathogens. This project will demonstrate the ability for the Imagilin patented probiotics to function as biological adjuvant for enhancing immunization of a vaccine.
Interesting that 3/4 of these companies are FITCI graduates. | <urn:uuid:7250bf68-f55b-41f2-bb69-441d99be5300> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fredcobio.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932414 | 437 | 1.640625 | 2 |
It’s widely assumed that Republicans will make significant gains in Tuesday’s midterm elections, most likely taking the House of Representatives, perhaps even claiming victory in the Senate.
The conventional wisdom is that gridlock will ensue, maybe for the next two years. After all, any senator can put an indefinite hold on a piece of legislation. (See: Coburn, Tom or DeMint, Jim). If Tea Party candidates wield much influence in the next Congress and scrutinize spending bills as much as they promise, a government shutdown a la 1995 is not unthinkable.
The case against that? The need to get the economy moving again. Unemployment, near 10%, affects both Republicans and Democrats.
“We think it will be possible for congressional Republicans and the Obama Administration to reach deals on a handful of issues that will promote economic growth in the short term and improve the budgeting process over the longer term,” says Brian Gardner, a financial services analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, in a recent research note.
Among his suggestions: cut the 35% statutory income tax rate for corporations, which is nearly 10% above the average corporate rate for 18 of the G-20 countries (excluding Saudi Arabia and the European Union on the whole). Doing so would require eliminating some tax credits and subsidies, Gardner says, but it would also “hang an ‘Open for Business’ sign to companies around the globe.” | <urn:uuid:e6dee005-b4ca-4b9f-ace7-17be1909180e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianwingfield/2010/11/02/the-case-against-gridlock/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957664 | 297 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Bait or plastic? The question has been debated since lures took hold 30 years ago.
“If you’re from Hawaii, you’re probably a lure fisherman,” says Ronnie Fields, captain of the 63 Scarborough Big OH based in Jupiter, Florida. “I grew up fishing Florida, the Carolinas and Maryland. That’s bait fishing, mostly for white marlin; blue marlin are a bonus.”
In 2009, Fields placed second in the St. Thomas July Open, pulling bait in his long riggers and a dredge — both methods were unusual in the Virgin Islands at the time.
Fields is definitely a bait man.
Or is he?
The following year he won the same St. Thomas tournament and placed second in the Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament — with one significant change in strategy: pulling lures. Fields’ techniques are now common in St. Thomas.
Fields — one of those skippers who learns from each fish he catches — agreed to share some of his insight with Sport Fishing readers.
Averages Versus Numbers
“Averages are better with bait,” Fields says. “In St. Thomas that first year, I fished bait in my long riggers — horse ballyhoo with small Mold Craft Chuggers in front. But I don’t think bait works as well down there. The fish are more aggressive. A lure is bigger, it’s trolled faster and it’s got a lot of smoke bubbles behind it,” Fields says. “With lures, we missed some fish we would have caught on bait, but in St. Thomas, we got more bites because we trolled lures.”
Understanding the Bite
“If you see a striking fish’s head and shoulders out of the water, going away from the boat, you’ve got a good lure bite,” Fields says. “But if the fish comes up behind the lure playing with it, you’re not going to catch that fish. It’s going to snag the hook on its bill, pull some drag, come up windshield-wipering, then throw the hook and swim away,” he says.
As a mate aboard the Madam and Hooker mothership expedition, Fields leaned toward lures because bait wasn’t easily obtained. “When we first got to the Cape Verde Islands, we didn’t know what to expect. The first day we trolled lures on heavy tackle and went 15 for 35 on blue marlin,” Fields says.
So they switched to hooked bait in the long-rigger clips and hookless bait for teasers in the short riggers — all horse ballyhoo behind Mold Craft lures — and released 157 blue marlin in 19 days. “One day we went 20 out of 28. We couldn’t have caught 20 blue marlin on lures,” Fields says. “Not then, not ever.”
“When a fish piles on a lure and misses, if it feels a hook, it often swims away. If the lure is hookless, you can wind it up, throw a ballyhoo and catch that fish,” Fields says. His solution? Use either two hooked baits or two hooked lures in long-rigger clips and four teasers up close.
Aggressive fish often hook themselves far back in the spread, but when cautious fish come up behind a lure and don’t bite, Fields says, “that lure can be wound away from the fish with or without a hook in it.”
With four short teasers — two hookless marlin lures and two squid chains with an Iland Express or Mold Craft Chugger and hookless mackerel at the end — Fields uses the classic bait-and-switch. “But if I were short-handed or had inexperienced people aboard, I’d keep it simple,” Fields says. “A couple of lures long, a couple of teasers short, and maybe a bait down the middle. I’d add a dredge or bowling pins underwater.”
Fields says blue marlin don’t need elaborate bait-and-switch techniques. “Wind that teaser all the way to the outrigger,” he says. “Put a tiny chugger in front of a ballyhoo and throw it out there. A blue marlin will stick around and find that bait.”
He offers two more pieces of advice when trying to switch a fish to a bait: Don’t touch the throttles, and turn the boat slightly toward the bite so the pitch bait is in clear blue water, not wake whitewash.
Dredging Up Bites
“When baitfish get scared, they ball up. Billfish to respond to that,” Fields says, so he mimics that ball with a dredge, both to draw in and excite fish. Most excited marlin will switch readily to a teaser or a bait. If not: “Pull the dredge out of the water and present a bait. The fish will take it,” Fields says. “But you’ve got to get that dredge out without slowing the boat down.”
“For dolphin, particularly on a weed line, it’s hard to beat bait,” Fields says. “Tuna too. I’ll usually go with ballyhoo.” Yet he sometimes uses artificial-squid spreader bars with a Green Machine or ballyhoo at the end.
So which is best, bait or plastic? Fields leans toward artificials on his long riggers when bites are aggressive or in rough water when lures are easier to see, but he’s open to change based on the bite. “We used to have either lure fishermen or bait fishermen,” Fields says. “I believe you’ll be most successful doing some of both.”
About the Expert: Capt. Ronnie Fields grew up in Ocean City, Maryland, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Wanchese, North Carolina, fishing with his father, Allan, and older brothers, Jimmy and David — all professional captains. He has fished all over the world and says, “If the fish are biting, the ocean is calm and people are happy, that’s a perfect day. | <urn:uuid:1e489048-ed31-4403-8b03-25a5157e46d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sportfishingmag.com/techniques/bait-fishing/bait-vs-plastic-marlin?quicktabs_community_side_bar=1&quicktabs_most_popular=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939765 | 1,375 | 1.679688 | 2 |
When measuring the success of online display advertising, media buyers and planners at agencies involved in online display advertising tend to place great importance on performance metrics such as conversion, even for branding awareness campaigns, according to a survey from Maxifier.
Among buyers and planners at digital marketing agencies in the US, 68% rate conversion rates as extremely (26%) or very important (42%) when optimizing brand-awareness ad campaigns, compared with 59% who view brand engagement as extremely (23%) or very important (36%).
Audience targeting is key for brand awareness campaigns with 65% of respondents rating the metric extremely or very important, as is the price of ads (57%).
Apparently, brand advertisers are focused on reducing lost impressions—and making sure ad dollars are not wasted.
Below, additional findings from Maxifier's Ad Optimization report.
Direct-response marketers are primarily concerned with conversion: 65% of respondents rate conversion rates as either extremely (39%) or very important (26%) when optimizing direct-response campaigns. Price is ranked second with 54% ranking ad cost as extremely (28%) or very important (26%) when optimizing direct-response campaigns.
In the US, direct-response campaigns account for 54% of total ad budgets, and brand campaigns account for 41%. By contrast, in the UK, marketers invest more heavily in direct-response campaigns (67%) over branding campaigns (31%).
US campaigns typically run longer as well: 47% of campaigns last three months or more, whereas in the UK, only 16% of campaigns last that long.
Impact of Optimization
The report also highlights the growing importance of optimization, for both brand and direct-response campaigns, to ensure campaigns deliver on advertisers' objectives.
On average, brand campaigns in the US are optimized 10 times (vs. 7 times in the UK). For direct-response campaigns, the level is slightly higher at 11 times (11 times in the UK as well).
What's the result of optimization? Across brand-awareness and direct-response campaigns in the US, an average of 10% of websites are dropped from campaigns, equating to 7 sites for brand campaigns and 8 for direct response.
In the UK, 8% of websites, on average, are dropped from campaigns, equating to 3 sites for brand campaigns and 9 sites for direct response.
The study also revealed a more mature ad landscape in the US compared with UK in terms of technologies for the buying and selling of online advertising: Demand-side platforms are used more widely in the US than in the UK (22% and 14%, respectively), as are exchanges (32% and 24%, respectively).
About the data: Results are based on a telephone survey of 227 UK and US media planners and buyers in agencies involved in online display advertising. The research was overseen by London-based Loudhouse in the fourth quarter of 2011. | <urn:uuid:14a68534-1e37-44f9-a25e-b1f4a755a12b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/7251/brand-advertisers-value-direct-response-metrics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944561 | 586 | 1.585938 | 2 |
- Last Updated on 01:16 PM 07/26/12
- BY Special to the Gazette
The AWFI (American Wood Finishing Institute) team has just returned to Riverstone from Haiti after assisting with the assembly and completion of the “Breathe House” in St. Marc, Haiti.
The University Of Virginia School Of Architecture partnered with AWFI to engineer a surface coating and application process for the “Breathe House.”
According to Energy Center Director of Business Develoment and Operations Kristy Johnson, the newest Haitian Clinic is a prototype of disaster relief housing utilizing structured insulated panel (SIPS) construction methods.
The University of Virginia, Southern Virginia Higher Education Center’s Innovation Center, SIPS of America, AWFI, Huber and the Riverstone Energy Center collaborated on this unique project to develop an engineered solution specifically for temporary housing.
The team’s responsibility was to design, develop and construct a prototype housing unit that could be easily deployed and erected on site in a short period of time to alleviate affected disaster areas, Johnson explained.
This structure required stringent engineering to withstand adverse climate conditions. The occupants will find relief from the elements in a highly efficient and breathable structure, she added.
AWFI performed process engineering research on innovative construction materials to provide a protective and decorative coating solution for the interior and exterior surfaces of the “Breathe House.”
The application formulations developed within the Center for Coatings, Application, Research and Education (C-CARE) in South Boston previously had not been considered for panelized construction; however, the project showed great success in achieving the target goal using these new formulations, Johnson said.
Coating formulations were required to withstand the rigors of shipping, as well as multiple on-site transporting.
«Coatings were selected that would provide an aesthetic appearance, but more importantly from a usage standpoint, the coating was designed to combat fire/flame spread, mold/mildew and adhesion to the OSB used in the construction,» said Kenny Stevenson, director of Business Development for AWFI.
Over the course of the project, hundreds of application processes and materials were researched and developed to find the right application performance.
Stevenson said, «The project, being located in Haiti, presented some unique challenges for the coating and build team. Extreme weather conditions as well as the lack of infrastructure makes this type of project require significant amount of preparation and planning. The C-CARE Lab at Riverstone has been invaluable in replicating weather conditions for testing in these environments.»
Stevenson continued, «We had significant success in training a local Haitian team to apply the exterior coating materials. This is encouraging considering the number of homes that will be necessary to rebuild this region. Training the local workforce allows us to reduce cost in production of future units as well as giving them the opportunity and knowledge to build their own communities. «
This project was funded in partnership with the Virginia Tobacco Commission, and is part of a larger project that includes affordable EcoMod homes that will be deployed in the United States.
The Town of South Boston donated land to showcase a number of EcoMod prototypes which are expected to be completed within the next year. | <urn:uuid:2032ec17-081f-4393-933a-4ae644aa07c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yourgv.com/index.php/lifestyle/business/5903-breathe-house-goes-up-in-haiti?page= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947172 | 664 | 1.625 | 2 |
China burns nearly as much coal as the rest of the world combined--and has 300 more coal plants in the works. But China also leads the world in solar panel exports and wind farms, and has a national climate change policy in place. Is the U.S. falling behind on climate? Ira Flatow and guests discuss how the world is tackling global warming--with or without us--and what it might take to change the climate on Capitol Hill.
Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer | <urn:uuid:196436b0-8075-4d2e-8022-2ee17f93cec7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/02/01/2013/are-we-losing-the-race-against-climate-change.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943752 | 105 | 1.5625 | 2 |
In the meantime, many state and local employees are being terminated. Park services are being curtailed. Governors are discussing cuts in education funding and turning prisoners loose at early dates. The money is not flowing into the state coffers as fluently as before. So services are on the chopping block everywhere.
