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From the author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Congo comes a psychological thriller about a group of scientists who investigate a spaceship discovered on the ocean floor.
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface, a huge vessel is unearthed. Rushed to the scene is a team of American scientists who descend together into the depths to investigate the astonishing discovery. What they find defies their imaginations and mocks their attempts at logical explanation. It is a spaceship, but apparently it is undamaged by its fall from the sky. And, most startling, it appears to be at least three hundred years old, containing a terrifying and destructive force that must be controlled at all costs. | <urn:uuid:e5a7f104-4182-4f36-8df3-8ccfe6a08643> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.com/book/33517/sphere-by-michael-crichton/9780307816481/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958226 | 141 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Deerfield agency provides loans to farms, food businesses
Sometimes, what farmers and food-related businesses need isn’t just money, but business savvy.
That’s the premise of a new effort by PVGrows, the Deerfield-based consortium that provides a $750,000 loan fund to help initiatives that support the Pioneer Valley’s local food system.
Working with the Michigan-based Fair Food Network, the PVGrows Loan Fund will offer up to $10,000 in business assistance to selected entrepreneurs.
“This is an exciting development for local farms and food businesses who might be considering financing an expansion, but who don’t have the time or money to do the planning required,” says Sam Stegeman, coordinator of PVGrows. The three-year-old organization, whose partners include Franklin County Community Development Corp., and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, can help locally based farm- and food-related businesses put together a financing package, like the effort mounted recently by Greenfield-based Real Pickles in an effort to become a worker-owned cooperative.
We faced an unusual financing challenge requiring a creative solution, says Real Pickles co-owner Dan Rosenberg. “Thanks to the expertise at PVGrows and their willingness to engage with us to thoroughly evaluate our options, PVGrows played an instrumental role in our decision to launch an innovative community investment campaign that only a handful of small businesses around the country have tried before.”
In the case of Real Pickles, it began a $500,000 preferred stock offering last month as a way to raise money to transition to a worker-owned coop and wound up drawing informally on the information from the PVGrows Loan Fund board, Rosenberg said,
“It was really helpful to sit down with a group and talk through all different kinds of financing.” In the same way, he added, “I know a lot of other fellow food and farm business owners in the Valley who are in a similar situation we were in, who didn’t have any formal business training when we started making pickles for a living. We leaned heavily on people who knew what they were doing, and we found it pretty essential in lieu of getting MBAs before we went into business.”
PVGrows Coordinator Sam Stegeman said the technical assistance funding is available to existing businesses that apply to the PVGrows Loan Fund although recipients aren’t obligated to get financing through the loan fund. They are obligated to match the assistance funding by 25 to 50 percent.
“In our three years of doing the PVGrows Loan Fund, we’ve found a number of businesses that come to us that are bankable, that would be a good loan, and many of them are able to find loans elsewhere,” Stegeman said. “That may be an indiction that lenders are familiar with seasonality and other quirks of the food business. But everyone agrees technical assistance continues to be a challenge.” Yet if there’s an ongoing need for technical assistance to help farmers and food businesses grow and become more viable, he said, there’s also a growing resource of expertise among people who can help, and CISA has even compiled a new database of farm-savvy business consultants.
There’s so much knowledge in the Valley, he said.
Among the kinds of operations that can take advantage of the program are existing food businesses that want to source more from local farms, expansion of those kinds of businesses, or expansion of individual farms or enterprises that help aggregate, store, distribute, process, market or otherwise help make the local food system more viable. | <urn:uuid:1dd75556-6ded-4a0a-82cc-f08deadb3a3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gazettenet.com/news/townbytown/deerfield/5245204-95/pvgrows-businesses-business-loan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961713 | 767 | 1.5 | 2 |
When to Visit
Reviewed by: Editorial Staff
The seasons are reversed from that in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, Chilean Ski Resorts should be visited during the months of June to August. Santiago and Middle Chile are best visited from September to November.
Events and Entertainment
Chile’s diverse culture is best experienced through its festivals. The Festival of the Virgin of The Song, a five-day festival held to venerate an indigenous woman who converted to Catholicism, combines both Christian and Inca traditions, featuring dance and music. Santiago is the site for the world’s largest elecronica dance festival, the Santiago Loveparade. Festival of Contemporary Chilean Music, started as a national event, has now transformed into an ... Read more | <urn:uuid:61cdef9d-423a-46d0-b1a9-e4b72d89e4ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.placesonline.com/south_america/chile/when_to_visit.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944374 | 152 | 1.523438 | 2 |
If football fans and pundits alike are looking for a revamp of a game that is largely seen as prehistoric, with technology having been so far shunned, why should a tournament that is often refereed to as the world oldest cup competition not also be altered?
The money that comes with staying in the Premier League, and winning and qualifying for the Champions League means the cup has been somewhat neglected by even the biggest sides of English football.
From the moment Manchester United decided to toe The Football Association’s agenda all the way to Brazil, and thereby bypass their place in the FA Cup, the competition that was full of so much prestige, lost some of it’s gravitas.
Weakened teams have since followed, which while the shocks have increased, the desire from the big sides to take the competition seriously has subsided.
So instead of sweeping the decline of the importance of the carpet, The FA should move to sweep the importance of the competition, and negotiate a deal with the Premier League to grant a Champions League spot for those who win the FA Cup.
Those concerned with English football’s place in European competition, worried that this rule will mean one of the countries poorer sides will be left in the Europa League, instead of at Europe’s top table, then that isn’t the purpose of the exercise.
Improving the seriousness at which the biggest sides take the competition would be the main aim of the insertion of the place.
The biggest problem for The FA would be convincing the Premier League into altering the way Champions League places are distributed; a tough ask.
Having handed more control to the league during the week, ruining the Premier League’s stranglehold on the Champions League would be a near impossible job. You can’t imagine the leagues current members coming to an agreement.
The grander point here is that The FA should have the power available to them to overrule the Premier League and introduce rules like this when they see fit.
The dominance of the country’s four biggest clubs, means any rulings that could diminish their power will never get off the ground, regardless of whether it could improve the game or not.
Any reclaiming of power might be tough now, given recent events and The FA’s reputation, but the Premier League have to be more open minded if the game is to make strides. | <urn:uuid:69440daf-491a-4867-8fc1-d1a563f18ed4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.givemefootball.com/184893-would-champions-league-spot-enhance-the-fa-cup | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958034 | 487 | 1.601563 | 2 |
My arrival at Montclair State in 1970 coincided with a great expansion of the faculty as the college transformed itself from what had been a teacher training institution to a liberal arts college. My students that first year were in fact young women who were preparing to become high school Latin teachers, all very serious and dedicated to improving their understanding and command of the Latin language. Besides advanced Latin literature courses I was also teaching Beginning Greek and classical linguistics. Most of these young women did go on to careers teaching Latin in New Jersey high schools, and I still see them at classical association meetings.
When Carolyn Bock, the chair of the department, retired in 1974, I became chair and was joined by Tim Renner, a recent Michigan Ph.D. Our immediate concern was the uncomfortable fact that fewer and fewer students were coming to Montclair for training to become high school Latin teachers. This situation was especially troubling since Montclair State, thanks to Carolyn, had acquired an outstanding reputation for its Latin teacher training program.
An important factor in low enrollments in Latin and Greek at the college and university level was the precipitous decline of students taking Latin in high schools during the sixties and seventies. High school graduates, having had no exposure to Latin, would have little motivation to begin the challenging study of Latin (or Greek) when they entered college. It was obvious to Tim Renner, who took over the chairmanship in 1978, and me that something had to be done about our small enrollments in the language courses if we were to survive even as a small two person department. The administration needless to say was not happy about minuscule enrollments, at times threatening to cancel courses which did not enroll fifteen or more students. Our immediate solution to this problem was to create more courses which would have an appeal to the general student and might enroll up to thirty or forty students. We already had four such courses on the books: English Vocabulary: Classical Roots, Mythology, Greek Civilization, and Roman Civilization with the two civilization courses cross-listed with the History Department.
The well respected George Brantl, Chair of the Philosophy/Religion Department, had begun an innovative General Humanities Program in 1970. This program had only two required courses: General Humanities I and II. It was the only major that required a senior thesis. When George sadly died in 1978, there was some uncertainty about the future of this program. Neither Tom Bridges, the new chairman, nor anyone else in that department wanted to take on the added responsibility of this somewhat peripheral program. At that point Tim and I offered to incorporate the General Humanities Program into the Department of Classics. Dean Fleischmann, who did not want to see the program disappear, agreed, and so General Humanities became an integral part of the Department of Classics. Eventually the department would change its name to the Department of Classics and General Humanities.
The adoption of the General Humanities Program by Classics effected a sea change in the image and the reality of our department. The General Humanities Program was very popular with a substantial number of majors, and its required two courses General Humanities I and II attracted large enrollments. Once the college began gathering statistics on productivity, it turned out that our department regularly ranked very high in productivity, sometimes number one.
The next decades were creative and productive for the Department of Classics and General Humanities. Since we believed that Classics was a much broader field of study than just Latin and Greek literature, it was important to develop innovative new courses taught in English that would examine the culture, ideas, and values of the ancient world. Our focus was on the whole Mediterranean region not just Greece and Rome, and so it was a natural move to originate a course Africa in Antiquity. The new Classicism and American Culture course demonstrated the continuity and survival of the classical heritage among the founding fathers of our nation. Other innovative courses that responded to contemporary concerns were: Women in Antiquity, Roman Law, The City in Antiquity. Of course, we continued to offer courses taught in Latin and Greek as well as training and supervising future high school Latin teachers.
A knowledge of classical archaeology quite clearly is indispensable to understanding the material culture of the ancient world, and the department along with Fine Arts and Archaeology began a minor program in archaeology. Besides their course work students over the years have received hands on experience at excavation sites. This summer students will participate in a dig at what appears to be an imperial Roman villa from the second century AD near Rome.
The General Humanities major with its broad sweep of courses in philosophy, religion, history, art, literature, and music continued to thrive and was seen as excellent preparation for careers in business, law, and medicine. In 1979 the department worked to establish an Institute for the Humanities within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Institute offers programs for high school students and teachers designed to promote the appreciation of the humanities. These are very successful; so successful in fact that late registering schools sometimes find that there is no room for their students.
Remember that for many years Tim Renner and I were the only full time professors in the department. How did we manage to accomplish so much? The answer is easy; we were always able to hire excellent adjuncts to assist us. And fortunately as the years went by, the administration was persuaded to permit the hiring of more full time personnel with the result that the department presently has ten full time professors plus its excellent adjuncts.
Less than a year ago Forbes Magazine ranked Montclair State as the best public university in the state of New Jersey and number three overall behind only Princeton and Drew. I noticed that among the criteria used by Forbes in their evaluations a factor of twenty-five per cent was allocated to student satisfaction with course instruction. I have no doubt in my mind that the excellence of the Department of Classics and General Humanities played a role in Forbes' decision making process. | <urn:uuid:12a31db5-d0e9-46fb-b4dc-dc45096d5a41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.montclair.edu/news/article.php?ArticleID=5702&ChannelID=106 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979916 | 1,205 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Ari Ashe, wtop.com
SILVER SPRING, Md. - It's known by several names: U.S. 29, Colesville Road and Columbia Pike. It's a road many people use to commute between D.C. and Baltimore to avoid the hassle of Interstate 95 or the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
"I use it almost every day to commute because I work in Olney and I live inside the Beltway," says Jessie Manning of Silver Spring.
She takes U.S. 29 to the InterCounty Connector to Interstate 370 and consciously chooses it over I-95. And she's not alone.
"I don't like driving in Washington, so I will use 29 to drive to the Silver Spring Metro station, then use it to get into D.C.," says Jay Bonstingl of Columbia, who uses the highway four times a week.
"It's usually a pretty good ride, it's a good route between Columbia and Silver Spring/D.C., even if it gets crowded once in awhile."
U.S. 29 connects the Capital Beltway up to Interstate 70, about 10 miles west of the Baltimore Beltway.
"It is an incredibly important economic corridor from Columbia, through the Applied Physics Lab, to Maple Lawn, White Oak and Silver Spring," says Howard County Executive Ken Ulman at a Action Committee for Transit meeting.
"The challenge is that we're limited in mass transit, so I want us to think about linking communities across borders to solve congestion problems," Ulman says.
According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, about 62,000 vehicles get off the Capital Beltway at U.S. 29 per day.
Another 80,000 vehicles use U.S. 29 at Md. 32, the exit commonly used for federal workers commuting from the D.C. metro region to Fort Meade.
And 145,000 vehicles get off U.S. 29 at U.S. Route 40, a popular way to commute into Baltimore.
"It is fair to say that several areas along U.S. 29 are among the busiest in Montgomery County," says Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the state highway administration.
"The same can be said for roads like Connecticut Avenue south of I-495 near the naval hospital, Rockville Pike south of I-495, Quince Orchard Road north of I-270 and Georgia Avenue north of I-495," Gischlar says.
"I used to work in Silver Spring ,and 29 was the preferred route of choice, rather than I-95. Since they've made all the improvements on 29, putting in the overpasses, the road is basically congestion free until you get to the Beltway. It probably saves me at least 5 minutes," says Leo Potsiadlo of Columbia.
He's referring to projects that replaced traffic lights with interchanges at Briggs Chaney Road and Randolph Road.
Similar projects to build interchanges at Fairland Road, Stewart Lane and Tech Road also are on the drawing board.
"It still does tend to get bottled up out of downtown Silver Spring because of all the lights, but once you get north of the Beltway, things often clear up," says Manning.
Another option being discussed is a 79-mile bus rapid transit system, with one route on Colesville Road from White Oak to Burtonsville.
"I think bus rapid transit is part of the solution in the Route 29 corridor," says Ulman, who adds he would be interested in linking any BRT system into Howard County.
The Montgomery County Planning Board will hear debate on the proposal on March 18.
Most of these projects to reduce congestion would require Maryland lawmakers to pass a transportation funding bill.
© 2013 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:d5a89522-6208-4b57-b297-580c5d209cea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wtop.com/41/3249109/US-29-a-popular-alternate-to-I-95-in-Maryland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954063 | 781 | 1.742188 | 2 |
There are many options when it comes to cardiovascular exercise and there are many fads that come and go but one machine that has remained popular over the years has been the exercise bike. There are a number of reasons why this has remained popular among all of the exercise equipment that has come and gone.
When discussing exercise bike benefits, one of the key aspects is the low impact. As opposed to running or other exercises, there is virtually no impact on an exercise bike. Additionally, they are often less costly than a treadmill or other exercise equipment which is something that always comes into the equation when deciding on a purchase.
Whether you are interested in mini exercise bikes, folding exercise bikes, or spinning exercise bikes, it is a good idea to check out the exercise bike reviews prior to deciding on one of the many options. Additionally, it is often quite beneficial to take a test ride on several of the exercise bikes before making a final decision. After trying some out, you may come to see that you prefer a recumbent exercise bike over a dual action exercise bike or an upright exercise bike over any others. So it pays to check some out either at the local store or at a gym.
While exercise bikes are less expensive than treadmills, you can save even more money with a used exercise bike but be sure that it is in good condition and that it was used properly by the previous owners before purchasing a used exercise bike or else the money that you saved on the initial purchase can go towards repairs down the road.
If you are trying to get in shape it is important to choose an activity that you will enjoy. Not everyone enjoys running or using the elliptical. If you don’t enjoy either of these activities, the exercise bike might be a good option for you. Many people enjoy an exercise bike workout for many reasons. It is very easy on the joints so people who are just beginning a workout routine will benefit from less pain in the beginning. It is hard enough to start an exercise program without pains from the impact of running.
An exercise bike is a good option for those who enjoy biking but are turned off by inclement weather. Be it too hot or too cold, rain, snow, or just dangerous conditions, when you have an indoor exercise bike you avoid all of the problems of outdoor exercise. And you don’t have to become a member of a gym to work out because you can keep the exercise bike right in your own home.
If you are looking for a low impact workout, you should consider choosing a mini exercise bike, folding exercise bikes, or spinning exercise bikes, try some out and then find the best deals online. Then get going and stick to an exercise bike workout plan that will get you the results that you desire. | <urn:uuid:1d8f7df1-f7c6-453c-b97f-d95e77d47fce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://prohomegyms.com/exercise-bikes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972528 | 560 | 1.789063 | 2 |
There are some inventions so perfect and unlikely that their inception can only be put down to a moment of pure genius. For example, who was it who first stood on beach, looked down at the sand and thought, “You know, I reckon if we melt that down we could see through that.”? And who was it that got so bored one winter’s evening that they went rummaging through the tool shed and decided to play a saw with a violin bow and created a ghostly wail. Luckily for us they did as musical saw and ukulele make a near perfect combination.
The British electronic music scene isn’t the first place you’d expect to find a saw and ukulele player but the entire genre can be justified for producing one, Mara Carlyle. Carlyle has appeared on records by Plaid and Matthew Herbert. Her scene stealing vocals quickly earned her a record deal. She released her debut album, The Lovely (sadly not a Debbie McGee concept album), in 2004 and the fantastically named EP I Blame Dido a year later.
But she first came to to my notice with her uke and saw version of Jamie Lidell’s Game for Fools (which appeared on his album of remixes Muliply Additions). The original version of the song is an Otis Reading style but from Carlyle’s version you’d think it was written for ukulele. It’s a masterclass in ukeing up song. | <urn:uuid:bc483af7-76b5-406c-9cbe-0decbf320077> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ukulelehunt.com/2007/07/02/monday-exposure-mara-carlyle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979003 | 319 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Over the past few weeks I have been reading and listening to an old English preacher by the name of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He ministered in London between 1938 and 1968. One set of messages he preached has particularly grabbed me and challenged me. It was on Spiritual Depression.
His point is very simple. Are we happy, joyful Christians? Are we living in the reality of what Jesus Christ has achieved for us through his death and resurrection? Do we say each morning Halleluiah; I am glad and rejoice in the Lord. Or, are we depressed, sad Christians. Are we living each day still haunted, or enslaved in our past? Lloyd-Jones writes;
“If you look at your past and are depressed, it means that you are listening to the devil. But if you look at the past and say ‘Unfortunately it was true I was blinded by the god of this world but thank God His grace was more abundant. He was more than sufficient and His love and mercy came upon me in such a way that it is all forgiven. I am a new person.’ then all is well… . Rise up and realize the truth about yourself, [that if you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ] all the past has gone. You are one with Christ and all your sins have been blotted out once and forever.”
So which are we? Are we enslaved to the past? Are we depressed spiritually? Have we lost the joy of our salvation? Or are we joyful? Are we joyful that God’s mercy is all-sufficient for us? Are we joyful that our past has been dealt with, covered in the blood of the lamb? It is only when we do this that we can truly be joyful, knowing and living each day in the wonderful truths and promises of Christ and the Gospel.
What does your family see when they look at you, depression, sadness or joy? What do your work colleagues encounter when they see you each day? Do we exhibit the rejoicing and gladness of someone who knows they have been truly rescued from the dominion of sin and death?
As we approach Advent and Christmas, let us prepare ourselves not in a glum, sad, depressed manner, but in a joyful expectant way. Let us radiate hope to those around us. Let us share the joy of knowing Jesus and rejoice in the gift of life which comes through the eternal Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. | <urn:uuid:314d335d-8778-4f30-909f-13d5b53df85b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lukefourteenthirtythree.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/glad-or-depressed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962627 | 504 | 1.796875 | 2 |
QUESTION: I hunt in east Texas on a 100-acre family farm with mostly open pasture land. This is my first of many years hunting to utilize a game camera. Over the past several years I have consistently harvested deer, 18 since 2000, yet have never seen or harvested anything bigger than a 6-pointer.
I've always attributed this to the openness of our hunting habitat. Now that I've had a chance to utilize a new trail cam, however, I'm finding there are several mature trophy bucks, but they are only caught on my cam at night. Would there be any strategy to change their pattern? - Ronny S.
ANSWER: There might be ways to change their patterns, but it will be far easier and more effective to change yours.
The first, and perhaps most obvious thing you can do is to stop shooting 6-pointers. These are likely young deer, and if given another year or two, will sport larger racks. You might have to live off of does for a couple years, but ultimately you'll have more older, larger bucks to choose from.
Next, consider changing your hunting tactics. Another reason you might only see smaller, younger bucks is if you're hunting feeders. Deer, especially older ones, are much more wary around these artificial concentrations of deer, food and human scent. They tend to avoid them more than younger deer.
Mature bucks will, however, approach downwind to scent-check for other deer, particularly during the rut. Look for major approach trails, and even set your cameras back 100 yards or so on the downwind side. You might also consider rattling, particularly during the rut.
Study the terrain and habitat as well. If, as you say, it's mostly open ground, hunt the thick cover where older bucks feel more comfortable moving around in daylight. Even better, look for that type of thick cover downwind of your feeders and you might find it twice as productive. | <urn:uuid:fd26bf69-08eb-4baf-bcb3-f1b02b34de0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buckmasters.com/where-are-my-big-bucks.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974736 | 402 | 1.601563 | 2 |
I'm not an investment adviser. Don't take my advice. Do your own research and seek the advice of a professional. I'm not an expert. What I'm about to share with you is what I have learned trading in options and shouldn't be taken as the gospel truth until you have researched option trading for yourself. I'm a moron and I seek safe harbor.
One of my favorite strategies is selling put options. Investopedia defines a put option as:
An option contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specified amount of an underlying security at a specified price within a specified time. This is the opposite of a call option, which gives the holder the right to buy shares.
My more layman's term definition:
A put option gives the holder the right to force the person selling the put option to purchase the underlying stock for a predetermined price for a specified amount of time.
Here is how it works. When I sell a put option, I am basically writing an insurance policy for a stock. The stockholder that buys the put option I am selling wants insurance that will limit the loss on the underlying stock should the price fall.
Consider this scenario. Bob Stockholder buy's 1,000 shares of GE stock at $15. 9 months later, GE is trading for $23 a share. For whatever reason, Bob doesn't want to sell the stock and take his profit right now, but he's worried that the stock could fall and he could lose his gain.
Bob can buy a put option that will insure Bob's 1,000 shares of GE stock should the price fall. That's where I come in. Bob wants to "buy insurance" / put option on GE and I'm willing to collect a premium and "sell him the insurance" / put option.
Bob Stockholder can choose from three main variables when purchasing his option. Those variables are:
- strike price, expiration date, and number of contracts.
If Bob wants to insure his shares at $23 a share, then that will obviously cost Bob a higher premium than if he wanted to insure them for $20 a share. Why? Because the "more insurance" Bob wants, it might lower his risk, but it raises the risk of the person insuring the stock.
It is the same principle as home or car insurance. You'd obviously pay more to insure your home at $200K than you would if you wanted a policy for $150K. The value of Bob's insurance is known as the strike price. Bob can choose from a wide range of strike prices when buying his put option.
Bob can also choose what month he wants his put option to expire. Clearly, the longer the time period Bob wants to insure his stock, the more the option premium is going to cost him.
When you are looking at a chart of available strike prices and terms, most charts will only list the month the option expires. With the exception of "special options", most options expire the third Friday of the designated month. For instance, if I sell a put option and the quote charts have it listed as August 2013, the actual time the option will expire is August 16, 2013 at the close of the stock market.
Number of Contracts
When dealing with options, a contract represents 100 shares. If Bob buys 10 put contracts, he's buying insurance on 1000 shares. 10 contracts x 100 shares per contract = 1000 shares
Selling put options risky doesn't it? Well if you play it right, it isn't.
I only write put options on stocks I want to own or don't mind owning. If you follow my strategy, then by writing put options you are going to be paid for not buying a stock you want to own or you are going to be paid to purchase it at a price lower than it is trading for today.
One of the stocks that has made me the most money with put options is General Electric. GE closed at $23.67 today. If I think GE is a good price at $23.67, here are my options.
I could buy 1,000 shares of GE today for $23,670 not counting commission. I'll make or lose $10.00 every time the price moves by 1 cent. Why would I take this approach versus the alternative unless I have some psychic knowledge that GE stock is going through the roof in the near future. (I don't. Only insiders have that knowledge and it's illegal for them to profit from it.)
In my opinion, here is the better choice.
The $23 June 2013 Put Option for General Electric closed today at 69 cents per share. (Chart Below) I could have sold/written 10 June contracts, (Each contract represents 100 shares, so 10 contracts represents 1,000 shares.) for the General Electric $23 put option and collected $690 instantly for doing so. (1000 shares x Premium of 69 Cents a Share = $690)
How do I profit from put options and what are my risks?
If I would have written this option today, I would have immediately collected $690 for doing so. The June 2013 option expires on the third Friday in June. Anytime between now and then, the holder of the option can require me to purchase 1,000 shares of GE stock at $23 a share. As long as the stock stays above $23 a share, that will never happen! No one is going to make you buy a stock cheaper than they can sell it for in the open market.
So if the stock stays above $23 a share, it will expire worthless on June 21, 2013 and I'll keep the $690 premium. If the stock happens to fall below $23 a share, I'll still keep the premium, but I will be forced to buy the stock no matter how low it is trading.
Let's say I wrote this option today and the stock falls to $22 next week. The option holder could choose to exercise the option right away or wait closer to the expiration date. For our example, let's say they exercise the option immediately.
I would pay $23,000 for 1,000 shares of GE stock and I'd keep the $690 premium making my actual cost $22.31 per share. This is $1.36 per share less than I could have bought the stock for when I wrote the option. Provided you follow my rule of thumb and only write put options on stocks you want to own, in my opinion, this is the best method for profiting from those stocks.
I generally make 2 - 3 trades a month. Subscribe to my email list at the top right hand of the page to see what I'm trading and how I'm doing. Good luck with your trading!
More great information:
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! | <urn:uuid:2f0b0020-71dc-47a1-bce1-093b918d28b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brentcrouch.com/investing/making-money-with-naked-puts-beginners-guide/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961646 | 1,405 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Friday, April 24, 2009
Rainbow Parrot Fish
I teach two classes of Grade 4. Together we have been creating a giant Rainbow Parrot Fish with willow, tissue paper and paper plates. Each group of students have had a chance to work on the willow frame using masking tape as a binding tool to create the skeleton of the fish. We had great fun painting watered down PVA on sheets of tissue paper and draping them over the frame (very messy). The scales are painted paper plates with designs inspired by the beautiful tropical fish.
The Fish is coming along well, we are nearly finished but have run out of paper plate scales. Back to work. | <urn:uuid:e6d6302f-ad28-4425-b6f4-e40e17010507> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://art-teacher-blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/rainbow-parrot-fish.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960065 | 139 | 1.78125 | 2 |
(2012-04-02 09:11)thrak76 Wrote:
(2012-03-29 05:44)DDDamian Wrote: A user asked about DVD-A and MLP files. Thought I'd share a few pointers about ripping/handling/playing.
That user was me!
(2012-03-29 05:44)DDDamian Wrote: DVD-Audio was one of two competitors to follow up on the Redbook CD standard - it's rival being SACD.
It was a way of storing high-definition audio on a DVD, making use of almost the full capacity of the DVD for tracks in PCM stored in MLP-packed format, and sometimes in DTS 96/24 format. Coming out later than normal DVD-Video, it was difficult to backup/rip due to a newer protection scheme and the use of a different structure than what most DVD-V ripping software used. Files were stored in the AUDIO_TS folder as opposed to the normal VIDEO_TS folder and .aobs were used similar to .vobs.
MLP stands for Meridian Lossless Packing, and is used in Dolby TrueHD lossless compression as well.
A program called DVD-A Explorer came to the rescue, allowing DVD-A's to be ripped in their native MLP-packed PCM, to unpacked PCM in wave headers, or with the addition of a path to FLAC.exe to FLAC-compressed lossless PCM.
Both formats are losslessly compressed, so either is identical in terms of audio quality.
MLP decoding has been part of FFMpeg for some time, and allows XBMC to unpack MLP to PCM, which was a feature used to bring lossless TrueHD decoding, but not bitstreaming, to XBMC. One of the things DanielaE has done is allow XBMC to bitstream MLP to a receiver capable of decoding it, including TrueHD and DVD-A MLP files. In the case of DVD-A, with FFMpeg repacking the audio in MLP dataframes and databursts, it maintains the 24-bit depth of DVD-A and TrueHD. Because the 24-bit data get's repacked into MLP frames it slips 24-bit data past the current XBMC 16-bit limitation.
So use DVD-A Explorer to rip/backup your precious DVD-A's and you can:
1) playback the MLP files and get lossless DVD-A
2) rip them further to 24-bit FLAC for track separation and metadata embedding. This further step can be done by ripping the files to wav's in DVD-A Explorer, then using EAC3TO and More GUI to convert to 24-bit FLAC and MP3Tag or other tagging software to embed metadata. When AE is merged you will get the full 24-bit glory from these as well, like all high-fidelity FLAC's.
I've got about 20 DVD-A's and especially since they are mostly out-of-print and few come out now (unlike SACD which has at least some titles still coming out) they are worth ripping. Hope that helps anyone who also has them and wants them preserved and part of their library.
This worked brilliantly. I skipped the step of using the eac3to and more gui, and just fed DVD-A explorer the flac.exe (as you suggested to me earlier), and the process was quick and plays back perfectly. It's so much nicer to have the surround tracks accessible through the music library, than how i was doing it before - ripping TS folders and setting up favorites in the skin for easy access. Now to dig out all the jewel cases and re-rip some surround music!
I would also like to extend my thanks here. That would be for both the ability to playback DTSHD and TrueHD content in my movies, and, as I've recently discovered, MLP content. What a huge step toward all-out integration of media - Thanks!
(and the above procedure has also been invaluable in automating the FLAC conversion - awesome)
Now, for my question:
I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for keeping multichannel music separate from stereo music in one's music library. I like to set up my collection such that I use the Artist view in a wall format (Aeon MQ3), and clicking on any artist thumb will bring up thumbs by album. What I'd ideally like to do is to set up a music 'set', entitled "multichannel music" or the like. From what I've found, this option only works for movies at the moment.
The only alternative I can think of is to make my multichannel music have a uniform artist metadata field. If I made all my multi content have artist metadata of "multichannel", i could keep them separate from the stereo stuff, and sort by album within this makeshift artist category.
I'd rather not have to do that, though, as it's a workaround/compromise, and my OCD tendencies will come forth and wreak havoc over time (e.g. if I want to access them with another application down the road, the metadata won't make sense and will look dumb).
Does anyone have any solutions, less-invasive-workarounds, etc to this issue? | <urn:uuid:0944c91d-2ac6-41ed-8b7b-5c554932b2c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=121877&pid=1137767 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955432 | 1,134 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Half-Twist Jump Squats
Developing your legs isn’t just about building bulk—it’s also about training the propulsive strength you need for sports, power workouts, and just having fun. This exercise builds muscle, power and speed, all at once.
Stand upright with arms at your sides and feet hip-width apart. Your toes should point forward and your core should be engaged, allowing your back to arch naturally while keeping your chest facing front (see Photo 1).
- Lower yourself into a squat position. Press your hips out and back as you sit through your thighs. Keep your back naturally arched and your core stable, and avoid letting your shoulders move in front of your knees (see Photo 2).
- From the squat, bringing your arms up into the air as you jump as high as you can. As your feet leave the floor, twist your shoulders and then your legs halfway around so you are facing the opposite direction (see Photo 3).
- Land in a squat position with your arms down, and repeat the exercise, now turning the shoulders in the other direction. (See photo 4). Continue to alternate directions until you have done a total of 20 jumps (10 turning each way).
Once you have mastered the basic jump squat, you may add difficulty by putting both hands on top of your head throughout the exercise.
About Billy Polson: Billy Polson is the founder and co-owner of DIAKADI Body, which was voted the best personal training gym in San Francisco by CitySearch in 2006. A competitive swimmer and triathlete in his own right, Polson has over 15 years of experience working as a coach and trainer. He was recently named by Men's Journal (December 2005) as one of the Top 100 Trainers in America. | <urn:uuid:c79070e0-f4c2-45c2-931e-7df7549c2d02> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.realjock.com/article/478/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95508 | 370 | 1.804688 | 2 |
How do I know if a translation service is any good?
To start with, the difficulty for you is that there is no easy way of knowing whether one translation service is better than another. They all promise accurate translations yet they are not all created equal. Some proclaim unending quality while others promise low prices. The latter is the first obvious danger signal. The simple truth is that good translators are not cheap, nor should they be. The translation service also needs to add on its cut, ranging from 20%-50% on top of the translator's price.
So, if the prices are too low, it is most likely the translator's cut that has suffered. This will undoubtedly mean that you'll only get inexperienced or poor translators. If all you want is to understand what a document is about, then you'd probably be better off saving your money and using one of the free on-line machine translation systems. If, on the other hand, the material is for your clients then it might be worth getting the job done properly. The bottom line is that in choosing a translation service, price should not be your ultimate deciding factor but rather one piece of the overall translation pie.
So set price aside and ask the agency:
- How it selects its translators?
- What training programme it has in place to continually raise quality?
- About the experience of the translator who would be assigned the translation?
- Why this translator is the right choice?
- Whether it supports the "Quality in Translation" campaign?
Also ask yourself:
- Does the translation service specialise in the type of material you want to translate?
- Does the translation service specialise in some languages, or does it offer every language under the sun?
It is easy to calculate how much you spend on translations. What’s not so easy is determining how much poor translations will cost you. | <urn:uuid:5bf5ead3-f58d-491b-9628-e54afafdade8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.qualityintranslation.org/translation-buying-hints/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943837 | 386 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Life and limb were risked to bring you this report on the new 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel.
After a 30-minute technical briefing on the premium brand’s first diesel-powered model to cross the Atlantic, the cry of the wild called loudly and the open road beckoned.
Though eager to get behind the wheel of the sport ute that has been selling solidly in Europe for almost years, we still had to hear the ‘how-to-defend-yourself-against-grizzly-attack’ lesson. What?
My driving partner’s face blanched and I gulped as we learned how to let loose with the bear spray. Back off slowly if a bear approaches while taking that killer shot of the car at the roadside, seemed the key survival advice.
And don’t flee uphill if fear overtakes; run downhill because the bears find that a challenge. Ok, if you are on a hill at the time. My survival instinct kicked in as I eyed my co-driver, fingering the cigarettes in his pocket. Ha! I only needed to outrun him, not Bruno, I thought smugly.
And don’t spray downwind, the speaker cautioned, or else the sprayer will get a face full rather than the intended sprayee. Imagine asking the bear to change attack position to facilitate him or her getting an eyeful. The nervous laughter subsided when we heard how a man had been killed and eaten by a grizzly two days before.
Ahem, time to change the subject as we did in our descent to the waiting test cars. One recurring discussion revolved around this question: If you can afford to buy a Porsche why would you care about the cost of fuel?
Porsche believes plenty of its North American customers will care about a potential 36 percent fuel saving in the Cayenne Diesel. And that’s why we were in the stunningly beautiful and pristine Kenai Peninsula, squeezing the most out of every drop of diesel in the tank.
The 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel engine pumps out 240 horsepower and sips just 8.4 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and a mere 6.5 litres on the highway. That stacks up impressively against the thirst of the gas powered 3.6-litre V6 Cayenne, which consumes liquid gold at the rate of 13.2/8.0 L/110 kms (city/highway).
At press time, the premium gas required by the regular Cayenne ranged between $1.43 and $1.50 in BC while diesel was selling for between $1.40 and $1.45. The differentiation of the prices at the pump is not massive at around five cents but when combined with the massive difference in fuel efficiency it might even cause the well-heeled to do that math the rest of us do when car shopping.
For the eco sensitive, the reduced CO2 emissions of the Diesel may be more of a game changer. European numbers show the regular V6 pumps out an average of 236 grams per kilometre, while the Diesel edition emits 189 g/km.
At $64,500, the base Diesel costs $8,100 more than the gas Cayenne. Amortize that over, say, five years and the fuel savings may justify the bigger price sticker. But how many Porsche owners hang onto their low-profile wheels for that long before trading up?
I suggest that fuel economy alone will not be the decider for many. Anyway, enough of that dollars and sense stuff.
With leather seats adjusted, mirror positions fixed, cameras and junk dumped on the rear three seats, we were ready to roar. Sorry. The not-so-soothing female GPS-navigation system voice was left to guide our fate.
Anchorage is a small city and we were soon out on the Seward Highway that tracks alongside the tidal Turnagain Arm. It’s a stretch of mainly shallow water fed by Cook Inlet, which drains dramatically at low tide. Belugas frequently swim up to feed when the water swells, locals told us.
For hours, we bravely sought out likely locations for car shots incorporating gorgeous views in bear country. At the first stop, our nostrils drank in the fresh mountain air and we both remarked on the absence of that giveaway sulphur smell that used to accompany a diesel vehicle and caused North Americans to turn up their collective nose.
Today’s diesels are also quieter, performing athletically and smoothly through the gears. Simply put, you soon forget you are driving a diesel. The Cayenne Diesel is at the pinnacle in terms of delivering an undiesel-like performance. Interestingly, at every launch I’ve attended in Europe during the past year, diesel versions invariably have been the favourite among my Canadian peers.
The interior of the Diesel edition is identical to its siblings, all reviewed here in recent months. No this launch was all about what was under the hood.
Late in the afternoon, we backed the car towards a boat launch next to the indigo coloured Kenai Lake and then cursed yet again because the sun was just not cooperating. Picture frustrations accelerated our desire to test the Cayenne’s zero-to-100 capabilities. I floored it with my co driver counting one-and-two-and . . . think the second hand was broken on his watch. We hit the mark in around the promised 7.6 seconds or so. They should call it The Porsche Paradox – performance-oriented yet fuel-efficient with a top track speed of 218 km/h.
