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The United States plans to deploy Patriot missile batteries and about 400 troops to Turkey following the announcement of a similar move by Germany.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has signed orders to authorize the plan, the New York Times
reported on Friday.
Washington will provide two out of six Patriot missile batteries, while Germany and the Netherlands will each contribute two.
According to a US Defense Department official, it will take three weeks to ship and station the two batteries in Turkey.
On December 4, the NATO military alliance approved Ankara’s request for the deployment of Patriot surface-to-air missiles along its border with Syria.
All the six Patriot batteries, which will be under NATO’s command and control, are scheduled to be operational near the Turkey-Syria border by the end of January 2013.
On December 6, the German cabinet approved the deployment of missiles and 400 troops to the border region.
The German foreign and defense ministries said in a joint statement, “The deployment of Patriot air defense systems in close cooperation with the Netherlands and the US underlines Germany’s reliability as an ally.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on November 22 that Berlin would meet the Turkish demand, saying NATO should as well approve Turkey’s request as a NATO member.
The Syrian government has censured the Turkish request, calling it another act of provocation by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Many people, including large numbers of Syrian security forces, have been killed over the past months of unrest in Syria that began in March 2011.
Damascus says certain Western states, especially the United States, and their regional allies including Turkey are trying to fuel the turmoil.
On November 28, the New York Times
reported that the US administration “is considering deeper intervention to help push [Syrian] President Bashar al-Assad from power.” | <urn:uuid:3f96608f-23e5-4237-810c-a55a6a7a47c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/14/277937/us-to-send-missiles-troops-to-turkey/ | 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 | 0.956694 | 386 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Millions of American families are feeling the burden of ever-increasing gasoline prices. I join them in their anger and frustration over the rising price of gas, and I want to do something about it.
I recently joined a group of my Senate colleagues in sponsoring a bill, S. 2222, which will give federal regulators immediate authority to invoke emergency powers to rein in speculators who are responsible for rapidly rising gasoline prices.
There is broad agreement among energy experts and economists that speculators are one of the causes for the rapidly rising price of gas. Domestic oil production has risen to its highest level in a decade, oil supplies are greater today than they were three years ago and demand for oil in the United States is lower today than it was in 1997. Yet gas prices continue to soar.
There is something wrong with this equation. There is no logical reason why gas prices should continue to rise if oil supplies are up and demand is down.
The American Trucking Association, Delta Airlines, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and other experts all say excessive oil speculation in the futures markets significantly increases crude oil and gasoline prices. A Feb. 27 article in Forbes Magazine cited a recent report by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, pointing out that excessive oil speculation adds 56 cents to the price of a gallon of gas.
This “speculators” bill would set a 14-day deadline for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to take emergency steps to stop excessive speculation by Wall Street traders in the crude oil, gasoline and other energy futures markets. Also co-sponsoring the measure are: U.S. senators Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Nelson (D-FL).
Today, speculators control more than 80 percent of the energy futures market, a figure that has more than doubled over the past decade. As gasoline prices near or surpass $4 a gallon, the CFTC still has not complied with a provision in the Wall Street reform law that required the agency to establish trading limits by Jan. 17, 2011.
It is time to take decisive action now to stop financial speculators who are helping to drive up prices for all of us at a time we can least afford it. | <urn:uuid:8be3ef45-f054-4daa-9352-260b52db018e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://takomapark.patch.com/blog_posts/we-need-decisive-action-to-stop-wall-street-speculation-that-is-driving-up-gas-prices-for-american-families | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949167 | 488 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Urban landscapes never cease to inspire artists to create magnificent projects like the Never Ending Story street art done by Lump, Chaza and Polish duo Sepe. These street painters gathered their talents and skills to develop a lager-than-life graffiti wall that forms an incredible narrative.
Found in the streets of Szczecin, Poland, the giant murals are colorful and funny. The art work consists of exaggerated cartoons composed of multiple characters. They have deformed body features that make them look funny and awkward; additionally, they're in the middle of comical situation like driving a cardboard car. These subjects seem to be making fun of society, or least they're trying to make a social commentary, like most street art pieces do.
What's more interesting about the Never Ending Story street art is the use of intense colors and attention to detail.
1,165 clicks in 80 w
More Stats +/- | <urn:uuid:c35879b1-09b7-40cb-b40e-7c12a017a365> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/never-ending-story-street-art | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938872 | 184 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Alex Coles, Catharine Rossi (Eds.)
|Knut ÅsdamThe long gaze, the short gaze|
Essays by Philippe Pirotte, Simon Sheikh, Kaja Silverman
Foreword by Solveig Øvstebø
For several decades Norwegian artist Knut Åsdam has worked independently and uncompromisingly with his artistic projects, and he is today considered one of the central contemporary practitioners of film and video art. This book appears as a result of Åsdam’s 2010 exhibition at Bergen Kunsthall, and the production of his two new films Abyss and Tripoli (both 2010).
Concepts like transformation and relocation constitute a thematic framework for most of Åsdam’s works. In his films and photographs, for example, relocation is about the migration of people between land areas, or about physical movement and the bodily experience of architecture in urban surroundings. Transformation is a key word in terms of social, economic, linguistic, psychological, identity-related and architectural processes of change. Underlying this is an awareness that the meaning of architecture is changeable and that it is experienced and expressed differently by different social groupings. Perhaps even more than before, the places portrayed are themselves central to the new films Abyss and Tripoli, not only as generic urban surroundings, but also with their distinct histories, demographic conditions, and architecture.
Åsdam has long worked with the exploration of all the components of the language of film, and consequently the filmic has also become a central theme in this book. Under the title The long gaze, the short gaze, this publication presents a collection of new commissioned texts that do not only deal with the new films, but also place them in a retrospective context with the whole of Åsdam’s film production in the 2000s.
Co-published with Bergen Kunsthall
Design by blank blank | <urn:uuid:00edd1e3-20bd-44a0-bfa4-b0cf0dd8e36e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=1307&l=en&bookId=202&sort=year%20DESC | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95738 | 395 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Well, the short answer is that it doesn't. In stark contrast to the LDC figure, a retail report by local surveyors FHP (who have a pretty forensic knowledge of the patch) puts the vacancy rate for Nottingham at less than 12%, adding that there is an "encouraging stability in Nottingham's retail economy". And the Association of Town Centre Management and others have called the LDC figures "fatally flawed", saying the boundaries used to define a town centre have not been updated since 2004.
The biggest discrepancy is due to the LDC including areas which most would simply not recognise as Nottingham's city centre; suburbs such as Alfreton Road, Derby Road, and Sneinton. This skews the figures and paints an inaccurate and misleading picture of Nottingham's retail position.
Of course Nottingham struggles with the same economic circumstances as the rest of the UK. It also has to cope with the aftermath of the sale from Westfield to Capital Shopping Centres of the (truly hideous) Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, which is thankfully now due for redevelopment. CSC has committed to its plans for redeveloping Broadmarsh in its interim results, and there is obviously a significant effect on vacancy figures as many units in Broadmarsh have been emptied in readiness for this excellent advance in regeneration for the city.
CSC chief executive David Fischel is also robust in the city's defence. "Nottingham isn't facing a challenge any different from other UK cities and we're now telling our investors that this is the best city centre redevelopment opportunity in the UK." And better still "Our investment plans are grounded on the belief that Nottingham is a great city and has the potential to be even better."
Now I am a huge fan of the Local Data Company, and of its chief, Matthew Hopkinson, but I would urge them to look again in this instance. Current thinking is to consolidate and concentrate your retail offer. Nottingham has done and is doing this, and that should be recognised in the survey area used. Nottingham may not have been one of the Portas Pilots, but it was already adopting most of her findings before her report was even released.
And the Nottingham people themselves would identify a boundary that reflects that the shops and other amenities (rather a diverse offer, with healthy independents alongside multiples) have been consciously concentrated into a defined city centre; one that is manageable, walkable and on a refreshingly human scale. Pedestrian footfall, car park use and bus use for Nottingham city centre were all up at the end of last year.
The BID is flourishing. Using the wrong criteria and wrong city centre boundaries can only give rise to misleading figures. And it's a bit tough on the likes of Invest In Nottingham which works so hard to present the city as a go-ahead vibrant place.
All in all, there's been a rigorous rebuttal from Nottingham City Council, led from the front by the clarion call in defence of his city by councillor Chapman. Anyone who knows the patch will tell you people stream in from the entire East Midlands and beyond for the shopping experience, particularly strong on high end comparison shopping with all the luxury brands represented (and recent new outlets include Aubin & Wills, Keihl's, Cath Kidston, Patisserie Valerie and Thackerays; with Hugo Boss due to invest a further £1m to open a dirty great store before Christmas).
Of course the "edge of centre places" are very important. But they need different solutions (UKR is hoping to tackle one such edge of centre place in Nottingham in the near future) and they should not be muddled with the city centre itself. The emphasis should be on the word "centre". A city centre should not be muddled with its hinterland. Look again, Matthew, look again. | <urn:uuid:7586687d-11dc-4a10-9682-1d3126e53f6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/jackie-sadek/2012/09/i-was-pleased-to-hear.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965928 | 781 | 1.5 | 2 |
Senior GIRLtopia Facilitator Guide
The companion "How To Guide" for adult volunteers offer key information about the journey, its awards, and its leadership benefits, and step-by-step sample plans for how journey sessions can unfold as girls meet. The adult guides also feature sections on Girl Scout history as well as understanding girls at each grade level. Each "How To Guide"/Journey Book Set has everything adult volunteers need to enjoy this amazing journey. Just bring your enthusiasm and sense of adventure. Set contains How To Guide and GIRLtopia Girl's Book. | <urn:uuid:fc94b28b-c48d-4f02-8408-f01fc4479855> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gsmists.org/girl-scout-seniors/senior-girltopia-facilitator-guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93029 | 118 | 1.53125 | 2 |
White House Responds to Rodman’s North Korea Comments
ABC News(NEW YORK) — Hours after former NBA star Dennis Rodman made headlines for comments regarding North Korea, the White House responded, saying that North Korea must be willing to “choose the path of peace.”
After returning from an unprecedented visit to North Korea last week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman appeared on This Week with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday morning.
During the interview, Rodman said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, “He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him.”
Later Sunday, the White House responded to ABC regarding Rodman’s comments.
“The U.S. has direct channels of communication with the DPRK,” said Caitlin Hayden, spokesman for the National Security Council.
“We have urged the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama’s call to choose the path of peace and come into compliance with is international obligations,” Hayden said, adding that “North Korea’s actions, however, directly violate UN Security Council resolutions and threaten international peace and security.”
Rodman was joined on the trip by members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and a camera crew from the upcoming HBO series, Vice. During the trip, the Americans were welcomed with an itinerary including ice skating, dinner and drinks, and a basketball exhibition, during which Rodman sat courtside with the North Korean leader.
The White House response urged the North Korean dictator to focus on the well-being of North Korea’s people who have been “starved, imprisoned and denied their human rights,” instead of staged sporting events.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment. | <urn:uuid:dd9575f2-e6c1-4135-827b-04abb6165d65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wimsradio.com/2013/03/03/white-house-responds-to-rodmans-north-korea-comments/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945333 | 378 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Sadly, Alabama’s public relations nightmare is self-inflected. The anti-immigrant bill passed with big majorities in both houses of the state Legislature. Gov. Robert Bentley did not hesitate to sign HB56 into law. Why, it was the nation’s toughest anti-immigrant law, supporters crowed.
In the aftermath, decades of hard work to erase Alabama’s reputation for intolerance were seriously injured. As portions of the law are nibbled at by federal courts, the PR disaster for the state continues to unfold.
Inside the state, farmers complained of crops spoiled in their fields for lack of pickers. Some school administrators balked at turning from educator to immigration-status minder. Major religious denominations took the state to court, claiming some provisions against assisting illegal immigrants violated biblical tenets of care for all. Local law enforcers expressed confusion at their precise role.
Outside the state, Alabama’s competitors for economic development pile on. The not-so-subtle message is that manufacturers and their jobs should stay clear of the state lest they be tainted by association.
Hence, the Post-Dispatch noted the recent arrest in Tuscaloosa of a Mercedes executive from Germany who wasn’t carrying the documents noting he was in the country legally. “Our state has many advantages over Alabama. We are the Show-Me State, not the ‘Show me your papers’ state,” the newspaper editorialized. “Our Legislature is hostile on the immigration issue, but not as hostile as Alabama’s or Arizona’s.”
A small-town mayor in south Alabama says the law has already wounded his efforts to recruit industry. Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day said the law “hurt us,” making “a hard job just a little bit harder.”
“It’s a huge problem, because people don’t understand how much we rely upon different cultures of the world to maintain our growth here in Alabama,” David Bronner, chairman and CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, recently told The Birmingham News.
Each incident, each court battle, each documented instance of harassment puts Alabama under the glare of an uncomfortable spotlight. The people of Alabama deserve better.
The pain is apparently being felt in the state’s political circles. Several Montgomery Republicans, including Bentley, have suggested the law needs some tweaking. That would be a start.
Bentley recently took to his Twitter account to note “this law is NOT racist/racially motivated, we’re asking that the Federal Gov’t enforce the law that is already in place.”
For starters, it’s never a winning argument to begin with the stipulation that a law is not racist. However, the governor is correct on the point that the federal government has made a mess of dealing with illegal immigration. President George W. Bush offered a reasonable solution during his second term, only to have his fellow Republicans in Congress blast it out of the water.
The governor misses the mark in claiming HB56 merely asks the feds to enforce immigration law. The law Bentley signed is an ill-considered and tangled mess that harasses folks at the bottom of the economic ladder while turning every state employee into a border-patrol officer.
Here’s a suggestion for the governor. When the Legislature meets in 2012, he has the opportunity to push for (a.) a repeal of HB56 and (b.) a resolution asking Washington to fix a problem of its own making. | <urn:uuid:9f8ee82b-078c-47fd-960a-63d79e8adf1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/16608120/article-Not-as-hostile-as-Alabama | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964256 | 734 | 1.625 | 2 |
I used to hold the view that it was a good idea to use a “compressed” format for contracts, with narrow margins, long paragraphs, and small print, so as to fit on fewer physical pages. It was my experience that readers tend to react negatively when they see a document with “many” pages.
I’ve since concluded, though, that if you expect to have to negotiate the contract terms, then larger print, shorter paragraphs, and more white space:
- will make it easier for the other side to review and redline the draft — always a nice professional courtesy that might just help to earn a bit of trust; and
- will make it easier for the parties to discuss the points of disagreement during their inevitable mark-up conference call.
A more-readable contract likely will likely get you to signature more quickly, and that of course, is the goal.
(At least that’s the intermediate goal — ordinarily, the ultimate goal should be to successfully complete a transaction, or to establish a good business relationship, in which each party feels it received the benefit of its bargain and would be willing to do business with the other side again.) | <urn:uuid:191e222f-ff8e-48fc-94d4-e75c054aa9cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techlawnotes.com/why-a-longer-contract-might-get-signed-faster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965447 | 244 | 1.679688 | 2 |
September 27, 2000
The Office of Undergraduate Admission may have accepted almost 10 percent fewer students this year, but that reduction was still not enough to stop the class from exceeding its target enrollment by more than 100 students. At 1,593 students, the incoming class exceeds the Office of Undergraduate Admission's target enrollment by 118. The average SAT score was 1295.
"We're becoming a more attractive place for students to attend," says Richard Whiteside, vice president for enrollment management. "Our outreach is greater than it's ever been before. We're in contact with many more students, and I think the message about what we're doing here is getting more effectively into the kids' hands."
That's the only explanation Whiteside could offer. From a pool of 8,245 applications, undergraduate admission accepted 6,011 students this year, 534 fewer than last. It, however, enrolled 1,593 students, just 39 fewer than last year. The 8 percent drop in offers resulted in only a 2 percent drop in enrollments.
"We accepted a lot fewer students this year than last, but we had a much bigger increase in yield," said Whiteside. This year's yield-the percentage of students offered admission who choose to enroll-was 26.5 percent, up 1.6 percent over last year's yield and 3.1 percent over 1998's enrollment, which hit the enrollment target of 1,475.
Whiteside adds that financial aid offers made to this year's class remained at the same level as last year, so financial aid is not a factor. After two consecutive years with a larger-than-anticipated freshman class, Whiteside hopes to bring next year's class back to the target of 1,475.
"We want to increase the yield, reduce the number of acceptances and increase the quality," Whiteside says. To do this, Whiteside says admission is adjusting its strategy for recruiting students. Two changes have already been made.
One was the reinstituting of its Early Action application, which enables prospective students who submit their applications by Nov. 1 to be notified of Tulane's decision by Dec. 15. Regular admission, in contrast, has an application date of Jan. 15 with offers to be made by April 1. There is also a new Fast Track Application.
"We've invited the best 35,000 students in the inquiry pool to apply to us with the application fee waived," Whiteside says. "They got them the last week in August and we're already beginning to get some of them back."
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 504-865-5000 [email protected] | <urn:uuid:3a3a83dc-2324-470a-abd0-23fc447bb0bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tulane.edu/news/releases/archive/2000/admission_yields_results.cfm?RenderForPrint=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976588 | 547 | 1.640625 | 2 |
In response to Chris Daley’s Dec. 28 Opinion page column:
You quoted the Second Amendment correctly. However, like all good liberals you took part of the Second Amendment out of context and added your own interpretation to the statement, “A well regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state…” To you, that sounded like the founding fathers intended gun owners to be members of a state or local militia and that you would be OK with that. However, after reading the full Second Amendment a couple of times, this is what I discovered. After “free state” there is a comma, not a period, which is used to indicate a slight pause.
…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed (to destroy or hinder). And what part of infringed do you not understand? What does it sound like after reading it in full context? If history is correct there was no state militia; only local people who made up the civilian militia who fought the redcoats. By the way, the British started the revolution by attempting to take the arms and ammunition from the “people.” There was no government to raise taxes to pay for a standing army; there were just the people who were willing to sacrifice their lives and their future to remain free and not be subservient to the British.
Anyway, I bet your brother, the Conservative, will agree with me? Also, I bet you put this in your column just to pull our chains out there, knowing you would get a response like mine.
I always enjoy yours and Wendy’s columns, I just don’t agree with you guys on this one. | <urn:uuid:01e19b9e-c2fc-45e4-a897-1d1686e45b51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mtdemocrat.com/letters/2nd-amendment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974251 | 349 | 1.757813 | 2 |
As Erick Schonfeld notes in TechCrunch, instead of constantly dealing with Hollywood for programming content, why doesn’t Apple just buy the studios, and take control of the entire process from top to bottom?
We’ve already had one example of this, when NBC bought Universal rather than pay the licensing fees for the Law and Order franchise; this is the next logical, if somewhat dispiriting, step in the process — and, of course, majority control of NBC/Universal was subsequently acquired by Comcast. And Apple certainly has pockets deep enough to do this: they have $96.7 billion in cash just lying around, piling up interest, waiting to be put to use.
As Schonfeld writes, “Apple wants to bring Hollywood into people’s homes in an entirely new way. Hence all the chatter lately of a real Apple TV in the works. However, before TVs can become more than a hobby for Apple, there is a major roadblock it must get past. The reluctance of Hollywood to license its best movies and TV shows at the price Apple wants to pay.
In that light, all the cash Apple has been hoarding and building up for years now becomes more intriguing. Its staggering piles of money now total $97.6 billion, to be precise. What are they going to do with all that cash?
One thing they could do is buy their way into Hollywood. Think about it for a second. Today, Apple could literally buy Time Warner ($38 billion market cap), Viacom ($29 billion), and Dreamworks ($1.6 billion) combined, and still have $30 billion left over. If it waits a few more quarters it could snap up News Corp ($49 billion) as well. Only Disney, which is worth $70 billion, would take a while longer to save up for.”
Well, this could certainly happen, but I shudder to think of the consequences if it does. Certainly, the conglomerization of the studios in the 21st century as mere ancillary arms to tech giants is nothing new, as Gwendolyn Audrey Foster and I documented in our new book, 21st Century Hollywood: Movies in the Era of Transformation, and the studios long ago ceased to be independent entities, run by creative despots who viewed the cinema as both a business and an art form.
The studios today are run by disinterested business people, make programming to order, prefer pre-sold projects to original ideas, and keep an eye relentlessly on the bottom line. The days when the legendary head of production Irving G. Thalberg of MGM could suggest that certain films should be done simply for art’s sake, as loss leaders for more commercial projects, are long gone.
A world in which only mainstream, multiplex movies exist would be death of individual thought, and the ultimate, hegemonic triumph of Adolph Zukor’s grand dream of vertical integration, where everything from production, to distribution, and exhibition, is controlled by a single entity, as Tim Wu details so trenchantly in his brilliant book The Master Switch.
But it seems the logical step for Apple. With that much money to fool around with, why not? From a business point of view, of course. As for a creative enterprise, well, that’s going to be left for the DIYers at the margin, as it always has been, and always will be — the people who effect real change, and create new work in the face of corporate control. | <urn:uuid:1b93aa0a-21cf-4c82-84a7-53d7525ee4b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.unl.edu/dixon/tag/vertical-integration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961972 | 721 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Precisely. Like unseasoned bond traders using duration alone to forecast changes in bond prices due to interest rate movements, these macro forecasters ignore the concept of "convexity", i.e. the multiplier is a non-linear function, and not a constant.
I wonder if Keynes realized that as well? Any thoughts, Lord Skidelsky?
Why should taxpayers have to pay one cent in taxes to provide "resilience" to homeowners who never should have built homes on floodplains, barrier islands and oceanfronts in the first place, please? The economics of providing subsidized flood insurance, artificially depressed in price auto and home insurance, seawalls and dikes are just perverse. Like the TBTF banks, such residents enjoy their costly water views while they can, and then pass along the costs of a natural disaster to those of us who can not or will not live in such risky places. Let such homeowners pay the fully-loaded, risk-adjusted costs of their homes, and only then come to me with hands out for "resilience" investments.
The private sector will never purchase Euro-denominated debt if the currency is expected to fall to parity with the USD. Adding in the costs of both credit protection and currency hedging, the yields will have to rise significantly--not fall--to reflect such risks. Speak to bond traders, not just academics, when offering currency devaluation as a policy option, please. | <urn:uuid:b85091b6-be31-4bfc-bbfc-2f067e8875d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.project-syndicate.org/profile/d9b5790446f86ff401429e51 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94198 | 298 | 1.671875 | 2 |
You know that insurance is a necessity in some cases. By law, you are required to purchase car insurance, and health insurance can protect against major (and possibly financially devastating) health problems and costs.
Other types of insurance, like life and disability, can be very helpful in securing your family’s future, depending on your particular situation. However, there are plenty of folks out there ready to sell you insurance that you might not actually need. While you might gain some protection from these types of insurance, they may be wholly unnecessary. Here are 5 types of insurance to think twice about:
1. Mortgage Life Insurance
There are some insurance agents that will try to convince you that you need mortgage life insurance. This is life insurance designed to pay off your mortgage if you die before the mortgage terms are fulfilled. Of course, your regular life insurance policy will do that as well. Instead of getting a separate life insurance for your mortgage, make sure that your regular life insurance coverage is adequate to pay off your mortgage.
Do not mix mortgage life insurance with private mortgage insurance (PMI). If you do not have 20% for your down payment, you will probably have to buy PMI to help protect the lender in the event that you default.
2. Identity Theft Insurance
Because identity theft is such a fast growing crime, many people are concerned about it. And they should be. You do need to keep tabs on what is happening with your accounts and your credit report in order to watch for identity theft. You can set up security flags on your reports, making it difficult for credit accounts to be opened in your name. Identity theft insurance can’t actually do something for you that you can’t do for yourself — free of charge. It may require some of your time, but paying for this type of insurance is not required to get adequate protection.
3. Cancer Insurance
My uncle is one of the healthiest people I know, the poster boy for wholesome living. If he can end up with cancer (and he had two bouts), anyone can. However, that doesn’t mean that you should buy cancer insurance. First of all, having cancer insurance can void some of the coverage in your regular health policy. Second, you need to be aware that many cancer insurance policies have loopholes in them, which can prevent a payout. Instead of shelling out for specific disease coverage, double check your health insurance policy. Make sure it is adequate for hospitalizations.
Also to avoid: stroke insurance and heart attack insurance. Like cancer insurance, these types of insurance are unnecessary, and the conditions likely already covered by your comprehensive health policy.
4. Payment protection on your credit card
The idea is that if you cannot make your credit card payments due to death, job loss, illness or disability, this protection will make minimum payments for you, until the issue can be resolved. However, it is important to note that certain conditions always apply — and the protection can get pricey since it is based on your credit card balance.
Instead of relying on payment protection, consider a disability policy that includes debt payments. Life insurance policies should have enough coverage to pay off any credit card debt you have (in addition to the mortgage). You can also build an emergency fund to help you prepare for these situations.
5. Collision coverage on older cars
You have to have some sort of auto insurance in every state (usually liability, so that you can cover damage you do to property and people). However, once your car gets older, and has declined sufficiently in value, it might not be worth it to have collision coverage. Indeed, you will only get what your car is worth according to a formula, no matter what sort of damage is done.
So do the math. Does the premium for your collision coverage cost too much for what you could potentially get from the insurance? Your policy should break down what each portion of your coverage costs, so you can decide whether comprehensive coverage on your old car is worth it as well. Set aside money in an emergency fund to cover costs, or to use toward another car, just in case.
Of course, whether insurance is worth the money is all based on your unique situation. Do you need the peace of mind that any changes in your credit report will be flagged automatically for you? Or can you monitor such things yourself? Just make sure you know what you are getting for your money before you blindly pony up your hard earned cash. | <urn:uuid:77272745-b420-4413-8d30-d1366b521a21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://moneyning.com/insurance/5-types-of-insurance-you-dont-need/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964235 | 909 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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Food Preservation - Strawberry/Jalapeno Jam - February 21, 2013 - 6 pm - 8 pm
Kissimmee, United States
Have you ever wondered how your mom or grandmother canned all of those yummy fruits and veggies? Now you can do it yourself! Learn how to can, freeze, and dry produce in season, so you can have tasty, healthy, and long-lasting alternatives to store-bought products.
This is a hands-on class where you will get to make the product yourself from start to finish.
Additionally, learn what the difference is between water bath and pressure canning, what to look for when purchasing food preservation equipment, and why using tested food preservation recipes is so important!
Each participant will take a project (jar) home, along with recipes and other handouts.
All jars need to sit 12-24 hours after being processed. Please make arrangements to pick up your project within 7 days of class ending.
All sales are final - NO REFUNDS. | <urn:uuid:a10ed611-0c8e-4406-8594-59eb1f8fbb9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://canfood-eorg.eventbrite.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933788 | 234 | 1.53125 | 2 |
We’ve had some hot, hot days – 38 to 44 degrees celsius. And some cooler days (20 degrees) in between the hot spells.
The eldest boy taught the other two how to climb the lilly pilly tree. That tree was his domain, but he happily taught them how to climb. He supported and encouraged them and was genuinely happy that he had someone else to share the tree with. I see a teacher in this boy. He loves knowledge, talking about ideas, and interacting. It’s where he shines. Other parents are astounded with how kind and patient he is with young children.
