text
stringlengths 211
22.9k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 14
371
| file_path
stringlengths 138
138
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.93
1
| token_count
int64 54
4.1k
| score
float64 1.5
1.84
| int_score
int64 2
2
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title: The Way Things Are
Summary: Arthur and Francis are overjoyed when their shy son, Matthew, becomes fast friends with the new boy in his class. However, not everything is as it seems with Matthew’s new friend.
6. Any Warnings: None | <urn:uuid:a458fe71-b923-4686-abb4-0de1fd3d090e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://facefamily.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964817 | 58 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Twitter, Facebook and Western Civilization's Decline
This is a sequel of sorts to a column I wrote last week called " Social Stupidity: Am I too social (LinkedIn, so to speak) to be saved." In that piece, I focused on my own challenges in getting security right in the social networking world. This installment focuses more on how the platform providers themselves are making matters worse.
Facebook: True, Facebook users shoot themselves in the foot all the time by sharing too much information [See some examples in " 6 ways we gave up our privacy"].
But Facebook is making things worse by continually messing around with the privacy settings, making it increasingly impossible for users to tell who, exactly, has access to their information.
Foursquare: The platform is billed as a way for people to connect more effectively geographically and find the closest coffee shops, bars and the like. But the more we look at it, the more it comes off as nothing more than a tool for would-be kidnappers and stalkers.
My colleague Joan Goodchild gave a good example of the problem in her story " Pleaserobme.com highlights dangers of TMI on social networks" when she explained how the site "aggregates the Twitter feeds of people who play Foursquare, a location-sharing application that allows users to "check in" from their various geographic whereabouts as part of a game where they earn badges for reaching certain milestones. The problem is, according to pleaserobme, in playing the game, many users are also publicly broadcasting that their home is likely unattended and a good "opportunity" (as the site terms it) for thieves."
Twitter: We've already reported extensively on the threats facing users, including phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering. In an effort to be more like Foursquare, Twitter decided to add a function that lets users tell everyone exactly where they're tweeting from. Did I mention yet that I don't like that about Foursquare?
LinkedIn: This one is still best in terms of locking down the user's privacy. But very subtle and quiet design changes along the way are giving users increasing opportunities to get themselves into the kind of trouble they now get into via Facebook. That includes users falling for imposter profiles advertised as one person but controlled by a bad guy.
In fact, with every design tweak LinkedIn starts to look more and more like Facebook (the ability now exists to "like" someone's post, for example), which in turn has been trying to look more and more like Twitter.
In my view, trying to look more like the other guy means you are increasing your risk of making the same security mistakes as the other guy.
Read more about social networking in CSOonline's Social Networking section. | <urn:uuid:398d734a-291b-4937-b71e-074f713eddbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pcworld.com/article/197892/twitter_facebook_and_western_civilizations_decline.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95815 | 573 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The late, great comedian, Rodney Dangerfield once said, " If I knew I was gonna live THIS long, I'd have taken better care of myself!"
Take this quiz and get a good understanding of why you're not taking better care of yourself.
Click on Quiz for full-screen size and printing.
|Click on Quiz for full-screen size and printing|
|Courtesy of CDC (Center for Disease Control)|
In the morning, before breakfast, take ten minutes to do some yoga, deep breathing, or if the kids are up, play with them before breakfast for that all-important ten minutes. It becomes a habit. Surely, you can find TEN minutes.
If you do it before you eat, your metabolism revs up and you burn calories more efficiently.
After all, we are descended from hunter-gathers. They didn't roll over in the cave and pour a cup of coffee and toast a bagle. They had to expend energy and go find breakfast; and often, it fought back!
For a good blog on food, read my friend Brenna, a registered dietitian who counsels diabetic patients.
You can find her at http://eating-simple.blogspot.com/
She sees the effects of poor diet every day. She can help.
Next up, more examples of ten minute exercise examples you can use in your daily activities. | <urn:uuid:51433763-36b7-4c62-bec8-0e2a5429819d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bodybydesignstudio.blogspot.com/2010/08/barriers-to-exercise-no-time-by-lou.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947138 | 290 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Jewell of Denial
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Ever since you were able to understand language, those were two words that inflamed you the most. They meant denial. They were a barrier to what you wanted. They were frustrating, too. And, perhaps unbeknownst to the speaker, they were a challenge to you because they only made you work harder.
Once author Geri Jewell’s parents received the diagnosis of cerebral palsy for their daughter, they never let her think she couldn’t do anything. In her book I’m Walking as Straight as I Can (with Ted Nichelson), Jewell talks about her life and her determination.
Jewell made her worldwide debut in September, 1956, three months early due to a car accident involving her mother. Eighteen months later, after her parents noticed developmental delays and begged doctors for an explanation, Jewell was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Though institutionalization was recommended, the Jewells were adamant that Geri would be treated like their other children. They moved from New York to California so that she could get first-class care, and they enrolled her in schools that could accommodate her disabilities. Though she sometimes met discrimination, Jewell remembers a good childhood.
After graduating from high school, Jewell went to college, where she fell in love with acting. She wanted to fall in love, too, but she writes that she was emotionally stunted, “a child,” and she was also very confused.
Geri Jewell was attracted to women, but swore that she was not gay.
Her emotional immaturity didn’t stop her determination, though. Having found her funny bone, Jewell accepted as many comedy gigs as she could find and she clawed for her place in entertainment. Humor gained her lots of fans, which led to a TV career on The Facts of Life, as well as a wildly popular stage show.
But, like many Hollywood careers, Jewell’s had its problems.
She was unceremoniously ousted from Facts for reasons she still doesn’t know. Her hearing impairment got her into trouble, as did her emotional immaturity. Jewell was naïve and too trusting, which almost landed her in jail. She was broke, divorced, depressed, prescription drug-addicted and still in the closet when a chance encounter in a pharmacy line gave her the lifeline she needed most.
As Tinsel Town memoirs go, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can isn’t bad.
Though author Geri Jewell is a star herself, it’s refreshing to read about her brushes with other celebs. She drops names and tells tales with obvious wonder, much as any fan would and that’s a sweet humility that readers—tired of tabloid-type Hollywood drama—will love.
On the other hand, the trademark Jewell humor is largely missing in this book and there’s a lot of (often-justifiable) complaining that felt repetitious to me after awhile. That and some odd anecdotes and repeated comments on urination detracted from this bio.
Overall, this book is worth a look-see, but it might be best enjoyed if you’re a big Geri Jewell fan. For you, in particular, I’m Walking as Straight as I Can is a book you can’t miss.
I’m Walking as Straight as I Can by Geri Jewell with Ted Nichelson, ECW Press, hardcover, 252 pages. List price $19.95. | <urn:uuid:93386a5d-6087-4ae3-a1b8-5c8f66201d82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ieweekly.com/2011/10/arts/arts-feature/jewell-of-denial/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987773 | 751 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Guwahati, April 6: Assam Government has sketched out a mission to encourage organic farming and it is being launched this year. Funds for implementing the mission named Chief Minister’s Organic Farming Mission would not be a problem, said Agriculture Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka.
He was inaugurating a review meeting organised by his department on bringing green revolution to the NE region here today. The minister also released the crop sequence list and crop calendar in the function. The minister said that the Government has also proposed expansion in the size of the area under hybrid paddy cultivation from the present 2.4 per cent to 20 per cent.
With the amplified size of the area under hybrid paddy cultivation, the amount of rice being produced by the State is expected to be up by around 25 lakh metric tonnes over its existing quantity of production. Thus the total rice production of the State is expected to reach around 78.30 lakh metric tonnes.
Deka said that integrated farming would be encouraged through a new scheme for developing model gaon panchayats. To resist indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, the State would soon announce its fertiliser policy and to prevent use of farming land for other purposes, theState would also adopt a land use policy. The process to prepare the land use policy is on, he said.
He made an appeal to the officers of the Agriculture Department to espouse a competitive approach for competing with the other States. To look into the problems in marketing the produce of the State’s farmers, theAgriculture Department is teaming up with the Food and Civil Supplies and Cooperation Departments.
A joint team of the officials of the three departments will tour the entireState to assess the situation. The team will visit Andhra Pradesh on April 8. It will also visit Chhattisgarh and Punjab after the Rongali Bihu in this connection. While the Agricultural Marketing Board has been asked to procure paddy produced by theState farmers, the Chief Minister has announced a high-level committee to look into theproblems faced by the farmers in selling their produce, the minister said. | <urn:uuid:669e444e-3248-4240-a9a0-b3937b74a55b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.newsbharati.com/Encyc/2012/4/6/Mission-to-Encourage-Organic-Farming-in-Assam.aspx?NB=&lang=1&m1=m3&m2=m3.1&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&NewsMode=int | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962883 | 437 | 1.585938 | 2 |
So you cannot find a suitable teacher for your child. Does he/she need an extra bit of care? Try E-tuition, it will solve your problem.
Your child needs 24 hours of watch that no teacher can give and also the guidance of an expert that you cannot give. So it is better to combine both. If you think that you will have to have a watch over your child while he/she is reading, then go for E-tuition. This way, you will get access to the best in the profession and also get to have a watch over your kid as he/she is in home.
Now E-tuition is getting more priority than ever as the best in the profession can be reached sitting at home. If it was not done virtually, you would have had to travel a long distance from home. Or you would have had to give more money to call your tutor at home. That would be impossible when your child would go to college.
Now you only have to open your computer and connect the internet. After you have connected to your tutor, you will have no more problems. Your child will do the rest. Your only have to keep a watch over him which you wanted to.
So if you think you are getting fed up sending your child to a private tutor, it’s time that you try E-tuition for your child. You will not get disappointed.
Going to a toy store to buy toys is not an easy task when it comes to shopping for your own kid; now imagine having to buy toys for your friend’s kid. Your friend have invited you to the birthday party of his kid. So you go to the toy store to buy a suitable gift for the kid; but you hardly have any idea as to what toy to pick up as the ideal gift. One thing you need to understand is that kids would always love toys as gifts no matter what kind of toy you gift them. However you can always make the kid happier by choosing an unusual toy, game as gift.
You can never go wrong with video games. Brand new games are coming everyday in the market and all you need to do is keep yourself updated about these new entrants; buy the latest or most popular game. If you are considering buying some expensive gift then buy play station. If the kid loves puzzles then buy interesting new puzzle games; children always find boardgames intriguing. If the kid is fond of outdoor activities then try buying cool bicycle. For studious kids it is always wise to buy games like bilingual learning games; also there are toys as well as games that teach kids useful lessons such as alphabet, time. Also available in this category are brain games,word games, science kits; which will make the kids happy even parents will also feel happy receiving these. Brats on the other hand would be looking forward to finding something funny while unwrapping the gifts. Have you ever thought of buying prank gift box? Gift it, the brat will simply love it. Gifting basket ball, soccer ball, baseball club is also a good idea if the kid is a sport fanatic. Go online to find out about more exciting games and toys.
customized sashes – Now You Can Get Customized Sashes From On the internet Stores.
Nickys Kids Town – Nicky’s Kids Town have been in operation since 1991, giving us more than 20 years experience in creating a lovely and unique home
preschool sydney – Are you looking for a proper Sydney child care centre that can provide a safe, friendly and positive environment for your child? Well, Caring 4 Kids Day Care is the perfect place for your child. Run by qualified staff, this is the right place where your child can learn and grow in his early stage.
Click Here Likit Products is an innovative and fun company designed to explore new products and ideas to improve the lives of our furry friends.
keep your kids entertained – If you have plans to go on a vacation but do not have a high budget then get some vacation deals to save money, also check out the suggestions given to help you keep your kids entertained on vacation.
animated movie – Be it a romantic date with your partner or a cozy family gathering a movie could make things interesting. Check out the lists of perfect date movies and animated ones for the whole family.
buy discounted bags – Be it your business, your home or a health care facility a good stock of plastic bags are needed to keep things organized, read on to find out the benefit of buying products in bulk and follow the tips to save money on shipping and supplies.
Disney World With Kids – This vacation take your kids for a fun filled Disney World vacation, check out the tips given to make your trip more comfortable.
baby proof your bathroom – Check out the DYI projects given to help you baby-proof your bathroom and restore your furniture, read on to learn how to remove wallpaper without hassle.
Savile Row Bespoke Suit Tailors – Henry Herbert Tailors offers perfectly tailored hand Bespoke Suits, Morning Suits, London Suit Tailor, Wedding Suits, Visiting Tailor and Tailored Shirts Online.
Steelers baby clothes – Check out the amazing collection of Steelers baby clothes for your precious little bundle of joy. Our collection includes Steelers long sleeve body suit and pants, Steelers baby black sleeper, Steelers infant sweatsuit and more.
baby headbands – Your little bundle of joy deserves everything best in this world, so get the cutest, adorable baby clothing and accessories at princessbowtique.net, from baby bloomers to baby headbands we have all that you might need.
While buying toys for kids we mostly prefer buying toys that the kid will find fun to play with. It is true that toys are given to kids to entertain them; but we often forget that childhood is the time when a child starts developing certain skills so we should help them develop in every possible way. A child’s playtime could be turned to learning time with proper toys. These toys as we all know are called educational toys; educational toys are specially designed to help children build up certain skills; these toys help children grow both mental and physical skills.
Different toys have different benefits. While some games help boosting mental abilities;others aim at overall development. On related sites you will find educational toys have been categorized according to age. Abacus is a well known educational toy, while playing with it a child learns counting, shapes, calculation like addition and subtraction, and what not. With the toy My first clock you can teach your kid how to tell time. Blocks on the other hand have been teaching kids building things for ages; in fact we have all grown up playing with blocks; to develop little tyke’s musical skills you can buy Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube. On the other hand it is essential for kids to learn various shapes; so try out First Shapes Jumbo Knob,this toy helps teach children shapes like oval, square,triangle etc. stimulate your kids imagination with Story Starter where introduction of stories are given; and the kid would develop the story further. For bigger kids aged between 6-8 buy them different puzzle sets so as to develop their logical as well as analytical skills. Big kids should start taking interest in scientific inventions and Big Bag of Science will help them, by encouraging to come up with interesting innovations.
There are plenty more educational toys available; all you have to do is choose wisely keeping your child’s developmental needs in mind.
We grow up playing different kinds of games from our childhood. But we play games mostly to spend time with our friends or to entertain ourselves; or simply because of the love of the game. But we are hardly aware of the fact that playing games could help us build reflex. There are two types of games outdoor games and indoor games. Basketball, cricket, soccer, baseball, tennis etc are the games that fall into the category of outdoor games. While various board games, billiards, snooker, are known as indoor games. Nowadays there are games like video games and computer games. Each of these games contribute a lot to overall improvement of ourselves. When it comes to outdoor games soccer is the most common game played all over the world. While playing soccer you need to use your entire body; this game is all about speed; you are constantly moving about running after the ball; dodging the opposition player. And you are constantly trying to score goal; so this way your entire body as well as brain are getting used. So your reflex automatically betters. Our next stop is tennis; this game also demands the players to move quickly. It is also good for enhancing reflex. The same thing could be said about dodge ball, baseball, cricket. While playing these games you have to respond very quickly to every move that is being made by the opposition. Even if you are not an outdoor type person who is disinterested in exerting yourself then play video games or computer games. It is said that video games are good for building reflex and it enhances your hand eye coordination skills. So get up and start playing the game that you like.
FIFA 2013 Review As is the case with the upcoming release of the latest iPhone, new technology-based products are apt to rustle up an ocean of rumors and hearsay, most often verging on the phantasmagoric.
Jewish calendar When starting the holiday season? Displaying years Site: Calendar year 100 until the year 9999 including Gregorian date and the date of Israel’s Jewish holiday celebrations with free printing option
Super Mario Games Have all the Super Mario Fun you’re Looking For. We have all the Fun Mario Games right here for Free. Mario and Luigi are waiting for you o join them in the fun. | <urn:uuid:53c400a1-7d03-448b-83c8-0304345e40f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mrkdo.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960644 | 2,007 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Posts tagged Adelaide Art Reviews
Our Mob is a state-wide celebration of regional and remote South Australian artists. This is its fifth year and derives from a desire to develop a sustainable and dynamic indigenous arts industry, now enshrined in the Statewide Indigenous Community Artists Development (SICAD) program. This year’s exhibition features Ngarrindjeri artists from the Riverland and Coorong.
There are perhaps two stand-out feature works that certainly warrant the time to visit. Major Sumner’s Tree Canoe sits in the midst of the works resting on sand on the floor. A Ngarrindjeri elder, Sumner describes his canoe as a homage to the tree from which it is cut, being more than 100 years old, and to children as an example of both technique and culture. It is certainly impressive and as clear as anything could be of the close inter-relationship between the land and its uses by indigenous communities for thousands of years.
Beaver Lennon’s Break of Dawn (attached above) is notable for two reasons. First, it is one of the few works on display clearly borne of white man styles and techniques, Jack Absalom would be proud of the gums and the spinafex. The heavy, dewy atmospherics of the work with the dark under sides of the clouds, tinged with the dawn’s crimsons, pose the question of whether this is about the on-coming of a cultural storm or the dawn of new, brighter day. The second notable feature is that this work won the inaugural SA Indigenous Acquisitive Art Award of $5000 (thanks to an anonymous donor) that sees the work go into the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Indigenous Art Collection.
Also of note is the exquisite brush work of Roger (Bushfire) Saunders in his Spirits of Change and the raw talent of 9 year old, Ella Ackland’s Snake Protector, an acrylic on bark work of a snake slithering for safety.
Finally, of considerable interest is Narelle Unmeopa’s Emu Egg. Her daughter’s Emu egg is also there, a brightly coloured collectible, but Narelle’s exhibits extraordinary craftsmanship being symbols left as shell after all else has been scraped and sanded away down to the finest skin or membrane before reaching the egg’s yoke – no paint applied.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
Image: Beaver Lennon, The Break of Dawn, acrylic on canvas, 2010
The role of dust in our lives and the decay that leads to becoming dust is well explored in this small exhibition of both two and three dimensional works by these South Australian artists. At the big end, stands a decaying, rusted and old rainwater tank, with detritus from the water held, its decay or role as a collecting vessel assembled at its base. At the other end are ‘dust domes’, six transparent bell jars with architectural models of domestic residences in them that are overwhelmed by dust and other waste that one would commonly expect to exhume from a vacuum cleaner.
In the middle, paintings or panels spread with red dust collected from the Amata Aboriginal settlement. The intensity of these panels give the viewer the opportunity to see them either as cross sections of an ancient outback soil profile or aerial views of a seemingly never ending desert. The whole makes one feel like you have been dropped into the yard of an outback station with domesticity available at short hand but beyond all existing at the whim of the elements.
This is a very Australian exhibition that takes a new look at a very well covered homage to our outback and our ability to survive in it.
Floor talks by the artists, this Saturday, 14th August, at 2pm.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
Cultural Pattern and Human Fragility By Ann Newmarch – Flinders Uni Art Museum (State Library) – Till 29th August
Ann Newmarch’s 25th solo exhibition comprises 16 works and opinion may well divide on their merits. To be sure they are complex, any one incorporating many motifs that span on one axis of thought cultural items like Afgham rugs, rosettes, Italian and Greek monuments and on the other images of war and death such as the silhouettes of rifles, the photo of Kim Phuc fleeing a napalm attack in the Vietnam war and a trader falling to his death from one of the twin towers on 9/11.
There is also a beauty about them in that they hang well together and can sustain individual curiosity as well filling a space on a wall. However, the repetition of the images across all 16 works and overall feel somewhat confound the individual and often distinct titles and commentary associated with each.
Newmarch speaks in the catalogue of how ‘these images grew bit by bit without much consideration for the big picture. I felt like I was dissolving into each area I altered or added (a bit like a quilt, the complexities of each stitch.)’ Janet Maughn speaks of ‘the messages appear not so obviously. These are pictures that reward close inspection of different parts of the picture surface; that hint at relationships and encourage the viewer to make connections across cultures, across time and across events.
Thus the divide on these works is either they are a hotch potch of icons that will resonate from one’s consciousness that holds together as complex and colourful or the trained eye will make out these connections of culture and war and tie them in with their titles. But if the artists didn’t seem to know where they were going, I am unsure why viewers should or would.
Kryztoff Rating 3K | <urn:uuid:352f2331-fbcf-4e19-b288-5b9ca60c080a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kryztoff.com/fringeraw/?tag=adelaide-art-reviews | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961201 | 1,183 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Around the Nation
Thu March 29, 2012
The Lobbyist Behind Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law
The murder of Trayvon Martin has shone a spotlight on Florida's law that authorizes the use of deadly force in self-defense. The law has been widely cited as the reason why shooter George Zimmerman has not been arrested. Marion Hammer is one of the most powerful lobbyists in Florida, and has helped to make the law a reality in the state. | <urn:uuid:643dbcc4-1500-4eac-ac26-58c67167ee39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kunm.org/post/lobbyist-behind-floridas-stand-your-ground-law | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957479 | 96 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Jarvis Masters was convicted of participating in the killing of a prison guard, Sergeant Howell Burchfield, despite the fact that he was in another part of the prison when the guard was killed. Another prisoner was convicted of actually stabbing Sergeant Burchfield, and a third man of ordering the killing. We have deep sympathy for the Burchfield family’s loss, and while we respect their desire for justice, we believe that Jarvis is not guilty of the crime for which he alone was given the death sentence.
This website provides
an introduction to Jarvis Masters' life and work. You can find out about
Jarvis's background. We have provided a
summary of how and why Jarvis was sentenced
to death, and an update on his appeal.
We also set out why we believe Jarvis is innocent.
While living on death
row, Jarvis has become an eloquent writer.
Read about his highly-praised books That Bird Has My Wings: An Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row
(how to order it) as well as Finding Freedom -- Writings From Death Row (how
to order it). Both books have been praised
by such important figures as Desmond Tutu, Sister Helen Prejean, and Angela Davis.
An important aspect
of Jarvis's life on Death Row has been his Buddhist practice. Read about
how Jarvis became a Buddhist,
and how meditation
has changed his life and affected the lives of his fellow prisoners.
We in the Committee
join the Catholic Church, numerous Protestant denominations, Amnesty International,
and people of conscience around the world in seeking an end to capital
punishment. We have included pages discussing abolition
of the death penalty, and offer suggestions on how you can join in this
work and assist in the effort to free
Many people have responded
to Jarvis's situation. We will post some of the feedback our Committee
has received from supporters. We also provide a way for you to respond
to this website and to support the campaign to free Jarvis Jay Masters.
Pema Chödrön is one
of America's best-known Buddhist teachers, and is a personal teacher of
Jarvis Masters. This is what she writes about Jarvis:
is an easy man to respect and an easy man to love. What I learn from
him all the time is what it really means to keep one's vows of not harming
and of helping other people in whatever ways one can. I always think,
'If Jarvis can do it in those most challenging and difficult situations,
I can do it too.' It is a continual aspiration from my heart that Jarvis
Masters not be killed and that I have the pleasure of knowing him as
a free man; a free man who I know will benefit all the people he encounters." | <urn:uuid:6db47074-2e91-4566-9cf7-2ad7a7079d01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freejarvis.org/ | 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 | 0.959726 | 577 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The articles shown in this section have been sourced from various news feeds.
Trips, slips and falls are common in supermarkets with workers and customers equally vulnerable. Studies show that the majority of supermarket injuries occur in the entrances and the first few aisles. Accidents commonly occur due to slippery and wet flooring, food spillages and loose products on the floor. If you’ve sustained any injuries as a result of a slip or fall in a supermarket, you may be able to rightfully claim compensation.
Slips, Trips & Falls in the Supermarket
Supermarkets are often busy environments which can naturally lead to a lot of trips, slips and falls. Case studies from the health & safety executive (HSE) identify poorly managed supermarket floors as a serious cause of injury to customers and workers:
'A female shopper, left compelled to use a wheelchair after slipping on a mushroom in a supermarket, was awarded £550,000 in compensation.'
'Supermarket worker awarded £200,000 following a heavy fall on an un-cleaned floor.'
Wet or slippery tiled store entrances can be extremely dangerous for unsuspecting shoppers. Furthermore, loose products & liquid spillages in the aisles can be easily left unattended, resulting in unnecessary accidents.
Safety in the Supermarket – your rights
Supermarkets have a responsibility to adhere to basic health & safety regulations which should prevent you, where possible, from receiving injury. If you’ve sustained a supermarket related injury that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to rightly seek compensation.
Making Supermarket Accident Claims
How to claim compensation
If you have been injured as a result of a supermarket related accident, you should be able to claim for your injuries.
Please speak to our team by calling 0800 014 1629 or completing the online form to request a call back. Our experienced solicitors are always happy to help you through the process and aim to get you the 100% compensation you deserve.
Start your claim now | <urn:uuid:a0f9bb43-ea9e-47ca-9912-855fecbfb0e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firstpersonalinjury.co.uk/injury-claim-types/supermarket-slips-trips-and-falls | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937506 | 413 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Last year, ONE member Chris Mullally decided to start his own nonprofit, the Extraordinary Project, to help hungry children in the world’s poorest places. We were so moved by his story that we asked him to share it with us:
The holiday season is a time of great joy for so many, and a time of giving and receiving for most of us. It is the time of the year when we place an extremely large amount of consideration on others who we know and love.
Now take just a minute to think of the last time you saw something really unbelievable, something that really bothered you, upset you, or disturbed you. Next, think of what you have considered to do since then to make a difference in that situation.
Why are the situations that grieve us the most also the most paralyzing?
On August 10, 2011 I asked myself these same questions while watching a CNN story about the drought conditions in Somalia. These words would change my life forever: “Up to 600,000 children could die from starvation.” That number just laid a heavy burden on my heart like never before. How is it possible that so many children could die from starvation in today’s world?
So I decided to do something about it. Although I had never done anything like this before, I started the Extraordinary Project. I believe that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and my goal is to rally ordinary people—to find one million people to give $1.00 each. The mission of Extraordinary Project is to help people recognize that we can make a difference, if we just change our mentality from “me” to “we.”
Of course, it hasn’t been easy. I learned how to become incorporated as a not-for-profit charity, got help building a website, logo and graphics, and worked tirelessly to get the word out. All of this wore me down more than I anticipated and honestly, on several occasions I almost gave up. There were just so many obstacles, so many people who said they would help, but who never followed through. Thankfully, the encouragement from my family and several close friends kept me going. On February 26, 2012, six months after I saw the initial news story, we officially launched the Extraordinary Project.
During the course of the next nine months, I was overjoyed to see people I do not even know joining in, raising money on their own and sending it in with a note of how they did it. We also received media attention, both TV and print. I was so excited! Unfortunately, as the word spread, donations would fade rather than increase. Sporadic bursts of attention were followed by longer periods of inactivity.
I could have succumbed to the paralysis and given up at any time. I could have comforted myself with the sentiment that, “Hey, I gave it my best shot.” But the fact is, giving up is never someone’s best shot! Although some days it is very discouraging or difficult to keep going, I know that 600,000 starving children in Somalia need me — they need us. So I just keep pushing through those tough days, remembering that this can be done, and that giving up is not an option.
Then on October 16, World Food Day, something truly amazing happened for the Extraordinary Project. We were contacted by the International Rescue Committee about participating in the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign, set up by Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment. On World Food Day only, the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign promised to triple – yes triple any donations made that day through the International Rescue Committee or their other partners in this campaign. After spending most of the day working out all the details with them, the Extraordinary Project was able to pledge $35,000 of the funds we had so far collected and it was turned into $105,000!
What an accomplishment this was for the Extraordinary Project, a charity that literally collects $1.00 at a time from people. To see all those single dollars given by people to our project be turned into over a hundred thousand dollars was truly amazing. By far the most significant day of my life! Now our first donation will go immediately to help a health clinic in Somalia for mothers and their children.
What I really want everyone to understand from this project is that no matter your background, religion, or level of discouragement, we can do something! It’s one dollar for one child, a child without the hope. What I just want people to really understand, is that these children in Somalia, no matter where they’re from, or what faith they hold, or what race they are, really need help.
Sometimes, we get discouraged by the big picture or distracted by the details, and we tend to forget that we have been given so much. What we cannot forget is how to give.
So while Somalia is not exactly topping anyone’s “favorite places” lists, please remember that they just need some help right now from those of us who can help.
So this holiday season, as you are trying to find that perfect gift for your family and friends, consider what a small gift would do to help someone who is in real need.
Just as the recent news story of NYPD Officer Lawrence Deprimo buying a pair of boots for a homeless man with no shoes on a cold night in Times Square in New York City, I wish for all who read this blog to simply remember this – the question should never be “Why” should I help anyone in need but “Why not” help anyone in need.
By Chris Mullally with Tim Owens | <urn:uuid:d616b4b0-73ad-4d7b-8c8e-3a1c9de9d5fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.one.org/us/2012/12/21/real-stories-i-started-my-own-nonprofit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977872 | 1,178 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Damar resin is a very people and earth friendly ingredient. Damar resin is harvested from trees in Malaysia and these trees are slashed yearly to ooze sap for harvesting. These trees are not damaged from this process and it is very similar to the tapping of maple trees for syrup. As the sap dries and solidifies, it captures insects, dried leaves, and tree bark so when the damar resin arrives in its crystal form at Enkaustikos, all of these imbedded impurities must be removed. Enkaustikos heat filters the damar resin to make a usable product. Damar in combination with beeswax produces a paint film with a higher index of refraction and Enkaustikos uses it as a main ingredient in their encaustic paints making the colors appear luminous.
*Many encaustic recipes incorrectly suggest that an artist should use damar varnish. This is not a good idea because damar varnish is made with turpentine which is not only flammable but also gives off unhealthy fumes. We would like to emphasize that our wax paints and mediums are made with damar resin and not damar varnish. We heat filter out the impurities from the damar crystals without the use of solvents. Unlike damar varnish, Enkaustikos Damar Resin is a safe product to work with. The FDA has even approved the use of damar resin to coat the boxes carting fruits and vegetables.
Available in the following sizes:
Resealable Silver Bag: 8 oz (227g), 16 oz (454g) | <urn:uuid:f35ccdae-0e47-4878-9b87-40797ceaf076> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.encausticpaints.com/Products/Sundries/DamarResin/tabid/387/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932465 | 338 | 1.625 | 2 |
How risky plan kept rival in the race
Mr Yushchenko celebrates.
Viktor Yushchenko's illness raises troubling questions, writes Elisabeth Rosenthal.
When the once-robust, telegenic man was wheeled through the sliding glass doors of Vienna's plush Rudolfinerhaus hospital in early September, he was severely ill, conscious but groggy and complaining of terrible abdominal pain.
Multiple blood tests gave abnormal results, doctors say, his skin was covered with odd-looking lesions, and his digestive tract was dotted with ulcers.
Europe's most illustrious doctors were stumped - the patient's many symptoms defied a diagnosis.
Eight days later, Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's Opposition Leader, checked out of the hospital against medical advice, determined to return to the business of winning the presidential election in Ukraine.
In less than two weeks he was back, crippled by excruciating back pain that required such huge doses of morphine to control that he almost ended up on a ventilator.
Once again, a week of testing found no medical explanation.
Mr Yushchenko and his doctors agreed on a risky plan: doctors threaded a small tube through the skin of his upper back, into his spinal canal, so he could receive constant pain-killing medication while campaigning.
So it was that Mr Yushchenko flew back to Kiev with a catheter lodged in his back, escorted by a team of Austria's elite doctors.
He campaigned with the tube in place for a week, attending several large rallies.
Michael Zimpfer, the medical director at the hospital, supervised Mr Yushchenko. "I went with him because I had serious security concerns and I wanted to make sure he was handled properly," he said.
Indeed, the doctors had become increasingly suspicious that foul play, possibly an unusual poisoning, could be the cause of their patient's problems.
In interviews last week, the doctors were quick to emphasise that, scientifically, they could not say that the candidate had been poisoned. They tested only for common agents and found none.
Viktor Yushchenko's illness was evident during Friday's celebrations.
But the medical team became so concerned about the possibility of an unconventional agent that it consulted biological and chemical weapons experts.
Dr Zimpfer said: "If someone said to me, 'Look what we found!' I wouldn't be at all surprised. In this case, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
"As I've said to the family, if this is a poisoning, it's going to be very tricky and tough to discover. They are not going to use some regular household agent."
According to his press secretary, Irina Gerashchenko, Mr Yushchenko is still being treated. "He feels much better . . . but he's far from ideal."
New details of Mr Yushchenko's hospital admissions in Vienna raise disturbing questions: was the candidate poisoned or infected with some biological agent? And what is his current state of health, in the middle of a pivotal battle for power?
- New York Times | <urn:uuid:3fa174cb-7017-40af-9a7b-f17bc1f617ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/How-risky-plan-kept-rival-in-the-race/2004/12/04/1101923385375.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980722 | 631 | 1.59375 | 2 |
In 1961, the last time the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, the playoffs lasted only two rounds, the team spelled its team name differently — two words, Black Hawks — and the charismatic star wing Bobby Hull wore No. 16 instead of his later and more famous No. 9.
The team’s 49-year Cup drought still has a few years to go before it equals the Rangers’ league-record 54-year dry spell, but it is the longest active streak in the N.H.L.
Before 1961, the Blackhawks went 23 years without winning and for much of that time were considered the league’s whipping boys. But the infusion of young farm-system talent — Hull, Stan Mikita, Pierre Pilote and Ken Wharram — combined with trades for the star goalie Glenn Hall from Detroit and a half-dozen castoffs from the powerhouse Montreal Canadiens to turn things around.
After finishing above .500 for the first time in 15 years and only the eighth time in their 35-year history, the Hawks met Montreal in the semifinals. The Canadiens had won five consecutive Cups, but Chicago dispatched them in six games, including two straight shutouts by Hall and an overtime game that went two and a half extra periods.
In Game 6 of the finals, the Blackhawks led host Detroit, three games to two, but were trailing, 1-0. Reg Fleming, a Montreal exile, tied it with a short-handed goal, and then Hall made two spectacular saves to thwart the Red Wings before another former Canadien, Ab McDonald, scored to put Chicago ahead. The roof caved in on the Red Wings. Chicago scored three more in the third period and won the Cup.
The Blackhawks lifted Hall to their shoulders, and Clarence Campbell, the N.H.L. president, said Hall “broke Detroit’s back with those saves.”