Well, here’s a partial solution to the problem. This is where the savings in lives come in. Now is an opportune time to go after those who speed. There’s a gold mine available to the states in traffic fines. It would all be for a good purpose, and it’s long overdue.
Try driving the speed limit on the interstate system. Just engage the car in the cruise-control position and keep it there. You’re in for a rude awakening.
Cars and trucks constantly pass. It seems drivers are of the opinion that going 10 or more miles over the posted speed limit is acceptable. Even cops zip past at breakneck speeds. Try entering an Interstate. As you get onto the highway, engage the cruise control. Make an effort to edge to the left. Merging into oncoming traffic can be a nerve-racking experience. As you are going the legal limit, someone invariably keeps you from easily getting into traffic. They zoom up just fast enough to make your entrance treacherous.
When you are on the interstate and people are driving ahead of you at less than the speed limit, passing them can be difficult. If other motorists accelerate while you are in the passing lane, you can either wait for them to clear some space for you to get back into the slow lane, or speed up to get around them. By this time there’s a string of vehicles behind you. The impatient motorists are tailgating you, and may even flash their lights to encourage you to put the pedal to the floorboard.
There seems to be a consensus that the speed laws were made to be broken. Indeed, the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission contributes to this predilection. That agency does not consider a traffic death as speed-related unless the speed was 10 or more miles faster than posted limit. That’s wrong. The laws were established for safety reasons. It is time to get serious about them.
The year 2002 saw 42,815 traffic fatalities in the United States according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those are mostly people who would have lived to see 2003 were it not for traffic crashes. Very few of us appear to be concerned about that, but people sure work themselves into a tizzy over a few people dying of West Nile Virus, or SARS, or whatever disease or accidental cause of death is getting its current 15 minutes of fame. Sure, those things deserve some attention, but it’s time to readjust priorities.
It’s great that serious efforts are concentrating on removing drunken drivers from the roadways. It’s nice to see the motoring public being educated as to the benefits of seat-belt usage. It’s wonderful to see cars being built much safer than they were a few years back.
The speed factor related to traffic deaths continues to go largely ignored, though. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, about 30 percent of traffic deaths are attributable to speed. That’s where the rough estimate of 12,000 traffic deaths attributable to speed comes in. Strict enforcement of the speed limits would unquestionably go a long way towards curbing traffic deaths, and the fines collected would certainly help somewhat in alleviating the problems of our state treasuries.
Oh yeah, the governor who starts such a crackdown is going to take a lot of heat. It might even make him or her a one-term elected official. A one-termer who embarked upon such a crusade would not be such a bad thing. S
James Banzer has worked in broadcast news and now writes about his observations of the world around us. He lives in Louisville, Ky. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Opinions expressed on the Back Page are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Style Weekly.
Style Weekly's mission is to provide smart, witty and tenacious coverage of Richmond. Our editorial team strives to reveal Richmond's true identity through unflinching journalism, incisive writing, thoughtful criticism, arresting photography and sophisticated presentation.
We make sense of the news; pursue those in power; explore the city's arts and culture; open windows on provocative ideas; and help readers know Richmond through its people. We give readers the information to make intelligent decisions. | <urn:uuid:95e8684b-5625-4657-beb3-e8bb0a2b0bf6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/fast-money/Content?oid=1361565 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966403 | 944 | 1.84375 | 2 |
This video production contains music that has been licensed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This license allows for the free distribution of the finished video production, in its entirety, by video tape, Compact or Digital Video disc, or internet streaming and downloading. It is intended for the private, personal use the Public. Any non-private use by the Public of this video product containing licensed music requires that a separate license be obtained. You are responsible for any license requirement resulting from your use of the music. - - This video lets you experience the sights and sounds of this wonderful refuge, your refuge, Muscatatuck – where wildlife comes naturally. - The refuge is a great place to see many animals in their natural environment. The birds and animals present vary with the time of the year; while spring and fall are good times to observe migrating ducks and geese, summer is the time to see young wood ducks and Canada geese that have hatched on the refuge. Winter is a good time to observe year-round residents of the refuge plus winter visitors that sometimes include tundra swans, northern harriers, goldeneye ducks, and short eared owls. The very best times to see wildlife on the refuge are just after sunrise and just before sunset. - Wildlife observers are always welcome on Muscatatuck and can often find animals by driving some of the nine miles of gravel roads, walking the hiking trails, or exploring around the large refuge lakes. - The Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, located three miles east of Seymour, IN (entrance on U.S. Route 50), is a 7,724 acre area for wildlife by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. | <urn:uuid:a230ef0f-69b7-4bb9-80f2-9cd03fb8c7c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/video/id/1582/rec/8658 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942676 | 361 | 1.796875 | 2 |
KRAUTHAMMER: A case study in why we give foreign aid
Published: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 2:40 p.m.
Morsi is intent on getting the release of Omar Abdel-Rahman (the Blind Sheik), serving a life sentence for masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center attack that killed six and wounded more than a thousand. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood is openly anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and otherwise prolifically intolerant.
But Egypt is not an enemy, certainly not yet. It may no longer be our strongest Arab ally, but it is still in play. The Brotherhood aims to establish an Islamist dictatorship. Yet it remains a considerable distance from having done so.
Precisely why we should remain engaged. And engagement means using our economic leverage.
Morsi has significant opposition. Six weeks ago, powerful anti-Brotherhood demonstrations broke out in major cities and have continued sporadically ever since. The presidential election that Morsi won was decided quite narrowly — three points, despite the Brotherhood's advantage of superior organization and a history of social service.
Moreover, having forever been in opposition, on election day the Islamists escaped any blame for the state of the country. Now in power, they begin to bear responsibility for Egypt's miserable conditions — a collapsing economy, rising crime, social instability. Their aura is already dissipating.
There is nothing inevitable about Brotherhood rule. The problem is that the secular democratic parties are fractured, disorganized and lacking in leadership. And are repressed by the increasingly authoritarian Morsi.
His partisans have attacked demonstrators in Cairo. His security forces killed more than 40 in Port Said. He's been harassing journalists, suppressing freedom of speech, infiltrating the military and trying to subjugate the courts. He's already rammed through an Islamist constitution. He is now trying to tilt, even rig, parliamentary elections to the point that the opposition called for a boycott and an administrative court has just declared a suspension of the vote.
Any foreign aid we give Egypt should be contingent upon a reversal of this repression and a granting of space to secular, democratic, pro-Western elements.
That's where Kerry committed his mistake. Not in trying to use dollar diplomacy to leverage Egyptian behavior, but by exercising that leverage almost exclusively for economic, rather than political, reform.
Kerry's major objective was getting Morsi to apply for a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Considering that some of this $4.8 billion ultimately comes from us, there's a certain comic circularity to this demand. What kind of concession is it when a foreign government is coerced into .
If we're going to give foreign aid, it should be for political concessions — on unfettered speech, on an opposition free of repression, on alterations to the Islamist constitution, on open and fair elections.
We give foreign aid for two reasons: (a) to support allies who share our values and our interests, and (b) to extract from less-than-friendly regimes concessions that either bring their policies more in line with ours or strengthen competing actors more favorably inclined toward American objectives.
That's the point of foreign aid. It's particularly important in countries like Egypt whose fate is in the balance. But it will only work if we remain clear-eyed about why we give all that money in the first place.
Charles Krauthammer is a columnist for the Washington Post.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:64cb2268-a065-4467-8c56-a265eb3b85e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130308/WIRE/130309614/1043/opinion03?Title=KRAUTHAMMER-A-case-study-in-why-we-give-foreign-aid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949586 | 739 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The rules are simple:
1. Assign each of the playoff teams to a number. That number, in points, will be awarded to you for every game that team wins. Each number must be used once and once only.
2. That's pretty much it! There will be no editing or redistribution of points or teams once the puck is dropped for the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
To reiterate for clarity: The number 1 spot is the team for which you will get only a single point for every win, NOT the team you expect to be champions. The team you expect to win the most games (16) should logically be the one to have the highest number of points assigned to it (16) per win. The points are cumulative across rounds.
For Example: If you assign a team 12 points and they are eliminated from Round 1 in seven games, you still get 36 points for the games they won. (3 * 12 = 36 points)
If that team were to be swept out of the Stanley Cup Finals, you would receive 144 points from that team for their 12 wins.
If the team to whom you assign 1 point wins the Stanley Cup, you only get 16 points for those 16 wins.
3. The entrant with the most points wins! In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined by a shootout.
ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED! | <urn:uuid:f4ef048a-b536-43a1-b2b4-8efd82a5a919> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.battleofcali.com/2012/4/6/2928957/2012-stanley-cup-playoff-pool | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952388 | 288 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Wall Street Journal looks at how the new consumer-protection regulator is likely to make banks less profitable. I like how the paper all but says that’s because the banks won’t be able to screw their customers as blatantly anymore.
The paper says the new regulations would “take the industry back in time” and force it to offer “plain-vanilla” products. Or maybe not. The Journal calls them “plain-vanilla guidelines,” which I guess could just as easily mean that the guidelines are just boring. And “guidelines” doesn’t sound very promising. How about “hard and fast rules”? I think “guidelines” isn’t the right word because the Journal says this:
Card issuers wouldn’t be allowed to “change the rules of the game” on consumers, as in cases where a 0% rate is applied to only part of their balances.
But the bottom of the story confuses the issue all over again.
According to the administration’s “white paper” on the proposal, the agency “could impose a strong warning label on all alternative products; require providers to have applicants fill out financial experience questionnaires; or require providers to obtain the applicant’s written ‘opt-in’ to such products.”
The paper should have been more careful with its language and explained what will be rules and what will be guidelines, but it’s pretty good at not pussyfooting around the fact that banks have made lots of lucre in recent decades by snowing consumers.
The complex loans of recent years didn’t just confuse consumers. The bankers themselves ultimately misjudged whether customers would repay them.
So the Consumer Financial Protection Agency wouldn’t just be looking out for borrowers; it would be protecting bankers from themselves.
And here’s another forthright explanation of banks’ behavior:
Most people, for example, don’t understand the effects of compounding of interest — which leads them to undersave and to overborrow — a basic human failing that some financial institutions have an incentive to exploit.
All true, but usually not stated so boldly in the WSJ.
More like that, please. | <urn:uuid:df643305-1a93-4e32-bad8-b78a5d25139c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wsj_states_the_obviousin_a_goo.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942903 | 480 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Is Maureen Dowd Necessary?
The Times op-ed columnist adds nothing to the debate between the sexes.
Maureen Dowd's penchant for provocative overstatement has found its most recent outlet in a much talked about excerpt of her new book, Are Men Necessary?, in the New York Times Magazine. In it she bemoans a perceived return of 1950s values and courtship rituals and portrays a younger generation of women as grasping, shallow housewife wannabes and "yummy mommies." In the most inflammatory and intriguing passages, she claims that men are put off by women in power, that they prefer the women who serve them—maids, masseuses, and secretaries—to their equals. She attributes the fact that she is unmarried to her powerful position as an op-ed columnist at the New York Times. Then she notes her own family history of domestic service and concludes that "being a maid would have enhanced my chances with men."
Is this dark view of sexual politics a little extreme? If it is, it shouldn't be surprising. Dowd pushes every statement to its most exaggerated form; her column occupies a space somewhere in between the other columns on the New York Times op-ed page and the political cartoons that sometimes run there. She is, at her best, a brilliant caricaturist of the political scene, turning each presidency into vivid farce. As a caricaturist, she has a fondness for punchy one-liners strung together, and for the one-sentence paragraph: "Survival of the fittest has been replaced by survival of the fakest"; "We had the Belle Epoque. Now we have the Botox Epoch"; and "As a species is it possible that men are ever so last century?" Her style evokes a brainier Candace Bushnell, whose oeuvre she frequently refers to, but it is given extra weightiness by her position at the Times.
Like the crude, sexist men she lampoons, Dowd is extremely fond of clever stereotyping. But this strategy is better-suited to satirizing a real person (say, President Bush) than it is to offering insights into the already cartoonish "war" between the sexes. In Are Men Necessary? she gravitates toward quotes like this: "Deep down all men want the same thing: a virgin in a gingham dress," or "if there's one thing men fear it's a woman who uses her critical faculties." To support these generalizations, Dowd relies on the faux journalism of women's magazines. She cobbles together anecdotal evidence from people she encounters. The formula is basically this: "Carrie, a 29-year-old publicist, says … " And from Carrie's experience she extrapolates to the universal. The problem with this approach is that one could go out and find a 29-year-old publicist who would say the opposite. It would be one thing if Dowd were writing pure, straightforward polemic, ranting against the people she feels the need to rant against. But Dowd is pretending to cover cultural trends with journalistic accuracy, and it is this pretense that gives her arguments a shoddy feel.