The youngest boy is a “yarner” as we say in Aboriginal culture. He loves a story. His interest extends to movies, and he would happily spend his days watching movies. But at 10 o’clock in the morning when the day is cooler and there is plenty of scope for play, I told him to find something to do that did not involve a screen. He grumbled, a lot. I simply said “from boredom, comes great creativity, you’ll figure it out”. He found the Mobilo, and with his eldest brother, they built a star ship. They played for an hour with the star ship, and then they went outside to continue the game with role play.
The older dogs have been very generous with sharing their bones with the puppy.
I always feel whole after a few hours pottering in the garden. I learnt to garden from my father and grandfather, and from the age of 8 I tended our large urban vegetable garden myself. My mum had depression so meals were in short supply at times. The garden provided a fresh supply of food but it rarely got to the table. My brothers and I took the produce straight from the plant or out of the ground, washed it under the garden hose, and ate it. To this day I prefer to eat raw vegetables. These days I grow some vegies and herbs in pots. It’s not our main source of fresh food, it’s more of a hobby. The satin bowerbirds usually get to the crops before I do, they even eat chilli.
The youngest boy enjoys helping out around the garden. Not because he is particularly interested in plants but he enjoys the interaction and being of service. His dad has been taking him to swimming lessons this week, and on one trip home he said “I feel like I haven’t spent enough time with mum this week”. So we spent an afternoon in the garden together. We saw the hanging planters advertised and thought we would give them a go. There are roma tomatoes in one bag, and lebanese cucumbers in the other. The plants poke out of a hole at the bottom and grow down. We also got a hanging strawberry planter. When I read The Lorax the next morning to this boy, he instinctively cupped his hands to catch the Truffala seed. | <urn:uuid:d065457f-3153-4cde-9103-0d2722cab2e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hakea.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/352/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982215 | 619 | 1.539063 | 2 |
(Photo: The Unbelievers Facebook)
The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science announced a new movie titled "The Unbelievers" set to premiere in 2013 that will explore the importance of science and reason in the modern world – while taking aim at religion.
"Science is wonderful, science is beautiful. Religion is not wonderful, religion is not beautiful, it gets in the way," Dawkins says in the official trailer for "The Unbelievers."
The documentary film follows Dawkins and award-winning theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss giving speeches and speaking with people while promoting a scientific worldview. The film features a number of famous names, such as Academy-award winning director Werner Herzog, who praises their efforts:
"I think what these two men are doing out there, promoting a scientific worldview, is something of great value," Herzog says.
A synopsis of the film on the Facebook page, which states that the film will be released sometime in 2013, states that the documentary "follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss across the globe as they talk about the benefits of science in the modern world – while criticizing a political/religious approach to global issues."
Some of the celebrities who have lent their voice to the work, besides Herzog, include comedian Ricky Gervais, actor and director Woody Allen, actresses Cameron Diaz and Sarah Silverman, fellow theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, and others.
Twitter updates note that the film was completed in January, while the majority of celebrity interviews were conducted in 2012. The team behind "The Unbelievers" says that the reaction they have received for the trailer has been "overwhelmingly positive."
The film's trailer has already generated a lot of discussion on YouTube and has been viewed close to 90,000 times since it was posted last Friday.
"This can be our 'The Passion of the Christ,'" said one viewer in the comments section.
Watch the trailer for "The Unbelievers" below: | <urn:uuid:e24c3723-af67-444d-9ff4-7e285d29fd70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.christianpost.com/news/richard-dawkins-lawrence-krauss-film-the-unbelievers-trailer-debuts-90038/print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962608 | 404 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Dear Dish-it: I'm Scared of Failing
I’m going into Grade 6 when school starts again, and it’s really, really, really hard. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to flunk, and I don’t want my parents to be disappointed in me. I’m freaking out!!! What should I do???
Prepping for School
When school starts again in September, your first step should be to talk to a teacher or a counselor whose job it is to make sure that you’re doing well academically. If you’re struggling with your homework or want to get your grades up, they will be able to offer suggestions that can help.
There are also plenty of things you can do to get your grades up. Study hard, always do your homework and make sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete projects and assignments. In class, don’t be afraid to ask questions if there’s anything you don’t understand. If you do your best work on your own, set up a quiet space in your room or somewhere in your house to do your homework. Make sure there are no distractions! Or, ask your parents about hiring a private tutor who will be able to help you with your work.
On the other hand, you may be the type of person who learns best with other people around. If so, ask a bunch of your friends to form a study group or a homework club. Get together once a week and go over all your assignments. There’s a good chance that if you don’t get something, someone else in your group will be able to explain it to you!
Meantime, there’s lots you can do over the summer to prep for Grade 6. Crack open your old textbooks and review the things you found hard last year. Go online and check out study and homework websites – I bet you can even find some that will go over stuff most kids learn about in Grade 6. I’m not sure if this is a possibility, but you could even try finding out what you’ll be learning about in school next year, maybe from a friend, family member or neighbor that’s older than you. Maybe that person will even have some old Grade 6 textbooks or notes that you could borrow to review before school starts.
Got any advice for hardstuff? Have your say by leaving a comment below this story! | <urn:uuid:fb05a93c-f252-406a-9fbc-af40c99ce9d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kidzworld.com/article/24284-dear-dish-it-im-scared-of-failing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953151 | 516 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Share & Connect
Dallas, U.S.A. – With more than 500 exhibitors and a notable lineup of speakers, musicians and films, Earth Day Dallas ( EarthDayDallas.org ) brought more than 58,000 North Texans to Fair Park on April 21 and 22. For the second year in a row, the nonprofit organization hosted one of the nation’s largest Earth Day celebrations, inspiring individuals to be sustainable in the ways they think, work and live.
“Last year, we planted a seed in the minds of North Texans, and were thrilled to watch people latch onto the idea of every day environmentalism,” said Trammell S. Crow, founder of Earth Day Dallas, “This year, it was amazing to see the increase in participation, especially from exhibitors. In a time when other Earth Day festivals are downsizing, we were able to double the number of booths we had in 2011. From exhibitors to programming, we elevated every aspect of the event this year, making Earth Day Dallas a true Texas-sized celebration.”
To accommodate its growing presence, the festival moved from downtown Dallas to historic Fair Park, providing more than 600,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. At the core of the event, the Eco Expo included a wide range of exhibitions by corporations, small businesses, nonprofits, government groups, hospitals and universities, demonstrating conservation at every level.
Additionally, the festival featured a variety of engagement and entertainment for the whole family, including:
Earth Day Dallas would not have been possible without the significant support from its 2012 partners including Walmart, KXAS-NBC-5, DART, Live Nation, SHFT, 1SolTech and many others.
With its foot firmly planted in Fair Park, Earth Day Dallas has already begun planning for next year’s event. For more information about Earth Day Dallas 2012 and updates on the 2013 event, visit EarthDayDallas.org.
Image Courtesy of Earth Day Dallas | <urn:uuid:14158816-f354-4be5-8969-8e9cf02248d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toonaripost.com/2012/05/green-world/earth-day-dallas-texans-go-green/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944815 | 406 | 1.765625 | 2 |
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) - Superstorm Sandy has delayed the construction to make Hempstead Turnpike in Nassau County safer for pedestrians.
State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Post told Newsday the work along the 16-mile corridor was supposed to be done last fall. It involved the addition of median fencing and construction of 13 raised pedestrian medians.
She said crews had to shift their focus to clear roadways from downed trees and wires after Sandy struck in late October.
The DOT says work on the raised median islands is now scheduled to begin Wednesday. The fencing work is set to start on Monday.
The advocacy group Tri-State Transportation Campaign has named Hempstead Turnpike the most dangerous road for pedestrians in the New York region.
Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:c4714775-b030-489e-8bb0-f89900838993> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/20540437/sandy-delayed-work-to-make-li-turnpike-safer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948998 | 198 | 1.757813 | 2 |
When New Orleans was struggling to maintain order and protect its citizens in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the city turned to the Louisiana National Guard to help police patrol the streets, a smart step that hastened recovery.
Now, New Orleans officials are turning to the National Guard once again. This time, they are seeking help to rebuild a police department notorious for brutality, with 20 current and former New Orleans Police Department officers charged with killing innocent civilians or covering up those crimes around the time of Hurricane Katrina.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas asked the National Guard to provide leadership training, and now, every lieutenant and sergeant will participate in a six-week training program designed to make them better leaders. Those officers will then spread the knowledge they've acquired from the award-winning program.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten praised Superintendent Serpas for "reaching out to all the assets he possibly can,'' in a quest to reform the department. The National Guard, which spent two years patrolling the 3rd, 5th and 7th police districts after the storm, is clearly a valuable asset.
The NOPD also needs to strengthen its relationship with the community, which has been corroded by police misconduct and lax discipline for rogue officers. The department is reaching out to another asset -- faith-based and community leaders.
Superintendent Serpas and Mayor Landrieu announced the formation of the NOPD's Cops, Clergy and Community Coalition Tuesday, which seeks to build bonds between police and citizens through those leaders.
That initiative lines up with the 65-point police reform plan that the superintendent and mayor announced in August, which called for the department to focus resources on community policing.
The reforms are becoming evident, with Superintendent Serpas introducing changes that range from zero tolerance for officers who lie to raising recruiting standards. New recruits will be required to have college experience equivalent to an associate degree or higher. A Police Quarterly study found that officers with a college education are less likely to use force while on duty than those who never attended college.
Better recruits, working under well-trained leaders in close partnership with the community they serve is a good blueprint for rebuilding. | <urn:uuid:c0f20c68-8273-42f1-b049-b17a6ad86e5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2010/10/remaking_the_new_orleans_polic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965513 | 443 | 1.8125 | 2 |
by Nate Jackson
Your taxes should be based on how much you earn — it’s only fair. So why are there 30 big corporations who make big profits but haven’t paid their fair share for years? Could it have something to do with the millions they invest in lobbyists who push for special tax benefits?
Wells Fargo Bank is the worst corporate tax evader in the Dirty Thirty, and it’s time they paid their fair share. That’s why on Tuesday, January 31st we’re having a rally and march to the bank.
Since the big banks got bailed out in 2008, Wells Fargo has spent nearly $14 Million on a lobbying effort that has bought them an effective Federal income rate of 0%. In fact, they managed to get a $681 million Federal income tax refund on their $50 billion profit.
It’s the same story for the rest of the Dirty Thirty. These giant corporations, including General Electric, FedEx, and a slew of energy firms, have gamed the system to avoid paying their fair share. Basically, they’ve paid out millions in lobbying fees to evade billions in taxes.
It’s a good investment for them, but a disaster for us. All together they’ve sidestepped $200 billion in Federal Taxes. If these big corporations would pay their fair share, we’d have the resources we need to invest in our schools, rebuild our infrastructure, and secure a better future for our communities.
Join us on Tuesday, January 31st at 12 noon to tell Wells Fargo it’s time for them to pay their fair share. We’ll rally at Westlake Park and then march to the big bank and tell them with all our voices that we’ve had enough of their paying lobbyists to win special tax benefits from our elected officials. | <urn:uuid:3c30bdf4-94c2-4292-bee9-9eccbfb887f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.workingwa.org/2012/01/20/theyre-dirty-thirty-big-corporations-who-invest-millions-lobbyists-so-they-can-avoid-billions-taxes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971175 | 382 | 1.507813 | 2 |
- Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2012 14:43
- Hits: 373
Water & sewer rates raised
The King George Service Authority Board of Directors was unanimous last week in a vote to raise water and sewer rates as proposed two months ago. The rate increases of five percent for water and 10 percent for sewer usage will be reflected in the July billing.
The new rates also increase charges for debt service by the same percentages, along with a five-percent increase for new service connections. None of the Supervisors were happy to raise rates, but all saw the necessity to cover costs.
The Service Authority’s 2012-13 total budget was set at $4,357,780. The rate increase reflects higher costs for chemicals for testing and treatment, fuel for vehicles, and the other rising costs of doing business. It also carries forward the cost of a two percent mid-year pay raise that was granted this past January 2012, along with a state-mandated one percent increase for all employees to offset their required increase in payments to the Virginia Retirement System effective July 1.
It was also announced at the June 26 meeting that the Service Authority budget is projected to operate in the black for the outgoing fiscal year, unprecedented without county fund transfers as in the past. That would indicate that the current rate structure is so far successful, since the idea is to get the Service Authority self sufficient.
The current rate structure was put into place three years ago. It was devised by Davenport & Associates to include gradual annual increases in water and sewer rates and fees, along with debt restructuring to save money on interest payments.
FOUR COMMENTS FROM PUBLIC
The action followed a public hearing with four people speaking, all questioning the action. They were David Greenhalgh, Bob Lowery, Heath Taylor and Monique Winslow.
NEW RATES FOR 2012-13
Residential bills for customers with both water and sewer service using up to 5,000 gallons per two-month billing period will go up by $8.58 every two months. That minimum bi-monthly bill for water and sewer will go from $104.03 to $112.61.
An ‘average’ bi-monthly residential bill for both water and sewer service will go from $213.22 to $231.00, which is an eight-percent increase. That ‘average bill’ is based on a usage of 13,750 gallons over a two-month billing period.
WATER The usage rates for water will increase from $3.87 to $4.06 per 1,000 gallons for a 5,000-gallon minimum usage during each two-month use and billing cycle. The flat fee for debt service for water will go from $16.54 to $17.36. The minimum bill for water-only customers for 5,000 gallons will increase from $35.89 to $37.66 for two months of service.
SEWER The usage rates for sewer will go from $8.61 to $9.47 per 1,000 gallons up to 5,000-gallons. The flat fee for debt service for sewer is going up from $25.09 to $27.60. The increases result in two-month bills going from $68.14 to $74.95 for 5000 gallon minimum usage for sewer-only.
FUTURE RATE RESTRUCTURING PROPOSED
General Manager Chris Thomas talked about a proposed rate restructuring that will be computer-modeled in parallel alongside actual upcoming billings and usage for the coming year to verify if the proposed structure would raise enough revenue to support the costs of operations.
It’s possible that the real-time modeling of the proposed water rate restructuring might not result in accurate results, since customer usage could change under a different rate structure once it goes into effect.
That’s because mid- and high-use customers could decide to conserve their water consumption when they see their first bills under a different rate structure, which would put a premium on users of larger amounts of water.
There is also a proposal to restructure the rates for sewer usage, which would require significantly higher rates, in part to make up for a proposed fixed bi-monthly charge due to a possible cap on usage rates, suggested to be set at the winter water use level for each household.
The future sewer rates have been preliminarily proposed to go up 15 percent in each of the first three years of implementation to reach a break-even level for sewer operations.
That was discussed at a meeting April 18 with results of a rate study by Municipal & Financial Services Group (MFSG), with an examination of current and future forecasts for operations and maintenance costs, alongside comparisons with rates for nearby localities.
The study included an in-depth look at actual 2010-11 customer usage and charges, current year budgeted operating and maintenance expenses, the existing debt repayment schedule, five-year Capital Improvement Plan, along with projections for personnel expenses based on state regulations and a variety of other pertinent indices.
Whether rates are restructured or not, they are still expected to continue to go up about three percent each year to cover the expected increase in costs for electricity, chemicals, gasoline and personnel.
PROPOSED TIERED WATER RATES WITH WINTER CAP FOR SEWER BILLING
New Dahlgren Supervisor Ruby Brabo has led a charge to change the way water and sewer customers are charged for sewer usage based on their amount of water used. Only water usage is metered, with sewer usage based on water metering. That means that sewer charges include the water used for such things as washing cars and watering lawns and gardens.
That idea is proposed to be coupled with a three-tiered system that would charge higher rates for those using more water. That suggestion would provide a lower rate per 1,000 gallons for those customers who use up to 6,000 gallons per two-month billing period, which represent about 35 percent of customers.
Under this scenario, the study indicates that low-end water users could see lower bills than now.
The recommendation includes charging one rate until 6,000 gallons, then a higher rate charge over that usage.
A mid-range charge would be set for use between 6,000 - 20,000 gallons, which is about 59 percent of customers. The high-use customers using 20,000 gallons per billing period, about six percent of customers, would be charged the highest rates per 1,000 over 20,000 gallons.
As noted, the proposed tiered rate structure under consideration would also cap each household’s sewer rate at its previous winter usage rate for water, but significantly increase the rates for sewer usage.
SERVICE AUTHORITY FACTS
The King George Service Authority is a small enterprise that owns and operates 12 water systems and five wastewater systems with about 3,850 customers, including both residential and commercial. About half the customers have both water and sewer service, with the rest water-only accounts and only a few sewer-only customers. It does not benefit from the economies of scale advantages provided to larger systems.
It was formed in 1992 when the county’s separate sanitary systems were united. At the same time, private water systems were purchased to meet the demands of state regulations for Virginia’s evolving standards required for community water systems. | <urn:uuid:c76cbbbb-6b15-43ea-bc84-25cdca0367cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journalpress.com/index.php/king-george-and-dahlgren/supervisors/204-water-sewer-rates-raised | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95683 | 1,513 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Meet Richard Harkrader
The first impression one gets of Richard Harkrader is that, if there is a task at hand, he should be put in charge. He projects a reassuring sense of focus, commitment, knowledge and competence. This is not surprising since he has had a more than forty-year career in energy-efficient building. Richard is a builder and architect by training, and he and his wife, Lonna, were pioneers in solar construction beginning in the 1970s. More recently they have changed their principal direction to large structure energy efficiency, including the retrofitting of older buildings, through their company, Carolina Solar Energy.
Richard grew up in Virginia, on the outskirts of the urban environment, where he experienced the impact of urban development, which eventually fostered his awareness for preservation, efficiency and sustainability. About fifteen years ago, Richard encountered Clean Energy Durham Executive Director Judy Kincaid through her work with the Council of Governments on designing energy efficiency standards for buildings. With mutual interests, Richard and his wife became early supporters of Clean Energy Durham and last year signed up as a 2030 Society Founder, helping Clean Energy Durham help the city and county reach their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030.
The neighborhood approach of Clean Energy Durham is a perfect counterpart to the activities of Carolina Solar Energy. One of his favorite catch phrases is that “energy policy drives markets, markets create scale and scale drives down prices,” noting that solar prices have gone down 50% in the last four years.
Richard is a gardener and an avid fisherman. Through both of these activities he has seen the detrimental effects of climate change, such as altered growing seasons, rising water levels and warming weather. Like many, Richard is worried about the long-term global environment. However, he is optimistic about the near term efforts of groups like Clean Energy Durham and his own Carolina Solar Energy and their ability to have a significant impact.
–Profile by Clean Energy Durham Volunteer Martin Eagle
2030 Society members have pledged multi-year support and recognize Clean Energy Durham as a community leader helping the city and county reach their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030.
Entry filed under: Fundraising. Tags: . | <urn:uuid:9c82cfa3-7dbb-4845-a67e-832161561ad4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cleanenergydurham.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/meet-richard-harkrader/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97532 | 457 | 1.765625 | 2 |
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The China Connection
Wed May 9, 2012
Missouri mom starts a Chinese immersion pre-school in Columbia
Jane O’Toole plays more roles in her life than most people around you.
She’s the founder of Xiao Lao Hu (Little Tiger) pre-school; she’s an instructor at the MU Asian Affairs Center; she’s the vice president of Columbia Friends of China; she’s the mom of three kids; she’s also a super Chinese culture fan in her friends’ eyes. In her own words, her life revolves around her passion for China.
O’Toole started Xiao Lao Hu immersion pre-school program in her home last year. The program operated five days a week when there was a Chinese teacher working full-time. However, the program scaled back now that the only Chinese teacher returned to China. O’Toole teaches the seven students basic conversational Chinese herself.
“I just want to get the ball rolling,” O’Toole said, her goal is to get the program started and there would be Chinese offered to young kids in Columbia.
With Mandarin being offered academically at more and more schools in Columbia, O’Toole said, exposing kids to Mandarin early on would bring more opportunities for them to study the language academically later.
Watch this video to learn more about Jane O’Toole’s Little Tiger pre-school.
China is O’Toole’s second home. She went back and forth between the U.S. and China since 1994. She first decided to go China after her freshman year in college. After spending one year there and going back to the U.S, she went there again to teach English at Shandong University. In 2008, her whole family moved to Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in China for one year.
Watch another video to see where her passion for China came from.
This story is part of The China Connection a multimedia project exploring various economic, educational and cultural links between Missouri and China. | <urn:uuid:13ba677d-4c4c-4e16-b6cd-a7df6a8ffc29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kbia.org/post/missouri-mom-starts-chinese-immersion-pre-school-columbia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956156 | 442 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Bernard Dumaine born August 20, 1953 in Angoulême, France, still lives to this day in the same town with his wife and children. From an early age he was working to master drawing still-lifes with correct proportions between the objects, good shading, and volume.
Dumaine’s passion for drawing was learnt from his father. He never gave Bernard any lessons, but amazed his son with the drawings in ink he did. Comic books had some influence on Dumaine; some of them were drawn by skilled drafts-men and he would copy some of their drawings.
He began having painting and drawing lessons, one afternoon a week, at the age of 11 until age 15 at the Fine arts school of Angoulême. Some years later, I prepared for a diploma in Sculpture in the same art school for 5 years and I received my diploma with a mention for drawing in 1977. Many single and group exhibitions followed, both locally and internationally. His early work included drawings in the style of photorealism and surrealist oil paintings. His surrealist work was influenced by Yves Tanguy and Max Ernst.
At one time he made collages, but now prefers the flexibility of digital tools. However he still does also work with oil paints, and pencil. Dumaine continues to paint strange landscapes similarly as Max Ernst or James Gleeson did and sometimes also reproduces his digital creations on canvas.
He is also produces “Exquisite Corpse” artworks in collaboration with many artists internationally, with these collaborative works being exhibited in galleries across France.
In 2010 Dumaine edited and published the book, “Miximages – Exquisite Corpses” which is collection of collaborative artworks that he produced with 37 international artists.
“Imagination and chance have a large place in the creation of my pictures, which are also works of experimentation and research. My favorite part of creating art is the ‘stream-of-consciousness’ and the discovery of each image as I am working. I do not know exactly what would appear until I have finished it.” Bernard Dumaine | <urn:uuid:31f41cc7-071e-46bc-ae4d-0279f6ef4be3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fantasticvisions.net/artists/bernard-dumaine/?_escaped_fragment_=prettyPhoto[gallery17]/0/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975496 | 440 | 1.757813 | 2 |
10/21/2010 3:41:01 PM
Appearance / Description of Object(s)
Large glowing orangish object with vapour trail, about as bright as a stadium light and traveling left to right over pavement.
Size of Object(s)
Object was approximately 30-50 feet across.
Distance to Object(s) & Altitude
Object was approximately half mile from us, about 30 feet from the ground.
Description of Area / Surroundings
The area was rural motorway with heavy snow on the ground, trees, small hills and as far as I know, no military bases or power plants. Conditions of weather were light snow, heavy overcast clouds and no sun.
Full Description & Details
On Dec 31sth, 1978, my fiance and I were making a road trip from Manchester to Wales by way of Liverpool, to see Conway Castle and Colwyn Bay. Upon returning, the weather became snowy and we were told by motorway police that the M-56 would be shut down soon, and my fiance insisted we could travel the snowy road since we had a front wheel drive car. About a half hour before the Runcorn exit, we stopped to take a picture of a stone bridge and the snow, I still have a Polaroid of the bridge. While stopped, we noticed a large orange ball-shaped object traveling over the motorway, from left to right and leaving a wispy vapour trail in its wake. It took about 5 minutes to travel across the pavement and then It disappeared behind a large hill. We were stopped while we observed this,and then got back into the car to see what the object was. We travelled down the road, and saw no further trace of it. There was no sound and no other cars on the motorway since the weather was so bad. At the time, there was light snow but the clouds were very close and it was heavily overcast. We agreed to not say anything about the sighting for fear of ridicule, but upon arriving in Shaw, a village outside of Mancheter, to my fiance's parent's house, we observed a televsion report about the sighting, and the following day, a report from Runcorn where a boy had described a large ball-shaped object landing in his father's field, leaving scorch marks amidst the snowy field.
Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?
No sun, no blue sky, no weather balloons etc. I don't believe there was any 'man-made' craft that would apply. I'm from a military family and have never seen anything like this.
Military family, college graduate, world traveled.
Views on UFOs, before and after sighting
I've never believed in UFO's prior to this and still do not read UFO sites, but someone advised I should report on this sight, my observations.
I've made a compsite picture of the object for purposes of demonstration or my sighting.
Reported To:Royal Air Force
Your Location:United States
Image Submitted by Witness: | <urn:uuid:3b6a7f26-9cbf-4c20-aeb0-582be696c906> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ufoevidence.org/sightings/report.asp?ID=11500 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972485 | 629 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Andrew Rubio, chief executive, Throgmorton The current uncertainty in the eurozone escalating and creating further volatility in the financial markets. Europe is on a knife edge and we still don't know the full impact. There is a real risk that continuing problems may destabilise governments and may lead to conflicts and even revolutions.
Views from the Top: The dangers facing the financial industry
As financial markets enter their sixth year of uncertainty since the start of the credit crunch, Financial News asked top executives: What is the biggest danger facing the financial industry in 2013? | <urn:uuid:5228cda0-7479-48b7-9d88-bc64a6c8f940> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.efinancialnews.com/gallery/views-from-the-top-dangers-facing-industry/23 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940797 | 112 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Russia Holds the Key
Russia Holds the Key
Source: Account of a meeting with Baba in January 1948, by Murshida Ivy O. Duce, quoted in Lord Meher 9: 3221.
I had asked Baba if he would give me some slant on the political situation of the day since my husband and I are so involved in international matters. That afternoon he sent for me, and gave me an outline. He reiterated the point that everything is going according to plan, that the spiritual hierarchy functioning in world affairs have the reins in their hands; that Russia holds the key for the greatest destruction in the world; that America has the most important role to play; that the Arabs will fight. He charged me to tell my husband to do everything to keep the great oil concessions in Arabia for America. He also said Charmian and I must be out of India on the 16th. Later we saw why, because a great storm came up near Karachi and we barely missed it; the next plane got turned back, and now at this writing there are terrible riots in Bombay. He also told me we must be out of Arabia by February 10th, but I do not know why. Dr. Donkin later said that he gathered from older talks that the chaos we are in might mean the passing of close to half the population of the earth before it is finished.
In the following quote from Dr. William Donkin’s diary, Baba refers to Russia specifically as holding the key to World War II, and also predicts some of the natural catastrophes that we are plagued with today, including climate change.
