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St Marys Cement is committed to producing products in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. Our success is based upon our connection with the community and the environment.Outstanding Rehabilitation Examples by St. Marys Cement and CBM Aggregates.An Important Member of the Community: Employer, Investor, NeighbourThe companyís products are an essential part of the development and renewal of buildings and infrastructure, and cement-based products are found in every aspect of daily life, including buildings, bridges, highways and sidewalks.
St Marys is situated in many communities around the Great Lakes. The company is one of the largest employers in some communities.
St Marys works closely with local government on issues such as economic growth, community investment, and improving the quality of life for residents. Company representatives partner with local politicians and other area businesses to support growth initiatives.
St Marys believes in giving back to its community through contributions to community associations and support of a variety of local sports and arts programs.
St Marys partners with our communities to bring new learning experiences to local young people by speaking to students about geology and chemistry. Classes visit for lessons and co-op students continue to make contributions to the St Marys team.
Excellent Products and Environmental Excellence
St Marys is committed to producing products in an excellent environmentally responsible manner. The company has been recognized for its efforts to preserve and enhance the natural environment. For example, quarry operations have been praised for interesting and innovative rehabilitation schemes.
The company is committed to working cooperatively with local community groups and government to address environmental challenges. The Company works to improve communication and create opportunities for open dialogue between St Marys Cement, and the residential communities that surround the companyís lands.
St Marys actively participates in the development and creation of responsible environmental laws, regulations and policies.
The company addresses environmental concerns and promotes environmental awareness through focused employee training, procedures and programs. Employees are encouraged to commit to continuous improvement in environmental performance.
Environmental professionals are employed to guide and support the company in its activities and environmental performance.
St Marys Cement works towards optimum energy efficiency and always looks to identify efficient and environmentally friendly alternative fuel and raw material sources.
Many St Marys employees typically live close to where they work, they feel a shared responsibility for the welfare of our natural environment and to the community. | <urn:uuid:9c747249-6895-4376-b209-6b916a823662> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stmaryscement.com/saintmaryscementinc/corp_environment.asp | 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 | 0.949073 | 480 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The Malice of Unnatural Death
Exeter, 1324. When the body of a local craftsman and a King’s Messenger are found murdered, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, the Keeper of the King’s Peace, and his friend Bailiff Simon Puttock are asked by the Bishop of Exeter to investigate. However the investigation is complicated by lethal national politics in the form of a plot to murder the King. John of Nottingham, a necromancer in Coventry, had been hired to use magic to kill the monarch and his allies the Despensers. However, the plot is uncovered, and the necromancer flees to Exeter to escape justice and to ply his black arts against the king once more. Throw in a serving girl who is infatuated with her master, the Sheriff, and a dangerous secret which the Bishop is anxious to retrieve, and you have a satisfying mixture of medieval mayhem and murder. Mr Jecks is an expert on Devon’s medieval social history, and as with all his books he writes about the period and the area with sufficient detail to evoke a picture without overpowering the reader with huge, superfluous descriptions. Fans of medieval mysteries will undoubtedly enjoy this, the 22nd book in the series. | <urn:uuid:385c023d-7656-4a08-aaec-4604e252bc14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-malice-of-unnatural-death/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964803 | 259 | 1.585938 | 2 |
I have started off by reading Displaying Facebook posts to non-Facebook users which is of some use but I cannot believe it is this difficult to get a public feed from Facebook.
The page I want a feed from is public, you do not need to be logged into get to it.
Am I right in presuming that I need an access_token to get to this information, attempting to access the URL without results in an OAuth error.
So the flow should be like this (massively, overly complex):
- Authenticate using a user (what if the user isn't on Facebook?)
- Some complex OAuth nonsense - just to read the feed, I do not even want a like button or post to wall functionality
- Get the feed using a PHP request to the correct URL with the user's access_token
- Render the feed
Assuming the user isn't on Facebook, what do you do, use a generic app to get the feed?
- Hardcode an auth request to Facebook using my generic app's ID and secret
- Some complex OAuth nonsense
- Get the feed using a PHP request to the correct URL with the app's access_token
- Render the feed
- Oh no, the auth has expired, re-auth and capture this new access_token for use in future requests.
This seems really complex for no reason other than Facebook wants to know EVERYTHING that is going on, it'd be easier to do a cURL and scrape the content from the public URL using XPath.
Any help on this would be great.
An edit to show this is not an exact duplicate.
I had this working with an access_token in place, but now it fails, the token has expired and I can no longer use it to obtain information from the public wall.
I attempted to extend the expiration date of this token using the methods mentioned in other posts but this didn't work and the expiration was not extended - we are now here, with an invalid token and no further along.
It seems that the manual process of having to approve the OAuth request means that it is impossible to programatically get the feed of a public page. | <urn:uuid:198c4d38-b46e-4010-9897-c7e0755da9d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://facebook.stackoverflow.com/questions/9759386/get-wall-feed-from-a-public-facebook-page-using-graph-api-is-it-really-this-co/11646284 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938193 | 449 | 1.53125 | 2 |
On the thirteenth of August Pierre reached Moscow. Close to the gates of the city he was met by Count Rostopchin's adjutant.
"We have been looking for you everywhere," said the adjutant. "The count wants to see you particularly. He asks you to come to him at once on a very important matter."
Without going home, Pierre took a cab and drove to see the Moscow commander in chief.
Count Rostopchin had only that morning returned to town from his summer villa at Sokolniki. The anteroom and reception room of his house were full of officials who had been summoned or had come for orders. Vasilchikov and Platov had already seen the count and explained to him that it was impossible to defend Moscow and that it would have to be surrendered. Though this news was being concealed from the inhabitants, the officials- the heads of the various government departments- knew that Moscow would soon be in the enemy's hands, just as Count Rostopchin himself knew it, and to escape personal responsibility they had all come to the governor to ask how they were to deal with their various departments.
As Pierre was entering the reception room a courier from the army came out of Rostopchin's private room.
In answer to questions with which he was greeted, the courier made a despairing gesture with his hand and passed through the room.
While waiting in the reception room Pierre with weary eyes watched the various officials, old and young, military and civilian, who were there. They all seemed dissatisfied and uneasy. Pierre went up to a group of men, one of whom he knew. After greeting Pierre they continued their conversation.
"If they're sent out and brought back again later on it will do no harm, but as things are now one can't answer for anything."
"But you see what he writes..." said another, pointing to a printed sheet he held in his hand.
"That's another matter. That's necessary for the people," said the first.
"What is it?" asked Pierre.
"Oh, it's a fresh broadsheet."
Pierre took it and began reading.
His Serene Highness has passed through Mozhaysk in order to join up with the troops moving toward him and has taken up a strong position where the enemy will not soon attack him. Forty eight guns with ammunition have been sent him from here, and his Serene Highness says he will defend Moscow to the last drop of blood and is even ready to fight in the streets. Do not be upset, brothers, that the law courts are closed; things have to be put in order, and we will deal with villains in our own way! When the time comes I shall want both town and peasant lads and will raise the cry a day or two beforehand, but they are not wanted yet so I hold my peace. An ax will be useful, a hunting spear not bad, but a three-pronged fork will be best of all: a Frenchman is no heavier than a sheaf of rye. Tomorrow after dinner I shall take the Iberian icon of the Mother of God to the wounded in the Catherine Hospital where we will have some water blessed. That will help them to get well quicker. I, too, am well now: one of my eyes was sore but now I am on the lookout with both.
"But military men have told me that it is impossible to fight in the town," said Pierre, "and that the position..."
"Well, of course! That's what we were saying," replied the first speaker.
"And what does he mean by 'One of my eyes was sore but now I am on the lookout with both'?" asked Pierre.
"The count had a sty," replied the adjutant smiling, "and was very much upset when I told him people had come to ask what was the matter with him. By the by, Count," he added suddenly, addressing Pierre with a smile, "we heard that you have family troubles and that the countess, your wife..."
"I have heard nothing," Pierre replied unconcernedly. "But what have you heard?"
"Oh, well, you know people often invent things. I only say what I heard."
"But what did you hear?"
"Well, they say," continued the adjutant with the same smile, "that the countess, your wife, is preparing to go abroad. I expect it's nonsense...."
"Possibly," remarked Pierre, looking about him absent-mindedly. "And who is that?" he asked, indicating a short old man in a clean blue peasant overcoat, with a big snow-white beard and eyebrows and a ruddy face.
"He? That's a tradesman, that is to say, he's the restaurant keeper, Vereshchagin. Perhaps you have heard of that affair with the proclamation."
"Oh, so that is Vereshchagin!" said Pierre, looking at the firm, calm face of the old man and seeking any indication of his being a traitor.
"That's not he himself, that's the father of the fellow who wrote the proclamation," said the adjutant. "The young man is in prison and I expect it will go hard with him."
An old gentleman wearing a star and another official, a German wearing a cross round his neck, approached the speaker.
"It's a complicated story, you know," said the adjutant. "That proclamation appeared about two months ago. The count was informed of it. He gave orders to investigate the matter. Gabriel Ivanovich here made the inquiries. The proclamation had passed through exactly sixty-three hands. He asked one, 'From whom did you get it?' 'From so-and-so.' He went to the next one. 'From whom did you get it?' and so on till he reached Vereshchagin, a half educated tradesman, you know, 'a pet of a trader,'" said the adjutant smiling. "They asked him, 'Who gave it you?' And the point is that we knew whom he had it from. He could only have had it from the Postmaster. But evidently they had come to some understanding. He replied: 'From no one; I made it up myself.' They threatened and questioned him, but he stuck to that: 'I made it up myself.' And so it was reported to the count, who sent for the man. 'From whom did you get the proclamation?' 'I wrote it myself.' Well, you know the count," said the adjutant cheerfully, with a smile of pride, "he flared up dreadfully- and just think of the fellow's audacity, lying, and obstinacy!"
"And the count wanted him to say it was from Klyucharev? I understand!" said Pierre.
"Not at all," rejoined the adjutant in dismay. "Klyucharev had his own sins to answer for without that and that is why he has been banished. But the point is that the count was much annoyed. 'How could you have written it yourself?' said he, and he took up the Hamburg Gazette that was lying on the table. 'Here it is! You did not write it yourself but translated it, and translated it abominably, because you don't even know French, you fool.' And what do you think? 'No,' said he, 'I have not read any papers, I made it up myself.' 'If that's so, you're a traitor and I'll have you tried, and you'll be hanged! Say from whom you had it.' 'I have seen no papers, I made it up myself.' And that was the end of it. The count had the father fetched, but the fellow stuck to it. He was sent for trial and condemned to hard labor, I believe. Now the father has come to intercede for him. But he's a good-for-nothing lad! You know that sort of tradesman's son, a dandy and lady-killer. He attended some lectures somewhere and imagines that the devil is no match for him. That's the sort of fellow he is. His father keeps a cookshop here by the Stone Bridge, and you know there was a large icon of God Almighty painted with a scepter in one hand and an orb in the other. Well, he took that icon home with him for a few days and what did he do? He found some scoundrel of a painter..."
Eric von Hippel
Erik S. Raymond | <urn:uuid:741fa54b-3227-4fda-b61d-cd36f76a1f80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jus.uio.no/sisu/war_and_peace.leo_tolstoy/_242.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989386 | 1,785 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Charlotte Meadows had been with the school board for 6 years. Throughout the grade changing scandal she's seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Allegations of grade changing in Montgomery Public Schools first came to light last October. Since then, 7 administrators have been placed on paid leave. Parents at these schools still have many questions regarding the ongoing investigation and feel like they're not getting answers, something Meadows says she understands.
"That was probably one of the problems I had, that it seemed like we were always trying to not be upfront about what we were doing and so the responsiveness accountability was not very apparent," says Meadows.
It's still not yet clear who exactly was changing grades but Meadows speculates that some within the school system felt pressure to produce acceptable graduation numbers.
"I can see where there was a strong will amongst everyone in the school system to see the school system succeed. And so it could be the perception was that they were being told in several different ways to do whatever it takes to make students graduate," she explains.
But doing 'whatever it takes' had its consequences and Meadows believes some in Montgomery Public Schools took things too far.
"It's my opinion that's probably what happened," she says. "I think people heard the same words but interpreted it slightly different. And some people interpreted it on one side of the grey line and some people interpreted 'do whatever it takes' on a different side of that grey line and it was, what i call cheating."
Hearings will soon be held for these administrators placed on leave and Meadows says the public may allowed in.
"The due process hearings are up to the employee whether or not they are open or closed. So if there's a hearing that's going on and the employee believes that they're innocent, they may likely ask their friends to come."
Meadows says her experience as President of the Board throughout the grade-changing scandal has left her with some regret.
"For me personally its just been sad. One of the things that still bugs me about this whole grade-changing issue is the fact that there were 200 students. For those 200 kids, we could have changed the trajectory of their lives."
Charlotte Meadows is now working for Students First, an organization that works primarily with the State Legislature to advocate for changes in policies and regulations for students. | <urn:uuid:bbc04e42-dd3e-410f-ac5e-58adebf83a2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wncftv.com/localnews/Former-Montgomery-Co-School-Board-President-Speaks-with-CBS-8-News-187987761.html?skipthumb=Y | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987038 | 482 | 1.625 | 2 |
What Exactly Does System Restore Back Up?
Jack Maloney wants to know what files and folders are backed up when Windows creates a restore point, and what changes when you restore one.
That's an excellent question, and one that isn't all that easy to answer. Microsoft offers a very general description, but doesn't go into details. I'll do the best I can based on Microsoft's official description, my own years of experience, and some recent testing.
The quick, simple explanation is that System Restore backs up and restores the Registry, important Windows files, and the programs you've installed into Windows. It has no effect whatsoever on documents, photos, and so forth.
But that isn't quite accurate. If it was, you'd be able to reliably create a restore point, uninstall an application, restore the point, and have the application back. That might actually work in some cases, but it won't in most. That's because System Restore might not protect all of the files that the uninstall deletes.
System Restore chooses what to protect based on file type, not folder location. It backs up .exe files, .dlls, batch files, and shortcuts. I couldn't obtain a full list, so there may be others, but having just tested the XP and Vista versions of System Restore, I can verify those.
Many people assume that System Restore backs up everything in certain locations, such as Program Files and the Desktop, while leaving the Documents folder alone. (After all, you don't want that project you've been working on to revert to last Sunday's version just because Windows was misbehaving.) But that isn't the case. I deleted an program file and a .wav sound file from a folder within Program Files, then restored from a point created before the deletions. I got the program file back, but not the .wav. I got similar results with different file types on the desktop and in my Documents folder.
It's best to see System Restore as an imperfect system whose main advantage is that it's there and creates its backups automatically. When it works (and there's no guarantee of that), it does a pretty good job protecting Windows, a mediocre one on your applications, and leaves your data alone. | <urn:uuid:ad1ff0c2-ca17-4a18-b743-9570e79d486f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pcworld.about.net/od/windows1/What-Exactly-Does-System-Resto.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958935 | 458 | 1.8125 | 2 |
If you are attending a writers conference or pitching your book to an agent, you need a one-sheet. A (very) condensed version of your book proposal, a one-sheet gives basic information about you and your book.
Your one-sheet should have the following information:
- Your contact info and a picture. Include your social media links (Twitter, Google+, and Facebook).
- Your elevator pitch. When someone asks what your book is about, you should be able to answer in one to two sentences. This is your elevator pitch.
- The “back cover” description of your book. This is a longer, more detailed description of your book.
You can also include:
- The estimated book length.
- Your target audience.
- A positive quote from someone who read your book.
- If you have an agent, include his/her contact info.
- If you have published your book as an e-book, give the stats of how many times it has been downloaded.
A one-sheet is an easy way to introduce someone to yourself and your book. You can be creative, but make it easy to read and navigate. | <urn:uuid:213fa803-56c5-40a6-a009-523def70d583> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nextstepediting.com/how-to-create-a-one-sheet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947959 | 242 | 1.820313 | 2 |
What is Part B (Medical Insurance)?
Part B helps cover medically-necessary services like doctors' services, outpatient care, durable medical equipment, home health services, and other medical services. Part B also covers some preventive services. Check your Medicare card to find out if you have Part B.
How Much Does Part B Cost?
If you have Part B, you pay a Part B premium each month. Most people will pay the standard premium amount. Social Security will contact some people who have to pay more depending on their income. If you don't sign up for Part B when you're first eligible, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty.
How Do I Get Part B?
Some people automatically get Part B. Learn how and when you can sign up for Part B.
What Does Part B Cover?
To find out if Part B covers something specific, visit Your Medicare Coverage. Part B covers two types of services:
- Medically-necessary services — Services or supplies that are needed to diagnose or treat your medical condition and that meet accepted standards of medical practice.
- Preventive services — Health care to prevent illness (like the flu) or detect it at an early stage, when treatment is most likely to work best. | <urn:uuid:0c21c051-8394-446e-b0ce-aa76ae5f420f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicare.gov/(S(d3q2k5mmu0fycz3ivrllnl45))/navigation/medicare-basics/medicare-benefits/part-b.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931073 | 255 | 1.828125 | 2 |
From the “Unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of the Indian dream” comes the question—well, not question, but the verdict really: Now, when English is becoming an economic driver, is a revolution near?
The piece referred to is the cover story of last week’s Mint Lounge, the weekend edition of the country’s second largest business paper The story relates anecdotes from students, vendors, and admen to make an argument on why English is such an important factor in reaping rich economic dividends in these times.
It starts off with Gauri Shinde, director of the forthcoming Hindi film English Vinglish, telling us about how the work is inspired by her mother, a spice seller, “who regretted not having known enough English to expand her business...” It goes on to relate instances of how students other than from English-medium schools feel belittled when faced with their suave counterparts educated in English-medium schools. “Bura lagta hai,” they admit, while talking about how they have to seek help from these very “friends” for presentations and projects and how they are made fun of for not understanding simple English in classrooms.
The author informs us of the involvement of British Council in English-language development projects in 11 States. The Council has partnered with the Maharashtra Government for a two-year programme, which started this month, “to improve the quality of English-language teaching in lower primary classrooms”. The underlying assumption here is that such a project will wash away the “gap” that becomes a source of shame for the non-English-medium students.
Yet, trying to address an issue such as this is like treating the symptoms while ignoring the underlying malaise. The problem is at two levels. One, that in a society so deeply divided as ours, where access to premier private schools is the preserve of a select few along the lines of caste and class, it’s anybody’s guess what parity such efforts will bring about. There will always be a gap between education in government schools and private schools, unless the education policy is overhauled in its entirety.
Secondly, the programme does nothing about the hegemonic status that English enjoys in society. It does not question why English is “the” language to learn, but only serves to reinforce the social status that the language enjoys. What we need more urgently perhaps are lessons in schools and elsewhere on valuing languages other than English, and to a certain extent, Hindi. Students as well as teachers need to be taught that each language expresses one way of seeing the world; it’s an expression of the history, culture, society, and identity of the people who speak it. One only needs to refer to the People’s Linguistic Survey of India spearheaded by G.N. Devy to understand the urgency and the enormity of such an effort. It’s nobody’s business, after all, to designate one language as “better”, or more efficient, than the other. In one sweep, it could take the sails off all efforts at linguistic jingoism too.
Changing the terms
The article does not fail to take note of the fact that language cannot be equated with knowledge. In a section titled “The countercurrent”, the writer speaks about how the monopoly of English has, in fact, been broken. She quotes Nitish Kumar telling Business Standard after a trip to China: “They took knowledge and turned it into their language. We mistook language for knowledge.” What skews the picture however is what follows: A quote, Prasoon Joshi saying “advertising has by necessity become a bilingual industry...You can’t survive in it if you can’t speak Hindi...”
Prasoon Joshi is an example of what senior journalist Shekhar Gupta calls HMT, or Hindi Medium Types. In interviews with Joshi and others from the HMT-bandwagon, Gupta makes a big deal about the fact that these people have succeeded in breaking into an arena that was elitist, reserved only for those with knowledge of “proper” English. It is pertinent to ask, however, if the HMT-types Gupta refers to would have made it big if they were not enjoying the benefits of some hegemony or the other. Would Gupta be such a big name in the news industry if he were the editor of an Indian language daily? Would Joshi be such a big name is he were not hobnobbing with the biggest producers of Bollywood, writing lyrics for them and creating ads that sold the products of powerful MNCs?
Holding up their own lives as examples of those who have been able to break the monopoly of English is changing the terms of the debate. It’s no longer about how people have managed to make it “big” without the knowledge of English, solely on the basis of their native tongues. It’s about breaking in. And that’s typically the frame into which this Lounge cover story falls. And how!
The story talks about the work of Swati Birla and Amit Basole, professors at MIT, who are measuring the penetration of English in Indian society in a project called “Negotiating English in Mumbai’s Informal Economy”. They are attempting to quantify this “working your way in” (or breaking in, call it what you want).
The story recounts the tale of a bookseller in Mumbai’s Flora Fountain area who rues the fact that he can’t speak English though he understands it. He and other vendors mention that their businesses would have done much better, that they wouldn’t be thought of as “ignorant”, if they could speak English fluently. One has nothing against this functional role that English can play. In fact, the author of the Mint story also points out something similar. “India is beginning to realise that cultural identity and the functionality of a language are separate things, and can coexist’, she says. But to ignore the issue of being considered as “ignorant” and to refer to functional knowledge as a revolution is carrying things a bit too far.
One can argue that the story tries to show what the man on the streetthinks of English. But is the role of the press limited to glibly talking about what exists, or does it also include pointing out what’s unjust about the picture?
While that revolution—of moving from merely stating to sharply analysing—might take a while, what’s do-able in the short term perhaps, in order to break the monopoly of English, is creating language literate newsrooms. Enough has been said about how our newsrooms are not inclusive, and one could well add language to caste and class exclusions. Unless there is a diversity of languages in the newsrooms of the biggest news networks in the country, the positing of English knowledge as a marker of a revolution will continue unabated. What will also continue perhaps are instances such as these:
While Mamata Banerjee was presenting her Railway Budget a couple of years ago, English news channels were going about their efforts to get their fix of breaking news from her speech. When she mentioned that she would start a new batch of fast trains between select cities christened “Duronto”, Times Now’s newsroom thought she was referring to the superfast Toronto-style trains in her markedly Bengali accent. And out went the breaking news: Mamata introduces Toronto-style trains.
Only later did they realise that Mamata Banerjee was referring to the Bengali word duronto, translated loosely as “restless”. If this can happen with a “major” language like Bengali, whose speakers populate the media quite a bit, imagine the fate of lesser languages.
Aritra is a Mumbai-based independent journalist and Programme Executive at Jnanapravaha Mumbai. He completed an MA in Sociology from the University of Mumbai this year, and teaches in a couple of city colleges. | <urn:uuid:6b3bdd69-f150-4883-b44f-08f2c13d9f8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehoot.org/web/DoweneedtobeAngrezi/6103-1-1-15-true.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969334 | 1,698 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Assess the Wiring
Often the biggest factor affecting the cost of recessed light fixtures is how much new wiring is needed. If you're replacing existing lights with recessed fixtures, chances are you can use the same circuit to supply the new fixtures, and the electrical work may be minimal. On the other hand, if no fixtures or suitable circuits are in the area, you'll need to tie into the closest appropriate circuit or install an entirely new circuit and breaker; this isn't a huge deal, but it can easily add $100 to $200 or more to the project cost. Have an electrician come over for a quick assessment of your plans. Many will do this for free on the prospect of getting to bid on the job. | <urn:uuid:2d7b7ede-c9b3-4850-b4be-f0914f40af05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.click2houston.com/lifestyle/2abetterhome/electrical/What-to-expect-when-installing-recessed-light-fixtures/-/4697038/16803256/-/item/2/-/90gstez/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934839 | 149 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Mapping Business Processes (MBP) and Re-engineering
Does your organization address an overall sound relationship management strategy?
Typically, various strategies are developed under various Groups--- None of which communicates at the very beginning, or until it’s too late.
"A camel is a horse designed by committee."
--Sir Alec Issigonis
Alec Issigonis was born in Smyrne, Turkey, in the year 1906. In 1922, he and his family were exiled to Malta by the British Navy. At the young age of 15 he arrived in London, began studying engineering and worked for Morris Motor Company. There he designed the Morris Minor-- Unless you're from England you don't know what an Icon it is.
At that time the small car was not well received, but when the Suez crisis brought about rationing, the BMC asked him to design an efficient small car. The new design was the ever-lovable Mini-- Made famous in the original movie: "The Italian Job". For those unfamiliar with the Suez Crisis, it was a war fought on Egyptian territory in 1956. The conflict pitted Egypt against an alliance of France, the United Kingdom and Israel.
This alliance largely took place as a result of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser's action of nationalizing the Suez Canal Company, which operated the Suez Canal, an important asset to French and British economies, particularly as a chokepoint in world oil shipments.
The Mini soon became the best selling car in Europe. To honor his success, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1969. The Mini defines his design philosophy, “less is more”.
The unenlightened business process works like this: IT develops the platform and Web strategy, agents and customer service teams develop the call center policy--- nobody ever addresses the ever mounting role of e-mail. And what about good old-fashioned snail mail? Has anyone checked the mailbox recently? Do we still mail paper to people?
And while marketing is coming up with a totally new method to reach consumers--- have they pictured themselves in their customer’s shoes and thought about how the customer will reach you?
In order to meet business objectives that affect your bottom line, understanding how your business currently provides products and service is important. With this understanding you can determine how your technology can improve that process so that the cost/benefit analysis of installing technology weighs heavier on the benefit side of the equation.
Many times when new technology buzz words like ERP “Enterprise resource planning” or CRM “Customer Relationship Management” come out, there is a "jump on the band wagon” or get “left behind" mentality.
The knee jerk reaction to implementing technology may not be the best business decision unless the motivations for positioning technology are well thought out and documented.
Technology policy and planning is important. A team should spend time determining exactly what the company wants a CRM implementation to provide.
These clearly defined goals, thought out by executive teams, should then be integrated with a multi-faceted working party that has members from all departments-- giving their opinion based on user experience.
What happens when those goals are not planned properly?
When sales, marketing, business development, quality assurance, and customer service are not integrated into a team with Information Technology, the choices that are made may not help gain or keep long term repeat customers. It is less expensive to retain customers than to develop new ones.
Maybe there are no real visionaries in your company? What are you supposed to do without your DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR of technology?
If spending money on technology for the sake of spending money is acceptable as a business practice in your company. Where can you find the experts to make sure spending meets your expectations? When creating an integrated, multi-disciplinary technology implementation team involving your call centers business process, have them contribute to this dream and vision, you may be surprised in what can be researched and found in your own little group.
The reason for this is very simple. First, your team will buy into the vision and business processes developed if they are creating it.
Second, if you understand what services you provide or want to provide, the "could be" “would be” state—in comparison to the "as it exists" state shows more improvements.
PICTURE IN YOUR MIND:
1. Who’s providing the services (Your people or outside services)?
2. How are the services being provided (Business process)?
3. How are the services are being delivered (What technology)?
If your various expectations of your Call Center installation and campaign development goals are not clear, not planned or discussed properly, the technology execution map is bound to be second-rate.
Evaluate various Predictive Dialer solutions to determine if they will do what you envisioned, at times you will not only miss the big picture, but you'll also lack a clear understanding of all the details that go into making the big picture happen. Fit those visions in with what the dialer is likely to accomplish. Cost versus features? Do I need all the bells and whistles I may never use?
In order for a technology implementation to deliver what you dreamed it would—and at a certain price point—you must translate your big picture service model into tiny little details.
Those little tiny details are what determine the kind of technology you need to provide the service you want your customers to have.
Mapping out your processes (i.e., how the work gets done) is the best way to translate the big picture into the little details of the service process. Once you have mapped them out, then you can begin to describe the functionality you want the software and hardware to have. You should have a full understanding of what systems can do so that when you are ready to start your technology implementation project, everyone on the team has the information they need to make informed business decisions.
With business process mapping you might even eliminate some of the steps or find overlaps in various departments, thus leading you to do some business process re-engineering (BPR). Most people start with telling vendors they want for technology without understanding what they want the technology to do. | <urn:uuid:56e7bb77-d2f8-464a-b35b-8a47eff2fc45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/predictive-dialer/articles/1355-what-you-once-youve-selected-predictive-dialer-manufacturer.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954201 | 1,285 | 1.617188 | 2 |
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, October 5, 1912:What with two days of vacation I haven’t worked much at my books in the way of getting my lessons out for Monday.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma’s school was closed the previous two days so that students could attend the Milton Fair. It’s hard to get back to the books after a long break.
Oh, well, it was only Saturday—Grandma still had Sunday to get her lessons done. | <urn:uuid:c931c2ca-c010-49b4-a188-2d52a1a348b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ahundredyearsago.com/2012/10/05/difficult-to-study-after-a-school-vacation/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=7bb050e7a3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979979 | 124 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The paintings and drawings of Charles Viera are inspired by the daily events that surround us all. Mr. Viera has the ability, through his work, to isolate a moment in time and allow the viewer to study these slices of the human condition for detail and subtle implications that go beyond the moment. Although trained in the academic principles, Viera chooses to work with very few references giving his figures and their surroundings an expressionistic quality that is uniquely his own.
Charles Viera’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, the National Academy, and the Nassau County Museum in N.Y.
An inspired educator, Charles Viera has been on the faculties of some of the best art schools in the country, including the Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute in N.Y. He currently is an instructor at the Hunterdon Art Museum in N.J. (hunterdonartmuseum.org), and the Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton , NJ . (artscouncilofprinceton.org) | <urn:uuid:bd1a0de6-b6b5-4a68-ba51-05bd45d4f010> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.charlesdavidviera.com/mbr_bio.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966099 | 211 | 1.789063 | 2 |
With Latino voters playing such a critical role in the 2012 political cycle, we offer some important numbers regarding Latino voter projections, Latino polling and methodology, and the relationship between Latino voter behavior and immigration:
- 74% to 26%: Latino Decisions’ LD Vote Predict projection tool now predicts that President Obama will beat Mitt Romney by a 74%-26% margin among Latino voters nationwide.
- 38%: The Latino vote benchmark the Romney campaign set for itself, as touted by Hispanic Leadership Team co-chair Jose Fuentes.
- 6 points or 48 points? Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions writes how some polls get the Latino vote and others don’t. For example, “Monmouth University released a poll in which Romney leads Obama 48% to 45%. Among Latinos, they report Obama leads by just 6 points – 48% to 42%.” Barreto contrasts the Monmouth poll with eight other national polls of Latino voters conducted in October – from impreMedia/Latino Decisions, NBC/Telemundo, CNN/ORC, and the Pew Hispanic Center. The average of these eight polls shows a whopping 48-point advantage for Obama – 70.3% to 21.9% for Romney – among Latino voters across the country. So, what to do and how to make sense of the varying polls? Latino Decisions thankfully provides a detailed explanation of what makes for solid methodology in Latino polling. The keys: sufficient sample sizes; survey a representative sample of the Latino population within the state or nationally; and conduct a representative number of interviews in Spanish.
- “As much as 4 full points”: Barreto writes that not only can the methodological errors listed above skew Latino-focused polls, but they also can “create problems with the overall national estimates.” Barreto provides a scenario for the 2012 electorate in which Latino voters comprise a round 10% of the electorate and uses the Monmouth poll and the average of the 8 Latino-focused polls to make his point: “If Latinos are only leaning to Obama 48-42, that +6 edge among 10% of the electorate only contributes a net 0.6 advantage to Obama (4.8 for Obama to 4.2 for Romney). However, if instead Obama is leading 70.3 to 21.9 that +48.4 edge contributes a net 4.8 advantage to Obama (7.0 to 2.2), hence the national polls may be missing as much as 4 full points in Obama’s national numbers.”
- 12.2 million: NALEO projects that Latino voter turnout in the 2012 elections will reach an all-time high of 12.2 million voters.
- 26%: According to NALEO, the 12.2 million figure would represent a 26% increase from the 2008 elections, when 9.7 million Latinos voted.
- 8.7%: According to the NALEO projections, Latino voters will comprise 8.7% of the national electorate in 2012, including 16.7% in Arizona, 11% in Colorado, 13.9% in Florida, 33.8% in New Mexico, and 13.5% in Nevada.
- 2013 and Immigration: Thanks in large part to the growth and the potentially pivotal role played by Latino voters in 2012, immigration reform is poised to be a major part of the post-election storyline and a top item on the “What’s Next in Washington?” agenda. In newly-released comments from his previously off-the-record conversation with the Des Moines Register editorial board, President Obama stated, “The second thing I’m confident we’ll get done next year is immigration reform. And since this is off the record, I will just be very blunt. Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community. And this is a relatively new phenomenon. George Bush and Karl Rove were smart enough to understand the changing nature of America. And so I am fairly confident that they’re going to have a deep interest in getting that done. And I want to get it done because it’s the right thing to do and I’ve cared about this ever since I ran back in 2008.” | <urn:uuid:cd0e66ed-4eaa-4734-85ee-ce66a3cfb29d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americasvoiceonline.org/blog/the-numbers-and-facts-on-latino-voters-latino-polling-and-immigration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939062 | 900 | 1.625 | 2 |
“Greatest generation the most entitled,” Jonah Goldberg writes in his USA Today column:
One thing nearly everybody agrees upon is that the “sequester” is a silly sideshow to the real challenge facing America: unsustainable spending on entitlements. Ironies abound. Democrats, with large support from young people, tend to believe that we must build on the legacy bequeathed to us by the New Deal and the Great Society. Republicans, who marshaled considerable support from older voters in their so-far losing battle against ObamaCare, argue that we need to start fresh.
Perhaps it’s time for both sides to consider an underappreciated fact of American life: The system we are trying to perpetuate was created for the explicit benefit of the so-called greatest generation, the most coddled and cared for cohort in American history.
I don’t mean to belittle or demean the heroic efforts and sacrifices of those who served in World War II. But the idea that a whole generation deserves credit for what only some did is little more than an attempt to buy glory on the cheap. One of the egalitarian precepts that all Americans are supposed to subscribe to is the idea that one citizen isn’t more worthy than another, simply by accident of birth. If you stormed the beaches of Normandy, you are due praise and honor. If you were simply born the same year as those who stormed the beaches, you’re no more deserving of praise than someone born of any other generation.
Read the whole thing, and then check out Kathy Shaidle’s new article at PJM: “Five Controversial Ways to Enjoy the Decline of America,” inspired by Enjoy the Decline, the new e-book by Aaron Clarey, whom you may also know from the title of his blog, Captain Capitalism.
Related: Only Paul Ryan is willing to take on Medicare, the 800-pound gorilla, Ed Morrissey writes in the Fiscal Times. | <urn:uuid:9dbde40d-e8b2-478d-907a-a41fff54c20f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2013/03/06/the-most-coddled-generation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957362 | 411 | 1.59375 | 2 |
I will try to adress the misunderstandings first, then answer the question.
Particle exchange force model is not causal
There is a flaw in your thinking, in that you are formulating the electromagnetic interaction in terms of photon emission and absorption and at the same time telling a story forward in time. These two ideas are both ok separately, but not together.
The particle emission/absorption picture is not a causal picture--- it requires that the particles go back and forth in time--- so you can't use causal language, like an electron emits a photon which kicks an electron etc. That's part of the story, but another part of the story is: an electron emits a photons which had already kicked an electron earlier, which emitted a different photon earlier than the first, etc, etc. If you go to a unitary Hamitonian causal picture, you renounce the idea that the field is due to particle emission and absorption (I only said unitary for a technical reason: it is conceivable somebody could make a nonunitary Hamiltonian formulation with unphysical photon polarizations which contain the Coulomb force, but then these unphysical photons would only be intermediate states, since the physical photons are not responsible for the Coulomb interaction anyway).
The acausality in the Feynman description is not a problem with consistency, because there are causal formulations of QED, one of which is Dirac's. Here the electrostatic repulsion is not due to photon exchange, but is instantaneous action-at-a-distance, while photons travel with only the physical transverse polarization. In Feynman's particle push picture, the electrostatic interaction is due to unphysically polarized photons travelling much faster than the speed of light, and these photons just are not present in Dirac's equivalent formulation.
Anyway, the best way to understand electron motion is using the classical electric and magnetic fields produced by the electrons.
It's not the electrons pushing
The electrons in a wire are not pushed by other electrons. They are pushed by the external voltage applied to the wire. The voltage is a real thing, it is a material field, it has a source somewhere at the power plant, and the power plant transmits the power through electric and magnetic fields, not by electron pushes.
The electron repulsion in a metal is strongly screened, meaning that an electron travelling along at a certain speed will not repel an electron 100 atomic radii away. In many cases, it will even attract that electron due to weak phonon exchange (this weak attraction gives superconductivity, and essentially all ordinary metals become superconducting at some low enough temperature).
You can completely neglect the interelectron repulsion for the problem of conduction, and just ask about external fields rearranging charges in the wire.
Fermi surface, not wire surface
The only electrons that carry current are those near the Fermi surface. The Fermi surface is in momentum space, it is not a surface in physical space. The electrons which carry the current are distributed everywhere throughtout the wire. But they all have nearly the same momentum magnitude (if the Fermi surface is spherical, which I will assume without comment in the remainder).
The behavior of a Fermi gas is neither like a particle nor a wave. It is not a wave, because the occupation number is 0 or 1, so that there is no coherent superposition of a large number of particles in the same state, but it is also not like a particle, because the particle is not allowed to have momentum states lower than the Fermi momentum, by Pauli exclusion. The particle is traveling through a fluid of identical particles that jam up all the states with momentum smaller than the Fermi momentum.
