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King David asked me a question today.
You, oh youth worker (pastor, parent, friend), hear these words and tell me....
who are you working for?
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for he grants sleep to those he loves.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Then, I read his prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-28.
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a human being!“What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord.
“For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.“And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, 'the Lord Almighty is God over Israel!' And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.
“ Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
I begin to hear the echo in my soul. Then a reading moving further in...
A prayer from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
Confirm me, Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and give me grace to be strong inwardly in soul and to cast out from it all unprofitable business of the world and of the flesh, that it may not be led by unstable desires of earthly things. And grant that I may behold all things in this world as they are--transitory and of short abiding, and I myself also to pass away together with them, for nothing under the sun can long abide, but all in vanity and affliction of spirit.
Therefore, O Lord, give me true heavenly wisdom, that I may learn to seek you and to find you, and above al things to love you, and to understand and know all other things as they are, after the direction of your wisdom, and not otherwise. And give me grace, also, to withdraw myself form those who flatter me, and patiently to tolerate those who grieve me so that the way I have begun will bring me to a good and blessed ending.
We will sing your praise, with our strength, with our voice, with our lives...without end.
God's love reaches out and asks for us to be present--to be available for him to transform us--allowing his spirit to work gently and deeply with in us--sharing with us. That we would be FULL of his Spirit and enabled to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than we could ever ask, or think, or even imagine, in Jesus' name.
*My daily scripture reading and reflection comes from a book I've been using for ten years this January. A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants. (Shawchuck & Job) I owe many thanks to a mentor during our senior year of college for recommending this to us and helping us enter into community, solitude, and spiritual formation from a young age. | <urn:uuid:47946cf9-09e3-48bd-978d-9936105ae931> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brooklynlindsey.blogspot.com/2011/08/who-do-you-work-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965494 | 964 | 1.523438 | 2 |
[Updated] How The Trayvon Martin Case Unfolded
On March 19, the state attorney general told media that a federal grand jury will convene on April 10.
How The Story Unfolded In The Media (Mainstream and Non-Traditional)
- Monday, February 27: First news report
- Tuesday, February 29: Additional details
- Friday, March 2: Miami gets details wrong
- Wednesday, March 7: First wire story (Reuters)
- Thursday, March 8: First AP story
- Friday, March 9: Family hires attorney, is filing lawsuit for release of 9-1-1 tapes
- Saturday, March 10: AP story on family filing lawsuit
- Monday, March 12: Police chief says insufficient evidence for arrest
- Thursday, March 15: Profile of Stand Your Ground laws and NRA
- Friday, March 16: Family allowed to hear 9-1-1 tapes
- Saturday, March 17: NY Times story
- Sunday, March 18: ABC expert thinks Zimmerman was slurring his words; family asks DOJ to get involved
- Monday, March 19: Grand jury announced; Martin’s girlfriend talks to ABC
- Wednesday, March 21: Zimmerman had domestic violence charge in 2005
- Thursday, March 22: Protest in NYC; Police Chief Lee steps down
- Friday, March 23: Students at Florida schools walk out in protest
- Saturday, March 24: Protests across the nation; a friendn claims the “howls” on 9-1-1- tape are Zimmerman’s
Monday, February 27
MyFox Orlando reports:
Investigators with the Sanford Police Department are still trying to figure out exactly what happened during an altercation which resulted in a fatal shooting in the Twin Lakes area. The shooting happened just after 7 p.m. Sunday evening on Twin Trees Lane.
Wednesday, February 29
Trayvon Martin turned 17 just three weeks before he was killed at the Retreat at Twin Lakes Townhomes on Sunday night.
Residents heard loud yelling and called 911 for the Sanford police. Moments later, more 911 calls were made about a gunshot being fired.
Friday, March 2
The Miami Herald reports (emphasis added to highlight just how wrong the story is):
Trayvon Martin, 17, was visiting family members in Sanford when he was shot to death by a man at a convenience store on Monday night.
Wednesday, March 7
The family of a 17-year-old African-American boy shot to death last month in his gated Florida community by a white Neighborhood Watch captain wants to see the captain arrested, the family’s lawyer said on Wednesday.
Trayvon, who lived in Miami with his mother, had been visiting his father and stepmother in a gated townhome community called The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, 20 miles north of Orlando.
Thursday, March 8
The family of a Florida teen who was fatally shot after an encounter with a neighborhood watch leader on Thursday asked the police department investigating the death to release 911 tapes that may help explain how the young man died.
The man hasn’t been charged. His name was redacted along with Martin’s name in an initial police report but he was identified as 28-year-old George Zimmerman in a police report released Thursday.
The report said Zimmerman initially called police to report a suspicious person in the neighborhood and minutes later 911 dispatchers received several calls of shots being fired in the neighborhood. Zimmerman told police officers that he had shot Martin and officers found a semiautomatic handgun on him. The report said that Zimmerman’s back was wet and he was covered in grass as if he had been on the ground. He was bleeding from his nose and the back of the head, the report said.
After getting few answers from police, Martin’s grieving family has hired an attorney and is publicizing his death on CNN, Good Morning America and other national media outlets.
Said Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. in an interview with the Huffington Post, “For some reason he (Zimmerman) felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared seemed suspicious to him.”
ABC News cites the Southern Poverty Law Center:
The number of hate groups in the U.S. has grown each year for the past 11 years, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2000 the center reported that there were 602 hate groups; in 2011 that number had climbed to 1,018.
Potok expects the rage to grow and the number of hate groups to continue to rise if President Obama is re-elected.
“I think it has the potential to get worse before it gets better,” [Mark] Potok said. “As it becomes more likely that Obama will ultimately win, these groups are getting angrier and angrier. They’re looking at four years under a black guy who they hate.”
Friday, March 9
The family of a teenage who was shot and killed last month is filing a lawsuit against the Sanford Police Department for the release of the 911 tapes.
Saturday, March 10
From AP via CBS Miami:
After getting few answers from police, Trayvon Martin’s grieving family has hired an attorney and is publicizing his death on national media outlets.
Monday, March 12
From Orlando Sentinel:
On Monday, while an angry crowd of critics stood by, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee admitted that his detectives do not have enough evidence to arrest him.
Zimmerman was taken into custody but was released. His nose was bloody, and officers spotted blood on the back of his head as well as grass on the back of his shirt, according to the incident report.
The Martin family’s lawyers, Benjamin Crump and Natalie Jackson, have filed suit in Sanford, asking a judge to order the police department to release its 911 recordings.
From The Miami Herald:
The police chief in Sanford turned over the investigation into the killing of Miami teen Trayvon Martin to the Seminole-Brevard State Attorney’s Office for review Monday, as outraged members of the community demanded justice.
Wednesday, March 14
From the Orlando Sentinel:
In almost any community, the shooting death of a black teen by a white crime-watch volunteer would raise accusations of racism. But this one occurred in Sanford, a city that has struggled with racial tensions for a century.
Many in Sanford say the seemingly slow pace by police to investigate last month’s shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is again raising suspicions that if shooter George Zimmerman were not white and the teen were not black, things would be different.
“I can tell you that if it was the other way around, someone would be in jail by now,” Ulysees Cunningham said Wednesday. At 80 years old, the retired contractor, who is black, has lived in Sanford for most of his life, long enough to have seen its racist side, he said.
Thursday, March 15
According to the National Rifle Association – which has lobbied for and in some cases assisted in writing laws expanding self-defense statutes – since 2006, at least 29 states have passed amended self-defense laws that the gun rights advocacy group supports, including four last year. Although each state’s statute is slightly different, generally, this new crop of laws allows citizens to use deadly force on someone they reasonably believe is a threat to their life. Instead of having a so-called “duty to retreat” from perceived danger, a citizen can “stand their ground” and meet force with force. Some laws also create immunity from civil lawsuits for those found to have reasonably used deadly force.
Friday, March 16
The family was allowed to hear the 9-1-1 tapes, which were to then be released.
The Seminole County State Attorney’s Office was so bombarded by emails demanding that it prosecute Zimmerman that its website had to be taken down for 45 minutes, according to a spokeswoman for the office.
From NY Times (op-ed):
Trayvon was buried on March 3. Zimmerman is still free and has not been arrested or charged with a crime.
As the father of two black teenage boys, this case hits close to home. This is the fear that seizes me whenever my boys are out in the world: that a man with a gun and an itchy finger will find them “suspicious.” That passions may run hot and blood run cold. That it might all end with a hole in their chest and hole in my heart. That the law might prove insufficient to salve my loss.
One of the witnesses was a 13-year-old black boy who recorded a video for The Orlando Sentinel recounting what he saw. The boy is wearing a striped polo shirt, holding a microphone, speaking low and deliberately and has the heavy look of worry and sadness in his eyes. He describes hearing screaming, seeing someone on the ground and hearing gunshots. The video ends with the boy saying, “I just think that sometimes people get stereotyped, and I fit into the stereotype as the person who got shot.”
Saturday, March 17
From the NY Times (emphasis added):
Nearly three weeks after an unarmed teenager was killed in a small city north of Orlando, stirring an outcry, a few indisputable facts remain: the teenager, who was black, was carrying nothing but a bag of Skittles, some money and a can of iced tea when he was shot. The neighborhood crime watch volunteer who got out of his car and shot him is white and Hispanic. He has not been arrested and is claiming self-defense.
Late Friday night, after weeks of pressure, the police played the 911 calls in the case for the family and gave copies to the news media. On the recordings, one shot, an apparent warning or miss, is heard, followed by a voice begging or pleading, and a cry. A second shot is then heard, and the pleading stops.
Sunday, March 18
The family of Trayvon Martin is asking the FBI to get involved in the investigation of the killing of the unarmed 17-year-old Florida high school student, who was shot last month by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman outside his stepmother’s home.
Zimmerman, 28, who is white, claimed self defense. He was never arrested and has been charged with no crime, sparking national outrage.
ABC News has learned police seemed to accept Zimmerman’s account at face value that night and that he was not tested for drugs or alcohol on the night of the shooting, even though it is standard procedure in most homicide investigations.
An FBI spokesman told ABC News: “We are aware of the incident, we have been in contact with local authorities and are monitoring the matter.”
But law enforcement expert Rod Wheeler who listened to the tapes tells ABC News that Zimmerman, not Martin, sounded intoxicated in the police recordings of the 911 calls.
“When I listened to the 911 tape the first thing that came to my mind is this guy sounds intoxicated. Notice how he’s slurring his words. We as trained law enforcement officers, we know how to listen for that right away and I think that’s going to be an important element of this entire investigation,” Wheeler said.
From The Washington Post (op-ed/blog):
By all accounts, Trayvon was a good kid. He helped his father coach Little League. He had dreams of becoming a pilot. He was good at math.
(AP) The Orlando Sentinel said that Trayvon’s English teacher described him “as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness.” And now he’s gone because, as Charles Blow wrote on Saturday, “a man with a gun and an itchy finger” found Trayvon “suspicious.”
In the early 1990s, I saw a T-shirt for sale on Canal Street in New York that neatly and bluntly summed up my frustration with this situation: “No white lady I don’t want your purse.”
… along [comes] a Trayvon Martin to remind us that the burden of suspicion is still ours to bear. And the cost for taking our lives might be none.
Monday, March 19
From WKMG Orlando:
State Attorney Norm Wolfinger announced Tuesday that the Seminole County grand jury will convene April 10 regarding the federal investigation into the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
From MSNBC (Maddow Blog):
Melissa Harris-Perry did a segment over the weekend about the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, a few weeks ago, and it’s well worth watching, especially if you want to get up to speed on this story.
From The Atlantic (James Fallows):
Here’s why I think it is worth making an exception and talking about something outside “my” realm. The Trayvon Martin case involves the shooting of a young black man by a young white man, and the failure of the white-run Southern police department to take any action against the killer. The more evidence comes out, the less defensible and more bigoted the police department’s attitude seems. Ta-Nehisi Coates has done a very effective job of following this case — but since he is the only black “Voice” on the Atlantic’s site, and since many (though not all) of the leading writers about the case elsewhere also have been black, leaving it to him could give the impression that we think of this as a “black” story. My feeling is the same as when I wrote about the Troy Davis execution last fall: this case is obviously about race, and is important on those grounds. Race relations are after all the original and ongoing tension in U.S. history. But it is also about self-government, rule of law, equality before the law, accountability of power, and every other value that we contend is integral to the American ideal — and also to “the America idea,” exploration of which was the founding idea of the Atlantic Monthly back in 1857.
Wednesday, March 21
Thursday, March 22
Friday, March 23
- Students walk out in protest
- About 250 to 300 Congressional staffers rallied in support of Hoodies on the Hill.
- LA Times: Trayvon Martin case: George Zimmerman, mystery gunman
Saturday, March 24
- Chicago Tribune: “For a second straight day, hundreds of people gathered in the Loop this afternoon to show their support for the family of Trayvon Martin and to demand that the man who shot and killed the teen in Florida last month be prosecuted
- Gawker: How to Get Away With Murder and Other Things the Killing of Unarmed Black Teen Trayvon Martin Teaches Us
- US News: “Thousands of people in cities across the country planned to march this weekend to call for justice in memory of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager shot to death last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida.”
“Rallies were planned Saturday in Washington, Chicago, Dallas and Tampa, Fla. Seattle, Baltimore and Atlanta were among other cities hosting weekend events. Protesters were encouraged to wear hoodies – the type of garment Martin had on when he was killed.”
- Demonstrators In Washington, DC
- Demonstrators in Chicago
- A friend of George Zimmerman told ABC News that the voice heard howling on the tape of a 911 call was Zimmerman’s, not the teen’s.
- Christian Science Monitor: Who is George Zimmerman, and why did he shoot Trayvon Martin? | <urn:uuid:50f45ce0-400a-4120-8491-aaeff7c65526> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://themoderatevoice.com/142431/how-the-trayvon-martin-case-unfolded/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977174 | 3,258 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Toshiba said it would buy microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices, ending its exclusive ties with Intel for the supply of the brains that run computers, and sending its shares higher.
Toshiba, the world’s fourth-largest laptop PC maker, said on Tuesday it expects to put AMD processors in about 20 percent of the notebooks it sells in the United States and Europe.
The move follows an announcement last year by Dell, the world’s second-largest PC maker that had been procuring microprocessors only from Intel for more than two decades, that it would begin using chips from AMD.
Intel is AMD’s far larger rival with a market share of around 80 percent.
“With PCs becoming commodity products, there seems to be a new way of thinking that competition should be introduced even in procurement of such core parts like processors as long as there are no major differences in product specifications,” Macquarie Securities analyst Yoshihiro Shimada said.
“This could be a message that an era in which Intel took the lion’s share of microprocessor profits as the king of PC chips is over.”
Toshiba plans to put AMD chips in moderate-priced standard models for individual and corporate clients, Toshiba spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara said.
The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that prices of AMD-equipped PCs are expected to sell for up to 10,000 yen ($82) less than comparable models.
Toshiba will install AMD chips in some models to be released this summer, enabling it to reduce parts-procurement costs by at least 10 percent, the paper said.
Shares of Toshiba were up 1.0 percent at 906 yen in early afternoon trade, outperforming the Tokyo stock market’s electrical machinery index, which gained 0.37 percent.
|copyright © 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.| | <urn:uuid:72278428-f95c-44ba-a079-4a541058f9e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.soft32.com/toshiba-to-use-amd-chip-in-laptop-pcs_4360.html | 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 | 0.950774 | 395 | 1.804688 | 2 |
State investigates allegations that Chinese drywall is making homeowners sick
Published: Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 8:13 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 8:18 p.m.
NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana public health officials are tracking Chinese drywall that some say is ruining homes and making people sick.
Who to call
If you think you might have the Chinese drywall in your home, call the state Health Department's hotline at 1-888-293-7020.
Assistant State Health Secretary Dr. Rony Francois said according to some reports, as much as 60 million pounds of the product may have entered the state, enough for 7,000 homes.
"The Chinese drywall was imported around 2004-2005 during a contruction boom which first occurred in Florida and then also here in Louisiana," Francois said.
Francois said right now, the state is trying to determine the exact contaminants.
"We need every citizen to be vigilant, but at the same time, we also need to work with our federal partners like the EPA to find out exactly what the test results are," Francois said.
UNO toxicologist Dr. Patricia Williams said the drywall appears to be giving off three types of dangerous gasses, including sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide.
“It can exacerbate heart disease, lung disease and asthma and can cause neuro-behavioral problems for chronic exposure," Williams said. "It can also cause things like speeding up the heart, slowing down the heart, so it effects heart lung function."
Williams was hired by the Becnel Law Firm to study the case for a Pearl River couple now suing the Chinese manufacturers. She says besides the health risks, the Chinese drywall has all the corrosive effects of acid rain.
"Her air conditioners were going out, two and three times had to be replaced," said Williams.
"The copper wiring was corroding. Her jewelry, just sitting in her jewelry box, was corroding. This is what was happening to things inside of her house. Now that's in their lungs. That's in your blood stream, going throughout your body. Not good."
Chad Vicknair from CKrestorations says he and his fellow contractors are extremely concerned.
"We had a house done about a year ago where the drywall was from China," said Vicknair. "There were metal slivers in the drywall, according to my drywall hanger."
The contractor is now checking his previous jobs to see if Chinese drywall was used.
He says some builders turned to the product after Katrina, when supplies of domestic drywall dried up.
"We knew we would have a lot of customers coming up," said Vicknair. "That was one of the first steps we took was to make sure our suppliers had available supplies. We never thought to question where it was coming from."
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals set up a special Chinese drywall hotline.
If you think you might have it in your home, call 1-888-293-7020.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
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February 28, 2013
By Subramaniam Krishnan The Finance Minister today presented the Finance Bill, 2013 before the Parliament. The proposals of the Finance Minister for the financial services sector and capital markets include constitution of a Standing Council of Experts as a recommendatory body to analyse the international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector , transaction costs of doing business in India, permitting banks to act as...
July 1, 2010 |
The need to keep tax rates and laws under certain norms has been emphasised by political philosophers and economic analysts from time immemorial. The country's direct tax laws have been complicated ever since the Income Tax Act 1922 came into force. The 1961 Act was no better and with too frequent amendments to law as well as the rates, tax law and administration have increasingly contributed to complications, confusion and corruption. The direct taxes code (DTC)
December 21, 2003 |
In today's era of free flow of trade and technology across the globe, it is common for a foreign enterprise to depute its expert technicians to other countries for executing certain contracts. Salaries of such technicians can be paid by either the employers or by the contracting party in the country of deputation. There should be proper determination of tax liabilities of such expatriates in the country of deputation under its relevant tax law and the relevant Double Tax Avoidance Agreement, if any. An interesting controversy arose in the case of Commissioner of Income-Tax vs Sedco Forex International Drilling (264 ITR 320)
April 11, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: Batting for Vodafone , another US-based organisation TEI has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh objecting to the government decision to amend the I-T Act retrospectively to bring into tax net overseas M&As involving domestic assets. "...a government is free to change its tax policies, but fairness demands that the change should be prospective where the changes will have a significant negative effect on taxpayers," said the Washington-based Tax Executives Institute (TEI)
March 16, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: In a quick response to the government's move to amend the I-T Act retrospectively to recover Rs 11,000 crore from Vodafone despite losing the case in the Supreme Court, the UK-based telecom major on Friday said it has begun consultations with lawyers on the issue. "We are examining this proposed decision with our lawyers, but we do not believe this retrospective change in tax law should have any impact on the final judgement handed down by the Supreme Court in our tax case," Vodafone said in a statement.
March 20, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: The government has stoutly defended the retrospective change in income tax law which will give powers to authorities to tax crossborder transactions wherein the underlying asset is located in India. "On the issue of Vodafone...this is the legislature saying that this was its intent always... It is not that the intent has changed now-...Such transactions were always to be subjected to tax," said finance secretary RS Gujral at a CII post-budget interaction.
September 26, 2010 |
NEW DELHI: Global consultancy firm Deloitte on Sunday said that certain provisions in the proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC) could adversely impact the global competitiveness of domestic companies and even hurt overall corporate tax collections in the long run. "The tax law (in DTC Bill) should be more liberal than what it is today. Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) legislation either has to be deferred in implementation or else it should be made less rigorous," Deloitte India Tax Partner-Outbound Services Vipul Jhaveri told media.
September 21, 2012 |
MUMBAI: The Parthasarathi Shome panel , which is looking into the taxation issues relating to Gaar ( general anti-avoidance rules ), is likely to submit its final report by end of the month. "We are looking into the issue of 'indirect transfer of Indian assets now and hopeful of submitting the report relating to it by end of the month," chairman of expert committee on Gaar Parthasarathi Shome told reporters here. Indirect transfer of shares where the underlying asset is Indian has become a contentious issue in the recent past especially with the government demanding $2.2-billion tax from Vodafone for its purchase of Hutch in 2007.
August 7, 2012 |
NEW DELHI: Attacking Finance Minister P Chidambaram on his proposals on tax regime, CPI(M) today said these sought to reverse the decisions of Parliament and his government itself and claimed that the measures would facilitate tax avoidance by multinationals and corporates. "The measures announced are meant to help multinational companies' non-payment of tax on assets they acquire in India and to facilitate tax avoidance by foreign and Indian corporates," the CPI(M)
November 20, 2007 |
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has upheld the new accounting standards prescribed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on deferred tax liability of listed companies. The accounting norms, which seek to bring out the true accounting income of companies, have been made mandatory to ensure that books of all enterprises that follow them are comparable and their financial statements are true and transparent. Accounting Standards (AS-22) | <urn:uuid:8580b2cc-398b-447d-a75b-bfc463c1a3aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/keyword/tax-law/featured/5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962547 | 1,089 | 1.75 | 2 |
near closure of junior high gives silver lining in gray clouds
|Helper Jr. High School Principal Tom Montoya|
On the morning after the Carbon County Board of Education decided not to close Helper Junior High, Principal Tom Montoya announced the decision to the staff and students of the school.
"There is little we can do about declining enrollment in our school, but there is something we can do about the academic achievement here," explained Montoya. "We can also come up with ways to affect our course offerings."
Montoya had taken a key from the board meeting the night before, realizing that the closing of a school in a community doesn't always have to do with money and costs, but with many different factors.
Helper was spared the chopping block largely because it's size is still viable and it has near to the same course offerings that Mont Harmon does. It also has shown some real growth in test scores in recent years.
But despite those things in the arsenal of weapons that proponents of the school had to offer to the study committee, there was a lot of tension and anxiety around the school the last few weeks concerning the future.
"It was a tough three weeks," he said in an interview in his office on Monday morning. "It was hard not only for the staff here, but also for the students. However I think there will be a lot of good that will come from this challenge as well."
Montoya is positive about his school, and certainly about the community that came out to support it two weeks ago during a public meeting.
"When the count was all figured out we had over 600 people show up to the meeting," he said. "What was interesting is that it showed how valuable this school is to this community. I was also very interested in all the reasons people gave for not closing the school. For me there is one reason and that is to continue to have a good school for the kids of the community."
Montoya said that often people take things for granted until they might or do lose them. He said that examples of that abound.
"Take the pool here in Helper," he said. "Before that was closed down last year it seemed that it would always be here. But when we lost it everyone realized how much we had enjoyed having it in the town."
The principal said he believes the close call that Helper Junior High had will help students, staff and even the local community to channel their efforts to be sure that as enrollment declines the school remains a quality place for students to learn and achieve.
"There are a lot of things we have no control over but we can control achievement and have more fervor for concise plans to make this school be as good as it can be," he said. "I think since many of the students attended the public meeting and they saw the presentation given by the study committee they have a better understanding of how important test scores are. I think this whole process will help us to focus on our academic goals."
Montoya said the study also validates the fact that there are many pieces to a childs education and not all of it is academic.
"A school is measured by all the pieces of the puzzle," he said. "It involves many things. A student may learn important things from a single class or experience or during an athletic event. They may learn from the way a situation is handled in the office or through a social experiences at an extra curricular activity. All these things are the measure of a school."
Montoya said that the fact that Helper Junior High has small class sizes may have been one of the reasons the committee looked at the school for closure, but he sees that as an advantage, especially if students will utilize that available close instruction in their academic lives.
"I think Carbon has a good school system and this close scrutiny will help us all to refocus our efforts," he states. "We are an accredited school. Mont Harmon is going through that process themselves right now. Accreditation is a good thing because it shows us where we need to improve."
Montoya said his school is now looking to the future to improve itself and to keep it viable when the district has need to look at its status again. He also believes its fate will be in the hands of the people involved in the school.
"The way I see it is that it's what people give to the school, not what they get from it that counts," concluded Montoya. | <urn:uuid:6b3c1de2-124e-45c2-a4c7-6588133bb896> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunadvocate.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=6757 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990777 | 912 | 1.507813 | 2 |
BackgroundFollowing the untimely death of Congressman John M. Ashbrook in April of 1982, while a candidate for the U.S. Senate, plans were made to institute a fitting memorial to both him as an individual and as an outstanding spokesman for the conservative philosophy in contemporary times.
The location chosen for the memorial was Ashland College in Ashland, Ohio, located in the heart of the 17th District which John had served faithfully for 21 years. John, who had received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Ashland College in 1963, had maintained close ties with the college through the years, serving on the President’s Advisory Council.
The formal inauguration of these plans came on May 9, 1983, when the first annul John M. Ashbrook Memorial Dinner was held. The evening’s keynote speaker was the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
ArrivalThe arrival of the President of the United States at any gathering is a major event, but when it is the first visit to a community by a sitting President, it attains an even greater historical perspective.
President and Mrs. Reagan landed at Mansfield Lahm Airport on Air Force One at 5:40 p.m. After brief ceremonies, they were whisked via Marine One helicopter to a landing sight at Ashland High School.
A brief motorcade drive through the streets of Ashland and past cheering crowds brought President and Mrs. Reagan to the John C. Myers Convocation Center, where the President delivered a 25-minute keynote address to more than 1,400 dinner guests commemorating the inauguration of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
Dinner ProgramThe formal evening activities began when Ashland College President Dr. Joseph R. Shultz introduced the master of ceremonies for the dinner, Steven D. Symms, U.S. Senator from Idaho. Senator Symms, in turn, introduced the evening’s special guests at the head table as they entered and were seated.
The last to be presented were President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan. They entered the room to the strains of “Hail to the Chief.” Following the presenting of the Colors by the Ohio National Guard Color Guard, the singing of the national anthem and an invocation by Mr. William Rusher, publisher of National Review, the dinner was served.
Following dinner, Senator Symms introduced the evening’s speakers. Symms, who also served as co-chairman of the event, is a member of the Board of Advisors of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
The senator served with the late John Ashbrook in the U.S. House of Representatives for four terms before being elected to the Senate in 1980. Symms, who was a close friend of Ashbrook, has rapidly become a nationally recognized spokesman for conservative principles.
He is a member of key Senate committees, including the finance and budget committees. He has earned a reputation as a vigorous advocate of limited government and the free enterprise system.
Excerpts from the speech of Dr. Joseph R. Shultz, president of Ashland College.
President and Mrs. Reagan, distinguished members of the advisory board, honored guests. Welcome to the inauguration of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
This historic occasion is the inauguration of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs–a living memorial to the 25 years of public service of John Ashbrook. His political philosophy and governing principles will be taught and lived again in the minds, hearts, and actions of students–young and old.
The Ashbrook Center will develop an internship in government and politics to provide for ’on-the-job’ experiences for students of government and politics, individually designed for selected offices at the local, state and federal levels.
The Center will conduct a series of annual lectures and seminars by the most outstanding persons in the various areas of political science and public affairs for students and the public. The lectures will be published for distribution to the general public, to the 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States and to the general media.
The John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, located at Ashland College in the great heartland of America, in honor of John, inaugurated by the most Honorable President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, guided by a distinguished advisory board, is destined to educate this and future generations of students and citizens and shall help sustain the dream of President Lincoln: “That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Following is the speech of the Honorable Jean Ashbrook, widow of John M. Ashbrook.
Mr. President, Mrs. Reagan, distinguished chairmen and dear friends. You honor John Ashbrook and his family with your presence here this evening. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
On behalf of all of us, I would like to congratulate Dr. Joseph R. Shultz and all of you at Ashland College. The Ashbrook family is extremely pleased that a living memorial to preserve an perpetuate the conservative principles and values championed by John Ashbrook will find it’s beginning here on the campus of Ashland College. Thank you, Dr. Shultz, and please convey our gratitude to your staff, students, and friends of the college that have made all this possible.
There is another individual who cannot be left unmentioned. The enthusiasm, eternal optimism and untiring efforts of Senator Tom Van Meter have changed what might still be just a dream into this dynamic and wonderful national memorial program. Tom has served as coordinator and has been a true and constant friend.
The Ashbrook family would like to acknowledge, with deep appreciation, the men and women who will serve as directors for the Center for Public Affairs, recognizing the crucial role that they will play in preserving our heritage and fulfilling our mission. An on-going conservative center, with a focus on training out youth to become the conservative activists and spokesman of the future, will be a living memorial to John Ashbrook and his legacy to his country.
Fred A. Lennon, chairman of the Crawford Fitting Co., Solon Ohio, who is chairman of the board of advisors of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, introduced the President, Ronald Reagan. Following is Mr. Lennon’s speech.
Mr. President, Mrs. Reagan, Jean Ashbrook, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I cannot tell you how happy and proud I am to see this turnout honoring our good friend and great American, John Ashbrook. John was always so proud of the fact that, even though he kept losing battles to the majority in Congress, he never abandoned his principles.
When John talked, you knew what he said. In campaigns, he would advise voters to vote for his opponent if they approved of forced busing. John was opposed to forced busing, and he said so. John felt there was a better way to educate our children. John felt that every man should have the right to join a labor union, but he felt very strongly that no man should be forced to join a labor union against his will in order to earn his livelihood.
It is very rare that a John Ashbrook will arrive on the horizon. We hope that the work we are doing here will help us find another John Ashbrook.
It was just four years ago that I was asked to introduce Governor Reagan to a large audience in Cleveland. This was before he had announced that he was a candidate.
At that time everyone had me convinced that he could not be elected and all of their reasons were very sound. I did not know any better, so I just kept plugging along.
I kept pointing out that there was a silent majority out there who agreed with Governor Reagan and had faith in him. They had the same concerns he did about inflation, high taxes, big spending, government regulations.
Ladies and gentlemen, there is still a large silent majority of hard-working taxpayers who appreciate what he has accomplished for our country.
Like John Ashbrook, he has lost some battles with the majority in Congress, but he has not abandoned his principles. He still wants to put some common sense in government and I know you all want him to succeed, and I am confidant he will succeed.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to and honor to present out great President of the United States. President Reagan.
President Reagan’s SpeechThe following are excerpts from the address made by the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
Thank you, Fred. Dr. Shultz, Jean Ashbrook, distinguished guests, we are here this evening to honor a man who, though he died at a tragically young age, garnered for himself a remarkable record of public service as a state assemblyman, a distinguished Congressman, a candidate for the United States Senate and, for a brief time, a candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
There is a sadness and a surprise in recounting these titles of office either held or sought by John Ashbrook. Sadness, of course, because a man who made such an enormous contribution to American political life is now gone. Surprise, because all of us who followed closely the career of John Ashbrook remember him for his youthful and vigorous advocacy of traditional American principles.
Yes, John Ashbrook was one of those honored few, those officeholders in the fifties and sixties who warned against the current trends and fashions, who predicted that some day the massive spending schemes and higher and higher taxes of the federal government would stall and depress the American economy, immobilize state and local government and endanger personal freedom.
But if John Ashbrook was a rock-solid conservative, he was also a conservative who broke the mold. He hardly fit the image of the stuffy or parochial reactionary some tried to attach to him. A graduate of Harvard, an adept and effective public speaker, the concise eloquence he brought to his views made the liberal establishment take notice.
Even those who view the world from a different political perspective can honor this man’s utter devotion to principle and his understanding of the essence of political leadership. John Ashbrook knew that the first duty of public life is to responsibly speak the truth–even if the moment’s fashion is against the truth–for it’s through such consistency and coherence, such constant attention to principle, that the public trust is eventually won and a political consensus mobilized.