14 November 1940
Baba has been sending me and others during the past few days to various places in Ceylon to find suitable bungalow. First Chanji and I went to Kandy, we found 3 or 4 bungalows there — at least a bungalow on a tea estate, with additional quarters for the Mandali, fine situation, but v. expensive; 500 Rupees per month. Baba came over to see it with us. As this was very expensive Vishnu went off to Bandarawala and I went to Hatton to try for better bungalows; but no luck; so yesterday we went up to Kandy again with Baba and took the tea estate bungalow, expensive as it is, for 2 months. Baba now in good mood. We mentioned to Baba about the Rumanian earthquake,* and he said that floods, famine and disease all to come, 1/2 the world’s population will die. Seasons will alter. Also he says that although Russia is the key to the war situation, and she will take Persia, she will not digest anything. Baba does not like Hitler’s speeches.
So on Saturday we all move up to Kandy, and gladly too by Jove, to get out of this steamy cocoanut place.
*An earthquake registering 7.4 on the Richter scale struck Rumania’s capital city, Bucharest, in the early hours of 11th November 1940.
Source: William Donkin, Donkin’s Diaries: Travels in India with Meher Baba, 1939-1945, compiled and annotated by Sarah McNeill (North Myrtle Beach, SC: Sheriar Foundation, 2011), p. 185 | <urn:uuid:222e5c1e-f98f-4108-bbc3-c94cd8db9ba2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.meherbabamanifesting.com/prophecy/prophecies-of-meher-baba/russia-holds-the-key/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973745 | 695 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Children’s quilt shows ties that bind area faiths
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim children gather around the interfaith quilt for which they designed squares. With them are, from left, rear, Fatima Jaffari, the Rev. Myrna Bethke, Toby Shylit Mack, Rep. Rush Holt, Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun, and Imam Mehdi.
December 6, 2010
Religious leaders and children joined together Nov. 14 at Congregation Torat El in Oakhurst to celebrate a year-long interfaith project.
The event commemorated the completion of the Three Faiths Quilt project, initiated last year by the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County in partnership with 14 Jewish, Christian, and Muslim houses of worship.
Children from the congregations’ religious schools designed quilt squares around the theme of charity; the squares were sewn together by Judy Levine, education director at the Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls.
The nine-by-seven-foot quilt was on display during the event attended by children from all the different faith communities and their families. Representing the Jewish community was Torat El’s Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun.
Marking the completion of the quilt, said the rabbi, “was a wonderful celebration and culmination of tolerance and peace and diversity and efforts to do acts of tzedaka to bring more peace into the world.” The youngsters who took part, he said, “could serve as a model for all of society. The world could be a holier and healthier place if, like these kids, we could all learn to work together to bring acts of caring and righteousness to the world.”
And, the rabbi added, it is an “incredible quilt — not just because of what it represents.”
The Rev. Myrna Bethke of the United Methodist Church in Red Bank and Imam Mehdi of the Islamic Center of Freehold also joined in the celebration.
Also in attendance was Rep. Rush Holt (D-Dist. 12), who two years ago kicked off a series of interfaith dialogues among the three religious communities in Monmouth, Middlesex, and Mercer counties.
“We used the universal theme of charity — in Judaism, tzedaka, practicing righteous acts — to help implement our joint programs,” said CRC chair Toby Shylit Mack.
The quilt project, which engaged hundreds of children, Shylit Mack said, “is a testament to the innocence and creative beauty that lies within each child’s heart. But more importantly, the theme of charity also defines the children’s humanity and creates future global citizens.”
Shylit Mack designed the quilt’s center logo, containing the official name of the interfaith project “Partnership for Acceptance Cooperation and Trust,” its initials, PACT, formed from symbols of the three faiths.
“Charity is something all faiths believe in and put into practice on a regular basis,” said Fatima Jaffari, the Muslim liaison for the quilt project. “We had a great time working on it and the quality of the work of the kids was amazing. They were really able to show their creativity and what charity means to them in their personal life and what faith means to them.”
The quilt is being sent to Trenton for display in the Statehouse and on to other significant sites, including possibly the Capitol in Washington, DC. | <urn:uuid:ade0c26c-86b3-4ab6-8d5c-94ee252a79ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://njjewishnews.com/article/2651/childrens-quilt-shows-ties-that-bind-area-faiths?source=njjnrelated | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953342 | 735 | 1.78125 | 2 |
McLaren MP4-20 Mercedes
The Team McLaren Mercedes MP4-20 Formula One car took to the track for the first time on the 24th of January at the Circuit de Catalunya, outside Barcelona, Spain, where regular driver Kimi Raikkonen took to the wheel.
The debut of the team's 2005 challenger showed a design that had been heavily influenced by significant revisions to both the sporting and technical regulations that govern Formula One in four key areas: engine lifespan, limitations on tyre use, aerodynamics and race weekend format particularly for qualifying.
The aerodynamic modifications led to the most visible differences on the car, to the design of the chassis, which was exclusively developed in the design office and wind tunnel facilities at the McLaren Technology Centre. These include the raising of the front wing by 50mm, restricting the height of the diffuser to 125mm and bringing the rear wing package forward by 150mm.
“Since MP4-20 was fired up for the first time at 02:30am on the morning of Thursday 20th January at the McLaren Technology Centre, the anticipatory atmosphere of the car’s initial run within the team has been building and we are pleased to have completed its shakedown this morning,” said Ron Dennis, Team Principal, West McLaren Mercedes. “Today’s unveiling is the first tangible demonstration of the team’s preparations for the 2005 season, a year that has the potential to be exciting and positive for all the teams, our Partners and the fans alike. There is feverish work taking place across the team to achieve the best possible result for the this year”
The design of the MP4-20 has been heavily influenced by significant revisions to both the sporting and technical regulations that govern Formula One in four key areas: engine lifespan, limitations on tyre use, aerodynamics and race weekend format particularly for qualifying.
“A Formula One car is a fully integrated machine,” commented Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, West McLaren Mercedes. “As a consequence, regulation changes to the extent we have seen ahead of the 2005 season, have had a major impact on the configuration of the entire package.
The revisions created an interesting challenge for our design team under Adrian Newey, Mike Coughlan and Neil Oatley, and the result is a car that looks quite different from last year. Mercedes-Ilmor on the engine side has to cope with similar technical and timescale challenges.”
"With the regulations, particularly on the aerodynamic side, being set comparatively late resulting in even harder and more dedicated work from all members of the team to get MP4-20 on track today. This has seen positive collaboration with all our Technology Partners, particularly Michelin in adapting to the extended use requirements of tyres for the coming season, when they have to last the entire race distance,” McLaren Racing's Technical Director Adrian Newey said. “The spec for MP4-20 was set in May 2004 and this saw the start of wind tunnel work at the McLaren Technology Centre. The timescales have been challenging but that is all part of the excitement of Formula One."
The McLaren MP4-20 proved through 2005 to be the fastest car on most of the circuits after the team made some suspension adjustments to handle the Michelin tyres better. While Juan Pablo Montoya kept struggling a bit with the transition from Williams, Kimi Raikkonen was the main competitor champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard's Renault R25 was more consistent and especially far more reliable.
Chassis: McLaren moulded carbon fibre/aluminium honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures. Contains integral safety fuel cell
Designation: Mercedes-Benz FO 110R
Cars of 2013 | <urn:uuid:e7791c11-df27-4936-98b8-7636c117b748> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.f1technical.net/f1db/cars/890/mclaren-mp4-20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939262 | 767 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Tyre makers are having an unexpected windfall from a fall in price of natural rubber that constitutes as much as 50% of their total raw material costs.
Price of natural rubber has fallen more than 20% in the last one month and the futures price of the commodity is indicating another 10% decline next month.
Rubber prices (RSS4 grade) touched a peak of Rs 80 per kg in July '04 on spot basis. This price has now crashed to Rs 68 per kg on spot basis and the September futures is being traded at close to Rs 53 per kg.
Overall, prices of rubber have fallen from an average of around Rs 70 per kg to around Rs 56 per kg.
This is a 20% saving in cost of raw material for the tyre industry, which recently raised its product prices to factor in the rising cost of raw materials. | <urn:uuid:b87e188f-69b7-46ad-87fd-b00a83c254c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2004-08-23/news/27372312_1_raw-material-price-of-natural-rubber-tyre-industry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961807 | 174 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The Wire : The Dickensian Aspect
Anybody who has seen The Wire will know what a brilliant piece of work it is, and yet it remains something of a mystery to those who haven’t seen anything of it (There are two groups of people when it comes to The Wire, those that love it, and those who haven’t seen it).
When The Wire comes up in conversation with someone from the second group, I find myself trying to put into words exactly how good it is. One of the ways I’ve previously come up with is “if Shakespeare was alive today and American, he’d have written The Wire”, but I dismissed this approach because while I believe not far from the truth it sounds like hyperbole and rather narrows further conversation as the person looks back quizzically and asks “Really?”. Plus I didn’t enjoy Shakespeare nearly as much as The Wire.
But it appears maybe I really wasn’t that far off the mark, as a great essay that’s been passed round the Internet argues that a much lauded English scribe ain’t got nothing on The Wire. (Okay, it’s talking about Dickens not Shakespeare, but still).
Find it here: http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/03/when-its-not-your-turn-the-quintessentially-victorian-vision-of-ogdens-the-wire/ and grab the shotgun cos “Omars comin’”. | <urn:uuid:53af2c58-205f-4b88-a61b-d3c8f87f8771> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cantshutupabout.com/2011/03/the-wire-the-dickensian-aspect/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948044 | 325 | 1.695313 | 2 |
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Weather with Cliff Mass
Beautiful mornings, then back to "normal" on Monday
If you've been enjoying sunshine and how the light plays off the blossoms or the water -- there's more in store this weekend. But, it's not "normal," says KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass.
"It's been drier than normal this month. From April first until now, we are over an inch below normal, in terms of rainfall. We have been warmer than normal this past week," he says.
That continues through Sunday, with temperatures reaching the lower to mid-60s.
Next week, we'll see highs in the 50's, as the jet-stream heads right toward us. That will bring a pattern of "a rainy day and a break, and a rainy day," which is more normal, says Mass.
In his weekly interview, Mass also explains how the "Urban Heat Island" effect influences temperatures in Seattle and towns around western Washington.
Do you have a weather question? Cliff Mass and Keith Seinfeld occasionally answer reader questions on the air. Share yours here.
The weekly KPLU feature "Weather with Cliff Mass" airs every Friday at 9 a.m. immediately following BirdNote, and repeats twice on Friday afternoons during All Things Considered. The feature is hosted by KPLU’s Science and Health reporter Keith Seinfeld. Cliff Mass is a University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, a renowned Seattle weather prognosticator, and a popular weather blogger. You can also subscribe to a podcast of “Weather with Cliff Mass” shows. | <urn:uuid:0a226b07-68e3-4a2f-ab0e-d3d83c661703> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kplu.org/post/beautiful-mornings-then-back-normal-monday | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954332 | 340 | 1.820313 | 2 |
This is interesting, and even encouraging:
“TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended a possible compromise with world powers over a nuclear fuel deal Thursday as Iran formally responded to a U.N.-backed proposal aimed at stalling its ability to make nuclear weapons.
In a speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Ahmadinejad defied harsh criticism from domestic opponents who accused him of giving away too much in the negotiations. He said the West has been forced to alter its confrontational stance toward Iran, state television reported.
Under the proposed deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran would ship most of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium abroad for processing into medium-enriched uranium, which Iran needs to fuel a research reactor in Tehran that makes isotopes for medical uses. The fuel would come back to Iran in a form that could not be diverted to produce the highly enriched fissile material needed for nuclear weapons.”
The fact that Ahmadinejad feels it necessary to defend the pending deal in public suggests that he is at least serious about pursuing it. Why would he take the heat over a deal that he had no intention of concluding? As the Post reports, “If successful, the deal would likely be interpreted internationally as a goodwill sign by all involved parties and might lead to compromises over Iran’s nuclear program.”
But the situation is extremely complicated. Some of the strongest Iranian opposition to a nuclear deal comes from Ahmadinejad’s opponents in the recent fraudulent election, the heroic people who took to the streets in protest. The dissidents are using the nuclear issue to argue that it is the Ahmadinejad government, not the dissidents, who are betraying Iran to the West.
“The interesting part is that the revolutionary and serving sons of our nation are accused of relations and affiliations with the West, while they [government leaders] repeatedly and openly humiliate themselves in front of the U.S.,” said Hossein Mousavi, who came in second in the June 12 elections.
Like I said, complicated. | <urn:uuid:f5a195b2-3fe1-48c6-841d-fdf2db47e7d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2009/10/29/ahmadinejad-defends-possible-nuke-deal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970397 | 425 | 1.5625 | 2 |
No Fishing on Honor System in Minnesota
by Associated Press
July 13, 2011 5:13 PM
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says there's no way to get around the state's fishing license requirements during the government shutdown.
The state's electronic licensing system was taken offline when the shutdown began July 1, leaving anglers unable to buy fishing licenses. And that's caused concern in the state's tourism industry. The DNR made it clear Wednesday that fishing on the honor system is not allowed.
The DNR says some contract license agents and resorts have been issuing so-called "temporary licenses" on the condition that buyers promise to purchase a legal license when the shutdown ends. But DNR Enforcement Chief Jim Konrad says those unauthorized documents are not valid. And he says anyone caught fishing without a valid license could be ticketed. | <urn:uuid:497b5441-9c01-4633-a55f-4868f70730ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10606&Itemid=57 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957399 | 170 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The March issue of Units Magazine has a shocking expose—well, if you’re in property management, anyway. Even the most seemingly-normal tenants can be hoarders, people who cannot throw anything away and whose apartments fill with years’ worth of clutter and trash.
There are of course several problems with this scenario. One is that hoarding can be a form of mental illness or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and may indicate a need for help. The other, from a management perspective, is that residents must keep their apartments safe and sanitary. Pests can be a huge problem, not just for the hoarding residents but for the units around theirs’, and a stuffed apartment can be a serious fire hazard for someone attempting to escape.
How will you find a hoarder out? The most common way seems to be from technicians who enter an apartment to perform installations or maintenance. If you want to keep an eye out, try scheduling regular apartment inspections. Most hoarders do not wish to be found out, and so will be discreet about the situation. There are warning signs, however: refusing or repeatedly rescheduling maintenance appointments, foul smells or sudden pest infestations, or regularly retrieving things from the dumpster or street.
If you find out that one of your tenants is hoarding, confront the situation immediately. The Units article suggests focusing on the safety and health reasons for cleaning out an apartment, and avoid making accusing statements or even using terms like “hoarder.” Because hoarding is increasingly recognized as a manifestation of mental distress, it can be treated as a disability. Consider giving your resident extra time to clear things out—say, 45 days rather than 15—and make it clear which parts of the lease are being violated and therefore qualify for termination if the situation is not addressed. Be specific in what you require for a unit to meet safe and sanitary conditions. And be sensitive: see if it’s possible for the resident to get help from friends, family, or even a therapist. It’s better for everyone involved if the behavior doesn’t continue. | <urn:uuid:241d68d4-04b4-40b5-82c0-49441efe89ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://localtalk.mynewplace.com/2012/04/19/is-your-resident-a-hoarder/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95195 | 434 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Metro will look at the "invisible tunnel" "later this year"
The idea of a virtual tunnel between the two Farragut stations on Metrorail was the subject of several posts on CommuterPage and here about two years ago. The idea is to allow passengers to exit one Farragut station and enter the other within a set period of time, counting the whole thing as a single trip rather than two trips.
Given that Metro is currently making significant changes to its fares, I suggested to Interim General Manager Sarles that now would be a good time to also incorporate this long overdue idea for several reasons:
- Metro staff is already working on making many changes, so it would be more efficient to implement now than come back and make more changes later.
- Many customers are understandably unhappy about fare increases. Implementing the invisible tunnel would provide a positive change in operations that would add convenience for some of your riders to help offset some of the negative PR that comes with fare increases.
- It's a no-brainer: It decreases congestion at Metro Center, provides a speedier ride for some customers and has absolutely no downside whatsoever.
Mike Russo, Metro's Assistant Chief Engineer for Automatic Fare Collection Systems, told me that they support the idea, but it "will not be an easy programming effort" because of memory limitations in the faregates, but that they hope to "re-examin[e] the Farragut transfer concept later this year" after the current fare changes are done.
Dear Mr. Offutt:
Thank you for your June 20, 2010 email message to Richard Sarles, General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), regarding proposals to allow seamless transfers between Farragut North and Farragut West Metrorail stations. I have been asked to reply.
Metro is continuously seeking opportunities to improve the travel experience for customers. The proposal for transfers between the two Farragut Square stations is worthwhile and may well be implemented in the future, with appropriate upgrades to the existing system.
As you may be aware, Metro has hired an outside contractor to implement the fare changes recently approved by the Board of Directors. Part of that contract is a requirement to deliver a fare system that can allow rail-to-rail transfers, a capability that should include the "seamless" transfer you envision between the Farragut Square stations, allowing customers to continue on their journey while being charged as if they never left the Metrorail system.
Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity to test that specific functionality, and preliminary indications are that it will not be an easy programming effort. Among the many concerns we must address are the memory limitations of the faregates, since the fare tables that go with this transfer structure are quite large.
This is not at all to suggest that the Farragut-to-Farragut transfer cannot be implemented in the future. The inclusion of that requirement in the contract is evidence that Metro intends to make the change because it would benefit both customers and the system. However, at the moment we are focusing all available resources on major, Board-mandated changes to the fare structure: adding "peak-of-the-peak" charges, implementing passes on Smartrip®, and meeting the IRS requirement on SmartBenefits® (separate benefits for parking and transit). Any one of these goals would be challenging, but we must complete all three, plus minor adjustments, before a rapidly approaching deadline.
We look forward to re-examining the Farragut transfer concept later this year, after we have had sufficient time to observe the latest fare changes in full operation and make any needed adjustments.
We appreciate your inquiry and your patience as we work to implement a fare structure that is reliable and applied fairly for all customers.
Assistant Chief Engineer
Automatic Fare Collection Systems
- Metro bag searches aren't always optional
- Young kids try to assault me while biking
- Focus transportation on downtown or neighborhoods?
- Redeveloping McMillan is the only way to save it
- Endless zoning update delay hurts homeowners
- DDOT agrees to repave 15th Street cycle track
- Vienna Metro town center won't have a town center | <urn:uuid:9dbfdfcc-8c00-48f0-b344-50dfbe7ce584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/6321/metro-will-look-at-the-invisible-tunnel-later-this-year/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950576 | 873 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Thanks for the welcome into the beekeeping family. This forum is really great!! Are there any good beekeeping beginner books. We were given a couple sets of hives and are really clueless on how to get it started. We know the basic but I have a million questions. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. | <urn:uuid:b6dd5346-e13c-47bd-8fda-1a37fd083787> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?254553-Beekeeping-beginner | 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 | 0.980067 | 63 | 1.5 | 2 |
Young Maori business enthusiast Shay Wright is buzzing about developing a new kind of business support framework for Maori.
As the new Head of Maori Development at The Icehouse, Wright says it's rare to get a leadership backed opportunity with full flexibility.
"We're not constrained by standard 'business' thinking. We've kept our ears and nose to the ground to make sure we are really listening to Maori businesses and iwi about their key challenges. We are making no assumptions about what we think Maori business leaders need."
Wright says the goal is to make Maori an economic powerhouse, starting with enabling Maori Trusts who have established businesses. "The trusts have the greatest potential of becoming the driving economic engine. When they generate profits, we will see reinvestment into our people, housing and marae. We will be able to create opportunities for youth, engage deeply with Maori entrepreneurs, and help bring back the culture of entrepreneurship that Maori were once renowned for."
He believes that Maori are sick of the tick box mentality that has become the status quo; at best this has only delivered incremental change.
Wright says most mainstream business organisations have never cracked the Maori model.
This is partly because they use a transactional approach to build the relationship with Maori, partly because of the scepticism, and partly because of a general lack of understanding of how Maori actually think and operate. "Maori are inherently inter-generational thinkers, so the process and timeframe for making decisions can be significantly longer - and the decisions consider factors other than just financial reasons."
For the Icehouse, this has meant a rethink of the engagement strategy with Maori, and acknowledging that the traditional content and delivery of business programmes may not be the most effective model for Maori businesses.
Teresa Nepia who completed a pilot programme late last year says it was valuable to meet and talk to others in the business community and learn from their experiences.
"As my first journey into the world of formal business learning, it was an awesome first step - challenging but interesting. The facilitators and guest speakers were the highlight. My experience of the Icehouse approach was user friendly for those who are new to the concepts and for those who have been in business for a long time," she says.
The next programme Maori have asked for is aimed at developing competencies within Maori Trusts.
"Trusts utilise decision-making by committee. The whole decision-making group needs to be involved in the learning journey together. One trustee coming on a programme and trying to convince the others about their new ideas just won't work - trusts have quite a bit of scepticism, conservative thinking and lack of knowledge around taking opportunities."
The first Maori Trustees Programme is expected to be held in Auckland in April. | <urn:uuid:745b5c87-a7d7-4c5f-8af8-325f366185db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology-and-innovation/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501186&objectid=10867665 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970772 | 576 | 1.75 | 2 |
Arab League members are considering the alliance's next steps toward Syria, including the possibility of a forming a joint peacekeeping force with the United Nations.
Arab League ministers met throughout the day Sunday, regrouping after a league plan was vetoed by Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council. A draft resolution being circulated proposes a joint peacekeeping force to help end the violence that has rocked Syria for nearly a year.
The proposal would significantly increase the level of intervention in the conflict, but it was not clear how far the idea would progress. Syria's allies in the Security Council have consistently rejected more modest proposals.
The Arab ministers were also considering whether to suggest the United Nations appoint a special envoy to Damascus, and that a variety of international sanctions be strengthened.
Tunisia announced that it will host the first meeting of the Friends of Syria, a group of Arab and European nations plus the United States, formed to bypass Security Council opposition.
League members also discussed greater recognition of the opposition Syrian National Council as an alternative government to that of President Bashar al-Assad. The drive is being led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who met earlier in the day in Cairo.
Outside league headquarters in Cairo, demonstrators continued their demands the alliance take strong action.
As for recognition of the Syrian National Council, demonstrator Ahmed Ouf is hopeful that would be the start of a process that proved successful elsewhere in the region.
"We must start to make like Libya. The Libyan people take support from Qatar, from the U.N. We need the soldiers to leave Bashar al-Assad soldiers and make the el-Jish el-Hor [Free Army]. They must take support from government to the people."
But the people are far from united, with some opponents in Syria suspicious of the foreign-based Syrian National Council, and an increasingly militarized wing split between the rebel Free Syrian Army and local militias.
Further complicating support for what began as a peaceful opposition movement, al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri made a public appeal on behalf of the uprising.
In a video posted on an extremist website Sunday, Zawahri called for liberation from and retaliation against the government of President Assad. He also called for militants in neighboring countries to join in the fight.
Western intelligence analysts say al-Qaida members are already likely involved, and suspect them of carrying out recent bombings in Aleppo.
Nearly a year after the uprising began, and thousands of civilians and security personnel killed, the violence continued Sunday with government forces pounding residential areas of the flashpoint city of Homs. | <urn:uuid:c684d938-dd78-4bc7-b074-b51fdbfa5dd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/articleprintview/151918.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962281 | 537 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Federal authorities at Lake Lanier say they're putting renewed emphasis on safety for boaters and swimmers after three deaths at the lake.
CBS Atlanta reports that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will suspend all new applications for dock construction this summer and will focus on safety awareness for boaters and swimmers.
Nick Baggett of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says there have been a couple of drownings already this year. He said the number of drownings is alarming because they happened so early in the season.
Lake Lanier is just northeast of Atlanta. | <urn:uuid:0d896686-3531-4477-96f2-4df16539610f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gpb.org/news/2012/05/16/deaths-prompt-water-safety-focus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964778 | 120 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The humble 4-koma: a style of manga featuring four panels aligned vertically; otherwise known as yonkoma or four panel manga. Most examples are found acting as a complement to series, an extra bonus awaiting those who acquire the bound volumes. Look no further than Hayate the Combat Butler, Genshiken, or The World God Only Knows for plentiful examples. They are also found in Japanese newspapers and magazines, akin to our own political cartoons. They are short, sweet, and relatively ubiquitous.
Yet, some manga use the format for the series itself. Again copious examples may be found, some of which have anime adaptations. Hidamari Sketch, K-On, Lucky Star, and the recently adapted Kill Me Baby, are just a few examples. All are generally light series, never straying too far from a slice of life and mostly including comedic elements. Indeed, the style itself is effectively defined by light, airy comedies.
Yet, there are always exceptions to a rule, and it is these exceptions that I find affecting.
By a curious turn of events, that I shan’t bother boring you with here, I was introduced to three series, all being of a distinctly artistic persuasion. These, as you can probably guess, are Hidamari Sketch, Sketchbook, and GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class.
After watching each series’ adaptations and finding them adorable, boring, and batty, respectively, I found myself hunting for the source for both the first and the last. Having acquired, and read them, they were as one would expect.
Yet, hidden in the final chapter of the third volume of GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class, henceforth referred to as GA to preserve sanity, we find the focus turning to a specific character. Miyabi Oomichi, known to her peers as Professor and Masa, is of the silent and mysterious kind. She is treated with respect by her peers, and is notably knowledgeable about her subject, but is not entirely above continuing a joke. It is also noted early on in the manga that she is engaged, of the arranged marriage kind. The chapter in question shows Oomichi acting slightly off.
Through a convenient twist we follow Kisaragi, effectively the main character, on a visit to Oomichi’s home. Here we find the traditional background one would expect of such a character, and an explanation of why she is not her usual self. Some have listed this as dislike for her arranged marriage; yet I find myself disagreeing with this simple reduction. As Kisaragi notes, Oomichi is by no means an unhappy girl. That she would paint such pictures of her fiancé’s shrine, I would argue her not entirely against it. Nervous about the steps she will soon be taking, perhaps, but certainly not an overt expression of dislike.
Whilst this scene is not melancholic, per se, it is at the very least affecting. We see beyond the obsidian shell of a character who is either a closed book, or simply one dimensional. It is not too far removed from the whimsicality and overt battiness the series wears with pride, yet, nevertheless strikes a different tone.
After reading the series, I did what any other would, and decided to take a look at other 4-koma series. One of these sampled manga was that of Satoko Kiyuduki’s Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. Being by the same author as GA, difficult to locate, and with only a few copies remaining on a certain online shop, I decided to take the plunge and bought both volumes.
I could very easily wax lyrical on the presentation, style, and extensively coloured illustrations, but that is perhaps for another time. For now, I wish to focus on its plot.
Again, we find a relatively whimsical 4-koma, only this time with a fantasy setting. Centred about the eponymous traveller, Kuro, we follow her and her companions through a number of vignettes. Kuro’s tale, however, is much darker than that of GA’s. We find within her pages tales of curses, falsehoods, superstitions, disease, and death. Presented alongside prevalent themes of hope, innocence, and the minutiae of everyday life.
Painted with a light brush, the darker elements of Kuro are handled subtly, with neither meaning nor consequence forced upon the reader. The juxtaposition of whimsy and charm, found within 4-koma in general, alongside darker topics, makes for an affecting read.
Perhaps an example is in order?