Much of what Dowd observes in the piece is true—the nostalgic passion for the 1950s, the increasing number of educated women opting to be housewives or change their names when they marry, the success of books like TheRules. And yet, somehow, the alarmist portrait she draws of female life feels skewed. As a member of the generation she is writing about, I think her sensationalism renders us unrecognizable. She seems to believe that we are all obsessed with beauty, we all want to efface our personalities to ensnare a man, we all want to stay home and take care of him.
In fact, Dowd's most compelling example of this rarefied, lonely demographic of woman too successful for love is herself. As Dowd would have it, men simply find her intelligence, her status, her wit too daunting. (A friend called her up to complain that her Pulitzer Prize would make it impossible for her to get a date.) But is it possible that there is something else at play? In a recent New York profile, the writer reports: "she is an utter and unreconstructed fox. Something that nearly every person I spoke to about her mentioned, unprompted, is that men can't resist her." The piece further describes the wide variety of men Dowd has been involved with, ranging from movie stars, to important editors, to creators of television dramas. And they have apparently all been attracted to her, even though she is not in a service profession, or a maid, or a virgin in a gingham dress. One imagines that her intelligence, her sharpness, her sarcasm may even have interested these men. Could there possibly be another reason that the attractive, successful Dowd has not settled down? Something that is not in the zeitgeist, or the political climate, but some ineffable quality of her own psychology? It would seem wrong to raise this question about a woman writer, and in fact about any writer, but Dowd uses her experience with men as template for her theories so often, and marshals her failure to marry as evidence so frequently, that she herself raises the question in her reader's mind.
One of Dowd's many admirers extravagantly compared her to Edith Wharton. But Wharton was among the first female writers to write about the single woman's ambivalence toward marriage. What is maddening about Dowd's book—and the excerpt in the Times Magazine—is that she does not develop her ideas, that she does not push beneath the surface. One wishes that, instead of devoting herself to zinginess, to ripostes and one-liners, she would use her threatening intelligence to unearth the deeper complexities of her subject. Is there something about the generation of women who came of age in the late 1960s—in male-dominated universities and workplaces—that finds its own power problematic? Why is it that so many women are taking refuge in outdated visions of femininity?
I don't mean to suggest that there is something inherently wrong with using one's own life in political writing. But one should use it honestly, rigorously, complicatedly, like critics such as Mary McCarthy, Rebecca West, Joan Didion, or Andrew Sullivan. Because the issues surrounding sexual politics are so emotionally charged, so laden with contradiction, so racked with ambivalence and irrationality, it is especially important not to neglect nuance. One of the failures of the feminist movement in the first place was a reliance on easy aphorisms, and the schematic worldview that such aphorisms implied. The famous line, "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" did not prove to be a constructive or realistic contribution to the feminist cause. Replacing one set of rigid gender stereotypes with another did not allow women the full range of their desires and ended up sabotaging the movement. Dowd herself criticizes the feminists of the 1970s for imagining a sea of identical, sexless women in navy blazers descending on the workplace. Though she appears to be arguing for a new, more rigorous feminism, she is guilty of precisely the same intellectual fault—starting with the catchy, meaningless title of her book, Are Men Necessary?, Dowd's aphorisms, amusing and pithy in the morning paper along with a cup of coffee, are precisely what the conversation about sexual politics does not need.
Katie Roiphe, professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, is the author most recently of Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Marriages, and the forthcoming In Praise of Messy Lives.
Photograph of Maureen Dowd by Fred Conrad/PR Newswire Photo Service. | <urn:uuid:bd452c18-129a-47cd-be14-6d306fb2f8ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2005/11/is_maureen_dowd_necessary.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962995 | 1,627 | 1.539063 | 2 |
adrian_sm wrote:... about recumbents, the lower ride height would get me more nervous on the roads with cars. They have a hard enough time noticing a normal upright bike.
Sigh. Yet another myth propagated onward toward bicycling eternity ...
Recumbents are actually more
visible than uprights. They are still odd enough that motorists notice them more than upright bikes. I can not tell you how many times motor vehicle operators have swerved towards
me trying to get a better look. In the 1990's, drivers would pass me, stop their cars and get out to ask me about the bike. It is different now that recumbents are far more prevalent but they still are enough of an oddity to get themselves noticed. The low height is a red herring unless it is one of those very low trike recumbents where the rider is almost lying on his or her back. In this case, a large flag is warranted.
Disclaimer: The above does not apply when the motorist is either (1) driving with their eyes diverted to either [a] a mobile electronics device, [b] a newspaper or other reading material, [c] a porn flick displayed upon their illegally installed video monitor, or [d] the nearest sexually-explicit billboard advertisement. It also does not apply if they are (2) slapping their ill-behaved children, or (3) applying make-up, or (4) driving while under the influence of recreational pharmaceuticals, or (5) any number of numerous other tasks that motorists believe are far more important than the immediate task at hand, i.e. operating their motor vehicle.
Whether upright or recumbent, please be vigilant.
P.S. Recumbents are actually far more safer than uprights. You can not fly over the handlebars of a recumbent. The center of gravity is much lower and the weight is distributed more toward the rear wheel. Rather, you will fall sideways. A broken hip is far less deadly than a broken neck.
P.P.S. Recumbents also are faster and more efficient than upright bikes. Recumbents are banned from bicycle races because there is simply no contest between riders of like ability. The rider on the recumbent will far out pace the rider on the upright.
P.P.P.S. And no, they are not hard to peddle up hills! What you do is gear down and spin faster. I have seen many recumbent riders sprint up hills quickly. (Not me. My knees are more important than my pride.)
P.P.P.P.S. Dontcha' just hate sanctimonious forum posters that do not know when to quit showing off their knowledge of a topic most cyclists don't want to hear about? | <urn:uuid:e6dff570-2176-40ff-b89f-ffc3f56fd28f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=195940 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955938 | 581 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Attending an international conference on telecommunication as a speaker, I got a bagpack as a souvenir. Everything was okay but its zippers. They were faulty as one of them shown in `01 - The Faulty Zipper.jpg'. I really should have checked its zippers when I received the bag. Anyway, with some patience I always succeeded in closing the zippers. But, they were really annoying just like when you use proprietary software. You just cannot modify them to make your life easier, and they are demanding more and more control to be taken away from you (e.g., Windows Defender and Genuine Advantage). After six months, a hacker came telling me how I should fix those faulty zippers.
It was my mom. First, return the slider to its original position and get the tool as shown in `02 - The Tool.jpg'. Next, crimp both the left and right butts of the slider as shown in `03 - Fixing The Left Butt.jpg' and `04 - Fixing The Right Butt.jpg' before you can get it right as shown in `05 - It is Fixed.jpg'. Don't crimp both of them with all your might at one time. Instead crimp both of them with some power and try to zip the zipper. If it is still faulty, crimp both of them again a bit harder and try again. If you crimp them too hard, you will require more power to zip the zipper. In case you crimp both of them too hard, just insert the points of the tool in a closed position into the slider and open the points so that the slider's grip on the zipper can be loosen.
When I asked my mom from where she learned the fix, she said that she observed how a zipper worked and fiddled with it a bit before coming up with the fix. Wonderful! After that, out of curiosity I googled for "faulty zipper" that led me to google for "fix faulty zipper" that returned this very consise page: http://www.ehow.com/how_2099903_repair-zippers.html. Next, based on some results there, I googled for "fix zipper separate" that returned this good page: http://tailoring.suite101.com/article.cfm/zipper_repair. Well, I should have googled for those keywords when I received the bag and spotted the problem. But, I think I was born in a generation where search engine is not included in one of your problem-solving tools. Surely I have to include search engine in my problem-solving tools now.
|01 - The Faulty Zipper.jpg||301.15 KB|
|02 - The Tool.jpg||139.96 KB|
|03 - Fixing The Left Butt.jpg||97.05 KB|
|04 - Fixing The Right Butt.jpg||110.21 KB|
|05 - It is Fixed.jpg||159.3 KB| | <urn:uuid:7b9cc260-fe69-4e3e-905c-50d239401558> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kerneltrap.org/node/17158 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962734 | 629 | 1.546875 | 2 |
There's no getting around it: If your house is in a cold climate, keeping it warm in winter is expensive. The Department of Energy predicts that prices for natural gas and heating oil will rise again this winter compared with last—and that's after a year in which heating-oil prices rose sharply in most parts of the country.
Sure, you can dial down the thermostat and get used to wearing bulky sweaters indoors to cut costs. But if you've got an unfinished attic, giving it proper insulation is one of the simplest ways to keep a lid on your heating bill this season. "It's a DIY project you can tackle in a weekend, and the savings you'll get add up every year," says TOH general contractor Tom Silva. The Department of Energy estimates that a properly insulated attic can shave 10 to 50 percent off your heating bill. And it works the opposite way for warm climates; in summer, it helps stabilize your house's indoor temps to keep cooling needs in check.
In a perfect world, you'd hire an energy auditor to tell you exactly how much protection you're getting from the few inches of attic insulation you may already have and to pinpoint things like air leaks that you can seal to make sure your insulation will do its job well. But if you can't afford to shell out a few hundred bucks for this service, never fear: We've rounded up all the most important know-how about attic insulation products, prep work, and installation right here. Keep reading for the details. | <urn:uuid:4ccf4615-9147-4b0a-ac42-3f570d3c95a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20645175,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958463 | 308 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Make good on your New Year's resolution and update your computer skills. Monday January 7 we will begin a whole new round of computer courses. Classes in Computer Basics are held every Monday at 10:15 AM or 4:00 PM, and Wednesdays at 1:15 PM or 4:00 PM. If you already have a handle on the basics, try our Microsoft Office Skills course which includes the programs Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Office classes are given every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:15 AM or 4:00 PM. Both Basic and Office Skills courses will run through to the end of February. No registration or fees are required, and seating is given on a first come, first serve basis. Arrive early, and bring a flash drive. | <urn:uuid:43cf2dd5-9514-4eaa-81b2-75859841cce4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hcpl.net/print/12131 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930717 | 153 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks says they feel the current rules are adequate and the science doesn't support any stricter regulations on particulate matter on farms.
"My boss, Administrator Lisa Jackson, on Friday notified the Congress that EPA will not be making any changes what we call the PM10 regulation," Brooks said. "That's on the basis of science and our consideration of the law, so folks in ag country can rest easy. This rule has been in place for 25 years and it is not changing."
Brooks says they hope this clarification finally puts an end to the myth that the agency is planning to expand regulations of "farm dust."
"I have run into this concern throughout Region 7, we cover a lot of ag country and this is something I hear everyplace I go," Brooks said. "I think it's just a general concern that a rule that's been working really well for 25 years might be changed, but it's not and the science supports keeping it where it is. So we look forward to spreading that good news around the countryside in Region 7."
Current dust bills in the House and Senate are expected to continue to move forward as they say EPA has flip-flopped on their position on the dust rules and lawmakers want something in writing from the agency. Brooks would not say the current dust bills are unnecessary, but he does defend EPA's position.
"Any member of Congress can introduce a bill on any subject that he or she wants," Brooks said. "They probably will choose to focus on other issues that affect producer issues in the Heartland as opposed to this, but it is certainly the Senate's prerogative to consider any bill they want. We think our position at EPA is clear and is based on the science."
He says EPA recently wrote Congress that it's prepared to propose to keep the current standard for PM10 when it is sent to OMB for interagency review. That position is based on scientific record, analysis by Agency scientists, and advice from the independent Clean Air Science Advisory Council. | <urn:uuid:7c0ebb49-0f06-4dab-88e2-c08cdbb52542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://farmprogress.com/story-epa-regional-administrator-confirms-epa-dust-decision-0-54067 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974977 | 415 | 1.828125 | 2 |
As Syria descends into chaos, Assad’s Grand Mufti is invited to speak at US peace event
The Grand Mufti of Syria is a known Assad supporter and regime loyalist and yet as Assad’s forces are blamed for the killing of women and children, he has been invited to speak about Middle East peace in Washington.
Ahmad Hassoun is a controversial figure internationally and although he is considered a moderate in religious terms, he has refused to condemn the regime in Syria and blames conspiring ‘foreign influences’ for the chaos.
So it came as a surprise for many to hear that he had been invited by the Foundation for Middle East Peace to speak at their ‘Coexistence and Dialogue’ event in Washington DC on June 28.
Opposition groups, including the Syrian Expatriates Organization have condemned the invitation, citing Hassoun’s comments on suicide bombers as evidence that he does not want peace for the region.