The Diesel is equipped with an 8-speed Tiptronic S transmission, without the auto
Start/stop function available on other Cayenne variants. Not a deal breaker for me. As with the Hybrid model, the Diesel includes Porsche Traction Management (PTM), which features permanent all-wheel drive.
We sniggered as we read about the Porsche’s off-road prowess. It’s doubtful many of these babies will be soiled by bear scat in the backwoods. However, we got our chance for a little off road adventure. Somebody told us where some grizzlies feeding. Danger. I suggested we take the Cayenne, rather than walk.
Fortunately, the grizzlies were preoccupied with what looked like a very meaty bone from a much larger mammal than either of us. I should perhaps mention that a mesh fence at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre did separate Bruno and Bro from we two-legged prey.
Finally, the sun cooperated and we got our scenic pics. The bear spray was stowed while I slipped the car into Sport Mode and made for the spectacular Aleyska Resort, which held the promise of gourmet food and vino.
An hour or two later, after freshening up, we gathered outside.
“Anybody fancy hiking up to the Seven Glaciers Restaurant?” asked some foolish, young man. I eyed his youthful physique and figured he could outrun me in the event of grizzly encounter, though running down the mountain would perhaps even the odds. I watched my survival advantage disappear, as my co-driver headed for the aerial tram.
“Nah,” I told the whippersnapper as I walked away. Porsche hopes few people will respond that way after a spin in the 2013 Cayenne Diesel. They could be right. | <urn:uuid:8933f235-e41e-4e6d-a488-2ad393d0b288> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.edmontonjournal.com/buy-car/new/diesel+porsche+cayenne+sensitive+powerful/7260987/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957357 | 1,536 | 1.5 | 2 |
About E-Rate Funding
E-rate is the program funded by the Universal Service Fund to help subsidize schools, hospitals and libraries across the United States in finding affordable telecommunications and internet services. The percentage of telecommunications that the e-rate program funds is based on the school and/or library’s economic and geographic status. E-rate will pay between 20%-90% of the total costs of telecommunications for T1, PRI, fiber and Ethernet services.
TelcoSolutions is a leader in the telecommunications sector as it pertains to the e-rate program. We have access to multiple telecommunications carriers who participate in the e-rate program throughout the country. This allows us to leverage the carriers against one another, and in turn allows your school, hospital or library to achieve the most from your e-rate funding. Likewise, we will provide multiple proposals and a non-biased opinion on the carriers who service your area free of charge as we are compensated by the carrier. We have worked with several e-rate participants in the past, and have succeeded in helping them double and triple their internet bandwidth from the prior year on very limited budgets.
Let TelcoSolutions help your school, hospital or library maximize your e-rate funding! Please complete the no obligation information form or feel free to contact Travis Taylor at 800-569-0380 or Erin Conrad at 866-844-2181 to discuss maximizing our schools e-rate funding budget. | <urn:uuid:c80e80a5-54a1-46e6-82b3-9c265583fb15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telcosolutions.net/erate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93208 | 299 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Far from the beaches of Malibu, it is a tough land, some say, the home of biker gangs and urban sprawl, a land buffeted by the unrelenting Santa Ana (or "Devil") winds that can flip cars and jangle nerves. Tell an Angeleno that you make your home in the Inland Empire and be prepared for the condescending half-smile followed by a wisecrack: "Oh, the methamphetamine capital of the world."
But this era of insult might have come to an end, if Heyday Books and Santa Clara University have any say in it. "Inlandia: A Literary Journey through California's Inland Empire," meticulously edited by Gayle Wattawa ($18.95 paperback), is an ambitious collection that finally gives the area its due as a culturally and historically vital component of Southern California.
In the anthology's introduction, Riverside native and National Book Award finalist Susan Straight tells us that she has striven to infuse her writing with "the fierceness we retain in these small places where people loved their own with the vehemence, the stubborn and suspicious and inventive qualities required to survive this part of Southern California."
Straight is not alone in attempting to depict all the complexities and beauty of the Inland Empire and its people. More than 70 authors are represented in fiction, poetry, native legends,
Some of the writers enjoy worldwide fame and have been translated into many languages. We're treated to an excerpt from a 1930 tough-guy novelette, "Blood-Red Gold," by Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. And there's the exquisitely creepy essay, "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream" by Joan Didion, concerning a woman accused of murder in the 1960s. Other "big names" abound, including Norman Mailer, John Steinbeck, Joan Baez and Raymond Chandler.
Wattawa includes newer voices, writers who have lived or are living in the region and who feel compelled to chronicle the history and culture of their home through fiction. Kathleen Alcalá, who grew up in San Bernardino, offers the short story "Gypsy Lover," a haunting tale of one girl's attempt to come to terms with her older sister's mysterious disappearance. And in "Georgie and Wanda," Michael Jaime-Becerra skillfully fictionalizes the racial bigotry faced by a young couple in Riverside circa 1956.
Many of the nonfiction pieces are simply heartbreaking. Diary excerpts from George Fujimoto Jr. starkly recount the federal government's rounding up of his family members, who were housed in Arizona internment camps for the duration of World War II. Similarly, Malcolm Margolin's "The Cupueño Expulsion of 1903" details the removal of a native people for their valuable land.
Smaller-scale tragedies are perfectly rendered here, too, as in Alex Espinoza's powerful short story, "Santo Niño," that brings us into the lives of two young women as they battle economic hardship, infertility and strained relationships. And in "hap & hazard highland" by Keenan Norris, a young ex-con tries to reconnect with his old neighborhood as well as with his youthful dreams.
At the turn of each page, there surprising little shocks as we enter themes radically different from the one before. For example, after the essay "909," Percival Everett's wry and provocative contemplation of Riverside County, out of the blue follows Sholeh Wolpé's poem, "Morning After the U.S. Invasion of Iraq," in which the community of Redlands seems unfazed by the beginning of the war: "The chatter is as always, quiet, / The smiles as always, broad."
No review can fully capture the breadth and spirit of this remarkable anthology. Suffice it to say that each author surprises, informs and entertains. "Inlandia" paints a complex and compelling portrait of a region that is simultaneously beautiful and harsh, multicultural and alienating, vibrant and destructive. Without question, it is a portrait that commands our respect.
Daniel A. Olivas is the author of four books including "Devil Talk: Stories" (Bilingual Press). He is the editor of "Latinos in Lotus Land:An Anthology of Contemporary Southern California Literature," forthcoming from Bilingual Press. His Web site is www.danielolivas.com, and he may be reached at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:becde6a3-7e5c-4df9-bd01-8765add1cd2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elpasotimes.com/living/ci_5055017 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95361 | 916 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The ongoing Eurozone crisis has endangered Britain’s economy once again as a new prediction suggests that the UK could face a triple-dip-recession next year.
The London-based Sunday Times reported that the British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was pressured by his political opponents to rethink Britain’s austerity strategy as economists warned that the country may plunge into financial chaos next spring.
This comes as the Euro crisis threatened Greece’s position in the single currency and the three previous bailouts left the destiny of the nation unknown. A possible Greek exit from the euro is predicted to drag Britain into recession for the third time, following a brief recovery from the 2012 Olympics.
Osborne faced criticism of his Labour opponents after the figures released last week, showed the UK’s recession is deepening in the second quarter, raising questions about Osborne’s economic plans and whether he should remain at the Treasury.
The Labour party’s finance spokesman, Ed Balls, attacked Osborne with a new statement, saying the Chancellor’s policies are “flat-lining” economic recovery.
“If last week’s figures won’t make the government wake up and change course, then I don’t know what will,” Balls wrote in an article for the London-based Sun newspaper today. “But the longer they stick to this failing plan, the heavier the price our country will pay,” Balls stated.
If the UK falls into a predicted third recession, Britain’s AAA credit rating could be threatened and downgraded as a result of the negative growth. | <urn:uuid:167acbd8-2672-4513-b76f-2f967494d161> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.presstv.ir/detail/253352.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935243 | 334 | 1.640625 | 2 |
|Captain David Rogers: Mosquito Lagoon
The Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon are producing good numbers of Black Drum. The water levels are super low and the fish can be found in large schools. Once you find them take you time and work the schools slow and easy. Live shrimp are the best bet on the Black Drum. They will eat a Gulp Shrimp on days they are really feeding.
The past year was the most phenomenal Black Drum bite I have witnessed in my 16 years of fishing the Mosquito Lagoon. We landed more Black Drum in the month of July than I had boated in the prior 15 years. My best guess is that we had a tremendous spawn in the last 5 years. The schools are still roaming the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon in mega schools.
There are some days when the Black Drum is very easy to catch. The key is to move slowly and make a good presentation. I like to use a shrimp on a 1/8 ounce jig head hooked through the tail. When you cast, lead the school and dead stick the shrimp. Use a 15-20 pound fluorocarbon leader that is at least 3 feet in length. I prefer the longer leader to help hide the line. Remember these fish have a very light bite so using braided line will help you feel the bite. What do you do on the days when the fish are really spooky and running around? The best way to approach is using the push pole and moving really slow. Sometimes it is better to stake out and let them come to you. They move around much different than redfish. Their movements are much faster and more like a drunk driver. Redfish tend to move from spot to spot in a more direct line.
Another cool thing with the Black Drum is that you can hear them drumming in the water when they are around the boat. The sound can become very loud at times as they vibrate in the water. When they are fired up and feeding like crazy it will give you quite a rush. These fish are great fighters on light tackle. The bite has been solid this winter and you can catch 12-15 fish on a good day. They do seem to eat better on less windy days. During the summer months we averaged 17-20 fish per day with a few days of catching over 35. Just seeing the schools is amazing as they patrol the flats. Several times on a calm day you could look down the flat and see tailing fish as far as you could see. It looked like a driving range.
To get the most bang for your buck use a medium-light rod with a 20 series reel. You will enjoy a great fight without stressing the fish too much. The Karma Rids with a Quantum Cabo 20 is a great rig. Try a 15 pound fluorocarbon leader in the clear winter time water. The lighter line seems to produce a better bite.
Circle hooks also work well for the less experienced angler. Try a 2/0 Daiichi Circle hook and a small split shot or a bullet weight. The bullet weight will not catch as many weeds. Once the angler feels the bite they just need to reel and lift the rod tip. They should hook up with no problem. You can also rig a Gulp Shrimp hooked through the tail. Try the natural color. If the fish are eating well then try different colors. Sometimes a dead stinky shrimp works just as well, if not better than a live shrimp. Another good method is to bite the tail off a live shrimp to create extra scent. Chumming frozen shrimp can help if the fish are spooky.
What do you do when you catch a few? Eat them! They are excellent table fare. The limit is 5 per person with one over 24 inches. Remember only take what you need for a meal that day. You can freeze them if you like, but fresh is best.
How do you cook them? My favorite way is to grill them on the half shell. When you fillet the fish leave the skin. Rub the fish down in olive oil and coat with your favorite Cajun spice. Get the grill real hot and place them meat side down for about 3 minutes. The flip the fish on the skin side a cook until the skin curls up. The meat will slide right off and you will enjoy an awesome meal.
Frying is always an option, because just about any fish fried is good. Baking in some white wine and butter with Cajun spice ain't bad either. Enjoy them any way you like. They are great!
I hope that this is a permanent fixture for the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon. We have always had black drum, just never like this. We also have some monsters that you can get! I just prefer the smaller ones.
Capt. David Rogers
AAA Hawgwild Saltwater Charters LLC
674 Blenheim Loop
Winter Springs, Fl 32708
About the Captain: Captain David Rogers is a native Floridian who grew up fishing Florida waters. He has 30 plus years experience fishing Florida. The Captain has fished many lakes, rivers and several famous destinations such as Englewood, Boca Grande, Islamorada, Chokoloskee, the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon. Captain David is on several pro staffs which include Rip Tide Saltwater Lures, Daiichi Hooks, Hell's Bay Boat Works and Mercury Marine. He also is a regular guest on the Florida Sportsman East Central Florida radio show with Captain Russ Rivers and Captain Jim Ross and has been featured in the Orlando Sentinel five times. Captain David guarantees all his clients will learn something and have great time fishing aboard his Hell's Bay Guide 18. | <urn:uuid:faae947a-9e1f-4856-9f10-d93875f60cf6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reelanimalsfishingteam.com/daverogers.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960594 | 1,183 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Here are a few thoughts from a layman who has only a nodding acquaintance with the subject:
The documentary hypothesis is not the same thing as higher criticism, let that be said.
- I don’t trust the motives of folks who push higher criticism. Even the Mormon ones on inspection often either want to loosen the authority of prophets who have read scriptures non-critically; or apologists who think there’s a little bit of argumentative coin to be banked (e.g., the Great Angel); or simply folks who don’t like being associated with a church whose mass is unsophisticated and approaches scripture with a declasse naivety, who hope to shout “fundamentalist” at us long enough that we learn to wipe the snot off our noses and use the salad fork.
- Them not being trustworthy isn’t the same as them being wrong. It just means that without a lifetime of my own to devote to scholarship, I am inclined to hold this decade’s certainties at arms’ length. I’ve read and enjoyed a number of things that could have been called higher critical.
- Incredulity about miracles and holiness drives a lot of the higher criticism I’ve seen or read. The premises drive the conclusions.
- From C.S. Lewis
In the earlier history of every rebellion there is a stage at which you do not yet attack the King in person. You say, ‘The King is all right. It is his Ministers who are wrong. They misrepresent him and corrupt all his plans –which, I’m sure, are good plans if only the Ministers would let them take effect.’ And the first victory consists in beheading a few Ministers: only at a later stage do you go on and behead the King himself.
In the same way, the nineteenth-century attack on St. Paul was really only a stage in the revolt against Christ. Men were not ready in large numbers to attack Christ Himself. They made the normal first move—that of attacking one of His principal ministers. Everything they disliked in Christianity was therefore attributed to St. Paul. It was unfortunate that their case could not impress anyone who had really read the Gospels and the epistles with attention: but apparently few people had, and so the first victory was won. St. Paul was impeached and banished and the world went on to the next step—the attack on the King Himself.
- Also from C.S. Lewis:
First then, whatever these men may be as Biblical critics, I distrust them as critics. They seem to me to lack literary judgment, to be imperceptive about the very quality of the texts they are reading. The specific variant of this that I’ve seen is the ‘look every gift horse in the mouth’ syndrome, where the critics assume that if something fits nicely into a narrative or has potent symbolism, it must be an invention.
- Bokovoy has a nice little Mormon defense of the documentary hypothesis and of higher criticism. But he inadvertently highlights one of the weaknesses of higher criticism. It is an academic pursuit, not a spiritual one. Its insights are not obviously life-changing. He tries to argue that one sceptic’s assertion that Barabbas was an invention helped him understand for the first time that Barabbas was meant as a type of revolutionary Judaism and a temporal kingdom. But this understanding is obvious and requires no particular scholarship, let alone scepticism. It’s a seminary-level insight.
- The textual problems and inconsistencies the documentary hypothesis points out are more convincing than the hypotheses it elaborates to create it. One problem with historical scholarship of all kinds is that it does not properly account for the absence of evidence. If the theories we have are the best we can do given our sources, it does not follow that our sources adequately support our theories.
- Despite what its well-meaning advocates say, higher criticism and even the documentary hypothesis are at odds with mainstream Mormon beliefs going back to Joseph Smith, like the authorship of Isaiah. Advocates often are disappointingly squirrelly about acknowledging these problems. Joseph Smith and mainstream Mormon belief aren’t infallible, but they aren’t negligible either.
- From an Anglican priest:
Today, however, there are teachers of biblical subjects in universities and seminaries who deconstruct the texts and reconstruct them in line with their own worldviews. The duly deconstructed then reconstructed Christ is a tame individual, with views similar to the collective ‘groupthink’. This is not evidence of the Spirit of God, but the spirit of the age. It promotes scepticism and doubt, including among church people.
- Not everyone who doubts higher criticism has the same definition of higher criticism. C. S. Lewis, for example, thought it was obvious that Job and Jonah were literary stories, not historical events.
- Higher criticism applied to the Book of Mormon is just a hoot. The more you show that it’s an ancient text with the flaws and other problems of ancient texts, the more you underline its authority. Which is why most higher critical readings of the book have been by faithful mormons and why those readings have usually had an undertone of wicked sass. | <urn:uuid:d6a7d078-01f1-4349-8786-6ef60434291e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jrganymede.com/2013/01/29/on-higher-criticism-and-the-documentary-hypothesis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971324 | 1,096 | 1.53125 | 2 |
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
CASE NO.: IT-96-23/2-I
THE PROSECUTOR OF THE TRIBUNAL
SECOND AMENDED INDICTMENT
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, pursuant to her authority under article 18 of the Statute of the Tribunal charges:
with CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY and VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, as set forth below:
1.1 The city and municipality of Foca are located south-east of Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and borders Serbia and Montenegro. According to the 1991 census, the population of Foca consisted of 40,513 persons with 51.6 % Muslim, 45.3 % Serbian and 3.1% others. Serb forces launched an extensive attack targeting the non-Serb civilian population, with the first military actions in the town of Foca on 8 April 1992. The Serb forces, supported by artillery and heavy weapons, proceeded to take over Foca, section by section. The take-over of Foca town was complete by 16 or 17 April 1992. The surrounding villages continued to be under siege until mid-July 1992.
1.2 Once towns and villages were securely in their control, Serb military, police, paramilitaries and sometimes even Serb villagers started ransacking or burning Muslim houses and apartments, and rounding up and capturing Muslims. Some Muslims were beaten or killed in the process.
1.3 The Serb forces separated the non-Serb men from the women. The Foca Kazneno-Popravni Dom (hereinafter KP Dom), one of the largest prison facilities in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, was the primary detention facility for men in Foca. Some men spent as much as two and a half years in detention for no reason other than their being Muslim. Muslim women, children and the elderly were detained in houses, apartments and motels in the town of Foca or in surrounding villages, or at short and long-term detention centres such as Buk Bijela, Foca High School, and Partizan Sports Hall. These women and girls had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions, where they were mistreated in many ways including, for many of them, being raped repeatedly.
1.4 Some of these women and girls were taken out of these larger detention centres to privately owned apartments and houses, such as ulica Osmana Dikica 16, Karamanís house, or the house in Trnovace, where they were forced to cook, clean and serve the residents, who were Serb soldiers. These women and girls were also subjected to repeated sexual assaults. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other organisations, unaware of these detention facilities, did not intervene. Those detainees, therefore, had no possibility of release or exchange.
2.1 RADOVAN STANKOVIC a/k/a "Rasa", son of Todor, born on 10 March 1969 in the village of Trebica, municipality of Foca, was a permanent resident of Miljevina. RADOVAN STANKOVIC was a soldier in the Miljevina Battalion of the Foca Tactical Brigade. The Miljevina Battalion was commanded by Pero Elez during the times relevant to the indictment. RADOVAN STANKOVICwas in charge of Karamanís house in Miljevina.
3.1 At all times relevant to this indictment, an armed conflict existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
3.2 At all times relevant to this indictment, the accused was required to abide by the laws or customs governing the conduct of war.
3.3 Unless otherwise set forth below, all acts and omissions set forth in this indictment took place between April 1992 and November 1992
3.4 In each count charging crimes against humanity, a crime recognised by Article 5 of the Statute of the Tribunal, the acts or omissions were part of a widespread or large-scale or systematic attack against a civilian population, specifically the Muslim population of the municipality of Foca.
3.5 Witnesses and victims are identified in this indictment using code names or pseudonyms such as FWS-87 or initials, for example, D.B.
3.6 The accused is individually responsible for the crimes charged against him in this indictment, pursuant to Article 7 (1) of the Statute of the Tribunal. Individual criminal responsibility includes committing, planning, instigating, ordering or aiding and abetting in the planning, preparation or execution of any acts or omissions set forth below.
Enslavement and Rape of FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS-132, FWS-190, A.S., A.B., J.B., J.G and other women in Karamanís House
4.1 Pero Elez, a Serb paramilitary leader in a position of regional authority commanded the Miljevina Battalion, which was subordinated to the Foca Tactical Brigade. The Miljevina Battalion was headquartered in the Miljevina Motel. Some of the soldiers under Elezís command, including the accused RADOVAN STANKOVIC, used the abandoned house of a Muslim, Nusret Karaman, as a residence. On or about 3 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, in concert with Pero Elez, took FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS 50 and D.B., as set forth in paragraph 5.1 infra, from ulica Osmana Dikica no 16 to Miljevina, where they were handed over to Pero Elez and his men, who in turn transferred them to Karamanís house. Karamanís house is close to the headquarters of the battalion. Later on, other women and girls were detained at Karamanís house. Some were as young as twelve and fourteen years of age. The number of women and girls detained at Karamanís house between on or about 3 August 1992 and until around 30 October 1992 totalled at least nine, including FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS-132, FWS-190, A.S., A.B., J.B., J.G. and, as set forth infra in paragraphs 5.1-5.4, D.B. from on or about 3 August 1992 through the end of September 1992. RADOVAN STANKOVIC, together with at least one other Serb soldier, Nikola Brcic, was in charge of Karamanís house, where Muslim women were detained and sexually assaulted, from at least on or about 3 August 1992 until on or about 30 October 1992.
4.2 In contrast to larger detention facilities such as Partizan Sports Hall, the detainees at Karamanís house had sufficient food. They were not guarded or locked inside the house. The detainees even had a key they could use to lock the door and prevent any soldiers not belonging to Pero Elezís group from entering. The detainees were also given the telephone number of the Miljevina motel, and were told that they should call this number if any soldier without authorisation tried to enter the house. When the women did call this number, either RADOVAN STANKOVIC or Pero Elez would come to prevent other persons from entering the house. Although the detainees were not guarded, they could not escape. They had nowhere to go as they were surrounded by Serb soldiers and civilians.
4.3 FWS-75, FWS-87 and other girls and women were detained in Karamanís house between on or about 3 August 1992 until on or about 30 October 1992. RADOVAN STANKOVIC and the Serb soldiers living in the house treated the women and girls as their personal property.
4.4 During the entire period of their detention at Karamanís house, FWS-75, FWS-87, and the other female detainees were subjected to repeated rapes and sexual assaults at night. All the perpetrators were Serb soldiers who belonged to Pero Elezís group. Among the soldiers who frequently raped FWS-87 (vaginal and anal penetration) was RADOVAN STANKOVIC.
4.5 The first time FWS-75 and FWS-87 were raped in Karamanís house was on or about 3 August 1992, shortly after their arrival. An unidentified soldier raped FWS-75 (vaginal penetration) while RADOVAN STANKOVIC raped FWS-87 that day.
4.6 In addition to the rapes and other sexual assaults, the accused regularly ordered all the female detainees to work for him and the other Serb soldiers, washing uniforms, cooking and cleaning the house. FWS-87 was taken three times from Karamanís house to other buildings in Miljevina. On these occasions, she was forced to clean rooms in the buildings, cook for the soldiers and paint the window-frames. On one of the three occasions, when she was taken out with another woman, two Montenegrin soldiers sexually assaulted both women.
4.7 At Karamanís house, the detainees constantly feared for their lives. If any of the women or girls refused to obey orders, they would be beaten. Soldiers often told the women that they would be killed after the soldiers were finished with them because they knew too much. FWS-87 felt suicidal during the entire time of her detention in Karamanís house.
4.8 By the foregoing acts and omissions, RADOVAN STANKOVIC committed:
Count 1: Enslavement, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (c) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 2: Rape, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (g) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 3: Rape, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
(Outrages Upon Personal Dignity)
Count 4: Outrages upon personal dignity, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Rape and enslavement of D.B.
5.1 On or about 3 August 1992, Dragoljub Kunarac, in concert with Pero Elez, took D. B., along with FWS-75, FWS-87, FWS 50, as set forth in paragraph 4.1 supra from ulica Osmana Dikica no 16 to Miljevina, where they were handed over to Pero Elez and his men, who in turn transferred them to Karamanís house. Karamanís house is close to the headquarters of the battalion. D.B. and the other women and girls were detained at Karamanís house as described in paragraphs 4.1-4.7 supra.
5.2 During the entire period of her detention at Karamanís house, D.B., along with the other female detainees were subjected to repeated rapes and sexual assaults at night. All the perpetrators were Serb soldiers who belonged to Pero Elezís group. Among the soldiers who frequently raped D.B. (vaginal and anal penetration) was RADOVAN STANKOVIC.
5.3 The first time D.B. was raped in Karamanís house was on or about 3 August 1992, shortly after her arrival, when she was raped by RADOVAN STANKOVIC that day.
5.4 RADOVAN STANKOVIC took D.B. away from Karamanís house towards the end of September 1992. During the period that she remained in Karamanís house, that is, from on or about 3 August 1992 through the end of September 1992, D.B. was subjected to the treatment described in paragraphs 4.1-4.7 and the Prosecution, by reference, incorporates and reiterates the allegations concerning D.B.ís treatment by RADOVAN STANKOVIC in Karamanís house during this time period.
5.5 After removing D.B. from Karamanís house in late September 1992, RADOVAN STANKOVIC first took D.B. to an apartment in Miljevina for about ten days, and he then moved her to an apartment in the Lepa Brena apartment block in Foca. During this entire time, RADOVAN STANKOVIC treated D.B. as his personal property, forcing her to work and subjecting her to repeated sexual assaults. RADOVAN STANKOVIC released D.B. to Montenegro on 3 November 1992.
5.6 By the foregoing acts and omissions, RADOVAN STANKOVIC committed:
Count 5: Enslavement, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (c) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 6: Rape, a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY punishable under Article 5 (g) of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Count 7: Rape, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
(Outrages Upon Personal Dignity)
Count 8: Outrages upon personal dignity, a VIOLATION OF THE LAWS OR CUSTOMS OF WAR, punishable under Article 3 of the Statute of the Tribunal.
Carla Del Ponte
Dated this 3rd day of March 2003
At The Hague | <urn:uuid:8fc70ba7-749a-4cf4-ba60-7fee81a039c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/ind/en/stan-2ai030303.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962461 | 2,874 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Continuing increases in problem commercial loans are focusing a spotlight on declining conditions in business lending, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). On September 30, 2000, commercial banks reported noncurrent commercial loans of 1.52 percent of total commercial loans, the highest level in the past six years.
Although worsening business loan quality is a concern, FDIC analysts point out that, in relative terms, current indicators of business loan problems do not approach the experience of banks during the economic downturn of the early 1990s. "Signs of a slowdown in the economy raise concerns about the possible severity of commercial loan problems, a situation we will be watching closely in the coming months," said FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue. "However, it is important to note that continued strong earnings and capital provide a significant buffer for banks to weather the effects of higher levels of nonperforming business loans and business loan losses."
In the first quarter edition of the Regional Outlook, analysts cited a rise in leverage at domestic corporations, as well as heightened tolerance for risk and relaxed underwriting standards at insured depository institutions from 1996 to 1999 as reasons for the decline in business credit quality. More recently, an apparent slowdown in economic growth coupled with weakness in certain industry sectors -- for example, telecommunications, healthcare services, and textiles-- have increased prospects for further deterioration in business credit conditions.
Certain regional trends described below reflect an increasing exposure to credit risk among insured institutions at the same time commercial credit quality is showing signs of deterioration.
- Boston Region. The credit risk profile of the Region's commercial banks appears to be rising as evidenced by a steep increase in commercial loans as a percentage of the total loan portfolio during the past three years.
- New York Region. As the economy has slowed, the Region's community banks have reported a shift into traditionally higher risk, higher yielding loan categories. The credit risk profile of the Region's new banks also appears to be increasing as evidenced by growing commercial real estate loan portfolios and increased use of noncore funding.
- Memphis Region. Rising funding costs, particularly in the Region's metropolitan areas, likely are pressuring banks to accept additional credit risk to bolster declining net interest margins. In areas where competitive pressures appear the highest, such as in Memphis, banks are reporting greater increases in credit exposure.
- Chicago Region. The Region's insured institutions have reported rising exposure to commercial and industrial (C&I) credits, a loan category that historically has experienced higher loss rates than other loan types. Although the strongest C&I loan growth has occurred among the largest insured institutions, increased C&I exposure is evident at many other institutions as well. In addition, the percentage of the Region's community institutions with significant commercial real estate portfolios continues to increase.
- Atlanta Region. The majority of the workforce in nearly one-fourth of all counties in the Atlanta Region is employed in industries that, according to an analysis of economic indicators, could be more vulnerable in the event of an economic downturn. The ripple effect from layoffs in two or more of these industries could adversely affect income levels and weaken consumer and business credit quality.
- Kansas City Region. A review of the Region's community banks prior to the 1980s agricultural crisis shows that the relationship between the loan-to-asset (LTA) ratio and the net interest margin (NIM) frequently was an indicator of increased potential for failure. Although banking conditions have changed since then, the results of this review suggest that banks reporting high LTA ratios and high NIMs appear to have a higher tolerance for risk.
- Dallas Region. Rising oil prices should, on balance, benefit the Dallas Region, although reliance on oil as an economic driver has declined dramatically over the past 20 years. Oil and gas output as a share of the Region's gross regional product declined from 17 percent in 1982 to 5 percent in 1998.
- San Francisco Region. Personal bankruptcy filing rates and household debt service burdens likely will increase in a slowing regional economy and challenge the Region's insured institutions. Subprime and specialty credit card lenders, which manage most of the Region's consumer credit, would likely be disproportionately affected by consumer credit quality deterioration.
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 9,905 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposes.
FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov or through the FDIC's Public Information Center (800-276-6003 or (703) 562-2200). | <urn:uuid:7d59e8ba-b0db-4bf1-890f-1b544e06a6d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fdic.gov/news/news/press/2001/pr2301.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953331 | 949 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Posted by Medea -
Mon, Nov 21, 2011
Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans
As we watch the Egyptian police and military viciously attack democracy activists on the streets of Cairo, using U.S. weapons, it is outrageous that the Obama Administration has failed to issue a strong condemnation of this latest attempt to crush a revolution that has inspired people around the world, including millions of Americans.
During the fateful 18 days in January and February when Egyptians took to the streets by the millions to topple the brutal Mubarak dictatorship, President Obama remained largely silent, refusing to call directly for democracy until it was clear that young Egyptians were about to topple the dictator’s three-decade-long rule.
In the months since then, as thousands of Egyptians have been attacked, imprisoned, sexually assaulted and murdered by their government, the United States has not merely remained silent, but has continued to provide crucial diplomatic, economic and military aid to the regime responsible for these crimes.
The latest Egyptian protests were sparked by growing anger over signs that the military leadership plans to hold on to power indefinitely. The military rulers say they will relinquish power once presidential elections are held, but have refused to commit to a plan and a timetable for handing over power to a democratically elected government.
The first of many rounds of voting for parliament is scheduled to begin November 28, but the military has not agreed to form a new government based on these elections. Moreover, it is trying to limit any civilian government from having control over the military’s budget. And it has postponed a presidential election to an indefinite time late in 2012 or in 2013.
Now that the façade of a democratic transition has been ripped away and Egyptians are once again battling the military government in Tahrir Square for the future of their country, with at least 35 civilians killed since Saturday. The Obama administration remains as quiet as it was in the early days of the revolution. Such silence is both morally indefensible and politically and strategically disastrous for the United States.
The United States, with $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt every year, supplies a large part of the Egyptian military budget. But it refuses to use its considerable leverage. During Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s visit to Egypt in October, he actually praised the Egyptian military. “I really do have full confidence in the process that the Egyptian military is overseeing,” he said, “I think they’re making good progress.”
On Monday, November 21, White House spokesman Jay Carney only mustered up the courage to call for restraint from “all sides”—as if the pro-democracy activists were somehow equally responsible for the violence. When asked if the generals should specify the date for a presidential election, Carney replied, “I don’t want to dictate specifics to Egypt.”
As during the Mubarak era, the administration appears to believe that U.S. interests, including Egypt’s peace accord with Israel, are more important than the lives of the Egyptian people.
The march for freedom in Egypt cannot be stopped and when Egyptians finally rid themselves of the military government and establish a democratic system, the United States will have few friends in Egypt, or the Arab world more broadly, if it is seen as having supported the military rather than the people at this pivotal moment.
A principled U.S. position would be to immediately issue a strong condemnation of the violence unleashed by the Egyptian military on its people. The U.S. government should suspend all military aid to the Egyptian government until it stops attacking peaceful protesters, and until it releases the 12,000-plus citizens jailed since Mubarak’s ouster and commits to handing over power to a transitional civilian government as soon as parliamentary elections are completed. President Obama should coordinate with other Western allies and supporters of the Egyptian government to develop a clear and strong policy in support of a rapid transition to democracy and apply the full weight of international diplomatic, economic and legal pressure on the military junta towards that end.
Anything less will be a stain on the United States that will haunt this administration, and the United States more broadly, for years to come.
Join us in signing this letter urging President Obama to condemn the military crackdown and stand with Egypt’s brave citizens struggling for democracy.
Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans are cofounders of CODEPINK: Women for Peace.
Popularity: 1% [?] | <urn:uuid:cbbe615d-34e6-4dab-a3de-0a33ab7560ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://codepink.org/blog/2011/11/obama-must-condemn-egyptian-military/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96537 | 912 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Lexapro (Escitalopram) is an antidepressant drug marketed by the large pharmaceutical firm Forest Laboratories which has recently been linked to a number of serious side effects, including cardiac birth defects. Lexapro side effects have ranged from seizures to severe and sometimes permanent psychological disorders, stroke and other cardiovascular health problems. Lexapro is part of the SSRI, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, class of antidepressants.
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Lexapro has been linked to numerous health problems, including someof the psychological problems intended to be prevented by Lexapro. SSRI antidepressants have been contraindicated for persons taking other medications and even supplements as well as persons in certain age and health demographics because of the risk that they may impair the body's elimination of sertraline, resulting in a much higher concentration of the drug remaining in the system. | <urn:uuid:483fe732-7b9a-4b8f-bd5d-ba75567c05bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lexaprobirthdefectslawsuits.com/washington-Lexapro-lawyers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944091 | 505 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The Toughbook CF-C1 tablets will be used by medical professionals at Sydney Adventist Hospital (SAH) to access electronic health records.
"Access to electronic patient information on the Toughbook CF-C1s means that clinicians can now see the important information they need, wherever they may be in the hospital," said CIO Chris Williams.
"Doctors can review information before they see the patient; they can apply clinical decisions, monitor vital signs and alert staff to unexpected results, and all this can be done in their offices, the corridor or diagnostic areas where previously they would have had to have been at the bedside.
The tablets are used to access the hospital's in-house SanCare clinical information system, which is integrated with SAH's patient administration system.
SAH also employs other Toughbook models, including the CF-H1 which is used by the hospital's pharmacists, and the CF-H2 which was designed to endure frequent sanitisation.
A Panasonic spokesperson noted that "The CF-C1 model has been intensively tested with a number of common disinfectants and is safe and approved for use with Sani-Cloth Plus, Alcohol Prep Pads, Cavi Wipes and Total Solutions Disinfectant Wipes."
Advantages of the CF-C1 for this particular application included the keyboard, durability, and battery capacity. | <urn:uuid:a0628544-dc7e-456a-bb22-d80562f9537c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/deals/58550-more-toughbooks-for-sydney-hospital | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95161 | 282 | 1.640625 | 2 |
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Shows & Panels
Economist: Roth TSP a good deal for young feds
Monday - 4/16/2012, 2:42pm EDT
Federal News Radio
The new Roth TSP will be a good option for many federal employees, particularly young people who are just beginning a career in Uncle Sam's service.
"For many federal employees, the TSP Roth is going to be absolutely awesome," Redden told Elliott.
The difference between a Roth TSP and a traditional Thrift Savings Plan account is similar to the difference between an individual retirement account and its Roth alternative. A traditional plan gives you a tax break now when you make your contribution but funds are taxed when they're withdrawn upon retirement. A Roth plan does the opposite: you do not get to deduct any amount from your income taxes for making a contribution, but you will not have to pay income taxes upon receiving those funds in retirement.
The Roth's advantages for younger people
Many analysts consider the Roth plan particularly advantageous to people who anticipate being in a higher income tax bracket in retirement than they are at the present time.
Given that, Redden said that the Roth TSP is an especially good deal for young people who are just beginning their career in the federal service and anticipate being in government for a long time.
"When you think about the salary of a federal employee in their twenties or thirties today versus what their salary and even what their benefits will be many years later in retirement, clearly they're probably at their lowest tax bracket now than they will be later on in retirement," Redden said.
"The long-term effect is, quite honestly, that — by putting money into the TSP Roth now — that could really grow to a huge amount of tax-free income later on in retirement," he added.
Agencies will continue to match TSP contributions
Redden said that employees should not be deterred by the fact that agencies will not be allowed to put their matching contributions into the Roth account.
Currently, agencies match an employee's contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan in any amount that does not exceed five percent of the worker's annual pay.
Redden said that agencies will continue to match retirement funds at that rate but will have to put the monies in a traditional TSP, so you will have to pay taxes on that part of your distributions in retirement. "But you certainly want to get that match, because that's free money," added Elliott.
Most federal employees will have the option of investing all or any part of their TSP savings in a Roth-type retirement account as of May 7 of this year.
However, the rollout of the Roth plan has been delayed for employees of some agencies, including Defense. | <urn:uuid:d53860a7-f792-454b-af72-814664470b3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.federalnewsradio.com/722/2829263/Economist-Roth-TSP-a-good-deal-for-young-feds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956606 | 727 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Bahrain: Building up industry
The creation of a new multi-billion-dollar industrial city in Bahrain could soon be given the green light as the government steps up its efforts to build on its manufacturing base.