Early on in the series we are introduced to the characters Nijuku and Sanju. Both are small children with unusual gifts, such as the ability to shapeshift, and to absorb and give colour to that which is around them. We learn that their father figure, known only as the Professor, has since passed on. Kuro finds the children locked in a cell in the basement of the Professor’s castle. Explaining the Professor’s demise to the innocent children is both revealing of the two main characters’ personalities, and a delicate moment to observe as the children fail to comprehend that they can no longer see their beloved Professor.
Adding to the sense of unease, we find that the Professor holds a reputation for research into the supernatural, that he met his demise in a less than peaceful manner, that his castle holds many cells and dungeons, and that the children’s names mean Twenty-Nine and Thirty respectively. Visions of a stylised Dr. Frankenstein rise unbidden in the mind. Well, in mine at the very least.
We go on to see a number of other events. We see that which leads to the death of an entire town. We are told the meaning behind Kuro’s somewhat apt name. We are told bittersweet tales of love, and the final moments of a lonely old man reunited with his wife.
Satoko Kiyuduki may not write the most complex, or philosophical, works. Nor does she produce a gamut of popular, action-oriented titles. Yet Miss Kiyuduki has illustrated her ability to inject weight, and perhaps a little melancholy, into a genre that is not known for it. Perhaps she is not alone in doing this, but I would recommend Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro to both old hands, and to those who have otherwise overlooked the genre for being what it often is. | <urn:uuid:30b8e1ef-5846-4033-a202-1006d8425adf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://altairandvega.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-melancholy-of-satoko-kiyuduki-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971547 | 1,349 | 1.648438 | 2 |
American Airlines may be using faulty baggage scales in New York’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.
DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz said that because of the luggage fees the airlines are charging, the scales have to be perfect. His agency is shutting down any luggage scales that aren’t accurate.
A check of the 810 luggage scales at Kennedy and LaGuardia, proved that 102 of them have not been calibrated correctly. 28 are at American’s counters, which has one of the highest baggage fees in the nation.
The New York City Weights and Measures Law says that a scale cannot be off by more than one pound either way. If a scale is not accurate, it has to be taken out of commission until it is properly calibrated.
A follow-up inspection found that LaGuardia’s scales were 100 percent accurate. At JFK, however, 10 were condemned because they were inaccurate and continued to be used.
DCA spokeswoman Beth Miller said that it doesn’t matter whether the scales are reading heavier or lighter. If it’s wrong, it can’t be used. Otherwise, they face $150 in fines, which could increase after a hearing in December.
A DCA source said that ”American Airlines is the biggest violator, and they continued to use 10 scales after they were issued a stop-use order…It’s kind of curious that all 10 were only with one airline. We are going to check on them regularly.”
American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said that “it spends tens of thousands of dollars each year on scale calibration.”
Mintz said that the DCA is urging passengers to be on the lookout for red condemned stickers on scales. If they see a scale being used despite the sticker, they are urged to contact the DCA and it will be taken care of.
You can read the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs press release regarding this issue here. | <urn:uuid:e8d07ed5-8aa3-441a-b652-f563b9466201> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/baggage-scales-at-new-york-airports-may-be-wrong/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963218 | 408 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Organized Pitches Occurring in Time consists of two 25 minute pieces of music, both spawned from the same conceptual composition/score by Duane Pitre, titled Ensemble Drones. With their form reminiscent of works by La Monte Young’s Theater of Eternal Music and their tonality touching on the floating works of Terry Riley, The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base & The Ensemble Chord in C with a Major 7th and a Guitar Base are aural tapestries based on a minimal tonal palette with their instrumentation consisting of guitars, alto saxophones, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, tone generator, and pump organ.
The Ensemble Drones composition varies from the traditional sort as it is rule-based with the score consisting of a set tonic, set pitch classes, playing methods, technique restrictions, and spontaneous conduction. The score is a structure for the performing ensemble to improvise on—order spawning chaos producing order that is different on each occasion of a performance or recording. Ensemble Drones is discipline and freedom, both within each other, the first major focus of the work. Variance is the second major focus of the composition; with instrumentation, ensemble performers, tonic, pitch classes, and the physical space varying from performance to performance, the results can never be the same
File Under: Abstract, Minimal
01. The Ensemble Chord In Eb With a Minor 7th And a Pump Organ Base
02. The Ensemble Chord In C With a Major 7th And a Guitar Base | <urn:uuid:63196c1a-5823-4837-bb80-261c5e98c385> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.monitor-records.com/list_record.php?cpage=4&catcode=6&id=11928&pid=Important&pcode=- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939287 | 332 | 1.515625 | 2 |
in reply to
Learning Perl as a First (programming) language
What are your personal experiences if you've started with Perl, or how well have others around you learned Perl as a first language?
I personally started with perl in 1996 after having tried C++ (which came after C, which came after GFA-Basic). Even if I put aside the encounters with in-school programming languages such as Scheme, CL, ML, Pascal I could say, that I found Perl in a phase of mine, where my programming skills were - well - skilled.
What I can make statements about, is now the aproach of some employees here that also started with perl a few months ago. All of them had one or another programming experience in general and some programming languages knowledge as such.
The most interesting facts are:
- I think that the high idiomatic richness of perl has
sharpened my point of view "how to do it" in a way
that the TMTOWTDI type of thinking opened "new
pathways" in my brain. I think perl helped me to
improve my programming skills in general by offering
constructs that seem to fit more of a natural thinking
(instead of the formalized thinking of the more
low level languages).
- But we were talking about beginners: So I am very
carefully watching the colleagues learning perl.
My observation is, that when an average - but
ambitious - programmer is confronted with perl AND
if he is forced to have GOOD results in his code,
he will go through a major change in his type of
problem solving and he will of course encounter
far too many ways of how to do it.
Yes - in general a programmer wishing to harness
most (if not full) of the power of Perl will soon
see, that he needs to learn a damn lot more than
he already knows.
- I don't have any experience with first-time
programmers starting with perl, but according to my
experience it absolutedly cannot hurt. Why? Because
even the fresh perl code generated by programmers
already keen in some programming arts, looks in the
first iterations like some kind of perl-basic.
So my conclusion is: Perl is absolutedly suitable as first-to-learn-language, as long as the programmer is
aware of the many refactoring iterations his software
will have to go through. | <urn:uuid:2b72bafd-3f35-49cb-a6c8-6ddb7c514834> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=187024 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969287 | 507 | 1.625 | 2 |
Many of you already use apps to keep track of your physical activity, your weight or your calorie intake. Have you ever considered self-tracking your hobbies? Many services and apps can help you track down your favorite music tracks, books, series or movies so that you can keep a detailed record of your experiences! In this article, we examine some of the most interesting tools to do that.
If you are a TV enthusiast who is trying to keep up with multiple series, you should try a series tracking up such as TVGuru or TV Show tracker. With these apps you can organize your favorite shows into folders and then mark the episodes you’ve already seen to remember exactly what you have to watch next. TV Show tracker also allows you to get a synopsis, a screen capture and a video preview for each episode and to rate and share on Twitter what you have watched.
Do you consider yourself to be a book lover? Do you sometimes forget which books you have read? With book tracking applications such as Book Crawler or BookLover you can create lists of the books you’re reading, loved to read, or want to read and even add notes to each book entry. You can even scan the book’s barcode to save time entering its data and share your book recommendations on Twitter and Facebook or by email. Booklover can also recommend other books you might like to try, based on the authors you have been reading, whereas Book Crawler allows you to use Dropbox to backup, restore and import CSV and SQLite files, in order for you to be able to view your database in a browser on your desktop computer!
If you would rather spend most of your free time watching movies, then maybe you should try iCheckMovies! By creating a profile on this online service you can keep track of all the movies and series you have seen, rearrange them in your own movie lists, get personal recommendations and create groups to share your passion with other movie lovers. You can also add your personal notes to the movies you like and win various awards!
You may already know Last.fm as a music service that lets you discover new music you like, but did you know you can also use it for tracking? By creating a profile, all the tracks you listen to on your computer will get added to your lists and you will also get personalized music charts and statistics.
Have you tried keeping track of your favorite books, music or movies? Do you use mobile apps to do it? Let us know in the comment section! | <urn:uuid:4ea27144-c4ae-4e5e-9c6b-023caa2b19f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.withings.com/en/2012/05/22/track-your-hobbies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959206 | 517 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Pennsylvania is quickly becoming a hotbed for arts education advocacy. Just a little over a week ago, I found this video from York, showing how students protested the loss of art and music in a proposed budget.
Today, I became aware of a movement in Upper Darby (just outside of Philadelphia) under the banner Save Upper Darby Arts. This group came together to advocate for a well-rounded education that includes “music, art, library studies, physical education, technology, and foreign language curricula” at a time that many districts are choosing to cut some or all of these classes in order to save money.
This well-made video explains everything you need to know… | <urn:uuid:47572596-7ec6-4803-b277-dcf2acafa649> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.artsusa.org/tag/upper-darby/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955092 | 141 | 1.734375 | 2 |
A huge tornado tears through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing dozens. Slideshow
Iranian dissident and French lawmakers urge new policy on Iran
PARIS (Reuters) - French lawmakers invited the head of a previously shunned Iranian dissident group to parliament on Wednesday, aiming to help it gain credibility as a viable opposition to Tehran's government.
Speaking to members of a parliamentary committee on Iran, Maryam Rajavi, leader of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said it was time her group was taken seriously as a force for democracy in Iran.
"The biggest political error in the West is to ignore the key movement of change in Iran," Rajavi told the conference.
France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has been one of the most vocal proponents of tougher sanctions against Iran, which it suspects of trying to develop a nuclear bomb.
"International sanctions are positive steps. But they will only be effective if the West changes its policy vis-a-vis the resistance," said Rajavi, whose group is also known as the Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK).
The U.S. state department removed the NCRI from its official list of terrorist organizations in September in what Rajavi then hailed as a key blow to the clerical regime that has ruled Iran since its 1979 Revolution.
The group - which fought alongside Saddam Hussein's forces in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war - led a guerrilla campaign against the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran during the 1970s, including attacks on American targets.
The NCRI calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and wants the West to maintain diplomatic relations with Tehran only if it stops executions and torture. It also wants Iran's human rights record put in front of the U.N. Security Council.
The French government has no official contact with the NCRI.
Attending Thursday's conference was former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who said France's early leadership in Libya's conflict and France's official recognition in November of Syrian rebels were important precedents for a new policy towards Iran.
"I call on my French friends to once again be leaders and recognize the Iranian resistance of the MEK and ... Maryam Rajavi as she seeks to bring democracy and human rights to her country in Iraq," Kennedy told the conference.
"The Arab Spring will not be a true Arab spring until it comes to the troubled country of Iran," said Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.
Other U.S. public figures who had supported the group's removal from the terrorism list included former CIA Director R. James Woolsey and former FBI Director Louis Freeh.
(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; editing by Andrew Roche)
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Clinton Holds Dialogue with South African Leaders
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the administrative capital of South Africa to attend a meeting with senior government officials and business leaders.
Clinton meets Tuesday with Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane during the second annual U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue in Pretoria.
The top U.S. diplomat has been promoting American investment and trade during her multi-nation tour of Africa. She is spending four days in South Africa, which is the continent’s largest economy and a major market for American goods.
She is also looking for the support of South Africa, a member of the U.N. Security Council, in dealing with the crisis in Syria.
The top U.S. diplomat met Monday with anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela in the former president’s village of Qunu. The 94-year-old Mr. Mandela is in frail health and rarely appears in public.
After her stop in South Africa, Secretary of State Clinton is scheduled to travel to Nigeria, Benin and Ghana. Earlier stops on Clinton’s 11-day tour included Senegal, Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya.
The continent as a whole is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies and populations. Boosting trade and investment in the continent has been a key component of U.S. foreign policy there.VOA | <urn:uuid:ee219e98-98db-4a9a-97a2-5cd11e875cb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://indepthafrica.com/clinton-holds-dialogue-with-south-african-leaders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955599 | 294 | 1.835938 | 2 |
UCLA Economic Forecast: CA Unemployment to Stay High
Economic growth will remain sluggish, especially in inland areas.
By City News Service
California’s unemployment rate will remain high at 12 percent through 2012, but the nation is not about to skid anew into recession, according to a UCLA economic forecast released Tuesday.
“With the economy in stall mode, the most likely scenario will be a slow build over the next 12 months followed by an incipient recovery period,” UCLA Anderson Forecast senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg wrote in his report.
This means a slight increase in California’s unemployment rate over the next two quarters, “followed by a slow trajectory towards, but not reaching, single-digit unemployment the following five quarters,” according to Nickelsburg.
According to his report, there will be virtually no employment growth in the state for the balance of the year, with growth of 0.7 percent expected next year and 2.1 percent in 2013. Overall, the state’s unemployment rate will hover around 12 percent through 2012, Nickelsburg concluded.
“Unemployment will fall through 2013, the last year of our forecast, and will average approximately 11 percent,” he wrote. “Employment growth in 2011 and 2012 will push unemployment down marginally, and therefore, we do not expect it to reach single digits until 2014.”
The economy will remain particularly sluggish in inland California areas, with high unemployment expected to extend into 2017, Nickelsburg reported. Coastal communities have experienced an economic recovery that has outpaced the rest of the nation, and that could continue thanks to the skilled-labor market and advanced manufacturing, according to the report.
The problem, according to Nickelsburg, is that there apparently will not be any spillover of the positive coastal-area economic news into the inland community, meaning a widening gap between inland and coastal areas.
“There exists a possibility of negative population growth in Inland California,” Nickelsburg wrote. “It is difficult to quantify the likelihood of such an event and we are not forecasting one to occur, but it is not outrageous to consider it. Indeed, it is important for policy makers to keep this in mind as they plan for two very different Californias.
“… Averaged together, these two Californias — a contracting (inland area) and expanding (coastal area) will generate muted economic growth through the first three quarters of 2012, growth that will be sub-par when compared to the rest of the country.”
In its assessment of the national economy, the Anderson Forecast found the outlook “far worse” than it was just three months ago. Given the economy’s weak performance in the first half of the year, the forecast projected average Gross Domestic Product growth of just 0.9 percent per quarter on average through the first quarter of 2012.
“However, the Forecast economists remain steadfast in their assertion that the United States is not currently in a recession, nor is there a recession in the forecast through 2013,” according to a statement accompanying Tuesday’s forecast.Print This Post
September 22, 2011 Copyright © 2012 Eastern Group Publications, Inc. | <urn:uuid:f1e86393-1908-466c-a3cb-f100818ff5e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://egpnews.com/2011/09/ucla-economic-forecast-ca-unemployment-to-stay-high/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944868 | 676 | 1.53125 | 2 |
These are the famous white horses from the Rhone Delta in Southern France.
At Valley Farm you will find the only breeding herd of Camargue Horses in Great Britain. The three fillies from the Tour Du Valat and one colt from Le Caylar which formed the original herd were brought here as foals in 1991. In 1992 four more mares were imported to enlarge the herd. 1993 saw the birth of Britain's first Camargue foals.
Pure bred and part bred mares, foals and geldings are now regularly available for sale from the riding centre, or can be bred to order. (See our For Sale page for details)
If you would like to see the Camargue Horses here at Valley Farm you can visit at any time during the summer months between 10am and 4pm. If you would like to ride one of these famous horses, please call the centre to arrange a time.
The Camargue Horses at Valley Farm are trained for, Western Riding, Carriage Driving, Horseball, Polocrosse, Circus, High School, Side Saddle, Dressage, Show Jumping and they participate in all the other riding school activities.
Lessons in most of the above can be arranged on a camargue horse, or on one of the many other breeds of horse we have at the centre. If you are aged between 6 and 17 you can join us for a week in the summer and ride camargue horses every day, as well as learn about all the equestrian activities they do. See our Pony Camp page for more details.
If you would like your own Camargue horse, you might be interested in some of the following:
- You can loan a Camargue horse - See our livery page under baiting.
- You can buy a Camargue horse. - See our For Sale page for a list of horses available or come and visit us.
For identification purposes all Camargue foals are branded with the mark of the 'manade' where they were born and a letter which changes each year like a cars registration. (1990 = C 1991 = D etc.) In addition a number identifies the first born in the herd to the last.
Fabriqué en Angleterre, Valley Farms first born can be identified by his brand. F 1 and for Valley Farm.
These Camargues Horses feel just as much at home on our marshes here, as they would on the salt marshes in the Camargue.
For more information about Camargue Horses see British Camargue Horse Society | <urn:uuid:29cca52a-94ea-44f8-9a19-2490aa289d87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valleyfarmonline.co.uk/index.php?categoryid=17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948361 | 535 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The nickle does sometimes catch a bit on the perfboard; gluing something a bit slipperier onto the board, or lightly sanding it, might help.
Step 1: Break the Perfboard
After doing the layout, score and break the board. I score a few times on each side with a box knife and break over the corner of a table. In these pictures I'm making two sensors, so I've made four plates -- a top and a bottom for each. The little bit of extra board was useful elsewhere in the project. | <urn:uuid:1dab5258-5a22-4d07-a0d7-a88604654f7a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.instructables.com/id/Five-cent-Tilt-Sensor/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9316 | 113 | 1.679688 | 2 |
It is one week later and I am relieved to be working on my home computer. In fact, I am relieved to to be in my house without sweating or watching Knickers’ endless panting. If you were not aware of the Washington area’s latest natural disaster, I will get you quickly informed. On Friday evening, June 29, residents in the midAtlantic region were treated to an uncommon weather front defined as a derecho.
What is a derecho?
According to the infamous source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, a derecho is a “widespread, long-lived, straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast moving band of severe thunderstorms. They travel quickly in the direction of movement of their associated storms with sustained wind that increases in strength behind the front, generally exceeding hurricane-force. The derecho is a warm-weather phenomenon that occurs in the summer especially during June and July in the Northern hemisphere (exactly) and can occur as frequently at night as during the daylight hours.”
Why am I discussing this little known wind and rain phenomenon?
I was “on call” for the diabetes program during the storm and its aftermath on the weekend. It was extremely stressful for the hospital staff, outpatients, and inpatients due to the electrical havoc that ensued. Many areas of the region were stripped of electricity and the derecho also disabled the major telephone services’ ability to have communication via telephone and fax. It was difficult to contact families and hospital staff via phone and I finally had to use text messaging on my cell phone! Because of the lack of electricity, there were grave concerns about insulin becoming denatured and thus ineffective. (One pediatric practice had to bring all their vaccines to a community hospital to avoid having to toss all vials.) I was desperate to contact all families who needed help; I hoped that all calls would somehow get through via the hospital paging system. Finally, by Saturday afternoon, the hospital operators and I had a system in place to get back to patients. Fortunately, very few of our families got into trouble, but it was incredibly stressful for all.
Personally, I was multitasking. I was fielding calls from the hospital and dealing with a huge tree that fell on my roof (I am grateful that there was minimal damage). While my tree specialist was cutting down the tree from my roof, I was providing insulin adjustments and communicating with Children’sNationalMedicalCenterresidents about the inpatients. I was unable to leave the neighborhood due to trees and wires blocking the streets. Of course, there was no electricity and my cell phone was losing charge, which required me to get in my car and charge my battery repeatedly.
All in all, our families were prepared.
Our team has constantly reinforced disaster preparedness since 9/11. Having redundancy of supplies is essential, as is some method to keep things cool (that was an incredible challenge). A generator may not be a bad idea for families that require medicines to be cooled. However, knowing how to work a generator is essential. One family on my block with access to a generator was saved by a battery operated carbon monoxide detector that went on at 3 am the day after the derecho hit. The rescue squad arrived and blew out the harmful gases from their home and no one in the family was harmed. | <urn:uuid:81b124b9-574e-4793-acef-b088126d9baa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/651280/154653/emergencies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982747 | 686 | 1.664063 | 2 |
North-South exchange brings two Canadian communities together in Nelson
Sixteen students from Fort McPherson, North West Territories began their long journey home Saturday after a memorable week in the community.
But before they departed, the L.V. Rogers and Chief Julius students, their hosts and community members who helped make the North-South exchange happen, celebrated at a banquet held at the Hume hotel Friday evening.
Students took turns linking arms and taking pictures while reminiscing about the weeklong adventure that bonded teens from two very different parts of Canada.
It was hard to imagine that merely a week ago, the kids stood separated like boys and girls at a junior high dance, communication and the unknown a barrier.
“I feel that now we’re great friends,” said LVR student Sebastian Lutz addressing the Ft. McPherson crew. Added schoolmate Aloe Harris, “Every one of you has a place in my heart.”
Relationships formed over lunches filled with laughter as the students warmed up, asked questions of each other and then, conversation took off.
The fun-filled week was a testament to all the Kootenays have to offer. Snowshoeing at the top of the Salmo-Creston Pass included a lesson about the mountain caribou. The group went downhill skiing at the Salmo hill. They listened and learned from Allison Girvan’s Corazon Choir; toured Touchstones and Nelson Hydro and connected with aboriginal students in Creston for outdoor activities.
They also spent Friday at the curling club, making granola to donate; learning to curl and creating two stain glassed windows – one for each group of students to commemorate the trip.
With Ft. McPherson 4000 km away, it’s cheaper to fly to France, one reason exchanges among students living within Canada don’t happen more often. LVR teacher Tamara Martin is happy to be breaking new ground with uniting young Canadians.
“Just watching the dynamic of the group grow more and more each day was rewarding,” she said.
Chief Julius teacher Sonia Gregory thanked Nelson families for opening their homes to strangers with differing customs. At first introduction over Facebook some of her students proudly posted pictures of their hunting captures. Common for the far north, she worried about the impression this would make on teens not used to such things.
Seeing the success of the trip, she was able to laugh at her concerns and said, “For many of our students, there have been a lot of new experiences. There’s been huge learning here for them.”
In April the fast friends will be reunited as LVR students make the journey to the far north. There they will be immersed in a culture where elders are revered and hunting is a way of life. Temperatures will reach -30 degrees Celsius and the sun will shine at 3 a.m. The land is harsh but hearts are warm and everyone is eager for the journey to continue. | <urn:uuid:4fb728d8-ccc7-4505-8c5b-e31e89ba09b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nelsonstar.com/community/191562211.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958078 | 623 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Since over a decade, Kabul has been called the city of beggars by many. War and destitution has pushed many, particularly Afghan widows, to the streets for beggary. A large number of needy families send their children for beggary. Also a large number of beggars are disables, those who have lost their lambs in war and landmine incidents.
There has been no improvement in lives of this the most miserable and ill-fated portion of Afghan society since the establishment of transitional government.
The following photos are taken by a RAWA member who had a trip to Kabul in October 2002. | <urn:uuid:4154df7e-e62e-4b01-bb5d-ad453d4ff417> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rawa.org/k-nam-beg.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982898 | 125 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The reality of National Health Care in Europe and Canada is that care is rationed. The Vancouver Sun reported that the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is looking to close nearly 25% of its operating rooms and will cut 6,250 surgeries including 24% of cases scheduled from March to September and 10% of all medically necessary elective procedures this fiscal year. (op cit)
The article goes on to quote Dr. Anne Doig, the new president of the Canadian Medical Association who says, "It's clear Canadians are getting less than optimal care. We all agree that the system is imploding. We all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize."
That would not be the model I would want for healthcare in the US. | <urn:uuid:61a520b4-63a6-420f-a622-7b1f1ef1fcfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://consider-freedom.blogspot.com/2009/08/rationed-healthcare.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976235 | 148 | 1.5 | 2 |
The School of Business and Information Technologies provides access to a world-class and work-relevant education, focused on achieving institutional and national goals of workforce development.
The School of Business and Information Technologies consists of two departments:
- Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
- Department of Information Science and Technology
These departments provide the public with a range of academic services to meet a growing number of careers and opportunities locally, regionally, and globally.
The School of Business and Information Technologies is devoted to the development and preparation of students who are able to confront the challenges of the fast-paced, dynamic work environment. The school produces graduates who:
- are professional and ethical,
- can solve challenges creatively,
- embrace technological advancement, and
- can adapt to a rapidly evolving world.
We will accomplish this through value-based relationships with the business and national communities, creating a learner-centered curriculum dedicated to student success. | <urn:uuid:412c17df-e158-4fa6-8564-212204fb4dd1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.costaatt.edu.tt/academics/school-of-business-and-information-technologies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934069 | 190 | 1.5 | 2 |
Because of recent legislation, tax deductions may be awarded for part or all of the costs associated with new construction and/or equipment installations or retrofits that improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings. On Oct. 3, President Bush signed H.R. 1424, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which extends the benefits of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 through Dec. 31, 2013, into law. Section 1331, Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction, of the Act establishes energy-efficiency commercial-building tax deductions for expenditures related to interior-lighting, HVAC, and hot-water systems and building envelopes. This opportunity potentially allows for the immediate expensing of costs that otherwise would be capitalized and recovered through depreciation over 27½ to 39 years.
Section 1331 makes provisions for a tax deduction limited to $1.80 per square foot on new construction after Dec. 31, 2005, if total annual energy and power costs of interior-lighting, HVAC, and hot-water systems and the building envelope are at least 50-percent below the minimum requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
If an entire building does not qualify for the $1.80-per-square-foot deduction, partial allowances may be made for individual systems. If within the scope of Standard 90.1-2001, HVAC and hot-water systems and building envelopes may qualify for deductions of up to 60 cents per square foot. However, building owners are encouraged to focus on lighting systems first because they are easily available to upgrade and their potential energy-efficiency achievements are known. Owners may receive a deduction of 30 cents per square foot for reductions in lighting-power density of 25 percent of the minimum requirements in tables 220.127.116.11 or 18.104.22.168 of Standard 90.1-2001 and 60 cents per square foot for reductions in lighting-power density greater than 40 percent. Prorated partial deductions may be permitted for reductions in lighting-power density between 25 and 40 percent.
Deductions are permitted in the year in which a property is placed in service. For tax purposes, “placed in service” generally refers to the time at which a property is ready for its intended use.
Certain certification requirements must be met to qualify for deductions. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2006-52, Deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings, and IRS Notice 2008-40, Amplification of Notice 2006-52: Deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings, describe methods of calculating and verifying energy and power costs using the performance rating method, the Nonresidential Alternative Calculation Method Approval Manual, and approved computer software.
Notice 2006-52 requires that a taxpayer must obtain certification for updates made to the property before he or she can claim a deduction. Certification must be provided by a “qualified individual” (i.e., a professional engineer/contractor properly licensed in the jurisdiction in which the building is located who is not related to the taxpayer and represents in writing that he or she has the proper qualifications to provide the required certifications and inspections). The certification process determines whether deductions are available but not the cost of the qualifying energy-efficient property. Therefore, a professional knowledgeable in cost-segregation services should verify the proper deduction amounts. Those seeking deductions are encouraged to look for a tax firm that specializes in energy-efficiency deductions and can provide representation and documentation in the event of an IRS audit.
WHO CAN BENEFIT?
The person or organization that pays for construction is generally the recipient of the tax deductions. This usually is a building owner, but could be a tenant for some HVAC or lighting-efficiency projects.
Notice 2008-40 allows tax deductions for government-owned commercial buildings, such as public schools, to be allocated to the person primarily responsible for designing the property in lieu of the public entity.