This strange new thing (new in the 1930s, at least), is the Fermi quasiparticle. It is the excitation of a cold quantum gas, and to picture it in some reasonable terms, you have to think of a single particle which is always required to move at faster than a certain speed, it cannot slow down below this speed, because all these states are already occupied, but its can vary its direction. It has an energy which is proportional to the difference in speed from the lower bound. This lower bound on the speed in the Fermi velocity, which in metals is the velocity of an electron with wavelength a few angstroms, which is about the orbital velocity in the Bohr model, or a few thousand meters per second.
The Fermi liquid model of dense metals is the correct model, and it supersedes all previous models. The speed of the current carrying electrons is this few thousand meters per second, but at longer distances, there are impurities and phonons which scatter the electrons, and this can reduce the propagation to a diffusion process. The electronic diffusion doesn't have a speed, because distance in diffusion is not propotional to time. So the only reasonable answer to the question "what is the speed of an electron in a metal?" is the Fermi velocity, although one must emphasize that an injected electron will not travel a macroscopic distance at this speed in a metal with impurities.
1.Presumably at this level, electrons are acting more like waves and less like particles, but is there any classical component in the picture, ie are electrons coming in imparting other electrons with kinetic energy through repulsion, or does it not work that way?
In order to using a time-ordered causal langauge (this does that, then this does that), you need electric and magnetic fields, not photons. The electrons are not what is coming into the wire to make it conduct, the thing that is coming in is an electric field.
When you switch on a light, you touch a high voltage metal to a neutral metal, instantly raising the voltage, and making an electric field along the metal. This field accelerates the electrons near the Fermi surface (not on the wire surface, those near the fermi momentum) to travel faster in the direction of (minus) the electric field E. It can only accelerate those electrons which can be sped up into new states, so it only speeds up electrons which are already running around at the Fermi velocity. These electrons keep moving until they build up enough charge on the surface of the metal to cancel out the electric field, and to bend the electric field direction to follow the wire wherever the wire curves. This causal propagation is Field-Electrons-Field, and the only electrons which serve to shunt the field are those which are building up charges on the surface of the wire (and the protons on the surface which also redirect the field where there needs to be positive charge)
When you apply a constant voltage, the electrons come to a steady state where they are carrying the current from the negative voltage to the positive voltage, making the voltage drops line up in space along the direction of the wire, no matter what the shape, and bouncing off impurities and phonons to dissipate the energy they get from the field into phonons (heat). The local electric field drives their motion, not their mutual repulsion. In that sense, it is not like water in a pipe. It is more like a collection of independent ball bearings pushed by a magnet, except that the ball bearings shunt the magnetic field to go along the direction of their motion.
2.If electrons momentarily have energy, then pass it on by a photon, what determines when that photon is emitted, and what frequency it will be? I assume that electrons in this cloud are not limited by any kind of exclusion principal, and that any frequencies are possible?
The electrons in the cloud are not only limited by exclusion, they are dominated by exclusion, this is the Fermi gas. It is not the electrons pushing other electrons, it is the field pushing the electrons. The photon particle-exchange picture is irrelevant to this, but if you insist on using it, then the photons are coming out of the wall socket, having followed the high-voltage wires from the power-plant in a back-and-forth zig-zag in time, and a negligible fraction of the photons are emitted by the conduction electrons, since all those photons are absorbed into phonons by the metal within a screening length.
The photons coming from the wall are bounced around by surface charges on the wire (static electrons and protons) so that they bounce around to follow the path of the wire in steady state.
3. Why should a photon emitted by an electron be in the direction of travel? Conservation of momentum tells me that if an electron is moving, the photon should be emitted in that direction, slowing the electron, but could an electron emit a photon in the opposite direction? If it did, I assume it would somehow have had to absorb energy from elsewhere? That sounds possible by analogy with quantum tunneling.
Photons are emitted in all directions, and back in time. It just is not useful to think of Feynman picture when you want to think causally.
4. What is the mechanism by which electrons propagating increase the temperature of the material? Are they transmitting energy to the electrons in the valence shell, which tug at the nucleus, do some photons hit the nuclei directly, or is there some other way?
So far, I have been treating the electrons as a gas of free particles. But you might be upset--- there are lots nuclei around! How can you treat them as a gas? Don't they bounce off the nuclei?
The reason you can do this is that a quantum mechanical particle which is confined to a lattice, which has amplitudes to hop to neighboring points behaves exactly the same as a free particle obeying the Schrodinger equation (at least at long distances). It does not dissipate at all, it just travels along obeying a discrete version of the Schrodinger equation with a different mass, determined by the hopping amplitudes.
In Solid State physics, this type of picture called the "tight binding model", but it is really more universal than this. In any potential, the electrons make bands, and the bands fill up to the Fermi surface. But the picture is not different from a free gas of particles, except for losing rotational symmetry.
If the lattice were perfect, this picture would be exact, and the metal would not have any dissipation losses at all. But at finite temperature there are phonons, defects, and a thermal skin of electrons already excited at a little more energy than the Fermi surface. The phonons, defects, and thermal electrons can scatter the conducting electrons inelastically, and this is the mechanism of energy loss. The electrons can also emit phonons spontaneously, if their energy is far enough above the Fermi surface so that they are no longer stable. All of these effects tend to vanish at zero temperature (with the exception of defects, which can be frozen in, but then the defects become elastic). But at cold enough temperatures, you don't go to zero conduxctivity smoothly. Instead, you tend to have a phase transition to a superconducting state.
5. Presumably, electricity travels slower than light, because there is some time in each exchange, and some time when electrons are moving at sublight speeds before emitting a photon. By how much is this slower than light, and what is the speed of each interaction?
This is again confusing Feynman description with a causal description. But I did this experiment as an undergraduate, and along a good coaxial cable, the speed was 2/3 the speed of light. I assume that if you use an ordinary wire in a coil on the floor, its going to be significantly slower, perhaps only 1% of the speed of light, because it requires more finnagling of surface charges for the wire to set up the field to follow it curves. | <urn:uuid:ba30ac3a-ada4-4beb-80d6-3456fdfbbdc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/17741/how-does-electricity-propagate-in-a-conductor?answertab=active | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948947 | 2,448 | 1.75 | 2 |
Exclusive images document a remarkable new chapter in AGO’s 108-year history
“We’re not just opening doors, we’re opening minds”. It is with this forward thinking slogan that the Art Gallery of Ontario opened its doors after a remarkable transformation penned by Toronto- born Frank Gehry.
Launched in 2002, the transformation programme has included the major architectural extension by Gehry and the expansion of the permanent collection. As a consequence, the new AGO offers a 47 per cent increase in art viewing space welcoming visitors to 110 light-filled galleries featuring more than 4,000 new and perennial art works.
The building is surprisingly Gehry’s first commission in his native city and contains an interesting array of signature elements such as an iconic sculptural staircase emerging from Walker Court (the historic centre of the AGO), the sweeping glass-and-wood Galleria Italia extending an entire city block along Dundas Street, and the new contemporary tower with its vistas of Grange Park and of a Toronto Skyline never seen from this angle.
With this new museum extension, Frank Gehry has devised an unforgettable space to honour the art housed within. Attention to the core issue of the pleasure of art viewing is palpable throughout thanks to the amount of natural light and transparency that permeate the extension.
Happy to define his recent creation as “a real Frank Gehry building”, the architect nonetheless commented on the hard nature of remodelling an existing structure, as the gallery has since its opening in 1900 seen many extension with the latest designed by Barton Myers in 1993. | <urn:uuid:cd650f5d-900f-4a0d-93fc-5e0a5059651e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10655 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933548 | 329 | 1.765625 | 2 |
After his proposed constitutional reforms were rejected by voters, Chavez seems set to go ahead and enact them anyway by decree:
President Hugo Chávez is using his decree powers to enact a set of socialist-inspired measures that seem based on a package of constitutional changes that voters rejected last year. His actions open a new stage of confrontation between his government and the political opposition.
The government quietly revealed last week that the president had approved 26 new laws on Thursday, when the 18-month decree powers bestowed on him by Congress were set to expire, but officials withheld offering the full text of the new laws until this week.
Some of the laws significantly increase Mr. Chávez's power. For instance, one law allows him to name regional political leaders who would have separate budgets, which could help him offset possible victories by opposition candidates in state and municipal elections scheduled for November.
(In a further blow to the opposition, the Supreme Court upheld a measure on Tuesday that prohibits more than 250 people from running for office while the comptroller general investigates claims of corruption against them. The measure will prevent Leopoldo López, one of the country's most popular politicians, from running for mayor of Caracas.)
Mr. Chávez is also trying to assert greater control over the armed forces through a decree creating militias, a new military branch he has pushed for.
Reigniting private property concerns, another law allows his government to "occupy and temporarily operate" private companies not in compliance with bookkeeping rules.
The set of decrees stops short of removing term limits for Mr. Chávez, which was one of the most polarizing measures in the package voters rejected in December. But more than a dozen of the laws are strikingly similar to items included in the failed constitutional overhaul, angering the president's critics.
One might have asked why Chavez needs emergency decree powers during an oil boom when his country is at peace. Just askin' . . . | <urn:uuid:f778a17b-b2f5-45c9-a408-f41da4cdd1e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/08/if-at-first-you-don-apos-t-succeed/3934/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976787 | 400 | 1.664063 | 2 |
China's tense Xinjiang region announced sweeping security checks of transport on Tuesday after assailants used a truck to mount a deadly attack on police days before the Beijing [ Images ] Olympic Games [ Images ] open.
The two assailants, who state media have suggested were separatist militants, drove a truck towards exercising border police in Kashgar, home of many Uighurs resentful of Chinese control of the northwest region.
Sixteen police were killed and another 16 wounded after they threw explosives.
In a sign of the alarm set off by the attack, the Xinjiang transport office announced a regionwide campaign to ensure the security of trucks, buses and transport hubs.
"The whole region's transport network must establish a dense atmosphere of secure transport and production," the region's official news website reported, citing an "urgent directive" from the government.
The Xinjiang transport office met to "make detailed and comprehensive arrangements for the stability and security of the transport system," said the report.
It did not, however, directly mention the attack and did not say when the meeting took place, suggesting it may have pre-dated the attack.
Xinjiang's 8 million largely Muslim Uighurs have been a focus of intense security in the run-up to the Games that open on Friday. Officials have said militants seeking an independent "East Turkestan" homeland are among the biggest threats to the Games.
Kashgar, the regional capital Urumqi and other centres must carry out detailed security inspections of bus stations, highways and fuel stops, the directive said. | <urn:uuid:ef5a8d45-615c-449c-a9a7-8288636274ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rediff.com/sports/report/attack/20080805.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951884 | 316 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A government without reliable data cannot sufficiently plan for its people; distributing resources may become unwieldy. Even if the government is ignorant; what about the many universities and research institutions in the country? With more than 30 universities, yet, one can hardly find reliable data on most matters.
Two social phenomenons ought to have caught the attention of social scientists, or pricked the interest of statisticians in Nigeria. But alas, that’s not the case. As a result, there are no known studies or data set to enable one make a definite pronouncement on the issue of Nigerians who go abroad to give birth or those who go overseas to seek medical care -- only to die in transit or die in foreign hospitals.
Because of this limitation, one has to rely on the oral account of a dozen immigration officials at two main airports in Nigeria, and on first-hand account of female friends and acquaintances that are familiar with these observable facts -- facts that are at times subjects of discussion in some of the Nigerian social events.
In addition to not knowing the official number of women who go abroad to deliver babies, or of those who go in search of treatment and die, no one can tell, with any degree of certainty, the amount of money that is transferred abroad (for payment of services). Still, it is estimated that Nigerians transfer about $2.5 billion every year to clinics and hospitals in the US and six other western nations.
In recent years, more and more of such money is ending up in South Africa and Ghana. It is reasonably estimated that in another decade or so, the money spent on giving birth and dying abroad will surpass the amount spent on foreign education.
Several decades ago, I spent a few years at both Ilu Drive and Queens Drive. To my knowledge, pre-1990 Ikoyi was home to some of the owners, rulers, and shakers of Nigeria. It was an oasis. Within that setting, it was not uncommon to hear of people going to and or returning from trips abroad. This was also the case with those I knew in other wealthy enclaves around the country. The UK, especially, seem like an adjourning state.
Outside of those communes however, going abroad on vacation or just for the fun of it, was a dream. At best, a rarity. Outside of the wealthy enclaves, most of those who hopped on the plane had specific reasons for doing so: to study, going on short courses sponsored by their employers, or going to join loved-ones. Most didn’t go abroad just because “abroad was there.”
On my street and on the many streets I was familiar with, some kids claimed to have been born in Germany, the UK, France, or the US. But mostly the UK. In my early years, it was rare to hear of people who died in transit or who died abroad in search of medical care. This rarity may have been due to the fact that the Lagos had quality clinics and hospitals like Saint Nicolas, IGBOBI, LUTH and many others. Neighboring Ibadan has the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital.
True, some people may have gone abroad for medical care, but it was not the obsession it has become. Some kids may have been born abroad, especially the UK, but it was not the fixation it has become. Today, going abroad to have babies has become a national pastime; going abroad for medical treatment has become a status symbol. Sadly, some die in transit or die on hospital beds because of delayed or poor medical care at home.
For some, going overseas to have babies is an objective that must be met at all cost. It doesn’t matter what country. Overseas is overseas so long as it is not Nigeria. Pregnant wives and pregnant mistresses who can’t secure visa to their preferred destinations settle for third rate countries. South Africa is fast becoming a destination of choice for everything and anything.
The pull and push factors behind these trends are a telling evidence that Nigeria is sick. The pull and push factors behind these craze are a telling evidence that most Nigerian leaders (and leadership) since 1979 has been a collection of deranged knots. The mad dash abroad to have babies, and going abroad for medical treatment, is a symptom of what Nigeria has become: a failed, crumbling and disappointing entity.
It is a sad commentary on the leadership of a country -- of any country -- when the most basic of all fundamentals can not be provided to the overwhelming number of the masses. It is an irony of fate that some of the leaders from yester-years, along with their kids and immediate family members are also now suffering as a result of the inadequacies of the Nigerian State they presided over. Some now swim in the cesspool they created.
Not minding the absence of the fundamentals of development, the Cross River State Government has, since 2005, spent more than $700 million constructing the Tinapa Business Resort. Not minding the futility of white elephant projects, the Lagos State Government is scheming to build the Lagos Mega City Project; Imo State is bent on the Wonderland Lake Resort and Conference Centre at Oguta, with a price tag of $100 million. This is senselessness beyond comprehension.
In Bayelsa State, the move is on to build an airport (not an airstrip) even though the state has no sewage system, no portable water, no science laboratories, and no access to quality education and healthcare. Somehow, Governor Timipre Sylva has decided that an airport is more important in an atmosphere of abject poverty and seamless hopelessness.
Even after N550 billion in oil money allocations, much of the state is stuck in the 18th century. The Governor is illogically in search of illogicality. It is this kind of thinking, this kind of awful and lawless governance that has contributed to the failing and crumbling state that is Nigeria.
By Sabella Abidde
Sabella, a PhD Candidate & SYLFF Fellow, is with Howard University, Washington DC. [email protected] | <urn:uuid:78a1150e-502c-4f2d-81f2-e6719ac80439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=3694&magazine=199 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969081 | 1,259 | 1.5625 | 2 |
All Super Soccer Stars classes are based on age-specific curricula created by a combination of early childhood, soccer, and behavioral specialists to guarantee that each child is learning and having a blast from the moment the whistle blows.
Our class format is developed to give our budding soccer stars a familiar framework in which they can excel from class to class. Our classes begin with a welcome, incorporating a song for the younger age groups (ages 2 – 5) and a cheer for the older ages (Kindergarten and up). The classes then kick off with stimulating warm-up games followed by a muscle-warming stretch to get everyone ready for action. The bulk of each class focuses on skill-building activities and games. Individual, partner, and group activities are introduced in a non-competitive environment to optimize the experience for each child. Every session culminates in a scrimmage game (adapted variations for younger age groups) to familiarize each child with the structure of a game setting, while always encouraging our young kickers with positive reinforcement. | <urn:uuid:61fe4cdd-cd64-459a-a2d5-7453b3412df4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.supersoccerstars.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934734 | 208 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I agree with Nunamiut. Sometimes they kill because they are hungry and
sometimes just for the fun of it. I have seen them kill a lot of moose and
just eat the tongue or maybe not eat any of it, then leave it and never come back. I also found where a pack of 14 traveled a little over 40 miles, killed an adult moose and totally consumed it, bones and all, in about 18 hours time. They were obviously pretty hungry. The only bones left were the parts of the jaw bones with the teeth in them, the hip joint sockets from the pelvic bone
and the hooves (and the toe bones were chewed out of them). The hide was chewed and puckered and most of the hair chewed off it. It takes some powerful jaws to crush up all the vertebra, pelvis and skull bone on a moose like that. That's the only kill I have found that was that well comsumed. Most of the time they do not eat the major bones.
On the questions brought up by Martenpine the moose in the first picture did not have antlers nor antler bases on the skull. This time of year the bulls have all shed their antlers anyway, but you can still tell by looking at the skull if it was a bull or cow. As far as the age of the moose all I can say is that judging from the size of the hooves and the bone structure it was an adult moose, and I have a habit of referring to any female moose
as an "old cow".
Getting a good count on the number of wolves in a pack usually requires either a visual count or you have to follow their track for a ways. A lot of the time they follow single file especially in deeper snow and it is very hard to get a count on them. But on harder snow they will often fan out across the open places and you can get a good count on the tracks. This pack had came down river for a couple of miles and there were several places where it was easy to count tracks.
We don't have deer or caribou in this area but they do change up their diet occasionally; | <urn:uuid:6302ef23-91c8-4d19-9a81-4b8ad9982db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3103177/Re_Wolf_kills_slaughter_in_the.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984441 | 451 | 1.734375 | 2 |
How Dogs Celebrate Easter 1. Rise at 5:30 a.m. wet-nose the master. 2. Go out and pee on the world. 3. Make poopy. 4. Sniff poopy. 5. Seriously think about eating poopy. 6. Eat funny looking bug instead. 7. Throw up bug parts on living room rug. 8. Drink out of magic well. 9. Sleep for 17 hours. Start all over again. (You know...pretty much like every day!) Hope your Easter is just as much fun! (Except for the "poopy" thing.)
What Is Marriage? Its vacuuming carpets and hammering nails. Its saving a dollar by shopping at sales . . . Its balancing checkbooks and paying off bills its cleaning the windows and mopping up spills. Its doing the laundry and matching up socks. Its a washer that dies when the car needs new shocks . . . Its two busy schedules, but one happy life, With each moment you share as husband and wife! Happy Anniversary
We've had our share of busy times, we've had our share of quiet. We've had our share of working hard and times that were a riot! We've had our share of differences, and, sure, we've had a spat. We've had our share of making up --- and, boy, we're good at that! We've shared the good, we've shared the great, we've shared a tear or two. And I wouldn't trade a moment of the times I've shared with you! Happy Anniversary with Love.
Todays is the birthday of someone I know Sometimes I call it b-day just for short And sing a B-Day Ditty Yeah, a B-Day Ditty I sing the ditty in the city or I sing it on a country lane. Well, I like b-days cause I think theyre fun I hope you like b-days cause youre the one I sing this B-Day Ditty Yeah, this B-Day Ditty Cause youre the one I sing this funny B-Day Ditty to. Hap-Hap-py B-Day Hap-Hap-py B-Day I say a hap, hap, hap, hap I say a pee pee pee pee I say a hap, hap, happy B-Day, Birthday to you Yeah, youre the one I sing this Happy B-Day Ditty to! Happy Birthday! | <urn:uuid:39bcbd69-8531-4f39-a2af-3c61025de6a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americangreetings.com/ecards/dogs?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961124 | 514 | 1.523438 | 2 |
An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting, the United Nations food agency said.
The World Food Programme said on Friday it had delivered additional rations to the area in recent days, adding: "A WFP team visited the area and estimated that around 40,000 people have fled Shaddadeh to Hassakeh city."
Rebels seized Shaddadeh in the country's oil-producing east on Thursday after the fighting, which killed 30 of their fighters and 100 Syrian troops, a violence monitoring group said.
Northeastern Syria was hit by four years of drought before the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad started nearly two years ago, resulting in high rates of malnutrition among children, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.
"The fighting and displacement only aggravates the misery of these people," she said, adding the agency had sent extra
rations to the area this week.
Taking Shaddadeh brings the rebels closer to the provincial capital Hassakeh, 45 km to the north in the surrounding Hassakeh province.
Omar Abu Laila, a commander in the armed opposition, said army garrison guarding a nearby gas field, al-Ghabsa, had fled as the rebels advanced from the Euphrates river toward Shaddadeh.
"Shaddadeh and Ghabsa are now under our control. In the next few days we will advance toward the city of Hasakah," Abu Laila said by telephone from eastern Syria.
The new wave of displacement adds to an estimated 2.5 million people already uprooted within Syria, many living in squalid conditions in schools and other public buildings converted into shelters, according to the UN.
In the northern Aleppo city, activists reported renewed fighting between regime forces and rebels, as the opposition attempted to gain control of the international airport and a major military base nearby.
"The army shelled the area around Aleppo international airport and Nayrab air base on Friday morning, while rebels used homemade rockets to shell Nayrab," Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
He said at least 150 rebels and government troops have been killed in the battles near the airport on Wednesday and Thursday. The death toll was almost evenly divided between opposition fighters and regime soldiers, the Observatory claimed.
On Wednesday, rebels captured most of the "Brigade 80" force that is in charge of protecting the airport area.
"The army is preparing a large-scale operation to take back control of Base 80," Abdel Rahman said.
Rebels in Aleppo said they shifted focus weeks ago from the city to airbases in the province.
Opposition fighters see the capture of airports such as Al-Jarrah, also in Aleppo province, a few days ago as a way to seize large amounts of ammunition and to put out of action warplanes used by the regime air force to bombard rebel-held areas.
Regime tanks, meanwhile, shelled the town of Khan Sheykhun in the province of Idlib, killing at least 11 civilians, said the Observatory.
In Damascus, the army shelled the eastern district of Jobar, where rebels have set up enclaves.
Friday's violence came a day after at least 155 people were reportedly killed across Syria.
The UN says almost 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's 23-month conflict. | <urn:uuid:6c02d6e3-5248-4a58-84a4-0c4c693ae486> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/2013215141241632276.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964018 | 704 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Manners, please: Unwarranted behavior
Professor Susan Feinberg, who teaches international business at Rutgers, apparently doesn’t believe in minding one’s own business. Her piece “The Ryan Plan: Let them drink wine” (July 13) is an example of bad manners so prevalent in today’s society. She chided Rep. Paul Ryan (D-Wis.), who authored the Republican budget, for ordering expensive wine at a restaurant while opining that the budget will cause hardship to many Americans.
Having finished her dinner, the professor thought it perfectly acceptable to invite herself to interrupt someone else’s dinner so she could scold him. She certainly could have written the column without being rude and probably causing what must have been somewhat of a scene at the restaurant. This attitude that it is acceptable to treat those in public life as not having a private life of their own is wrong. What if the shoe were on the other foot?
Alan Rothstein, Rockaway
It was with great concern and chagrin that I read “Reading, writing and radical” (July 10). The author clearly has no idea what home schooling or home schoolers are really like, so she took an extreme example to try to prejudice your readership against all of us.
I am used to people being ignorant about our lifestyle. That’s okay. I can handle it.
What I will not tolerate was her use of the inflammatory comments made by the subject of the article and his ignorant students about Islam. I don’t know a single home schooling family that views Islam this way. And I want that point to be made very clear. I do not want innocent, loving, accepting home-schooling children, like my daughter, to be put at risk of retaliation by an extremist because of the comments made on this man’s website and reported in your newspaper.
Just because home-schooled children do not go to a formal school, the way most people interpret that, does not mean they are sub-human and can, therefore, be subjected to the kind of harm this sort of inflammatory reporting can put them in.
Mary DeLia, East Windsor
State vs. parents
When I first started reading “Reading, writing and radical” (July 10) and the sections on the Dred Scott decision, Roe vs. Wade and the differences between Islam and Christianity, I thought your paper was finally writing some truth and common sense. Alas, it wasn’t to be.
In any case, I support Andrew Schlafly. Home schoolers should have the absolute freedom to teach their children as they see fit, since they are the primary educators of their children — not the state.
Deanna Hohmann, Manchester
Bike safety for adults, too
Ah, summer, a time to be doing all sorts of wonderful, outdoor activities, such as bicycling. And here comes a family down the street now. Little Suzy pedaling furiously with her cool blue helmet and little Johnny with his fire engine red helmet and here comes dad with … his baseball cap? And now mom with a sun visor? Huh? What’s wrong with this picture?
Obviously, the parents should be wearing helmets too. The most common excuse is: “I don’t bike that fast.” It’s not how fast you bike; it’s how fast your head hits the ground. If you were just sitting on your bike and fell over, your head would hit the ground at about 10 to 12 miles per hour. For comparison, a brisk walking pace is about 3 miles per hour.
Basically, there is no good reason not to wear a helmet. In the same way that the best way to keep a child from picking up the habit of smoking is not to smoke yourself, so it works with other things. Parents, wear your helmets.
Gary Szelc, Fanwood
I was stunned and disappointed by your editorial about Christian Lopez and his decision to return the home run ball to Derek Jeter, who reached the 3000th-hit milestone with that shot (“Jeter and the kid,” July 14). Rather than praising Christian for exemplifying good character, you trashed him for not selling the ball back to Jeter. Here is a kid with good qualities who wanted to do the right thing, only to be smirked at for not selling out to greed.
Lopez’s character in this instance transcended money. He chose to value Jeter’s accomplishment, as well as Jeter’s feelings, more than any amount of money he may have received for the ball. These acts of selflessness are what teachers and parents try to instill into children in their formative years. Your article tarnishes these efforts with the stroke of a pen.
Lopez is a fine young man who gets it. You don’t.
Samuel Monaco, Bloomfield
Oil and water
Our nation’s addiction to fossil fuels must not endanger access to even more basic needs, such as clean drinking water. Yet that is exactly what will happen if oil companies are allowed to mine for natural gas in the Delaware River Basin using the technique of hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking.” This process involves cracking rock formations open by injecting them with millions of gallons of water, chemicals and sand. Fracking both depletes local water supplies and contaminates the remaining water with toxic chemicals. Over a thousand cases of water contamination have been documented near fracking sites around the country.
The Legislature has already passed a bill to ban fracking in New Jersey. Residents who are concerned about the safety of our drinking water should urge Gov. Chris Christie to sign this bill into law.
Eddie Konczal, Monroe Twp. | <urn:uuid:33eb1c4b-5a92-4713-9c87-8e6dbb7e01a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.nj.com/ledgerletters/2011/07/rutger_professor_showed_bad_ma.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970759 | 1,205 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Photo by Doug Coombe
Starting with his run as a singer in mid-1950s Detroit, the history of Andre Williams might well be considered the story of rhythm and blues.
Williams developed into one of the era’s finest songwriters and tale-tellers, penning plenty of lascivious classics for himself (“Shake a Tail Feather” and “Humpin’ Bumpin’ and Thumpin’”) and others (Alvin Cash’s “Twine Time”).
Lengthy associations with Motown’s Berry Gordy, P-Funk’s George Clinton and wife-beating guitar god Ike Turner dwindled into 1970s addictions. But the punk, rockabilly and garage rock revivalists, such as The Dirtbombs, embraced (and recorded with) him in the 1990s, and the 75-year-old Chicago-based Williams has been on a tear ever since, with plenty of risqué roadwork and an album almost every year, including 2012’s Hoods and Shades (Bloodshot Records).
He greases up Bassy on Saturday, May 19.
How do you feel rhythm and blues has changed in your lifetime?
Well, I think the country is getting together, and the rock ‘n’ roll is trying to get together with the rhythm and blues people. More collaboration. Absolutely.
Did music bring people together or did increased integration lead to more collaborative music?
Well, what I think is that black music had the rhythm, and white music had the stories. There were more stories in white life than in black life because in black life there were only one or two life stories: there was depression or slavery or sadness. Those were the things that black people have capitalised on, because that’s what they lived with. With the white people, there was so much variety there. They weren’t suffering the same tyranny as we were, so they could write more stories. Does that make sense?
But surely there was personal happiness in black life, as well. You don’t think that came across in the music?
No, I don’t. I don’t think that came across until the generation that I’m in now. Before we were limited in the words that we could use, because there was so much censoring going on. And there were so many things you couldn’t say. And you had to have a college degree to write a song. [Laughs.]
Is that why you’ve written so much raunchy material? To say the kinds of things you couldn’t say in public?
The answer to that is absolutely, yes. It’s not sex. It’s being able now to say what you want to say without being censored.
How did you get away with some of the stuff you recorded?
Well, you had to imply. You had to say what you wanted to say, but you had to have the hidden meaning to get it published. Okay: “Shake a Tail Feather”. If you looked at that title real good, what would you think I’m implying?
No, it’s about shaking your ass. When I say, “Bend over, let me see you shake a tail feather,” I think that says it right there.
Today, your rawness is a badge of pride.
I’m 75 years old now. And I’m not scared to show what I want to say. I will speak to what I’ve seen, even though I might change the name or location [laughs]. The pop songs, I would say that 75 percent of the pop songs are generally make-believe. They’re not the real, raw truth. I just like to tell it like it is.
What’s your process for writing the songs?
Well, I never complete one song the same day. That first thing is to write the title, the theme, where I’m going, what it’s about. Once I get the title, then I start putting the story together. Then once I put the story together, I have to get ahead of a climax. Sometimes it would take me maybe a year to write one song, and then on the other hand it might just take five minutes. I’m not a musician, so I have to try to have strong stories. And let the stories fit the mood, and the mood fit the rhythm.
It also depends on what company I’m working for, which one can reach the biggest market. If I’m writing for a small label, I’ll probably write a less complicated song. If I’m writing for a big artist or a large label, I’ll probably write a universal story. And then I got the package.
You’re a gun for hire, in a way.
Yes, now you said it. You hit it on the nail.
Do you find yourself coming back to themes that you haven’t worked out of your system yet?
Yeah, I do that all the time. I always come back to the line, “If I had’na” or “I should’ve” [laughs]. Makes sense.
When you had your difficulties in the 1970s, were you able to transform any of that into art?
Well, it was a struggle. I had less contact with my family because of my drug addiction. I wasn’t able to rationalise well. During that time, you couldn’t be too smart, and you couldn’t be too dumb. You almost had to let the record industry think that you were dumb.
What was an example of that?
Well, I think the perfect example of that was getting in the door with Tina Turner. Ike was so powerful and he was so dominating, that you had to play in his court. You had to make him be convinced that he was The Man, and then you got through. Well, at the end of the day, that had to be his conclusion, that if it wasn’t for him that couldn’t have happened. I have to give it to you in two words: you had to kiss his ass. [Laughs.]
What exactly were you doing with him and Tina?
All production. I stood in the studio 24/7. Ike was the kind of guy that would take your ideas and knock them out the way he wanted to go.
This is your third time in Berlin in four years. Do you think Europe gets you now more than America does?
Well, I think the answer to that is, Europe allows you to speak the way you feel. Even though here in America we have freedom of speech. You know, we capitalise on that. But in Europe, you don’t have to put ice cream on it. And there’s more places to go in Europe, and you can do things you can’t do in America. Like they have these stores for men where they can go in, and the doors are closed, and then you can’t tell what the hell what they’re doing in there. [Laughs.]
That probably exists everywhere in the world except Saudi Arabia.
Yeah, except for where they wear the things on their heads.
What do you think of the political situation in America right now?
I’m not unhappy with Obama, but I would rather live in Europe. But I have family here. Even though I portray myself as a very dirty man, I’m really kind of religiously bonded. You know, I mean this dirty thing was never a façade, but I’d say it’s the only way that I could make a living, having a limited education. Life is ‘contradictual’. Otherwise they never would’ve had a jet plane. There’s air sucking in and blowing out [laughs]. Make sense?
If that isn’t a song yet, it should be.
Well, it might come to me one day. I’m not done writing yet.
ANDRE WILLIAMS W/ DJ MYSTIC N. & MOHAIR SAM Sat, May 19, 21:00 | Bassy, Schönhauser Allee 176A, Prenzlauer Berg, U-Bhf Senefelderplatz | <urn:uuid:ec52fcef-c872-4ef9-92c0-91252b0a2141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.exberliner.com/articles/raw-food-for-thought/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977435 | 1,794 | 1.710938 | 2 |
When working with AJAX and Web Services it's often nice to be able to render ASP.NET controls as strings, so the rendered HTML can be sent back to the client to replace the contents of a <div> or something like that. The standard way of achieving this is to use the RenderControl() method, exposed by all ASP.NET controls. Unfortunately, the RenderControl() method doesn't simply return a string - that would be too easy. Instead, it takes in an HtmlTextWriter which it will render the control into. No problem, just new one of those up and... not so fast. You can't actually create an instance of an HtmlTextWriter without first having a TextWriter. And since you really want a string when this is all said and done, a StringBuilder would be nice to have as well. So, a few using() statements later, you end up with something like this as the basic pattern:
You can take this technique and apply it to a real control in a web method like this example, that renders a Panel with two Label controls in it.
I have another blog post on how to render a user control as a string if that is what you really want to do.
The thing to notice about this code for rendering an ASP.NET control as a string is that it's rather repetitive and verbose. However, it also is the same for any System.Web.UI.Control, and so it is an excellent candidate for an extension method. Add something like this to a namespace that is referenced in your code to create the extension method:
Now the code to render a control becomes simply myControl.RenderControl();. Our GetPanel() web method can be rewritten to use the extension method like so: | <urn:uuid:ed12f5b3-1959-4259-9dd0-d1c8615d81c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ardalis.com/render-control-as-string | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939286 | 360 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Lately, I have been reading a lot about old methods of photography like daguerreotype, ambrotype, etc. We are talking about 19th century techniques, which produced very distinctive looking images. I really love the look of those images and if I could, I would have tried to do this kind of photography, but we are talking about very heavy chemicals here, expenses and amount of time that I simply do not have.
So, the obvious solution is to try to replicate the look of these techniques using software. Now, there’s now way you can match a wet plate collodion for example, but at least you can make images that resemble this unique look.
For these experiments, I decided to choose some portraits, since I felt that they are perfect candidates for this kind of process. It took me quite some time searching through my archive to find portraits, since I don’t really have done lots of them !! Anyway, I got a few images and experimented with them.
It was really fun trying to replicate vintage styles of photography and I will soon experiment with different themes like landscapes and cityscapes. | <urn:uuid:3a9880df-cb6c-4ef8-af8b-a51c454dd972> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kbesios.com/blog/2012/05/21/vitage-style-portraits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977273 | 233 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The new generation of super high resolution Smart TVs are just around the corner, but what category do they fall in?
While 720p and 1080p resolution screens have fallen under the High Definition moniker (HD) in recent years, the follow up technology currently does not have an official name.
One terminology that has been floating around, particular among the media, has been 4K, which is derived from the horizontal resolution, about 4000 pixels, used by the emerging digital cinematography and television standard.
Later in the month, a US consumer electronics industry group, the 4K Working Group of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), proposed Ultra High Definition as the term for 4K capable TV sets.
The reason used to discard the 4K moniker was that it can cause confusion, as it is not immediately obvious to people what the shorthand for 4000 refers to.
According to LG Electronics Australia general marketing manager, Lambro Skropodis, it is an amendment the vendor welcomes.
"We believe it is important to help consumers navigate this new marketplace," he said.
"Accordingly, we embrace this new terminology to better inform Australian's who are already familiar with High Definition as a term."
Skropodis confirms that LG will immediately apply th new term to the recently announced 84LM9600.
From now, the product will be officially referred to by the vendor as the LG 84" Ultra High Definition TV or Ultra HD TV. | <urn:uuid:3b376a98-e85f-40ab-a8e1-e06b351d0c0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/enterprise/3408003/lg-adopts-ultra-high-definition-moniker-for-next-generation-of-tvs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942135 | 294 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Last week, Rep. Christiana (R-Beaver) proposed legislation that would create a new Education Improvement Scholarship Credit (EISC). EISC would authorize a total of $450 million in tax credits over the next three years.
This program would re-direct dollars away from revenue collections, therefore reducing the amount of revenue the Commonwealth has to use for programs and services. In addition, the proposal calls for an increase in the current EITC program from $75 million to $100 million next fiscal year and $200 million for subsequent years. So money would be taken out of our coffers, and directed at private schools, even as we cut current funding for our public schools, which serve the vast majority of our children.
These recent cuts of over $900 million to public education have seriously affected the educational opportunities available to Pennsylvania students (as documented in a recent report). School districts are being forced to eliminate programs (such as kindergarten), close school buildings, increase class size and let go of teachers and aides. Education is starting to go backwards in Pennsylvania and students are the ones who are being negatively affected.
The Governor is trying to get the Senate and House to reduce the total amount of money to spend in their proposed budgets, both of which restore a portion of the Governor’s proposed education cuts in his FY 2012-2013 budget. The Governor has said that we have limited resources (despite having left over a year-end balance of $267 million if the House/Senate “budget amount” is enacted). If this is the case, why would we enact legislation that would further reduce our limited resources by reducing the commonwealth’s revenue by $725 million total in the next three years (Christiana’s proposal for EITC and EISC)?