Having long recognised the need to diversify its economy away from oil, the Kingdom was one of the first Gulf states to start developing a broad array of sectors to contribute to growth. As a result, financial services now account for 24.7% of GDP, making it the largest contributor to the economy, with manufacturing's contribution coming in second at 16.7%, followed by heavy industries such as mining and quarrying, which contributed 13.1%, according to the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
The construction of a new $16bn mega-city is expected to play a key role in helping industry close the gap on financial services in the coming years while also further expanding the non-oil sector of Bahrain's economy. The project, however, remains subject to extensive assessments.
The minister of industry and commerce, Hassan Fakhro, said on July 7 that a feasibility study and initial plans for the industrial development had been submitted to Cabinet and would be passed to the infrastructure and services committee for more detailed assessment. He added that the project, which is scheduled to be fully operational by 2040, was expected to increase GDP by 20%, generating up to $13bn annually and providing employment for 240,000 workers.
Aware that suitable land for major developments in Bahrain is at a premium, Fakhro brought the topical reclamation issue to a head late last year by giving a two-year timescale in which areas set aside for industrial zones could be fully utilised.
While the mega-city will give Bahrain's economic development a huge boost, the details of how exactly it will be funded are still unclear. The government has said it envisages the industrial city taking the form of a joint development between the public and private sectors.
Some observers, however, suggest the state will have to take the lead in laying the groundwork and establishing initial infrastructure. Others have also questioned how many of the 240,000 jobs forecast to be created at the city will be allocated to Bahrainis rather than expatriate workers.
While the government pursues an active policy of "Bahrainisation", promoting the employment of nationals across the sectors, it is considering easing targets and quotas in fields where employers are struggling to attract sufficient local staff for jobs, especially lower-paid, manual work.
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), for example, like a number of large employers, currently recruits more than 80% of its workforce from the local labour market. However, in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that cannot meet the higher wages that Bahrainis demand, the ratio of local employees can be a much lower 20%.
While the outcome of assessments for the project will determine its initial progress, many observers believe that generating interest among investors, especially foreigner industrial entities, will be a key factor to the city's longer-term success.
Restoring investor confidence was seen as one of the major challenges facing the kingdom in the wake of last year's unrest, along with identifying solutions to other key, contentious issues.
Bahrain's heavy-industry giants are firmly established with local companies such as Alba and the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, which are currently responsible for two-thirds of industrial output. The government will therefore be looking to new entries to help drive further expansion and working to convince investors that Bahrain offers good prospects and stability for companies seeking a Gulf base they can use to break into the Middle Eastern market.
© Oxford Business Group 2012
© Copyright Zawya. All Rights Reserved.
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- There's More | <urn:uuid:6bb699c3-e5cd-41c4-87af-1658ad204aa6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zawya.com/story/Building_up_industry-ZAWYA20120806074509/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952684 | 835 | 1.78125 | 2 |
WASHINGTON -- Gov.-elect Robert Bentley shares many of his predecessor's concerns regarding federal control over oil spill recovery dollars, he said in a recent interview, adding that states should not be told what projects to spend the money on.
But Bentley also offered a more conciliatory tone than has outgoing Gov. Bob Riley, withholding judgment on Washington's overall handling of the spill and saying he accepts that some of the recovery money may be walled off strictly for environmental restoration.
"The federal government does not want to be embarrassed in this like they were in (Hurricane) Katrina, so I think they have worked harder in trying to solve this problem," Bentley said.
As a result of this summer's massive oil spill, Alabama and the other Gulf states could receive billions for recovery projects through two mechanisms in federal law: the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, or NRDA, and Clean Water Act fines.
Riley has led a tug-of-war with federal officials over control of the money in recent weeks, exchanging letters with President Barack Obama and the spill recovery chief Obama named, as well as sharply criticizing them in media reports.
Riley even suggested Alabama could drop out of the joint state and federal talks and negotiate independently with BP PLC and the other responsible parties, which must pay for the spill recovery.
Bentley indicated that he would consider that option but might not be ready to break away just yet.
"I'm not sure. I'd have to think about that," Bentley said. "It sounds logical to me. ... I'm like Gov. Riley, I'm not sure that the federal government really should play as big a role in this negotiation as they're doing."
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last month that federal officials would not take a lead role deciding on NRDA projects. Instead, that would be a joint effort between the state and federal governments, they said.
Whether the state or federal government controls Clean Water Act money will depend on legislation not yet passed by Congress, federal officials said.
Currently, that money is directed to a trust fund reserved to help finance the cleanup of future spills, but multiple efforts are under way in Congress to send money from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill fines to affected states.
Like Riley, Bentley said he thinks Alabama's damage from the spill was more economic than environmental. Unlike his fellow Republican, Bentley said he thinks it makes sense for NRDA money to be limited to funding only environmental - and not economic - recovery projects.
Federal officials have said the law only allows for such environmental use, but Riley has expressed concerns that Alabama could get shortchanged with that restriction.
"We understand that, you know, Louisiana feels like they have been impacted more, but there will be disagreements over whether that is the case, and how much more that they should get," Bentley said.
"I think there is a fair way to do it, and I think that we'll be able to work that out." | <urn:uuid:75519c98-e5bd-494e-977c-fbe02514e2f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.al.com/live/2010/12/oil_spill_bentley_shares_some.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976074 | 607 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Native American Festival set for this weekend in Saratoga Spa State Park
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Action-packed stickball games, drum competitions and dance ceremonies are just some of the highlights of this year’s Saratoga Native American Festival.
The two-day gathering is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Saratoga Spa State Park and two huge tents will provide cover in case of inclement weather.
The annual festival attracts more than 5,000 participants and spectators from throughout the Northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada.
“It’s education by immersion,” said festival co-organizer Joseph Bruchac of the Ndakinna Education Center in Greenfield. “Wherever you look, people are demonstrating and showing how they do things — dance, music, crafts, storytelling. This is the premier event of its kind in the region.”
The festival’s goal is to teach people about the history, cultural traditions and continued active presence of native peoples in the Northeast. Authentic Northeastern Native American Indian drumming and dancing, storytelling, music, crafts and traditional native foods will be part of each day’s activities.
“We’ve opened it up a bit this year,” Bruchac said. “Some Navajo and Lakota will be here, too.”
In addition to a performance tent, a large vendors tent will be set up, too. The festival’s information booth and education programs will also be under cover.
“This means that our festival will truly be rain or shine with all main events and vendors protected against the weather,” Bruchac said. “We will also, once again, be offering our very popular children’s tent where children accompanied by parents may take part in a variety of Native American crafts and activities.”
The festival will open each morning with a traditional opening address delivered in Mohawk and English by Tom Sakokwenionkwas Porter, who has served in numerous positions with the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs and is the spokesman and spiritual leader of the Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke. He will also do a closing address at the end of each day.
The festival’s emcee is Paul Bullock, one of New England’s most well-known and popular powwow hosts. He will introduce a new event, a hand drum competition with cash prizes for first and second places. Continued...
Two renowned native intertribal drum groups from New England — Iron River Singers (Host Drum) and Rez Dogs — will once again provide music for the traditional dance competitions and social dancing, two of the festival’s main activities.
The Onondaga Dancers, led by Sherri Waterman-Hopper, will be the featured dance group. She will also be one of the head judges for the dance competitions.
Dozens of Native American dancers, all in colorful regalia, will be taking part and cash prizes will be offered each day in such categories as Smoke Dance, Men’s Traditional and Lady’s Shawl. The best male and female dancers for the two days will both be awarded a Pendleton blanket on Sunday. The Smoke Dance competitions will be run by the well-known smoke dance singer Sheldon Sundown (Seneca).
Another new event, played twice daily at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., will be a traditional stick ball game. Ten young Native American athletes will demonstrate the exciting, no-holds barred game that has been called “The Little Brother of War.”
“It’s kind of like a cross between mixed martial arts and lacrosse,” Bruchac said. “Instead of going to war, if two native communities had a dispute they would settle it with a stickball game. Each player has two sticks; they block and tackle each other. Instead of a goal, they have to hit a post with a ball. The athletes wear loincloths, traditional paint and moccasins. It’s a very serious game.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, quieter activities such as storytelling are also quite popular at the festival.
Perry Ground (Onondaga) is the festival’s featured storyteller, who will speak twice a day between dance programs in the main performance tent. Additional performances by Abenaki storytellers James Bruchac, Jesse Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac will take place in the children’s tent both days.
The featured contemporary musician is Darryl Tonemah (Tuscarora, Kiowa and Comanche), a songwriter and award-winning recording artist and actor, who will perform on Saturday.
A noted flute maker and musician will be performing his renditions of traditional and original flute songs both days.
Dozens of Native American artists and craftspeople will be displaying and selling their work at the festival. This year will see the introduction of a juried art competition, with each vendor eligible to submit one original piece of their own making. Ribbons and cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places. Continued...
The vendors tent will also feature demonstrations of such crafts as basketry, jewelry making and carving on both days.
- Connie Carter (Mohawk) – finger weaving
- Richard Chrisjohn of Chrisjohn Arts (Oneida) – wood-carving and elm bark rattles/trays
- Al Cleveland of Turtle Island Flutes (Mohawk/Cree) – process of making flutes
- Andree' Dennis Newton of Andree' Dennis Newton Art (Abenaki) – totem pole carving (viewers will be invited to try their hand in the demo)
- Earl Dionnne (Mohawk) – wood burning
- Russ George (Onondaga) – lacrosse stick carving
- Peter Jones (Onondaga) – handmade Iroquois pottery
- Karenlyne Hill (Onondaga) – beading velvet bags
- Julia Marden of Traditional Arts (Aquinnah Wampanoag) – 17th century twined basketry
- Towanna Miller (Mohawk) – kustowa creation with ash wood and turkey feathers.
- Jennifer Lee (Algonkian) – New England Culture Tent
- Other groups represented will include The Howes Cave
- Iroquois Museum, Saratoga Plan, the Ndakinna
- Education Center and Kanatsiohareke.
- Admission fees are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors; $5 for children 5-12; children under 5 are free.
- For more information and a schedule, go to http://www.saratoganativefestival.com/site/
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Barbara Lombardo is the managing editor of The Saratogian.
Updates on Spa City and Saratoga County business news and trends.
This blog aims to supplement the daily coverage published online and in the paper.
Reporter Caitlin Morris offers insights into the issues affecting Saratoga County residents. | <urn:uuid:0c41125b-64cd-4b80-8a26-72e7ca371a51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2012/09/26/news/doc5063c2b5eb4ae184933769.txt?viewmode=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930315 | 1,801 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Year of Eligibility: 2016
PBS officials say hackers have cracked the network's website, posting a phony story claiming dead rapper Tupac Shakur was alive in New Zealand, and a group that claimed responsibility for the hacking complained about a recent "Frontline" investigative news program on WikiLeaks.
PBS confirmed Monday that the website had been hacked. The phony story had been taken down as of Monday morning. It had been posted on the site of the "PBS NewsHour" program, which is produced by WETA-TV in Arlington, Va.
Anne Bentley, PBS' vice president of corporate communications, said in an email that erroneous information posted on the website has been corrected. The hackers also posted login information for two internal PBS sites: one that media use to access the PBS press room and an internal communications website for stations, she said. She said all affected parties were being notified.
David Fanning, executive producer of "Frontline," said he learned of the hacking early Monday, nearly a week after the program aired its "WikiSecrets" documentary about the leak of U.S. diplomatic cables to the WikiLeaks website. The documentary, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, generated criticism and debate on the program's website in recent days from those sympathetic to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and from those who thought the program was fair, Fanning said.
"Frontline" producers hear impassioned responses all the time, Fanning said. Having a group attack the PBS website over a news program was unusual but "probably not unexpected," he said.
"From our point of view, we just see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act, especially since we have been very open to publishing criticism of the film ... and the film included other points of view," Fanning said. "This kind of action is irresponsible and chilling."
A tweet from the "NewsHour" Twitter account said: "If you missed it: our site has been accessed by hackers. Thanks for staying with us."
A group calling itself LulzSec and "The Lulz Boat" on Twitter claimed responsibility and posted links to other hacks, including a video apparently taunting the network. Taunting messages were also posted on the group's Twitter page targeting the PBS program "Frontline." One message said the group recently saw the "WikiSecrets" show and was "less than impressed."
The timing of the hacking was provocative: Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the detention of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who's accused of passing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.
PBS ombudsman Michael Getler wrote about the "WikiSecrets" documentary in his weekly column Thursday, saying it had generated only a handful of complaints, though he had expected more mail from viewers.
"This may be a good thing for Frontline if it suggests that most viewers found the program to be in keeping with Frontline's reputation for fair yet tough reporting," Getler wrote.
Getler raised some questions about the reporting in the program but said he found the questioning by interviewer Martin Smith to be "tough but proper."
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:41543769-ca10-4793-bb43-dca7b3680d72> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/470937/fake-tupacs-alive-story-posted-on-pbs-website | 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 | 0.969732 | 660 | 1.648438 | 2 |
2011 NASP® World Championship
October 6-8, 2011
by: Brittany Jones
Beginning with practice rounds on Thursday October 6 , 2011, 1,071 kids from around the world arrived at ESPN's Wide World of Sports® Complex with their teams, teachers, parents and siblings to kick off the 2011 National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®) World Tournament.
According to NASP® President Roy Grimes, 'Out of the 1104 students who registered for ‘Worlds', only thirty-three (3%) students were no-shows.' Grimes also states, 'This participation level represents an increase of 19% over the 902 shooters in 2010 and 76% higher than the 609 students at our first world tournament in 2009.' From these statistics, it's obvious there is a growing inte rest for NASP®-style archery not only in the United States, but around the world as students from Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa joined the fun.
In fact, for the first time, a 'Cultural Exchange' session was conducted at the tournament. Teachers asked for this type of activity to increase the educational experience for student archers. On Friday evening, half-way through the tournament, students from Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa positioned themselves in a booth with their country flags to meet students from the states. The session was so popular it will be expanded next year. Students signed flags, shared information, and answered quizzes about foreign locations. It seemed students most enjoyed comparing each others accent! Prizes were donated during the cultural exchange by Field Logic, Easton Technical Products, and Morrell Manufacturing.
Expanding upon archery's every-kid attraction, Robert Jellison, a Michigan NASP Coach says, 'Archery is a sport that anyone can do and anyone can succeed at. There is no doubt in my mind that archery is a challenging sport, both physically and mentally, but you can truly get children of every age size, and athletic ability shooting arrows safely down range. 'Jellison also proclaims how much he loves seeing his, 'star athletes from other sports shooting on the same team with students who have never been on a 'team' until archery.' Evidence of Jellison's diversity assertion was clear as students from all backgrounds, genders, and abilities took center stage during the hour-long awards ceremony on Saturday afternoon.
During the competition every 4th thru 12th grade student archer shot 1 practice end of 5 arrows and 3 scoring ends of 5 arrows at 10 meters. They repeated this shooting format at 15 meters. A total of 30 scoring arrows were shot for a possible score of 300 points and 30 bulls-eyes (300/30). The largest division represented at the tournament with 505 boys and girls was the Elementary Division which includes grades 4th-6th. Winners of their respective grades were as follows:
- 1st Female 4th Grade: Shelby Goodrich (276/14) Woodlawn ES, GA
- 1st Male 4th Grade: Spencer Bartlett (281/15) Henderson Co. S. Middle, KY
- 1st Female 5th Grade: Celsey Wood (278/13) Eagle Mountain Magnet, AR
- 1st Male 5th Grade: Jack Looney (292/22) Eagle Mountain Magnet, AR
- 1st Female 6th Grade: Kenzie Trent (284/19) Anderson Co. Middle, KY
- 1st Male 6th Grade: Clay Stevens (291/21) Trigg Co Intermediate, KY
The Middle School Division competition was joined by 202 male and 136 female student archers. Winners of this Division were:
- 1st Female Middle School: Ashley Padgett (292/22) Meade Co , KY
- 1st Male Middle School: Cody Bush (292/22) Philo Jr. High, OH
A total of 228 students competed in the High School Division. This division also produced the tournaments top Overall and Runner-Up Overall boy and girl champions.
- 1st Female HS & Overall Female Champion: Emily Bee (292/23) Hartland HS, MI
- Runner-Up Female Overall: Lauren Hawker (291/22): Armstrong HS, IL
- 1st Male HS & Overall Male Champion: Ryan Long (296/26) Madison Southern, KY
- Runner-Up Male Overall: Nathan Parcell (295/26) Meade Co. HS, KY
Of course the team competition is what makes NASP® tournaments different from most other archery venues. At this world tournament co-gender teams of 12-24 archers advanced from the NASP® Nationals that were held in Louisville, KY. All the archers on each team compete. When their flight is finished scores for the team's top 12 archers, including at least 4 from both genders, are summed to determine the team's score.
The top ranking school in the Elementary Division went to Eagle Mountain Magnet, Arkansas with a total score of 3291. In the Middle School Division, the top scoring team was fielded by Logan Hocking Middle School, Ohio with a total score of 3319. And finally, the top ranked school in the High School Division was Henderson County High School, Kentucky, with a total score of 3400.
At the conclusion of the awards ceremony Disney's Mickey Mouse congratulated the students and their coaches and was still having his picture made with archers as the ceremonies ended. A big congratulations goes out to not only the top ranked archers at this tournament, but to every kid who had enough determination and self-confidence to participate. (And parents and teachers willing to bring them!). Prizes were presented to winners by Mathews, Morrell, Easton, and Field Logic. The University of the Cumberlands awarded $2,400 college scholarships to each of the top five boys and girls in the High School Division. Bernie Morrell of Morrell Manufacturing provided target butts for the competitive and practice ranges. Easton Technical Products provided NASP® arrows for every archer who didn't bring their own. James McGovern of Rinehart Targets provided 15 dinosaur targets for the kids to enjoy on the 'fun' 3-D range. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission recruited most tournament volunteers and provided additional range building equipment.
Of course this event would be impossible to present without those dedicated and generous volunteers. Nearly 50 people came from Florida, Virginia, Arizona, British Columbia, New Zealand, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin to serve as range officials. The most boring location during the entire tournament was again the 1st Aid Station with zero accidents or injuries to treat!
It was evident in the excited smiles of student archers, proud family members and coaches that NASP® continues to live up to its claim of 'Changing Lives One Arrow at a Time'. Laura Jones, a teacher in Virginia says 'Chickahominy Middle School started out last fall with kids who had never drawn a bow before in their entire lives.' She also says 'It was not only their first school experience where they were treated like adults, but their first experience being on a sports team.' Archery has not been just another sport that kids can join and compete, but it is a one that has made kids with little or no confidence, kids who feel like maybe they weren't good enough, build self-confidence and determination and realize they can do anything they put their minds too. '
Take for example, the Overall Male Champion, Ryan Long. Ryan was an understudy at the Strickland Student Outdoor Adventure filming this summer. 'Ryan advised Roy Grimes in July he intended to win the 2011 NASP® world tournament'. Grimes considered this to be quite an audacious prediction considering Ryan placed fourth at Nationals and those who placed ahead of him would also be at the World event. Ryan validated his prediction! | <urn:uuid:85737f39-0162-47e8-8fb4-3cf4f52715a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nasparchery.com/activea.asp?CompID=23&btnSubmit=ByFileID&cboFileID=6261&cboFileCategoryID=1002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967547 | 1,609 | 1.6875 | 2 |
William F. Vedra, Jr., has served as executive director of Ohio Homeland Security (OHS) since 2007. Vedra first joined the agency in 2004 as deputy director of the state’s office of domestic preparedness, coordinating efforts to prevent, respond to, and recover from major emergencies, while providing oversight for state and local coordination of infrastructure protection. Vedra is a 25-year veteran of the fire service, who retired from the Columbus Division of Fire in 2003 as a battalion chief. He later led Ohio Task Force 1 (OH-TF1), part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Urban Search and Rescue Response System, deploying to the World Trade Center site after 9-11 and to Florida following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Vedra was a 2005 senior fellow at George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute. (His remarks have been edited to accommodate space limitations. Read the full interview online at www.securitymanagement.com).
Q. What are your responsibilities? What’s a typical day or week like?
A. Our office is one of eight divisions within the state Department of Public Safety. If you think of the four homeland security missions as protect, prevent, respond, and recover, we focus on prevention and protection. So we have a branch dedicated to counterterrorism (prevention), which includes our state fusion center, the Strategic Analysis and Information Center (SAIC). The protect branch focuses on infrastructure. That includes implementation of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, national priorities, and regulation of private security guards. Administratively, our operation focuses on strategic planning and local coordination.
Q. How has your background helped you on the job?
A. I spent most of my career in the fire service. I was a paramedic for 25-plus years, a firefighter for almost 25; I retired as a battalion chief with the City of Columbus Division of Fire; also, I was involved with our state’s urban search-and-rescue team, which I led for a time before I finished, so I have a lot of background in rescue.
I was also coordinator of communications in our dispatch center in Columbus, and that required working with a lot of other fire agencies around the city and county. So project management and ability to work with a lot of different agencies were some of the skills I developed, and they, of course, help in homeland security.
Q. What is the state doing to protect critical infrastructure and key resources?
A. We’re implementing Automated Critical Asset Management System (ACAMS), which is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) infrastructure protection software. We’ve loaded about 14,000 infrastructure sites in to ACAMS, and we have about 50 people trained across the state. We’re also very active with the DHS’s Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP), which provides grants to local agencies to better protect some of the infrastructure by securing perimeter areas. We’re very concerned about enlisting local agencies to help us, so we have a “see something, say something” program that we market heavily. We’re not a large agency, so building collaboration, enlisting partners, is an important part of our mission.
Q. Is it a challenge convincing the private sector to invest in critical infrastucture security?
A. That is a challenge. But BZPP is a good example of how you can help private sector infrastructure sites with grant money. It builds partnerships between the local law enforcement agency and the critical infrastructure sites; it gets them talking at a new level, and through grant money, you can do things that help both entities.
There’s more to it than just spending money, however. We did intense spending for a long time. Now we’re graduating to intelligent spending. I think the third level we have to achieve is good risk management. There’s not enough money to protect everything against anything at any time, so money’s not always the answer.
Q. How would you characterize your state’s relationship with the federal government?
A. I’m not real critical of it. Terrorism is complex. The solutions are complex. If it was easy, anybody would be in these positions to do it. I think they are getting better at it. I like the federal government’s revision of the National Response Plan to the National Response Framework and the National Preparedness Guidelines. There’s been some criticism but I read them, and I think they’re on target.
And we’ve had really excellent cooperation and collaboration with our DHS infrastructure protection advisors. We have a DHS analyst assigned to our fusion center. We have a state preparedness officer who’s really engaged and is there every time we need him. So the federal partners that have been assigned to Ohio, I couldn’t be more pleased with. It’s not perfect. I don’t know of any agency or organization that is doing it perfectly, but I think it’s pretty good.
Q. Can you discuss the state’s intelligence fusion center?
A. We’re proud of our fusion center. It’s not the typical arrangement of a state fusion center, with one law enforcement agency. We have a couple circles. The law enforcement side includes an FBI analyst, and we have representation from the state departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, and Health and the state fire service and emergency medical services.
I think we have a great team. It’s a diverse community. Not all the information comes from law enforcement. A lot of it comes from public safety or other disciplines. So we’re trying to gather and get that input from a lot of sources.
Q. What the biggest challenge of your job?
A. Building cooperation and collaboration. Getting people to think of solutions in different ways than maybe they have in the past. Conveying the urgency of our work without being alarmist.
Q. Has the state pursued any other public-private collaboration?
A. Yes. We have about 150 miles of international border with Canada along Lake Erie, with issues of drugs, weapons, and smuggling of different sorts. About a year ago, we launched the Northern Border Initiative, and it’s been very successful.
We have, I believe, three federal agencies, four state agencies, and 56 local agencies all working together to patrol the border along Lake Erie. Through partnerships and memoranda of understanding, a local officer could ride on a state Ohio Department of Natural Resources boat or a Coast Guard boat. A critical part of the program is working with marine operators and the different establishments up there, so they’re our eyes and ears. We’re, I think, the only state in the country that has a program like that.
Q. What are your agency’s goals for the coming year?
A. To further institutionalize that infrastructure protection, the use of ACAMS. We have regional Terrorism Early Warning Groups forming in Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. We want to lay the foundation for intelligence fusion and information sharing among them.
We also want to establish a terrorism liaison officer program throughout the state, much like a crime prevention program, to develop a corps of local officers specially trained in terrorism issues, possibly with security clearances, so that we sort of have a terrorism expert at arm’s reach from every police or fire department in the state. | <urn:uuid:961bff60-43c7-4945-9b46-f5cfb2d0e5db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/state-perspective-ohio | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946046 | 1,561 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Men’s Health Week – June 14 – 20 1. Visit the website at www.menshealthweek.com.au to see what’s on around Australia 2. Talk about health and wellbeing with the men and boys in your life – direct them to the website for more health information 3. Order your copy of Australia’s first “men’s health & wellbeing: an a-z guide” at http://longuevill.cart.net.au/details/2803101.html
National Herpes Awareness Day was established by the Australian Herpes Management Forum in 2004 and is run each year on October 13 to raise awareness of herpesviruses within the Australian community, to provide facts, to break down myths and to encourage people to visit their doctor or health care provider to get screened.
If you do suffer ongoing pain after shingles then you may be interested in participating in the following study: Patients who suffer Post Herpetic Neuralgia (that is those who experience chronic pain after having shingles) are needed for a clinical trial. The trial aims to assess whether the study medication may give improved relief of [...]
Here’s an update on the NHHRC consultative sessions – one of which I attended in July 2008. See my previous post here. Media Alert 13 February 2009 Release of the Interim Report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) The Interim Report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission will be released [...]
Community Engagement Session A few weeks ago I attended a consultative session run by the National Health & Hospitals Reform Commission. Here’s an extract from the invitation to participate: The Rudd Government has established a National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, which is conducting a series of community engagement sessions to help it design the future [...]
I went to the Optometrist this morning for a check up (yep! I do need new glasses… bugger!). Ordinarily I would not discuss genital herpes with an Optometrist, but it came up in conversation… so I did as I always do, I discussed it as if it is a normal topic. I have diabetes and [...]
Most people see getting herpes as a huge negative in their lives, and I certainly felt that way at the beginning, but I have to admit there have been many positives in it for me too. It hasn’t made me more honest as it has for some people, I have always had a big thing [...] | <urn:uuid:ba0004a2-0cc4-4eed-b867-1bd88b73046c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livingsphere.com/category/uncategorized/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957019 | 515 | 1.5 | 2 |
Five applications for IVF by inmates in England and Wales are waiting to be processed by ministers, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed in a Freedom of Information response to the Daily Mail.
The names and details of the inmates are protected by privacy laws, but three were convicted of murder, one of murder and aggravated burglary and the fifth of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply.
And if unsuccessful, the prisoners could ultimately take their case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), arguing that their right to a private and family life has been breached. A 2007 ruling by the Strasbourg court in the case of convicted killer Kirk Dickson opened up the circumstances under which prisoners could apply for fertility treatment.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said he would bring forward proposals to prevent the ECHR pushing its remit into "areas which have little to do with real human rights issues". He said: "There can be no clearer example of why we need changes to the human rights framework. I don't believe the originators of the Convention on Human Rights ever imagined it being used for things like this."
It was previously reported that a prisoner had been given access to artificial insemination treatment on the NHS in early 2011 at a cost of around £2,000. Since then, eight out of 13 applications by inmates have been rejected.
The ECHR ruled that Britain had breached the rights of murderer Dickson, then 35, and his wife Lorraine, then 49, by denying them access to artificial insemination. This effectively broadened the terms under which prisoners could apply for access to IVF treatment. Dickson was sentenced to life for kicking to death a 41-year-old man in 1995 and was sent to Dovergate Prison in Uttoxeter. The couple's legal team put their case before the ECHR Grand Chamber, arguing that artificial insemination was their only chance to have a child of their own. They met via a pen pal network in 1999 while Mrs Dickson was also in prison, and married in 2001.
Dickson and his wife launched a legal battle in October 2001, but two years later then-home secretary David Blunkett rejected their bid. He gave a number of reasons, including a lack of evidence about how the child would be supported financially and public concern that the punitive parts of Dickson's prison term were being circumvented.
Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal then rejected further attempts to get their bid reconsidered, before the Dicksons went to the European courts. They claimed the Home Secretary's decision violated Articles 8 and 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. These concern rights to a private and family life and the right for men and women to marry and found a family.
In 2006, a panel of seven judges at the European Court of Human Rights found by a majority of four to three that the Home Secretary's decision did not violate these rights. The judges took into consideration the gravity of Dickson's crime and the welfare of any children the couple might conceive. The Dicksons then took their case to the court's Grand Chamber, which hears the most important cases. The court ruled in their favour, awarding them 5,000 euros (£4,100) in damages and 21,000 euros (£17,000) in costs. | <urn:uuid:d62894b6-87dc-4650-853b-eabb1dcb13e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/367438/Convicted-murderers-apply-for-IVF | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978532 | 676 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Employment Act 2008, which came into Law on the 6th April 2009, puts the onus on Employers and their Employees to try and solve disputes before they come before any Tribunal. This adds to legislation introduced in 2004. Whilst the mechanisms to solve any dispute between Employer and Employee does not legally mean the involvement of mediation, it is strongly recommended and Tribunals will ascertain the lengths to which a resolution was persued. ACAS guidlines must be followed. Tribunals now have the power to vary damages by plus or minus up to 25%, as to whether the correct proceedures have been applied.
Amian has had over twelve years experience in providing an external mediation service for companies and their employees. We are members of the College of Mediators. Our mediators have trained at the highest advanced level in workplace mediation- level 3.
Keyword: Workplace Mediation
Click Here for Further Information Mediation.pdf | <urn:uuid:48e6799a-a39b-4332-9fbf-c42af5cfd2ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amian.co.uk/16226/47296.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val* | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963472 | 191 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A close examination of the history, accomplishments, and potential of the State University of New York system.
The State University of New York is America's largest comprehensive public university system, with sixty-four campuses, including community colleges, colleges of technology, university colleges, research universities, medical schools, academic medical centers, and specialized campuses in fields as diverse as optometry, ceramics, horticulture, fashion, forestry, and maritime training. Despite its reputation for wide access, demanding academic programs, vital public services, and cutting-edge research, little has been written about its fascinating history.
Originating in a lively conference held in spring 2009 to mark SUNY's sixtieth anniversary, the book's authors examine SUNY's origins, political landscape, evolving mission, institutional variety, international partnerships, leadership, and more. Taking its place alongside studies of state systems such as those in California, Michigan, and Texas, this book is a long overdue effort to return SUNY to the national conversation about public higher education during the last half century. Edited by a former interim chancellor of the system and two SUNY history professors, and with a foreword by current Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the problems and promise of public higher education in New York State, or, indeed, anywhere.
Chancellor Zimpher met with SUNY faculty members, staff, students, alumni groups, affiliate organizations, and community and business leaders during her visits to each of the campuses constituting Phase I of the strategic planning process. In addition, she met with congressional and legislative representatives, the SUNY Board of Trustees, the SUNY campus presidents and members of the media. The Campus Tour provided the Chancellor and her team with an invaluable perspective on the current state of SUNY and an initial understanding of SUNY's most pressing issues and possibilities from the ground up. Information collected from these activities along with responses submitted to Share Your Ideas and [email protected] was compiled. Sixteen preliminary themes and several core infrastructure issues emerged to serve as a foundation for Phase II development activities.
To begin Phase II of the Strategic Plan, SUNY formed a Strategic Planning Steering Committee comprised of campus presidents, staff, students and community members. This Committee vets and prioritizes themes and objectives for SUNY's statewide conversations and frames strategic actions necessary to realize the full dimensions of the plan. The Steering Committee regularly provided updates to the Strategic Planning Task Force of the SUNY Board of Trustees.
During Phase II of the Strategic Plan, SUNY conducted eight statewide conversations at regional locations selected to maximize outreach and participation. Sessions were held in New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Delhi, Stony Brook, Plattsburgh and Syracuse. Campus presidents and SUNY affiliates nominated two hundred people to participate in these conversations. These individuals represent a cross section of key SUNY stakeholders and include faculty, system administrators, staff, students, alumni, foundation staff, community leaders and others linked to our campuses. These SUNY representatives were expected to participate in at least five of the eight statewide conversations.
Each day-long conversation had a structured dialogue, organized in a way for participants to consider, evaluate, and prioritize the challenges and opportunities facing SUNY. The meetings' format includes a guest speaker, opportunities for full group Q&A, a break-out session for small groups to work on the development and prioritization of themes and goals, and an open forum session. Portions of the statewide meetings were webcast. During Phase II, Chancellor Zimpher continued to meet with SUNY campus presidents, the SUNY Board of Trustees and other key stakeholder groups to seek their collective input and brief them on our progress.
In addition, teams of distinguished experts from within and outside of SUNY comprise the working groups. Each working group is assigned a theme or infrastructure issue. These working groups reviewed ideas and suggestions from the stateside conversations, feedback from meetings of the Steering Committee and input from the SUNY campus presidents. In the spring of 2010, the working groups completed reports that provide a high-level summary of SUNY's strengths, capabilities and key challenges it faces, and recommended initiatives by which SUNY can provide transformative solutions to meet these challenges.
You may visit our archived Schedule page for additional information on SUNY's Strategic Planning Phase II activities and on the statewide conversations.
For Phase III, in conjunction with SUNY partners and campuses, Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher conducted a series of SUNY Strategic Plan launch events at several locations throughout New York State in April 2010. | <urn:uuid:4963bb05-c75c-4617-89f2-84e9c11c5b97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.suny.edu/powerofsuny/Year1.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949422 | 935 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A few days ago, I warned people not to get sick starting on Thursday in Northern and Central California, because the California Nurses’ Association was staging a sympathy strike. Sadly, one patient didn’t or couldn’t take my advice:
A female patient at an Oakland hospital died early Saturday due to what the hospital described as a “medical error” made while she was under the care of a replacement nurse hired during a labor dispute.
The nurse allegedly gave the woman a fatal dose of medication, said Cynthia Perkins, a spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department. The nurse, who was not identified, was taken in for questioning by officers.
The unions are outraged, of course, that anyone is suggesting a connection between the patient’s death and the strike. What underlies the unions’ outrage is that the strike was only one for one day (Thursday) but the hospital had locked the nurses out through Tuesday. The union claims that this lockout was a punitive move aimed to stop future strikes:
“An incident like this is chilling and strikes right to our nurses’ concern about their ability to advocate for their patients,” said Rose Ann Demoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association-National Nurses United, which represents about 2,000 nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. “It was irresponsible to lock out those nurses.”
In fact, the lockout was the only way the hospitals could stop the financial hemorrhage from the strike. As I already explained in my earlier post, the only way that the hospitals could get staff for the single strike day was to fly in out-of-state people who refused to work for anything less than a five-day contract. The cost per strike breaker: $9,000. Thus, one economic cudgel behind the one day strike was to force the hospitals to pay outrageous fees for one day of service. The hospitals fought back the only possible way: they locked their own nurses out, so they wouldn’t have to pay their salaries, and instead paid the strike breakers’ salaries:
Sutter Health, the company that operates the medical center in Oakland, hired replacement nurses on five-day contracts and hospital officials said the nurses who went out on the one-day strike Thursday would be locked out until the temporary contracts expire Tuesday.
“Once a strike is called, it would be financially irresponsible for hospitals to pay double to compensate both permanent staff and replacement workers,” Sutter Health said in a statement last week.
So we’ve got the nurses’ union calling a one day strike, not on its own behalf, but out of union solidarity. The union knows going in that
(a) hospitals cannot manage without any nursing staff;
(b) that substitute staff will only work for a five-day minimum and only for a $9,000 fee;
(c) that hospitals cannot possibly carry the economic weight of paying both striking nurses and substitute nurses for both the strike day and the four days after the strike day;
(d) that, while the hospitals can lock out and withhold pay from their own nurses, they cannot do so for the strike breakers; so that
(e) the only possible economic solution for the hospital is to keep the strike breakers and lock out the hospital’s own nurses.
The California Nurses Association engaged in economic blackmail and, predictably, someone died.Email This Post To A Friend
7 Responses to “Unions strike, people die”
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You must be logged in to post a comment. | <urn:uuid:909f6527-88e7-48f1-a3cd-496d38365d3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookwormroom.com/2011/09/25/unions-strike-people-die/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967584 | 745 | 1.6875 | 2 |
EUGENE, Ore. — The students asked and they received. The University of Oregon has approved a major budget increase for the school’s Safe Ride program.
The key priority is getting students back to their dorms and to off-campus apartments safely at night. The problem though is that in the last couple of years the school’s Safe Ride program has experienced a major increase in requests that the program is unable to fill.
So, those with the program went the budget committee and asked for an increase. They were granted a 41-percent budget increase, bringing their $95,000 budget to $130,000. Because of an increase in ridership, Safe Ride has been turning away about 40 percent of the people that call a day. This new budget will change that.
“I think with extra vans out each night we will be able to have more flexibility and spontaneity in our schedule, and when someone calls in we will be able to pick them up sooner instead of telling them they might have to wait a few hours,” said Kaeli Plaks, Safe Ride Scheduling Director.
Safe Ride is a student-run organization that provides rides to students, staff and faculty at the university so they don’t have to walk alone at night. People we talked with who use Safe Ride said it gives them peace of mind at night, especially since there have been some assaults on and near campus over the last couple of years. If you would like to know how to contact Safe Ride, click here. | <urn:uuid:ae34f81e-7df2-4e4f-9cb5-a180c4712715> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kezi.com/uo-safe-ride-gets-increase-in-budget/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980651 | 316 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I’ve been working on the pickle section of my book, and I’ve concluded that just about anything can be brined and preserved. Fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs—it’s a rare food that doesn’t get a flavor boost from vinegar, spices, aromatics, salt and (sometimes) sugar. So when I was trying to come up with new ways to serve the pounds of purple hull peas I brought back with me from Texas, my decision was simple: I’d pickle my purple hull peas.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating purple hull peas, they’re a field pea that is similar to black-eyed peas, but with a more delicate and sweet flavor. They’re also prettier with their light-purple blush.