WHAT CAN BE WRITTEN OFF1
Although a property's base value is reduced by the tax-deduction amount and the property's remaining asset value depreciates over its tax life for the property class, the good news is that many cost components can be written off. This includes anything that can be capitalized, even labor.
Deducting the cost of a capital investment is not special. However, with energy-efficiency tax deductions, taxpayers potentially can write off the entire cost of a commercial-building improvement in the tax year in which it is placed in service, instead of the addition being capitalized and depreciated/amortized over time.
Director of cost-segregation and energy-efficient building-tax-deduction services for SourceCorp, Matthew Rader began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP. He received a bachelor's degree in construction science from Texas A&M University. Upon graduation, he worked as a consultant specializing in cost reviews, due diligence, construction monitoring, and representation of banks and investors regarding real-estate development and construction loans. He can be contacted via his company's Website at www.sourcecorptax.com/contact/contact_srcp.htm. | <urn:uuid:12ffcad0-7461-4282-9c63-336fdd9096ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hpac.com/green/energyefficiency_tax_benefits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941551 | 1,062 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Top 7 Pitfalls of Small Business
Step back and re-evaluate, often!
It must of happened to us all at some point when running a business, you get caught up in what is going on right now and you forget to relax and think about the big picture. Looking down the road allows us to react properly when danger is near.
Here is a list of the most common mistakes that have caused small business failure.
1. Inadequate planning. Start with realistic but precise goals for your firm (a business plan), including deadlines. For example, don't just say that you want to increase sales; instead, decide that you want sales to reach $100,000 by next holiday season. Then write down the steps you can take to meet those goals on time (an action plan), and set deadlines for completing those steps. Goals without plans are dreams! Don’t be afraid to state all the risks to your business, even if the list gets very long. Being aware of the problem and understanding its nature is 90% of the answer.
2. Ignoring the competition. Consumer loyalty has declined sharply in recent years. Today, customers go where they can find the best products and services, even if that means breaking off long-term business relationships. Monitor your competitors, and don't be ashamed to copy their best ideas (assuming that doesn't mean violating patent law). Better yet, devote some time each week or month to devising new methods, products, or services for your firm.
3. Ineffective marketing. Contrary to the popular cliche, few products or services "sell themselves". If you don't have time to market your product effectively, hire an experienced person to do it for you. Marketing keeps your products selling and money flowing into your business. It's crucial that you do it well.
4. Ignoring customers' needs. Once you attract customers, you'll have to work hard to keep them. Customer service should be a key aspect of your business. If you don't follow through with your customers, they'll find someone who will.
5. Poor location. Even the best restaurant or retail store will fail if it's in the wrong place. When you're scouting a location for your business, consider factors such as traffic (how many potential customers pass your business during the course of an afternoon or evening?) and convenience (how hard is it for your regular customers to get to your location on a regular basis?). This category also includes market location, the position of your product or services within the market. Know your market, an entry level product has to priced accordingly and then sold to that buyer. You cannot overprice a product and sell it to the high end buyer. This is called pricing and positioning your product out of the market.
6. Cash flow problems. You need to know how to track the money coming into and out of your business — even a profitable venture will flounder if it runs short of cash. In addition, you must learn to make cash flow projections that will help you decide how much money you can afford to spend and warn you of impending trouble.
7. A closed mind. Everyone goes into business with some preconceptions — don't be surprised if you find that many of yours are wrong. Look for mentors who can give you advice, and run your ideas by them before you make important financial commitments. Read books and magazines about small business, visit business-related Web sites, and network with your peers in the business community. | <urn:uuid:b8b5bd36-6d39-46bc-b78c-7ef4f154e720> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smallbizmaster.com/articles_02.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965186 | 712 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Sameer and I recently wrote a concise “Student Guide to Personal Publishing” which was published by Jostens (the class ring and yearbook company). They contacted us looking for information they could provide to students, parents, and educators about being safe and responsible when publishing material both online and off. While we regularly discuss these issues in our presentations, we didn’t have anything written that could be easily distributed. Now we do. Feel free to download the guide and distribute it far and wide. As always, if you have any comments, thoughts, or feedback, let us know.
...identifying the causes and consequences of cyberbullying | <urn:uuid:4d698be1-1eb9-413f-bfb4-35c47885e116> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cyberbullying.us/blog/tag/student-publishing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970838 | 133 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Sony reveals it has locked out over 100,000 accounts from the PlayStation Network and other online services following a spike in unauthorized login attempts, reports the New York Times. Word is: "In a statement Wednesday, Sony said it suspected that hackers had obtained login data from other Web sites or sources and used those to try to gain access to Sony accounts. Access was thought to have been gained to only a handful of accounts, and no credit card or other sensitive data were stolen, Sony said."
The PSN suffered a data breach in April that resulted in significant downtime followed by several further incidents which only seemed to end when Anonymous decided to cease the attacks. Sony has since taken further measures to protect against such breaches: Last month they amended their terms of service to disallow users from initiating class action lawsuits against them.
All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
News CGI copyright © 1999-2013 James "furn" Furness &
All rights reserved.
Chatbear v1.4.0/blue++: Page generated 19 June 2013, 21:52. | <urn:uuid:03da247f-64fb-4840-8341-bf0a607d83e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&boardid=1&threadid=126496&id=708460&view=threads | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968625 | 217 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Mon January 21, 2013
Why Miami Poet Richard Blanco Embodies Obama’s Winning Coalition
Today, Miami poet Richard Blanco will recite the poem he has composed for President Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony.
The son of Cuban exiles, Blanco is the first Latino to be chosen as an inaugural poet. But that's not the only group he represents that helped give the President a second term in office: Blanco is also the first gay inaugural poet, and the youngest person to be selected for the role.
Nova Southeastern University legal and constitutional history professor Charles Zelden sees Blanco's invitation to recite his poetry during the inaugural ceremony as a way for President Obama to recognize and celebrate those key groups.
"I think the President is representing three of the important constituents that not only got him into office but that he seeks to work with in the coming second term, which would be young people, gay people and immigrants," Zelden said.
The fact that Blanco is from Florida could also be a nod toward the large swing state that, in the end, went for Obama in the last election, Zelden said. According to ABC News, many of those voters turned out to be Cuban-Americans:
The choice of Blanco also comes after an election where Latino voters helped propel Obama to victory. Over seven in 10 Latino voters nationwide backed Obama and Latinos comprised over 10 percent of the electorate for the first time ever, according to exit polling. Traditionally a conservative bloc, almost half of Cuban-American voters in Florida voted for Obama, according to a pre-election poll conducted by Bendixen and Amandi, representing a historic political shift."
Florida Influences Elections, Blanco's Poetry
Richard Blanco's mother was seven months pregnant with him when the family arrived in Spain from Cuba in the late 1960s. According to his website, 45 days after Blanco was born, the family moved to the United States and eventually settled in Miami.
Blanco's Cuban heritage is a theme throughout much of his poetry. In a 2008 interview with WLRN TV, Blanco said it wasn't until adulthood that he started to really examine his cultural background.
"It was later as an adult that you start sort of recognizing and valuing your cultural background and seeing and negotiating where you fit into that space," Blanco said. "To suddenly realize this irony that you think you're just as normal as everybody else around you, which you are because everybody else is Cuban, and you realize, 'oh my God, I'm not American,' or like, I wasn't as American as the Brady Bunch."
Another Feather In His Cap
Originally a civil engineer, Richard started taking a poetry class at Florida International University in 1993. During the past 20 years, he has written three poetry books and won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh and the PEN American Center Beyond Margins Award. In addition to writing poetry, Blanco serves on the planning board for the town of Bethel, Maine, where he now lives.
Now Blanco can add 2013 Inaugural Poet to that list.
In a statement, President Obama said, "Richard's writing will be wonderfully fitting for an Inaugural that will celebrate the strength of the American people and our nation's great diversity."
It's All Politics | <urn:uuid:d27d45dc-0f74-41c3-8233-c74285fb7230> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.wlrn.org/post/why-miami-poet-richard-blanco-embodies-obama-s-winning-coalition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975993 | 693 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Street Card - Services for Homeless People in Cuyahoga County
"The Street Card is a publication of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. It is updated yearly and contains information that would assist a homeless person find access to services in Cuyahoga County. The Street Card is front and back piece of paper that contains only services accessible to a person currently homeless, and so therefore those programs that require a referral are not listed. The meal programs listed are only those that are served every week." The Street Card is available for download in either MS Word (.doc) or .pdf format. A veterans' edition also is available.
The link address is: http://www.neoch.org/street_card.htm
Keywords: Access to Health Care, County, Health Clinics, Homelessness, Mental Health, Nutrition, Services, Substance Abuse | <urn:uuid:e92ef457-b44a-42ea-b3d1-852dd702635d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clevelandhealth.info/Members/admin/the-street-card/view | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938121 | 176 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Social media has helped launch revolutions and bring down government regimes, but these incredibly powerful tools are also helping to keep the streets of Chicago bloody.
ABC News recently hosted a summit, "Hidden America: Don't Shoot I Want To Grow Up." It was moderated by World News anchor Diane Sawyer and ABC News correspondent Alex Perez and brought some of the city's gang members, former gang members, victims and community organizers together to talk about the spread of gang violence, why it happens and how to stop it.
Most recently, 24 people were shot in Chicago last Saturday. The Chicago Police Department told ABC News 16 of the 24 shooting victims were affiliated with gangs.
Gang members, some of whom are aspiring rappers, often use Facebook, Twitter, Hipstar, MySpace, Youtube and other social media outlets to spread inflammatory messages and encourage rival gangs to respond. Police officers have even found password-protected, gang-related websites that are used to recruit members, inform members about meetings or parties and even commit crimes, according to the Chicago Crime Commission.
Current and former gang members at our summit said they send out taunting tweets, snide posts and homemade "diss" music videos to promote a tough image, make tensions rise between rival gangs and incite violence.
TG, a former member of the gang, Four Corner Hustlers, and a participant in the summit, said social media played a significant role in fueling gang rivalry.
"If I make a video about somebody else, everybody is going to watch," he said. "I get on Facebook, put up a status, somebody is somebody's friend. If I get on Twitter, I make a tweet, somebody is going to whisper to that person, 'did you seen what happened?' I get on Instagram, take a picture of another person in the hood that I am in tour with, it's going to make me want to stay real hip-hop."
Young rappers who can't afford to make expensive music videos use a personal camera or a phone camera to record a video and post it on YouTube. Often these videos feature young men brandishing guns and thick wads of cash, as they rap about murdering their rivals. The reason, TG said, is because gangs want "this to escalate somewhere."
"It was just ... trying to make something big out of something small, and [social media] play a real big role," he said.
Tio Hardiman, the director of the anti-violence group CeaseFire Illinois Cure Violence, said social media is used as bullying tactic.
"[Gang members] worried about what their peers are going to think about them if they get punked down in the social media, and social media has led to a lot of killings in Chicago," he said. "What happens with Facebook and Twitter, you can say the wrong thing and you don't know who's going to shoot you."
Hardiman said he has experienced situations where young men have been shot over the "pettiest of reasons," peer pressured into protecting their own.
"I've seen people get shot because somebody was throwing a water balloon," he said. "What happens in most cases when these young men take a vow to be a part of a gang they take a vow to protect their brothers. No matter what the circumstances may be, no matter what the risk may be as well, so what they're talking about retaliating over is anything."
CeaseFire, which recently adopted a new moniker, Cure Violence, was one of the community-based organizations that participated in the ABC News summit and helps rival gang members confront and work out conflicts. Their method is to treat violence like a virus that needs to be isolated before it spreads. Members, who are often ex-convicts or former gang members, are called "violence interrupters" and work to bring people together from opposing sides.
Dr. Gary Slutkin, who founded CeaseFire in 1995, said that since implimenting the program in Chicago, there has been at least a 40 percent drop in shootings.
"In all ways this is a disease," he said. "It meets the definition of a disease. It's not even a metaphor. It has characteristics, signs and symptoms, it has morbidity and mortality, it arrives in hospitals, it causes death, it has known and some unknown causes. It also is contagious by definition because it's transmissible."
Lamont Evans, a "violence interrupter" for CeaseFire, said rival gangs today are not only fighting over turf or territory, they are fighting for reputations and the opportunity for a big break. In short, it's a "beef over rap," he said.
"In my era, we beefed with guys probably five, six blocks away," Evans said. "Now with all the technology, you can beef with a guy in a whole other state... we can go onto Facebook and argue back and forth and then at the end of the conversation, we might say, 'OK, don't get caught in traffic.'"
Which means, "when I see you, I'm popping the f--- out of you," he added.
The powerful and dangerous impact social media can have recently got a poster child in Keith Cozart, better known by his stage name, Chief Keef.
The 17-year-old controversial rapper from Chicago's South side, who spits beats about a murderous thug life, has had his career explode in the past year. His Youtube videos and an endorsement from 50 Cent helped catapult him to rap stardom. Keef now reportedly has a $3 million record deal with Interscope Records.
Another South Side teen rapper looking for his big break was Joseph "Lil Jojo" Coleman. The 18-year-old aspiring rapper allegedly tried to start an online feud with Keef. Jojo's first rap, "3HunnaK," was reportedly a diss at Keef. It remixed Keef's hit song, "3Hunna" -- 300 is a reference to the street gang, Black Disciples -- while it promoted BDK, which stands for Black Disciple Killers. The "K" in "3HunnaK" also stands for "killer."
Jojo's video shows the young rapper and others pointing handguns at the camera, holding a stack of cash and having an array of bullets on a table. The video has over 400,000 views on Youtube.
On Sept. 4, Jojo was shot and killed in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood while riding on the back of a friend's bicycle after tweeting his location. Shortly after he was gunned down, a tweet from Keef's account said, "Its Sad Cuz Dat N---- Jojo Wanted to Be Jus Like Us #LMAO," the online slang for "laughing my a-- off."
The mocking tweet sparked wide outrage online, even from Keef's 275,000 followers. Keef followed up with a series of apologetic tweets, saying he had nothing to do with Jojo's killing and his account had been hacked.
"I didn't know him but he young jus like me. i can assure everyone that i had nothin 2 do with this tragedy tho. my twitter acct was hacked," Keef tweeted on Sept. 5.
"My prayers go out 2 Jojo's family on their loss," another tweet from his account said.
But the violence didn't end there. On Sept, 14, a violent brawl broke out at Jojo's funeral. Ameena Matthews, a former gang member turned CeaseFire "interrupter," said the fight made her "sick to my stomach."
"You know, we've seen a fight at a funeral, but we're talking knocking the casket over to get a video and throwing down, ups, and whatever... pushed the mother completely out the way, like she no longer existed, and that hurt me to my heart," Matthews said.
A photo of Lil Jojo lying in his casket was later leaked on Youtube.
Commander Kevin Ryan, head of the Chicago Police Department's Gang Enforcement Division, said social media "amplifies" conflicts between rival gangs, but is not the root cause of conflicts between them.
"I don't think it's going from Facebook to the streets. It's going from the streets to Facebook," he said. "It's not something social media has created, it's an amplification method." | <urn:uuid:f7b6d08e-5061-41f9-b46b-2482f061898d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abcnews.go.com/US/chicagos-gang-violence-fueled-social-media/story?id=17464743 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977688 | 1,740 | 1.820313 | 2 |
in reply to
Re^2: Perl Elitist Code vs Functional Code
in thread Perl Elitist Code vs Functional Code
the entire post relates to quick hacks nothing that would ever become a full fledged script.
That's kind of the point, though: some people say such a thing doesn't really exist. In their experience, "quick hacks" have a way of growing into larger, more complex programs and being maintained by larger groups of programmers. So it makes sense for them to design all their programs as if that will be the case, even if the need doesn't seem to be there at the start.
On the other hand, some of us have written plenty of quick hacks that have never needed to be expanded, or used and maintained by anyone else -- many were even used once and discarded. That being the case, any amount of time spent making them more than simply "functional" would have been a waste.
Where you fall on a range between those two extremes depends on your own programming style and your work situation -- how often is your code reused or shared with others? Based on those things, you have to make your own judgments about your own coding needs.
Available for small or large Perl jobs; see my home node. | <urn:uuid:17ae5974-90d0-4b0e-aedc-3b967df10d44> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.perlmonks.org/index.pl?node_id=986871 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976881 | 256 | 1.523438 | 2 |
"The work of priestly formation these days must involve a strong catechetical component since so many of our people have been deficiently formed. The resources you provide are allowing the Church to do a better job in preparing Catholics to know and defend their faith more effectively."
~ Fr. James, Director of Priestly Formation, Pittsburgh
"To God, most Good and Great, in honor of St. John the Baptist, the Maliseets erected this church A.D. 1717."
~ Inscription (in Latin) on a stone tablet, for what is believed to be the first church built in New Brunswick, Canada, in the Diocese of Saint John. | <urn:uuid:524dbf0b-6a81-4614-89c7-9e7df82f6fd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholic.com/browse/mary/all/Fr.%20M.D.%20Forrest%20M.S.C./all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953302 | 138 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Aldrech, the Sleeping God
Aldrech’s primary place of worship exists at the site of his resting place; the base of the world tree. Legends say that he fell into a great sleep after defeating a great and terrible foe – the very same creature responsible for the destruction of Earth so many years ago. Now he waits, and he rests, for if ever the day should come again that the world is in peril, The Sleeper will awaken to protect mankind. For this reason, there are those who view Aldrech’s eventual awakening as a sign of ultimate doom.
What surer sign of the apocalypse could there be than a threat so great as to rouse a God?
Worshipers of Aldrech are known for their inquisitive nature, thirst for knowledge, and, most remarkably, for their mental powers. While not every one of his followers possesses some psychic ability, the percentage does tend to be higher than normal. A gift from their god, or so claim his faithful. The Order also practices swordplay, mostly as a means of meditation and self-improvement, but woe be to those that underestimate them as foes in battle.
It is worth noting that there is one particular group of fanatics that believe Aldrech himself is the actual manifestation of destruction. He bides his time in his crystalline prison, building strength and whispering lies to his followers. If ever he should break free, the world will be no more. | <urn:uuid:97526d25-77b6-49a6-8a6d-ea412df9dd24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/kuro/wikis/aldrech-the-sleeping-god | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972345 | 306 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Many today refer to a Democrat in step with the party’s platform as “socialist’ and a few parallel history and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as “socialist.” I am pleased to elaborate on this.
Was FDR a socialist? I lived through part of the Great Depression wrought by corporate and banker greed. I know what Roosevelt did to help make the country “free from fear.” I saw TVA bring electricity and development to my home areas. I went to schools, libraries, museums, and parks developed by programs that otherwise would never have been. I know men and women, and most in my family, who helped create these miracles out of disaster. As a principal in Buckingham, Va., we were still using a building from those days when Republicans brought misery, much created out of a greed for a buck on the backs of the common worker, the farmer, builder or just plain laborer — most found a way to feed his family.
My father helped rebuild the agriculture of the South. My wife’s Dad, to make ends meet, hiked a ride on a freight car to find work, as did millions. Do not bleed facts to me about the good in having banks and Wall Street back in power. Barack Obama, whatever you judge him to be, kept this country from being on its knees.
Maybe Mitt Romney is centrist enough to keep the wolves from the farm and the home-but his reactionary backers will spell ruin to this nation if he allows the reins of sanity to go the way of 1929. If you lived through it, knew it, saw the misery of it, the President’s race and attacks on his place of birth and his so called Muslim connection are the real hidden issues for many in this election. His seeking the peace overseas and saving our economy at home are above these selfish prejudices. Be forewarned — the future is not to be what Mitt may say if the whacko far right gets its way and creates a 1929 disaster. So let it be said — God help us that it may not be done.
Finally, re-read Eisenhower’s speech as he left office, that of the “industrial and military complex” and the powers that are now a testament to that speech. The prophecy of the latter is the harbinger of history recycling, and a “maybe it’s so” just isn’t worth the prejudices therein.
JOHN T. HENDRICKS | <urn:uuid:b91df618-9963-44d7-9781-3950c2389adf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.griffindailynews.com/view/full_story/20626714/article-Democrats-are-not-Socialists-?instance=special_coverage_bullets_right_column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970743 | 511 | 1.8125 | 2 |
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Police identified on Friday the disgruntled former employee who killed five people and took his own life in a shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company from which he had been fired.
Hours after losing his job on Thursday, the 36-year-old gunman, Andrew Engeldinger, entered Accent Signage Systems Inc. through a loading dock door with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and began firing, police said. Some of his victims were likely targeted.
Engeldinger was found dead by officers in the basement of the building with a single shell casing next to him, Police Chief Tim Dolan told a news conference. It was the state's worst workplace killing in at least two decades.
"It is clear that he did walk by some people, very clear, especially when he went in the office area. He did walk by people to get to certain other members of the business," Dolan said.
He said police officers searching the building some time later found two people hiding from the gunman.
At Engeldinger's house, police turned up a second gun and packaging for 10,000 rounds of ammunition, Dolan said. He was believed to have acquired the handguns legally last year.
Dolan declined to say why Engeldinger was fired or what his job had been at the company, the only manufacturing business located among the mix of single-family homes and parks in the tree-lined section of the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Before taking his own life, Engeldinger shot dead four people at the office building. A fifth victim, 62-year-old Rami Cooks, who had been taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition after the shooting, died later on Thursday, authorities said.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner in a statement identified the other victims as Keith Basinski, 50; Ronald Edberg, 58; Jacob Beneke, 34; and Reuven Rahamim, 61, who was the company founder. The company is known for a process of making interior signs with durable Braille text lettering.
One man remained in critical condition and another was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. Another person was treated and released.
Thursday's shooting was reported at 4:35 p.m. CDT (5.35 p.m. EDT). As officers arrived on the scene and entered the front of the building, they immediately encountered shooting victims, Dolan said. Paramedics then entered without waiting for the scene to be secured.
Rahamim, an Israeli immigrant, started a sign business out of his basement that grew to have 28 employees and an expected revenue of $5 million to $10 million this year, according to the publication Finance & Commerce.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said Friday in a Facebook posting that Rahamim "was so proud of everything that he and his family have built in this country, and he had a right to be".
The Minneapolis shooting was a month after a work-related shooting near the Empire State Building in New York, which killed two people and wounded nine.
This followed a July mass shooting in a crowded cinema in Colorado and an attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in August, which rekindled debate about gun control in the United States.
Minnesota work-place homicide records date back only to 1992 and no one incident had resulted in more than two homicides.
Nationally, there were 458 workplace homicides in 2011 and 518 in 2010, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
(Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Todd Eastham and Andrew Hay) | <urn:uuid:01522822-4640-4c35-9963-d148f1cdd85a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-28/business/sns-rt-us-usa-crime-minneapolisbre88r00e-20120927_1_critical-condition-fifth-victim-police-officers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983278 | 764 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Joining the wrong company in your first job is a correctable mistake. Joining the wrong company in your second job may plunge one into quarter life crisis. Joining the wrong company in your third job may result in career suicide. Having been through 4 different companies, allow me to share some thoughts in choosing the master of your slavery life.
The first formula is KYA… Know your associate, and I mean your future colleagues. These are the people whom you will spend a minimum of 9 hours a day, a minimum of 5 days a week and as such… trust me, you need to know what kind of people they are. Being amongst people whom you can't even talk to, and yet have to work with them will result in much misery.
How the hell are you going to know the people you’re going to work with? Well… very simple… ASK! If you’re entering the slavery world for the first time, you will realise that ‘asking questions’ must form part of your life in order for you to survive. So ask around… your friends… your parents… your parents’ friends… ask the people within the industry. Very often, the so called ‘I-heard-the-people-there-are-weirdos’ can turn out to be pretty true.
Second on the list… KYB... know your boss. A quick word for graduates, do NOT akin bosses to your lecturers. Lecturers are indirectly paid by you, bosses on the other hand… I hope you know what I mean. Research has shown that bosses are the main reason why people resign without a job and generally, such resignation is an act of desperation. You wouldn’t want to be in such a situation.
Again… ask around… ask your friends… ask your flings… ask your enemies… or ask zewt. Nasty bosses often make a name for themselves in the industry. Trust me, students are not the only group of people in the world who bitch around, modern slaves bitch even more! The company may pay you well… but a nasty boss can give you hell and sometimes, it supersedes your pay.
Thirdly… KYC(1)… know your customer. Yeah yeah yeah… you’re not doing sales. But hey! Don’t think customers only apply to people doing sales. In the real world, everyone is doing sales. Your assignment… your work… that’s your product. Whoever you need to serve those products, they are your customers. It could be your boss, your colleague, people from other department or the actual clients of the company. Know their expectations. You will need to know what kind of expectations and how unreasonable these people can get.
And you will also need to KYC(2)… know your company. Those things that you read in the net, they are probably all lies. Just look at the state of our country and look at the things they publish in the newspaper… get the flow? Again, ask around. Best if you have friends already working in the company. Get to know the culture, the working hours and the level of politics that exist in the company. Yes, office politics, you can't run away from it. Anyone who tells you that there are no politics in his or her office is an idiot.
Last but now least… after knowing all of that above, you must KY… know yourself. A lot of people want to achieve this and achieve that. But just because you can hike doesn’t mean you can climb the mountain, just because you float doesn’t mean you can swim the ocean, just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you can kill the lion, just because you can fly doesn’t mean you can slay the dragon and… just because you got the qualification, doesn’t mean you can make it there.
This does not only apply to corporate people. It applies to very specialise industry too, doctor for example. Just because you can stand blood and all the gross stuff, doesn’t mean you will be able to make it. A story was told a brilliant young doctor never recover after one of the patient under his care died. He has the brain, has the hands, has the energy, has the guts… but doesn’t have a cold enough heart.
So get to know yourself… and choose wisely. | <urn:uuid:3215e17f-ed95-4c59-8a63-6a02096b0a5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zewt.blogspot.com/2007/07/ky-ab2c-ky.html?showComment=1183613100000 | 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 | 0.96092 | 915 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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COAHOMA — Area motorists traveling through this community, put away your smart phones and other electronic messaging devices. The city council has effectively banned texting and driving.
The first Crossroads community to join in what is becoming a statewide effort to stop motorists from texting while they are behind the wheel, the Coahoma City Council passed the measure during its July 26 meeting on a unanimous vote.
The ordinance — which went into effect upon its approval by the council Thursday — prohibits texting or other electronic messaging while operating a motor vehicle and sets a maximum penalty of $250 for each offense.
According to Coahoma Mayor Warren Wallace, the issue was brought to the council by several council members and residents who had already had near-miss traffic accidents due to motorists texting while driving.
“The traffic in Coahoma has grown exponentially because of the boom in the oilfield,” Wallace said. “The idea for this came from residents and council members who were nearly involved in accidents because drivers weren't paying attention to the road and were texting. I really feel like personal experience among the council members played a very large role in their decision to pass this ordinance.”
The ordinance states a driver may not use a wireless communication device to view, send or compose an electronic message or engage other application software while driving.