The General Assembly has a constitutional OBLIGATION to EVERY child who attends public schools to provide them with a “thorough and efficient” education! If the state legislature and our Governor are unwilling to make sure that every child will be able to attend kindergarten next school year, how can they justify diverting more taxpayer dollars to private education? It’s time they start fulfilling their obligation. | <urn:uuid:c275394d-0b18-4c1c-9504-dd3683791b83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://educationvoterspa.blogspot.com/2012/06/obligation.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967562 | 443 | 1.570313 | 2 |
O'Reilly: The arrow is pointing away from New York
The damnedest thing about history is that it never rests; it just keeps going. Right when you think you've mastered the natural order of things, it churns forward, rolling over deeply held assumptions.
I've always assumed New York is the capital of the world, and that it will always remain that way. Nothing can shake it from its perch in my mind. But sometimes history has its own ideas. I should know that by now.
At around the same time that I filled that envelope, Americans watched U.S. bombs drop over Hanoi on the nightly news. Forty-five years later, I have two brilliant and beautiful nieces from that bustling, entrepreneurial city.
It was impossible not to think about history and its ironies when reading a riveting piece in Forbes this week by demographer and Chapman University professor Joel Kotkin. In "How the South will rise again," Kotkin chronicles the remarkable shift in demographics going on in this country, in which businesses and educated Americans are increasingly moving southward from the northeast, Midwest and California. That is, they are moving from states with high taxes, heavy business regulation and powerful public unions to states with lower taxes and less union influence.
It's a must read for New York political leaders obsessed with the news of the moment at the expense of the larger picture being carved out by time. Where news is the conceited hare demanding daily attention, history is the humble tortoise pressing forward without fanfare. We notice him only at long intervals and are often amazed at the ground he's covered and the direction he's taken.
While Albany tinkers on the political wedge issues du jour, American history is being rewritten on a grand scale. The mighty industrial northeast is atrophying, and the once-shattered and undereducated south is on the ascent.
It's hard for those of us living in New York City and its suburbs to fully appreciate the extent of New York State's decay. Things are relatively good downstate, even with this slowed economy. But take a drive through parts of Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester or Syracuse, and you will see what demographic change means. Large swaths of neighborhoods and commercial districts are boarded up, and young families are almost nowhere to be seen. They've gone south and west, where the jobs are.
A few startling statistics from Kotkin's piece:
* The South, the Northeast and the Midwest each had about the same number of people in the 1950s. Today the South is almost as populous as the Northeast and the Midwest combined;
* Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina are all among the top eight states in domestic migration over the past decade. The top four losers? New York, Illinois, New Jersey and California;
* Brains are moving southward, too. The number of college graduates in Austin and Charlotte grew by 50 percent in the past decade. There was a 35 percent increase in bachelor's degree holders in Baton Rouge, Nashville, Houston, Tampa, Dallas and Atlanta during that time.
Politics is an irresistible game of short-term tactical thinking., But that does New Yorkers no favors in the long haul. What we need in Albany is strategic long-term thinking to reverse the blunt decision-making process history seems to have ordained for us in the coming years.
We hear nothing of the sort coming from our state capital.
William F. B. O'Reilly is a Newsday columnist and a Republican political consultant. | <urn:uuid:a92d8887-55e6-46dc-9ca5-5aa8d88306d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsday.com/opinion/columnists/william-f-b-o-reilly/o-reilly-the-arrow-is-pointing-away-from-new-york-1.4568005?cache=03D163D03D163Dp%3A%2Fhe3D03Dn63Fr%3Ftags%3DMamaroneck%3Fauthor%3DThomas+Zambito%3Ftags%3D+New+York+State+Senate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956315 | 730 | 1.742188 | 2 |
By SANDY SHOREAP Business Writer
The price of oil is slightly higher as investors weigh positive U.S. economic news against ongoing concerns about Europe.
Benchmark oil rose 13 cents Tuesday to $92.61 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 29 cents to $111.90 per barrel in London.
CoreLogic, a private real estate data provider, says a measure of U.S. home prices jumped 4.6 percent in August compared with a year ago. That's the largest year-over-year increase in more than six years. The new data provides more evidence that the housing market continues to improve.
But investors remain concerned about Europe's ongoing financial crisis. Slower growth in China, which is a huge importer of oil, has also kept a lid on oil prices. Slower growth can cut demand for oil and other energy products.
At the pump, the national average for gasoline was unchanged at $3.78 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's about a nickel less than a month ago but still nearly 36 cents more than a year ago.
In other energy futures trading:
- The price of natural gas was flat at $3.48 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's 82 percent above the low for the year of $1.91 reached in April.
- Heating oil is unchanged at $3.14 per gallon.
- Wholesale gasoline is down 3 cents at $2.89 per gallon.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:f348fe6a-537a-4843-a1b9-e8870332cfdd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myfoxspokane.com/news/business/story/oil-slightly-higher-amid-economic-questions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938008 | 350 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Get Unstuck! Galvanize Your Thoughts With Great Home Improvement Tips
One interesting aspect about learning what there is on honda engine repairs in Maryland is that you must decide for your self what is most applicable to what you are doing. However, not everybody has the time or inclination to do that, and we know that so many of us are incredibly busy - but still, sometimes you just have to do what is smart. What can sometimes be on the fringe, in terms of information with value, is precisely what you do not want to ignore or miss. Things can sometimes get a little difficult or dangerous, perhaps, when complacency sets in and you think you know it all. Everything is connected in one way or another, and that is why we warn you about today's subject and the idea that it may be a shallow subject.You've made it! Have you been thinking about tackling your next home improvement project? There's no time like the present. You may have questions about how to get started; this article will answer them for you. In the article below, you will find numerous tips that can help you as you begin a home improvement project.Installing insulation in your attic is an excellent way to economize on the cost of heating in the winter. Because heat rises, houses with bad insulation can lose a lot of heat during the colder months. There are many different materials to choose from, most of which are available at your local home improvement center or builders' supply store.Railings look good and provide safety. Look to install rails on stairways, balconies, entrance areas, sidewalks, platforms and decks. Installing railings will enhance the look of your home and will make your home safer for children and elderly family members. You can buy a lot of different kind of rails; they range from wood, glass, rods, cables, iron, steel, etc. So for a good improvement project at home to help make it safer and keep it looking nice, choose a railing that is purposeful and stylish.You should be sure to check around the foundation of your house. Fill up these areas with a hard soil in order to avoid pooled water. If water pools up near your house, it can eat at the foundation of your house.If you are hiring someone to do some work for you, make sure that their work is guaranteed. Having a guarantee from your contractor ensures that they will fix any problems that arise quickly. It is important that you know that the work is guaranteed and that you also know the duration of the guarantee.When you're selecting a contractor, you need to find out as much information as you can about each of your choices. Are they experienced in the work you need them for? Have they done a similar project as far as scope and price? Check out their complete portfolio so you can determine if their work will be effective for your home.Do not go through demolition too quickly as you start your project. Before removing anything, be sure to check the wall structure behind it. If there are electrical components involved, you may have to spend a lot of money to fix the mess that you made.Don't rush into your home improvement project without a plan! If you are painting rooms in your home, you should always cover the furniture before you begin painting. If paint gets splattered onto the furniture it could ruin it permanently. You can use sheets to put over your furniture so you can keep drips or splatters of paint away.Consider replacing dark shingles with white or light-colored varieties. When you use light tiles, your attic will tend to absorb less heat, which in turn will keep your house a little cooler during the hot summer months. When your air conditioner use is lessened, your electric bill will be lower.Always make sure to cover surfaces to protect them, whether you are painting or demolishing walls or cabinets. Taping off these surfaces makes clean-up a lot easier. In order to save yourself additional cleanup and replacement time and costs, remember to put a cover over your floors, fixtures, walls, appliances, furniture and anything that you need to protect.Gutter guards installed in all the gutters around your home will save you from having to get up on the roof and clean out the gutters. These shields prevent leaves from building up in your gutters, allowing water to drain from your roof efficiently. There will be times when the screens need minor cleaning; however, the major build up in the gutters will be prevented.If you are dedicated to improving your home, you will find that the information above can be a great help. The way to see improvement is to get started, and there is no better time than now. What are you waiting for? | <urn:uuid:bf4f6a83-8097-4749-a4ed-a8deaad61f52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://funfunfunfest.com/users/yyTZXR68/blogs/3852703 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963277 | 959 | 1.640625 | 2 |
High Fantasy often faces the criticism that it is a poor reflection of the works that have gone before it, most notably Tolkien. By employing the same basic mythos with a highly Western European (and generally, British) composition, many chide that too much of fantasy falls into this trap and needs to be refreshed with something edgier, or something more original. The end result is generally a poor facsimile that inevitably fails to shine in comparison.
"A Guile of Dragons" is not some mere copy.
Yes, it employs many of the elements that we might quickly label a High Fantasy trope - dwarves, dragons, ancient terrors, and the name Merlin (or at least his son, Morlock). Its important to remember that it is not what elements a writer uses, but how they use them, that brings distinction. Enge does not treat these elements lightly - the history and culture of the dwarves alone are an integral part of this story, hinting at a depth we never see a bottom to. The shortness of the work (@300 pages) is belied by the depth and fullness of the characters that populate it. These are thick characters, populating the pages not because they fill a need but because it is their story to tell.
Set as a prequel for Enge's character, Ambrosius, aka Morlock syr Theorn, "A Guile of Dragons" introduces us to a small cast of recurring characters, each of whom demonstrates a depth and fullness usually reserved for the titular character. Not having read the other books in this milieu proved to not be a problem - as a prequel, it is a well contained volume, beginning with the birth of Morlock, son of Merlin, and the circumstances that place young Morlock in the care of the dwarves of Thrymhaiam to the north. This is also the story of Morlock's first real adventure (other feats are alluded to, but nothing so grand), following a metre and pace that is reminiscent of a classic saga even when the story telling is modern.
For in the Northold, the dwarves find themselves cut off from the Graith of Guardians as a guile of dragons invades, reigniting the Longest War from before the dawn of history. Morlock, a thaen of the Graith, adopted son of the dwarves, trapped between both worlds, faces the failings of each as he is thrust into battling the dragons themselves.
Enge, who's unsecret real world identity is a classics professor, demonstrates that a writer is influenced by the books and life you lead. "A Guile of Dragons" is a worthy epic for any fantasy reader, containing a surprising depth and fullness that is rarely found in so short a book. I cannot say more about this book without spoiling it, so I will just say that I wholly and heartily recommend that it be read.
~Fantasy Book Addict | <urn:uuid:f2a314f3-2585-48c5-bf29-bcd031e156ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Guile-Dragons-Tournament-Shadows/dp/1616146281 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935771 | 601 | 1.65625 | 2 |
What’s Okay With Pregnancy and Exercise? 7 Dos and 4 Don’ts!
When you’re pregnant, your main focus is rightly on the health of your baby, and a healthy mommy is a necessary part of that equation. Working out while pregnant makes some women wary. They, of course, do not want to do anything wrong to potentially put the baby, or themselves, at risk. However, not having a proper fitness routine is an even greater risk. Here is an easy list of dos and don’ts for exercising safely when pregnant.
7 Pregnancy Exercise Dos
1. Do stretch before and after each workout. Be aware that your joints may be more flexible as the body produces the hormone relaxin, which loosens joints in preparation for the birth.
2. Do drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. “Staying adequately hydrated during pregnancy is hard enough,” says Kellee Bryan, community manager at EveryMove, and mom of two boys Riley, 10, and Avi, 21 months. “Add exercise to the equation, and it’s even harder,”
3. Do avoid overheating. The first trimester is when the baby’s major organs begin to form, and if your core temperature gets too high, it could potentially cause problems. | <urn:uuid:d869be13-3760-4d16-8f5c-7f84e08564a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fitbottomedgirls.com/2012/09/whats-okay-with-pregnancy-and-exercise-7-dos-and-4-donts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941486 | 276 | 1.671875 | 2 |
News & Press Cuttings
Businesses and Universities must collaborate, say experts
(3 April 2012)
An event in Durham last week has united representatives from business and academia, in a bid to foster collaboration to drive UK innovation and growth.
Traditionally there has been a disconnect between universities and the needs of the business community, but in the past decade both have realised the benefits of working together to benefit the economy as a whole.
At the ‘Meet the North East Universities - Commercialising University IP and Services’ event, organised by the Electronics Technology Network, speakers discussed the opportunities and challenges facing both parties, as well as the benefits of collaborative working methods.
The event was held at Durham University's Calman Learning Centre, and Dr Tim Hammond, director of Business and Innovation Services believes that the event signals a shift towards a joined up way of working.
Dr Hammond said: “I think it gives us a great opportunity to bring people together to get the dialogue going between industry and universities.
“There is significant potential to improve idea transfer from the university and also to take business needs and use them to support real commercial needs.”
One of the speakers, Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek Ltd focussed on the importance of the innovation cycle, and the part that Universities can play in creating knowledge which can eventually be commercialised into wealth generating ideas. | <urn:uuid:5820cbdc-064b-4d48-9731-08bff00f012a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dur.ac.uk/bis/news/?itemno=14289 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958166 | 286 | 1.5 | 2 |
It's election time in the United States, and what better way to get into the spirit than by taking a politically inspired trip?
First on the campaign trail: visiting a battleground state with the motto, "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation." Ohio will be the first stop on a November "U.S. Elections 2012" tour led by Political Tours, an English tour company.
"We go to Ohio, which is obviously one of the key swing states, and it has taken every president to the White House since Kennedy," said Nicholas Wood, the company's owner. "Demographically, it's a very good way of getting into the issues in the election."
Capitalizing on presidential politics was an easy decision for Wood, a former foreign correspondent, since his company focuses on politics and current affairs around the world. Upcoming tours include trips to Kosovo, Libya and North Korea.
"The world has a stake in the U.S. elections because the U.S. has such a big hold over the rest of us, and so it's the election that everyone looks to," Wood said.
The "U.S. Elections 2012" tour will take travelers to Ohio and Washington to discuss the issues is this year's election. The cost is about $5,000 for an eight-day trip that includes talking to farmers, labor leaders and clergy members. While in Washington, the itinerary includes a trip to CNN's Election Center for an election eve visit with Wolf Blitzer and stops in two D.C. suburbs to talk to voters on Election Day.
"It is not your typical tour," said Dorothy Button, an Australian who has signed up for the trip. "Observing the political process with a tour as Political Tours offer seems to me to be the only way I can get to the heart of the matter and be there at the time of an election where I can be briefed on the events, as they unfold, by those who have answers."
Pick your party
Five thousand dollars is also the price of another election-inspired escape, the "Pick Your Party" package offered by the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. The hotel is near the White House and has served as home base for many politicians including presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Theodore Roosevelt.
"Politics is such a huge part of this city that you can't avoid it, so you might as well have fun with it," said Keith McClinsey, the hotel's director of sales.
The fun at the Mayflower includes a night in the red or blue suite, a moonlight limousine tour of the capital's monuments and a political swag bag.
If the $5,000 price tag is too high, the Mayflower is also offering a "Red, White and You" package starting at $200 per night. It includes a regular guest room, champagne breakfast, valet parking and a collection of politically inspired DVDs for in-room viewing.
All Mayflower guests are offered the "Elect Your Own Turndown" service, in which they can decide what snack will be placed in their room each night.
"All the turndown snacks are based on presidential favorite snacks," McClinsey said. "Ronald Reagan was famous for liking jelly beans, so you can pick jelly beans for one night."
Also on the "ballot" are chocolate caramels, a favorite of President Barack Obama's.
Supporters of candidate Mitt Romney may be disappointed that their candidate's snack isn't an option. McClinsey says the snacks offered include only those of U.S. presidents, but he is quick to add that if Romney is elected, his snack, which will probably include peanut butter, may be added to the list.
Commander in sleep
It's not snacks but sleep that the Loews Annapolis Hotel has its focus on in a "Commander in Sleep" promotion. The hotel is targeting "weary contenders on the campaign trail and travelers" and offering them the opportunity to sleep in.
Aside from a late check-out, this package -- starting at $175 a night -- includes breakfast and a guided historic stroll. Guests will be offered either a walking tour of the United States Naval Academy or a walking tour of historic Annapolis, Md.
For those who would rather ride than walk, the Brazilian Court Hotel and Beach Club in Palm Beach, Fla., has a package that includes "motorcade" transportation. (It's really a private car service for a full day.) Potential guests may need a donation from a super PAC in order to afford this presidential perk; prices start at $2,159 per night.
In addition to the "motorcade," the price includes luxury accommodations, facials at the spa, cocktails or mocktails in the cafe, and chocolate-covered strawberries. And to "unwind," guests will be given their choice of Romney's "No Apology" or Obama's "Audacity of Hope."
If your idea of unwinding does not include reading works by politicians, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hotel may have the getaway for you. This hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., is offering an "Election Fatigue Package."
"You can elect not to receive the daily newspaper or the TV news stations," hotel spokeswoman Valerie Lee explains. In order to make sure their guests get away from the political TV ads, this $399-a-night package includes a pool cabana and access to the spa. | <urn:uuid:fcb0a6d5-46f2-4092-9009-992c7b2582af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.local10.com/thats-life/travelgetaways/Inspired-election-year-travel/-/1716726/16909566/-/jyjoxkz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97087 | 1,124 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Lois has felt the full range of emotions since her first Crohn's episode. From depression during her teen years to the vibrant life she leads now, Lois has had an up and down battle with Crohn's disease.
Lois was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 17, just as she started to look forward to high school, driving, and growing into adulthood. To many of her classmates, she looked just like everyone else, but on the inside she was different. Crohn's was slowing her body’s development, making her different from the rest of her classmates—and depressed. At her lowest point, Lois began skipping her medication and not following the Crohn’s diet her doctor had prescribed.
Finally, Lois decided that she wouldn't let Crohn’s run her life. She started taking her medication, became open and honest about her disease, and went back to doing the things she loved. Lois now spends her free time traveling, horseback riding, and helping others in the Crohn’s community live a fun and active lifestyle. | <urn:uuid:fdae64f8-0b97-4334-bda9-a59b61410a41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crohnsandme.com/crohns-disease-support/crohns-episode.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991873 | 220 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Rav Shimon Schwab is one of this generation's foremost exponents of clear Torah hashkafah. He has served as a manhig of kehillos in Germany, Baltimore and New York for over sixty years, and in this capacity, he has delivered numerous derashos, speeches and lectures on a very wide spectrum of topics, most of which are unpublished. Over the years, Rav Schwab's ability to penetrate to the heart of his listeners, with his inimitable style and fresh, thought-provoking ideas, has engendered a very broad audience for his addresses. Now, the publication of his books is bringing these ideas and insights to a much wider constituency. Selected Speeches, a collection of some of the most important and celebrated of these addresses, continues the published exposition of Rav Schwab's thought begun with the publication of the previous volume, Selected Writings, by C.I.S. Publishers in 1988. In this volume, Rav Schwab once again draws on the classic sources of Tanach and Chazal, as well as the unapologetic, uncompromising and highly inspired teachings of his spiritual mentor Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch. The concepts are elucidated through the prism of Torah learning, and the result is a rich harvest of Torah thought that will inform and uplift the reader. Of particular interest for many is the special section of Selected Speeches entitled "Comparative Jewish Chronology?" It is product of painstaking labor and original scholarship.
by Rav Shimon Schwab | <urn:uuid:c70b90aa-4735-4c06-ba8c-cec81467e49e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eichlers.com/books/books/self-help/teshuvah-repentance/selected-speeches-hardcover.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 | 0.956755 | 306 | 1.648438 | 2 |
I had an issue today while trying to use a jQuery selector on simple div with ID “Ribbon.Read-Title”. This specific selector (#Ribbon.Read-Title) usually means that we are matching the ID “Ribbon” have the class “Read-Title”. But trying to match the ID “Ribbon.Read-Title” will simply not work with this selector. This is also true for a CSS selector.
The workaround is to escape the dot with a backslash. So in the above example, you would use selector #Ribbon\.Read-Title to match the specific ID “Ribbon.Read-Title”.
Note: Contrary to what some people believe, using a dot in an ID or Name attribute is totally valid and accepted, as specified by the W3C. However, it’s easy to confuse the default selector behavior for dots. | <urn:uuid:a64ffeed-2707-48c7-bdae-07c3a462989f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ngpixel.com/2012/01/27/cssjquery-selector-id-with-a-dot/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945891 | 199 | 1.679688 | 2 |
2 fertilized eggs 5 days after conception (blastocyst) as seen under a microscope.
Hold on to your hats folks and put your hot glue gun down because things are going to get a little serious.
For over a month I have been having a debate in my head whether or not to blog about this. The Personhood Act – defining life as beginning at conception.
Back in February I read that the Oklahoma state Senate handily passed a bill that would say life begins at conception. Parts of the bill read as follows: “The life of every human being begins at conception” and “The laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of the unborn child at every state of development all the right, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state.”
One of the reason’s I’ve been debating whether or not to write about this is because I know a lot of my readers are conservative and pro-life, and might possibly agree with this bill. My intent is not to question anybody’s stance on abortion or belittle the importance or status of an unborn child. My purpose here is to encourage critical thinking and question what this bill means and what implications it could have on Oklahoma families. Discussions can get very heated when hot button words like “abortion”, “pro-life”, and “pro-choice” are used. Instead of getting defensive I hope that this encourages someone to take a look at this issue from a different point of view that they may not have been open to considering before.
That being said the idea of life beginning at conception has many layers. I’m not going to try and peel back all of those layers in this one little post. Rather I would like to take a look at just a couple of things that really concern me.
If I read this bill the way it is intended I am led to interpret it to say that a fertilized egg has all the same rights and should be treated the same as a living human being. Laws that govern how we treat each other would also be applied to a blastocyst and embryo. I’ve had some experience with fertilized eggs. You may already know that my little Harry was created using in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Before he was a fetus, even before he was an embryo, he was a microscopic clump of cells in a dish in a doctor’s office. 5 days after fertilization two little blastocysts were transferred to my uterus. That picture at the top…those were my fertilized eggs. I believe that those little groups of cells were not babies yet. I think they had the potential to become babies but they were not yet babies.
Last week I read a letter to the editor in our local paper. It was from an IVF mom who was also concerned about the Personhood Act. I didn’t know her but was so moved by what she wrote I called her to tell her just that. She did such a good job describing the IVF process and why the Personhood Act threatens future parents who have to use this method to get pregnant I want to share it here.
“By declaring a fertilized egg a person entitled to all “rights, privileges, and immunities” under state law, SB 1433 threatens the availability and effectiveness of infertility treatments and birth control in Oklahoma.
Because successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) involves fertilization of multiple eggs, not all of which will survive, SB 1433 would curtail and possibly criminalize this life-giving procedure.
In nature, as in IVF, only 30% of fertilized eggs become babies; the rest either fail to implant or are spontaneously miscarried. And while there is no denying cell division begins at conception, there is also no denying it cannot continue – a baby cannot develop and grow – unless and until pregnancy occurs.
Ask any person who has experienced infertility whether conception is the same thing as pregnancy and the answer will be a resounding “no”.
My own experience is illustrative. The first time my husband and I underwent IVF, I produced 18 eggs, of which 16 fertilized in the lab but only three developed into blastocysts. (A blastocyst is the microscopic cluster of cells into which a fertilized egg develops five days after conception.) My doctor transferred all three blastocysts to my uterus, but none implanted. I wasn’t pregnant. Sixteen conceptions achieved, zero persons created.
Our second round of IVF was much more successful. I became pregnant with our daughter, and we were able to cryogenically preserve (freeze) several blastocysts for future use. Two years later, I became pregnant via frozen blastocyst transfer and we welcomed a baby boy into our family.
Had SB 1433 been law at the time, our son would not be alive today. If a fertilized egg is a person, it will be no more lawful to freeze a five-day-old blastocyst than it would to freeze my now 5-year-old son. The lack of cryopreservation as an option will deny the gift of pregnancy and childbirth to hundreds of Oklahomans each year.
Not only would SB 1433 limit IVF options for couples who do want to become pregnant, it would also limit birth-control options for couples who don’t want to become pregnant. Because family-planning methods such as IUDs and the morning-after pill might operate post-conception but pre-pregnancy, they would be outlawed under this bill. The result? More unintended pregnancies and, therefore, more abortions.
It all comes down to this: Who should make such vital and deeply personal decisions for Oklahomans: patients in consultation with licensed medical professionals, or politicians in consultation with agenda-driven lobbyists?”
-Susan Plath Winston
Susan’s story is very similar to mine. Before Harry was Harry he was cryogenically frozen before being transferred to my uterus. He would not have been possible without this technology. Dear Husband and I can’t imagine life without him and anybody who has ever had the pleasure to meet Harry feels the same way. He is a bright ray of light in our lives.
During an election year there is always talk about how big government is getting. Talk of regulation, deregulation, personal freedoms, social services, and who’s going to pay for what clog the airwaves and define party lines. I find it very interesting that the same people who want government to stay out of their lives and feel that it has gotten too big and intrusive in our private lives support this bill. Having a politician tell me exactly when life begins seems pretty big to me.
Another thing that concerns me is the authority for which this bill was written. With what authority did the author of this bill, Senator Brian Crain of Tulsa, site to make such a bold statement that life begins at conception? The medical community does not agree with this statement, however a very conservative religious community does. I wonder if he was led by his Christian beliefs? Maybe he’s not but I know that a large portion of Personhood supporters are. I can think of a number of bible verses that someone could use to argue the point. For sake of argument let’s use Psalm 139: 13 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” When it comes to abortion and protecting unborn babies matters of the heart and one’s faith play a large roll. And that’s important. But when it comes to using Christianity and manipulating people’s beliefs to further a political agenda, then I have a problem with that. Saying that a fertilized egg is a person and using bible passages as a point of reference or proof is disrespecting the passage as well as the belief system. Using the bible as scientific evidence to prove that a embryo is it’s own individual is a misuse of the scripture, irresponsible and should not come into play. Psalm 139 is a beautiful love song between God and his people. Using it as anything other is missing the point of the Psalm all together. Of course we search the scriptures for divine guidance but when we put the text before it’s creator and demand that we can glean all of life’s mysteries, scientific as well as spiritual, then we have missed the boat. Soon we start to worship the words instead of the divine.
Asking questions, thinking critically and examining how the scriptures square with scientific advancements in 2012 is a slippery slope. Beware. If you live on that slippery slope, like I do, I encourage you to write or email your state representatives. If you want to you can use Resolve: The National Infertility Association website. There you can find a letter that you can customize (if you want to) and send it right off to one or all of our representatives.
If you don’t want to, that’s your choice. But I ask you to think about families who want a ray of light in their life but need help finding the light switch. | <urn:uuid:c72afbcc-dbf1-4eea-a331-864e496dd8c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hugskissesandsnot.com/2012/03/27/lets-put-the-personhood-act-under-the-microscope/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968946 | 1,915 | 1.515625 | 2 |
These days, when the phone rings at ReMax Kitimat Realty, there's a good chance there's an Albertan on the line.
Cited by Census Canada in 2007 as the community with the greatest population decline in Canada, the coastal city of Kitimat is now at the forefront of B.C.'s energy boom. House prices are rising, residential assessments are up 25 to 30 per cent, and investors are noticing.
"About 50 per cent of our buyers right now are from out of town," said ReMax managing broker Manuel Leite. "Your people from Alberta there, and especially Calgary - we get so many calls from them. They seem to be so positive about what's happening here in town. Sometimes I think they know more than we do."
The out-of-town interest is being driven in large part by Kitimat's economic prospects and speculation about potential multi-million dollar industrial investments in proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and the Northern Gateway pipeline, as well as aluminum smelter upgrades that are already underway.
Leite's records indicate 15 Kitimat properties sold to Calgary buyers in 2012. Properties also sold to buyers from Airdrie, Fort McMurray, St. Albert and Medicine Hat.
"Some of these companies that are planning to come here are actually coming from (the Calgary) area, so whether the news gets out to employees there or whether it's through some of the articles they've read, people are phoning in and saying, 'We've heard this is happening and it's made us interested,' " Leite said.
Leite's experience is by no means an isolated one, as several B.C. communities appear poised for an economic windfall. Between natural gas drilling in the north, development of the liquefied natural gas export trade, and the construction of new electricity generation to power it all, B.C.'s energy sector is booming. A Conference Board of Canada report published in December predicted B.C. should see $181 billion in investment in natural gas between 2012 and 2035 - the highest level in Canada at more than $5.8 billion on average per year.
Much depends on whether the Canadian LNG business develops as hoped. The Conference Board report is based on the assumption four LNG export projects will proceed at a total capacity of 20 million tonnes of natural gas per year. Right now, most companies with proposed projects haven't even made final investment decisions. But in spite of the fact Canada's LNG export trade has yet to become a reality, Albertans and Alberta companies see potential in B.C's "boom towns."
Calgary-based ATCO Structures & Logistics first got involved in the Kitimat area in 2011, when - in partnership with the Haisla First Nation - it installed an 1,800-person workforce housing camp for the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter expansion project. Now, it is working with Chevron Canada and Apache Corp. to install an early-stage 340-bed camp for the Kitimat LNG project. If that goes ahead, it will build a 2,500-person housing facility to support construction of the main terminal.
Craig Alloway, the company's senior director of sales for North America, said ATCO is excited about the opportunities in the Kitimat area.
"We're definitely engaged ... We intend to maintain our foothold there," Alloway said. "And because we're there early, it also provides opportunity for our sister companies within the ATCO group. ATCO Power's a significant player there - they're currently a preferred partner related to energy power supply for any of the projects the Haisla (First Nation) would be involved in, and we see a lot of opportunity coming out of that."
Rose Klukas, economic development officer for the District of Kitimat, said it's not only large companies, but individual entrepreneurs who have been setting up shop in Kitimat. She said in recent months there has been "unprecedented" interest in the community from outsiders, including Albertans.
"We're seeing Alberta investors come in and see the opportunity that exists here - and some of it lies in retail, small business, or spinoff or secondary industries as opposed to the big projects," Klukas said.
From the Edmonton-based tea shop that recently opened a location in Kiti-mat, to the real estate investors from Alberta and Saskatchewan who are busily modernizing Kitimat's aging apartment buildings to prepare for an influx of workers, Klukas said her office has been a "revolving door" for opportunity-minded entrepreneurs since the fall of 2011.
"The name of our town is now known all over the world. We're in the media a lot. So for whatever the reason, people identify Kitimat with industrial development and that obviously spins off into these smaller secondary industries or business opportunities," Klukas said, adding internal studies have indicated Kitimat's population could grow from 10,000 to 15,000 in just a couple of years - and that doesn't include temporary construction workers brought in for specific projects.
One thousand kilometres away in the northeast B.C. interior, Fort St. John is also a hotbed for investment. The city calls itself "The Energetic City" and has long been known for its large resource base of oil and natural gas. It already has close links to Alberta, with Calgary-based companies like Shell, Talisman, and Petronas all present in the community.
Rej Tetrault, operations manager for Shell's Groundbirch operation in Fort St. John, said the company has been in the community since 2008. In July 2012, Shell opened a new office in Fort St. John that can accommodate 100 people. On a typical day, Shell has 650 contractors in the field.
"Supporting and developing local contractors and businesses is good for our business so we are actively promoting the use of qualified and competitive local and Aboriginal suppliers and contractors," Tetrault said. "Last year over half of our contractor spend was local."
Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman - originally from Calgary herself - said there are already many former Albertans who make their homes in the northern B.C. community. She said if B.C.'s LNG export business develops like the province hopes, Fort St. John will become an even more important energy hub.
"A lot of that natural gas will be coming from our area, so that will increase the activity level for an industry we're already securely involved with," she said.
Calgary-based WestJet Airlines indicated its confidence in the Fort St. John economy earlier this month, when it announced the city would be one of the first two destinations to be served by its new regional airline, Encore. WestJet spokesperson Robert Palmer said it was an obvious choice.
"There's a very strong business market (in Fort St. John), with workers going back and forth all the time," Palmer said. "There is a lot of business traffic between Alberta and Fort St. John."
Ackerman said an analysis by Fort St. John's economic development committee showed the city's population of 20,000 could come close to doubling in the next five to seven years if proposed LNG projects and pipelines go ahead.
The Conference Board predicts the Canadian LNG business, if successful, will create 1.2 million person-years of employment and more than $46 billion in tax revenue in B.C. over the next 24 years. | <urn:uuid:f412c7f3-2c99-4545-80b3-60ab34ae8b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/company/miscellaneous/Canadian%20Natural%20Resources%20Ltd/Calling+Kitimat/8040056/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964127 | 1,561 | 1.5 | 2 |
liabobia; I'm sorry I don't recognize your apple variety, but if I were to hunt for it, I'd start with the earliest of varieties - assuming those are what would consistently ripen in Alaska?
"How do you clone an apple tree?"
You don't really want to 'clone them.' I've heard it said that you can propagate apples from 'cuttings,' but you'd loose the necessary rootstock that is far better at withstanding (and often used for 'dwarfing') harsh soil conditions. Rootstock
, which is often a thorny primitive ancestor to the 'modern' fruiting cultivars, is what you graft your desired variety to. You can of course graft it to an existing tree as well, same idea, only bigger 'rootstock.'
"Should I get professional help to graft it?"
Had you been 'down' here on Saturday, and the HOS Scion Exchange
, you could have paid $3 to have 'one of us' graft it for you... You'd have had to buy the rootstock, $4 or so - plus the price of admission, but for the additional $3 (the scions, or desired variety
were free) - have had a tree! I know you can mail-order rootstock, but I'm not sure about the possibility of sending 'your' scion wood to a nursery that 'custom grafts,' and them sending you back the finished product..? Anyone know of such a thing?
If you've a large enough community, you might put out a request for a local grafter - but don't hold your breath...
Here's my Self-sufficient-Alaskan advice: you will have to save some 'wood' from the apple tree you described, as well as come up with one rootstock per desired tree. When you prune your tree, take the one year old 'sucker shoots' (growing strait up) and save about 8 - one foot pieces (wrapped in damp newspaper and twist-tied in a bread bag) in your refrigerator. Take the rest and start practicing the slanting cuts you're gonna need to 'splice' those parts together. Search online (there are plenty) for a site that shows how to make a 'whip & tongue' graft (it may also be called other names..). After your rootstock arrives, practice some more, then do it to both scion and rootstock, wrap with 'whatever,' plant in a garden location, and tell us what happens - or doesn't.
In your case, it sounds as if you could give away as many trees as you come up with - I'd order 5 or so rootstocks (look for a bundled price break), and whittle away! After grafting more trees than I could keep track of yesterday at the event mentioned above - it's hard to 'make' you do it yourself ... but isn't that the Alaskan cost of admission - but be careful | <urn:uuid:1f92ceb1-6543-4053-a7d1-e6d36af2e48d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=267&p=708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967205 | 615 | 1.515625 | 2 |
We adore you, true Body of Christ!
On Sunday evening, 18 June, the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity,
50,000 of the faithful gathered with the Holy Father in St Peter's
Square to celebrate the opening of the 47th International
Eucharistic Congress with Vespers and Eucharistic adoration,
followed by Benediction. The beauty of the celebration was enhanced
by the presence of many Italian confraternities that had brought
handmade crucifixes, statues, banners and other objects of sacred
art to express their devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Following
the liturgical reading (Eph 3:14-4:6), the Pope preached on the
Eucharist as the living memorial of Christ's redeeming sacrifice and
the centre of the Mystical Body's life and unity. Here is a
translation of his homily, which was given in Italian.
1. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called to the one hope that belongs to your call" (Eph
One body! At these solemn Vespers, with which we open the International
Eucharistic Congress, it is on the Apostle Paul's words that our
attention is particularly focused this evening. One Body: our
thoughts turn first of all to the Body of Christ. The Bread of
At the Last Supper, Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary 2,000
years ago, wanted to leave us his Body and his Blood, sacrificed for
all humanity. The Church, his Mystical Body, gathers round the
Eucharist, the sacrament of his love for us. See: Christ and the
Church, one body, one great mystery. Mysterium fidei!
2. Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine!
—Hail, true Body of Christ, born of the Virgin Mary! Born
when the time had fully come, born of woman, born under the law (cf.
In the heart of the Great Jubilee and at the beginning of this
week dedicated to the Eucharistic Congress, we return to that
historic event which marked the fulfilment of our salvation. Let us
kneel as the shepherds did before the manger in Bethlehem; like the
Magi who came from the East, let us adore Christ, the Saviour of the
world. Like the aged Simeon, let us hold him in our arms, blessing
God because our eyes have seen the salvation which he has prepared
in the presence of all peoples: a light for revelation to the
Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel (cf. Lk 2:30-32).
You, Lord, are the living Bread come down from heaven
Let us retrace the stages of his earthly life to Calvary, to the
glory of the Resurrection. In the days ahead, it will be in the
Upper Room especially that we will pause to reflect on what Christ
Jesus did and suffered for us.
3. "In supremae nocte cenae ... se dat suis manibus".
At the Last Supper, while celebrating the Passover with his
disciples, Christ offered himself for us. Yes, gathered for the
International Eucharistic Congress, the Church returns in these days
to the Upper Room and remains there in thoughtful adoration. She
relives the great mystery of the Incarnation, focusing her gaze on
the sacrament in which Christ gave us the memorial of his Passion:
"This is my body which is given for you..... This cup ...
poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Lk
Ave, verum corpus ... vere passum, immolatum!
We adore you, true Body of Christ, present in the Sacrament of
the new and eternal Covenant, living memorial of the redeeming
sacrifice. You, Lord, are the living Bread come down from heaven,
who gives life to man! On the Cross you gave your flesh for the life
of the world (cf. Jn 6:5 1): in cruce pro homine!