Yet we do his memory and ourselves a disservice if we too exclusively identify John Ashbrook’s political principles with one man, or one political movement. Through all of his writings and speeches, it was John Ashbrook’s insistent claim that opposition to the cult of state power–the cult that has so badly infected our century–was deeply and irrevocably part of America’s past, and that the principle of limited government was America’s greatest contribution to constitutional and political history.
He spoke movingly of America’s traditional values and how, too often in recent years, we as a nation had drifted from those values.
For him, conservatism was not so much a political pressure group as it was a modern reflection of the insights and wisdom that began the American Republic.
His career as a public servant is testimony to this kind of enlightened conservatism. John Ashbrook believed in study and thought. He was close to Ashland College. He did all in his power to encourage the growth of conservative think tanks and policy groups.
Thank you all, and God Bless you. | <urn:uuid:09657198-804d-496d-a0de-66137a10d064> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ashbrook.org/event/memdin-reagan-home/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974114 | 2,398 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Cucina italiana "made in Italy" in Bulgaria? Why not? The current stereotype that real Italian cooking is served only in Italy is, luckily, untrue. Or, exactly, not always true. Especially for Bulgaria, where you can find a lot of restaurants to eat good specialty regional and typical Italian cooking.
On one hand, you have a lot of good Italian restaurants, but on the other hand, a lot of restaurants that pretend to serve Italian food and prepare, instead, a Bulgarian version of typical Italian dishes. Those "bulgaritalian" dishes, sometimes delicious, sometimes just edible, are the worst enemy of Italian cuisine. Fantasy and creativity are welcome in every kitchen, but the result, if it is a strange mix between Italian tradition and Bulgarian taste, cannot be called Italian food.
Another big problem, as well as fake Italian cooking, concerns the difficulty of finding Italian products to cook. Importing good products is expensive and difficult, but the credit crunch and economic crisis are not valid excuses to economise in the quality of recipes. And no owner of an Italian restaurant choosing to use good and typical products has ever regretted his choice.
In Bulgaria, and especially in Sofia, if you want to try Italy’s sunny taste you have a good range of choices. About the dishes (only a good pizza? Or a simple pasta? Or maybe a refined menu with meat and fish?) and about the level of the restaurant (convivial? Stylish? Elegant?). You can also find Italian dishes on the menu of international cosy restaurants, but you risk encountering "bulgaritalian" food on your table.
However, the panorama is encouraging. Bulgarians love Italian food that is a synonym of tradition, luxury and style; Italian restaurants are the perfect place to go for a romantic dinner or to show off social status to friends.
And at home? Preparing Italian food in your kitchen is very simple, because you can find the base recipes in all Bulgarian markets and supermarkets. For the others (like good olive oil, fresh pasta, sauces…) you have to "explore" different supermarkets to find which one has what you need. And accept that the price is more expensive than in Italy – yes, those are imported products. And if we pretend to use high quality products in Italian restaurants, why not in our kitchens?
Does not pose a threat to life on the planet. The Sun is entering an increasingly violent period of its normal 11-year cycle. This interval of high activity, known as the solar maximum, is expected to peak in 2013.
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The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the
price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes,
and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options. | <urn:uuid:ea882ac4-fee0-406f-9473-36f4bd9acb5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/06/05/730041_from-pizza-to-bulgaritalian | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946014 | 736 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The curious case of the poorly behaved professor continues, as in his blog, he poses the question – was his CoH’s character’s behavior in violating social norms while remaining within the letter of the game’s rules “worthy of wrath”? I’ll let you remain in suspense as to how he’d answer that… oh, wait.
I can only note that all the things Twixt is accused of doing in descriptions like the above are simple, mundane, and easily mimicked in-game things that really aren’t much fun and really aren’t in the spirit of the game rules at all – game rules that Twixt championed and for which he was universally reviled; one can only wonder, if doing such simple and mundane things indeed encompasses the Twixt story, why there is a Twixt story at all?
But lets talk about something else.
So if you picked “he didn’t answer but immediately changed the subject”, you win! And what does he talk about? Why, the cavail heard from people called upon their bad behavior in online games since online games have existed – it’s the developers’ fault for allowing it to happen!
Game rules are prohibitive and paradoxical; social rules – most particularly the ones I observed in CoH — are authoritarian and static, inhibiting game play. With social rules in effect, the CoH game becomes less a game and more a society. There is less play and more politics.
The CoH game designers – and other mmo designers — seem to have largely abdicated their responsibility to design a game in favor of providing a sandbox for players to use as they wish. This may be good for game designer jobs, their blog readers, and their pocketbooks, but it is not particularly good for their games.
Well, I guess I was told. But in this awesomely compact non-sequitor of finger pointing, Myers explains neatly how little he understands the subject he purported to study. Something that almost any MMO player understands quickly enough – that MMOs tend to be both ‘games-as-directed-play’ and ‘games-as-sandbox’ or ‘games-as-community’ – the ancient “games vs. world” argument in MMO discussion, raging for decades, that Myers seems to have missed in his haunting of Recluse’s Victory merrily PKing. For someone who literally wrote a paper on the impact of online community behavior, this is… breathtaking. In his comments on the blog piece, Myers goes further:
The problem with the “meta-game” is that frequently that term is used to excuse all manner of bs exploits and advantages that not all players have equal access to.
This is precisely why the “meta-game” is sport games like football, for instance, is so closely monitored (salary caps, no taping other team’s practices, etc.) and codified.
Without the essential characteristics of a game — this includes the rules characteristics I mentioned early in this post — the meta-game is meta-bs. With those characteristics, it is a big game which, yes, we can call a meta-game if we wish to.
The very point of an MMO is that it is less a game and more a society. Without that society, an MMO is simply a game with particularly long and somewhat dumbed-down gameplay. If a designer ignores that society, s/he is ignoring the social connections that make an MMO unique. This is also not particularly good for their games, their continued employment, or their pocketbooks, although it may give them more time to update their blog.
But let’s talk about something else. Namely, the original topic that Myers skipped – was his behavior ‘worthy of wrath’?
The very act of asking this question is itself transgressive. “If I violate the social norms of a community I inhabit, while remaining within the letter of its laws, should I be condemned?”
Oddly, in the Times-Picayune article, Myers implies CoH players themselves are transgressive, by violating the social norms of the community *he* inhabits – making harassing threats. He admits in the original article that NCsoft responded to them appropriately – yet still takes the position they should have done more, by creating an environment where he could violate the norms of a community, and the community could then… respond? If it were just a game, of course, it wouldn’t be an issue, because Baldur’s Gate 2 NPCs rarely if ever smacktalk.
But it’s not, and there’s the issue. It’s a community, and one Myers derided and taunted, and then was shocked, *shocked* to learn that the community derided and taunted him in turn. And of course, Internet anonymity being what it is – and something any basic student of online gaming would be familiar with in picoseconds – much of that derision and taunting violated the norms of *his* community. Which he (properly) appealed to the authorities (NCsoft) who (properly) acted upon it, as he himself stated. At which point he then… wrote a research paper describing how, when faced with transgressive behavior, an online community will react badly. Again, this is not news to anyone who, say, has been on Xbox Live for more than 10 minutes.
Myers even implies that my previous blog posting was transgressive, since I quoted at length the commenters to the Times-Picayune article who had first-hand experience with his research methodology – the “anonymous wall of mob”. Well, if that’s the case, let’s go to the source himself. What does Twixt have to say about Twixt?
See for yourself. Let’s do some research!
First, we discover that what’s on offer is a considerably scrubbed version. The account has a post count of over 650, and only a small fraction of those are available. Odd coincidence that. The vast majority of these posts are years old, from before Issue 13’s PvP nerfs last December, which Twixt took great offense to:
The devs can take my jump away
Can take my speed, tp, and play
But here I root and stand amazed
That they don’t also take ur phase.
Shortly afterwards, in a common affliction of bored Killer archetypes, Twixt apparently gave up on the game and out of boredom, just decided to, well, be a dick.
Screw this – PVP sucks. I’m coming back in here to farm and gank the noobies, but if you think Im gonna stand there and slug it out with little to no chance of fleeing insurmountable odds, you must be dinko.
However, a pre-scrubbed version of Twixt’s transgressiveness is still available online, and requoted below in case it falls prey to another odd coincidence. The entire thread is a fantastic summation of the reaction to Twixt by those who encountered him, and contains the following response from the “droner” himself:
1. Twixt windup doll says…
* base is safe
* get moar phase
* get moar vills
* vengence weenie alert!
* always die when you leave, gives the other side hope
* watch the language kiddies
* lag, adjusting
01-03-2008 10:34:37 You have defeated make love
01-03-2008 10:39:02 You have defeated make love
(dozens of similar killshots deleted)
01-04-2008 22:30:39 You have defeated Mr MentaIity
01-04-2008 22:32:23 You have defeated Paul Radbot
3. Elf Stalker who? Never heard of him.
Yes, it’s hard to see why anyone would take offense to such a prized member of the CoH community.
For more background, you can go to Myers’ paper, Play and Punishment: The Sad And Curious Case of Twixt. It contains the following helpful explanation of droning:
Since RV is a two-faction (heroes vs. villains) game, there are safe areas within the zone where heroes and villains can enter and leave the zone without fear of being attacked. Protecting these safe areas (“bases”) are security drones, which, without recourse, vaporize members of the opposing faction and transport them back to their own base on the opposite side of the zone map. There is no game-imposed penalty for getting droned, nor is any reward given to a player whose opponent gets droned.
Except… that’s not right. The entire reason Twixt’s opponents were so enraged by his “droning” was that, unlike death to PvP opponents, death to NPCs imposes an XP penalty, which in CoH/V can be fairly punitive. Myers is wrong here on a very key point – not only is there a game-imposed penalty for being droned, it’s one of the most punitive penalties in the game.
So either Myers deliberately lied about this impact to justify his own case, or he didn’t fully understand the rules – the game rules, not the community rules – of the online community that he was studying.
Whichever option you choose to believe, both are… well, fairly transgressive.
(Late ninja edit: some have said that, at least as of now, deaths to drones do not impose XP debt. However, while this makes the above quote far less black-and-white a mistaken assertion, given that Myers as Twixt gleefully often did the same maneuver into NPC mobs which do, the larger points still stand.) | <urn:uuid:c364f2d6-3db0-4ee0-aeba-81ea37d5952c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brokentoys.org/2009/07/08/transgressive-behavior/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965786 | 2,097 | 1.617188 | 2 |
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Network World - The FBI said it arrested a computer programmer in New York this week and charged him with stealing proprietary software code from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The software known as the Government-Wide Accounting and Reporting Program (GWA) handles all manner of U.S. government financial transactions.
From the FBI: "As alleged in the complaint, between May 2011 and August 11, 2011, Bo Zhang was a contract employee assigned to the Federal Reserve Board of New York (FRBNY) to work on further developing a specific portion of the GWA's source code which the United States has spent approximately $9.5 million to develop. In the summer of 2011, Zhang allegedly stole the GWA Code.
"According to the complaint, Zhang admitted that in July 2011, while working at the FRBNY, he checked out and copied the GWA Code onto his hard drive at the FRBNY; he subsequently copied the GWA Code onto a bank-owned external hard drive; and he connected that external hard-drive to his private office computer, his home computer, and his laptop. Zhang stated that he used the GWA Code in connection with a private business he ran training individuals in computer programming."
"Zhang took advantage of the access that came with his trusted position to steal highly sensitive proprietary software. His intentions with regard to that software are immaterial. Stealing it and copying it threatened the security of vitally important source code," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice Fedarcyk in a statement.
Now free on bond but due back in court in February, Zhang, 32, of Queens, New York, faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if guilty.
While the FBI didn't identify which company Zhang currently worked for, Bloomberg.com reported he in the past had worked for at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Bank of America Corp.
Bloomberg.com also said Matt Anderson, a Treasury spokesman, said the department has worked to strengthen security procedures for Federal Reserve contractors working on Financial Management Service projects. "There was no compromise of any transaction data, personal identifying information or federal funds," Anderson said.
Read more about security in Network World's Security section. | <urn:uuid:53e2bdeb-399b-4bca-a759-5dee6c0aeb00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/012012-fbi-treasury-255141.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965164 | 512 | 1.796875 | 2 |
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) - Someone fired 58 BB pellets into a Southern California horse named Calamity Jane.
The wounded 10-year-old mare wasn't expected to survive when it arrived at a Castaic shelter last month.
KCBS-TV says the horse had also been neglected by her owner and was rescued by an animal welfare group.
Stacey Cohen, who lives in Redondo Beach and keeps horses at Rancho Palos Verdes, says she was moved to adopt the horse two weeks ago because the shelter planned to put down the horse.
The mare's BB wounds are still bleeding and there's fear the lead pellets might poison her bloodstream.
Veterinarian Larry Kelly has offered to remove the BBs for free. Surgery is planned on Tuesday.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Designed by Gray Digital Media | <urn:uuid:32d08657-eda3-45ef-9417-a7f1565f9436> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kolotv.com/news/californianews/headlines/Horse-Shot-58-Times-With-BB-Gun-Facing-Surgery-172841531.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96512 | 198 | 1.539063 | 2 |
*Take a deep breath*
*Make a cup of tea*
For many new sewing enthusiasts winding the bobbin and threading the machine is a very stressful experience. As a beginning sewist I can still remember the fear and anxiety I would have every time my bobbin would run out of thread. Frustrated, I would step away from my machine until I could muster up the courage to return and face the challenge that lay before me. In order to enjoy sewing I knew that I needed to make peace with my fears. On more than one occasion I would sit with my sewing machine and rather than start a project I would practice winding my bobbins and threading my machine. Over and over and over I would wind and organize my beautiful threads, I know it sounds silly but looking at cheerful and bright colors made me so happy - and let's face it happiness beats fear any day. In time, anxiety and fear was replaced with confidence and joy.
Now that I am teaching our beginning Basic Sewing class I realize that this fear and anxiety is alive in almost every student and in order to enjoy sewing we all have to move past these uncomfortable feelings. My challenge to anyone learning to sew is simple. Practice, Practice, Practice. Next time your bobbin runs out of thread - Don't shut the door to your sewing room! Don't put your machine way! Follow these instructions and you'll find YOUR confidence and joy in no time.
Step away from your machine
Take a Deep Breath
Make a cup of tea
Then watch this great online tutorial via you tube
Start Sewing - How to Threading a Sewing Machine from FilmCoUK | <urn:uuid:dd4686bf-3ee8-4370-a565-a013ee2ce67f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.westseattlefabriccompany.com/2012/02/face-your-fears-threading-your-machine.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95196 | 338 | 1.835938 | 2 |
All Nippon Airways' Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Jan. 18, 2013. / Koji Sasahara, AP
WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood vowed Friday that Boeing's 787 Dreamliner wouldn't take to the air again until regulators are absolutely certain it's safe.
"Those planes aren't going to fly until we are 1,000% sure that they are safe to fly," LaHood said outside a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors here.
LaHood's comments came a week after he assured the public in a news conference with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and plane maker Boeing that the planes were safe because of a robust certification process. He said Jan. 11 that he had no reservations about flying in a Dreamliner.
But following that assurance, an All Nippon Airways Dreamliner made an emergency landing on Wednesday after crew members smelled smoke from a smoldering lithium-ion battery on the plane.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, both of which fly the Dreamliner, grounded their planes, 24 in all, that day. The FAA later in the day ordered United Airlines to ground the six Dreamliners it has because of a series of problems, including a battery fire Jan. 7 in an empty Dreamliner at Boston's Logan Airport.
Following the FAA's action, other airlines around the world stopped flying their planes, too.
LaHood said regulators continue to work with Boeing engineers in investigating the batteries, the type of which Boeing uses to power systems only on the Dreamliner.
"The reason that we ground it was because we did further consultation with Boeing and there was another incident," LaHood said. "Those planes aren't flying now until we have a chance to examine the batteries. That seems to be where the problem is."
He said he couldn't say how long the review might last or when Dreamliners would fly again.
"We just have to be patient here," he said. "What the American people want is to fly on planes that are safe, and that's what we're going to assure them of.
"When there are incidents, it's our job to do the examination, to do the investigation, to do the review, to do it top to bottom. That's what we're doing."
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: LaHood: I want 1,000% certainty on Dreamliner | <urn:uuid:d5893a78-e6bb-4ef1-ae8d-9da0d83efabb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lohud.com/usatoday/article/1845769 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967251 | 512 | 1.53125 | 2 |
FBI to Investigate Allegations News Corp. Hacked Phones of 9/11 Victims
The concerns appear linked to a tabloid report.
News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch (Getty Images)
"We are aware of the allegations and are looking into them," said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the investigation. "We'll be looking at anyone acting for or on behalf of News Corp., from the top down to janitors," to gather information and determine whether any laws may have been broken.
Because the investigation just began, it's too early to say when the first interviews will be conducted, the source said, adding the probe is a "high priority."
New York Rep. Peter T. King, a Republican, earlier this week asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate the possibility that journalists working for Murdoch may have tapped into the phones of 9/11 victims and relatives.
News Corp. said Thursday it had no comment on the FBI investigation or the possibility of congressional hearings.
Concerns appear to be traceable to a story published Wednesday by the Mirror, a British tabloid that includes a section it describes as "gossip gone toxic."
The newspaper cited "a source" who referred to a former police officer who now works as a private investigator. "The investigator is used by a lot of journalists in America and he recently told me that he was asked to hack into the 9/11 victims' private phone data," the source reportedly told the newspaper. The source told the Mirror the request came from News of the World, the newspaper at the center of the phone-hacking scandal in Britain.
"He said that the journalists asked him to access records showing the calls that had been made to and from the mobile phones belonging to the victims and their relatives," the newspaper said.
"His presumption was that they wanted the information so they could hack into the relevant voice mails, just like has been shown they have done in the UK. The PI said he had to turn the job down. He knew how insensitive such research would be, and how bad it would look.
"The investigator said the journalists seemed particularly interested in getting the phone records belonging to the British victims of the attacks."
Relatives of the victims of the terrorist attacks expressed outrage over the possibility they may have been hacking victims.
What they went through is "heartfelt stuff, and it shouldn't be out there for all to see unless the family approves," said Jim Riches, a retired New York Fire Department deputy chief who lost a son in the attacks.
"Until we get some accountability, they're just going to keep doing it," Riches said. "It's completely unethical, unprofessional and basically criminal."
Sally Regenhard, who also lost a son in the attacks, called it "very horrifying that privacy and personal security could be violated in such an egregious manner."
"I would hold these people accountable and responsible," she told CNN Thursday. "Someone has to defend the dead."
Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey said the September 11 families have "suffered enough" and deserve answers.
Pressure mounted for a federal investigation into Murdoch's media empire as a key member of a House oversight committee called for Congress to look into the allegation that one of his U.S.-based companies may have broken anti-bribery and other laws.
Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, told CNN that "Congress has important oversight responsibilities" in responding to the charges and "getting to the bottom of this evolving scandal."
"My number one priority is to protect U.S. citizens from violation of the law," he said.
News of the World, a 168-year-old British newspaper owned by Murdoch, folded over the weekend in the wake of accusations that its reporters illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of murder and terrorist victims, politicians and celebrities. Police in the United Kingdom have identified almost 4,000 potential targets of phone hacking.
There also were allegations that reporters may have bribed law enforcement officers.
On Wednesday, several senators sent letters to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to look into concerns that News Corp. violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law, enacted in 1977, makes it illegal for a U.S. person or company to pay foreign officials to obtain or retain business.
Potential liability flows from journalists at News of the World to its parent, News International, and to its parent, News Corp., which is a publicly held company in the United States.
Rupert's News Corp. -- the parent company of Fox News -- may have engaged in "political espionage or personal espionage," Braley said.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, told CNN earlier this week he may start his own investigation.
"My bet is we'll find some criminal stuff," Rockefeller said. "This is going to be a huge issue." | <urn:uuid:547b2703-d481-47cc-8200-b7ac8ae660b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ky3.com/topic/ktla-news-corp-hacking-allegations,0,4554563.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974237 | 1,008 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its Trade Regulation Rule titled "Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising and Business Opportunity Ventures" -- (Franchise Rule). The proposed revisions would reduce inconsistencies in federal and state disclosure requirements governing franchise sales, address changes in the marketing of franchises, such as the sale of franchises through the Internet, and provide expanded disclosures concerning franchise relationships. Comments will be accepted until December 22, 1999.
The Franchise Rule was promulgated in 1978 to give consumers more information to weigh the risks and benefits of investing in a franchise business. The rule requires franchise sellers to provide all potential franchisees with a disclosure document containing 20 categories of information about the franchise, its officials and other franchisees. If the franchisor chooses to make financial performance representations, the rule requires the franchisor to have a reasonable basis for those claims and also to provide a document to potential franchisees containing that substantiation.
In February 1997, the FTC published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on several issues, including whether to revise the rule's disclosure requirements based upon the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular Guidelines and to address changes in the marketing of franchises, such as international franchise sales, and sales through the Internet.
In its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR), the Commission is now seeking public comments on specific proposed rule revisions. These proposed revisions include:
The Commission vote to publish the NPR in the Federal Register was 4-0.
Comments on the Franchise Rule must be received on or before December 22, 1999. Rebuttal comments must be received by January 31, 2000. The Notice also advises interested parties on how they may request a hearing. Written comments should be identified as "16 CFR Part 436" and sent to Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, Room 159, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580. Comments also can be submitted by e-mail addressed to "[email protected]". In addition, comments can be submitted by telephone at the Commission's Franchise Rulemaking Hotline: 202-326-3573. All comments will be placed on the public record and will be available for public inspection on normal business days from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in Room 130 at the above address. Comments will also be placed on the Internet at the FTC's Web Site: http://www.ftc.gov (no period).
Copies of the Federal Register Notice announcing the request for public comment are available from the FTC's web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580; 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357); TDD for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it is announced, call the FTC NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710.
(FTC Matter No. R511003) | <urn:uuid:3a048f89-3b1c-4eb6-8b55-fb8a14706eb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/1999/10/franchise-review3.shtm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932843 | 636 | 1.5 | 2 |
The American Red Cross urges healthy donors with Type O blood to share their good health with other by giving blood. Type O blood - especially Type O-negative – is especially needed. Type o-negative blood is called the universal donor
This section is for subscribers to the website only. Please login or subscribe to continue. | <urn:uuid:db9e9b0d-f47b-4014-a5dd-121045ef9167> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newpraguetimes.com/content/red-cross-seeks-type-o-blood-donors-oct-10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940191 | 64 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Ahhh Spring! Poets have waxed eloquent on the machinations and permutations of the season. If you are a gardener, thinking of spring quickens the blood! Thoughts of fresh veggies et al. I enjoy gardening.. the eating part… BUT.. am not as fond of the rest. The digging, weeding, watering and constant maintenance (in 100+ degree Kansas weather) takes a bit of a stretch to call it fun.
But, if you want succulent snacks… you gotta do the work.
Managing your Cont Ed database is like maintaining a garden. We could go on and on… you have to take out deadwood, prune poor performing shoots (names..??), take notes on what crops grow best where.. and what combination (water/fertilizer … marketing/program type) generates the best yield.
ACEware Systems tries to help you by building tools you can use to manage your data. But, we can’t (at least right now…) do the heavy lifting for you. Recording the data, analyzing the results and running the purge routines are your responsibility.
Another analogy to gardening is… to what end do we garden? Some folks may garden to save money, some like to DIY, others (me included) enjoy watching the life cycle play its course. Same thing in CE. Some programs are Jerry MacGuire types… “Show me the $$”, others may see their role as a community resource, others see it as a way to build good will and community. The goal you have will determine what things (in the operation and setup of your database) you choose to do.
So, it is all about opportunity and choice. we at ACEware work hard at trying to provide you opportunity (in the form of our Student Manager and ACEweb software) to do your job. It is your choice to learn about these tools, how these tools can be used, and finally to implement them in your quest for the perfect crop.. whatever that may be.
Finally, I think that another trait that gardeners and Cont Ed folk have in common is optimism in the face of uncertainty. We don’t know in advance whether that “Seed idea” of a new class or conference will take root and produce. We have to understand our environment, have to know what our resources are and enhance (Continuing Ed??!!) our skills in developing and managing our resources. If we do that, whether we anticipate sitting down to a fresh salad, or welcoming a packed house, we’ll increase our chances of success.
One of these opportunities for growth is happening next week in Savannah at our 16th Annual ACEware User’s Conference. If you haven’t gone to one of our annual meetings, you need to put that in your “Crop Planning” for next year. This is always a great learning event… and a lot of fun.
Now go out there and plant! | <urn:uuid:0ff654ea-368b-4fee-9dd9-ae07c8f34191> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aceware.com/chucks-corner/continuing-educator-as-gardener/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932466 | 614 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Share & Connect
Chicago, U.S.A. — Nine percent may not sound like much, but when tech giant Google is the company in question, a stock price decline of nine percent equals more than 20 billion dollars. That decline happened after Google accidentally released its third quarter earnings report several hours early – a report that showed a sizable falloff in revenue and profit. Wall Street being what it is, the response was immediate and profound.
The effects of this snafu will ripple beyond short-term share prices. Google will likely have to be less restrictive in its advertiser vetting process. The company may even offer incentives for previously banned advertisers to return to the platform. Prior to this latest sour earnings report, Google had been notoriously cavalier in its banning of “edgy” advertisers.
“Google has been killing businesses,” said Dave Chappelle, editor at Securebuzz.ca. “Business owners who’ve been spending thousands of dollars with Google AdWords one day receive a curt notification that their accounts have been suspended – and there’s no chance for appeal, or even explanation.”
Bestselling author and Google AdWords expert Perry Marshall sees a silver lining to all this restructuring and retooling. In a recent blog post, he explains why Google will have to reconsider its scorched-earth policy toward advertisers in health, diet and business opportunity niches.
“In the past, Google erred on the side of caution in terms of banning questionable AdWords accounts,” said Marshall. “In the wake of this smack-down from Wall Street, Google has to make tweaks to that philosophy. The system will have to be more discriminating, which means not banning every advertiser in an entire category simply because a few are bogus or fraudulent.
“Wall Street is a strange place; Google’s being punished for factors beyond its control. However, that could be good news for legitimate advertisers who have run afoul of the search giant in the past. If you’re an advertiser who has been dumped by Google, now is the time to see if you can get back on board.”
Marshall and Chappelle maintain their belief that Google AdWords is still the best platform for e-commerce and Internet advertising. The company’s lackluster earnings report is a bump in the road for Google, but for advertisers, it might just be an advantageous bump. | <urn:uuid:4df59fd6-ad01-4974-a145-37206c8d5527> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toonaripost.com/2012/10/us-news/perry-marshall-predicts-boon-for-google-advertisers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949894 | 504 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Lawyers for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners who face charges stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have accused the government of eavesdropping on private attorney-client conversations.
They are asking a judge on Monday to halt all legal proceedings in the trials until the eavesdropping issue is cleared, according to a report from the Associated Press.
The accusations stem from a Jan. 28 hearing when the sound system in the Gitmo courtroom was cut, to the surprise of lawyers, prisoners and even the judge, the AP said. The judge subsequently said that a government official was tracking the court hearing from outside the room and purposely cut the sound to stop the release of potentially classified information, the AP said.
Defense attorneys are now alarmed, however, and want the government's wiretapping and eavesdropping activities fully vetted before the trial proceeds.
"What happened in the courtroom [on Jan. 28] was shocking," said Army Capt. Jason Wright, a lawyer for one of the defendants, in the AP report. "There was a wizard behind the curtain who had the power to completely cut off the audio feed to the proceedings, to censor what was being said in court. It would be foolish for us to not consider that capability in other areas where we interact with the accused."
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at [email protected].
By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Covering the world of soccer, including the World Cup, Major League Soccer, D.C. United and the English Premier League and other interesting sporting events.
A carefully guided tour through the confusing world of modern bookselling and publishing.
In a world that is increasingly complex, we need to seek greater awareness of the blending of cultures and America's changing role in a global community.
A politically conservative and morally liberal Hebrew alpha male hunts left-wing viper
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
NRA kicks off annual convention | <urn:uuid:fce837dd-a077-4ef1-93bf-1bda3227003e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/11/guantanamo-defense-attorneys-accuse-government-ill/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944497 | 506 | 1.5 | 2 |
Category: Photo & Video
YouTube is the most well-known video service on the Internet. YouTube lets anyone share videos online, either from their hard drive or recorded using their computer's Web cam. It uses Adobe Flash and a simple video player that starts playing videos right away.
YouTube has paved the way for a variety of other services and evolved its own services with new features such as user profiles, video rankings, and a system that lets anyone reply to a video either with text or another video. It's also introduced some controversial features such as video viewing history, and displaying who's watching a video at the same time you are.
In the past year, YouTube's rolled out high-definition video, a completely redesigned homepage, and a tool that tracks what you're watching and shares it with others in real-time. The site is also rumored to have a live video service in the works. | <urn:uuid:f8d1129c-566d-4932-bba6-60cbacdc2294> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237732-29.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955943 | 182 | 1.65625 | 2 |
“The first time I saw a baby being born, I knew that if I wasn’t involved in this process in some way I would not be happy,” explains Dr. Kim Martin, who is an OB-GYN/ Interventional Geneticist for the St. Louis Fetal Care Institute.
Dr. Martin is Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Medical and Clinical Genetics. Her unique background, which includes a focus on genetics, ultrasound imaging and prenatal diagnosis, helps her provide patients with the information they need to make the best decisions for their future families.
Dr. Martin is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Interventional Geneticist at the St. Louis University School of Medicine and formerly served as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California – Irvine, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine.
She received her training throughout North America. Her undergraduate degree is from John Abbot College in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec and she attended medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She completed her internship and OB/GYN residency at the University of Western Ontario and fellowship in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia.
As a leader in the field of medical genetics, Dr. Martin has been published in numerous medical journals, and presented at conferences throughout North America.
From the first time a patient walks through the doors, Dr. Martin is there to help. “A patient’s first visit will likely be a busy one. I recommend that patients write down any questions before the appointment, try to get a good night’s sleep the night before and eat a good breakfast that morning so they are ready for the day,” she says. “It is often a good idea to have someone beyond the patient and her partner attend the appointment to take notes, and ask questions.”
“Most importantly, we want to make sure our patients know they can trust that everyone at the Fetal Care Institute wants them to feel welcome and that we are here to listen,” explains Dr. Martin. “Most of the time, I am able to reassure families that they can expect a healthy pregnancy outcome, and that helps me to smile every morning when I walk into my office.”
Dr. Martin and her husband, who is also a geneticist, have four daughters. Outside of work, and keeping up with her busy family, she enjoys photography and scrapbooking with her friends. | <urn:uuid:42bcfde9-70d1-4b8c-a0cf-6d6020d35d34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cardinalglennon.com/fetalcareinstitute/aboutus/FCITeam/Pages/DrKimMartin.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966172 | 547 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Because of France’s occupation of Vietnam from 1883 to 1954, many people assume that Viet cooking is heavily influenced by French foodways. While there are a handful of old French cookbooks written in Vietnamese, pure French cooking was mostly for those who could afford the ingredients.
As cultural survivalists, Vietnamese cooks wove French elements into their traditions, just like they did with other cultures that they came in contact with over the ages. That’s why Vietnamese food can confound as much as it delights. Beefy classics such as pho noodle soup and beef stew with tomato, lemongrass, and star anise are prime examples of fusion Vietnamese fare. There are so many Eastern and Western elements in those dishes that it's hard to simply call them Viet-Franco food.
On the other hand, Viet cooks can be inventive in replicating foreign culinary concepts, such as a beouf Bourguinon. That’s what I pondered as I set about making a red wine and beef stew, an cool weather dish that seemed fitting with the season. I typically rely on Julia Child’s master Zinfandel of Beef recipe from The Way to Cook when making a beef stew. This time around, I combined JC’s techniques with some borrowed from Jennifer McLagan’s new book, Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal. While there are a number of Asian-inspired recipes, most of McLagan’s recipes are western in nature. The point of the book is to encourage cooks to look beyond the usual “middle cuts,” such as beef and pork tenderloin, to discover the delicious appeal of ears, tongues, feet, and tails.