The last time the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup was in 1975 at Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium, and a roll of toilet papermay have been responsible.
The home team had won each of the initial five games in that first championship clash between expansion teams, so Sabres fans were sky-high going into Game 6. No one could have predicted that what was about to happen would be as weird as Game 3, when Buffalo’s Jim Lorentz used his stick to kill a bat that had fluttered down from the rafters, and later, a heavy fog wafted up from the ice surface, forcing several stoppages.
The standing-room crowd roared as the Sabres skated out before the opening face-off. Fans threw rolls of toilet paper from the upper deck, as was the custom at the Aud in those days. The idea was for the rolls to unfurl to create a festive streamer effect.
But one roll did not unfurl. It came down like a shot and struck Rick Martin, the Sabres’ top goal scorer, on his bare forehead. Suddenly the building went silent. Martin had to be helped to the dressing room. Joyous anticipation turned instantly to concern and dread.
Martin returned in time for the start of the game, but the crowd, and the Sabres, were flat. They took 32 shots on Bernie Parent, but his Flyers teammates made sure most of them came from the outside. Bob Kelly broke the scoreless draw 11 seconds into the third period, and Bill Clement struck for the backbreaker with 2 minutes 7 seconds to go.
Buffalo fans chanted “Bernie, Bernie” in tribute to Parent, a sportsmanlike gesture. But it was also meant to show that the fans did not think it was the Flyers who beat the Sabres, just their goalie. And perhaps an errant roll of toilet paper. | <urn:uuid:8dcd7f6c-cb08-41fe-9c87-33fa115d2251> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/remembering-stanley-cups-past-for-blackhawks-and-flyers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97529 | 771 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Jackson County animal lovers need to bring their open arms this weekend to three free adult cat adoption programs because local animal shelters are drowning in a tsunami of felines, organizers say.
"It's just insane right now," said Kenn Altine, executive director of the Southern Oregon Humane Society.
Spayed, neutered and vaccinated adult cats are available for free adoption this weekend at the following shelter locations:
SOHS, Jackson County Animal Care and Control and Committed Alliance to Strays have a combined 400 cats and kittens either in their facilities or in foster homes awaiting adoption. And given the county's burgeoning population of non-spayed or neutered cats, there are more on the way, he said.
"We really are chasing this population explosion," Altine said. "It really is a tsunami. And it's going to take everyone getting involved, and it's going to take years (to resolve)."
The free adult cat adoption event will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13-14, at each of the three facilities. All available cats are a minimum of 1 year old, fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered. Many will be micro-chipped.
"And all adoption fees will be waived," Altine said.
It's an out-of-the-box approach to free up cages at the shelters. Altine and his shelter partners hope that many cats that are already spayed/neutered will find homes so that the shelters can take in more cats in need of good homes — and who also need a visit to the veterinarian to take them out of the feline repopulation loop, he said.
The high numbers of homeless Jackson County cats are the direct result of pet owners failing to spay and neuter their animals. Studies show that one mating can result in thousands of cats and kittens in just a handful of years, Altine said.
Adult cats often are offered for free on Craigslist or by other means. But those cats are not necessarily spayed/neutered or have their shots. Neither are they usually microchipped.
"So that's really just perpetuating the problem," Altine said, adding this is not the case with the cats available at the weekend adoption events.
Barbara Talbert, Jackson County's interim shelter manager, said public outcry over the euthanasia of stray cats sparked policy changes at the county shelter.
"We are now keeping all adoptable, manageable cats," Talbert said. "That is one of the reasons why we're so overwhelmed."
About 120 cats and kittens are currently in the county shelter or in foster homes awaiting adoption. About half of them are adult cats, Talbert said.
The county is so overwhelmed that it has had to temporarily turn away owner-surrendered animals. It is also limiting the number of stray or feral intakes per person to one cat or litter per day, she said.
"But we're taking in as fast as we can get them adopted," Talbert said. "All the shelters are full. We're running out of room."
The shelter's new euthanization policies have meant a lot of shuffling of cats between facilities, and even up to the Portland humane society, she said.
"As fast as we can get them adopted, the same number comes in the door," Talbert said. "Now, community, you're going to have to do your part and help us find these animals homes or we're going to be stuck."
No kittens will be available for free, but they will be available at regular adoption fees, Talbert said, adding those wishing to adopt an adult cat, or two or three, this weekend will save on adoption fees. But the shelters' policies to ensure the animals are going to loving homes will remain in place, she said.
"Of course, with Halloween coming, we're going to be careful that no black cats get adopted to anyone who might do something bad to them," she said.
This is the first time that all three shelters have worked together, and each has been doing its part to save more lives by keeping these adoptable animals healthy in spite of the crowded conditions, Altine said.
Each organization has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars caring for these cats, but is willing to give them away free in hopes of emptying their facilities of cats 1 year old or older — some of whom have waited for more than a year to find a new family, he said.
"I've been here 10 months and there are cats who have been here since I came," Altine said.
Altine hopes that more than 100 cats could find new homes during the first-time, two-day free event, even while understanding the cages they once occupied could be filled in less than 24 hours.
The list of people waiting to bring in a stray cat to CATS extends into November. SOHS also has a long list of people wanting to surrender a cat, Altine said.
Altine warned that a lack of community response could put the shelters in an even tougher situation.
"Let's say it's a huge success," Altine said. "Was price the barrier to adoption? Or, if it's a fizzle, what is the community really saying about cats? That they don't want them even if they're free? What other options are available?"
Sally Mackler, director of Spay Neuter Your Pet, praised the effort, saying free adoptions will mean the world to any cat lucky enough to get a new home. But adoption only treats the symptoms. Pet owners need to spay and neuter their pets, Mackler said. (Correction: The organization Mackler directs has been corrected in this story.)
The potent combination of cats' natural ability to produce vast numbers of kittens and survive in the wild, combined with careless pet owners who fail to exercise reproductive responsibility for their felines, has created the problem, she said.
"The only real tool we have is to try and stop the flow at the source," Mackler said. "The reality is every cat out there is a result of somebody who didn't fix their pet."
All this month, Spay Neuter Your Pet is offering $25 spay or neuter certificates for cats, Altine said.
"There is no excuse not to get your cat spayed or neutered," Altine said.
Certificates are available at all Jackson County Grange Co-op stores, Pet Country, and Mini Pet Mart on Stewart Street in Medford, he said. For more information on the Tom and Mom program, as well as year-round programs for dogs, low-income families and feral cats, contact SNYP at 541-858-3325 or online at www.spayneuter.org.
Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or email [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:e81fa44d-2d5f-4c9f-b151-1afed22bd3c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121009/NEWS/210090313/-1/PETS | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963474 | 1,437 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Flightcrew of two.
SSJ 100-95 - 86 to 103 passengers depending on configuration.
The first production Superjet 100 was handed over to launch customer Armavia on 19 April 2011.
Regional jet airliner
The Superjet 100 design was launched in 2000, with the aim being to produce a modern regional airliner for the traditional Eastern European/CIS markets. It is also intended to be attractive to Western customers due to lower purchase and operating costs than competing Western designs, but with the required safety and performance features that were often perceived as lacking in older designs from the Soviet era, preventing sales to that market.
Sukhoi worked with new partners, notably including Boeing, as they developed the aircraft for the post-Cold War airline environment. The aircraft that emerged is modern and targeted to compete with close competitors such as the Embraer ERJ-190/195 and Bombardier designs, as well as the smaller Airbus and Boeing designs such as the A318 and 737-600.
Development was more protracted than expected, but successful, with the first of four prototypes flying on 19 May 2008. Certification was reasonably straightforward, with a few problems requiring attention, particularly with the new engines.
Customer deliveries began in 2011 when Armenian airline Armavia took delivery of the first production aircraft, with Aeroflot taking its first aircraft later the same year. Copyright Airliners.net, some information Copyright Aerospace Publications | <urn:uuid:8715134c-c767-4b05-810f-f99b37b14e50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=408 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973994 | 288 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Tax increase before budget revision is disservice
By Barbara Brenner
Whatcom County Council
The county council majority voted for a tax increase immediately before our first in-depth budget review in two years. Whatcom County operates on a biennial budget process.
We first received new budget numbers from the executive’s office the same day as the vote for the tax increase. Less than two months ago the executive said we are in good financial shape in his State of the County address.
Two years ago the economy was robust and we voted for some good, but non-essential items (not mandated and perhaps not the most efficient) that should be reviewed. We also have a hefty reserve fund if there are immediate funding needs before passing a budget.
Because some mental health services are important public health and safety programs we owe it to all county residents, especially mental health consumers to develop mental health funding within our budget process before ever considering a tax increase.
Our state senators, members of the legislature that cut mental health programs and funding, implored the county council to show real support for mental health services by just passing the tax without a vote of the public. Because of state mental health funding cuts, the county does have more needs.
The senators said they passed the buck to give us local control and they claim there is no state money available. If they believe these services are so important, and I do, they could have cut some non-essential items from the state budget and they could have required complete local control.
Even a lowly local official like me knows there is always government waste and the further up the political food chain the bigger the waste. Indifficult economic times the public depends on its elected officials to make difficult cuts in non-essential items before considering tax increases.
The tax increase-based mental health plan was delivered to council a week before introducing the tax increase, full of reasons why these services are needed. I agree with many. It is full of generic language like “supports,” “increases,” “enhancements,” and “creations” but contains only one paragraph descriptions of programs and estimated costs that are not adequately explained. The council hasn’t even reviewed it.
If our lives depended on it our council majority could probably find the same amount of money in our existing budget to fund mental health issues that will be available by the tax increase they just passed.
Some lives do depend on us funding important services in the most efficient way. Two council members said they didn’t think budget cuts would be enough. But some council members have tolerated more non-essential expenditures than others and we haven’t even begun our in-depth review.
Premature assumptions create self-fulfilling conclusions. Some mental health services are high priorities, deserving scrutiny now within our existing finances, especially since now is our mandated opportunity to do so. We could use our healthy reserve fund for any effective concrete programs if they are produced within the two months it will take to review or revise our budget. Or if proponents’ claims are accurate that this tax will reduce other funding needs, we should determine where reductions will exist and transfer that money to important mental health needs before considering tax increases.
Since the council majority passed the tax there is certainly less incentive to make as many hard decisions or disappoint as many supporters of different amenities that exist in the current budget.
Although I have concerns with the plan and tax increase, as an individual I would have supported it if it went on the ballot knowing that if it passed it is the way the public wants it funded. However, as a council member it is my job to ensure important services are supported in the most efficient way. When I spend money as an individual, I am responsible for the consequences. If I spend money inefficiently as a council member, all taxpayers are responsible for the consequences.
It is the first time I remember the council ever even considering a tax increase, let alone passing one without an in-depth look at our budget first. It is unfortunate there was a concerted effort to convince caring people the tax increase is the best solution in this economically difficult time. | <urn:uuid:b91ccb5b-dc13-4c99-b35f-a23a31738c73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenorthernlight.com/news/article.exm/2008-08-21_tax_increase_before_budget_revision_is_disservice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966998 | 852 | 1.546875 | 2 |
At home we ran out of plastic lunch bags a week and a half ago. Instead of purchasing new bags I grabbed a box of soy wax lined paper wraps from The Earth Smart Store. www.earthsmartstore.com and decided to see for myself if it was possible to live without ziplock sandwich bags in my lunch.
I can honestly say after ten days that it feels pretty darn good to be able to wrap virtually everything needed in my lunch with the soy based wrapping paper. When I used brown bags, I would crumble everything up at the end of lunch and toss it in my compost bin. On the days where I used a re-usable lunch tote it was just less compost waste.
The bottom line is that the following wrapped up just fine with no problems:
Sandwiches - the bread stayed very moist with no issues. PB & J was which spilled out of the bread was well contained by the wax paper.
Cookies - The corners of the wrap were pulled up around the cookies and the ends were twisted around each other. Cookies stayed fresh and there was little or no damage.
Crackers - Same technique as above and no issues.
Grapes - Worked like a charm
If I wanted to have soup I could use a compostable PLA lined paper container and lid and small portion cups could be used for applesauce and other sauces.
At the end of ten days I saved approximately 25-30 plastic ziplock bags which would have gone to the landfill and was able to compost all of my waste. That’s approximately 780 bags per year for one person. Imagine if a large group of us started doing this? I’m sure Glad wouldn’t be happy! | <urn:uuid:1a136c57-f02f-4f73-8fee-6a8bdcd5a6c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ecnowtech.com/2009/11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968126 | 353 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Real age—your biological age—has little to do with how old you are in years. Most people, age prematurely. This is avoidable. It is also reversible. One of the reasons I have such a passion for herbs is, when you know what to use when they can slow biological aging, help restore balance, and improve how you look, you feel, as well as how your body functions year by year. Combined with regular detoxification and a natural diet high in a wide variety of fresh vegetables and top quality protein, they can even rejuvenate the body in medically measurable ways—improved circulation, increased resistance to illness, and to emotional and mental troubles. They can also help you reconnect with your innate vitality whatever your chronological age.
If you haven’t yet experienced first-hand the benefits of infrared saunas, it’s time you did. For more than 100 years, infrared energy has been used in Europe to treat everything from skin ailments and athletic pain to cancer. Infrared energy is best delivered in the form of a special infrared sauna. Nature’s most powerful force for clearing toxic overload, infrared energy (IR) is a powerful and effective natural method for healing, regenerating and rejuvenating your whole body.
Moving your body preserves youth and creates high-level vitality, as well as good feelings about who you are. Did you know, for example, that regular exercise is the best treatment yet devised for depression? Little wonder, since throughout evolution our bodies have been built to move. It is only in the last century that we have become sedentary ‘lounge-lizards’, making ourselves vulnerable to the numerous ailments—from osteoporosis to coronary heart disease—in which lack of physical exercise is a major risk factor. Exercise can do as much good for your mind as it can your body. You might be surprised to find how simple and blissful the right kind of exercise can be.
Many keep asking me this question, and “when will you begin teaching it again?” These are important questions. Let me see if I can give you some simple answers. Shamanism is an ancient and universal method, using simple tools and techniques, for connecting with the universe—both seen and unseen worlds—and moving beyond the limitations of rational thought into realms of sheer awareness. It helps us forge powerful relationships with the world around us—both seen and unseen. It helps us rediscover our links with our ancestral energies, power animals and helping spirits, all of which can enable us progressively and efficiently to come into alignment with our own soul energy, our destiny and our place within the order of the universe. Shamanism is useful for healing, for creativity, for visioning and for nurturing all life.
Your body. A burden? A joy? An object to be admired and pampered? A source of shame better neglected and hidden? Both men and women are funny about their bodies. The media is full of advice on how we are supposed to look, smell and feel, how we should exercise, reshape, renew and bring our bodies into line with consensus values about size and shape. Seldom is much of it of use. For most of what is written and taught about the body comes from the prevalent (albeit unconscious) notion of the body as thing. Carried in the wake of this mechanistic approach to the body, which books, magazines and media programs take, is the notion that every human being needs the same sort of food, the same sort of exercise, the same sort of treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. Read More About Setting Your Body Free | <urn:uuid:49e21740-f54f-445d-8ef2-f9ff2a3f1e29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intothebliss.com/tag/health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954212 | 741 | 1.625 | 2 |
Heard this morning a report on Tunisia's problems with alcohol. The good news is that the tyrant is gone. The bad news is that a majority of the population believes that religion is a public - not private - affair and so is working to purge the country of alcohol, closing bars and liquor stores.
Until a majority of Tunisians believe that beliefs are private and should be respected, they'll have serious problems with democracy. For democracies to work, it is not enough to have majorities determine outcomes. In order to not have a tyranny of the majority, democratic outcomes need to rest on a foundation of rights and the chief right is for a person to have a different belief about what can't be disproved.
Until a community embraces some version of Locke's ideas on the separation of church and state, its democracy will simply be a different kind of tyranny.
“I esteem it above all things necessary to distinguish exactly the business of civil government from that of religion and to settle the just bounds that lie between the one and the other. If this not be done, there can be no end put to the controversies that will be always arising between those that have, or at least pretend to have, on the one side, a concernment for the interest of men’s souls and, on the other side, a care for the commonwealth.”
- John Locke | <urn:uuid:28075450-9353-4416-bf8d-5068bae5bd38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rwrld.blogspot.com/2012/06/arab-spring-politics-and-religion.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943114 | 279 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Check out time is 12 noon on day of discharge.
Preparing for Discharge
Your doctor, nurse and other members of your healthcare team will work with you to plan the care you will need when you are discharged. Your doctor will decide when you are ready to leave the hospital. If services such as nursing or therapy, or equipment such as beds or oxygen are needed at home, Munroe case managers or social workers can assist you.
Discharge Planning for Those Unable to Return Home
With the many changes in healthcare, hospital stays are shorter for most patients, with the average stay lasting 4-5 days. While you may continue to need care, it may not be necessary for you to remain in the hospital to receive this care. There are options available that continue to provide care for patients in less intensive and less costly settings. The social workers and nurses in Munroe's Case Management department can assist you in navigating the maze of continued care. Case managers work closely with you, physicians, therapists and nurses to determine what may be needed when you are ready to leave Munroe and can assist you in completing the arrangements for needed care.
Medicare and other insurances have specific criteria that must be met for patients to be eligible for certain benefits and services.
Here is a list of useful resources to help with planning.
Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers
Patients admitted to Munroe Regional may need more rehabilitation or nursing care before returning home. There are several options for this care, the primary one being a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center. These facilities provide daily therapy and 24-hour nursing care, with the focus on your return home. There are currently nine facilities in Marion County . Families and patients are encouraged to visit the facilities and select at least three so the case manager can make referrals. Case managers will communicate with center representatives regarding your acceptance at that facility and bed availability. Important Note: During certain times of the year, a bed may not be available at your first preference, so it is important to make choices early and select facilities where you feel comfortable after visiting them.
Patients who require more intensive therapy (over four hours per day) may benefit from a rehabilitation hospital. There are no rehabilitation hospitals in Marion County , but they are available in the Gainesville , Leesburg and Orlando areas. These facilities may also be an option for patients whose insurance does not cover a skilled nursing facility.
Home Health Services
For patients able to return home, but still need some nursing and therapy, home healthcare is an option. Home health can provide visits for therapy, nursing evaluations and teaching. Therapists usually visit three times per week as a maximum. Nursing visits vary depending on the need. Home health aides are also available to assist with bathing and personal care. The aides do not assist with meals, shopping or housekeeping under insurance coverage. Medicare also requires that a patient be home bound, meaning that it is a difficult task for a patient to leave his or her home. For more information, visit Munroe's Home Health Services.
Patients that are somewhat independent and not home bound may benefit from outpatient therapy. Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehab, as well as Physical and Occupational Therapy are offered at Munroe Regional's LifeTime Centers . Speech therapy is available the Speech and Hearing Center . Other outpatient services patients may need are IV therapy and dressing changes. Home medical equipment can also be ordered for a patient's use in the home. Most insurances have specific criteria that must be met to qualify for this benefit. A physician's order is required.
Hospice care is a special service available for patients with a life-limiting illness. These services are available in the home, at a nursing facility or at the Hospice houses. Hospice provides a team approach with nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers to assist the patient and family. Hospice also provides medical equipment in the home and can assist with some of the medications. The focus of Hospice is on pain control and supporting the patient and family during this time. Hospice will also follow up with the family for grief counseling if needed.
Long-term Care Facilities
Some patients do not meet criteria for rehabilitation, but do require 24-hour nursing care, requiring long-term care in a nursing facility. While Medicare does not cover this service, the case managers will assist you in determining whether you should apply for Medicaid coverage. The case managers will also assist in locating an available long-term care bed. If you do not meet Medicaid eligibility, private pay options are available.
Assisted Living Facilities
Patients in need of 24 hour supervision, but not 24 hours skilled nursing care, may benefit from living in an assisted living facility. These facilities offer many different services and vary from facility to facility. Patients may choose from a private apartment-type facility or home-like facility with a private or semi-private room. Assisted living facilities provide meals, laundry and personal assistance as needed. They can also help supervise medication, have social activities and outings and may offer transportation. Rent varies according to facility. Some facilities offer respite care and day care as well.
There are other services available for patients with ongoing needs. These services do not require a physician's order and are not covered under health insurance. Some patients are no longer able to manage the daily living activities, such as preparing meals, laundry and bathing. Patients who want to remain at home have the option of private assistance. There are several agencies that provide home assistance; their services are not usually covered under insurance and are an out-of-pocket expense. Senior Services is an agency that provides a variety of services for patients including Meals on Wheels, homemaker services, personal care, respite care, congregate meal sites, adult day care and transportation services. These services may be based on income and usually have a waiting list.
Transportation is an area where patients need assistance. Senior Services offers transport for physician appointments and have a set schedule for shopping trips in certain areas of Marion County . Riders usually need to be ambulatory or have their own wheelchair for transport. Senior Services requires at least three days notice and there is a nominal fee. Other private transports are available that can transport those requiring a wheelchair or stretcher. Fees are based on mileage.
Adult Day Care
Adult day care is an option for the family who want to care for their loved one at home, but still need to work. These programs vary according to need and are available to provide supervision and activities for the patient during the day. Some programs may focus specifically on Alzheimer's patients. These programs provide snacks and lunch, as well as supervise medication.
For a list of facilities, call the Case Management department at (352) 351-7208.
Medications to be Taken at Home
If you are given prescriptions for medications to be taken at home, you must have them filled at a pharmacy of your choice. Munroe's Pharmacy does not provide take-home medications.
Arrange early in your stay for someone to pick you up from Munroe.
Review any written instructions from your doctor or nurse and be sure to ask any questions you may have about medications, activities and diet after discharge.
If your doctor has given you a prescription for medications to take at home, be sure you know what the medications are and what they are for. Arrange for someone to take the prescription to the pharmacy of your choice and to get the medication.
Make sure you know when you are to return to see your doctor and how to make arrangements for any treatments you may need (i.e. rehabilitation therapy).
Collect all of your personal belongings and double-check closets and drawers. If you have times stored in the hospital safe, they can be obtained 24 hours a day by contacting Security.
When you are ready to leave, a volunteer will escort you to the front entrance and help you into your car. For after hours escort or when Munroe Regional shuttles are not running, call Security for an escort to your vehicle. | <urn:uuid:fc6692bd-69f2-4285-82a9-b1a9a68d88f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.munroeregional.com/patients-and-visitors/hospital-stay/going-home.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95633 | 1,642 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Student Affairs Must Take the ‘Ghetto’ Out of the HBCU Experience
The letter below was submitted to the Digest from an HBCU parent. Details on the identity of the student and the institution have been removed.
I am a single parent of a child whom is attending a HBCU. I was so very proud of my daughter attending an HBCU – my daughter was elected to a position in SGA, she’s on the cheerleading squad, and she just made the Dean’s List; all in her 1st semester. But all of this came with a price, as my daughter was very unhappy. She stated the girls and boys were very ghetto, rowdy, hated her for not being ghetto, and most of the facilities were ghetto as well.
She often cried to come home and change colleges-but myself and some chosen alumni begged her to stick it out one year. She has agreed, but I believe it’s the role of parents and the institution to ensure that the students understand that this is ” a learning phase of life.” Ghetto and unruliness will be around you for the rest of your life, and you learn from it; take notes on how to deal with society, roll up your sleeves and accept the challenges…
I ensured that my child understands-NO OTHER COLLEGES HAVE YOUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART.
Regrettably, this is the experience that thousands of students at historically black colleges regularly face. This intersection of youthful immaturity, painful clashes along the socioeconomic strata upon which the HBCU mission is built, and the structural challenges presented by the black college campus, all make for a less-than-favorable experience for many students who are poorly prepared to handle the culture, or don’t want to be bothered with handling it at all.
Are students able to realize the interpersonal responsibilities they have to others and the school? Can they grasp how behavioral and academic outcomes shape institutional perceptions? If not, who then is responsible for taking the ‘ghetto’ out of the HBCU experience?
The answer? HBCU student affairs divisions.
Student affairs is charged with integrating the social, spiritual and service-based experience into the learning environment. For all of the elements of HBCU lifestyle that can be painted as ghetto – long lines, bad customer service, bad behavior among roommates, crime on campus, etc; student affairs is responsible for managing and minimizing risk through oversight of financial aid, business auxiliary, residence life, admissions and public safety. Other factors, such as crumbling infrastructure or community issues of crime and poverty, contribute to students classifying a HBCU campus as ghetto. But overall, students are more likely to deride HBCU culture for on-campus elements that can easily be controlled.
Even at the finest HBCUs, ghetto people and service habits can translate into one-semester stays for both high achieving students and those on the academic fringes. Without well-planned and well-marketed student activities, the black college campus is a breeding ground upon which hormones, boredom and drugs and alcohol shape the student social agenda. Without proper scrutiny and concern for business auxiliary services, employees who don’t value their work environment translate their bitterness into the student experience, and their attitudes become the legends of “crazy cafeteria lady,” “that perverted janitor” or “that crazy mofo in the bursar’s office.”
Even if winning athletic programs aren’t in place, students crave campus traditions that make them feel a part of bigger legacy of excellence and school pride. Without regular opportunities to show school pride on the campus and out in the community, HBCU students will treat the school with nothing to celebrate as something to be disrespected – and in the long-term, unsupported.
Historically black colleges are the opposite of ghetto. They are the premier destination for those students seeking to leave the ghetto behind forever, and those alumni and faculty who want to turn the ghetto into a community of pride and productivity. Young adults should be forced to adhere to a code of ethics and responsibility, but it is the black college student affairs division that must make that mandate worth observing. | <urn:uuid:bfc8d985-4468-4bbb-b458-89cf07f1a0ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hbcudigest.com/student-affairs-must-take-the-ghetto-out-of-the-hbcu-experience/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961213 | 882 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Germans completely humourless: Official
Survey confirms stone-faced national stereotype
A survey of 30,000 people across 15 countries has confirmed what the world knew all along: Germans are completely humourless.
The poll for social networking site Badoo.com found that the national stereotype of Germans as ruthlessly efficient in matters of manufacturing and football, but entirely inadequate in the wit department, is in fact true.
However, before the Inselaffen among you run cheering to the pub for a round of German jokes washed down with real ale, you should know that we Brits aren't rated much funnier by the international community.
Disgracefully, we came fourth on the roster of lol-free shame, pipped only by our Teutonic cousins, Russia, and Turkey. The remainder of the top ten comprises America, France, Poland, Belgium, Holland and Canada, in that order.
Badoo.com spokesman Lloyd Price said: “If we’re no good at football and no good at comedy either, it’s a bit of a pie in the face for us.”
Or maybe not. The fact that the French and the Belgians are considered to have a better-developed sense of humour than the British leads to the obvious conclusion that the entire survey is seriously flawed.
As the Telegraph notes, humour doesn't translate too well, so it's a bit difficult for the average Johnny Foreigner to understand just how complex and advanced we are in this most challenging of fields.
Having said that, the pollees were spot on about the Germans. ®
How many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb?
One: they're efficient and not very funny.
I'm with Spike Milligan on this one...
In his war memoirs he said they had a (both sides) re-union for people who fought at El Alamein.
He got talking to & befriended a German veteran, & at some point (can't remember if it was then or after) got a letter from him saying...
"Dear Spike, it was great to meet you. Sorry I missed you at El Alamein".
Class, absolute class.
Re: Oh Dear
>British humour doesn't translate at all well
Not only that, most other nationalities have no idea about the concept of understatement. | <urn:uuid:13da9594-2e49-4c73-92e5-af18f1e969d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/07/humourless_germans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964302 | 489 | 1.757813 | 2 |
More than four years ago, as part of my efforts to promote and protect tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy, I narrated this video explaining the economic benefits of so-called tax havens.
Pay close attention at the 1:07 mark.
Yes, you heard right. A former bureaucrat from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development actually called for the forcible annexation of low-tax jurisdictions, writing in the Financial Times that, “Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man should simply be absorbed lock, stock and barrel into the UK…Andorra, Monaco and Liechtenstein should be given the choice of ending bank secrecy or facing annexation.”
He wasn’t quite so belligerent about Switzerland, perhaps because all able-bodied male citizens have fully automatic assault weapons in their homes. But he did urge financial protectionism against the land of chocolate, yodeling, and watches.
What a bizarre attitude. It’s apparently okay for certain countries to persecute – or even kill – ethnic minorities, religious minorities, political dissidents, homosexuals, and other segments of their populations. Very rarely do people like Mr. Buiter call for annexation or sanctions against such loathsome regimes.
But if a nation has low taxes and a strong human rights policy on financial privacy, then cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.
It turns out Buiter isn’t the only one to have strange militaristic impulses.
Here are excerpts from an article posted at The Street, written by a statist who says that “tax havens” don’t have enough military force to resist high-tax nations.
There is a relatively easy answer to the financial troubles of Europe, America and Asia. The answer lies in so-called “tax havens.” A consensus is emerging among the world’s major taxing powers that tax evasion may not be a good thing. …Jurisdictions specializing in the financial secrecy needed to avoid taxes exist in or near every major financial power. There’s Switzerland in Europe, the Cayman Islands off the U.S., Hong Kong in China, Bahrain in the Middle East and Jersey between the U.K. and France. But none has the military force to maintain secrecy against concerted outside pressure. The question has always been whether the pressure would be applied, and there is now some reason for hope.
The title is particularly revealing. She must be the fiscal version of a neo-con, urging that high-tax nations should “Invade the Cayman Islands!”
Not Iran. Not Syria. Not Cuba. Not North Korea.
You see, those nations are all guilty of causing misery and instability, but such behaviors apparently are far less important than the imagined dangers posed by a prosperous multi-racial society with a competitive tax regime.
I assume Ms. Blankenhorn doesn’t actually want to practice gunboat diplomacy against the Cayman Islands, but her attitude is quite revealing. Like other statists, I gather she despises low-tax jurisdictions because they attract jobs and investment from high-tax nations.
In the spirit of problem solving, here’s a suggestion for Blankenhorn, Buiter, and the rest of the fiscal chicken hawks. If you really want to undermine the so-called tax havens, propose a simple and fair flat tax.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. The reason they want to squash tax havens is precisely because they want bad tax policy in America and other “onshore” nations. | <urn:uuid:76cbc22e-9d64-4d2f-b911-98470fd43ec3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2012/11/10/how_do_you_turn_a_leftist_into_a_warmonger_lower_taxes/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935713 | 742 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The point of preloader movies is to let the user know that things are happening. Without a loading bar you might get a blank screen while the first frames are loaded. Also most of the components you use in Flash are set to export on frame 1, this means that frame 1 sometimes is the heaviest frame and so, while it is loading, the user has no idea what is going on with the movie.
You have to be more specific. Is the text file in the same server as the .swf? Or from an external domain? Is data for each country loaded from the same text file, or from different ones? Is this your own server or a web host? There are some restrictions about loading data from other servers, it's not allowed unless you specifically set the site's domain as allowed.
What operating System and browser? Flash player is not the same for all browsers and OSs. Mac OSs have really poor flash players and there are often some browser incompatibilities. Are you sure the movie is downloading? Check you Temporary Internet Files to see if your .swf is there. Have you ruled out security settings as the cause of this? | <urn:uuid:3326ccd2-9c80-496a-990e-b72ad9189b23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=940842&postcount=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954547 | 236 | 1.757813 | 2 |
01] Our '70 Challenger never had pins from the factory, but the holes were already in the inner fenders. Most muscle cars that were offered with a factory pin option either have the holes or divots, so there’s no need to guess at location. The following techniques are good practice not just for hoodpins but also for any drilling of painted or finished surfaces.
02] First, loosely install the pin at slightly below the final height and dab a small spot of grease at the tip.
03] Gently lower the hood to leave a witness mark on the inner surface, marking the starting point for your pilot hole.
04] Blue painters tape applied to the painted surface before drilling helps prevent chips and scratches. Start each hole by making a divot with a spring-loaded center punch, and then follow it by drilling a small hole with an 1⁄8-inch bit. Use that to center a larger drill or stepped bit to enlarge the hole to just slightly bigger than the diameter of your hoodpin.
05] Clean away the chips with a chamfer tool or an oversized drill bit turned by hand. Reapply blue tape and mark the area around the pin for the cover bolts.
06] Remove the tape and do a final check for burrs and high spots on both the top and bottom surfaces of the hood. Install the cover and locking pins.
07] Set the pins to a final installed height. Use a small screwdriver through the pinhole to hold the shaft while tightening the nut at the base.
08] If you've ever had a hood come up at speed, you’ll appreciate the added insurance a set of hoodpins can bring to a drag run or freeway drive. Plus, they look cool. These are the basic-style billet aluminum pins from Metrom Performance. They are available natural, brushed, polished, or black, starting at $99. | <urn:uuid:4e13f10f-f883-4537-aa90-77afa82eec23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_1303_step_by_how_to_install_hoodpins/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946375 | 393 | 1.585938 | 2 |
You can't wait to meet your baby. But if you're like most first-time moms, you may be worried about labor and birth. Just how much does labor and birth hurt? And how will you cope with the pain?
Labor pain feels different for every woman. Some women feel a lot of pain and others can cope more easily. The size and position of the baby and the strength of your contractions
also affect the amount of pain you have. Some women can manage their pain by using breathing and relaxation techniques they learned in childbirth education classes
. Other women find they need extra help to ease the pain.
Here are some questions to ask as you explore pain-relief methods:
- How does the method work?
- How will it affect me and my baby?
- How quickly will it work?
- How long will the pain relief last?
- Can I combine the method with other types of pain relief?
- When during labor is the method available?
- Is the method available at my hospital or birthing center?
You can ask for pain relief at any point during labor and birth. The more you know about your choices, the better you can make decisions that help you have a more comfortable labor and birth.
Last reviewed July 2012
See also: Epidural block, Spinal block, Narcotics for labor pain, Natural relief for labor pain | <urn:uuid:c0b62aac-c3e8-479f-8364-e6c1da45b27a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marchofdimes.com/printableArticles/vaginalbirth_coping.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949316 | 286 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Any solution to the nation’s fiscal problems remains elusive. Virtually everyone agrees that nothing much will likely be resolved before the election. A lame-duck Congress and president will instead confront a fiscal cliff — when a variety of tax provisions expire at the end of the year and a sequester and debt ceiling loom.