However, the ordinance does allow drivers to use their smart phones and other devices:
• While the vehicle is stopped
• Strictly to engage in telephone conversations, including dialing or deactivating a call
• As a global positioning or navigation system that is affixed to the vehicle
• For obtaining emergency assistance
• Solely in a voice-activated or other hands-free mode
Warren said he realizes enforcing the new ordinance will be difficult, however, he hopes it will have a marked effect among local residents, regardless.
“We're getting ready to put up signs and the Howard County Sheriff's Office is prepared to enforce the ordinance, however, we know it's going to be a tough stick,” Wallace said. “Most of the people in Coahoma are law-abiding citizens, so I feel like most of them will do the right thing.
“We know this isn't going to fix the problem. The trucks that are coming through Coahoma to and from the oil field, why those drivers may not be texting, we're hoping this ordinance might keep the kids from doing so and putting themselves in a position where they could get into a tragic accident with one of those trucks. When you're texting and driving, you're splitting your attention between at least three different things, so there's just no way you can be safe.”
Wallace said you don't have to spend much time on the nearby interstate highway to understand just how dangerous texting — or using your smart phone for any electronic task — can be.
“Years ago, if you got behind one of those people, you would have thought they were drunk,” Wallace said. “They swerve all over the road and they are constantly speeding up and slowing down. It doesn't take long to see just how dangerous they are, not only to themselves, but to everyone else on the road.”
The city of Odessa rejected a similar ordinance in October 2011, with only one member of its city council supporting the measure following a series of high-profile public hearings.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 2011 statistics show more than 81,000 Texas crashes involved distraction in a vehicle, driver inattention or cell-phone use. Of these crashes, 361 were fatal. Overall, nearly one in four crashes in Texas involves driver distraction, according to TxDOT studies. | <urn:uuid:9aaa3139-27ef-478e-83e0-bed061382434> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bigspringherald.com/content/coahoma-dont-text-and-drive?quicktabs_2=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967547 | 836 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Alveda King, the niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., says he would encourage the nation to get along if he were alive today.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax in advance of the federal holiday today honoring the slain civil rights leader, she quoted a line from a speech her uncle made in St. Louis in 1964.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” said King, herself a minister and conservative pro-life activist.
“In the 21st century, I would say we need to be one human race loving each other even where we have faults,” she said.
King also talked about the pro-life stance of MLK Jr., who would have been 83 years old on his birthday Sunday but was assassinated nearly 44 years ago.
“I believe if my uncle were here, he would be encouraging the president to turn to the pro-life platform. My uncle was very pro-life. And certainly if he did not do that, my uncle would be praying for him, and perhaps giving his vote to other candidates.”
King told Newsmax that she supported businessman Herman Cain during his candidacy for president until he suspended his campaign. But now, she said, she supports any candidate who is pro-life. One stands out in her mind, and another hasn’t yet convinced her that he is truly pro-life, she said.
“I don’t mind telling you I like Rick Santorum. I like what he is saying, and so I would love to see him on that ticket.
“I’m not convinced that Mitt Romney is pro-life. I’m a little concerned. And that may be a question of me having to write in a candidate, including Mr. Santorum,” King said.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:ef3d4683-f777-46df-a48c-017395b411db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/King-MLK-niece-civil/2012/01/16/id/424282 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985199 | 391 | 1.726563 | 2 |
SAN FRANCISCO — Illumina, the leading manufacturer of DNA sequencing machines, said on Monday that it would buy the privately held Verinata Health for at least $350 million in cash to expand its push into the diagnostics business.
Verinata, based in Redwood City, Calif., sells a test that uses a blood sample from a pregnant woman to determine whether her baby will have Down syndrome or some other chromosomal abnormalities.
Such tests, which have been available for only about a year, have been rapidly catching on as an alternative, in some situations, to invasive tests like amniocentesis that carry a slight risk of inducing a miscarriage.
Illumina’s stock fell almost 8 percent in early trading on Monday, though that was probably more because of reports that Illumina itself would not be acquired by Roche Holding, the Swiss pharmaceutical and diagnostics company. Illumina shares closed at $50.88, down 7 percent.
Roche’s chairman, Franz B. Humer, was quoted on Sunday by a Swiss newspaper, Sonntags Zeitung, as saying a deal was off because Illumina wanted too high a price.
In April, Roche had dropped a hostile bid for Illumina, valued at $51 a share, or about $6.7 billion.
But a different Swiss newspaper had reported in December that Roche was trying to buy Illumina again, this time for $66 a share. Neither Illumina nor Roche commented publicly on that report.
Both Roche’s interest in Illumina and Illumina’s acquisition of Verinata suggest that DNA sequencing, which until now has mainly been used for research studies like the Human Genome Project, is moving toward being used for medical diagnosis.
Illumina wants to be more than a seller of sequencing machines. It already offers a service sequencing the genomes of people to help diagnose rare diseases or figure out the best treatment for a cancer. In September, it bought BlueGnome, a British company that uses sequencing to screen for various genetic abnormalities.
“The agreement with Verinata demonstrates Illumina’s commitment to developing innovative diagnostic solutions and providing our partners with the most advanced technologies for improved patient care,” Jay T. Flatley, chief executive of Illumina, said in a statement.
Verinata’s test, called Verifi, uses sequencing to analyze fragments of fetal DNA that can be found in a pregnant women’s blood. That allows for detection of Down syndrome, in which a person has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two.
Such noninvasive tests for Down syndrome appear to be catching on rapidly. Verinata, however, is believed to substantially lag the market leader, Sequenom, in market share.
Sequenom, a publicly traded company, introduced the first noninvasive Down syndrome test in October 2011.
It said on Sunday that it had performed 60,000 of its MaterniT21 Plus tests in 2012, and by the end of the year was operating at an annualized run rate of 120,000 tests.
Others selling or developing such tests include Ariosa Diagnostics and Natera. The companies are involved in various patent lawsuits against one another. They are also broadening their tests to detect chromosomal abnormalities beyond Down syndrome, including those linked to abnormalities in the sex chromosomes.
Some of these other companies use Illumina sequencers to perform their tests. It is possible they may now become more reluctant to rely on machines made by a company that is a competitor.
Illumina said there were about 500,000 high-risk pregnancies a year in the United States that would be candidates for a noninvasive prenatal test. It said the potential market for such tests would be more than $600 million in 2013.
Verinata said on its Web site that it would continue to operate as a subsidiary of Illumina. Beyond the initial payment of $350 million, Verinata shareholders will be eligible to receive up to an additional $100 million in milestone payments through 2015.
Illumina said the deal would dilute its earnings per share by 20 cents in 2013 but add to them in 2014.
Illumina made its announcement on the eve of the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, an annual Wall Street and medical industry gathering at which numerous companies make announcements.
Stocks regained ground in New York after global investors were rattled by signs of a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing and a potential easing of central bank support for the economy.
Years in the making, the deal was hailed as a step toward more enforcement cooperation between the two countries.
The nominees, Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar, are familiar with the Wall Street regulatory agency’s business through their work.
Refining Canada’s petroleum-soaked oil sands produces petroleum coke, and the question of what to do with it has found at least one answer in Detroit, where a large coke pile covers an entire city block.
A blistering heat wave in north and western India has caused widespread electricity cuts and led residents to protest and even attack power company officials and property.
A nonprofit group representing scientists dings officials at both ends of the political spectrum for global warming distortions.
President Obama asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to scrutinize Justice Department investigations and said he was “troubled” that such inquiries could hinder reporters.
A new product, Twitter Amplify, will help brands match advertisements with Twitter commentary by viewers.
Content marketing is expected to be a big growth area for the ad industry and Robert J. Murray, global president of iProspect, a leading digital agency, is signing up.
A federal judge’s ruling could halt the resale of digital music as well as other digital good like e-books.
A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?
The Winklevoss brothers have moved on from their battle with Mark Zuckerberg and are more active than ever.
Thirteen insurers had been chosen to sell policies through the insurance marketplace — or exchange — being created under the law.
Nearly 23 years after the Americans With Disabilities Act went into effect, patients with disabilities continue to receive inadequate medical care — and many cannot even get a doctor’s appointment.
A new report from ConsumerLab.com shows that some bottled varieties of green tea appear to be little more than sugar water, while some green tea leaves are contaminated with lead.
Kenneth deRegt, the executive in charge of Morgan Stanley’s once-powerful fixed-income department, is retiring. | Jamie Dimon is looking to mend fences with regulators. | Tesla Motors repaid a federal loan nine years ahead of schedule. | A look at the battle over Herbalife.
Sign up for the DealBook Newsletter, delivered every morning and afternoon, and receive breaking news alerts throughout the day. | <urn:uuid:fd4a0db1-2ff3-4360-aa1f-7faf3759986c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/illumina-buys-maker-of-down-syndrome-test/?ref=andrewpollack | 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 | 0.96354 | 1,451 | 1.757813 | 2 |
While I wasn't told exactly what is growing in my head, it's probably a mix of Streptococcus pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, Haemophilus influinzae, and/or Klebsiella pneumoniae. In other words, common respiratory bacteria. I know S. pneumoniae is one of the mix for me, I've sucessfully cultured it from myself on two separate occasions.
So, what then will take out that nice antibiotic-resistant mix I have growing in my upper respiratory tract? Doxycycline. Well, I can now say that besides a URI, I won't have any of the following once I complete the run:
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Anthrax - any form
- The Plague - that's right, wiped out half of Europe in the Middle Ages, and it's still around
- Vincent's Infenction (Trench Mouth)
- E. coli
This is so freakin' hilarious and sad at the same time. While I won't be sterilized, microbiologically speaking, this is going to get me pretty damn close. I don't have an E. coli infection right now, so I don't really need what is living in my intestines to be killed off. We, humans, must have symbiotic bacteria in our intestines in order to most efficently digest our food. We provide a nice habitat for them, the break down what we eat into more readily digestable nutrients. It's a good system.
So, I get to eat yogurt, to help replace some of the normal flora, and wait until the I get re-colonized natrually for the rest. It's just a pain in the ass. Like I said, at least it's not complete sterilization, I only had to go through that once when I had a bowel resection over a decade ago. | <urn:uuid:5d8556aa-cde3-4bdf-9a76-fb9b33c63645> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theoubliette.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947293 | 390 | 1.75 | 2 |
Skip to comments.Gorbachev calls for perestroika in West
Posted on 06/07/2009 5:05:55 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called for a perestroika, or top-to-bottom reform, in the West, arguing that its current economic model was "unsustainable" and needed replacement.
Commenting on the current global economic crisis, the ex-Soviet president who presided over the collapse of his country, said that it was now clear to him "that the new Western model was an illusion that benefited chiefly the very rich.
"The model that emerged during the final decades of the 20th century has turned out to be unsustainable," Gorbachev wrote in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post. "It was based on a drive for super-profits and hyper-consumption for a few, on unrestrained exploitation of resources and on social and environmental irresponsibility."
Gorbachev predicted "perhaps even greater upheaval down the road" and insisted that the current economic and social model existing in the West needed replacing.
"I have no ready-made prescriptions," Gorbachev said. "But I am convinced that a new model will emerge, one that will emphasize public needs and public goods, such as a cleaner environment, well-functioning infrastructure and public transportation, sound education and health systems and affordable housing."
From the mid-1980s, Gorbachev was the initiator of a series of fundamental reforms in the Soviet Union.
Sounds like he is advocating the same old tired socialism with a bit of eco-freak crap tossed into the mix.
Yeah, that’s the guy we should be taking advice from: A has-been, washed up communist tyrant!
Why would we take advice from the guy who LOST the cold war?
The old communist can’t help but view the world from within the confines of his failed ideology.
Like we should take advice from a GREENIE Communist....
Sounds like someone looking to vindicate his life viewpoints; looking to rescue his legacy. If he can claim that Reagan’s model was no better, that makes his own catastrophic failure seem less so. Beware this ‘new model,’ however, for it bares a striking resemblance to an old one. It’s called socialism.
That is a lie.
Socialists always use class warfare to promote their agenda.
The “resemblance” should be clear to everyone. We are looking at it. Communism will control our country if changes are made and made fast.
Do the eco extremists know how bad pollution was in the old Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc? My God, they would blank in their blank if they knew the carbon footprint of communism.
Now we’ll have TWO Jimmy Carters?
Both over-the-hill LOSERS touted as demi-Gods, blathering to no end and slumming around on college campi.
America taking economic advice from a failed leader of a backward country with a despotic past and a failed economic theory. What’s next? Clyde Barrow advising bank examiners? Jeffrey Dahmer given his own cooking show?
Yeah, it only sustained itself for 230 years or so. It finally started to show signs of faltering when, interestingly enough, idiot socialist politicians started messing with it. | <urn:uuid:2231cd3f-e2e8-41dc-a31b-b51e98bf92fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266840/posts?page=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967054 | 705 | 1.539063 | 2 |
“You must understand the difference between Islam and Arabism-Something which is difficult for African people to understand. The Arab did to Islam what the European did to Christianity, he subtracted the spirituality, and made it a political instrument to conquer the African. But when it comes to the African, he accepted the spiritual aspect of it, and forget the political.”
Dr. John Henrik Clarke.
Before we dive into this discussion, I must grace you with my usual set of disclaimers. 1) This is a discussion on why/if Somalis (and to a larger extent, contemporary Africans) hold a belief that Islam can only be accessed vis a vis the appropriation of linguistic and cultural norms of the Arabian peninsula, which loosely means that this conversation isn’t an attack on Islam, religiosity or traditional values, but an inquiry into the changing religious/cultural climate of post-1991 Somalia, and whether these developments are the precursors to an imminent cultural genocide. 2) I’m really not interested in having this conversation with the mouth-breathers of Somalia-The ones who proudly boast of our ‘Arabness’, and spend beaucoup hours on facebook conducting fatwa’s and policing hijab styles. No, mate, you’re not invited to this discussion, as we’ve already seen the fruits of your intellectual legacy-banned bras, Hyena sandwiches and an unjust war against samosas. To you lot, I say, a Wahhabi plague upon your houses and hope that welfare state become a thing of the past.
Now onto the quote above-If you’re unfamiliar with Dr. John Henrik Clarke, I strongly encourage you increase your standard of living by indulging in his body of work. This man was a brilliant historian and an outrageously gifted orator who had a way of challenging our contemporary understanding of African spirituality and our relationship as converted peoples to Christianity and Islam-An unpopular topic amongst the African intelligentsia. In this discussion, I’m particularly fascinated by this quote, as it puts an emphasis on the distinction between Islam and Arabism-the latter being a paradigm that borrows inspiration from the Arabian peninsula in matters of culture, language, and spiritual guidance, the former the chosen religious path of most Somalis.
It must be stated that the history of Islam in Africa, particularly in regions like Somalia is as old as the religion itself, and while history points to a troubling relationship between African and Arab peoples, there is also a powerful historical link that predates Islam in the form of trading, conquest, and movement of tribes between these regions. I state these obvious facts in anticipation of critics who will readily dismiss the signs of an aggressive Arabization of contemporary Somalia by pointing to our historical ties to this region. They argue that we’ve always had this knack for plagiarizing Arabia and that this seemingly new phenomenon is nothing but a divisive tactic, conjured in hopes of straining the love affair between Arabs and Somalis. Now look, we know, we had/have ties to the Arab world, but there’s a distinction between loose political ties and a metamorphosis of an entire culture in the span of two decades. Basically, this is my fancy way of asking, when the hell did we go from this…
I’ve really struggled with using these images of Somali women, as its easy to reduce this entire process to women’s clothing of choice, and believe this process is much more complicated and nuanced. But one can’t deny that the aesthetic transformation of Somalis is reminiscent of other regions, I’ll let you guess where, and that this change is largely connected to this idea that a ‘good muslim/Somali woman’ has a specific uniform-I’ll also let you guess the geographical origin of this uniform (I’ll give you a hint, not from Malaysia, Sudan nor Turkey). But yes, this is the physical representation of what many Somalis are witnessing.
So far I’ve pieced together that conflict and abject poverty are often the close cousins of religious fundamentalism, and understand that the conflict in Somalia has done a number on our collective cultural memory, and it’s only natural that people turn to religious devotion in times of grave despair. I get it, I really do.
But there’s a problem, umm…this discussion isn’t only limited to Somalia and its contemporary political turmoil, but also an epidemic in the Diaspora. One can easily argue that this process of arabization is more pronounced in the diaspora than in Somalia. From the Somali-dominated environs of West London to Toronto to Stockholm to
Minnihopeless Minneapolis, one can witness a seismic cultural shift that is often traumatizing to any Somali with vivid memories of our distinct culture and traditions. We’ve been relegated to the world of nostalgia filled with youtube clips of our Waberi musicians and Fadumo Qasim in secreracy for fear that the religious gestapo may revoke our ‘Somali card’, and dismiss us as western infidels.
We’re bombarded with more jilbabs and niqaabs than gabisars, more Abu-somethings than Libans and Ragehs. A friend once said, ‘gone are the days of ‘subax wanagsan’ (good morning in Somali) and areligious greetings now replaced by traditional Arabic greetings. It’s really okay to say good morning in your language, I promise no piety points will be lost during this process. The self-appointed religious police scrutinize and attack any remnants of our secular past, police our cultural singers, and ostracize anyone (especially if you have a vagina) who dares to reflect on this changing environment, often charging them with heresy and declaring them person non grata.
What happened? Where did it go wrong? and did it go wrong? We went from a secular society in possession of an unique and indigenous link to Islam to a society that…well…quite frankly, a society that resembles what happens when self-hating negros get a hold of religion; they become Saudi Arabia. But to be fair, perhaps this trend is a good thing?
Brain-dead miscreants Some Somali would argue that this cultural shift is a positive thing, and that Somalis are on a righteous path towards spiritual enlightenment, and through this paradigm shift, Somalia may begin to transform from a tribalistic, corrupt, and morally bankrupt society to a theocratic utopia. Now granted most of the people that argue this often possess a strong aversion to books and women, but their perspective is equally valid and deserves a seat at the ‘what to replace tribalism with’ conversation.
I think these are the type of conversations in need during this redevelopment period, and I understand it is in the interest of certain individuals to promote the idea that dialogue in Somalia is dead, and wahhabism has won. Wrong. Many Somalis are outraged, bewildered, and in a state of trepidation, and believe we’re on the cusp of culture wars in the coming years as we begin to restructure and stabilize this region. Speaking of culture wars, I once accused a friend of yielding to Arabism after witnessing his Saudi-style Al-defeh outfit, and he replied, “You’ve chosen the West, and I, the Arabs,” a poignant social commentary on the various forms of cultural imperialism that left me thinking, ‘where’s Somalia in all this?’. So, I’m asking this uncomfortable question, ‘what the hell happened to Somalia? – Enquiring bloggers wanna know, and particularly interested in your insight to the following questions.
1) Is there a process of ‘arabization’ currently underway in Somalia? If so, is this a good thing?
2) A wise man once said, ‘The African; more Arab than the Arab’, which points to a tradition of black Africans appropriating and exalting anything foreign in lieu of anything indigenous and black. True of False?
3) What’s the status on the permissibility of Hyena consumption, now that Kismayo has fallen? I’m asking for a friend :/
4) Fellow Africans Muslims or Africans from African states with a sizable Muslim population, do you also notice a similar trend of appropriating Arabism? I’m thinking Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea might have something to add to this discussion.
P.S. This is the Somalia, many are aiming to erase. | <urn:uuid:3cd6fee0-84cf-425a-a34b-dc80c6934f7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://afrolens.com/2012/10/05/chasing-arabia-somalias-cultural-genocide-sort-of/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935206 | 1,815 | 1.820313 | 2 |
I can sum up the experience in one word: confusing.
As a journalist, covering the London 2012 Summer Olympics from New York City was quite a challenge.
I was far from alone in my efforts. NBC had more than 600 of its own employees covering the Games from New York. There were countless more journalists from other news organizations who did the same.
I was determined to be in sync with London time from the very start of the Games. I knew it would be the easiest and most practical way to make sure I didn't miss out on anything major, manually curating our Olympics Big News page and Olympics Facebook page.
So what did I do? I changed all my clocks to London time. My iPhone, my iPad, my computers (both at home and at work) -- everything was five hours ahead.
It all started out swimmingly. I'd get up by 9 or 10 a.m. London time (4 or 5 a.m. New York time). I'd go to work on an uncrowded subway and eerily calm New York streets.
One of the strangest parts -- my meals. Breakfast came at an ungodly hour, my lunch took place around breakfast time (Noon in London was 7 a.m. here), and I ate dinner when my friends at work were eating lunch (5 p.m. in London was noon here).
And then there was the sun. It was so ridiculously confusing to go to sleep while the sun was still up. But that's what I did.
After three or four days, midnight London time really did feel like midnight here to my body. I had adapted, and I didn't even have to experience any jet lag! So by 7 p.m. in New York, I was pretty much done for the day, exhausted, and knew there were no more events going on across the ocean.
Every time I looked at my clocks, and I never realized how often I do look at the clock until I tried this, I told myself that's what time it was. My brain was reinforced over and over until I was in sync and really thought it was that time.
But it became so confusing when I had meetings at work. A meeting was scheduled for Noon. What time was that London time? I had a doctor appointment one day, and they called to confirm a day before. As I was told the time, I thought - OK, now what time is that London time?
My calendar warped to London time but it was still confusing. Because I would have friends come up to me and say hey, want to meet up at 7 tonight? Or, hey, we have that meeting at 2. Or, hey, the men's basketball game is at 4.
By the end, I was slipping. As my physical world repeatedly hit me with a signal that was opposite my clocks, I started to go back to the physical world. Not because I wanted to but I couldn't really help it. Too many suns were up at night, I suppose, and too many times I had to schedule things with friends or colleagues. I began falling back to NYC time. Even though my clocks still said London time.
Now that the Olympics are finally concluding, I can go back to NYC time on all my clocks. And the confusion can finally end.
It's been a really interesting experiment, but boy, am I glad to be back on local time again.
Follow Craig Kanalley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ckanal | <urn:uuid:e31e2abe-dd9d-4756-a1eb-77675164c127> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-kanalley/olympics-2012-london-time-nyc_b_1770968.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991796 | 724 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Bob Brown, who lives in an apartment once occupied (with furniture designed) by Lucian Bernhard, the father of the reductive "object poster" or "sachplakat," says he "fell for the medium in 1968." Posters were consistent with his other enthusiasms at the time, film and jazz. "I never thought about the alternatives in art dealing such as paintings or prints," he says.
Reinhold Brown's first exhibition in 1975 was "Posters of the Vienna Secession," which were little known in the U.S. at the time. The gallery was the first to display nearly all the richly layered works the PKZ poster campaign for the Swiss men's clothing store chain. Another landmark was incredibly rare and significant works from the 1920s titled "Russian Constructivist Film Posters." Many exhibitions of early- and mid-century modern poster designers opened at Reinhold Brown, among them A.M. Cassandre, Paul Rand, Lester Beall, Joseph Mueller-Brockmann, and Niklaus Troxler. And with an exhibition of April Greiman's digital work, they helped popularize postmodern design. In their new space (960 Madison between 75th and 76th Streets) the current exhibition, "From Mackintosh to Lichtenstein: Design Landmarks in the History of the Poster" is as stunning as any exhibition the have already mounted.
While some poster dealers were content to show only highly collectible art nouveau and art deco posters, Reinhold Brown introduced modern—indeed austere—Swiss and German posters.
Graphic design is more collectible now than ever. Affordability may have something to do with that. The breaking down of cultural taboos as to what is art may also play a role."We feel that these posters from their modern beginning circa 1905 best express what you call 'posterness,' exemplified by their simplicity and the way—often playful and witty—that they highlighted the advertised product and drew the viewer into the situation," Brown says. "The Swiss have had an enduring and interesting legacy for the whole of the 20th century."
Reinhold Brown's goal is to foster excitement about the continuum of poster art. So in the current exhibition, posters from the 1920s presage Pop Art and hyper-realism as well as the highest achievements in elegant typographic and neo-Constructivist posters from the 1950s.
But this is not selfless connoisseurship; the gallery is in the business of selling artifacts. And what posters sell the best? Brown lists winter sport posters between 1915 and 1950, automobile posters, and travel posters, especially stylish ones from the 1920 and 1930s. The design-oriented posters by the masters such as Jan Tschichold, Herbert Bayer, and the Russian Stenberg brothers bring high prices because there are so few of them. The same goes for the finer posters from historical art movements such as the Vienna Secession, German Expressionism, Russian Constructivism, and the Bauhaus designers or those who studied there. As for individual artists, Alphonse Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec attract many of those who like Art Nouveau. Among the practitioners in early 20th-century Germany, Lucian Bernhard and Ludwig Hohlwein are the most sought-after. Great Art Deco posters always attract collectors; here A.M. Cassandre stands tallest, but Charles Loupot and Jean Carlu have an almost equal following. The Swiss Joseph Mueller-Brockmann, Armin Hoffman and Wolfgang Weingart have been collected for 20 years chiefly, Brown notes, "by graphic designers." In a more illustrative vein, the jazz posters of Niklaus Troxler, and products posters by Raymond Savignac and Bernard Villemot are widely collected as well.
Like any art form, value is both subjective and market-driven. What really matters is how many of a certain poster are still extant, and one can only approximate by having a feel for how many times a poster has appeared in the marketplace. "We always begin with aesthetic value," Brown says, "and then consider historic value. If it is contemporary or after the Second World War, the prices tend to be more affordable." But, he adds, "We like being surrounded by interesting design regardless of its monetary value."
Their current holdings are varied, but from a monetary point of view, Brown says Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the Scottish Musical Revue as well as the poster for the Glasgow School of the Fine Arts done by Margaret Macdonald, Francis Macdonald, and Herbert McNair are have the highest sticker price. They have two exquisite studies done by Josef Hofmann and Koloman Moser at the time of the opening of the Wiener Werkstaette shop in 1905. But their favorites are a classic Manoli poster by Lucian Bernhard depicting a simple yet colorful box of cigarettes, and the classic Soviet film poster by the Stenberg Brothers for "A Man with a Movie Camera."
What, however, makes Reinhold Brown an invaluable resource is their unexpected holdings. "We have over 500 Hungarian posters between 1905 and 1930 that are part of a Nazi-era restitution," Brown says, "many of which are remarkably distinctive and were almost never seen after they were printed."
Graphic design is much more collectible now than ever before. Affordability may have something to do with that. The breaking down of cultural taboos as to what and what isn't art may also play a role. As far as the poster aspect of graphic design is concerned, "we see a broadening out of the time scale, which is to say that posters that were of no or little value when we started out are selling for not-insignificant sums," Brown says. "People are also collecting other forms such as packaging, broadsides, and brochures. Sometimes it's for reasons in and of themselves, other times because they it into a wider field such as automobile or travel memorabilia."
Despite worries over the supposed death of print, there are still lots of posters being produced. I asked Brown what makes a future classic. "Sometimes a poster becomes sought-after because of what it advertises, not for the reputation of its designer or how it was printed," he says without hesitation. "Our main criterion is whether the poster is emblematic of a new approach or movement in design such as the punk style in the 1980s (Wolfgang Weingart, April Greiman, and others). If an important fine artist makes a poster and it is appealing and truly original, as opposed to a reproduction of a work already done in another medium, we will be interested in it as such posters often become classics." But he adds, a bit wistfully, "With the days of fine and meticulous lithography past their peak, I'm not sure how many classic posters from our time there will be down the road."