The human mind is astonished at so sublime a mystery. But
strengthened by divine grace, it dares to repeat with faith:
Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
quae sub his figuris vere latitas.
I adore you devoutly, O Godhead unseen,
who truly lie hidden under these appearances.
4. "One body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to
the one hope that belongs to your call" (Eph 4:4).
In these words, which we have just heard, the Apostle Paul speaks
of the Church, the community of believers gathered together in the
unity of one body, enlivened by the same Spirit and sustained by
sharing the same hope. Paul is thinking of the reality of Christ's
Mystical Body, which finds in his Eucharistic Body its own vital
centre from which the energy of grace flows to all its members.
The Apostle says: "The bread which we break, is it not a
participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we
who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread"
(1 Cor 10: 16-17). Thus all of us, the baptized, become members of
that body and therefore individually members one of another (cf. 1
Cor 12:27; Rom 12:5). With heartfelt gratitude let us thank God, who
made the Eucharist the sacrament of our full communion with him and
with our brothers and sisters.
5. This evening, with the solemn Vespers of the Blessed Trinity,
we are beginning an unusually full week which will see Bishops and
priests, religious and lay people from every part of the world
gathered round the Eucharist. It will be an extraordinary experience
of faith and an eloquent testimony of ecclesial communion.
Congress invites us to renew our faith in the real presence
I greet you, dear brothers and sisters who are taking part in
this Jubilee event, which can be regarded as the heart of the entire
Holy Year. I extend my greeting in particular to the faithful of the
Diocese of Rome, our Diocese, which, under the guidance of the
Cardinal Vicar and the Auxiliary Bishops, and with the collaboration
of the clergy, the religious and many generous lay people, has
prepared the various aspects of the Eucharistic Congress. It is
ready to ensure that the Congress will run smoothly in the days
ahead, conscious of the honour it has in hosting this central event
of the Great Jubilee.
I would also like to extend a special greeting to the many
confraternities meeting in Rome for a significant "Fraternity
Walk". Their presence, made more impressive by the artistic
crosses and precious sacred images carried on majestic
"machines", creates a worthy setting for the Eucharistic
celebration which has brought us here together.
The minds and hearts of so many of the faithful dispersed
throughout the world converge on this square. I invite everyone,
individual believers and ecclesial communities from every corner of
the earth, to share with us these moments of sublime Eucharistic
spirituality. I especially ask children and the sick, as well as
contemplative communities, to pray for the happy and fruitful
success of this world Eucharistic meeting.
6. The Eucharistic Congress also invites us to renew our faith in
the real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the altar: Ave,
At the same time, we receive the urgent appeal for the
reconciliation and unity of all believers: "one body ....
one faith, one baptism"! Divisions and disagreements still
rend the body of Christ and prevent Christians of different
confessions from sharing the one Eucharistic Bread. Therefore, let
us pray together for the healing power of divine mercy, which is
superabundant in this Jubilee Year.
And you, O Christ, the only Head and Saviour, draw all your
members to yourself. Unite them and transform them in your love, so
that the Church may shine with that supernatural beauty which is
resplendent in the saints of every era and nation, in the martyrs,
in the confessors, in the virgins and in the countless witnesses to
O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie,
O Iesu, fili Mariae! | <urn:uuid:05959159-dfde-4fdf-a492-ac6fc997f7a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jjp2euch.htm | 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 | 0.933965 | 1,834 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Drought cited in ethanol production suspensionA central Missouri ethanol plant is suspending production effective Feb. 1, saying the extended drought has made it virtually impossible to get enough corn to make the fuel.
ST. LOUIS — A central Missouri ethanol plant is suspending production effective Feb. 1, saying the extended drought has made it virtually impossible to get enough corn to make the fuel.
POET Biorefining said Friday that its plant in Macon, Mo., will remain open and all 44 employees will keep working, spending their time doing maintenance-related work.
Spokesman Matt Merritt says there is simply not enough local corn to keep making ethanol at the plant, and shipping in corn from elsewhere is too expensive. Missouri has been hit hard by the drought that has dragged on for months.
Merritt says POET will continue to purchase corn for future use when it becomes available. There is no timetable for resuming production.
Sioux Falls, S.D.-based POET operates 27 plants in seven states.
Also on Friday, a federal appeals court threw out U.S. Environmental Protection Agency renewable fuel production estimates in response to a challenge filed by the oil industry. The court agreed with the oil industry's assertion that the EPA overestimated the amount of renewable fuel that could be blended with gasoline. | <urn:uuid:92063e51-1634-4ec0-9a13-9b7dc0b2cd25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/20433/publisher_ID/80/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950507 | 270 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Alternative Dispute Resolution Program
One of the major purposes of the Commission under the Multistate Tax Compact is to minimize duplicative taxation among the States. The Commission has implemented a voluntary Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program to fulfill that purpose. The specific objectives of the Program include:
providing a voluntary, cooperative means of resolving state tax controversies involving two or more States.
reducing costs and risks of litigation for both the public and private sectors.
providing a means of addressing the multistate character of the controversy so that the interstate issues can be resolved among the relevant parties consistentlya result that is not assured even if a taxpayer litigates separately in the different States involved in the issue.
The program was developed jointly by the Commission and the Committee on State Taxation (COST). Mediation, arbitration and combinations of the two are available under the Program's procedures. However, all of the procedures are purely voluntary and can be entered only through agreement of all parties.
Additional information about the MTC's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program is available including a more detailed history and description of the Program, the Commission Bylaw on Voluntary Alternative Dispute Resolution, and a description of specific procedures for initiation and conduct of the process. For any other information, including application to serve as a qualified mediator or arbitrator under the auspices of the Program, please contact Shirley Sicilian at [email protected], 785-312-9779. | <urn:uuid:d85a7f55-793f-4c4e-8ce8-60b75e9e16a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mtc.gov/Resources.aspx?id=278 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93568 | 305 | 1.726563 | 2 |
To be successful in the fashion business, you have to be analytical, know what the customer wants, read financial reports, be a critical thinker and a team player. The Team Development Workshop is one of the last requirements for the associate’s degree, and it’s one of those courses where students start out saying, ‘Ugh, why do I have to take this?’
At first, everyone thinks they’re a leader. But in this class some of them discover they’re not—they’re creative, they’re moderators, they’re finishers, and you need all those roles to get the project done. Everyone is held accountable to make sure the tasks are completed, and everyone suffers if a team member doesn’t come to class or do the work. The team can “fire” that member. It happens rarely, but for those who have been fired, it’s a real life lesson.
By the time students get to the Merchandising Strategies course—the bachelor’s program capstone project—they’re doing case studies on actual companies, and making presentations at firms like Abercrombie, Bergdorf Goodman, Liz Claiborne. Suddenly it dawns on them that executives are taking their ideas and suggestions seriously. That’s when students understand something important about themselves—they know what they’re talking about. | <urn:uuid:4084a1d0-eeba-481b-b490-78c1edf357a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fitnyc.edu/4204.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935866 | 296 | 1.679688 | 2 |
by Ji Strangeway, USA. Cross posted at www.proteji.com
Today, there is a falsehood that says, “nothing is new under the sun.”
But without newness, every child would look the same and every crop that replicates would never provide nourishment. There could be no argument that the birth of anything is old news and done before. The illusion that nothing is ever new must be overcome—because the nature of Creativity is that it is always new—and it is always new when it appears the first time.
By saying that “nothing is new under the sun,” this paradigm has granted us permission to copy, and to me, an artist that copies is a copy-artist. This is where the dividing line between artists that are purveyors of death and lovers of life begin.
Art Films have a tough time in the marketplace. But this does not mean it has no value. It is quite the opposite.
In the business climate or market of film, the film world and even film festivals, it is non-conducive to create films that distributors are unable to describe or to sell. Yet the antithetical nature of Art—is that it is impossible to sell Art or even describe it, as it is impossible to sell Soul.
It’s for this reason that it takes many years until a vision becomes assimilated into mass consciousness that society begins to see the potentiality of a concept—to either market and make money or embrace as something new.
Newness—which is the avant-garde—is threat to modern society, particularly a materialistic ones. The avant-garde is all about “newness.”
The fear of newness is based on the commodity and the propaganda perpetuated to keep minds in a trance to spend dollars on “more of the same.” That’s usually why art should be made only by artists…because buyers and shoppers do not have any concept—nor should they have any control—over what newness is.
In a commercialized culture, there is no such thing as Alternative, New, or Art Films. It is a dead concept (lacks market value) because it’s easier to manipulate money and control of people, education, popular culture and influence of aesthetics through product management based on perceived—rather than true—value (Advertisement). The reality of this however, is not entirely bleak. Anything antithetical to Art (or Truth) will reach its peak and starts to fold…it cannot stand up to the test of time. Nothing can stop people from seeking freshness because Newness is life…even as people are often sold on so-called “newness.” It is a matter of awakening.
To show something new does not mean that you have to be different. Newness does not mean a cold shell in an art installation where you stare at a speck until your eyes bleed. It has to be functional and house the human: Soul. Newness is how you can regenerate the truth to make it living again. It has to have life. It cannot just be mental or visually aesthetic.
About Ji Strangeway
Ji Strangeway is an avant-garde filmmaker and writer. Her work focuses on female and lesbian erotica. Her films include Mystery’s Choir, L.A./love actually(.), and We Come From Other Worlds. She lived in New York, Vietnam and is based in Los Angeles. Her films can be previewed at: www.proteji.com | <urn:uuid:a767efc9-9548-407e-bb7c-db5f1362f81c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.femininemoments.dk/blog/newness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961936 | 743 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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Prayer: The Ultimate Hypocrisy
If you ask your average Christian, they will tell you that prayer works.
Christians, as well as any other religion that engages in the practice of petitioning their god(s) with prayer, actually believe that their god alters the physical properties of the universe to specifically accommodate their request, regardless of how their petition might affect someone else. This has been brought to example many times by the comparison of the Christian who prays for sunshine to grace their weekend outdoor plans, but the farmer next door is praying for rain because even one more day without will ensure the destruction of his crops and leave him broke for the entire winter.
The fervent belief that many Christians have regarding the effectiveness of prayer comes about only by virtue of what their holy book says, and not on actual or statistical evidence. In the bible, the character portrayed as Jesus makes a number of promises on the topic of prayer. In the book of Matthew, Jesus is given credit for stating that whatever is asked for in “His name” will be granted. He promises that if one has a level of faith compared to the tiny mustard seed, they will be able to cast mountains into the sea. Not to mention the whole healing thing. The truth of the matter is that prayers get answered in the favor of the petitioner at about the same rate as doing nothing at all. In fact, double blind studies have shown that many sick people who know they are being prayed over actually fare worse due to performance anxiety. The convenient explanation that is used when these types of prayers are not answered, even when the situation being prayed over ends up getting worse, is that their god works in mysterious ways and those ways should not be questioned. We lowly human beings are not meant to understand the higher mind of god, you see.
It’s Not Always Physics
Then there are the prayers that do not require the bending and twisting of the natural world to accommodate a need. It’s not always a request a change in the weather, the avoidance of destruction by natural disaster or the eradication of some terminal illness. Having spent over a decade as a Pastor, I can tell you with great certainty that most prayer requests are quite simplistic and usually involve a need that can be met by either helping hands or an infusion of cash. A repair to a home or a vehicle is offered up, or school clothes for the kids, etc. When these needs are met, they are perceived as granted prayers. Mind you, I would be less skeptical if these needs were met without the petitioner notifying anyone. But, the reality is that these needs are not met because of divine intervention or providence, but because the prayer requests were made known to other humans. Through the camaraderie that surrounds their common belief, fellow believers are called into action. Donations are made, people show up with hammers and plywood or a box of clothing magically appears on a doorstep.
This is not god, people. I venture to say I would be less cynical about the whole process if it were genuine altruism. But it’s not. The same results occur when Atheists band together to help our fellow humans out. The only difference is that we are not trying to impress a god, or anyone else for that matter, and by virtue of the fact that we are not acting with the expectation of a reward in heaven or to avoid some sort of divine retribution, our actions are a true definition of altruism. But I digress…
When called into action to help out their fellow believers, the faithful will happily tell you something like “the hand of god touched their heart and moved them to action.” When confronted with the fact that unbelievers are equally generous, many Christians will respond with their belief that we are agents of Satan who, of course, masquerades as an angel. It is no secret that a vast majority of Christians believe that someone who does not have Jesus “living inside them” cannot commit true acts of kindness and selflessness, and that those of us who are professed atheists are immoral, unethical, selfish, baby-eating, Satan-worshiping cretins who would not know an act of kindness if it jumped up and bit us in our infidel butts.
Time For A Reality Check
No matter how loudly or how fervently prayers are offered, the petitioners are only talking to themselves. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, sinkholes and every other natural disaster, bar none, are in no way effected by the petition of prayer because there is nobody listening. In fact, it can even be questioned whether or not the event would even be referred to as a disaster without population. A hurricane over the ocean isn't a disaster, nor is a volcano erupting on an empty island. As well, people are “healed” through medical science, the natural (evolutionary) healing abilities of the human body, our desire for self-preservation and our emotional and psychological conditions.
Christians cling to prayer because if they suddenly acknowledged the evidence that surrounds its ineffectiveness, it would force them to acknowledge all of the other inconsistencies and contradictions that pellet their faith by the shotgun of reality.
The fact remains that people still die in third world countries of diseases that can be cured with a bottle of aspirin. They still die of starvation and thirst because of a lack in the availability of food or potable water. They are still murdered every day by tyrannical despots. Ethnic cleansing is still a reality. Slavery is still a reality. Human trafficking is still a reality. Honor killings are still commonplace. Child abuse and molestation are still rampant. When unbelievers point out the obvious lack of concern by their god, the inevitable doctrine of a "fallen world" and "free will" is tramped out. This is, of course, just another example of the “higher/mysterious” excuse for the obvious absence of the divine.
If The Blind Could Only See
Blind faith is what causes an individual to ignore the sheer abundance of statistical data that prove the utter ineffectiveness of prayer, either by itself with respect to the human condition, or in toto with reference to natural disasters. There is a scientific explanation for most of the “miraculous answers” to prayers, and what cannot be explained is simply just unknown and does not mean it is supernatural. It takes a huge contortion of logic to reconcile a “loving and just god who hears and answers prayers” with the millions of faithful believers who continue to endure unimaginable suffering every single day.
It takes an astounding level of ignorance to attribute the lack of alleviation of this human suffering to an explanation as mundane and enigmatic as it being outside "his will" or not being in accordance with “his plan." The whole "free will" explanation and the effect that the "fall of man" has on our world is equally asinine, as is the belief that afflictions and suffering are somehow the fault of the victim due to their insincerity or the existence of unrepentant sin.
Yet, countless numbers of people still cling to the belief that they are talking to god and that god hears them and is working things out "for the good of those who believe." They choose to remain ignorant to the psychology that explains those "feelings" that god is communicating with them. They believe that god guides them, denying the science of natural human intuition, which our species has developed through millions of years of evolution.
The Ultimate Hypocrisy
Time spent praying may offer comfort to the faithful because they believe their efforts are effective, be it for personal reasons or for the benefit of others. The truth is that prayer is a placebo, and a dangerous one when it involves the ignorance toward science and medicine. Prayer is a perfect example of doing something for oneself and calling it helping others. It’s the ultimate form of hypocrisy. This has been proven time and time again and will not change until people realize that two hands engaged in works are far more effective than two hands clasped in prayer.
Al Stefanelli – Georgia State Director, American Atheists, Inc. | <urn:uuid:ef5095e5-502a-4780-b832-43f8a4701d8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://atheists.org/comment/3059 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956571 | 1,879 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Chumby: sexy open hardware
I have a problem with locked-down hardware. It is not that I don’t like Apple’s products (the iPod Touch is a wonderful piece of hardware), I just don’t like the way Apple’s products treat their customers. I had to help somebody who’s Windows laptop had died. She bought a new Apple laptop and wanted to move her music from her iPod to her new laptop: impossible! It took Linux as an intermediary to get it done.
That is why I love the concept of open hardware. I personally own a Neuros OSD (great when you are on a holiday and want to watch your own videos on the hotel TV) and, since a couple of months, a Chumby.
The Chumby is a computer the size of a coffee mug and made of leather. It has a touch screen, an accelerometer, a microphone, stereo speakers, two USB ports, a WIFI connection and a nice soft button on the top.
So what can it do? I see it as having a couple of distinct functions. It is:
- An excellent alarm clock with an easy interface. You can set multiple alarms and decide whether you want to wake up with music or a tone. You can even set the length of your snooze.
- A relatively decent speaker set for your iPod.
- An Internet radio player. It is full of Shoutcast and other streams.
- A digital picture frame for photos that live on the Internet (e.g. Flickr, Facebook, Picasa). It can display photos from a particular user, but also from a particular tag.
- An RSS reader.
- And finally, an Internet enabled device for any kind of content.
The last point is the important one. You can load your Chumby with widgets. There are hundreds of widgets available. You use a web-based interface to add these widgets into channels. Then you set your Chumby to watch a certain channel.
I have created this virtual Chumby (please click the link, it opens in a new window!) to give you an idea of what these widgets look like. This chumby shows a particular channel which I created for this blog post and has a couple of example widgets. Each widget will be shown for about 20-45 seconds. It starts with some random Flickr images showing my favourite tag: decay. You can interact with the screen to move to the next or the previous tag. Next up is Twistori, this displays recent tweets with the word “believe” in it. If you prefer “love”, “hate”, “think”, “feel” or “wish” then you can click on those words to switch to them. The Chumby will then display recent top news stories from Google news. Next this blog using Chumby’s RSS reader (you might see this blog entry). It finishes off with the weather in Amsterdam (including a forecast), a web cam looking at Abbey Road (do you see people trying to imitate the famous Beatles cover?), some video’s from the excellent videojug and the classic blue ball machine animation.
As you can see the Chumby mostly pulls content in. My colleague Job Bilsen had the interesting idea of using it as a device for pushing content to people. He had visions of companies putting Chumbies on the desks of their employees and sending them important updates about things like compliance, RSI, internal news, etc. I can already see a plug-in for a VLE like Moodle. Imagine doing your homework on your laptop with your Chumby on your desk displaying updates from your courses and playing your favourite Last.fm channel (they are working on a Last.fm widget)!
The best thing about the Chumby: the specifications are completely open. I had to get an European adapter for it and they have the precise information about the power supply listed on their website. You are even encouraged to hack into it! Use it as a web server or log into over ssh? No problem.
Where do you get one? Currently the Chumby is only available in the US. They are in the process of complying to all the European rules and regulations so it shouldn’t take much longer before you can buy one over here as well. Want one now? Ebay is your friend! | <urn:uuid:d55b9d2f-f97b-4e82-9c34-2004dc84a34a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.hansdezwart.info/2008/10/01/the-chumby-sexy-open-hardware/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934448 | 925 | 1.632813 | 2 |
- Tech & Gadgets
- BRW. lounge
Published 06 August 2012 06:32, Updated 06 August 2012 11:06
Every now and then, after a presentation, The Australian Financial Review’s Corporate Woman columnist Catherine Fox is approached by a young woman who wants to have her say.
Sometimes, the audience member is angry. She has heard something she doesn’t agree with. Things that don’t sit well with her own experience.
Fox is a frequent speaker on gender politics and has spent the best part of an hour using the best data available to show how women are still – after all these years – discriminated against in the workforce.
But some women and men don’t believe it.
“I can honestly say, I have never been discriminated against on the basis on being a woman,” they will often tell Fox.
And that is the problem with basing your beliefs on only your own experience.
You may be a successful woman, who has a rational explanation for any backward step you have ever had to take. Or you may be a man who would never countenance discrimination of the basis of gender, race, religion or disability.
But the data tells a different story.
“Women are still paid less, are far more likely to be in insecure casual work, have far less superannuation, and are still over represented in lower paid and low skilled ranks and sectors,’ writes Fox in her new book 7 Myths About Women and Work.
“And they still do 80 per cent of the housework.Their efforts are judged differently and, unlike the range of behaviours deemed valid for men in the workplace, women are restricted to a much narrower band of acceptable options, which can be confusing and punitive.”
This is an unwelcome message for young women who have been told to shoot for the stars.
And it is hard to understand why this situation still exists when women now make up 45 per cent of the paid workforce and excel at school and at university.
It is also difficult to argue a case against discrimination when some myths against women and work are so entrenched in our society that they are mistaken as truths.
Which is why Fox has written her latest book (her third). It is a handy ready reckoner for anyone who wants a clear-eyed look at what the situation really is for working women in this country and provides the ammunition for a healthy debate.
The seven myths that Fox busts are:
Fox makes the point that it is not a matter of men conspiring against women, but a problem of the system, particularly in business, that is proving difficult to change.
“Success and leadership are narrowly defined and tied to a classic set of alpha male characteristics and extreme worker norms,” she says.
That is not to say that extreme views do not still exist. If you question that sexism is alive and thriving, you need only to look at the sometimes murky world of online gaming – a world where prejudice runs rampant.
On games such as World of Warcraft, female players are routinely harassed and subjected to hate speech.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, Anita Sarkeesian started a campaign in May to raise $6000 to document how women are portrayed in video games.
“Her YouTube and Facebook pages were flooded with hate-filled comments. People tried to hack her online accounts. Sarkeesian responded by documenting the harassment, posting online the doctored, pornographic images of herself that her detractors had created,” writes the journalist Amy O’Leary.
“Supporters of her efforts, aghast, donated more than $US150,000, further angering the critics. A man from Ontario created an internet game where players could ‘punch’ her, layering bruises and cuts on her image till the screen turns red.”
You may wonder what this World of Warcraft behaviour has to do with the world of work.
Well, these attitudes do not go away when the players log off and go to work or school. A person who thinks it is acceptable to harass or threaten a woman online does not suddenly become all things fair when he puts on a tie.
It is useful to remember that, even in civilised environments, there are some people whose attitudes still belong in the Dark Ages. Just hope that one of them is not your manager. | <urn:uuid:dc585880-8499-42af-8985-cba05d71cd5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brw.com.au/p/blogs/fiona_smith/myths_of_sex_discrimination_ZjnUno230bB1GIYKebmLcO | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965829 | 903 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Tropical Storm Watches Up in The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos for TS Emily
5:08 p.m. EDT
At 5 p.m. today, the Bahamian government posted watches for the Southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Island in advance of the arrival there on Thursday of Tropical Storm Emily. Emily, the 5th named storm of the 2011 season, is currently located near latitude 15.8°N and longitude 65.4°W or about 185 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This position is also about 600 miles southeast of Providenciales and Inagua. Emily is expected to move generally west-northwest and northwest over the next two to three days, crossing the island of Hispaniola and transversing Bahamian waters before moving northward into the wider Atlantic Ocean.
Emily had a rough birth; as Invest 91L the system was characterized by a broad area of surface low pressure and numerous ill-defined low- and mid-level centres forming, disippating, and reforming. However, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday 1st August the National Hurricane Centre was able to locate a relatively well-defined centre and Emily was named.
Despite this rather disorganized structure, Tropical Storm Emily brought gusty winds and heavy rainfall to Dominica, Martinique, and other Eastern Caribbean islands for more than 12 hours on 1st and 2nd August. This resulted in widespread flooding and numerous landslides in these islands. Reports from StormCarib.com suggest that at least one person died due to the flooding in Martinique.
This squally weather has since spread to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Since organization has improved somewhat in the last 12 hours, residents in the Dominican Republic and Haiti will likely expect more of the same during Wednesday and into Thursday of this week.
Emily's projected track takes the storm [or what's left of it after crossing the rugged Hispaniola landscape] up the length of the archipelago. In fact, the Bahamas has been in Emily's sights, so to speak, even before it was formally named. This is because there is a large and persistent Azores High to the northeast of us that has helped to maintain a similarly persistent ridge of high pressure across the sub-tropical Atlantic, across our area and at times even across Florida. However, this week a trough or area of low pressure will be pushing this high back towards the east, making a path of sorts around the edge of the ridge for Emily to follow.
The high pressure ridge in retreat on Friday, with TS Emily passing along its western edge.
While the exact track Emily takes is still somewhat uncertain, we can expect that most, if not all, of the Bahamas will experience some impact from the tropical storm.
What is of greater interest to most of us is the potential strength, or intensity, of Emily as she passes through our waters. Two factors are creating a great deal of uncertainty about the state Emily will be in by Friday morning.
First, TS Emily is still a very disorganized system. While it has improved in appearance and organisation since last night, it still is being disrupted by moderate shear and quite a bit of dry air in its environment. NHC officials are not expecting it to strengthen very much before it crosses Hispaniola on Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Emily at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 2nd August 2011
Second, Emily's passage across the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola is likely to create some disruption to the storm's already tenuous circulation. Certainly on the forecast track Emily would find it difficult to strengthen while crossing the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Map of Hispaniola, with the areas in tan, grey and white representing higher elevations.
However, once whatever is left of Emily crosses into Bahamian waters, the system will find conditions which are somewhat more conducive to restructuring than it met previously in the Caribbean. Sea surface temperatures are at their highest for the season; mid and low level shear is expected to be lower than seen in the Caribbean. Additionally, while rounding the ridge Emily may not move as quickly has she is expected to move tomorrow. Therefore there are still a lot of variables which may yet influence what Bahamians and Turks Islanders experience from Emily later this week.
Emily is expected to emerge into waters south of Inagua, Mayaguana and Providenciales on Thursday afternoon as a tropical depression. Some reorganization of the system is expected as it moves northwest over the archipelago on Thursday night, Friday, and into Saturday. Currently the NHC forecast does not call for sufficient strengthening to bring Emily up to hurricane force before departing our waters. However, the forecast models used by NHC still show varying scenarios ranging from complete dissipation to a category two hurricane near New Providence. This means that we should expect tropical storm conditions to impact our islands, but also insure that we are prepared to cope with hurricane conditions if they eventuate. This is particularly true in the Northwestern Bahamas, where any hurricane impacts would be most likely to occur.
Residents in the Southeast and Central Bahamas, along with the Turks and Caicos, will likely experience any impacts on Thursday night into Friday. These are expected to spread into the Northwestern Bahamas on Friday.
I'll continue updates regarding the progress of Emily in the comments section below. | <urn:uuid:d5e41b32-1adf-4d57-b079-bdf5cf0fae27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.wunderground.com/blog/BahaHurican/comment.html?entrynum=17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962616 | 1,096 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Of all the characteristics of a successful politician, none is more essential than bare-faced cheek. Never has this been more evident than in the past fortnight, as senior Democrat members of the US legislature have sought to lay all the blame for the country’s financial crisis on the executive arm of Government and Wall Street.Neither of these two institutions is blameless – far from it. Yet when I see such senior Democrats as Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Christopher Dodd, Chairman of the Senate’s Banking Committee, play the part of avenging angels – well, I can only stand in silent awe at the sheer tight-bottomed nerve of it. These are men with sphincters of steel.
Once again, have supposed “do-gooders” hurt the ones they profess to love and help?
The saddest outcome of all this within America – apart from the crippling cost to the nation’s taxpayers – is that the very people the Democrats had intended to help will be the biggest victims: for many years to come banks will demand the most stringent terms for mortgages to the least well off.
We can hope that won’t be true, but even if it is — if one cannot afford the mortgage payment, it’s better they be denied.
via Classical Values | <urn:uuid:61c99279-d9e5-473e-923f-d49891dfb1ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://opiningonline.com/2008/10/03/sphincters-of-steel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951679 | 273 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Three bear cubs found in box near South Carolina road 0
Three black bear cubs, barely one month old, were found box at the side of a South Carolina road in March, 2013. (Appalachian Bear Rescue)
A volunteer firefighter and his family found three baby black bears, barely one month old, unscathed in a cardboard box at the side of a South Carolina roadway last weekend.
Firefighter Brandon Poole told Fox Carolina 21 he heard pig-like squeals coming from the box before he realized they were bears.
The Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend, Tenn., is taking care of two of the cubs while the third was sent to another facility.
The cubs each weighed less than 3 lbs. when they were found and are being bottled fed.
"Both cubs are humming and making all of the little cubby noises they should. These cubs, like all others, always deserve a second chance," curator Coy Blair said.
The orphan bears will be cared for at the centre until they are large enough to release into the wild.
It's not clear how the bears ended up on the side of the Oconee County road. | <urn:uuid:1285d8b9-76e4-43ad-a979-48f9a42147a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lfpress.com/2013/03/11/three-bear-cubs-found-in-box-near-south-carolina-road | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972926 | 240 | 1.742188 | 2 |
tries to update Uncle Ben by making him ‘chairman’ of company By
New York Times
(March 30, 2007) A racially charged advertising character, who for decades
has been relegated to a minor role in the marketing of the products that
still carry his name, is taking center stage in a campaign that gives him
a makeover — Madison Avenue style — by promoting him to chairman of the
The character is Uncle Ben, the symbol for more than 60 years of the Uncle
Ben’s line of rices and side dishes now sold by the food giant Mars. The
challenges confronting Mars in reviving a character as racially fraught as
Uncle Ben were evidenced in the reactions of experts to a redesigned Web
site (unclebens.com), which went live this week.
“This is an interesting idea, but for me it still has a very high cringe
factor,” said Luke Visconti, partner at Diversity Inc. Media in Newark,
which publishes a magazine and Web site devoted to diversity in the
“There’s a lot of baggage associated with the image,” Mr. Visconti said,
which the makeover “is glossing over.”
Uncle Ben, who first appeared in ads in 1946, is being reborn as Ben, an
accomplished businessman with an opulent office, a busy schedule, an
extensive travel itinerary and a penchant for sharing what the company
calls his “grains of wisdom” about rice and life. A crucial aspect of his
biography remains the same, though: He has no last name.
Vincent Howell, president for the food division of the Masterfoods USA
unit of Mars, said that because consumers described Uncle Ben as having “a
timeless element to him, we didn’t want to significantly change him.”
“What’s powerful to me is to show an African-American icon in a position
of prominence and authority,” Mr. Howell said. “As an African-American, he
makes me feel so proud.”
The previous reluctance to feature Uncle Ben prominently in ads stood in
stark contrast to the way other human characters like Orville Redenbacher
and Colonel Sanders personify their products. That reticence can be traced
to the contentious history of Uncle Ben as the black face of a white
company, wearing a bow tie evocative of servants and Pullman
porters and bearing a title reflecting how white Southerners once used
“uncle” and “aunt” as honorifics for older blacks because they refused to
say “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
Before the civil rights movement took hold, marketers of food and
household products often used racial and ethnic stereotypes in creating
brand characters and mascots.
In addition to Uncle Ben, there was Aunt Jemima, who sold pancake mix in
ads that sometimes had her exclaiming, “Tempt yo’ appetite;” a grinning
black chef named Rastus, who represented Cream of Wheat hot cereal; the
Gold Dust Twins, a pair of black urchins who peddled a soap powder for
Lever Brothers; the Frito Bandito, who spoke in an exaggerated Mexican
accent; and characters selling powdered drink mixes for Pillsbury under
names like Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry — the latter baring buck teeth.
“The only time blacks were put into ads was when they were athletic,
subservient or entertainers,” said Marilyn Kern Foxworth, the author of
“Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising Yesterday, Today
After the start of the civil rights movement, such characters became
“lightning rods” in a period when consumers started to want “images our
children could look up to and emulate,” Ms. Kern Foxworth said.
As a result, most of those polarizing ad characters were banished when
marketers — becoming more sensitive to the changing attitudes of consumers
— realized they were no longer appropriate. A handful like Uncle Ben, Aunt
Jemima and the Cream of Wheat chef were redesigned and kept on, but in the
unusual status of silent spokescharacters, removed from ads and reduced to
staring mutely from packages.
Times, however, change, as evidenced by real-life figures as disparate as
Wally Amos, the founder of Famous Amos cookies; Oprah Winfrey; and Senator
Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat who is running for president. In
advertising, there are now black authority figures serving as spokesmen in
multimillion-dollar campaigns, like Dennis Haysbert, for Allstate, and
James Earl Jones, for Verizon.
That helped executives at Masterfoods and its advertising agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day,
consider the risky step of reviving the character.
“There’s no doubt we realized we had a very powerful asset we were not
using strongly enough,” Mr. Howell said.
So about 18 months ago, the company and agency decided “to reach out to
our consumers” and gauge attitudes toward Uncle Ben, Mr. Howell said.
There were no negative responses or references to the stereotyped aspects
of the character, he said. Rather, the consumers “focused on positive
images, quality, warmth, timelessness,” he added, and “the legend of Uncle
That encouraged the idea that “we could bring him to life,” Mr. Howell
said, sensitive to “the sorts of concerns that are important to me as an
Joe Shands, a creative director at the Playa del Rey, Calif., office of TBWA/Chiat/Day,
said the freedom to use the character to sell the Uncle Ben’s brand was a
welcome change from the years when “all we’ve had to work with is a
portrait.” “We wanted to know if there was something there we could
utilize to talk about new products, existing products, the values of the
company,” Mr. Shands said, adding that both black and white consumers
described the character as someone “they know and love.”
“Through the magic of marketing, we’ve made him the chairman,” Mr. Shands
said. Uncle Ben’s office, he said, is “reflective of a man with great
wisdom who has done great things.”
Magazine ads in the campaign, which carries the theme “Ben knows best,”
present a painting of the character in a gold frame with the chairman’s
title affixed on a plaque.
The painting is also on display on the home page of the redesigned Web
site, which offers a virtual tour of Ben’s office. Visitors can browse
through his e-mail messages, examine his datebook and read his executive
“It’s important consumers begin to hear from Uncle Ben,” said Mr. Howell
of Masterfoods, who is based in Los Angeles.
Despite the character’s impressive new credentials, some advertising
executives expressed skepticism that the campaign could avoid negative
The ads are “asking us to make the leap from Uncle Ben being someone who
looks like a butler to overnight being a chairman of the board,” Ms. Kern
Foxworth said. “It does not work for me.”
“I applaud them for the effort and trying to move forward,” she added, but
the decision to keep the same portrait of Uncle Ben, bow tie and all, also
dismayed her because “they’re trying so hard to hold onto something I’m
trying so hard to get rid of.”
Howard Buford, chief executive at Prime Access in New York, an agency
specializing in multicultural campaigns, said he gave the campaign’s
creators some credit. “It’s potentially a very creative way to handle the
baggage of old racial stereotypes as advertising icons,” he said, but
“it’s going to take a lot of work to get it right and make it ring true.”
For instance, Mr. Buford said, noting all the “Ben” references in the ads,
“Rarely do you have someone of that stature addressed by his first name” —
and minus any signs of a surname.
Mr. Buford, who is a real-life black leader of a company, likened the
promotion of Uncle Ben to the abrupt plot twists on TV series like
“Benson” and “Designing Women,” when black characters in subservient roles
one season became professionals the next.
“It’s nice that now, for the 21st century, they’re saying this icon can
‘own’ a company,” Mr. Buford said, “but they’re going to have to make him
a whole person.”
Mr. Visconti of Diversity Inc. Media struck a similar chord. He said he
would have turned Ben’s office into “a learning experience,” furnishing it
with, for example, books by Frederick Douglass and the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
“I’ve never been in the office of African-Americans of this era who didn’t
have something in their office showing what it took to get them there,”
Mr. Visconti said.
The actual biography of Uncle Ben is at variance with his fanciful new
identity. According to Ms. Kern Foxworth’s book and other reference
materials, there was a Ben — no surname survives — who was a Houston rice
farmer renowned for the quality of his crops. During World War II, Gordon
L. Harwell, a Texas food broker, supplied to the armed forces a special
kind of white rice, cooked to preserve the nutrients, under the brand name
In 1946, Mr. Harwell had dinner with a friend (or business partner) in
Chicago (or Houston) and decided that a portrait of the maitre d’hotel of
the restaurant, Frank Brown, could represent the brand, which was renamed
Uncle Ben’s Converted Rice as it was being introduced to the consumer
In coming months, visitors to the Uncle Ben’s Web site will be able to
discover new elements of the character, Mr. Howell said, like full-body
digital versions of Uncle Ben and voice mail messages. The Web site was
designed by an agency, Tequila, that is a sibling of TBWA/Chiat/Day, and
the budget for the campaign, print and online, is estimated at $20
million. TBWA/Chiat/Day is part of the TBWA Worldwide unit of the Omnicom
If the makeover for Uncle Ben is deemed successful, could there be similar
changes in store for other racially charged characters?
Last month, the Cream of Wheat chef got a new owner when B&G Foods
completed a $200 million deal to buy his brand, and its companion, Cream
of Rice, from Kraft Foods.
“We’re doing consumer focus work right now to understand how important the
character is,” said David L. Wenner, chief executive at B&G in Parsippany,
If any changes were to be made, “you would need to be very careful,” he
added, “and you would want to do it with dignity.”
13th Edition Now Available
New Buying Power report shows more spending by black consumers on
to economic gains in the past two years, black households across the U.S.,
especially middle-class families, are increasing their purchases of
lifestyle and leisure items.
According to the newest edition of “The Buying Power
of Black America,” there are indications that black households are feeling
more confident about making purchases that... Story continued... ________________________ The
Book Publishing Authority
in its eighth year of publication, Black Issues Book Review is
the only nationally distributed magazine devoted exclusively to covering the
latest news and reviews on black books. BIBR also provides up-to-date news on forthcoming author
signings, book fairs and book clubs.
Want this issue? Get it with your new subscription.