But if the Democrats hang tough, allowing these tax cuts to expire and the sequester to go into effect, they can win this battle. Otherwise, I fear, they are toast.
To be sure, the outcome of this year’s election matters. Still, we’re likely to end up with a divided government and no filibuster-proof majority for either party in the Senate. Let’s assume President Barack Obama is reelected; that Democrats retain, at best, a slim Senate majority; and that Republicans retain the House. In other words, status quo.
Republicans probably would continue arguing for permanently extending all the tax cuts. Democrats then would maintain that this should continue only for the middle class. With a status quo election, however, neither could be enacted.
One way around this stalemate is for both parties to agree to push this to early 2013. But House Speaker John Boehner’s recent threat to use the debt ceiling vote in early 2013 to extract more spending reductions from Democrats, will make them loath to kick it far, if at all. They cannot afford to give up their big stick — to allow all the tax cuts to expire at the end of 2012 or soon after — unless they are willing to call Boehner’s bluff and put the credit of the U.S. government at risk.
It’s an irresponsible threat. But not one a president can ignore.
So the big question is: What are Democrats planning to do? Will they be forced into a compromise that extends all the tax cuts and more spending cuts — in return for an agreement to lift the debt ceiling? Is this the nuclear option that will require Obama and his allies to cave, saving the country from an even worse outcome — an outright default on its debts?
I hope not. Assume for the moment that Democrats allow the tax cuts to expire and the sequester to take place. They wouldn’t argue for this; they would just let it happen after trying hard to find more balanced solutions.
That process would need to start soon. Obama would need to campaign on a job-creating tax package tilted toward the middle class in the short run, combined with something like Bowles-Simpson over the long run.
The White House already has proposed both job creation and deficit-reduction packages. They just haven’t talked about them enough. The package could involve keeping some portions of the Bush tax cuts for the less affluent for a few years and a big loophole closing — like a 15 percent limit on all tax deductions — to begin in, say, 2014 or 2015.
Over a 10-year period, the package would be fiscally responsible but progressive and front-loaded, so as not to harm the economy. It wouldn’t have much chance of happening, but if the president talked about it and Democrats aggressively sought it, it would protect them from later being labeled the party of higher taxes and no jobs.
But the Democrats also would have to display a disciplined willingness to let the tax cuts expire and start the sequester.
This combination would put a large dent in the deficit problem, lowering it by as much as $4 trillion over the decade. It also would defang Boehner’s debt ceiling threat or reveal it for what it is: an attempt to radically reduce the size of government.
This would reset the budget baseline, putting pressure on both parties to come up with offsetting savings if they later wanted to restore a somewhat lower level of taxes or increase spending on their respective priorities.
The big downside to allowing the tax cuts to end and the sequester to happen is the possible effects on the economy — not to mention the political toxicity of higher taxes. Republicans would exploit both to criticize the president and his allies. Democrats might even be forced into some compromises, like tempering the sequester’s cuts to defense or reducing capital gains tax rates. However, such “give backs” from a higher level of revenues would not be popular if they focused on the Pentagon and the wealthy.
Most important, the default would have shifted to the Democrats’ advantage. Changing the default is the key element in this scenario. Any debate about the economy and the deficit would start from a very different place. Deficits would be lower, taxes higher, spending reduced. Yet if the economy began to falter in response, the theory that fiscal austerity creates jobs would be tarnished — creating an opening for new efforts to help the economy.
It’s a risky strategy. But do Democrats have a better option? | <urn:uuid:b4af3aa4-2736-4711-9b4c-156d4ad96237> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2012/06/06-fiscal-cliff-sawhill?rssid=federal+budget&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BrookingsRSS%2Ftopics%2Ffederalbudget+%28Brookings+Topics+-+Federal+Budget%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957641 | 1,003 | 1.695313 | 2 |
GROTON -- With favorable momentum gathered from fall Town Meeting, members of the Greenway Committee acted quickly to take advantage of the situation by moving forward in their ultimate goal of replacing an unsafe Fitch's Bridge.
Aiming to have a warrant article seeking funds to pay for the work prepared in time for a special Town Meeting scheduled for February, committee members met Nov. 26 to begin strategizing on the best way to make their argument to voters.
Realizing that they had set themselves a tight schedule and that events were moving very quickly, committee members agreed that "the goal was to get there and in one piece."
The idea of replacing Fitch's Bridge has been a dream of local planners for many years, especially to those interested in creating an interconnected trail system through town.
Built and installed in the late 19th century by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of Connecticut, Fitch's Bridge forms an important link between Groton proper and West Groton.
The bridge has been closed to auto traffic since the 1960s and in recent times has been used mostly by sun-worshiping teenagers looking for a good spot from which to jump into the Nashua River.
An earlier effort to find money for replacement of the bridge with the Community Preservation Committee went nowhere when it became apparent that it would be more expensive for the town overall to take that route than in raising the funding needed independently.
With no other
That measure passed muster with residents and the firm of Fay, Spofford & Thorndike (FST) were hired to do the work.
With advice from FST to hold a public hearing on the issue as soon as possible, committee members decided to schedule one for the evening of Dec. 18, following a meeting with the Board of Selectmen on Dec. 3, at which pursuit of a single warrant article covering removal and replacement of Fitch's Bridge would be recommended.
Pursuing a single article covering the cost of both parts of the project rather than dividing the request in two was the subject of lengthy debate among committee members at their meeting of Nov. 26.
In attendance was Board of Selectmen member Jack Petropoulos, who cautioned the committee about making sure they would be prepared to defend their request on Town Meeting floor.
Petropoulos' opinion carried some weight due to his chairmanship of the Center Fire Station Building Committee and its successful passage of related articles at the spring and fall Town Meetings.
As for the combined cost of removal and replacement of the bridge, a final amount has not yet been determined but committee members expected to have something from its consultants by the middle of December.
As things stand, current plans call for removal of the existing bridge and its replacement by a new, truss style, 10-foot wide span intended for pedestrians and bicyclists.
With time and the need for public support of the essence, the Greenway Committee plans to mount a whirlwind community-outreach campaign over the coming weeks, the purpose of which is to make sure Town Meeting is informed and knowledgeable on the issues surrounding the need for replacement of Fitch's Bridge.
The Board of Selectmen has scheduled Feb. 2 as the date for special Town Meeting. | <urn:uuid:f946f13e-35c9-4093-89f1-bb6375d133ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nashobapublishing.com/groton_news/ci_22097408/officials-making-push-bridge-replacement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974894 | 652 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The following HTML text is provided to enhance online
readability. Many aspects of typography translate only awkwardly to HTML.
Please use the page image
as the authoritative form to ensure accuracy.
Extending Medicare Coverage for Preventive and Other Services
als. The committee’s conclusion does not negate the value of clinical judgment in selecting appropriate individual patients for such interventions.
Although the evidence base for “medically necessary dental services” is mixed and frequently based on weak research designs, the committee is concerned about interpretations of the current law that could preclude HCFA from approving further coverage exceptions for dental services to identify and eliminate oral infections or potential sources of infection for immunocompromised high-risk patients. As noted earlier, widely accepted clinical protocols for identifying and eliminating all infections and potential sources of infection before transplantation are based on biological principles and clinical experience, not controlled trials. The committee is also concerned about legislative proposals requiring that “medically necessary dental services” produce savings that exceed the direct costs of care. As described in Chapter 5, even elimination of the three-year limit on coverage of immunosuppressive drugs—drugs that clearly improve outcomes for transplant recipients—is unlikely to meet this standard.
Given the scientific and therapeutic advances since the creation of Medicare in 1965 and the concerns about current coverage interpretations, the committee concludes that it is reasonable for Congress to update the statutory language relating to coverage of dental services so that it would clearly cover dental care that is effective in preventing or reducing oral and systemic complications associated with serious medical conditions and their treatment. Specifically, the committee suggests that Congress should direct the Health Care Financing Administration (with assistance as appropriate from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and the National Institutes of Health) to develop recommendations—on a condition-by-condition basis—for coverage of dental services needed in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or pharmacological treatment for a life-threatening medical condition. The phrase “in conjunction with” would allow HCFA to limit the window of coverage to a specified period before or after surgery or other treatment but would not require that the services be provided at the same time as or as an immediate part of a surgical or other procedure. This minimal revision in the 1965 exclusion of coverage for dental services would not alter Medicare’s basic focus on treatment of acute illness or injury.
If Medicare were to cover “medically necessary dental services” for some or all of the medical conditions reported here, it is uncertain how many beneficiaries in each category would avail themselves of this benefit. The referral for “medically necessary dental care” would likely come from the treating physician at the time of diagnosis or planning of the medical therapy. The patient’s physician would in this way serve as a gatekeeper for this benefit, especially among patients who are not under regular dental care. In addition, physicians would continue to manage many oral problems themselves, for example, by prescribing antibiotics and therapeutic rinses. | <urn:uuid:c86f2ef1-65ea-457b-9948-f7e17fdc289f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9740&page=98 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945057 | 609 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Musicians are joining the chorus of advocates for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Tom Morello formerly of Rage Against the Machine are both protesting the reported use of their music to help break down Guantanamo detainees.
"Guantanamo is known around the world as one of the places where human beings have been tortured - from water boarding, to stripping, hooding and forcing detainees into humiliating sexual acts - playing music for 72 hours in a row at volumes just below that to shatter the eardrums," Morello said in a statement released by the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo (who just released their first adverstisement.) "The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me."
In addition to a public relations campaign refocusing attention on the yet-to-be closed detention facility, the group has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for "all secret government records pertaining to how music was utilized as an interrogation device" against Guantanamo detainees. | <urn:uuid:c558205c-6ea7-4afb-b566-74209832819d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/all/trent-reznor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970044 | 212 | 1.554688 | 2 |
|January 1, 2011||Posted by Don Mappin|
As part of our holiday-themed entry during the Gnome Stew break, here’s a rundown of building your own Excelsior-class (refit) starship as a Christmas gift and prop for your Star Trek game. What? Doesn’t everyone do this?
The building of a 50 year old starship from a 15 year old model in pictures.
I will confess to two great passions — among many — that include Star Trek and gaming. Having the chance to work them together brings me great joy. In early November I was struck with the idea of a Christmas gift that would be unique, memorable, and topical. However, as with most things, the plan got a little out of control.
The U.S.S. Endurance
Regular readers may be quick to pick up that Martin is currently running a Star Trek campaign, one that I am fortunate to be playing in. The game is set aboard the U.S.S. Endurance, a 50 year old starship that has narrowly avoided being mothballed by virtue of the depletion of the fleet following Wolf 359. In fact, with the security of the Federation of paramount importance following the Borg attack, any space-worthy starship is pressed into service. Couple with an inexperienced crew (the PCs) and you have the foundation of a great campaign.
As is the nature with Star Trek and the system we are playing with, Decipher’s now-defunct Star Trek RPG, starships are very much characters unto themselves in the game. In this case the Endurance, a feared combatant during the Federation-Cardassian war, is more famous than her crew. Battle-tested and scarred, this ship has many quirks that make her unique and a prototype sensor array that no one really expects to work. Her history is a storied as her namesake, the Endurance, commanded by Sir Ernest Shackleton the noted explorer who guided his entire crew to safety following the destruction of the Endurance on their trans-arctic expedition.
Finding the Ship
The first issue is that contemporary Star Trek models are hard to find. There exists a 1:2500 scale three-pack of starships that includes the U.S.S. Enterprise-B — our Endurance stand-in — but that model is too small. Our interest is in something larger, a 1:1000 scale Excelsior-class refit Enterprise-B. The only one that existed was AMT’s Enterprise-B model that was released alongside the “Star Trek: Generations” movie.
While there have been rumors that AMT will re-release the Enterprise-B model in 2011, I lacked the ability to wait. To eBay I went and was disheartened to find that these old AMT models go for upwards of $60. I lost one bid that ended at $90! So it appeared this idea would be relegated to the graveyard of Wolf 359.
Regular searches of eBay did yield a great surprise in the first week of December; a sealed AMT U.S.S. Enterprise-B kit with a “Buy it Now” price of $23. Sold!
In the Details
I haven’t done any modeling (no, not that kind) in about 20 years, but there is a die-hard group of starship modelers out there. And bless them all, because a few searches will find you some great resources, among them Starship Modeler.
The first was Acreation Models, where you can find near-authentic “Aztec” decals that mirror the paint scheme used on the Star Trek studio models. In this case, the repurposed Enterprise-B model that would become the U.S.S. Lakota in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
In fact that model was sold at Christies Auction House for the tidy sum of $132,000 but not before some intrepid photographer took some close up pictures. Both the decals and these pictures would be useful in making our model look as authentic as possible.
Now there is no canon U.S.S. Endurance nor pennants and hull lettering to match. This is easily solved with decal paper that you can run through any home printer. Use your favorite program, print out, spray on an adhesive covering (so the ink doesn’t run when placed in water) and you’re good to go.
With these items in my arsenal I await the arrival of the model.
Laying Down the Hull
Unfortunately commercial shipping being what it is, the model arrived — new, as advertised — a scant four days prior to our Christmas party. I was disheartened that I could complete it in time — and the decals had still not shown — but I decided to champion on.
One of the first things you do with a new model is gently wash it. In this case, having sat in a box for 15 years, the plastic definitely needed to be washed, even though they were still sealed in their original bags from the factory. Who knows what debris was covering the plastic for that long!
The kit isn’t overly challenging or many parts, but certainly wasn’t particuarly well-designed. There are large gaps in the sections that make the primary hull and the main delfector dish is a mess. Huge gaps! To be fair, the model design is pretty old.
Normally you’d fill the gaps with modeling putty then sand it down and paint over. Unfortunately I lack the time to do so.
In every step of the way you need to be thinking ahead. It isn’t so much about following the assembly steps but what you can be doing while the piece you just assembled is drying. With limited time while one piece is drying you can be painting others. In this case, we spray the entire model with a gloss white coat. Why? The model will be (eventually) covered in decals and gloss provides a better surface for the decals to adhere to. After the entire model is done we’ll add a matte clear coat. It’s counterintuitive to some but the end result is worth it.
Still no decals so assembly continues and items that can be hand painted. This includes the neck support structure, photon torpedo launcher, and the interior of the secondary hull where the shuttlebay will be. The stand gets a high gloss gold finish.
At this point we’re a day away from the party and still no decals. You’ll see why that’s a problem later. So the impulse engines have been painted and assembled and the upper portion of the secondary hull has been assembled. The warp engines are being built and painted. The nacelles are made partly of clear plastic and are painted from the inside so that they appear illuminated from the interior. Unfortunately we can’t prime the clear plastic (it’ll fog) and the paint doesn’t like to cover the material. Several (three) coats are required and this greatly slows down engine/strut assembly.
It’s in the Decals
Modeling is about details. Typically the smallest features add something to a model. In this case it’s not one small feature but about a hundred. The decal set shows up on our last day but with over 100 pieces there’s no way the model will be done in time. Onto my backup plan!
Knowing that this was a possibility that the Endurance wouldn’t be done on time, I had already planned on a stand-in gift to foretell what was to come. All starships have a dedication plaque located on the bridge that has the date of completion, the Starfleet registry, and engineers responsible for her construction. They’re not terribly hard to make if you have some design skills and access to Photoshop. I’ve done them before as props, but never for this period of starship, circa 2314. Setting aside about two hours, I go and retool an excellent baseline PSD plaque found online. The Starfleet symbol needs to be redone for the era and I create one. The entire plaque is then printed out on high-resolution paper and mounted on a frame. I then take the plaque and wrap it in the AMT model box. So while the yard engineers are finishing the Endurance at least Martin will have something to unwrap! (And it’s still a cool prop for the game!)
Having missed the party date I’ve now earned a reprieve of another week — when we’re scheduled to play Trek again. I’m still putting in 4-6 hours a day in the model but at least I have a buffer now to finish the model correctly.
If you haven’t put on model decals before from a kit they are a substrate of plastic with glue on the back attached to a paper backing. You dip them in warm water for about ten seconds and the decal then comes off the back of the paper and you slide it into place. Because they’re malleable they can curl on you if you’re not careful. Also, ripping is an issue. Putting them correctly in place is a bit of a challenge, too. Finally, they’re darn small. The custom decals are even thinner than a normal kit decal; it’s like trying to put wet tissue paper in place.
There’s special decal glue that I use with a brush, placing on before the decal and then afterwards. This glue also thins (!) the decal even further; place some pressure on it while it dries and the decal will adhere to the nooks and crevices of the model, making it look painted on. The end result is spectacular, it’s just absurdly hard to do and tedious. Especially a hundred times over.
The first thing I do is scan all the decals of the kit into my computer. Should I ruin any I’ll have the option to reprint, although that’s time-consuming.
Playing With Fire
Lost in these pictures is the fact that I’m handling the model with my hands which get dirty from glue, paint, and the oils of my skin. All of which are deadly to the custom, ludicrously-thin decals. I have to wash my hands and dry them with regularity. At this point I’m still assembling and can’t seal the decals on with a dull coat. Our only victim thus far was a dorsal decal just about the phaser arrays that ripped.
Steady as She Goes
My big fear having done several days of decal work is the original kit decals. I scanned them into my computer immediately upon opening the box but the Aztec decals don’t include registry or pennants; you’re presumed to used the original kit decals. Normally not a problem, but these decals are 15 years old! Will they work? Will they fall apart the moment they touch water? I’ve no idea.
From within Illustrator I create a text vector path and align up with the kit decals. Using the same fonts used in the show, the Endurance gets named! Also the registry, nacelle markings, and even the aft shuttlebay name. These are all printed out (along with the earlier decal I ripped) and then spray coated twice to lock in the ink.
Interestingly, perhaps because of the type of ink jet printer I used, some of the ink on the model decal paper “crinkles” and splits. At first I panic but then I realize that this plays into my hand in making the Endurance look older and more weatherbeaten. You’ll notice on the close up shots if you look very closely.
Putting decals on top of decals is a tricky affair as you don’t want the bottom ones to get too wet or they may come off. Also, decals tend to be somewhat of a matte surface, meaning decals don’t stick to other decals (just themselves) very well. Unfortunately I still am too pressed for time to lock in with a clear gloss coat; the registry decals go straight on and I pray the surface ones are dry enough!
Everything goes smoothy but the kit decals have a unique problem in that they have yellowed from the glue being so old. This is only apparent where the decal is clear; on most of the kit decals I can cut close enough so as not to see. The exception is on the primary saucer with the pennant markings that bracket the name and registry; they’re a dull cream/yellow behind them! Using water and glue I can “wash” away most of the discoloration. I’m tempted to remove them entirely (risky) and reprint from my scans, but it’ll take time. I let one dry to see the effect and, as it turns out, it looks quite good! The Endurance looks slightly different — a byproduct of being a 50 year old starship having gone through many repairs — and it also gives a slight “retro” look to her. I like it and the decals stay!
I haven’t spent much time discussing paints, although the Endurance does have quite a bit painted on it. I’m using both acrylic and enamel paints based on color needs (but not mixed together). Most painting consists of small touch-ups; only major sections like the warp nacelles and hull strut call for heavy detail painting. Small bits like red/green port and starboard running lights are done by myself and outside the design. Weathering is next and I use a dry brush technique along with makeup pads. Essentially put a little paint on the pads and then wipe off until only a little bit remains. Then gently run over detail areas on the model and the paint will “grab” on these details, making them pop. Also using a variety of colors (mostly aluminum) “streak” on weathering in the direction of the ship’s travel to show fatigue from space travel. Now the vacuum of space doesn’t necessarily weather a starship, but certainly passing through atmospheres, gasses, and having debris strike the ship would leave their marks. Also, impulse engine exhaust. Even if it doesn’t entirely make sense, it’s essentially the topcoat paint of this 50 year old starship flaking off over time, revealing her exterior surface. Roll with it!
After assembling the final parts all that is left are several coast of clear dull coat. This gives the starship her matte finish and gets rid of the high gloss. This also helps lock in and protect all the decals on the model so she’s not quite so fragile to handle.
Launching the Endurance
The big joke at the table is that we can’t possibly loose the Endurance because it’d kill me to make another! The truth is that the model is only a snapshot in time and a nice gift to remember the campaign. If the Endurance is destroyed in the next episode it doesn’t make the model any less special or I any less proud of the work I did on it. It’s still a great gift! If anything it’d give me an excuse to start on that Endurance-B model that I’d been thinking about…
I’m invariably asked how long I spent on the model. It’s hard to say but looking at the timestamps on my photos it’s somewhere in the area of ~40 hours.
But in the 24th century we’ve moved beyond monetary concerns and I believe that we can all agree that this one U.S.S. Endurance is simply priceless. | <urn:uuid:403226e1-a2cb-4eab-9308-a84a25124941> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gnomestew.com/crock-pot/building-the-endurance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958132 | 3,306 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Festival Media offers the best Buddhist cinema on DVD. A service of the nonprofit Buddhist Film Foundation, Inc., home of the International Buddhist Film Festival.
Donald Lopez is Carl W. Belser Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. Author or editor of some twenty books, including Curators of the Buddha: The Study of Buddhism Under Colonialism and Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2000. His essay in this issue of Tricycle (“Modern Buddhism: So New, So Familiar,”) is adapted from the introduction to his latest book, A Modern Buddhist Bible: Essential Readings from East and West, a project he undertook “in an effort to understand why contemporary Buddhism is so different from traditional Buddhist practice.”
Cyndi Lee, director of OM Yoga Center, is a practitioner of both hatha yoga and Tibetan Buddhism and has been teaching yoga for over twenty years. She tells us, “The juiciness of yoga always satisfied my movement jones, but after I met Gehlek Rinpoche in 1990, the Buddhist techniques of mindfulness, compassion, and cutting through deepened my asana [yogic posture] experience. I began to see how our relationships with our bodies are a mirror of how we live our lives. It’s great to be able to cultivate a strong body, an open heart, and a spacious mind through an integrative practice.” Her program of yoga for meditators appears here.
Anne Cushman writes on discovering the convergence of yoga and meditation practice in her life in “Living from the Inside Out.” “I’m interested in the intersection of contemplative practice with ordinary life - the way the lofty philosophies actually play out in the quirky, gritty chaos of our daily existence,” she says. “Stories intrigue me more than theories. For me, yoga is one way of exploring the dance between spirit and flesh. Writing is another.”
Of his essay on housekeeping and practice (“The Dust Beyond the Cushion,”), Gary Thorp writes, “Writing and housework have a great deal in common. We try to tidy up all the loose ends and make things neat, but our creativity is sometimes at odds with what’s practical and utilitarian. My Zen housecleaning instincts come into play whenever I encounter a particularly unruly section of writing. That’s when I stop mid-sentence, wash a load of dishes, and let things quiet down. There’s no greater friend to dishwashing than a wild and writhing sentence that’s headed out of control.”
Jeff Wilson, whose ancestors wore gray in the War Between the States, is a contributing editor to Tricycle. A chief researcher for the Buddhism in North Carolina Project, he received a grant from Harvard’s Pluralism Project this summer to study emerging Buddhist communities in the Appalachian Mountains. His experiences with Buddhism in the South led him to write “Down Home Dharma." Jeff is the author of The Buddhist Guide to New York.
Stuart Smithers (“Losing Our Bodies, Losing Our Minds,”) writes, “We’re pretty obviously a culture obsessed with the body. I’m really amazed and dazzled by pop culture’s manipulation of the body, especially its surface: face-lifts, tattoos, piercings, that kind of thing, and wonder just what it all means. Maybe there is something tribal in it. I’m lucky to be teaching in a university where I can approach, with my students, both the profound and the superficial dimensions of our body-culture through philosophy and religion.” Smithers is the director of the Asian Studies Program at the University of Puget Sound and a professor of South Asian religions. He is also working to start an experimental school for high-school-age students in the foothills of the North Cascades. ▼ | <urn:uuid:ae8b9096-2378-4505-b956-3e3b49da0f06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tricycle.com/contributors/contributors-fall-2002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93842 | 849 | 1.601563 | 2 |
It's hard to know what to make of the Occupy Wall Street protests, though I applaud the protesters for actually doing something. While Congress squabbles over petty differences, the U.S. economy is limping along and the unemployment rate is stuck above 9 percent. (Some experts argue the real unemployment rate -- including the unemployed no longer receiving benefits and the underemployed -- is more like 17 percent.) So it's not surprising that a group of angry citizens has taken residence in Zuccotti Park in New York City to protest everything -- corporate greed, financial bailouts, corruption and so on. The politicians simply aren't addressing these topics.
I have been taken aback, however, at the response to the Occupy Wall Street protests, which now have spread across the globe. People who praised the protesters in Egypt and other Arab nations earlier this year are denouncing the OWS movement and advocate shutting down the protests, despite the protesters' Constitutional right to peacefully assemble and speak their minds -- no matter how cluttered, disjointed and unstructured their message actually is.
This nation was founded on free speech. In fact, the OWS movement relies on two parts of the First Amendment: "The right of the people peaceably to assemble," and the right "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Any attempt to stifle the protests is as foolish as it is illegal. OWS is growing because more and more Americans agree that our politicians are completely out of touch. Attempting to shut down the protests will only add fuel to the fire and increase support for the OWS movement, which already is growing. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 67 percent of New Yorkers support the OWS movement and an overwhelming 87 percent support the group's right to protest.
The best way to determine whether OWS has any real strength is to let the protests play out. If the movement's position or message is faulty, untruthful or just plain wrong, Americans will figure it out, support will dwindle and the protesters will gradually go home. But if their message can withstand the national scrutiny it is about to be given, the protests will continue and grow, as will support for the movement.
So it will be interesting to see how far OWS will go. With fall coming to New York, it will get harder and harder to stay in Zuccotti Park. Above anything else, whether you agree with the protests or not, it's refreshing to see the First Amendment in action. Of that alone, we should all be proud. | <urn:uuid:df05b2cc-540a-42e3-b5c1-6d23b384c128> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/regulatory-compliance/applauding-occupy-wall-street/231901849 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950398 | 520 | 1.695313 | 2 |
File-sharing: A Form of Christian Charity
I just want to remind all of my Christian brothers and sisters out there that file-sharing is the Christian thing to do. It is what Jesus, our Lord and saviour, would do.
Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Every time you share or ‘seed’ a file to a 1:1 ratio, you are not just seeding to anybody; you are seeding to Him.
Let us remember the words of Paul the Apostle regarding charity and agapē.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Lastly, I appeal to you to heed the message of Pope Benedict XVI.
22. …On the part of rich countries there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property…
23. …The mere fact of emerging from economic backwardness, though positive in itself, does not resolve the complex issues of human advancement, neither for the countries that are spearheading such progress, nor for those that are already economically developed, nor even for those that are still poor, which can suffer not just through old forms of exploitation, but also from the negative consequences of a growth that is marked by irregularities and imbalances.
Although the above quote pertains to only part of his message, I recommend reading, or better yet, seeking to understand his message.
caritas in veritate
Those who wish to join millions in the caritas and agapē that is file-sharing can start with this simple guide. | <urn:uuid:4b29cf1d-df17-4e98-b9ed-293c361dcdca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.greenpirate.org/file-sharing-a-form-of-christian-charity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967364 | 866 | 1.578125 | 2 |
James: I make 10000 USD a month.
Alice: Wow, you have a highly paid job.
Is the phrase “highly paid job” correct?
I think yes, but also wish to ask the native speakers here.
I assume that “high paid job” is an incorrect alternative.
Basically yes, that phrase sounds fine, though I might hyphenate highly and paid:
I might also paraphrase it to sounds slightly more natural (though this is subjective):
"High paid job" is grammatically incorrect because "highly" needs to be an adverb to modify the verb "paid".
|show 2 more comments|
High can be an adverb (with comparative and superlative forms) as well as an adjective:
adv. higher, highest
In that it has the same form as the adjective, it is known as a flat adverb
Obviously, the related -ly form exists:
He was rated highly by the judges.
That being said, I really want to see the splitting off of degree-modifiers (such as the prototypical very as in very quickly, very bright) and other secondary modifiers (such as mystifyingly silent, obviously troubled, off-puttingly tedious, oppressively close, overweeningly devoted, painfully obvious / shy, perilously close - to name but a few) into a separate word-class. Admittedly, they are almost always isoformal with related adverbs, but their function is very different - in fact, very can't even modify a verb, except whimsically (How very dare you!)
Returning to the possibility of using 'high paid' rather than 'highly paid', it depends on whether high may be used as a degree modifier as well as an adverb. Apart from very, most secondary modifiers are of the -ly form. Well isn't of the -ly form, and is only used very informally as a degree modifier (He's well cheeky!) However, in a high-flying aeroplane, we see that it can, though it does require the hyphen here. On the other hand, a highly paid job or a highly-paid job would seem to sound more natural.
It's not incorrect. Here's an example:
Reference: Collins Cobuild Dictionary
However, here are some alternatives: | <urn:uuid:dc7674bb-d738-47a5-babc-da9a88033fe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/81598/alternative-phrase-to-highly-paid-job?answertab=votes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97786 | 483 | 1.59375 | 2 |
All long distance runners share one thing in common- they eat pasta the night before a race. It's practically a requirement to even register for the race (sometimes I eat pizza, don't tell anyone...). We adjusted this ritual a bit after I learned how to make my own pasta, experimenting with different types of flour and shapes. Each pre-race evening was spent in the kitchen making pasta- and then eating it, of course! This time I decided to try my hand at a bit more of a free-form pasta: orecchiette. Italian for "small ear," these little scoops of pasta are known for clinging to bits of sauce.
I loosely followed a few recipes online, but ended up mostly winging it with the ratios. Here's what worked for me (makes 3-4 servings).
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Mix everything together in a bowl, then turn the dough out onto a clean, flat surface and knead it until it comes together to form a smooth, slightly stretchy dough blob (I kneaded for about 8 minutes).
I wrapped up the dough in plastic wrap and let it "rest" on the counter for 20 minutes. Then I split it into three pieces and rolled each piece out on a floured Silpat into a long, thin rope. The diameter of the ropes will help determine the size of the end product- mine were about an inch thick. I snipped off the tapered ends to make uniform rolls.
The next size-determining step is cutting these dough logs into individual pieces. A few recipes suggested 1/2 inch thickness so I went with that. The great thing about this pasta shape is you don't have to do any extensive rolling to flatten out the dough- it saves a ton of time.
The pieces got a little squished under the pressure of the knife, but it didn't end up mattering. To form the final shape, press a piece of dough into one palm with the opposite thumb, twisting slightly to form a little well. The picture below shows the pressed product next to a pre-pressed piece. You can see it spreads and grows in size quite a bit- next time I would slice the dough a bit thinner, closer to 1/4 inch in order to make smaller "ears."
6 oz. grape tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, separated in two
3 tsp. olive oil, divided
2/3 c. ricotta cheese (the whole fat kind!)
5 large fresh basil leaves
2 chicken sausages
12 oz. brussels sprouts, quartered
salt + pepper
First up, the brussels sprouts. Roast them. Toss the quarters with a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper and throw them in a 425 degree oven for thirty minutes- easy.
Next, focus on the ricotta base. A finely chopped clove of garlic was simmered in a touch of olive oil until lightly browned, and then added to the ricotta in a small bowl. The fresh basil should also be added to the mix, and can either be finely chopped or chiffonade...d (is this a word?). A simple technique for a chiffonade:
1. Stack leaves (largest to smallest helps)
2. Roll leaves into a tight bundle
3. Cut vertically through the bundle at 1/8" intervals
4. Admire your perfectly evenly sized strips of basil
5. Sprinkle over dish of choice.. or mix them into your bowl of ricotta
In a separate bowl, combine halved, deseeded (just lightly squeeze after slicing) tomatoes and the other clove of garlic. Let sit for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to settle a bit. Depending on the state of your chicken sausage, cook, crumble, and/or slice. We used a precooked version that needed to be heated, so pan roasted them until slightly crispy. In the last couple minutes, toss in the tomatoes- just enough heat to take an edge off the garlic and start to melt the tomatoes, but not enough to make them mushy.
The cooking process puffs up the dough further, so my resultant scoops of carbs were a little bigger than I wanted (ALWAYS my problem when I make pasta- it can never be thin/small enough!). However, they maintained their scoop shape quite well.
In a big bowl, combine everything. Your ricotta mix, the tomatoes and sausage, as well as your roasted brussels sprouts and of course, the pasta. A splash of pasta water will help to mix things together, but you don't have to be overly cautious- these little ears of pasta are super sturdy and stand up to a good tossing.
Sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan for an extra salty kick (I don't carb load, I salt load), and eat up. The ricotta gives such a creaminess that it seems super indulgent, but works out to a reasonable amount of fat and calories (ie the good stuff) per serving. Lots of veggies bulk it up, and the pasta shines- you can absolutely tell the difference between fresh and dried. Plus, getting your hands dirty- literally- makes this dish extra special. | <urn:uuid:2126b5e3-0400-4c35-9a2b-3bfca923e3be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://twoeatphilly.blogspot.jp/2012/04/handmade-orecchiette.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940178 | 1,107 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Quebec AM | Feb 5, 2013 | 10:45
Quebec wants its own International Gene Therapy Consortium
Millions of people worldwide are affected by certain types of diseases known as monogenetic diseases. This diseases happen when because of a problem with a single gene in the human body. Quebec now wants its own International Gene Therapy Consortium to work on these specific diseases. Dr Jacques Tremblay is president of the Association of Gene Therapy of Quebec and researcher in the Research center of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) of Quebec And he joined us in studio this morning. | <urn:uuid:1f941d15-587e-4ac6-acf2-a500fc642411> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Quebec/Quebec+AM/ID/2332119609/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939299 | 118 | 1.632813 | 2 |
This is it... The apocalypse.
Okay my thread has been hijacked by random blurbs, lol. There have been some helpful comments though. What about my plan to find a school where I could use my math degree to teach math, and use the TEFL for english, so my wage would be more? Possible anyone?
The brave do not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.
Use your math degree to teach math. There is a large demand for English speaking math teachers, and you can get a decent wage as one.
As far as the TEFL, they don't prepare you for working in a Thai school. Forget about the 'valuable teaching experience' nonsense that you may hear. You'll pick up far more on the job.
Note for the dimensionally retarded: 6" = 150 mm
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Since you have no teaching experience, I recommend the Cambridge CELTA at International House which has been invaluable to me, even whilst teaching science! Knowing your subject is one thing, teaching it is another & teaching it to foreign language students is a completely different kettle of fish. IH will help you with accommodation either at Metropark or Aiya Residence; I recommend Aiya which at 9k per month is a no brainer.