Asian cooks don’t have much issue with this concept as evidenced by the tripe and chicken feet at dim sum! Nevertheless it's good to be reminded of their exceptional flavor and textures. Asian markets have a wealth of odd bits but how often do we buy them nowadays? Not as much as our parents and grandparents used to as they practiced a head-to-tail approach to eating.
McLagan’s classic beef stew recipe was unfussy, called for igniting the red wine (pyrotechnic cooking always intrigues me), and baking the stew. She used rounds of beef shank. I had this frozen chuck roast from my annual share of a grass-fed cow:
As I was reviewing the recipes by Child and McLagan, I thought: How would I make this dish if I lived in Vietnam during the French colonial period? What if I had to cook for or with a French person during that era? | <urn:uuid:e3f4c67a-3973-464c-b171-ef00bddf8cdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/recipes-claypot-kho/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974945 | 547 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Is the Tea Party Racist ? No,Just Some People
Is the Tea Party Racist? Well,some of the people are.Thats no doubt.The Tea Party is not anymore racist than the Republican party or the Democratic party.
The respective parties consist of people with various agendas.I am not that naive to believe that all Democrats are prejudice free and have not subscribed in the past to anti black comments or statements.
and I do not believe that all Republicans do not like black people.
Nor does the press treat offensive terms from Republicans and Democrats alike. Governor George Allen of Virginia was castigated for calling a Indian a"macaca".
That would be a black monkey.We saw this story week after week.
Meanwhile Vice President Biden articulated about the number of Indians working in convenience stores.A short news story that created little attention.
Two different stories,one a politician in attack mode, and another politician in gaffe mode.
Recently a good friend sent this to me and it gives me food for thought.
What if the shoe was on the other foot. Would the Tea Party still be a active participant in the political process if it was a black organization ?
The letter I received said in part:
Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white....
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most as a danger to the republic? .....
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did in Washington.
I have several friends that are members of the Tea Party.My friends and I are civil with our discourse but I will say that no political party or organization has a monopoly on common sense or idiocy.Idiots come in all sizes,colors,and political orientation.Our challenge as Americans is to treat each other civil and with respect. | <urn:uuid:ac5d7084-10ba-4ff4-874e-6979bd2d8090> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edgray4america.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-tea-party-racist-well-some-people.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963136 | 651 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Scammers capitalizing on tax season to spread Zeus
Cybercriminals have been capitalizing on tax season by sending messages that appear to come from the Internal Revenue Service but actually lead to the data-stealing trojan Zeus, researchers at anti-virus firm Trend Micro warned Thursday.
The messages ask users to follow a link and review their tax statement to fix errors related to unreported or under-reported income, according to Trend Micro. The URL leads users to a variant of Zeus, which steals information from compromised systems and sends it back to attackers.
With the tax deadline nearing, these types of scams are likely to ramp up, US-CERT warned on Thursday. Other phishing and malware campaigns taking advantage of tax season could include offers to help recipients file for a refund or details about fake e-file websites.
The IRS last week warned users about phishing, as part of its annual “dirty dozen” list of tax scams. Scammers will try and obtain users' personal information by impersonating the IRS in emails, tweets and phony websites, the agency warned. For example, scammers will likely tell consumers they are entitled to a tax refund, but they must reveal personal information to claim it.
“Taxpayers should be wary of anyone peddling scams that seem too good to be true,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement. “The IRS fights fraud by pursuing taxpayers who hide income abroad and by ensuring taxpayers get competent, ethical service from qualified professionals at home in the U.S.”
Taxpayers who receive a message claiming to come from the IRS should not open any attachments or click on any links, the IRS warned. | <urn:uuid:11c62f7e-7791-46a2-915f-110bf725b5d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scmagazine.com/scammers-capitalizing-on-tax-season-to-spread-zeus/article/166647/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946357 | 347 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Autism in the News – Monday, 07.26.10
Disabilities act anniversary, but there’s still long way to go (msnbc.com)
James Hill was fired from his job several years ago because of visible disfigurements from a fire that left him burnt over 85 percent of his body. Read more.
They just can’t stand it: The smallest things bother kids with sensory processing disorder, but skeptics scoff at the diagnosis (Kentucky.com)
It’s unbearable to wear clothing with tags. It’s impossible to use scissors, no matter how many times you try. All mushy or soft foods are unbearable – not because of the flavor, but the consistency. Read more.
Laughter lines (UK)
Comedy script writer Dean Wilkinson tells Lucy Richardson about his passion for children’s entertainment and why he’s creating the new Wombles on Teesside. Read more.
Katy is poised to take to the air (UK)
A teenager who suffers from cerebral palsy is preparing to leap from a plane to raise money for a north-east residential school. Read more.
Motorola accused of poisoning workers and their kids (Techeye.net)
Maker of the Razr phone, Motorola has been accused of poisoning its workers and their children. According to the Sun Times, a group of former Motorola workers and their children claimed toxic substances used to make Motorola products caused serious birth defects in at least 30 children born to workers employed by the company since the 1960s. More than 71 people have filed the suit in Cook County Circuit Court. Read more.
Making physical education fun for children with autism (The Brownsville Herald)
Betty always had lots of energy for the children in Room 103. She was the adapted physical education teacher for the special education program there. Betty came every Tuesday and Thursday, rarely missing even a day with these children. At the beginning of the year, she saw that the class had a couple of new students. Read more. | <urn:uuid:bc3c4870-895a-47eb-b7eb-42b00062ba61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.autismspeaks.org/2010/07/26/aitn-072610/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=18b5244a97 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96652 | 423 | 1.609375 | 2 |
or several years now, the U.S. housing market, fueled by low interest rates, has given rise to the notion that almost anyone can seize the American Dream.
But home ownership counselors such as Joselyn Torres know the downside of that widespread optimism, where the exuberance of first-time homebuyers crashes into reality.
Every day she helps people who didn't plan for job loss, salary cuts and other unfortunate financial twists that left them unable pay their home loans. They face foreclosure, the legal process banks use to take back a house when the mortgage isn't paid.
Foreclosures are an ongoing problem in metro Atlanta, more than doubling in less than five years, according to home ownership advocate group NeighborWorks America.
A few years ago, Torres dealt with the situation herself.
When her ex-husband lost his six-figure job as an information technology consultant amid the dot-com crash, they couldn't make their mortgage payments. They filed bankruptcy and tried to claw their way back, but eventually lost their $250,000 home.
Torres made the same mistake many first-time homebuyers do.
"We didn't allow for a financial cushion in case something bad happened and we had to sustain ourselves," said the 35-year-old counselor with Gwinnett-based IMPACT! Group, a nonprofit whose aims include giving people the financial wisdom to keep their homes.
"We bought that home based on an illusion that we could afford it," Torres said.
In recent years, foreclosures have plagued many parts of the United States. Gwinnett is no exception.
The county ranked third behind only Fulton and DeKalb every year since 2000 in foreclosures, according to the Atlanta-based real estate tracking firm EquiSystems LLC. Gwinnett saw 5,122 foreclosures last year, 5,130 in 2004 and 4,735 the year before.
People who study the industry say many reasons lie behind the trend - layoffs, pay cuts, increasing medical expenses, even abusive lending practices.
Many metro Atlanta foreclosures are focused in urban, lower-income, minority communities filled with older houses, according to a 2005 NeighborWorks Amercia report.
But even affluent homeowners can lose the battle. Sometimes $1 million homes are put on the auction bock.
Lately, Torres sees more homebuyers with adjustable rate mortgages whose payments are increasing by $300 to $500 a month, forcing them to consider selling their home rather than give it back to the bank.
Their loan payments are soaring because the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates over the past several months.
"A lot just aren't prepared for that kind of jump," Torres said.
However, more than any other factor of late, home-ownership advocates blame the high number of foreclosures on the combination of lenders making it easier to borrow money and overly enthusiastic homebuyers biting off more debt than they can chew.
During last month's Gwinnett economic forum, county economist Alfie Meek explained a troubling trend to Gwinnett business and civic leaders.
In 2001, interest-only mortgages - a loan that opens doors for many first-time home buyers - made up less than 5 percent of all mortgages nationwide. Last year, they made up 45 percent.
At the same time, the U.S. personal savings rate has been generally declining over the past 25 years.
"Most Americans don't plan for a setback," said IMPACT! Group Executive Director Marina Sampanes Peed. "They want that first home now, and there seems to be a mortgage product for everybody."
Robert Beal, who launched an Atlanta mortgage firm a year ago, said even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged the risk of an over-exuberant home lending business.
The U.S. housing industry is filled with pressure to create more opportunities for the average homeowner, "a real chance to reach that American Dream," Beal said.
But there's a flip side to the argument.
"You still need to be responsible in managing your finances, allowing yourself a fall back in case the circumstances change," Beal said.
Homeowners like Torres learned the lesson the hard way. Now, she teaches a "Home Investment Academy" and similar classes that offer homeowners basic financial management.
Enrollment is up about 50 percent over last year.
"If I knew then what I do now," Torres said, "I never would have gone through foreclosure in the first place." | <urn:uuid:458f586e-9d9f-4040-9be8-056b102f9934> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2006/apr/30/american-nightmare-homeowners-get-reality-check/?news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967738 | 931 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Student-Athlete Leadership Development
As the nation's premier leadership development program in collegiate athletics, the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy develops, challenges and supports student-athletes, coaches and staff in their continual quest to become world class leaders in athletics, academics and life. The Leadership Academy provides comprehensive and cutting edge leadership development programming through interactive workshops, 360 degree feedback, one on one coaching, peer mentoring and educational resources.
Leadership training begins in the freshman year. All leadership begins with personal leadership, therefore freshmen are taught skills to effectively lead themselves. Training consists of monthly meetings featuring keynote speakers and small group discussion. Upperclass student-athletes serve as peer mentors and discussion leaders. Special focus is on responsibility, accountability, making good choices, ethics and character building.
Program Objectives for CREED:
GAP YEAR PROGRAM
This level of involvement is slotted between Rising Star and possible Veteran Leader participation. It is an opportunity for continued leadership reflection and application. Leadership reflection entails case study or leadership articles, and leadership application involves an authentic project.
Program Objectives for GAP Year:
- Provide continued leadership development through an authentic project, mentorship and instruction
- Identify and address an authentic need as demonstrated by one's team, the department, campus or local community
- Establish a solid, cooperative and ongoing partnership with coaches
- Build a strong peer support network for aspiring leaders
VETERAN LEADERS PROGRAM
This program is designed for team captains and veteran student-athletes. It provides advanced leadership training and support, teaches the critical skills and insights necessary to be effective vocal leaders and provides a strong peer network. Student-athletes meet regularly to learn and reinforce leadership principles and share successes, frustrations and lessons.
Program Objectives for Veteran Leaders:
LEADERSHIP FOR COACHES
UNC coaches engage in continuous learning via monthly professional development workshops covering a wide range of leadership, motivation and team building topics. The interactive workshops allow coaches to reflect on their coaching philosophies as they refine and adapt new leadership skills. The workshops provide coaches with a chance to interact with and learn from their experienced and highly respected colleagues on a regular basis. Separate workshops are conducted for head coaches and assistant coaches to target each group's specific needs. Select head coaches occasionally assist in facilitating the workshops with assistant coaches to take advantage of their experiences. | <urn:uuid:69dfa0b2-af9d-44e0-aa8c-c03f4d549350> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goheels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SITE=UNC&CONTENT_ID=252446&DB_OEM_ID=3350&ATCLID=205498281 | 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 | 0.945591 | 487 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Morbid curiosity. Rubbernecking. Schadenfreude. From our national obsession with celebrity crackups to the popularity of gore fests such as The Passion of the Christ and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Americans lead the world in the urge to wallow in everything grotesque, blood-spattered, and shocking -- as long as it's happening to somebody else.
What in the world is wrong with us? Or, if Eric G. Wilson is to be believed, right? In his last book (Against Happiness, 2008), Wilson talked about why the world needs melancholy -- a connection to sadness, grief, even despair -- and examined the overemphasis on cheer, arguing that a permanently, exclusively happy individual would be a kind of monster. Now, he asks if looking away -- or being unable to -- from horror and misery is just as inhuman.
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away examines our collective "addiction to the grim" in 50 brief but erudite essays. Perhaps, Wilson suggests, the urge to slow down at a horrific car wreck, gawk at a two-headed baby in a jar, or even observe the artifacts of annihilation at the 9/11 Museum in New York conceals a deeper need, "a hunger to penetrate the most profound mysteries of existence."
A professor of English at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Wilson freely acknowledges his preoccupation "with the gothic" and his passion for romantic, gloomy, death-haunted poets such as Coleridge, Poe, Dickinson, and Keats. He has battled "devastating depression" and been treated for bipolar disorder, a chapter about which, toward the end of the book, movingly reveals how "the morbid nadir carries traces of the apex."
In an attempt to make sense of his own dark obsessions -- "my terra incognita," as he calls it -- Wilson delves into as many gruesome diversions as he can find, alternating his personal experiences with illuminating testimony from philosophers, filmmakers, writers, biologists, theologians, sociologists, and other experts in the field.
Every rock he pries up reveals a wonder of perversity, whether it's a gore-hound's collection of "murderabilia" -- self-portraits, used toothbrushes, and other "relics" of murderers and serial killers -- the grisly "reality" of a modern evangelical Passion play, or the erotic hanging of a woman in a black silk dress that forever influenced writer Thomas Hardy.
Nothing is too morally repugnant: Wilson considers the appeal of fight clubs, torture porn, and "dark tourism" -- the habit of visiting disaster areas such as hurricane-battered New Orleans, Civil War battlefields, or the Genocide Museum in Cambodia, site of the Khmer Rouge's worst atrocities.
Part of our lust for the morbid kicked in, Wilson says, when hospitals and funeral homes took over the management of death in the 1950s. Before then, "people usually suffered and died in their own homes," he writes, and we were well-acquainted with dying; even children knew "its sounds and its smells, the agony of it, and its peace."
Death may have disappeared behind closed doors, but deep down, we know "our brief time on earth" will end, and may be vicariously slumming, through the medium of car wrecks or slasher flicks, for a closer look. In that sense, the appeal of darkness, Wilson says, is also the appeal of the sacred, the sublime.
We look for a catharsis; "horror makes us human," he quotes Mexican horror film director Guillermo del Toro, "because it reminds us of our imperfection."
Which brings us to the popular (and bloodless) American sport of schadenfreude, German for "harm-joy," translated as the pleasure we take in other people's misfortune. Often reserved for tracking which celebrity has fallen farthest into the abyss (think Charlie Sheen), it's the happiness we feel when "luxuriating in the warm glow of imaginary imperviousness that other people's life-destroying stupidities invariably provide."
"We are enamored of ruin," Wilson says of us. "The deeper the darkness is, the more dazzling. Our secret and ecstatic wish: Let it all fall down."
Well, maybe not all. Wilson's a stickler for meaning, without which the morbid veers into dehumanized pornography. He is sensitive to popular concerns, such as the fear that excessive amounts of violence in the media will turn us into zombies who crave more of the same -- and worse. One chapter examines the effect of fictional violence on children, including the work of author Maurice Sendak, whose "morbid imagination" has entertained generation of kids who react to his Where the Wild Things Are -- not with fear, but with "unbridled merriment."
As poetic as it is down-to-earth, Everyone Loves A Good Train Wreck remains nuanced rather than definitive, contemplative rather than conclusive; exploring what makes us tick without judgments.
Wait, you say: Not me! I would never gawk at a 10-car pileup. Maybe the subtitle of Wilson's book should be "Why Some of Us Can't Look Away." But by the time you finish this enlightening survey, you'll probably recall at least one time where you, too, gazed overlong at something you shouldn't have, a time when you, too, felt "exhilarated, inappropriately, and ... ashamed."
What's more, you'll have a deeper understanding of why you couldn't resist. | <urn:uuid:ac881d90-dbe1-43d6-a2df-549b2ada494f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toledoblade.com/Books/2012/07/15/Why-do-we-gawk-It-s-only-human.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949835 | 1,180 | 1.679688 | 2 |
U.S. lawmaker: 'Refusal to honor victims of Munich massacre will stain the IOC'
Law makers, former Olympic athletes join petition to hold moment of silence.
The campaign to observe a minute on silence to commemorate 40 years since the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, at the Olympic opening ceremony in London on Friday is attracting wide support in the United States with law makers joining the call to hold a moment of silence joining the support already expressed by President Barack Obama and including the support of both President Obama's and his Republican contender Mitt Romney's.
A group of American law makers, former Olympic athletes, joined Steve Gold, Chair of the Minute of Silence Munich 11 Petition in a conference call to the International Olympic Committee. In the call they demanded that the committee reverse its decision not to hole a moment of silence in the opening ceremony, saying that event to honor the victims of the massacre at the Munich 1972 games at the Olympic village on Monday, attended by IOC officials and mayor of London Boris Johnson, did not constitute a proper substitute to a public tribute during the games.
"Families of the athletes are trying to get this moment of silence for 40 years, and each year they are given different excuses", said Gold, who has gathered over 100,000 signatures on his online petition. "No one understands why they say no. Each time there are different excuses and responses. Maybe the real reason nobody is saying is because they were Israelis. I am looking out of my window and see the stadium and slogan there of this year's Olympics: "You will inspire the generation". The best way to inspire the generation is to hear voices of those signed the petition and of the world leaders who supported it. Even an Iranian representative said that if there is an IOC Moment of Silence, they will respect it."
Rep. Eliot Engel said that "It's political not to have the moment of silence. If it wasn't political there would have been a moment of silence long ago. It's a matter of decency and it's a shame that in the past 40 years this moment of silence didn't happen at all. In Washington these days, where people don't agree on anything, this resolution passed unanimously, because it's something that all decent people agree on. This moment of silence with 30 people is a step in the right direction but it's not enough. If it doesn't happen shame on the Olympic committee that succumbed to pressure. If it doesn't happen it's a stain on the international Olympics committee. I am sure if it hadn't been Israel, it would have happened long ago."
Rep. Ted Deutsch added that "it's not too late. There is still time to honor these athletes."
Lenny Krayzelburg, four-time Olympic Gold Medal swimmer, said "the tragedy of 72' was something that affected all Olympians, this worldwide exclusive fraternity of people who took part in these games. This event is about peace, humanity, and the celebration of life. When you walk through the Olympic village, there is no politics involved. In 1972 the whole world witnessed it, and it's appropriate that the whole world experience a moment of silence - taking minute of silence to recognize the 11 Israelis, but more important, the Olympians that were killed. I hope that in the next two days something can happen." | <urn:uuid:0a44b5ff-43e8-4b1e-88d3-fc61a9726c28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.haaretz.com/news/sports/london-2012/olympics-news/u-s-lawmaker-refusal-to-honor-victims-of-munich-massacre-will-stain-the-ioc-1.453648 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96854 | 680 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Heros or Zeros?
A friend of mine who pitches for the Univeristy of Minnesota told me one day that Rodger Clemens runs five miles a day to train his legs for the beating they go under during a game of baseball. Being a competitive distance runner myself who didn't run five miles a day to train, this was very suprising. Well, now I have something suprising to tell him. Your hero did steroids and other performace enhancing drugs.
This is such a sticky subject. On one hand we have an athlete who has done everything he can to become the ubermench, a superman. Just because he has taken steroids doesn't mean that his five miles a day don't count, unfortunately it means that they count too much.
The Washington Post reported on the Mitchell Report, which names several big time players linked to steroid use. "Mitchell said during an afternoon news conference in New York that each major league team had at least one player linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs during the period that he investigated." That is earth shattering.
Because of random drug testing started in 2002, the use of steroid, which can be detected in urine, has gone down. But, use of human growth hormone has risen because it is undetectable in urin samples.
Mitchell urged Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Baseball to let past offenders slide and make more proactive moves to cut down on substance abuse in the future, unless letting a player go would ruin the integrity of the game.
Frankly, a game with at least one cheater on every team has already lost its integrity. This is tantamount to someone saying that a homemade apple pie wasn't baked with a store bought crust. America shouldn't allow this. | <urn:uuid:f2b37265-591d-484b-a540-1204eeeff839> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.lib.umn.edu/eber0163/3101newsfall07/2007/12/heros_or_zeros.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978608 | 361 | 1.710938 | 2 |
What is it that makes perfectly reasonable adults start to act like teenagers as soon as they hit their parents’ front door?
You know how it goes: The oldest starts acting bossy. The kid who never helped with the chores still heads for the TV instead of the kitchen or yard where others are helping out. The guy who now runs a substantial business goes back to being the family screw-up.
Meanwhile, the parents oblige by being more parental than they would dream of being with other young adults in their lives: more critical, giving more advice than is appreciated, issuing orders to clean up their language or pick up the coat they dropped on the floor, and treating their adult kids like, well, kids.
Old patterns of behaving die hard. As a high school basketball coach I know frequently tells his players, “Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect. It makes permanent.”
Think about it. The family is our first experience with the social world. Each kid who comes into the family reacts to those who came before, looking for a way to be unique but also to be part of the group. One kid becomes the “smart one” or the “smart one in math” while the other becomes the “smart one in history.” One becomes the athlete, another gets known to be the funniest, or the best or worst with money or the best or worst at organizing. For each family member, finding a unique identity means strengthening particular attributes and talents.
At the same time, belonging requires some level of conformity to our family’s idea of the family identity, at least some of the time. In the normal shuffle and scuffle of daily life, we learn what wins acceptance from our family and what will get us put in the timeout chair or sent to our room; what ensures our membership in the family and what will risk rejection. For almost 20 years, we spend some part of almost every day as one of the dancers in the elaborate dance of family life. Our roles become as choreographed and familiar as the opening number of a well-known show. Twenty years. That’s a whole lot of practice for making the family style and our role in it permanent.
Our roles may be modified considerably when we move out into the larger world. But get us together with the original group and 20 years of practice bubbles back up to the surface. Never underestimate the seductive draw of what is familiar. It just feels natural to snap back into our well-rehearsed part. The “responsible one” volunteers for more than she really wants to do. The “baby” goes back to playing the cute card in spite of herself. When with her dad, the independent woman can slip once again into the “princess” role she had as a child while her brother starts to swagger a bit like his former teenage jock self.
As we grow to adulthood, we expand our repertoire of skills for interacting with others. Feedback from friends, classmates, and colleagues shape us in new and important ways that may not work as well in the family. It’s normal and okay to regress a bit when in the bosom of family but it’s important to hold onto the adult we’ve become as well. Being mature means catching ourselves when we start to slide into old roles that are self-centered or over-stated or less balanced and actively deciding to relate in the family with the same dignity and maturity we use with others.
As parents age and become the parents of adults, they need to treasure the memories of these big people as the children they once were and at the same time validate and appreciate who they’ve become. It’s normal and okay to regress to a bit to being parental when adult kids come home but it’s important to step out of that well-rehearsed role as well. Being mature means not treating them as children and actively deciding to move to a more adult-adult relationship.
When both generations make the effort, moments of regression to the past can be sweet because they are nested in a larger appreciation of who each person has come to be in the present.
Avoid Getting Stuck in Regression
Most families can and do make the transition into adult-adult relationships. Here are a few ideas to help you avoid getting stuck in regression when pulled by the familiar family dance:
- Regression can be sweet if it’s kept in bounds. You don’t need to hold so tight to your new roles that you can’t enjoy and take comfort from revisiting the old ones. It’s OK for grown kids to enjoy Mom’s cooking or to sit on the couch with Dad to watch favorite sports. Those moments can be treasured – as long as adult kids then pitch in and contribute in some way to rebalance the relationship.
- Resist the impulse to correct, criticize, or give advice unless it is asked for. That goes for both generations. Parents don’t need to revert to being parental. Adult kids don’t need to regress into their teenaged critical selves. No amount of good advice or arguing is going to change things in a holiday weekend. Bite your tongue unless someone takes you aside and asks what you think. That’s a genuine request for help and support you can respond to as long as you do so with tact.
- If your family has always been contentious, promise yourself not to regress to bickering, arguing, or responding in kind to putdowns or critical comments. A fight can happen only if both sides engage. If you use humor instead or simply say, “Let’s not. It’s Christmas,” the other party usually will drop it too. (By the way: It may take a few tries. Sometimes people are so perplexed by a former adversary’s refusal to engage that they try again to start the familiar fight. Stay calm and just continue to decline in as friendly a way as you can. They’ll usually get the message.)
- Pro-gress instead of re-gress. It gets more and more complicated to go “home” when young adults find partners and start having kids of their own. At some point, it may no longer make sense for some or all of the adult kids to travel back to their parents’ home for every family celebration. The older generation can make this transition easier by being flexible about how and when they spend holidays. The younger generation can make it easier by remembering that parents and older relatives who love them are interested in their lives and need to see them – or at least hear from them – during the holiday season. Advance planning is the key. When there are careful and loving conversations about who needs to go where for family holiday events, it’s possible to maintain a sense of family togetherness while accommodating new realities.
Hartwell-Walker, M. (2011). ‘Tis the Season to Regress. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 19, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/tis-the-season-to-regress/
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Jan 2013
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:60a047dc-f4f2-4d5b-9e86-3d99518303f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/tis-the-season-to-regress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961515 | 1,515 | 1.796875 | 2 |
N. Korea slams Lee, Japan over Dokdo
By Kim Young-jin
North Korea on Monday criticized President Lee Myung-bak for his surprise visit to Dokdo last week ― the nation’s easternmost islets ― that ratcheted up tensions with Japan.
In a dispatch, Pyongyang’s state media accused Lee of trying to stave off his status as a lame-duck president by politically exploiting the issue of the rocky outcrops that Seoul holds control over but Tokyo lays claim to. It said Lee was covering up for what it deemed as his favorable stance to Japan.
The visit was "intended to cover up his true colors as a pro-Japanese lackey, calm down the angry public and weather his ruling crisis," the Korean Central News Agency said.
Lee, in the face of two North Korean provocations in 2010, has bolstered trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Washington.
The North has not relented in its harsh criticism of Lee’s administration, with which it has held frosty relations since 2008. Analysts say this is likely to continue as the presidential elections scheduled for December approach, with Pyongyang trying to nudge voters here towards a left-leaning candidate.
The North also lashed out at Japan, calling its claim over the islets “imprudent.” Both Koreas view the claim as a legacy of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the peninsula.
"Regarding the territorial issue directly related to national dignity, no concession nor compromise can be made," a statement on a North Korean propaganda Web site Uriminzokkiri said.
Lee’s move drew immediate ire from Tokyo, which says it will take the issue to the International Court of Justice.
Cheong Wa Dae defended the trip Monday saying it had been planned for years. He put the impetus on resolving the issue on Tokyo, saying that as a big country, it could do so easily.
Lee’s trip, which ended decades of “quiet diplomacy” over the matter, was met with a lukewarm response in the South, with critics saying the bold gesture came too late in Lee’s term or that it was done to buoy his power as his five-year term winds down.
Pyongyang has picked up its anti-Lee rhetoric in recent months and has threatened to attack conservative forces here for criticism of its leadership. It has also accused Seoul and Washington of hiring a defector to slip back into the North to blow up statues of its founder Kim Il-sung, an allegation the allies flatly deny. | <urn:uuid:0705bd80-94c2-46e9-a878-fdf6d1c53867> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/08/116_117376.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973206 | 538 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Nothing good can happen in a family with a name like Malatesta. Who would be foolish enough to marry into such a hornet’s nest?
The answer is Francesca da Rimini, the heroine of the next The MET: Live in HD transmission. Riccardo Zandonai’s opera of the same name will be staged at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Metropolitan Opera is reviving its spectacular 1984 production with stage mechanics for a war in Act II that will look as contemporary as last week’s staging of “Parsifal.”
The original Met premiere of “Francesca” took place in 1916, a mere two years after the world premiere in Turin’s Teatro Regio.
But none of that is as interesting as the story’s pedigree.
“Francesca da Rimini” is Riccardo Zandonai’s contribution to the operatic literature of doomed love. Working with librettist Tito Ricordi at the turn of the 20th century, the creative team latched onto a popular Italian melodrama written by Gabriele D’Annunzio.
D’Annunzio’s “Francesca da Rimini” was an old–fashioned tear jerker, quite the opposite of the astringent European Verismo Movement that led the avant garde at the time. A flamboyant character himself, D’Annunzio was a journalist, poet, playwright and admirer of Friedrich Nietzsche. The playwright was prolific on the page and in the bedroom. Outside his own marriage, he pursued numerable actresses and wrote his version of the Francesca-Paolo story for Eleanor Duse in 1901. Italian audiences, in particular, loved it, and the team of Zandonai-Ricordi wisely decided to create an operatic version.
Both play and opera draw inspiration from Italy’s great epic poet, Dante. In Volume I, Circle 2 of The Divine Comedy, there’s a brief episode at the very beginning of the journey down into the Inferno. Dante and his guide, the Roman poet Virgil, are barely three steps into Hell when they encounter their first group of sinners. Famous characters like Cleopatra, Dido and our pair of lovers, Francesca and Paolo, are there because they indulged in the least of the seven capital sins – lust.
In a mere 22 lines, Francesca tells her story. She begins: “There is no greater grief than to recall a bygone happiness in present misery.”
It took Dante’s countryman, Giovanni Boccaccio to expand on the story in The Decameron. That’s where you get the details, the arranged marriage, the deceit and the downfall. Together, these two masterpieces have provided the world with enough material for plays, operas and movies about the love-lust dilemma and its consequences.
Zandonai’s opera tells the story in four acts. It begins as Francesca is about to enter a political marriage. Her brother Ostasio tricks her into believing the handsome Paolo Malatesta will be her husband. By Act II, she’s learned her husband is no other than the older brother, the deformed, rude and crude Gianciotto. She also learns the Malatestas are involved in a bloody war. By Act III, Francesca and Paolo realize their true love and passion blooms. Thanks to another brother, the young Malatestino, the lovers are exposed and the rude, crude Gianciotto has his revenge. It’s all in Boccaccio, in D’Annunzio, and Zandonai.
“Francesca da Rimini” may be a second tier opera in the greater scheme of things, but the music is beautiful and resplendent, with echoes of Wagner.
It’s Zandonai’s one true claim to fame.
The production starts early because of the almost four-hour running time.
[email protected]. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, artist and critic. | <urn:uuid:61ba3696-6d2d-4402-93ba-65ca0745c8a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://durangoherald.com/article/20130314/ARTS01/130319789/MET-delivers-doomed-romance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933867 | 907 | 1.8125 | 2 |
By now, most people have heard about Education Secretary Duncan’s comment that Hurricane Katrina was “the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans.” He apologized today — several days after making the remark.
His comment elicited quite a bit of reaction — to say the least.
Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post, for example, wrote:
By the time we find ourselves praising a natural catastrophe for education reform, we are in big trouble. Such talk is the last refuge of someone bereft of new policy ideas.
At nearly the same time of this controversy, Mayor Bloomberg was closing “failed” schools in New York City. Diane Ravitch writes:
It is odd that school leaders feel triumphant when they close schools, as though they were not responsible for them. They enjoy the role of executioner, shirking any responsibility for the schools in their care. Every time a school is closed, those at the top should hang their heads in shame for their inability or refusal to offer timely assistance. Instead they exult in the failure of schools that are entrusted to their stewardship.
Both of these events, in turn, reminded me of an interview The Wall Street Journal did with Eli Broad (who funds the kind of school reform supported by Duncan and Bloomberg and who now has a presence in Sacramento) last summer. Here’s an excerpt:
…he is enthusiastic about all the change that is possible when urban school districts go bankrupt—as Oakland, Calif., did a few years ago—”or what happened in New Orleans, which is the equivalent of bankruptcy.”
I’m no expert in urban planning but, from what I know of it, these perspectives sound eerily similar to what I know about the countless failed “urban renewal” projects done in cities over the past sixty years — technocrats wanting to wipe the slate clean and instill their unproven vision of what is best instead of engaging with the people who are already there. And then, those people who are already there get pushed-out. We’ve already seen that with documented evidence that it’s not uncommon for the “successful” examples proclaimed by proponents to have entirely different student bodies than those who had been there before.