A TARGET MARKET NEWS | <urn:uuid:b624ee66-f7f2-427b-a9bb-58d3ac8d31e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://targetmarketnews.com/storyid04020701.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954546 | 2,702 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The city's appreciation and respect for its soldiers past and present was on full display at Riverside Park as thousands of people attended the Remembrance Day ceremony.
The size of the gathering, which some in attendance Sunday morning believed was the biggest yet, impressed veterans and residents alike.
"There's more people coming all the time, which is good," said Archie Henderson of the Kamloops Naval Veterans Association.
Henderson comes from a long line of soldiers, a "family that loves to fight." His father was a professional soldier, his brothers-in-law fought in the Second World War, and he has a nephew who's done three tours of duty in Afghanistan.
He spent 17 years in the navy and, if he were younger, Henderson would be in Afghanistan, he said.
With Henderson was Navy League of Kamloops cadet Michael Benard. Together, they placed a wreath at the base of the cenotaph in memory of fallen soldiers.
Benard joined the navy league out of curiosity and says it's interesting and fun. He's interested enough to consider joining the navy when he gets older.
He believes Remembrance Day is a good time to pay respect to the soldiers who have lost their lives.
"It's an important thing to do," said Benard.
Cpl. Charlie McGrath of the Rocky Mountain Rangers thinks so too. He's been with the reserve regiment for six years and served in Afghanistan. He didn't see any action, but being in the war zone changed him.
"It was an experience," he said, but didn't elaborate. "We should never forget, or take our freedom, for granted."
His duty on Remembrance Day was to escort the family of Master Cpl. Erin Doyle, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008. Doyle, a former Rocky Mountain Ranger, recently had his name added to the Battle Street cenotaph.
The procession of veterans received applause and a standing ovation from many of the spectators at the start of the ceremony.
For the first time, there were bleachers for people to sit. Many huddled together against the cold. Hundreds of others stood and stomped their feet or rubbed their hands to keep warm.
Kyle Goodman and his family come every year. He and his wife, Aleisha, met as cadets, and believe serving your country is important, he said.
Gary Horsman was impressed with the turnout. Every year attendance grows, which shows Kamloops cares about its veterans, he said.
"It's a respectful thing to do, to come down and appreciate the people who did what most of us would have a hard time doing," said Horsman.
Second World War veteran Alex Sim said more people attend the ceremony every year. He said the vets appreciate the support.
"It's unbelievable," he said.
The event included a flypast by the 419 Squadron at 11:04 a.m. and ended with a military parade along Victoria Street.
A ceremony was also held on the Tk'emlups Indian reserve. Tk'emlups spokesman Nacoma George said 75 to 100 people were expected to attend, including Alan Manuel, the band's last surviving Second World War veteran. | <urn:uuid:9d27af24-d986-43bd-a88a-58ffb085bc50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20121112/KAMLOOPS0101/311129996/-1/kamloops/large-turnout-for-remembrance-day | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985113 | 669 | 1.570313 | 2 |
On a recent Friday night, at the Clarendon Park Community Center, a deejay has set up shop in a large room, dimmed the lights, focused a spotlight on the center of the dance floor.
He's pumping hip hop music into the speakers – loudly. A monthly dance battle is about to begin. In the corner, a teenage boy with blond hair and an earring in each ear is drawing what looks like graffiti art on a small poster. He is serious, focused.
His name is Charlie. He is a senior in high school in Uptown and he admits that after being arrested a few years ago for vandalism, something good came out of it - he found Kuumba Lynx.
“A few years ago I had to do some community service hours because I got arrested. It kind of opened some things up for me. That’s how I heard about [Kuumba Lynx],” Charlie says.
Kuumba Lynx is a Chicago-based nonprofit arts and education organization founded in 1996 by three Chicago women, Jacinda Hall-Bullie, Leida Garcia and Jaquanda Villegas.
“It started as a performance group. Then, we offered a free after school program because we noticed that whenever there was any type of community programming, it was sports related. We felt there was a component of arts missing. Plus, in ’96, ’97, CPS (Chicago Public Schools) cut a lot of arts programs. So, it made sense,” says Hall-Bullie.
Kuumba Lynx is supported by several organizations that praise its work.
“We support Kuumba Lynx because the quality of their performance work is really good. They challenge (the students) with great creative energy and imagination,” says Peter Handler, program officer for The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
There are three core areas of Kuumba Lynx: Kuumba Lynx Performance Ensemble (KLPE), which iincludes about 30 youth that travel and perform nationally and internationally; Community Cultural Events, which stages local event, including dance battles and open mic nights; and Arts Residency, two- to 10-week workshops on dance, creative writing, theatre, video, deejaying and graffiti mural making.
The dance battle, which takes place on the third Friday of every month at Clarendon Park Community Center, “brings kids together from all over the city in a peaceful situation,” explains Hall-Bullie.
On this particular night, there are more than 30 young people gathered around the dance floor, talking with each other, practicing their moves and laughing.
In a small room off of the dance hall, the poetry slam team – a group of students who recite rhyming prose with a hip hop influence - practices for an upcoming event at the direction of Hall-Bullie and Villegas.
The women are both slight in stature and - not dressed that differently from the youth they are coaching, in jeans and sweatshirts - might even be mistaken for one of the kids.
“We’ve got a place to go. You can practice whatever you want to practice,” says Charlie, who has taken part in the graffiti art programs and explained that he was correcting a sign that read “Freshest Female Footworker” since the dance battle is open to both sexes.
The dance battle doesn’t begin with an official announcement and it is not entirely clear how the winner will be determined or what they will win, but it doesn’t seem to matter to the kids.
They appear to be entertained by just being there and engaging in the friendly rivalry taking place on the dance floor.
Dmitri Davis, a high school junior from the Clarendon Park area, participated in the dance battle.
“Every time they have one, I like to tell other people around the neighborhood about it. It’s a way to meet new people without violence,” he says. “We like to exchange moves. We like to teach each other to get better."
The organization’s motto is “Creativity linked together with a mighty roar,” which also explains the organization’s name. Kuumba is Swahili for “creativity.” Lynx is for the idea of linking communities together but also has the same spelling as a variety of wild cats known for their versatility and cunning.
When Hall-Bullie, Garcia and Villegas started Kuumba Lynx in 1996, they were all barely in their 20s. Now, the women also serve as role models for college students interning at their nonprofit.
“(The founders) have a really hard job. I really have a lot of respect for the three of them,” says Ashley Wolford, a college sophomore and intern, who focuses on networking and event planning for Kuumba Lynx.
Wolford adds that the diversity of the youth participating speaks to the success of the organization. “(The kids) come all the way to the North side to participate. It’s a big deal,” she says.
It’s through Kuumba Lynx that Charlie got the opportunity to assist in designing the backdrop for the hip hop group Dilated Peoples, scheduled to perform tonight in Chicago.
“That’s gonna be real cool,” Charlie says, before he returns to correcting the poster. | <urn:uuid:bb64e679-5a06-4be9-8f9c-328be1a1f6bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chitowndailynews.org/2009/03/05/Kuumba-Lynx-gets-teens-speaking-moving-creating-23067.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965459 | 1,147 | 1.75 | 2 |
Yesterday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an additional $162 million to 16 states in Recovery Act funds to facilitate health information exchange and advance health information technology.
“These critical investments will help unleash the power of health information technology to cut costs, eliminate paperwork, and help doctors deliver high-quality, coordinated care to patients,” said Secretary Sebelius. “States are important partners in improving and expanding our electronic health records system. By improving the secure exchange of electronic health records between providers and hospitals within and across states, these awards mark a significant step in bringing our health system into the 21st century.” [3/15/10]
Washington Business Journal (Maryland) - Maryland wins $9.3M in stimulus funds for e-health records
The Maryland Health Care Commission will receive $9.3 million in federal stimulus money to build an exchange for electronic health records.
“Patients and doctors need better access to information technology and a more robust platform to share important information,” Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said in a statement. “This federal support will go a long way to build on the successful programs many hospitals and practices have already implemented and will, in the long run, save patients, insurers and taxpayers money.
The Baltimore Business Journal reported in December the exchange could benefit as many as 4,000 physician practices, with no more than nine doctors, in Maryland. [3/15/10]
Indianapolis Star (Indiana) - Indy health group gets $10.3M in stimulus
A newly formed statewide organization that will promote collaboration among Indiana's five health information exchanges has received $10.3 million in federal stimulus funds to support its efforts.
The overarching goal is to link electronic medical records across the state. [3/15/10]
Wausau Daily Herald (Wisconsin) - Union honors Obey for creating construction jobs
Wisconsin trade union recently honored Congressman Dave Obey for bringing construction jobs to the state last year.
Operating Engineers Local 139, based in Pewaukee, gave Obey its “Champion for Creating Wisconsin Jobs” award in recognition of Obey's efforts to secure federal stimulus money for Wisconsin, according to a news release.
“Critics of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act have made a lot of noise about how unsuccessful they believe the stimulus bill was,” Local 139 Business Manager Terry McGowan said in the news release. “But the fact is that federal money saved the construction season last year for hundreds of our members and Representative Obey was a key player in making sure those dollars were channeled to Wisconsin projects.” [3/15/10]
Daily Comet (Louisiana) - Millions in federal cash help pay for local work
Millions of federal stimulus dollars are trickling into Terrebonne and Lafourche to help boost the local workforce, create education programs and pay for local construction.
Terrebonne has gotten about $25 million, according to Recovery.gov, a federal Web site that maps where the $787 billion ended up. Lafourche has received about twice that amount.
The bulk of Lafourche's $51 million is being spent on a new bridge, a $37 million vertical lift span that will replace the 55-year-old pontoon bridge on La. 310 in Larose. [3/15/10]
WSOC ABC-9 (North Carolina) - CPCC Uses Stimulus Funds To Train Workers
Central Piedmont Community College said Monday it will use $85,000 in federal stimulus money to create nine new fast-track job training courses.
The money came from the JobsNOW program, an initiative created by Gov. Beverly Perdue to provide workers with job training skills in six months or less.
The new CPCC courses will focus on fields like healthcare, transport technology, motorsports and office administration and will be available to the public now through the end of the year. [3/15/10]
Martinsville Bulletin (Virginia) - Stimulus money awarded
The West Piedmont Workforce Investment Board has received an additional $274,598 in stimulus funds to help dislocated workers in Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania counties, and Martinsville and Danville.
Funding will be used for staff-assisted job searches; tuition assistance; supportive service, such as expenses for travel to and from education and training classes; uniforms; books; fees and child care, the release said.
The WPWIB expects to be able to assist nearly 80 more dislocated workers with the funding, Adkins said. [3/16/10]
- KMTV CBS-3 (Nebraska) - Nebraska awarded $6.8M for health info exchange
- Lexington Clipper-Herald (Nebraska) - $7 million in stimulus money will go into VA hospital and two clinics | <urn:uuid:c55dcb27-98fc-43eb-85a7-6d30471dda9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.democraticleader.gov/news/reports/news-about-american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act-94?qt-photos_video=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933118 | 1,011 | 1.539063 | 2 |
I don't think he had to look taller, he was tall enough. He had normal height anyway. Charlie Hodge was much smaller and J.D. Sumner was taller, but I don't think this was a problem between them.
I have always felt this subject was much ado about nothing-we are talking a quarter to a half inch difference...my gosh if I am tired and slouch without knowing it I lose half an inch, if I stand as straight as I possibly can-I gain half an inch (or more)
Its really not a huge discrepancy.
Work in Progress!
Much longer than you and that is a very sillly comment from you.
In the pictures i've seen from Elvis meeting Nixon you either don't see their shoes or you can't get a good look at them.
Elvis may have wore shoes that sometimes increased his height but i wouldn't bet that he was always wearing them.
How long have you been an Elvis fan???
i agree with KPM most of us will have our heights listed down with slight differances it can be because of how stand, if the equipment is used and installed correctly etc. It pretty safe to assume that the same thing occurred during Elvis life time.
I never looked for trouble but I never ran.
And in the timeframe we are talking about (the Nixon photograph) he definitely wore them everywhere he went. We are talking about boots with at least a 1 1/2 inch heel and which probably also contained an extra 1/2 lift inside as well.
Even in his house slippers Elvis reportedly had a 1/2 lift in those too. Elvis was quite vain (not a crime) and always wanted to appear taller- even when relaxing at home. So do you really think he would show up for a meeting with the leader of the free world wearing flat shoes (if he even owned a pair in 1970) and have Nixon be taller than him?
You are wrong in calling them "shoes that sometimes increased his height". They were boots not shoes. And with the high heel, of course they increased his height.
You say Elvis even reportedly had slippers and wore them and that increased his height.
And he wore the boots all the time and that increased his height.
Do you have pictoral evidence of everyday of Elvis' life documented and have you had these pictures blown up and looked at through microscopes.
Have you seen these alledged slippers and can you be sure Elvis wore them all the time and every single day.
I want to believe you but what you are saying seems a little far fetched.
Even with wearing flat shows i don't think Nixon would be taller than Elvis.
Just putting a comment in here,
Meeting Nixon I would guess his boots to be a 2" heel or at the very least a 1,1/2" heel
as you can see here it looks like he is wearing lifts/quite large heels just by how much the flare is off the floor.
Hope this helps somehow!
Not that it matters how tall Elvis was to us fans, always interesting to know more about the man.
Very intense discussion. If you ask me, my dream is Elvis came to me on a cup of coffee, no matter how tall.
I think that most women here, thought the same
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BOSTONTaiwan-based researchers have defined and validated a set of five genes whose degree of expression in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients closely predicts their relapse-free and overall survival. Patients with low-risk expression signatures of the five genes had a median overall survival twice as long as those with high-risk expression signatures (N Engl J Med 356:11-20, 2007).
First author Hsuan-Yu Chen, MSc, of National Taiwan University in Taipei, and his colleagues emphasized the potential clinical benefits of the discovery, if their findings are confirmed by prospective, large-scale multicenter studies. "We propose that patients who have tumors with a high-risk gene signature could benefit from . . . adjuvant therapy, whereas those with a low-risk gene signature could be spared what may be unnecessary treatment," they wrote. And the five genes "may reveal targets for the development of therapy for lung cancer."
The team used computer-generated random numbers to assign frozen specimens from 185 consecutive NSCLC patients for microarray analysis. None of the patients had received adjuvant chemotherapy. They identified 16 genes that correlated with survival. After calculating risk scores, the researchers performed a real time RT-PCR analysis of the 16 genes and a control gene to confirm their levels of gene expression. From these 16 genes, they identified five that were significantly associated with survival: DUSP6, MMD, STAT1, ERBB3, and LCK. The team then validated its five-gene risk prediction model in a separate group of 60 Taiwanese NSCLC patients. The model was further validated using microarray data from 86 North American NSCLC patients.
Dr. Chen and his colleagues found significant correlation between their microarray and RT-PRC analyses of gene expression for the 5 genes in 101 of the initial 125 tumor samples they examined. The five-gene signature was strongly associated with overall survival: sensitivity, 98%; specificity, 93%; positive predictive value, 95%; negative predictive value, 98%; and overall accuracy, 96%.
Patients with low-risk signatures had a median overall survival of 40 months vs 20 months for those with high-risk signatures (P = .001). The median relapse-free survival was 29 months for low-risk vs 13 months for high-risk signature patients (P = .002). Among the patients with stage I or II disease in the original cohort, those with a low-risk signature had a significantly higher estimated overall survival (P = .001) and relapse-free survival (P = .005), compared with the high-risk signature group.
The low-risk group in the 60-patient independent cohort had a significant overall survival advantage over the high-risk arm (P = .006), as did cohort patients with stage I and II disease. Overall survival in the separate 86 patients just missed significance (P = .06). | <urn:uuid:59a04d5b-26df-40bd-9ba8-7c83d33fd82a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cancernetwork.com/news/display/article/10165/60453 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948349 | 600 | 1.75 | 2 |
Blending marketing and compassion, Rachel Barnes looks for ways to help Masai women.]]>
Steve Wilson didn’t want to be a sheriff, it wasn’t his dream. But it happened in 1996 when he was elected sheriff of Walker County, Georgia.
Seventeen students, six editors, one mission: visually document one county.
Known more for the man-made Lake Hartwell that straddles the Georgia-South Carolina border, students from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Documentary Photography course set out to see what life inside Hart County looked and sounded like. Gathering in the newsroom of the Hartwell Sun on the last weekend of February, the students spent a frenetic three days chasing stories, lights and even the occasional police car.
This was the seventh edition of the UGA Photojournalism Weekend Workshop and the six visiting professionals dove in fast and helped craft the stories linked below. Funded by the Hearst Foundation, the workshop has become the definitive moment for students in the Journalism Department’s Visual Journalism emphasis.
Joining the students were three veteran workshoppers and three rookies. Sarah Bates, from the Medical University of South Carolina, Mike Haskey, from the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, and international photojournalist Billy Weeks all reprised their roles as editors after previous students raved about their assistance. Joining them for the first time were Scott Bryant, of the Statesboro (Ga.) Herald, Paul Kapteyn, of the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram and Gazette, and noted photo editor Akili Ramsess, all three of whom earned stellar reviews, too.
The Hartwell Sun’s publisher, Robert Rider, and editor, Mark Hynds, acted as hosts and guides, giving the teams access to both their newsrooms and their news sources.
Here are some of their stories: | <urn:uuid:f5725fae-a424-4b24-b8ac-eccd9056ae75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gradyjournal.com/?feed=rss2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945667 | 398 | 1.5 | 2 |
As the temperature continues to rise this summer, who hasn’t been in the sweltering situation of returning to your vehicle only to find that in your absence it has turned into an legitimate oven in which you could actually, if the occasion called for it, cook a four-course meal on the dashboard?
Okay, while that might be slightly exaggerated, getting into your car after it has been sitting in the hot sun all day is certainly not comfortable nor enjoyable. The good news is that there are ways to prevent and get rid of the heat that has gathered in your car to make the hottest part of your day a little more bearable.
Before you go anywhere there are several things that you can do to make your car cooler when you return, leaving you in a better position when trying to cool it back down quickly to the optimum driving temperature. First of all, if possible park in the shade. Under a tree, behind a wall, or in the shadow of a building as all will help keep the temperature from rising in your car. If you do have to park in the direct sun, be sure to use a sun visor in both the back and the front windshield to get maximum protection. If it is legal in your state, having your windows professionally tinted also goes a long way in keeping your car cool when your are in it or away from it. Shutting out UV rays not only protects your skin while you are driving, but also the interior of your car.
Understandably, there are going to be times where you can’t park in the shade, you don’t put up your sun visors and the heat index outside is through the roof. So coming back to your car in a situation like that is where the real tricks to make your car cooler faster come in handy. The first thing to remember is that you want the hot air out of your car as fast as possible in order for the air conditioning to do its job effectively. To let the hot air escape, crack your windows and then set the air conditioning on fresh air (not recirculated air) and set the fan to high. Resist the urge to try and cool your face and upper body first and adjust the air to come out of the feet openings as this allows the old hot air to be pushed out quicker and new cooler air to take its place. As the hot air is removed, close the windows and adjust the air to hit your upper body and begin to cool it down. At this point, your car temperature should be tolerable and on its way to returning to normal, even when the temperature outside is at its hottest.
About the Author: This guest post was written by Freedom Rims, a Responsible Military Lender since 1983. Freedom Rims offers rims credit and financing for a variety of performance Rims and Tires in Twentynine Palms, CA. We offer instant credit approval on a large inventory of tires and wheels with our easy military financing options. | <urn:uuid:93e7a245-b3ae-4c67-856a-2a370026f995> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grautoblog.com/2012/08/13/how-to-quickly-cool-down-your-vehicle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959752 | 609 | 1.820313 | 2 |
"While reports had been circulating in the media today claiming that space agency NASA had selected Ireland as its first international research partner, it appears that NASA is not set to make an official announcement on this scientific alliance this week."
"Following two years of negotiations, the initiative will be officially announced tomorrow at Trinity College by Nasa administrator Gen Charles Bolden. Tim Quigley, a retired naval officer and former commander of Moffet Airfield at the Ames base in California, was the go-between who pushed to ensure that this State leads the project."
U.S. Embassy in Dublin Tweets: #AskCharlie A Question, earlier post
"NASA PAO says that Bolden is "in the UK now for Farnborough and is going [to Ireland] tomorrow." | <urn:uuid:2490a328-f278-47ac-9194-23290606ceeb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nasawatch.com/archives/2012/07/nasa-may-or-may.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970612 | 156 | 1.664063 | 2 |
|Uploaded:||May 4, 2012|
|Updated:||May 5, 2012|
"I'm gonna be a mighty king so enemies beware"! I know plenty of you have heard that song tons of times as did I. It is from one of my favorite songs from Disney's 'The Lion King'. Today I will be showing you all "how to draw Simba easy", step by step. Simba is by far one of Disney's all time popular characters from their collection. Even to this day, there is no other lion cub that can compare to how loved Simba is. Even though Simba is a popular face among all aged folks, the older version of Simba isn't all that popular, or at least to me anyway. I had a lot of fun making this tutorial for you all that will show you that drawing Simba doesn't always have to be complected. You will see that even the novice artist can draw such a lovable lion cub and succeed. | <urn:uuid:c1dfe3af-0222-4537-bef6-2ff81ed28752> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/11973/1/1/how-to-draw-simba-easy.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953745 | 202 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Section 12S. No physician may perform an abortion upon a pregnant woman without first obtaining her written informed consent. The commissioner of public health shall prescribe a form for physicians to use in obtaining such consent. This form shall be written in a manner designed to permit a person unfamiliar with medical terminology to understand its purpose and content, and shall include the following information: a description of the stage of development of the unborn child; the type of procedure which the physician intends to use to perform the abortion; and the possible complications associated with the use of the procedure and with the performance of the abortion itself; the availability of alternatives to abortion; and a statement that, under the law of the commonwealth, a person’s refusal to undergo an abortion does not constitute grounds for the denial of public assistance. A pregnant woman seeking an abortion shall sign the consent form described above at least twenty-four hours in advance of the time for which the abortion is scheduled, except in an emergency requiring immediate action. She shall then return it to the physician performing the abortion who shall maintain it in his files and destroy it seven years after the date upon which the abortion is performed.
The said consent form and any other forms, transcript of evidence, or written findings and conclusions of a court, shall be confidential and may not be released to any person except by the pregnant woman’s written informed consent or by a proper judicial order, other than to the pregnant woman herself, to whom such documents relate, the operating physician, or any person whose consent is required pursuant to this section, or under the law. If a pregnant woman is less than eighteen years of age and has not married, a physician shall not perform an abortion upon her unless he first obtains both the consent of the pregnant woman and that of her parents, except as hereinafter provided. In deciding whether to grant such consent, a pregnant woman’s parents shall consider only their child’s best interests. If one of the pregnant woman’s parents has died or is unavailable to the physician within a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, consent of the remaining parent shall be sufficient. If both parents have died or are otherwise unavailable to the physician within a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, consent of the pregnant woman’s guardian or guardians shall be sufficient. If the pregnant woman’s parents are divorced, consent of the parent having custody shall be sufficient. If a pregnant woman less than eighteen years of age has not married and if one or both of her parents or guardians refuse to consent to the performance of an abortion, or if she elects not to seek the consent of one or both of her parents or guardians, a judge of the superior court department of the trial court shall, upon petition, or motion, and after an appropriate hearing, authorize a physician to perform the abortion if said judge determines that the pregnant woman is mature and capable of giving informed consent to the proposed abortion or, if said judge determines that she is not mature, that the performance of an abortion upon her would be in her best interests. A pregnant woman less than eighteen years of age may participate in proceedings in the superior court department of the trial court on her own behalf, and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for her. The court shall, however, advise her that she has a right to court appointed counsel, and shall, upon her request, provide her with such counsel. Proceedings in the superior court department of the trial court under this section shall be confidential and shall be given such precedence over other pending matters that the court may reach a decision promptly and without delay so as to serve the best interests of the pregnant woman. A judge of the superior court department of the trial court who conducts proceedings under this section shall make in writing specific factual findings and legal conclusions supporting his decision and shall order a record of the evidence to be maintained including his own findings and conclusions.
Nothing in this section is intended to abolish or limit any common law rights of persons other than those whose rights it governs for the purpose of any civil action or any action for injunctive relief under section twelve U. | <urn:uuid:687f33eb-ccc1-4c9a-b30f-cf745847987d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section12S | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950359 | 833 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid have changed the meaning of the word “cookbook.” Their six books — full of their stunning photography, concise recipes, and vivid writing — link food and culture, concentrating on remote areas and little-known cultures around the globe.
In their newest book, Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China, the husband-and-wife team returns to Asia to focus on the culture and food of the empire’s non-Chinese population, from the Tai of southeast China near the Thai border to the Tajik in the far west.
Your cookbooks are very different from the standard
ingredients/method model. What prompted you to incorporate so many National Geographic-esque photos and in-depth writing about various cultures into your books?
Jeffrey: I think our style just evolved. With the flatbread book (Flatbreads & Flavors), we thought we’d write about the politics of food, but in the end, we were only happy writing about things that we knew firsthand. We didn’t feel comfortable writing on secondary sources.
In photography there’s a term: “F8 and be there.” [F8 is an aperture setting on cameras that allow objects in both the foreground and background to be in sharp focus.] Basically, be there and report what you learned and how you felt while you were there. We wanted to write like that.
Naomi: Food as a recipe, another way for cooking fish or whatever, isn’t really the point for us. It’s the cultural context: This way of cooking fish has evolved because of where these people live and what they have to feed their family.
It doesn’t make any sense for us to give a set of instructions without explaining where the dish arose, and how we saw it or interpreted it. Otherwise, it’s just a recipe and it doesn’t connect to daily life or to the culture that bore that food.
So with the food, you’re transported, we hope.
Jeffrey: And it’s obviously going to taste different if you know where it’s coming from. If I’m in a big-chain supermarket and I take a free sample and taste it, it has almost no emotional context for me at all. For us, it’s always been way more interesting to look at the context of the food than just the food in isolation.
You travel to remote parts of the world and find such amazing food. How do you meet the people who teach you how to cook their favorite regional dishes? Do you show up in a village and ask around for the best cook in town?
Naomi: No, no. We rely on serendipity and we have our travel skills honed. You’re more apt to meet people when you’re traveling by yourself. You have to meet people more than halfway and engage them in conversation.
And importantly, we’re not rushing around. We can make time expand if we’re not going to a zillion places. We’ll hang around in a market for a full week to see daily patterns and what time the light is good for taking photos. We become familiar with the people there, so we can sort of become a piece of furniture. That’s when you start to see more depth and see the details and flavors of a place and its people.
Do you collect recipes from people you meet? Or do you glean a style of cooking and then return home to recreate what you’ve eaten later?
Naomi: We never get recipes from people. We might make a note, and we note-take with our cameras, too, but mostly it’s memory. I remember in Senegal, I was noting how many peppercorns a woman was putting in a stew, and when I got home I looked at the notes and thought, “But the peppercorns taste different there!” The exact quantity doesn’t matter; it’s to remember the taste and texture and how she put it together that is important. So we work on recipes when we get back to approximate the tastes.
Are there any dishes you haven’t been able to recreate?
Naomi: There’s a story in our newest book about these handmade noodles; we have pictures and they’re wonderful, but we’ve been unsuccessful making them at home. You can’t conquer the world’s cooking just by seeing it and eating it; some skills take a long apprenticeship. We were humbled. These are very sophisticated techniques that people have developed over the eons, and how wonderful that we can even know about them!
In your forthcoming book, Beyond the Great Wall, you explore remote areas of China. What led you to this area of the world?
Jeffrey: We’ve been interested for a long time in the cultural survival of populations of people who have no sovereignty. In our book Mangoes and Curry Leaves, we looked at different stateless cultures of India, and in Hot Salty Sour Sweet, we looked at the ethnic groups living in Laos and Thailand that aren’t Lao or Thai.
We think there’s an overlap between the seed savers who are making sure we save our plant biodiversity, and those of us that are making sure that cultures survive; our way of talking about that is through food. In China, it’s very important because economic growth is changing things very quickly and many of the ethnically non-Chinese people are being threatened by unchanneled growth.
Plus it’s such a huge area, and in many places they have very little food, so their relationship to food is unique and interesting. In Tibet, there are places where the altitude is so high they can’t boil water to cook rice. In the western part of China, the Turkic Uighurs live in desert oases, and the food was amazing — tomatoes, hand-stretched noodles, melons. And then in the east in Yunnan, north of Thailand, there’s subtropical cooking.
Most places we went to were so remote, their cooking hasn’t been influenced much by other places, which makes it really interesting.
What are you working on now?
Jeffrey: We’re thinking about maybe something on the Celtic world. Ireland, Northern Spain, Wales, Brittany. It’s a people that have lived on the periphery and still retained their language and culture. Eating locally and in season seems to be even bigger there; there’s a very present sense of eating locally and their heritage of food.
If you could be anywhere having lunch right now, where would it be and what would you be eating?
Naomi: I’d like a rice meal in Kerala [the southwestern coast of India]. You get a pile of red rice in the middle and there’d be about two things made with lentils, a couple of chutneys; my mouth is watering telling you about it! And there’d be a few vegetable curries in little heaps, and there might be a papad on top. It’s really lovely because you get to mix and match the flavors. And it would be about a dollar!
Jeffrey: Our son is writing a story for school about this beach in Kerala where we stayed for a while. We lived above this restaurant that was amazing because they had a tandoor oven, which is a northern-Indian cooking thing. They’d skewer these huge hunks of freshly caught tuna and lower it into the tandoor and it was fabulous. They made great French fries too, all sorts of types of food. Our kids loved it; they were 12 and 9. So, every time we stopped in, it was hard to choose what to have.
Naomi: Yes, choosing from so much, it’s a lovely problem, isn’t it?
We talk with people doing influential, important, or just plain unusual work in food.
Want more? Comb the archives.
Flatbreads from around the continent
Eight Indian flatbreads to bake or fry at home.
Flatbreads from around the continent
Beyond a supporting role
The great Sicilian-Neapolitan kitchen rivalry
Five ideas each month for eating better | <urn:uuid:46d39a55-98cb-49f1-965c-e1fd24deb2af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.culinate.com/articles/the_culinate_interview/jeffrey_alford_naomi_duguid | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962707 | 1,761 | 1.65625 | 2 |
A friend on Twitter, Mr. @YouTiup thinks that Malaysia is heading the USA way in our affordable houses effort due to the similarities between our program and theirs. He got the idea through an article entitled 'White Picket Fence? Not So Fast' in the New York Times. America has been subsidizing homeowners and housebuyers with a few tax breaks and subsidies. The first paragraph of the article basically states the subsidies and tax breaks that homeowners/housebuyers got : Mortgages subsidies are given through government sponsored financial institution known as Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac (read about them in this article by History News Network); Americans get federal income taxes deductions for mortgage interest payments; tax deductions from state and local property taxes; and favored treatment from capital gains from sale of primary residence.
Malaysia has just launched two programs which are similar in the veins of USA affordable housing program. We have a My First Home Scheme which covers houses (first or second hand houses) between the price of RM100,000-00 to RM220,000-00 for first-time homeowner. It is a 100% loan provided by various financial institutions which include Maybank, CIMB Bank, Affin Bank and RHB Bank, among others. It is a 100% loan as the first 10% payment to buy the property will be guaranteed by Cagamas Berhad and has a maximum tenure of 30 years. It is only open to Malaysia citizen below the age of 35 years old with household income less than RM3,000-00. This scheme is already open for application and the executors for this scheme are the banks.
The second scheme has been launched in May 2011 and it is called 1Malaysia People's Housing Scheme or better known as PR1MA. A corporation called 1Malaysia Housing Program Corporation has been established and a CEO has been appointed. As of now, only a few information can be obtained from PR1MA website. The price of the houses are between RM220,000-00 to RM300,000-00. Unlike the My First Home Scheme, the executor for this project is a new entity which act much like a housing developer. It will identify locations and build houses for people who are eligible. As for who is eligible for this scheme, they must be Malaysians who never own a house before (first time homebuyer) and has a household income of RM6,000-00. Some of the features (unconfirmed) including exemption of stamp duty, eligibility of 105% loan from selected financial institutions with the 5% to pay insurance and legal fees and a lock-in period where the housebuyers cannot sell the house within the first 10 years of ownership. An Act of Parliament will be enacted for this scheme.
Other than these two schemes, let us note a few tax treatments that homeowners in Malaysia are currently under. As for now, there is a blanket stamp duty discount of 50% for any houses bought by anyone, either first hand (from housing developer) or second hand houses below the price of RM350,000-00 which will be in effect until 31st December 2012 and a 20% discount for stamp duty for any Islamic finance instruments, including house mortgage, which for now doesn't have an expiry date. There is a real property gain tax (RPGT) of between 30% to 5% for any sale of property owned by any homeowner below 5 years. On the sixth year, the RPGT will not have to be paid (Correction : The current rate for RPGT is 5% flat rate for any profit made for property sold below five years). Is there mortgage interest deduction in Malaysia? It is only applicable for loans to improve rental property. Between 2009 and 2011, mortgage interest deduction is applicable for first home too. It is also important to note that currently, a housebuyer who is buying his third house can only get 70% mortgage from any financial institution.
Let us go back to the New York Times article and compare it to Malaysia situation. Foremost, let us look at the question whether Malaysian houseowner is guaranteed by the government in any way? Except for the 10% of the My First Home Scheme, there is no mortgage guarantee. As the financial institutions which disburse the loan are private institutions (although some are Government Linked Companies or owned by them), we don't have a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. As for tax-break, I don't think we get much of it except as listed above. Total exemption from stamp duty in Malaysia does exist in pockets of housing development areas through application to income tax office which are mostly given to low cost housing although there was a blanket exemption once circa 2000 and 2005.
To say that we are totally safe from a sub-prime crisis is to be totally optimistic. Home ownership is always in danger of being exploited by speculator (as any investment is). We do have a few cautionary tales and questions we should ask the government. Among them is whatever happens to the earlier government-owned affordable housing company like Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad which currently are building low cost housing for kampung folks and affordable housing below RM100,000-00. Financial institutions for now are very prudent and does not offer those 100% or 110% mortgages which were rampant in the early 2000s. We don't have financial institution which dishes up mortgage without you having to prove your income and get a reliable guarantor for your loans. Housing developers, especially new ones are investigated and need to pre-qualify to ensure they are reliable. Bank Negara Malaysia need to ensure they never return to their free-wheeling days of early 2000s. We hope the government is not going to flood the market with unwanted affordable houses with the PR1MA scheme. Make sure the first-time housebuyers are genuine and can afford the mortgage even to the point of regular spot-checks that they are living in the house that they bought and not turning it into a very lucrative income generator.
So, to answer Mr. @YouTiup, with prudence, we are not going down the road of the USA. Yet.... | <urn:uuid:fb94a311-854b-4779-912c-7a3f78f5c8f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kruel-legalcat.blogspot.com/2011/08/affordable-houses-scheme-in-malaysia.html?showComment=1315295794212 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97295 | 1,256 | 1.59375 | 2 |
I'm seriously a newbee here, but I would say you need to giver her majesty some room to lay. You could move some of the drawn/filled comb up and insert some foundation in between the comb remaining. In the brood chamber my understanding is that they will draw out frames of foundation between already drawn out frames. Putting foundation between drawn *honey* combs will cause some problems, though.
This spring (being a newbee going into the spring with my first hives) I had a regular swarm rodeo going on. I had fed one hive I believe for too long of a time, but the other two packed themselves right out room. I looked in there and all I could see was glistening honey/nectar like you've mentioned.
My problem was that these two hives were in a deep and I was trying to go all medium 8-frames...I didn't figure out how to move up the drawn frames and wasn't sure of putting mediums in the deep. In hindsight, I should've just did it to keep the bees at home and worked it out later.
Could the colony be trying to pack the queen out of laying to get her ready to swarm? I know your flow is on but has your swarm season already passed? | <urn:uuid:7558ee7a-8496-4a01-8c7d-c3a6edf75418> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=38161.0;prev_next=next | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987002 | 261 | 1.617188 | 2 |
US 5129913 A
A surgical punch apparatus incorporating a fixed cutter blade and a sliding cutter blade incorporates a drive mechanism which causes the sliding cutter blade to rotate with respect to the fixed cutter blade. Relative rotation effects a slicing action between the blades to facilitate cutting and to enhance longevity of the blade without sharpening.
1. A surgical punch apparatus comprising:
an elongated hollow sleeve;
an annular cutting blade attached to one end of said sleeve and having an axial passage therethrough;
an elongated rod slidably movable in said sleeve;
a movable cutting blade attached to one end of said rod and having an annular cutting edge shaped to slide within said axial passage in said an annular cutting blade whereby said movable cutting blade can be pulled through said annular cutting blade to cut material captured therebetween; and
means coupling said rod to said sleeve such that axial motion of said rod within said sleeve to effect a cutting action simultaneously effects rotational motion of said rod with respect to said sleeve whereby said cutting action has a slicing component, said coupling means comprising a slot formed in said sleeve and generally axially aligned therewith, a pin extending through said slot and into said rod, said slot having a circumferential portion whereby axial motion of said rod within said sleeve causes said pin to follow said slot and effect a rotation of said rod.
2. The surgical punch apparatus of claim 1 and including an end cap mounted on another end of said sleeve opposite said one end, said end cap being free to rotate circumferentially about said sleeve.