Maths teachers are in demand at Bilingual Schools although you'll be on the same wage as the PE teacher (30-35k starting) . It will be easier for you to find a job than him though.
I recommend coming in with a double entry TR visa (IH won't sponsor a B) which the school will be able to convert for you in country at immigration, most likely for free. I came in on a single entry & had go on a 6k visa run to Cambodia because I didn't have enough days left to convert.
A TEFL is worth your time in IMO and almost all jobs require one. Yes, you can get a job without it, but you can get a job without a degree also. Your ability and willingness to teach math is a big plus!
Not many TEFL providers can get you a 1-year NI-B visa before you leave your home country, but I know T&T can. That will make your first year here a lot easier and buys you some time to find a good job. Your job will get you the work permit.
Arriving and taking your TEFL in March is a good plan and is what I did (two years ago). I finished the TEFL in early April. I then had a few weeks to travel because most schools are closed for the Thai New Year. The new school year starts in mid May and if one can't find a job during the preceding weeks, you need to go home.
Just budget well because likely you will not see a FULL pay check until the end of June if you start mid May. You can go through 5K quick considering setting up an apartment and having some fun.
Last edited by Soi Ghost; 22nd October 2011 at 01:38.
Maths is maths, regardless of the medium of instruction. Whilst there may be a need to explain particular aspects when solving word problems, the problem solving methodology is more important.
Besides, in an English/Bilingual program, there will be a bunch of TEFLers trying to get the Ss absorb the language.
My one piece of advice to the OP would be to reflect upon the issues that you, as a student of mathematics, found difficult. What misconceptions did you ever encounter? What methods helped you mature your own mathematical knowledge?
Firstly, he has no teaching experience & the CELTA will teach him about modern student-centred teaching methods. If he doesn't do a TEFL (which is primarily a teaching course) he'll likely resort to getting students to copy from the board like our maths teacher does.
Teaching maths in a student-centred way is a hard task (even harder than science IMO) & he'll have to be creative; the CELTA will go a long way to help him do that.
Lastly, in an EP he will likely be nothing more than a technical vocab teacher; an EFL teacher in everything but name.
Does the CELTA train teachers in the use of geometrical software, algebra tiles, heuristic problem solving methodology, directed numbers? The list is never ending...
The fact is that any graduate of mathematics has the ability to transfer these skills regardless of whether they have a TEFL/CELTA or whatever.
The perpetuated myth that Thai TEFL providers deliver quality content? I'm afraid not
The OP indicates that he would like to teach a subject that he has mastery in, rather than just having the fortune to have been born a native speaker of English.
I believe that I am qualified to give him some *unbiased* advice.
I see from the responses you seem to be ideologically opposed to TEFL courses so I suppose there's no point in discussing it further.
To the OP,
There are many threads debating if it is better to get a CELTA or a TEFL/TESOL. It's my opinion that you do need one, but really can't say which one is better (I obviously didn't take both). I have a TEFL through T&T, and it was a good course. It will not prepare you to be a teacher, but will give you a base and helped me. I think you will learn more the first month on the job than from any course you choose.
I also don't work for T&T, but if you are going to spend the money you might as well get them to sponsor the visa. The visa is good for a year, but you still will need to make a visa run (easy) to Cambodia every 90 days if you don't have a work permit. That is much easier than coming in on a tourist visa and converting later.
BTW, if you do chose T&T, PM me and I can give you some tips on the area. They are located near Phaholyothin soi 41 and there many places to live and things to do in that area. It's also about a 25 minute walk to the MRT (subway) or a quick bus ride.
Last edited by Soi Ghost; 22nd October 2011 at 04:07.
TEFL, TESOL, CELTA...wow! This could all really frustrate an analytical guy like me to figure out what course to take. From the research it seems like CELTA is a little more advanced. Oh well, I'm probably going to stick with TEFL. Based on the posts from other members, it doesn't seem to matter as much in landing a job, as does your personality, interview skills, etc. | <urn:uuid:cf5743a6-0d00-4d9c-b4df-d99de57dbbe2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/the-newbie-zone/61142-my-newbie-plan-please-offer-advice-to-make-the-plan-better-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973119 | 1,433 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Earthquake tsunami kills at least six in Solomon Islands
- From: AFP
- February 07, 2013
SIX bodies, including that of a child, have been found in the sodden wreckage left by a tsunami that smashed into villages in the Solomon Islands.
A government spokesman says the 1.5-metre waves that roared into Santa Cruz Island on Wednesday were too fast to outrun for five elderly villagers and one child.
George Herming said several other people were missing today and strong aftershocks were keeping frightened villagers from returning to the coast.
The tsunami was generated by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the South Pacific.
Smaller waves were recorded in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Herming said an estimated 100 homes had been damaged or destroyed.
Sirens were heard in Fiji as the region-wide tsunami alert was issued, locals said.
"Chaos in the streets of Suva as everyone tries to avoid the tsunami!!'' tweeted Ratu Nemani Tebana from the Fiji capital.
The waves reached as far away as Japan, which was hit by a huge tsunami in March 2011 that killed more than 19,000 people.
Japan's Meteorological Agency reported a 40-centimetre tsunami hitting Hachijo Island about 290 kilometres south of Tokyo, while 20-centimetre waves reached the main islands of Kyushu and Shikoku and smaller waves were recorded on Honshu.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre cancelled its regional alert for Pacific-island nations at 1450 AEDT, about two and a half hours after the powerful quake struck near the Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomons.
Australian and US monitors said a tsunami wave measuring 91 centimetres washed into the town of Lata, on the main Santa Cruz island of Ndende.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the wave appeared to have travelled 500 metres inland, inundating Lata's airstrip as well as surrounding villages, flattening many traditional houses.
"We can report five dead and three injured. One of the dead was a male child, three were elderly women and one an elderly man,'' Chris Rogers, a nurse at Lata Hospital, told AFP.
Solomons Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo's office said four villages on the Santa Cruz Islands had been hit by the tsunami.
"Latest reports suggest that between 60 to 70 homes have been damaged by waves crashing into at least four villages on Santa Cruz Islands,'' Lilo's spokesman George Herming told AFP.
"At this stage, authorities are still trying to establish the exact number and extent of damage. Communication to (the) Santa Cruz Islands is difficult due to the remoteness of the islands.''
Solomon Islands Red Cross secretary general Joanne Zoleveke said she had been told at least three villages were hit, with houses washed away.
"In the Solomon Islands when we talk about villages there can be anything from 10 to 30 houses,'' she said.
With Lata's airstrip out of commission, officials were hoping to fly over the area early on Thursday to assess the damage better.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck the Santa Cruz Islands, which have been rocked by a series of strong tremors over the past week, at a depth of 28.7 kilometres.
Dozens of aftershocks continued through the day, including one at 6.6-magnitude.
"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated,'' the Hawaii-based Pacific warning centre said after the 8.0 quake, before lifting its tsunami alert for several island nations.
Lata Hospital director of nursing Augustine Bilve said some patients were evacuated to higher ground to prepare for any injured from the villages along the coast.
No Australian defence personnel serving in the Solomon Islands have been hurt in the powerful earthquake that struck the region.
Australia has 100 soldiers participating in the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), operating from a base in a beachfront resort outside Honiara.
A defence spokesman said personnel serving on Operation Anode, in support of RAMSI, had not been affected by the earthquake and none of their buildings had been damaged.
"Deployed personnel have been encouraged to keep their families informed and reassured of their welfare. Facilities used by the ADF in Solomon Islands have not been damaged,'' he said.
Settlements did not appear to be seriously damaged in the quake, he said, but added: ``We were told that after the shaking, waves came to the villages.''
In 2007 a tsunami following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless. The quake lifted an entire island and pushed out its shoreline by dozens of metres.
The Solomons are part of the Ring of Fire, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In December 2004, a 9.3-magnitude quake off Indonesia triggered a catastrophic tsunami that killed 226,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
Here is a list of the greatest earthquakes since the beginning of the 20th century, according to the moment magnitude scale.
- May 22, 1960: A 9.5-magnitude earthquake, the biggest ever recorded, kills 5,700 people in Chile while the tsunami it triggers leaves 130 dead in Japan and 61 in Hawaii.
- March 27, 1964: An earthquake measuring 9.2 in southern Alaska followed by a tsunami kills more than 100 people.
- December 26, 2004: A 9.1-magnitude undersea quake off Sumatra island causes a tsunami that kills 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
- March 11, 2011: A 9.0 magnitude quake triggers a devastating tsunami off northeast Japan, leaving some 19,000 people dead or missing and crippling the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years.
- November 4, 1952: More than 2,300 people are killed when a 9.0-magnitude quake occurs on Siberia's Kamchatka peninsula, causing a tsunami felt as far as Chile and Peru.
- February 27, 2010: A huge 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocks Chile, killing at least 450 people and triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific.
- January 31, 1906: An earthquake measuring 8.8 off the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador causes a tsunami that kills about 1,000 people.
- February 4, 1965: An 8.7-magnitude earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands in the northern Pacific Ocean, causing damage but no deaths.
- March 28, 2005: An 8.6-magnitude quake on Indonesia's Nias island off Sumatra leaves at least 900 dead.
- March 9, 1957: An earthquake measuring 8.6 hits the Andreanof Islands in Alaska, generating a tsunami reaching as far as Hawaii, causing damage but no casualties.
THE Australian Defence Force launches an urgent security review in the wake of the brutal murder of a soldier in London.
AUSTRALIA is paying tribute to Hazel Hawke, ex-wife of former prime minister Bob Hawke, who has died following a battle with dementia. She was 83.
GRAPHIC IMAGE: AS London awakes to its new terror reality, there are fears the attack could spark civil unrest similar to the 2011 riots. The mum who stood up to terror
FORD slammed the door on its Australian manufacturing business after accepting a total of $1.1 billion in taxpayer cash over the past 12 years. | <urn:uuid:f968879f-a668-4dc4-ac54-a819f4f6de24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/tsunami-warning-after-string-of-earthquakes-off-solomon-islands/story-e6frea6u-1226571643903?from=public_rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966382 | 1,585 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Federal Appeals Court Overturns Ruling Barring Congress From De-funding ACORN (now known as ACCE)
Published August 13, 2010
A federal appeals court on Friday threw
out a decision that had barred Congress from withholding funds from
ACORN, the activist group driven to ruin by scandal and financial woes.
The ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of
Appeals in Manhattan reversed a decision by a district court judge in
Brooklyn that found Congress had violated the group's rights by
punishing it without a trial.
Congress cut off ACORN's federal funding
last year in response to allegations the group engaged in voter
registration fraud and embezzlement and violated the tax-exempt status
of some of its affiliates by engaging in partisan political activities.
Fueling the outrage was a video that caught
three employees allegedly advising a couple posing as a prostitute and
her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her earnings.
ACORN responded with a lawsuit accusing Congress of abusing its power with what amounted to a "corporate death sentence".
- The appeals court disagreed, citing a study finding that ACORN received only 10 percent of its funding from federal sources.
"We doubt that the direct consequences of
the appropriations laws temporarily precluding ACORN from federal funds
were so disproportionately severe or so inappropriate as to constitute
punishment," the three-judge panel wrote.
The Center for Constitutional Rights, which
argued on behalf of ACORN, said it was considering asking the appeals
court to rehear the case with more judges.
"We cannot let Congress be pushed around by
the right-wing media machine into becoming prosecutor, judge, jury and
executioner of politically unpopular people or organizations," said Bill
Quigley, legal director for CCR.
There was no immediate response to a phone message left for government lawyers.
ACORN, or the Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now, had described itself as an advocate for
low-income and minority home buyers and residents. The national
organization announced earlier this year it was folding because of
Several of its largest affiliates, including
ACORN New York and ACORN California, broke away and changed their names
in a bid to ditch the tarnished image of their parent organization and
restore revenue that ran dry in the wake of the video scandal. They
continued to operate under their new names.
In written arguments submitted to the
appeals court, the government said ACORN had acknowledged embezzlement
and subsequent cover-up at the highest levels of the organization,
including nearly $1 million taken from the group by the brother of its
founder in 1999 and 2000.
News & Politics | <urn:uuid:59d53669-35cd-41d7-972e-808bda468d4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/federal-appeals-court-overturns-ruling-barring-congress-from-de-funding-acorn-now-known-as-acce/question-1148831/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954477 | 565 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Gov. Christie Signs Law Covering Oral Cancer Drugs
New Jersey cancer patients will get the same health insurance coverage for oral cancer drugs sold as prescription medications and taken in their own homes as they now get for chemotherapy drugs delivered intravenously at healthcare facilities under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Chris Christie.
The American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey said pricing parity for oral and injected cancer drugs will encourage patients to use the most appropriate drug without being influenced by their out-of-pocket costs.
Some cancer patients have faced hundreds of dollars a month in oral cancer drug bills depending on their description drug plan, said Blair Horner, vice president of advocacy for the cancer society.
The new law requires health insurers to cover orally administered cancer medications on a basis that is no less favorable than the terms that apply to injected anti-cancer medications. Insurers are prohibited from subjecting oral cancer drugs to any prior authorization, dollar limits, co-payments, deductibles, or coinsurance standards that don't apply to intravenously-administered or injected drugs.
"Medical research over the past decade has provided cancer patients with alternatives to the traditional intravenous and injected cancer drugs," said bill co-sponsor Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen). "It is imperative that we update our laws."
But Ward Sanders, president of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, pointed out that the law didn't address the underlying issue of the high cost of prescription drugs.
"Some patients who need or choose oral chemotherapy drugs rather than traditional intravenous chemotherapy have faced real difficulty affording their medications, because some pharmaceutical companies have priced the drugs so high that they are out of reach," he said. "Unfortunately, this law fails to address the high prices of these drugs and rather, benefits only about 30 percent of New Jerseyans with certain types of insurance. This law is a missed opportunity to more broadly assist consumers who need access to care."
A quarter of the nearly 500 cancer drugs now in the research pipeline will be oral medications, Hormer said. "Many new chemotherapy drugs come in pill form that patients can take at home, rather than intravenous injections administered at a medical facility. In New Jersey, there can be a big difference in the coverage insurance companies provide for orally administered medications versus coverage for intravenous treatments. Advancements in cancer treatments are useless if patients don't have access to or can't afford them."
Horner said the cost differential results because the intravenous cancer drug is covered by the health plan as part of the medical coverage for treating cancer. But the oral chemotherapy drug usually falls under the patient's prescription drug plan, and depending on the plan, the individual may be required to pay a significant share of that cost.
"It is not true for every [health] plan, but patients who rely on oral cancer drugs can face [significant] out-of-pocket costs – so much so that they may choose not to have the therapy, which could affect their health," Horner said. Fourteen states, including New York, have passed cancer drug parity laws.
"Oral chemotherapy is truly the wave of the future in cancer care," the American Cancer Society said in written testimony to the legislature. "Oral treatments offer patients distinct advantages over traditional intravenous chemotherapy, including the fact that they are targeted therapies which attack only the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells alone. There is no scientific or medical rationale for categorizing orally-administered drugs differently than IV drugs."
Dean J. Paranicas, chief executive of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, whose members are drug research and development firms, said the law gives patients "access to the medications that their doctor feels is most appropriate" and will "provide another treatment option when deciding on a therapeutic course of action to fight this deadly disease." | <urn:uuid:5aaf0e41-0f20-4660-89a1-788426073b1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0117/2215/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949911 | 779 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Johannesburg (CNN) -- Dumisani Rebombo is no ordinary advocate for women's rights in South Africa. He is a rapist.
He is a rapist who sought out his victim two decades after his brutal act to ask for forgiveness.
He is all this in a nation where sexual assault has become so common that a woman in South Africa is more likely to be raped than learn to read.
Sexual assaults rarely shock anyone anymore, though a video of a brutal gang rape of a mentally disabled teenager went viral on the Internet last month. That touched a nerve.
As the young suspects face their day in court, Rebombo spoke with CNN to tell his own story -- an extraordinary tale of violence, redemption and determination to change things in his homeland.
Rebombo was 15 when he raped.
The boys in his village of Blinkwater taunted him because he didn't herd cattle and instead went home to help his sisters. He didn't have a girlfriend.
"Sissy," the village boys jeered, and challenged him to prove his manhood.
The way to do that was by having sex. Forced sex.
Rebombo had refused until that day, when he gave in to peer pressure. He recounts what happened in a quiet, steady tone.
Two of his friends picked out a girl. They said she thought she was smarter than the boys; she didn't date anyone.
Rebombo and his friends would set her straight.
"I was afraid because I'd never had sex before," Rebombo says.
At 5 o'clock in the evening, he met his friends, drank beer, smoked marijuana.
Then it started. The first boy raped her; then the second. She was screaming. It was Rebombo's turn.
After it was over, he felt terrible, wracked with guilt and scared that his parents would find out. He says he never gave a thought about how the victim was feeling.
"It's because when the environment accepts that behavior as a norm, you don't pay to much attention to it," he says.
The South African police say there were 66,196 cases of rape in 2010-2011. But many believe that number is much higher because many rapes go unreported.
The girl Rebombo raped never reported what happened and Rebombo was never charged. She never even spoke about it with anyone. She was too scared of the consequences, Rebombo says.
"This violence, there is violence elsewhere in the world, but you don't see the staggering numbers of rapes that are seen here in South Africa," Rebombo says.
He is glad, he adds, that South Africans are finally talking about it.
Asking for forgiveness
Rebombo eventually left his village in Limpopo Province and joined first a religious organization and later an aid agency. He learned about respecting others but strangely, he says, he rarely thought about the girl he raped.
Years passed and Rebombo started working at a gender equality organization, where he spoke with rape victims about the different emotional stages they went through. That's when he thought about his victim. She did not even have an opportunity to seek counseling. Rebombo began feeling the need to make amends for his actions.
He spoke to a pastor about going to see her. The pastor told him there was no need, that he was young and boys will be boys.
Rebombo went back anyway.
He was too nervous to go to her house. She was married now. What would her husband think? How would he react?
So he arranged to meet her in the village clinic. Rapist and victim sat down together.
"I'm sorry," he told her.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Rebombo did not know what to do. He simply stood before her.
"My life has never been the same," she told him.
She told him she had been raped twice more.
Sometimes, she said, when her husband touches her, she cringes, even though she is happy with him. She suffers nightmares. She felt her life was dysfunctional because of Rebombo's actions.
He asked for forgiveness. She told him she thought he meant well. She would try to get the bitterness out of her heart.
"I felt guilt," he says. "I was embarrassed but also angry at myself that I went on with my life when she was living in misery."
'A huge monster'
A woman is raped every 26 seconds in South Africa, according to People Opposing Women Abuse, a nonprofit group for the eradication of gender violence. Rape is part of a greater environment of crime -- police reported nearly 16,000 murders last year.
The high rates of sexual violence have been explained in many ways. Some say it is a legacy of apartheid and the country's strong culture of violence.
"There's a long history of violence," women's rights activist Lisa Vetten tells CNN. "There's a long history of responding to conflict in a violent manner, of trying to solve problems through using violence.
"We also have, I think, a long history of patriarchy, of not recognizing women's rights fully, of not recognizing them necessarily as being full human beings in full -- and having all the rights of men necessarily do," Vetten says.
Some activists say apartheid is just a convenient excuse.
Jackie Branfield, a rape victim turned activist, asks how anyone can blame history for the acts of the seven youths suspected in the videotaped gang rape.
"You can't blame apartheid here," she says on CNN. "You can't even blame the government. You can't blame anybody but our society for this type of violence.
"It's just that they are doing it because they can," she says, blaming what she called inefficient, understaffed and under-resourced police departments, courts and hospitals.
A Doctors Without Borders report says some have blamed an "inadequate criminal justice system, which often fails to convict, and therefore deter, perpetrators." It also mentioned alcohol and drug abuse and said lack of adequate housing and electricity make victims more vulnerable.
Rebombo, now married and settled in Mpupalanga, near the city of Durban, works for Sonke Gender Justice Network as the national manager of a "One Man Can," a project to promote healthy relationships between men and women. As such, he is out to change the national mind-set so that men will no longer think it cool to disrespect women. Violent acts must stop, he says. So must the silence of men who witness such acts.
"It's a huge monster we need to deal with," he says.
He lives every day with that monster -- and the words of his victim.
"Please teach your son not to do what you did to me."
She did not know that Rebombo has a son, who is now 28. He tells his son as well as his two daughters many things about ending gender-based violence. Respect everyone. Stick to one partner. Drink responsibly. His list is long.
CNN's Nkepile Mabuse reported from Johannesburg and Moni Basu from Atlanta. | <urn:uuid:ba1ff36d-7197-4cc3-97af-8ad634f28054> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://europe.cnn.com/2012/05/05/world/africa/south-africa-rape/index.html?hpt=hp_mid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989609 | 1,477 | 1.640625 | 2 |
There's more to job happiness than your paycheck. Follow these three tips to find a workplace you'll smile about.
Workplace bias, whether subtle or blatant, takes an emotional toll. Learn how employers and employees can respond.
Are you bilingual or multilingual? Your skills can be an asset to your career. Speak up about your talents.
You need to convince interviewers that you're the one for the job. Learn how to address unspoken biases.
Want to take your professional life to the next level? Learn how to find a mentor and cultivate the relationship.
How well does an employer support female workers? Try our 11 ways to determine how women-friendly a company is.
Networking is a key job search strategy for everyone -- even veterans. Are you expanding your contacts? These resources can help.
As a Hispanic/Latino, you can market yourself from the unique perspective of being bicultural, and in some cases bilingual.
Learn the key strategies you can deploy to convince a 30-year-old interviewer that your wisdom is an asset.
Women can benefit the most from the guidance of a mentor. Learn why and follow this step-by-step guide to finding the right one.
Your skills and experience can take you only so far in a new country. Don't be afraid to reach out for help.
Learn how to rework your resume with our expert advice to help you land a private-sector job after serving in the military.
If you're a job seeker with a disability, learn when you should mention your condition and how.
Gay/lesbian rights advocates disagree about what you should reveal on your resume. What should you do?
First-time Hispanic/Latino job seekers don't always know how to approach the interview. Two experts offer tips.
If you've recently become disabled, learn how to manage your disability coverage and your employer.
When an employer says yes to domestic-partner benefits, will you get what you need? Check these tips to be sure.
Body piercings won't keep your tech career current. Get eight tips on how to show the boss you're up to date.
Case law regarding truckers with disabilities is all over the lot. The question often boils down to this: Can you drive safely?
While working as a nurse is stressful enough, nurses with disabilities can face additional on-the-job challenges. Find resources and support here.
More than 18 million Americans suffer from depression. Don't let it disrupt your life and work; it pays to get help.
An accident or illness can make work seem impossible. Learn how others have adapted. | <urn:uuid:1580e6b1-a0d6-40af-b985-46bbc4496ac8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://resources.monster.com/diversity-inclusion/work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937489 | 542 | 1.570313 | 2 |
By Emtyaz al-Mograbi
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
NISAA FM has been broadcasting programs of special interest to Palestinian women from Ramallah for about a year. Selling ads to support the station is tough-going, as it can take several hours of persuasion to get male advertisers to buy time.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (WOMENSENEWS)--NISAA FM may be the call letters of the only public radio station dedicated to Palestinian women, but the station's manager is happy to attract male listeners and also employ them.
"Social change does not happen unless women and men work together," said Maysoun Odeh, whose station employs a staff of five women and three men. "We are a mature society. Both men and women deserve a chance to be free of the oppression we are facing today, so that we earn our deserved roles."
Odeh spoke with Women's eNews recently at the station, which began broadcasting in June 2010. She said an estimated 40 percent of the station's listeners are men, but the station's most sizzling broadcasts are focused on women.
Alaa Shatira, who hosts the radio show Women's Break, devotes a section of her program to issues that affect Palestinian women and has invited on-air experts on women's issues to help spread awareness of their rights.
Another popular program, Coffee Mazboot, discusses Palestinian women's formal and informal work in Israeli settlements and across the Green Line, which marks the boundaries between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
In an occupied land where men exert overwhelming media control, the station offers a unique forum for such subjects as polygamy, domestic violence, family and work matters, says Palestinian journalist and film producer Saad Aruri.
"Having a women's radio station in Palestine that touches on issues of concern to women across the Middle East is critical and very positive," he said. "So I hope it will continue to develop."
He added that NISAA FM plays an important role by advising women in the Arab world about their rights and providing an example of the Palestinian community that supports gender equality.
By Hajer Naili
By Abigail Klein Leichman
By Hannah Seligson
By Juhie Bhatia | <urn:uuid:c5077eb5-f25f-401a-9b58-7b7051a685bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://womensenews.org/story/media-stories/111031/palestinian-womens-radio-crosses-boundaries?page=0,0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961153 | 471 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Juliana costume jewelry was produced by DeLizza & Elster, which was founded in 1947 to manufacture everything from buttons and buckles to pins and pendants for such venerable costume jewelers as Hattie Carnegie, Hobe, Kenneth J. Lane, and Weiss.
In 1967, chief designer William DeLizza and business partner Harold Elster decided to create a brand of their own by placing paper tags with the Juliana trademark on some of their pieces. The brand lasted barely two years, but it became synonymous with DeLizza & Elster.
Vintage Juliana pieces (which include unlabeled pieces created before 1967 as well as those with Gloria and Tara hang tags) typically feature vibrantly colored rhinestones such as aurora borealis, clear crystals, faux hematite, and fake opals. Striking colors such as purple and teal or green and pink are routinely combined. In other Juliana pieces, large speckled (or "Easter egg") cabochons are set within rings of smaller, colored stones...
Unlike much of the vintage costume jewelry from this period, Juliana pieces are almost all stone, with very little metal showing. Cluster settings for brooches are popular. In addition to such basic stone cuts as pears, baguettes, ovals, and rounds, some of the more fancy vintage Juliana pieces have stones cut into the shapes of keystones, arrows, anchors, and hearts.
Brooch designs range from flat to domed to tiered, while earrings are arranged in clusters, cascades, or clumps with dangling jewels swinging free. Some pieces suggest natural forms like leaves on a branch, flowers, and crystals. Some pieces resemble birds; others looks like snowflakes or shooting stars. Milk glass is occasionally used as a cool accent or centerpiece, as are so-called watermelon rhinestones, which catch light and return a rainbow of colors to the beholder’s eye.
The hardware on vintage Juliana helps collectors identify real piece from fakes. Earrings are mostly clip-backed; screw backs are rare. Necklaces tend to be clasped with J-hooks, which allow the wearer to adjust the length. Light necklaces have single hooks, heavier ones use double hooks, and some hooks are even adorned with rhinestones in closed-back settings.
Juliana's vintage bracelets usually have fold-over clasps, some with ridges or stripes, some with arrow patterns, and some with rhinestones. Box-and-tongue clasps are used on flat-backed bracelets, clamper bracelets are hinged, and bracelets of all types frequently have safety chains.
Key terms for Vintage Juliana Costume Jewelry:
Cabochon: A stone that has been shaped and polished instead of faceted. It usually has a flat back and a shape that is round or oval.
Milk glass: An opaque glass, first made in Venice in the 16th century, that gets its rich white color from fluorite and tin dioxide.
Interviews & Articles
My husband and I have many collections. We were in London at one point in the ’80s, and I saw a fabulous collection of vintage cos… [more]
I started out with general antiques and collectibles... I was a dealer for a while and bought and sold all kinds of things. Gradua… [more] | <urn:uuid:783cabbd-103e-4fe2-91f1-1c91b704f6d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.collectorsweekly.com/costume-jewelry/juliana | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953345 | 706 | 1.554688 | 2 |
by Latoya Peterson
From the Washington Post:
Republicans who are vying to lead the national party offered a mix of reactions yesterday to the decision by one candidate for the job to mail out a music CD including the song “Barack the Magic Negro.”
Chip Saltsman defended his actions, telling the Hill newspaper that the song — and others on the CD, which was mailed to party members — was nothing more than a lighthearted parody. But his rivals in the contest to chair the Republican National Committee said it carried an inaccurate message about what the GOP stands for.
My favorite quote:
And former Ohio secretary of state Ken Blackwell defended Saltsman and attacked the media.
“Unfortunately, there is hypersensitivity in the press regarding matters of race. This is in large measure due to President-elect Obama being the first African American elected president,” Blackwell, who is black, said in a statement.
“I don’t think any of the concerns that have been expressed in the media about any of the other candidates for RNC chairman should disqualify them,” he said. “When looked at in the proper context, these concerns are minimal. All of my competitors for this leadership post are fine people.”
Whenever I read about incidents like this (and there have been many throughout the primaries, the election, and will continue beyond the inauguration), my mind keeps straying back to Keli Goff’s book Party Crashing: How the Hip Hop Generation Declared Political Independence.
I voted for Barack Obama in the general election. (This should be no secret to regular readers of this blog.) But I still identify as a political independent.
And according to Goff, I’m not alone:
According to the 2001 study from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, approximately 30% of black Americans ages eighteen to thirty-five identify themselves as political independents. It is tempting to dismiss such provocative findings as a fluke, so in 2007, in conjunction with the Political Research Center of Suffolk University, I conducted a follow up study of four hundred randomly selected black Americans ages eighteen to forty five (the age range of respondents was expanded to incorporate the responses of those who would have been thirty-five at the time of the initial Joint Center Study). Our findings confirmed that a definite shift has occurred in how younger black Americans are defining themselves politically. More significantly, more than a third of younger black Americans no longer feel the need to conform to traditional party labeling.
(Goff, pages 4-5)
So here is what drives me insane about this whole situation.
Are we seriously saying that all these well-paid political strategists can’t see the writing on the wall? Thirty percent of young black voters identify as independent and in each general election, the Republicans still can’t pull more than 10% of the black vote?
Goff dedicates a chapter to the GOP in her book, titled “Can the Party of Lincoln become the Party of 50 Cent?” The section of the book goes into detail about GOP strategies for outreach to the black community – and the subsequent setbacks it suffered due to the racism within the higher ranks of the Grand Ol’ Party.
Goff also cites Ken Mehlman, former chair of the Republican National Committee, who made diversifying the Republican Party a key aspect of his work with the GOP. In the book, Mehlman explains that his upbringing influenced his embrace of diversity, pointing out that “historically, the Jewish and the black communities have worked together on a variety of issues.” Staunchly against bigotry, Melhman stood before the NAACP in 2005, famously stating:
“Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit from racial polarization. I am here as Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.”
Unfortunately, that sentiment was not shared by many in his party.
The rest of Goff’s chapter is peppered with political gaffes made by various high profile Republicans that helped to drive away black voters. Starting with Richard Nixon (who earned 32% of the black vote when he ran against JFK in 1960), the Republicans have relied on divisive campaigning based on race (soon to be known as the Southern Strategy).
Goff counts off the various other tactics employed by the GOP: the use of a Willie Horton based, racially inflammatory ad during the Dukakis race, the “Hands” ad run in 1990 by Jesse Helms, G.W. Bush’s speech at Bob Jones University (which at the time had a ban on interracial dating), the Bush administration’s challenge of the University of Michigan’s undergraduate admissions procedures (with both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell voicing dissent), Trent Lott’s 2002 comments at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday, former G.H.W. Bush appointee William Bennett’s comment in 2005 that “you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down*,” and the response to Hurricane Katrina.
And of course, we all saw how race baiting in the 2008 election went down.
Much discussion in political spheres has been on how the GOP can move forward and become a party that can attract a diverse coalition of voters.
However, the GOP doesn’t actually have to do much to attract minority voters. Support good candidates with a solid platform with something to say. Bring candidates to debates that actually add something to the national conversation. Redefine your idea of “real America.”
And it would also help if you took the “racists welcome” sign off your front door.
- – -
*The full quote is:
If you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that was your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in the country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.
If you follow the Wikipedia link in the text, you see the full context of Bennett’s remarks, as they stemmed from a Freakonomics theory that proposed the legalization of abortion led to the declines in crime. But the rub is that the Freakonomics study did not focus on race. They focused on “teenagers, unmarried women, and the economically disadvantaged” in the press surrounding their study and in the analysis. Race is discussed on page twelve of the study as another marginal factor and some statistics are provided about crimes committed by blacks versus crimes committed by whites, correlated with the number of abortions for each racial group. The other 41 pages of the study mainly touch on class, crime rates, and break downs by region.
So, the question here is why did Bennett equate crime with black? Or abortion with black, depending on your interpretation of his comments?
About This BlogRacialicious is a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. Check out our daily updates on the latest celebrity gaffes, our no-holds-barred critique of questionable media representations, and of course, the inevitable
Keanu ReevesJohn Cho newsflashes.
Latoya Peterson (DC) is the Owner and Editor (not the Founder!) of Racialicious, Arturo García (San Diego) is the Managing Editor, Andrea Plaid (NYC) is the Associate Editor. You can email us at [email protected].
The founders of Racialicious are Carmen Sognonvi and Jen Chau. They are no longer with the blog. Carmen now runs Urban Martial Arts with her husband and blogs about local business. Jen can still be found at Swirl or on her personal blog. Please do not send them emails here, they are no longer affiliated with this blog.
Comments on this blog are moderated. Please read our comment moderation policy.
Use the "for:racialicious" tag in del.icio.us to send us tips. See here for detailed instructions.
Interested in writing for us? Check out our submissions guidelines.
Follow Us on Twitter!
- Kat on Open Thread: The Great Gatsby
- Yakki45 on The Rise Of Beyoncé, The Fall Of Lauryn Hill: A Tale Of Two Icons
- Ike on Quoted: Lucy Liu On Racial Image And Romantic Comedies
- nicthommi on The Rise Of Beyoncé, The Fall Of Lauryn Hill: A Tale Of Two Icons
- Dara Crawley on The Rise Of Beyoncé, The Fall Of Lauryn Hill: A Tale Of Two Icons
- Friday Foolishness: Selena Gomez Is Wearing A Bindi?