Check-out this 1955 video advocating for urban renewal in Pittsburgh. Anything sound familiar?
What do you think, am I pushing the parallel too far? | <urn:uuid:5e6b4616-b8d7-4b5f-af64-b3c609c2e8c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/02/02/are-some-school-reform-technocrats-using-failed-urban-renewal-projects-as-their-blueprint/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964342 | 500 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Douglas Animal Control welcomes new staff member, Shyla Farnsworth.
She has been around animals all her life growing up in a rural area west of Phoenix down the street from Phoenix International Raceway.
“I always pictured myself working with animals. ... I’m a big animal lover,” Farnsworth said.
She has been with the animal control for six weeks and during this time has made a big impact on the drop of the euthanasia rate.
“I’ve been trying to keep in touch with rescues that will take our dogs so we can lower the number of dogs being euthanized,” she said.
Pet overpopulation is a huge problem. Over 70,000 puppies and kittens are born every day. Over four million homeless pets are put down each year in the U.S.
“I believe the main reason our shelter has been so full is because people are not taking responsibility of their pets,” she said. “If you have a female that you do not use for breeding purposes get her spayed, if you have a male that is not purposely being used for breeding purposes get him fixed.”
Farnsworth said, people get dogs and decide they are too much work or cannot afford them so they dump them and they become someone else’s problem.
The animal control staff does everything to care for these animals. “We try to figure out what is wrong with them and make them as comfortable as possible,” the animal lover said.
Currently the shelter has approximately 20 dogs, some are ready to be adopted and some are being sent to animal rescues.
According to Farnsworth most people want to adopt puppies.
“If they got to know the older dog’s personality they would want them as much as a puppy,” she said.
The Douglas Animal Control cannot take donations but private donations can be taken by Douglas Small Animal Rescue (DSAR). The funds are used for the rescue of dogs until they are able to find a home.
“We use the funds for food, medicine, shots, blankets, toys whatever they need,” DSAR organizer Donna Henderson said.
The Douglas Animal Control has a $10 fee to adopt an adult dog. A vaccination deposit of $15 and a $25 deposit for spay or neuter on dogs over the age of one year old is required.
“If you get your new dog vaccinated and fixed the city will refund you $40,” Farnsworth said.
To adopt a pet visit the Douglas Animal Control at 2017 N. Rogers Avenue, or call (520) 417-7567. If you are interested in making a donation to the Douglas Small Animal Rescue contact Donna Henderson at (520) 234-7531.
All adoptable animals are available on the Douglas Animal Shelter Facebook page. | <urn:uuid:79d883e8-7e1d-4b23-8b11-fb28a3b0c9db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://douglasdispatch.com/articles/2012/11/28/news/doc5090010d5c935617827551.txt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961481 | 595 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Animals come from across Midwest for fair
Photos from this year's 4-H Fair in Rock County.
JANESVILLE Today’s Meat Animal Sale at the Rock County 4-H Fair will be one of the final stops for roughly 550 barrows, lambs and steers up for sale.
The livestock arrives from destinations across the county, state and region. Some animals are raised on farms run by exhibitors’ family members, while others are purchased from breeders. Exhibitors that live in town often turn to friends and classmates from rural areas for places to buy or raise their animals.
About 25 percent of the beef animals are bred and raised on the exhibitors’ own farms, said fair beef Superintendent Austin Arndt. The rest come from breeders.
Cade Austin’s grand champion steer was bred and raised on his family’s beef operation in Milton. Meanwhile, Harmony 4-H member Rylee Ochs bought her reserve grand champion steer from Jones Show Cattle, a Gridley, Ill., breeder that specializes in selling animals for exhibit at fairs and other competitions. She raised it on her family’s beef operation in Milton.
Ochs said her show cattle are treated differently than the other cattle on her family’s feedlot operation. Her steer, for example, was kept in what is known as a cooler, an air-conditioned shelter.
“It keeps him comfortable and keeps him eating,” she said. “We raise a lot of cattle, and the ones outside of the cooler just don’t eat as much when it’s hot.”
Noah Morris of Clinton FFA purchased his grand champion barrow from breeder Curt Watson of Edgerton. Morris said he has been purchasing his fair swine from Watson for the past six years.
“There’s very few commercial hog operations left in the county,” said fair swine Superintendent Mark Gunn. “Most of the hogs we have coming in to the fair come from show breeders. They (show breeders) are all over the Midwest.”
Milton FFA’s Jessica Duoss, who had this year’s grand champion lamb, said she has been buying her fair sheep from the same breeder for the past several years. Duoss had the reserve champion lamb in 2006 and grand champion barrow in 2008 and 2010.
Hailey Gestrich of Plymouth 4-H won both the grand champion heifer and the reserve grand champion heifer in the Rock County bred-and-owned class.
Animals shown in the bred-and-owned class must be owned by the exhibitor, the exhibitor’s immediate family or the exhibitor’s family farm name, according to fair rules.
The purpose of the class is to encourage exhibitors to “show and promote females that were bred in Rock County in hopes that our youth will become more involved in beef cattle production,” according to the Rock County 4-H Fair rulebook.
Hailey’s grandmother, Chris, has been the beef project leader for 28 years. She and her husband, Steve, run a beef operation on Stuart Road in the town of Plymouth.
“We all work together as a family to get ready for the fair,” Chris Gestrich said. “We’re very proud of the work we do.” | <urn:uuid:e828ff8f-6443-4ebb-ad82-76bb015f44dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://walworthcountytoday.com/news/2012/jul/27/animals-come-across-midwest-fair/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97484 | 722 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Thirty young, Black women shimmering platinum and white evening gowns, silver, sapphires and dandelion yellows, rubies lit the Theater of Performing Arts at the University of the District of Columbia. They prayed through perfect pageant smiles thinking: “Please don’t call my name.”
It was an exciting moment that each one of them had dreamed of over and over, but no one wanted to hear their name called. Not yet. Not until the very last name was called.
The name of fourth runner-up, Miss Black Michigan, was called. Next, the third runner-up, Miss Black Minnesota. Then, the second runner-up, Miss Black North Carolina.
“It’s getting warm up here, right?” chuckled pageant co-host Brian Christopher. A rambunctious audience member quickly corrected him. “No, it’s hot!”
The hopes of Miss Black Oklahoma, the first runner-up, were dashed when her name was announced. Audience members applauded, wild with anticipation, some still waving signs bearing the name of their favorite contestant.
The time had arrived when the remaining contestants finally wanted to hear their name. They would hear it now or not at all. It got even hotter in the room.
“And the winner of Miss Black 2012 USA…Scholarship…Pageant…Competition…is…” Stacey McKenzie, fashion model and pageant co-host, stumbled over the hand-written card, which only added to the mounting suspense. Co-host Christopher beat out a drum roll on the podium… “Miss New York! Miss Black New York!”
That would be Salena Watkins. At first, Watkins said, she didn’t even hear them call her state. Then, everyone started staring at her.
“I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me,” said Watkins. “[Miss Black USA] is about celebrating women of color. I’m dark-skinned and I have curly hair and I can be myself and still be a Black queen.”
In a sense, Watkins’ win was a victory for other women who look like her.
And that was exactly what Karen Arrington had in mind when she created the contest 25 years ago.
Arrington grew up during a period when “blonde hair and blue eyes” were still the accepted standards of beauty in America, ruling out gorgeous and graceful and Black women who didn’t fit that European mold.
“They weren’t women that looked like me in magazines and there were very few images of Black women in mainstream media,” Arrington recalled. “Anytime you are a part of a subculture, it’s important for you to define your own standard of beauty and it’s important for you to celebrate who you are.”
Karen Arrington founded the Miss Black USA Pageant to celebrate the talent, beauty and intellect of young women who were often overlooked by mainstream pageants. Twenty-one contestants from across the nation competed in the first Miss Black USA Pageant on June 6, 1987 at the J.W. Marriott hotel ballroom in Washington, D.C., and that night, Miss Black Maryland Tamiko Gibson captured the crown. read more… | <urn:uuid:bae47904-64e0-40bb-bc41-d7f425da7e26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hbcubuzz.com/miss-black-usa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965695 | 696 | 1.570313 | 2 |
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March 15, 2013 11:16 pm
Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World, by Shereen El Feki, Chatto & Windus, RRP£16.99/Pantheon, RRP$28.95, 368 pages
When it comes to sexuality, writes Shereen El Feki, the Arab world can seem like an “impregnable fortress”. But, as she discovers in Sex and the Citadel , there are also plenty of people who seek to pierce the wall of hypocrisy and talk openly about the subject.
The former Economist and Al Jazeera journalist’s hope that youth revolutions in the Arab world over the past two years would lead to sexual liberation is unlikely to be realised – sexuality is not exactly high on the youth groups’ agenda and the prospect of a debate on the subject recedes with every political gain made by Islamists.
But in talking to ordinary people as well as sex therapists and sociologists, El Feki has been able to produce an original portrait of the region’s youth that sheds light on the condition of women, failing education and health systems, and the uses and abuses of religion to reinforce the status quo.
Sex and the Citadel reminds Arabs of their own, more liberal history. In the Abbasid empire, which ruled from Baghdad between the 8th and the 13th centuries, Arab culture flourished and writing about sex was far from taboo.
El Feki interviews experts who argue that, in spite of what is written in the Koran and the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed), Islam is not necessarily forbidding in this area. “At their zenith in the early Abbasid period, the Arabs were a confident and creative people, and open thinking on sexuality was a reflection of this,” she writes.
True, there are specific prohibitions in the Koran that are difficult to get past, such as the ban on premarital sex. Yet, as Moroccan sociologist Abdessamad Dialmy tells the author, Islamic law is ultimately a text “that can be interpreted in the sense of sexual liberty or in the sense of repression. If the politicians decide on sexual liberty, then the Islamic scholars will find a way.”
It is at the end of the 19th century that “frank and often celebratory writing on sexuality” dried up, a trend that the author blames at least in part on a backlash against foreign interventions in the region.
Attitudes towards sex in the Arab world remain deeply conservative but they are evolving, even if it is difficult to gauge the extent of change. El Feki cites surveys in which a third or more of young men say they are sexually active before marriage, while more than 80 per cent of young women say they are not – which, as she says, “raises the question as to whom exactly all these young men are having sex with”.
Young women, of course, are also having sex but often just short of intercourse – and, if a couple goes too far, then virginity can be restored by repairing the hymen, a practice that is still common in the Middle East.
El Feki might be right to argue that “the drive to conformity and consensus is a feature of authoritarian regimes” and that the changes in the region have “opened up the space for debate, including about sex”. But she also accepts that young people are not yet making the link between political revolt and defying their own families and society.
As the Tunisian sociologist Abdelwahab Bouhdiba tells El Feki, attitudes towards sexuality have to evolve within a local context and not according to a western model. “We need to talk about Aids, IVF, new sexual behaviour, abortion. These are problems but we need to talk about them in the propriety of the Koran.”
Roula Khalaf is the FT’s Middle East editor
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013. You may share using our article tools.
Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. | <urn:uuid:abe5c165-2916-43bf-902b-0f0d7993e67e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/8a68b5aa-8bf6-11e2-b001-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/life-arts_books_non-fiction/feed/product | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956261 | 901 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Take a chance on choice
An opt-in jury system could solve the Honor Committee’s jury problems
As the coming University elections have drawn closer, the Honor Committee’s Restore the Ideal Act has been widely discussed. Numerous editorials both condemning and praising the act have been published, Facebook groups have formed and campaigns have started. The debate has tapped into dormant passion and opinion about honor issues from within the student body. I do not expect the reform to pass, but I think the debate it has inspired is crucial. I have been an outspoken critic of the act, but I also believe the issues it was intended to fix need to be addressed. The honor system as we know it may be changed, without our consent, by the University administration if we don’t. The problems with the consistency and justice of the system cannot remain.
That problems exist does not mean the reforms should pass. Rather, I think the student body has to become involved in the process of finding a solution that speaks to the concerns of both the committee and its opposition in this debate. I’m going to try to get that process started by offering an alternative idea for jury reform.
Jury reform in the Restore the Ideal Act is intended to eliminate inconsistencies in verdicts reached by random student juries. According to the Committee, jury discomfort with the single sanction, apathy toward the process and lack of understanding of the Committee’s bylaws create an incentive for students to lie their way through the process. The act’s proponents claim an all-Committee jury would be too well-trained and experienced to be duped in a similar way. The act’s critics point to two primary concerns with the proposal’s jury-reform component. The first is the elimination of the larger community of trust from the honor process. The second is the consolidation of such a huge power within a select group of students, chosen through relatively uncompetitive elections, in a position with little structure for accountability.
Is there a potential solution that speaks to the concerns of both sides? I would suggest changing the jury pool to an opt-in system. The Honor Committee could publicize its need for jurors at the start of each semester, and students could decide if they wanted to commit to being in the pool. Such an initiative would ensure that only students who were truly willing to serve would be selected, while still giving the entire student body the right to be in the jury pool. There could then be an extensive training session at the start of each semester to ensure those who sign up understand the system as well as possible and are comfortable with all of the duties they would be required to perform. Then when they are selected to serve on a trial, they could have a brief session to remind them of their training so the bylaws are fresh in their minds. This process would ensure that any student who wished could be part of the jury pool, that all jurors would be fully prepared and dedicated to their duties and that the Committee could be held accountable by members of the larger student body.
The most important difference between this idea and the current proposal is that the Restore the Ideal Act limits the jury to members of the University who have the time, resources and charisma to win an election. The opt-in system would select for the only trait relevant to service as a juror: dedication to the justice of the system. The Committee has argued that all-Committee juries are necessary to give more consistent verdicts in trials, or, in other words, to ensure two students facing similar accusations and evidence receive the same result. But because opt-in systems garner lower rates of participation than opt-out systems, jurors would not only be exceptionally committed to their duties but might also experience multiple trials. More training and experience would result in a more consistent standard for conviction even without a Committee jury. If there were slight discrepancies, it would be because of a variety of perspectives and opinions within the jury pool, not because of incompetence or apathy. Small failures in consistency are a worthy price of diversity of opinion in such a powerful institution, and the Honor Committee is not known for its diversity.
The Honor Committee is right to push jury reform as necessary to the survival of honor as we know it at the University. But it is wrong to insist that the student body must be cut out of the system for positive change to be accomplished. We deserve the best solution possible to these problems, and the current proposal is too fundamentally flawed to merit passage. But we, as students, can be part of the process to find a solution that protects all of our stakes in honor, whether it be my proposal above or something entirely different. I look forward to having this conversation regardless of the outcome of the vote. I hope you’ll join me.
Forrest Brown’s column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:3a5291ee-a531-4f4b-990f-c003e7d4b764> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2013/02/take-a-chance-on-choice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969702 | 1,008 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Best Part Time Jobs for College Students
By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide
5 of 16
Image Copyright Jack Hollingsworth / Getty Images
Freshman seminar classes (like Statistics 101, for example) can have as many as 500 students enrolled. That's a lot of tests to grade, so professors often employ students within the department to grade tests. Although it's grunt work, the workload is generally spread out based on when the tests are, leaving lots of time in between for academics and extracurriculars.
Jobs for College Students | <urn:uuid:f780f3d1-8e41-4a76-b95c-5d3b826a929f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jobsearch.about.com/od/college-jobs/ss/jobs-college-students_5.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948601 | 113 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The ASCAP Foundation is dedicated to nurturing the music talent of tomorrow, preserving the legacy of the past and sustaining the creative incentive for today's creators through a variety of educational, professional, and humanitarian programs and activities which serve the entire music community.
The ASCAP Foundation is a public charity dedicated to supporting American Music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Included in these are songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, community outreach and humanitarian programs for songwriters, composers and lyricists.
The ASCAP Foundation considers proposals from other 501 (c)(3) organizations engaged in music education and talent development programs that are consistent with the mission and objectives of The ASCAP Foundation and which support programs for aspiring songwriters, lyricists and composers.
When you choose to make a financial donation to The ASCAP Foundation, you join a community of people who support our mission to nurture the musical talent of tomorrow while championing the legacies of the past. The ASCAP Foundation is a public charity and your contribution is essential. Please join us in our efforts to help propel emerging music creators to the next level while expanding public access to the arts. | <urn:uuid:ae988a8f-f454-4e72-895e-ea068db53e05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ascapfoundation.org/programs/awards/harold-arlen-film-tv-award.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939108 | 237 | 1.671875 | 2 |
FAREWELL CEREMONY FROM HUNGARY
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
Ferihegy International Airport (Budapest)
1. During my visit to Hungary I have been able to admire some of the fine results of the human and Christian life of the Nation. I have been able to admire the wealth of your historical traditions, here in the heart of Europe. I would have liked to visit all the places where Hungarians live, inside and outside the borders of your homeland. I would have wished personally to meet every Hungarian, in order to bring to each one the message of Christ, who is our life and who came to give us life in ever greater abundance. Every life is generated in pain and suffering.
Every life is nevertheless a gift of God. I have come to Hungary to thank God together with you for the opportunity he has given you to start a new life, to establish a new society based on justice and freedom.
2. In the effort to create a new life for society, there are two fundamental aspects which we must never forget.
The first. Life is not ours for our own sake alone; life is a common heritage and a common responsibility. We are called upon to build a new society, we must create a new human order in this country, in Europe, in the world, if we wish to enjoy during the next millennium a more genuine and happy life, a more human and Christian life.
The second. Although we need material things for our life, human happiness cannot be built on material well-being alone. It is true: you must devote yourselves to overcoming great economic difficulties and social problems. Justice can help you to distribute material goods in an honest way, but a happy and genuinely human society cannot be created except through righteousness, love and forgiveness.
You are striving to build a new democratic society based on the rule of law and on justice. I would add: you will not be able to build that city unless you agree to live by the values of mercy and love.
3. Today we have celebrated the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first King and the first Saint of Hungary, who during his life successfully blended justice with mercy, human life with divine life, the law with love. We must follow the example he has left us; we must bear witness both to justice and to mercy, to the law as well as to love, in order to build in peace and solidarity a new Hungary and a new Europe.
4. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have welcomed me to this country.
In the first place I wish to thank you, Mr President, and all the State Authorities and all Hungarians. Hungary has always enjoyed a great reputation for the generous welcome it gives to visitors. The first houses for pilgrims were in fact built by Saint Stephen. I too have come as a pilgrim to this land, and I thank you for your hospitality. I have been able to appreciate the cooperation between the Authorities of the State and the Church, who have made my visit possible.
I make an urgent appeal to the State and the Church to combine their efforts in the service of the common good, in order to defend and promote human rights and the fundamental values without which no society can live, in order to create a new generation of men and women capable of using their freedom in a responsible way, and conscious that they will have to give an account of their deeds before their brothers and sisters and before God.
5. I wish to say a special word of thanks to you, Cardinal Paskai, and to all the Bishops, priests, Religious and laity of the Church in Hungary. Thank you for your sincere love and your fraternal hospitality. I carry back with me to Rome the memory of your faith which I have shared in the hope and love which Christ has given us.
© Copyright 1991 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana | <urn:uuid:32226f8f-e822-4d60-8845-f8c39c330818> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1991/august/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19910820_congedo-ungheria_en.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961754 | 804 | 1.640625 | 2 |
By Amanda Hatfield
MIMS -- Ever since Diane Delano rode her first horse at 3 years old, she knew the majestic creatures would play a significant role in her life.
"My father bought me my first horse when I was 13," said Mrs. Delano, founder of Wild Horse Rescue Center in Mims. "I've never been without a horse since then."
It wasn't until 1975, though, that she came in contact with her first mustang.
"I was drawn to its wild nature and the beauty of it," Mrs. Delano said.
Instantly in love, Mrs. Delano began to devote her time to the breed.
"A girlfriend and I adopted a mustang when I was 29," Mrs. Delano added.
Because of their wild nature, many people have a bad misconception of the mustang.
"People typically mistreat them because they don't know how to work with such a strong breed," Mrs. Delano said. "When people adopt a mustang, it takes a significant amount of work and affection to gentle them."
Mrs. Delano took it upon herself to mentor people about how to work with wild mustangs, volunteering countless hours to the cause.
After working with many mistreated mustangs throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Mrs. Delano decided to open the Wild Horse Rescue Center in Mims.
"Our focus is specifically on wild mustangs," Mrs. Delano added. "If I took in other breeds of horses, I would have hundreds here."
While her goal is to see many of the mustangs adopted into good homes, Mrs. Delano knows that not all horses can be gentled.
"When a horse doesn't respond to the trainers or myself, I will sanctuary them," Mrs. Delano said. "They get to live out their lives here at the rescue, where they can be as wild as they please."
Mrs. Delano is recognized throughout the country for the incredible work she does with mustangs.
"In 2004, I was awarded the 'Making a Difference' award from the Bureau of Land Management," Mrs. Delano said.
One of nine people chosen out of 18,000 volunteers, Mrs. Delano flew to Washington, D.C. to accept the award.
"It was such a tremendous honor to be chosen strictly for my work with the breed," Mrs. Delano added.
Mrs. Delano also received the 4-C Conservation award for her work with mustangs.
"This award was also a huge honor since they typically give this out to organizations," Mrs. Delano said.
Prior to opening Wild Horse Rescue Center, Mrs. Delano traveled around the country, seeking out wild horse groups.
"It was then that I learned I wanted to take a more holistic approach to the way I worked with the mustangs," Mrs. Delano said.
Through her research, Mrs. Delano learned about integrated equine cranial-sacral therapy.
"This is a very hands-on type of therapy, and you must be rounded before you work on the animals," Mrs. Delano said.
Integrated equine cranial-sacral therapy deals with the emotional discomfort, distress and irregular breathing of the animal.
"Within the animal's spinal cord is a fluid, and when the animal is distressed, so is the fluid," Mrs. Delano added. "The stress acts like things that would clog up that river of fluid and disrupt the function of the horse."
Integrated equine cranial-sacral therapy flushes a person's energy through the horse to help the animal release its built-up emotion.
"There's quite a physical reaction within the horse," Mrs. Delano said. "Sometimes, you can see their chest go completely concave."
"Soon after our mustangs receive this kind of therapy, they will start to look and act healthy again," Mrs. Delano added.
Through the help of Wes Maillard, an expert in integrated equine cranial-sacral therapy, Mrs. Delano holds seminars at Wild Horse Rescue Center to help bring attention to their cause.
"People don't have to be great with horses to participate," Mrs. Delano said. "I would encourage people to research, either online or at the library."
In 2011, Mrs. Delano also began an international program for volunteers to come work with the mustangs at her rescue center.
"So far, we've had several volunteers come from Eastern Europe for a period of weeks," Mrs. Delano said.
Through her love and commitment to the mustangs, Mrs. Delano hopes she can teach others about their wild beauty.
"The mustangs are captivating and a large part of American history," Mrs. Delano said. "We must love and respect them, and give them the treatment they deserve."
People interested in visiting or volunteering at Wild Horse Rescue Center are asked to email [email protected] with the dates they are interested in visiting.
For more information, visit www.wildhorserescuecenter.org or call (321) 427-1523. | <urn:uuid:b2e1d5eb-44a5-4a81-8e4f-7e94776300a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myhometownnews.net/index.php?id=102496 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974392 | 1,073 | 1.695313 | 2 |
North Carolina: We’re not.
The two states on Tuesday were the latest to announce their intentions on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. States have until Feb. 15 to tell HHS whether they’ll retain even some control over the exchanges, or let the Obama administration run the exchanges for them.
By Friday, we’ll know where half a dozen other states stand, too.
Background on Partnership Model
The Affordable Care Act didn’t originally spell out the partnership model; under the law, states faced a binary choice of running their own insurance exchanges or punting the responsibility to the government.
But HHS officials realized they needed to tweak the ACA’s approach, as more than 30 states — increasingly led by Republicans, who took over 11 statehouses in the 2010 election — announced they planned to opt out of the exchanges altogether. This would leave HHS officials with “an awesome task in establishing and operating exchanges in [so many] different states and coordinating those operations with state Medicaid programs and insurance departments,” before open enrollment begins in October 2013, Paul Starr writes in The American Prospect.
As a result, the agency in 2011 introduced the partnership model in hopes of shifting some of the responsibility for running exchanges back to the states.
Under the hybrid approach, the federal government takes on setting up the exchange’s website and other back-end responsibilities, while states keep functions such as approving health plans and setting up consumer assistance programs. HHS also hopes that the partnership model will be a path for states that weren’t ready to run their own exchanges to take them over eventually.
Filed Under: THCBTagged: Affordable Care Act, Arkansas, Avalere, Costs, Dan Diamond, Dan Mendelson, Delaware, Dylan Scott, GOP, HHS, Hybrid Health Insurance Exchanges, Medicaid Expansion, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Partnership Model, Tennessee, The States, Virginia, West Virginia Feb 13, 2013 | <urn:uuid:5e8e849f-e0e8-4b38-8755-8f48d7fb3464> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/tag/west-virginia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93735 | 406 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Tiny Markers Animates Furious Frank’s Lament
The video, like the song, tells the story of a regretful but short-tempered god who is continually creating and destroying the world.
“This was a great project because Furious Frank's song, ‘Lament,’ was so great and provided so much rich imagery to work with,” Witte commented. “I think the part of this video that I enjoyed working on the most was imagining what god might look like or where she might live, but coming up with the newspaper headlines was also fun.”
All the images in the “Lament “video where hand drawn and scanned into Adobe Photoshop, then animated using Adobe After Effects.
Most of Witte’s animation work is simple with a retro hand-drawn style. In addition to the video for Furious Frank, Tiny Markers also recently created web animations for National Public Radio and Raygun Books.
Source: Tiny Markers | <urn:uuid:2e25c22f-3464-42c4-96e9-007c96dd0b5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awn.com/news/internet-and-interactive/tiny-markers-animates-furious-frank-s-lament | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947557 | 206 | 1.53125 | 2 |
That summer morning, in the distance, Daisy Meyer bent her blond head over her club, a short iron for the short sixth hole, in effortless concentration on her practice swing. Still engrossed in her projected shot, and seemingly oblivious to the murmurings of the women on the porch, she walked over to the ball, addressed it, and crisply shot it off. For a moment the vision was fixed, motionless, beyond time—left leg straight, right knee bent, arms, shoulders, hips following through, ball suspended in flight—before the breeze stirred the leaves of the elms, her body unfolded, and the ball descended in its slow arc to the green, where it rolled to within a few feet of the cup, as, far across the fairways, the river began to flow again in the sunlight, catching it, and sending it back in sharp, dazzling beams of light.
—The opening paragraph of William McPherson’s Testing the Current, a coming-of-age novel set in a small Midwestern town in the late 1930s. If there isn’t a better case for letting women become members of The Augusta National Golf Club we haven’t read it (yes we know they let two women in last year, but one of them was Condoleezza Rice so we don’t count it). | <urn:uuid:79bcef87-d23c-43c0-988c-dd6d56496a25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nyrbclassics.tumblr.com/post/40097028401/shimmering-and-lithely-transgressive | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948936 | 280 | 1.570313 | 2 |
GEAR UP grant assists TMCC early college awareness & readiness program
TMCC has been awarded $61,020 to assist the Nevada State GEAR UP Program, which was designed to significantly increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. TMCC will be assisting the Nevada Department of Education with the state-wide goals of the "Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs", including increasing the rate of graduation from secondary school and participation in postsecondary education, and increasing student and family knowledge of postsecondary options at target GEAR UP schools.
The grant money will support TMCC's GEAR UP Ambassador position, who will target their efforts on GEAR UP middle and high schools, currently identified as Traner Middle School, Vaughn Middle School, Hug High School, and Wooster High School. TMCC staff and faculty, specifically TMCC Access, Outreach and Recruitment Program Director Patty Avila-Porter, will coordinate with other GEAR UP Ambassadors at UNR and Student Parent Involvement Facilitators at targeted middle and high schools to plan and implement activities to meet the goals identified above. Anticipated activities will include the creation of a “College Corner”, where students and their families can go to find information on how to prepare for college; financial aid nights at which students and their families will receive tip and tools on how to financially plan for college; and visits to local college campuses, in conjunction with already scheduled college events whenever possible, to help inspire and motivate students to continue their education.
Return to previous page | <urn:uuid:1e18121d-a71b-4d3e-b5b2-d018fcfd4064> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tmcc.edu/news/?articleid=1360 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963925 | 320 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Britain battened down the security hatches and a grandmother scaled the gates of Buckingham Palace to protest as the country braced for US President George W Bush to arrive today.
Bush's guardians, fearing an al-Qaeda attack, have insisted on top-level security, ruling out traditional events such as a horse-drawn carriage ride with the queen through the city.
The killing of 25 people in weekend suicide bombings of two synagogues in Istanbul raised tension still further, with the capital on high security alert only too aware that a strike could come anywhere and at any time.
But with all police leave cancelled in London and a record 14,000 officers on duty over the three-day state visit in anticipation of large-scale protests over the Iraq war, a newspaper poll gave Bush some cause to smile.
An ICM poll in the Guardian said that in contrast to most theories, 43 per cent of British voters welcomed the visit, while 36 per cent opposed it.
That didn't deter veteran Quaker anti-nuclear protester Lindis Percy, who scaled the six-metre high iron gates in front of the palace where Bush will stay for three nights after he arrives late today.
After unfurling an upside down US flag with the inscription "Elizabeth Windsor and Co. He's not welcome", Percy clung on for just over two hours before climbing down and being whisked away in a police van.
She was later bailed at Charing Cross police station.
On her release, Percy, a grandmother-of-four from Hull, said she was "amazed" at how easy it was for her to climb the gates without being stopped by police.
She had planned a protest in advance but did not think she would be able to climb the six-metre high gates.
Asked whether she was surprised that she had been able to, she said: "Incredibly surprised, which was worrying, deeply worrying.
"There are going to be thousands of people here on Thursday, I feel concerned for the police.
"I had just arrived, put my jacket on and got the flag out of my bag. There was not a policeman in sight along the gate so I just climbed the gate.
"My purpose was peaceful but the world is in such a state that anything could have happened. It is deeply concerning for all of us."
However, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman insisted there had been no breach of security.
She said: "The woman demonstrator did not enter the secure protected area of Buckingham Palace. As such there was there was no breach of security.
"The policing operation regarding the visit of President Bush does not start until today."
Bush's visit comes as fears of terror strikes and renewed global instability shake money markets.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's staunchest ally in his "war on terror", showed true grit, insisting: "Now is not the time to waiver. Now is the time to see it through."
Organisers of a major protest march through London planned for Thursday rejoiced when police finally granted permission for them to parade past key government buildings where Bush will be holding meetings.
"I would consider it to be a triumph for democracy and the peace movement," Kate Hudson, chairwoman of organiser CND told reporters, saying she expected 100,000 people to take part.
At the climax of the march in Trafalgar Square, protesters will topple a giant effigy of Bush in a symbolic repeat of the destruction by US troops in April of a statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"This does not mean that we support Saddam. He was a nightmare. But what Bush has done has not helped ordinary Iraqis at all. There is chaos there. Children are dying every day," Mell Harrison, 32, of the Theatre of War activist group said.
Police snipers will line the president's route on rooftops and all the capital's rapid response armed units are on full alert.
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Copyright © 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald.
|advertise | contact us| | <urn:uuid:8502999f-dd9a-4bd6-b923-c89a564050e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027109417.html?from=storyrhs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96729 | 845 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Sometimes It's Easier to Just Write Your SQL
Object-relational mapping (in the JPA compliant sense) is so ubiquitous nowadays in the Java development scene, that we rarely question ourselves if we really need it, and if not using it may be a better option.
In my experience, some systems benefit from using JPA technology
(most systems actually), but some do not, in fact I think some systems
become unnecessarily complicated and bigger because of it.
Imagine a mission critical system, in which you handle very big tables (be it in number of rows or sheer data size) and/or complicated queries. Usually in this scenario, the optimization and proper usage of the database is a bigger issue than how long it takes a developer to code a specific query or update sentence.