This article available online at: | <urn:uuid:935c09c1-0b33-466e-be55-8351d4402810> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/print/2012/03/the-ultimate-poster-gallery/254906/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966134 | 1,434 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Sony MVC-CD1000 Review
Sony have had a strong grip on the digital camera market for several years now. So, what's been the reason they've done so well? The decision to use floppy disks as the storage medium. Now ask any reviewer what storage medium he'd most like in a digital camera and floppy disk would probably be the last thing in the world. However for the average user the convenience of being able to store images on virtually cost-less floppies and just pop them into any standard 3.5" floppy drive has been the key to making digital cameras easy for them.
Sony, however, have faced a dilemma. The only way to get a decent number of images onto a floppy disk is to heavily compress the JPEG file, on the older Mavica's this was less of a problem (due to pixel count) but as things have progressed up to the FD-95 with 2.1 megapixels it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain image quality at the same time as storing more than two or three images on a disk...
How to solve this dilemma? What's the next most common storage medium shared amongst many computers? CD-ROM... But to put a full size CD-R writer in a digital camera wouldn't be feasible (trust me, this camera is big enough already!)
So, 8 cm CD-R discs... Wacky, but it may just work. These little CD-R's offer 156 MB of storage per disc, are relatively cheap (and available if you know the suppliers). This would mean that Sony could boost the image quality by using a less aggressive compression yet still maintain the Mavica's convenience in being able to just pop the disc into a standard CD-ROM drive...
There have to be some drawbacks, right? Well, yes, first off there's the physical size of the camera. If you're used to the FD-91 or FD-95 then that probably won't bother you. If your other camera is a Canon S100 Digital ELPH / IXUS then you'll probably think the CD1000 is a little on the large size.
Secondly there's the inability to delete images (you can delete but you don't get any space back) or rewrite discs (though considering the price/MB it's a relatively small price to pay). Once you take a shot you can't delete it, you can't even preview it before it's written to the CD-R (which I'd mark down as a drawback). Lastly you can't use the disc in a standard CD-ROM drive until its been "finalised", the first finalise uses 13 MB of space, each following finalisation takes 4.5 MB
You can however read the discs without finalising on a CD-RW drive with DirectCD installed.
The FD-91's 14 x optical zoom lens (equiv. to 518 mm on a 35 mm camera) became legendary amongst Mavica owners, an optical marvel in its zoom ability (if not in overall image quality) it was loved and hated almost equally amongst owners and reviewers. With the FD-95 and now the CD1000 Sony toned things down a little, just a 10 x optical (370 mm on a 35 mm camera), knowing that using a higher resolution CCD would but larger requirements on the quality of the image coming through the lens.
The FD-91's distinctive stablisation bulge is still there, offering great image stablisation essential for shooting at such long focal lengths.
It's interesting to note that in recent months other manufacturers have expressed an interest (or released) in digital cameras with long zooms. Canon recently announced an OEM 10 x stablised lens system which could be used in other cameras (and perhaps their own?), Olympus announced and are in the process of releasing the C-2100UZ which features a 10 x stablised lens and Fujifilm's new 4900Z features a 6 x optical zoom lens.
In a recent poll carried out on this site 12% of respondents placed a large zoom as the most important feature of a digital camera which came third to 22% who voted for pixel count and 50% who voted for a high quality lens. So most people would be looking for a 6 - 10 x optical zoom with very high quality glass... Not much to ask for ;-)
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this review (it may help you understand some of the terms used).
Photographs of the camera were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990, images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (normally 1024 x 768 or smaller if cropped) image in a new window.
To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top.
COPYRIGHT WARNING: This review (text, graphics and photographs) is Copyright 2000 Digital Photography Review, authored by Phil Askey, this review may NOT be reproduced in part or in whole in any electronic (website, PFD, CD-ROM etc.) or printed medium without prior explicit permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey. | <urn:uuid:c478ee41-a76e-4d5d-8b1b-b199f2de4f8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonycd1000/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956285 | 1,117 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Wearing a Cub Scout summer uniform, a Scoutmaster’s brimmed hat and hiking boots, Madonna took the occasion of an appearance at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s 24th annual Media Awards ceremony to advise the Boy Scouts of America that the organization should “change their stupid rules,” specifically its ban on gay members.
Her admonishment follows a similar entreaty by Bill Gates, who in the first installment of “Playbook Cocktails,” Politico’s new interview series, said that the Boy Scouts should end the ban “because it’s 2013.”
Madonna, who was on hand Saturday evening to present the Vito Russo Award to the CNN journalist Anderson Cooper, also used her 12-minute speech to speak more broadly – and with a combination of humor and outrage – about discrimination and violence.
“When I think about young kids today in America who are being bullied and tortured, who are taking their own lives because they feel alone and judged, outcast and misunderstood, I want to sit down and cry a river of tears,” Madonna said. “I have teenagers of my own now, and the idea of them, or any young person, experiencing that kind of pain is unfathomable to me. It’s an atrocity to me. I don’t accept it.”
The Vito Russo Award, which Madonna presented to Mr. Cooper, is given annually to an openly gay media professional who has made a significant contribution to promoting equality. Mr. Cooper first spoke publicly about his sexuality in July 2012.
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: March 19, 2013
An earlier version of this post misstated in two instances the surname of a CNN journalist. He is Mr. Cooper, not Mr. Anderson. | <urn:uuid:00b2ad94-5112-4cb5-8c19-87ed8cb44946> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/madonna-dressed-for-camping-weighs-in-on-boy-scouts-gay-ban/?emc=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961116 | 383 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Wildwood, NJ – Hundreds of people wearing only bathing suits stood on a chilly Wildwood beach Saturday, waiting for the signal.
And they were off. Running across the beach in 37 degree weather, plunging into a 44 degree winter ocean. Man that was cold.
Bystanders were bundled up in parkas, hats and gloves. Some of the polar plungers also wore hats with their bathing suits. Might as well keep your head warm, right?
The annual test of courage – jumping into an icy ocean in January - raises money every year for New Jersey’s Special Olympics. While some participants want to get in and get out quickly as possible, others like to hang around and feel that cold wind on their wet skin. | <urn:uuid:92522c7b-f04d-45dd-8433-ca99971faa1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.capemaytimes.com/news/2012/01/polar-plunge/?thumb_date=2012-06-01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976056 | 151 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Good Food Blog
Not a lotta bottlePosted at 12:45PM, 05 November 2010 by Caroline Hire - Food editor, bbcgoodfood.com
I confess, in some instances, I'm a convert to the squeezy plastic bottle, perfect for a hearty squirt of brown sauce on a bacon sandwich and much better than the violent shaking that was previously required. But when it comes to Marmite, give me the bulbous brown glass jar any day. A small amount as can be controlled on a knife tip is sufficient to enjoy this delicious spread and the squeezy bottle doesn't allow for careful trace application. Others might disagree so frankly it's nice to be given the choice.
According to a survey by TNS, 70 per cent of us want the option to buy our favorite food and drink in glass, but scan the supermarket shelves and the predominance of plastic is clear.
The use of glass is declining and it's not just an aesthetic issue. Glass is 100 per cent recyclable which is more than can be said of most alternatives. Not to mention the fact that glass is pure. It's made up of all natural components - sand, soda ash and limestone - no nasty chemicals that could potentially leach out into food. This isn't the case for much of non-glass packaging, and one chemical that can be found in some plastic packaging has caused particular concern. Bisphenol A has been flagged up as a potential hazard by health experts and banned in France and Denmark for use in children's food and drink containers - eek!
Where do you stand on the glass vs plastic debate? Do you care how your food is packaged or is convenience and a light shopping bag a bigger draw? Tell us what you think... | <urn:uuid:68878ffb-f432-4557-b0e7-50e8c3bd1da1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/blog/498-glass-vs-plastic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964752 | 357 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Welcome to the Language Blog Roundup, in which we give you the highlights from our favorite language blogs and the latest in word news and culture.
In the world of politics, Rick Perry said “oops,” and Slate told us where oops comes from. Mark Liberman at Language Log took issue with Perry’s latest campaign ad and his lack of a verb, as well as speech-based lie detection “software” that supposedly proves Herman Cain is innocent of sexual harrassment. Meanwhile Robert Lane Greene at Johnson discussed Newt Gingrich and language, and Spanish in America.
In dictionary news, Ben Zimmer discussed the latest edition of the American Heritage dictionary, while the Scottish Language Dictionary charity is putting together the Concise Scots Dictionary. Erin McKean reviewed books that promise to help you talk better, and spotted in the Wall Street Journal week in words tobashi, solomo, and bronies, as well as Likeonomics, handwiches, and dead doubles.
At Language Log, Mark Liberman wrote about kids yesterday (and made us feel Principal Vernon old) and wondered if Lincoln could have furled his brow. Geoffrey Pullum objected to another’s objections about the passive voice, and kicked himself over tiramisu. Ben Zimmer considered Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow, while Mr. Pullum at Lingua Franca poked another hole in the many-Eskimo-words-for-snow argument.
Also at Lingua Franca, Ben Yagoda advocated going with the shorter word, and examined the overuse of right (I know, right?). Carol Saller wondered if all lawyers are not liars, while Allan Metcalf discussed the word guy.
At Macmillan Dictionary Blog, Ben Trawick-Smith considered the fall of the r-less class, while Stan Carey discussed Received Pronunciation and Dortspeak and questioned the “ideal” form of English. On his own blog, Mr. Carey let us know about the very cool Spaceage Portal of Sentence Discovery, “a database in which we the English-loving citizens of Internet can store countless examples of all the interesting language patterns and elements we are able to categorize.”
John McIntyre shook his head over usage literalists, while Motivated Grammar asserted that descriptivism doesn’t mean “anything goes.” Lynneguist gathered a month’s worth of American and British English untranslatables; and Johnson presented its results from its British and American English survey. The Virtual Linguist wrote about the experiences of Monica Baldwin, who spent 27 years in a closed convent and “could not understand much of the English being spoken around her when she finally rejoined the outside world”; brand names of Western products in China (“Hey, you dinged my Precious Horse!); and a study that showed that lower-pitched voices attract more votes.
Fritinancy’s words of the week were murmuration, a flock of starlings (her post includes a truly amazing video), and Semmelweis reflex, “the tendency to reject new evidence because it contradicts established norms or practices.” Fritinancy also wrote about tech jargon of yore, merry as a Starbucks verb, and this Mr. Tea set, which we have added to our Christmas list. In tooting our own horn news, Fritinancy gave a shout-out to our new series, Word Soup, in her November linkfest (thanks!).
Sequiotica posted about swizzle, umpteen, plouk, and mondegreens. Dialect Blog explored Multicultural London English; Chicano English; dialect work in the old days; and when Twitter words are spoken. The Word Spy spotted, among other words, war texting, “using text messages to break into a remote system such as an automobile or a GPS tracking device”; no planer, “a conspiracy theorist who believes that no planes were involved in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001”; and two-pizza team, “in a business environment, a team of employees that is not too large (and so can be fed with at most two pizzas).”
Speaking of food, we learned where the hot dog and hamburger got their names; all about It’s-It ice cream; and the history of macarons, macaroons, and macaroni. We were grateful for this list of non-errors, and chuckled over this punctuation cartoon from the Grammar Monkeys and this list of seven bar jokes involving grammar and punctuation. We pondered the language of the future, and what gets lost in translation. We learned that “only one veteran Navajo code talker remains of the original 29 Navajo Marines,” and that immigrant entrepreneurs often don’t need English to succeed. We wondered if comedy foreign accents are ever a good idea (depends on the accent).
We enjoyed these 20 Vonnegut-isms (well, except for the semi-colon remark), these 50 literary put-downs, and these six authors’ reading habits. We were delighted to learn that Neil Gaiman will be on The Simpsons this Sunday, and were a bit a creeped out by this Lego statue of Mark Twain. We were shocked to hear that Jane Austen might have been murdered, and were astounded that Salman Rushdie had to fight to use his own name on Facebook. We loved Salvador Dali’s 1969 drawings for Alice in Wonderland, as well as these vintage illustrations from Old French Fairy Tales.
Flavorwire gave us a brief history of time travel literature; this collection of rejected titles for classic books; and 10 famous literary characters and their real-life inspirations. They also offered 10 wonderful fake books by TV characters and a comprehensive rule book to pop culture’s fictional games (Calvinball, anyone?). Meanwhile, the PW blog told us about 6 fictional drugs with unintended consequences, Anglophenia offered up some money slang, and Time interviewed Michael Adams, the editor of Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages.
Finally, our favorite Tumblr of the week was The Books They Gave Me, reflections on books given by lovers.
That’s it for this week! Check in the week after next for the next Language Blog Roundup installment, and don’t forget to catch our new series on Wednesday, Word Soup. | <urn:uuid:87ffdcc1-f00d-4938-9aaf-e8d6f2f1b11e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.wordnik.com/this-weeks-language-blog-roundup-24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945566 | 1,344 | 1.609375 | 2 |
PRESS RELEASE July 01, 2006
M I T C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D I E S
Ambassador Francis Deng, Sudan Expert, Joins the MIT Center for International Studies
Ambassador Deng awarded CIS Wilhelm Fellowship
CAMBRIDGE , MA -Francis Mading Deng, Research Professor of International Politics, Law and Society and Director of the Center for Displacement Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington , D.C. , joined MIT's Center for International Studies (CIS) on July 1, 2006 , as the Center's second Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow. He will be in residence at CIS for one year.
Ambassador Deng, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, is a leading expert on the crisis in Darfur . He served from 1992-2004 as the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, with the rank of Under-Secretary-General. In addition, he is a scholar of indigenous cultures and the role of tradition in development, the politics and conflicts of identity in the Sudan , conflict management and the challenges of nation building in Africa , and the global crisis of internal displacement.
Ambassador Deng served as Sudan 's Ambassador to Canada , the Scandinavian countries and the United States , and was the Sudan 's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He resigned from Sudan 's foreign service in 1983 to protest that country's growing orientation toward Islamic fundamentalism.
"Francis Deng is one of the world's leading diplomats, an unusual combination of practitioner and theorist. At the U.N., he helped revolutionize the global responsibility for human security," said John Tirman, Executive Director of CIS. "We are honored and delighted that he's joining us here at the Center."
Ambassador Deng has been involved in numerous peace efforts and has collaborated with prominent mediators, including President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He is the author of several books about the Dinka of Sudan, and has written or co-authored numerous other volumes, including: Protecting the Dispossessed: A Challenge for the International Community; Conflict Resolution in Africa; Masses in Flight: the Crisis of Internal Displacement; Human Rights in Africa ; and Forsaken People: Case Studies of the Internally Displaced.
The one-year Robert E. Wilhelm Fellowship is awarded by MIT's Center for International Studies to individuals who have held senior positions in public life. Wilhelm Fellows come to CIS with an intellectual project to be accomplished and collaborate with MIT faculty members in research and/or teaching.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
MIT's Center for International Studies, a dynamic international affairs research center, is home to a variety of research, education, and outreach programs. It seeks to bridge the worlds of the scholar and the policymaker by offering each a place to exchange perspectives, and by encouraging academics to work on policy-relevant problems. Center scholars, and the students they helped educate, have served at senior levels in every administration since the Kennedy years. They are today among the nation's most distinguished analysts and executives in government and the private sector. | <urn:uuid:692940e6-9201-4e9b-b268-216339609ce8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://web.mit.edu/cis/press_release_deng2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93466 | 679 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The slovenian highest mountain road turns off from the main road Bovec
a little less than 2 km
from the international border crossing at Predel
The road was constructed in the year 1938 for the requirements of the Italian military.
The road was completed in 18 months.
Construction took place at four locations simultaneously, throughout the summer and winter.
The road is 11 km
It has five tunnels
and leads up to a point 2100 metres
above sea level.
The present purpose of the road is mainly tourism.
The road is open from the middle of June until November
, or until the first heavy snowfall. | <urn:uuid:4103f3ae-2577-44b8-b82d-9b7166e39cce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slovenia.info/?ostale_znamenitosti=9056&lng=2&viewscale=10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966447 | 131 | 1.742188 | 2 |
EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. (WEAU) - Two people died in all-terrain vehicle crashes this month in Wisconsin, including a woman in Jackson County, and with more inexperienced riders likely out during deer season, the Department of Natural Resources and longtime riders are asking new riders to be cautious.
Shawn Flynn of Eau Claire said he's been riding and racing ATVs for 25 years, seeing a few crashes along the way, and started teaching his 12-year-old son how to ride two years ago.
"If there's fields or gravel pits or wherever you're riding, and it's not a controlled scene, there can be a lot of hidden obstacles that could surprise you and really cause a lot of injury," Flynn said.
D.N.R. recreational safety warden William Yearman handles fatal ATV accident reports and said many can be avoided and that safety starts with getting certified through the state.
"There's probably a lot more out right now that may be just using their ATVs a few times a year on private property as we get into more the deer season," Yearman said. "Drinking and driving is always somewhat of an issue. It's a small percentage of the people that do it, but it's a large percentage of the people that get seriously injured or fatal."
According to the D.N.R., of last year's 16 fatal crashes in Wisconsin, six had blood alcohol contents over the legal limit of .08 and only two were certified and wearing helmets.
"It's always a disappointment (to hear about fatal crashes). The thing that usually crossed my mind first is just wondering what safety gear the person had on? Was there anything that they should have done to help prevent a death or injury?" Flynn said.
"The main thing is, it's best to wear a helmet, use some common sense, and go at a moderate speed," Yearman said.
It's important to have the right size ATV to fit the rider, Yearman said, and that riders must know that conditions can change everyday.
Safety classes are provided in Cornell Oct. 15-18. For more information, contact Andrea Smith at (715) 239-6728. They're also available online at: http://www.atvcourse.com/usa/wisconsin/. | <urn:uuid:0dae44be-37be-4f43-8d24-7f23af4eede0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/DNR-longtime-ATV-riders-caution-inexperienced-ones-as-hunting-season-approaches-170588906.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972535 | 479 | 1.59375 | 2 |
As of Wednesday morning, the number of Boone County customers without power was 10,489 of 12,938, or 81.1 percent of all customers in the county. The power company has given no date when they think power will be restored, but there have been reports that power has been restored in some parts of the Van and other areas of the county.
Shelters are open in Boone County, including the Fountain of Life Church in Rock Creek; Racine Fire Department; Morrisvale Community Center; Orgas Community Center; and the Madison Memorial Building. A complete listing of shelters open in West Virginia can be found online at http://www.governor.wv.gov/pages/shelters.aspx
Appalachian Power released a prepared statement saying, “Preparation for this storm began last Friday. Appalachian Power has declined requests to send crews to the Northeast so that all resources can be devoted to restoring power here. At the same time, additional crews were secured for our own restoration efforts from our six sister companies within AEP.”
The power company said on Monday, it staged hundreds of contractors along with its own employees in the storm areas.
“Because this storm covers a very broad geographic area and millions of people are without power nationwide, securing additional resources will be difficult beyond what we already have in place,” the company said in its press release. “Ongoing inclement weather is also making it difficult to assess damage to some of our electrical facilities. Appalachian is dealing with significant transmission damage which is typically assessed by helicopter. However, crews are having to assess damage by 4-wheel-drive and ATV vehicles, and even by foot patrol in the most remote, mountainous regions of our territory until it is safe to fly a helicopter. In addition, shorter daylight hours mean less time to perform damage assessments and to safely restore power. These complications will hamper the pace of power restoration.”
Below is Appalachian Power’s “Status Of Restoration Efforts.”
As of 7:30 p.m., more than 13,000 customers in Virginia and an additional 146,000 customers in West Virginia are without electric service as a result of the storm. Outages peaked today around noon at approximately 182,000 customers.
Our early assessments indicate extensive damage to both the distribution and transmission systems.
More than 40 distribution substations, 90 circuit breakers and approximately 47 transmission lines remain out of service. Transmission lines typically run from power generating plant-to station and station-to-station.
Until assessors can provide a clearer picture of the amount of damage caused by the storm, we are unable to provide specific restoration estimates with any degree of accuracy in most areas. However, similar to after this summer's Derecho, some customers could experience extended outages.
Restoration estimates have been determined for the following areas:
Christiansburg , Fieldale, Rocky Mount, Stewart, Wytheville Late tonight
Floyd, Glen Lynn, Pulaski and Woodlawn 4 p.m. Wednesday
Glade Spring, Roanoke Wednesday night
Lebanon, Tazewell Thursday night
We currently have more than 1,100 company and contract line mechanics and more than 250 damage assessors dedicated to service restoration.
Predicted snow accumulation totals in certain areas has increased since this morning.
Snow totals of 10 to 20 inches over eastern West Virginia by daybreak Wednesday with 45 mph wind gusts are aggravating the situation.
Wet snow will also accumulate up to 12" in mountains around Charleston, WV.
Heavy snow will also continue in the mountains along the KY - VA border with up to 16" storm totals over higher elevations.
HOW WE PRIORITIZE RESTORATION EFFORTS
Safety is our highest priority. Once outages occur, damage assessment begins as soon as the weather passes to the point that it is safe for workers to be in the field. Service restoration is handled by priority meaning essential public safety facilities are repaired first followed by trouble areas affecting the most customers. From there, small of customers are repaired and then individual homes and businesses.
We will be in contact with emergency management agencies, elected officials and state regulatory commissions, making them aware of our preparations.
A "snapshot" view of current outages is available anytime at AppalachianPower.com. Go to the Outages and Problems section of the site and click "View Outage Map."
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/AppalachianPower and on Twitter at Twitter.com/AppalachianPowe
Severe weather can cause power lines to snap or poles to come down. Fallen power lines are dangerous because they carry an electric current that can cause serious or fatal injury. Never touch a fallen wire, no matter how harmless it looks. And keep others away from the potential hazard as well. If you encounter fallen wires, stay away from them and immediately contact Appalachian Power.
In the event of a major power interruption, life-support customers are encouraged to contact Appalachian Power's toll-free customer service number to advise our representatives of their situation. Due to the nature of restoration activity, Appalachian Power cannot assure priority restoration for life-support customers. Life-support customers are advised to take precautionary measures to protect themselves in the event of a power loss. Contact relatives or friends for assistance or temporary accommodations in the event of a prolonged outage. Keep emergency phone numbers (physicians, hospitals, safety services, utilities) posted near your telephone.
Electric consumers are asked to report their outage again if they have not called within the past 24 hours. This will ensure that all consumers' electricity is restored as quickly as possible.
We will be in contact with emergency management agencies, local elected officials and state regulatory commissions, making them aware of our restoration efforts. We will continue to provide information to you as we have more information about the weather forecast.
Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/AppalachianPower and Twitter.com/AppalachianPower
To see current outage numbers and maps, log on to: | <urn:uuid:58932ec4-2f8e-4b3e-aed5-96b9bbe3ed32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coalvalleynews.com/view/full_story/20668907/article-Thousands-in-Boone-County-remain-without-power?instance=popular | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940933 | 1,248 | 1.609375 | 2 |
July 28 - August 1, 2002
Finding the time, energy, and inspiration to develop a new course or to re-design an existing course is a challenge for faculty. Join us for a four-day workshop in a stimulating and resource-rich environment where you will make significant progress toward designing or re-designing an effective and innovative undergraduate course in the geosciences.
Before I attended the workshop I considered myself an effective teacher. But I had the focus all wrong. Now I see how effectively my students can learn."
This workshop is part of the program On the Cutting Edge: Workshops for Geoscience Faculty, supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers and DLESE with funding provided by a grant from the National Science Foundation . | <urn:uuid:baedd477-5064-4ec5-96e0-194dcad576fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign02/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942513 | 154 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Coco Chanel not only created the fashionable and immortal suit and “little black dress” but she made women believe that they can live their own lives, they can be independent and wear clothes according to their own preferences. So powerful was Coco Chanel’s influence that today, a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every 30 seconds. Now, that’s influence!
Coco set out to conquer the world. She showed women they could be comfortable and still look elegant. Famous for her saying, “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different,” This became Coco Chanel’s secret of influence to women everywhere.
What do your clothes say about you?
Is it the right message? Does it work for or against you? What influences your choice of wardrobe? How do you use the power of your clothes?
Your answers to these questions are valuable in making an impression – influencing an outcome – or persuading a thought.
Women in positions of influence, from Wall Street to Washington, face the fashion police every day. For these women fashion and clothing choices are serious business. But is it any less important for the Mompreneur or the woman teaching third graders? No.
Choosing the right clothes for your personality and the situation is one thing you have control over. Make a note of the clothes you have in your closet. Seriously, go through your wardrobe answering these three questions: How do I feel in this? (not only comfort-wise but emotionally). What am I expressing when I wear this? (try it on then stand in front of the mirror). And, finally, is it me?
Now, here’s the key – the answers to these questions should support each other – at least be in tune. If not, it’s time to drop it off at good-will, then go shopping!
Women are scrutinized very differently than men. No surprise!
Carly Fiorina, author of “Tough Choices,” writes, “while being interviewed by an editor at Business Week during her first month as chief executive of technology at Hewlett-Packard, the first questioned asked, (even though HP was in the midst of a major technology revolution) was, ‘Is that an Armani suit you’re wearing?’”
Now, I ask you – who in their right mind would think her clothes takes precedence over her solutions for a massive technology upheaval? Would an editor ask Bill Clinton, are you wearing Givenchy, while in the middle of peace talks?
The spotlight on women’s clothes and style echoes people’s uneasiness in coming to terms with women who have real power. Your image evokes emotions – in others. Even though you see with your eyes, the actual impression or image is perceived by your mind.
For instance, Tony Kornheiser sparked outrage when he told the world, Hannah Storm, 47, was too old to wear flashy red go-go boots, a short skirt and a top that was ‘so tight that she looked like she was wrapped in sausage casing.’ Yes, he had a major emotional outburst and was suspended by ESPN for two weeks.
So, what are the unwritten clothing rules for women at work?
- attractive but not tempting
- feminine but not girly
- strong but not harsh
Hmmm . . . I wonder who wrote these rules?
While it may be true that what you wear doesn’t define you as a person, what you wear is an expression of who you are, so choose wisely.
When you choose your next outfit, think carefully about what you wish to tell others, about your mood, your personality, and your ambitions.
Here’s MY secret to classic influence, “Whatever bait you use determines the type of fish you’ll catch.”
Coco, see what you started? :) | <urn:uuid:68f0ba9c-f7ac-40ea-92e3-817469eed9b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://karen-keller.com/2010/03/04/coco-chanel%E2%80%99s-secret-to-classic-influence-what-are-your-clothes-saying-about-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964812 | 823 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Wind Should Get Fair Shake in Wyoming
In state after state, we’ve seen that having support from key leaders, such as governors, is critical to the development of a thriving wind energy industry, from manufacturing to distribution to wind farm installations that will create jobs and generate tax revenues. So it’s natural that Wyoming wind developers – who want to take advantage of the state’s first-class wind resources and help bring similar economic benefits to Wyoming – are a little disappointed by recent comments from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D). Last week, at a Chamber of Commerce appearance, he said, referring to energy developers in Wyoming, “We’re going to have an even playing field…Nobody gets a free ride,” he said, “…because fair is fair.”