Last year, as part of a eulogy he gave for his murdered son Saria, Hassoun threatened to produce ‘martyrs’ in their masses if Syria or Lebanon were bombed by Europe or the US:
“From now on, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” he said.
Critics say inviting someone with such views to a peace event makes a mockery of the conference. Hassoun has also denied that uprisings in Syria are evidence of people’s desire for regime change.
In an interview with Al Jazeera in August last year, he said he did not believe democracy could come to Syria through violent means:
“There is destruction in the name of democratic change but democratic change cannot be achieved by violence against the government or opposition,” he said.
However, despite his support for Bashar al Assad, Hassoun claims he is a peacemaker for the region. Talking to Der Spiegel last year, he said:
“The bloodshed has to stop! If I could manage to bring about peace, I'd be happy to let my enemies kill me -- I'd be happy to give my life for that!”
Mr Oubab Khalil, Board member for the Syrian Expatriate Organization, said he believes Hassoun’s presence at the peace conference would be contrary to the fundamental principles of coexistence and dialogue, given his fiery rhetoric in the past.
The Organization has now put in a formal request for the Foundation for Middle East to withdraw its invitation and for the US to ban Hassoun’s entry into the country.
By Helen Brooks
What do you think about an Assad supporter being invited to talk about peace? Tell us your thoughts below. | <urn:uuid:10759fae-5917-4a78-957a-ea003ba74010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.albawaba.com/behind-news/assad-grand-mufti-431037 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975597 | 555 | 1.664063 | 2 |
jamvaru wrote:when i was without internet access i found some good dvd's on ebay for cheap (basically cost of dvd+shipping)
for example, a 6 dvd set with the entire debian repository; i believe same thing is available for ubuntu
beats trying to download at the library and burn it yourself (usually impossible, though i managed to tweak it, lol; till they disabled usb drive access, i was using portableapps)
certainly a better use of time would be working and saving money for internet, lol
There is also the package "aptoncd". The Synaptic description;
APT removable repository creator and package backup tool for Debian based
This tool will allow you to create a media (CD or DVD) to use to install
software via APT in a non-connected machine, as well upgrade and install
the same set of softwares in several machines with no need to re-download
the packages again.
You can also, in Synaptic, have it just download the .deb file. This will be a compressed archive just like your install all the time. If you have not changed the defaults ot auto clean /var/cache/apt/archive you have a copy of every thing you have downloaded and can see what they look like.
If you already have a package installed that file is where to simply copy it it a stick or DVD/CD RW. If not downloading just the package without installing will get you the package and any depends. Put them on your stick or CD.
You can go to a search engine and look up any Debian package for any supported Debian version. This will give a download target for the package and a link to a similar link to any depends. recommends or suggests packages.
The stick is then put in the unconnected box, the packages navigated to with your file manager, right click, install with gdebi.
Aptoncd will give you the packages as they would be on the many install disks besides the one you need for installation of the base install but with only the packages you want. As long as you have the CD source listed on your /etc/apt/sources.list (should be commented out but in there after a default style install) you can then use that disk to install with whatever install tool you use such as Synaptic, apt-get or aptitude.
If you have remote box that has a supported version of Debian and you can download all the DVDs offered with the install disk you can take them and upgrade the thing to nearly current. I believe they redo them weekly. They contain, as previously stated, the entire Debian repo.
Dell XPS 420 Core2 Quad Q 6600, audigy5.1, Radeon HD 6450 - currently 4 320Gb HDD, Debian Squeeze for secure use, Debian testing for daily use, Debian Sid for fun. | <urn:uuid:be49e07a-af09-44b6-a402-efcd2fb571fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=686744 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932396 | 601 | 1.585938 | 2 |
MILL OWNER HAS GOT THE GRIST OF IT
Local wheat now processed at a local flour milling facility
Local wheat now processed at a local flour milling facility
Appeared in print: Sunday, April 17, 2011, page D4
Sometime in the coming week a Lane Country resident will bite into a slice of bread or a pizza crust made from the first flour to be grown and then ground in a commercial grist mill here since before the Great Depression.
Farmer and entrepreneur Tom Hunton launched his Camas Country Mill in far north Eugene in the past week and, out of the gate, he’s supplying The Bread Stop, the Hideaway Bakery, the Market of Choice bakers and Cosmic Pizza.
He installed a Denmark-made Engsko mill with a 40-inch grinding stone that’s suitable for pulverizing wheat kernels into speciality flour for the next 150 years.
Hunton paid for the $300,000 project from his savings, a $97,000 economic development grant from Lane County, and a $50,000 loan from Hummingbird Wholesale in Eugene.
The mill has widespread support because it is key in the effort to re-localize the food system by growing and processing foods close to where they’re consumed.
“Every state used to grow their wheat locally, mill it locally and consume it locally,” Hunton said.
But today, much of the flour that consumers purchase in grocery stores nationwide comes from wheat grown in Kansas that’s milled to smithereens by the Archer Daniels Midland Company, he said.
The effort to relocalize food involves unwinding nearly a century of efforts to industrializing, homogenizing and centralizing the production of food.
At the time, “we thought it was progress,” said Hunton, a second generation farmer.
It was “efficiency,” his partner and son Jason Hunton said.
What the Huntons are doing is “a huge step forward” when it comes to increasing the amount of locally grown food, said Oregon State University extension agent Ross Penhallegon. “We can grow anything we want to in the Willamette Valley, and we have all the people to feed it to. But we don’t have the middle (link): How do we get what we grow to the consumer? We can grow it, now what do we do with it?”
In the case of wheat, with no grist mill nearby, local farmers had no way to affordably mill wheat once they grew it, Penhallegon said. The only option was to truck it out of the area for processing, which is hugely expensive.
But, if producing food locally can be made to pencil out, the demand is there, he and others agricultural experts say.
“There’s a growing number of people in the country who are concerned about the food system in general, and that includes the flour that goes into the bread, whether or not pesticides are used on crops and things of this nature,” said John Ikerd, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri.
This drive to relocalize has made for some strange bedfellows. Hunton has primarily been a grass seed farmer who also owns and operates a farm chemical/fertilizer dealership.
But he’s establishing his mill, which is just off of Awbrey Lane, with the help of Hummingbird Wholesale owners Charlie and Julie Tilt, who are as organic and alternative as Hunton is as straight-laced and conservative. Ten years ago, Hunton would have said it’s “not likely” he would ever be working cheek by jowl with the Tilts the way he is today.
The Huntons, who farm 2,700 acres in the Willamette Valley, are well-known and well-respected in the agriculture industry, Penhallegon said.
Patriarch Everett Hunton started farming with his wife, Ellen, in the years after World War II along Milliron Road in Junction City. He joined the burgeoning group of grass seed growers that were rapidly replacing vegetable farming in the Willamette Valley and became a leader in the field, honored by the Oregon Seed Growers League and the Oregon Orchardgrass Commission. But he wasn’t satisfied with just grass.
He planted parsley and cabbage seed and California poppy seed and peppermint for oil, and he ran 100 head of cattle, his wife, Ellen, said. He also built a wholesale seed cleaning operation.
Tom Hunton joined his father when he finished college and the two of them started the Surecrop Farm Service. Tom took charge when his dad died in 2005. Besides grass seed, he planted clover seed, brassica seeds, meadowfoam, teff grain, soft white winter and spring wheat for export.
But in 2008, the economy brought crisis to the grass seed growers in the valley. Severe drops in home construction nationally meant fewer lawns were planted and the demand for turf seed plummeted. Hunton said the demand will never again be as great as it once was: Because of taste and water regulation, home lawns will be smaller.
“The dire economics force you to start looking at options,” Hunton said.
He was looking for options when he met up with the Southern Willamette Valley Bean & Grain Project, a group that’s trying to bring food crops back to the valley.
The conventional wisdom, supported by some professors at Oregon State University, is that the Willamette Valley is not suited for growing the kind of wheat — hard red or hard white — needed for making breads.
Valley wheat farmers were growing soft white wheats and almost all — 98 percent, Hunton said — was shipped through the Port of Portland to countries in Asia that used it for noodles or pastries.
So Hunton was being a contrarian when he tried growing a half dozen hard red wheat varieties as well as hard white spring wheats, which are favored by artisan bakers.
“We’re disproving the fallacy that you can’t raise bread wheat here,” Hunton said.
He produced his first bread wheat crops in 2009 and 2010. He trucked the crops 176 miles south to the Butte Creek Mill at Eagle Point for grinding into flour.
The Tilts began marketing the flour wholesale to bakeries and in four-pound sacks at Kiva Grocery Store in downtown Eugene, but the operation ran into a major problem.
“Every 50-pound bag they sold lost money. It cost more to ship it and grind it” than they could make, Charlie Tilt said.
So the Huntons put together their savings, the loan from the Tilts and the grant awarded by the Lane County Board of Commissioners to build a local mill.
Commissioner Rob Handy said it was a great economic development move for the county. Lane County grows less than 5 percent of the food it consumes. For each additional percentage point raised here, $11.7 million dollars in the county — and that means jobs, Handy said.
“We can feed ourselves, and the economic development that would mean to our community is astounding,” he said.
In August, Hunton and Tilt were read to install the mill. They hoped to have it running by the end of the year. A couple of neighboring farmers had planted hard wheat in the spring with the intent of processing it at the new mill, Hunton said. He hired a miller to run the machinery. But then the project ground to a halt.
Hunton and Tilt said it stalled in The Eugene Planning and Development Department.
“They were really busy with the Matthew Knight stadium. They were overloaded. They had cut down staff because of the recession,” Tilt said.
The Camas Country Mill couldn’t get their attention, Tilt said. “I started feeling like, ‘Oh, no, I’ve misled Tom. All of a sudden he’s stalled. He’s got a full-time worker. He’s got the floor done and the walls painted. He’s met every obligation, but the city is not responding.”
The difficulty, Hunton said, is that flour in the air in the right concentrations — with a spark — can explode. “They had difficulty believing that we could isolate any potential hazard,” Hunton said.
Hunton and Tilt hired additional engineers and architects to work through the problems, Tilt said. They added $10,000 in upgrades to the vent and duct works. Every little redesign required an engineer’s stamp, which cost $300 more each time, tilt said.
Tom Hunton insists: “There needs to be a philosophy change somehow in permitting that it’s not a game to put obstacles in the way.”
Charlie Tilt says: “If you encounter this once, you don’t ever want to do it again. You want to go outside the city with your business.”
The permitting was finally completed in April, meaning the newly hired miller had months to wait to start grinding flour — and the farmers that had grown wheat for the mill had to sell their crops on the commodities market before the mill was completed.
Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary said, “I have a ton of respect for the Huntons. They have done some great work in the valley, and this is a great project.
“We’re totally excited about having a flour mill in the area, it meets a lot of our objectives — sustainability, food production, growing local businesses and local jobs, re-using a building. It is exactly the type of project we want to have here.”
But it also was a complicated project, more so than either party probably realized upfront, she said. It meant taking a mechanic’s shop and converting it to food production, which triggered a lot of different types of codes, including statewide ones.
“I think if everyone had known on day one the full scope, it could have been an easier project,” Medary said. “It started off on the wrong foot, at least on our side. I’m glad they finally got it done.” As for the city permitting process, she said, “We hope to do better. We need to find ways to make it easier.”
Through the difficulties, the two unlikely business partners, Hunton and Tilt, forged a bond of respect.
“Farmers are risk-takers. They’re always doing things that aren’t guaranteed to turn out. They figure out ways to make it work,” Charlie Tilt said.
Hunton figured he’s shocked the Tilts; and the Tilts have surprised him.
“We have some differences of opinions on some things, but it all comes down to values, and they’ve got a wonderful set of core values that we correspond with,” he said.
Now the questions are: Will their risks reap a reward? Will the mill be a success?
Penhallegon said he thinks it will. Demand for locally produced food far surpasses production, he said, with the stumbling block being how to get the raw product from the farmer to the user.
“Tom (Hunton) is being very far-sighted,” Penhallegon said. “Grass seed is in the dumps. Here’s a golden opportunity to produce clean local food — yaaaay, we did it. Five hands up on that one. The key is, he’s shown it can be done. That’s such a huge, huge thing that we need to think about. Now, we need to find some Tom Huntons to fill in the other pieces ... tree fruits, berries, and so on.”
With the help of the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, the Huntons and Tilts have been test-marketing the home-grown flour at the Lane County Farmers’ Market. And now Hummingbird Wholesale will be looking for retailers to take the flour.
All-purpose flour in grocery stores goes for as low as 30 cents a pound, Hunton said. The Camas County Mill flour is now retailing for $1.50 a pound.