My family never grew purple-hull peas because apparently with these good looks comes high maintenance—they’re a lot tougher to shell than other field peas. But if you do persist, you will be rewarded with a creamy, light pea that needs little adornment to taste wonderful.
In Texas, this time of year you will find fresh purple-hull peas sold on the side of the road, at farmers markets and at many grocery stores, too. I’ve never seen them sold fresh, frozen or dried in New York, which is why I’ve taken to stocking up if I happen to make it home during the summer. Though if you live in Texas, you’ll find them year round in the freezer section as well as fresh during the summer.
The simplest way to prepare them is to boil them for about half an hour, with some aromatics such as onion and garlic. You can also throw in some bacon and jalapeños if you’re feeling bold. And with just a sprinkle of salt and a wedge of cornbread, you’ll have yourself a fine feast.
To stave off summer’s heat, however, I wanted to make something cold and tangy. So instead of serving a steaming bowl, I instead tossed my cooked peas with some lime juice, jalapeños, peppers, garlic and olive oil, stuck them in a jar and refrigerated them. And yep, I decided that they were indeed pickled!
These go well with chips, in a scooped-out tomato, tossed in a salad or simply eaten on their own. And if you can’t find purple hull peas, you can easily substitute black-eyed peas.
What do you like to make with purple hull peas?
Purple hull pea pickled salad
4 cups of shelled purple hull peas, uncooked (or 2 15-oz cans drained and rinsed of all juice)
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeño chiles, finely diced (amount based on how hot you want the salad!)
1 ripe tomato, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayene
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
If using fresh purple hull peas, place them in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes or until tender. Drain.
Mix the purple hull peas with the garlic, jalapeños, tomato, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, olive oil and lime juice. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Chill for 4 hours and then serve. Can serve in a scooped-out tomato, with tortilla chips or as a stand-alone side dish.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Here’s a place to mail order canned purple hull peas, if you’re interested. | <urn:uuid:8b935d5e-3262-4154-8355-2bfeef3a6f5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2010/07/purple-hull-pea-pickled-salad.html?showComment=1281134642790 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93226 | 801 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Get on the mound as often as possible to practice your craft.
I had a great teacher: Johnny Sain. His motto was, "You throw more often with less exertion." Make the ball do something without maxing out your effort. That's why our starters throw a lot in between. All pitchers love it and can do it. All coaches can't.
What has happened is, if somebody gets hurt now, they're afraid they're going to get fired, so they cover their butt by saying, "Don't throw."
Your arm injuries occur from overexertion and overthrowing. You stay healthier if you can get some touch on your pitches, and the only way to acquire that is to throw 60 feet 6 inches downhill on a mound to a catcher.
The other thing is a very simple philosophy that we've used here over all these years. That's command the down-and-away strike with your fastball and change speeds.
I think they should throw radar guns out the window. I think if you can pitch, you can pitch. I've seen a guy light up a radar gun and catch his lunch.
There's a lot of technology in the game today that becomes useless if you can't command a fastball down and away or change speeds, or if you're using a pitch count to determine whether a guy's coming in or going out.
I think Greg Maddux has the greatest control of any pitcher I've ever seen in my lifetime, and it was even more awesome when you stood behind him and watched him practice his craft or watched him pitch in a game.
One time Maddux was pitching and he was having such a great year, I hadn't visited the mound in three months. He says, "You haven't been out to the mound since I've been pitching this year." I said, "What for? What am I gonna tell you? You want me to make something up?" He looked at me and said, "It gets lonely out there. I'll peek in in the sixth inning. Come on out and pay me a visit. I'll get you a little tube time." He looked in in the sixth inning and Bobby1 goes, "Mad Dog's looking in here. You better go see if there's anything going on." I went out and talked to him. He was throwing a shutout. I said, "Everything looks good from where I sit." He said, "I feel pretty good. It's nice to have someone to talk to out here." And I left.
My dad worked in a paper mill for 45 years. Never missed a day of work. My mother was a housewife the whole time. It was a very strict upbringing. Very regimented. Catholic education. Daily mass.
My mother said since I was a kid in a high chair I used to rock and hit my head on the back of the wall. A lot of pitchers think I'm half-crazy. And I'm lefthanded.
I loved Sandy Koufax. I had all their deliveries down when I was a kid. I could imitate any of them -- Spahn, Koufax, Drysdale.
I love Notre Dame. Never went to college, but I love Notre Dame. I love them with a passion, not only because of their football program but for the other things they represent. Notre Dame shouldn't be a school that should have trouble getting great athletes in there. I hope they continue to play the same schedule they play because that's what makes them what they are.
The other stat that will be completely gone after 300-game winners is complete games.
A four-man rotation? You just do it. It's not that tough. But you're facing the baseball world that's totally against that now.
I would say my best baseball moment would be the first game of the World Series in 1996. I grew up a Yankee fan, and I always thought as a little boy Yankee Stadium was a cathedral, the most beautiful place in the world. The emotions got to me in the first game of the World Series because I realized that all my boyhood dreams had come true.
I've never had any fun in my life after a loss.
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1: Braves manager Bobby Cox | <urn:uuid:cabc27d7-9671-4293-a07d-4b3b68837ac6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-08-23/sports/0508230071_1_pitchers-love-mound-paper-mill | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987867 | 877 | 1.664063 | 2 |
So, you want to be a lawyer?
Posted on August 31, 2012 by Louise Restell
The conversation every parent dreads at this time of year starts something like this:
Enthusiastic, intelligent young thing with good A-levels approaches parents and announces, “Mum, dad, I want to be a lawyer. I am going to university to do a law degree and there is nothing you can do to stop me!”
Incredulous parents gasp and struggle for breath and the mother manages to stutter “You want to be a what? A lawyer? Haven’t we taught you anything?”
Father, frowning and with an increasingly red face splutters “No child of mine is going to become a lawyer! We won’t be funding your degree if that’s what you’re thinking.”
I jest, of course. Many parents, I am sure, would be ecstatic their offspring had chosen such a serious and laudable career over taking their clothes off for money, gambling or marrying their way to fame and fortune. Even I would prefer my daughter to enter the law than, God forbid, become an estate agent or reality TV star, although as she is only three it is not something I have to worry about quite yet.
I am not totally unsympathetic. I can understand why people want to become lawyers. Who wouldn’t want to follow in the worthy footsteps of Gareth Peirce, Shami Chakrabarti, Cherie Booth, Michael Mansfield, Martyn Day or even David Allen Green?
Too many people as it turns out. Michael Todd QC, the chairman of the Bar Council, recently warned that law schools ‘let down’ hundreds of students a year by taking on aspiring barristers who have no chance of joining the profession, leaving them with debts of up to £60,000 and a qualification that has little relevance elsewhere.
About 1,600 students a year take the bar professional training course, more than three times the number of pupillages available at barristers’ chambers. It’s no better for those wanting to become a solicitor, with the number of students passing the legal practice course increasing at a faster pace than the number of training contracts, leaving well over 1,000 graduates with little or no chance of entering their chosen profession.
As well as turning out too many would-be lawyers, it seems that the legal education system isn’t even providing them with the skills needed for a successful legal career. The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) recently published a discussion paper suggesting there are gaps in core knowledge, commercial and organisational skills, client relationships, communication skills and ethical awareness. I rather wonder what they are managing to teach.
Assuming students manage to overcome these shortcomings, the next problem is that recruiters also want to see previous legal work experience, but the LETR has found that ‘evidence suggests [this] is often not allocated on a fair basis’. This is a diplomatic way of saying ‘if your parents, or someone they know, isn’t vaguely senior in either a law firm or chambers you can kiss your legal career goodbye’.
With all this stacked against you, in a buyer’s market, how can you make sure you stand out from all those other would-be lawyers? What are the qualities that really make a successful lawyer? Just as important, do you know what you’re getting into? It’s not all Kavanagh QC or Ally McBeal. Here are some ideas.
Want to be a banking and finance lawyer, wheeling and dealing and, quite probably, taking home a sack load of cash? You’ll need to understand global markets and legal systems, so start planning a few overseas holidays to places like China, India, Brazil and Dubai and get yourself a frequent flyer card.
You can expect long working and playing hours, so start weaning yourself off sleep. And, male or female, invest in an expensive but nondescript sharp suit and one of those pink or blue shirts with white collars (with or without stripes).
If you find all that a total turn off and have no aspiration to have a second home and a fast car, you may be thinking of becoming an employment lawyer. The beauty of this is that no-one will expect you to be a natty dresser and the furthest you are likely to have to travel is Carlisle.
The downside is that you will have to work with trade unionists and insurers and may have to act as a de facto counsellor to stressed and depressed individuals. So learn how to cope with self-righteous anger as well as indifference and practice empathy.
As well as knowing you are doing ‘a good thing’ (unless of course you inadvertently end up representing employers) you may also find yourself in demand as a talking head and get to discuss age discrimination with John Humphreys at 7am on a Monday morning, so learn how to get your key message across, especially if this has nothing to do with the question you are being asked.
On the other hand, to shine as a potential criminal lawyer, you will need to demonstrate a complete lack of interest in money and preferably a non-existent social life because you won’t have one once you qualify.
You’ll be spending a lot of time in police stations and prisons, so watching Eastenders and buying old box sets of Porridge and The Bill could be useful. It may also be helpful to develop a convincing poker face so as not to look as if you are passing judgement on your clients (even if secretly you are).
Without wanting to belittle property lawyers, this is probably at the other end of the excitement scale and is going to involve a lot of sitting at your desk drafting contracts. Practice this by forcing your family to play monopoly and insisting that every purchase needs a paper trail.
You may have to do quite a bit of schmoozing, quite possibly with really dull people, so you could start hanging out at local business events where you learn how to hold a plate of inedible canapés and undrinkable wine while pretending to be interested in the ineptitude of the planning committee and the outrageous business rates.
Of course, if you want to be a barrister, you are going to have to develop an extraordinary and overblown sense of your own importance, which is vital not only to ensure everyone else is in awe of you but also to enable you to wear a wig and gown without looking and feeling really silly. Learning to love the sound of your own voice could also be an asset.
Once you’ve got that all sorted, getting your training contract or pupillage should be a breeze. | <urn:uuid:67d9ba34-80fe-48f8-b2e4-19c96303249c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.qualitysolicitors.com/media-centre/social-media/blog/2012/08/31/so-you-want-to-be-a-lawyer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966505 | 1,408 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Early in the morning, half awake, I heard my husband let out a whooping cheer from somewhere in the house. “I can’t believe it,” he kept saying. Like most of my friends, he — a Director of Public Health — was sure the Supreme Court would never uphold the patient Affordable Care Act (ACA), President’s Barack Obama’s signature effort of his years in office.
Designed to increase the number of people covered by health insurance, by restructuring the fragmented, expensive ,and ineffective American health care system, Congress passed this historic — though very imperfect — bill in 2010. Republicans, nearly apoplectic, argued that the ACA violated the Constitution because it required each individual to buy medical insurance. (If they couldn’t afford it, the government would subsidize the poor.) Most legal scholars viewed it as an easy victory for Obama, but clouds began to gather as the Court sounded increasingly skeptical as the case was argued before them. Then, on June 28, 2012, much to the shock of many liberals, the conservative United States Supreme Court ruled that most provisions of the ACA are constitutional.
Nail-biting days had finally ended. To our astonishment, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the four liberals on the court (three of whom are women). Finally, after decades in which three other presidents had failed to provide health care for Americans, President Obama had succeeded.
Now, it’s not what I wanted. I wanted Obama’s original “public option” that would have competed with and therefore reduced the power of private insurance companies. For that, however, he could not get legislative support. Many of us wanted to expand Medicare (currently for those only over 65 years of age), or some other kind of single-payer system. Best of all, many of us had dreamed of some integrated system that would cover all Americans and reduce our astronomical health costs caused by a private, fragmented, failing health system.
But the obstacles had been formidable. Senate Republicans spoke ominously of “death panels” and cleverly changed the terms of the debate, warning that health care (for the poor and middle class) would cause the “debt” to skyrocket and destroy the American economy. As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote, “what was and is really striking about the anti-reformers is their cruelty … it has long been obvious that the opposition’s goal is simply to kill reform, never mind the human consequences. We should all be thankful that, for the moment at least, that effort has failed.”
Unfortunately, Obama also failed miserably at framing the issue or at setting the terms of debate after Congress passed the legislation. In fact, his greatest failure was limiting his use of the bully pulpit of the presidency to help Americans understand how their lives improve with universal health coverage.
Anyone in any other industrialized nation would rightfully view all this anxiety about strengthening the safety net with bewilderment. That cruelty is what others should understand when they try to comprehend Americans’ tremendous resistance to universal health care. Thirty million Americans have no medical insurance. They go to emergency rooms for minor illnesses, as well as serious infections or gunshot wounds. They have no primary care doctor and pray that they won’t fall ill or that they won’t lose their employer-paid medical insurance. If you’ve survived cancer or any other “pre-existing condition,” you’ll never get insured again.
The Affordable Care Act has already changed some of these grotesque health inequities. Parents may now keep their children on their insurance until age 26. Pre-existing conditions are no longer an excuse for excluding children from medical insurance. By 2014, no adult will be denied medical insurance because of such pre-existing conditions — even as minor as a torn rotator cuff, as my stepson discovered.
But Chief Justice Roberts also inserted a poison pill into his decision when he decided to uphold what is called commonly called Obamacare. He argued that the federal government has no right to demand that the states expand Medicaid, which is the second-rate, last resort, medical care for the very poor. With one judicial decision, he upheld the controversial individual mandate that requires everyone to pay for some kind of insurance and, at the same time, he destroyed what Congress had passed, namely, the right of the federal government to demand states to expand coverage for the poor.
Like many of my colleagues and friends, I spent the day surfing television stations listening to reporters interviewing people all over the country. “Are you happy about this decision?” they asked. My mouth dropped as I heard one person after another say that the government has no right to force people to pay for medical coverage, even though the government will provide subsidies for those who aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford medical assurance. I didn’t hear one person that day who understood that everyone needed to participate in order to spread the risk of paying for those who fall ill.
Although this is what was shown on television, polls tell a different story. A new Gallup poll reveals that the country is deeply and nearly evenly divided, with 46 percent of those polled against the Court decision and 46 percent approving it. Thirty-one percent want the law repealed entirely.
It’s been clear for some time that only half or less of the country has supported health reform. Poll after poll revealed that Americans seemed troubled, unsure what it all meant, how it would affect their lives. Yet, women and some minorities seemed to comprehend the urgent need for universal health care. One poll noted “that 48 percent of women wanted the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare as opposed to 39 percent of men. Differences in opinion were also present among racial lines, with 63 percent of black Americans backing Obamacare, with 20 percent opposed; and 40 percent of white Americans support the Supreme Court’s decision, opposed to 41 percent who do not.”
With the Court decision now settled, the real question is why so many Americans are so troubled by the idea of universal coverage. What is it about American political culture that causes the uninsured, the poor, the ill — the most vulnerable people in the country — to accept the status quo?
The only way to explain this resistance is to really understand that American political culture. First, there is the subterranean fear of socialism and socialized medicine, left over from the Cold War and never far from American politics. Mark Neumann, a Republican candidate from Wisconsin, responded to the Court’s decision in words that mirrored other right-wing politicians running for office. He said, “Barack Obama and his team are socialists in every respect of the word.”
Second, there is the persistent fear of government-run medicine (which this was never meant to be), fueled by stories about Canada and England, that have convinced people they will wait three years for treatment for cancer. Ironically, this fear persists despite the fact that Medicare — a government-funded single-payer health system for those over 65 — is wildly popular. At one town meeting, a man shouted, “”Keep your government hands off my Medicare.” In a letter to President Obama one woman wrote, ‘I don’t want government-run health care. I don’t want socialized medicine. And don’t touch my Medicare.” Persuaded by the right wing that government can do nothing right, they both failed to realize that the federal government funds this single-payer medical care for the elderly.
Third, the poor fear that that they will be forced to pay for insurance they can’t afford. Unaware of the act’s subsidies to the poor, they fear further expenses if they can currently can get Medicaid for free, which varies by state.
Finally, there is the peculiar atomistic individualism of American political culture that sees itself as Christian but has been reluctant to create a social safety net that reflects those values. This individualism underlies the effective rhetoric used by Republicans and the Tea Party, which insist that health care reform will take away people’s liberty and freedom. Yes, in crisis, we come together, but for the most part, we are not a country that cares about our brothers and sisters. Those who have insurance want to keep what they have. They are not terribly concerned that the majority of bankruptcies in this country have been caused by people’s inability to pay astronomical health care bills that are taken up by collection agencies.
Not everyone, of course, is unhappy about the Court’s decision. In addition to health care advocates, national organizations that represent seniors, children and families, even significant sectors of the health care industry, have suppored health care reform. The American Medical Association, filled with physicians who once opposed any change, as well as hospital associations, have supported the Act because they know the health care system is falling apart. Even the insurance companies are divided — knowing their profits will be squeezed, but determined to prevent a single-payer system.
Obamacare is not perfect. The wealthy will never pay for the quality of health care for the poor that they demand for themselves. But for those afraid of losing their “freedom,” new access to health care after 2014 will one day seem like a right, even an entitlement.
During the Depression, people feared the new unemployment and social security insurance that were passed as part of the New Deal. Over time, these were gradually amended and altered, making them more inclusive. Now Americans take them for granted.
Yes, battles will continue to rage over the Court’s decision. But what has happened is historic. And that will not change unless the country elects Mitt Romney, who has promised to repeal the ACA, in November 2012.
History News Network
Posted: Sunday 8 July 2012 | <urn:uuid:01ba737e-70b8-433d-92a6-a0cddbf514f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laprogressive.com/obamacare/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971493 | 2,036 | 1.671875 | 2 |
(Published in the CAM Green Solutions Newsletter, June 18, 2008.)
Dealing with work related emails (as well as personal ones) can become less frustrating if you make sure to make these tips part of your email reading routine:
Answer email promptly. Avoid allowing your email inbox to get cluttered. In many ways, dealing with email is like dealing with papers and other physical things – you save time by handling it as few times as possible. When reading emails, go ahead and take a moment to respond to the sender while information is fresh in your mind.
Flag things to follow up on. If you can’t respond right away to an email for a particular reason (you need to do further research, you need to talk to someone else, etc), flag the email for follow up. Gmail let’s you “star” emails, which is a method I use for personal emails to highlight things I need to follow up on. When using Outlook, you can flag an email and assign a follow up date to it – a reminder will be placed on your calendar, which makes it less likely you’ll forget to respond to the email.
Delete messages instead of storing them. As mentioned above – keep your emails from becoming clutter. If you’ve responded to an email and the issue is resolved, go ahead and delete the emails. If you think you might need a paper trail, create folders to store the emails in. One thing I love about Gmail is their archive feature. When I am finished with an email, I archive it, clearing up my inbox. But, if I ever need to search for an email, or any content within it (like a phone number, address, or something else), I just use the search box to enter what I am looking for. Folders and archiving are best used for emails you might have to reference again. If the email really isn’t important (old newsletters, invites for meetings that have already passed, etc) – go ahead and delete it! | <urn:uuid:82cc469a-b592-4d86-a1c4-50982ad3c011> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneorganizedlife.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945474 | 415 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Posted On Friday, July 06, 2012 at 02:41:14 PM
Mobile technology has been a hotbed of patent litigation in recent years, with Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, HTC Corp, Motorola, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Nokia locked in legal battles over the property rights to scrolling on multitouch screens, product designs and - in lawsuits aimed at Google Inc's Android - the operating system on mobile devices.
In Steve Jobs' posthumous biography, he was quoted as saying that Google "ripped off" the iPhone, and he was "willing to go thermonuclear" on the Android operating system. His battle has continued beyond his death. Here is where the major U.S. cases stand.
Nokia vs. Apple
In October 2009, Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp sued Apple Inc in U.S. District Court in Delaware over alleged infringement of its wireless standards. The iPhone maker countersued and kept the two embroiled in litigation for a year and a half.
In June 2011, Apple agreed to pay an undisclosed sum as part of a settlement agreement and royalties for the use of parts of Nokia's patents. However, Nokia's business has faltered as it continues to struggle in the smartphone market, with its stock tumbling to all-time lows in 2012.
Apple vs. Android
Apple initiated the war against Android in March 2010 when it sued Taiwan's HTC Corp over 20 patents dealing with user interface and its operating system. Along with its federal lawsuit, Apple filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, again targeting the Android software behind HTC's smartphones.
The International Trade Commission issued an injunction in late 2011 to halt i mports of HTC's infringing smartphones -- the One X and the EVO 4G LTE -- starting in April. Shipments of the two smartphones to the United States were delayed. A pple has filed at least two additional complaints with the International Trade Commission dema nding emergency action against more than 25 HTC devices.
Over the past 14 months, HTC shares have slumped 72 percent, while Apple shares have gained 65 percent. In May, the U.S. District Court in Delaware ordered HTC and Apple to meet and discuss a potential s ettlement on Aug. 28.
Motorola Mobility entered the battlefield in October 2010 when it filed a suit against Apple in what was widely considered a pre-emptive strike. Apple countersued the same month.However, Judge Richard Posner in Chicago canceled the trial that was set to occur in June, and rejected each side's injunction requests. Motorola was acquired by Google in May 2012.
South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd found its way to U.S. court in April 2011 when Apple claimed the manufacturer infringed on patents with some Galaxy phones and tablets, which use the Android system. Samsung countersued, and the two companies have become entangled in more than 20 cases in 10 countries.U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, g ranted pretrial injunctions against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus phone last week, just days after Posner rejected Apple's injunction request against Motorola.
Samsung is appealing both injunctions. A trial on the patent infringement claims related to the Tab 10.1 and other phones is scheduled for July 30.
Microsoft vs. Android
Microsoft Corp filed an International Trade Commission complaint against Motorola in October 2010 for infringing nine patents. Mo torola responded the next month with its own ITC complaint against Microsoft for infringing 16 patents. In May, the U.S. trade panel ordered an import ban on 18 infringing Motorola devices, which has not yet taken effect. | <urn:uuid:0fcced65-d5c7-45f8-b818-a4630dd55f7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.punemirror.in/article/26/2012070620120706144123487ed38fb21/3-patent-battles-that-shook-the-mobile-world.html | 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 | 0.953944 | 743 | 1.648438 | 2 |
|Programs of Study|
The mission of the art department is to teach students to think analytically and use art to express their ideas and demonstrate competencies in their major concentration. Students learn to communicate visually, orally and in writing. Our mission is an essential component of the liberal arts. Students meld ideas from diverse areas of academe with their search for personal expression in their art production. Students who are engaged in art making as an extension of their total development, are prepared for graduate study and multiple careers in the arts.
Our goal is to provide students with fundamental knowledge in the theory and practice of art. Students will create artworks that convey an awareness of art history and an understanding of art fundamentals.
Students who major in Art, select a concentration in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Photography or Art Education. All majors meet frequently with faculty. The Art Department's faculty members are artists with records of significant academic achievement. Because of the extraordinary student/faculty ratio, students are able to investigate ideas and develop a mature body of work on a one-to-one basis.
National and international visiting artists and exhibitors engage students in the discovery of new ideas and processes, opening doors to other viewpoints and other parts of the world. Travel opportunities also broaden a student's perspective. Each year, the Art Department organizes trips to urban art centers such as New York City or Washington, DC to visit museums, galleries and special exhibitions. Other travel opportunities include Art Department sponsored programs in Europe and the annual Susan Coker Watson Scholarship for travel abroad which has provided grants for senior art majors to study in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico and Africa.
Studio or Fine Arts
students develop a broad appreciation for a variety of artistic styles and techniques while focusing on a particular area of interest. It prepares students for careers in the arts and art related fields through the development of a professional portfolio. Students concentrating in Fine Arts may also continue their studies on an advanced level in graduate school.
students develop skills in a wide range of areas related to graphic design, from typographical design, page layout, package design, and illustration to web design and web animation. Students also learn the technical aspects of preparing art for printing. A concentration in Graphic Design prepares students for careers in most forms of graphic design (web interface and print), advertising, illustration, and publishing as well as preparation for advanced study in graduate school.
combines a selection of courses in the studio arts with a concentration in the art and techniques of photography, both tradition and digital. The Photography concentration prepares students for careers as commercial or studio photographers as well as for further growth and study in graduate school.
Students are prepared to become highly qualified professional educators who have the potential to be successful in the region, state and nation. Our mission is to prepare well-educated art teachers with sound foundations in art content knowledge, the liberal arts and professional education. Coker College's Art Education Program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Coker College offers Art Scholarships ranging from $500 to $2000 per year, renewable for four years.
To receive an Art Scholarship, you must first apply and be accepted to Coker College. Then you may submit 12-15 original works of art, in as many different media as possible. We can review artwork for scholarships in two ways; original works of art or you may submit your work on a CD as high resolution jpegs.
To be considered for an art scholarship, a High School GPA of B is required.
Send the CD and letter of interest in the Art Scholarship to: | <urn:uuid:26db961f-9f03-46f8-97c1-17f4b15b0535> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coker.edu/static/art/program.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953452 | 742 | 1.84375 | 2 |
I don’t know why so many people confuse money driven with greedy people. There is a huge difference between having money driven goals, dreams, and aspirations and being a greedy person. Money is the great equalizer in life and can improve anyone’s life almost guaranteed.
There is an old saying that I laugh at every time I hear it that goes “Money can’t buy you happiness.” The reason I find this amusing is because the people that I hear say it generally don’t have any. Some people ask me why I care so much about money and there is one simple reason: money = freedom and freedom = happiness, therefore money = happiness (transitive property!). If you can’t be happy with total freedom I don’t see how you can be happy period and I’m very sorry to hear that. It’s not that I want to conquer the Earth and be the wealthiest man alive, I just want to have freedom.
Just think about it for a few minutes, it’ll really start to sink in once you understand. I don’t think that a family living paycheck to paycheck would be upset if they became millionaires, cleared their debt and lived the life they’ve always dreamed of. | <urn:uuid:8d94e089-b761-4fd9-bc54-902f0a39052a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tomlambert.com/blog/tag/greed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962359 | 264 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Concealed Guns In NYC Backed By 243 In U.S. House
Professor John Donohue is quoted in the below Bloomberg article by John Crewdson on a new concealed guns bill which Donohue says would effectively prevent a state from controlling who has guns within the state.
I’ve never touched a handgun and I haven’t been to Florida in decades, yet this month Florida officials mailed me a permit to carry a concealed gun.
If Congress adopts a bill that the National Rifle Association is pushing, Florida’s licenses would apply to 49 states in all -- allowing their holders to carry hidden guns in places such as midtown Manhattan, where the New York Police Department rejects most such applications for “concealed- carry” permits.
The bill “effectively prevents a state from controlling who has guns within the state, which has always been a core police power function of state government,” said John Donohue, a professor at Stanford Law School, who said he thinks it would be held unconstitutional. “It is so ironic that it is the conservatives who are trying to push this encroachment, since they usually are very active in championing states’ rights.”
States can already choose to adopt reciprocity agreements -- Florida has such pacts with 35 other states, although 4 of them require that the permit holder be a Florida resident. The federal bill would eliminate states’ discretion. As a result, even the most exacting jurisdictions would be required to honor permits from the laxest. Stanford University law professor Robert Weisberg called it a “race to the bottom.”
While the Constitution’s commerce clause gives Congress authority to regulate commerce between the states, the reciprocity bill probably wouldn’t fall within that power, said Weisberg, the law professor who serves as faculty co- director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. Nor would it fall under Congress’ power to enforce such existing constitutional liberties as the right “to keep and bear arms,” he said.
That’s because the Constitution is silent about whether there’s a specific right to carry a concealed firearm outside the home, and the Supreme Court has not yet spoken on the issue, he said.
“This is a completely unsettled question,” Weisberg said. “We have a very long way to go. The rights that this bill purports to enforce are not clearly established rights at this point.” | <urn:uuid:9fb7032e-f140-44b2-8766-8cc7fc34c45a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.stanford.edu/news/concealed-guns-in-nyc-backed-by-243-in-us-house | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957898 | 517 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The area around 12th Street and Seventh Avenue in the heart of Greenwich Village is remarkably quite these days -- so quiet that Yetta Kurland, an activist, goes so far as to say that "it almost looks like a bomb went off."
The block was home to St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, which closed in April 2010 after years of financial troubles. St. Vincent's, which cared for victims of the Titanic, the AIDS epidemic and the 9/11 attacks, was New York City's last Catholic general hospital, and its absence has been felt throughout the community.
In addition, St. Vincent's was one of New York City's most prominent safety-net hospitals, serving mostly those either on Medicaid or Medicare or without insurance. It was also known as a refuge for the homeless. It has principally been these patients, then, who have been hit the hardest by St. Vincent's closing and by the shutting of other hospitals elsewhere in the city.
Filling the Void
Regardless of income, most residents of the Lower West Side who used to go to St. Vincent's now end up either at Beth Israel or Bellevue on the East Side. Shortly after St. Vincent's closed, Timothy Lunsford, a survivor of two heart attacks and two bouts of cancer, experienced a medical emergency in which his blood pressure dropped to a dangerously low level.
"It took me 33 minutes to get from Canal Street and Varick to Beth Israel hospital," he said.
Both hospitals have had to adapt to a rapidly growing patient volume, which Lewis Goldfrank, Bellevue's chief of emergency medicine, has called "a significant disaster."
"Those 60,000 people [treated each year at St. Vincent's] now have to find another place to go, so the nearest emergency rooms are overwhelmed. … And it's not because the hospitals aren’t trying, but they're unable to cope with what is a disaster," said David Kaufman, a member of St. Vincent's medical staff for 30 years and a part of the Coalition for a New Village Hospital.
With no access to local care, overcrowded emergency rooms in neighboring hospitals, the loss of a medical safety net and longer waits, the health situation in Greenwich Village is a "crisis," according to Kurland, also a member of the coalition. To remedy the problem, the coalition wants to see nothing less than a full-service hospital at the former St. Vincent's site.
Not Quite a Hospital
The plan reached by Rudin Management, a development firm, and North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System does not align with that vision. (Disclosure: My father is a doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital, a member of the North Shore network). Instead, it would create 300 luxury apartments and townhouses on the eastern side of the medical campus and refurnish the historic O'Toole buildinginto a freestanding emergency department to be operated by North Shore.
The ability of the care center to serve the 385,000 New Yorkers living in the Lower West Side remains hotly contested. According to Terry Lynam, a spokesperson for North Shore, the care center will be able to treat 90 percent of patients. "[It] would be the same kind of emergency department you would see in most hospitals with the exception that it doesn't have inpatient beds," Lynam said.
The facility would provide around-the-clock diagnosis and treatment services. It should also be open to those on Medicare or Medicaid.
However, since it would not have the resources of a full-service hospital, including operating rooms and an intensive care unit, patients suffering from heart attack, stroke or major trauma would "need to be transferred elsewhere," Lynam said. She emphasized that agreements will be in place with local ambulance providers so they do not bring these patients to the care center in the first place.
Kaufman, however, argued that these restrictions will "create a life-threatening sense of confusion for patients and ambulance drivers."
If an emergency patient does enter the care center, the amount of time it would take to transfer him or her could prove significant, according to a recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association. It found that it takes nine out of ten transferred heart attack victims more than 30 minutes to reach their second facility, above the recommended medical guidelines. These patients consequently suffer higher mortality rates.
Despite this proviso for emergency cases, Lynam said the care center "is returning health care to the Village" and "will save lives."
But coalition members remain unconvinced. Kaufman in particular worries that the care center will be unable to manage the large number of patients who used to enter St. Vincent’s doors.
"Can their comprehensive care center … treat 61,394 people a year?" Kaufman asked at a rally on April 30. "Can it house 19,388 patients sick enough to require inpatient care, can it deliver the lifesaving, critical care that 13,572 poor souls required in the emergency room in 2009?"
Recipe for Failure
Others, though, look to the closing of St. Vincent's and see a lesson for anyone thinking about opening a new full-service hospital in the area. St. Vincent's failed after a decade of mismanagement, including a hospital merger in 2000 and the hiring of consulting firm Speltz & Weis in 2005.
St. Vincent's failure, though, also speaks to a troublesome citywide trend for charity hospitals -- a trend that has severe implications for low-income communities. Following the tradition of the Sisters of Charity, St. Vincent's was dedicated to "compassionate care": serving the poor and disenfranchised. Like many other struggling safety-net hospitals, St. Vincent’s charitable mission, ill-suited for today’s high-tech, costly health care, led to its end.
Over the last ten years, the state's Medicaid reimbursements, a significant portion of St. Vincent’s revenue, have been cut. Moreover, while St. Vincent's saw an increase in emergency room visits, which are costly and in many cases go unreimbursed, its inpatient volume decreased as wealthy residents left for more prestigious institutions.
In general, New York City hospitals are struggling. Over the past decade, hospitals nationwide have seen average profits of 4 percent, whereas in 2008, hospitals in New York City faced an average 6 percent loss.
Since deregulation in the 1990s, safety-net hospitals have struggled with less government support. What was once a highly regulated industry became a free-for-all, as "suddenly hospitals were put in the position of competing with each other," North Shore's Lynman said. This took a toll in New York City where hospitals are located close to one another, the most noticeable example being New York Presbyterian-Cornell Weill, Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill all on the Upper East Side. Without state regulation, this competition allows insurers to drive down reimbursement rates, fueling hospital debt.
To stay economically viable, hospitals vie for privately insured patients, setting off what has been called a medical technology "arms race" that raises the price of health care. They are far less eager to take in publically insured -- or worse yet, uninsured -- patients. In New York, reimbursements by the public insurers Medicare and Medicaid are notoriously low. This means that those on public insurance or not insured at all—the majority of St. Vincent's patients— place a financial burden on struggling institutions.
Evidence of the strain abounds. In 2009, in the wake of the H1N1, or swine flu, outbreak, Mary Immaculate and St. Johns – both safety net hospitals in Queens -- closed. According to a 2009 report from former City Comptroller William Thompson Jr., this led to "overcrowded emergency rooms, longer wait times for patients, and longer ambulance turnaround times."
Jamaica Hospital has picked up a flood of Mary Immaculate's and St. Johns' patients. Its emergency room, built to accommodate 60,000 patients annually, now sees 131,000. Emergency care is costly to provide, and in 2009 Jamaica Hospital lost $13.5 million. If Jamaica, one of the borough’s most prominent safety-net hospitals, goes the way of Mary Immaculate and St. Johns, the health implications, particularly for poorer residents, could be devastating.
This is a familiar pattern. When safety net hospitals close, low-income, already underserved communities bear the brunt of the impact. Patients spill over to surrounding hospitals, overcrowding their waiting rooms and increasing their financial pressures, setting off what could become a chain of hospital failures.
In the case of St. Vincent’s, Bellevue has absorbed much of the excess patient volume both because of its relative proximity and the fact that it is now the only Level One Trauma Center in lower Manhattan. Bellevue now serves an additional 2,000 people each month in its emergency room, a 25 percent increase. Beth Israel has also seen a 25 percent traffic increase with slightly higher numbers these past two months.
"What happened last year was not a tsunami that came and went, but the increase has been sustained," said Gregg Husk, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel. Beth Israel has increased its emergency room personnel, nursing staff and physicians and recruited former St. Vincent's programs, such as the Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Beth Israel is still "tweaking" some of its health care practices to adapt to the increased patient volume, but overall, Husk said, "we were very fortunate" and "the environment is not chaotic."
Despite this, a June 2011 study on St. Vincent's closing wrote that the surge of patients to neighboring hospitals "was characterized as 'crushing' to staff morale as hours and workload increased dramatically." The study also reported patient crowding and increased waiting room violence.
The trend toward deregulation leaves little hope low-income New Yorkers will regain their safety net care in the future. "The changing landscape of healthcare is such that no one in the New York City area is building new hospitals," said Lynam.
After St. Vincent's closed, Rudin Management proposed to donate the O’Toole building and $10 million in funds for an urgent care center run by North Shore. In April 2011, a bankruptcy court judge approved the transaction.
"This is the only deal that is doable in today's environment," said John Gilbert, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Rudin Management.
Mount Sinai had been prepared to take over and run a full-service hospital in the neighborhood but suddenly withdrew in April 2010. Coalition members blame this on a lack of support from the state Department of Health which, following the recommendations of the 2006 Berger Commission, is trying to limit "the state's unacceptably high excess capacity of hospital beds."
The North Shore care center will not create any new impatient beds and so aligns with the state's goal. A new full-service hospital on the other hand would work directly against it.
The coalition argues the focus on overall number of beds is short-sighted. "They give no thought to the distribution of beds -- all they care about is shutting them down. Community needs, bed per person ratios, socio-economic issues are all irrelevant," said Kaufman at a rally in April.
Kaufman has pointed out that in the Upper East Side and East Harlem there is one bed for every 82 residents. In contrast, after St. Vincent’s closing, there are now no hospital beds for the West Side’s 385,000 residents.
Judy Wessler, director of the Commission on the Public's Health System, noted that hospitals in New York City have "always been mal-distributed," but with the closing of many charity hospitals in underserved communities, "it's getting worse."
"The East Side is wealthier, and that's where institutions tend to settle," she said. "Studies have [shown] over and over … that there is an absolute correlation between income and access to health care and even race … and access to care."