The scene I see repeating itself in a lot of projects is a code base that starts with very beautiful and elegant ORM based queries (be it API based, HQL or similar) and maybe a few native SQL queries for very specific features, but once the system is deployed to a production environment and faces reality you start to migrate to a code base where most (or all) of the database related interactions are expressed as native SQL queries so you can squeeze every ounce of performance your DBMS is capable of, and use all those vendor-specific features that make your use case 10 times faster than solving them on the Java side.
Wouldn’t it be better then, in cases similar to this one, to use a framework or design pattern lighter than a JPA compliant framework, and include the design and coding of SQL sentences from the beginning of the project?
If you think so, I encourage you to re-visit the DAO pattern and consider coding your data access layer yourself, or better yet, use a lightweight framework like MyBatis that provides a lot of useful features but is still based on writing your own SQL sentences.
(Note: Opinions expressed in this article and its replies are the opinions of their respective authors and not those of DZone, Inc.) | <urn:uuid:a3083c45-29d7-4469-b92d-b4245f41e581> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://java.dzone.com/articles/sometimes-its-easier-just | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932013 | 425 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Men I Have Painted/Sir Archibald Geikie
SIR ARCHIBALD GEIKIE
WHILE visiting Walter Tyndale, in Haslemere, he suggested that I should take advantage of the proximity of the President of the Royal Society, Sir Archibald Geikie, and make a portrait of him.
Sir Archibald gave me the whole day between breakfast and tea for the sittings. He did not take luncheon, for he had found that the day was broken in two by a useless and injurious meal, that after lunching the mind was in no condition for work because the body became torpid and dormant, and required repose. He maintained better health and accomplished more work by eating a good breakfast early in the morning, a good tea at four o'clock, and a substantial dinner at seven o'clock. Lord Leighton had adopted the same custom, with equally beneficial results.
I had the advantage of long sittings, which enabled me to complete the portrait very quickly. If I happened to be hungry, the Tyndales' house was next door, where Mrs. Tyndale always welcomed me. Sir Archibald and I were in complete agreement upon philosophical, political, and social questions, so that we found much pleasure in attacking the weak points in the flimsy armour of imaginary opponents. Sir Archibald, like John Tyndall, was a doughty champion of the truth that he had found in rocky mountains, in sandy valleys, and in fossils deep down in the strata of the earth—truth that had often exposed the aberrations of the mind of man, for, as he would no doubt have admitted had I put the matter before him, the only false thing on earth is man. Some few animals, like the fox and the spider and the dove, know how to deceive, but as a rule Nature does not lie.
But there was one subject broached which almost caused a serious rupture between Sir Archibald and myself. I had been asked to dinner to meet a few of his friends. During the repast the little fairies who buzz around to create mischief for their own amusement put it into my head to mention Bacon in connection with Shakespeare, when in an instant Sir Archibald turned very pink, and angrily declared that he would not have that heresy mentioned in his house, that it was a monstrous and disloyal thing to give tongue or ear to anything so detrimental to the honour of English traditions. I murmured a regret; but that, instead of appeasing him, seemed to irritate him the more until a frosty and still atmosphere settled over the table, and I thought we were all going to shrivel up. At last some tactful guest broke through the ice, and when a little wine had restored the circulation we settled down to the chicken and bacon, and concluded to swallow both Stratford-on-Avon and Verulam. | <urn:uuid:efcd84fc-2cc1-4dc5-ac59-ae3da4696fa5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Men_I_Have_Painted/Sir_Archibald_Geikie | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985579 | 604 | 1.710938 | 2 |
About this product:
Here's another hobby item that's perfect for all fans who want to make their own creations. This fun tool kit set features a variety of tools that you can use to make your own usable erasers. Use while in school, at home, or simply to admire knowing that you made these things with your own bare hands.
To create the erasers, simply apply the clay into the molds and design the eraser as you wish, place the creations inside the cup (that looks like a Chinese takeout box) fill with water, heat in the microwave for 5 mins, dump the hot water and cool down with fresh water. This version is a hamburger set which includes hamburger and fries case moldings, four colored clay, and various cut outs to bring that more authentic feel to your creations. This version features a chocolate theme which includes a paper cut outs of the box and wrappers. The molds can be used for many other crafts, including melting chocolates or molding kami-nendo (paper clay) toys. (instock) | <urn:uuid:ee4c28d0-4c0e-4714-8ebe-f3233918e6c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jbox.com/product/JPN073 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952451 | 221 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Note: This story has been modified to correct an error. Dr. Michael Notorangelo is a psychiatrist, not a psychologist as the story previously stated.
HARBOR SPRINGS — There’s a new way to treat depression without drugs and board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Michael Notorangelo has brought the treatment to his Hope by the Bay office in Harbor Springs.
The treatment is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS. Notorangelo notes that this method provides a safe, effective alternative for people, including adolescents, with major depressive disorder.
According to U.S. News and World Report, seven top psychiatry hospitals in the United States provide TMS therapy using NeuroStar equipment, including the Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins in Baltimore and the Neuropsychiatric Hospital at the University of California-Los Angeles.
“The first step in treating depression is usually anti-depression drugs,” Notorangelo said. “The problem is, they usually only work about a third of the time the first time they are prescribed. So what happens to the two-thirds of people who are not helped by the drugs?
“Now there is an alternative.”
Notorangelo described TMS as the next generation of depression treatment. TMS targets rapid magnetic pulses at the left pre-frontal cortex or the mood controlling area of the brain. Its use to treat the pain of depression has been proven successful through hundreds of tests over the past twenty years.
Because of the results of the treatments and the extensive testing that has been done, Notorangelo said “many medical insurance policies will cover the cost of the treatments.”
The Federal Drug Administration approved the use of TMS in 2008. Only board-certified psychiatrists can purchase and use the NeuroStar TMS therapy.
Notorangelo’s Hope by the Bay office is located at 229 E. Third St., Harbor Springs.
The practice can be reached at (231) 242-4673 and has a website at www.hopebythebay.net.
» The latest on traffic, delays and road construction delivered to your mobile phone. Click to sign up to receive text alerts! | <urn:uuid:fe48ddee-605b-4a5a-9e3e-84302de7140c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcall.com/topic/pnr-harbor-psychiatrist-offers-drugfree-depression-treatment-option-20120209,0,6925303.story | 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 | 0.930921 | 453 | 1.695313 | 2 |
To be an entrepreneur.
To be told “no” on a regular basis. To fight an uphill battle, to fall constantly.
I always joke with entrepreneurs I interview - I’d never want to step into their shoes.
Entrepreneurship is tough. There is constant failure.
Some of the greatest rewards come with the greatest risks, and often times those risks end in epic failure.
Not as many people talk about that. They don’t talk about the moments when you’re alone in your head, battling your worst enemy.
Often times we talk about huge wins, happy endings. Dark moments don’t always make it into print.
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs battle with the greatest demons. Having the ability to change the world, to disrupt the status quo, isn’t something to take lightly.
The people that do this are far from normal. It takes a thread of intensity that not everyone has and sometimes that intensity can do more harm than help.
I woke up to the news that internet entrepreneur Aaron Swartz committed suicide.
The word “tragedy” doesn’t do it justice.
To have all the ingredients to change the world, to have already made a huge dent, and to see the demons win, isn’t fair.
For those of us who live in extremes - extreme success, extreme failure, for those of us who are harder on ourselves than any critic and sometimes have trouble getting out of the dark, I say this - as dark as the world can be, it can be that light. As bad as it can be, it can be that good.
We aren’t always defined by our successes, it’s often our failures that makes us fight harder, see clearer.
Choosing to be an entrepreneur requires a respectful degree of insanity.
For those who are going through a tough time, I hope you know you’re not alone. The world is much better with your crazy ideas, your passion, and your ability to hack the status quo.
Don’t forget that.
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Civil society in cash crunch at Earth summit
Country: SOUTH AFRICA
Author: Manoah Esipisu
The so-called Global Forum is expected to bring to South Africa 40,000 activists, environmentalists, labour, youth and women's delegates for the WSSD from August 26 to September 4.
A follow-up to the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, the WSSD aims to map out a concrete set of action plans to reduce global poverty and the North/South income gap in a sustainable way without inflicting irreparable damage to the environment.
Desmond Lesejane, deputy CEO of the Civil Society Secretariat, acknowledged serious cash setbacks but said the forum would not be cancelled.
"It is a fact that we have not received the type of funds we required," Lesejane said.
He said that confusion over who was organising the civil society event - his group or the Johannesburg World Summit Company (JOWSCO) - had undermined fundraising.
JOWSCO is responsible for organising the inter-governmental or "official" meetings which will be attended by around 100 heads of state and 5,000 government delegations. JOWSCO says it expects a total of 65,000 delegates in all.
Lesejane said civil society groups now required 200 million rand ($19.8 million) to host the event, up from an initial estimated budget of 100-120 million rand. To date, they have received only 35 million rand.
Civil groups held an emergency meeting with Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa on Tuesday to press for a cash injection. They only won his pledge to help in fundraising and to clear the confusion with JOWSCO.
Work on the Global Forum venue, just south of Johannesburg, has not yet started. Accommodation is also proving to be a nightmare amid doubts that Johannesburg has hotel space for 65,000 people.
Lesejane said the government had now agreed to fund construction of the Global Forum venue at 20 million rand. Construction work will take 8-10 weeks from June 1 and analysts said it was possible the venue would not be ready in time.
Doubts have emerged on whether the civil society groups or the government will be ready in time for the summit.
"It is certainly looking worrying both for civil society and the (official) summits. It will be a big challenge to be ready in time but within the realms of possible," said Richard Worthington, a leading NGO official in Johannesburg. | <urn:uuid:0ebea8ec-ddc2-4537-bace-6904553543ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/16088/story.htm | 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 | 0.953959 | 520 | 1.617188 | 2 |
The city's consultants did their best during last week's open house but still couldn't convince many in the audience of the city's need to adopt impact and mitigation fees.
Concerns about increased housing costs driving growth elsewhere and shutting out borderline prospective buyers dominated questions from the audience of more than 60 people, including many developers and real estate agents.
City Manager Steve Burkett said city staff will review the consultants' studies and create a proposal for the council to consider.
The numbers shown as "proposed" are the maximum the city could charge based upon state law, he said.
If the council approves all the fees, it could add as much as $9,037 to the current $15,800 building permit cost for a single-family home in the city, including the general facilities charges for connecting to water and sewer service.
Funds for parks
The fees would target four areas: general government buildings, such as a new city hall; parks and recreation, such as improving Keeler Park; police and public safety buildings, such as a new police department; and transportation.
Randy Young, one of the city's consultants, said impact fees are collected at the building permit stage and are charged to residential construction by the dwelling unit and to commercial construction by the square foot.
The cost is added to the building permit and then to house's cost so it is not paid by the builders, he said.
Impact fees must be spent within six years of being received or be refunded, Young said.
"Very few cities let that happen," he said.
When developing the fees, they first they look at the city's growth forecast for 2030, Young said.
They based the fees on the city's population doubling in 20 years, which is a slower growth rate than the city's own comprehensive plan projects, he said.
Charged by 70 cities throughout the state, impact fees increase development costs but don't stop development, Young said.
The state's growth is occurring in many of the 70 cities charging the fees, he said.
Bill Henderson, another of the city's consultants, addressed three concerns generally raised regarding impact fees.
The first is people will build elsewhere, but those decisions aren't based just on cost, he said.
Henderson noted Spokane has low impact fees compared to those proposed for Sequim but that's only important if you want to live in Spokane.
Another concern is housing will become unaffordable, but other factors increase housing costs more than impact fees, he said.
A third concern is the timing is wrong, but delaying impact fees doesn't jump start the economy and there are other reasons for down times besides impact fees, he said.
"What about the human element?" said Kevin Russell of Clawson Construction.
"It will separate the ability of people to get a home and create a division of classes. There's got to be some balance," he said.
Steve Smith said he's both a builder and a real estate agent but lives outside the city so he doesn't have any say regarding the proposed fees.
The city's fees actually add $25,000 to a home's cost, not $9,000, because there's $16,000 in existing fees, which has a negative impact on sales, Smith said.
Young said most cities charge impact fees to builders although five cities charge them after construction.
What cities find is the market adjusts to the fees, he said.
Real estate agent Karen Pritchard said there's no affordable housing in Sequim, apartments don't count and Habitat for Humanity can't afford to build here.
This has a broader impact on human lives; a lot more people are affected than just those at the meeting, she said.
Opposed by NPBA
The country probably hasn't seen such a retraction of credit since the Great Depression, Pritchard said.
Real estate agent Brody Broker said the country didn't see four years of falling home prices during the Great Depression.
Young said impact fees have existed since 1992 and "we've had down times since then."
FaLeana Wech said
Sequim buyers are a "value market" and they can't absorb an additional $9,000.
Wech is the government affairs director for the North Peninsula Building Association. Sequim's home prices already are on the high end for cities without impact fees, she said.
Young said if he can't prove the need for a specific level of impact fees, then he can't defend it against a legal challenge.
Florida has more impact fees and higher impact fees than anywhere else and still attracts retirees, he said.
Fees face meetings
City staff, along with consultants Bill Henderson and Randy Young, will present comments and questions from impact fee presentations during a council study session from 5-6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
A public hearing is set for 6 p.m. Monday, March 8, followed by a council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 22, both at the Transit Center, where adopting the fees will be considered.
The rate studies used to determine the fees are available on the city's Web page (ci.sequim.wa.us); at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave.; City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St.; and the Planning and Public Works Department, 615 N. Fifth Ave.
Send written comments to the city manager at [email protected] or Sequim City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St. Sequim, WA 98382.
Reach Brian Gawley at [email protected].
The Sequim Gazette is located at 147 W. Washington Street in Sequim.
Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone 360-683-3311, or toll free at 800-829-5810. FAX 360-683-6670.
For a complete company directory with contact information please click HERE. | <urn:uuid:a32ca488-fcd5-4d78-8054-5326894e8068> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2010-02-17_open_house_crowd_questions_impact_fees | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964407 | 1,270 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Saleh Abu Muhareb, 54
I have two wives and 12 children, eight of whom are married. We all live together, about 900 meters from the border. Together with my sons and nephews, I have a 16-dunam (16,000 sq m) plot of land. In addition, we and a few other families rent about 70 dunams (70,000 sq m) of land, divided into several lots, along the border, east of Wadi a-Salqa. On that land, which has an irrigation system, we grew cauliflower, squash and other crops. This land provides a livelihood for some 45 persons. Sometimes, we hired people to help us work the land.
At the beginning of the second intifada, in 2000-2001, the Israeli army cleared a 16-dunam olive orchard on the land we rented and damaged the well. A year later, we replanted the olive orchard, but the well remained closed. At the present time, of the 70 dunams that we rent, we’ve managed to work only 40 of them. It breaks my heart to look from a distance at the 30 dunams that are not being cultivated.
In 2008, I planted 17 dunams of wheat, but when harvest time came, I couldn’t get to the land because the army fired at us whenever we tried to go there. That year, we lost the entire crop and had no wheat and no straw for the animals. We have 15 sheep, a cow and a horse. This plot still has no crops growing on it.
During the plowing season, the tractor owners refuse to plow land near the border. More than once, the army fired at the tractor that was plowing our land. There is no work in the Gaza Strip, and young people can’t work in other occupations, especially since Israel imposed a siege on Gaza.
The army claims that they fire only at persons who come within 300 meters of the perimeter fence, but that isn’t true. In many cases, soldiers fired at us when we were 600 or 700 meters from the border. Furthermore, they also fire arbitrarily, and the shots reach our house. At night, we hide in our houses and don’t go outside after ten at night because of the scary security situation.
The sound of the gunfire frightens my small grandchildren a lot, and when the army fires bullets and mortars, some of them pee in their pants and others tremble in fear. The roof of our house is made of asbestos and tin. The walls are cracked due to the shaking caused by the mortar shelling in the area, and I’m afraid that the ceiling will collapse on our head. We have no place to go and live, or other land to farm.
Saleh Suliman Salem Abu Muhareb, 54, married with 12 children, is a farmer and lives in Wadi a-Salqa, Deir al-Balah District, Gaza Strip. The testimony was given to Khaled ‘Azayzeh on 22 September 2011 at the witness’s house. | <urn:uuid:ebf46e08-7b41-4e47-9c83-8c12403fe63f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.btselem.org/testimonies/20110922_abu_muhareb_farmer_near_israel_gaza_border | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958976 | 650 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Italy’s president has already reacted sensitively to a German diplomatic slur after last weekend’s election. Now, Giorgio Napolitano, is insisting Italy is not a risk to the euro.
The formation of a government he says cannot be rushed. The election in heavily indebted Italy failed to provide a clear winner, and talks on the formation of a coalition have been difficult and fruitless so far.
More than half of the votes went to parties that reject sending cuts and budget reforms.
The high vote count for Silvio Berlusconi’s centre right alliance and the anti-political party of Genovese comedian Beppe Grillo, has clearly spooked Italy’s eurozone partners leading to these controversial remarks on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports. | <urn:uuid:2ff7fb4e-19e1-4954-b8c5-59fcd894856c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/video/europe/2013/03/20133115349452312.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946745 | 163 | 1.5 | 2 |
The Ketchup War that Never Was: Burger Giants' Link to Heinz
What if there was a Ketchup War, yet no one showed up to fight?
The surprise deal that saw Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital Management swoop in this with a $28 billion bid for ketchup maker H.J. Heinz, came with an interesting wrinkle that links two of the world's biggest burger behemoths.
Call it two degrees of supply chain separation: 3G owns a majority stake in Burger King, which is a direct competitor of McDonald's. Heinz — now partly owned and likely to be run by 3G — supplies red sauce to both fast food giants.
Heinz new ownership structure raised an improbable, yet plausible, possibility. If the new bosses at 3G wanted to squeeze Burger King's competition, it could terminate the agreement to supply Heinz ketchup to McDonalds.
To be certain, no industry analysts have called such a scenario,or are even willing to consider it. A clutch of analysts who cover Heinz were contacted by CNBC, and dismissed the idea. Even more importantly, consumers could be turned off by such corporate hardball, especially if executed by a venerable and normally squeaky-clean consumer icon like Heinz.
Yet at least in theory, a ketchup supply disruption could send the Golden Arches scrambling to fill a void left by a key condiment supplier.
Pittsburgh-based Heinz commands a 60 percent market share in the U.S., with ConAgra's Hunt's ketchup its nearest competitors with less than 20 percent of the market. Heinz share of markets abroad is even larger.
In other words, Heinz rules the global ketchup market in ways few other companies can. At a minimum, the deal shines a light on an area of food services that gets little attention: the supply of condiments and little items that add the finishing touches to the fast food experience.
Still, using Heinz to squeeze McDonald's "would be a little tough to pull off. My feeling is you've got to be careful about stuff like that," said Jack Trout, a marketing strategist at Trout & Partners.
The brand consultant pointed out that customers go to fast-food establishments for their sandwiches and not their sauces. In addition, the fallout may not be worth the arguably tantalizing prospect of watching two corporate giants slug it out in a cold war, using ketchup as a weapon.
"I don't think they want to get into, and secondly why," Trout said. "When people are showing up for a Big Mac or a Whopper, the subject of what ketchup is out there is not important." | <urn:uuid:60b74836-7a04-4551-b3f1-cbf5915a5d06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnbc.com/id/100464841 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954776 | 547 | 1.765625 | 2 |
UK prime minister David Cameron:
Prime Minister David Cameron said the death of the former dictator was an occasion to remember his victims, while hailing it as a chance for a "democratic future" for Libya.
The Prime Minister continued: "People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future. I am proud of the role that Britain has played in helping them to bring that about and I pay tribute to the bravery of the Libyans who helped to liberate their country. We will help them, we will work with them and that is what I want to say today."
In a short, sombre statement outside 10 Downing Street, Cameron said Libyan interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil had confirmed to him that Gaddafi had been killed in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday.
"I think today is a day to remember all of Colonel Gaddafi's victims, from those who died in connection with the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, to Yvonne Fletcher in a London street, and obviously all the victims of IRA terrorism who died through their use of Libyan Semtex," he said.
“The death of Muammar el-Qaddafi is good news for the people of Libya. It should bring the end of conflict there, and help them move closer to elections and a real democracy.
“The United States should work closely with Libya to ensure the transition is successful, and that a stable, peaceful nation emerges.
“The U.S. must also take an active role in ensuring the security of any remaining stockpiles of Qaddafi's weapons. These weapons pose a real danger to the United States and our allies, and we cannot help secure them through simple observation.”
Mitt Romney (on the Randy Renshaw radio show):
Randy Renshaw: “There’s late breaking news this morning that Muammar Qaddafi may have been killed. Your immediate reaction to that if that’s the case.”
Mitt Romney: “I have seen those reports and if accurate I think the response is ‘About time.’ This was a tyrant who has been killing his own people and of course is responsible for the lives of American citizens lost in the Lockerbie attack. And I think people across the world recognize that the world is a better place without Muammar Qaddafi.”
U.S. senator Marco Rubio:
Justice has been done today. For decades, Muammar Gaddafi terrorized the Libyan people, bankrolled international terrorism and spread instability among its neighbors. He masterminded numerous terrorist attacks that resulted in the death of hundreds of fellow Americans. We are impressed with the tenacity of the Libyan people in reclaiming their freedoms and honor the service of American and NATO forces that courageously assisted on this endeavor. Gaddafi has now joined the list of failed and disgraced tyrants that have faced justice from their own people. We still have a long and arduous road ahead as we partner with the free Libyan people to build a more prosperous and democratic future.
U.S. senator Mark Kirk:
Today marks the end of Qadhafi's reign and a new opportunity for freedom, prosperity and a voice in the global community for Libyans. The Administration, especially Secretary Clinton, deserve our congratulations. | <urn:uuid:f1c7018c-f926-4358-9baa-46d19ab23a19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/blogs/reactions-qaddafis-death_598350.html?nopager=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972061 | 686 | 1.6875 | 2 |
By Helen Blakesley,
Here in Benin, the roads have re-opened, the banners are down, you could say “the Pope has left the building”.
But for one Catholic priest, working in the Diocese of Abomey, 2 hours north of the capital Cotonou, “out of sight” is certainly not “out of mind”.
Father Eustache Nobimè is Diocesan Coordinator for Catholic Relief Services’ partner organization Caritas. He’s been a priest for 11 years. And this was his first Papal sighting. Father Eustache got closer than most – he met Pope Benedict in the small coastal town of Ouidah when His Holiness came to speak to members of West Africa’s oldest seminary, Saint Gall.
“It was really emotional for me,” Father Eustache confided. “I bless the Lord that He gave me this opportunity to see him. Even if I didn’t have the chance to touch him or shake his hand, at least I can say that I’ve seen the Pope with my own eyes! It’s a great joy.”
But we’re not just talking another case of being star struck by the Pontiff’s presence. It goes deeper than that for the Father. He believes the visit will have a lasting effect on him and his country.
“For me and for all Catholics here, the visit has given us pride in our faith, and a pride in being a member of a big family. It shows us we have our place in the world and we have our own voice, with our own word to say.”
After visiting the seminary where Father Eustache trained, Pope Benedict XVI presided over a ceremony in Ouidah’s basilica, just across the street from the town’s voodoo Python Temple. Voodoo priests had been invited to take part too. The ceremony was for the signing of the Apostolic Exhortation—the Pledge For Africa—the Holy Father’s ‘papal roadmap’ for the future of the Church on the continent.
For Father Eustache, the recommendations, which are based on the theme of ‘reconciliation, justice and peace’, are extremely pertinent and much needed.
“In Africa there are wars : between countries and ethnicities, wars about mineral wealth and politics. People are obliged to flee into the forests or to neighboring countries. I’m hoping that the Exhortation will help us to solve these tensions,” he said.
“We need to take the road of reconciliation. But reconciliation without justice will not bring a solid peace. Justice without reconciliation would be like pure vengeance or score settling. So, we need both reconciliation and justice so we can have real peace in Africa.”
Caritas in the Diocese of Abomey is going to make sure that believers at all levels will be able to share in the document and understand its guidance. The organization plans on inviting a representative from all 60 parishes in the diocese, to study the pledge together and ask questions. They’ll each then take back that new understanding to their parish, to be put into practice there.
The high point of Pope Benedict’s second visit to Africa was, for some, an open-air Mass at the Friendship Stadium in Cotonou in front of tens of thousands of faithful. The Pope’s homily struck a chord with Father Eustache. Largely a reflection on the gospel reading from St. Matthew: “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’” His Holiness emphasized the importance of caring for the poor, the weak and the marginalized.
This is at the root of Father Eustace’s work with Caritas and the work of the Church in Benin. “We play a deeply social, deeply human role. We work for the promotion of women. We care for those who are disabled – physically or mentally. People living in dire poverty. The Church is dedicated to these people, so we can give them back their dignity as a child of God,” Father explained.
“I think that the Pope’s visit will comfort the Church in Benin, will strengthen it and allow it to play this role.”
So, Benedict XVI may have physically left the soil of Africa, but he’s left behind him words of encouragement, and a hope that Africa will become the “spiritual lung” of humankind. Father Eustache Nobimè will be holding on to that encouragement.
“When you see the real misery, the destitution amongst our people, you sometimes ask yourself ‘will we be able to get through this?’ You can get discouraged or demotivated. But then you have to say to yourself, God will do His work through us, we are but instruments in His hands. The fight goes on!”
“The Pope’s visit has encouraged me to serve the Church through the work that has been entrusted to me. To help the poor, the vulnerable, the downtrodden, so that their human dignity might be affirmed.”
Helen Blakesley is CRS’ regional information officer for West and Central Africa. She is based in Dakar, Senegal.
One Response to “Benedict XVI in Benin: A Lasting Impression”
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Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. | <urn:uuid:022c5551-53fb-4ce7-9c55-f0846ed81e40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crs-blog.org/benedict-xvi-in-benin-a-lasting-impression/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958926 | 1,206 | 1.679688 | 2 |
There’s no denying Bernie Taupin’s legacy as one of the greatest songsmiths of all time. After all, he’s penned some of the most memorable pop-rock tunes in history, including Heart’s “These Dreams,” Starship’s “We Built This City” and Willie Nelson’s “Mendocino County Line.”
“To me [he’s] the greatest lyric writer that ever lived on the face of the planet,” once declared Axl Rose, the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses.
But the 61-year-old Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee is best known for his longtime musical partnership with the one and only Sir Elton John. Together they’ve composed more than 30 albums and crafted timeless classics like “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Candle in the Wind” and “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” to name just a few.
“Without Bernie, basically, there wouldn’t have been an Elton John,” once stated Elton John, who was first paired up with Taupin by a record executive at England’s Liberty Records more than 40 years ago. “I mean, without that stroke of good fortune and kismet as it were, Elton John probably wouldn’t have happened. I’m just a purveyor of Bernie’s feelings, Bernie’s thoughts.”
Taupin’s extraordinary way with words dates back to his early childhood in Lincolnshire, England, where he developed an enormous interest in literature and narrative poetry. His parents cultivated that fascination by reading him great epic poems.
“Family and creativity are the driving forces in my life… Books, art, music, nature, the world around us and the experience of having had parental guidance that encouraged an appetite for stepping outside the box,” proclaims Taupin, who never had much of an interest in traditional schooling but always demonstrated a flair for writing. “Having a strong passionate family to lean on and draw inspiration from is like being in the best gang in town.”
Despite his continued collaborative partnership with artists Elton John and his hosting duties on the “American Roots Radio” program on Sirius XM Radio, Taupin’s astounding artistry extends well beyond music. When he isn’t composing inspired lyrics or paying homage to his heroes, Taupin demonstrates his brushstrokes of genius by creating visual works of art.
“Canvas to me is simply the visual extension of what I have spent my life creating through words,” reveals Taupin, who paints at his in-home studio in Santa Barbara County, California. “I have no formula except that which comes from what I dream, feel and see. To me colors are like words…they express emotions. Likewise, texture and mediums display an abundance of moods. The imagination, in my estimation, is the most powerful tool the artist possesses, enabling us to conjure up beautiful distractions for the ears and eyes.”
Recently Taupin partnered with the Limelight Agency, which specializes in representing celebrity artists, to exhibit his multimedia paintings in art spaces across the globe. He’s not only wowing the world with his captivating canvases; Taupin’s seeing an enormous increase in requests for in-gallery appearances. He’ll even visit Tampa Bay in the coming weeks for a special exhibit of his works. (See sidebar.)
“Any form of appreciation for one’s work is gratifying,” admits Taupin, who says while projects come and go, painting is a constant in his life. “But for my own reasons, I would rather the observer [of my work] discard with titles and draw upon their own imagination to read into them what they will…good, bad or indifferent. It will cause stimulation and that’s reward enough.”
So whether he’s painting a masterpiece that incites personal reflection or composing a classic tune that touches the hearts of millions, it seems there’s no limit to Taupin’s imagination or creativity.
For more information on Bernie Taupin’s music and art, visit www.BernieJTaupin.com.
Presenting the Works of Bernie Taupin
It could be considered one Tampa Bay’s most important art events of the year. Beginning on September 24, Michael Murphy Gallery in South Tampa will present “Beyond Words,” an exhibition of Bernie Taupin’s artworks. The special retrospective will run through Sunday, October 2, and conclude with special appearances by Taupin on the final two days of the showing.
For more information and to RSVP, call Michael Murphy Gallery at (813) 902-1414.
Tom Castañeda is a creative writer, blogger, and award-winning broadcast journalist who has worked at Architectural Digest, In Touch Weekly, and Latina – a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine for today’s bi-cultural Latina woman. Throughout his career in publishing, Tom has planned and executed numerous celebrity, fashion, and beauty programs throughout the country, including fashion shows, and shopping events for brands like Bloomingdale’s, Chanel, Mikimoto, David Yurman, Givenchy, Armani Fragrances, Macy’s, Southpole Collection, and more. Additionally, Tom has drawn on his strong journalism background to create various print, online, and video reports on various subjects, including fashion and beauty. | <urn:uuid:971bf24f-fac4-4b74-8be8-0fcecc66367e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.panachevue.com/category/tampa-bay/2011-tampa-bay/september-2011-tampa-bay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952211 | 1,190 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Organisations seeking to open their own schools under the Government’s education reforms have been repeatedly intimidated by groups ideologically opposed to the programme, the Education Secretary warned.
In some cases, existing teachers who support the scheme are being hounded out of their jobs, it was claimed.
The comments were made as the Department for Education was forced to release details of all organisations applying to open free schools.
Data released after a long-running battle shows that 517 separate bids have been made for new schools, which are taxpayer-funded institutions run completely independent of local council control, in the last two years.
Of those, around a quarter of applications were by faith-based organisations, including those named as Muslim, Plymouth Brethren, Orthodox Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and Greek Orthodox.
The DfE had opposed a Freedom of Information request for the data, claiming that naming applicants before bids were provisionally approved would deter future organisations from coming forward.
Free schools have proved hugely unpopular with teaching unions and left-wing pressure groups who claim they are undemocratic and may pull pupils away from existing schools – placing them under threat of closure.
But Mr Gove claimed that opposition to the scheme had “gone further than normal healthy debate”, with at least one applicant facing death threats and others losing their jobs.
He also suggested that the release of the latest information – ordered by the Information Commissioner – may subject future applicants to similar treatment.
In a letter to Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, he said: “We are aware of personal attacks on individuals who simply want to improve educational standards and choice locally.
“Organisations opposed to free schools have run hostile publicity campaigns. In some cases these have become highly personal, vilifying individuals involved in opening a free school.
“We have been told of instances where teachers have lost their jobs simply by virtue of their association with a free school application.
“One proposer has even told us that they have been the subject of a death threat.
“It is because we wanted to protect public-spirited volunteers from intimidation that we fought against the ruling.”
The British Humanist Association originally submitted an FOI request for data about the religious affiliations of organisations seeking to open free schools. The request was turned down by the DfE but subsequently overturned by the Information Commissioner.
Free schools have been opposed by teaching unions such as the National Union of Teachers and the NASUWT. They have also been attacked by the Social Workers Party.