- The Rise Of Beyoncé, The Fall Of Lauryn Hill: A Tale Of Two Icons
- Retrolicious–Mad Men 6.7: “Man With A Plan”
- Open Thread: The Great Gatsby
- Scandal Recap 2.22: “White Hats Back On”
- Quoted: Lucy Liu On Racial Image And Romantic Comedies
- The Perennial Plate Visits India And Sri Lanka On Its World Tour
- The Racialicious Links Roundup 5.16.13
TagsABC activism advertising african-american asian asian-american barack obama black blackface celebrities comedy culture diversity fashion feminism film gender glbt HBO hip hop hispanic history hollywood identity international interracial relationships latino media mixed race movies music muslim politics race racial stereotypes racism religion sex sexism sexual stereotypes stereotypes tv Uncategorized white youtube | <urn:uuid:5973ba76-f095-4e42-b01b-866c47a4406c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.racialicious.com/2008/12/31/barack-the-magic-negro-song-the-gop-and-african-americans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938944 | 2,000 | 1.515625 | 2 |
My 14-year-old son took the city bus home one recent afternoon. I am furious. My son attends Plantation High School. As a public high school student in a district that sends him 12 miles to attend a school when there is another school three miles away, I expect the School Board to provide him with transportation. I don't care if the public schools are overcrowded. I pay many tax dollars to support the schools that my children attend, and I expect and demand certain things. The school bus that my son takes is so overcrowded that there are children everywhere in the bus. If you were taking a public bus, you would expect a seat. I expect no less for my children. If there are not enough school buses to meet the demand, then the School Board needs to come up with another solution. For my son to tell me that he had to take a city bus because his bus was too crowded is an outrage. Fix this problem before a lawsuit is initiated. | <urn:uuid:1481778b-b161-4cfd-9047-0f2b3ee7650d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1999-10-19/news/9910180992_1_school-bus-city-bus-public-bus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989415 | 199 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Humans are wonderful creatures, almost any issue you have, someone else will have had it before you – and now thanks to the internet, you can find these people and read blog posts about how they dealt with it, you can message them on twitter and talk to them about it. Sometimes we forget just how amazing this is.
This is amazing, even when we’re talking about the rather bizarre problem of what to do with frozen bananas.
We are all familiar with the concept of testers, these are wonderfully honest people that go though your applications and find all the bugs, niggles and irks for you to fix. They can be frustrating people but oh-so-useful. I am lucky enough have my own panel of testers - dedicated, hard working people that, for the sake of friendship and honour, allow me to try out new recipes on them. I love each and every one of them. The "mmmm, that’s not bad" from them is the highest accolade a cook can have, it’s like an addiction – alas this is something I have given up for the moment…
My good friend Ben is currently taking part in a very worthwhile challenge – Lay off the Cake – he and his colleague are competing to see who can lose the most weight. Out of respect and in support of this I have refrained from baking fat laden goodies when I know he will be around – it’s been surprisingly hard – but last week I discovered something rather wonderful…
For reasons too mundane to go into here I had shoved some rather ripe bananas into my freezer before going away for the weekend. The natural consequence of this is that last Monday found me googling (Yes, Googling….) the phrase "Frozen banana recipes". What I found was rather remarkable.
It turns out that if you blend a Frozen Banana and nothing else it turns into something with the texture and taste of ice cream.
I know… that’s the exact expression of incredulity I had.
After this expedition into the crazier side of the internet I met up with Katherine “The Sorceress” Robinson and told her this tale. She also instantly screwed her face into the classic ‘You can’t make ice cream from frozen bananas’ expression but we thought it was worth a try. Home we went and – as all good scientists must do before an experiment – made tea.
With the comforting wafts and warmth of Yorkshire Tea to bolster us we went for it. The first thing we learnt – pealing a frozen banana is not an easy task.
Eventually the chopped frozen banana was in the plastic prison of my Kenwood Mini Chopper, lid in place. We shared the by-now familiar expression of ‘You can’t make ice cream from frozen bananas’ and pressed the button…
We got chopped banana. We were significantly underwhelmed.
But we had gone too far to give up now. After the effort that went into peeling the thing it was personal. So, more blending… This time we got finer chopped banana. The cause was lost, we were just making a mess now. We silently vowed to never believe anything the harpy that is the internet said ever again. That purveyor of broken promises and dreams was dead to us.
Without any hope in my heart I gave it just one final blast of the blender and the magic happened. Suddenly. Peacefully. The chopped banana collapsed in on itself and turned creamy with barely a sigh as it let go if it’s solid form and relaxed into creamy goodness.
We had ice cream.
Teaspoons. Tasting. Raised eyebrows. Incredulity. This was ice cream! This was Fat-Free ice cream. This was Ice Cream with all the nutritional merits of a banana and nothing else. In that one taste we forgave the internet and let it back into our hearts.
Then the best bit. Ben arrived. Once again I got to do something I love – feed something yummy to someone who loves their food and suddenly, all was right with the world once more. | <urn:uuid:ed2811c2-c063-4603-9b7e-45b52410d5cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amykate.co.uk/?m=201007 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968718 | 851 | 1.625 | 2 |
1. Whole Wheat Pasta - Whole wheat helps to maintain your blood insulin levels and also prevents your body from depositing fat. These aren't light on calories so watch your serving size. Too much of a healthy things is still too many calories and will result in weight gain.
2. Lean Meat - Protein is the substance that actually helps a meal hold you off till the next one. It's also the easiest nutrient for your body to use. Fuel your body with lean protein to help build lean muscle and burn more calories throughout the day.
3. Dairy Products - Low-fat and a great source of protein, what's not to love? Usually the best snacks to eat after a workout as they have a great balance of protein, fats and carbs. Surprisingly a class of 2% chocolate milk is as close to the perfect recovery drink you can get.
4. Beans - They're cheap, loaded with protein, but that's not all, add that they're a great source of fiber and you have not only the magical fruit, but a great food for weight loss. They're are also incredibly versatile. You can season them up and add them to almost any meal helping you feel more full and eat less overall.
5. Colorful Produce - Go beyond the one apple a day. These are usually low in calories and high in fiber and sometimes water. So you can fill up in more ways than one without really filling up the calorie tank.
Don't forget to connect with us on Facebook | <urn:uuid:47106398-a937-4bd8-9704-9cc2d4a2fa2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://axiomfitness.com/EasyBlog/Tags/Tag/boise-health-clubs-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960129 | 306 | 1.710938 | 2 |
ST. LOUIS--()--As part of the 15th birthday celebration of Build-A-Bear Workshop®, the leader in interactive retail, over 25,000 stuffed animals will be made and donated to children who might not otherwise receive gifts this holiday season. During the special weekend of October 20 – 21, Build-A-Bear Workshop invites the first 100 Guests in all of its U.S. stores to make a stuffed animal for free to donate to the Marine Toys for Tots® Foundation to distribute to kids in need in communities across the country. Stuffed with Hugs® is a core program of Build-A-Bear Workshop in its eleventh year and the weekend event is part of a variety of activities celebrating the company’s 15th birthday.
“Every child deserves to celebrate the holidays”
“We are a company with heart and Stuffed with Hugs is a way to give children the opportunity to give back. As we celebrate our birthday, we also commemorate 15 years of giving back to important causes around the world,” said Maxine Clark, Build-A-Bear Workshop founder and chief executive bear. “We are especially pleased to partner with Cody Simpson and Toys for Tots for this special Stuffed with Hugs weekend and to provide our Guests with the opportunity to brighten kids’ holidays with teddy bear hugs.”
Participants in Stuffed with Hugs weekend will be able to meet Build-A-Bear Workshop mascot, Bearemy®, and enjoy a variety of 15th birthday celebration activities. As a thank you for helping, Stuffed with Hugs participants will receive a bounce back coupon for a future visit.
“Every child deserves to celebrate the holidays,” said Cody Simpson, who is kicking off the Stuffed with Hugs weekend by making stuffed animals with Marine families in New York City at the Build-A-Bear Workshop store on Fifth Avenue. “As a longtime Build-A-Bear Workshop fan, it is an honor to support this opportunity to encourage kids to help other kids and send a message of comfort and hope through a hug of a teddy bear.”
The need to brighten a child’s holiday is greater than ever this year, according to retired Marine Corps General, Pete Osman, chief executive officer of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. A recent U.S. Census Bureau report cited statistics that reveal that more than one in five children under 18 years old (or 16.1 million children) live in poverty. The report also showed a yearly decline in median household income.
“With the generous support of Build-A-Bear Workshop, we will be able to fulfill the holiday dreams of thousands of less fortunate children,” said Osman.
Stuffed with Hugs will take place during regular store hours and U.S. Marines may be on hand to collect the stuffed animals. To learn more about Stuffed with Hugs weekend activities or to find a store in your area, visit buildabear.com®.
Build-A-Bear Workshop and its associates believe in the teddy bear philosophy of being good people and good bears. Throughout its 15-year history, the company has shared the hug of a teddy bear wherever needed in local communities and abroad. Build-A-Bear Workshop has given Guests a voice in supporting the causes that are important to them like children’s health and wellness, animals, and literacy, and has given nearly $31 million through its corporate donations and foundation grant programs to these causes.
About Toys for Tots
The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is a not-for-profit organization authorized by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Department of Defense to provide fundraising and other necessary support for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Now in its 65th year, Toys for Tots provides joy and a message of hope to less fortunate children through the gift of a new toy or book during the Christmas holiday season.
About Cody Simpson
With over 3.4 million Twitter followers, over 3.3 million Facebook likes and more than 144 million YouTube views, 15-year-old pop star Cody Simpson is already a teen phenomenon. Simpson, who is currently on tour supporting Justin Bieber on Bieber’s “Believe Tour,” marked the recent release of his debut album “Paradise” with a pair of sold-out concerts at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. 2012 has been a banner year for Cody, having kicked things off with his own sold out “Welcome To Paradise Tour” and being named “Favorite Aussie Superstar” at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Simpson was also among the top stars invited to participate in the 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll, and kept busy leading up to the release of “Paradise” by joining Big Time Rush on the massive “Big Time Summer Tour” and releasing a new interactive film, “Finding Cody,” via Warner Music Group’s original YouTube channel, “The Warner Sound.” For additional information, please visit www.codysimpson.com.
About Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is the only global company that offers an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience. There are more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and South America. Founded in St. Louis in 1997, Build-A-Bear Workshop is the leader in interactive retail. Brands include make-your-own Major League Baseball® mascot in-stadium locations, and Build-A-Dino® stores. Build-A-Bear Workshop extends its in-store interactive experience online with its award winning virtual world website at bearville.com™. The company was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the fourth year in a row in 2012. Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) posted total revenue of $394.4 million in fiscal 2011. For more information, call 888.560.BEAR (2327) or visit the company’s award-winning website at buildabear.com®.
We would like to thank you for your interest in covering our business. As you write your story, we would ask that you use our full name: Build-A-Bear Workshop® and that when referencing the process of making stuffed animals you use the word “make” not “build.”
Build-A-Bear Workshop is our well-known trade name and our registered trademark of Build-A-Bear Retail Management, Inc. Build-A-Bear Workshop® should only be used in capital letters to refer to our products and services and should not be used as a verb. | <urn:uuid:52eff474-4464-4b3b-8e27-de9a9cee3639> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20121017006220/en/Teen-phenomenon-Cody-Simpson-invites-fans-USA | 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 | 0.932164 | 1,466 | 1.625 | 2 |
Latest VideosMore Videos
Rough Cut - Woodworking With Tommy Mac
Platform BedSeries Website »
Episodes & Air Times »
ROUGH CUT - WOODWORKING WITH TOMMY MAC invites viewers into the world of respected furniture maker Tommy MacDonald, as he travels to historic landmarks to gain design inspiration and then returns to his workshop to demonstrate the steps and techniques needed to create future family heirlooms. In each episode, MacDonald shares his skills and best practices, providing detailed project instructions for anyone interested in learning the basics of the craft. For the more experienced enthusiast, Tommy also showcases his more complex projects with advanced tips and techniques. Each half-hour includes three segments: "Basic Woodworking Techniques," "Weekend Projects" and "The Field Trip."
Sorry, this episode has no rebroadcasts scheduled at this time. | <urn:uuid:0405c6f2-e10a-40e4-9931-3f55a4a86847> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vpt.org/show/18066/312 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933162 | 171 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The farmer anxiety was palpable inside the City Limits Convention Center in Colby, Kan., where 15,500 acres was up for auction. The farmland—suitable for corn, wheat, milo, soybeans and sunflowers — was offered as a multiparcel auction of 50 individual tracts that could be combined to produce the highest aggregate bid.
Once the bidding started, it quickly ratcheted up to combinations of units totaling more than $15 million. The land eventually sold to an investment group from Connecticut for more than $20 million, or $1,356 per acre, making it one of the largest amounts of crop acres ever auctioned at one time.
Local grain producer Lon Frahm got a bid in the combinations before quickly being shut out.
"I’m used to being the big guy, and now I’m being pushed around by the bigger guys," says Frahm, who farms 20,000 acres. He says the land market is simply crazy right now. "We’ve had dryland sell for $2,200 at auction that would have gone for only $800 an acre five years ago. It’s unbelievable," he says.
Linda Niebur with real estate broker Mason & Morse Ranch Co. in nearby Burlington, Colo., says
demand is excellent for quality farmland. Her company sells land to a lot of outside investors and
people taking their money out of the stock market because they’re looking for safer investments.
Extreme Prices Hit Corn Belt. In the Corn Belt, strong crop returns, low interest rates and a growing expectation that both might continue is setting the farmland market on fire, says Mike
Boehlje, Purdue University ag economist. He’s recently seen prices for Indiana farmland exceed $10,000 an acre in some extreme cases.
Between 2000 and 2010, the average price per acre of mediocre Indiana farmland—land capable of
producing an average corn yield of 155 bu.—rose from about $2,300 to slightly more than $4,400 this past June, Boehlje says. "Many of the land sales in the Midwest are to farmers, rather than outside investors, so it’s farmers bidding against farmers," he says.
- February 2011 | <urn:uuid:56c61c6a-7bc4-48d2-b254-90094c35edc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/article/red_hot_land/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950621 | 464 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Re: Words to Weiss Vaccination Column
Here’s something I’ve never been able to understand:
If vaccines work so well, then why are parents of vaccinated children scared of having their kids exposed to a child who hasn’t been vaccinated?
Their child should be protected by the shots they received, right?
I agree with W. Weiss on three points.
1) You DO have a choice whether or not to immunize your child before s/he attends public school in the State of Texas.
It is the school’s job to try to get students vaccinated, and it is your job to decide what is best for your child.
2) The paperwork for exemption is a real pain.
The Texas Department of Health puts up every obstacle possible to keep you from exercising your legal right NOT to vaccinate, even to the point of saying “You will have to come back to Austin another day to turn in your form, because the person who takes care of that is out of the office.” (yes, this actually happened.)
3) It’s important to do your research.
The column provided locations for free immunizations, but what about these statistics?
a) We have had mandatory vaccinations for several generations now (the philosophical exemption was added around 15 years ago, I believe).
Yet we are seeing younger and younger babies coming down with Measles - the Measles for which they received immunizations as infants, by the way.
b) Autism has become an epidemic.
The pharmaceutical companies say this isn’t connected to vaccine use, but somehow they felt they needed legal protection from families who had children harmed by vaccines.
They managed to get total protection from lawsuits and from making restitution payments for “injury or death” caused by their vaccines.
This is in the so-called “Patriot Act.”
Instead, there is a tax-supported fund for vaccination injury.
It is very difficult to get a settlement, yet over a billion (that’s “billion” with a “B”) dollars has been awarded so far.
[Like the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, many of our laws are written so that corporations get the profit, and taxpayers mop up the losses.]
c) The new HPV vaccine is already causing paralysis, miscarriage, and even several deaths.
Thankfully, Gov. Perry has rescinded his decree that the HPV shot be mandatory for all teenaged girls.
I don’t want to see people getting HPV either, but using a condom appears to be a more effective and much safer way of avoiding this virus.
Should you choose to vaccinate, I will help pay for it with my tax money.
But if you don’t want to inject your child with solutions containing blood products, pus, mercury, and assorted viruses, I can point you to some helpful information.
All you have to do is ask.
Real Foods Market | <urn:uuid:d4570925-0096-4ece-bca8-cf37dbb9cd9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blanconews.com/news/5683/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96211 | 622 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Not Just Financial Reform: Dodd-Frank's Executive Compensation and Governance Requirements for All Public Companies
July 21, 2010
Today, July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"). The Dodd-Frank Act's scope goes far beyond financial industry regulation and will affect executive compensation and corporate governance at all U.S. public companies, starting with say on pay votes mandated for annual meetings held after January 21, 2011. The attached memorandum summarizes the executive compensation and corporate governance provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act -- what's required, what's not clear and what companies should start to consider now. | <urn:uuid:a602ea00-4528-4068-808e-cb9393cc31e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cgsh.com/fr/news/newsdetail.aspx?news=a1d1e9da-9375-4938-9863-e1b261c9a2ea | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948027 | 139 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Public Papers - 1989
Remarks Following Discussions With Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan
The President. Well, it was a special pleasure for Barbara and me to welcome Prime Minister Bhutto to the White House this morning. In fact, our relationship goes back to 1971, when she attended Harvard and came with her dad to the United Nations. And I have often remarked that her father's 1971 appeal was literally one of the most moving speeches that I ever heard at the United Nations. And more recently, we met in Tokyo last February, where I believe that we were the most newly elected heads of government.
Pakistan and the United States have enjoyed a long history of good relations -- friends since the time that Pakistan became an independent nation. And I welcome this opportunity to reaffirm those ties and to reassure the Prime Minister of our continued commitment to assist in Pakistan's security and its economic and cultural development.
The Prime Minister knows our country well, and she has many friends here. And on behalf of the American people, I congratulated her on Pakistan's historic return to democracy last year, a development of which the people of Pakistan can be truly proud. We discussed how important it is for all elements of Pakistan society to ensure that democracy isn't just an abstract concept, but that it works.
And the Prime Minister and I reviewed the situation in Afghanistan. For the last decade, the U.S. and Pakistan cooperated in supporting the Afghan resistance in its fight against foreign occupation. And Pakistan deserves great credit and admiration for its extraordinary, extraordinary humanitarian efforts in support of the millions of Afghan refugees during this period. The effectiveness of our mutual policy was proven last February, when the last Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan. And we agreed, however, that the job is not done. The Mujahidin continues, and their struggle for self-determination goes on, a goal that both the United States and Pakistan continue to support. Prime Minister Bhutto and I discussed ways to encourage a political solution in Afghanistan that will lead to a nonaligned, representative government, willing to live in peace with its neighbors, to replace the illegitimate regime in Kabul. The United States and Pakistan will continue to explore any serious avenue towards this end.
The Prime Minister and I also reviewed our efforts to enhance stability in south Asia, an important objective of both governments. And I expressed our strong support for Pakistan's efforts, and India's as well, to improve relations, and stressed the critical importance of avoiding a regional nuclear arms race in the subcontinent. And she assured me that Pakistan's nuclear program is committed to peaceful purposes. I underlined my administration's commitment to discourage proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons, ballistic missiles, in the south Asia region and around the world.
We also shared our concern about the scourge of drug production and trafficking. Not much detail yet on that, but we're going to go into that one in much more detail later on. It's a matter of grave concern to the United States. I applauded her tough stance on eradicating the opium cultivation and expressed our appreciation for the extradition of alleged drug trafficker Saleem. To effectively combat this menace, we've got to undertake a vigorous enforcement campaign, offering U.S. assistance wherever possible.
And let me say that, as far as I'm concerned, these discussions have been productive. And let me note, too, that that ceremony outside today, the first since I've been President, was a wonderful way to welcome the Prime Minister. And we just walked by the Rose Garden, which also is a lovely setting, and as the Prime Minister has observed, roses have a very special meaning in her life. And when she was younger, her father would bring back roses every time he traveled abroad, and in time, her family's gardens became filled with varieties of color. And during her own detention, she struggled bravely to keep the gardens alive, for as she has written, ``I could not bear to watch the flowers wither, especially my father's roses.''
And so, Madam Prime Minister, you've described your time among the roses and the cool shade of the gardens as ``the happiest hours of my life.'' And now, as a gesture of friendship between our people and to continue your father's tradition, it is my privilege to present you with this American rosebush. May it -- and you -- prosper in the years to come. And welcome again.
The Prime Minister. I'm very grateful to President Bush for the kind invitation to pay an official visit to the United States, and I'd like to thank the President for his consideration in giving me one of the rosebushes from the White House. It shall always remind me of this very useful, productive, and helpful visit -- supportive visit -- of mine to the United States.
My presence here underlies the great importance that Pakistan attaches to our relations with your country. This is not only because geopolitical realities require a close relationship but, more importantly, because of the ideals and the objectives that we share. As you know, this is not my first visit to Washington or, indeed, to the United States. I have pleasant memories of my student days at Radcliffe, past visits to Washington, one of the great citadels of democracy. But it is a special privilege and honor to be here as the democratically elected leader of a country which has traditionally enjoyed close, friendly ties with your country.
Over the last 10 years, Pakistan has been in the forefront of two great struggles. We have actively supported the cause of the Afghan people and their brave fight against foreign military intervention, and at the same time, at home in Pakistan, we've struggled against military dictatorship to establish a system based upon democratic values and the respect for human rights. In both these epic struggles, we received from the United States unwavering support, and material as well as moral encouragement. It has, therefore, been a special pleasure and privilege to come to Washington and to thank President Bush and the Government and the people of the United States for their friendship and their generosity.
The President and I have had wide-ranging discussions on a number of issues, and I am convinced that this exchange will be of immense benefit to the bilateral relations that exist between us and also to the cause of world peace. President Bush has just returned to Washington from a spectacularly successful visit to Europe, and where he has launched a series of initiatives which could open an entirely new era in international relations, with the exciting prospect of a genuine and durable peace. Pakistan, which is situated in one of the more sensitive geopolitical regions of the world, will contribute towards these objectives and efforts.
While the withdrawal of Soviet forces has brought a welcome change in Afghanistan, the continued fighting and prolonged presence of over 3/2\ million Afghan refugees pose serious threats to the peace and stability of the region. The President and I have reviewed the situation in the light of the prevailing circumstances, and we are in complete accord, both in terms of our analyses as well as the future policies that need to be evolved. Pakistan remains committed to a political solution of the Afghan problem, whereby the brave people of Afghanistan will have the right to freely choose their own government without interference from outside. Pakistan's commitment to peace and democracy are fundamental.
In thanking President Bush for the valuable support that the United States has rendered to us in the pursuit of these objectives, I have assured him of our continuing efforts towards maintaining peace in the south Asian region and of our determination to strengthen the process of nuclear nonproliferation by seeking accords, both bilateral and international, within the regional context.
The President and I discussed measures to increase our cooperation in the fight against drugs. We have already achieved some success in this direction in Pakistan, but much remains to be done.
In conclusion, I would once more wish to thank President Bush for the generous hospitality, for the warmth and the friendship with which we have been received. I go home greatly encouraged by our constructive and fruitful discussions. I look forward to the opportunity of reciprocating in Pakistan some of the warmth, kindness, and hospitality that my husband and I have been privileged to receive from the President and Mrs. Bush in Washington. Thank you very much.
Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. in the East Room of the White House. | <urn:uuid:22481f1b-4d92-4553-b04f-1164741009df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=506&year=1989&month=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9683 | 1,692 | 1.65625 | 2 |
(The following is my column for this week's Newton County News.)
A uniter not a divider.
That was the slogan George W. Bush used in his first campaign for president and that was how current Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck was described when he first strolled onto the campus.
The phrase did not turn out to be accurate for either man, though it comes closer in the case of Speck. Speck is succeeding in doing something that has never happened in the seven decades Missouri Southern has existed, going back to its days as Missouri Southern State College and Joplin Junior College.
For the first time, the MSSU faculty is united…in opposition to Speck. Furtive attempts to unionize the faculty have occurred from time to time during the quarter of a century that Dr. Julio Leon was in charge of the campus, but nothing ever came of it.
This Friday, observers may finally get a chance to see just how deep the opposition to the polarizing Speck is. An afternoon meeting has been scheduled to organize a chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
What has happened to create this kind of atmosphere at MSSU?
Since Speck’s arrival, the university has been permeated with an atmosphere of fear as programs have been cut without notification, and seemingly without rhyme or reason, at a time when the country is having deep economic difficulties, but when the university itself appears to be in reasonably good shape.
In addition to the programs that have been eliminated, Speck, apparently at the behest of Board of Governors President Dwight Douglas, of Neosho, has taken substantial steps toward dismantling the university's international program.
It appears the MSSU Board of Governors either did not look carefully at Speck’s recent background, or they did look carefully, and decided that he was precisely the person it wanted to lead the university.
On April 14, a lawsuit in which Speck was initially a defendant came to a close when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Speck’s former employer, Austin Peay University in Tennessee, did not discriminate against four African American professors. Though the court ruled there was not enough evidence to prove discrimination, the decision noted that the only evidence of racism that had been offered was a quote allegedly made by Speck. I wrote about the lawsuit in late December on my blog, The Turner Report.
“The lawsuit said that Speck, who served as vice president of academic affairs at the university, insulted two of the plaintiffs, Jacqueline Wade, director of the university's African American Cultural Center (AACC) and Nancy Dawson by saying ‘he 'was tired of your arm-twisting and resistance to my decisions.'
“He also made clear that he would not tolerate Dr. Wade’s and Dr. Dawson’s 'pushiness' and 'uppityness.' Dr. Wade was offended by the latter comment as 'covert racial denigration.' "
Though the situations at Austin Peay and Missouri Southern are not the same, both involve a “my way or the highway” attitude that has created friction at the faculty level.
Of course, one of Speck’s major attributes, which was cited by Southern officials when he was hired, is his skill as a fundraiser, a man who could bring in the money to help the university navigate the troubled economic waters.
Apparently that, too, was not quite accurate. This week, the university placed an ad for a new official, who will draw a six-figure salary. This man or woman will be the vice president for university development and executive director of the University Foundation.
Speck’s talent at fundraising must be the ability to hire someone at great expense who actually has a talent for fundraising. | <urn:uuid:2d2e4a6d-267a-4511-a5ae-701a491b8278> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2009/05/trouble-at-missouri-southern-state.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97967 | 785 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Chilean police say they have busted a ring of thieves who swiped ice from a remote Patagonian glacier to sell to trendy restaurants
Finally, a case where environmentalists and climate change skeptics can agree that human activity is to blame for retreating glaciers. Chilean authorities have charged a man with transporting 11,453 pounds of ice stolen from a glacier in the country’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park.
Why would people want ice from a glacier? Apparently, glacier ice in drinks is considered a luxury. A guide to this chilling caper:
View slideshow at The Week.
Photo: CC by EmmaJG
All the top stories from The Week. | <urn:uuid:71a83c03-f4a5-415e-b184-3421cc28828d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://holykaw.alltop.com/the-man-who-stole-a-glacier-to-make-cocktails | 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 | 0.93856 | 138 | 1.796875 | 2 |
To provide educational opportunities for disadvantaged children and families in deprived communities in Kenya.
Communities and children in need looking forward to their future with hope and open hearts and minds.
Open Hearts and Minds Foundation (OHAMF) is a non-profit organization working with local people in deprived communities in Kenya.
In 2010 we opened a school in Kokoth Kateng, Kenya (near Lake Victoria) to provide children in need with an education and a nourishing meal. We also started training single Kenyan mothers in sewing skills to enable them to provide for their families. Our aim is to help ease the struggle and break the cycle of poverty in these communities…
Click on the tabs above to find out more about OHAMF and how you can help. | <urn:uuid:5b6e5340-98ae-40bf-99a4-dcbf9be76e4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ohamf.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951356 | 153 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Bulgaria ejects Hamas lawmakers, citing national security threat
by Emily Alpert
The Los Angeles Times
February 15, 2013
Bulgarian officials ejected Hamas lawmakers from the country on Friday, saying they had reason to believe that the group of Palestinians threatened their nation's security.
The Bulgarian State Agency for National Security said four Palestinians had entered the country Wednesday on a private invitation. While they were in Bulgaria, "information was received giving reason to believe that their presence poses a serious threat to national security," the agency said in a statement Friday.
Bulgarian officials added that the four were expelled as a "preventive" measure under Bulgarian law, not a sanction. The delegation included three lawmakers from Hamas, who were reportedly invited to Bulgaria for a conference.
"Due to the strong pressure by Bulgarian authorities, the three lawmakers decided to leave in order to spare the country an escalating of tensions," the Associated Press quoted Mohd Abuasi of the Bulgarian Center for Middle East Studies, which said it invited the politicians.
It was not immediately clear who the fourth Palestinian expelled from Bulgaria was. Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said the four people were expelled because of their membership in Hamas, though they were not on any list of people banned from entering the European Union, the Novinite news agency reported.
Hamas officials in Gaza condemned the decision and called for a formal apology. The move "reflects the scale of compliance with Zionist pressures," government spokesman Taher Nunu told the Ma'an News Agency.
Hamas, which holds power in the Gaza Strip, is classified as a terrorist group by the European Union and has lobbied to get off the list. The Bulgaria trip was heralded by another Hamas official as a sign the group would soon lose the label, Ma'an reported, but Bulgarian officials hastened to spell out that the government had not invited Hamas and stressed the point again Friday.
This is the second time this month that Bulgaria has been drawn into Middle East politics: The ejection comes a week and a half after Bulgarian investigators said the Lebanese group Hezbollah was involved in a July bombing in Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver. Bulgaria has been a popular vacation destination for Israelis.
The Lebanese group has denied any role in the July attack. Hezbollah, unlike Hamas, is not labeled as a terror group by the EU; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he hoped the Europeans would realize "the true nature of the Hezbollah."
Related Topics: Europe, Hamas
receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free jewish policy center mailing list | <urn:uuid:371990e2-0806-48f5-8abf-bcaaabcd4a07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/3956/bulgaria-ejects-hamas-lawmakers-citing-national-security-threat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96858 | 564 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Molloy College's to upgrade four village athletic fields, fit them with synthetic turf and build an additional one has been scaled down due to unexpected, additional construction costs, officials said.
The proposed NCAA baseball and hockey fields outlined in the project for Centennial Park were taken out of the plan because engineers found structural deficiencies in the ground underneath the park, officials said.
“The subsurface soil is structurally unable to support new synthetic turf fields and the associated drainage system,” said John Cameron of Cameron Engineering, the village’s engineers on the project who performed the subsurface evaluation.
Test borings of the area, some as deep as 35 feet, revealed “a high variability of materials buried beneath the surface,” according to the engineering report, “confirming the fact that the site had historically been filled for many years with rubble, wood, concrete and silty soils over an underlying bog layer.”
Without significant soil replacement and extensive structural improvements that would cost millions of dollars more than a typical installation, the fields would not remain flat and level, Cameron said.
“After the engineering report, Molloy told us they couldn’t justify the expense of the Centennial Park portion of the project,” Mayor Fran Murray said.
Cameron told village officials that the fields are acceptable for natural turf. “If and when any uneven settlement takes place, the costs of repairs are much less than for a synthetic turf installation," he said. "Regular play can be conducted on the natural turf fields as normal."
Under the terms of the revised agreement with Molloy, the college will provide a fixed fee of $1.6 million for the construction and use of an NCAA-regulation, synthetic turf women’s softball field at the Skelos Sports Complex on Peninsula Boulevard. The new field and an associated tee-ball field will be available to local sports organizations.
At the Sept. 4 Board of Trustees meeting, the mayor added that bids for the Klein Field improvements at the Skelos Sports Complex had come in lower than expected, leaving some funds available to improve fields at Centennial Park.
Mayor Murray said that he and the Board of Trustees would meet with local sports organizations before deciding how to proceed with those improvements. | <urn:uuid:fd86b11c-0d52-4570-959e-6ddecbe6d84e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rockvillecentre.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/centennial-park-nixed-from-molloy-fields-upgrade-project | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953746 | 473 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Lovely little Dry Run Creek flowing from Norfork National Fish Hatchery is a catch-and-release stream where only youths under age 16 and mobility-impaired anglers may fish, and where trout must be released immediately after they are caught. Only artificial lures with a single, barbless hooking point can be used. In December 2005, “this little stream that could” gave up a rainbow trout that may have been bigger than the Arkansas state record. An 11-year-old angler from Kansas caught the trout, which was estimated at “somewhere near 25 pounds.” There was no way to officially measure the fish on certified scales since it had to be released immediately back into the water. The trout was caught on a white crystal bugger fly. | <urn:uuid:b3d95a27-1bc3-43f7-a44f-5895a54d1ddb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.arkansas.com/places-to-go/lakes-rivers/river.aspx?id=46&mobileRedirect=no | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981796 | 162 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Basser Seminar Series
Database Sampling and Applications
Speaker: Associate Professor Gautam Das
Science and Engineering Department, The University of Texas, USA
Time: Thursday 21 August 2008, 4-5pm **Note different day
Location: The University of Sydney, School of IT Building, Lecture Theatre (Room 123), Level 1
In recent years, advances in data collection technologies and increasingly affordable secondary storage have led to a proliferation of very large databases. These arise in diverse applications, ranging from commercial data warehouses such as sales data of large retailers, scientific databases such as satellite imagery data and biological genome databases, data collected from sensor networks, user click-thru data collected at large websites, and other domains. However, while the collection of massive data sets has become relatively straightforward, effective data analysis has proven more difficult to achieve, primarily because query processing is prohibitively expensive over such large databases. Recent efforts to overcome these problems include sampling-based approaches, in which a small sample of the data is acquired for further analysis, at the cost of small inaccuracies in the answers. The seminar will touch upon emerging research directions of database sampling, such as sampling for aggregation queries, sampling over disk-based systems, sampling over data streams, sensor networks, distributed P2P systems, as well as query processing over imprecise data. This tutorial will serve to educate database researchers in important data modeling, statistical, and approximation techniques that are expected to find increasing applications in database/data mining research and applications.