The coalition continues to fight the Rudin/North Shore plan. Yet, while it has galvanized support among community members, it has failed to win backing from some key politicians and other community leaders. Councilmember Christine Quinn, former Mayor Ed Koch and Greenwich-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce president Tony Juliano have all spoken out in favor of the comprehensive care center.
"Our health care needs are significantly underserved. This will go a long way to bring this service back to the community,” said Juliano, warning that if the community does not support the North Shore plan "we'll be looking a year from now … at a horrible situation where a whole city block is vacant."
Since St. Vincent's declared bankruptcy in 2010, 3,500 former employees are jobless and around 40 local businesses have closed. Juliano hopes the development will "bring economic life back" to the neighborhood.
Proponents for the Rudin/North Shore plan argue that, while it may not be ideal, it represent a pragmatic solution to an admittedly bad situation.
"We recognize that, listen, you had a full-service hospital in your community for over 100 years and suddenly it's gone. We certainly understand why people are frustrated by that," said Lynam. "But the reality is that there are no other providers stepping forward. We've put forward what we think is a realistic plan that will fill that void."
For the thousands of former St. Vincent's patients – particularly those without a lot of resources -- this offers little comfort. "I think it's a health crisis like a silent time bomb," said Kaufman. "It's just sitting there, brewing. It’s happening every day but it's hidden from the public eyes. … And I think it’ll get worse."
Last Updated (Jun 06, 2012) | <urn:uuid:6de3cdea-ccb9-46ce-8e68-1b99bbbf74d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/state/789-st-vincents-highlights-crunch-for-hospitals-serving-the-poor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96362 | 2,893 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Read the Original Article at http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220900747
As promised at the Web 2.0 Summit last week, Google has introduced a new Google Labs experiement called Google Social Search, a way to find online content authored by friends and personal contacts using a Google search.
To try it out, visit Google Labs and click the designated button to join the Social Search experiment.
Google Social Search requires you to be signed in to your Google Account. It integrates blog posts and other online information authored by friends and associates into Google search results.
Google looks for people in your Gmail or Google Talk contacts lists, Google Reader articles, people linked to through your Google Profile -- from sites like Twitter and FriendFeed -- and people listed in Google Contacts. Then it includes posts and commentary written by these people, when appropriate and relevant, in your Google searches.
In a blog post explaining the new Social Search exeriment, Google technical lead Maureen Heymans and Google product manager Murali Viswanathan emphasize that this isn't some new form of privacy invasion. "All the information that appears as part of Google Social Search is published publicly on the Web -- you can find it without Social Search if you really want to," they said. "What we've done is surface that content together in one single place to make your results more relevant."
Google Social Search also provides a way to see only search results from one's social circle.
At the Web 2.0 Summit, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said, "There is a very fundamental shift going on from the information Web to the social Web." It's a shift that Google has been participating in for several years, though perhaps not as effectively as the company might wish.
Google's commitment to social computing became evident in 2007, as Facebook and other social sites became popular.
Google has acquired companies with a social focus, like micro-blogging company Jaiku, video company Omniso, and mobile company Dodgeball. It has dabbled in social advertising through a deal with Italy's Dada.net. It has integrated social sharing features into services like Google Docs, Google Reader, and Google Books. It released the OpenSocial API and Social Graph API for integrating social network features with Web sites. It has released social gadgets for its iGoogle home page.
Google launched Orkut, its own social network, in 2004, but the site, despite being quite popular in Brazil, has been overshadowed by Facebook and MySpace in the U.S.
In a separate but related announcement last week, Google said that it had reached a deal with Twitter to index tweets and make them available in searches to improve the availability of real-time information.
Physical memory is a gold mine of information, and its analysis is part of several areas, including troubleshooting and forensics investigation. Attend a Black Hat Webcast on the topic. It happens Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Find out more and register. | <urn:uuid:a99b7639-8560-4b2c-aef9-e192ee9e5abf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techweb.com/taxonomy/index/printarticle/id/220900747 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943516 | 623 | 1.664063 | 2 |
"My credentials are impeccable," said Lewis. who has been decorated four times for valor and received the Army's highest medal for service, the Distinguished Service Medal. "It burns me up to be treated like a terrorist."
He is now retired from the U.S. Army after serving more than 30 years during Vietnam and Korea with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 82nd's 319th Field Artillery.
Lewis started getting delayed at airports three years ago because he shares a name with a terrorist on the TSA's No-Fly list.
The frequent flier has been delayed more than 40 times. Each time, he has to stand in line and check in with an airline attendant, who then takes his drivers' license and determines he's not a terrorist.
"If I have two or three bags, then I have to lug them to the desk and since I'm a partially disabled, it's hard for me to do that," said Lewis.
He tried to get off the list by calling his Congressional representatives and by taking part in the TSA's Traveler Redress Program.
For that, he mailed in his driver's license, his passport, his military ID and other information.
The TSA sent him a letter back in May 2006 saying he had been cleared off the list. However, the next time he tried to fly, he was stopped again.
"It burns me up that they can't correct it," said Lewis. "You can't tell me with the technology we've got today that the TSA can't sort me and about 20, 30 or 40,000 other people just like me who are on that watch list and get harassed."
The retired general is just one of dozens of people interviewed by 9Wants to Know on the government's No-Fly list, including 21 people named John Thompson who share a name with the IRA terrorist John Thompson.
The IRA member was convicted in Belfast in 2002 for possessing weapons with the intent to commit a terrorist act.
"They had to bring out a supervisor to interview me and go over my paperwork and identification just to make sure I wasn't the terrorist," said John Thompson of Loveland, a computer room specialist.
Thompson, who has had trouble getting on airplanes several times, was told by a United Airlines agent to trick the no-fly list by booking his tickets with his first name, middle initial and last name. Thompson does that now and no longer gets delayed.
"It doesn't sound like a very safe system if that's all it takes to trick it," said Thompson. "With my middle initial, I've been able to get boarding passes online and I haven't had to go through the secondary screening."
The TSA did not respond to 9NEWS when asked about the ability to get around the No-Fly list by using a middle name or middle initial on tickets.
In the past, the TSA has told 9Wants to Know that it hopes its Secure Flight program will fix problems with misidentifications when it's expected to be released late next year.
Secure Flight has cost taxpayers $200 million so far but the program has been plagued with problems and is four years overdue.
The No-Fly list is maintained by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center in Virginia.
The list, about 38,000 names long, is part of the government's terrorist watch list which contains the names of known or suspected terrorists.
The list of people who may pose a threat to commercial airlines are sent from the Center in Virginia to the TSA, which shares the list with the airlines.
People who are misidentified as terrorists are not actually on the list. Only the terrorist is on the no-fly list. However, because the TSA does not always share dates of birth or other identifying information with the airlines, they can't tell the difference between innocent passengers and the terrorists until they check in and the airlines look at their driver's licenses.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a hearing last week that more than 15,000 people have appealed to get off the terrorist watch list.
The complaints have caused such a backlog that the TSA says it takes about 44 days to process a complaint. However, people who have gone through the process tell 9Wants To Know that they are still delayed at the airport.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado) and Representative Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.) are co-sponsoring legislation to try to streamline the process.
(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.) | <urn:uuid:71ba8aca-4668-4609-901c-a1e00ab10d57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.9news.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=80962&catid=222 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980617 | 928 | 1.59375 | 2 |
New Measure To Cut Red Tape For Some Businesses
Ordinance would raise threshold for full, and expensive, Planning Board approval
Attempting to remove some red tape for some small businesses, the Township Committee is slated next week to vote on a measure that would make it easier to move some applications through the sometimes-costly Planning Board process.
The committee at its June 13 meeting proposed an ordinance that would raise the threshold for some businesses that want to renovate an existing building for a new use. That measure has gotten the blessing of the Planning Board and is set for a vote of the Township Committee at its Aug. 8 meeting.
The ordinance proposes to change the township’s zoning code and raise the threshold that triggers a Planning Board hearing for a minor site plan, according to the measure.
Currently, any business that is renovating an existing building of more than 5,000 square feet for a new, conforming business would have to come before the board for a full hearing, Foster has said.
That could cost the business owner upwards of $30,000, Foster has said.
“We thought that was very unfair,’’ he has said.
The new measure would raise the square footage to 10,000, effectively keeping smaller businesses from a full hearing. They would be subject, however, to an internal review of the planning department, but that would cost far less, Foster has said.
The measure is in an attempt to provide an efficient means for some businesses to gain approval in town, and possibly spur development in town.
The Planning Board, which unanimously approved of the township’s proposal, has canceled just fewer than half of its meetings to date, mainly because there have been a dearth of applications, officials have said.
While that is part of an overall statewide and national trend, Foster has said that his administration was sensitive to the needs of businesses.
“We’re trying to do whatever we can to help out businesses,’’ Foster has said. | <urn:uuid:1d2c3365-4051-4a26-be88-25a709851149> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wall.patch.com/articles/new-measure-to-cut-red-tape-for-some-businesses-in-town | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98186 | 415 | 1.515625 | 2 |
By Michael Souza
PBN Staff Writer
By Michael Souza
PBN Staff Writer
Once known by the buzzword “consolidation,” municipally shared services is a concept that’s been kicked around for years by towns throughout the state, but has rarely gotten past the planning phase. But in financially ailing cities like Pawtucket and Central Falls, it might be an idea whose time has finally come.
On April 15, Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien announced that Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee agreed to form a panel to establish a mechanism for the city to undertake shared services. The mechanism would allow a municipality to offer services in a specific area to another town at a lower cost than currently spent. The town conducting the work would gain revenue by charging for the service.
For Grebien and his staff, there’s no time to waste. “People have been talking about this for a long time and the state is interested in doing it, as well as our surrounding communities,” said Tony Pires, director of administration for Pawtucket. “Let’s get this off the dime, put something together formally with the governor’s people, including the R.I. Department of Revenue and Office of Municipal Affairs. Let’s work out in the open and learn what the barriers are, get past the talking stage and get on with the concept of shared services,” he said.
By consenting to form the panel, the governor has shown that he is in agreement in pushing a shared-services agenda forward, says Chafee spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger.
“It is time to act and the governor has made that clear, particularly in the case of municipalities,” she said. Hunsinger said the panel’s composition has not yet been decided.
Lawmakers have been studying the ramifications of sharing services for the last few years.
In May 2010, an 11-member Senate Municipal Shared Services Study Commission reported that sharing services would reap benefits by saving money and improving efficiency. In doing so, they advised another committee be formed to study the matter further.
On Feb. 23, the permanent Joint Commission on Shared Municipal Services was formed to address four areas for potential sharing: information technology, public-safety dispatch, tax assessment and tax collections, with a goal of a 20 percent savings in five years.
Sen. Louis P. DiPalma, D-Little Compton, served on the first commission and is a member of its newest incarnation. He has also championed bills promoting shared services.
According to Hunsinger, the two committees will work in conjunction with each other.
The matter of shared services is also accompanied by some difficult hurdles. Dissimilar union contracts between towns impede consolidation, and no union likes to lose employees. The state cannot force municipalities with home-rule charters to share services. There is also the attitude that municipalities find the concept an affront to their autonomy.
DiPalma said exploration of sharing services would naturally lead to a conversation on regionalization, a topic he fears has little local support because no town wants to share control with another municipality.
Pires sees the work done by the new panel Chafee will form serving as “a pilot for the kind of work the Assembly wants done. Now it’s time to move.
“Our goal is to have something done and in place sometime in fiscal year 2013,” Pires said. “It’s part of our strategy to save this city.”
Pawtucket has had conversations with Central Falls ever since the Grebien administration took office in January 2011, according to Pires. Services such as animal control, zoning, police and fire protection were initially discussed, where Pawtucket would provide those functions and bill Central Falls, at a rate less than Central Falls currently pays. Talks had to stop last August when Central Falls filed for bankruptcy and was put under the control of state-appointed receiver Robert Flanders.
Now, however, the two are considering sharing Pawtucket’s Department of Public Works, including street cleaning, snow removal and park maintenance.
Pawtucket’s southerly neighbor, East Providence, has also experienced financial problems and was placed under state oversight last November. East Providence City Manager Peter Graczykowski did not immediately return calls seeking comment on his community’s interest in shared services.
For struggling municipalities, there’s a lot at stake. In Central Falls, Flanders is an advocate for sharing services and is hopeful there will be ample opportunity to do so with the Central Falls School District, which faces a $5.6 million deficit. He also welcomes the opportunity to work with Pawtucket.
“This move by the governor and the mayor is just the latest in a series of possible solutions that are being explored,” Flanders said.
In Pawtucket last December, Fitch Ratings affirmed the city’s BBB- bond rating and upgraded its outlook to “stable.” In December 2010, its outlook was “negative.” Fitch acknowledged the city’s efforts to eliminate the school fund’s cumulative deficit of $2.4 million, but expressed concerns about the city’s low liquidity and unfunded pension and post-employment benefits. • | <urn:uuid:12d04df6-6f44-4a73-84cd-b2f40333c2e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pbn.com/Pawtucket-It-is-time-to-act-on-sharing-services,67018?category_id=52&list_type=most_commented&sub_type=stories,packages | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971754 | 1,114 | 1.726563 | 2 |
This 'n that
Doug Robertson, Victorville's city manager, attributes saving $15.3 million to build the La Mesa/Nisqualli interchange to construction bids coming in lower than expected, plus a reduction in construction management costs. OK.
But the real driving factor here is a lousy economy. Does anyone doubt that, were the state’s cities, counties and the state itself experiencing flush financial times there would be infrastructure projects going on everywhere, and Victorville/SANBAG would be paying top dollar for the interchange? We don’t think so.
The state’s infrastructure, particularly regarding roads and bridges, has been deteriorating for decades. The deterioration started during Gov. Jerry Brown’s first two terms (1975 to 1983) because, as an environmental activist, he apparently believed letting California’s then-envied road system decay would force Californians to seek other means of transportation. We all know how well that worked. Getting this state’s drivers to give up their cars is a fool’s errand.
In any case, we’re positive that Riverside Construction’s bid for the interchange ($36.2 million) would have come in a lot closer to engineering cost estimates ($49.8 million) if the firm had three or four (or 10 or 20) other big projects in the works. The $15.3 million saved is good news for taxpayers, sort of, but it’s a bad sign for the economy. We’re still mired in recovery mode, and the immediate future doesn’t look much better than the immediate past.
The latest gun control debate, sparked by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy is now centering on somehow preventing mentally ill people from acquiring deadly weapons in the first place.
Which prompts the question of how to identify such people. The psychiatric community, which is vast, diverse and at odds over diagnosis and treatment of the “mentally ill” has, as noted by Jacob Sullum in the December 2012 issue of Reason magazine, expanded its domain. “Today,” Sullum writes, “(psychiatry) encompasses myriad sins and foibles, including smoking, overeating, gambling, shoplifting, sexual promiscuity, pederasty, rambunctiousness, inattentiveness, social awkwardness, anxiety, sadness, and political extremism. If it can be described, it can be diagnosed, but only if the (American Psychiatric Association) says so.”
Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, wrote last year that, “there are no objective signs or tests for mental illness ... and the boundaries between normal and abnormal are often unclear. That makes it possible to expand diagnostic boundaries or even create new diagnoses in ways that would be impossible, say, in a field like cardiology.” In other words, mental illnesses are whatever psychiatrists say the are.
That’s not only disconcerting, it shoves the whole idea of prior identification of potential shooters into the witch doctor pigeon hole. That can't work. | <urn:uuid:2cb22587-5fa9-4758-b8ed-8ced35b8d287> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vvdailypress.com/opinion/construction-38312-coming-nisqualli.html | 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 | 0.940102 | 647 | 1.5 | 2 |
|ETCSLtranslation : t.188.8.131.52|
1-11. Exalted lord, for whom a favourable destiny was determined while he was still in the good womb! Numucda, exalted lord, for whom a favourable destiny was determined while he was still in the good womb! Ningal formed ...... the holy seed ...... engendered by Suen. Born amid plenty in the holy mountains, eating fruits from a green garden, named with a good name by An and Enlil, carefully cherished by the great lady Ninlil! Numucda, son of the prince, whose appearance is full of awe-inspiring radiance! Great wild bull battering the enemy country, great lord Numucda!
12. cagbatuku. (lines 11 and 12 are written as one line in source and indented)
13-23. Snarling lion fiercely poised for the fight, ...... snake spitting roaring at the enemy, great dragon ...... holy incantations, whose knees never cease from running! Fearsome flood which no one can withstand, overflowing high water engulfing the banks!
24. 2nd (?) cagbatuku. (lines 23 and 24 are written as one line in source and indented)
25-32. Your arm is a battle net in (?) the land of those who do not practise agriculture; your claws are the claws of an eagle, grasping the wicked. No one dare oppose your authority. Your greatness and magnitude, surpassing all praise, and your utterances which cannot be dismissed
33. Sa-gida of the jicgijal.
34-41. Warrior, powerful in strength, who perfectly controls the complex divine powers! Warrior Numucda, powerful in strength, who perfectly controls the complex divine powers! God with the limbs of a bison, decorous to behold, like your father Suen you love to bestow life. Choosing truth and annihilating wickedness, in E-kic-nu-jal, the holy and princely dwelling, your divine powers are most precious divine powers, and your purification rites are resplendent. Numucda, hero, powerful in strength, who perfectly controls the complex divine powers!
42-56. Nunamnir, the lord who determines the destinies, has made your name august throughout the wide extent of foreign lands. He has assigned as a cult place for you the city of abundance, founded in a favourable place: Kazallu, the mountain of plenty. By his unchangeable command he has ordered the fashioning of Kun-satu, your lordly dais. Father Enlil, the good shepherd who loves your plans, has desired to make its forgotten lay-out visible again, and to restore its abandoned cities; he has ordered prince Sin-iqicam to accomplish it, and he has made (?) your cities and settlements peaceful dwelling places. He has dredged your canals, and cleared up the levees and irrigation ditches, so that abundant water will never be lacking there. He has put in your ...... and made manifest all that is proper.
57-60. Regard with favour his commendable prayers! Regard Prince Sin-iqicam with favour! May the king's joyous days be prolonged, O Numucda!
© Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 The ETCSL project, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford | <urn:uuid:42c3bf1a-138e-4bc8-b371-e18e5181a8fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.2.6.7.1&charenc=j | 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 | 0.930836 | 713 | 1.65625 | 2 |
|Is Syria Next on Bush's Agenda?
US prepares to punish Syria
US prepares to punish Syria
The United States may slap sanctions on Syria "very soon" under a law meant to punish Damascus for allegedly supporting terrorism and seeking unconventional weapons.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Friday that the Bush administration is moving forward on implementing the Syria Accountability Act.
"We'll have more to say on that very soon," he told reporters.
McClellan said Damascus had not soothed concerns about its "harbouring and supporting of terrorism"; about foreign fighters crossing the Syrian border to take on US-led troops in Iraq; about the Syrian military presence in Lebanon; and about Syria's quest for weapons of mass destruction.
"Those concerns need to be addressed, Syria needs to take them seriously and work to address those concerns, but we are going to continue to move forward on the sanctions," McClellan told reporters.
Syria denies supporting terrorism, though it admits backing legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
It also denies it is seeking weapons of mass destruction, arguing that the international community should turn its attention to Israel's nuclear stockpile.
The bill also demands that Syria withdraw the roughly 20,000 troops it has deployed in Lebanon and calls on the governments of Lebanon and Syria to "enter into serious unconditional bilateral negotiations" with Israel in order to secure "a full and permanent peace".
The legislation directs the president to prohibit US exports to Syria of weaponry and so-called "dual-use" technology with both civilian and military applications.
And it directs the president to choose two sanctions from a range that includes restricting US exports and business investment, downgrading US-Syrian diplomatic ties, imposing travel restrictions on Syrian diplomats in the United States, freezing Syria's assets in the United States, and restricting over-flight rights for Syrian aircraft inside US airspace.
US turns up heat on Syria
Suddenly everyone on Capitol Hill is demanding Syria withdraws its troops from Lebanon so, they say, the tiny Middle East nation can regain its sovereignty.
Possibly the most significant US steps have been the loftily named Syrian Accountability Act and the Lebanon Sovereignty Restoration Act, which US President George Bush signed into law in December 2003, expected to impose sanctions on Damascus.
The US legislation demands Syria withdraw its estimated 20,000 troops from Lebanon. It also calls for an end to its support for "terrorism" and a halt to alleged development of weapons of mass destruction and medium and long-range missiles, charges Damascus denies.
Syria is the main powerbroker in Lebanon and wields a firm grip over Beirut's security apparatus and government.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, on a visit to the Gulf, reiterated what have become almost feverish calls for a withdrawal, so that Beirut can enjoy "full sovereignty".
State Department spokesman Nabil Khury, who was responsible for liaison between Washington and the Arab media during the US-led war against Iraq, again emerged in the region to send a US message.
"The old arguments that this presence was necessary as collateral for recovering the Golan or to protect Syria's flank in the event of an Israeli attack are now obsolete and out of date," he told Lebanon's French-language L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper.
Lebanese opponents of Syria's presence have increasingly voiced their demands for a full Syrian withdrawal, emboldened by the death of Syrian leader Hafidh al-Asad in June 2000. University students have frequently organised mass rallies, which often end in clashes with riot police and dozens of arrests.
However, it is highly unlikely that US policymakers have taken up a crusade to restore sovereignty to Lebanon, said Arab and Western analysts.
These calls "should be seen more as an exertion of American hegemony rather than any kind of principled support for international law or Lebanese sovereignty," said Stephen Zunes, Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project, a US thinktank.
"If we were concerned about Lebanon's sovereignty we would not have supported 22 years of Israeli occupation," he added.
"Particularly in the field of foreign policy, the Syrians essentially have veto power over most Lebanese initiatives," said Zunes. "They do exert quite a bit of influence on that countryís policies, I think analogous to the Soviet Unionís influence on its eastern European satellites during the Cold war."
Lebanese political commentators agreed.
"A lot of the Lebanese politicians currently are there because they enjoy backing from Syria. And the more nice things they say about Syria, the more they will stay in office," said one observer who asked not to be named.
Zunes believes Syria is the latest target of US "antipathy" because of its opposition to what he describes as American dominance in the region.
"Since the removal of Saddam Hussein, Syria is one of the very, very few remaining Arab nationalist governments that try to put its own self-interests ahead of Washington," says Zunes.
Al-Asad became involved in Lebanon to rein in Palestinian resistance fighters and their leftist Lebanese allies from defeating Christian militias. Kissinger played on al-Asadís fears that if Damascus did not crush the Palestinians, Israel would be more than willing to carry out the task - a scenario al-Asad wanted to avoid.
Israeli troops moving freely in Lebanon would make it easier to attack Syria. Thus, the Arab League authorised Syrian forces to enter Lebanon in May 1976, and they have never left.
The civil war finally came to an end following the 1989 Taif accord, a Saudi Arabia-sponsored Arab League effort. It called for a complete Syrian military redeployment from Beirut and other major cities in the Beqaa Valley by 1992. However, it set no date for a full Syrian withdrawal, saying such talks would occur only after Arab-Israeli peace had been brokered.
"The Taif agreement has only been partially applied in terms of the Lebanese-Syria issue," said a Beirut-based Middle East political analyst who asked not to be named.
After Israelís withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000, following a 22-year occupation, Syrian troops have redeployed four times from Beirut and mountain areas. But many of these forces have only shifted to the Beqaa valley in eastern Lebanon.
Scramble to 'victory':
"If they are able to get a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon they can claim that Lebanon is a victory, that theyíve restored sovereignty to another Arab state," said a Lebanese Middle East political analyst who asked not to be named.
"They can say: 'Look, weíve already re-established democracy in Lebanon, we're working on the one in Iraq, we're working on the one in Syria'; they can have something to show," he said.
Divide and conquer:
Earlier this month, Kurds clashed with Syrians in the northeast part of the country after Kurdish riots swept the town of al-Qamashli killing at least 14 people.
The violence in al-Qamashli, an ethnically mixed town near the Turkish and Iraqi border, ended after Interior Minister Ali Hajj Hammud flew to the area to take control and the authorities threatened those responsible with the "severest punishments".
These incidents are extremely serious and pose the gravest threat to the Syrian government since Kurdish uprisings in 1979 in neighbouring Iran, warned Salem.
"Itís possible that the US, having toppled Saddam, is now free to meddle with Syria and encourage the Kurds ... and let them go ahead and make trouble," said Salem.
Syria is home to some 2 million Kurds.
Iraqís own Kurdish population supported the US-led invasion. Kurdish militias or Peshmerga fought under the command of US occupation forces to topple Saddam.
"Given the Kurdish empowerment in northern Iraq ... itís not unnatural that they look to the West and say: 'Look, we've got a million, a million and a half [sic] of our brothers over there. Letís send them guns and money and when we finish with this over here, letís turn our attention somewhere else'," said one Lebanese analyst.
"Given US hostility to Syria, given the Sunni opposition within Syria and the tight spot Sunnis are in within Iraq, all of that is a very precarious powder keg," he said.
Under US and British defence, Kurds have enjoyed autonomy in northern Iraq since 1991. Kurdish calls in Iraq for further autonomy have stirred fears in Turkey and Syria that their own Kurdish populations will demand autonomy.
Damascus provides backing for the Lebanese resistance group Hizb Allah, which spearheaded efforts to oust Israeli occupation forces from south Lebanon.
A Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon would presumably reduce Damascus' influence on the resistance group, which Washington includes on a list of so-called "terrorist" organisations.
"The United States very much wants Lebanon to make some kind of separate peace with Israel now that there are no longer outstanding issues regarding the occupation, with the possible exception of the Shebaa Farms," says Zunes.
Lebanon and Syria have insisted on maintaining a bilateral peace track with Israel.
And while US calls for a troop pullout could lead to a Syrian military disengagement from Lebanon, it is unclear whether Washington will demand Damascus should release its political grip over Beirut.
Bush imposes sanctions on Syria
Wednesday 12 May 2004, 0:51 Makka Time, 21:51 GMT
The White House has slapped sanctions on Syria, including a freeze on certain Syrian assets in the United States and limits on exports of goods, including weaponry.
President George Bush in a statement on Tuesday said the sanctions were in response to "threats" posed by Syria to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.
Bush accused Syria of "supporting terrorism, continuing its occupation of Lebanon, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programmes, and undermining US and international efforts with respect to the stabilisation and reconstruction of Iraq."
The export ban and other measures on Syria also follow long-standing US complaints that the Middle Eastern country had failed to stop anti-occupation fighters from entering neighbouring Iraq.
US bilateral trade with Syria is about $300 million a year.
A State Department official earlier during the week said that exemptions would be made to any export restrictions to allow the sale of aircraft spare parts, so that Syrian planes are not endangered and to allow the sale of communications equipment, to help Syrians get access to outside information.
The sanctions include a ban on flights to and fro from the US, authorisation to the Treasury Department to freeze assets of Syrian nationals involved in "terrorism" and restrictions on banking relations between US banks and the Syrian national bank.
The sanctions go beyond the minimum requirements of the Syrian Accountability Act which Bush signed into law in December.
First Afghanistan. It was an issue of revenge (and an oil pipeline).
Then Iraq. More revenge (and the world's largest oil reserves).
Is Syria next?
And is Syria even a threat?
Well, according to Bush, it IS.
And according to Bush's foreign policy, it is "shoot first, ask questions later".
But can the United States economy handle another war? Or is the US overstretched to possible economic collapse?
The pricetag for the Afghanistan War was 1 trillion american dollars.
The pricetag for the Iraq War was 3 trillion american dollars.
The US National Debt is now $7.14 trillion.
Bush more than doubled it.
The debt continues to grow at a rate of 2.03 billion per day.
And the World Bank is threatening to place a debt limit on the United States (meaning they CAN'T overspend and ask for more loans).
Bush has already made cuts to NASA and other "non-war essential programs", including health and educational programs. Bush's priority of attacking Arab oil-producing countries means that education and health in America is suffering.
The economic sanctions on Syria, is just the first step towards a 3rd war.
The threats and allegations of "possible weapons of mass destruction", or allegations of Syria seeking WMD is step two.
We already KNOW Iraq was innocent.
So will the argument of possessing WMD work in Syria?
Well, its election year in the United States. Americans (and the world) may soon find out. The issue of whether or not the US should attack Syria could make the election a kind of referendum on whether the United States "WANTS" another war. Or two.
Jordan is also considered to be a threat.
Well, lets measure the chances that Bush wants to attack Syria and Jordan next:
Syria has 2,400,000,000 (2.4 billion) barrels of oil reserves. Jordan has only 445,000 barrels of oil reserves.
Skip Jordan. Jordan isn't a threat. They don't even have much oil left.
So Syria it is.
And if Bush attacked Syria, Israel would join in and help. After all, Israel had a previous war with Syria (1967), in which Syria lost some territory (Golan Heights) to Israel.
But that would be very unwise.
The whole thing is very UNWISE. A third war has the potential to UNITE arab countries together and make a much more widespread conflict.
So a possible third arabic-american war.
In my mind, this is sheer stupidity. Osama bin Laden worked for the CIA as a spy during the Gulf War. And he came back for revenge.
After two more wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, how many more people will come to the United States seeking revenge? | <urn:uuid:2c073221-5184-4c4f-b870-9cdb47aafac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/is_syria_next.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955641 | 2,797 | 1.65625 | 2 |
To view more photos click the image to the right
The DNR has confirmed a cougar sighting in Sawyer County. It's the first sighting so far in 2013. Witnesses estimate the animal to be around 145 lbs.
The photos were taken near the Chippewa Flowage in Hayward.
In 2012, there were nine confirmed cougar sightings. The majority of those sightings were in southwestern Wisconsin. | <urn:uuid:ea57d507-0c95-4f6e-b4e0-c7848b1f3572> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsaw.com/news/headlines/Cougar-Sighting-Confirmed-in-Sawyer-County-188255481.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976364 | 82 | 1.789063 | 2 |
A federal program that could help residents and business owners with post-Sandy repairs and the raising of buildings received little attention — until Gov. Chris Christie mentioned it at a recent press conference.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $5.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding to five states, including New Jersey, on Feb. 6. The funds are the first round of such grants from the Sandy relief act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in January.
New Jersey will receive more than $1.8 billion in funds, according to HUD, which are intended for housing and infrastructure restoration as well as “economic revitalization in disaster-impacted areas” — which Christie, in a speech in Lavallette, Ocean County, on Tuesday, said would include offsetting the cost of home and business owners to raise their buildings to meet proposed FEMA flood zone requirements.
The funds are meant to meet recovery needs “that are not otherwise covered by insurance, FEMA, SBA, or other sources,” HUD stated, adding that the department expects the first round of allocations “to focus largely on housing and small business needs.”
Lisa Ryancq, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, said that they were still putting together an action plan to be submitted to HUD on how the funds would be allocated.
Many homes and business properties that have federally backed mortgages would be required to meet new elevation standards proposed in new FEMA flood zone maps or else face higher flood insurance rates. Christie issued an order last month standardizing the new maps, but only for homes and businesses that received at least 50 percent damage.
Ventnor Mayor Mike Bagnell, meanwhile, was cautious about the funding.
“Nothing comes from Washington and Trenton that doesn’t have a bungee cord attached,” Bagnell said. “I’d have to know more before I’m dancing in the streets.”
Money would probably be allocated to the worst-hit areas and cities first, he said, “So whatever’s left is where we’d have to draw from.”
Contact Steven Lemongello:
Follow Steven Lemongello on Twitter @SteveLemongello | <urn:uuid:d16f4199-054a-43e3-bbeb-7db9b2228738> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/christie-highlights-federal-funds-available-for-raising-homes-businesses-damaged/article_0e6d6e70-7bb4-11e2-a4f0-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964889 | 473 | 1.75 | 2 |
City leaders, including elected and appointed local authorities and their agency or department management, realize they must increase investment in infrastructure and improve service delivery despite rising costs and reduced budgets. Indeed, citizens are increasingly vocal in their communities, with many of them using other means of communications among themselves and with their community leaders, outside of the traditional town hall forums.
Many electronic government initiatives have realized limited success in tackling the issues that drive improvements in real metrics such as proper usage of emergency services, increased use of public transportation, reduced caseworker loads, and so forth. True leaders in government and community organizations know that real integrated intelligence requires integration of government and constituents, a prerequisite for a city to become truly smart. These leaders recognize that city government must establish clear policies that can be implemented as automated and streamlined processes. This requires changes to culture, organizations, and the way technology is used by government and constituents. It also requires integration of the multitude of channels through which citizens and business communicate with government, focused on development of specialized group and personal relationships with constituents, building awareness of government services and plans, and setting expectations that can be met and openly reported on.
Oracle's Solutions for Smart Cities, which is based on our experience with local government customers and best-in-class technology and applications, enables you to do the following:
Smart Innovation - Resolve up to 90 percent (or more) of most government service requests through integrated multichannel services, including self-service Web/chat; local single numbers such as 311, 1823, 133, 115; Facebook; Twitter; e-mail, and so on
Smart Processes - Analyze and streamline key areas—service delivery, infrastructure expenditures, constituent feedback, and others—to determine which services to prioritize, extend, consolidate, or even discontinue
Smart Infrastructure - Modernize IT infrastructure to enable integration and interoperability with the city’s existing siloed legacy IT infrastructure and embedded intelligence into city infrastructure to enhance service delivery.
Join Oracle at the Stockholm Summit on Service Innovation in Cities and the Living Labs Global 2011 Awards Ceremony, hosted by the City of Stockholm on May 12, 2011. Find out more. | <urn:uuid:5eaec1ec-12a2-4553-87ff-90e6399142a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/public-sector/smart-cities.htm?ssSourceSiteId=ocomes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945556 | 440 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Supatra Sasuphan says she doesn’t spend time thinking about the rare
condition she has that leaves her with thick hair on her face and body, a
determination to live a normal life that makes her an inspiration to
all who know her.Supatra, an 11-year-old Thai girl who’s known as
Nat, suffers from hypertrichosis, or Ambras syndrome, a genetic
condition marked by excess hair on the face and body. It’s so unusual
that there have been only 50 documented cases since the Middle Ages, when sufferers were feared as werewolves.With thick hair covering most of her face, Nat hopes to be cured one
day, but for now, she’s determined not to let her hirsuteness hold her
“It’s the way I am,” Nat said in an interview with TODAY. “I don’t even think about it.”
At first, she was teased at school, with other kids scared to look at her.
did have a hard time at the beginning,” says her teacher, Kuljira
Posaeng. “But as time passed she proved that she was just like anybody
else.”Those who know Nat describe her as a hard-working student
who gets good grades and has won over her classmates to become one of
the most popular kids at school. And she’s no shrinking violet: She
likes to sing, dance and act, and her teachers describe her as “very
lively.”Her hair has always grown back after doctors tried to
remove it with laser treatments, and it’s come in thicker with each
passing year.Last year, Guinness World Records named her the world’s hairiest teenager, an award that makes her feel proud.
“Being hairy makes me special,” she told Guinness. “This the happiest day of my life!”
It’s Nat’s quest to be a regular kid that makes those around her feel proud.
self-confident,” Sammrueng, her father, told TODAY. “She works and
plays hard. We want people to understand she’s a normal little girl.”Nat
was busy preparing for exams during TODAY’s visit and her studies paid
off with high marks all around and an A in her favorite subject, math.“She always gets such good results,” said Nat’s mother, Somphon. “I’m proud of her.”
Even in a world where people can be cruel to those who look different, Nat has big plans to help others by becoming a doctor.
“So I can help sick and injured people,” she told TODAY, “and treat my mum and dad and relatives.”
By Lisa Flam
|Liveleak on Facebook| | <urn:uuid:b5b19fec-3aba-4c8d-b2bc-0c1a7abdd0a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6b6_1330158804&comments=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970402 | 624 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Learning to be aware of your health is an important step in your academic and personal development and an important acquired skill throughout your lifetime. At Health Services, staff works together with the student to improve health and prevent illness and injury. The student can receive health intervention services, emergency services, and community provider referral.
There is no fee for these services beyond the annual $8 charge on your college bill.
Whenever you have a question or concern about your health, please contact Health Services in person or via e-mail.
Keep in mind that medical services received in Health Services are not a substitute for your physician or primary health care provider, who knows your health conditions best.
Student Health Services provides the following services:
- Personal and confidential nursing assessment and treatment of routine illnesses and minor injuries.
- Nurse Practitioner appointments for physical & mental health concerns.
- MMR (mumps, measles, and rubella) vaccinations for NYS immunization compliance requirements.
- Educational programs and materials to promote wellness and life style changes.
- Athlete and Medical program health clearances, and yearly reassessments
Staffing and contact information: Click on Staff | <urn:uuid:1037ea75-3c28-40b6-b329-e8bf65e5d75f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/stuhealth/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936929 | 236 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Last Modified: Friday, October 19, 2012 5:02 PM
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana's unemployment rate fell nearly half a percentage point to 7 percent in September, tying for the second-largest drop among all states, according to figures released Friday.
That's down from 7.4 percent in August. The drop was behind only South Carolina's 0.5 percentage point improvement. September was the second month in a row the unemployment rate dropped in Louisiana, after no improvement since January, when joblessness hit a post-recession low of 6.9 percent.
Louisiana had a 7.2 percent unemployment rate in September 2011.
The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 144,000 from 154,000 in August. In September 2011, the state had 148,000 unemployed people.
Almost 6,000 more people said they had a job in September, while 4,000 left the labor force. It was the second-straight decline in the labor force after the number of workers and job seekers hit 2.08 million in June and July. Except for three volatile months after Hurricane Katrina, those two months saw the highest number of Louisianans ever in the labor market.