Toby Young, the writer, who was behind a successful bid to open a free school in west London in 2011, said he had been subjected to intimidation over the move.
“The NUT shop steward in my part of west London circulated a document to the local council on NUT-headed paper falsely accusing me of, among other things, sleeping with prostitutes,” he said.
Richy Thompson, BHA faith schools campaigner, welcomed the release of the data but insisted it underestimated the involvement of faith groups.
“We believe the true number of religious schools is likely to be a third to 50% higher than what the data implies,” he said. “This is because it only shows schools with a formally designated religious character, and not those with a ‘faith ethos’. Academies and free schools can be religious without formally designating as ‘faith’ schools.” | <urn:uuid:e8d84e7b-f409-4ae9-a8ba-7af043100c0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9881384/Michael-Gove-free-school-applicants-subjected-to-death-threats.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975562 | 708 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Three Palestinians, including an infant, were murdered in a
roadside shooting near Hebron on July 19, apparently by a Jewish extremist
group calling itself the Committee for Road Safety. Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres vowed that Israel will apprehend those who perpetrated the
abominable murder ... and will punish them to the fullest extent of the
law. Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, deplored that attack,
condemning all forms of violence and terrorism no matter who carries them
Reporting the attack, the New York Times erroneously
termed the perpetrators vigilantes rather than terrorists or
extremists. In response, CAMERA sent the following letter to the New York
Times Foreign Desk:
July 23, 2001
Dear Mr. Schmemann,
In his July 21 and July 23
articles, Clyde Haberman used the term "vigilante" to describe the
persons who killed 3 Palestinians in a drive-by shooting. This word implies
that the victims were criminals who deserved the death penalty.
According to the American Heritage dictionary,
a "vigilante" is "one who takes, or advocates the taking of, law
enforcement into one's own hands."
The Palestinians in the car were not known
criminals, which means that the shooters were not "vigilantes," but
terrorists. People who shoot at innocent civilians (uninvolved in violence) for
political reasons are terrorists.
The Israeli government is calling the snipers a
"terror cell" and Prime Minister Sharon has condemned the shooting as
an act of "terror." The AP describes the killers as "a Jewish
extremist group." All of these labels are more appropriate than
I hope that in future Mr. Haberman will label
all such drive-by shooters, whether they are Palestinians or Israelis, as
A similar letter was sent to the Los Angeles Times, which also
mislabeled the attackers as vigilantes. | <urn:uuid:f9f9d85f-1777-4cb0-80bc-08ccb8b68d21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=35&x_article=112 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948566 | 403 | 1.804688 | 2 |
In October it will be still very warm. You can expect some rain from time to time, because we are at the beginning of the rain season. For nocturnal trips shirts with long sleeves are fine.
The Amazon region will be very humid, but temperature rarely gets hotter than 27°C
In most lodges they accept besides the Brazilian Currency also Euros or US dollars. Changing your money into local currency is possible at the airports and in almost every city. Our guide can also take you to places where you can change money.
It is recommended to drink only bottled water. Because Brazil is a tropical country, it is very easy to quickly become dehydrated. Drink plenty of water.
A good insect repellent is very important. Also some product to reduce the results of insect bites.
Local taxis are available in most Brazilian cities of any size and most all are metered. Just make sure you always use a legitimate taxi. This is pretty easy if you have your hotel or restaurant hail or call a taxi for you (they know), only use taxis that are lined up at a ponto de taxi (taxi stand) or call a radio taxi service.
Electric current in Brazil varies widely—from 100 to 127 volts or 220 to 240 volts and from 50 to 60Hz—even within the same city, building, apartment or office. Some cities in Brazil only use 220 volts. Check the power adapters of you laptop, battery chargers and other electric appliances before you go. Many are designed to automatically accommodate input current from 110 to 250 volts while others are only for 110. | <urn:uuid:2d550cea-ecef-4be5-838b-849dc4eb27c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldwide-birding-tours.com/birding-tours/americas/brazil/facts-and-travel-tips.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945471 | 323 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The word on the street about VAT
There are two theories doing the rounds among senior retail bosses about potential VAT increases after the election. These are nothing more than wine bar chat – but they come from the people who run our high street shops and therefore have their ears close to the ground. These people also have the most to fear. It is their staff who will have to alter millions of prices and their balance sheets that could be knocked for six if VAT on the goods they sell is hiked up.
Theory number one is that the Tories – if they get in – will have a look at the state of the public finances in the early summer, throw their hands up in "mock horror" and increase VAT from 17.5pc to 20pc for three years. The Tory's argument will be that they had no idea how bad things were until they were allowed into the data room.
Theory number two is that a VAT "supertax" will be slapped onto luxury goods – watches, jewellery, designer handbags etc. The figure of 20pc-22.5pc is being talked of. This could be seen as the lesser of the two evils by the next Government. Luxury goods are the ultimate discretionary spend, they are by definition bought by richer people, and they are popular among tourists, who can't vote. This "supertax" would therefore allow the Government to avoid the poisonous accusation that it has implemented a regressive tax.
Although this is just chit-chat among business leaders, there is rarely smoke without fire when it comes to this kind of thing. Whitehall officials and retail bosses have been kicking round options for weeks now (including the implementation of VAT on groceries). Watch this space.
Tesco's new boss needs to be a Mourinho not a Ferguson
February 28th, 2011 19:56
Exclusive: Argos-owner considered Blacks bid
January 26th, 2011 18:27
Ding ding! Tesco and Sainsbury's limber up for an almighty tussle
January 14th, 2011 12:15
Has the CD passed its shelf life?
January 5th, 2011 15:45
Tesco is not good at everything – just ask Nadine Coyle
December 7th, 2010 12:34 | <urn:uuid:494aacb3-f10a-4ba5-acd0-993590ec1e0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jameshall/100004881/the-word-on-the-street-about-vat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972969 | 470 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Costa-Gavras Returns to Form "Amen."
by Peter Brunette
While it hardly breaks new cinematic ground, Costa-Gavras' latest film, "Amen.," shown here Wednesday in the competition, is a solid, even engrossing drama whose central theme, the reluctance of the Vatican to speak out about Nazi atrocities during World War II, is brilliantly explored in all its aching complexity. There is no bitter condemnation of the Pope here, as some Catholics might fear, but rather a sensitive probing of the multiple agendas at work, with no one -- except the Nazis -- being singled out for blame. The Greek-born, Paris-based Costa-Gavras has always been one the world's finest political filmmakers, with triumphs such as "Z," "The Confession," and "Missing," to his credit, and it is very good indeed to see him back in form here after more recent missteps such as the Hollywood film "Mad City," which starred John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman.
Basing his story on Rolf Hochhuth's famous 1963 play "The Representative," Costa-Gavras does a fine job of opening the film up beyond its original theatrical frame. The Holocaust is, tragically, all too cinematic to begin with, and that has helped. But even the dramatic encounters between two or three people in small rooms, successfully avoid the deadly whiff of the stage. Nor, thank Heaven, is anyone allowed to give speeches, and thus the dialogue always rings true.
Interestingly, one of the central characters, Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur), the inventor of Zyklon-B gas and devoted Christian who takes it upon himself to alert the world about what the Nazis are doing to the Jews, is based on a real-life person, while his counterpart, the "representative," Father Riccardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), who seeks condemnation of the Nazis from the Holy Father, is a fictional character. The blending of fact and fiction, however, is seamless and the each man's struggle to bear Christian witness is convincing and powerful. The Jewish-French actor Kassovitz (a well-known director in his own right, who recently starred in "Amélie") is nuanced and believable as an Italian priest. Tukur does a nice job of conveying the multiple, even contradictory aspects of the SS officer's personality; he is a devoted father, a bon vivant host, a convinced moralist, and an efficient scientist who comes to regret having invented the toxic gas which was intended to be used on vermin, not people.
Many of the film's best moments come in encounters between fathers and sons, on both the German side as well as the Italian, with the priest's father being an especially richly drawn character who eventually sees the light. Gerstein's father, in contrast, never does, and his and his son's differing visions of their country's honor are carefully distinguished without ever losing dramatic punch. Even the American reluctance to save the Jews through negotiation with Hitler, as articulated by the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, seems horrifying yet almost justifiable, given the Americans' desire to crush the Germans militarily before all else.
One thing that European critics here at the Berlinale have complained about is the fact that the film was shot almost entirely in English. In this particular city, so drenched with such sad history, the film's language did make it seem slightly artificial, but this should not be a problem for audiences in America (if and when it gets U.S. distribution, which it certainly deserves). Perhaps expecting this sort of criticism, the filmmakers included the following quite reasonable statement at the beginning of the press book: "'Amen.' is a 100% French production in association with Germany. English was the language uniting our German, French, Romanian, Italian and American actors." The only jarring note comes when the German characters occasionally break into song, in German, but presumably this fault can be remedied by some judicious dubbing.
Another challenge for all Holocaust-themed movies, of course, is avoiding the iconology of roundup and train cars, whose very familiarity can numb us to the human tragedy we witness on screen. Costa-Gavras gets around this by shooting most of these scenes at night, which makes them feel fresh, and, most importantly, by allowing us to see everything through Gerstein's incredulous eyes as he discovers what's going on in those "work" camps in Poland. By this means, Costa-Gavras allows us to re-experience these potentially clichéd events in all their original horror. Where he is less successful is in his repeated use of an empty train, puffing black smoke as it roars through the night to the accompaniment of frenzied strings. The first few times you see this motif, it's haunting, but it quickly becomes affected. Every other aspect of the director's filmmaking is, as always, thoroughly competent, but never especially exciting or imaginative. Luckily, the drama itself is tense and thematically complicated enough to keep the viewer closely involved. | <urn:uuid:e141cb23-fb47-40af-ad68-1ca7454588da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiewire.com/article/costa-gavras_returns_to_form_amen | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971159 | 1,052 | 1.570313 | 2 |
A friend of mine likes to talk about "policy cicadas"--policy ideas that remain buried for years, sometimes decades, until they suddenly surface and swarm the entire legislative process. They finally have their day.
Hurricane Katrina is a great example of the kind of storm that brings out the policy cicadas. A massive crisis, a call for dramatic action and the sudden appearance of a ton of money--these are the conditions that will bring long-buried policy ideas out into the open quickly.
President George W. Bush--not exactly a policy wonk by nature--has proposed a slew of new initiatives, ranging from the "Gulf Opportunity Zone" (a variation on enterprise zones) to "Worker Recovery Accounts" (a variation on health and retirement accounts). Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, enlisted architect Andres Duany and a cadre of "New Urbanists" to tour 11 devastated communities and make recommendations about how they should be rebuilt. Not surprisingly, Duany concluded that reconstruction should proceed according to New Urbanist principles.
Even the amateur policy wonks are having their day. Bloggers have proposed everything from flooding New Orleans streets with water--a la Venice--to rebuilding it as a floating city that rises and falls with the water
All of these discussions, however, really boil down to one fundamental economic development question facing the Gulf region: How should the public infrastructure be rebuilt? Despite the many different policy ideas floating around, everybody agrees that the public infrastructure has been devastated; everybody agrees it needs to be rebuilt; and everybody agrees it will be rebuilt mostly with federal money. (Indeed, Democrats have had trouble crafting a pro- active response to Katrina, largely because Republicans have usurped the traditional Democratic strategy of throwing huge amounts of federal money at the problem.)
This is where some of the policy cicadas--and even some of the crazy ideas--might come in handy. Katrina's devastation was so vast that it would seem to create a huge opportunity to rethink things. Maybe New Orleans should be on pontoons. Maybe the entire Gulf should become a kind of tax-free zone for a while. Maybe New Orleans should consider, as one wag suggested, rebuilding itself to be prosperous and ugly like Houston, rather than charming and poor.
But in the end, none of these ideas are likely to be seriously considered, and the policy cicadas are likely to go back underground with little overall impact. Natural disasters and their public policy responses, it seems, follow a familiar pattern, even in extreme cases like Katrina.
At first everyone is horrified that our society could put so many people in harm's way, so the initial impulse is to rebuild differently and move everybody somewhere else. But this "change window" is short. Over time, the accumulated effect of the televised sob stories begins to have an impact. Hundreds of thousands of people just want to have their lives back the way they were before. And gradually, the public policy responses--and the money--will begin to flow toward that goal.
After the disastrous fires in the Oakland hills in 1991, for example, California officials began to question the wisdom of continuing to permit people to live on narrow, winding streets on firetrap hillsides. In the end, the folks were allowed to stay, albeit with more fireproof houses. This same pattern has been seen over and over again in Laguna Beach and Malibu, the rich and beautiful but fire- prone oceanfront playgrounds around Los Angeles.
When hurricanes flatten South Florida or the barrier islands in the Carolinas, nobody moves. They rebuild and play the odds. When floods ravage the typical river city, few people move to higher ground. Insurance policies shift, but only gradually; there is too much public sentiment and too much private investment at stake to monkey with the status quo very much. People return and rebuild as before, trying to build stronger and more resistant to natural forces.
And so it will be in the Gulf. Sooner or later we'll stop talking about pontoons, opportunity zones and an ugly but prosperous New Orleans. We'll rebuild the levees, only we'll make them bigger and stronger in the hope that they can withstand whatever hurricanes and floods might hit in the future. We might restore a few wetlands along the way, and we'll probably build stronger buildings that can withstand winds. But in the end, New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast will look a lot like it did before. And the policy cicadas will go underground again.
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to | <urn:uuid:cc5eb92d-eacd-4bd4-a81e-e79af3264e70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.governing.com/columns/eco-engines/A-Season-to-Swarm.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949967 | 940 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Citing drought that has led to low water levels, Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken asked in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee this week to add money to support the dredging of Great Lakes harbors and channels so as not to disrupt shipping. The senators are hoping the committee will add the support to current legislation already being considered on the Senate floor. They warn in the letter that certain ports along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway will be to shallow in coming months to accommodate full loads, leading to inefficient shipping.
Water levels in Lake Superior are status quo, and the Duluth-Superior port does not have to worry about the extra dredging that would come from the proposed legislation, according to Adele Yorde of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. But Yorde added that if shallow water affects shipping at any of the nearly 140 Great Lakes ports, it affects the port here. For example, a ship leaving the Duluth harbor knowing that a port in Lake Huron is shallow, it would be forced to leave cargo behind. | <urn:uuid:a5bacc00-2128-40cc-bd96-463b60c08488> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radiousa.com/news/articles/2012/dec/21/mn-senators-ask-for-dredging-dollars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954693 | 217 | 1.8125 | 2 |
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`* My Msn *´
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Alias; (Miss Alice)
Master of black magic, a witch
Leviathan (pronounced / Modern Livyatan; "twisted, coiled"), is a sea monster referred to in the Torah (the Christian Old Testament). The word leviathan has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature.
mentioned in the books of Daniel and Revelation
In Christian literature, the Leviathan has often been used as an image of Satan, endangering both God's creatures—by attempting to eat them—and God's creation
A similar view was taken by St. Thomas Aquinas, who described Leviathan as the demon of envy and the demon who is first in punishing the corresponding sinners.
One of the most famous literary references to Satan comes from this passage in William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
" But now, from between the black & white spiders, a cloud and fire burst and rolled thro' the deep blackening all beneath, so that the nether deep grew black as a sea, & rolled with a terrible noise; beneath us was nothing now to be seen but a black tempest, till looking east between the clouds & the waves, we saw a cataract of blood mixed with fire, and not many stones' throw from us appeared and sunk again the scaly fold of a monstrous serpent; at last, to the east, distant about three degrees appeared a fiery crest above the waves; slowly it reared like a ridge of golden rocks, till we discovered two globes of crimson fire, from which the sea fled away in clouds of smoke; and now we saw, it was the head of Leviathan; his forehead was divided into streaks of green & purple like those on a tiger’s forehead: soon we saw his mouth & red gills hang just above the raging foam tinging the black deep with beams of blood, advancing toward us with all the fury of a spiritual existence. "
The term Leviathan to describe the size and power of Satan, the ruler of many kingdoms.
In Satanism, according to occult author Anton LaVey, Leviathan represents the element of Water and the direction of West. The element of Water in Satanism is associated with life and creation, and may be represented by a Chalice during ritual. In the Satanic Bible, Leviathan is listed as one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell. This association was inspired by the demonic hierarchy from The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage.
Additionally, the Church of Satan uses the Hebrew letters at each of the points of the Sigil of Baphomet to represent Leviathan. Starting from the lowest point of the pentagram, and reading counter-clockwise, the word reads "לִוְיָתָן". Translated, this is (LVIThN) Leviathan.
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See only: The BA Foodist
How We Discovered Our "Perfect Pot of Rice" Technique
This past month, cooking grains has been our jam. Oddly enough, one of the most common grains--rice--is the trickiest to get right. Knowing this, our test kitchen set out to find a master recipe: We made nearly a dozen pots of long-grain white rice in different ways for a side-by-side comparison. Here were the variables we played with:
1. Rice to liquid ratio
With one cup of long-grain rice, we tried 1 cup of water, 1 1/4 cups water, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 3/4 cups water.
2. How much salt
We tried 1/8 tsp, 1/4 tsp, and 1/2 tsp. of salt.
3. Stirring or no stirring
We tried both.
4. Fat or no fat
Before adding them to the liquid, we toasted kernels in oil, and we toasted kernels in butter.
5. Cooking time and steaming time
We cooked pots between 15 and 20 minutes and experimented with steaming the rice between 5 and 15 minutes.
Of course, in this cruel world, the rice that was toasted in butter tasted the best by itself. But ultimately, we wanted a basic recipe that could act as a foundation for flavor. We were looking for fluffiness, and for kernels that didn't clump together but had a satisfying texture.
In the end: No stirring (it awakens the sticky starch). A little salt to elevate the flavor. Less water than you might think. And a little nifty trick with a dish towel under the lid as the rice steams to stop excess liquid from dripping back onto the rice. And our test kitchen didn't mind experimenting, either. "Sometimes you need to do a deep dive into a singular subject as a reminder that simple is never simple," said food editor Hunter Lewis. "It was a fun problem to solve."
Get the recipe: The Perfect Pot of Rice | <urn:uuid:ecbe713c-43b6-4917-a772-46112eafc1dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2012/06/the-perfect-pot-of-rice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951897 | 426 | 1.53125 | 2 |
While there are many ideas and theories about what makes up influential leadership, there are three ingredients that are ‘necessary, but not enough.’
They are necessary for influential leadership, but not sufficient.
Of course, there are many more ingredients to cook up influential leadership, but whatever recipe you are using to help improve your leadership skills, these three will definitely add some flavor!
Ingredient #3: Reaction
It’s how you make them feel
In my last two blogs, I introduced two ‘necessary, but not sufficient’ ingreditents for influential leadership: the art of allowing and service. Today, we look at another ingredient essential for influential leadership; “Reactions,” or how you make them feel.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou ~
I first heard a version of this quote from Danish Ahmed in a YouTube video (at around 3:20 into it) a few years ago and I have used it when doing customer service and leadership development training.
“It doesn’t matter what you say to people. What matters is how they feel when they are with you.”
I saw the opening quote in one of Wes Hopper’s email blogs and couldn’t help but make the connection to how powerful this is for leaders.
A Tale of Two Bosses
In my work team, there are fifteen supervisors. And here is what I feel when I am around two of them:
- Every time this one supervisor enters a room, you can almost feel the stress emanating out of her.
- Everything is a problem, an emergency, urgent, a crisis, or must be done in a hurry with her.
- A lot of the time, I feel stressed just talking with her.
- When this other supervisor walks in, I’m instantly put at ease.
- She is calm, speaks slowly and softy, and radiates confidence, peace, and a caring attitude.
- I feel completely different when I talk to her.
Be Wise, Energize!
Remember, everything is energy.
According to the Institute of HeartMath, the heart’s electrical field is sixty times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity of the brain. The magnetic field of the heart is more than 5,000 times stronger than the brain’s magnetic field!
The electromagnetic field of the heart can be detected for several feet in all directions around a person. When you are about 3-4 feet away from someone, that energy can be detected by another person and they can even begin to resonate with your frequency (for better or worse) – something called coherence or synchronization.
It’s even more likely if you touch them, like placing a hand on their shoulder, holding hands, or a hug.
Your Personal Vibe
How do people feel when they are with you? What are they going to remember? As Maya tells us above, they are more than likely going to forget what you’ve said and done. However, they will remember how you made them feel.
That’s why it’s so important to spend some time every morning – and even throughout the day – to get and keep your heart and your head in the right place.
I hope you do so you can go out today and radiate positive influential leadership!
How do you foster positive emotional states in those you lead? What techniques would you recommend to other leaders to help foster well-being in direct reports, team members, students, etc.? What other ingredients do you think are “necessary but not sufficient?”
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Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Servant Leadership, Team Building Leadership Tagged: | business, leadership, Management, Maya Angelou | <urn:uuid:aeeaf92c-acdc-44cc-b9d8-0abf393331f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://linked2leadership.com/2012/06/21/3-steps-to-influential-leadership-step-3-reactions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942561 | 900 | 1.679688 | 2 |
A Tibetan man who disappeared under mysterious circumstances is presumed dead, with activists accusing Chinese security forces of orchestrating his murder.
The man, 57-year-old Dorjee Rabten, had been prepared to set himself on fire to protest Chinese rule.
Gyaltsen Choedak, an exiled Tibetan with close contacts in the region, says Rabten had traveled to the city of Siling when he met his end.
"On August 23, Chinese security personnel murdered Dorjee Rabten in Siling's 'Pachen' guest house," said Choedak. "When his family could not reach him, they went to the guest house to look for him. The Chinese security official called Dorjee Rabten’s elder son Drukjham Gyal and told him that he should come at once to pick up the body and that he has to sign a document – if he does not sign, he won’t get the body. He was also warned that he could not bring any other member of his family."
But Choedak says the son never got the body or an explanation of how his father died. Instead, he was given what he was told was his father’s ashes and a warning that the family would face severe consequences if they shared anything about the death with outsiders.
Choedak and other sources, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, accuse Chinese security forces of killing Dorjee Rabten to prevent him from immolating himself in protest of China's Tibet policies.
VOA made numerous phone calls to the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Chinese Consulate General in New York, but was unable to reach any officials for comment in for publication.
If true, the accusation would represent a significant escalation in China's ongoing crackdown against Tibetans pushing for more autonomy.
According to Sophie Richardson, China director for U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, Beijing's crackdown on Tibetan activists has become increasingly intrusive.
"[They're] placing more officials in monasteries, arresting monks, denying people access to the bodies of loved ones who've immolated," she said, adding that her group issued a report in July charging Beijing with blocking Tibetans in China from accessing uncensored news. "It really is sort of adding insult to injury."
Over the past several months, Chinese security forces have stepped up arrests, pursuing anyone involved with self-immolations; several monks were recently detained for taking pictures of a self-immolation, and in early October police in Nagchu arrested about 30 people after a 43-year-old man who set himself on fire in protest – including the victim's uncle, sister and brother-in-law.
Richardson says just the threat of more immolations is changing the way Chinese security forces patrol the streets.
"It's now fairly easy to photograph different parts of the security forces in downtown Lhasa, for example, walking around not just heavily armed with weapons, but carrying fire extinguishers as preparations to put out these immolations should they happen spontaneously," she said.
A question of timing
Since February of 2009, at least 57 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese policies in Tibet. While the Tibetan government-in-exile says 47 of those cases have resulted in deaths, there are no confirmed cases of Chinese officials stopping a potential self-immolation by killing the would-be protester.
According to Mary Beth Markey, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, while Chinese security officials have increasingly turned to intimidation and punishment as part of what she calls a misguided effort to control the flow of information, it has long appeared there was a limit to how far Beijing was willing to go.
"The Chinese response on the ground seems to be a great show of force, an attempt to exert control, but in the main it has not been a violent response," she said, adding that the upcoming change in leadership would make it a strange time for Beijing to change tactics.
"With all the tremendous concerns that this transition go smoothly," she said, "I don't think the Chinese are looking for any extreme responses inside Tibet."
China has long accused Tibetan exiles of self-immolating as part of a separatist struggle, denouncing them as terrorists, while representatives of the Dalai Lama say protesters are driven to self-immolate because they cannot tolerate China's repressive policies.
Gary Locke, U.S. State Department ambassador to China, recently visited two monasteries in Aba Prefecture of Sichuan Province, which has seen 26 of self-immolations since 2009.
The visit was part of Locke’s first trip as ambassador to a predominantly ethnic-Tibetan region of the country. | <urn:uuid:9492fa34-f9c3-4861-b29a-7351bc8836c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/report-tibetan-man-threatening-to-set-self-on-fire-allegedly-killed-by-police/1531285.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978971 | 968 | 1.609375 | 2 |
With federal budget cuts looming, air travelers at Atlanta's airport are wondering how aviation cuts will affect their future trips.
If the budget cuts take effect Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to cut $600 million from its budget. It remained unclear exactly how those cuts will be implemented. But it's possible that airline passengers will see longer lines at security checkpoints.
The FAA is considering cutting out overtime or issuing furloughs – unpaid days off – for TSA screeners.
John Bauer of Kansas City often flies in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on business trips.
"It would be hard because you'd have to get there earlier," Bauer said. "And timing wise, sometimes I have to get up earlier, or if I'm at a meeting, then I would have to leave meetings earlier to get to the airport and wait through lines."
"I hate to see it, because it's already taking us so long to get in," said airline passenger Cynthia Smith.
Air traffic controllers say if they are forced to take furloughs, it could cause a runway to temporarily close at Hartsfield-Jackson, which could then cause flight delays.
At metro Atlanta's smaller airports like McCollum Field, Briscoe Field And Charlie Brown Airport, officials might have to close the towers altogether. That would mean pilots would have to rely solely on their on-board technology for landings and takeoffs.
The biggest of the budget effects likely would not kick in until April.
Friday, May 24 2013 10:30 PM EDT2013-05-25 02:30:43 GMT
The story is familiar. Students park their cars in a lot at Emory Village, go into a restaurant for lunch, but when they walk out they see a sight that gives them indigestion. "I found my car was booted,"More >
Students have complained that, for years, Alpha Booting Company has swooped in and booted legally parked cars.More >
Friday, May 17 2013 7:16 PM EDT2013-05-17 23:16:53 GMT
One person has died in a crash near Harrisonville, MO, Thursday evening. The crash happened on Missouri Highway 7 and Walker Road. It involved a car and a tractor-trailer. Harrisonville is in Cass County.More >
Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday last week. She died Thursday when her car slammed into a semi while she was texting during her first time driving by herself.More >
Friday, May 24 2013 7:16 PM EDT2013-05-24 23:16:39 GMT
(RNN) – When faced with a cleaver-wielding killer who'd just murdered someone, what would you do? For Ingrid Loyau-Kennet, the answer was obvious. Instead of running for her life, she engaged him inMore >
A British woman voluntarily put herself face-to-face with an alleged terrorist and may have saved lives. More >
Saturday, May 25 2013 10:36 AM EDT2013-05-25 14:36:31 GMT
For the first time in weeks, we're actually not forecasting rain in Atlanta on a weekend. A strong area of high pressure will build into North Georgia and create mostly sunny skies through Memorial Day. TemperaturesMore >
A strong area of high pressure will build into North Georgia and create mostly sunny skies through Memorial Day.More > | <urn:uuid:a536143d-f522-4d3c-a261-ef8959906c9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/21433498/federal-budget-cuts-to-take-effect-today | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966257 | 705 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Thanks ... Ford, like Chevrolet, has produced a flex fuel engine for twelve years. The problem is, other than municipalities, very few people will buy one. Both company's engines will run on ethanol, natural gas or propane. You cannot even tell the difference in the driving experience. Ford also spent literally millions advertising the engine ... and was ignored. In 1995, They had plans for half the vehicles sold to have this engine.
Now the general public wants a scapegoat as to why we are so dependent on foreign oil.
EDIT ... Would anyone like to guess how much this optional engine costs ?
Edited by craigsub (04/16/05 05:28 PM)
Remember, this is a HOBBY | <urn:uuid:66202b67-1654-4791-ac03-d91d819f15c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=54278&page=163 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973178 | 148 | 1.53125 | 2 |
quote: He said two pieces of evidence were crucial in persuading the jury that Samsung had intentionally copied elements of Apple's iPhone functionality: minutes of a meeting in South Korea with Google, which had warned senior Samsung executives to "pull back" from their tablet designs because they were too close to Apple's; and internal emails from Samsung executives which said that the difference between the iPhone and Samsung's smartphones was "heaven and earth", and that the two needed to be moved closer.
quote: He also denied there had been any "home court" advantage for Apple, despite the case being heard just 10 miles from its Cupertino headquarters. "I use no Apple equipment – I'm a PC person," Hogan said. "My wife has a Samsung phone, but it's not a smartphone." None of the jurors owned an iPhone, he said.
quote: A key piece of evidence that persuaded jurors that Samsung had copied Apple designs and function was the minutes of a meeting between Google and Samsung in Korea."Google demanded that they were too close to Apple, and needed to pull back, because they [Google] were worried about their tablet and their operating system, and that they should make their tablet less like Apple's. They [Samsung] chose not to pass that information down to the engineers about that product, so they [the engineers] went on not knowing.
quote: "Three of us had been through the process in our careers of dealing with financial documents. I understood the profit and loss statements as well as the other two. We looked against the matrix of information [provided by Samsung about sales of phones and revenues]. We decided the [gross margin of profitability] percentage wasn't 12% [as Samsung had claimed] or 35% [as Apple had claimed], but should be between 13% and 15% – so 14% became the magic number. We then did our own calculations for each of the [infringing devices], along with reasonable royalties for each of the numbers."Asked if such a complex case was really best heard by a jury, Hogan was certain. "Yes," he said. "While it was complicated, but any jury of our peers could have reached this decision. If we had been asking questions of the judge it would have taken longer, but at all times we were confident that we were moving in the right direction." | <urn:uuid:e3b40d60-f8e8-443d-8cd3-761e82af35b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=25545&commentid=798350&threshhold=1&red=5656 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990702 | 474 | 1.539063 | 2 |
In today's installment: Moby, the certainties of a left-wing celebrity.
11:00 PM, Jan 22, 2003 • By DAVID SKINNER
"EVERYONE HAS ONE." That's what they (you know, "they") say about opinions. Also that opinions resemble a certain body part, but I'm not going to say which.
What's with the old joke about opinions? Well, I've been cocking an ear (no, no, neither of those body parts) to the political comments of pop stars. And like everyone else, they have thoughts and feelings on the major issues of the day. Just last week Sheryl Crow expressed a deep concern about the karmic consequences of invading Iraq. But she is far from the only musician who's politically engaged.
Moby--the bald guy hated by Eminem but celebrated by others for his catchy brew of techno and early American blues--regularly posts his own political reflections in an online journal. Judging from the last month of entries, Moby's political ideas are founded on two certainties. The first is a belief in pacifism, and the second is an equally strong attachment to the idea that Republicans are "anachronistic," "dangerous," "racist," and much else.
The latter certainty, concerning the utter foulness of Republicans, may not be why Moby wrote on December 11 that Trent Lott should resign. The utter foulness of Trent Lott's praise of Strom Thurmond's early politics were probably reason enough. But only the latter certainty--again, that Republicans are foul--can explain Moby's failure to mention the subject again once Trent Lott did resign. Whether or not the Dixiecrat sympathizer remained majority leader of the Senate, Moby remains quite firm on the foulness of Republicans in general.
The same belief about Republicans must also be what informs his take on the president. The musician accuses George W. Bush of "avoiding new york after it was attacked by terrorists." What then to make of the fact that Bush visited Ground Zero on September 14, where he briefly interrupted the grave proceedings to give heart to emergency workers on the scene?
Unfortunately, delusional partisanship is par for the course as Moby goes on and on about party politics, complaining on December 29: "why can't a democrat get fired up about protecting the environment and enacting gun control legislation just as right wing republicans get fired up about making sure that children have access to assault weapons and banning 'the catcher in the rye' and 'harry potter'?"