The farmer and the wholesaler are betting that customers will be willing to pay the cost for highly nutritious flour that’s grown and produced right down the road.
The Bread Stop wholesale bakery already buys 20 50-pound sacks of the flour each week for its honey wheat loaves and burger buns.
The mill, a Willy Wonka contraption under a two-story-tall ceiling, is capable of producing 800 pounds of flour per hour.
Tilt figures if they run the mill three hours a day three days a week they’ll produce 500,000 pounds in a year, which is the break-even point on the operating costs.
Hunton said if the demand outstrips the mill, there’s room for a second mill right beside it.
Ellen Hunton, who succeeded in the farming business for 66 years with her husband, gave a blessing recently as she snipped a ceremonial ribbon on the mill: Let this pay for itself, she said.
“Over the years, every time your dad started on some new venture — and I opposed a lot of them — he would say, ‘It will pay for itself,’ so we hope that this does.” | <urn:uuid:306fa378-ccbd-4327-9cfa-4c280f71da07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://special.registerguard.com/web/business/26102072-41/hunton-mill-flour-wheat-tilt.html.csp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96172 | 2,869 | 1.59375 | 2 |
At the start of the century, strong economic growth in places like China and India prompted a new investment perspective.
The BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) concept was born and equity funds were developed to accommodate a new desire to invest in those countries. Soon, some economists proposed that a decoupling between BRICs and developed countries was occurring.
People thought strong economic growth would insulate the BRICs from a crisis elsewhere. Not surprisingly, the decoupling idea was rejected when the recent crisis seemed to affect everyone; the world is just too economically interrelated.
But lately, interest in “decoupling” has re-emerged, following news that China and India are exhibiting significant growth. Together with the stimulus packages in the USA, UK and Europe, an even more painful and protracted recession can perhaps be avoided. The more positive outlook has lifted equity markets.
The debate on decoupling may be seen as just academic and of little significance, but to my mind there are practical implications we ought to take to heart:
l Regardless of how pessimistic we are about short-term economic prospects, growth in places like China and India does provide a measure of encouragement that the recession will be less severe and less protracted. In deciding whether to invest in the markets at all, this suggests making a larger allocation to equities than one was willing to entertain some months ago.
l We are likely to see significantly faster growth in countries like India and China for the foreseeable future. In reassessing one’s asset allocation, over-weighting BRICs makes sense.
l Activity in developed countries associated with BRIC demand affects certain industries but not all. Normally we are better off choosing companies whose goods are in demand; the notion is even more compelling today. Certain companies will enjoy decent growth while others will continue to suffer from the current downturn. In the segment dedicated to equities in the developed world, one should select discretely, targeting companies benefiting from the current configuration of demand. | <urn:uuid:182af70e-28de-4585-abc9-93a04797c46c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thejc.com/print/16204 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961451 | 412 | 1.765625 | 2 |
FRIENDS OF LAUPUS LIBRARY
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
Article I. Name
The name of the organization shall be Friends of Laupus Library at East Carolina University, hereafter referred to as the Friends.
Article II. Mission and Vision
- The mission of the Friends shall be to provide support and advocacy for the Laupus Library, the Country Doctor Museum, the Health Sciences community, and East Carolina University through participation in Friends programs, special events, and awareness activities.
- The vision of the Friends shall be to learn about, support, and share the mission of the Laupus Library and its services with citizens of Eastern North Carolina and beyond.
Article III. Membership
- Regular membership shall be open to individuals, organizations, businesses and institutions, with contributing annual dues as set by the Board of Directors. Each membership shall coincide with the calendar year, shall be entitled to one vote and shall carry the benefits and responsibilities of the Friends.
- Honorary lifetime membership may be awarded to individuals whose contributions, activities and support have significantly enhanced the Friends. Honorary membership carries all the rights and responsibilities of regular membership. This honor does not include board membership; however, honorary lifetime members may be elected to the board.
Article IV. Meetings
- The annual meeting of the membership shall be held during the spring semester. The purpose of the meeting shall be for the election of officers, members of the Board of Directors and for the transaction of other business of the Friends.
- Ten percent (10%) of the membership shall constitute a quorum.
Article V. Officers, Board of Directors and Executive Committee
- The officers of the Friends shall be: Board chair, Board chair-elect, secretary, treasurer, and immediate past Board chair. One or more staff members may be appointed by the Director of Laupus Library to serve as logistical liaison between the Friends and the Laupus Library. Those appointed by the Director are non-voting members.
- The officers shall be elected to serve for one year or until their successors are elected. Their term of office shall coincide with the calendar year.
- All officers of the Board of Directors shall be nominated from the entire Board of Directors.
- The Board of Directors shall be comprised of no less than fifteen (15) and no more than thirty (30) members to serve a term of three years. A board member may not serve more than three consecutive terms for a total of nine years. They shall be elected by a majority of those present and voting at the annual meeting. The term of office shall coincide with the academic school year.
- The Board of Directors shall meet on a regular basis, at least semi-annually.
- A simple majority of the board membership shall constitute a quorum.
- The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the Friends, two members of the Board of Directors appointed by the chair, and the Director of Laupus Library as an ex-officio member with voting privileges.
Article VI. Duties of Officers, Board of Directors, and Executive Committee.
- The chair shall preside at all meetings of the membership, of the Board of Directors, and of the Executive Committee. The chair shall appoint all standing committees in consultation with the Executive Committee, call meetings of the Executive Committee, and carry out any other duties of the office.
- The chair- elect shall assume all duties of the chair in his/her absence and assist in other duties as needed.
- The secretary shall notify members of the place and time of meetings, and record and circulate meeting minutes.
- The treasurer shall work with the director of Laupus Library to prepare and regularly present the financial reports to the Board of Directors. He/She shall prepare the annual budget for the Friends to be approved the Board of Directors.
- The Board of Directors shall be responsible for making the policies for managing the affairs of the Friends; and shall conduct the business of the Friends between meetings of the membership.
- The Executive Committee shall fill vacancies of unexpired terms of members of the Board of Directors and call meetings of the membership in addition to the annual meeting.
- The Executive Committee may act for the board when it is not meeting. This includes emergency matters or recurring matters that must be disposed of promptly.
Article VII. Committees
- Standing and ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the chair. The chair may consult with the Executive Committee in making these appointments.
- All chairs of standing and ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the chair, with one exception. The immediate past chair shall serve as chair of the nominating committee.
Article VIII. Finances
The Friends are responsible for assisting in the generation of both operating and endowment funds to further the organization’s mission. Accounts will be held at the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation, Inc., and fundraising will be coordinated with them.
- Operating funds: This account is used for functions carried out by the Friends, operational expenses, and board meetings. It may also be used for library improvements and collections enhancement.
- Endowment funds: These funds are to be used for Friends’ projects, such as collection enhancement and library improvement. These accounts are not available for daily operations.
- Final authorization for expenditures against the operating and endowment accounts shall be made by the the Director of Laupus Library.
Article IX. Policies and Procedures
The adopted policies and procedures guide lines more closely define the by-laws of the Friends. They may be changed or amended by the Board of Directors at any scheduled meeting.
Article X. Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the Friends in all cases to which they are applicable and not inconsistent with this document.
Article XI. Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws
Articles I, II, III and IV may be amended at any regular meeting of the Friends by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting, provided that the amendment(s) has been submitted to the membership in writing two weeks prior to the meeting date.
Articles V, VI, VII, VIII, and IX may be amended at any regular meeting of the Board of Directors by two-thirds vote of those present and voting provided that the amendment(s) has been submitted to the Board of Directors in writing two weeks prior to the meeting date. | <urn:uuid:1edf1f0d-053c-4ceb-a583-abfa4e9ec110> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/laupuslibrary/Friends/Bylaws.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944347 | 1,319 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Longman Anthology of British Literature: Restoration v. 1c
"Volume 1C: The Restoration and the 18th Century of The Longman Anthology of British Literature" is a comprehensive and thoughtfully arranged ... Show synopsis "Volume 1C: The Restoration and the 18th Century of The Longman Anthology of British Literature" is a comprehensive and thoughtfully arranged anthology that offers a rich selection of major British authors throughout the Restoration and the 18th Century. The book includes Perspectives, Companion Readings, and "and Its Time" sections which show how major literary writings interrelate with and respond to various social, historical, and cultural events of Great Britain in the 18th Century. With a generous representation of fiction, drama, and poetry, the second edition includes major additions of important works and an expanded illustration program. Fresh and up-to-date introductions and notes are written by an editorial team whose members are all actively engaged in teaching and in current scholarship, and illustrations show both artistic and cultural developments of the period. For those interested in British Literature of the Restoration and 18th Century. | <urn:uuid:dad7bfbd-f3d2-456b-b8fa-70d744bb9c48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=14985589 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933438 | 224 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Friday, August 24, 2007
Don't Be a Victim: Mugging
Pickpockets today have come up with elaborate schemes to take your money, and vacation hot spots are their favorite place to pick their victims. Next, the tips you need to know, so you can be able to trick the trickster.
WSVN -- Whether you decide to relax in paradise, rendezvous in Paris or lose yourself in a big city, watch out because thieves are waiting for the opportunity to reach into your pockets.
Sergeant Javier Bruzos of Coral Gables Police: "A mugging or robbery can occur at any time of the day, at any location, in the whole entire city."
Even tourists here in sunny South Florida have been victims.
Michael McNulty: "Paperwork, credit cards, passports, cash."
This family from Ireland came to South Florida, so their daughter with Cerebral Palsy could swim with the dolphins. A ruthless thief robbed them of that chance. Sgt. Javier Bruzos of Coral Gables Police says the first rule of thumb is to be alert.
Sgt. Javier Bruzos: "Always, very important for us to be conscious of our environment. Don't let your guard down especially when your on vacation."
Next, look like you fit in.
Sgt. Javier Bruzos: "As your walking down the street make sure you are confident, and you look like you belong there, you know what your doing, you don't look lost, or you don't look like you are completely disoriented."
And there are some important tips to keeping your cash.
Sgt. Javier Bruzos: "If you need to carry cash on your person, that you have your wallet in your front pocket."
If you are carrying camera equipment or other items in a backpack or purse, keep it in front of you, so no one can grab it from behind. Officer Frank Jackson of Coral Gables Police says thieves use the same techniques all over the world.
Officer Frank Jackson: "They'll come up with an elaborate scheme to get your attention to try and catch you off guard."
Someone starts screaming when you go to check things out. The accomplice sneaks up behind you and takes your wallet. Another trick is what's called the compassion.
Officer Frank Jackson: "Children will come up and say that they are lost, 'Can you help me find my mommy and daddy?' You might squat down to their eye level, which will then expose your purse or your handbag."
Making it an easy target for a thief, but if you keep your purse in front, you are protected. You can have a worry-free vacation if you take precautions.
Officer Frank Jackson: "You want to write down emergency numbers for the place you are going to be visiting. You also want the phone number of the embassy and the consulate in the area that you are going."
Tom Haynes: "Getting this information is as easy as logging on to the the state department website, or calling the consulates of the country you are visiting." | <urn:uuid:6d9fe79e-d1c9-4a22-a599-83b0ebca1df9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/victim/MI59195/ | 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 | 0.944643 | 637 | 1.640625 | 2 |
"WE SEE YOU NOW BUBBA!"
The next wave of American
surveillance is cops & drones
Seattle Police roll out theirs this week
October 25, 2012
A typical police agency drone. CLICK TO ENLARGE
May 8, 1942, Hayward, California. Members of the Mochida family, an American family, await evacuation by bus to a government internment camp. Had drones been available then would it have been easier to round them up? Dorothea Lange photo.
(SEATTLE, WA) -- There was a time in America, arguably a few decades back, when one might have seen ten thousand angry people marching in the streets and the local police chief looking for a new job by the end of the month -- following an announcement the local cop shop was planning to buy and deploy remote controlled spy planes in the air over local communities for “crime fighting” purposes.
Perhaps that was a time in the U.S. when people took their concept of civil liberties, individual freedoms, privacy and the prospect of the local police force acting out as a quasi-occupying military force - ala sweeps for insurgents in Afghanistan – a bit more seriously than they do today.
But not only is there no marching in the streets these days, in this new dawn day of American life local police departments proudly roll out their new drones and take them into communities – before they are deployed - for people to see, feel, touch and smell as if they were exciting new video game toys come to life.
The public relations strategy appears to be to softly and slowly roll out the devices in a sort of traveling PR campaign to get the locals comfortable with the small spy plane technology – technology that brings with it potentially far reaching consequences for their civil rights.