3. The surgical punch apparatus of claim 2 wherein said slot has a first axial portion at one end portion thereof, a second axial portion at another end portion thereof and an intermediate portion extending at least generally circumferentially between said end portions.
Referring now to the drawings and especially to FIGS. 1-3, there is illustrated a surgical punch 10 of the prior art as shown in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,228 having an elongated, cylindrical tube or sleeve 11, with a pair of slots 12 cut therein along with a knurled and threaded cap 13 at one end and a knurled and threaded blade locking cap 14 at the other end for holding a cylindrical, hollow blade 15 onto the end of the sleeve 11. Blade 15 has an annular ledge 16 surrounding the blade 15 which is held by an internal annular ledge 17 in the locking member 14 which is threaded with threads 18 to the sleeve 1. An internal sliding rod 20 is located inside of the sleeve 1 and has a handle 21 passing therethrough and through slots 12 of the sleeve 11. Handle 21 is attached to rod 20 by means of a threaded screw 22 and is spring biased towards the blade end by a spring 23 held in place by the end cap 13. The spring 23 pushes against the blunt end 24 of rod 20. Rod 20 has a narrowed portion 25 formed in one end thereof which holds a movable fixedly attached blade 26 having a cutting edge 27. Blade 26 is of a slightly smaller diameter than blade 15 so that blade 26 which is generally disc-shaped will slide inside the hollow blade 15 with a close fit to perform a shearing action between the blades 15 and 26. Cutting edge 27 of blade 26 works in connection with the cutting edge 28 of the blade 15 which has been angled inwardly and may be hollow ground to provide a sharp cutting action between the blades as the blade 26 is slid into the blade 15. Blade 26 is actuated by pulling the handle 21 which slides the rod 20 which rides on a raised, annular portion 30 located inside the sleeve 11 and also rides on the internal surface 31 of the blade 15.
The surgical instrument in accordance with FIGS. 1-3 is designed primarily for use in implanting a coronary graft such as an aorta coronary bypass which is accomplished by the grafting of a saphenous vein between the ascending aorta 32 by a small cut 33 with the other end of the saphenous vein attached to a coronary artery. The disc-shaped movable blade 26 is inserted through the cut 33 as illustrated in FIG. 3 with the narrowed portion 25 passing therethrough. Pulling of the handle 21 to slide the rod 20 in the sleeve 11 pulls the blade 26 to shear a circular plug 34 from the aorta wall by the cutting action of the blades 26 and 15 The saphenous vein may then be attached over the opening created by the removal of the punched hole.
The basic elements of FIGS. 1-3 are incorporated in a finished surgical punch having the general appearance shown in FIG. 4. The handle 21 is equivalent to pin 39 and is encompassed within a finger pull 40 which slides on a reduced diameter portion 42 of sleeve 11. The pull 40 has a pair of oppositely extending grips 44 conveniently located to be engaged by index and middle fingers of a person's hand with a thumb or palm of the hand on the end cap 46. Other than the ornamental appearance of the punch of FIG. 4, the primary differences from the punch of FIGS. 1-3 are that the end cap 46 is free to rotate on the sleeve portion 42 and the sleeve 11 rotates with respect to the rod 20.
Turning to FIG. 5, the sleeve portion 42 includes a slot 48 which has an extent thereof proceeding circumferentially about the sleeve. As the pin 39 moves axially of the sleeve 11, it follows the slot 48 and rotates about an axis 50 of the sleeve. Since the pin 39 fits snugly within an aperture passing through rod 20, rotation of pin 39 also causes rotation of rod 20 with respect to sleeve 11. Accordingly, the cutting blade 15 rotates with respect to cutting blade 26 thereby creating a slicing action during operation of the surgical punch. While only the slot 48 is shown, it will be appreciated that pin 39 extends fully through sleeve 11 and that a matching slot to slot 48 is located on the opposing surface of sleeve 11.
The end cap 46 may be rotatably attached to the sleeve 11 in various ways well known in the art. For example, the cap 46 may have a portion extending into the hollow sleeve 11 for maintaining spring 23 in compression against rod 20 and such extending portion may be captured in a circumferential tongue and groove arrangement to allow circumferential rotation. Alternatively, the top member 46A of cap 46 may be attached for rotation with respect to cap 46.
While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in an illustrative embodiment, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications of the structures, arrangements, and components presented in the above illustrations may be made in the practice of the invention in order to develop alternate embodiments suitable to specific operating requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims which follow.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aorta punch of the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the punch of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cutting blades and a cardiac section showing the operation of the blades;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a surgical punch in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a partial view of the reduced diameter portion of the sleeve of the punch of FIG. 4 illustrating a guide slot for effecting rotational motion of the cutting blades.
The present invention relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to an aorta punch for use in saphenous vein grafts, and the like.
In cardiac surgery, saphenous vein grafts are used to bypass diseased areas of the coronary arteries, and the present invention is used in the preparation of an opening in the ascending aorta where the proximal end of the saphenous vein may be anastomosed. Incisions in the aorta can be made with surgical scalpels or scissors or combinations of these with the shape varying from widened slits to triangular. It is also known to use a punch in an attempt to provide an accurate, clean circular opening. The function of such a punch depends on the introduction of a support, or anvil into the aorta or artery through an incision in the arterial wall. Using one hand, the thumb and opposed first and second fingers are approximated to pull a cross-bar which pulls down a tubular cutting device which pushes the aortic wall against an anvil in the lumen. Great pressure has to be exerted in order to accomplish the desired result. Such a system has proved unsatisfactory because of the great pressure required by a blade pushing against an anvil. At least as early as 1975, a surgical punch having a cutting mechanism with a shearing, or scissor-like action was developed and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,228. This improved punch allows the portion of the shearing punch which is introduced into the vessel lumen to share in the cutting action as a fixed blade which slides into the cutting blade to "punch" an opening. Pressure is maintained on the instrument until the "plug" has been removed in order to avoid leaving any residue in the aorta which could constitute an embolus. The side of the fixed blade which opposes the circular cutter is hollow ground to facilitate the cutting action. Formation of an ideal opening, especially since the presence of adventitia in the area readily binds the cutting mechanism, demands a razor-like cutting edge and a very close tolerance between the two shearing edges. Even though the instrument is manufactured as a precision instrument, significant force is required to operate the instrument and blade life is exceedingly short.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a surgical punch which overcomes the above described disadvantages of prior punches. In accordance with one form of the present invention, an elongated, hollow support sleeve has an elongated rod slidably mounted therein which selectively extends out an open end of said hollow support sleeve. A fixed cutter blade is attached to one end of the support sleeve with the elongated rod passing therethrough and having a mating cutter blade fixedly attached to the end thereof. The mating cutter blade has a diameter smaller than the fixed cutting blade whereby it can be pulled thereinto to give a shearing, cutting action. A handle is attached to the sliding rod and passes through predeterminately shaped guide slots on the elongated, hollow support sleeve whereby the handle can actuate the rod to pull the removable cutter blade into the fixed cutter blade to cut a predetermined shaped opening in tissue. The predeterminately shaped slots include a portion which is circumferentially oriented so that the sliding rod exhibits a rotating action as the handle is pulled to actuate the cutting blades. Rotation of the rod results in rotation of the cutting blades with respect to each other to effect a slicing action rather than a straight punching action of the cutting blades. This allows the blades to cut easier, cleaner, and to last longer. The blades may be specially shaped and the rod may be spring loaded and the entire apparatus provides for ease in disassembly, cleaning, and disinfecting for reuse. | <urn:uuid:2cf040a0-612b-463c-b543-5e9cf82abd81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US5129913 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942179 | 2,328 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Minneapolis homeowner gets custom mattress for Civil War-era bed
There are few things in a home more personal than a bed. And, there are companies that take it a step further by making custom mattresses to suit individual needs, styles and furniture.
Angie’s List member Steve Cross needed a mattress to fit a bed frame that’s been passed down through his family for five generations. “The bed dates from the Civil War era and originally had a hay and feather mattress,” Cross says. “The bed was only 5 and a half feet long, so no standard mattresses would fit.”
Jon Quale, vice president of Original Mattress Factory in Maplewood, says while his company can make almost any size or shape of mattress, most of his clients, like Cross, are looking for a mattress to fit an antique bed.
“There weren’t standard sizes more than 100 years ago,” Quale says. “A mattress was basically a bag filled with cotton, feathers, hay or horse hair.”
Owning a custom mattress also means the bedding must be custom made, or buying sheets one size larger and having them altered.
Because of this, most antique bed frames weren’t made square. To ensure the best fit, Quale recommends properly measuring the length and width of the bed frame several times before ordering the mattress — something Cross made sure to do.
“We wanted to get the dimensions exactly right,” Cross says. “The new mattress fits like a glove.”
Antique beds aren’t the only reasons people need a special mattress size. Quale says they often receive requests from owners of boats and RVs. “Because of the bow, boat owners may need a mattress that starts at 7 feet and narrows down to 2,” Quale says.
Hinged mattresses that allow the bed to be folded are also in demand, since boats and campers tend to have narrow walkways and smaller doorways.
The unusual shapes and sizes contribute to the varying cost of custom mattresses, which can be made in approximately three days. Quale says he quotes each job individually after receiving the measurements and the type of mattress and padding is chosen.
Cross spent $800 on his custom mattress and box springs, and felt it was a reasonable price to keep a piece of his family history in use. In a previous life, the bed belonged to his great-grandfather, George Washington Stevens — who served in the infantry and calvary during the Civil War. In September, the bed and mattress made a cross-country move to Seattle with Cross’s daughter, Amanda. Quale says stories like the Cross’ add color to his job.
“I always enjoy making mattresses for antiques,” Quale says. “You get to hear some really interesting stories and see some extremely beautiful beds.” | <urn:uuid:ba735bce-2990-4988-b12d-9f728ae684fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.angieslist.com/comment/6433/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968203 | 612 | 1.726563 | 2 |
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|♦ Overview ♦ 3D IP Workhop ♦ Program ♦ Prof. Pawley ♦ Faculty ♦ Companies Represented ♦ Information for Manufacturers ♦|
The 3D IP Workshop follows the UBC Live-Cell Course after a rest day. Although digital image processing in one form or another, is taught in thousands of venues every week, it is unusual for these workshops to concentrate on techniques optimized for the processing of microscopical image data, and even more unusual to concentrate on processing to enhance the graphical display and measurement of image data having > 2 dimensions. The 3D IP Workshop aims to fill this gap. Proper analysis and display of such data is essential to progress in modern biological research.
3D IP follows the Live-Cell Course and all Workshop students have taken the Live-Cell course at some time. As the end of this course includes about 1.5 days of 3D IP, many basic concepts will be covered there. The 3D IP Workshop covers more advanced concepts.
While we do want to expose the students to a carefully selected variety of software products, 3D IP is only 3 days: not long enough to permit an open door policy in terms of which companies are invited to participate. In general, we try to invite companies representing software that covers a wide range of differing capabilities: starting from Image-J, Photoshop and PowerPoint, and progressing to packages costing over $25,000 We cannot automatically accept every vendor that currently offers software that might be useful.
Although some consideration will be given to those vendors who provide hardware and personnel to support the 3D Live-Cell course, in general, choices are made based on what the organizers see as the value-for-money of the software offered, in terms of 3D capabilities, as well as the vendor's willingness to provide suitable hardware and experienced support personnel to help run the workshop.
The software vendor is responsible for providing, in a timely fashion, the software, dongles, passwords and installation instructions needed to operate their packages. If they are bringing hardware, they need to be sure that it gets through customs and arrives in time for them to install it and have it working by the end of the rest day that precedes 3 D IP. (Be sure to keep the paperwork. US Customs has become increasingly fussy about allowing computers, and especially monitors, back in tot he USA.)
Because we have a limited amount of space for setting up equipment, manufacturers that bring hardware may be asked to allow their equipment to be used to demonstrate other, generally "open-source" software during the early parts of the course.
Reps who are present are also expected to help students getting their equipment working and to serve as mentors when students have trouble using elementary software.
In order to catch Live-Cell Course students that do not plan to participate in the 3D IP Workshop, some vendors of 3D software choose to participate in the last two days of the Live-cell Course as well as the Workshop.
Each manufacturer selected to participate will be given time during the workshop (usually ~30 min) to present the strong points of their software. We realize that 30 minutes is NOT enough time for you to tell the students everything. However, it is enough time to introduce its unique or unusual capabilities, and to set the stage for the use of your equipment during the hands-on section to follow.
Given the limited time, it is recommended that presentations "compare and contrast" your software to that already presented rather than "starting from the beginning." It is also recommended that you confine your comments to describing the capabilities of the software on the machines rather than giving a prolonged introduction to the "history of the company...".
A detailed program of lectures and labs will be available before the workshop starts to help you to "tune" your presentation to that of those presented earlier.
If your AV needs spread beyond a 1024×768 digital projector, please contact the organizers.
Any manufacturer of software that is suitable for analyzing or displaying multi-dimensional image data sets is invited to submit literature for distribution to students.
Manufacturers are responsible for making their own arrangements for lodging. In practice, there really is not alternative to staying at the Conferences and Accommodation at UBC. It is nearby, convenient and inexpensive. The nearest hotels are at least a half hour away and parking on campus is a big problem. While the single-shared-washroom accommodations are more than adequate, they are somewhat Spartan. However, they are what the faculty use because one really has very little time to spending ones room. Alternatively, studio- and one-bedroom suites are also available at Conferences and Accommodation at UBC if you reserve early.
In general we provide a venue, students, and faculty. We also provide a fair chance for selected vendors to teach, and to learn from, interested students from many countries. We provide access to a fair share of the table space available for the Workshop for vendors to install their hardware. We provide WWW access, however, as the course takes place in a university setting, you cannot use this access for setting up commercial web sites.
Course content, lecture sequence and other pedagogical matters are entirely controlled by the organizers: Jim Pawley, Felix Margadant, Andres Kriete, Ping Chin Cheng, Glen MacDonald, Robert Murphy, and Badri Roysam.
The Workshop provides lunches and 2 generous snacks to students, faculty and reps each day. Although many participants survive quite well on the generous snacks, breakfast and dinner can be purchased from a wide variety of nearby restaurants, cafeterias and pizza shops.
|Contact webmaster||006434||Last update: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012| | <urn:uuid:39394ef6-8cfb-46e4-b185-bbff1f82e07f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.3dcourse.ubc.ca/2012/public.php?page=overview3d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948955 | 1,196 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Last Thursday, a group of people in Rochester took to the streets and posted signs on street corners throughout the city.
They are brightly colored and give directions to different Rochester locations like Geva Theater, the Eastman House, or Monroe Avenue.
Each sign has a directional arrow and details walking and biking time to each location.
Jennifer Indovina is one of the people who started the initiative.
She said Rochester was built to be a walkable city but thinks many people have gotten away from that.
"There are places in the city where you don't necessarily need to get in your car and go to a parking lot you can bike or walk pretty efficiently," said Jennifer Indovina, co-organizer of RocCity 2.0.
Indovina is part of the group RocCity 2.0.
It's made up of a group of young people who call Rochester home and are looking to help others reconnect with the community.
"We want to feel like we are part of the community and designing our own city of the future," said Indovina.
The directional signs are just the first step she said.
Indovina said more projects are in the works for over the summer.
For now, the goal is to get people talking and walking.
"The idea behind them is to get people to hang out in the city," said Indovina who said people could see a movie at The Little or the Eastman House and then take a 10 minute walk for coffee in another neighborhood.
Pedestrians and bikers are noticing the new signs.
There are people like Daniel Hoch.
He rides his bike 8 miles to and from work everyday.
"I usually use Google maps but the signs are nice," said Daniel Hoch, a bicyclist.
Hoch's one suggestion was that they should be a bit larger to read.
Mark Wipman was strolling along East Avenue and he said he first saw the signs in the Park Avenue neighborhood.
"I was surprised to see them up but I think they are a great idea," said Mark Wipman, a walker.
Even people from out-of-town thought the extra signage was helpful to navigate an unfamiliar city.
"It's kind of nice. I don't have a car here so I know it takes me 12 minutes to get to Monroe, so I find it pretty helpful," said Deithra Rtarchie, who was visiting from Portland.
The signs not only tell people direction but there are QR codes which will let smartphone users jump to a useful website for more information about the neighborhood they are in.
"If you take a snap of the QR code on the sign...it will link you with the RocWiki page associated with the point of interest, so in this case, the Neighborhood of the Arts," said Indonvina
Indovina said they are hoping to get more people involved and invite others to join their organization.
They have set up a website which you can check out here and a Facebook page.
You can also head over to RocWiki site which has more information about RocCity 2.0. | <urn:uuid:b8ad5482-5e3c-4d1c-8805-f064075e5862> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=326822 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979059 | 650 | 1.5625 | 2 |
- The Spot - http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot -
Colorado’s chief medical officer talks medical marijuana
Posted By Alicia Caldwell On January 19, 2010 @ 4:59 pm In Colorado Legislature | 15 Comments
Conundrum. Colorado ’s chief medical officer Ned Calonge used the word over and over again during our hour-long editorial board meeting with him this afternoon as he discussed ways of regulating medical marijuana .
He is committed to several principles — creating a system that is true to the constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000 that legalized medical marijuana, preserving access, and ensuring that marijuana is being used by sick people for medicinal purposes and not by recreational users who just want to get high.
These are the four areas Calonge said need to be addressed, preferably by the legislature.
1. More clearly defining the physician’s role and qualifications. For instance, a doctor who has been sanctioned for improperly prescribing drugs ought not to be allowed to recommend medical marijuana for patients.
2. Define a bonafide physician-patient relationship. Calonge said that when he read the constitutional amendment, he got the distinct impression medical marijuana would be recommended by a doctor with a long-standing relationship with a patient. He said he thought doctors who had orked with very sick patients to relieve severe pain, deal with nausea or end-of-life conditions would be the ones recommending medical marijuana. Legislation that more closely defines a doctor-patient relationship along these lines would be beneficial. That might include more follow-up requirements, or requirements that a doctor conduct a physical and look at medical records before recommending medical marijuana.
3. Board of medical examiner issues. Calonge said the board is a little hamstrung in even investigation medical marijuana situations. That’s because the board operates on a complaint-driven basis and there has to be a patient’s name attached to a complaint. There needs to be a way to get at abuse, Calonge said, and he hopes the Lege takes on that issue.
4. Medical marijuana in food. Calonge put his head in his hands at the thought of this conundrum. The current regulatory framework is not configured to deal with the basic problem of putting a substance that is still illegal in certain, important ways into food and assuring the safety and purity of those ingredients and cooked products. Calonge’s solution would be to allow patients to bake marijuana into brownies themselves, but not to allow businesses to do it.
All in all, Calonge said he thinks the business model of dispensaries would have to change. You could have a coop-type scenario where caregivers with a certain number of patients (capped by the state) would be able to see their patients. Perhaps five patients isn’t the magic number, but whatever number it is ought to be based in realistic caseloads for the kind of care that is envisioned in the original constitutional amendment. For the record, “dispensary” is never mentioned in the amendment.
It was an interesting meeting with someone who has obviously thought quite a bit about the issues. Calonge left us with this assessment of the medical marijuana “system” that we have.
“This is not medical care. This is not a public health program. There is a lot of fraud going on.”
Article printed from The Spot: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot
URL to article: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2010/01/19/colorados-chief-medical-officer-talks-medical-marijuana/3623/
URLs in this post:
Colorado: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/topic/colorado/
Ned Calonge: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/topic/ned-calonge/
medical marijuana: http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/topic/medical-marijuana/ | <urn:uuid:d04c5762-a020-4319-8bdc-c1f3e827250f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2010/01/19/colorados-chief-medical-officer-talks-medical-marijuana/3623/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946498 | 837 | 1.632813 | 2 |
MOUNT VERNON — Notices have already gone out for dog licenses for 2010. Though some Knox County residents may have feared another increase after the large jump in rates from $10 in 2008 to $16 in 2009, no further increase was levied, according to county commissioner Allen Stockberger, because the formula which the Ohio Revised Code dictates the commissioners use to calculate rates did not require an increase.
The Ohio Revised Code, which is the code of laws for the entire state, dictates how many elements of animal licensing and caring must be handled, so that consistent processes are in place statewide. First, the ORC puts county commissioners in charge of fees for dog and kennel registrations. To do this, they must estimate how much it will cost in a year to pay for all the administrative expenses to run all support facilities, which in this case is the animal shelter on Columbus Road. These costs include records, tags, nets, other equipment; compensation of wardens, deputies, pound keepers and other necessary employees; the expenses incurred in lawfully seizing, impounding and destroying dogs; and the amounts expended by the auditor for registration tags, blanks, records and clerk’s salary for administering the licensing process.
The fees for licenses can only be increased in $2 amounts, according to the ORC, and can only be increased if the estimated expenses for the following year exceed projected revenues. The current Dog and Kennel Funds are projected to remain high enough to avoid any license increase in 2010.
Last year’s leap in fees was brought about because of the transition to a new facility. Costs were low at the old animal shelter earlier in this decade, and some excess funds remained in the Dog and Kennel Funds. Instead of dropping the license fees at that time, the commissioners opted to let the surplus ride, in hopes that this money would smooth the transition to the new facility already being proposed. This stabilized prices instead of reflecting volatile fee changes every year. Unfortunately, the surplus made the transition so smooth that many residents did not see the inevitable approach of higher fees needed to pay for the new facility once the cushion of extra money was depleted.
The 11,000-plus dog licenses sold per year in Knox County generate approximately $224,250 in revenue to cover the animal shelter’s budget. Any excess left in the Dog and Kennel Funds will be used for the purchase of equipment.
Some residents have questioned whether dog owners alone should be burdened with supporting animal control, when the handling of stray dogs is very much a public health issue, but as the current laws of the state dictate, dog owners must purchase the licenses which support the shelters. This cannot be changed in Knox County. Residents wishing to change this will have to provoke a change in state law. | <urn:uuid:30d92b3b-e785-49d6-aa7f-9fda23b2766b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/09/12/11/no-dog-tag-increase-in-10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952604 | 564 | 1.765625 | 2 |
San Francisco's skyline tends to change in vertical bursts, and in five years we could be looking at nearly a dozen new thin-skinned boxes wrapped in sheets of green and blue. Some promise to be better than others. The cumulative effect could erode the physical presence that makes this city's downtown distinct.
The issue is not that buildings clad in stone are morally superior to buildings clad in glass. It's that San Francisco's sense of place is tied to its earthy warmth, the juxtaposition of steep hills and shifting waters. Too many glass towers clumped too closely together would set a much different tone, cosmopolitan but also generic.
At least 10 major buildings now in the works are conceived as being nearly all glass; some are under construction while others are awaiting financing or still being reviewed. The city needs to shift focus to the overall impact of an architectural trend rather than try to make the best of each tower on its own - and nudge developers and architects to introduce the material and depth that is satisfying not just at first glance, but year after year.
The popularity of glass towers isn't new here, where a half-dozen crystalline skyscrapers debuted as the recession took hold in 2008 and 2009. Nor is it unique to San Francisco. "Glass is the new brick," architecture critic Paul Goldberger mused in a 2006 essay on Manhattan's residential scene.
The look of choice
But as the Bay Area economy shakes off its torpor, see-through forms continue to be the look of choice. At least three approved residential towers have been retooled for the new decade, with masonry elements replaced by glass and rectangular forms replaced by presumably jazzier ones. Even more striking, two existing towers are slated for architectural makeovers, with their original skins of concrete being stripped away in favor of you-know-what.
One transformation is already in process at Third and Folsom streets, where the steel bones of a 1965 office building stand exposed as workers do seismic work before adding a clear skin. The other involves the much sturdier AAA tower at 100 Van Ness, two blocks south of City Hall; the structural core of the 29-story tower from 1972 will stay intact, but the space inside will become apartments, with a glass veil to "bring something new and fresh to Van Ness," in the words of architect Chris Pemberton of the firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz.
The two buildings being altered will improve as a result. The 680 Folsom mid-rise in its original form was a crude chunk that emphasized how much of a backwater that part of town once was. As for 100 Van Ness, it personifies the refrigerator-box modernism that caused San Franciscans to demand more sensitive architecture in the 1970s and '80s.
But if 680 Folsom makes the best of a drab situation, the stakes at 100 Van Ness are much higher.
The project was presented Thursday to the Planning Commission, which responded favorably to the aesthetic overhaul of a building that developer Oz Erickson characterized as "Stalinist." Ominously, though, no rendering was shown from the most crucial perspective of all: Civic Center Plaza. Here, in America's most imposing ensemble of City Beautiful-era buildings outside of Washington, D.C., a glass box will hover far above the scene.
Done right, the contrast can be an elegant one that marks a clean break between Then and Now. But it also could be jarring, an alien presence behind the columned granite and gold-leaf dome of City Hall.
Even as the commission gave its blessing, city planners and commissioners emphasized that the color of the glass is still in flux, as are details that would give the two-dimensional form more depth. The scrutiny is deserved; what counts in this location isn't a cool silhouette that catches the eye of potential residents, but a design that can both strike a fresh tone and complement its neighbors.
Will glass overwhelm?
There's a different issue along Folsom Street in the heart of the high-rise districts planned for Rincon Hill and the blocks directly to the north: not whether a lone glass tower will be disruptive, but whether glass will overwhelm everything else.
Two all-glass towers already are in place, the 43- and 38-story Infinity complex. Now two more are on the way across the street with the same dimensions. They also have the same lead designer, Arquitectonica, a Miami firm.
While the Infinity consists of two static deep-green clover shapes, the 201 Folsom complex is depicted with a silvery blue sheen and a more dynamic form, each sharp oval tower pivoting slightly toward the other. Still, that's a lot of glass in an area where large development sites abound and at least one other all-glass shaft is planned a block away.
And an urban district that shimmers will be different than ones where the mood is set by wood or brick or stone or concrete. Those elements are tactile by nature. They emerge from the ground, in a sense, and with time they settle into a city's landscape whatever the inherent merits of the design.
By contrast, "glass has always been considered to be the epitome of contemporary materiality," says Fred Clarke of Pelli Clarke Pelli, the Connecticut firm designing the Transbay Tower that would rise 1,070 feet at the corner of First and Mission streets. "It allows powerful abstract statements that can be the perfect complement to old masonry buildings."
That was the perception here when the Crown Zellerbach building opened in 1959 at Market and Bush streets. The 20-story building with its International Style skin of glass and steel was hailed as an invigorating addition to a downtown that had seen almost no new construction since the Depression.
But when the exception becomes the rule, a district becomes weightless. The pedestrian realm of sidewalks and alleys and shop fronts becomes an afterthought, the pedestal for the bauble on display up above.
Even architects who make a specialty of such towers see the danger.
"This is a city of depth and variety of materials," says Clarke, whose firm's 560 Mission St. frames glass in suave metal in such a way that the 2002 high-rise is a comfortable fit amid lower masonry structures. "How a building meets the ground is an appropriate concern."
This is a concern of city planners as well.
Several towers in the works have been massaged so that the lower floors have a more solid horizontal look, as if to make them seem rooted. There's also a push for balconies, or additional setbacks and folds, anything to add layers of interest in the air.
Head planner's view
"The current trend is for very taut glass towers," says John Rahaim, the city's planning director. "Maybe I'm conservative, but I don't think that a preponderance of taut glass works well in the city."
This isn't to say that San Francisco should return to the planner-driven architecture of the 1980s and '90s, which kept the worst from happening but also squelched creativity. Nor are all glass towers alike.
Even so, developers, architects and planners all share a responsibility to the setting in which they leave their mark. San Francisco's downtown isn't perfect, but it has far more character than most large American cities. If a wave of cold glass boxes dilutes this, we'll have squandered something special. | <urn:uuid:e4b2d6cb-470b-486a-9497-9d6e9d23ca62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/Glass-towers-could-be-awkward-S-F-fit-3763524.php?cmpid=twitter | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961024 | 1,530 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Is America still the land of opportunity?
Talking Points 3/18
- Duration 2:54
- Date Mar 18, 2013
Talking Points 3/18
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This transcript is automatically generated
Hi bill -- are -- thanks for watching us tonight is America still the land of opportunity that is subject of this evening's talking points memo as alert Americans well know.
Pres Obama's trying to fundamentally change the USA he sees -- system is basically unfair.
And wants to provide more services and money to those who don't have very much.
Republican Party says the president social justice outlook is damaging the infrastructure of the country.
High taxation high -- are holding back the economy and the GOP believes mr.
Obama is creating a nation at war with itself.
The affluent verses the non affluent.
Over the weekend senator Ted -- a tax is a conservative delivered a very emotional speech at C pac.
Came from Cuba.
He had been in prison he'd been tortured in Cuba and he came to Texas with nothing with a hundred dollars in his underwear didn't speak a word -- Wash dishes making fifty cents an hour.
-- I was standing on the senate floor I couldn't help but think.
If someone had come up to -- eighteen year old kid.
As he was washing dishes.
And suggested to him that 55 years hands his son.
Would be sworn into office as the United States senator represented -- great state of Texas.
That would have been unimaginable.
That -- -- says his dad needed on his own without government assistance he worked -- provided for his family.
And now his son has achieved the American dream.
That's the way this country is supposed to work.
The President Obama himself as a very compelling story to tell his father abandoned him he was raised primarily by his maternal grandparents in Hawaii.
He had few resources if Barack Obama rose up to become the most powerful man in the world a stunning achievement.
How much the system help mr.
Obama is unknown.
As his college records have been kept pride we don't know the extent of affirmative action we don't know how much -- government subsidizes climb to the top.
It would be very helpful have that information simply to be fair to the president and his vision.
There is no question that President Obama believes his success is partly due to government that goes to his famous line you didn't build that.
So the battle lines are now drawn between senator -- who believes in the free market and small government.
And pres Obama wants the government to partially regulate the economy and is trying to impose a giant colossus in Washington.
That's the struggle that we the American people are enduring right now.
In the end there will be no compromise one side or the other.
It's gonna have to prevent.
-- -- -- -- | <urn:uuid:e3df2aee-362b-4d7d-b8c8-a245d3923bba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://video.foxnews.com/v/2236127882001/is-america-still-the-land-of-opportunity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977544 | 586 | 1.6875 | 2 |
“What would it look like if the best responses to peak oil and climate change came not from committees and Acts of Parliament, but from you and me and the people around us?” asks Rob Hopkins at the outset of his new book, The Transition Companion: Making Your Community More Resilient in Uncertain Times.
This opener encapsulates both the massive ambition and the humility of the book, a revision of the Transition Handbook put out in 2008. At the same time, the book’s firm roots in Hopkins’s native Britain serve as the title’s main strength — the UK is where most of the action is in Transition, after all — while also limiting the book’s appeal.
The ambition of this volume is the aspiration that motivates the whole Transition movement: nothing less than to remake industrial civilization from the bottom up and from the local level.
Why and how?
“Although when Transition started it was framed very much as a response to peak oil and climate change,” writes Hopkins, “as time has passed and the idea has taken root in more and more places, it has been fascinating to see the wide range of reasons why people get involved.”
Reasons start with “Because it feels way more fun than not doing it” and move on to wanting a fairer world, doing a project you’ve always dreamed of such as starting a community bakery, farm or energy company and “Because it gives me hope…” Climate change, peak oil, economic crisis and the emotion behind prepping for them all, fear itself, don’t exactly take a back seat to cheerier motivations. But bad news is not the star of the Transition show either, a contrast with the orientation of survivalists and preppers and even with much of the environmental movement.
Hopkins couldn’t have known that a few dozen protesters called out by Adbusters would start camping out in Zuccotti Park just before his book hit the shelves and that it would spark protests around the world against corporate dominance. Now, if you agree with the editors of a new book that the Occupy movement changes everything, Hopkins’s approach feels incongruously gentle by contrast.
Yet, if we consider rule by the 1% in the context of the limits to growth not addressed so far by the Occupiers, the jury’s still out over whether a confrontational stance or a more conciliatory appeal will be most successful in preparing ourselves for a positive future. Facing the ongoing contraction of the global economy, maybe Hopkins will turn out to be helpful in a way that the Occupiers have not been so far?
But it’s the “How” that takes up most of the pages in the Transition Companion. Readers who share Hopkins’s taste for numbered lists won’t be disappointed that the Twelve Steps of Transition from the first book have morphed here into twenty-one Tools for Transition. This is one of the changes that makes the new book read much more like a reference work than the previous version, which had a compelling enough narrative to pull the reader from cover to cover. But the new version offers much more in the way of tested ideas on how to start, ramp up and run a Transition initiative.
Just go through the toolbox, from Tool No. 4: Running Effective Meetings, to Tool No. 9: Supporting Each Other, to Tool No. 13: Becoming the Media. Recently, I’ve learned more about the role of national currencies and banking systems in the financial crisis that started on Wall Street in 2008 and is flaring up again in the Eurozone now, so I was especially interested in Tool No. 19: Tools for Plugging the Leaks.
Inspired by efforts in both the US and Argentina, Transitioners in Britain seem to have had particular success launching plausible local currencies, including such wonderfully named scrips as the Brixton Brick, Stroud Pound and Tchi (from Chichester).
The first Transition money started, of course, in Hopkins’s adopted hometown of Totnes in Devon, where the number of businesses accepting the local money grew from 18 to more than 80. Later, Transition Town Lewes, located 44 miles south of London, got an unexpected windfall when it launched its beautifully designed Pound notes engraved with the face of one-time resident Thomas Paine:
The Lewes Pound was initially issued just as £1 notes, generating an unprecedented demand from currency collectors worldwide: three days after launching, the first printing had sold out and notes sold on eBay for up to £50! The Lewes Pound was expanded to include a £5, £10 and a £21 note (well, why not?), and I still consider them the most beautiful bank notes I have ever seen. Over 150 traders accept it and the scheme has a part-time project coordinator.
With the sovereign debt crises in Greece and Italy threatening to bring down the Euro, many economists predict that the continent is likely to see a return of the Drachma, Lira and other traditional national currencies.
If the Euro soon becomes a collectors’ item itself, perhaps towns and regions from Lisbon to Prague will follow the example of Lewes and Totnes to help insulate themselves from the turmoil of a collapsing super-currency. “A printed currency that can only be spent in a given community can circulate only locally. It cannot leak away,” Hopkins writes, keeping money circulating locally instead of getting sucked away by banks, big corporations or foreign manufacturers.
One of many tensions inherent in the Transition movement is the tug-of-war between acting local and thinking global. If that’s where The Transition Companion draws its strength, it’s also where it falters, at least for me as an American reader.
I tried to compensate for my countrymen’s infamous parochialism (a sin that the more moronic Republican presidential candidates have elevated to the dubious virtue of “American Exceptionalism”) by bringing the most cosmopolitan eye possible to Hopkins’s prose style. I tried to avoid getting too distracted by wording like “jumpers,” not a pogo stick-like toy for toddlers but what the British call a sweater; or “A Levels,” apparently a college admissions test like the SAT. I also tried to overlook that about eight in ten examples in the book seem to come from the British Isles while I wrestled with doubts that their lessons would not really apply to the American scene.
Mostly, Hopkins gives plenty of practical advice for a Yank in Transition.
But unfortunately, some of the most interesting parts of the handbook get lost in translation. For example, Tool No. 8: Financing Your Transition Initiative, gives specific grant funding resources for the UK but just counsels the rest of us to either do without a budget, as Transition Los Angeles mostly does, or just count on earning our own money by starting various entrepreneurial ventures — a scary proposition in today’s economy when well established businesses fail every day.
It would take work to adapt the book into an American edition, swapping out some of the case studies from Devon and Tooting with examples from Detroit and Toledo — if there are even enough good stories yet from American Transitioners to help fill out a book. But with 25% of the world’s Transition groups located in the United States, this might be a worthwhile project for Transition US in the coming months to give Hopkins’s essential ideas for re-localizing communities a fair chance on my side of the Pond.
– Erik Curren, Transition Voice | <urn:uuid:1a3fd9ee-b23c-472d-bf03-7205aded6b01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.energybulletin.net/print/59826 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947873 | 1,577 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A Philadelphia 6th grader is struggling to understand why she can't play football next season with her teammates.
Caroline Pla, 11, has been playing football since she was 5, and has played for the Catholic Youth Organization for the past two season, MyFoxPhilly.com reports.
But now, the Philadelphia CYO organization has told her she is not allowed to suit up with her teammates next season.
"They told me this season that there's a rule in CYO that girls can't play that it's only for boys and that I'm not allowed to return after this season," Caroline told MyFoxPhilly.com.
"There are policies in place governing CYO sports. CYO football is a full contact sport designated for boys. There has been some perceived ambiguity in the policy regarding this point. It is currently being reviewed and will be addressed moving forward to provide completely clarity," CYO told MyFoxPhilly.com in a statement.
"I felt that they thought I wasn’t good enough," Caroline told MyFoxPhilly.com.
"Our first approach is really a plea for common sense – the rule is old, it's archaic, it’s proven that girls can play sports," George Pla, Caroline's father told the website.
Caroline's teammates and coach have voiced their support to get her back on the field next season.
"If you can tackle, if you can block, if you can run, it has nothing to do with whether you are a girl or a boy, or live in a mansion or are homeless or the color of your skin, football the game figures it out," Coach Jim Reichwein tells MyFoxPhilly.com
The family has filed a petition on Change.org calling for an update to the CYO rules. Caroline hopes the rule changes so other girls can enjoy the sport as much as she has. | <urn:uuid:5e42ea16-8365-4a79-8848-a1fd9c910c8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/12/15/philadelphia-girl-petitions-to-suit-up-with-football-teammates-next-season/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983983 | 393 | 1.539063 | 2 |
I am settling into my third week of practice here in Mysore, slowly accepting the marathon of Third and a little more than half of Fourth Series. Last weekend’s conference was a wonderful way to bring in the new year and I am so grateful to be a student! The shala is as full as I have ever seen it with a long line of people waiting to register for practice even as the conference began to start. Some people who arrived late had to strain to hear from the lobby.