Gautam Das is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department of the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to UTA, Dr Das has held positions at Microsoft Research, Compaq Corporation and the University of Memphis. He graduated with a BTech in computer science from IIT Kanpur, India, and with a PhD in computer science from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Dr. Das's research interests span data mining, information retrieval, databases, approximate query processing, applied graph and network algorithms, and computational geometry. His research has resulted in over 75 papers, many of which have appeared in premier conferences and journals such as SIGMOD, VLDB, ICDE, KDD, TODS, and TKDE. Dr. Das has served as the Program Chair of CIT 2004, as well as in program committees of premier conferences such as SIGMOD, PODS, ICDE, KDD, and ICML. His research has been supported by grants from NSF, ONR, Cadence, Apollo, and Microsoft. | <urn:uuid:dc5bffb7-02cc-45df-819b-d5d85f375bba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sydney.edu.au/engineering/it/research/news/das.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933694 | 523 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Send us news by text, start your message Knutsford News and your send photos and videos to 80360
Thumbs-up at Goostrey
3:00pm Wednesday 3rd October 2012 in News
GOOSTREY School has been successfully re-assessed for the Inclusion Quality Mark (IQM), and has received a glowing assessment in the process.
In a detailed report, the IQM assessor said that Goostrey School demonstrates a very inclusive ethos which is embedded throughout the school community, and has a caring nurturing atmosphere while sustaining a drive towards every child achieving their academic potential.
The IQM, which is a standard for assessing schools against a nationally-recognised framework on inclusion, is something schools must apply for every three years. Goostrey first achieved the standard in 2006.
The report also singles out the head teacher Lyndsey Atkins for praise, saying she is highly regarded throughout the school community and is fully committed to furthering a fully-accountable nurturing educational experience for all pupils.
Lyndsey Atkins said: “At Goostrey School we set ourselves some very high standards, so it is always very re-assuring when an independent assessor reports that our expectations and aspirations are high for all pupils and behaviour is excellent.
“This has only been achieved by a great team effort, and I would like to thank all staff, governors, parents and pupils for making Goostrey School a very special place.” | <urn:uuid:b0f8b54e-cb89-4ed2-9ade-920ab9689724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/news/9962264.Thumbs_up_at_Goostrey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968231 | 304 | 1.601563 | 2 |
As a lecturer at the Politecnico di Milano in the 1980s, Achille Castiglioni would implore his students to "Start from scratch. Stick to common sense. Know your goals and means." He clearly took his own advice when he, with his elder brother Pier Giacomo, designed the dramatic Arco Floor Lamp (1962). Inspired by a streetlight, the Arco cleverly provides overhead lighting without requiring ceiling suspension, its polished shade extending eight feet to accommodate a dining table or sofa beneath the light source. Aware that the 78-pound lamp would be difficult to move, the designers smartly placed a hole in the base to accommodate a broom handle. They also gave the Arco an adjustable arc and swiveling shade for precise lighting control. As groovy as it is elegant, the lamp's iconic status was sealed when it appeared on screen alongside Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever and in The Italian Job (apropos). The Arco is included in the permanent collection at MoMA. Bulb (included): incandescent 100W/120V/A21SB. Made in Italy.
Due to the size, weight and packaging of this item, we strongly recommend our White Glove delivery service. Please review our shipping options. During checkout you will select the option that best fits your needs. View delivery options.
Achille Castiglioni Milan (1918-2002)
"Start from scratch. Stick to common sense." Achille Castiglioni's designs are often inspired by everyday things and make use of ordinary materials like extruded aluminum and stainless steel. The genius of Castiglioni's inventive imagination is in his ability to use the minimal amount of materials while creating forms with a maximum effect.
Along with other postwar designers like Marco Zanuso and Ettore Sottsass, Castiglioni is a product of the artisan tradition of fine craftsmanship and a familial passion for sensual, expressive forms. With his brothers, designers Livio and Pier Giacomo, Achille helped establish the Milan Trienniale, the Compasso d'Oro awards and the ADI... Read more > | <urn:uuid:7e2f896a-c2f8-4822-ae00-8ef0d6710e85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dwr.com/product/arco-floor-lamp-white-base.do?sortby=priceDescend | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932305 | 448 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Skechers Go Walk - Great Shoe for People With Arthritis
Skechers Go Walk shoes are extremely comfortable. People with arthritis should read my review.
Review of Orthaheel Shoes
Orthaheel shoes are healthy for your feet. With built-in orthotics that correct pronation, you might think there is no chance they would be fashionable. But, you would be wrong.
Velcro Shoes for Men
People with arthritis look for shoes that are easy to put on and take off. There are velcro shoes designed for men as well as women.
Toning Shoes - A Good Fit for People With Arthritis?
Toning shoes are the rage in footwear but they may not be an appropriate choice for people with arthritis.
Velcro Shoes for Women
Velcro shoes are easy to put on and take off. That's important for people who have physical limitations that make it hard to bend or reach their feet. Velcro shoes are no longer just ugly orthopedic shoes.
Fashion and Arthritis
Arthritis can change a lot about you, including your fashion sense and personal style.
Comfortable Shoes for People With Arthritis
When joints hurt in your lower extremities, comfortable shoes can be soothing. Have you found comfortable shoes that ease foot pain from arthritis? See submissions
What Is an Arthritis Bra?
Women with arthritis may have difficulty putting on a bra. There are arthritis bras designed to make it easier.
Arthritis Gloves Reduce Hand Pain and Swelling
Arthritis gloves have been designed to warm the hands and decrease swelling and stiffness through mild compression. Arthritis gloves can be worn all day and all night.
Dressing Aids for Arthritis Patients
Dressing aids are useful tools that help compensate for limited range of motion. It can be difficult to bend and reach to put on shirts, pants, socks, and shoes when you have joint pain caused by arthritis. Dressing aids include dressing sticks, sock aids, hip kits and more. Here are some for you to consider. You will likely wonder how you...
What Is a Sock Aid?
Joint pain and limited range of motion can make it very difficult if not impossible to put socks on. But there are assistive devices, like a sock aid, that can help. What is a sock aid? Where can you get a sock aid? | <urn:uuid:fff2ebad-94fb-419d-a4c1-a3f874e17f48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthritisclothing/Arthritis_Clothing.htm | 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 | 0.938035 | 485 | 1.625 | 2 |
Though the bulk of my children’s book illustrations are painted in acrylics, I decided to do something completely different for my most recent book, Soup Day (to be published Sept. 2010 by Henry Holt).
I felt like I was in a rut, just going through the motions with painting, and I wanted to do something that would shake me out of it – to work outside of my comfort zone. So I started making collages.
My inspiration came on Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago while we were visiting California. I was in a hotel room with my son, and I realized we hadn’t bought any Valentine’s Day cards for the next day. I decided to make some with him, but I didn’t have any paint or crayons on hand – just scissors and (oddly enough) a glue stick. So armed with our tools, we made cards using paper and the pages of some magazines. This is one Jamie made that day:
When we got back home I began collecting interesting papers and fabrics. New York Central Art Supply has the best selection of quality papers from all over the world at reasonable prices. I also photographed random textures in the neighborhood (tree trunks, bricks, sidewalks, manholes, etc.) and printed them on card stock. I painted color swatches, using different kinds of paints. I cut everything out and made collages for the illustrations in Soup Day. Here is an example:
There’s something so exciting and freeing about collage making because so much of the process is unexpected and surprising — in a good way.
Nowadays, my son still loves to create collages, and he’ll often spontaneously do them on his own. Recently he’s been cutting out words in magazines and making custom signs. I was thrilled that he was expressing himself so creatively, and he was thrilled that he could take the “F” from “FILM” and add it to the word “ART” to make… (see below):
Another fun idea he came up with is using the brightly colored foil from seasonal candy wrappers. I think he made this soon after Easter 2009:
Last week, I had a class visit at P.S. 142 in the Lower East Side. I’ve been volunteering there for several years via Learning Leaders: Authors Read Aloud, a great non-profit NYC organization.
I read Soup Day to the 1st graders and did a collage craft with them. As always, they wowed me with their creativity and enthusiasm. They are illustrating books about themselves which we will hand bind during my next visit. Here are some of their beautiful creations:
To make your own collage, you’ll need:
- Plain Paper
- Various colored papers, origami paper, newspaper, magazines, etc.
- Crayons, markers, any kind of media for drawing or painting
Other things you might have lying around:
- Cotton balls
- Dried pasta
- Used stamps
- Tissue paper
- Whatever you can think of that can be glued!
Cut shapes out of the colored papers and glue on a plain piece of paper to make a design or illustration.
Some helpful hints:
1. If it is difficult to cut out a shape by eye, first try drawing the shape in pencil on the paper you are cutting, and then cut out the drawn shape.
2. If you are looking for a specific color or texture and you can’t find it among your samples, make your own: Color a piece of paper using media of your choice and cut a shape out of that. For example,
3. If you want a large swatch of color to use in your collage, and you can’t find the right size, you can make a big swatch by pasting a bunch of cut pieces of that color on a separate piece of paper. Let dry and then cut a shape out of that piece. For example,
4. Have fun and experiment! | <urn:uuid:93e6c453-d4ce-441b-872c-61ae6c10212c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehungryartist.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/collage-crafts-for-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964935 | 840 | 1.695313 | 2 |
By EMILY ESFAHANI SMITH — In the Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2013. There, the article is titled FIND A MAN TODAY, GRADUATE TOMORROW.
In 2008, when I was a college junior, I went home to New Jersey one weekend to visit my family—and almost immediately regretted it. My mother seemed more interested in my romantic life than my academic life: “Have you found a boyfriend yet?”
I rolled my eyes and said no. With a healthy dose of young-adult arrogance, I explained that I was too busy studying, working on the college review, and helping out at my sorority. No time for men. My mother nodded, acknowledging that there was a lot going on.
Then she said calmly but forcefully: “You’re in college. You’re at Dartmouth. There will never be a better time to meet someone. I’m sure there are many interesting boys around. If you don’t find one before you graduate, you might not find one at all—so start looking.”
Best of the Web Today columnist James Taranto on why Princeton alumna Susan Patton was right to suggest that smart women should try to seek out husbands in college.
Fast forward to today. A woman named Susan Patton is being pilloried online and elsewhere for giving young women the same advice that my mother gave to me. Late last week, she wrote a letter to the Daily Princetonian newspaper advising the school’s female students: “You will never again have this concentration of men who are worthy of you. . . . Find a husband on campus before you graduate.”
Feminist attacks on Ms. Patton began immediately—the paper’s website was swamped with complaints, the Twitter crowd was livid, and writers lit into her at Slate, New York magazine and beyond.
To call Ms. Patton anti-feminist is misguided at best. She was the first woman in her family to attend college. In fact, she was in one of the first classes of women to graduate from Princeton after the school went coed in 1969, and she had to fight her parents to go. Her parents, who were Holocaust survivors, thought a woman’s place was in the home. Ms. Patton has spent the years since her 1977 graduation carving out a successful career in corporate America.
My mother, too, has blazed her own trails as a woman. Born in Iran to a middle-class family, she worked so hard in high school that she was one of only a handful of women admitted to the country’s most prestigious engineering university. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which drastically changed Iranian life, especially for women, she packed her bags and headed west—first to the United States, then to Canada, where one of her early jobs was flipping burgers.
She eventually started working as a chemical engineer and has, like Ms. Patton, enjoyed a successful career. My mom benefited enormously from the freedom and opportunities that feminism gave her—opportunities she would have been denied in Iran.
So have I. For my entire life, my parents have pushed me to work hard and be independent, to be capable of supporting myself emotionally and financially.
That is precisely why my mother’s advice five years ago stopped me in my tracks. If she, a strong, career-oriented feminist—who, with my dad, sacrificed a great deal for me to go to college—was telling me to pay more attention to my romantic life, then what did she know that I didn’t?
A lot. She knew what few, if any, feminists would tell young women today: There is far more to happiness than career success.
Before Susan Patton wrote the letter that went viral, she had attended a Princeton conference about women and leadership. In one of the conference sessions, Ms. Patton and her best friend since freshman year of college met with undergraduate women ostensibly to talk about their careers. As she explained in the letter, though, the undergrads were less interested in discussing jobs than relationships and other personal matters.
Ms. Patton wrote that one of the young women asked how she and her friend had sustained a friendship for 40 years: “You asked if we were ever jealous of each other. You asked about the value of our friendship, about our husbands and children. Clearly, you don’t want any more career advice. . . . You know that there are other things that you need that nobody is addressing. A lifelong friend is one of them. Finding the right man to marry is another.”
In a boardroom somewhere, Sheryl “Lean In” Sandberg’s heart is sinking.
Career success and relationships are both undoubtedly important to women’s happiness, but many young and ambitious women value their personal lives more than their career aspirations. And that feeling intensifies over time.
In a 2009 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, David Lubinski and his team at Vanderbilt found that in a sample of academically gifted young adults, women became less career-oriented than men over time. As they approached middle age, women also placed more value than men on spending time with family, community and friends. These differences became more pronounced with parenthood.
My mother’s advice—Susan Patton’s advice—may not be right for every woman, but it was right for me. In the fall of my senior year, I started dating a brilliant man and we’re still together. If I were unattached today, I’m not sure what I would do. The post-college dating scene can be rough: Getting to know someone often means shouting across a noisy bar or scrolling through Internet dating profiles. Finding a partner in college is easier.
Mom was right.
Ms. Smith is an associate editor of The New Criterion and editor of the blog Acculturated. | <urn:uuid:e60dfcb0-8af6-4e39-a568-b31d74b578ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gendinsjournal.com/?cat=291 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980419 | 1,232 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A group of Boulder activists has joined a statewide effort to rein in bank foreclosure shenanigans blamed for the national housing market crash over the past several years.
Corrine Fowler, economic justice campaign director for the Colorado Progressive Coalition, is a leader in the movement to get enough petition signatures to put Initiative 84 up for a vote this fall in Colorado. The measure would require banks to actually prove they hold mortgages before foreclosing on properties, ending a provision of Colorado law that allows banks to foreclose with what initiative proponents say is the mere formality of an attorney’s signed statement — instead of a deed of trust.
The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) in Boulder is one of six signature-gathering hubs for the measure around the state, and they’re looking not just for more people to sign petitions, but to collect enough signatures before the Aug. 6 deadline to get it on the ballot.
“The same standards that apply to regular people should apply to banks,” says Carolyn Bninski of the RMPJC, who, along with Mary Beth Kern, is coordinating the local effort.
There have been scores of horror stories in recent years of illegitimate foreclosures in which banks were unable — or unwilling — to produce proper paperwork for a mortgage, in many cases because the loans had been sold and resold to speculators and other investors in what is called the “secondary market.”
In November 2010, for instance, Boulder Weekly reported that one Colorado resident, Bruce McDonald of Crestone, had filed suit over claims that the bank foreclosing on his property was not actually the holder of the loan because it had been transferred from one bank to another and sold to Freddie Mac.
Similarly, in spring 2011, Jewl Petteway, owner of Sensorielle Spa in Boulder, claimed that JPMorgan Chase not only didn’t hold proper title to her Nederland home, but attempted to foreclose on her property in spite of the fact that she was undergoing a loan modification.
And Fowler shares the story of an upper-middle class family’s house in Colorado Springs that underwent fore closure despite the fact that the family had not missed a payment. It cost the family $40,000 in legal costs to get their home back, and they are the fortunate ones, Fowler notes.
“They were lucky to have the means and resources to go through this,” she says. “But what about the family who doesn’t, who lives paycheck to paycheck?” The scores of cases in which banks didn’t produce necessary paperwork, or were involved in robo-signing and other fraudulent foreclosure practices, have been one of several key issues providing fuel to the Occupy movement in Boulder and nationally. The basic princi-ple is that the bank foreclosing on the loan should demonstrate that it is actually the aggrieved party, the holder of the promissory note or deed of trust.But in 2006, Colorado lawmakers passed legislation that Fowler says was pitched as an administrative “cleanup” to “streamline” the process by allowing a bank attorney to simply attest in writing that the bank has the right to foreclose — instead of requiring proof.
Initiative 84 would close that loophole by prohibiting banks from foreclosing on properties unless they file “competent evidence of its right to enforce a valid security interest” with a public trustee. In other words, the ballot measure would change state law to require banks to present a deed of trust, for example, to the county clerk and recorder before foreclosure proceedings could begin.
Fowler told Boulder Weekly that as much as 80 percent of foreclosures have been found to be fraudulent in some states, and that the shifty paperwork pushing makes it hard to track chains of title.
State Rep. Beth McCann (D-Denver) tried to rectify the situation this spring with HB 1156, which would have reversed the lax 2006 standards, but despite hours of testimony from homeowners who claimed that they had been wronged by banks, her bill died in its first hearing, before the House Economic and Business Development Committee.
So Fowler, joined by homeowners’ rights attorneys Stephen Brunette and Debra Fortenberry of Colorado Springs, launched the campaign to restore “fundamental rights of due process,” she says.
The only opposition to the measure thus far has come from the Colorado Bankers Association, which has claimed that the initiative will create a credit crisis in the state.
Don Childears, president and CEO of that group, told Boulder Weekly that if Initiative 84 passes, its language would severely limit banks’ ability to lend, which would have serious trickle-down effects on the economy, the construction industry, jobs, tax collection and even existing mortgage holders.
“We think it’s unfair to the 98 percent who pay their loans and will have to pay for this new system,” Childears says.
He explains that the secondary market relies on the ability to transfer and sell loans freely, or without assignment — kind of like currency, or leaving the “payment to” line on a check blank. Initiative 84 would require those assignments to be recorded, which precludes such loans from being sold in the secondary market.
Childears also says there has been only one documented court case in recent years of a bank improperly foreclosing on a property in Colorado, which has been seeing 20,000 to 30,000 foreclosures a year of late.
He lays the majority of the blame for the housing market crash at the feet of unethical non-bank lenders, which don’t have to comply with the same standards as banks. Childears says his association blew the whistle on unethical mortgage brokers about a decade ago, and he points out that while non-bank lenders account for about 42 percent of mortgage loans in Colorado, they account for 82 percent of the foreclosures.
He also maintains that Colorado’s current system is superior to those in other states. Colorado is not a “judicial” state, in which foreclosures get bogged down in a court system, lengthening the time a house stays vacant and hurting the market and the economy, Childears says. It is also not a “private trustee” state, he explains, in which the lender designates who holds the deed of trust and handles the foreclosure. In Colorado’s “public trustee” system, a theoretically objective third party, the clerk and recorder, is required by law to protect both the buyer and lender, he says.
The disputed attorney’s certification, according to Childears, is simply a way to attest that the copy (often digital) of the promissory note or deed of trust pro vided to the clerk and recorder is true and accurate.
“There’s not a problem now,” he says, adding that Initiative 84 only adds “duplicative red tape” and “will not stop a single foreclosure.”
His organization plans a campaign to fight the initiative, but first, it has filed a challenge with the state Supreme Court claiming that the measure is ambiguous and would affect both foreclosures and lending, thus violating the state’s single-subject rule for ballot initiatives.
But initiative proponents characterize the Colorado Bankers Association’s allegations as scare tactics.
“Initiative 84 does not create onerous, new, or unique responsibilities for lenders,” Fowler wrote in a prepared statement responding to the CBA’s concerns. “Colorado provides no place in our foreclosure system for a borrower to raise a defense to fraud. As it stands now, individual homeowners must challenge lender misconduct in a separate court case. This can take years, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. In an era where millions of loans are transferred, multiple times, we must make sure that our property records are secure.”
“We do not need the secondary market to have a stable housing market,” Fowler told Boulder Weekly. “And actually, it was the secondary market that caused the crash.”
To get involved with the local proponents, contact Bninski at 303-444-6981, ext. 2, or at [email protected]. More information about the Colorado Bankers Association can be found at www.coloradobankers.org. | <urn:uuid:6110599a-7376-42e7-a15a-7e484089342c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-8858-boulder-joins-fight-against-foreclosure-shams.html | 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 | 0.958541 | 1,741 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A super-hero inspired by Norse mythology leaps from the pages of Marvel Comics onto the big screen in an action adventure directed by Kenneth Branagh. Here's a look at Thor.
THOR: "What realm is this? Alfheim? Nordheim?"
WOMAN: "New Mexico."
THOR: "Oh no, this is Earth, isn't it?"
WOMAN: "Where did he come from?"
The muscular, blond-haired warrior comes from Asgard, a world ruled by his father Odin. In ancient times, the Asgardians were heralded as gods when they visited the lands of the Vikings. In this modern-day adventure, Thor lands on Earth after being cast out by his father.
"You are unworthy of these realms! You are unworthy of your title! You are unworthy! I now take from you your powers. In the name of my father and his father before, I cast you out!"
Without the magical hammer that he wielded, Thor is just another handsome warrior. But to scientist Jane Porter, played by Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, he seems to be much more and she wants to learn all about his home.
Left to right: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in THOR, from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
"Your ancestors called it magic and you call it science. I come from a place where they are one and the same," the superhero tells Porter.
Thor made his comic book debut in 1962. Five decades later, the Marvel Comics hero is a movie star in Kenneth Branagh's film of the same name.
Left to right: Chris Hemsworth (as Thor), Stellan Skarsgård (as Selvig), and director Kenneth Branagh discuss a scene on the set of THOR, from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
"I liked his wild quality. I liked the Viking at the center of it," Branagh says. "That's what I saw in those images in a comic book: that he was volatile. ...One of the things we were trying to achieve in the telling of the story is that he would feel 'in the moment,' that there could be some kind of genuine danger."
Branagh picked a rising young star from Australia to play the Teutonic warrior-god. Chris Hemsworth knew he needed to please Thor's many fans around the world.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in THOR, from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
"I started with the comic books. I didn't read however many thousands there are, 40 or 50 years worth, but I certainly read enough to get a sense of who he was and the world he was from," explains Hemsworth. "Then I read some things about Norse mythology. You fill your head with whatever information and research you have, but on set it was just about making it truthful."
Award-winning British actor Tom Hiddleston co-stars as Thor's mischievous half-brother Loki.
Left to right: Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in THOR, from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
"If you boil this film down to its barest elements, it's about two brothers competing for the love and affection and pride of their father, Odin," he explains.
Kenneth Branagh has described the Thor plot as Shakespearean. But Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins, who plays Odin, says he found inspiration in classic Hollywood movies.
Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in THOR, from Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment.
"We had about a week's readings beforehand; we talked a bit about the good old westerns," recalls Hopkins. "There's a wonderful film called Lawmen, which Ken and I talked about. It starred Burt Lancaster and was a great movie about rival factions: the father, played by Lee J. Cobb, and all these bad sons he's got -- to have that sort of feeling of the autocratic father and the troublesome sons."
"He has disobeyed his king. His fate is in his own hands now."
Branagh says he is not suggesting Thor is on a par with Shakespeare. But he insists the themes are similar and familiar.
"I think the connection, if there is one, is that the stakes are high," explains Brahagh. "So in something like Henry IV or Henry V where the young Prince Hal is a reckless man falling into bad company, could that prince be the king? Is he the right man for the job? That kind of story of a flawed hero who must earn the right to be king is in our piece; but I think what is key is the stakes. There it is Europe and England and power; here it is the universe."
Just as he does in the comic books, Thor will make an appearance in The Avengers, an upcoming action-adventure film that brings together an assortment of Marvel Comics heroes - and villains. | <urn:uuid:4a64e4ab-750b-4b3b-b517-5ae872801b91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/marvel-comics-superhero-thor-hits-big-screen-121495139/164956.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975562 | 1,026 | 1.820313 | 2 |
About Open Access
Skills and knowledge needs among recent Bioscience graduates — how do our courses measure up?
Lookup NU author(s)
Professor Jane Calvert
Brown C, Wiles C, Calvert JE
Bioscience Education Journal
Full text is available for this publication:
Full text file 1
A telephone survey was conducted of 2002 or 2003 graduates (942 in total) from various bioscience degree programmes at 4 universities. A structured and scripted interview determined: title/class of degree; nature of current occupation (unemployed, further degree, job) and if regarded as ‘career related’ post or just ‘filling in’; if current occupation was related to degree; three areas of current occupation for which they had been poorly prepared or well prepared by their course. Of the 457 successful contacts, 66 were not currently in any occupation and 121 were taking a further degree (PhD 39, MSc 31, PGCE 20, Medicine 19, others 12). Of the remainder, 144 regarded themselves as in ‘career’ posts while 123 were ‘filling in’. Areas of their current occupation for which their degree course had not prepared them adequately included: practical work (90); careers guidance (42); specialist knowledge (24) and advanced IT applications (21). Areas of their occupation for which they felt they had been well prepared by their course included: the required knowledge base (121); communication skills especially presentations (83); basic IT needs (54); confidence and time- /self- management (43) and relating to people (41). These data are discussed in relationship to recent and current trends in course provision within Higher Education (HE).
Higher Education Academy
Newcastle University Library, NE2 4HQ, United Kingdom. Tel: 0044 (191) 222 7657
©2011 Newcastle University Library | <urn:uuid:26096a94-c8f5-4992-a266-49be33b31e34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/pub_details2.aspx?pub_id=56693 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935861 | 386 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Well, like you pointed out, you can already do C++ in Gnome in the form of GTKmm bindings.
While C++ is not a 'official' language for Gnome it does end up getting used in a lot of Gnome-related stuff. Abiword, I am told, does C++ and is part of Gnome Office.
The 'official', or maybe better called 'Tier 1', languages for Gnome right now, as in the stuff that Gnome ships with by default, are going to be C, Python, and C#. Then there is a Gnome-specific language being created called Vala.
Of course bindings for other languages are avialable, like Java or Ruby.
The advantage to maintaining the low-level stuff in Gnome as C is that, well, C is can be made to be very fast and thus work is on the low level in terms of optimization and memory usage will extend greatly and affect all Gnome applications (so it is time well spent compared to the typical time spent on full sized C-only applications). Maybe more importantly, it is (relatively) easy to use C to create bindings for most other popular languages. It is still possible to do it for C++, but I think (in my very limited experience) that it is not nearly as nice especially during the compalation process. The third possible benefit to sticking with C is that your dealing with a mature code base with lots of years worth of bug chasing and optimizations.
Feel free to disagree, of course. It's not like I am a expert on the subject. This is all just a impression I get. | <urn:uuid:77ffb6da-83cd-43c1-b3d3-057ea1d5e42d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lwn.net/Articles/326941/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965506 | 341 | 1.765625 | 2 |
If you have a story call our newsdesk on 01722 426511 or email us. To advertise call 01722 426500.
Girl, 10, rescued from flooded car
12:35pm Wednesday 30th January 2013 in News
A YOUNG girl was rescued by a fire fighter from Burley after the car in which she was travelling got stuck on a flooded road near Sopley on Sunday.
Firefighter Tim Hisock came to the rescue of 10-year-old Kira Deadman and her mother Amanda, who were on their way to a football event at Matchams near Ringwood.
Mrs Deadman and Kira needed help from the emergency services when water seeped into their Ford Fiesta in Derritt Lane, where a large stretch of the road was submerged in around a foot of water.
Their car became wedged against the side of the road as water began to rush in through the doors.
Although Mrs Deadman was able to get out safely, Mr Hiscock carried Kira back to dry land.
The road was closed following the rescue because of fears it had become too dangerous for cars to attempt pass through.
An onlooker said: “This road has been closed for some time during the terrible wet weather recently, but the water has recently drained away and it was re-opened. However ,with the snow thaw, the water is rising.
“The car was off the road slightly, so it was at a funny angle when it got stuck. The road twists here and, although the water wasn’t terribly deep, it is difficult to see the edges of the road.
“It’s dangerous because you can’t really tell where the verge is, and if a car comes the other way and you pull over it’s very easy to go into a ditch.”
The Met Office has predicted heavy rain will fall across the county throughout the week, possibly leading to more flooding. | <urn:uuid:1ccf11f4-1e08-4371-a2e7-3ed8752f8591> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/10194472.Girl__10__rescued_from_flooded_car/?ref=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987159 | 407 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Christmas Day has come and gone, and I am in good spirits. I received many wonderful gifts from my parents, friends, and members of my extended family. I gave some gifts to them as well before Christmas with some help from my parents. To me, it feels good to give to others around this time, but I have some trouble finding appropriate gifts for them by myself. I usually require help in this area.
The trouble with picking gifts for others is that I am more inclined to think of what I might want rather than what others would like. I write out a list of items including books, DVDs, videogames, and other things that I would like for Christmas every year. It is easy for me to compose this list because I know what my personal interests are. However, since I tend to focus on myself quite a bit, I rarely concern myself with what others might like or want, and I find it difficult to choose gifts for other people because I do not usually remember what their interests are. In this regard, my parents help me each year with finding appropriate gifts for other people in my life.
Besides myself the only other person whose interests I can remember each year is one of my previous speech teachers. I know she likes penguins, so I try to find a penguin-themed gift for her each year. It is fairly easy to find penguin-themed items, but finding one to give to her that is original and distinctive becomes harder to do with each passing year.
Even though my parents and I speak about gift ideas for others, when I actually go out to shop, I still find it difficult to remember their interests and pick out appropriate items. Again, my parents guide me as to the person’s interests. When I give the gifts, I often cannot remember what I picked out for my friends because, again, I am more focused on my own desires than others. When the gifts are opened, however, I then remember the trips where my parents and I worked together to find them. I am always disappointed that I am unable to remember what gifts I got for each person until I actually give them the gifts, and it is not that I do not want to give them a gift or think of them during the holiday season or other occasions, but it is just hard for me to focus in this regard.
Fortunately, there was one gift I gave this year in which I did not run into any of these problems. My father and I got my mother a high-definition television. Due to the circumstances of her life, my mother currently spends a lot of her time watching television. Therefore, my father and I decided to get her an HD TV as well as a special internet streaming player which allows her to access thousands of television shows and movies, much more than we currently have access to through our cable provider. My father picked out the television and streaming player, but I suggested that we get the player at a store other than the one where we first looked for it, and it turned out that my hunch was right because we found the same player for a lower price at the other store. My mother is really enjoying our gift so I am quite pleased that I was able to help purchase this for her.
My mother has made the suggestion that I start keeping a list of people’s interests so that I can shop more independently. I think I will do this. I always do better at carrying though with tasks when information is written down and organized.
Even though I have trouble finding gifts for other people on my own and often need help to do so, I enjoy the experience. It gives me a chance to do a bit of creative thinking as I think about what other people might like and then find items which I think they will like. I hope to become better at this as my life goes on. I want to get to the point that I can choose gifts for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions, without having to rely too much on other people’s help. With a list, I hope shopping for others will go smoother. I will be able to think of appropriate gifts on my own, thus giving me greater independence. | <urn:uuid:ff79e2a3-7282-4c5a-b4bc-69360a0be2e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://autismafter16.com/article/12-30-2011/gift-giving | 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 | 0.985229 | 853 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Want to Have Great Career? Get Better Online Education First
Do you intend to get greater job so you can expect to get greater amount of salary? Well, to be honest, such thing is the desire of all people. Whenever we can get nice income, it means that our lives can be more guaranteed. We can expect that we can have the ability to purchase the things that we want. However, do you know that you need to have nice educational background before you can expect to have such nice career?
Yes, indeed, it is really true. With the great educational background, you can be so outstanding in facing the competition among the job seekers. The chance for you to be employed can be even greater since your educational background will be considered the most by the employer. Don’t you want to get nicer education? Luckily, there are so many easy methods that you can do including to get online education. Tons of service can be found there and they are ready to educate you. You should choose the help from online education service by considering the degree that you want to get as well as the major. Think about your preference as well. It is totally wasteful for you to get the education but you do not enjoy the major. The result will not be good. Thus, if you are keen on having business negotiation and the things similar to it, for instance, you need to get masters in negotiation. Thus, you will find that your capabilities can be even more reliable.
Another case, if you are keen on IT, you should get online IT masters degree. The quality of online education is actually just as great as the regular education that you get from the real universities. Thus, you should not have any worry about it. The degree that you get will also be valid. Whenever you have included the certification of your degree along with your CV whenever you apply for a job, you can have greater chance to be employed. So, starting from now on, you should not doubt anymore to make sure that you can get such education because the benefits can be so great. | <urn:uuid:5a7447fe-ad6e-404a-b43b-96de66997bf4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://troidus.com/want-to-have-great-career-get-better-online-education-first.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974938 | 419 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Silfab, which specialises in solar photovoltaics (PV), thereby sees the entry in a relatively low-risk market.
Idrofin, through its controlled company Hidrogest Energia Srl, is currently developing a 23 MW, €60 million network of micro hydropower plants (with less that 10 MW/year) in Romania, expected to produce 76 GWh annually
Idrofin is also developing the Chemp Roscani hydropower plant by the Dobra River basin area which is expected to have a capacity of 6.6 MWp and produce 26.03 GWh per year.
Franco Traverso, Silfab President and CEO, says: "With this initiative we not only do amplify our competence within the renewable energy marketplace, but we also consolidate a strategic partnership with Espe Group – a company I personally have been working with for the past 30 years to develop photovoltaic projects. For Silfab this partnership represents a unique opportunity to access a crucial energy market with a partner that has both solid and strategic technical expertise in hydroelectricity." | <urn:uuid:4fc1c20e-5afa-4c5e-8222-e8b806d06186> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/14114/silfab-buys-10-of-hydropower-developer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950155 | 227 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Public notices issued weekly
By Jennifer Jenks
Watermaster Tony Rutherford explained the Oregon Water Resources Department’s (OWRD) weekly water rights reports and the process one goes through when applying for, protesting or commenting on water rights at the Harney County Court meeting Sept. 19.
Water rights public notices are issued weekly and show all rights being applied for in the state. When someone applies for a new water right use, Rutherford said, the application first goes to Salem where a groundwater employee who only reviews applications in Eastern Oregon examines it. An Initial Review is then presented with approximately a one-month comment period. During this time, anyone can comment at no charge.
The next step in the process is a Proposed Final Order draft and conditions, if any. At this point, a person may protest the application at a cost of $600. Alternatively, one can send comments in favor of the applicant at about half that cost. When asked about the discrepancy in fees, Rutherford explained that a protestor automatically receives copies of all correspondence involved in the process, whereas someone filing in favor would have to request these documents at an additional charge, so he thought it probably balanced out.
If someone does go through with a protest, the department tries to mitigate the issues the protestor has. Otherwise, the issue has to go to court. Rutherford said he had never seen a protest go that far in this area, but there is one that may in the future. The final step in the process is the issuance of a Final Order.
The fees assessed to the applicants are based on the number of wells they are applying for as well as how much water will be used.
When someone applies for a new permit, they have to list the number of acres involved. “The permit is more for the water amount,” Rutherford said, “wells don’t matter as much.”