To wit the latest local PR drone rollout: the Seattle Police Department is planning a public “presentation” from 6pm to 8pm Thursday at the Garfield Community Center at 2323 E. Cherry St., of a new drone aircraft the department hopes to deploy.
Curiously the drone won’t be flown. It will sit there on display for people to look at while police officials answer questions about the department's unmanned aerial vehicles.
This is the same police department that last year the U.S. Justice Department found - after an 11-month probe - had engaged in “a pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the Constitution and federal law.”
And that was with no drones in the air.
“Our investigation has revealed that inadequate systems of supervision and oversight have permitted systemic use of force violations to persist at the Seattle Police Department,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
“The problems within SPD have been present for many years and will take time to fix,” he added.
Specifically the probe found:
· When SPD officers use force, they do so in an unconstitutional manner nearly 20 percent of the time;
· SPD officers too quickly resort to the use of impact weapons, such as batons and flashlights. When SPD officers use batons, 57 percent of the time it is either unnecessary or excessive;
· SPD officers escalate situations, and use unnecessary or excessive force, when arresting individuals for minor offenses. This trend is pronounced in encounters with persons with mental illnesses or those under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This is problematic because SPD estimates that 70 percent of use of force encounters involve these populations.
The Justice Department also found that a number of long-standing and entrenched deficiencies have caused or contributed to these patterns or practices of unlawful or troubling conduct, including the following:
· Deficiencies in oversight, policies and training with regard to when and how to (1) use force, (2) report uses of force and (3) use many impact weapons (such as batons and flashlights);
· Failure of supervisors to provide oversight of the use of force by individual officers, including appropriate investigation and review of uses of force (notably, among the approximately 1,230 use of force reports from January 2009 to April 2011, only five were referred for “further review” at any level within SPD);
· Ineffective systems of complaint investigation and adjudication;
· An ineffective early intervention system and disciplinary system;
· Inadequate policies and training with regard to pedestrian stops and biased policing; and
· A failure to collect adequate data to assess biased policing allegations.
AND NOW COMETH THE DRONES
A draft of the Seattle Police Department’s proposed policies on the use of drones was released yesterday on the department’s blog "SPD Blotter" which can be found here
According to a report in The Seattle Times, “The department's intended use of drones came to light earlier this year when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave approval for Seattle police to use unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones…SPD was among only a handful of law-enforcement agencies to win FAA approval to use drones, with the majority going to academic, military and government organizations.”
The department has a vision of using the drones in things like search-and-rescue operations, investigating crime scenes, natural disasters and traffic collisions among potentially other things.
What does the American public think of all this?
More than a third of Americans worry their privacy will suffer if drones like those used to spy on our enemies overseas become a police tool for tracking bad guys in local American communities, according to an Associated Press-National Constitution Center poll released last month.
A CBS news report noted that, “Congress has directed the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with safety regulations that will clear the way for routine domestic use of unmanned aircraft within the next three years. The government is under pressure from a wide range of interests to open U.S. skies to drones.”
And manufacturers want to cash in on what they see is a huge demand for the small spy ships.
“Government and commercial drone-related expenditures are forecast to total $89 billion worldwide over the next decade. On the leading edge of that new market are state and local police departments, who say that in many cases drones are cheaper, more practical and more effective than manned aircraft,” said the CBS report.
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
But civil liberties groups warn this is a slippery slope citizens would allow local police departments to jump on, and one fraught with potential for serious abuse of citizen’s rights.
A report this month in the Huffington Post said, “Civil liberties groups note that strong "safeguards and accountability mechanisms" must be in place to ensure that "law enforcement does not use drones to engage in warrantless mass surveillance," according to an ACLU blogpost.
And drones are cheap to buy -- a single drone costs between $50,000 to $100,000, whereas a helicopter costs $3 million and is very expensive to operate and insure.
And the ACLU sees the cheapness of the drones as a potential danger unto itself.
"When the police have to mount elaborate and costly foot and squad patrols to follow a suspect 24/7, the expenditure of resources serves as a deterrent to abuse; it forces the police to limit their surveillance to instances when it is actually necessary," the blog post says. "Drones permit the police to surveil people at all hours of the day and, apparently, at 1/30 the cost of other forms of aerial surveillance. The natural deterrent to abuse goes away, and invites abuse."
The Post piece also points out that drones “vest vast new powers that police helicopters and existing weapons do not vest: and that’s true not just for weaponization but for surveillance. Drones enable a Surveillance State unlike anything we’ve seen. Because small drones are so much cheaper than police helicopters, many more of them can be deployed at once, ensuring far greater surveillance over a much larger area. Their small size and stealth capability means they can hover without any detection, and they can remain in the air for far longer than police helicopters.”
And there is one more thing.
The smooth, carefree, almost giddy acceptance of police drones in the air by the citizenry – albeit with what they believe are all the “proper” guidelines in place to protect them from the present or future abuse of such technology – makes one very large assumption.
That assumption is that marshal law will never be declared in America, that a dictatorship will never come to power or that a presidential executive order will never someday be issued that, for all practical purposes, has the force of marshal law to the extent that civil liberties and the normal protections of the rights of Americans are put on hold; an order that would transform local police departments overnight into an enforcement arm of the federal government.
Most young Americans feel this is such a remote possibility that it is not worth being concerned about.
But there are millions of Japanese Americans who know better.
They still remember World War Two - and Executive Order 9066, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt February 19, 1942 - after which they were rounded up like criminals, robbed of their homes, businesses and belongings and – with nothing more than what they could stash quickly in suitcases – being carted off under armed guard to various American “internment camps,” around the country.
None of these Americans had broken the law, been charged with a crime or had been convicted of a crime by a jury of their peers.
To find out more about how easy it is for your rights to be waived, for due process of law to evaporate and for you and your family to end up in a prison camp in Idaho, check here
THE GREATER TRUTH OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066
“The truth is - as this deplorable experience proves - that constitutions and laws are not sufficient of themselves…Despite the unequivocal language of the Constitution of the United States that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, and despite the Fifth Amendment's command that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, both these constitutional safeguards were denied by military action under Executive Order 9066….”
Book description from back cover of the book, “Executive Order 9066 The Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans,” by Maisie & Richard Conrat 1992, 120 pages, paperback. | <urn:uuid:a31e0a71-cc83-4aea-a617-dfd55e39e616> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/FEATURE-NEWS/WE-SEE-YOU-NOW-BUBBA-br-I-The-next-wave-of-American-surveillance-cops-and-their-drones-br-Seattle-cops-roll-out-theirs-this-week-I-1155944 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949824 | 2,155 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Dec 06, 2007
Amazingly we live in a society where we can get whatever we want, whenever we want it and it doesn’t even cost much. The cost however is an illusion. Although the cost may not be much for us, what we buy often comes at a great cost to those making it. Working conditions overseas aren’t what they are here in the United States. Overseas workers barely make anything for their labor and are even sometimes mistreated, beaten or enslaved.
When you think about it this isn’t a good arrangement for anyone. Those who make the goods suffer and those of us who buy suffer (although not nearly in the same way). What do I mean by the consumer suffering? Well, when we can get so many things cheaply, it destroys our sense of value in them. Suddenly we find we don’t appreciate what we have because it was so easy to obtain and we have so MUCH of it! Try simplifying your lifestyle and see what happens! You might be surprised!
Maybe this Christmas instead of buying lots of cheap goods consider buying just a few items made using fair labor practices. How would the season be different if instead of stressing ourselves to find lots of “things” to give our friends and family, we just gave them one special gift from the heart? We can’t control how others respond to Christmas but we can control our own spending and our own attitude.
As a starting point, here’s one place I’ve found where you can purchase fair trade gifts but you can also just do an internet search for “fair trade” and that should give you loads of options.
Dec 06, 2007
Winter gardening, ever heard of it? I’ve heard of ‘winter sowing’ (I’ll write more about that in January) but not winter gardening. Strangely enough I found myself doing just that earlier this week. For some reason we had an unusually long fall this year so several of the fall plants continued to look nice even through November. This just isn’t normal for Michigan! Last year we had snow fall in October!
In addition to the unusually long fall, I must confess I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Needless to say I looked absolutely silly trimming perennials and digging up annuals underneath a layer of frozen snow and leaves! I had to just sit back and laugh at myself! I sure learned my lesson though! Next year I might just trim down the plants in October! | <urn:uuid:478e039e-12b9-4e5a-98b1-174a207b48d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dandelionpath.com/index.php/dandelionpath/2007/12/dandelionpath/categories/dandelionpath/categories/green_living | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96378 | 524 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Charitable giving by Americans fell about 3.6 percent last year to $303.75 billion, according to a new report by the Giving USA Foundation.
"While overall giving declined, many donors — including individuals and foundations — made special efforts in 2009 to respond to greater humanitarian needs," said foundation Chairwoman Edith Falk.
Corporate giving rose to roughly $14.1 billion — up 5.5 percent — within 1 percent of its pre-recession level, while individual giving comprised $227.41 billion (down 0.4 percent).
Looking ahead to this year, the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College said in its late-May report that it expects individual giving to grow by up to 4.5 percent, to between $222 million and $227 billion as the United States emerges from its worst recession in decades.
"2010 may just turn out to be the beginning of good news for fundraisers and charities. But it may not be until 2011 that we see the amount of individual giving returning to its pre-recession 2007 purchasing power," said Paul Schervish, the center's director.
John Havens, a senior research associate at the center, said it would be some time before the decline in giving in 2009 and 2008 could be reversed.
"Charitable giving in the first two quarters of 2010 seems to be on an uptick. However, growth may not continue the rest of the year if the fiscal crisis in Europe brings a second recessionary dip to the United States," he said.
The U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace than previously estimated in the first quarter but the recovery still appeared solid, data showed at the end of May, suggesting the economy could withstand fallout from a European debt crisis.
Analysts still believe the U.S. recovery is strong enough to absorb a moderate blow from a European sovereign debt crisis sparked by Greece's deteriorating finances.
The center used data for its report from the Federal Reserve, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Association of Realtors, Standard and Poor's, Dow Jones and a variety of other public sources.
Reuters contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:26c56043-3be7-4263-bcd1-154a81b96f55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-10/news/sc-cons-0610-cash-charitable-giving-20100610_1_giving-charitable-debt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952725 | 446 | 1.773438 | 2 |
As I travel the country and talk to volunteer organizations, I always try to discuss the EMS Agenda for the Future, including the EMS Scope of Practice, Core Content and Educational Standards. I continue to be amazed by how many organizations, both paid and volunteer, have no clue of what_s coming and how the profession is going to be affected. At a recent conference with 150 attendees,I asked how many people had even heard
of the EMS Educational Standards andfewer than 10 raised their hands. When peoplehave heard of the standards, which have been accepted by NHTSA, there are lots of questions.
Q & A
The first question I get: What are the new levels? The Scope of Practice and Educational Standards lay out four levels: Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced-EMT (A-EMT), and Paramedic. Although some are upset with the increased educational requirements, especially at the EMT level, standardizing EMS provider levels in the U.S. is the first step toward a cohesive, professional EMS structure. Unfortunately, volunteer departments may be the most impacted by the loss of multiple EMT-I levels.
The second question people ask: When are these changes going to unfold? Unfortunately, this question is harder to answer. The Educational Standards have been submitted to NHTSA and accepted. Now, it_s up to individual states to take the next step. In speaking with state officials, I think the speed of adoption will most likely range from as soon as possible to as slow as possible. It may be that the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) will end uppushing this issue. NREMT has already stated that they_ll require accreditation of paramedic programs (another component of the EMS Agenda) as of Dec. 31, 2012, for testing. Even if you_re not currently in a National Registry state, national certification is part of the agenda, and the availability of tests may drive state acceptance. Volunteer departments need to prepare for this.
The third question is a bit difficult: What will be the minimum staffing levels on an ambulance? After doing a bit of researchand talking to some key players, I_m not sure this area has been fully addressed yet. Minimum staffing levels may be up toindividual states, but this would defeat the purpose of having a national infrastructure. It also doesn_t make sense to have each department make up their own rules.
Take hospitals for example. A Level 1 Trauma Center on the East Coast has the same minimum staffing as one in the Midwest, South or on the West Coast. Each facility may have specialties, but a universal minimum standard in training must be met.
The scope of practice of individual EMS providers will be standardized with this agenda, so shouldn_t the requirements for ambulance staffing also be? Right now, some ambulances on the road have two paramedics and others have a "CPR driver" and an EMT. Logic might lead us to believe that all ALS is better than BLS, but where_s the data to show what the nationwide minimum should be? What levels are sustainable across the country, in every state and every community, both paid and volunteer?