Funny. In another posting, as Moby waxes poetic about New York City, he apologizes for being such a hometown booster, going so far as to call himself "provincial"--ironically of course. Yet, that's exactly what he is. Knowledgeable about the exotic reaches of contemporary music, he's utterly clueless about the beliefs of the people around him. For instance, it's a fair bet that the guy who does the plumbing in Moby's downtown apartment building is a three-time Giuliani voter who doesn't give a rat's ass about Harry Potter.
Moby's other certainty, pacifism, is nothing if not consistent. After a concert in Boston last month he was jumped by three guys, one of whom used mace on him. In his online journal, the petite musician (who can't weigh more than 130 lbs) writes: "regarding the 3 guys who attacked me tonight, i'm not angry. i don't feel vindictive. not to sound weird or wimpy, but i'm a pacifist and i believe in forgiveness. i just hope that at some point in these guy's lives they come to realize that hurting other people is wrong."
Rumor had it the thugs were Eminem fans, doing their own riff on the rapper's line "Moby, you can get stomped by Obie . . . Let go, it's over, nobody listens to techno." (Why "Obie," incidentally, and not a play on the body part that usually follows "Moby"?) Anyway, days after the attack, Moby switched Los Angeles hotels when he learned Eminem was in the same building shooting a video. "i'd rather err on the side of non-confrontationalism," he wrote.
Whether or not one is impressed by the consistency of Moby's pacifism, however, it is clear that a pacifist can have little to say about the practical question of invading Iraq. If all war is wrong, everywhere and always, then any particular argument against a particular war must lose its distinctive claim on reason and morality. Besides, messing with the particulars leads Moby to say things like, "i'm actually kind of impressed by iraq's patience right now" (from January 5), and to play gotcha on Bush concerning the different approaches being taken toward Iraq and North Korea. Why doesn't Bush say to Saddam what he said to North Korea, Moby wants to know on January 10, that the United States has no hostile intentions and will seek a peaceful, multilateral solution to the current problem? | <urn:uuid:779504f8-4be2-463c-9872-e168cb452f46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/150oijuj.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966021 | 1,058 | 1.585938 | 2 |
For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitter’s Art is a wide-reaching compendium of history, anecdotes, and imagery, edited by Kari Cornell with contributions from Melanie Falick, Elizabeth Zimmermann, Meg Swansen, Susan Gordon Lydon, and more.
The book consists of five chapters, arranged by topic. “Knitting the First Stitch” features essays from knitters on how they got started knitting. Particularly amusing is the essay from Suzyn Jackson about how she learned to knit while standing on the subway. “The Yarn Shop and Beyond” contains essays about the fixation many knitters have with yarn. With some it is an absolute fetish, like Naomi Dagen Bloom, whose husband took up spinning so she always had yarn. “Handknit With Love” consists of knitters talking about projects near and dear to their heart, while “The Art of Knitting” looks specifically at knitting as a non-functional artform. “Our Knitting Heritage” looks at historical tales of knitting. The book is also well illustrated with a vast collection of vintage pamphlets, adverts, and photos.
Fiber Gathering: Knit, Crochet, Spin, and Dye More Than 25 Projects Inspired by America’s Festivals by Joanne Seiff offers lots of essays intermingled with related projects. Divided by region (“West,” “Southwest,” “Northeast,” and “South”) each chapter takes the reader on a tour through a regional fiber festival and offers a project or technique, such as a beginners guide to dyeing, washing fleece to prep it for spinning, and how to assist in a sheep shearing.
The knitting patterns are uninspired. “Deep V” is a basic V-neck ribbed pullover. “Festive Fingerless Mitts” are also ribbed, with beaded accents. “Evergreen” is a basic leaf motif lace shawl. “Fishtail Vest” is an unflattering vest with lace trim. “Icelandic Winter Cap” is a very simple, very basic rolled-hem ribbed cap. I do like “Blossom,” a scarf with a simple blooming pattern and scalloped edges. “Quick Felted Sweater Bag” is a good idea, offering directions for turning an old, unworn sweater into a handbag.
Overall, buy these books to read about knitting, not to knit. | <urn:uuid:155e6e57-50e9-40b3-90f8-98de5d23bfa1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-for-the-love-of/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947017 | 537 | 1.65625 | 2 |
What would Jesus blog for International Blog Against Racism Week?
August 6-12 is International Blog Against Racism Week.
Racism is a serious issue for the Christian church especially in America. I’ve attended churches in the past where racist jokes were a part of the everyday conversation of many of the parishioners.
My wife grew up in a pentecostal church (Assemblies of God) in South St. Louis. After we were engaged, her pastor’s wife pulled her aside and told her that God did not approve of inter-racial marriages (I’m of East-Indian descent). She quoted a few Old Testament scriptures to support her point. At our wedding, several of the families from her church did not attend because they did not support our marriage. This even included the family who was instrumental in getting Stella and her family to church when she was a little girl.
Again, I should point out that the Bible was used as a justification for their racism. Yes, a majority of the scriptures were found in the Old Testament. However, even Jesus demonstrated bigotry as evident in this passage:
Matthew 15:22-28 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
If this is how Jesus feels about other races, I’m not sure he’d be a welcome participant in this week’s blog event.
- The de-Convert | <urn:uuid:ce361845-590a-4f31-95f6-351e42e75708> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://de-conversion.com/2007/08/08/what-would-jesus-blog-for-international-blog-against-racism-week/?like=1&_wpnonce=84af3d0b4c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986982 | 481 | 1.742188 | 2 |
A: Not as such. No-one can legally claim a monopoly over an idea, except where it is possible to patent it. And in order to obtain a patent, you have to disclose full details of how your idea works, which gives others the opportunity to copy it or design around it.
Inngot registration asserts your ownership
of your intellectual assets. How much protection this process offers depends on what underlying rights you have.
For instance, if your software is protected by copyright, registration will "date stamp" your ownership and put others on notice of it. This is particularly useful if someone infringes your rights (in law, you can only claim damages if you have put others on notice of your copyright) or if you plan to sell or licence your copyright to others.
Q: What protection does Inngot offer for trade secrets and proprietary processes?
A: Inngot supports the commercial exploitation of your trade secrets and proprietary processes by helping you explain what you own, without disclosing the detail.
Copyright can offer some protection for these intellectual assets once they are documented. The relevant law applies to the expression of an idea, which can include process maps and drawings as well as words.
However, some care is needed. While an undocumented trade secret is likely to be an "intellectual asset", it is not protected property under intellectual property law. If you disclose your trade secret to another party without appropriate safeguards, they may copy your idea and work around your secret.
If you want to enter into commercial discussions where an element of disclosure is likely, make sure you get a confidentiality agreement in place first (Inngot full members can download a free template from the resources section of our website and modify it as needed).
Q: Why should I register my innovation with Inngot when I have applied to register formal IP rights?
A: Your ability to successfully deliver products and services is very unlikely to be dependent on a single IP asset. A combination of elements - copyright, trademarks, designs, patents, trade secrets, proprietary processes and database rights - may all play a part.
Inngot is unique in providing a service to describe the "bundles" of intellectual assets within your organisation which support a particular innovation. Identifying all your assets is crucial if you want to realise value from them, whether through licensing or secured financing, or through the sale of a business.
Inngot has now introduced Sollomon, a new indicative valuation service for your intellectual assets, which provides a quick and cost-effective means to obtain an indication of what they may be worth.
Q: Who will be able to see the innovation I register with Inngot?
A: Every other organisation joining Inngot will be able to see your organisation and innovation profiles if your details correspond with the searches they conduct. In addition, some government agency teams have access to Inngot so that they can identify knowledge and technologies which other companies are seeking, to broker collaborations.
A: Since registration is necessary in order to view any details, Inngot is a "closed community" and all searches leave a trace which can be interrogated in the event of a suspected infringement.
Q: Why does Inngot require businesses to use its own classification system?
A: If you've tried searching for intellectual property or any intangible assets using search engines or other network websites, you'll already know the answer to this question!
Inngot establishes a common language for describing organisations and innovations within the "knowledge economy". This is particularly important if you are trying to find technology and/or capabilities that may lie within an unfamiliar sector.
Q: What checks does Inngot carry out on me and on other registrants?
A: Inngot uses Companies House data to verify key details provided by full members. Where verification has taken place, this is indicated by a special "seal" icon in the organisation profile.
Inngot also asks for information on any registered IP rights so that these can be cross-checked.
While Inngot provides a standardised classification method to enable innovations to be described, we do not purport to verify their existence or ownership. Therefore, if you are contemplating entering into commercial discussions prompted by an Inngot registration, the onus is on you to ensure that the organisation in question actually owns and possesses the assets they have registered with Inngot.
Sollomon IP value indicator: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is Sollomon different from a business valuation?
A: Business valuations generally assume that you want to sell part or all of your company and its assets. Sollomon, by contrast, is designed to give you an indication of what the intellectual assets in your organisation, linked to a particular innovation, might be worth. It is therefore much more relevant than a business valuation if your interest is in licensing your assets to other parties, or exploring their security value for financing.
The Sollomon process has also proved helpful for companies seeking equity investment (where intellectual property of all kinds is usually a vital consideration) and negotiating partnership arrangements (where the relative value of each party's contribution often needs to be established).
Q: What information do I need to provide to obtain a Sollomon value indication?
A: You'll need some high-level historical financials, projections for at least three years (preferably five), and you'll need to know how the intangible assets you have purchased and/or developed are currently represented in your accounts (if at all).
A: Most other items are derived from your Inngot organisation and innovation profiles, which need to be complete. For this reason you need to join Inngot as a full member to complete a Sollomon indicative valuation.
You can see a full guide to the information required by clicking here.
Q: How do I enter my data?
A: After you accept the Sollomon terms and conditions, you will be asked to complete four short sets of questions, headed Investment, History, Forecasts and Governance. You navigate between these sections using the tabs near the top of the page.
When you finish each question, and each section, you'll see a tick appear to show that it has been validly completed. Once all four headings are ticked, you can perform your indicative valuation.
Please note: you cannot conduct a valuation until you have entered at least one innovation profile to value.
Q: What happens if I make a mistake?
A: The Sollomon process automatically saves each completed question so you can pause the process as often as necessary without losing your data.
You can change the information entered as many times as you like until you first click 'Perform Valuation' (the button is disabled until all four tabbed sections have been completed).
Once your valuation has been first calculated, you have a seven-day period during which you can revisit your entries and re-calculate the indicative value two more times at no additional charge. Each recalculation will provide a new certificate and a new verification reference.
Q: If I put in a high future forecast, will I get a high indicated value?
A: Not necessarily, and you should use projections you believe to be realistic and achievable. While future cashflows play an important part in Sollomon's method of calculation, its scorecards are designed to detect and discount significant leaps in revenues that are not backed by historical performance. Also, your value indication is presented alongside with your projected performance - so if your forecasts aren't deliverable, your valuation won't be credible.
Q: How credible is a Sollomon value indication?
A: Sollomon has been created by Inngot with specialist input from leading business advisers Grant Thornton UK LLP. It uses the well-established "relief from royalty" principle to determine values - briefly, this works out the business benefit of an innovation by calculating an estimated royalty rate a company would otherwise have to pay to use it.
This is then combined with scorecards that factor in an assessment of your markets, investment, development, intellectual asset strength and coverage to set the discount rate used to produce a present day value range. The value range, royalty rate and discount rate are all shown on the Sollomon certificate.
Q: How accurate is a Sollomon value indication?
A: Sollomon is intended to provide a consistent and impartial assessment of the data you provide, to act as a starting point for negotiations. Clearly, it has some limitations: in particular, it is based on a restricted set of data, and may or may not reflect the value you can achieve in an actual transaction.
Ultimately, as any accountant will confirm, the true value of your intangible assets (or any other assets) will be determined by what someone is prepared to pay for them. In an arm's length sale, this will often be determined by non-financial factors, such as the strategic advantage your innovation represents, which Sollomon cannot model. Equally, if you are using your intangible assets as security, you should expect your lender to build in a margin for error.
Q: Can I share my valuation with other people?
A: Yes - though it's important to note that your Sollomon certificate cannot be viewed by anyone else until you share the special 19-character Sollomon certificate number with them.
Once a third party (such as a stakeholder or professional adviser) has the certificate number, you can direct them to www.inngot.com/verify
where they can enter their details and view the associated certificate.
If you don't want any third party to be able to view your value indication, you can turn the verification facility off by unticking the box provided at the top of your certificate.
'Inngot' and 'Sollomon' are registered trade marks of Inngot Limited. | <urn:uuid:cabce24e-fb5b-4375-a976-ae6c5a4dceba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inngot.com/help-and-faq | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941209 | 2,030 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Young people being fined for playing hockey outdoors in Dollard-des-Ormeaux has made headlines again. What is it with Dollard and kids playing hockey that causes such a response?
The latest incident, as it stands now, is headed for Superior Court. It started almost a year ago, when two brothers were fined for playing on an outdoor rink after hours at Edward Janiszewski Park after hours. One was handed a $100 ticket, the other an $80 infraction. In their defence, the boys claim they did not know the park closed at 10 p.m. They played on the rink till 11 p.m.
There is no doubt, ignorance of the law is no excuse. But they decided to challenge the tickets, and did so – successfully. A municipal court judge ruled in their favour and the fines were withdrawn. That was in October.
Then, last week, came a notice: The ruling was being appealed by the town of Dollard. The oldest of the two brothers, a 21-year-old student, has to get himself a lawyer now to represent himself in Superior Court.
This is where the debate begins. Is it excessive? Is this the best use of taxpayers’ money? In this hockey-crazed part of the country, surely everyone has an opinion.
And why is Dollard taking such a tough stance? According to the mayor, it is the public security officer who originally issued the fine who pushed for the appeal. The mayor has asked him to drop the case or he will be fired. Wow. That implies the town’s legal decisions are made by some security guard. That’s an unlikely scenario.
And let’s add one more thing to the mix. Remember that Dollard is the same municipality who fined a homeowner for playing street hockey in front of his house on a quiet street in 2010. That case was finally settled in municipal court in March 2011, when a judge ruled in the homeowner’s favour. In the ruling the judge explained that the town’s bylaw banning street games was put in place for safety reason and in this case – playing in front of his house on a quiet street – safety was not an issue.
Dollard is a tough town when it comes to kids who just want to play hockey.
What are your thoughts? Share your comments by adding a comment below. | <urn:uuid:53236ef4-fcb2-45a0-bd91-3b5a91fce819> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://westislandgazette.com/blog/just-between-us/story/2012/12/05/why-is-it-so-tough-to-play-hockey-in-dollard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985656 | 492 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings, and USA Today's Greg Toppo wants to clear away some myths:
They weren't goths or loners.
The two teenagers who killed 13 people and themselves at suburban Denver's Columbine High School...weren't in the "Trenchcoat Mafia," disaffected videogamers who wore cowboy dusters. The killings ignited a national debate over bullying, but the record now shows Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold hadn't been bullied -- in fact, they had bragged in diaries about picking on freshmen and "fags."
Their rampage put schools on alert for "enemies lists" made by troubled students, but the enemies on their list had graduated from Columbine a year earlier. Contrary to early reports, Harris and Klebold weren't on antidepressant medication and didn't target jocks, blacks or Christians, police now say, citing the killers' journals and witness accounts. That story about a student being shot in the head after she said she believed in God? Never happened, the FBI says now.
A decade after Harris and Klebold made Columbine a synonym for rage, new information -- including several books that analyze the tragedy through diaries, e-mails, appointment books, videotape, police affidavits and interviews with witnesses, friends and survivors -- indicate that much of what the public has been told about the shootings is wrong.
The persistance of such myths may be as interesting as the myths itself. Many of the tales that Toppo attacks were actually debunked in the immediate aftermath of the killings. In an editorial I filed less than a month after the massacre, I wrote this:
In the weeks since the Littleton slaughter, we've learned that most of what the media initially told us about the Columbine killers wasn't true. They weren't Nazis. They weren't especially racist. They weren't necessarily Goths. They might not even have been members of the clique of outcasts called the Trench Coat Mafia, which, by the way, wasn't originally called the Trench Coat Mafia.
We do know that bullies routinely picked on Harris, Klebold, and others like them. We do know that such behavior goes on in most of the country's schools. But most outcasts do not take weapons to school and kill the people who tormented them. We don't know what it was inside Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that made them into the exceptions. And we never will.
Read the whole thing here. My language was more conditional than it would be today, and Toppo would take issue with the idea that the boys were bullied. (I'm not convinced he's right, but I do wince when I see my younger self uncritically accepting the idea that bullying was a motive for the murders.) Still, it was possible for someone who hadn't ever been to Littleton to figure out that many of the narratives coming out of the town were false, just by paying attention to follow-up reports and keeping a normal level of skepticism on hand. Not a decade later, but a few weeks later. And not because I was especially perspicacious, but because I didn't have an axe to grind.
"At the time," Toppo writes, "Columbine became a kind of giant national Rorschach test. Observers saw its genesis in just about everything: lax parenting, lax gun laws, progressive schooling, repressive school culture, violent video games, antidepressant drugs and rock 'n' roll, for starters." Ten years later, it's more obvious than ever that those reactions had more to do with the observers' inner fears than with the actual facts on the ground.
Update: I missed a sloppy statement in the USA Today article: "Harris and Klebold weren't on antidepressant medication." Harris was on an antidepressant; the myth that Toppo was presumably referring to is the idea that the killer suddenly went off the drug shortly before his spree, thus somehow triggering the crimes. In fact, an autopsy revealed that Harris had a full dose of Luvox on the day he died. | <urn:uuid:db9e85c7-df95-4bf8-9281-dcea7d795afa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.com/blog/2009/04/20/massacre-at-columbine-high | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979589 | 838 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Books, CDs, Videos & more
Day1 host Peter Wallace's new book on the emotions of Jesus is, according to Marcus Borg, “An illuminating and powerful personal meditation." Ideal for personal or group study.
I can still remember the first time I heard this story of the conversation between Martha and Jesus, and I felt something within me say, "YES!"
As I read about Jesus not only allowing or tolerating but affirming what Mary was doing, my heart jumped with joy.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening might not seem very radical for us, but in Mary's day it was a violation of both cultural and religious rules and practices.Read full transcript...
All Day1 content is grouped into topical categories. Use the alphabetical "Browse Topics" list below to find content by topic. The larger the link, the more articles exist in that topic feed.
You can also subscribe to topics with the RSS reader of your choice (we recommend GoogleReader) and have new content sent directly to you. Just click the RSS link at the top of each topic page for its feed. | <urn:uuid:0892ac96-579b-458e-a15c-27dfd3925fd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://day1.org/topic/perspective | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939335 | 228 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Game Exec Calls for Cheaper Consoles
Scared off video game consoles because of their price? Many casual fans are, and until Microsoft and Sony can knock some buckaroos off the bottom line, many critics believe the industry will only play a tertiary media role.
But, is that about to change?
According to Activision executive Bobby Kotick, it just might. Kotick, a key player for one of the video game industry's most prominent and long-standing publishers, recently stated that he expects consoles to sell for under $200 before Christmas, 2009. (Source: gameinformer.com)
Why? To bring in the mass-market. Hey, it's worked for Nintendo; although anything but a hardcore video game system or media centerpiece, the Wii's price has won over many casual and even non-gamers.
"The Wii at its price point is now setting a standard and an expectation, and people say, well, the Wii is less complex technically. I don't think that really matters as much to the consumer," Kotick said. "In the next 24 months they all will need to be at that $199 price point, and you can imagine Nintendo will be down to the $129 price point over the next few years," he continued. (Source: pcworld.com)
Of course Activision would love to see bargain-basement prices on next-gen video game systems. The cheaper the hardware, the easier it is for software publishers like Activision, Electronic Arts, or Bungie to get their products into the sweaty, desperate hands of the average gamer.
Clearly, Kotick has a soft spot for Nintendo's Wii. "We realized that, much like Nintendo, the pathway for success and the highest operating margin leverage on the Wii is a relatively small number of titles that really capitalize on capabilities of the hardware," he said. That could mean a flood of Activision titles for an otherwise barren Wii library over the next two or three years.
However, this kind of reasoning certainly seems flawed. Should gamers have to still pay $60-$70 for a game when the console costs less than three times that price?
No one seems to have asked Kotick that.
Free eBook: Getting Started: Your Guide to Windows 8. Windows 8 is arguably Microsoft's most daring Windows Operating system to date. Featuring an unusual tile-based Start screen that's optimized for touchscreen devices, Windows 8 is now available on all new computers, laptops and ultrabooks, and hybrid tablets. Whichever device you use Windows 8 on, you'll need to know a few things. First, how are you going to get the data from your current operating system to the new one? Second, you'll probably be wondering where Windows desktop has gone. Finally, you might be wondering: why did Microsoft remove the Start menu? This eBook answers all those questions, and more. Click here to download this eBook now! Note: this eBook is free, but registration is required; after that, you can select more ebooks and videos for download without registering again. If you have questions / problems with the registration form, please read this. | <urn:uuid:a01e214b-c875-4074-ad37-2d900ae80d31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infopackets.com/news/gaming/industry/2007/20071204_game_exec_calls_for_cheaper_consoles.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958025 | 638 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Best of All Worlds
Sesame Workshop, the creators and producers of The Electric Company, wanted to give their audience a deeper experience of the show and its curriculum.
Prankster Planet is a world that spans online, broadcast and print, each enriching the others. Here, the show's live-action characters embark on learning adventures in a series of 12, two-minute, cartoon mini-episodes.
The adventures don't end onscreen — 12 multi-game online "missions" continue episode storylines. Kids can create cartoon avatars of themselves and work with the characters to solve problems just hinted at during the show. Finally, a workbook reinforces the curriculum of the online and broadcast experience, helping to make the learning last.
The Electric Company's curriculum goals and and strong brand legacy are the bedrock of Prankster Planet. We collaborated with Sesame Workshop to discover ways to make the learning integral to the games and mini-episodes — never tacked on.
The release schedule was to be aggressive: four new animated episodes air every every week for three weeks. Twelve multi-game "missions" (each unique to an episode) go live the morning the episode airs.
Face-to-face meetings in our studio and at Sesame Workshop's facility in New York yielded a plan of attack. With some months of lead time, we would design characters and backgrounds, animate them, and meanwhile, design, devise and code the games.
Illustration and Animation
In the past two seasons, The Electric Company's characters had only taken live-action form. Before we could begin work on the games and animated mini-episodes themselves, we had to design the characters.
Our animation staff designed 10 characters (all based on real people) and over a hundred background scenes to bring the episodes and stories to life. Character design and animation took place in Flash to yield 25 minutes of content.
We worked with Sesame Workshop to build games that are fun, multi-layered and educational. Games and cartoon episodes form a continuous narrative that cycles between linear, broadcast storytelling and immersive, interactive gameplay.
For every cartoon episode there is an online "mission" that comprises a sidescroller game along with some mini games. Players create avatars of themselves to help the show's characters. As players successfully complete challenges, they earn handy tools and cool accessories for their avatar.
Every year, The Electric Company creates a companion workbook to support the series' curriculum. Sesame Workshop distributes them for free through teachers to include classrooms in the show's educational mission.
This year we developed a look that integrated the new cartoon aesthetic with the collage style of years past. We had the advantage of having game, animation and print designers all under one roof. Often we had new illustrations almost as soon as they were requested. This gave us a more custom look and the all important ability to "just try stuff."
10 times the traffic,
9 times the engagement
Electric Company's Prankster Planet represents a number of milestones. For the first time, a show's online, on-air and print forms have been developed by the same team at the same time. Moreover, for the first time these three forms rely on one another to complete the narrative and deliver a curriculum.
The analytics since the site's May launch have been staggering:
- Average time on the site soared to 28 minutes, that's a 900% increase, and unheard of in this demographic
- Total visits rose from 31,000 to 3.2 million, which amounts to a 1000% increase
- Visitors who found the site through a banner ad(!) averaged 16 minutes of engagement
Kids' adventures on Prankster Planet are immersive and active. The time they spend in this world has real value: as entertainment, as brand experience, and best of all, as learning. We're proud to have been a part of the best that transmedia can achieve. | <urn:uuid:3a97abd9-55c2-404c-868b-7bbc8311b8ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.primalscreen.com/project/electriccompany | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953404 | 805 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Re: Religious Restrictions on Training
Very interesting discussion, everyone. I really think it is an important topic, not only in aikido and in this scenario but in the world overall today.
Just one quick comment. Wouldn't it be "discriminating on the basis of religion" to make allowances based on this person's religion that wouldn't normally be accepted in the dojo? For example, if everyone in the dojo is expected to train with whomever is next to them, or the person who is left over after others have chosen, and you allowed the devout muslim to switch with someone so they could always train with men, it would be changing the way the dojo operates based on someone's religion.
I guess my point is that discrimination works both ways. My understanding is that "we will not discriminate on the basis of religion" means that you won't turn someone away just because they SAY they're muslim. It does not mean you are required to make accomodations based on their actions or beliefs (which they choose to do - religion is absolutely a choice), in fact, technically you shouldn't if you stand by this principle.
Personally, I think it is up the individual dojo what is appropriate for their dojo and neither is a right or wrong choice. There is no OBLIGATION to make adaptations for anyone. | <urn:uuid:206fa2f2-5043-447b-b952-dc5660af8f4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=138220&postcount=94 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972553 | 279 | 1.5625 | 2 |
|OpenFlix > Intolerance|
After watching it, I have a whole new appreciation for D.W. Griffith. Yes, I was able to tell the characters apart, and yes, I was able to keep up with all the storylines. This film was a giant leap forward in filmmaking from Griffith's previous film, "The Birth of a Nation." The most impressive story of the film is the fall of Babylon. The sets were magnificent, and the battle scenes were spectacular. Constance Talmadge was wonderful as the Mountain Girl. The modern story was entertaining and moving. The French and Judean stories were very underdeveloped, but that really didn't bother me.
Anyone with an interest in silent movies or film history must see this film.
And yet somehow, through all this confusion, the movie comes together in the second act and works. It's climax is brilliantly sustained. The old cliche of saving the innocent man from being murdered is used here and surprisingly manages to find some suspense. The Babylonian scenes are saved by the enchanting mountain girl whose death is tragic in its symbolism. The other stories, in France and Judea, are quickly passed over. The Judaen conclusion ends with Christ's crucifixion in a very far shot. We can't see anything Mr. Griffith.
Confusion aside, once this film starts to work, it works brilliantly. Griffith was a master of sustained tension if nothing else. Watch out for the knives over the string that will release the noose on the hangman! I was surprised I got so involved in a silent, especially after watching Griffith's Birth of a Nation which really only succeeds now, as a historical document.
DVD comes with an option to watch the four stories individually. May be of use to the easily confused, such as myself.
Griffith interweaves the four parallel stories set, respectively, in the modern era (fuddy-duddy reformers and a workers' strike), Jerusalem (Christ's crucifixion), 1572 Paris (a "hotbed" of persecution against the Huguenots), and ancient Babylon. No collection of silent films is complete without this landmark, awe-inspiring epic, which really does boast a cast of thousands (the most memorable of which is Constance Talmadge as the spunky Mountain Girl). The fall of Babylon ranks with one of the great action set pieces, complete with racing chariots, a nifty decapitation (at the hands of Elmo Lincoln, the man who would be Tarzan), and falls from what appear to be incredible heights. The edge-of-your-seat climax to the modern story, a race against time to save an innocent young man from the electric chair, is another bravura sequence.--Donald Liebenson
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© 2009 OpenFlix. All rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:3e68cb04-16cf-418d-981e-5f15fd5aefe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://openflix.com/movie/intolerance.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950813 | 695 | 1.546875 | 2 |
A Studies about Sector Wide Approaches: Transaction Costs
Background: After fifteen years of steep educational decline, in 1994 the World Bank initiated discussions on the introduction of a sector wide approach to education development, or Sector Investment Programme, that would encompass the work of all four ministries involved in education and training. Previously, aid to education had been provided through individual donor projects, resulting both in a piecemeal approach to the massive education challenges facing Zambia, and in onerous multiple administrative, technical and management costs for the government. The underlying rationale of the SIP was twofold – to achieve comprehensive strategic progress by aligning donor and country efforts, and to significantly lower the transaction costs associated with a fragmented, projectised approach.
Zambia receives education aid from at least twenty official donors, and this poses major challenges in terms of managing transaction costs. Fifteen donors provided some form of support to the BESSIP, and their involvement was coordinated through a number of planning groups and committees. Perhaps the greatest initial challenge was building sufficient trust to get donors to start relinquishing the visibility, tight financial monitoring and ability to earmark that come from running projects. A critical element in building this trust was the establishment of financial management, procurement and monitoring and evaluation systems that could improve transparency and accountability, with the state of public financial management in the ministry a particular donor concern. Keep reading…
Case Study about Reducing the Cost of Expatriation in Austere Times
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which the cost of expatriation can be reduced by contrasting expatriate management systems in two successful American companies. Data are gathered using in-depth interviews with international human resource (IHR) managers and analyses of company archival information. Comparative analysis shows striking differences between the two approaches–one more traditional and expensive, the other nontraditional and considerably less expensive. These differences suggest that a wide range of approaches to managing expatriates may be successful, arguing against a set of “best practices.” The analysis suggests less expensive ways of managing expatriates may be possible in some organizations and predicts several contingency factors to consider when designing expatriate management compensation and benefit packages.
Introduction: Businesses typically develop through four phases: domestic, international, multinational, and global (Adler & Gunderson, 2007). Today, there are fewer organizations competing solely on a domestic basis, and more operating globally in one form or another. Electronic media and decreased transportation costs allow even small businesses to compete internationally (Furnham, 1997), and increased competitive pressures frequently require a global presence even if a firm seeks to remain primarily domestic. This expanding global reach of many organizations has increased interest in the issue of expatriate management (Black & Gregersen, 1999; Toh & DeNisi, 2005). Expatriates are home country nationals sent abroad by the parent company to live and work temporarily in another country. In the initial stages of international expansion it is quite common to send expatriates to oversee the development of appropriate systems and procedures consistent with the parent company’s approach and outlook. Keep reading…
The purpose of the crash-based B/C ratio economic analysis is to provide an economic assessment of the extent to which a project or program may achieve its ultimate goal of reducing the number and/or severity of crashes. The B/C ratio analysis ultimately provides a means of selecting the most cost-effective countermeasure(s) for any given project.
The procedure involves the economic evaluation of improvement alternatives to develop effective improvement projects from the candidate alternatives. It is one of the most widely-used methods of screening programs and projects that are being considered for development. The crash-based B/C ratio analysis should be made for those situations that are conducive to its use. The conclusion and recommendations for candidate projects should be based on the results of the B/C ratio analysis.
A Case Study about Developing Harmonised European Approaches for Transport Costing and Project Assessment
Summary: Case studies on four TEN-T projects were selected, the HEATCO methodology applied and compared with the national methodologies and outputs. The outcome can be judged as positive, since the HEATCO methodology was successfully applied in all four cases. No major difficulties were reported on scientific, methodological or technical problems related to the application of HEATCO. A number of sensitivity tests were conducted. The research revealed that the social discount rate and the value of travel time savings VTTS are of particular importance for the outcome of the appraisals and thus sensitivity tests are highly recommended. Sensitivity tests for climate change and noise revealed only minor changes (<5%) of overall benefits.
Objectives: Transport investments on the Trans European Network (TEN) level are usually of large scale and thus require thorough appraisals. The methodology for these investments needs to be consistent, reflect the state of the art and be feasible in its application. HEATCO had the task to develop a harmonised European approach towards transport appraisals that fulfils these requirements. The recommendations were developed and compiled in Deliverable.
A Case Study about Determinants of Price-Earnings Ratio: Chemical Sector of Pakistan
Abstract: Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio, a relative valuation technique has always remained at the centre of attention of market analysts and investors ever since the origin of discounted dividend growth model of Gordon and Shapiro (1956). The present study attempts to identify the factors explaining variations in P/E ratio for chemical sector of Pakistan by using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression on pooled data of 25 firms listed at Karachi stock exchange for the period 2005 to 2009. Furthermore, taking into account the volatility in Pakistani stock market during the study period, a time-series analysis has also made by using OLS regression model to examine whether determinants of P/E ratio differ across years or not.