The unemployment rate is calculated by a survey that asks how many people are looking for a job. A second survey each month asks employers how many people are on their payrolls, a measure that many economists look to as their top labor market indicator.
Total Louisiana payrolls fell to 1.94 million in September, down 6,700 jobs from August, according to numbers adjusted to cancel out predictable seasonal fluctuations. After coming close to matching the state's pre-Hurricane Katrina payroll peak in April, the state has slipped away from that ceiling.
Payrolls remain 23,000 above September 2011 levels.
Among business sectors where payroll jobs rose in Louisiana in September were professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, construction and financial activities. Payrolls fell in government; trade, transportation and utilities; manufacturing; and education and health services.
Overall, jobless levels fell in 41 states, rose in six and were flat in three. Nevada retained the highest unemployment rate at 11.8 percent, and North Dakota kept the lowest at 3 percent.
The national unemployment rate dipped to 7.8 percent in September from 8.1 percent in August. It remained below the 9 percent level of September 2011.
The broadest measure of those who are unemployed averaged 13 percent in Louisiana over the 12 months ending June 30, the most recent figures available. That number includes people who are looking for work only sporadically, have given up looking or are working part time because they can't find a full-time job.
Nationwide, that broad measure averaged 15.3 percent during the same time. | <urn:uuid:2326d5e2-92dd-40b2-bea0-831cf626abe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanpress.com/BC-LA--Louisiana-Unemployment-1st-Ld-Writethru-clone | 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 | 0.967714 | 572 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Point Tuition Crisis Calls For Hands-On Government
by Freddi deBoer
Counterpoint Get Your Government Hands Off My Education
by Cameron Luther
President Obama’s recent speech on education and the economy, delivered here at the University of Michigan a week and a half ago, revealed that constructive policy and the bully pulpit can work hand in hand.
President Obama’s speech touched on many issues confronting the American system of higher education. His proposals covered a wide range of problems facing colleges and college students across the country. Obama explained the need for report card for colleges and universities, which would convey important information to students and parents about the quality of university education. He further spoke of the need for greater information and transparency in student loan aid, referring to his proposal jokingly as “Know Before You Owe.” But by far the most significant—and what will likely be the most controversial—proposal announced during this speech was his plan to link tuition cost controls and access to federal aid, a “Race to the Top” for low tuition.
A Race to the Top program would tie tuition rates to the access of federal financial aid to universities, a vital part of the funding and economic apparatus of almost all American universities. The proposal addresses a grave and growing national problem. According to PBS, the average cost of college tuition increased by 400% between 1985 and 2005, and doubled during the past decade. This has led to far greater pressure on individual families and saddled millions of young adults with huge debts. While going to college still remains a good economic bet for most, and represents one of our most practical means for broadly increasing economic opportunity, such an immense rise in cost is simply unsustainable. Those of us working within the university, whether on the academic or administrative side, must be clear and forthright: the spiraling cost of a college education directly undermines the values, ethics, and goals of the research university, and they must be brought under control. If we cannot provide an education without wrecking the financial future of a significant portion of our students, we have no business calling ourselves inheritors of the academic tradition.
The finer-grained details of President Obama’s plan remain to be revealed, and as usual, those details will mean everything for this proposal. The President and his administration would do well to avoid an approach that is too heavy-handed or that takes a one-size-fits-all view of colleges and universities. But let me be clear: real, direct action from the federal government is necessary here, and such action must entail real consequences for universities which don’t take adequate steps to control costs. The majority of University administrators have been slow to act, demonstrating that they will not address this problem without a “big stick” to motivate them; the Obama administration is providing one.
Also vitally important was President Obama’s call for more state funding for public education. As a product of public universities, and a current educator at a public university, I find that those outside of academia routinely overestimate the amount of state funding that colleges receive. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that 43 states have cut funding to public colleges and universities since the beginning of the recession. This is merely an acceleration of a decades-long reduction in state funding of higher education. This dynamic cannot continue if the burden on students is to be eased. The economics are simple: while colleges have a great responsibility to lower costs, crushing student loan debt cannot be solved through colleges cutting costs; public universities also need more revenues. States must increase their funding to state universities, with progressive tax increases if necessary. Research suggests that states will receive substantial returns on investments in higher education.
The modern research university’s reputation has seen better days. It is portrayed in the media and the popular consciousness, as being in permanent crisis. And yet historically, the university is a model of resiliency. John Sexton, the current president of New York University, is fond of pointing out that of 80 human institutions that have survived in their current form for 500 years or more, 65 are universities. While this current tuition crisis is real and serious, it is not an unsolvable problem, if we commit to solving it. As the blogger Noah Millman is fond of saying, things that are unsustainable won’t be sustained. The university and those invested in it can solve this problem and flourish in the future, but only if that future is guaranteed by committed and sympathetic stakeholders who want the best for both universities and students.
It should come as no surprise that President Obama expressed major concerns over the price of higher education during his speech on Friday. After all, everyone knows that the price of a college education has been steadily increasing for some time now. And despite the costs, students are still as willing as ever to fork over ridiculous amounts of money to attend their school of choice. Students know, as Obama reiterated, that college is “the most important investment you can make, even if it means racking up thousands of dollars of loan debt. Of course, the ideal would be to get students a college education without the debt that often comes along with it. Well, the time has come that President Obama thinks he has the solution.
He is calling it the “Race to the Top.” This proposal will involve governmental pressure on universities to bring their tuitions down. In a nutshell, if tuition does not come down, the funding the university receives from taxpayers will come down instead. Conversely, if tuition does come down, the university will receive more funding. President Obama is also callingon the states to pick up the slack and spend more on higher education. This way, the universities and the state government will be “doing their part.” At first glance, “Race to the Top” may seem like a good way to bring college tuition down. However, in reality, there is a much easier way to solve this problem.
The first thing that needs to be asked is “why are tuition prices so high?” Ask anyone who attended college thirty or forty years ago, and they will tell you that things used to be much different. Back then, students could work full time over the summer and make enough money to pay their entire tuition for the school year. Nowadays, that would be nearly impossible. To make matters worse, on top of high tuitions costs, education quality seems to be getting worse as well. Many schools have succumbed to grade inflation in order to make it appear as though students are performing at a higher level than they really are. It is time that we acknowledge who is responsible for the counterintuitive fact that technology is improving, but at the same time, the price of education is increasing while the quality of education is decreasing. The responsible party, I will tell you, is none other than the Department of Education.
Because a quality education plays such a vital role in the success of individuals, people assume the Department of Education to be both positive and necessary. The Department of Education’s key mission is to promote education and make it more affordable. However, because of the subsidized loans that the department will give to just about anyone, tuition prices have skyrocketed. As a result, colleges are becoming very inefficient—making poor investments, putting money into buildings that are not necessary, funding programs that do not work, etc. However, because subsidized student loans are so easy to obtain, students still pay the excessively high tuitions currently charged by colleges without much hesitation. Basically, society has drilled into students’ heads the idea that college is an absolute necessity. For this reason, students refuse to let the cost of tuition stand in their way, even if it means going deep into debt.
If the government did not give these subsidized loans, things would be much different. Instead of being guaranteed a loan for school, prospective students would, instead, have to take out personal loans (which are much more difficult to get), try to earn scholarships, or possibly reconsider attending college at all. This might not seem ideal at first, but consider the following: If students are unable to afford to go to college, or decide it is not worth the investment, fewer students will attend. Without subsidized loans from the government, it will no longer be possible for students to attend colleges charging excessive tuitions. Students will begin to choose schools that are willing to charge reasonable tuitions, as these are the only schools the students will be able to afford. The colleges with excessive tuitions will be forced to compete, thus bringing prices down. By freeing up the market and creating competition among schools, the current problem of excessive prices can be solved. This competition existed among schools in the 1970’s and explains why it was once possible for students to pay their own college tuition while doing nothing more than working a summer job. If President Obama’s real goal is to lower tuition prices, then rather than intervening even more with his “Race to the Top” program, his next logical step should be distancing himself and the government from education altogether.
About the Issue
Point author: Freddi deBoer is a doctoral student in rhetoric and composition at Purdue University. His personal website is http://fredrikdeboer.com/.
Counterpoint author: Cameron Luther is a junior at the University of Michigan, majoring in Economics. He enjoys sports, politics, and reading.
Edited by: Consider Staff
Cover by: Jill Brandwein | <urn:uuid:de2b81c8-24de-4d50-8bf9-ce59375d1c66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://consideronline.org/2012/02/08/education-reform/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969435 | 1,937 | 1.742188 | 2 |
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) - The mother of a 7-year-old girl killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre is urging lawmakers to pass meaningful laws to help prevent another tragedy.
Chris and Lynn McDonnell, whose daughter Grace was among 20 first graders and six educators killed in December, spoke Thursday at a gun violence conference.
Lynn McDonnell asked lawmakers to look into their hearts, remember the 26 beautiful lives lost and pass meaningful laws to prevent such shootings. She received a standing ovation.
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak Thursday at the conference a few miles from the scene of last year's Newtown school shootings.
The conference, in Danbury, is to push President Barack Obama's gun control proposals. It was organized by members of the state's congressional delegation.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:cec2b4b6-0440-417e-8e9e-7d2f782a0308> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.13wmaz.com/rss/article/218588/28/Mother-of-Sandy-Hook-Victim-Urges-Action- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968161 | 189 | 1.734375 | 2 |
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It's as if 2008 never happened. Once again the world's investors are pumping up bubbles that will probably explode in their faces. After the popping of a real estate bubble led to the first global recession since the 1930s, world markets are frothing like shaken Champagne. Pundits claim to have spotted price increases that are unsupported by economic fundamentals in assets ranging from U.S. farmland to Israeli biotech to Australian housing to Chinese cemetery sites. Commodities have soared. Global junk-bond issuance hit a record in the first three months of the year. And Yale's Robert Shiller calculates that the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is trading at 23 times earnings normalized over the past 10 years, compared with a historical average of 16. "I fear this is the granddaddy of them all, an almost-encompassing bubble right at the heart of monetary systems," says Doug Noland, senior portfolio manager of the Federated Prudent Bear Fund.
Cassandras, pointing to the bankruptcies, taxpayer-financed bailouts, and joblessness caused by the last bubble, argue that today's bubbles need to be deflated now before they get dangerously large. Many blame the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too low and pumping out a flood of money in search of yield that feeds bubbles around the world. Chinese authorities want the Fed to raise rates to relieve inflation in China. On Apr. 7 the European Central Bank raised its benchmark lending rate a quarter-point, to 1.25 percent. In the U.S., "What we've created is beyond moral hazard," laments Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust Advisors, a Wheaton (Ill.) fund shop. "People are coming to think that the market cannot go higher if the Fed isn't helping it."
Not everyone is in the grip of bubble-phobia, least of all Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The central bank remains committed to keeping rates ultralow until the economy shows more staying power. In an Apr. 11 speech in New York, Fed Vice-Chair Janet L. Yellen didn't say anything about bubbles. But she rejected the contention that Fed policy is responsible for commodity price inflation, blaming the runup in oil and food prices largely on "rising global demand and disruptions in global supply." She's right: Commodities aren't being hoarded, as they would be if investors were speculating on them. Inventories have fallen since last summer.
Some economists such as Jaume Ventura and Alberto Martin of Barcelona's Universitat Pompeu Fabra go so far as to argue that bubbles are the price we pay for vigorous growth. They say the optimism reflected in sharply rising prices can become a self-fulfilling prophecy: Rising prices induce more hiring and investment. That generates the growth that justifies even higher prices, and so on in a virtuous upward spiral. Of course, eventually the bubble pops and causes a mess. Yet however jarring a boom-bust economy may be, they say, it's better than an overregulated economy stuck in perpetual underperformance. "The bubble has costs. But you prefer the world with the bubble over the one without the bubble," says Ventura.
James W. Paulsen, the bullish chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis, happens to think the Fed should raise interest rates a bit now—but, he says, "It's comical that we think we can regulate away future recessions or crises. It's scary to the extent that if we do, we will crush the essence of capitalism, which is basically greed and animal spirits."
Didier Sornette, a physicist who studies finance at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, sketches out six stages of bubbles: 1) the appearance of a new investment opportunity; 2) the expansion of credit; 3) euphoria; 4) distress; 5) revulsion; 6) panic. Ventura and Martin don't even assume euphoria. In their "rational bubbles," investors buy into a bubbly asset because they conclude that the overpricing can last for many years, and the chance they will still be invested when the bubble bursts is small. For all the people who sell before the bust, as well as all those who earn salaries from the sector while it's still bubbling, there's no downside, they note.
One reason it's hard to pick between the bubbles-are-bad and bubbles-are-O.K. camps is that bubbles aren't all alike. The best ones create assets whose value survives the crash. The Apollo program that put people on the moon, only to lose public support in the 1970s, was a "social bubble" in which over-optimism advanced science, Sornette says. Bad bubbles generate worthless assets such as exurban housing subdivisions that are taken over by squatters and mold. Other bubbles don't produce any supply response at all. The only impact of China's new mania for old wine—one bottle went for nearly $233,000 last year—is to transfer wealth to whoever was lucky enough to own the bottles before the Chinese got interested, notes Harvard economist Edward Glaeser.
When the tech sector gets bubbly, consumers are often the biggest beneficiaries, Glaeser says, because investors fund ideas that help the general public, from wireless communications to solid-state data storage to the Internet. So it was in the 19th century with the railroad boom. Today's speculation in tech is concentrated in social networking. The question is whether the new investments will live up to the greatest hits—and productive busts—of Silicon Valley's past. | <urn:uuid:0cc3407e-23e1-4596-ae63-6483b4c95663> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_17/b4225058281366.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949502 | 1,168 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The energy released by the primordial element of fire is skilfully conducted into the air and the materials concerned. This concept lies behind the technology involved in building our professional bakery ovens, which have always been considered among the most prestigious bread-baking tools available.
- 40°C Blast freezers
- 20°C Preserving cabinets
- 15°/+45°C Automatic retarder proovers
A full range of chillers - built to meet the requirements of the small artisan, just as our large tunnel chillers are designed with small and medium-sized industrial production in mind.
Our efforts are focused on providing the customer with the best possible service. Offering a wide and versatile range of products is not enough: we must also lend an attentive ear to the customer's needs, so we can provide satisfactory solutions to the most varied requirements.
All our products are strictly "made in Italy". In manufacturing our products, we use only the finest materials and our workmanship is meticulous. A perfect marriage of craftsmanship and technology, to ensure that our machines are reliable, perform to the very highest standards and will last for years, like large-scale pieces of jewellery.
Durability, performance and fuel consumption are conditioned to a large extent by the structure of a piece of equipment. There is no need to comment on the thickness of the stainless steel we use to build our ovens. As well as the materials, every phase of construction is subject to painstaking inspections and programmed quality tests. Attention to detail also
involves careful study of functionality and harmony of form. Today, after almost a hundred years, we continue with unabated enthusiasm and commitment to interpret and keep ahead of the market, introducing new ideas, designs and technologies that will improve our workmanship and the performance of our products. | <urn:uuid:42e5c597-5259-49c4-ae0c-70d1ef8ad3d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tagliavini.com/en/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951038 | 366 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Hello. I'm creating a game where people can set up an account. Their registration information includes but is not limited to a login and a password. The login and the password are used to sign in. I store the sign in information in a player object, and each player object is stored in an Array List called players. How do I prevent the player objects from being deleted when I compile the program. Am I doing this the right way? Should I be storing the players sign in information in a file? If so, I'm not sure how to do this. Please help. Thank you. My code:
author and iconoclast
In brief: objects last only as long as the program they're created by is running, unless you specifically do something to change that. Usually, that means having a way to store the objects in either a file or a database, and a way to load objects from the file or database.
So right now, your game is an application that people can run at the command line; it's not networked, and it's not set up to run indefinitely while various people log in and out. If you want it to stay like this -- i.e., someone runs the application, logs in, plays, logs out and the application quits -- then just saving the login data in a simple flat file would probably be fine. | <urn:uuid:0e42f31f-f3f8-498f-8508-b284f6c226f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coderanch.com/t/447938/java/java/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963336 | 277 | 1.804688 | 2 |
January 13th, 2013, 01:11 PM
Originally Posted by armanius
January 13th, 2013, 01:15 PM
Originally Posted by Hikari
I just wish there was a place I could buy talent!
January 13th, 2013, 01:16 PM
May I respectfully suggest that Mr Google has a great amount of information on this subject, just ask him about digital black and white photography or something similar, you'll find 1000's of entries there.
Sigma DP1M and DP2M, Panasonic GH2
January 13th, 2013, 01:26 PM
Jock, you might want to consider getting Snapseed as a separate application. Its not as full featured as the plugins for PS/Lightroom but its really quite good, only $20, and produced by the same mob (which is now owned by google)
Snapseed | Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.
January 13th, 2013, 01:41 PM
There is free pp software which will help you get your feet wet. I hear that 'Gimp' works very well and it's free. And most pp software have a 30 days free trial period. Photoshop Elements is quite good and much cheaper than CS6, both Lightroom and Aperture are under $100.
"Everywhere you look there are photographs, it is up to us photogs to see them."- Gary Ayala
My Snaps are Here: Unsharp At Any Speed
January 13th, 2013, 02:12 PM
I can confirm that GIMP mirrrors much of what Photoshop can achieve. I've used it under Linux, I'm not sure if the development work to get it running under windows is still a work in progress or if there is a version available.
Here are two typical links from a quick internet search that will give you some idea of techniques available to you. The first details methods that can be used in a photo editor such as Photoshop Elements, and indeed GIMP. These techniques are universal and would be no more nor less than anyone could submit to a thread here, however the work has already been done by others and is clearly stated, so saves time and further explanation.
7 Black and White Photoshop Conversion Techniques
The second contains tutorials about Silver Efex
Silver Efex Pro 2 – Tutorial « Photography Improvement
I hope these provide you with a starting point for further research. I would suggest that the first set of methods would provide you with a greater learning experience than just selecting from a set of presets contained within a plug in, however inexpensive.
Sigma DP1M and DP2M, Panasonic GH2
January 13th, 2013, 02:37 PM
Gimp has had windows ports for a few releases now. Which is what I run on my laptop.
My photostream at Flickr.com is here
"We can not shake the illusion of the truthfulness of photography" - William Gedney
January 13th, 2013, 05:41 PM
Here is what I use.
The list at the bottom of that link shows some of what the program can do. It is a raw converter with full image adjustment ability, filters, frames etc and powerful hdr ability including image combining and tone mapping. One important ability the program has that is not mentioned on the site is the ability to combine layers through brushes or erasers. It does have all the lasso tools as well however they are not as intelligent as those in photoshop. I'm not sure everything works exactly right or it is operator error (more likely) . It is also kind of clunky at times but still very powerful. The only negative I have found is that the rotate function isn't as sensitive (small increments) as I'd like and so I use an old freeware version of 20 20 for that and sometimes sharpening as well.
Here is a gallery if you would like to see some images. Note the black and whites.
I recommend this to those who do not want to spend a lot but want a very complete package including real hdr power. All that said it is only $45.50 US and has all that it does. I have no affiliation with the product other than being a happy user who hasn't found a reason to justify the expense (what like 10 times the cost of this program?) CS6 or some such.
January 13th, 2013, 06:41 PM
For some very good threads about Silver Efex and all the many plusses of using it you might want to take a look see here: (I did a search in Image Works for "Silver" http://www.seriouscompacts.com/searc...earchid=134681 Take your time and look at the threads that specifically talk about Silver Efex...and I'd include How is Nik Silver Efex Pro better than Lightroom for B&W for sure.
This site uses affiliate programs and referral links for monetization. | <urn:uuid:60ec662e-8c6a-4944-89b5-2b5f91b50de7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seriouscompacts.com/f32/total-newb-question-about-software-15619/index3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967037 | 1,031 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Europe's landscape is changing -- dramatically in its Eastern half, which is groping toward capitalism, and less spectacularly in the Western part, which is on the road to a single market. The following notes on recent transformations suggest that the two trends are not unconnected.
Big if Not Beautiful. The announcement on July 30 of the long-heralded takeover of International Computers, Britain's champion in this field, by Fujitsu, the big Japanese specialist, creted quite a stir in Europe. It was a reminder that in several fields European corporations cannot compete with the giants of the international marketplace. But Fujitsu's move was taken as a challenge not to Europe's big producers of mainframe computers -- the German Siemens, the French Groupe Bull and the Italian Olivetti -- but to I.B.M., the American giant.
There is no complaint about the invasion of American capital for the simple reason that for some time now money has been flowing across the Atlantic in the opposite direction. The only novelty, according to a recently published study, is that in the past few years Freench companies, particularly state-owned ones, were the leaders in this trans-Atlantic transfer of capital. While new, this development should not be surprising. In the earlier phase of the Industrial Revolution business concentration had proceeded much further in Britain and Germany. It is now the turn of French, and also Italian, corporations to catch up, and the state is helping them to reach the size needed for international competition.
We are approaching the final state of capitalist concentration on the international scale, with giants swallowing giants. The tales about capitalism with companies on a human scale were just tales. Small may be beautiful but our god, Mammon, is on the side of the big batallions. … | <urn:uuid:9e125d68-f33e-495c-8081-d048588db486> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-8907664/creeping-capitalism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960541 | 363 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Cell phone photos of an illegal magic pipe in operation, could bring a whistle blowing crew member a nice monetary award.
Two corporations have pleaded guilty in separate hearings in Baltimore for their role in managing and owning a ship -- the M/V Aquarosa -- engaged in deliberate discharges of waste oil and plastic garbage. Yesterday, the companies were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis to pay $1.2 million and serve three years of probation during which they will be required to implement a government approved environmental plan that includes audits conducted by an independent firm and review by a court appointed monitor.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Efploia Shipping, a Marshall Islands corporation based in Greece, was the technical manager of the M/V Aquarosa, a 33,005 gross ton newly built cargo ship, constructed in China and registered in Malta. Aquarosa Shipping, a company based in Denmark, was the owner of the vessel. Both corporations pleaded guilty yesterday to four felony counts: obstruction of justice, making material false statements, and the environmental crimes of knowingly failing to maintain an accurate oil record book and knowingly failing to maintain an accurate garbage record book, both in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
According to papers filed in court, senior ship engineers started dumping oil contaminated bilge waste on the ship's very first voyage after it was completed in June 2010 in China. One method involved removing the blocking mechanism inside a valve so that waste could be pumped overboard. Another method involved a so-called "magic pipe" consisting of a long rubber hose and metal flanges welded together onboard to bypass required pollution prevention equipment.
The investigation began after an engineer complained to the U.S. Coast Guard when the ship arrived in Baltimore in February 2011. The crew member provided the Coast Guard with his cell phone containing 300 photographs showing how a magic pipe was being used to discharge sludge and oily waste overboard and to bypass the ship's oily water separator, a required piece of pollution prevention equipment.
Plastic garbage bags containing oil soaked rags were also dumped overboard. Under MARPOL, an international treaty to which the United States is a party and which is enforced by the APPS, ships must maintain an oil record book and a garbage record book in which all such discharges are recorded. Both defendants admitted to deliberately falsifying these required logs.
The ship's Chief Engineer, Andreas Konstantinidis, is currently incarcerated for his role. He pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice charges and was sentenced to three months in prison.
Both Efploia Shipping and Aquarosa Shipping were sentenced to pay a total of $1.2 million. Of that amount, each defendant was ordered to pay $275,000 in organizational community service payments to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation which will receive a total of $550,000 earmarked for projects involving Chesapeake Bay.
At the hearing today, the United States requested that the court issue an award to the whistleblower whose information led to the conviction of the defendants. The court did not rule on the matter today.
"The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute the intentional dumping of oil and plastic from ships and falsification of ship records because they are serious crimes that threaten our precious ocean resources," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.
"The defendants dumped pollution into the ocean and falsified records to prevent the Coast Guard from learning about it," said Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. "More than $500,000 of the penalty proceeds will fund conservation efforts for the Chesapeake Bay, our nation's largest and most diverse estuary."
"The Coast Guard's objective when investigating violations and supporting these prosecutions is to ensure environmental stewardship is not optional and that deliberate violators are held accountable," said Coast Guard Capt. Mark O'Malley, Captain of the Port of Baltimore. "This sentence includes a requirement that these defendants develop and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance program that will be monitored by third-party auditors. Our inter-agency efforts are not just aimed at punishing misconduct, they are aimed at fostering a safe, environmentally conscious and professional marine industry,"
January 26, 2011 | <urn:uuid:15419260-3acd-41f7-90dc-ebe572ffabb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1862:2012jan00260&catid=82:environment&Itemid=188 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966282 | 881 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Welcome to the Billings Area Indian Health Service
The Billings Area Indian Health Service (IHS) provides a comprehensive health services delivery system to more than 70,000 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people in the states of Montana and Wyoming. There are six IHS service units, two Self-Governance service units, five urban programs and an administrative office in Billings, Montana.
During fiscal year (FY) 2004 the IHS user population increased by two-percent, increases outpatient workload by four-percent, and decreases the average daily patient load (ADPL) by 1.2 for inpatient.
Billings Area Office
2900 4th Avenue North
Billings, MT 59101
The Billings Area clinical staff consists of approximately 54 physicians, 179 nurses, 29 dentists, and 33 pharmacists delivering health care through 3 IHS hospitals, 9 health centers, 6 heath stations and numerous health locations.
All IHS and Tribally operated facilities in the Billings Area have been successfully accredited through JCAHO or AAAHC or CMS (Critical Access) or FQHC.
The Tribes of Montana and Wyoming, in partnership with the Billings Area Office of IHS, and the Urban Programs have engaged in a comprehensive planning process to define the Health Care needs of our population and the capacity to provide that care through The Billings Area Health Services Master Plan. The Master Plan is expected to forge referral partnerships to improve access care that is currently unavailable and to improve the overall health and spiritual well being of our population served.
New programs have been initiated to improve our delivery of health care such as quality work environment; we care survey, phone service survey, and the learning center. The underlying focus is to improve the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, customer service and satisfaction of the patients served.
The goal of the Billings Area is to eliminate health disparities between AI/AN and the general population.
We encourage participation and input from our patients, employees, tribal organizations and other stakeholders.
Director, Billings Area IHS | <urn:uuid:b6a385e9-ead4-45ff-98af-7c5cd19d2892> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ihs.gov/billings/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933311 | 422 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Choosing a Major
Law schools do not require a specific major for entrance requirements. A Bachelor's degree will be sufficient for admittance, dependent on your academic performance, LSAT score, recommendations, and other factors. You should be aware that the Department of History, Politics, and Society, has specific courses designed to familiarize students with legal history and principles and emphasizes critical thinking and expository writing skills.
Law schools desire students with a broad liberal arts education emphasizing skills in oral communication, creative and logical thinking, and writing ability. La Sierra's Pre-Law Program highly recommends four courses to cultivate those skills--Introduction to Law and related courses concerning domestic and international law, Advanced Expository Writing, and Logic. Other strongly recommended courses include Criminology, Business Law, and U.S. Constitution.
History and Political Science
If you are undecided or have a particular interest in history or sociology and/or political science the Department of History, Politics and Society can provide you with some of the following advantages and services:
The History major in particular has the goal of preparing the undergraduate student for law school. Courses in American Government, Comparative Government, and the US Constitution, among other requirements, are emphasized for the purpose of providing you with a strong foundation for your future law school experience.
A number of scholarships, for which pre-law students are eligible, are available through the Department, including the Wilfred J. Airey Pre-law Scholarship, the Gail Kendall Women's Pre-law Scholarship, and the W.C. Taft Law Scholarship.
Each year a departmental major spends a quarter as a legislative intern in Washington, D.C., working as a staff member for a US Congressperson. The Department has also placed students in state programs in Sacramento and Honalulu and in summer experience programs in the offices of both District Attorneys and Public Defenders within the Inland Empire.
4) Pre-Law Advisement:
Two advisors, one an attorney, are available to assist you with any questions or help you may seek regarding your Pre-Law program, law school admission, or the practice of law. Additionally, the instructor of the Introduction to Law course is a collaborating faculty member of the Department of History, Politics and Society, and is engaged in the full-time practice of law.
5) Resource Center:
The Department’s Resource Center (Room 325) contains a wide assortment of information sources concerning law school opportunities, including the Official Guide to US Law Schools, law school bulletins, video presentations of law school programs, LSAT information, past State Bar examination results for law schools, and other pertinent information to help you successfully plan for law school.
6) Office Experience:
If you are interested in part-time employment with a local law firm during the school year, the Department has contacts with lawyers in the Inland Empire and Orange County and has placed several students in part-time positions over the past few years.
7) The Pre-Law Club:
La Sierra University has an active Pre-law Club that organizes each year from various schools and departments across the campus. History, Business, Communications, and Psychology majors are particularly well-represented; however, a student from any major is welcome to become a member.
One of the positive features of becoming a lawyer is the ability to use your training in a wide range of occupational areas. Some examples:
director of charitable foundation
AND OF COURSE...PRACTICING CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LAW--TAKING DEPOSITIONS, TRYING CASES, AND DOING ALL THOSE THINGS WE NORMALLY ENVISION LAWYERS DOING.
For further information or advice, contact Jeffrey N. Dupée, Ph.D., J.D., Associate Professor of History, La Sierra Hall, Room 302C, (951) 785-2365 | <urn:uuid:c16ba343-87ff-4e37-b385-4f4fce8e7c01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lasierra.edu/ue2013/news/2006/may/index.php?id=924 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934559 | 798 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Design As Art
How do we see the world around us? The Penguin on Design series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings on art, design and the media have changed our vision forever.
Bruno Munari was among the most inspirational designers of all time, described by Picasso as ‘the new Leonardo’. Munari insisted that design be beautiful, functional and accessible, and this enlightening and highly entertaining book sets out his ideas about visual, graphic and industrial design and the role it plays in the objects we use everyday. Lamps, road signs, typography, posters, children’s books, advertising, cars and chairs – these are just some of the subjects to which he turns his illuminating gaze.
To keep up-to-date, input your email address, and we will contact you on publication
Please alert me via email when: | <urn:uuid:2ae3857c-9fcc-402c-9db3-86f0d1c59750> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141035819,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947032 | 178 | 1.84375 | 2 |
web design & internet consulting in houston, texas
Removing Spyware and Trojans from Your Windows Home Computer
Not only do we get daily client calls about spyware, but after work, people are lined up at our apartments looking for help with this same issue. We're going to look at some easy ways to identify, remove and protect against spyware infestations. In the category of "spyware," we include all invasive and uninvited programs from trojans to viruses to adware.
If your computer is running slowly, or you notice pop up windows appearing, even when you're not web browsing, you may have spyware. To find out what spyware you have, you'll want to download the following spyware cleaners, and then unplug your network cable (leads from your computer to DSL or cable modem). Why unplug? Most of these programs report home for instructions, or will reload themselves. Even more, they can be wrecking someone else's machine while you're trying to fix your own, so be a good citizen and yank the cord.
You may find that your computer is being directed to the same old sites by popups. There's a quick way to cure this. Keeping your network cable unplugged, go to the Start menu, select Run and type "command." A black box will come up where you can type DOS commands. Enter:
C:\> notepad \windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
This assumes that your Windows 2000 or XP software is installed into C:\windows; if not, substitute the appropriate name.
The hosts file has a header, and then a list of sites in the form:
The numbers on the left are IP addresses; the words on the right are Internet addresses. Normally, your computer has to connect to another computer to look up the number address for a site name so it can connect to that site. Sneaky spyware puts its own addresses into the hosts file to make this process faster. Highlight any lines containing the names of sites you've seen in your popup windows, and delete them, then save the file. This will spare you some agony when you reboot.
Please download the following free software before unplugging your machine from the Internet.
Then yank the ethernet cable from your cable modem or DSL modem. Now you're ready to excise some parasites.
The first piece of software you want is Ad-Aware. This monitors for a number of low-level threats. Since spyware rarely comes singly, you'll be able to use this to knock out the more obvious annoyances and focus on the real threats. Install it, and run it to remove basic threats. It will flag a number of non-lethal infections, like tracking cookies from known spam/spy sites, but it's not a terrible idea to nuke these as well. Rip 'em all out.
Spybot Search and Destroy
A more muscular program for spyware and malware specifically is Spybot SD. Install this, and run a system scan; you can remove everything it offers as a possible source. When it has removed everything on your system, run it again, to see if you have any persistent infections. Make note of anything that occurs in both scans.
Internet Explorer helped all of us out by standardizing the web to a single way of interpreting HTML, but unfortunately, it also has some problems. Opera is more stable and secure, and free. There are tools to migrate over your bookmarks and settings from IE.
A firewall is a program that watches over internet connections to your machine, and filters out the ones you designate as bad. Kerio lets you not only block most incoming traffic, but select which programs you allow to send outbound traffic as well. Install it, and reboot.
If you ran Spybot SD and it found security holes after you ran it the first time, you've probably got some gnarly spyware on there. This is where you may have to let an experienced user help you out. There's no quick and simple fix, but the basic process is to identify the program causing problems. You may be able to do this by pressing Control-Alt-Delete, selecting Task Manager, and looking for unusual programs.
A good guide to identifying programs running on your machine:
If you spot anything, remember the name of its program, and look it up here:
There are specialized tools on that site for some infections, and others will tell you how to remove resistant malware. Generally, you'll end up editing the Windows registry, then deleting or moving the software in question; in some cases, you'll have to reboot into command line mode or Safe Mode to remove these programs. There's no way to detail all of this in a short guide, so if you don't know what you're doing, call in the help.
Making Your System Spyware-Proof
When you installed Mozilla and Kerio, you took the two biggest steps toward making your system secure. Internet Explorer has too many holes to patch, and when you do lock it down for a sensible security setting, it bombards you with error messages about what it can't run on web pages. This seemingly blockhead strategy probably reflects confusion and bureaucracy at Microsoft. It's not clear whether it's time to ditch Microsoft stock or not, but it's clear that it's time to ditch Explorer.
Running a firewall helps. Kerio Personal Firewall is one option, but others are Norton, Zone Alarm, Sysgate and the Windows XP built-in firewall. Our experience suggests Kerio is the best. It runs with all features, free and legally, for thirty days, and after that the firewall is free but the added features require you register. That's up to you. If you want to test your firewall, and to look for any weird applications that might be listening for orders from their infernal homebases, use this utility:
It doesn't hurt to run anti-virus software, but one recommendation is to configure the software to scan only when you double click it. Virus scanners that run in the background cause more problems than they're worth. They tend to slow down your machine, interfere with installations, and often crash other software. The best advice here is to run your software after any new download, or to set up Windows to run your anti-virus software nightly, after all possible users have gone to sleep.
Finally, stay on top of operating system updates from Microsoft:
These small ways of securing your system make it more difficult for spyware, malware, viruses and trojans to infest you, and also make your system more difficult for run of the mill crackers to penetrate. We could write a book on Internet Security for the home, but we'd rather give away this textfile. Although there's a fortune to be made in helping people delete spyware and secure their systems, it's more important that people be able to use and enjoy their computers without fear. Thanks for reading.
Copyright © 1995-2010 Dionysius Studios, Houston, Texas | <urn:uuid:fae34a74-a291-466f-a974-b7cf69cd475c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dionysius.com/technical-writing/spyware/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938124 | 1,461 | 1.5 | 2 |
A Democratic president clashes with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill as a polarized nation debates taxes and guns, illegal immigration and gay rights, and, perpetually, the size of government. Question: Fictional Hollywood or real Washington? Answer: Both.
For seven years, from 1999 to 2006, the NBC drama "The West Wing" showed America the inner workings of President Josiah Bartlet's made-up White House. Re-watching its episodes today, it's difficult to ignore the parallels between the fiction of then and the reality of today. Since the show ended, the line between the authentic and the packaged in Washington seems to have grown increasingly fuzzy, not just in our politics but now, also, in governing itself.
The depiction of American politics has saturated our popular culture over the past two decades, from "Spin City" and "Dave" in the 1990s to "Veep" and "Lincoln" today. The images, dialogue, casting and storylines almost always play to stereotypes, implanting notions of the American system in the minds of viewers and shaping expectations of how politics and government should look.
Our scripts, the storylines we expect, can confine us. But behind that notion is a deeper, more troubling question: Has the kind of politicking served up on the screen for so long become so ingrained that it is blowing back into the reality of governing?
More important, are expectations set by Hollywood and reinforced by Washington out of step with what it will take to govern a changing country in challenging times? Are American leaders expending too much effort trying to be and do what's expected for their audience - primarily core supporters and special interests - rather than being and doing what is needed to fix the nation's problems? And are we, the public, equally responsible by punishing our leaders if they veer from the script?
Political theater is hardly new. Leaders have always played hard for the public's attention and support. And our 24/7 flow of instantaneous information, with the insatiable appetite for reality programming tacked on, is making things more intense.
Almost daily, individual congressmen and senators march to the House and Senate floors to passionately support or oppose a certain piece of legislation, raising voices and pounding podiums as they preach - to mostly empty chambers, and C-SPAN viewers taken by the ruse TV has created. Also, Republicans and Democratic leaders hold frequent news conferences - again, much of it for show.
Ronald Reagan, the actor-turned-politician-turned-president, used his Hollywood-honed communication skills to get the public on his, if not the Republican Party's, side. Barack Obama, a skillful orator operating in a new-media world, frequently leverages the latest technology to curry favor with Americans in hopes of pressuring GOP leaders who control the House to see it his way on any number of issues. Rare is the politician who cannot, with the help of speechwriters, summon the narrative drama needed to get something done or play to an audience.