Rutherford noted that, although water studies are the first thing to be cut any time there are budget woes, there are some wells that have been monitored since the 1950s and 1960s, so there is some long-term data. That data shows the water level has stayed fairly steady, with no noticeably decline, except seasonally.
Rutherford said if OWRD is concerned about the number of wells in a certain area (for example, if someone was drilling a dozen or more 16-inch diameter wells in one area) they could require the applicant to drill an extra well for OWRD to monitor the water level, or allow OWRD to use an existing well for that purpose, depending on the quality of construction.
Commissioner Dan Nichols expressed concern with what is happening regarding the “hubs” the state is requiring the counties to form and urged the court to consider hiring someone to start the process of trying to understand what it all means for the county and get started on a prototype for how the process should be done.
These hubs, a code for “regionalization,” Nichols said, started with the Early Learning Centers and Coordinated Care Organizations and are the state’s way of trying to create effiicencies with services within the state. Nichols stated he was concerned with what was happening with adult and family services, which is supposed to be converting to a hub now. “But we still don’t know how a hub is supposed to work,” Nichols said. “We’re trying to get it done, but we’re having difficulty getting information from the state on how it should be done.”
Nichols noted the legislature won’t approve what is or is not a hub until January, so if the court hired someone soon, they would have time to get it figured out and come up with something in writing before then. “I think we can absolutely make an argument to be our own hub,” Nichols stated, noting that fuel and vehicles alone between counties on this side of the state, were they to form a hub together, would eliminate any efficiencies.
As of Friday, Sept. 21, the Education Service Districts in the state were supposed to be reduced from a little under 20 in the state, down to six, Nichols said, “so, they’re on the chopping block.”
Judge Steve Grasty stated they would need to look at the budget to figure out a way to fund the position and agreed that Harney County should be its own hub. “This community can do it,” Nichols responded. “We don’t need any partners.”
In other business, the court:
• adopted the Economic Development Strategic Plan presented by Kate Marsh and Economic Developer Randy Fulton. The plan was previously approved by the Community Revitilization Team (CRT) after much public input. “I hope the community feels part and parcel to this plan,” Marsh said. She explained the plan was to be used as a guide for community revitilization. Judge Grasty noted the CRT had worked with an incredible amount of people to involve the community in this project over the last three years, and he applauded them for their work. Fulton said the plan will help organizations in the community get grants for community revitilization. Fulton added that a prefabricated home-building business, Pure Wood Solutions, is looking into siting a facility in Harney County and is shipping juniper to their plant in Austria to see if the wood will work in their applications. The old mill building here is within inches of the space they require for a new facility;
• received an update by Weed Control Coordinator Jesse Barnes on the Harney County Weed Board and medusahead spraying. At their meeting this month, the weed board decided they would like to appoint Jeff Dorroh to the board as an at-large member, and the court concurred with a unanimous vote. Barnes said about 6,500 private acres and approximately 8,500 Bureau of Land Management acres were being sprayed aerially for medusahead eradication. The areas being flown are around Drewsey, Crane and Happy Valley, mainly. Seventeen landowners are participating in the spraying this year. She hopes there will be a follow-up spraying next year if funding allows;
• was addressed by Herb Vloedman during the public comment period regarding the process involved in the recent pay increases for Harney County employees and elected officials. Vloedman noted he was not objecting to the pay increases, but did not like how quickly it was handled. His main concerns were the timing involved (having been taken on so shortly after the budget process was already complete) as well as the rapidity of the decision, occuring at just one meeting after a short discussion. Judge Grasty explained that the elected officials compensation committee had not met at the time of the budget process, and then when they had completed their review, they indicated that there was a problem with the wages and that it needed to be taken care of immediately, noting there were some employees who were 28 percent behind in comparison to other counties. Former county judge Dale White, who was in attendance, defended the decision of the court, noting, “When you’re that far behind other counties, I think that’s an emergency situation and requires immediate action. I think they had the duty to act and they did it and they acted responsibly.” Grasty added that the county responded quickly so they wouldn’t fall even further behind;
• agreed the Barbara Cannady road issue needed to come to a resolution. By the next meeting, either one of two agreements presented by attorneys representing the county and Cannady will be signed by all parties or the court will move forward with the county road issue, meaning the road in question would be opened to the public, the fence that runs down the middle of the road would be removed and an approach would be built. Cannady expressed concern that she had been left out of a lot of the conversation and would appreciate the opportunity to explain different parts of the agreement submitted by her attorney;
• signed an order appointing a pool of members for the Harney County Board of Property Tax Appeals;
• tentatively approved the Harney County Senior & Community Services Center’s Area Plan presented to the court by Executive Director Angie Iturbide, dependent on any concerns they may have after reading the document. The state requires the plan by Oct. 1, which is why there was a tentative approval. The plan; based on public meetings, surveys and Harney County’s population breakdown; is required by the state to show what services the senior center will provide for seniors for the next three years and why;
• signed a grant award fro the Department of Land Conservation and Development for $60,000;
• passed a recommendation by the juvenile department to terminate an employee for reasons stated in executive session. Commissioner Pete Runnels expressed a possible conflict of interest, but participated in the vote. Commissioner Nichols noted the termination was “very regrettable;”
• discussed emergency management options and concerns in Harney County. Judge Grasty noted he had to call a conflagration during the Egley fire because there are only two fire chiefs in the county, and one was out of town, and the other was having health issues. He noted that it made the state really nervous, and the county needed to figure out how to change things so that doesn’t happen again in the future. He suggested a wildland fire protection agency based out of Burns. He additionally noted the old fire line needs to be taken care of, possibly by blading the road. Commissioner Nichols noted a landowner offered to plant a fire-resistant line of plants for a natural firebreak, as well;
• discussed a possible Harney County application for Smart Phones, and also discussed the possibility of applying for a follow-up grant fro the Ford Family Foundation for the Rural Development Initiative and using that money to possibly set up a revolving loan fund for downtown businesses addressed in the original grant for development if the owners should choose to do so;
• discussed the repaving of the senior center parking lot, which the county agreed to do since the new addition is not costing the county anything. They noted the paving can’t get done until after initial construction of the addition is complete and might have to wait until next year;
• discussed the hazard mitigation plan that needs to be updated, which was completed by Harney Electric several years ago. Otherwise, the county might lose their flood insurance. It was suggested that this be put together with the emergency management plan and then use that to try to get funding to maintain the levy by the Silvies River where it flooded last year. Since no one will claim responsibility for the levy, this would be a way to get it maintained. Part of the levy is in the city of Burns, and part of it is in the county.
The next Harney County Court meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. in Judge Grasty’s office at the Harney County Courthouse, 420 N. Buena Vista Ave. in Burns. | <urn:uuid:1f582ddd-6c1e-466b-976b-152bbb4b848d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://burnstimesherald.info/2012/09/26/county-court-looks-at-water-rights-process/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975994 | 2,293 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Bush and Cheney have little to lose from
spreading the war, but the Republican Party has very much to lose. Its only
way out is to impeach Cheney. That would bring Bush back to reality and alleviate
the main pressure upon him to expand the wars.
A new war, $5/gal. gasoline (as analyst Jim Cramer has warned), and a possible
crash of globalization as Korea, Japan, China, and Europe reel from oil shortages
would be the ruin of the Republican Party for a generation. "Republicans
are watching their private poll numbers plunge," says Larry Sabato,
director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Already senators
up for reelection are becoming desperate. The poll landscape shows "Republicans
who ought to be completely secure are maybe in the upper 40s, low 50s, and weaker
ones being blown away in landslides." And this was even before the latest
battle on immigration, which "may well have cost it the Hispanic vote for
a generation." (The Economist, Aug. 11, 2007.)
Much evidence points toward administration plans to extend the war to Iran.
The risk of such a war getting out of hand and destroying or blockading much
of the world's oil supplies is enormous. At the very least it would make Europe
even more dependent upon Russian energy, make America even more of a pariah
in the Muslim world, and make extraction of U.S. troops from Iraq even more
problematic. For other results, see "12
Consequences of Attacking Iran."
The president, according to many visitors, seems almost spaced out, oblivious
to his unpopularity and the disasters he has created. We already know how his
religious beliefs are a mix of End Times eschatology and self-righteousness,
combined with daily readings of Scottish philosopher Oswald
Chambers, who idealized warfare and preached that divinely guided decisions
will be vindicated and seemingly negative feedback may be proof that God is
there, testing your faith, strengthening your resolve.
Constantly we hear of Bush's concerns that after he leaves office, a new American
president will not bomb Iran, so he must do it now. And he is being urged on
by Cheney's neoconservatives
while the Armageddonites
demand that Bush protect Israel now so God can destroy it later, in His way,
along with most of the rest of humanity. Of course, Israel, with 200 of its
own nukes, can easily defend itself, and Iran is subject to deterrence just
like the Soviets once were. They are no
crazier than some of our guys. This is already widely recognized, as a new
poll shows that 45 percent of Americans support impeachment for Bush (and
54 percent want Cheney impeached). Furthermore, Karl Rove may have resigned
because he cant dissuade Bush from attacking Iran, and he wants to be well
clear of the political consequences.
Before Iraq, we used to hear from neoconservatives how displaying America's
destructive power would shock
and awe other Arabs and Muslims so that neighboring nations would then obey
American orders (and Palestinians would "behave"). It didn't work
out that way. Again Bush is being fed a misreading of Third World psychology,
especially that of Muslims that after a week's bombing of Iran, war will be
contained, as Iran would not dare to fight back. However, this discounts all
of history, in which wars, once started, often lead to very wide and unforeseen
consequences. At the very least, the Iranian regime would use a U.S. attack
to inflame nationalism and gain the legitimacy to stay in power by cracking
down on domestic opposition. It would also make the long supply line through
Shia Iraq even more vulnerable.
The legal arguments for impeachment have been well put
forth by Republican constitutional scholar Bruce Fein.
Impeaching Cheney would have many, many benefits:
- It would curtail Bush's freedom of action, as he would fear that he too
might be impeached whereas now he is protected by the threat of Cheney becoming
- It would take some of the blame off Bush's back for the war disasters. Indeed,
Bush might even be relieved to be rid of Cheney, who clearly intimidates him.
- It would put out many of the remaining liars, neoconservatives, and other
warmongers who still influence Bush if their chief protector in the administration
- It would allow at-risk Republican congressmen a way of showing their opposition
to the war without voting to curtail funds for the troops in the field.
- It would reinforce all the moderates who urge America to work with allies
and build a consensus with other nations by repudiating the "go it alone"
- It would encourage foreign governments to cooperate with the administration
by showing a real shift in Washington away from policies that most of the
world sees as very
- It would show the world that most Americans do not agree with the Bush-Wolfowitz
Doctrine, which would regain us at least part of the goodwill most foreigners
used to feel toward America and its ideals.
- It would save the Republican Party from being dragged down to disaster in
the 2008 elections if Republicans were able to publicly repudiate the Bush
administration's chief executive officer. Just starting the impeachment proceedings
in the House would have the immediate effect of preventing a reckless attack
As conservatives, even though we oppose the welfare-warfare-earmark Republican
leadership, we want Republicans to remain viable. We will never again trust
them with the Constitution, but a total Democratic sweep would also be threatening.
Without limited government, our freedoms can only be safe with divided government.
Impeaching Cheney could at least save the Republicans 41 seats in the Senate,
and it might even help them regain control, thus thwarting a total Democratic | <urn:uuid:9d479edb-8a72-45d2-9cfb-9aed71a30d31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antiwar.com/utley/?articleid=11440 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954365 | 1,222 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Carmine Gallo, Contributor
I write about success, leadership and communications.
As Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes an indefinite leave of absence for medical reasons, the consensus among analysts seems to be that Apple’s deep bench of extremely capable leaders will continue to drive new product introductions for the foreseeable future. But despite the talented team at Apple, there’s no question that Jobs’ vision inspires Apple’s breakthrough innovations, as well as, Apple’s employees. One analyst said that Steve Jobs’ inspiration was “irreplaceable.” Well, I’m not sure if it’s irreplaceable, but it certainly is magical and here’s why. Innovation requires a team and you cannot inspire a team of passionate evangelists without a compelling vision; a vision that is bold, simple, and consistently communicated.
During my research on Steve Jobs, I interviewed Rob Campbell, the CEO of Voalte, a wireless software provider for hospitals and point-of-care facilities. In 1977, Campbell was a young programmer who was excited about the emerging class of personal computers. He began searching for a position at one of the companies at the forefront of the revolution.
Campbell first visited Tandy Computers. “What is your vision for the personal computer?” he asked. “We think it could be the next big thing on everyone’s wish list for the holiday season!” Tandy executives exclaimed. Uninspired, Campbell visited Commodore, a company that introduced a personal computer in 1977. Commodore’s stock was trading at less than one dollar a share. “What is your vision for the personal computer?” Campbell asked. “We think it could help our stock rise above two dollars a share.” Commodore executives said excitedly. Uninspired, Campbell decided to take Steve Jobs up on an invitation to meet for lunch.
“What is your vision for the personal computer?” Campbell asked Jobs. Campbell said what happened next still gives him goose bumps. “Steve Jobs was a magical storyteller,” Campbell told me. “For the next hour, he talked about how personal computers were going to change the world. He painted a picture of how it would change everything about the way we worked, educated our children and entertained ourselves. You couldn’t help but buy in.” Vision, said Campbell, was the one thing that separated Steve Jobs from the others.
Creative Strategies President, Tim Bajarin, once told me, “I do believe there is such a thing as dreaming the dream of a grand vision. Great entrepreneurs are focused on today, but the most innovative have a road map of where they will be tomorrow.” What’s your vision for where your company will be tomorrow and ten years from now? People want to be part of something big. They want to work for leaders who give their lives meaning. In the words of another great innovator, Walt Disney, “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Steve Jobs is surrounded by an exceptional team of executives who share his vision and, as long as they continue to be guided by his vision, Apple will continue to delight consumers for years to come.
Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books including the bestsellers, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Follow him on Twitter: carminegallo | <urn:uuid:d8d55850-797b-48d3-a773-8f3470ca3687> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2011/01/18/steve-jobs-and-the-power-of-vision/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955846 | 757 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Reasons Why Seniors Choose a Reverse Mortgage
1. To pay off existing mortgages and eliminate monthly mortgage payments
2. To provide supplemental payments (many seniors receive up to $500 to $1,000 per month to supplement Social Security and their monthly pensions.)
3. To establish a significant line of credit account, to help pay property taxes and other major expenses such as home owner’s insurance.
4. To buy a home
5. To use funds to prevent foreclosure.
6. To travel more often.
7. For home repairs and home remodeling.
8. To buy a new car and other big ticket items.
9. For in home health care, prescription costs and other health care.
10. For the security of having money available whenever needed.
11. To have the freedom that a little extra money can bring to enjoy their golden years, and enjoy the activities and things they enjoy doing.
This is a list that is similar to one many websites about reverse mortgages may have, I'm going to list a reason that usually is NOT a good reason.
To invest the money from a reverse mortgage.
The following is my opinion and my reasoning. While there might be occasions when this could make sense, I believe that in most cases it does not.
1. If the money is not invested and left in the line of credit option, the line of credit grows at the same rate the borrower is being charged. If the current interest rate is 5% and the borrower has $200,000 to start with, after a year the balance would be $210,000. In general, interest charged when you borrow is higher than savings or even CD interest. If the borrowing rate rises, so does the rate of growth for the line of credit. I'd be surprised if the line of credit rate was less than the savings, CD or treasury bond rates at any point in time.
2. When you take the money out to invest, you will be charged interest on the money borrowed. If you took $200,000 out of the reverse mortgage to invest, you would be charged $10,000 interest in a year and the balance you owe would be $210,000. At a minimum, in this example, you would need to earn more than 5% risk free to do more than break even.
3. When you consider you are giving up 5% tax free on the growth of the $200,000 line of credit and being charged 5% on the $200,000 balance you borrowed to invest, you would need to be earning over 10% risk free and tax free to break even.
4. I acknowledge that if you sold the home, you would still have the investment. However the initial $200,000 you borrowed plus the compound interest on that amount would be subtracted from the equity (the check from escrow) you could have had when you sold the home.
Would you like to receive a detailed quote on how much money you could receive in a Reverse Mortgage. Please use my Quote Request Form | <urn:uuid:1bc5b059-d192-4504-b80b-1972c8691778> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reversemortgageconsultant.com/reverse_mortgage_basics/reasons_why_seniors_choose_a_reverse_mortgage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966069 | 627 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Hero of comic-book world gets real
Published: Sunday, August 1, 2010 at 8:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 26, 2010 at 5:10 p.m.
Typically, the appearance of Alan Moore’s name on a comic book has been a harbinger of heady, consequential writing inside: a promise of mighty champions empowered through mystical or superscientific methods and whose conflicts would challenge the reader’s perceptions of heroism and humanity.
So perhaps the first indication that “Unearthing,” a new work by Moore, is not typical of his pioneering graphic novels, like “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta,” is that its subject is not a costumed adventurer, but a friend and fellow comics writer named Steve Moore, who inspired him to enter the business.
The second sign is that “Unearthing” is not a comic book at all, but a lengthy spoken-word recording accompanied by an atmospheric musical soundtrack and a book of photographs.
Despite the radical change in format, the “Unearthing” project is no less significant to Alan Moore, a prolific (and prodigiously bearded) 56-year-old resident of Northampton, England. To him it is a tribute to a colleague and mentor, and a demonstration that he has transcended the boundaries of the graphic novels for which he is best known.
“After all those years of working within the comics industry and quietly going mad, this is what erupts,” Moore said in a telephone interview.
For all of his protests, “Unearthing” is also an affectionate retelling of the history of British comics — a nostalgic look back, through the prism of a friend, at the genre he says he is moving beyond.
The seeds of “Unearthing” were sown in 2006, when Moore published its text as an essay in an anthology called “London: City of Disappearances,” edited by the writer Iain Sinclair.
Asked to memorialize a part of London that was in danger of vanishing, Alan Moore chose not a place but Steve Moore, whom he had known since their teenage years in the 1960s. (The two men are not related.) After publishing some of Britain’s earliest comics fanzines and helping to organize some of that country’s first comic-book conventions, Steve Moore became a contributor to fantasy- and superhero-theme comics like Warrior and 2000 AD.
When he wrote the essay, Alan Moore was embroiled in a war of words with his American publisher, DC Comics, over the rights to his works and his frustrations with film adaptations produced by DC’s corporate sibling Warner Brothers.
But none of this enmity is reflected in the poetic and densely allusive text of “Unearthing.” In part, the piece pays homage to Shooters Hill, the South London neighborhood where Steve Moore lives and that has been referred to by writers from Dickens to Wordsworth and whose geological history helped create the Thames Valley. “It’s almost as if the entire city of London and its history is a dream of Shooter’s Hill,” Alan Moore said.
The essay also recounts the birth of the British comics scene, when it was still obsessed with the American science-fiction and horror titles of the 1950s and deeply envious of the American superhero stories of the ‘60s.
In “Unearthing,” Moore recalls the “crowd-pleasing formula of omnipotent losers” pioneered by Stan Lee, the Marvel Comics writer and editor (“Yeah, you may be Nordic god of thunder, but you’ve got a gammy leg”), and the “Cadillac-smooth sweep” of the DC artist Carmine Infantino.
Alan Moore also praised Steve Moore for embodying the “radical and progressive” mindset of the ideal British comics fan. “We were all proto-hippies,” Alan Moore said, “and we all thought comics would be greatly improved if everything was a bit psychedelic, like Jim Steranko.”
Acknowledging that he is not exactly a household name, Steve Moore said in a telephone interview that he has reacted to his immortalization in “Unearthing” with “a mixture of amazement and amusement.”
“Obviously, it’s a bit strange to have all the intimate details of my life exposed to the public,” he said, adding, “I’m just sitting back, watching the process and wondering where it goes next.”
Since its initial publication, “Unearthing” has continued to evolve in unexpected ways. Alan Moore gave permission to the photographer Mitch Jenkins, another longtime friend, to shoot a series of pictures based on its narrative. Jenkins then brought the project to the independent British label Lex Records, which produced Moore’s ominous reading of the essay with a score performed by musicians like Adam Drucker and Andrew Broder, a pair known by the stage name Crook and Flail; Mike Patton of the band Faith No More; and Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai. (A boxed set containing the recordings and photographs is being sold at the label’s website, lexrecords.com, and will be released in stores on Aug. 9.)
Jenkins said this process was typical of how Moore’s creative explorations come together.
“He just refuses, steadfastly, to do anything unless he truly believes in it, whereas I have sold myself to the Devil so many times,” Jenkins said. “For me it’s a new experience to sneak into a world where you do things just because you want to do them.”
If “Unearthing” reflected a yearning for a simpler era of comic-book publishing, its author said that was inevitable. “That is perhaps a nostalgia that I was trying to summon on behalf of Steve,” he said. “Some things in there are things that I am not personally nostalgic for. Some of them are things that I’ve never read or never seen.”
Moore said he was leaving that world behind, preferring to savor his newfound role as impresario and, he said, “all the new projects that seem to be springing up like mushrooms, ever since I removed myself from the arena of the comic book.”
He said he was still committed to his adventure series “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” which is illustrated by Kevin O’Neill and whose latest issue was released in May 2009. But he is also working on Dodgem Logic, an underground magazine that he began publishing last fall; a “grimoire” — or magic spell book — with Steve Moore; and a film project for which he will write the screenplay and that Jenkins will direct.
Alan Moore said he was also about 26 chapters into a long-long-in-the-works novel called “Jerusalem,” in which, he said, “I can conclusively prove that death is a perspective illusion of the third dimension and that none of us have anything to worry about.”
Moore admitted that the pressure to outdo himself, largely self-imposed, was one he has been facing ever since he and the illustrator Dave Gibbons finished work on “Watchmen,” their enormously influential and best-selling superhero series, back in 1987.
“It’s just constantly raising expectations for myself,” he said, “to the point where, inevitably, I must surely collapse under my own mass and become some sort of creative black hole.”
He added: “Hopefully, that’s a way off yet.”
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:87f85d40-b172-4c2a-bae9-c62d07c6ac67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100801/ENTERTAINMENT/100729443?Title=Hero-of-comic-book-world-gets-real | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972988 | 1,686 | 1.648438 | 2 |
HIDE your credit cards! It can be really hard to cut down on using credit cards, especially if you're first starting out in a journey to stop using them altogether. If you need them for an emergency, you'll have them, but if they're out of sight, they're out of mind (and wallet).
Break the cycle of debt - this really is the best first step you can take towards financial stability! It's hard, but once you stop using credit, you can focus on paying off debt. I'm nearing the end of a six-year battle and I'm WINNING it - slowly and steadily.
Please note these are member-submitted secrets and are not reviewed by SparkPeople's health experts for accuracy. If you feel a secret is inappropriate, please click Report Inappropriate Secret and our staff will review it.
SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
After I made the loan of $7500, I saw the Clark Howard Show. He said that 46% of the loans made to family or friends are NEVER paid back, vs 4% of loans made from banks and credit unions. Seven months later..I have gotten back $250, and that was 3 months ago.33
I just never thought this would happen to me. Hope this is a warning to others. Clark Howard said..best to consider money lent to friends and family a "gift".
Each pay day I take out a set amount of money for my groceries, gas, and free spending. My grocery money goes into one envelope, my gas money into another, and my free spending money into a third. Paying cash for everything has enabled me to save more money than ever before.
This system also enables me to live debt free since I am no longer making purchases on my credit card.
SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkTeams, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a83637ec-955c-4f33-8970-1a3d7b5dd1ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sparkpeople.com/secrets.asp?tip=3127_make_it_an_effort_to_get_to_your_credit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947053 | 451 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Easter cookie is very simple and delicious.The marshmallows would be a good idea for an Easter bunny because when they melted it looked fluffy like bunny fur.
Added: March 24, 2013, 6:47 am
Time: 01:00 | Views: 13 | Comments: 0 | Rating: Not yet rated
When you want more than just chicken, rich with the flavours of a spicy pickle, with it's tang and zing, you will make achari pickled chicken.
Added: March 23, 2013, 12:08 am
Time: 01:00 | Views: 15 | Comments: 0 | Rating: Not yet rated
Lets get ready for Easter with these delightfull tasting coconut chocolate Easter cups.
Added: March 23, 2013, 12:00 am
Time: 01:00 | Views: 20 | Comments: 0 | Rating: Not yet rated
Hot cross buns are a seasonal yeast bread traditionally served on Good Friday. These sweet buns are nicely spiced with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, and are studded with currants and candied fruit. What makes them instantly recognizable is that the tops of the buns are marked with a cross which symbolically represents the cross of Christ and the Crucifixion.
Added: March 22, 2013, 11:52 pm
Time: 00:01 | Views: 14 | Comments: 0 | Rating: Not yet rated
A chocolate Eeclair is a delicious combination of crisp pastry, luscious cream, and dark chocolate. Eclairs start with a hollow, log-shaped shell of choux pastry that can be filled with vanilla, chocolate, or a coffee flavored pastry cream. The finishing touch is to dip the top of the pastry in a vanilla, chocolate or coffee flavored glaze or fondant.
Added: March 22, 2013, 11:48 pm
Time: 01:00 | Views: 12 | Comments: 0 | Rating: Not yet rated | <urn:uuid:1d561b2b-eb49-4698-aee1-aab3f35cc7d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cookeryshow.com/maherbankb/public/50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937564 | 410 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I paid my dues. Time after time.
Freddie Mercury sang about paying dues in Queen’s classic song “We Are the Champions.” But do you really have to pay up to become the champion of your career?
Once upon a time paying dues was expected from almost anybody in any profession. It was just conventional wisdom that you would have to do things like get your manager a cup of coffee or take on crummy job assignments to prove your mettle to the higher-ups.
Today, it’s not that clear-cut.
Loyalty in the workplace is scarce, meaning a company where you put in a lot of sweat equity might end up laying you off before you reap your dues-paying benefits. Moreover employees, both right out of school or embarking on new careers, don’t want to wait years before they see the big job and the big money.
So, workplace experts advise, you’ve got to evaluate for yourself whether putting in time in a not-so-great gig is going to pay off with either the job of your dreams or a fat paycheck.
Take Maria Plantilla, 30, of New York City.
She graduated from the prestigious Williams College with a BA in psychology and had dreams of a management job in human resources. She ended up as a floating office assistant for a headhunting firm getting people coffee and filling in for the receptionist when she went to the bathroom.
“There were times when I thought: ‘Is this always going to be my career? Is this what people will always see me as, an office assistant?’” she recalls.Video: Many CEOs were spanked as kids
Today she is human resources manager for TheLadders.com, an online recruitment service for $100,000 plus jobs. “I love my job,” she raves.
Looking back, Plantilla made some smart career moves while in the dues-paying trenches. Before taking the assistant job, she made sure there were other people in the organization who had moved up from the assistant ranks. And she took initiative, approaching a manager in recruitment about giving her a chance to show what she could do.
“I said, ‘If you want to test me out for a while I could do both jobs for a couple of months.’” She got no extra money for the added work, but it landed her her first real job in HR doing recruitment research.
Norjon Hedman, national manager of rap promotions at Sony BMG’s Jive Records, started out at age 24 as an unpaid intern at Arista Records after deciding to get into the music biz rather than pursue a career in environmental engineering.
He put in long hours, got people coffee, delivered packages and glued up music posters at clubs. His drive ended up getting him noticed by higher-ups. “It was a tough job, but there I was living the life,” he says. “Everything is a stepping stone.”
But choose your stones wisely. The wrong lowly job could end up hurting you down the line and even hamper your earnings potential.
Paul Oyer, associate professor of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, surveyed investment bankers and found that those who got good, high-paying jobs right out of business school ended up years later making fatter paychecks than their counterparts who started on lower rungs.
“You can do well without paying your dues, if you get lucky,” he says, “but I think it is a bit misleading to say that paying dues does not pay off in the long run. It just suggests that that may not be the ONLY thing that matters.”
There are careers that involve starting out on bottom with a meager salary — medicine, law, a host of apprenticeships in the trades — where you’re investing in building skills, but beware of doing too much hard time. Austan Goolsbee, economist at the University of Chicago, warns: “You get on the crummy job track. And the only way to get off is find a new job that pays better.”
The bottom line, Goolsbee adds: “You’re a little bit screwed if you can’t get the big job early on. It’s always possible to become a CEO of a major corporation from the mailroom, but is it probable? No.”
But CEOs just don’t glide to the top on a smooth-riding corporate career jet. I interviewed more than 50 CEOs and leaders from all walks of life on their journey up the ladder for a forthcoming book, and I found the majority of them paid dues big time.
Early in his career Spencer Lee, CEO of Cincinnati-based Roto Rooter Inc., actually took a step down to work for a district office. On a few occasions, he had to clean toilets. “I felt I needed to pay dues in order to learn the ropes and move up,” he told me recently. “Hey, if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t have, trust me.”
So in most cases, it turns out, you should be prepared to pay at least some dues and hope you end up singing it like Freddie: I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through.
Eve Tahmincioglu paid her dues by writing about underwear and bras for a small trade magazine. She is a regular contributor to many business publications and author of "From the Sandbox to the Corner Office," published this month by John Wiley & Sons. | <urn:uuid:1fd32c0c-39d9-457e-9285-74887f301742> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14602227/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971942 | 1,179 | 1.640625 | 2 |
On the NetTuts.com site today they've posted the transcript of a panel discussion they had with several developers about exceptions and whether or not they should be used for flow control.
I'm pleased to release our first ever round table, where we place a group of developers in a locked room (not really), and ask them to debate one another on a single topic. In this first entry, we discuss exceptions and flow control.
The opinions vary among the group as to what exceptions should be used for (even outside of the flow control topic). Opinions shared are things like:
- Exceptions are situations in your code that you should never reach
- Errors cause Failures and are propagated, via Exceptions.
- So, essentially, exceptions are an "abstraction" purely to model the abnormality.
- Personally, I envision exceptions more as "objections."
- Exceptions like this should be caught at some point and transformed into a friendly message to the user.
There's lots more than this in the full discussion so head over and read it all - there's definitely some good points made. | <urn:uuid:63b0a93d-fcf1-478a-af7b-5a6de4b6be38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phpdeveloper.org/tag/exceptions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934371 | 232 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Six years ago, a group of hyper-creative old-school punks from Orange County unleashed the psychedelic kids insanity of Yo Gabba Gabba! on the world. The moment that Boing Boing first discovered the show pilot before it was even picked up for TV, the surreal antics of DJ Lance and his mutant pals infiltrated my home. My son is almost 7 and (temporarily) a bit old for the show, but my 3-year-old daughter has become a passionate fan. To her mind, the show depicts some sort of classroom and DJ Lance is the "teacher." I only wish I attended a pre-school where Brobee was a classmate!
Now, for children who have just outgrown Yo Gabba Gabba!, the show's creators have created a new alternate (and equally-strange/fun) narrative in the form of a book titled The Goon Holler Guidebook. Penned by YGG! art director Parker Jacobs, the slim hardback is a guide to a magical place called Goon Holler that is filled with mischief, jokes, comics, and, yes, ukulele. The first character you'll meet is Tooba, a Bigfoot (yay!), who stumbled through a waterfall portal into Goon Holler where he meets a wizard, an alien, and, of course the goons. You can imagine the rest, or at least your kids can.
The Goon Holler Guidebook (Amazon)
Read more in Family at Boing Boing
David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco. | <urn:uuid:0a42b32d-3275-4205-bc4e-cbe5a33cbe7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boingboing.net/2012/10/04/new-kids-book-from-creators-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952186 | 353 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Oil and gas industry guidance on voluntary sustainability reporting - 2010 update
The first edition of the Oil and gas industry guidance on voluntary sustainability reporting has been the principal industry-specific framework for use by oil and gas companies reporting on environmental, health and safety, and social and economic performance.
Now, IPIECA, API and OGP have together released a revised second edition of this formative document, which provides significant added guidance on reporting as an engagement process, including detailed “how-to” steps for reporters, clearer focus on assessing “material” issues, and improved technical indicators for use in reporting sustainability performance.
The 2010 update draws on the very best technical expertise from within the industry to bring greater precision to indicator definitions and sustainability reporting protocols. This facilitates benchmarking and aggregation of data, enabling greater consistency with the aim of driving performance improvement across the industry. The update process included the candid insights and advice of an independent stakeholder panel of leading experts, as well as a public consultation process, to provide a broader perspective on reporting issues viewed as critical to those interested in global oil and gas operations.
Overall, the strengths of the 2005 edition remain: this is Guidance that has been developed for the industry by the industry.
To accompany the 2010 edition of the Oil and gas industry guidance on voluntary sustainability reporting IPIECA has developed a list of frequently asked questions for those seeking further information about reporting, the process and content of the Guidance and IPIECA’s relationship with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). A briefing presentation on sustainability reporting using the 2010 IPIECA, API and OGP Guidance has been developed to assist new reporters.
With the launch of the GRI Oil and Gas Sector Supplement in February 2012 IPIECA and GRI worked together to create two indexes which aim to help companies using each guidance document, or using one and starting to use the other, by ‘mapping’ where the guidance provided is aligned. Further information.
During 2011 and 2012 the Guidance has been endorsed by regional oil and gas industry associations from across the world:
- American Petroleum Industry (API) co-author
- African Refiners Association (ARA)
- Regional Association of Oil and Gas Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL)
- The oil companies' European association for environment, health and safety in refining and distribution (CONCAWE)
- Canadian Fuels Association
- European Petroleum Industry Association (EUROPIA)
- The Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP)
- International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) co-author
- South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) | <urn:uuid:04778c5a-101d-427e-9601-19c8ef94a3b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ipieca.org/publication/oil-and-gas-industry-guidance-voluntary-sustainability-reporting-0?amp&&& | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937145 | 552 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Dylan at Kronborg Castle, otherwise known as Shakespeare’s Elsinore Castle, shortly after arriving in Denmark during his world tour, early May 1966.
Kronborg Castle is where the myth of Hamlet is said to have taken place.