Sharath started off with a discussion about the important of asana, physical postures. He said that “in Ashtanga Yoga we always do so many asanas, generally in Krishnamacharya’s lineage, there are lots of asanas.” He noted that many people have this question about the need for asana and that many yoga teachers say that you can just sit for long periods of time, that you don’t have to twist your body and that twisting the body isn’t yoga. Sharath cited many Yoga Shastras like Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Upanishads that all say how asana is important to control the mind. One quote from the HYP states that before we think to get enlightened or self-realization we have to stabilize the body and mind. Without that basic discipline how can yoga, which means union, happen? First you stabilize the mind because if the mind is not in your control it will be like a monkey, a drunken monkey, that is jumping everywhere. First you need to control your mind and for that you need discipline and this comes from the practice of asana. Once we do asanas then mind will also come into your control. It doesn’t come all at once, you have to do for a long time.
Sharath continued, “Asana is the foundation for all spiritual building, if the foundation is strong then the building will be strong. Mind transformation will happen when you do asanas. For others it looks like physical, it is only when you go inside and practice asana for many years then only can you realize how spiritual it really is.” An analogy that Sharath likes to discuss this process is about a sailor who sails without diving doesn’t know the beauty of the ocean, the diver sees the beautiful fish and animals. If you just go on the ocean, on the surface then you never get anything, your mind becomes imagination, but there is no self-practice and no realization within. When you dive inside the sea then you will come to the conclusion that “this” is yoga with asana practice. He says, “You can relish the purity of this practice.”
From the Upanishads Sharath cited one portion that begins with “Tritiyange Sthitiyoge” and compares consciousness to sun. When the sun rises at noon it is very powerful but as the sun sets it becomes very calm as it withdraws its rays. The beach at sunset is very calm and exactly when a yogi sits in the third limb of asana then the yogi doesn’t have any mental disorders. You can feel this inner calm when you’re practicing everyday. When you practice every day the inner calm grows stronger inside and you get more focused and concentrated.
Sharath said that the system of Ashtnga Yoga that we do, known as the vinyasa system, is very special. If you go anywhere in India or the world, nobody knows the system, no one has practiced it unless they are from Krishnamacharya’s lineage. Three things define the Ashtanga Yoga method: breathing, posture, gazing. These are the three pillars or supports that we need for our practice. Sharath said that he was not including bandhas because that is to be done all the time. When the breath and movement are combined in the vinyasa method the blood and energy circulates throughout the 72,000 nadis properly. The tristana method develops your concentration so that when you go to pranayama, dhyana and the more subtle limbs, you are more focused. There is dhyana during asana and while it is not strong it is still present. Meditation is that which you cannot do but that which should happen within us. If you want to experience meditation, Sharath says that you have to understand what is meditation. You don’t just go sit somewhere and close your eyes–that just looks pretty. What’s going on inside is important and if you’re thinking of country, girlfriend, or othre thoughts then that is not meditation. First you have to control your sense organs and once that happens meditation will automatically happen within you. It can happen anywhere if your mind is in your control. Patanjali says yogas chitta vritti nirodah: yoga means to bring your senses in control. Thought waves are often so strong that you cannot still the mind, once you still the mind that is yoga, meditation and union. For that you need to develop certain discipline is needed within us. For discipline you need to practice asanas so the faculty of mind control will be slowly developed by you. Sharath concluded by stating that “Asana is the foundation to reach higher levels in your practice. Then think about yama, niyama and try to follow that. It is a process that happens day by day, year by year. Only if you do it for a long time will you understand. In this instant world no one has patience, their focus is only on authorization or certification. A real yogi doesn’t need a certificate saying that he is a yogi, that he is enlightened. For enlightenment you cannot get a certificate.” | <urn:uuid:2ce2a4e8-c41e-4877-8d4f-a3f669c0d169> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kinoyoga.com/january-1st-2012-new-years-day-conference-with-sharath-in-mysore/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965881 | 1,200 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The University has launched a new advertising and marketing campaign that gives the community an inside look at the innovative spirit that drives research, learning and discovery at Akron.
Nearly 3,600 votes were cast by students, faculty, staff and the community to choose which of three ads would air during the Super Bowl. Here's the top vote-getter. View all three at the Energy of Innovation website.
Each year, a new television commercial is unveiled to Northeast Ohio viewers of the Super Bowl, "kicking off" the advertising campaign. This year, UA gave the campus community and the public a chance to select the spot that aired during the Feb. 5 game from among the three produced to air in rotation on various television stations throughout the year.
The ad featuring new University of Akron research that has created a contact lens specifically for diabetics warning them of high blood sugar levels and a revolutionary nanofiber bandage that may help wounds heal faster was the #1 vote-getter.
UA's "Energy of Innovation" advertising and marketing campaign highlights research that is improving lives and positively impacting the environment, discoveries that can truly change the world. A new website has been launched to highlight these areas of innovation, along with print, radio, social media and television ads. The website will be dynamic, continuing to feature innovative research and programs across the University.
One of the billboards in the Energy of Innovation campaign calls attention the research of Dr. Ali Dhinojwala, who is working with others to develop a glueless adhesive system, similar to that found on the feet of geckos. Read about the research.
Each of the three spots features President Dr. Luis M. Proenza asking a key question: “What is the energy of innovation?” Then, every commercial highlights two different areas of research and discovery.
President Luis M. Proenza is interviewed about the new "Energy of Innovation" campaign on WKYC-TV's "Good Company by Joe Cronauer.
"We are excited about what we do here, and we think the public will be fascinated by learning more about what makes The University of Akron innovative. The Super Bowl advertising 'contest' is our way of inviting people to learn, and to tell us which discovery most interests them by choosing the commercial they like best," said Wayne Hill, associate vice president and chief marketing officer at UA.
"The entire campaign, including broadcast, print and Web-based marketing, showcases our dynamic learning environment and helps the community understand why The University of Akron is a regional and national leader in innovation," Hill said.
Media contact: Laura Massie, 330-972-6476 or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:b259e775-327f-47b2-bd0f-a5db40bcba37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uakron.edu/alumni-friends/news/news-detail.dot?newsId=8455cf1b-8539-4eb5-83fc-c781a8b9b1b8&pageTitle=UA%20News&crumbTitle=New+ad+campaign+centered+on+UA's+'Energy+of+Innovation' | 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 | 0.961671 | 554 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Three farm bill extensions have been filed this weekend in an effort to prevent problems in the agriculture sector as a result of any fiscal cliff fallout, media reports say. Meanwhile, ag leaders in Washington are urging Congress to act before milk prices rise and funding to programs is cut.
"The three bills, posted late Saturday night on the House Clerk’s website, are each candidates to be called up Monday," Politico reports. "But together they testify most to the continued tension between the GOP’s top brass and (House Speaker John) Boehner’s old haunt: the House Agriculture Committee."
Meanwhile, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack continues to urge Congress to get a farm bill passed to stabilize milk prices and preserve the SNAP program, previously known as food stamps. He expressed dismay in an interview with CNN about congressional inaction on the issue.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) expressed hope that agriculture policy can move forward, if only incrementally.
"If a new Farm Bill is not passed in the next few days, Agriculture Committee leaders in both chambers and both parties have developed a responsible short-term Farm Bill extension that not only stops milk prices from spiking, but also prevents eventual damage to our entire agriculture economy," Stabenow says. "It is critical that we pass a five-year Farm Bill that gives farmers and ranchers the certainty they need to plan for the future. If a new Farm Bill doesn’t pass this Congress we’ll soon hold another mark-up and just keep working until one is enacted next year." | <urn:uuid:be0a54ba-13c5-4ca4-a2b0-4346b9984402> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/mymachinery/article/farm_bill_extensions_crafted_fiscal_cliff_worries_remain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946036 | 329 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Did you mean?Try your search again
Here at the Grottes de Han cave system you begin your trip from the town of Han-s-Lesse at the ticket counter where you board an open train which takes you several kilometers to the caves entrance, just a small hole in the mountainside. You little suspect the wonders you will find inside as you enter and go down the stairs.
We were unable to understand many of the explanations here because the tours are given in Belgian-Dutch, French and German, no English.
But still it is enough to just walk and enjoy. At some point you enter the Embarkation Hall where you are loaded onto a large boat, seating some 50 people. This takes you to the exit by way of the underground river. Be aware that as you near the exit they fire off a cannon or air gun INSIDE the cave, the sound and reverberations are quite "surprising", especially if you do not know that it is about to happen...
Updated Jan 4, 2007
The museum has a nice colection of archeologic remains discovered in the grotto. The oldest objects are over a 5000 years old.
Written Jan 3, 2005
The Wild reserve of Han-Sur-Lesse is a domain that is 250 hectares. It is a beautifull terrain that willl show you the old Lesse Vally. One of the few Belgian places where environment is undamaged.
Many animals live inside the domain: stags, dear, wild boar, Ibex, European bison and bears.
The only way to visit this domain is with the safari car.
Written Jan 2, 2005
Address: At the town centre of Han
From the village, a small train will bring you to the grottos. You'll foloow the guides trough the different chambres that are created by the Lesse in the last few hundred million years...
After walking 2.7 kilometer, and climbing +400 stairs, you'll get to the boat tha will lead you out of the caves.
Written Jan 2, 2005
Address: Han-Sur-Lesse - centre
This is a really huge cave. A train takes you to the cave, which takes about 15 minutes. In front of the cave, we saw two queues: one for French speaking and one for Dutch speaking people. The Dutch one was shorter, so we took this one (and finally had a tour in Dutch AND French as there were only few Dutch speaking people). After some minutes waiting the tour started, and I still wonder where the other groups were, we didn't meet them in the cave. The cave is great, there are very much stalagtites and stalagmites in all kind of variations, small tunnels alternate with big halls, and the highlight was a sound and light show in one of this halls which had a lake. The way mostly was tarred (so no cave feeling concerning this!) and easy to walk, with several stairs. I've read that it were 400 stairs, but it's not at all exhausting as they are spread over the whole walk. The tour takes about 1,5 hours, and in the end there's a short underground river tour. The exit of the cave is 500 m from the village, you are back there in some minutes.
This cave is beautiful and impressive. Other nice caves in Belgium are the one in Hotton (a more "narrow" one, but also impressive) and the cave of Remouchamps (the underground boat drive there is a bit longer and with smaller non-motor boats, really interesting!).
Opened from 10:00 to 16:30 with a break at noon and depending on the season (better check the homepage first).
Admission is 11 Euro for adults (includes Expothème). Several combination tickets with other things are possible (like wildlife park etc.)
Updated Jun 15, 2004
Address: Rue J. Lamotte, 2
The caves of Han-sur-Lesse are an underground wonderworld !
The "Grottes de Han" are a giant calcareous cave cut out by the Lesse river. The caves are about 16 km long, but only 3 km are open for visitors.
One of the rooms "the Chamber of Wonders" has the magic of a crystal palace.
Don't miss the subterranean boat-ride so as the Han wildlife Reserve, a safari park with wolves, bisons, brown bears,...
Written Mar 6, 2004
Domaine des Grottes de Han
In the little town of Han-sur-Lesse you find the caves and wildlifepark of this town. Also you can visit the museum in the towncentre, which contains many archeological findings. The river Lesse is entering a mountain at 'Gouffre de Belvaux' and is leaving the mountain again at 300 meters before entering the town.
In the village centre, opposite the church, in the reception hall.
By tram for a 4 km trip. Board from the back of the reception hall next to the cafeteria. Be warned: the train always leaves on time! Route through the Caves on foot for approximately 3 km. The exit from the caves is located 500 m from the village (5-minute walk).
Between 1 hour 30 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes
Updated Aug 7, 2003
Phone: +32 84 3782 33
If you are in the Han-s-Lesse area, what better way to enjoy a local custom, order the beer named after the area, the LaBlonde de Han.
Written Nov 20, 2006
Favorite thing: There are several things to see there in Han: the cave of Han, the animal reserve, the museum of the subterranean, the Expotheme, and of course several restaurants and shops and a nice playground for children. In Rochefort, there's also the cave of Lorette.
There are tickets for combinations of these attractions, so you can save some money if you visit several things. You get all tickets in the reception hall in the center of the village, which is on the main street, opposite of the church.
The cave of Han is absolutely worth a visit (see my other tip). The ticket of the cave of Han includes also the Expothème, which is not far from the caves exit. It's an exhibition with the subject "Climate of yesterday and tomorrow" and you only can visit it with a guide (only in Dutch and French!). We didn't feel like waiting for a guide who speeks neither German nor English, but at least we were allowed to see a short film about the climate changes in English and to visit a part of the exhibition on our own (with an English paper with some explanations). Nevertheless I wasn't much impressed by it... At least there you didn't have to pay for the restroom, at the reception hall of the "domain" you had to pay 30 ct...
Written Jun 15, 2004
Favorite thing: Next to the Church in the town of Han-sur-Lesse you will find a little museum, where everything is shown what divers found in the river Lesse.
Updated Aug 4, 2003 | <urn:uuid:66bf8ed3-f101-41e3-9bfa-4792256bfd0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Belgium/Province_de_Namur/Han_sur_Lesse-354968/TravelGuide-Han_sur_Lesse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957045 | 1,482 | 1.695313 | 2 |
During a brief period of my life I was a Girl Scout leader for a troop that belonged to the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital, or GSCNC, as those in the ranks would say, an outfit so "strack" that they made Army Rangers seem wimpy. These girls -- and their leaders -- were not only prepared, they were locked and loaded with firestarters, tourniquets, meat tenderizer for wasp stings and, of course, songbooks.
Singing, you see, is important in scouting. It is something to do when you are sitting round the old campfire. There were, of course, the standards:
"Make new friends
But keep the old.
One is silver
And the other gold"
"My Hat it has
Has my hat"
I know, classics.
But one of the favorites for our troop was "The Name Game" in which we would go round the circle and each girl would yell out her name, which we then transformed into a song:
"Melissa, Melissa, bo-lissa
Mee Mi Mo Missa
That song has been running through my head as I contemplated the name game that has occurred with Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA. That mouthful was probably the first thing that got my "spidey sense" tingling, suggesting trouble ahead. Well, faster than Rush Limbaugh could say "Barack Hussein Obama", the act was shortened to the Affordable Care Act or ACA.
But actually, that change was not fast enough, because the same minds that gave us "feminazi" and 'Joe Sixpack" had a better name for the new law: Obamacare.
Like most news outlets, MedPage Today deemed Obamacare pejorative and routinely used "ACA" or "health reform" in headlines. We did that until June 18, when we ran an article about likely scenarios after the Supreme Court hands down its decision on the constitutionality of the ACA. On June 25, we ran a second article -- and bulletin -- using Obamacare.
Why the change? A few reasons, first I've noticed that use of the term has leached into coverage by other outlets, including The Atlantic and The Washington Post.
I also noticed that articles using "Obamacare" frequently pull a lot of traffic into websites, and traffic is an important consideration for those of us in digital media.
But playing this name game was a mistake. Two readers immediately called me out on it and they were right, although both thought we had been doing it all along.
Singing, "Banana-fana fo-bama, Mee, Mi Mo-Mama, Obama!" is one thing (and believe me, that tune has been on a continuous loop in my brain since I decided to write this blog several hours ago, so I've not only been spanked by readers -- I'm being tortured by my inner Girl Scout leader), but playing the name game with U.S. law is another. Not gonna play that game again.
Earn Free CME Credits by reading the latest medical news in your specialty.Sign Up | <urn:uuid:d6385584-5410-49cc-b161-db0a330b3e85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medpagetoday.com/InOtherWords/33472 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972799 | 649 | 1.5625 | 2 |
General Motors has announced it will install the world's first front-center airbags in three of its midsize crossover vehicles starting in the 2013 model year. This new safety innovation will be introduced on the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevy Traverse lines, and become standard equipment on all versions equipped with power seats.
Co-developed with restraint-system specialist Takata Corporation over a three-year period, GM's new front-center airbag is a tethered tubular inflatable restraint that deploys from the right side of the driver's seatback and locates itself between the two front buckets. Designed to be particularly effective in the case of passenger-side impacts, GM says it provides additional protection regardless of which side of the vehicle is struck and can accommodate a wide range of body sizes and types. In addition to helping mitigate the potential for head-to-head or other types of contact trauma with both front seats occupied, it helps stabilize the driver even when there's no passenger aboard. The automaker also anticipates this new front-center airbag will provide some added measure of protection in the case of rollover accidents.
"While no restraint technology can address all body regions or all potential injuries, the front center air bag is designed to work with the other air bags and safety belts in the vehicles to collectively deliver an even more comprehensive occupant restraint system," said Gay Kent, GM executive director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness. "This technology is a further demonstration of GM's above-and-beyond commitment to provide continuous occupant protection before, during and after a crash." | <urn:uuid:d45282cb-4baf-476f-a657-661ebcd5cce3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/gm-introduces-worlds-first-front_center-airbag/2000007225/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944058 | 324 | 1.648438 | 2 |
SANTA ANA, Calif. (Aug. 16, 2012) -- Mosul is now one of the most violent cities in Iraq, with Christians and other minorities often targets of the violence.
As a result, thousands of Christians have left the Iraqi city since 2003 when U.S. forces deposed Saddam Hussein. The war triggered a wave of continuous violence in the second largest city in Iraq.
Before 2003, Mosul was home to 75,000 Christians. Approximately 70 percent belonged to the Chaldean Church, while the rest were Syriac Orthodox and Catholic. Now approximately 25,000 Christians live in Mosul, which has a population of 2 million. Many more Christians live in the surrounding Nineveh province.
Dr. Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA president/CEO, labels the attacks against Christians in Mosul and all of Iraq as “religicide.” He states: “Christians in cities like Baghdad and Mosul are gripped by terrorism. They are fleeing in droves. Today it was reported that at least 20 people died in blasts and shootings across the country.
“With the spotlight currently on Syria, Nigeria and Afghanistan and the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq last December, Iraq has been placed on the back-burner. But we as Christians in the West must continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq, who face extinction if we don’t pray and advocate for them.”
Almost no day passes without someone being killed by bombs or bullets in the city, which is the capital of Nineveh province. The violence targets Christians but also policemen, soldiers or officials working for the government. In the midst of all this, it’s not difficult to find examples of growing hostility towards Christians. In May, for example, it was reported that 20 families living in Mosul received threatening letters. The letters said that they had to move out of Mosul or face possible violence or kidnapping.
A Mosul Christian said terrorists in Mosul visited four real estate agents, asking the names of Christians who recently sold their houses. With this information, they know who has money and might be possible targets for kidnappings. “One of the agents refused to give information to the terrorists and was killed,” a spokesman for Open Doors said.
Also in Mosul, the house of a Christian was set on fire, and the police dismantled a bomb placed in the car of another Christian.
General Ahmed M. Aljaboury, director general of the Mosul police, said: "Between 2005 and 2011 our operational command recorded the assassination of about 69 Christians, including university students, priests, female employees and housewives."
Two waves of killings and intimidation in 2008 and 2010 sent Christians fleeing from Mosul in such haste that the United Nations had to arrange emergency assistance. Many Christians have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States.
Before the Gulf War in 1991, the number of Christians in Iraq, ranked No. 9 on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians, was estimated over 1 million. That number fell to an estimated 850,000 in 2003. Since then the numbers have plummeted. Open Doors estimates the number of Christians remaining in Iraq at 345,000. However, the number decreases every month.
The role of Open Doors in Iraq includes distributing Bibles and Christian literature to churches and Internally Displaced People; supporting a project which translates literature, including the Bible, into the Kurdish languages; training of church leaders and new Christians; and training leaders in trauma counseling, especially to children.
c. 2012 Open Doors USA. Used with permission.
Publication date: August 16, 2012 | <urn:uuid:5eda9c5a-b493-4a3f-91bd-90d85fc92f5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.religiontoday.com/articles/iraqi-christian-exodus-mosul-unabated-violence.html | 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 | 0.953283 | 748 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Posted: January 14, 2010
Mayor’s wife, would-be governor’s wife—but always a writer
Author Helen Thorpe talks immigration and politicsBy Mike Cote
The day the University of Denver released a 50-page report on immigration, Helen Thorpe was in a jet over the Atlantic coming home from Copenhagen, where her husband had just presented a speech as part of the United Nations Climate Change conference.
If she had been in Denver that December day, it's a safe bet Thorpe would have considered attending the DU press conference, which addressed many of the issues she encountered first-hand while spending five years writing "Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America." The book chronicles the lives of four Denver girls, including two who do not have legal documentation, and the obstacles they faced to attend college.
The trip was in part a mini-vacation from touring the country to promote the book, Thorpe says, but she was also busy accompanying the man who soon could be the Democratic candidate for governor.
Thorpe doesn't refer to herself as "Mrs. Hickenlooper," but the intersection of her role as a journalist and spouse of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper affected the writing of the book and became part of the story.
During an interview in December - a few weeks before Gov. Bill Ritter's announcement that he would not seek re-election put Hickenlooper on the short list as a candidate - Thorpe talked about how a possible run by her husband against Ritter in 2005 caused her to rethink whether she'd finish the project. And it wasn't the only obstacle: Hickenlooper also had just faced controversy an undocumented worker accused of fatally shooting police officer turned out to be an employee of the Cherry Cricket, a restaurant owned by his company.
"Four or five months after was when a lot people we're trying to draft John to run for governor so I actually thought we were about to get into the governor's race. So then I thought, ‘I won't be doing journalism. I'll be campaigning,'" Thorpe said during an interview at a Park Hill coffee shop. "Then that went away. John decided not to run. He was in the middle of his first term. It was too soon. He had a lot of stuff he wanted to finish."
Thorpe was encouraged to continue by fellow journalists, including her former editor at the New Yorker. "He said you should write about all of it. You were a journalist first, a writer first and that's who you really are and you should be true to that." The book has become a local best-seller and has earned national accolades, including being named one of the best books of 2009 by the Washington Post.
Now Hickenlooper and Thorpe, who have a 7-year-old son, are considering once again whether their family can handle the stress of a gubernatorial campaign and the possible escalation of Hickenlooper's public role should he win the race.
"Anything like this has potentially significant impact on our son," Hickenlooper told the Denver Post on Thursday. And he said his wife in particular would take "a very cautious, slow, careful study" of the decision.
That quote rings true considering what Thorpe said during the December interview. She didn't set out to spend five years writing her book. Becoming a mother shifted her focus.
"At the beginning of this project I might have been working eight hours a week when Teddy was really young, and toward the end I was working 20 to 30 hours a week but never full time," she said "I had to kind of elongate. I couldn't devote myself totally full time to the project so it just took longer to do."
In the long run, that delay led her to write a richer story.
"I kind of learned as I went that there was kind of a beauty in that, to follow them in time became more meaningful to me than just spending a whole bunch of time with them all at once," Thorpe said.
During her book tour, Thorpe has encountered employers who were moved by the book and appreciated the dilemma businesspeople face when they face the consequences of illegal immigration. At one event, a woman in the food service industry whom Thorpe described as "very conservative" was moved to tears.
"She didn't want to hire illegal immigrants," Thorpe said. "But she had people on her payroll who turned out to have names that didn't match their Social Security numbers, and she had grown really fond of them and dependent on them. They were reliable workers. It was incredibly painful for her to have to deal with the fact that they were not here illegally."
Thorpe's book could take on a greater resonance if immigration arises as a campaign issue. (One chapter of the book is based on an interview with former Colorado congressman and outspoken immigration foe Tom Tancredo.)
Thorpe has seen the issue from both sides, through her husband's business background and through the lives of the girls and families she portrayed in her book. For reform to work, it needs to consider the needs of employers, she said.
"Thinking of the employer as a bad person with immoral intentions who must be punished, going into it from that point of view, I think is a misreading of the situation," she said. "I think employers are generally well intentioned for the most part."
Mike Cote is the former editor of ColoradoBiz. E-mail him at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:0d681ef6-be35-4d63-9163-e0d9052c2d8c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/mayors-wife-would-be-governors-wife-but-always-a-writer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991547 | 1,152 | 1.53125 | 2 |
People living in small flats or units or just getting by in a kitchen that is too small then a space saving Deni Convection Oven will be your best friend. Just about every method of cooking can be handled in this compact and versatile unit. Baking, grilling, roasting and steaming can all be achieved with spectacular results. The large capacity will not only cook food a lot faster than a normal oven it uses less power which means more money in your pocket. If the weather is too hot to turn on the oven the convection will be a breeze it won’t heat up your house, and you will find that you use it every day, it’s just so much easier. Once you experience the moist juiciness of your meats and your better loaves of bread or baking goods you won’t look back.
Easy to use the handles on the base make moving the convection oven very easy. The timer built into the lid will keep you informed on cooking status and the responsive temperature gauge will respond immediately. Tongs are included so you can easily position the racks and the glass bowl is non breakable. Just fill the bowl with soapy water and the built in cleaning cycle will take care of the washing up for you. It won’t matter if you are working late you will still have time to cook roast meals for the family as the cooking process is so much quicker. Meals will be healthier as your foods are not sitting in their own fatty liquids.
What is the difference before cooking in a convection oven as opposed to a normal oven, microwave or any other cooking methods? Well you may ask. Convection cooking is a lot faster way of cooking food as fans move hot air around the heating zone in a constant circulating motion. What this does is always make sure that the hottest air is always coming into contact with the food readily speeding up the process. Faster cooking allows for quick sealing of juices and ensuring optimum flavour of the food being heated. Any fats in the foods be that butter in pastry or the skin on meats is rendered off quickly this ensures the crispiest results. All that goodness is locked inside your meat will be juicier and your pastries will be perfectly cooked. The even cooking temperature will mean that everything in the oven on the top shelf or the lower shelves will cook at the same time, so no more cold spot in the oven and unevenly cooked food.
With the stacked shelves in a convection oven all being the same temperature means that you don’t have to cook in batches you can bake all your biscuits at the same time and foods will be browned all over. Some people get nervous thinking about alterations to recipes, but you won’t have to make any, the only change you may need to make is a decrease in cooking time as the faster cooking process is a just one of the many features of the convection oven. There are many recipe books available with comprehensive information on the many uses and benefits of convection cooking, you will never cook any other way again. | <urn:uuid:e8761f09-5d93-458b-b608-696d5b3c4b0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deniconvectionoven.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953164 | 625 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I'm getting a little weary of reading over and over and over about how "surprised" everyone is by how long it's taking for Mac Chrome to come out. Really folks, web browsers are complicated pieces of software that take a long time. They don't just fall from the sky, fully written. Camino took years (plural) of development before it got to 1.0, and that's with an already mature Gecko engine behind it.
We're lucky in Chromium that we can leverage a lot of shared code from the windows side, but we do have to write a bunch of UI code (unless you want the UI to just look and behave exactly like windows...I didn't think so). We're also not just embedding WebKit and dragging in a couple buttons and a text field. The team has made significant changes to how WebCore works (resource loading, sandboxing, multi-process, etc) and those take time to get right on other platforms.
So the next time you're about to blog about how long it takes to write a web browser, think about the 10+ years of development that's gone into the one you're currently using and just move along. Mmmkay?Posted by pinkerton at June 3, 2009 7:29 AM | TrackBack | <urn:uuid:f9d998e1-babd-4b5e-9fd4-311652e8d0c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/pinkerton/archives/020035.html | 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 | 0.969544 | 266 | 1.625 | 2 |
Let’s stop being a town of shoulda, woulda, coulda.
With Cincinnati City Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz’s announcement May 19 that she no longer supports the city’s streetcar initiative, she joins Republican colleague Chris Monzel, who never liked the idea from the beginning. And that stinks.
I won’t drone on about how we got that way — local historian Dan Hurley did a wonderful column about the changes a few years ago in The Cincinnati Post (oh, wait, it’s gone). And I don’t begrudge Ghiz’s reasoning — she’s been concerned about our city’s explosive violent crime rate. But I think this decision might be a bit like putting the trolley car before the horse.
So much of our thinking has focused on backloaded decision-making. In other words, what to do after the proverbial shit hits the fan.
“Build a bigger jail!” seems to be a popular refrain locally. Funding public safety has been en vogue in many municipalities since the early 1980s. If the Cincinnati Police Department — so well funded that department leadership blushes privately — could somehow channel funds to a streetcar line through one of the city’s most notoriously crime-infested neighborhoods, it would probably be built tomorrow.
Ghiz says Cincinnati’s tightening budget funds should be spent on reducing crime. Well, a streetcar line could help there. Report after report and study after study shows that streetcars promote economic development, which in turn leads to lower crime. See, they go hand in hand.
We need to take the first step. And a route connecting downtown to Clifton and the University of Cincinnati — the area’s two biggest employment centers — makes so much sense you’d have to be crazy to think any politician is behind it. But local political leaders are in favor, in droves, starting with Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. And it’s not just because gas prices are creeping back up.
My favorite no-to-everything group, COAST (which I swear stands for the Coalition Opposed to Any Sustainable Transportation), has come out strong against the streetcar plan. It’s paired up with the local NAACP chapter — the strangest bedfellows ever — and keeps referring to the streetcar as a “trolley,” as if to mock its true purpose.
What you won’t hear from these opponents is how streetcar lines have spurred economic development, some more than others, in the U.S. cities that have introduced them in recent years. Studies done here say the downtown-to-UC line has the potential to help one of the city’s most historic and economically hardest-hit neighborhoods, Over-the- Rhine.
Sometimes you have to spend a little to make a little. Even the stingiest penny-pincher knows that.
If COAST and the NAACP are successful in getting the streetcar referendum on the ballot this fall and filling the weeks and months ahead of it with mis-information and if the referendum passes, we might once again blow a truly remarkable opportunity. With the failure of the 2002 light rail tax levy, it could be a very long time before local politicians try for something this bold again.
And once again we’ll be stuck. An old town that used to say “yes” will say “no” again and miss a chance to move forward, to be cool, to plan for what the youngest generations now will want in the future. And away they’ll go to cooler cities, and our city will flounder.
There are so many instances in our past when we could have but didn’t: an unfinished subway, cutting up the West End with I-75, taking out the inclines, ripping up the streetcars, putting two overpriced stadiums next to each other when we could have given Over-the-Rhine a boost.
Just about all of these mistakes were transportation-related. Let’s not add to the list and let future generations do the same shoulda, woulda, coulda.
CONTACT JOE WESSELS: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:06904172-ea50-48d7-a964-e28332b1c68e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-17872-lets_not_make_another_mistake.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 | 0.949364 | 883 | 1.820313 | 2 |
So you are training for your first 5K. Maybe you will lose some weight, maybe you will feel stronger, lower your blood pressure, find new friends.
But did you know that having an active lifestyle can quiet your mind?
I am not always thrilled at the prospect of leaving my warm bed to run. It is 6 a.m. In the winter, it is dark and cold. Maybe it is even raining or snowing. How could making myself run up the hill, heart pounding, breath coming hard, be good for my sense of well-being? Shouldn’t I be finding peace on the meditation cushion?
I live in my body – so do you.
But, so often, the stressors in our lives put us in our heads. I know that is where I go when I fight with my boyfriend, feel overwhelmed at work, wonder how I will pay for college. It is not a good place to be. At times, my mind runs around like a hamster on a wheel. I feel burdened and distracted by my own thoughts. I am not attuned to my body and my surroundings. I am not going to solve problems or improve my state of being this way. I need to get out of my head. And so I run.
When I run, it is like a meditation. My mind runs too, sometimes on the same topics that have burdened me. But this time the thoughts do not stick. My mind does not attach to the thoughts – I can watch them roll around but not hold on to them. They lose the intensity they need to weigh me down.
I don’t always want to run. I don’t always even like it when I am doing it – “Is this run over soon???” But I never regret that I did it when I am done. And I never feel worse after I have done it. I always feel accomplished, virtuous, clearer, steadier and incredibly fortunate that I have this gift of fitness that I gave myself.
What else can you count on in life like that?
By Carla Lisio, LCSW
Executive Vice President, Behavioral Services | <urn:uuid:61a9d876-40d1-4de9-8397-a2f3443b0f75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yorktown-somers.patch.com/groups/mhas-blog/p/bp--active-body-and-steady-mind | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96437 | 446 | 1.703125 | 2 |
AMANPOUR: Mr. President, thank you so much and welcome to our program.
KARZAI: Good to talk to you, Christiane Amanpour, very good to talk to you as always.
AMANPOUR: Thank you, sir. I wanted to ask you about the unfolding drama in your country. We've had this incredible bold attack by the Taliban and other militants.
Mr. President, how could this happen so many years into the war, so many years into having so many NATO forces, so many Afghan forces being stood up? How on Earth could this happen right now?
KARZAI: This is -- this is exactly the question the Afghan people are asking. This is exactly the question that the Afghan people have been asking now for some years.
This is indicative, ma'am, of a serious intelligence failure, especially an intelligence failure of our allies and NATO and others, because of the equipment that they have, because of the resources that they have, because of the time that they have spent in this part of the world. So this is indeed a very legitimate question and, indeed, one every Afghan household is asking.
AMANPOUR: So are you blaming NATO for this?
KARZAI: I'm not blaming NATO for this. I'm simply asking a question as to the efficiency of our intelligence gathering systems, whether these systems are working all right, whether, with all these resources available, I think by that happening in Kabul and in other parts of the country, whether everything is done correctly or whether everything is used correctly.
AMANPOUR: Can I ask you about hearts and minds? I mean, one way to win a war is by winning the hearts and minds. And it looks like that is in a bit of a crisis right now. Obviously, this terrible massacre by that American, Staff Sgt. Bales, has put a real -- a real crisis in terms of relations between ordinary Afghans and the United States.
Has the West lost the war in Afghanistan?
KARZAI: The West has been able to bring Afghanistan a much better health service, better education, better roads, a better economy, though some have benefited more; some have benefited less from that economic well-being in Afghanistan.
But as I have been saying for the -- for the last many years, the war on terrorism has not been conducted satisfactorily from the point of view of Afghanistan. The sanctuaries were not addressed, the training grounds were not addressed. And as I have been saying, the war on terrorism was not and is not in the Afghan villages or by causing harm to the Afghan people.
Therefore, on that account, there has been a failure in providing security to Afghanistan or in keeping the Afghan hearts and minds in a matter that would satisfy Afghans.
AMANPOUR: Is it your view that Staff Sgt. Bales should have been tried in Afghanistan? Is it still your view that that should have been the case?
KARZAI: The Afghan people did clearly demand that. The Afghan people did clearly want that. The Afghan people do clearly want a trial that is seen, that's transparent, that justice is done to those innocent women and children and men that were started (ph) and killed.
AMANPOUR: So should that have been in Afghanistan? Are you satisfied that it is going to take place in the United States?
KARZAI: Well, it isn't a matter of -- for us of satisfaction on any account. Once our people are killed, we can't be satisfied in any way. But other than that, in order to reduce the grievance that we have, a fair trial is necessary and the Afghan people are seeking it.
AMANPOUR: But, specifically, you must be pleased with this new agreement that Afghans will lead the so-called night raids? That is something you had wanted for years, whereby Americans go into the villages and try to find militants and get information about the Taliban. Now you're going to lead that.
KARZAI: Well, wanted this years ago. It came too late for us. But, still, we're happy that we have now signed an agreement and we hope that all parties will remain committed to the letter and spirit of this agreement.
AMANPOUR: You talk about how the U.S. has not fully won hearts and mind in Afghanistan, although, I must say, it is incredible to see certain percentages still supporting the international presence.
But there's a different story, as you know, here in the United States and around Western capitals. Your stock has plummeted. Where you were once the hero, standing ovations, freedom fighter, now people cannot wait to see the back of Afghanistan and get the heck out. Do you -- do you understand that? I mean, do you realize how you have lost the hearts and minds of the United States?
KARZAI: Yes, we understand that very well and we view it differently, though. We believe that there has been much lack of understanding of the Afghan situation, of the desire of the Afghan people, of the expectations of the Afghan people and that Afghanistan was not valued as it should have been valued by our allies in the past many years. I hope that recognition has come now.
Look, we are equal partners in the struggle against terrorism. Our country is being used. Our soil is being used. Our people are sacrificing their lives every day. We cannot be judged by the prism that you have in the West or in the United States.
AMANPOUR: You can imagine the kind of reaction it has after the, you know, spilling of so much blood, after the spending of so many hundreds of billions of dollars on Afghanistan, when Americans hear you, the president of Afghanistan, calling them demons, calling these shootings in that village, as catastrophic and appalling as they were, intentional terror.
What kind of effect do you think those words have for a nation that's basically been propping you up for all these years?
KARZAI: You're talking of the killing of people last month by --
KARZAI: -- that U.S. soldier?
KARZAI: Well, that was terrible. That was terrible, wasn't it?
AMANPOUR: Absolutely. But my question to you was -- and it was -- it was unconscionable, and we all, around the world, know that. My question is, when you called Americans demons after that, and called it intentional terror, did you mean that? Or was that the emotion of the moment?
KARZAI: Huh. Demons -- I have never used the word demon in the English language. The word "intentional terror," yes, I did use in the English language. It was my input into the statement that we made. This was intentional. When someone walks out of a military barrack and goes to kill villagers, that's intentional. And that's terrorism.