Is it any wonder, then, why many Americans tell pollsters they have so little faith in their leaders and institutions? Or why they're so turned off by Washington? Or why they seem to get caught up in the Hollywood-like romance of what it should be like rather than in the reality of what it needs to be? | <urn:uuid:a46c1210-73bb-4523-9c6f-f4356d9ac20a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/feb/11/column-real-or-fake-its-hard-to-tell-anymore/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956361 | 681 | 1.796875 | 2 |
THL commentator Hans Mentha of Raleigh, NC has designed and displayed a beautiful flag for the resurgent liberty movement in America today and you can see him proudly displaying it above in Washington DC.
A lot of thought went into this and I think it very nicely summarizes the goals and principles of our contemporary freedom revolution.
"A new flag should properly identify our struggle toward the ->Third<- war of independence. (The war of 1812 is known as the Second war of independence.)
Last winter I designed a flag that I've been carrying to events since the spring. It is based on historic symbols that reflect a respect for liberty...
My motivation for design of an alternative was to create something out of traditional elements, visually similar to the US flag, that would stimulate folks to ask questions and talk about what is happening in our nation.
Over the last century, we as a people have been willing to accept 'progressive' tyranny and Keynesian economics from our governors while we pretend to still believe in Liberty and free markets.
For me, an alternative flag is a 'battle standard' to rally attention until such time as we restore our Republic. At that time our traditional US Flag will once again suffice."
You can click the image below to enlarge it and read more about the flag that Hans designed:
Symbols on this Flag:
1. Nine vertical red and white stripes honor the American Colonies that protested the Stamp Act imposed by Parliament and George III
2. The cobalt canton, color of the Continental Army coat, represents a "blue-sky" of boundless optimism and limitless opportunity
3. Thirteen letters in the motto celebrate those American Colonies that fought United to establish themselves as independent States
4. "Live Free Or Die" expresses the conviction of men who shed blood so that we might dwell without coercion in civil society
5. A gold coin confirms specie as proper money, an exchange medium and store of value immune to manipulation and corruption
6. The image of "Lady Liberty" on the coin reminds everyone that free men defy oppressive governments and depose tyrants
Where can you get your own?
In Mr. Mentha's own words:
I've shared the PDF freely as an explanation for folks who inquired about the 3'x5' printed flag flying in the breeze. (The "base" 9-stripe is one of the pre Revolutionary War flags of the Sons of Liberty.)
This design was inspired by the historical fiction novels "Sparrowhawk" by Edward Cline. Mr Cline has a very unique perspective on Liberty and our Republic. He publishes regularly at Rule of Reason and should be on your reading list (if not already).
You may post the PDF on your site for folks who might be interested in making one of their own. The design elements are all in the public domain. I do not plan commercial production but wish to retain rights to the composite intellectual property.
Editor's note: Please remember that this design is copyrighted. So if you want to publish it or information about it at your website, credit the author: Hans Mentha, of Raleigh, NC.
More about Hans
Hans Mentha has been married to his wife Robin for 38 years. They live on 5 acres of woods in North Carolina and Hans is "purposefully unemployed" (he has "gone Galt" via an early retirement and I say "good for him!").
They're active in the ongoing effort to restore lost Liberty via their local group, NC Freedom. Mr. Mentha will be carrying the "Lady Liberty Flag" on the steps of the U.S. Capital again tomorrow at noon in response to Senator Michele Bachmann's invitation.
If you wish to contact Hans, please use [email protected] | <urn:uuid:d270c136-f0de-41bc-afdc-e4d10d87b18a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2009/11/lady-liberty-flag-new-flag-of-third-war.html?showComment=1258159681235 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938769 | 777 | 1.65625 | 2 |
U.S. poised to confront N. Korea
Compiled from Times wires
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration warned North Korea on Thursday that it had "robust plans for any contingencies" and though it has no intention of invading, the United States is capable of simultaneous military action there and in Iraq.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he believes a diplomatic solution can be found, and said the United States was telling its allies, including China, that they must share the responsibility for keeping North Korea from producing nuclear weapons.
But Powell, responding to sharp criticism from Senate Democrats, said that although President Bush favors a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis, he has not ruled out any options, including military action or sanctions.
Even as they praised Powell for his presentation to the Security Council on Wednesday on Iraq, and promised to increase the State Department's budget next year to conduct an assertive diplomacy around the world, Senate Democrats lambasted the administration for allowing the North Korean crisis to fester while it focused on Iraq.
"North Korea is a grave threat that seems to grow with each day that passes without high-level engagement," said Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "The president should stop downplaying this threat, start paying more attention to it, and immediately engage the North Koreans in direct talks."
At the White House, presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer said North Korea's "saber-rattling" was nothing new and only hurt its own cause. But he warned that "the United States is very prepared with robust plans for any contingencies."
The carefully balanced remarks followed two announcements from North Korea Wednesday that once again seemed designed to cause maximum anxiety in the United States just when the Bush administration was most preoccupied with Iraq -- as it was Wednesday with Powell's presentation to the U.N. Security Council.
First, North Korea said that it had restarted its Yongbyon nuclear power plant, believed capable of producing enough plutonium for perhaps six bombs in as soon as six months. Powell testified to the Senate that he was not certain that the reactor had in fact begun working, but that in any case, he expected it to be started up soon.
Then, later Wednesday, the North Korean foreign minister was quoted as saying that "pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the U.S.," a comment that was ominously interpreted by some as a threat of a first-strike nuclear attack. North Korean invective, always heated, has grown increasingly scorching of late, but its rhetoric is often subject to later revision. Nevertheless, Fleischer called the statement "a real concern."
North Korea's party newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, also was reported to have run a commentary warning that "when the U.S. makes a surprise attack on our peaceful nuclear facilities it will spark off a total war."
North Korea's latest provocative actions seemed to be a response to the announcement earlier this week that the Pentagon had placed 24 long-range bombers on alert, to be available in the Pacific to deter "opportunism" by the North Koreans.
Officials in Pyongyang also appeared angry with a statement by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday describing North Korea as a "terrorist regime" that is a threat to sell nuclear weapons technology or materials to terrorists and rogue nations.
Several senior administration officials said Thursday that they considered Rumsfeld's remarks too harsh. But they said the administration wants to send a clear message to Pyongyang not to make trouble on the Korean peninsula while the United States is preparing for a war against Iraq.
At a forum on the Korean crisis at the Washington Post, the deputy secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz, said, "We are dealing with an unpredictable regime and a regime that seems to be moving along a ladder of escalation in terms of its actions. It is a matter of some concern.
"But what Secretary Rumsfeld has done, in putting those bombers on alert, is simply to reinforce our deterrent posture, to make sure that North Korea doesn't do anything adventurous or dangerous of a military kind," he said.
While the Bush administration clearly wants to downplay the North Korean crisis, analysts said, it's also walking a fine line. Ignoring North Korea's incendiary threats, particularly given growing criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, isn't a viable political option, they said.
Any move by Washington in the direction of military intervention would likely face resistance in Japan, South Korea and China, however, where engagement is strongly favored over confrontation. Obviously any North Korea missile launch or pre-emptive strike would quickly change opinions in neighboring countries, however.
The escalation of North Korea's nuclear activities -- which the administration argues is not a crisis -- sparked pointed questions Thursday in the Foreign Relations Committee.
"Even now the Bush administration claims the ball is in North Korea's court," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. "North Korea says it is in our court. From where I sit, the ball is stuck in the net and somebody better go get it."
And Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., termed the administration's foreign policy as "designed neglect" of urgent issues not just in North Korea but elsewhere due to the exclusive focus on Iraq.
Powell bristled at that characterization, saying U.S. foreign policy is broad and proactive. He defended the administration's North Korea policy as an important engagement in multilateral problem-solving.
"North Korea is a more direct threat to South Korea and to China and to Russia than anyone else," Powell said. "Now, those nations are also encouraging us: "Quick. Quick. Talk to the North Koreans.'
"And we are prepared to engage with the North Koreans and we're prepared to talk to them. But what we can't find ourselves in the position of doing is essentially panicking at their activities and their demands."
Powell noted that Chinese President Jiang Zemin had said China would not accept the nuclearization of the Korean peninsula. China and other North Korean neighbors must also work at forcing North Korea to comply with international norms, he said, noting that "they have a responsibility as well to persuade North Koreans that they have to behave correctly."
The central conundrum is an escalating series of North Korean moves to reject international nuclear agreements, produce fissile material and, analysts believe, develop an arsenal of nuclear weapons. U.S. authorities have discovered no simple way to reverse the actions, and have all but ruled out the use of force.
Time seems short to many nuclear specialists and Korea scholars who note that the Pyongyang government could produce enough high-quality plutonium for four to six weapons within a matter of months if it reclaims about 8,000 spent fuel rods stored at Yongbyon.
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-893-8111
From the Times wire desk
From the AP | <urn:uuid:638bdafd-c1f7-4780-97e5-27d995c9cae4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/07/Worldandnation/US_poised_to_confront.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966432 | 1,430 | 1.71875 | 2 |
To state the obvious, if you're going to do "Snow White," you can play it one of two ways - straight or otherwise. If you play it straight, you're confined by tradition and the contours of the story, and you face the challenge of telling a tale that absolutely everybody knows. But you also have all the advantages of the tale itself and of actually doing something everyone knows is worth doing.
On the other hand, if you decide to jazz things up - as they do in "Mirror Mirror" - you have the freedom to do whatever you like. But you still face the challenge of telling a tale that everybody knows. You have exactly the same disadvantages, minus most of the advantages, and the only way to come out ahead, in a sense, is to have a refreshing new angle on the story, one that provides a revealing slant on the familiar. Cleverness won't carry it. Nothing less than overarching vision is required; otherwise, the audience will laugh for 10 minutes and then start to check out.
And that pretty much states the problem of "Mirror Mirror." It's a new version of "Snow White," with some stuff changed. But the things that are different - the seven dwarfs don't whistle while they work, for example; now they're professional bandits - don't necessarily improve on the material, and they're not part of some interesting reconception. All we get are scattered bits of cleverness, some hit and some miss.
The real question is, what would this movie have done without Julia Roberts? Because despite a pleasing young Snow White (Lily Collins) and an affable and bumbling Prince (Armie Hammer), there's not really anything going on here unless Roberts is on the screen. The casting of Roberts is what the movie has in place of an overall concept: What if the Evil Queen were Julia Roberts? Well, she would be self-assured and arch and more funny than scary. She would be the best thing about the picture.
Twenty years ago, Roberts became so popular at such a young age that it's a wonder she didn't become a narcissistic basket case. Instead, with every year, she has become more and more at home with herself and with her audience. Her knowing performance in "Mirror Mirror" is the kind of turn she can toss off with ease these days, but a narcissistic basket case could never do it. The role would be too close to home. | <urn:uuid:21b744db-938e-4090-9e71-78b4e81beec2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Mirror-Mirror-review-Roberts-bad-apple-shines-3444860.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970654 | 502 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Adopting an adult dog can be a perfect solution for a ‘would be’ dog owner who longs for a canine companion but doesn’t have the time to devote to bringing up a puppy.
When you adopt a dog from ‘rescue’ it is well worth enrolling in a course of obedience classes just to re-inforce lessons your new dog may have forgotten or never learned. Classes will also help the bonding process between dog and owner.
Rescuing an older dog can also be very rewarding. Many of them will already have given years of loyal companionship to owners who have died or who can no longer care for them due to a variety of reasons. They make ideal pets for those who are home all day and their demand for exercise is usually less.
When you decide on your dog, arrange to bring him/her home when you have time off so you can settle him into the household and help the children and any existing pets to adjust to the newcomer.
Remember to take a collar and lead when you collect your dog. Try to make sure he/she has ‘emptied’ before you load him into the car, to avoid a mishap. You won’t know if he is a good traveller so be prepared in case he is sick during the journey. Cover the inside rear of the car with a blanket and take an emergency clean up kit. If the dog seems nervous he might welcome somebody sitting with him if it’s possible and also make sure the dog is secure in the car, either in a crate or contained behind a well fitted dog-guard, it is against the law nowadays to have an animal ‘jumping around’ in your vehicle whilst you are driving.
You will need to be patient with your new pet when you arrive home. If he has been in kennels for a few weeks he will have to adjust to a whole new routine, new sounds and voices, added to this his surroundings will be strange and unfamiliar.
Give him time and space, let him explore his new domain, un-neutered males may well ‘mark’ their territory so BE PREPARED!
It can take several weeks or maybe, months for an adult dog to really settle in but then you should have a good friend and loyal pal for the rest of his/her life.
We, in G.G.S.D.R. want to ‘get it right’ both for the new owner and the rescue dog, so you must expect to be asked questions about your life-style and experience with dogs.
You should ask why the dog is in rescue, was it badly treated, is it safe with children, what diet is it used to, if it is a bitch, is it spayed, and if not when was she last on heat. We will always tell you as much as we know about the dog and will always advise you if you feel you need help | <urn:uuid:846cf074-0578-4a9a-823f-ac3d17ba6fe5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garbosgsdrescue.co.uk/info.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977534 | 611 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Kenshou wrote:But as catalyst for conversation maybe, I'd like to add this: What do you consider to be the adequate "intensity" of one-pointedness to qualify as jhana? Is a strong presence of the jhana factors enough? Or the complete immersion that the Visuddimagga describes? Or something between? This does seem to be somewhat of a topic with various views.
Your last comment above seems more in keeping with this issue. Practitioners view this in different ways.
There used to be a great visual schematic about these differences between the sutta definition of jhana and the commentarial definition of jhana up at geocities.com/tokyo/6774/jhanatrd.htm which of course is no longer there as geocities has been disbanded. (You might be able to find it on the Wayback Machine website
if they archived that page.) Anyway, it showed how the suttas defined the first jhana as being with four factors: vitakka, vicara, piti, and sukkha. Both the Abhidhamma and the Visuddhimagga defined it as having five factors: vitakka, vicara, piti, sukkha, and ekaggata (or one-pointedness of mind). In the second jhana, the suttas included the following factors: the disappearance of vitakka and vicara, with only inner tranquility
, unification of mind
, piti, and sukkha remaining. Both the Abhidhamma and the Visuddhimagga versions included the disappearance of vitaka and vicara, with only piti, sukkha, and ekaggata remaining.
As my concentration began to become more stable, I began to side with those who described this "coming together" of the mind as a "unification of mind" rather than as "one-pointedness." The description "one-pointedness" has a kind of one dimensional feel to it, whereas "unification of mind" has a more comprehensive (inclusive) connotation to it. And then the sutta way of describing this became more visible to me. Since these are all very subtle mind states, a person might experience them in a variety of ways. But the ways described in the suttas are pretty much exactly how I experience a good session of samatha absorption.
According to this schematic, the third jhana described in the suttas contains the disappearance of piti with only sukkha, clear awareness
, and mindfulness
remaining. The commentarial literature only designates sukkha and ekaggata as remaining. The fourth jhana described in the sutta version has the subsiding of sukkha with only equanimity and mindfulness
remaining. The commentarial literature version has it that sukkha subsides with equanimity and ekagatta remaining.
My mature meditative experience has it more like the sutta version of these descriptions than like the version in the commentarial literature.
"The gift of truth exceeds all other gifts" — Dhammapada, v. 354 Craving XXIV | <urn:uuid:26a262cc-fd9b-4adb-94f3-87f40c1b0208> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=49054 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953054 | 673 | 1.757813 | 2 |
This Time, There's A Whole New Ring To It
For starters, with Pope Benedict's liturgy team seeking to douse impressions that elevation to the College somehow constitutes a "sacrament," the 22 incoming "Princes of the Church" will receive their rings at Saturday's consistory together with the red biretta, which has served as the office's central symbol since the 30-tasseled galero was removed from the ceremonial at its revision in 1967.
Secondly, though, the just-released worship aid for the rites indicates that the bas-relief circular band depicting the Crucifixion (below) -- given to practically every new cardinal in the post-Conciliar period -- is being replaced by a brand-new design, intended to underscore in gold the particular link of the Papal "Senate" to the church of Rome, born from the witness and martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul.
Of course, the cardinals of the Roman church constitute the historic successors of the city's first clergy, hence the body's responsibility to elect the local bishop (i.e. the Pope), and each member's assignment to a titular church, where he serves as honorary pastor -- and, in most cases, is financially responsible for the building's upkeep.
For several centuries, the ring given a new cardinal on his elevation consisted of a sapphire -- the stone traditionally reserved to the rank -- often surrounded by diamonds. After the reforms of the liturgy and ceremonies in the wake of the Council, the far simpler, modern band was adopted by Paul VI, and conferred in the context of a concelebrated liturgy, which came to be known as the "Mass of the Rings."
Even as the Pope's bestowal of the rings will now be folded into the Public Consistory itself, the new intake will still celebrate Mass with Benedict on Sunday morning, which is being observed in the Vatican as the feast of the Chair of St Peter.
This year, the Pope-centric celebration's usual date of 22 February is overtaken by Ash Wednesday. The three-day lapse notwithstanding, this weekend's gathering will mark the first induction of new cardinals on the feast since 2001, when Blessed John Paul II brought 44 new members into the College, inflating its electoral contingent to an all-time high of 135, exceeding by fifteen the supposed statutory maximum set by Paul in 1975.
While the hypothetical voting College -- that is, the group's members younger than 80 -- will top out at 125 as of Saturday, 13 more cardinals will become ineligible to enter a Conclave over the year following this Consistory simply on grounds of age.
Come late July, once Cardinals Edward Egan and Francis Stafford reach their 80th birthdays, the Stateside church will be left with just 10 electors. And with the sudden vanishing of a "queue" for an American Red Hat -- at least, under the protocols long in force -- the door opens for some very interesting possibilities.
The back part of the ring represents a stylized column like those found in Saint Peter’s Basilica, while the face is a bas-relief in the shape of a cross.
On the face are figures of Saints Peter and Paul, modeled on their statues located in front of the Basilica, representing faith and missionary proclamation.
Between the two Saints, as if to illumine them, is placed an eight-pointed star, a clear reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Inside the ring, beneath the face, are the arms of Pope Benedict XVI in bas-relief.
In yet another innovation, though -- and one that should particularly be of interest to Stateside readers -- the rites of creation will be immediately followed by the entire College's approval of several canonizations, including those of Blesseds Kateri Tekakwitha and Marianne Cope.
While B16 approved the final miracles clearing Hawaii's servant of lepers (the successor of St Damien de Veuster on Molokai) and modern-day New York's Algonquin convert-catechist for sainthood in late December, a consistory's approval is always the final requisite formality before the process' conclusion. Normally, consistories for canonizations take place in the Apostolic Palace and are attended only by the cardinals resident in Rome.
At the close of the second part of Saturday's rites, the Pope will announce the date on which Kateri, Marianne and five other blesseds "are to be enrolled among the Saints."
As of this writing, however, the first-ever elevation of two American saints at once is most widely tipped to take place on either October 14th or 21st, during the Synod of Bishops for the New Evangelization.
And lastly, lest anyone's planning watch parties for the weekend's ceremonies, Saturday's Consistory begins at 10.30am Rome time, with the following day's Mass an hour earlier.
Just in case, webstreams will abound; for those, and all the rest, stay tuned. | <urn:uuid:1c0e700a-52f6-40c9-8b05-d9f280dbffc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-time-theres-whole-new-ring-to-it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951671 | 1,041 | 1.601563 | 2 |
H1N1 Clinic Schedule
H1N1 vaccine is now readily available at regularly scheduled Immunization Clinics for individuals 5 years of age and older. Tim Soucy, Public Health Director states, “Young children, pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions are most at risk for complications from H1N1 flu; however, severe infections and deaths have occurred in every age group, including older people. CDC and the Manchester Health Department continue to encourage all persons who want to reduce their risk of contracting H1N1 flu to get vaccinated.” Those who have questions about the H1N1 vaccine are invited to call the Manchester Health Department at 624-6466 or call 2-1-1 or visit www.nh.gov.
Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent.
If your child is in need of a second dose of H1N1 vaccine, please bring documentation of the first dose. | <urn:uuid:82a007bd-621b-4c6e-a58c-b7aa735b9239> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.manchesternh.gov/Departments/Health/Clinics/H1N1Clinic/tabid/1634/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951913 | 195 | 1.8125 | 2 |
"THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA - COPYRIGHT CONCEPTS"
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved
On November 11, 1993, I created the first page for the Front Cover of "The Alpha and the Omega" which led into the original 5.1 MB Word Document and a 144 page review of a 820 page manuscript posted on the Microsoft Network (MSN) in the Writing Forum on the Manuscript Showcase (adults) section for download, dated Monday, January 15, 1996 8:54 PM. The 144 page Synopsis was sent to seven major publishers to review at that time.
I, Jim A. Cornwell, the author and innovator of "The Alpha and the Omega," hold all rights to the following concepts as my own original work and will not allow anyone to use those concepts as belonging to another party. As copyrights go, facts are facts which can be used as wished, but the following concepts were originated by myself and cannot be used by anyone without the copyright information included in that subject. If it is discovered that someone is doing just that, it may result in legal action.
This work explores the correlations of star charts, symbols of the Zodiac or Mazzaroth in a teleological pattern relating to events, numbers, chronology and lifes of the Biblical patriarchs from Genesis through Revelation. The subject of the Mazzaroth has been attempted by many authors before me, so it is not new. Although my work is an extension to that subject to expand upon it and champion its characteristics.
The term Mazzaroth can be found in the Bible in Job 38:32 "Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? (from their places or houses, Mazzaloth in 2 Kings 23:5, which Mazzaroth is equal, into the sky as "the twelve signs of the Zodiac" at their respective seasons in relation to the sun) or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?" Paraphrased: "Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season (guide the stars season by season), or guide the Bear with its train? (direct the Big and Little Dipper).
The protected copyright concepts that I promote are as follows:
The Lord God influenced my work and I see He was the original astronomer as seen in Psalms 147:4 "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." Paraphrased: "He has decided the number of the stars and calls each one by name."
- The Twelve Days of one cycle of the Precession of the Equinox represents specific events as specified in the Bible. This is called the Mazzaroth and the concept of the first day beginning 21,810 B.C., not necessarily the creation of the universe, just the reorganization of the earth as it was, through the sixth day ending 8,850 B.C. (Capricornus, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Libra, Virgo and Leo). Each 2,160 years long and represents the six days of creation as promoted in my work. This work explores Day one of Genesis from an Ice Age reversal through Day Six of the Creation. Therefore I promote that the Six Days of Creation occurred during the restoration from the Wurm III Glaciation period (Ice Age) beginning around 22,000 B.C. to 8,850 B.C. at which point order was restored to the earth which already existed before the restoration began. The effects of the glaciation had dissipated before 10,000 B.C. to the conditions similar to what they are now. The Elohim (God in Genesis 1) began ‘their’ creation as a Glaciation restoration which is conceivable without leaving the bounds of rationality and without contradicting the Biblical text. This leaves room for the existence (before the restoration) of dinosaurs and other species that may have evolved or were just destroyed in a previous world cataclysm.
- As seen on the Zodiac of Denderah I have promoted the symbol of the beginning as the Circle of Eight Bound Figures seen between Capricorn and Aquarius. This concept became the reason for the creation of my Volume III.
- The concept continues with Cancer beginning at 8,850 B.C. through 6,690 B.C. representing the Seventh Day, a time when Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden to their earthly plane. This concept continues with Gemini beginning at 6,690 B.C. continues through the Age of Aquarius ending in 4,110 A.D., which represents day eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, each 2,160 years long completing the cycle of 25,920 years, therefore Genesis through Revelation.
- During my research on the Biblical Giants before and after the Flood (8,850 B.C. to 1,300 B.C.), I discovered a connection of the Sumerian name Annunaki the "Great Ones," who once lived in heaven but were banished to earth. This is an interesting comparison in name for the Biblical Giants called by the name Anakim in Genesis. This turned out to generate more hits on my website than any other subject.
- On the Seventh Day the Lord God told Noah to collect seven pairs of each animal seven days before the rain started; then the Flood began on the Eighth Day, and I promote this occurring around 6,000 B.C., which has a strong connection to a modern theory now called the The Black Sea Project, dating it at 5,500 B.C.
- During my research I discovered a missing generation (i.e. Cainan), which was not shown in the King James Version (KJV) of the Old Testament seen in Gen. 11:10-14 or 1 Chronicles 1:17 but is shown in the New Testament in Luke 3:36. So my concept here is that if one generation is missing then there could be more missing, thus promoting why the assumed biblical date of 4,004 B.C. of Bishop Ussher for creation is well short of the reality of the archaeological evidence presented. This error was put in the Bible for a reason and I do not think God put it there just so I could make everyone aware of it. But then, you never know.
- Another concept which is against the grain of many scholars is that during Pre-dynastic Egypt there arose (a king) Scorpion (opposite of Taurus), and I have proposed a vague connection to the existence of Sargon and how this correlates to evidence of Abram and his posterity between 3800-2300 B.C. Also note that 2700-2200 B.C. represents the Dynasty 3-6 of the Old Kingdom of Egypt and the age of the Pyramids.
- One of my favorites is a special section on Abram’s transformation to Abraham. I have proposed that Abram and Abraham may have been two different individuals or even the same individual who existed in two places in two different time periods a thousand years apart. This time variation is a feat easily accomplished by God but hardly comprehensible to the early writers of the KJV.
- During Dynasty 18 the Early New Kingdom 1500-1300 B.C. I show the astronomical connections in the Age of Aries with the genealogy leading to the birth and life of Moses and how the Ram worshipping Egyptian priests (scribes) had the ability to predict the birth of a major biblical patriarch to within plus or minus three years. The concept here is that Aaron, Moses' brother who was three years older than he, managed to survive the onslaught of the king.
- Another interesting concept is during the Tenth Age of Aries, which is considered the Tenth Day:
- As seen in Exodus 12:1-6, the Passover is on the Tenth Day,
- The Passover requires Ten persons,
- as an end result to defeat the Ten Gods of Egypt, as this acknowledges that God does have a sense of humor.
- Moses by way of divine intervention introduced the Ten Plagues
- and the Ten Commandments,
- at which point Judah was Ten generations from David (the stem of Jesse).
Then I finished this work with this concept developed from Revelation 22:1-2 "And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb," "coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicines to heal the nations."
As seen in Revelation 22:1-2 it presents a symbolic river and the water of life which provides spiritual life in perpetuity. It is seen as clear as crystal or transparent like a precious stone. From it we find the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of the main street and on either side of the river was there the tree of life which refers to the universe and the life giving forces which produced twelve, a detail of the Heavenly Jerusalem with the occurrence of Divine administration as the symbol of manner of fruits. This tree’s fruit was plucked every month and the leaves a symbol of a sprout, offshoot of a race or tribe of the tree were for the healing as in care and attention of the nations.
So I proposed that based on my work the following concept that the tree's twelve fruits are the twelve signs of the zodiac or Mazzaroth, and it "yields one fruit" each time "for the healing of the nations" to reach its spiritual maturity. The Tree of Life is found at the beginning and the end of the Bible. In Genesis (the origin), man loses the tree in the Garden of Eden whose fruit if eaten gave everlasting life, in Revelation (to reveal), man regains his access to the tree in the new heavenly Jerusalem, which is like unto Eden. Both trees represent the same principle.
The entire work was updated on November 27, 1998 (Volume I and Volume II from its original November 23, 1995) for a finished work for online access of the word documents and all future files. Volume III subjects regarding the above Volumes were posted on the web site http://www.mazzaroth.com regarding anything new discovered to date.
Although the copyright was July 20, 2002, it was on June 27, 2003 that Volume III was complete for release for those who purchased Online Access for The Alpha and the Omega - Volume I, Volume II, and Volume III. This information is located at the following link: Volume III Online Access - Denderah Zodiac, Grand Temple, Esneh Connections.
Regarding the following concepts in "The Alpha and the Omega" Volume III:
- I propose that the "circle of 8 bound figures," seen on the Denderah Zodiac, is a symbol representing the beginning and end of a cycle of humanity and does correlate to the Biblical sequence of events. During my research I have come close to translating and connecting all the Decans and constellations to the Egyptian figures. The concept I have found represents the connections that explain what each of the 36 Decans images are and those connections are a key to other images from the Grand Temple and the Temple of Esneh.
- As a continuation of Volume I, regarding the subject of Evidence Of Early Humans: Modern science can prove or maybe better stated "believes" it can prove that man was on earth for hundreds of thousands of years before the Bible was written. I still contend that we should view Genesis as the beginning of a specific type of mankind. It is obvious that the natural evolution of this world had already populated the earth with a wretched specimen or even still a product of civilizations destroyed by cataclysms. Counter to the arguments of the age of mankind between the evolutionist and the creationist, who are the extremes, my concepts in this arena is a new and different theory. As more and more countries allow access to archaeological sites and try to define the results without prejudice, we will probably find that it will just add to the confused state in which it already exists. It will be your decision whether the evidence is strong enough to sway you to a specific viewpoint of any theory. I prefer to stay with what the Bible states as seen below.
- The Elohim (i.e. gods, or the "plural majesty of God") create their man in Genesis 1:26-28 and sent them into the world to conquer and survive.
- Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness (And now we will make human beings, they will be like us and resemble us): and let them have dominion (power) over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
- Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
- Yahweh (i.e. the LORD God) in Genesis 2:7-8 created His man and gave him a soul, and then made a Garden in Eden for him. This created man is different than that in Genesis One and was placed in a special place for a reason.
- Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (took some soil from the ground and formed man out of it), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
- Genesis 2:8 "And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed."
The Alpha and the Omega - Volume I, Volume II, and Volume III was released on November 1, 2005 as CD-ROM Version 1.0 and has been upgraded to version 2.0 as of April 15, 2006. It can now be ordered at Book Order Form.
This file created on June 30, 2006.
Jim A. Cornwell, [email protected]
Send any response to
Return to the main Table of Contents or the Home Page
or go to Research Sources or close this window. | <urn:uuid:04583707-0dd6-43b6-b19a-b375f2c52319> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mazzaroth.com/CopyrightConcepts.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961069 | 2,975 | 1.625 | 2 |
The year is 1072, as William the Conqueror proceeds with his grim subjugation of northern England. Further south, Sir Walter, a Norman magnate’s son fighting for the Byzantine emperor, has been taken prisoner in Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. With his family unable to afford Emir Suleyman's other ransom terms, their only hope lies in finding four white gyrfalcons, to be captured from their eyries in the frozen North... and time is of the essence.
A diverse group of men sets out on a mission to catch and bring back the hawks. Each has his own reasons for signing on, though not all are revealed to their comrades.
Vallon, a Frankish soldier of fortune with a mysterious past, becomes the party's de facto leader. His fellows include idealistic Hero, a Sicilian Greek medical student; Wayland, a peasant and master falconer who was rendered mute after his family's murder; Richard, Walter's intelligent yet browbeaten stepbrother; and Raul, an expert crossbowman from Germany. Wayland’s huge nameless dog, a great character in his own right, proves to be an equally valuable member of their band.
The journey, which reaches to the far corners of the known world and back again, is the very definition of arduous. Imagine making your way from a hut in the Alps to the fens of East Anglia, thence to the rough, undeveloped Orkney Islands and to the wilds of distant Iceland and Greenland, on foot and by sea – the latter, by means of a creaky vessel held together by skill and luck, under the oversight of a disfigured, uncouth, possibly double-crossing shipbuilder. And from the moment they leave his family's castle, Walter’s jealous stepbrother Drogo pursues them, as eager to halt their quest as they are to finish it.
That’s only half the story. On the route back, Vallon and company contend with Vikings, Lapps, difficult waterways, treacherous guides, and other obstacles from the natural and human realms. Two women join the party at different stops, which adds romantic tension, but they're still interlopers in what's clearly a male domain. During this harsh age, strength is no guarantee of survival.
In this whopping 658-page novel, the final goal remains in view throughout, but the danger of the moment is frequently more pressing. Fortunately for the adventuresome reader, there’s plenty of it to keep the plot moving ahead, and the ties between the men strengthen as their trek continues. The ever-changing environment is presented with a fierce immediacy that makes you feel like you’re braving the elements (and the enemy) right along with them.
Such is the dilemma offered by this thrilling yet lyrical epic. Though you may be tempted to speed on through, many scenes are worth lingering over and savoring. Hawk Quest demands commitment but is worth the time invested. Billed as “the ultimate historical adventure,” it does a good job fulfilling that promise.
Hawk Quest was published by Sphere, an imprint of Little Brown UK, in January at £12.99 in hardcover and trade paperback (same price; take your pick). And yep, this is another chunkster for that challenge. | <urn:uuid:98fceaf4-10ef-48ab-bb15-8ef8505dc934> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-review-hawk-quest-by-robert-lyndon.html?showComment=1331873493430 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963062 | 695 | 1.585938 | 2 |
I am a first year beekeeper. This is the first Winter I have had bees.
I cracked the lids off my beehives today (Central California - 60 degrees) for about 15 seconds each. I didn't pull any frames, just took a very quick look to see if bees were there.
One hive had a small cluster of bees on top of the frames.
Two of the hives had significantly greater numbers of bees, but were profoundly wet inside. Droplets of water were all over.
Is this a problem that I should address? If so, what steps should I take.
Additionally, I lifted the hives a couple inches, and they seemed a tad light. Would feeding be in order?
I appreciate any expert help. | <urn:uuid:99086735-b4d3-49b8-86b1-df9d5196cf75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?277289-Hives-Wet-Inside&p=884892 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984949 | 156 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Storm Worm New Year's greetings proliferatingThe holiday blitz from the perpetrators of the Storm Worm, which began with fake Christmas messages last month, has continued unabated as a spate of false New Year's greetings have been delivered by the notorious botnet, researchers reported this week.
The spam campaigns, which contain links to malicious websites, are using a wide variety of subject lines including "A brand New Year 2008," "Blasting New Year 2008," "Dance to the New 2008 Year tune" and "Happy New Year 2008 to the one I love," according to researchers at Sophos and Trend Micro.
“This is one of the many variants of the Storm Worm that leverage the latest and greatest event or holiday," Mike Haro, senior security analyst at Sophos, told SCMagazineUS.com. “We'll see more of the same as we go further into 2008."
A previous holiday version of the Storm Worm, also known as the Dorf worm, used the lure of Santa Claus' wife doing a striptease, with links to malicious sites inside the message.
The Storm Worm, a trojan that has spawned a huge botnet army of zombie computers, has become the most widely spread type of malware, with some estimates indicating that it has infected between one million and 50 million PCs globally.
These Christmas- and New Year's-themed spam messages contain links to malware-hosting domains that are "difficult to take down," Trend Micro researcher Paul Ferguson noted in a blog entry, noting “the methodology in which these criminals have deployed them, and the clever way they knew how to maximize their window of opportunity due to registrar operation hours during the end-of-year holiday."
"As to contacting the registrar where [the malicious] domain was initially registered -- well, that's where the second part of the 'cleverness of maximizing their window of opportunity' comes into play," he said. "The criminals who planned this attack…ran all their malware domains (which the victims click on to download their 'greeting card') on fast-flux botnet hosting, relying on the Russian ccTLD Registrar NIC.ru to do the updates.”
Due to holiday hours, that's a major problem for combating the attack, he noted.
"Unfortunately for all of us, NIC.ru is closed for Christmas and New Year, not returning until January 9," Ferguson said. "Many people have tried to contact NIC.ru, both by telephone (during their advertised business hours) and by email, but NIC.ru does not reply. Ten or so more days of availability -- at the very least -- will more than likely contribute to these criminals building an even larger botnet, capable of immense badness.” | <urn:uuid:cfc878f5-7e95-469d-95b3-f9b7dbbaa77b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scmagazine.com/storm-worm-new-years-greetings-proliferating/article/100382/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962579 | 569 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Some things need to be in the permanent record, and since Apple didn't see fit to give a permanent URL to Steve Jobs's letter announcing that Apple would be creating an SDK for third party iPhone native applications, I'm reproducing it below for future reference:
Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers' hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
It will take until February to release an SDK because we're trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once - provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones - this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.
Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than "totally open," we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone's amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch. [Oct 17, 2007] | <urn:uuid:9481a860-f9fa-4d78-9852-15280562aa0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tidbits.com/article/9257 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949878 | 430 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Widespread hopes that the outrage over last year’s infamous gang rape would spark lasting change in India receded further still this weekend, as the attack of a Swiss tourist in central India made headlines around the world. The victim, a woman from Lausanne, Switzerland, who is reportedly 39 years old, was camping for a night during a bike tour with her husband in the state of Madhya Pradesh when she was sexually assaulted by several men around 10 p.m. on Friday. The men robbed the couple and fled. Several Indian media outlets reported that police arrested five men in connection with the attack Sunday, though there have been conflicting statements from officials.
While unusual because of the victim’s nationality, the incident is one of hundreds of cases of rape that have come to light in the three months since Dec. 16, when a 23-year-old student was fatally raped and assaulted on board a moving bus in the Indian capital. The government responded to the ensuing massive protests and collective outcry over the attack with a flurry of measures designed to improve safety for women in the capital and increase punishment for rape and other gender-related violence, including making rape that results in death a capital offense.
What lasting impact those measures will have — particularly beyond the streets of the capital — is still unclear. The same day that the Swiss tourist was attacked, Indian media reported that another woman in Madhya Pradesh’s capital was gang-raped aboard a moving bus during the middle of the day. Widespread mistrust of police, understaffed forces and the stretched capacity of the courts are seen as contributing to what seems to be an increasing sense of impunity on display in these exceedingly violent sexual assaults. In New Delhi alone, of more than 600 rape cases filed last year, just one resulted in a conviction. “There is an overwhelming feeling [among sex offenders] that you can get around the system,” says Rajat Mitra, a clinical psychologist and director of the Swanchetan Society for Mental Health who has worked extensively with sex offenders in New Delhi.