Dylan wrote a verse for the play's Ophelia in his “Desolation Row”:
Now Ophelia, she is at the window,
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid | <urn:uuid:309afedb-5bec-4f10-9448-51abd66c3665> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historypin.com/attach/uid7886122/map/?_escaped_fragment_=/geo:56.039284,12.622668/zoom:20/dialog:14745024/tab:streetview/ | 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 | 0.982514 | 108 | 1.78125 | 2 |
About our hotel
- Quebec City Hotels –
On this site at 1190 Rue Saint-Jean, Québec, G1R 1S6, Pierre Gauvin in 1767, planned and constructed beautiful gardens that were granted to the nuns who lived around the corner at l’hotel Dieu. In 1774 with the American Revolution underway, Pierre Gauvin took possession of the gardens but built a two-story building for the order of the Augustine nuns. It was a great time to live in Quebec City. There were balls and many parties held by Quebec’s high society. Four years later Pierre Gauvin moved in with his family and moved the nuns out. In 1851 Rene Edouard Caron a lawyer of the Legislative Council, took possession of the site and added stone walls to the front. The building was rented to Leger et Rinfret. A few years later the building was converted into the St George Hotel which included a prestigious theatre and a grand ballroom. As happened to many grand buildings in Quebec,in 1895 part of the building was destroyed by fire.The building was rebuilt to continue its illustrious saga.As it was so centrally located,a place of entertainment was included, with a gymnasium, bowling alleys, pool hall and a grand gym complete with modern washrooms. The St George Hall had arched doors and extensive patios on its second floor. A few years later the owners went bankrupt and the building was transformed into an apartment building with the inn – Taverne du Vieux Quebec – on the first floor. Rebuilding the inn, The City of Quebec insisted that the architect use the original drawings and plans as the design of first building was unique and not in keeping with other structures on St Jean Street. The Keatings were one of the early families that propagated and prospered in Quebec City. Joseph Keating, of the original line of Keatings in Quebec was married March 4th, 1938 – coincidentally the date of birth of the present owner Chris Keating. – and family lore has it that on his wedding day, Joseph misbehaved in Taverne du Quartier Latin – as the tavern was newly named. With over 50 years of experience in hospitality in Quebec City, Chris Keating and his son Justin Keating, have maintained and embellished the present building, maintaining its authenticity and honoring the hotel’s place within the walls of this magnificent city. | <urn:uuid:ad541bdb-bfb0-44e9-94dc-161580cbd678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hvq.com/about-us | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985945 | 500 | 1.65625 | 2 |
“The Music Never Stopped” was a hit at the recent Sundance film festival, and, judging by the just released trailer, it’s going to win over classic rock fans too. The movie, based on the essay “The Last Hippie” by Dr. Oliver Sacks, tells the story of a young man (Lou Taylor Pucci) who, because of a brain tumor, loses the ability to make new memories–but his father (J.K. Simmons) finds out from his therapist (Julia Ormond) that the music of the 1960s can help him reconnect. All of this is a great excuse to load up the soundtrack with music by the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Works for us.
Watch the trailer after the jump.
Based on Dr. Oliver Sacks’ case-study essay “The Last Hippie,” writer/director Jim Kohlberg’s drama “The Music Never Stopped” — currently showing at the Sundance Film Festival and opening nationwide in March — stars J.K. Simmons as the father of Gabriel Sawyer, a Grateful Dead-loving child of the 1960s. After suffering a cerebral trauma, Gabriel (played by Lou Taylor Pucci) loses his ability to form new memories and can only be brought back by replaying the hits of the 1960s, including songs by Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, and of course, the Dead.
Given the importance of music to Gabriel’s reawakening, Kohlberg knew that unless he could secure the rights to all the songs that moved his hippie protagonist, he didn’t have film. “I frankly loved the script but initially knew that the chances of making it were exceptionally low,” he said. “I wasn’t going to do it without the Dead or Dylan.”
More after the jump.
If you feel stuck in your career path, conventional wisdom says to push through and try harder. That is probably the worst career advice you’ll ever get.
"The Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown had kept the plot of his new thriller “Inferno” a closely-held secret. In an interview, he finally reveals the book's many mysteries.
Mention Smaug, the classic storybook dragon of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” and a ray of delight flickers across Benedict Cumberbatch’s pale eyes.
How Sir Ben Kingsley got into character as warrior and war hero Mazer Rackham in the highly anticipated sci-fi film "Ender's Game."
At the WSJ Cafe, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Bobby McFerrin performs an original song from his album "Spirityouall." Watch the video.
Speakeasy is an online magazine covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by senior editor Christopher John Farley, Alexandra Cheney and Barbara Chai with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually at @cjfarley, @alexandracheney and @barbarachai.
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments. | <urn:uuid:92172a68-8441-4473-9915-4f4ae61cb490> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/tag/dr-oliver-sacks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94597 | 735 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum Receives $5 Million From New York Life
NEW YORK, N.Y., February 19, 2013 – The National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced today a $5 million donation from New York Life to support the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s planned Education Center.
"We are deeply grateful to New York Life for its generosity and support of our twin missions to commemorate those lost on 9/11 and educate future generations," 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. "There are already children too young to remember the compassion and public service that followed the attacks and the 9/11 Memorial Museum and its Education Center will be the global focal point for preserving this history."
Ted Mathas, chairman and CEO of New York Life, said, "On behalf of the entire New York Life family, we are proud to contribute to the Education Center for the 9/11 Memorial Museum, a national institution that symbolizes remembrance and renewal. The Education Center will honor the nearly 3,000 victims who perished in the attacks by providing programs and tools to educate future generations. We felt especially compelled to support the Education Center because its mission aligns with the New York Life Foundation's focus on young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement opportunities and childhood bereavement."
The 9/11 Memorial Museum’s Education Center, supported by New York Life, is comprised of four classrooms, an orientation lobby and screening room, which will be adjacent to the exhibition spaces of the Museum. The Education Center will be used for teacher training, seminars, orientations and post-visit discussions with school groups, and other activities. Databases, archives and digital exhibitions also will be available.
The 9/11 Memorial is located at the World Trade Center site and honors the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, and all those who risked their lives to save others. The 9/11 Memorial Museum will tell the story of the events of 9/11 and exhibitions will include multimedia displays, first-person accounts, and authentic artifacts ranging in scale from the personal to the monumental.
New York Life has previously demonstrated its commitment to rebuilding after 9/11: Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, New York Life contributed $3 million to The September 11 Fund, created to support the victims in Manhattan and administered by The New York Community Trust and the United Way of New York City. New York Life also matched its agents’ and employees’ contributions to the American Red Cross for relief efforts to all sites of the attacks. The company now joins corporations and individuals from across the United States and around the world in supporting the 9/11 Memorial.
About the National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the not-for-profit corporation created to oversee the design, fundraising, programming, and operations of the Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center. The Memorial and Museum are located on eight of the 16 acres of the World Trade Center site. The Memorial was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and is now open to the public.
The Memorial remembers and honors the 2,983 people who were killed in the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The design, created by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, consists of two reflecting pools formed in the footprints of the original Twin Towers and a plaza of trees.
The Museum will display monumental artifacts linked to the events of 9/11, while presenting intimate stories of loss, compassion, reckoning, and recovery that are central to telling the story of the 2001 and 1993 attacks and the aftermath. It will communicate key messages that embrace both the specificity and the universal implications of the events of 9/11; document the impact of those events on individual lives, as well as on local, national, and international communities; and explore the continuing significance of these events for our global community.
For more information, to donate or to reserve a free visitor pass to the Memorial, go to http://www.911memorial.org.
New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments*** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life's Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.
*Based on revenue as reported by "Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)," Fortune magazine, May 21, 2012. See http://www.money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/faq/ for methodology.
**Source: Third Party Ratings Reports as of 2/1/13.
***New York Life Investments is a service mark used by New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC. | <urn:uuid:ca25a021-dae7-49ba-bc03-30f88123c80c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorklife.com/about/September-eleven-memorial | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941914 | 1,129 | 1.75 | 2 |
A collection of relevant and timely media clips and resources.
Posted on August 3, 2012
Contact your state Legislator TODAY!
Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco now trying to ban and confiscate more so-called "assault weapons."
Originally, Senate Bill 249 was a quiet agriculture bill that passed in the California Senate back in May. With sneaky back-door tactics, Senator Yee turned the bill into a gun ban monster.
SB 249, as amended, would make a small but profound change to the definition of what constitutes a detachable magazine for a semiautomatic firearm. By doing so, hundreds of thousands of semi-automatic rifles, which were legally sold in California over the last decade, would become illegal on July 1, 2013.
The existing definition of detachable magazine was used by Governor Brown’s administration for the four years he served as Attorney General.
Senator Yee’s bill has no provisions to allow permitting, licensing or reimbursement for the loss of valuable property. Worse yet, the bill doesn’t require a public notice program to advise owners of this change in state law.
Thousands of owners could be arrested for inadvertent violations. If you own an affected firearm, your only choices would be to destroy it, surrender it to a law enforcement agency, sell it out of state or have it confiscated at the time of your arrest! Which option would you prefer?
Call AND E-mail your state legislators TODAY and urge them to OPPOSE SB 249
Contact information for your state Senator can be found here.
Contact information for your state Assembly Member can be found here.
Also, contact Governor Jerry Brown and urge him to tell the state Legislature that he stands by the existing definition of detachable magazine,just as he did when he was Attorney General.
Governor Brown can be reached at 916-445-2841 and by e-mail at: http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php
Please forward this alert to your family, friends and fellow gun owners across California and urge them to do the same.
California is going to need EVERYONE to help fend off this attack!
"Assault Weapons" & Semi-Autos, California, Confiscation
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.READ MORE
© 2012 National Rifle Association of America. Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.11250 Waples Mill Rd. Fairfax, VA 22030 1800-392-8683(VOTE) | <urn:uuid:7299a7d0-9feb-4fcd-b317-8e1f470ea5e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2012/8/warning-sb-249-is-californias-worst-gun-confiscation-threat-in-20-years!.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93509 | 591 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The seniors at the J. Charley Griswell Senior Center, in Jonesboro, planted the first seeds of their fall garden, on Friday.
"[The] garden is a great way to get seniors involved," said Winston Eason, agriculture and natural resources agent for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service in Clayton County.
The garden will include turnips, collard greens, carrots, and spinach, among other fruits and vegetables.
Eason said the community garden gives senior citizens access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and allows them to be active as well. He was present at the event to give horticulture and nutrition tips to the participants.
The planting project is the result of a partnership among Clayton County Senior Services, Parks and Recreation, and the Clayton County Extension Service. It is an effort to extend the health- and-wellness initiative created by the Atlanta Regional Commission, according to Mary Byrd, director of Clayton County Senior Services. "Our main goal of this year is to focus more on healthy aging," she said.
Byrd said the community garden at Griswell will be a model for future gardens at the Frank Bailey Senior Center, in Riverdale, and the Shelnutt Inter-Generational Center, in Jonesboro.
Program coordinator for the Griswell Center, Linda McKenzie, said that some seniors are unable to have a garden because of where they live. "The garden will give them an opportunity to get fresh fruits and vegetables," said Mckenzie.
Senior Services, Health and Wellness Director Elaine Jackson said that "community gardens are becoming more popular now, especially in urban areas. She added, "The garden is a place to socialize, and an excellent place for exercise."
The Griswell gardeners planted seeds in the spring, but decided to improve the experience by raising the garden beds to a higher level . "The Parks and Recreation [department] helped the staff at Griswell, build the beds," said Tori Strawter, senior services assistant director.
Jonesboro resident, Patricia Ricketts, 58, said she was glad that the beds were raised, because she is in a wheelchair, and now, she is able to access them.
Elaine Jackson said the seeds should begin to show growth in about 30 days. "The vegetables will be ready for Thanksgiving dinner."
The J. Charley Griswell Senior Center is on Highway 138 E., in Jonesboro. | <urn:uuid:40a172fb-25ac-4349-b707-175ce4932458> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-daily.com/news/2010/oct/01/griswell-seniors-plant-seeds-for-healthier-living/ | 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 | 0.961042 | 499 | 1.625 | 2 |
Posting to Facebook isn’t just about posting the right content for your customers and fans. The time you post it is equally important. For example, post at 7am and you’re unlikely to get as many views as a post that goes up at 9am or lunchtime, purely because fewer people will be awake to view it.
Jeff Widman from PageLever recently wrote a piece for Mashable about how often you should post on Facebook, and when to post. Jeff actually places the emphasis on how long your post stays in a news feed. Like many Facebook fanatics, he advises against posting so much that your posts turn up several times in one news feed, as fans will turn off and unlike your page. But posting too little means you risk being missed by fans. The new Facebook pages mean that if fans aren’t interacting with your page, they’ll see your updates less often, so the quality of your content is a consideration too.
But trying to work out how often you should post based on news feed speed creates a problem: it’s pretty much guess-work. You can work out an average, but it really does depend on how many pages and people each fan already follows.
The key to finding out what time is best for your page is to pay attention to your page stats. Try posting at different times throughout each day. Then, check out the impressions and feedback for each post (you’ll find this data just above the like and comment buttons.) You’re aiming to get as many impressions and feedback activities (shares, likes and comments) as possible.
Additionally, you need to monitor the speed of impressions, and when the increase in impressions starts to slow down. If, for example, impressions steadily increase for 24 hours then stop, you know that most posts last a day in the average news feed. Therefore, posting daily is enough for your fans.
Do you have a specific method when it comes to posting on Facebook? | <urn:uuid:4193a3c3-6d8a-4392-9ded-25478ef79b74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://itsopen.co.uk/news/old-content/social-networking/how-often-should-you-post-on-the-new-facebook/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9548 | 411 | 1.640625 | 2 |
November 20, 2012
A communal ‘Tzedek’ who studies power
In 2006, after leading the search for a new dean for the Los Angeles campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Steven Windmueller was himself awarded the position, becoming the first non-rabbi dean of an HUC-JIR campus.
Two years later, when the national economy nosedived and the L.A. campus was slated to be shuttered, Windmueller might have regretted taking the reins. But instead, as the man in charge, he organized a robust — and ultimately successful — campaign to save it.
“Steven really fought the fight and galvanized everybody,” said Marla Abraham, who worked with Windmueller for 11 years at HUC-JIR’s School of Communal Service. “Not in the ‘general on the horse’ way, but in his quiet, deliberate, precise way.”
Throughout his career, Windmueller has often had to respond to crises, and his years as dean are just one reason that the Los Angeles chapter of Ameinu is presenting Windmueller with the Tzedek Award at its annual gala on Nov. 28. Ethel Taft, a member of the event’s organizing committee, said Windmueller’s academic work studying the Jewish community was as important to his selection as his work as a Jewish communal leader.
“He brings a special quality, and very appropriate insights into what the issues are facing our Jewish community and American Jews nationally,” said Taft, a member of Ameinu’s local leadership. “And we thought it was time the community said ‘thank you’ for all he’s done in the past and, hopefully, for what he will do in the future.”
Windmueller, 70, began his career earning a doctorate in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania but was persuaded by a friend who worked for American Jewish Committee (AJC) to move away from scholarship and work for the Jewish community. After a stint at AJC, Windmueller moved to Albany, N.Y., in 1974 to lead that city’s Federation. In 1985, he moved to Los Angeles to head the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), a position he held until 1995.
“Those years, we would have to classify as intense,” Windmueller said, speaking to the Journal by phone in early November on a quick stop back in Los Angeles between two separate speaking engagements in the Midwest. “Between the Intifada and the Soviet Jewry movement, the Northridge earthquake — and a host of other issues, both domestic and international — it was an extraordinary moment.”
As JCRC director, Windmueller said his key task was to build relationships, both within the local Jewish community and with other communities, often at tumultuous times. In 1992, following the announcement of the not-guilty verdict for the police officers involved in the Rodney King beating, Windmueller was asked by the mayor’s office, along with Rabbi Laura Geller, to go for an evening gathering at the First AME Church, in South Los Angeles. The event was aimed at fostering cross-ethnic, interreligious and racial connections, but it took place just as the riots were beginning.
“It was a very difficult evening, to say the least,” Windmueller said of the service, which eventually helped pave the way for his involvement in conversations with leaders from both the Korean- and African-American communities to talk about preventing future violence and how to direct rebuilding efforts.
Windmueller’s ability to engage the right people and forge connections would ultimately prove essential to his work defending the HUC-JIR campus from the threat of closure.
“He was able to put his relationships and partnerships into action, rallying efforts on behalf of the campus so that the total voice in the West bore more weight than the sum of the individual voices,” Joshua Holo, Windmueller’s successor as HUC-JIR dean, wrote in an e-mail. Windmueller also brought “a basis of substance and trust” in communicating with the various constituencies of HUC-JIR in Los Angeles, Holo wrote.
But Windmueller himself downplays his role in helping to save and stabilize the Los Angeles campus, emphasizing instead the students who mobilized with “energy and chutzpah” on behalf of their campus, as well as the work of other influencers.
“There were many leaders, not just on the West Coast,” Windmueller said, “who appreciated the fact that if such academic institutions are allowed to fall apart, then the entire community is a loser, is denied a certain level of culture, of intellectual and spiritual growth.”
Such humility is characteristic of Windmueller, according to Gerald Bubis, who founded HUC-JIR’s School of Communal Service, now called the School of Nonprofit Management.
“He’s a remarkable guy, and very modest” said Bubis, who was succeeded by Windmueller in 1995.
“He and his wife are also very, very generous,” Bubis added, referring to the Windmuellers’ support for college students studying to be teachers’ aides through a scholarship at California State University, Los Angeles.
Since stepping down as dean in 2010, Windmueller has now returned to his academic roots.
He is writing a book about Jewish power, looking at the two very different types of power structures that have existed in the American Jewish community over the course of the last two and a quarter centuries.
The first period, he said, began around 1880, and saw the creation of the Federation-based model, “a communal system that was very successful.”
Over the past few decades — the same ones Windmueller witnessed both as a professional and as a scholar of the Jewish community, the Federation-centered Jewish world, which he called a “crisis-based system,” has given way to the new model that exists today, he said.
In the future, with many more diffuse groups representing a far more individualized community, Windmueller said that American Jewry “will look differently, it will behave differently, and it will be far less coherent.”
But, he was quick to add, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the American Jewish community won’t continue to band together during tough times.
“One of the keys to Jewish history is that there are always these pushes and pulls,” Windmueller said, “like the individualism versus the collective impulse to be responsive to a crisis.” | <urn:uuid:3d10ca57-ce8a-4421-84aa-c40747d69e34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/print/a_communal_tzedek_who_studies_power | 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 | 0.976826 | 1,431 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Welcome to the forum, zen!
- i don't believe in any religion but in my country atheist is a crime.. so i cannot tell where i'm from and please don't track my IP
Kudos to you for this. I admire your lack of belief in a country where your right to hold a lack of belief is denied.
I've often wondered how many people in countries that have an official religion and that also have laws that forbid a disbelief are atheists. I've wondered if the religious belief of many people in such countries is a result of such laws and that deep down inside they truly only believe because it's 'required' by law. Going back to my days of taking psychology classes in college I wonder how many people are a victim of group think, and that they feel that a belief is necessary, but really if they examine themselves outside of their culture they will find they only have a belief because it's required by law.
A coworker of my husband is from Medina. While a child he held a belief in Allah because he felt it was necessary. When he moved here (NY) he shed his believe pretty quickly. He claims his belief in Allah was solely based on his surrounding culture. He told me that deep down inside he didn't really believe in Allah but only did it because it was required by culture and political influence.
Not too sure where I'm going with this because I've been up all night and I'm tired. Anyways, welcome! | <urn:uuid:a0370d2f-86de-4bf1-b0b1-3e1e1b449a13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/forums/index.php/topic,22335.msg498638.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988712 | 302 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Assault rifles are banned in Connecticut. But then again, they're not. PAUL TOOHEY reports
- From: News Limited Network
- December 18, 2012
AROUND the Newtown area in Connecticut, smaller gun stores had shut shop up on Monday.
The bigger gun stores were not inclined to explain how a person might go about buying a .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle such as used in Friday's massacre.
But the answer is that in Connecticut, which has some of the toughest gun restrictions in the US, it's not hard at all.
The Bushmaster is a variation of the AR-15 Armalite rifle, made by many different US manufacturers. Originally designated the M16, it was designed to take on the durable Russian-made AK-47, the so-called ``people's gun'', which proved so damaging to US troops in the Vietnam War.
Assault rifles were federally outlawed across the US in 1993, but the law expired in 2004, when most states let them become legal again.
Connecticut law states that it remains illegal to possess an assault rifle, but there are ways to get one legally.
Lindsay Nicholls, an attorney with the Law Centre to Prevent Gun Violence, explains how it works.
``Gun manufacturers sometimes create assault rifles in such a way they fall outside the law,'' she says.
``You add and take away features so that those guns are available and legal.''
Connecticut defines as assault rifle as a weapon that can accept a detachable magazine; has features such as a folding or telescopic stock; a pistol grip that makes it easier to control in rapid-fire situations; and a suppressor that stops recoil, which also helps with rapid fire.
However, if a manufacturer removes two of those features as the makers of the Bushmaster .223 carbine have done the weapon is legal in Connecticut.
A shooter's most preferred feature is the detachable magazine, because people firing a semi-auto want to be able to keep firing.
``There are magazines out there that can hold 100 bullets in one magazine, and that is legal in Connecticut,'' said Ms Nicholls.
If you buy a Bushmaster through a licenced dealer, there is a two-week waiting period, but if you buy it over the internet or from a private dealer, no waiting period and no background check is required.
Even so, the Law Centre rates Connecticut as one of the top five ``best'' gun-law states in the US.
``They have some of the stronger laws in the country, but that speaks more to the weaknesses in other states,'' Ms Nicholls says.
To purchase a Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle in Australia, you would need to be a professional contract shooter for the government and employed for the purposes of pest animal control.
You must also be authorised by the Attorney-General of Australia.
``No regular shooter, collector or hunter can own the Bushmaster .223 in Australia,'' explained Tim Horan, spokesperson for the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia.
``It is completely illegal.''
Between 2011 and 2012, three people in Victoria were found to be illegally in possession of guns that fall into the same category as a Bushmaster .223.
- Lisa Cornish
JUDGES will no longer be able to hand out suspended sentences to violent repeat offenders unless there are exceptional circumstances.
THE first "convincing evidence'' has emerged that petrol stations manipulate prices to maximise profits.
CORRUPT sports referees, dodgy players and suspect support staff could be exposed by a sophisticated new sports data tracking system.
PARENTS are rorting strict school zoning rules by registering parks and relatives' homes to trick their way into some of Adelaide's popular public schools. | <urn:uuid:ef4665b4-ab8b-4c0b-9873-5ed3f284f209> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/assault-rifles-are-banned-in-connecticut-but-then-again-theyre-not-paul-toohey-reports/story-fnejr8lb-1226539881547 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956083 | 775 | 1.625 | 2 |
Poems & Short Stories: 4,271
Forum Members: 70,634
Forum Posts: 1,033,546
And over 2 million unique readers monthly!
The Reche, literally translated the "Waste," where Marie-Anne had promised to meet Maurice, owed its name to the rebellious and sterile character of the soil.
Nature seemed to have laid her curse upon it. Nothing would grow there. The ground was covered with stones, and the sandy soil defied all attempts to enrich it.
A few stunted oaks rose here and there above the thorns and broom- plant.
But on the lowlands of the Reche is a flourishing grove. The firs are straight and strong, for the floods of winter have deposited in some of the clefts of the rock sufficient soil to sustain them and the wild clematis and honeysuckle that cling to their branches.
On reaching this grove, Maurice consulted his watch. It marked the hour of mid-day. He had supposed that he was late, but he was more than an hour in advance of the appointed time.
He seated himself upon a high rock, from which he could survey the entire Reche, and waited.
The day was magnificent; the air intensely hot. The rays of the August sun fell with scorching violence upon the sandy soil, and withered the few plants which had sprung up since the last rain.
The stillness was profound, almost terrible. Not a sound broke the silence, not even the buzzing of an insect, nor a whisper of breeze in the trees. All nature seemed sleeping. And on no side was there anything to remind one of life, motion, or mankind.
This repose of nature, which contrasted so vividly with the tumult raging in his own heart, exerted a beneficial effect upon Maurice. These few moments of solitude afforded him an opportunity to regain his composure, to collect his thoughts scattered by the storm of passion which had swept over his soul, as leaves are scattered by the fierce November gale.
With sorrow comes experience, and that cruel knowledge of life which teaches one to guard one's self against one's hopes.
It was not until he heard the conversation of these peasants that Maurice fully realized the horror of Lacheneur's position. Suddenly precipitated from the social eminence which he had attained, he found, in the valley of humiliations into which he was cast, only hatred, distrust, and scorn. Both factions despised and denied him. Traitor, cried one; thief, cried the other. He no longer held any social status. He was the fallen man, the man who had been, and who was no more.
Was not the excessive misery of such a position a sufficient explanation of the strangest and wildest resolutions?
This thought made Maurice tremble. Connecting the stories of the peasants with the words addressed to Chanlouineau at Escorval by M. Lacheneur on the preceding evening, he arrived at the conclusion that this report of Marie-Anne's approaching marriage to the young fanner was not so improbable as he had at first supposed.
But why should M. Lacheneur give his daughter to an uncultured peasant? From mercenary motives? Certainly not, since he had just refused an alliance of which he had been proud in his days of prosperity. Could it be in order to satisfy his wounded pride, then? Perhaps he did not wish it to be said that he owed anything to a son- in-law.
Maurice was exhausting all his ingenuity and penetration in endeavoring to solve this mystery, when at last, on a foot-path which crosses the waste, a woman appeared--Marie-Anne.
He rose, but fearing observation, did not venture to leave the shelter of the grove.
Marie-Anne must have felt a similar fear, for she hurried on, casting anxious glances on every side as she ran. Maurice remarked, not without surprise, that she was bare-headed, and that she had neither shawl nor scarf about her shoulders.
As she reached the edge of the wood, he sprang toward her, and catching her hand raised it to his lips.
But this hand, which she had so often yielded to him, was now gently withdrawn, with so sad a gesture that he could not help feeling there was no hope.
"I came, Maurice," she began, "because I could not endure the thought of your anxiety. By doing so I have betrayed my father's confidence-- he was obliged to leave home. I hastened here. And yet I promised him, only two hours ago, that I would never see you again. You hear me-- never!"
She spoke hurriedly, but Maurice was appalled by the firmness of her accent.
Had he been less agitated, he would have seen what a terrible effort this semblance of calmness cost the young girl. He would have understood it from her pallor, from the contraction of her lips, from the redness of the eyelids which she had vainly bathed with fresh water, and which betrayed the tears that had fallen during the night.
"If I have come," she continued, "it is only to tell you that, for your own sake, as well as for mine, there must not remain in the secret recesses of your heart even the slightest shadow of a hope. All is over; we are separated forever! Only weak natures revolt against a destiny which they cannot alter. Let us accept our fate uncomplainingly. I wished to see you once more, and to say this: Have courage, Maurice. Go away--leave Escorval--forget me!"
"Forget you, Marie-Anne!" exclaimed the wretched young man, "forget you!"
His eyes met hers, and in a husky voice he added:
"Will you then forget me?"
"I am a woman, Maurice--"
But he interrupted her:
"Ah! I did not expect this," he said, despondently. "Poor fool that I was! I believed that you would find a way to touch your father's heart."
She blushed slightly, hesitated, and said:
"I have thrown myself at my father's feet; he repulsed me."
Maurice was thunderstruck, but recovering himself:
"It was because you did not know how to speak to him!" he exclaimed in a passion of fury; "but I shall know--I will present such arguments that he will be forced to yield. What right has he to ruin my happiness with his caprices? I love you---by right of this love, you are mine--mine rather than his! I will make him understand this, you shall see. Where is he? Where can I find him?"
Already he was starting to go, he knew not where. Marie-Anne caught him by the arm.
"Remain," she commanded, "remain! So you have failed to understand me, Maurice. Ah, well! you must know the truth. I am acquainted now with the reasons of my father's refusal; and though his decision should cost me my life, I approve it. Do not go to find my father. If, moved by your prayers, he gave his consent, I should have the courage to refuse mine!"
Maurice was so beside himself that this reply did not enlighten him. Crazed with anger and despair, and with no remorse for the insult he addressed to this woman whom he loved so deeply, he exclaimed:
"Is it for Chanlouineau, then, that you are reserving your consent? He believes so since he goes about everywhere saying that you will soon be his wife."
Marie-Anne shuddered as if a knife had entered her very heart; and yet there was more sorrow than anger in the glance she cast upon Maurice.
"Must I stoop so low as to defend myself from such an imputation?" she asked, sadly. "Must I declare that if even I suspect such an arrangement between Chanlouineau and my father, I have not been consulted? Must I tell you that there are some sacrifices which are beyond the strength of poor human nature? Understand this: I have found strength to renounce the man I love--I shall never be able to accept another in his place!"
Maurice hung his head, abashed by her earnest words, dazzled by the sublime expression of her face.
Reason returned; he realized the enormity of his suspicions, and was horrified with himself for having dared to give utterance to them.
"Oh! pardon!" he faltered, "pardon!"
What did the mysterious causes of all these events which had so rapidly succeeded each other, or M. Lacheneur's secrets, or Marie- Anne's reticence, matter to him now?
He was seeking some chance of salvation; he believed that he had found it.
"We must fly!" he exclaimed: "fly at once without pausing to look back. Before night we shall have passed the frontier."
He sprang toward her with outstretched arms, as if to seize her and bear her away; but she checked him by a single look.
"Fly!" said she, reproachfully; "fly! and is it you, Maurice, who counsel me thus? What! while misfortune is crushing my poor father to the earth, shall I add despair and shame to his sorrows? His friends have deserted him; shall I, his daughter, also abandon him? Ah! if I did that, I should be the vilest, the most cowardly of creatures! If my father, yesterday, when I believed him the owner of Sairmeuse, had demanded the sacrifice to which I consented last evening, I might, perhaps, have resolved upon the extreme measure you have counselled. In broad daylight I might have left Sairmeuse on the arm of my lover. It is not the world that I fear! But if one might consent to fly from the chateau of a rich and happy father, one cannot consent to desert the poor abode of a despairing and penniless parent. Leave me, Maurice, where honor holds me. It will not be difficult for me, who am the daughter of generations of peasants, to become a peasant. Go! I cannot endure more! Go! and remember that one cannot be utterly wretched if one's conscience is clean, and one's duty fulfilled!"
Maurice was about to reply, when a crackling of dry branches made him turn his head.
Scarcely ten paces off, Martial de Sairmeuse was standing motionless, leaning upon his gun.
|Art of Worldly Wisdom Daily|
In the 1600s, Balthasar Gracian, a jesuit priest wrote 300 aphorisms on living life called "The Art of Worldly Wisdom." Join our newsletter below and read them all, one at a time.
Shakespeare wrote over 150 sonnets! Join our Sonnet-A-Day Newsletter and read them all, one at a time. | <urn:uuid:469060ce-b036-4ff2-8d12-a4befb85f790> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.online-literature.com/gaboriau/honor-of-the-name/9/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983786 | 2,309 | 1.726563 | 2 |
City – Tribes Formalize Relations [AUDIO]
At Monday night’s Missoula City Council meeting, the city and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes formalized their government to government relationship.
Tribal council member Steve Lozar asked those in attendance to use their imaginations to think back over the years to when the Indian peoples hunted and fished in the area where the University of Montana now stands. Lozar also spoke at the dedication of the University of Montana’s Native American Center.
Lozar and several tribal council members were on hand for the ceremony at the Missoula city council chambers.
The name ‘Missoula’ comes from the Salish word for the Clark Fork river.
CSKT Council member Steve Lozar | <urn:uuid:a00de2db-36ea-4414-9758-f67d7d9b7efd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kyssfm.com/city-tribes-formalize-relations-audio/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946299 | 165 | 1.6875 | 2 |
U.S. vetoes Security Council resolution denouncing Israeli settlements
Friday, February 18, 2011; 10:26 PM
UNITED NATIONS - The Obama administration Friday cast its first-ever veto in the U.N. Security Council, blocking a Palestinian-backed draft resolution that denounced Israel's settlement policy as an illegal obstacle to peace efforts in the Middle East.
The U.S. vote killed off a measure that was supported by the 14 other members of the Security Council and isolated the United States on a crucial Middle East matter at a time of political upheaval in the region.
Although U.S. officials have consistently criticized the settlement policy, a vote in favor of the resolution would have angered Israel and its U.S. supporters, including Republican lawmakers, who had urged the Obama administration to stand with Israel at all costs.
After the vote, U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice sought to play down U.S. differences with the rest of the U.N. membership, saying the administration's veto should "not be misunderstood to mean we support settlement activity."
"For more than four decades, Israeli settlement activity in territories occupied in 1967 has undermined Israel's security and corroded hopes for peace and stability in the region," Rice told the council. "Continued settlement activity violates Israel's international commitments, devastates trust between the parties and threatens the prospects for peace."
But, Rice said, the adoption of the resolution would risk "hardening the positions of both sides."
In September, President Obama electrified the U.N. membership in his address to the General Assembly by expressing hope that, sometime this year, a new agreement could lead to a sovereign Palestinian state being welcomed into the United Nations. But Friday, the administration stood far apart from even its closest allies. Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement arguing that the resolution would have advanced the peace process.
It was the first time the U.S. government has used its veto in the Security Council since 2006, when the George W. Bush administration vetoed a resolution calling for a halt to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. Arab diplomats warned that the repercussions of the U.S. veto would be worse this time, exacerbating the political crisis in the Middle East and hardening attitudes toward the United States. The resolution had more than 120 co-sponsors.
"This veto is not going to help the peace process, and it is going to complicate things in the Middle East," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "It comes at a very dangerous time. The whole area is boiling, and this American attitude is not going to help stabilize the region."
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his government's appreciation for the American vote.
"Today's decision by the U.S. makes it clear that the only path to such a peace will come through direct negotiations and not through the decisions of international bodies," Netanyahu said.
The vote Friday brought an end to a last-minute and ultimately failed diplomatic campaign to persuade the Palestinians to drop their resolution in favor of a milder statement rebuking Israel for constructing new settlements in seized Arab lands.
Obama discussed the issue with Abbas, and the administration offered to support a presidential statement saying that Israel's ongoing settlement activities lacked legitimacy. Among other measures, the administration also pledged to consider undertaking the first visit by the U.N. Security Council to the Middle East since 1979.
Special correspondent Joel Greenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:c9788d1b-3367-433f-a931-5adebfed550b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021805442.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959657 | 722 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.