Sounds good. Yet, a few days later, in a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about oil and gas rules on federal land, Freudenthal singled out wind in an afterthought that was hardly fair: “I would…suggest that the Department’s next effort at reform be aimed at wind leasing and development. As it stands, the policy incentivizes the wrong things and has the potential to be more environmentally detrimental than oil and gas leasing and development. As with the oil and gas reforms, I would offer my help to the Department to help revamp its wind program to better reflect modern realities.”
What modern realities? Wind more environmentally detrimental than oil and gas leasing? Hardly. As for the level playing field, with wind paying big property taxes and big sales taxes on multimillion-dollar pieces of equipment, it is hard to imagine why the governor thinks wind energy is getting a “free ride.” Moreover, the Governor’s policies already are aimed at banning wind development near sage grouse areas, while still allowing some other energy development (or other detrimental activities) in those exact same areas.
Given the chance to peacefully coexist, wind energy can be a great complement to Wyoming’s existing resource portfolio of coal, oil and natural gas. Here’s hoping Wyoming soon will understand and welcome renewable energy businesses alongside its other energy industries. That would be an even playing field, indeed. | <urn:uuid:75ac1513-2066-4e17-8144-fa20105b629a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awea.org/blog/index.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1699=17180 | 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 | 0.955909 | 459 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Call for Papers -- Research Conference on Older Families
Sponsored by the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
In order to encourage greater use of our family data, the Health and Retirement Study will sponsor a research conference on Older Families in early 2004. We encourage research papers exploiting the HRS panel data on family, kin, and intergenerational transfers. Users new to the HRS data are especially welcome to submit proposals. HRS is offering an introductory Family Data Workshop at ISR June 16-June 20, 2003 to help users gain familiarity with the HRS family data. Research proposals will be due a month later, July 15, 2003.
Background. The Health and Retirement Study is a biennial survey of the US population, aged 50 and over, that began in 1992. It is unusually rich in family data. It tracks changes in the structure of the vertically extended family and the individual life-cycle dynamics of respondents, their children, and their parents. Parallel data are available on the families of both spouses/partners. Transfers of time, money, and shared housing to and from HRS respondents are well represented. Each transfer is uniquely linked to a specific donor and recipient. This feature of the HRS makes it possible to create both dyadic and family histories of exchanges, including parental bequests to individual children. Data through 2000 are now available for analysis.
Family researchers may be interested in a new section of this Web site entitled Resources for Analysis of Family Data. This page brings together reference materials pertaining to HRS data content related to family issues. It contains direct links to relevant questionnaire areas, codebook content and bibliographic materials, as well as other relevant material.
In addition to family data, HRS collects information on respondentsí health, functioning, cognition, health care use, health insurance, labor force activity, and income and assets. Because of this focus, the HRS provides unique opportunities to examine complex interrelationships among the measured domains.
For example, HRS data on the kinship network and the redistribution of resources across generations of the extended family may be used to address:
- The role of step children in elder care. With rising divorce rates, step children are more numerous and potentially more important than a generation ago. How are private transfers from young to old, and vice versa, affected by parental divorce? Does this trend differentially affect men and women?
- The role of the extended family in providing income support: Cross-National Evidence. Recent research in the U.S., U.K., and Mexico suggests that significant fractions of retirees might be suffering severe shortfalls in income and consumption upon retirement. One of the surprises from the HRS is that financial transfers from young to old are a good deal more prevalent than previously thought, albeit still small. How responsive are adult children to unexpected income shortfalls after their parents retire?
- Caregiving as dynamic decision-making among siblings. Is the process by which adult children initially respond to a parental health problem the same as the process by which they adjust the volume or intensity of help over time? Do individual children increase their efforts over time or are other children added to the helping network? Over time, do adult children augment own efforts with market services as the health of a parent deteriorates? Are the relatively better-off children in a family more likely to make financial contributions than those with fewer resources? Is their contribution fixed over time even as the parentís income or consumption gap widens?
- Demonstration effects. Cox and Stark have predicted that children who witnessed their mother assisting her own mother will be more likely to subsequently replicate this behavior. Are some families more likely to evidence demonstration? Which child in such families is more likely to replicate intergenerational behaviors? Generalized exchange theory, now coming to the fore in Sociology, however, postulates that a child exposed to a family culture of demonstration, need not repay the initial donor to satisfy the requirements of reciprocity.
- Competition between timing of retirement and family obligations. Do obligations to provide assistance to grand-children or parents increase the odds of early retirement? Do financial obligations to adult children or parents delay retirement? Is there a differential effect for male and female workers approaching retirement?
- Family care and nursing home admissions. Does family-produced care for frail elderly delay nursing home admission? Under what circumstances? Do family care options encourage earlier discharge from a nursing home or reduce the risk of subsequent re-admission?
- Costs of caregiving. Do adult children who provide intensive care to parents pay a price in terms of their own savings or own pension? To what extent are parental bequests an offset against the implicit costs of parent care?
- Bequest intentions and behaviors. Older parents anticipate bequeathing equal shares of their estate to all children. To what extent do parental intentions foreshadow their actual behaviors? Are share adjustments made for the child who provided the greatest assistance at the end of life? Do parents use bequests to equalize differential investments in children earlier in life?
- Staging of intergenerational claims. Are episodes of parental assistance sequential or concurrent? Does the staging of transfers to parents and parents-in-law vary by race and ethnicity? At what age is the risk for intra- and inter-generational competition greatest? | <urn:uuid:749439d6-062e-4197-8533-6e6deaa192c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/index.php?p=shownews3x1&hfyle=news147 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939815 | 1,080 | 1.5 | 2 |
Minn. housing commissioner leaving for new jobby Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio
A member of the Pawlenty administration who has won bi-partisan praise for his work is leaving for a new job. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Tim Marx will become executive director of Common Ground a highly regarded New York City affordable housing developer. The move places Marx on a bigger playing field. However his analysis of the problem here in Minnesota and in New York is the same - wages aren't keeping pace with housing costs.
St. Paul, Minn. — A growing number of Minnesotan's are at risk of losing their housing because they can't afford it.
The reason as, Tim Marx sees it, is because income for many people isn't keeping up with costs.
"Wages for working Minnesotans and working Americans are not keeping pace with housing prices and that's a real problem for working families that are being asked to pay 50 to 60 to 70 percent or more of their income for housing. That's a structural problem in the economy that needs to be addressed," he says.
The federal government could help by supplying more money for various kinds of housing subsidies - from helping first time homebuyers to people in public housing, Marx says. But for the past eight years the federal government has been disinvesting in federal housing programs.
If that doesn't change, we'll see more people in emergency shelters, Marx says.
"We have to address that with more rental assistance as well as get on top of this housing foreclosure crisis by...getting first time homebuyers and other homebuyers into that single family stock in order to stabilize this housing market."
That's a big portion of what the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, now called Minnesota Housing does. It's a state agency created more than three decades ago during the administration of Governor Wendell Anderson.
Minnesota Housing helps finance home purchases for first time buyers. It loans money for building affordable housing.
It actually makes a profit, and the profit is reinvested in making more loans. If it were in the private sector it would rank as Minnesota's sixth largest bank, Marx says.
That sounds like competition for tax paying private sector businesses.
But it isn't according to Steve Cramer,
Cramer is executive director of Project for Pride in Living, a large Minneapolis based affordable housing developer. Cramer is a big fan of Minnesota Housing generally - the agency loans them money - and a fan specifically of the leadership of Tim Marx.
Private lenders aren't interested in developing housing for people with disabilities, the elderly and others too poor to afford their own housing, Cramer says.
The widening financial meltdown of for-profit lenders shows the public sector has to step in and help, according to Cramer.
"I think we have to say of course there's a public role not only in terms of regulation which is not so much what Tim was reponsible for, but certainly in terms of providing affordable capitol to make sure that on an equitable basis, on a fair basis, a range of people in our state have access to a broad set of housing opportunities," Cramer says.
University of Minnesota Law professor Prentiss Cox is another Tim Marx fan.
Cox is a former assistant state attorney general, and an architect of some of Minnesota's strongest protection for consumers and homeowners.
"He took seriously the responsibility of public institutions to create new homeowners and to protect those battling to retain possession of their homes," Cox says. "Commissioner Marx is going to be sorely missed."
In a few weeks Tim Marx moves to New York City to become executive director of Common Ground, a large developer of affordable housing and supportive housing which also supplies social services
"It'll be different because at Minnesota Housing we finance supportive housing as well as many other forms of housing. My new job will be more on the ground. It'll be more providing more direct. This is an organization that builds, develops and operates supportive housing and other programs for low income people including the homeless."
Marx points out while playing football as a youth he learned to use his elbows and knees. Traits that may serve him well in New York's tumultuous political environment.
- All Things Considered, 09/10/2008, 5:55 p.m. | <urn:uuid:b55c51ed-efb6-4f12-a743-af33f338075d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/09/10/timmarx?refid=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978759 | 878 | 1.578125 | 2 |
1. Start out wide away from the wake with enough speed to get you wake to wake.
2. Come in with a progressive edge. Start out easy and gradually get harder and harder until you reach the hardest edge at the wake.
3. Make sure that when you are edging in, you keep equal weight on both feet and hold it until you take off. Sometimes it is hard to tell when you are doing the riding. Have somebody in the boat watch your knees, if both if your knees are bent the same as each other then you are money.
4. When you take off, make sure and wait until the top off the wake and keep the handle in close.
5. Keep your knees bent right up to your chest(more than you would think). The more they are bent, the more control you will have.
6. After you finish the first 180, throw the shuv out in front of you(more out in front than in the flats). Try and get it to where you are throwing the shuv at the peak of your jump.
7. Keep your knees bent and wait for the board to come around. If you are throwing the board correctly then you shouldn’t have to straighten your legs all the way to catch it.
8. Catch the board with your feet wide(bolts), bend your knees and keep your chest over your toes when you land.
9. Ride away clean…as if there were a better option….
Sent from my iPhone | <urn:uuid:36bdf9dd-231b-4f8f-abd3-9333d8118b73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alliancewake.com/skate/late-front-bigspin/nggallery/image/1209115111reedcrop/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948255 | 310 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Bangalore rebrands as Bengaluru
Shouldn't that be Benda Kaal Ooru?
The Indian IT hub of Bangalore is about to be rebranded as Bengaluru in recognition of the original name of Benda Kaal Ooru - that's "boiled beans town" in the local Kannada lingo.
According to the Beeb, this rather unsavoury name came about when a king named Vira Ballala lost his way on a hunting expedition and was eventually offered boiled beans by an old lady. In recognition of this act of kindness, he named the place Benda Kaal Ooru.
Along came the Brits and, since they really couldn't be arsed to say Benda Kaal Ooru, they simplified the name to Bangalore. Nor can the locals apparently be arsed to say Benda Kaal Ooru, since the new moniker is the "phonetic variation" of the hard-to-pronounce original.
The new name was announced this week by chief minister of Karnataka state, Dharam Singh, in response to a demand from a group of Kannada-language writers. One of them, UR Ananthamurthy, reckons the locals already call the place Bengaluru, so no big deal.
Others disagree. Bob Hoekstra, Philips' local head honcho, told AP: "We have spent 15 years building Bangalore as an international brand and going back to the native name could hurt that brand. It is like going from Philips to Philippos."
There may still be hope for the Bangalore lobby - the name change is not yet official and must be cleared by the state legislature, the federal government and India's prez before the Bengalurians can legally refer to themselves as such. ® | <urn:uuid:c3b2f049-fd53-4325-8472-6721c9cc312f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/14/bangalore_rebrands/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960351 | 365 | 1.625 | 2 |
In 1943, small teams of elite British soldiers began parachuting into the mountains of Axis-occupied Albania. They were members of Britain's Special Operations Executive, and their task was to find and arm bands of local guerillas and harass the Axis as best they could. None had been to Albania before, or knew what awaited them.
Trying to survive in extreme conditions and formidable terrain, these young Britons lived in constant danger of capture and death, and were plagued by illness, lice and frostbite. Casualties were appalling and most guerillas keener to kill each other than fight Italians and Germans. In his extraordinary new book, Roderick Bailey draws on interviews with survivors, long-hidden diaries and recently declassified files to tell the full story of this remarkable corner of SOE history and finally settle the question of whether or not British communists in SOE, perhaps even colleagues of the Cambridge spies, had conspired to betray British interests.
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What makes Bailey's book so readable is not only his grasp of strategy but his hold on tactics and personalities.... The Wildest Province...establishes him as a modern historian of great skill... Anyone interested in human nature under stress, or problems of counter-insurgency, or sheer adventure, will read it with profit - Literary Review
This is a gripping account of two wars...a rich and rounded account...he has mastered a mass of complex material, and analysed it with great clarity and fairness...it is hard to imagine the task being done better than this... History more breathtaking than any thriller - Sunday Telegraph
Reminiscent of John Buchan and The Thirty-Nine Steps... Extreme stuff - Daily Mail
Beautifully written and impeccably researched... a compelling work and by far the most comprehensive yet undertaken on the subject...The Wildest Province is a must-have acquisition for anyone remotely interested in the region, the war, its politics or the experiences of the men who fought there. I devoured the book quickly - The Times
A tribute to average men with the guts to be extraordinary... The author's research is monumental - Sunday Express
An admirable work of erudition - Scotland on Sunday
A tremendous work of scholarship - Daily Telegraph
Thanks to the excellent investigative work of Roderick Bailey we now have this gripping account of the British soldiers who fought with the partisans in occupied Albania... tells in pacy details the considerable hardships in their struggle to survive... this is an unknown but important chapter in war history, which has now found a fine chronicler' - Financial Times
Authoritative... More than a decade's study and an impressive range of archival and oral sources has allowed him to weave a complex but engrossing story - Times Literary Supplement
[Bailey's] accomplished account makes grim reading - Sunday Times
Born in 1974, Roderick Bailey is a graduate of Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities and a former Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. His PhD looked at SOE operations in the occupied Balkans and in 2003 he was appointed to run a major project to acquire new material for the Imperial War Museum's SOE collections. He is also the author of Forgotten Voices of D-Day and Forgotten Voices of the Secret War. | <urn:uuid:99f15a89-30ed-46f6-911b-314dbeedbd3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/the-wildest-province-soe-in-the-land-of-the-eagle/9781845950712 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952017 | 691 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Lowest-achieving list sparks ire among Delco schools
A Pennsylvania Department of Education release listing the lowest-achieving schools in the state includes 27 in Delaware County from seven districts, enabling students to apply for scholarships to better-performing schools.
Only Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, home to the state’s two largest cities, had more low-achieving schools, with 43 and 177, respectively.
The report contains schools that performed in the bottom 15 percent in the state according to combined math and reading scores on 2011-12 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests. Locally, six high schools made the list. Penn Wood, Chichester, Chester and Academy Park high schools were on the list for the second year in a row, while Interboro and Upper Darby were on it for the first time. Elementary and middle schools in Chester Upland, Ridley, Southeast Delco, Upper Darby and William Penn school districts were also included on the list.
Students living within the boundaries of one of the schools, of which there are 406 in Pennsylvania, can apply for Opportunity Scholarships as part of a program administered by the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
In Delaware County, education leaders have differing views of the program.
“I look at it as a way, again, to attack public schools in the state,” said William Penn School District Superintendent Joseph Bruni.
All of the schools in William Penn made the list of low-achievers for the second year in a row.
On the other side of the argument is Steven Clement, co-director of admissions at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill.
“It helps in a couple of ways,” Clement said of the Opportunity Scholarship program. “First, a lot of kids in these (failing) districts would attend our school if it was more affordable ... This could bring up our enrollment and help them by decreasing theirs and giving them a better student-to-teacher ratio.”
The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program was implemented in the summer of 2012. It allows qualifying businesses to donate money to recognized organizations that will distribute that money to students in low-achieving schools as scholarships to better performing schools. The businesses will receive tax credits for their donations up to $400,000. The program is capped at $50 million, though much of those credits are still available. Continued...
“It got off to a slow start, which we anticipated,” Steve Kratz, a spokesman for DCED, said of the Opportunity Scholarship program.
To date, $13 million in tax credits have been claimed by about 300 businesses in Pennsylvania. The program year ends June 30.
The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit is an endeavor closely related to the state’s Education Improvement Tax Credit, which began a decade ago. Increased to $100 million this year, the EITC began slowly before more and more organizations took advantage of it, Kratz said.
“It’s taken some time to drum up businesses to donate to the program,” he said. “We anticipate that the Opportunity Scholarship program will take that same path.”
In the meantime, Bruni argues that the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit is flawed in its execution, as well as its intention. The cumbersome online application process is not user-friendly, he said, and the program itself is another way to label struggling schools as failures.
“The Opportunity Scholarship program is a program, from my point of view, that is very difficult for parents to navigate,” he said. “(Parents) have to find their own scholarships.”
It’s offensive to him to have to comply with stringent federal standards to make Adequate Yearly Progress and have to be subjected to further labels from the state as low-achieving.
“The sad part is that in our school district, we have so many success stories and great families and students that it’s just a tragedy to label us as a failure,” he said.
When a school makes the list from the state, as schools in Williams Penn have done for this school year and the next, all of the students residing within its boundaries are eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, if they also meet income guidelines.
This includes students in the school, as well as any private school students that would attend if they weren’t being educated elsewhere. Of the thousands of students in William Penn eligible for the program, Bruni said very few have inquired about it. Continued...
Students at a low-achieving school are eligible if the household income is below $60,000, with increases of $12,000 for each dependent in the home. They are eligible to receive a scholarship up to $8,500 to attend a different public or private school enrolled in the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program.
There are 128 Opportunity Scholarship Organizations in Pennsylvania that can receive contributions from qualifying businesses. There are almost 900 schools in the state that can accept Opportunity Scholarships, but only 22 are public schools. In Delaware County, 53 schools accept Opportunity Scholarships, none of them public. This is another problem Bruni has with the program, as private schools, especially charters and cyber charters, aren’t subject to being on the list because they aren’t mandated to administer PSSAs.
“It’s totally unfair. We don’t know how students in private schools would do on the PSSAs because they don’t have to take them,” Bruni said. “It would definitely impact the list if cybers and charters were included.”
At Bonner-Prendie, four students from four different school districts have taken advantage of Opportunity Scholarships in the current school year, according to Clement. He hopes that number will increase in the coming year.
“It was tough this year because we didn’t get the final information until June (when the bill was passed),” he said. “This year, we hope to help as many students as we can ... We would hope that there is more opportunity in the future.”
Clement disagrees with the claim that private and parochial schools aren’t held to the same standard as public schools, saying the Archdiocese of Philadelphia administers its own tests at all 18 of its high schools in the five-county region.
“We have testing that we take through the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,” Clement said. “We are held to higher standards, in my opinion, than some other private or charter schools.”
Bonner-Prendie’s Institutional Advancement office solicits contributions to its scholarship program to distribute to qualifying students, focusing on business leaders that attended the schools. After being on a dreaded list of its own last year, Bonner-Prendie has flexed its fundraising muscles.
“Since we were announced to be closing last year, we managed to raise millions of dollars,” Clement said.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Catholic Education slated dozens of schools for closure or consolidation in January 2012, including Bonner, Prendie and two other high schools. A few weeks, and tens of millions of dollars later, the four high schools were allowed to stay open, though Bonner and Prendie merged into one school. Continued...
In the intervening months, attendance has increased markedly, which will only be helped along by the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, Clement said.
“Our enrollment right now is on projection to be the highest it’s been in 10 years,” he said.
Bruni identifies the high poverty levels in school districts that struggle as something that can’t be fixed with curriculum changes, and something that will serve as a roadblock to families trying to take advantage of the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit.
“It puts parents at a great disadvantage if they don’t have the technology to use it and they don’t have the understanding for how it works,” Bruni said.
William Penn School District is projected to receive nearly $20 million in state funding for the 2013-14 school year in Gov. Tom Corbett’s announced budget plan, the third highest in Delaware County. Being placed on the list of low-achievers again will not be an impediment to efforts undertaken in the district over the last several years to improve performance.
“We are aware of the struggles that we have in the district and we’ve implemented programs to address them,” Bruni said. “What we can’t impact is the level of poverty.”
Despite that obstacle, Bruni said the schools in William Penn are making progress.
“As far as putting interventions in place, we work on that constantly,” he said. “We’re showing improvement every year.”
For more information about the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program, including lists of Opportunity Scholarship Organizations and schools, as well as application information for businesses, visit www.newpa.com/ostc.
Location, ST | website.com
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Kent Davidson covers local politics, events, and goings-on in the borough of Media, PA. | <urn:uuid:c03c0323-bc15-4510-b519-c3270fb08057> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://delcotimes.com/articles/2013/02/11/news/doc5118782cd8dfa491787730.txt?viewmode=fullstory | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96538 | 2,394 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Madame Chairman and Ranking Member Inhofe,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit a statement at today’s hearing. I agree with the Ranking Member of the Committee that such a statement is better suited for a session of morning business on the Senate floor. However, I believe it is important to have a balanced debate, and so I want to make my views clear for the record.
There is no question that the issue of climate change is on the minds of the American people. Discussions on climate change, which are traditionally commonplace in the media, are now commonplace around the water cooler. Unfortunately, those discussions are dominated by misinformation and are based on scare tactics. Rather than allowing the science to run its course, the issue has become politicized.
I do not believe that climate change is nearly as pressing a problem many proponents would suggest. We do not trust our weathermen to predict the temperature a week in advance, and so it is difficult for me to believe that individuals can predict the weather 100 years from now. Particularly given that just a few decades ago, we were told that the world was entering the next ice age, I struggle to see how some can discuss the issue with absolute certainty.
Because the science is not settled on the issue of climate change, I will not support any actions that will put the United States at an economic disadvantage without any guarantees that the problem is real and without any guarantees that these so-called solutions will address the issue.
As that is the case, I base my position on climate change on the Byrd-Hagel Resolution, which passed the United States Senate on June 12, 1997 by a vote of 95–0. The legislation should set the standards for United States signature on any treaty that forces the reduction of greenhouse gases. The resolution requires that all nations, including developing nations like China and India, be a part of any agreement. Additionally, the resolution requires that any measures enacted domestically do not harm our country’s economy.
If we act, we must do so in a way that makes sense and does not dramatically disadvantage the United States. My experience at the Kyoto Conference tells me that the mandatory CO2 caps that have been proposed do not meet the high standard laid out under the Byrd-Hagel Resolution.
I was a member of the United States Senate delegation to Kyoto, Japan in 1997 where the Kyoto Protocol was drafted. One of the things I noticed when I got to that conference was that the delegation from the United States was one of the only delegations who were treating Kyoto as an environmental conference. The vast majority of nations in attendance realized that it was an economic conference. They saw Kyoto as an opportunity to harm the U.S. economy. The Chinese delegation, whose country represents the world’s fastest growing emitter of CO2, made it clear that they would never be part of a treaty that forced them to reduce their CO2 emissions. Without involving China, no treaty or action to reduce CO2 makes any sense.
Instead of enacting costly legislation to cap CO2 emissions, I think the right approach is to develop technology and to share that technology with other nations. Doing so allows cleaner technologies to spread throughout the world, which is the best solution to what many believe is a “global problem.”
Thank you again for allowing me to share my thoughts on this issue. | <urn:uuid:d04b3fe6-3ba9-4da7-a6b0-5d5888d3ef12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Testimony&Hearing_ID=5584be8e-802a-23ad-499a-ea3c20ff687d&Witness_ID=6a983a6f-e7db-4e66-a799-4c7254c5ef51 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970092 | 687 | 1.679688 | 2 |
November 8, 2011
The home of a prominent Israeli peace activist has been vandalised, with death threats and swastikas spray-painted on walls and a nearby vehicle, amid alarm among human rights groups about increasingly hostile and violent actions against them.
Police confirmed they were investigating the attack on the Jerusalem home of Hagit Ofran, who works for Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that monitors settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The graffiti included the words “Hagit Ofran ‚Ä” zal [of blessed memory]“; “Rabin is waiting for you”, a reference to the assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin; and “price tag”, the signature of extremist settlers who carry out operations in revenge for moves to demolish unauthorised West Bank outposts. The names of two recently dismantled outposts were also sprayed on walls.
It is the second such attack on Ofran’s home in two months. On Sunday, Peace Now’s offices were evacuated after a telephone call warned of an imminent bomb attack. “The building will explode in five minutes,” the caller said. Staff found the words “price tag” had been sprayed on the building.
This article was posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 10:19 am | <urn:uuid:198ac78d-7cc4-44d9-a4b3-a8893cee6617> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/israeli-peace-activists-home-vandalised-with-death-threats-and-swastikas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963917 | 279 | 1.5 | 2 |
Last month, I wrote a column saying it was time for Maine to go around the Legislature and directly to referendum if we want to enact sensible gun laws. After years of seeing police chiefs, hunters, university officials, psychiatrists, and victims of gun violence turned away as they pleaded for sensible gun regulation in front of our Committee on Criminal Justice, a public vote seems to be our only path.
Now, you might think the gun lobby would welcome a battle at the ballot box to resolve whether Maine wants greater gun control. After all, back in the 1980s they were able to amend the Maine Constitution by ultimately winning a referendum to strengthen gun rights. But no.
But just yesterday, perhaps, we learned why. The Portland Press Herald has published a poll, conducted by Critical Insights between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, in which an astounding 81 percent of Mainers believe we should have sensible restrictions on guns. By a six-point margin, we want an assault-weapons ban. By a 25-point margin, we want a ban on high-capacity magazines. And by a 43-point margin, we want a ban on armor-piercing ammunition. They didn’t even test universal background checks, which I am sure would enjoy similar margins.
But perhaps the greatest myth buster is how Maine ranks against national polling. There has long been a belief that we Mainers just don’t consider gun safety a problem the way other states do. The thinking goes that because we are a hunting state with low crime and lots of guns, Mainers don’t want new restrictions on guns the way other states do.
Well, according to the Press Herald analysis, in every category listed above, there is a stronger percentage of Maine people who support stronger gun laws then we see nationally.
- Nationally, 44 percent want an assault weapons ban. In Maine, 51 percent.
- Nationally, 53 percent want a ban on high capacity magazines. In Maine, 61 percent.
- Nationally, 57 percent want a ban on armor-piercing bullets. In Maine, 69 percent.
So, maybe now we understand better why the gun lobby is so scared of a referendum. They may control the Legislature, but they don’t control the people.
Posted by Ethan Strimling | <urn:uuid:ea2a7280-6657-46cc-958a-007af1589705> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://agreetodisagree.bangordailynews.com/2013/01/14/maine-politics/why-is-the-gun-lobby-so-scared-of-a-referendum-on-guns/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949023 | 474 | 1.578125 | 2 |
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