So far, the high-profile trial of five of the six men arrested in connection with the Delhi rape case has not served as much of a deterrent to would-be offenders. (The sixth suspect in the case, a juvenile, is being held and tried separately.) After laws were toughened up in February to allow for capital punishment, the five men on trial in a special fast-track court in New Delhi all faced the death penalty. The delivery of swift justice and harsher punishment, however, faced an unexpected complication last week when the alleged mastermind of the crime, a bus driver named Ram Singh, was found hanged in his jail cell in Delhi. His lawyer and family members have said they suspect foul play, and an inquiry has been launched into his death.
The Swiss government has requested a swift investigation into Friday’s attack. Local police have reportedly detained some two dozen people for questioning about the assault that they say was carried out by between five and seven men. Police have told Indian media that the attackers beat and restrained the man in the camp the couple had set up for the night, and several of them raped the woman in front of her husband. They stole a laptop and cash from the couple before fleeing the scene. After the attack, the couple reported the crime to police and sought treatment in a local hospital.
With all eyes once again on India, local police are under pressure to respond to this case quickly — more quickly, no doubt, than other low-profile cases similar to it that are being reported on a near daily basis. But officials’ comments in the past two days still echo some of the early reaction to the Dec. 16 rape case, when many people initially blamed the 23-year-old woman for not taking responsibility for her own safety when she boarded an unmarked bus at night. Over the weekend, a senior official in Madhya Pradesh told the Times of India that the Swiss couple erred by staying in a place where there is a higher ratio of men to women. “They apparently lost track and took a wrong turn and decided to halt for the night by the side of a village brook little realizing that the district with 85:100 men-to-women ratio is not the safest place for women,” he told the daily. Running a speedy investigation in the glare of the international spotlight is a start to addressing this problem in India, but that’s the easy part. Changing these deeply entrenched attitudes about sex crimes will be the longer and harder fight. | <urn:uuid:6d61c974-2581-4a4f-b837-41a0954b8be0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://world.time.com/2013/03/18/another-high-profile-rape-in-india-highlights-ongoing-problem/?iid=gs-article-mostpop1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976443 | 928 | 1.585938 | 2 |
A crash course in changing the world.
Posted on July 2, 2012 at 1:11pm
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. – Chinese proverb
Several children are playing basketball on the street. The court is somewhere in the slums of Quezon City/Manila, Philippines. They seem to have fun. The sun sets and the moon already rises above the city. Next to the court, a large group of people is watching a cockfight. They are whooping and screaming at the…
Posted on July 2, 2012 at 1:06pm
• WHICH great challenges and social problems should the EVOKE Network tackle next?
I would try to tackle the problems concerning the education and schooling of children. Millions of children all over the world don't get an appropriate education. Be it "easy" things like reading, writing, listening or speaking or more specialized things like stuyding. Children don't get the chance to learn. As it is very difficult to escape this desperate situation fully on your own, most of them rest…Continue
Posted on July 2, 2012 at 11:15am
I read the article "Covering risk". I was kind of surprised about what I read. I mean, after I read it, it all seemed logical and comprehensible to me, but I never really was conscious about how "easily" people's perception of something is influenceable by journalists and the media in general. For example, the words you choose to describe the current situation make a huge difference and are from enormous importance. Here is a classic example:
If you say a pandemic could kill…Continue
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 10:03am | <urn:uuid:37e79397-a0b7-4337-b8f2-a8350964df5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urgentevoke.com/profile/PatrickNeumann | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96626 | 363 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training:
Next Class Begins Monday, October 8
Do you know how to respond in the event of a major community disaster such as a tornado, earthquake, train derailment, or terrorist attack? If not, the city encourages you to consider signing up for a free training class being offered by the Kirkwood Police Department. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training will offer participants first-hand training on mobilizing members of the community in the event of an emergency situation. In addition to teaching basic first aid, the course will provide participants with training on how to be a qualified “first responder.”
We are proud to announce the dates for our next eight-week Kirkwood / Oakland CERT training class, which will run October 8 through November 26, 2012. Classes will be held each Monday night during that time period, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at Kirkwood Fire House #2, 11804 Big Bend Road in Kirkwood (see application below).
Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services may not be able to meet the demand for emergency services for the first 72 hours of the disaster. Serious problems such as communication failures, road blockages and significant numbers of injured victims may prevent people from accessing those emergency services they have come to expect at a moment's notice. People may have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.
It has been proven many times that under disaster conditions, family members, fellow employees, and neighbors will spontaneously try to help each other. This was the case following the 1985 Mexico City earthquake where untrained, spontaneous volunteers saved 800 people. Sadly to say, over 100 untrained volunteers lost their lives while attempting to save others. This is a high price to pay and is preventable through training.
The CERT program provides an effective first-responder capability with the aid of citizen involvement. Acting as individuals during a disaster, trained CERT volunteers can fan out within a particular neighborhood or business complex extinguishing small fires, performing light search and rescue and rendering basic first aid for disaster victims.
Individual civilian volunteers will be recruited and trained as neighborhood, business, and government teams that, in essence, will be auxiliary first responders. These groups can provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster.
CERT is about readiness, people helping people, rescuer safety and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. Through training, citizens can manage utilities, put out small fires, provide basic medical aid and save the lives of neighbors or coworkers.
CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens can make a difference.
If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information, please contact: Officer Jim Cox, Kirkwood Police Department, 314-822-5868. | <urn:uuid:f8008dcb-f459-492e-ad23-d89e8fa32f7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkwoodmo.org/content/City-Departments/2043/cert-training.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95234 | 619 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Wilton Library’s Medieval Summer Knights Read Summer Reading Program
Now through Wednesday, Aug. 22.
Children of all ages are invited to register for the summer reading program, Medieval Summer Knights Read. During our summer program kids and families can enjoy crafts, story times, large group programs, and small group programs as well as movies. For our Knights Read Challenge, kids are encouraged to read 40 picture/early reader books or 4,000 pages over the summer and keep a reading log of their age appropriate books. Those who complete the quest will be knighted by the Royal Court at the festival at the end of the summer. Knights will receive a T-shirt. Registration required in-person. Sponsored by the Coyle Family Young Readers Fund, Subway of Wilton, The Toy Chest, and Golf Quest.
Teen Summer Reading Program
Monday, June 25 through Saturday, August 11.
Teens entering grades 6 through 12 can sign up for the summer reading program. Each week, kids can come in, record their books they have read and enter their names into a weekly raffle. Kids can fill in more information to get a 2nd raffle ticket. Kids participating in 4 of the 7 weeks are eligible for the grand prize. Sponsored by the John and Patricia Curran Teen Fund.
Medieval Summer Knights Read Coloring Contest
Friday, Aug. 10 & Saturday, Aug. 11
Children of all ages are invited to enter the summer reading program coloring contest. Stop by the library Friday or Saturday to pick up a black and white picture of Wilton Library’s summer reading program logo to take home to decorate and color. All submissions will be judged by the artist of the logo and a Children’s staff member. The top two winners will be awarded the prize of a First Impressions Art Studio Kit for Kids at the library’s Medieval Faire on August 22! Submissions must be completed at home and turned in by library closing (8 p.m.) on Monday, August 13. Children may use any medium to color the logo. Sponsored by the Coyle Family Young Readers Fund. | <urn:uuid:a74d1843-64db-4ce6-95e8-d41d29395af4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/?m=20120811&cat=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930086 | 436 | 1.515625 | 2 |
My testing can look like ‘fly by the seat of my pants” testing at times. There’s nothing more I like to do than grab a new product and jump straight into testing. No namby pamby reading of requirements by me! No, I want to get straight to the source of truth. I want to find out what the product *actually* does. (This approach may seem seem rash, but its not. Its a considered decision, read on).
But this type of testing only takes me so far. I get to the point where my testing starts to be limited. There seems to be nothing new about the information I’m getting and my learning about the product takes an exponential dive down.
I take this as a sign to stop and take a step back. I’ve obtained as much information as I can from playing around, but now its time to get my hands really dirty. Its time to start studying and researching the product. I start learning more about the products structure such as the database, the products architecture and the interfaces. I explore the intent of the product and find out who the users are. I start talking to product owners & developers to gain information about the product.
I then go back and test more, but this time my testing has taken a different turn. With new information and ‘new eyes’ I’m looking at the product in a different way. I start learning new things again and the curve of learning and finding new information goes up again.
All this time I’ve been modelling and testing. In software testing I model a product to understand it. This might be a little different to the way architects model a building. They model to demonstrate to others what the final product will look like, though I can imagine creating a physical model helps to clarify thinking.
Modelling isn’t always explicit. We all have a mental model – a representation of the world in our head and testing makes use of it heavily (Go to a Rapid Software Testing Class taught by James Bach, Michael Bolton or Paul Holland to find out more on this). Sometimes I find it helpful to make the models explicit though. I do this to help me reason through the information. Ordering information through drawing it or writing it down seems to help me recognize gaps in my thinking.
When I jump in and test, I’m actually creating a model of what the product does. I prefer to model the product first *before* reading requirements etc so I have good understanding of what product really does. My understanding of the product is unfettered by any biases and assumptions that I might gain from speaking to people or reading requirements. Having a solid model of what the product does grounds my testing in the reality of what is. As a tester, I want to bring a different perspective to the table.
Once I’ve modeled what the product does, its time to find out more. I model how people perceive the product to be. I read the requirements and any other documentation I can find. I talk to people and create squiggly and messy diagrams on whiteboards that normally only I can read (and sometimes struggle to understand!)
All the time I’m modelling to understand the product better.
I’m still testing though. I don’t perform modelling in isolation to other cognitive activities. In fact, I test and model, model and test. This might appear counter-intuitive. After all, how can you test without knowing what people want? How will you know if there’s a problem without requirements?
That goes back to oracles (you know, those things that help you recognise problems). When I test, I purposefully use a diversity of oracles to help me recognise different problems. When I use “Plunge In & Quit”* heuristic, I am testing. My oracles of choice are: Previous Testing Experience, Knowledge of Similar Products, World Experience. You don’t have to have explicit requirements to recognise problems.
So I model and test, test and model. For example, as I’m creating models, I’m testing them. Think of whiteboard scenario where you are formulating models with a developer. As the model is being created, its being tested. That’s how gaps get recognised. When I’m testing, I’m challenging my models to see if there’s a problem.
I’ve consolidated my thinking on models into this short video.
Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
1) Modelling is integral to testing regardless of it being performed consciously or unconsciously
2) You can have mental, formal and physical types of models.
3) Creating formal models can help reason through a product
4) Modelling a product by first “playing around” can help bias your testing in a good way
5) Modelling and testing take place simultaneously.
6) Different Models are a source of new questions to ask the product
I’m going to wrap up with George Box’s advice:
“all models are wrong, some models are useful”
Creating this model of models has proved useful to me, but its not complete. What are your ideas on modeling and software testing?
*” The Plunge in & Quit” heuristic was identified and named by James Bach. It’s an approach many experienced testers use to quickly learn about a product. | <urn:uuid:a4e9b6ea-6b16-4995-9340-ce87a3b8c08c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mavericktester.com/archive/how-i-use-modelling-in-software-testing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941876 | 1,140 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Courtesy Salvation Army
An anonymous donor left this gold coin worth almost $2,000 in a Red Kettle in Houston on Tuesday.
Modern coins go "plink" when they drop into a Salvation Army kettle. But gold is a softer metal; it goes "plonk." And in a Christmas tradition that's 30 years old this year, the gold coins are once again starting to plonk into the iconic red kettles.
It happened Nov. 9 in Bettendorf, Iowa, when a 1/4-ounce gold coin worth about $500 was dropped in a volunteer's pot outside Schnuck's Market. It was nestled in a cardboard setting with cellophane wrapped around it, so it stood out when the kettle was opened, said Holly Nomura, development director for the Salvation Army's Quad Cities Corps.
Then on Tuesday, outside a Sam's Club in southwest Houston, someone — no one but the donor knows who — left a 1-ounce gold coin worth almost $2,000 in the pot, wrapped inside a $1 bill. Attached was this note: "A child is born, Jesus! Merry Christmas!"
It's at least the 15th straight year that's happened in the Quad Cities and the fifth year in a row in Houston. And it's always "a wonderful start to our holiday fundraising efforts," said Lt. Josh McKain of the Salvation Army's Irvington, Texas, corps.
So far this season, gold coins worth many times their face values also have been left in Salvation Army kettles at a Sam's Club in Mishawaka, Ind.; at a Jewel-Osco store in Kankakee, Ill.; and in a kettle somewhere in Johnson County, Tenn. (It wasn't discovered until the bank started counting donations, so the precise location isn't known.)
The Red Kettle donation campaign began in San Francisco in 1891, and presumably gold coins — which were legal tender until 1933 — were part of the haul from the beginning.
But the specific tradition of anonymously leaving a single gold coin in the pot is more recent. Most accounts say it began 30 years ago, in Quincy, Ill., but there's a friendly dispute over that — the Quad Cities unit in Iowa says it believes that the tradition began there, though it acknowledges it can't prove it.
For years, someone would anonymously leave a single 1-ounce gold coin in a kettle in the Quad Cities (besides Bettendorf, the three other cities are Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline, Ill.). That anonymous donor is believed to have died about four years ago, but not the tradition, as smaller gold coins have continued to pop up.
"Every year we have one," Nomura told NBC News.
U.S. Gold Eagles come in four denominations: $5, $10, $25 and $50. But their real value is tied to the market price of gold. A $10 piece like this one fetches about $500.
The national Salvation Army says it's gotten more than 400 gold coins from anonymous donors over the last three decades. They come from several countries. Someone has left a South African Krugerrand in a pot in Mason City, Iowa, since 1997, for instance.
But they're often Gold Eagles, which are U.S. coins minted in four denominations: $5, $10, $25 and $50. They're 92 percent gold (and 3 percent silver), so their real worth fluctuates with the market price of gold. They're intended for collectors and for transactions involving precious metals, not for general circulation.
The condition and age of a coin can lower (or raise) its final value, but the U.S. Mint said that at Thursday's gold price, a 2012 1-ounce $50 piece in uncirculated condition would cost $1,978. A 1/4-ounce $10 piece (like the one donated in Bettendorf) would command $515.50, the Mint said.
Hoping to boost donations, Salvation Army bell ringers dance in the streets. NBC's Thomas Roberts reports.
Obviously, you can't just throw one of those into a coin roll and drop it off at the bank. Eventually, the coin left in Bettendorf will be taken to a dealer to be appraised and then sold, with the proceeds going toward the chapter's $725,000 fundraising goal for 2012.
Until then, it's in a safe, "except when the media wants to film it," Nomura told NBC News.
And that's not uncommon — the tradition has turned into a terrific publicity tool for the Salvation Army. If a gold coin shows up in a kettle somewhere, a press release is sure to follow.
But it also serves a larger purpose, said McKain, of the Texas chapter that got Tuesday's Gold Eagle.
"It's not only a significant boost for us this year as a monetary donation, but also a huge motivation for all of our kettle workers," he told NBC station KPRC of Houston. "Really, for all of us who are involved in the Red Kettle campaign."
NBC station KPRC of Houston contributed to this report.
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- Four men sue NJ organization over 'gay conversion' therapy | <urn:uuid:6d48ad25-4d6c-46c4-a8ec-d297b823854c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/30/15517575-for-salvation-army-theres-gold-in-them-thar-kettles?lite&google_editors_picks=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959315 | 1,152 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Jewish World Review Sept. 12, 2001 / 23 Elul, 5761
The deliberate and premeditated crash of two commercial airline jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and another plane crash at the Pentagon is more than symbolic. It brings into clear focus the state of war that has existed for some time between America and those who oppose our values and way of life.
President Bush, adopting a phrase used by his father after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, said this act of terror "will not stand.''
The President should not overreact, but when the facts are known there needs to be a principled and coordinated response to terrorism that will seriously threaten the ability of America's enemies to repeat the horror unleashed on the nation.
Tough words will not be enough. A single retaliatory strike will not suffice. There needs to be a decision by free nations everywhere to rid the planet of people and organizations that engage in such acts.
The first step -- even before military action is contemplated or taken -- is to expel from this country the people and organizations tied to radical terrorist groups in the Middle East. The FBI lead a joint task force on September 6 which raided an office building in Richardson, Texas. The building houses Arabic Web sites. Among them is the site for the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP). A lawsuit by relatives of several Jews killed in terrorist attacks in Israel accuses the IAP of having links to a network of terrorist organizations based in the U.S. These groups are allegedly linked to HAMAS, which the Clinton Administration listed as a foreign terrorist group.
The Justice Department won't say what was seized in that raid, but there are suspicions that people with ties to terrorist groups have infiltrated the United States. These include "sleeping cells,'' which are thought to be awaiting word from radical political and clerical leaders overseas to unleash attacks on this country.
It is improbable that the coordinated attacks in New York and Washington were orchestrated solely by outsiders. They must have had help from within this country. Those people should be found, arrested and prosecuted, their organizations forcibly disbanded and their members deported.
Former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger told Fox News that an attack of this kind was not believed as likely as a chemical or biological attack. Indeed, a dose of anthrax inside a light bulb and placed on a subway track could also lead to massive deaths in New York City with far less planning and coordination than these kamikaze-like assaults.
CIA Director George Tenet has said terrorists "are expanding their networks, improving their skills and sophistication and working to stage more spectacular attacks.'' So why are they and their associates allowed to remain in this country?
Many will immediately rush to condemn all Muslims. This would be as wrong as condemning all Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbor. Most of the 6 million Muslims in America are law-abiding citizens. But some aren't and they have successfully used the freedoms that are nearly unique to America to undermine the very government that allowed them to come here.
The first obligation of any President is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. President Bush will need to define what that means in light of this act of war. He must rally and unite the nation. What those responsible do not understand is that acts like this can bring the country together in ways that nothing else can.
It may be more than coincidental that on the day of the terrorist attacks, the official Palestinian Authority daily said, "The suicide bombers of today are the noble successors of their noble predecessors...the Lebanese suicide bombers, who taught the U.S. Marines a tough lesson in (Lebanon)...and then, with no preconditions, they threw the last of the remaining enemy (Israeli) soldiers out of the (security) zone. These suicide bombers are the salt of the earth, the engines of history...They are the most honorable people among us.''
Any response to this day of infamy should begin with people like | <urn:uuid:7bfed383-5422-46aa-b2dc-aa157a4a1e89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas091201.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96692 | 817 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Integrated graphics performance
Now that we've beaten the CPU performance horse to death and well beyond, let's take a look at integrated graphics performance. Before we start, I should mention a few considerations.
First, you'll notice below that we've added the Core i3-2105 to the mix. We didn't include it explicitly in the CPU performance tests because its CPU specs and performance are identical to the Core i3-2100's. However, the 2105 has better integrated graphics and is probably the closest match, price-wise, to the A8-3850.
Next, we've added a few more configurations. We've tested both the Core i3-2100 and the A8-3850 with a relatively low-priced discrete graphics card, the Radeon HD 6670. We used the 1GB GDDR5 version of the 6670, which currently sells for $99.99. Having this card in the mix allows us to see how a relatively inexpensive discrete GPU compares to the IGP solutions. The 6670 is capable of running in a Dual Graphics team with the A8's integrated Radeon, so we've included that, as well. We also benchmarked the A8-3850's IGP while using 1600MHz memory (rather than the 1333MHz speed we used everywhere else.) This config will give us taste of how faster RAM speeds affect IGP performance.
Finally, although we are comparing the performance of the Llano and Sandy Bridge IGPs head to head, there are in fact major differences in texture filtering and image quality between them. The Intel IGP isn't doing as much work and is producing a much lower quality result. For more on this issue, see this page of our mobile Llano review.
Bad Company 2
Yes, we used a relatively high resolution of 1680x1050 for much of our IGP testing. That's in part because we had some trouble finding a common resolution exposed in the different video drivers we were using. We'd probably have tested at 1440x900, had it been consistently available.
Regardless, the A8's IGP cranks out acceptable frame rates, with a low of 25 FPS. Our seat-of-the-pants evaluation during testing was quite positive. Obviously, the Intel IGPs can't keep up; the HD 3000's frame rates are roughly half the A8's and are nowhere near playable.
Bumping the memory clock up to 1600MHz doesn't do wonders for the Llano IGP, nor does it make that IGP much more competitive with the discrete Radeon HD 6670, which is unquestionably superior. That big gap between the Radeon HD 6550D IGP and the Radeon HD 6670 discrete GPU probably helps explain why there's not much performance gain when Dual Graphics is enabled. Most likely, the two GPUs aren't splitting work evenly; instead, the 6670 probably renders two frames for every one rendered by the IGP. That means performance won't scale as well as it would in a true 1:1 teaming config.
Dual Graphics doesn't make an appearance here because, unlike regular CrossFire setups, it's not compatible with DirectX 9 games like this one. At these settings, the A8's IGP can't really deliver acceptable performance, and the Intel IGPs are hopeless.
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|Pre-orders begin for Nvidia's Shield||39| | <urn:uuid:2fe98d2d-4610-42c4-be8d-352e99f5eb1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techreport.com/review/21208/amd-a8-3850-fusion-apu/15 | 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 | 0.958315 | 789 | 1.789063 | 2 |
President Obama on Wednesday endorsed same-sex marriages, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to take that position following days of speculation about his "evolving" stance on the issue.
The president used a hastily called TV interview to make his position clear.
"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama told ABC News.
The president, who was previously opposed to the unions, explained that he's gone through an "evolution." Obama said he initially thought civil unions would suffice as a vehicle to give same-sex couples the rights commensurate with those of heterosexual couples. "I'd hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient," he said.
But he said his position evolved over the years, "as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or Marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that 'don't ask, don't tell' is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage."
"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."
- President Obama
The statement follows days of speculation about his stance. Vice President Biden effectively touched off those questions when, in a Sunday show interview, he expressed support for same-sex marriages. Education Secretary Arne Duncan the next day said he is in favor of the unions. Drawing more attention to the issue, voters in North Carolina on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
Seniors officials told Fox News that Obama was always planning to come out in favor of same-sex marriage before the election, even before the Democratic National Convention. But advisers had not nailed down the timing of that announcement. The officials acknowledged that Biden's comments sped up the timetable dramatically, and that the vice president's remarks were not part of an orchestrated roll-out of the president's position -- in other words, the president was not planning to address the issue this week.
Obama's decision was met with immediate praise by gay advocacy groups. "President Obama's 'evolution' is now complete. Congratulations, Mr. President, for making history today by becoming the first sitting president to explicitly support marriage for same-sex couples," said Rea Carey, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Yet the endorsement entails political risk, particularly among independents who were vital to Obama's 2008 victory and even socially conservative black Democrats. While the list of states that allow gay marriage is growing, a total of 30 states have constitutional amendments or laws barring those partnerships or both.
Those states, several of them battlegrounds in November, are worth a total of 309 electoral votes in the presidential general election -- it takes 270 to win.
Senior officials said they're not sure how the announcement Wednesday will play politically, but they downplayed the idea that it would depress turnout among black voters. They plan on demonstrating a stark contrast with presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney on the issue.
Conservatives meanwhile pilloried Obama on Wednesday, with former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum accusing the president of putting on a "charade" all this time.
"The charade is now over, no doubt an attempt to galvanize his core hard left supporters in advance of the November election," Santorum said.
Romney, asked about the president's statements, said that his view remains the same. "I believe that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman," he said. "States are able to make decisions with regards to domestic partnership benefits, such as hospital visitation rights, benefits and so forth ... but my view is that marriage itself is between a man and a woman, and that's my own preference."
The Republican Party also reiterated its opposition to gay marriage after Obama's statement.
"While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear. We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said.
Obama said Wednesday that he's tried to stay "sensitive" to the fact that for many people "the word marriage was something that evokes a very powerful tradition." He also reportedly said he still thinks states should be able to decide the issue.
Obama actually expressed support for same-sex marriages during a 1996 race for Illinois state Senate. He later backed off that support, stating during the 2008 presidential campaign that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. Later in his presidency, Obama had said he was "evolving" on the issue.
At the same time, Obama pushed to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly in the military. And his Justice Department stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as between a man and woman.
As Obama's personal beliefs came under scrutiny in recent days, his aides repeatedly pointed to those two stances to argue that he's in favor of gay rights -- without putting the president on record for or against gay marriage.
Obama, in additional segments from the ABC interview, noted that much of the debate is "generational," saying his daughters have friends whose parents are same-sex couples.
"It doesn't make sense to them" that their friends parents "would be treated differently," Obama said.
He and first lady Michelle Obama are practicing Christians, he said, "and obvioulsy this position may put us at odds with others, but when we think about our faith, the thing at root (is) not just Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, but the golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated."
Fox News' Ed Henry contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:b7e63a2b-576a-40ac-b0e3-55104a005cac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/09/obama-expected-to-discuss-gay-marriage-position/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fpolitics+%28Internal+-+Politics+-+Text%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980162 | 1,251 | 1.773438 | 2 |
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What tools should every guitarist have to do most small/medium projects for their guitars? (change strings, tuners, knobs, pickups) | <urn:uuid:89648e5b-b5ca-47f0-ad97-268e547f52e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/equipment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940735 | 153 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Elisha Ben Yitzhak
|אלישה בן יצחק|
|El-ee-sha Ben Yitz-hak|
|Israeli painter, founder of International Biennale Artists, expressionist style.|
Elisha Ben Yitzhak brings a unique and independent style to his art works which he creates using a variety of media.
Elisha Ben Yitzhak was born in pre-State Israel in 1943 and began to paint after his army service. He studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem and at the Avni Art Institute in Tel Aviv. He continued painting while he worked for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and served as the education emissary to Zimbabwe and South Africa. After a stint as the cultural emissary to the Midwest region of the United States, Ben Yitzhak moved to Milwaukee and stopped painting, taking it up again only in 2006. Since that time he has worked as a serious artist and been an active founding member of the International Biennale Artists, an organization that brings artists together to create group exhibitions worldwide.
The romanticism of Elisha's contemporary style of work is evident when viewing the juxtaposition of the paintings' realistic and surrealistic elements. He employs bright, bold colors in his paintings alongside a lyrical composition within his delicate lines.
Elisha attempts to express the essence and rhythm of life in his paintings and depict various symbols of life as he sees them. He balances his compositions and colors to create depictions of meaningful scenes. His work with the International Biennale Artists was inspired by his desire to encourage society to be more receptive to art and show how important the role of art is in society.
Elisha works with a variety of media including watercolors, oils and acrylic paints.
In addition to paintings which explore human emotions such as "Love," "Alone," "Attractions," "Feelings," "Loneliness," "Tears" and "Pain" Elisha also explores themes of general life in his works. Some of these pieces include "Woman," "The Impossible," "Surrelistic Portrait of a Woman," and "Together. Elisha also paints scenes of his native Israel such as "Jerusalem in God's Hands," "In Jaffa" and "The Church at Capernum."
Elisha exhibits in galleries, museums, art festivals and private art exhibits as well as in electronic media and publications. He has also exhibited his works at the Tate Gallery in London as well as in galleries in Canada, Holland, Italy, Israel and throughout the United States. | <urn:uuid:fe60153e-4fed-4b4d-8c34-939bfcfc4320> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zissil.com/topics/Elisha-Ben-Yitzhak | 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 | 0.979671 | 545 | 1.59375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Students like Delano Coffy are at the heart of brewing political fights and court battles over whether public dollars should go to school vouchers to help make private schools more affordable.
He was failing in his neighborhood public elementary school in Indianapolis until his mother enrolled him in a Roman Catholic school. Heather Coffy has scraped by for years to pay the tuition for Delano, now 16 and in a Catholic high school, and his two younger siblings, who attend the same Catholic elementary as their brother did. She’s getting help today from a voucher program, passed last year at the urging of GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, that allows her to use state money for her children’s education.
“I can’t even tell you how easy I can breathe now knowing that for at least for this year my kids can stay at the school,” said the single mother, who filed a petition in court in support of the law. The state Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the law, which provides vouchers worth on average more than $4,000 a year to low- and middle-income families. A family of four making about $60,000 a year qualifies.
For all the arguments in favor of vouchers, there are opponents who say vouchers erode public schools by taking away money, violate the separation of church and state by giving public dollars to religious-based private schools, and aren’t a proven way to improve test scores.
Even among supporters, there’s dissension over whether vouchers should only be offered to low-income students on a limited basis or made available to anyone. There’s also division among black and Hispanic leaders as to whether vouchers help or hurt kids in urban schools.
Many opponents also dislike scholarship programs that provide tax benefits to businesses or individuals for contributing to a fund to pay for private school. They say those programs undermine public schools by keeping tax revenues out of state treasuries, an important source of education dollars.
Fights about using tax dollars to help make private schools more affordable are popping up around the country.
In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal won a victory Thursday with passage of legislation that expands statewide a voucher program in New Orleans as part of broad changes to the state’s education system.
Virginia lawmakers recently passed a bill backed by Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell allowing a tax credit for contributions to private school scholarship programs, and Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill expanding a similar program. Creating or expanding voucher or certain scholarship programs has been debated in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey and elsewhere.
But school choice supporters have faced roadblocks, too.
Recently, in Arizona, GOP Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that would have expanded a law passed last year that created education savings accounts for parents of students with disabilities; the money could cover expenses such a private schooling, virtual programs or future college costs.
The vetoed bill would have broadened eligibility to gifted students, children of military personnel or students attending poor performing schools. Brewer said it was too early to consider such proposals before a new budget is approved, and she expressed unease about changing the education system in ways that may make parts of it uncompetitive.
Democrats historically have shunned vouchers, but some are joining the push by many Tea Party-inspired Republicans. The momentum carries over from last year’s congressional debate over whether to extend the District of Columbia’s voucher program. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other congressional Republicans successfully pushed for that program to be included as part of a last-minute deal to avert a federal government shutdown.
Also last year, the school district in Douglas County, an affluent Denver suburb, adopted a program, now stalled under court order, that would allow up to 500 students to receive about $4,500 each in state money to use toward private school. Legal challenges to the Colorado district’s program and the Arizona one are pending at the appellate level.
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, an advocacy group based in Indianapolis, estimates that about 212,000 students are using vouchers or tax scholarship programs through more than 30 such programs, 17 of which provide vouchers. The group said that total has risen from 36,000 students in 2000.
Teresa Meredith, an elementary school teacher in Shelbyville, Ind., and an officer in the Indiana State Teachers Association who is the lead plaintiff to the state suit, said she’s not opposed to private schools. But when parents choose to send their kids to one, she said, they are making the choice to pay for it.
“If they’re not happy with their local public school, then they need to choose to make their local public school better, not run from it,” said Meredith, a mother of four.
Pedro Noguera, a sociologist at New York University who specializes in urban education policy, said even with a voucher, many students still cannot afford or get into or find transportation to more exclusive private schools.
“As a strategy for creating more integrated schools, it hasn’t shown that it works at all. So we have to ask ourselves, what is really the goal here?” Noguera said. “If the goal is to increase access to high quality schools, there’s no research supporting it. But, there is clear evidence that as you lose children from the public schools, you undermine the fiscal support for public education.”
But Pennsylvania Sen. Anthony Williams, a Democrat, says too many low-income kids stuck in persistently failing schools in some of the neighborhoods he represents in Philadelphia go to unsafe schools and can’t wait for a change. He calls the private boarding school he attended in high school on a private scholarship a “lifesaver,” and he’s advocating for legislation that would create a voucher program. He said even if a public voucher wouldn’t cover all the tuition, private scholarships can help fill the void.
“I believe a child should not be required to go to a place like that,” Williams said of low-performing schools. “They should have options just like anybody else in America does and it will serve us better in the long run as opposed to requiring them to go to a place that we know they don’t get the rudimentary skills.”
Whether to offer school vouchers is one of the most contentious issues in education. Some of the first programs were rolled out in the 1990s in Milwaukee and Cleveland, although the debate goes back decades and President Richard Nixon was a fan of vouchers, according to the Center on Education Policy, which advocates for more effective public schools. Those on both sides of the issue have won court victories and cite research to back up their cause.
In recent years, the message among voucher supporters has shifted to one where it’s not just about helping poor students, but empowering parents with choice valued and their satisfaction emphasized, said Alexandra Usher, a senior research assistant at the center.
With state budgets facing in recent years a “fiscal buzz saw” and education frequently about half a state’s budget, there’s a recognition that better value is needed, said Robert Enlow, the president of the Friedman Foundation.
“People are beginning to see that allowing families the ability to choose is giving them access to quality education they would not otherwise have had,” Enlow said.
Michelle Rhee, the former superintendent of schools in the District of Columbia who founded the advocacy group StudentsFirst, believes vouchers should be made available only to low-income students assigned to low performing schools, and that private schools must show they are effective. She said doesn’t support the idea that “every kid just has a backpack with their money in it” to go anywhere because she has not seen an economic model where that is sustainable.
“I very much feel our time and effort and resources should be focused on, as it pertains to vouchers, on what we’re going to do with low-income children who otherwise would be trapped in nonperforming schools,” Rhee said. | <urn:uuid:c3468b18-54f0-4078-ab22-0fd5f13cb314> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blackamericaweb.com/810/political-legal-fights-over-school-vouchers-fate/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964134 | 1,690 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The presidential race of Mitt Romney and the success of the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon have generated new interest in Mormonism. Stephen Mansfield's book The Mormonizing of America provides a careful study of this growing religion. The Book Stop blog is posting excerpts from the first two chapters of this book.
Chapter 1 - The Mormon View of Mormonism
I have trouble getting my head around the Mormons. . . . The history strikes me somewhere between incredulity and horror, from golden plates in upstate New York to massacres out West. The theology comes across as totally barmy. We can become gods with our own planets! And the practices strike me as creepy. No coffee and tea is bad enough. But the underwear!
—Michael Ruse, philosopher
Hugh Riddick has been preparing for this conversation with his grandson almost his entire life. It is a conversation fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons have been having in his family for most of the 180-year history of the Latter-day Saints. Now, Hugh will have a chance to help prepare a new generation of Riddicks for the true priesthood of God—just as soon as young Jacob cleans up from his baseball game.
Jacob Riddick is thirteen and tomorrow he will take his first steps toward priesthood. His father was a priest, Hugh— his grandfather—is a priest, and so it has been since Brigham Young led the Saints. This is what it means to be a male member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is what it means to be a Mormon man.
Hugh would have been happy to hear about this conversation secondhand. He would rather that his own son, David, had been here to guide Jacob. But David had chosen to be a US Marine. It was what he wanted to be from the time he was a little boy and Hugh was never able to change his mind. Perhaps he should not have tried. David was a “warrior’s warrior,” they said, and he rose rapidly in the ranks. That’s what landed him in Iraq at the forefront of Operation Phantom Fury during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Command knew that he would lead well. And he did, but David was killed on the third day, November 11, 2004—Veteran’s Day. Each year since, that flag- waving, parade-filled holiday has tortured Hugh Riddick and his wife.
Now, though, Hugh is sitting on his back porch enjoying the cool breeze off the pond and waiting for Jacob. When the boy appears, he does not look anything like anyone’s image of a priest. He’s wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt, his hair is wet and slicked back, and he has a slight bluish mustache from the powdered drink he’s been guzzling. He sits down in a rocker, crosses his legs Indian-style in the seat, and takes another sip of his drink. Hugh just smiles. He knows that in spiritual things, appearances do not matter.
“How’d it go, sport?”
“We won. Wasn’t that hard. They pretty much caved.”
“I see. How’d you hit?”
“Two doubles and thrown out at first.” “Good! Nice going. Any RBIs?”
“Just one. And just barely, ’cause Danny Tomkins is so stinking slow!”
“Oh, I remember him. Runs like he’s carrying a ton of bricks. Well, good job batting him in, buddy. Okay, you ready to talk?”
“Do you know what’s going to happen tomorrow, Jacob?” “Of course, Pawpaw. I’m going to become a deacon.”
“Yes. That’s right. And do you understand what that means?”
“It’s the first step to becoming a priest. It means that one day I’m going to be part of the priesthood that Heavenly Father restored in the time of Joseph Smith. It means I’m being prepared to receive priesthood authority.”
“You’ve been listening closely to Elder Clarke, haven’t you? That’s right: tomorrow you will become a deacon. Do you know what that word really means?”
“Uh, I think I do. It means, like, servant or someone who takes care of something, right?”
“That’s it. Perfect. It means someone who serves. And after you’re ordained, you will be allowed to serve by passing out the bread and the water in the sacrament meetings and serving the priesthood leaders in various ways and helping keep the meeting house in order and so on, right?”
“And then what?”
“Well, if I prove myself, in a couple of years I may be able to become a teacher. Then I can fill the sacramental trays and go with someone on home teaching visits and stuff like that. Then, maybe a couple of years after that, if I qualify, I can be a priest.”
“Good. That’s pretty much right. And all this is part of what? Do you know?”
“The Aaronic Priesthood, right?”
“Yes. Good, but Jacob, I don’t want these just to be words to you. I want you to understand how much all this means. Not long after Jesus Christ lived on earth, the church lost its authority. It was corrupt and had warped doctrine.
Excerpted from The Mormonizing of America by Stephen Mansfield, © 2012.
Published by Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc.,
Brentwood, TN. www.worthypublishing.com. Used by permission. Tell us what
you thought of this excerpt on Twitter: #Mormonizing @WorthyPub | <urn:uuid:8df09961-f26f-47f6-a921-bd0168e6fe80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.christianpost.com/bookstop/the-mormonizing-of-america-book-excerpt-pt-1-10541/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975393 | 1,281 | 1.8125 | 2 |
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