AMANPOUR: You mean individual, right? You don't mean that it was the U.S. doing that?
KARZAI: No. I didn't say the U.S. people. I said the individual. That individual committed terror, and of the most atrocious kind.
AMANPOUR: What should happen to him?
AMANPOUR: One of the issues that people look at a lot is the issue of democracy and progress in Afghanistan. You recently said that you might call for the next round of presidential elections to be moved up.
Can you assure your Western partners and the Afghan people that you will not seek another term as president, that you will abide by the constitution, which demands only two five-year terms, Mr. Karzai? I see you shaking your head already.
KARZAI: Well, well, I'm sure, Christiane, I will prove a lot of speculations wrong, as I have done in the past. So I like to -- I like to have a good country, a peaceful country, a respected country. And I like my children to be raised in this country. And that can only happen if we -- if we respect and remain committed to a way of life that we have adopted.
AMANPOUR: Absolutely. Will you step down?
KARZAI: Definitely. That's what the constitution of Afghanistan is asking. Even if the constitution allowed it, I wouldn't go ahead, because it's not right for one person to keep doing the job of the president for almost 12 years.
We need -- we need younger, fresher minds to come forward and do, in a perhaps more innovative way, things that we'll be doing so far and take the country forward. That's -- there's no question there. But whether the election should be in 2014 or 2013, the constitution says 2014.
But I've been thinking, with myself and some of my colleagues, that because of the heavy agenda of 2014, whether there will be a way forward for us, either in bringing the elections to 2013 or bringing the withdrawal of the international forces to 2013, that's something that I'm thinking about, I hope we'll find a way, or we can go and continue to have the election in 2014.
AMANPOUR: Got it. Let me just repeat it so that I'm completely satisfied that I heard you right. You are saying that, no matter what, no ifs, ands or buts, you will not stand for reelection, whether it's in 2013 or 2014?
KARZAI: Definitely not. I -- and I'm surprised when there is this question asked. I see a lot of Western politicians and media talking about the president, plotting to stay. No.
Afghanistan, ma'am, is inherently a democratic country. And I like to, as an Afghan, to prove that to myself and to the rest of the world, and leave a better legacy than continuing.
AMANPOUR: Mr. President, you've spoken quite eloquently about your vision for a -- for a better and more progressive future for your country. You have two children, you've just had another baby, and it's a girl, so congratulations to you.
KARZAI: Thank you.
AMANPOUR: Do you have a vision of a great future for your little girl and for other women and girls in Afghanistan, and do you worry that if the Taliban comes back in any form or fashion, whether it's a negotiated way or not, that it's going to be to the detriment of all the girls and women in Afghanistan again?
KARZAI: Christiane, the Taliban will not return to take power in Afghanistan. That is gone. That is done with. I wouldn't have told you this three years ago. But I can tell you this today, with confidence, that the Afghan people will not allow that.
Second, that if there is a peace process and a successful one, and as a result of that peace process the Taliban come back to participate in their own country and society, this has to be -- this has to be in accordance with the wishes of the majority of the Afghan people and the Afghan constitution.
And the Afghan people and the Afghan constitution have chartered their way forward into the future, where the Afghan woman will be equal partners with men in bringing this country to a better standard.
AMANPOUR: I hear what you're saying, and I understand about the constitution. But as you know, of course, the majority of the country, sadly, is still illiterate, despite the education gains. And as you also know, the Taliban, their interest was in having a basically anti-women Islamic caliphate.
What if some of these people come in and get government positions? Even if they say that they're going to abide by the constitution?
KARZAI: Even if they get government positions, that will not be the case. The country has changed, ma'am. It will be a great tragedy and misfortune for Afghanistan beyond imagination if that were to happen.
AMANPOUR: Agreed. On that note, Mr. Karzai, thank you so much for joining me.
KARZAI: Good to talk to you. All the best wishes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: President Karzai had a lot more to say about prospects of talks with the Taliban, and about how NATO might pursue the war on terror going forward. He made a lot of news, and I'll have the rest of our conversation on Friday, here on our program.
© e-Government of Afghanistan,
All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:96d39332-ad6d-46ac-9c59-2a42e87deb47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://president.gov.af/en/news/8864 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974634 | 2,630 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Who’s Breaking Through?
One of the most popular sections of most any news website is the entertainment page, where you can indulge the guilty pleasure of reading about the exploits and dirty secrets of the famous. YES! has spent 15 years covering the lifestyles of a different kind of star—ordinary people who are making breakthroughs that have the power to transform our lives.
Some of those breakthroughs start quietly but have a profound ripple effect. A writer in New York decides to see if he and his family can live for one year with no environmental impact—and inspires thousands more people to do the same. A plaid-tie-wearing banker from South Dakota makes loans only to people who are going to do some good in his community—and models a better form of banking. Some are big, ambitious, and spectacular—artwork large enough to be seen from space inspires climate activism around the world; social media feeds mass street demonstrations in Madison, Wisc., or Tunisia or Egypt.
In our 15th anniversary year, YES! will celebrate our Breakthrough 15: people who are developing some of the most promising new movements, practical solutions, or powerful ideas. They won’t be people who make the tabloids, but they will be people we think you should know about—individuals who are fundamentally changing what’s possible.
We’ll tell you some of their secrets, hopes, habits, turning points, triumphs, and stumbling blocks. These won’t be people to gawk at; they’ll be people to inspire us. Because at YES!, we believe that everyone can be powerful if given the tools.
So we’re asking, who is influencing the world around you? Who are your heroes, famous or unsung? Post your ideas in the comments below. If there’s a breakthrough hero you think we should recognize in the magazine or on our website, give us a few sentences that explain why and include links that provide information about their work.
Madeline Ostrander is senior editor of YES! Magazine.
- 15 Years of Saying YES! Video: 15 years ago, YES! Magazine's founders wondered if, amid the
doom and gloom, there was a place for journalism about hope and
- Van Jones and Bill McKibben helped us celebrate our 15th birthday at a party in Seattle, and brought down the house. Click here to watch their speeches.
That means, we rely on support from our readers.
Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported. | <urn:uuid:a5540aa0-4bd6-4d12-9896-e3aab30fc9c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/whos-breaking-through?icl=yesemail_wkly20110610&amp;ica=titleOstrander | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942578 | 523 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Posted by Sphinx on November 29, 2003
Could you please tell me, why 'q.d.s' means 4 times a day in a prescription?
Have you got any type of a typical prescription picture to show to me?
PS:I'm looking for some detailed info on climatic types around the world. If you know some websites of this kind, could you recommend them to me? I'd be especially interested in some climatic type graphs. | <urn:uuid:41c6f76f-efa9-4750-8550-0916a7a398db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/26/messages/667.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956945 | 95 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Greater Philadelphia EXPO Center, November 19-20
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows including The National Dog Show presented by Purina® will introduce six new breeds at their annual fall cluster of Shows November 19th and 20th at the Greater Philadelphia EXPO Center in Oaks, PA.
The six will be among over 160 American Kennel Club (AKC) sanctioned breeds on hand as almost 2,000 dogs compete for the prestigious title of “Best in Breed,” “Best of Group” and Best In Show.” The new breeds making their competition debut include the following:
Entlebucher Mountain Dog – These highly-energetic herding dogs are easy to train and possess an excellent work ethic. A native of Switzerland, the Entle is medium-sized, strongly muscled and generally tricolor, but can be black with tan markings.
Norwegian Lundehund is nicknamed the “Puffin Dog”, because it was originally used to hunt puffin- a kind of penguin. This loyal and playful dog makes an ideal, easy-to-live-with companion. It is a member of the Non-Sporting Group.
Xoloitzcuintli (pronounced show-low-eats-queen-tlee) is one of the world’s oldest breeds and is said to be the first canine of the Americas. Central American and Mexican lore is that the Xolo is able to ward off evil spirits and intruders. The breed comes in three sizes- toy, miniature, and standard – and makes an excellent companion. The Xolo is a member of theNon-Sporting Group.
American English Coonhound is a descendant of the English Foxhound. Bred to adapt to rougher terrain, this member of the Hound Group was typically used for fox and raccoon hunting. Renowned for his speed and endurance, the breed requires regular exercise and activity to stay in peak shape. These Coonhounds are pleasant and sociable with both humans and dogs.
Cesky Terrier is one of the Czech Republic’s national breeds. A less excitable breed of terrier, the Cesky was developed to be worked in packs and has traditionally been used in small game hunting. Sporting a silky charcoal coat, the Cesky requires moderate grooming. These active terriers require constant exercise and socialization.
Finnish Lapphund is native to the Arctic Circle and was originally used for reindeer herding. The Lappie has a sweet, expressive face which is constantly likened to that of a teddy bear. Its double coat makes it intolerant of heat. This friendly, sociable breed makes an excellent companion. The Lapphund is a member of the Herding Group.
The Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Shows run November 19 & 20 and include the taping for the broadcast of The National Dog Show presented by Purina® on NBC Thanksgiving Day to over 18 million viewers. Plan to bring the children! Get up close to the breeds and speak with their handlers. See Diving Dogs and Go Dog performances each day plus the MetroKids® Family Fun Zone showcases fun festivities that will make the weekend one to remember. Watch the Shows in person at the Greater Philadelphia EXPO Center at Oaks, located just off the Oaks exit of Route 22, 20 miles from Center City Philadelphia and just five miles from King of Prussia and Valley Forge. There’s plenty of free parking.
Tickets can be purchased online at nationaldogshow.com. Save some cash and experience all of the fur-raising fun twice with the two-day adult pass, which shaves $8 off regular two- day admissions. A one-day child ticket costs only $7, half of a one-day adult ticket. Plus, children 3 and under are admitted free.
This year, add 2,000 new best friends to your circle at the Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dogs Shows! Visit nationaldogshow.com for more details. Follow the Show for the latest updates on Facebook and Twitter!
Note: New Breed descriptions sourced from AKC.org | <urn:uuid:5c936486-7973-43ec-aa85-19731e688f85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dogfriendly.com/dognews/?p=1424 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944048 | 856 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Let’s look at what’s held in the hands. Headphones on the right and a book on the left offer a choice of diversions to Kyou, one modern (yet antique: that’s a CD player!), one old (yet hardly out of date). Both activities – reading and listening – cut one off from the outside world, though the headphones are a far more visible signal that, in common with Garbo (who was, like Kaiserpingvin, born where the word ‘ombudsman’ was invented) one vonts to be alone. Of course, we don’t know what’s written in the book, or what music might be playing in the headphones. Two unsolvable mysteries, unless there’s something I’m missing because I haven’t played Clannad or seen its anime adaption.
I note from Wikipedia’s information about Kyou that she frequently uses books as weapons, so perhaps this isn’t just a choice of diversions but also a choice between defensive retreat into the headphones and offensive action. If, however, a book in Kyou’s hands is a threat of attack, then it is a denatured threat: it’s a very flimsy book (the flowers on its cover reinforce this impression). Similarly, such large headphones strike me as utterly impractical for someone with that hairstyle. It may be significant that Kyou isn’t looking at what she’s holding, but rather out of the picture, at you/us. Are the threat of attack and the threat of retreat meant to be only a token resistance? | <urn:uuid:7988f824-a556-4288-af32-eb0e070c9ace> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://animanachronism.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/three-can-play-at-that-game/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959358 | 345 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Just a few short years ago most doctors were technophobic. You would have been hard-pressed to get a physician to consider electronic prescribing or logging-on to a web-based medical conference.
What a difference a few years can make. According to Manhattan Research, in 2009, 87% of US physicians are considered “ePharma” physicians. In other words, they use the internet and other technologies to interact with drug and biotech companies. That's up 23% since 2004.
The pharma industry is paying close attention to ePharma physicians. They are a force to be reckoned with.
With less time on their hands, doctors aren't relying on traditional sources of information such as journals and medical meetings as much as they used to. Instead, they are turning to the internet where they can view a web conference on-demand. That option offers docs the ability to have their information needs addressed while sitting in front of their PC after hours, or on the weekend instead of interfering with their day-to-day practice. Data from IMS Health reveals that traditional face-to-face, primary care detailing has been on the decline over the past several years.
“Doctors are using the internet a lot more than ever before to get information, we see that through our e-detailing and web conferences,” says Joe Regan, vice president, US sales for Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.
Millennium, which offers a number of online programs, is part of a growing number of pharma companies that are responding to the increasing reliance that physicians have on web-based information. Millennium has jumped head-first into the digital sales age with a variety of sales and training tools that include e-details, online seminars and virtual training sessions.
Regan noted that part of the challenge from a sales side is helping docs to organize relevant information to their practice. “When you start doing these searches on the internet and looking for information, it can be overwhelming. Regan added, “what we do is we integrate our sales representatives efforts into that, looking through the eyes of the physicians—if you think about the number of offerings and information that they are bombarded with on a day-to-day basis here is where a sales rep is critical in ensuring that the right program or the right product fits that particular physician's need.” Sales representatives serve as a resource to let physicians know of online programs that are available.
Industry analysts also predict an increasing role for the sales rep in one-on-one, rep-to-doc e-detailing, via teleconferences and webcasts. That's an area that Regan says his company is exploring.
Regan's colleague at Millennium, Christophe Bianchi, executive vice president of commercial operations, explains that fewer and fewer docs are attending medical conferences and are opting to get the abbreviated version, the highlights of what happened on the web. “It works extremely well. I think the challenge that people face right now is the balancing act of time spent, versus data they can collect,” says Bianchi.
Paulash Mohsen, vice president of strategy for Pfizer's Primary Care Business Unit, commented that Pfizer's whole model is premised on educating physicians and that the time squeeze has obvious implications for the pharma industry.
“The physicians need for information has actually gone up, not down,” he says. “Technology is a big factor across all of healthcare, including data capture, electronic medical records and prescribing, as well as a growing factor in the way physicians' access information.”Reinventing the Rep
Insiders point out that the sales force landscape remains under pressure and it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. As physicians increasingly have access to a growing body of clinical reference resources, product information, drug reference databases, comparative literature and clinical trials data “on demand” through digital channels, the likelihood of the individual sales rep to serve as a differentiated, proprietary, timely and convenient resource drops over time, notes Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research.“That is not to say the rep has no role in 2009 or 2010. In fact, the rep still wields significant influence in the product and treatment information mix for the average physician today.” Bard asserts that as the number of channels increases each year, the ability of the rep to go above and beyond those other channels—that undergo innovation each year—becomes harder with every passing year.
As pharma companies become leaner, they are also becoming smarter about how they handle costs and there is a realization for the first time that there is another way to do things. “Most of our customers are exploring and brainstorming about new business models for their commercial teams and how they achieve intimacy with their various stakeholders (prescribers, payers, etc.),” says Mark Fleischer, senior vice president and general manager North America for CegedimDendrite.
Bard points to a continued migration towards digital resources for product-specific information. Digital resources, collectively, now rival traditional offline sources in terms of time spent by a physician audience. “While the rep remains the single largest traditional resource, the collective value of the online channel is eating away at the allocation of time they spend using traditional resources such as journals, conferences and of course the individual sales representative,” says Bard.
Millennium's Regan says that while the traditional face-to-face encounter between rep and doctor will always be there, the dynamics of that relationship is changing. “I think that we have to address the question: What value are you bringing to me? I think it's important that we really begin honing in on the needs of those physicians. As long as we do that, the rep will always be relevant.”
Mark Gleason, SVP, corporate development for Aptilon, says that in the new environment, well trained reps will talk about a company's drug when it's convenient for the physician.
“The doctor-rep relationship that pharma has built the market around has become much more challenging,” he says. “Alternative access channels, such as applications on a physician's desktop, web-based tools and smart phones, increasingly are becoming a part of physician engagement.”
According to the results of a study by Manhattan Research, “Physicians in 2012: The Outlook for On Demand, Mobile and Social Digital Media,” physician smartphone adoption rates will experience significant growth over the next few years. Currently, 64% of US physicians own smartphones, but this will increase to 81% penetration in 2012.
Pfizer, for its part, is embracing a broader web arena including social media.
“We entered into a strategic partnership with Sermo to jointly develop services that provide value for and leverage the power of Sermo's online physician community,” says Mohsen.
Industry experts' note that as the commercial model changes, so is the amount of time the field reps are getting. As a result, drug companies are looking at being more productive with the field forces that they already have in place.
“What you're seeing now is a change from a highly compensated rep in certain areas to a little bit lower compensated rep for products that are a lot farther along in their lifecycle,” says Howard Drazner, president of Pharmakon, a PDI company that provides Peer Persuasion Programs.Drazner notes that pharma companies have also migrated more to what is called “non-personal promotion.” That's really the buzz today where they're trying to leverage both personal and non-personal together in more of a unified strategy where they can get more time with their customers based on tactics that their customers like to participate in.”Online training
Not only is the pharmaceutical industry using digital channels to disseminate information to physicians, internally they are using web-based programs to train their sales reps. The use of 3D animation, interactive games and video is catching-on.
“We have interactive training programs that are web-based,” says Millennium's Regan, who added that the initiative has shaved a week off of front end training and says that it's a much more effective use of time.
“Educational games now provide an additional vehicle for the pharmaceutical industry not only to communicate scientific and clinical information but to engage, educate and inspire audiences (physicians, patients and even caregivers) and with the most recent PhRMA guidelines, we don't see that changing,” said Andrea Bielecki, managing partner, InViVo Communications. InViVo specializes in 3D medical animation, medical illustration and interactive media.
Jennifer Randall, vice president of sales, Maestro eLearning explained that part of the solution is to “ditch the text” and engage individuals visually so that they are interested in learning the materials. “We also like to tell a story through the materials so they can relate it to their own experiences and apply their own knowledge,” she says. Maestro specialized in online training for sales reps at healthcare companies.
A recent US Department of Education meta-analysis and review of online learning studies revealed that classes with online learning (whether taught completely online or blended), on average, produce stronger student learning outcomes than classes with solely face-to-face instruction. Looking ahead
As the pharma sales force landscape undergoes significant change, what will the future look like? The number of pharma reps in the US has declined from its all time high just a few years ago. The bottom is expected to end up somewhere between 55,000 to 65,000 reps, almost half of what the force was half a decade ago.Amy Lombardi, executive director of marketing at PDI, expects to see a smaller, more educated and more informed prepared core force of pharma sales reps whose ability to access the physician and convey information is going to be enhanced through all the new channels. And with all the changes that are taking place—will the relationship between rep and physician become easier or harder? “It will depend on how well pharma companies actually listen to what the prescribers are saying they want with regards to their relationship with the pharmaceutical company and its information channels, both rep-based and electronic,” says Lombardi.
Studies indicate that docs are tired of having an army of reps sitting in their waiting room interrupting their day. Physicians still want to see reps—but when they come into their office they better bring value, they better know what they're talking about and they better be able to have a deeper, more meaningful conversation with the doctor not just a very high-level canned pitch of days of old.
“It's imperative for pharma companies to truly listen to what physicians want in crafting their future strategies in order to deliver quality, meaningful interactions with them. If they don't listen, getting access will be difficult,” says Lombardi.
Millennium's Regan asserts that “online” has profoundly changed how Oncologists, for example, get their information. Historically they got information through journals, meetings and sales reps and while they will continue to get that face-to-face with sales reps, Regan says that the industry has to be smarter in how they apply it.
In the new universe, instead of going to those meetings doctors now have the ability to access the same information online. “Instead of reading through every journal doctors have the ability to be able to find that information very quick and that's very pertinent to the practice—as opposed to just cruising through each article,” Regan says. “The companies that are going to be successful are the ones that understand that it's not just in providing information but its also organizing and delivering it in a manner which for that physician, fulfills the specific need that they are looking for, that helps manage their patients more effectively.”
E-Health: How doctors use communication technology
Increasingly, healthcare providers—from primary care physicians to specialists —have been incorporating communications technology into their practices to alleviate the tension between efficiency and quality in patient care. The more popular tools and uses include:
Email: Physicians commonly ask patients to email information they are unable to provide during office visits, such as lists of current medications, results from tests administered by other practitioners and so on. Physicians also encourage patients to email rather than call with disease- or treatment-related questions. Email as a communication tool enables physicians to indicate their willingness to provide attentive care while at the same time keeping the actual in-office visit free from inefficiencies such as trying to jog patients' memories about current treatments.
DR: You can also email directly to me or my secretary or my nurse if you need a refill, or need to change your prescription or if you have a question for me, or if you want to pass any information on to me here. (Rheumatologist with new-to-biologic patient)
Clinic-Specific Internet Sites: A growing number of physicians are developing their own websites and online patient registration tools as a means to keep patients informed about health- and treatment-related topics that concern the local community. The advantage physicians have in these websites is the ability to post content that is relevant to the local patient community, as well to proactively communicate with select patient groups via email addresses provided during online registration.
DR: The advantage to signing up on our website is we have your email address and so when our flu shots come in, we can send an email to everyone. (Primary care physician with OAB patient)
Health-Related Internet Sites: At times, physicians point patients to online health resources to supplement disease and treatment education provided during office visits. These resources range from branded and unbranded websites to independent resources that help patients become better managers of their own health. Because physicians have limited time to communicate and check patient understanding of treatment information, they often look to these resources to help shoulder the burden of providing lengthy and comprehensive patient education.
DR: I'd use that until the tree pollen is gone. And if you get on pollen.com, the website, they'll send you a daily email if you tell them your ZIP code. (Pediatrician with allergic rhinitis patient)
With the average in-office visit lasting less than 10 minutes, physicians do not have the time to conduct comprehensive patient education, nor to attend to the softer communication challenges of encouraging patients to remember forgotten information or share latent concerns and fears. Through these tools and resources, physicians are effectively able to close the in-office visit with an open-ended tone, reminding patients that advice and assistance are never more than a few keystrokes away.
Jeff Kozloff is co-founder, president and CEO at Verilogue and David Franke is director of linguistic insights and analysis at Verilogue
Pharma marketing: A model for maximizing
The sales force remains pharma's most effective means of building product awareness, stimulating trial and adoption and growing demand for branded drugs. Representatives rely on marketing to produce materials to communicate and position a product favorably and aid in motivating the physician's prescribing habits.
Companies are increasingly challenged to provide materials that are useful to all of their stakeholders: physician, patient and payer. But materials must also be useful for the sales force. The challenge for any company is to identify the most valuable materials for all stakeholders.
Re-engineering the Process
Shire recently used a simple but powerful methodology to clarify which programs and/or materials are most successful and then redirected their expenditures toward those tactics to increase both rep effectiveness and physician prescribing behavior.
The ADHD business is very complex and there are multiple groups of physicians and patients to address. Of the many promotional materials developed for this broad swath of the population, Shire faced a key strategic question involving the Pareto principle: did 20% of the materials produced deliver 80% of the value to the sales force? If so, then promotional effectiveness could be significantly improved by understanding which promotional materials had the greatest value to the sales force.
Healogix was asked to carry out research with the sales force to get answers to these two questions:
- Which promo pieces were most effective (according to reps)?
- Would the company be better off spending more money on fewer programs rather than a diverse portfolio of materials?
Identifying What Works
With the cooperation and direction from Shire's sales and marketing leadership, over 80% of the sales force participated in a secure 15 minute internet survey. The survey utilized the MAXDIFF method, which requires respondents to repeatedly indicate which attributes are best and worst. It is a simple but robust task which allows for testing a large number of attributes in a variety of contexts.
Each sales rep evaluated 40 tactics in 12 separate tasks. Each task consisted of a list of five attributes and reps evaluated how well the attribute engages the physician in dialogue and whether the information increased physician prescribing, with the goal of identifying information that achieved both objectives. The output assigns a winning percentage to each sales tactic on each dimension—how often each tactic “wins” against all other tactics. The most valuable tactic overall won decisively in both categories— 91% of reps reported that Program A allowed greater access and 95% said it increased prescribing volume. The next closest tactic, Book A, ranked 72% and 89%, respectively.
Regardless of rep tenure or share, reps consistently selected the same tactics as most and least valuable. The survey showed that the top five tactics accounted for 20% of all the “wins.”
As a result of this engagement, the company was able to determine which programs and/or materials really provided significant value to the sales force and to the physician customers whom they serve. Shire has continued to use other approaches to drive maximum value from its sales force to its customers.
Harris Kaplan is CEO and founder at Healogix and Tim O'Rourke is chief research officer at Healogix | <urn:uuid:0a769bf9-b900-47bc-b01b-ff017f7c810b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mmm-online.com/sales-force-report-the-online-rep/printarticle/156638/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962755 | 3,703 | 1.835938 | 2 |
|Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 10-11, 12, overview||WhyProphets.com|
possible interpretation of
Elsewhere I said that the traditional interpretation of Daniel 11 was very weak, and that there are bound to be better ones. OK, you want to call my bluff? You want an interpretation of Daniel 11? Then I'll do my best.
Left: Angels have access to information
I must stress that much of this is speculation. Modern prophets have commented on verses 32 to the end, but the earlier verses are still not revealed. On the other hand, if I have made mistakes (I probably have), they can't be any worse than the nonsense put forward by most other interpreters.
|Keys to Daniel 11|
The Modern Apostle, Orson Pratt
identified verses 32-34 as referring to the 1260 "days" of apostasy (in Journal of Discourses (JD), Vol.7, p.219 - See the main quotations page for details).
Bruce R. McConkie, in The Millennial Messiah, identified the verses after that as referring to the battle of Armageddon. One day I may put up a web page about this. But in the meantime...
How this web site is different
Most interpreters apply this chapter to obscure individual kings from the north or south. This web site is different. Here the prophecies are only applied to the biggest and most important players in all history.
This web site is dedicated to the notion that God is the God of all people, not just historians. God does not use secret codes or obscure history - just the big events we will all have heard of!
Who are the kings of the north and south?
Who are the "kings" of this chapter? Even the followers of the majority view (the Antiochus theory) admit that there was more than one "king" in each instance. And as we found when discussing kings and horns, a "king" can also represent a kingdom.
Who are the north and south? If the Bible world was divided into "north" and "south", then just like today, Europe was the "North" (the new kingdoms, the rich world), and Africa and the East (from the Near East to India) would be the "South". These are the old kingdoms. So "North" would include Rome and Greece, and "South" would include Egypt and Persia.
So "king of the north" in a general sense means the big powers like Greece and Rome. In a specific sense "the king" represents one of the great kings, such as Julius Caesar, Trajan, or Constantine.
If I was pushed to explain every verse, I would go for something like this:
|Daniel 11, a possible explanation|
In general it will be seen that the north defeats the south (a fair summary of the last 2500 years of world history, I think historians would agree!). Ultimately both north and south fall before the Kingdom of God.
Daniel 11:1-4: From Persia to Alexander the Great.
As noted above, these verses are pretty straight forward.
Daniel 11:5-13 - the death of the ancient empires
Remember, these are just possibilities. I am not prophesying, just speculating. Why? To show that (a) there is nothing compelling about alternative explanations, (b) Daniel 11 is consistent with the other interpretations on this web site, and (c) the weaknesses of speculation when compared with revelation!
Verse 6: "in the end of years" may imply the big, overall picture. Perhaps a summary of what is to follow?
The "daughter" of the king of the south: This is common prophetic imagery for the people of a nation. For example, Zechariah's great Messianic prophecy (Zecheraiah 9:9-10 - fulfilled in Matthew 21 and John 12) refers to the "daughter of Zion" or "daughter of Jerusalem" for the people of the Holy Land. Micah 4:10 uses similar language. It is even more common for Israel to be referred to a as a woman, a bride, with the Lord as a bridegroom. This imagery is not unique to Israel - Jeremiah refers to the people of Babylon as the "daughter of Babylon" at least twice (50:42 and 51:33).
So the "Daughter of the king of the south" should probably be read as "the people of the south". Ultimately the people of Egypt and Persia (the old powers) had to make peace on the terms of the more powerful northern kingdoms (Greece and Rome). So Daniel 11:6 is perhaps a summary of the end of the ancient powers, which is then expanded in verses 7 to 13.
Let us look closer at the symbolism, before looking at the literal history of this period:
|The ancient empires of the south||The covenant people|
|Ultimate destiny: to become weaker, fail, and die||Ultimate destiny: to be restored in the last days|
|One of the great princes (verse 5) is "above" the king of the south||One of the great princes (Michael) is in heaven, helping the church|
|In the end of years the prince particularly helps the nations||In the end of years Michael particularly helps the saints|
|Daughter (verse 6 - the people?) to be in a position of weakness||Daughter (people) to have cause to rejoice|
|Branch (verse 7 - a significant leader?) to have only temporary success||Branch (Jesus - see Isaiah 11) to be King of Kings|
|Egypt (verse 8 - compare Revelation 11:8) can be symbolic for wickedness||Zion (the capital city of the church) is symbolic of righteousness|
|False gods and material wealth (verse 8)||The true God and spiritual wealth|
|Sons (verse 10 - leaders?) use military means||Sons (believers) use faith and love|
|Multitudes (verse 12-13 - soldiers?) come to nothing||Multitudes (heavenly hosts) have something more lasting and worthwhile|
So much for the spiritual interpretation of verses 5 to 13. What about the literal history? We could resort to some minor obscure ruler like Antiochus, or we could look at the well-known Punic wars and other major events of the time. I won't spend much time on this - there are numerous possible correlations between these verses and recorded history. They may have been of special interest to Daniel's time, but to us they are just ancient history.
Daniel 11:14-19 - the rise of the Roman Empire
14: identifying Rome: this was discussed earlier, under "keys"
15-16: the successes of Rome
17: Cleopatra: Since I am having fun interpreting this scripture, I may as well stick in some of my favorite historical events, such as the fall of Egypt, ending in 30 BC.
18: Britain (and other isles of the sea): As a died-in-the-wool Brit, I cannot resist the urge to see references to Britain in this chapter! Obviously these events were processes that took years, so there is plenty of overlap. Daniel's order is essentially correct. The conquest of Egypt covered the centuries up to 30 BC. The conquest of Britain began with a visit in 55 BC (during Caesar's conquest of Gaul), and was completed in the battles of AD 44. Caesar's successes here and elsewhere allowed him to lose his reproach, and gain favour and become Dictator.
19: Et tu, Brutus?: Caesar, after changing Rome forever, did not last...
Daniel 11:20-22 - Augustus, Herod, and Christ
20: "that all the world should be taxed" - Caesar Augustus, familiar to anyone who has heard the Nativity story from Luke 2 - was there ever a more famous "raiser of taxes"?
21: "a vile person" Herod gained a foothold in the estate of Rome, not by battles, but by flattery
22: The death of the Messiah: Note the reference to opposition like a "flood", the same term used to describe opposition to Jesus' church in Revelation 12:14-17.
Daniel 11:23-27 - the height, and decline, of Rome
23: more success for the Romans: Trajan was another highly significant emperor, who saw he very height of Rome's power. His reign marks the freeing of John from Patmos, and the end of the Apostolic era. He was the first emperor from the provinces ("with only a few people he will rise to power" - NIV). Starting with his predecessor, Nerva, emperors were no longer chosen by heredity. So Roman politics (i.e. "working deceitfully") became the route to power.
24-25: unprecedented success: The height of the Roman Empire's power was when Trajan was the first to conquer the Parthians (the eastern end of the empire). He also had successes against other kings of the south, including Arabia.
26-27: the roots of decline: the Roman empire was officially divided into East and West, hence "two kings". The empire became decadent, lazy, and corrupt with its excessive riches. Its wealth - the food at its table -seemed to indicate its success. Instead it indicated that its days were numbered.
Daniel 11:28-30 - when Rome embraced "Christianity"
28: Constantine: Constantine the Great was an exceptional military leader - his great successes in Britain and elsewhere allowed him to return and become emperor. His interest was primarily with the Christian church - "the holy covenant".
29: Not like the old times: Constantine renewed interest in the south, especially the Holy Land. He had an unprecedented interest in buying up "holy" sites and building monuments. But it was not like former times - the apostles were long dead.
30: Justinian and the sixth century: New paragraph (the backwards "P" sign in the King James Bible), new subject. "Ships of Chittim" just means "ships from across the Mediterranean". There came a time when the Mediterranean was no longer controlled by just the Romans. There were the Vandals in North Africa, the Ostrogoths in Italy, and various other groups. The acts of Justinian against these incomers was the final sign before the start of the European reign. It had a devastating effect on the remains of the true church (the holy covenant), and favored the apostate church (those who forsake the holy covenant).
Daniel 11:31 onward: from the Dark Ages
31: "arms shall stand on his part": If "he" is the northern powers, and the period in question is triumph of the medieval church, then the "arms" would refer to the final invasions of Italy, which ensured the power of that church.
31: "pollute the sanctuary of strength": A sanctuary is somewhere that people are safe from attack. "Pollute" in this context would be spiritual pollution.
31: "take away the continuous state": From the days of Christ until the final triumph of the medieval church,, there had been an unbroken line of faith, albeit constantly weakening. But no more.
31: "place the abomination that maketh desolate": The medieval church (an abomination) was in place. This abomination and desolation took a couple of hundred years to happen (the desolation could also refer specifically to the destruction of Rome after medieval Christianity was accepted).
32 plus: General comments on the Medieval church:. The blasphemy, desire for power, persecution of the saints - it is all familiar.
The last verses of Daniel 11: Armageddon
The simplest explanation of these verses is that they refer to the battle of Armageddon (see reference to Bruce R. McConkie, above). This web site focuses mainly on prophecies that have ALREADY been fulfilled, not those that are ABOUT to be fulfilled. So I will leave it at that.
I must stress once again, that most of this is pure speculation. The simple message is that there are various wars and politics up to the last days, and the various groups are summarized as "north" and "south". No doubt the details will become clear as we study more history. But for the non-historian, God has not provided an interpretation for every verse, so the simple message is all we need to know for now.
the bottom line
God knows world history before it happens - and is in control. That is what really matters. | <urn:uuid:cd4b90ec-765a-4a76-8586-2b2c23e51ad8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.exmormon.org.uk/tol_arch/whyprophets/prophets/daniel11.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959698 | 2,618 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Expect it soon
Some rather nasty malware, designed to stuff up Android devices, has tipped up in China. Uncovered by NQ Mobile, the "Bill Shocker" (a.expense.Extension.a) virus has hit 620,000 users in China and is expected to be seen in the West soon.
The Bill Shocker is an SDK designed by malware developers that infects several of the most popular apps in China, including Tencent QQ Messenger and Sohu News. The infected versions of these apps are further distributed by third-party online app stores and retail installation channels.
It downloads in the background, without arousing the mobile device owner's suspicion. The infection can then take remote control of the device, including the contact list, Internet connections and dialling and texting. It turns the phone into a "zombie," and sends text message to the profit of advertisers. In many cases, the threat will overrun the user's bundling quota, which subjects the user to additional charges, which is why it is dubbed “bill shocker.”
Because Bill Shocker can be used to send costly messages remotely, NQ Mobile believes it poses a serious threat to Android users. NQ Mobile has issued a fix and alerted Chinese mobile carriers of the threat to prevent its further spread. | <urn:uuid:313399a2-8d4a-4886-b54b-72ac4bffa4b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fudzilla.com/home/item/30334-vicious-android-malware-surfaces-in-china | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943437 | 270 | 1.835938 | 2 |
AUSTIN — More students in Texas have taken the SAT but their average scores for reading, math and writing are down.
The Texas Education Agency on Monday provided Scholastic Aptitude Test figures from the College Board. The report found 2012 scores fell overall for public school students in Texas and nationally compared to a year ago.
TEA says 156,486 public school students or 58 percent of the 2012 class took the college admissions exam. That's a 5.7 percent increase from 2011.
The statewide number of Hispanics taking the SAT jumped 65 percent since the class of 2008. The number of African-American test-takers rose 29 percent. The number of white students taking the SAT increased 9 percent.
Education Commissioner Michael Williams says increased minority participation is important because of the state's changing demographics. | <urn:uuid:ef892207-4d6c-4265-b009-29084ecfb8e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caller.com/news/2012/sep/25/overall-texas-sat-scores-slip-class-2012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94058 | 164 | 1.695313 | 2 |
'Grey's Anatomy' (ABC) / Jordin Althaus ABC
Your Friday morning health roundup:
Doctors as bystanders: Having a crowd of specialists on your case when you are hospitalized with a serious illness may not be such a good thing. Doctors trying to solve medical problems in groups are prone to the same sort of "bystander effect" that sometimes keeps people in crowds from helping crime victims, say doctors who describe such a case this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. They say no one took charge of the patient, who had multiple problems, until a crisis occurred 11 days into his hospitalization. (ABC News)
Unknown risk: One third of people getting CT scans did not know they were being exposed to radiation and just 1 in 20 knew that each scan slightly increases the lifetime risk of cancer, finds a survey from one medical center. While benefits often outweigh risks, more patients should know about the risks, doctors say. (Reuters)
The skin he is in: The man who was once the world's fattest has lost more than two-thirds of his former 980 pounds, but now has a super-sized version of a common problem: huge swaths of excess skin. Paul Mason of Ipswich, England, is awaiting approval for surgery to remove what doctors estimate is 75 pounds of flesh. (ABC News)
Today's talker: The late comedian Gilda Radner "would have cried" if she knew that some of the cancer support clubs named after her were changing their names, says Gene Wilder, her widower, in an interview published on Web2Carz, an automotive and lifestyle website. As the Huffington Post reports, several branches of Gilda's Club remain under her name, but others have rebranded themselves because they say young clients don't know who Radner was.
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Health roundup: Too many doctors can spoil your care | <urn:uuid:398bf6ad-d6d7-470d-9754-24231bd015e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/1808567 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974394 | 398 | 1.726563 | 2 |
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