The Potential Future
I_m going to go out on a limb and imagine that the minimum staffing level will be one EMR and one EMT for a BLS unit and one EMT and one paramedic for an ALS unit. For some states, it would mean lowering staffing standards, while for others, it would mean raising staffing standards. Volunteer organizations may struggle to make the transition from CPR drivers to EMRs, but it_ll be worth it to finally be unified.
In either case (BLS or ALS), the provider with the highest level of training would be responsible for patient care and, therefore, be in the back of the ambulance. The EMR provider would probably need additional training in emergency vehicle operations, but this wouldn_t be much different than the training CPR drivers currently require. And an EMT on an ALS unit would probably need supplementary training in assisting a paramedic as is often done in the field now.
There will always be regional variations in EMS systems, but we need to all agree to basic standards nationwide. Volunteers need to be held to the same standards as paid departments, and everyone needs to have the same level of service when they call 9-1-1. It_s OK for you to disagree with parts of the system, but once it_s set, we all need to follow it.
Find out more about the agenda atwww.ems.gov.And, if you still have questions, read "From Fragmentation to Unity" in September 2008JEMS at jems.com/journal.
Jason Zigmont,MA, NREMT-P, is an EMS instructor, executive director of the Center for Public Safety Education and the founder ofVolunteerFD.org. He_s also a PhD candidate in adult learning at the University of Connecticut.
Learn more from Jason Zigmont at the EMS Today Conference & Expo, March 2Ï6 in Baltimore. | <urn:uuid:5c7b1866-e0ae-4346-84ed-3eed0ea00b47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jems.com/index.php?q=article/administration-and-leadership/volunteer-voice-same-page | 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 | 0.961565 | 1,055 | 1.726563 | 2 |
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins a discussion of the Law of Moses, saying, "You have heard it said, but I say " How are we to interpret these words? Is Jesus saying that the Mosaic law was too legalistic and needed improvement? Does he end up getting rid of all the strict rules and regulations in favor of a new ethic along the lines of "All you need is love?" On this program the hosts will discuss Christs interpretation of the law of Moses, and what this means for us today as Christians.
This product hasn't received any reviews yet. Be the first to review this product! | <urn:uuid:9366c031-d06d-4a36-9e0b-481cb27801e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whitehorseinn.org/store/products/WHI-Episode-1090%3A-The-Commands-of-the-New-Society-(1).html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970843 | 129 | 1.5 | 2 |
Many Japanese businesses will shut operations on Tuesday, the anniversary of Japan's invasion of Northeast China in 1931, in a precautionary move ahead of possible protests against Tokyo's recent move to "buy" China's Diaoyu Islands.
The national flag and patriotic slogans cover the outside of a Japanese restaurant in Chaoyang, Beijing. Many Japanese businesses in China closed their doors amid protests against Japan. [Photo / China Daily]
The worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades was seen in protests over the weekend.
Economic and trade ties between the two largest Asian economies are under threat.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a daily news briefing that China will protect Japanese firms and citizens and called for protesters to obey the law.
Hong blamed Japan’s illegal purchase of the islands for the "gravely destructive consequences" and said it is Japan that should bear responsibility.
The government has called for the Chinese people to express their demands in a "legal and rational way".
Some Japanese companies closed temporarily, as a matter of prudence.
Toyota and Honda both reported that arsonists had badly damaged their stores in the eastern port city of Qingdao over the weekend.
However, Toyota said its factories and offices were operating as normal on Monday and that it had not ordered its Japanese employees in China to stay home. Honda has reportedly suspended production in China for two days, starting on Tuesday.
Mazda will halt production from Tuesday in its Nanjing factory, which it jointly operates with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co and Ford, for four days.
Canon announced on Monday it will close its three Chinese factories temporarily. The company's China headquarters told China Daily that the factories are located in Zhongshan and Zhuhai, Guangdong province, and in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
The factories employ more than 20,000 Chinese workers, and they will "take two days off, with pay, on Sept 17 and Sept 18", according to Canon. The factories mainly produce digital cameras and printers.
On the advice of police, Canon closed its stores and covered logos on Monday, the company said.
Japan's Fast Retailing said it will close 19 Uniqlo outlets in China on Tuesday, up from seven on Monday. One store will be operating on shortened hours on Tuesday, against nine on Monday.
Japan's leading general retailer, Seven & I Holdings, will close 13 Ito Yokado supermarkets and 198 "7-Eleven" convenience stores in China, a company spokesman said on Monday.
The company had already closed its 40 stores in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province, as of Monday after operations were disrupted.
In Beijing, some of the convenience stores concealed their logo by hanging up banners of patriotic Chinese slogans.
Cheng Ning, director of public affairs of Beijing Huatang Ito Yokado Ltd, told China Daily eight stores in Beijing will halt operations before resuming business on Sept 19, on orders from their headquarters in Japan to ensure the safety of customers, employees and property in China.
Some of the Ito Yokado stores in Beijing have already adopted a practice of closing two hours ahead of published schedules.
Washington cannot shake off its responsibility for sowing the seeds of conflict, since provocations by its allies against China have been emboldened by the US "Pivot to Asia" policy, Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary.
"The success of Panetta's visit will be judged by how he will reassure Beijing that Washington is willing to do more things conducive to regional peace and stability, which are now threatened by some US allies," it said.
Panetta's visit, following Liang’s trip to the US in May, is also a part of efforts to push military relations forward since they resumed 18 months ago after a break over US arms sales to Taiwan, analysts said.
Military relations will be a key aspect of the visit, but obstacles remain.
Ni Feng, a researcher of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that these include US arms sales to Taiwan, military surveillance close to China’s coast and discriminatory regulations prohibiting certain China-US military exchanges.
Both countries are looking for ways to deepen China-US military relations, but ensuring smoother communication is a more practical option, Ni said.
"Yet whether these talks turn out to be fruitful remains to be seen." Yin Zhuo, a Beijing-based military specialist, said Panetta will also touch upon international issues including the denuclearization of Korean Peninsular, the Iranian nuclear plan and Syria. | <urn:uuid:22e9d977-910d-4ea0-93ef-10d1d39cb11d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.china.org.cn/china/2012-09/18/content_26552068.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961689 | 939 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I have been fascinated by the potential of the social investment market for quite some time and especially the creation of new financial products, dubbed social investment bonds (SIBs). The idea that social investment bonds can provide two types of return to an investor—both social and financial—seems a win-win scenario and, as an ex-financial analyst, I am intrigued.
To date, investing in social impact bonds has mostly been the preserve of trusts and foundations willing to be the guinea-pigs/first movers. But, as of last week, a new product is being offered to retail investors. Allia have launched the Future for Children Bond, which allows investors to access the new Essex Social Impact Bond (SIB), one of the 14 SIBs live or in development in the UK today. This Essex SIB will fund a programme run by Action for Children to provide intensive family support for children aged between 11 and 16 in Essex who are at risk of going into care.
Allia were awarded a grant by the Big Lottery Fund to develop this bond under BIG’s Next Steps programme, which supports new approaches to raising finance in order to help address significant social issues. Part of the grant is being used to conduct an evaluation of the success of the product, which NPC is undertaking throughout the launch and sales period of the bond.
NPC will collect views on the launch process, the structure of the product, and the response from investors to help inform BIG and Allia’s future thinking on social investment and the access opportunities for retail investors. This builds on NPC’s previous research, including our report Best to Borrow, as well as our regular training sessions for charities on social investment.
The bond is structured to give retail investors confidence in a return on their capital. 78% of the subscriptions are invested in an 8 year loan to Places for People Homes, an AA rated social housing provider, 2% is spent on fees, and the remaining 20%is invested in the Essex Social Impact Bond. Upon maturity of the social housing loan, investors will see their capital returned—like any bond. But any return on top of this will depend on the success of Action for Children’s programme of multi systemic therapy in reducing the number of days that a child spends in care. The saving that accrues to Essex County Council will be the basis for the return calculation.
Despite some newspaper reports, there is no ‘promised’ return over and above a return of the initial capital; but investors who can find the £15,000 minimum investment will have the satisfaction of knowing that part of their funds are being used to improve the life chances of disadvantaged children. Adolescents are the largest age group entering the care system, and, when in care, their level of GCSE attainment is five times worse than for children overall.
I will watch with interest to see how many investors apply for this bond. We’ll have to wait and see whether it becomes a useful product to replicate in other areas, providing more individuals with access to the ever-developing social investment market in the UK, but we’re excited to be playing our part.
- Allia has created an infographic to chart the growth and development of the social investment market, leading up to the launch of the Future for Children Bond. Download here. | <urn:uuid:f4ffe936-7305-4aa9-8ff7-87a20a7c2387> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinknpc.org/blog/bonds-away/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955029 | 686 | 1.789063 | 2 |
With her poll numbers down after the entrance of Rick Perry into the GOP presidential race, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is shifting her campaign message from a focus on the economy to the social issues that first launched her political career. In multiple town halls in Iowa this week, Bachmann reminded supporters that “as much as this election will be about jobs,” “we can’t forget the undergirding of our nation and those are the values, the principles that we stand for.” She urged voters not to “settle” on a candidate who lacks a track record of defending traditional social issues and reviewed her own accomplishments — from championing a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage as a state senator in Minnesota to advocating anti-abortion legislation in Congress.
“As president I want you to know I’ll fight for life and for marriage, because we can have a president who believes in the power of prayer,” Bachmann says in a new video, “a president who is steadfast on the values of life, of marriage, and faith and with your support for my candidacy for the president of the United States, this will be the year conservatives don’t have to settle.” Yesterday, Bachmann went even further, announcing that she would sponsor The Heartbeat Informed Consent Act, “a bill in Congress that seemed aimed directly at evangelical voters.” The measure would require all abortion providers “make the heartbeat of the unborn child visible and audible to its mother as part of her informed consent.” From Bachmann’s statement:
“A pregnant woman who enters an abortion clinic is faced with a decision that will forever change two lives. That’s why she must have the very best information with which to make that decision. The ‘Heartbeat Informed Consent Act,’ that I introduced today, would require that abortion providers make the unborn child’s heartbeat visible through ultrasound, describe the cardiac activity, and make the baby’s heartbeat audible, if the child is old enough for it to be detectable.
“A study by Focus on the Family found that when women who were undecided about having an abortion were shown an ultrasound image of the baby, 78% chose life. An unborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected as early as five weeks after conception and ultrasound technology is an amazing medical advance that provides a window for a pregnant woman to see her unborn child. My legislation will not only enable this technology to be better used to protect life, but also to ensure that a woman who is considering abortion is finally able to give full and informed consent.”
Bachmann’s support for federally-mandated ultrasounds undermines her strong opposition to government requirements in health care. Her bill would institute an onerous bureaucratic regulation that inserts the government into medical decision making and creates another level of unnecessary federal regulation. As the Guttmacher Institute explains, every state already “requires that a patient consent before undergoing medical treatment” and provides adequate and appropriate information about the procedure. Bachmann is seeking even greater federal intervention and is relying on government regulations to talk women out of undergoing a medical procedure — a decision that is best left to the woman and her doctor. Six states currently mandate “that an abortion provider perform an ultrasound on each woman seeking an abortion, and require the provider to offer the woman the opportunity to view the image.”
Bachmann’s new-found emphasis on social issues is not without risk, the Associated Press notes. “[P]revious candidates boosted by Iowa’s evangelical voters have failed to capitalize on that success once the campaign left the state” and voters seem especially uninterested in the message in 2012. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 3 percent of Republican respondents said social issues were the most important issue affecting their vote. | <urn:uuid:3b270b65-7994-45df-9dd2-1484435ff790> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/10/07/338716/bachmann-introduces-federal-health-mandates-to-govern-abortions/?mobile=nc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956638 | 806 | 1.578125 | 2 |
James Catherwood Hormel was born on January 1, 1933, in Austin, Minnesota, the youngest child (after George and Thomas) of Germaine and Jay Hormel and grandson of George A. Hormel, who founded the company now known as Hormel Foods. Hormel received a B.A. in History from Swarthmore College in 1955, where he has been a member of the Board of Managers almost continuously since 1988, and where he has established a faculty chair in social justice. He received a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1958, and later was its Assistant Dean and Dean of Students. He is a life member of the Visiting Committee of the Law School, where he established a program to encourage law students to go into public service. In 1991, Hormel donated funds to create the Gay and Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library. The Center, which is named in recognition of that gift, officially opened in 1995, making available an outstanding collection of materials. During its first few months the Center was visited by people from around the world who signed the guest book, and in 2005-06, a traveling exhibit was sent on a national tour of college campuses. His community involvement and philanthropic activity have brought recognition from many organizations, such as the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association 1995 Silver Spur Award for Civic Leadership, the National Society of Fundraising Executives 1996 Outstanding Philanthropist award, and the 2001 Human Rights Campaign Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1997, after having served on two separate delegations to the United Nations, Hormel was nominated by President William Jefferson Clinton to be Ambassador to Luxembourg. The confirmation process was protracted and often contentious, including charges regarding his support of the San Francisco Public Library’s Gay and Lesbian Center and its contents. Several Senators prevented his confirmation from coming to the floor for a vote. On June 3, 1999, President Clinton appointed Hormel to the post, making him the first openly gay United States ambassador. Hormel has five children, fourteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He lives in San Francisco with his life partner, Michael P. Nguyen.
Photo: Doug MenuezContact James Hormel:
Ray Mulliner, Vice-President
19 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94104 | <urn:uuid:16cf4b97-9308-47d3-b808-f9ea3c29d0eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000045203 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972329 | 478 | 1.570313 | 2 |
June 25, 2012
With my first digital camera, I visited China in 2006 , when China was in the middle of changing from a Socialist/market economy to a capitalistic economy. As a child, I watched a neighbor dig a deep hole in his lawn. Every few minutes, he’d say, “Look at this? He’d hand me a penny he’d supposedly found, and tell me “We must be getting close to China.” He regaled me with fantastic stories about dragons and castles and magic, all happening on the other side of the earth. Simple things that fostered a dream.
We whizzed through Beijing with 300,000 vehicles in a city of 13 million people. Fifteen percent of families now own cars that intersperse with weird motor driven carts piled high with goods, and 8 million bikes, motor cycles carrying whole families and buses and pedestrians all mingling in a way that you are sure someone is going to get killed at any minute. I saw a man carrying a baby high above his head as he squeezed between two moving buses. You just have to turn your head away. We stop at Tiananman Square, so huge it defies the camera’s ability to capture it. A flag pole so tall the flag can be seen all over the city.
Just like us, Chinese tourists, something new for China, have their picture taken at their seat of government, much like us having our picture taken outside of the White House. Sixty per cent of the citizens of Beijing work for the government just like the greatest percent of people in D.C. are under some kind of government employ.
The grounds around the building are beautiful where once there was a forbidding wall around the buildings and the whole city. Chairman Mau tore down the old city walls and built what they call ring roads to replace the feudal walls of China’s cities.
This is “modern” China. We were very quickly dispelled of the notion that we would see Chinese men and women in black sack pants and shirts wearing straw hats. This is the infamous square that led to student deaths in 1989, forever giving China a black eye over their aggressive policies. We are mobbed by vendors selling post cards. Capitalism is grasped very quickly.
We move on to the Forbidden City which was built, or finished anyway, in 1420. Eleven Emperors have lived in this multiple complex of 980 buildings between 1419 to 1911. It has 9,999 half rooms in the palace. Nine is the supreme number. Nine gates, each gate measures nine x nine. Our guide tells us that the Last Emperor, the movie, is very accurate about what happened to their last Emperor.
This is one of 18 water pots around the square, (a multiple of nine). They represent the 18 provinces. All must be in harmony.
Soldiers still guard the palace and live here. Notice their boots and shoes lined up next to their “barracks”. The living quarters of the Emperor is approached by a series of stairs and nine gates to pass through. Each gate is a palace with marvelous gold, jade carvings, incredibly fancy decoration as part of the building, with real gold leaf. The rooms that store antiquities are not lighted, tall columnar rooms, no windows. Pictures don’t reflect the glorious treasures inside.
It seems as though every inch of the building is exquisitely decorated like this mantel above a doorway. The complex is a UNESCO site.
My traveling companion, Michal Houston and I posed before this Chinese guard lion. His left foot is crushing some small creature, I think.
His right foot is balanced on this ball. I’ve forgotten the significance of this stance, and its meaning, but it is the same wherever these lions are seen. And, the dog-like face of Chinese lions was rendered by artists who had never seen a lion. They only had a description of lions from explorers/travelers who passed through China. I always wondered about that. Now I know and so do you.
The roof of the palaces are protected, as you can see. It seems a bit strange to us that the superstitions of old are still, if not believed, at least respected and revered. Visiting China helps to understand many mysteries about the Chinese people’s beliefs that hang on.
This little boy knows nothing of the Ming Dynasty, 1420 to 1644 or the Ching Dynasty, 1644 to 1911, or the turbulent history of the gate he is crawling through. Notice you step over the deep thresh hold as you move from one gate , then palace, to the next.
Aren’t they gorgeous? They are depicted along the walk to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.
We see so much, it is difficult to take it all in and remember it all. The Palaces all have beautiful names, like the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and so on. | <urn:uuid:0de4586e-4f4f-4939-b22d-9c0488e0a462> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://otrwjam.wordpress.com/tag/tiananman-square/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966551 | 1,029 | 1.546875 | 2 |
May 15, 2008 By News Report
In the next five years the telecom market will change so dramatically and rapidly that government intervention and market engineering will be inevitable in some countries, according to Gartner Inc. At the center of this is the global trend toward telecom "structural separation," which Gartner defines as the deconstruction or breaking apart of a telecom carrier's vertically integrated business model into a more horizontally structured model.
"In the past 20 years, carriers have increasingly focused on operational efficiency -- via a tighter coupling of business assets (vertical integration) -- to compete more effectively against new market entrants with lower cost structures," said Alex Winogradoff, research vice president at Gartner. "Despite government moves (such as unbundling and accounting separation) to encourage competition and stimulate investment, progress has been meager in most countries. Regulators believe that continued vertical integration is the primary reason for this lack of progress and are increasingly seeking separation as a policy tool."
Gartner said that telecom regulators have been pursuing accounting separation and are now considering functional and ownership separation as a last measure to achieve their policy goals. The difference between these types of separation is the level of control that carriers will be able to exercise over their separated units:
Winogradoff explained that not all separation scenarios will fit neatly into these variants, and regulators in different regions and countries may have different definitions driven by their individual laws and telecom policies. However, he said that functional and ownership separation are global trends and will particularly impact developed countries where the telecom market is mature and regulators are trying to inject more direct market competition as a stimulus for innovation and greater investment in next-generation broadband.
Gartner found that functional separation is being considered by regulators in most developed countries in Western Europe and Asia, where it could strongly compromise cost efficiencies currently enjoyed by vertically integrated carriers. Furthermore, experience in the past 20 years in the United States and Japan has demonstrated that this kind of forced separation of incumbent carriers has an overall negative effect on them.
In Europe, it is still too early to tell whether functional or ownership separation has had a negative or positive effect on network investment by BT and other carriers that have pursued separation. All national regulatory authorities and European Union regulators are watching this issue carefully. Experience of separation in other industries -- for example, electric utilities and railways -- has shown that customer experience and service quality are often negatively affected.
"All incumbent carriers that have global ambitions should consider two distinct strategies to deal with forced structural separation: First, focus on defending their incumbent franchise; and second, take advantage of strategic positioning opportunities in foreign countries where structural separation of the incumbent is being considered," Mr. Winogradoff said.
Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Dataquest Insight: Telecom 'Structural Separation' Is a Global Trend." The report is available on Gartner's Web site at . (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
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Presenting the Nine-0 Collection by Ettore Sottsass. The designer, who helped found the Memphis Group and created the iconic Olivetti Valentine typewriter, finished his seating collection for Emeco shortly before his death on December 31, 2007. The name “Nine-0” refers to the age Sottsass was when he designed the collection, which is handcrafted in Pennsylvania using the same 77-step process that Emeco first developed for its 1006 Navy® Chair. Sottsass was one of the first designers to use the 1006 Navy in residential applications, and the Nine-0 is his reinterpretation of that classic chair. The Nine-0, like all Emeco seating, it is crafted of 80% recycled aluminum and has an estimated lifespan of 150 years. Stacks up to six high. Nine-0 chairs and stools contribute to LEED™ credit #4.2 Recycled Content (and credit #5.1 if shipped within 500 miles of Hanover, Pennsylvania). Made in U.S.A.
Brushed anodized aluminum (80% recycled); polyurethane seat and back.
3 Bar Back H 31.5" W 20.25" D 22.25" Brushed anodized aluminum (80% recycled); polyurethane seat.
It would not be an exaggeration to call Ettore Sottsass the godfather of Italian design. His designs are smart, elegant, always surprising and idiosyncratic, all hallmarks of true Italian design.
Although born in Austria, Italy became the adopted home for Sottsass and his father, a well-respected architect of the rationalist movement (Sottsass always referred to himself as Ettore Sottsass, Jr., in deference to his father). After architecture school in Milan, Sottsass worked at the office of George Nelson in New York before returning to Italy as a design consultant to the Olivetti company. This appointment produced numerous concepts for adding machines, computers, and furniture, culminating with the Olivetti Valentine typewriter (1969) that he designed with Perry King. A cherry-red portable plastic typewriter, it broke away from the office equipment stable. Meant for use in any place but the office, the Valentine supremely embodied Sottsass' constant challenge to the predictable everyday object. Read more > | <urn:uuid:75c4313b-2257-4123-a4cb-c2542598b89c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dwr.com/product/nine-0-stacking-armchair-3-bar-back.do?sortby=newArrivals | 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 | 0.946948 | 492 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The most educated and indebted generation ever – Average student debt has tripled since 1990 while earnings have gone stagnant for college graduates. How much is the college rite of passage worth?
Most have very fond memories of their college going years. Going off to college is one of the few rites of passage that we have in the United States ushering future generations into official adulthood. Yet the cost to attend this passage has gotten astronomically expensive. College has now turned into a very large business [...] | <urn:uuid:3428d0a3-99d1-47b5-9e75-e5950f1012eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mybudget360.com/tag/federal-loans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980137 | 97 | 1.554688 | 2 |
People who have passed affect us today
People often look to the past with nostalgia when they look at their personal photos.
They also look at the past with a scholarly eye when they study history.
But there is nothing like bringing back the past, even one you aren't connected to, by walking through a cemetery. If you do it with the right mind set, it becomes a very personal experience.
The last few weeks I have been spending a lot of time in cemeteries around this area. It's not that I have known a lot of people who have passed away and have been attending funerals recently. Instead I have been doing research for the upcoming "In honor of those who gave their all" special section that we are going to publish in the Sun Advocate on Nov, 9.
Due to the number of servicemen killed in war time that we have so little information about, I have been studying the gravestones in the county, trying to learn more about these people who gave their most precious possession to keep us free.
In the past I have spent some time in cemeteries, but aside from visiting relatives graves, generally it was a curiosity for me to read headstones. But I have gained a new appreciation for people from the past by strolling around and taking photos of veterans grave sites, and in the meantime seeing every other headstone in most of the local cemeteries as well.
It's easy for us to forget that the past just isn't a bunch of stories we read in a book or films we see on television. Those characters described in the written word or appearing on the screen in documentaries were real people; they lived and breathed, they had kids, they had careers, they had beliefs, they had lives.
In the rush to live our lives we sometimes forget that our existence, and much of what we have and enjoy, from our freedom to our technology, is built on those people's actions from the past. At times it appears that humankind has made great advancements all in one swoop, but that has seldom, if ever happened. What we see in our world today is largely a result of preceding generations work and sacrifice.
Maybe I am more touched by all this now that I am reaching toward senior citizenship than I would have been had I done this 30 years ago when I was in my 20's. But it seems to me that today, people forget that they have a legacy. For many it seems that all that counts is how many toys they can accumulate, how big a house they can have and what car they can drive. Yet in a hundred years will anyone else care about what model of BMW a certain person drove in 2006?
While I am not from this place, reading headstones of mine accident victims from the 1920's, babies who died in the 1930's, war casualties from the 1940's, car accident victims from the 1970's, veterans of great conflicts who are now dying of old age in the last few years and all the others before, since and in between, has brought closer to a community which I have adopted as my own, and now call home.
While it is true that we can do nothing to change the past, and we can't predict what may happen in the future, we can make an effort in the present to understand the legacy of the people who came before us and how it relates to our present. What everyone of the people who lay at peace in our local cemeteries did in their lives has consequence on us today. That effect may be everything from laying the brick wall in the building in which we work to voting for an elected official who had an effect on the laws of our land. They may have saved someones life who affected us directly or taught someone in school who later touched our lives.
But it doesn't matter what they did. Their lives affect us today, and their legacy is much greater than what car they drove or what house they lived in. Their lives are intertwined with ours in so many ways.
Don't you think we should all should get to know them a little better? | <urn:uuid:da135be4-3402-4469-9317-ff2e1f6f4b08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunadvocate.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=9853&poll=271&vote=results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986761 | 836 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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