Introduction: Considerable research has focused on analyzing the stock market performance using different financial ratios for example Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio, Price-toSales ratio, Price-to-Dividend ratio and Book-to-Market ratio (Bodie et el., 2005). However, researchers, market analysts, fund managers and investors mostly rely on Price-to-Earnings ratio for analyzing relative attractiveness of equity investments and use it as a valuation technique for performance evaluation of individual stocks, sectors and markets (Molodovsky 1953). P/E ratio, measured as dividing stock price by earnings per share, alternatively known as “Price Earnings Multiples”, indicates how much investors are willing to pay for each rupee of firm’s earnings.
Case Study about Pharmaceutical Price Controls in OECD Countries
Executive Summary: Improvements in health care and life sciences are an important source of gains in health and longevity globally. The development of innovative pharmaceutical products plays a critical role in ensuring these continued gains. To encourage the continued development of new drugs, economic incentives are essential. These incentives are principally provided through direct and indirect government funding, intellectual property laws, and other policies that favor innovation. Without such incentives, private corporations, which bring to market the vast majority of new drugs, would be less able to assume the risks and costs necessary to continue their research and development (R&D).
The study examined the drug price regulatory systems of 11 OECD countries and found that all rely on some form of price controls to limit spending on pharmaceuticals. The principal methods these governments employ are reference pricing, approval delays and procedural barriers, restrictions on dispensing and prescribing, and reimbursement. These methods prevent companies from charging a market-based price for their products. They also tend to be nontransparent, as the criteria and rationale for certain pharmaceutical prices or reimbursement amounts are not fully disclosed even to the pharmaceutical companies seeking to market their drugs.
A Study about Validity of Company Valuation Using Discounted Cash Flow Methods
Abstract: This paper closely examines theoretical and practical aspects of the widely used discounted cash flows (DCF) valuation method. It assesses its potentials as well as several weaknesses. A special emphasize is being put on the valuation of companies using the DCF method. The paper finds that the discounted cash flow method is a powerful tool to analyze even complex situations. However, the DCF method is subject to massive assumption bias and even slight changes in the underlying assumptions of an analysis can drastically alter the valuation results. A practical example of these implications is given using a scenario analysis.
Introduction: The goal of this paper is to introduce the reader to the method of company valuation using discounted cash flows, often referred to as “DCF”. The DCF method is a standard procedure in modern finance and it is therefore very important to thoroughly understand how the method works and what its limitations and their implications are. Although this paper is on a basic level, it requires some knowledge of accounting and corporate finance, as well as a good understanding of general economic coherencies, since not every topic can be explained in detail due to size limitations.
A Study about Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Both cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) are useful tools for program evaluation. Cost – effectiveness analysis is a technique that relates the costs of a program to its key outcomes or benefits. Cost – benefit analysis takes that process one step further, attempting to compare costs with the dollar value of all (or most) of a program ’ s many benefits.
These seemingly straightforward analyses can be applied anytime before, after, or during a program implementation, and they can greatly assist decision makers in assessing a program ’ s efficiency. However, the process of conducting a CBA or CEA is much more complicated than it may sound from a summary description. In this chapter we provide an overview of both types of analyses, highlighting the inherent challenges in estimating and calculating program costs and benefits. We organize our discussion around practical steps that are common to both tools, highlighting differences as they arise. We begin with a simple description of each approach.
Case Study about the Use of Cost-effectiveness Analysis in EC’s Evaluations
CEA is more frequent in prospective evaluations. This may be explained by the fact that it is easier to produce an estimate of future effects than to quantify actual effects. In the ex ante evaluation guidelines, there is also a strong request for a comparative analysis of the efficiency of alternative options. The terminology used by the Commission and its external evaluators is all but stabilised. Surprising terms have been encountered like “cost-opportunity” or “ cost-efficiency”.
The terms of reference tend to express efficiency related demands that are not fully specified and that cover only a part of the necessary items (efficiency of what? efficiency in achieving what? efficiency in comparison to what? efficiency question asked for which purpose?). The costing approach tends to focus on the budgetary allocations. Administrative costs and overheads are seldom considered. Another issue is whether EC evaluations should systematically consider EU efficiency in the case of joint financing with Member Sta tes, something which has not been encountered in the study.
Case Study about Cost Management Tool to Eco-Efficiency Measurement: Life Cycle Costing
Introduction: In the field of modern production contexts, the complexity of processes combined with an increasingly dynamic competitive environment has created, in business management, the need to monitor and analyze, in terms of generation costs
The internal production phase but all stages both upstream and downstream in order to minimize the total cost of the product throughout the entire life cycle. The approach of life-cycle cost analysis was used primarily as a tool to support investment decisions and complex projects in the field of defence, transportation, the construction sector and other applications where cost constitutes the strategic analysis of cost components of a project throughout its useful life. | <urn:uuid:e5d1ecce-de80-402d-847b-5ee08db71fbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.casestudy.co.in/category/cost-accouting/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942468 | 2,441 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Many were hurt at Gatorback event in which racer died
Published: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 5:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, November 30, 2012 at 5:51 p.m.
In Dr. Mark Scarborough's 21 years with Shands at the University of Florida, he's treated countless sports injuries.
But he said no sporting event compares to the Thor Winter Olympics, an annual motocross event held at Gatorback Cycle Park in Alachua.
This year, the amateur motocross event — also known as the Mini Olympics, or Mini O's — was marred by tragedy when 16-year-old racer Jantz Grodzicki, of San Diego, was taken off life support Monday at Shands after he suffered a severed spine and head injuries in a Nov. 23 crash at the competition.
Although Grodzicki was the only participant who died, many other riders were taken to the hospital with severe injuries.
Scarborough and four other local doctors tallied the motocross-related injuries they saw during the November event. By their count, 26 people between the ages of 8 and 25 were treated at local hospitals for injuries they suffered at the Winter Olympics. Twenty-three of those patients were 20 years old or younger, Scarborough said.
Of those patients, at least seven children had to undergo major orthopedic surgeries and five suffered injuries that put them at risk for lifelong disability.
Most of the injuries were orthopedic, including severe fractures and dislocations to patients' shoulders, femurs, forearms, knees, ankles and hips, which can result in permanent disabilities, Scarborough said. There also were two lung-related injuries, which were the most severe apart from those suffered by Grodzicki.
"We were kind of appalled as a group that this magnitude of injuries occurred," Scarborough said. "It's inherently unsafe."
The risk of injury is inherent in motocross, but that's true for any major physical sport from BMX biking to soccer, said Ron Henricksen, president of the National Motosport Association.
Motocross brings families together, he said. Children who race travel around the country to various competitions with their families. Parents work on the bikes alongside their riders.
"It's really good for the whole family," Henricksen said. "They're all involved."
Deaths are rare, but in his experience most riders come back to compete after healing from serious injuries.
"It's the thing that they love and they want to do," he said.
And many riders do get injured. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, titled "Motocross Morbidity: Economic Cost and Injury Distribution in Children," studied motocross injuries using almost 300 cases from 2000 to 2007. Nearly half of the patients who were treated at a level 1 trauma center had to be hospitalized, and almost one-third needed surgery. Patients suffered severe injuries despite a high rate of helmet and protective gear use, according to an abstract of the study.
Over the years, Scarborough said he and his fellow physicians have noticed a spike in injuries among young riders during the Winter Olympics. He is concerned the public perception may be that cases like Grodzicki's are freak accidents.
"But the reality of it is this was not a freak accident. It's like major carnage," Scarborough said. "This is not the first death out there."
In March 2006, a 16-year-old Georgia youth died during an all-terrain-vehicle race at Gatorback just two weeks after an emergency medical technician died in an ATV accident there after a race, as previously reported in The Gainesville Sun.
The Winter Olympics in 2006 also resulted in a series of accidents, including a 6-year-old who was reportedly run over during a race and a 17-year-old who suffered lower body paralysis.
The Gatorback track is located at 20525 NW 46th Ave. and its website is unlimitedsportsmx.com. Gatorback representatives could not be reached for comment.
Carol Blackburn, who owns Motocross of Marion County with her husband, said in an email to The Sun she rides a street bike despite the danger because she loves it. Both her sons raced motocross, one of whom competed professionally.
"We knew the risks, but when you balance it all out, we felt it instilled so many good values. This sport requires discipline and dedication," she said. "You will not see these young men and women out drinking, smoking and drugging. Their spare time is spent working out or working on their bikes, not getting into trouble."
The Winter Olympics is the single highest-risk sporting event in the local community that carries the highest rate of injuries, Scarborough said. He sees sprained ankles and other injuries from other sports competitions, but the Winter Olympics appears to be the worst individual event in terms of the number and severity of injuries.
"We don't know if it's the worst year," he said of the competition. "We know it's always bad."
Scarborough said he and a team of local physicians plan to conduct a scientific investigation into the history of the Winter Olympics to determine how common and severe event-related injuries have been over the years.
Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:c71a56c9-3d43-4eb8-8ec6-f11e56897d18> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gainesville.com/article/20121130/ARTICLES/121139970/0/guardian | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980254 | 1,128 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Patently clever: Oklahoma inventors take claim for advances
BY CASEY SMITH World Staff Writer
Thursday, January 31, 2013
1/31/13 at 7:39 AM
Learn more: Learn about the patent process and search granted and pending patents.
When Greg Strope was growing up, he spent most Saturdays at his father's manufacturing business.
As a boy Strope would watch his father work in the shop he was paid $5 to sweep. When Strope was older, his father let him do some of the work. Spending time there got him thinking, Strope said.
Strope, 48, is now in charge of purchasing at Strope Manufacturing. The native Tulsan has been inventing for about 15 years and owns two patents. The Saturdays he spent at the shop learning helped trigger his interest in inventing, Strope said.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted more than 570 patents to Tulsa area residents between 2006 and 2010, data show. The office granted more than 2,300 patents to inventors statewide and more than 875,000 worldwide during the time period.
Those holding rights to U.S. patents include American and foreign organizations and governments as well as independent inventors. The patents involve new or useful improvements of processes, machines, manufactured items or compositions of matter.
Companies develop and own the majority of patents, data show. Between 2006 and 2010, Houston-based Baker Hughes was granted the rights to 86 patents originating from the Tulsa area, more than any other organization over the time period, data show. The residence of the inventor listed first on the patent document determines its geographic origin.
Baker Hughes - a supplier of oilfield services and products, technologies and systems for the oil and gas industry - employs about 2,000 people in its five northeastern Oklahoma facilities.
The 1987 merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company formed Baker Hughes. Both were established in the early 1900s with groundbreaking petroleum industry inventions.
Continuing that tradition is important, said Daniel Moos, one of Baker Hughes' four technology fellows. "Technology fellows" contribute to the company's innovation by encouraging dialog among various technical communities, providing support for others' projects and inventing in their own areas of expertise.
"No company can long survive if it loses its capability to innovate," Moos said. "Baker Hughes encourages innovation by rewarding ideas and recognizing inventors at each stage of evolution from concept to product. This is because what's important is not the number of patents but rather the value of the products and services developed based on those patents."
Independent inventors produce relatively fewer patent documents but have an active presence in the field, data show.
Strope's motivation to invent as an adult came from a desire to solve problems he encountered at work and during his downtime, he said.
"Basically you lay awake at night and it [the problem] runs through your mind," Strope said. "I'm sure it's the same with everybody else, (you think) 'There's got to be a way, there's got to be a way to solve this.' "
In July the patent office granted Strope exclusive rights to the device he invented to make securing cargo to a vehicle easier and its transport safer. The family business uses tie-down straps to secure items that trucks transport to customers.
Tying items down can be clumsy, and when the vehicle starts moving it can be dangerous if excess strap comes loose and gets caught in a rotating tire, Strope said. His invention secures excess tie-down and makes securing items faster. Strope and his family, who helped him develop the device, will launch the marketing phase at a trucking show this spring, he said.
Andy Strope, Greg's brother and company foreman, said they were nervous about using the device to deliver items before the patent process was complete, which takes an average of almost three years. But the company's driver didn't want to make transports without the tool.
Strope received his first patent in 2005 for a fishing line spool for jug fishing, a method for catching catfish. The spool prevents line tangling and allows fishermen to more easily adjust depth, Strope said.
Strope hired a lawyer to help him with what he describes as the grueling but interesting patent process.
Paul Rossler, an intellectual property attorney at GableGotwals, does not recommend inventors complete the patent application process on their own, he said.
"A lot of care has to be taken up front when drafting the application to make sure you have everything in there," Rossler said.
In patent law, "what you think might be common sense doesn't apply," he said.
Patents give their owners the right to exclude others from making the protected material, and if inventor claims are too broad, the office denies the application, Rossler said. However, if the patent makes too many claims, its scope becomes overly narrow and the rights it gives are meaningless.
Leo Byford turned to the Oklahoma Inventors Congress when he was trying to figure out the patent process around 2000, he said. Byford is now chairman of the nonprofit's Tulsa chapter. The organization was established in 1966 to provide a pathway for inventors to develop patents and trademarks.
Members meet once a month and discuss issues they are having with the patent office, as well as idea development and marketing, Byford said.
"One of the things that you learn through the process is there are so many variations, so many things you need to be looking at," Byford said.
In 2003, the patent office granted him ownership of an organic compost that eliminates the problem of chicken litter used as fertilizer migrating into and polluting bodies of water, Byford said. The chicken litter is treated to remove pathogens before it goes into the mixture, and compost is applied in a manner that stops outside forces from pushing it into bodies of water.
Byford has another patent pending and is involved in the development of about 15 others.
"I think everybody has a creativity part of them," Byford said. "I don't think it's so much what they see or use, but something trips in their head and they come up with an idea. There's something that makes a person want to make something."
Some famous Oklahoma inventions
Shopping Cart: Sylvan Goldman
developed the first shopping
cart, which he introduced to
customers at the Humpty
Dumpty supermarket in Oklahoma
City on June 4, 1937.
The cart was constructed
from a folding chair, wheels
and two wire baskets.
Parking Meter: Carl Magee of
Oklahoma City received the
patent for the first parking
meter as the devices made
their first appearances in
Oklahoma City in 1935 and
were first installed in Tulsa
Yield Sign: Tulsa Police
Administrative Chief Clinton
Riggs invented the yield sign.
The sign was introduced
in 1950 at First Street and
Sources: Oklahoma Inventors Congress,
Tulsa World archives, Tulsa Police
Original Print Headline: Patently clever
Casey Smith 918-732-8106
Dustin Strope demonstrates the Strap Wrap at his family's manufacturing business in Tulsa recently. His brother Greg Strope invented and owns the patent for the device meant to keep straps manageable when hauling cargo with tie-downs. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
The Strap Wrap, a device invented by Greg Strope, sits at family business Strope Manufacturing on Wednesday. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
Greg Strope discusses the evolution of the Strap Wrap, a device he invented, at Strope Manufacturing, the family business in Tulsa. The device is meant to keep strapping manageable when hauling cargo with tie-downs. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World | <urn:uuid:065dfcdd-a8a1-43b7-a6cf-220a43931538> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20130131_11_A1_CUTLIN818298 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964907 | 1,630 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The election of 2012 was hard fought and dearly won, and despite all the differences it has brought us closer together as a nation. For we now know a lot more about what each other considers important and why. Some of us have changed our ways of thinking. Some have evaluated our positions and come away renewed and strengthened. Whatever the outcome, for each of us Social Media played an unprecedented role in making the exchange of information within the electorate possible. And insulated from the taint and filtering by political spin doctors.
You know who you are.
This election has challenged us to think deeply about our choices of candidates and the values they profess. I feel a new era of American political awareness dawning. The stakes are too high to allow the political complacency of my generation to continue. The American electorate has been ignited, and the fire will grow.
Corporate control of our government has had catastrophic consequences for everyone but the top 2%. Corporations are not people. In their headlong quest for profits, they have undermined democracy and weakened America. We MUST have a Constitutional amendment prohibiting corporate involvement in the electoral process.
Let us continue to share our thoughts and questions and hold our elected officials accountable, and let us not ever again allow ourselves to be manipulated for the profit of others.
We owe Facebook a debt of gratitude for this growing awareness.
Thanks, Mark Zuckerberg and Friends, for your major role in helping to rescue democracy.
Causes Monty Heying Supports | <urn:uuid:8a12441f-2802-4381-bfd3-afcef0889659> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://redroom.com/member/monty-heying/blog/facebook-and-the-election-of-2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960764 | 299 | 1.671875 | 2 |
By Johnny Jackson
Henry County Schools has been named one of Georgia's 2009 Title I Distinguished Districts.
State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox made the announcement Wednesday that Henry was among four school districts in the state receiving the recognition. "These districts and schools are a prime example of the impact high expectations, hard work and collaboration can have on student achievement," Cox said. "I'm thrilled to recognize the educators, students and parents in these schools and school districts."
Henry received the recognition in the category of large school districts, outperforming 35 other school systems in the state with more than 10,000 students. Previous award winners include Hall County Schools in 2008, and Atlanta Public Schools in 2007.
"This is one indication of the high quality of instruction students receive each day within schools in Henry County," said Henry Superintendent Michael Surma. "We have high expectations for all our students, and they are proving successful."
The Title I Distinguished District Award is given to school systems that have done the best jobs of closing the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and students who are not economically disadvantaged, according to Matt Cardoza, spokesman with the Georgia Department of Education.
Cardoza said performances on reading, language arts and mathematics portions of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, as well as on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, are used to determine achievement.
He added that, as a part of the recognition, Henry will receive $50,000 in additional federal funding to be used on instructional needs, at the school system's discretion.
Henry school officials said the funds will be spent on the system's Title I Program, but could not specify how it will be used to help improve achievement.
"The Title I Distinguished District Award is an outstanding achievement for our Title I schools," said Greg Benton, Henry's assistant superintendent of learning and teaching. "We are honored and pleased to receive this distinction from the Georgia Department of Education, and we know that it is directly related to the hard work and dedication of our Title I principals, teachers, coaches, and support staff."
School-level Administrator Christi Peterman said the whole school community plays an important role in student achievement, but no role is more important than that of teachers in the classroom. "It's all thanks to the teachers," Peterman said. "They're on the front lines. We have Title I Distinguished Teachers, is what we actually have. This is their award."
Peterman is the principal at Locust Grove Elementary School, one of Henry's seven 2009 Title I Distinguished Schools, along with Fairview, Hampton, McDonough, Smith-Barnes, Stockbridge, and Wesley Lakes elementary schools.
Title I schools -- recipients of federal funds to help support their economically disadvantaged student populations -- must achieve "adequate yearly progress" on the state's academic assessments, for at least three consecutive years, in order to become Title I Distinguished Schools.
As Title I Distinguished Schools, the schools will receive additional federal funding-- between $712 and $1,068 -- for their school-improvement plans for 2010.
"We take that money, and we use it for our students with technology and resources to give our students what they need to provide them with better opportunities," Peterman said. "We put a big portion of our money into parent involvement ... anything we can do to get the parents involved in our school community."
Peterman said parents represent a major link in the educational process and play a vital role in the success of students. "We need their support," she said. "Our goal at Locust Grove is for every one of our kids to go to college. We just want to plant that seed in every child's mind that you can go to college."
Added Henry County Board of Education Chairman Ray Hudalla: "I appreciate all the efforts of so many on behalf of student achievement. We are fortunate to have quality faculty and staff, whose focus is ensuring the success of each student."
On the net:
Georgia Department of Education: www.gadoe.org
Henry County Schools: www.henry.k12.ga.us | <urn:uuid:f1d88fc2-4d09-4e08-9876-821156b2978a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.henryherald.com/news/2009/nov/05/henry-schools-earns-50000-with-title-i-award/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969002 | 854 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Open Debate on the situation between Iraq and Kuwait
(New York, March 26, 2003)
Statement by Ambassador Luis Guillermo Giraldo, Permanent Representative of Colombia
Colombia decided to speak in this open debate due to the evident urgency in providing the Iraqi people, as soon as possible, the required humanitarian assistance during these difficult moments.
Apart from the considerations regarding what occurred in the Security Council and in the international arena during the last three weeks, the Government of Colombia considers essential today, to try to prevent that the past distorts the present and future obligations, that contribute to relieve the conditions of the people of Iraq, and further on, to work on the reconstruction of the Nation.
Last 17th of March, in a press release, Colombia urged the United Nations to grant the people of Iraq, in all the stages of this crisis, the required humanitarian assistance. We urged the international community as well, to contribute to the objective of providing new opportunities for development and progress for the Iraqi people, in a democratic context and with full respect for human rights and liberties. President Uribe Vélez, in a message to the Colombian people, had already expressed it when he said that; "international actions must protect all civilians and respect the democratic rights of the Iraqi people".
It is indispensable that the Security Council and the United Nations take the issue on Iraq again in order to give the Iraqi people the aid they need for the reconstruction of their country. We have to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, for hunger and starvation could happen in the next few weeks.
Colombia exhorts all of the members of the Security Council to stop the debate of the last three weeks and concentrate in real aspects, of life and sustenance for the Iraqi people, to provide for humanitarian assistance, to continue with the "Oil for Food" program, prioritize the humanitarian supplies and allow the required financing of all of these activities. It is fundamental that the draft resolution that is actually being debated, grants the Secretary General the sufficient authority and flexibility to pursue these activities. It is urgent to adopt this draft resolution as soon as possible.
We can and we shall, later on, debate on all the legal aspects of the situation that we are living today, and surely the arguments of the Member States will serve as guidelines for future crises and similar situations. But today, our main concern should be that of being at the same ethical level of this time. Before, theorists and pragmatics of war talked about the devastated land and the circumstances against life related to it. How many things have changed as of today. The humanitarian aid, promoted by all, on the contrary, seeks to alleviate all the painful conditions and protect life in the middle of the confrontation and also, once it has finished.
Let´s make a halt to words and return to the human being. The requirements of humanitarian assistance expose us to a situation of rapid obligatory action. Lets open the way so that the United Nations can give that vital contribution. | <urn:uuid:e93adecf-929d-48aa-b59c-a9048b56aae6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colombiaun.org/English/Security%20Council/Statements%202003/statements_for_2003/Mar26_03_Statement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950853 | 604 | 1.78125 | 2 |
ROCHESTER — Imagine this: a student with disabilities gets the opportunity to get into a bucket lift with a guy from the public works department to decorate and hang ornaments on a very large Christmas tree. In downtown Rochester.
Thanks to the folks at Rochester Department of Public Works, students at the Monarch School of New England get to experience decorating a Christmas tree from the top down. A very unusual opportunity, in the best of times!
But the partnership that has come about with the Monarch School and the Rochester Department of Public Works is anything, if not unusual. For over 10 years, the two organizations have worked to develop this relationship, which has been great for them both.
The Monarch School of New England is a school for students with disabilities; based in Rochester and Gonic, it serves students from the ages of 5-21. Part of the school’s mission is to provide job training for students so that when they graduate, they might have some skills.
Thanks to the work of Lisa Clark, at the Rochester Department of Public Works, and Holly Moquin, at the Monarch School, students are given the chance to learn new skills at the department’s garage and within its main office. As a result, a great partnership has formed between the two groups.
Which brings us back to the Christmas tree in Rochester Square.
This year, a number of area kindergarten and elementary schools created ornaments for the tree. Students at the Monarch School laminated them and then on Nov. 30, got the chance to put some of them up.
These DPW guys are amazing! They brought everything together and then worked with Monarch students to hang the decorations. Ever watch a child with a disability get into a lift to reach the top branches of a Christmas tree that never before would have had the opportunity? Smiles that light up a tree.
This works because the partnership really celebrates our students – it shows what is possible when great people come together in support of what young people with disabilities can do.
Thank you, Rochester Department of Public Works. For giving us the chance to be part of this holiday tradition. The tree looks fabulous. | <urn:uuid:85ac4ff2-766d-401f-9786-49b1fea362ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121211/GJCOMMUNITY_01/121219936/-1/FOSCOMMUNITY02&CSProduct=fosters&CSProduct=fosters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967904 | 442 | 1.71875 | 2 |
A Grandmother for Christmas
A Grandmother for Christmas by Chantal Dezainde, is a very different Christmas story.
It’s almost Christmas, the ground is covered with snow and seven-year old Jeremy (the main character) is building a snow man with his friend Lucy. When he suggests they go inside for a warm cup of hot chocolate, Lucy declines. Her grandmother is coming by airplane from far, far away to spend the holiday with her family, and she must go home to prepare for her visit.
After Lucy leaves, Jeremy gets bored and asks his friend Theo to come and play. But Theo also has a grandmother, and like every year, she too is coming on a plane from far away to spend Christmas. So Theo stays home and prepares for her visit.
Poor Jeremy! He’s the only one who doesn’t have a grandmother, and this makes him sad. In his mind, he imagines all the little grandmothers at the airport with bags of presents, and he wishes he had a grandmother coming to visit him from far, far away.
As he imagines, he has an idea. He makes lots of posters with a picture of a grandmother on each one, then hangs them on telephone poles in his neighborhood. That’s right, he’s advertising for a grandmother! He hangs the pictures, wishes on a star and waits to hear from his grandmother.
But no one answers the ad, and the next day Jeremy consults with Theo to figure out where grandmother’s come from. Neither boy has an answer, until…they suddenly remember Santa Claus and the North Pole. Jeremy writes to Santa and waits for a response.
On Christmas Eve, the doorbell rings, but instead of the grandmother he asked for, it’s only his Aunt, loaded with gifts. Well, this is not the answer he expected, and Jeremy is very disappointed. He goes for a walk and sits on a park bench, where soon his wish for a grandmother finally comes true. How? Ha, you’ll have to read the book to see the answer.
A Grandmother for Christmas is filled with playful, cartoon- like illustrations, and I think the story is cute, but I had a bit of a problem with its believability. Is it possible that a seven-year old doesn’t know where grandmothers come from, even if he doesn’t have one? But on a more positive note, the book does targets very young children ages 3 and up, so perhaps it would be believable for them.
As for the plot, the weakest part was when the Aunt came on Christmas Eve loaded with gifts and was totally ignored. I feel that if she was going to be included in the book, more should have been said about her visit. The strongest part of the plot was Jeremy’s wish for a grandmother. Most children love having a grandmother, so I think children will easily identify with this wish.
Would I buy this book? Definitely! The price is right, the cartoon-like characters are cute, and the subject leaves readers feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
I give this book 2.5 to 3 stars.
Until the next review! | <urn:uuid:c012910c-28b2-466b-a79d-7f12f027a425> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://picturebookdepot.com/Book_Reviews-detail/a-grandmother-for-christmas/?lang=af | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979291 | 668 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Adult Nonfiction PS3602.R67 Y43 2002
Summary: Betsy Brown is no stranger to loss. Breast cancer runs rampant in her family; both her mother and her thirty-two-year-old sister died of the disease and another sister has been diagnosed with its late stages. Her father also fell victim to cancer, this time pancreatic. The poems in Brown's stunning first book pivot around the mechanisms we use in facing loss and fear -- whether those confrontations are as wrenching as a bone marrow transplant or as confused as a brief love. In lyric verses with a driving narrative force, the poet depicts loved ones coping with illness, sometimes achieving recovery, and reshaping a family. From his hospital bed a father relates "the color of his pain-killers, / the in-and-out narcotic conversations / of the doomed." A woman recalls Baltimore, where her sister received treatment, as "a city of doctors, messy brain scans, / slick cobblestoned lanes thick/ with Christmas." She returns to the spot where her sister's cremated remains were scattered, relishing "the secrets of ashes, / the clean wash of lake water / like all the nights we sat / with the little waves lapping." An unusually intimate collection, Year of Morphines is both a heartbreaking portrait of the process of death and encouraging evidence of life's perseverance.
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Add a Comment | <urn:uuid:45a406dd-2700-461a-8077-0e64354ace37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/discuss/?bib=879626&theTab=Summary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960756 | 320 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Who says you have to stay connected 24/7? Taking some time off to detox from your digital life may be hard, but it could also be good for your health and well-being. While some people use Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social media to stay in touch with friends, others can't step away for five minutes without losing their minds. Are you one of them? Daniel Sieberg, author of The Digital Diet, offers up tips on how to break your tech addiction, below.
- Avoid tech turds — One of our own favorite tech etiquette tips says that, as a rule of thumb, you shouldn't leave your phone out on the table. Sieberg has a more colorful way of saying it, calling these situations "tech turds": "Don't just dump your smartphone on the table at a restaurant or at home. Keep it in your pocket or purse unless it’s critical to have it out. If you must have it out, acknowledge its presence and inform your companions that you’ll check it only in an emergency. It's a courtesy that you'd appreciate, too."
See more tips after the break. | <urn:uuid:2394c024-81c0-4d96-890e-19149637f05e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geeksugar.com/latest/internet-addiction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955787 | 238 | 1.828125 | 2 |
But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:7-8 NCV)
In Christian fellowship people should experience authenticity.
Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing.
It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.
Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking and superficial politeness, but shallow conversation.
People wear masks, keep their guards up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship.
It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship. The Bible says, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other.… If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8, NCV).
The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.
Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection and being hurt again.
Why would anyone take such a risk?
Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” ( James 5:16a, Msg).
40 Days in the Word
This January, I will be delivering a new church wide campaign/small group study at Saddleback Church called 40 Days in the Word. My hope and prayer is that churches and individuals across the country will unite in a common desire to Learn the Word, Love the Word, and Live the Word of God like never before. This is our most significant campaign since 40 Days of Purpose, when more than 30,000 churches united nationwide. I encourage every church, pastor, or individual reading this to pray about participating. You can find more information about this at www.40DITW.com.
For church pastors or leaders, the campaign preview kits can be found here, or if you have a small group, you can get the teaching DVD and Workbooks here. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” I hope you come along with us as we seek to live the Word of God!
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times Best Seller The Purpose Driven Life. His book, The Purpose Driven Church, was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors. © Copyright 2011 Rick Warren. | <urn:uuid:e199149a-a877-4c7c-919d-ef7650ea187b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://purposedriven.com/blogs/dailyhope/index.html?contentid=7589 | 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 | 0.958085 | 768 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Mark Russinovich’s technical blog covering topics such as Windows troubleshooting, technologies and security.
I’ve been presenting talks on Windows Vista kernel changes since TechEd US in the summer of 2006 and one of the features I cover in the session is ReadyBoost, a write-through disk caching technology that can potentially improve system performance by leveraging flash media as a disk cache. I explain ReadyBoost in depth in my TechNet Magazine article, “Inside the Windows Vista Kernel: Part 2”, but the basic idea is that, since flash has significantly better random access latency than disk, ReadyBoost intercepts disk accesses and directs random-access reads to its cache when the cache holds the data, but sends sequential access to directly to the disk. During my presentation, I insert a USB key, whereupon Windows displays an AutoPlay dialog that includes an option to configure the device for ReadyBoost caching:
The first time I gave the talk, the demonstration went flawlessly, but in subsequent deliveries I didn’t get the AutoPlay experience. I would notice the lack of AutoPlay as I ran through the demonstrations before a session, but was always pressed for time and so couldn’t investigate. As a workaround, I would manual open the properties dialog of the device’s volume after insertion to show the ReadyBoost page that’s displayed when you click on the “Speed up my system” link on the AutoPlay dialog.
The last time I presented the session, at TechEd/ITforum in Barcelona in November, I had some extra time beforehand so I decided to find out why AutoPlay wasn’t working. The first thing I did was to check the AutoPlay settings, which you configure in the AutoPlay section of the Control Panel’s Hardware and Sound page. Some of the entries were set to “Ask me every time”, which shouldn’t have had any effect, and even after resetting to the defaults, AutoPlay still didn’t work:
At this point I had to look under the hood at an insertion’s associated Registry and file system activity to see if that would reveal the reason why Explorer wasn’t honoring the Control Panel’s AutoPlay settings. I ran Process Monitor, configured the filter to include Explorer’s Registry operations, and re-inserted the key. Then I stopped the capture and looked at what Process Monitor had collected.
A staggering 22,000 events meant that scanning through the trace event-by-event would take hours and there were no obvious error codes to search for, so I had to think of some keyword that might lead me to the relevant lines. I first searched for “autoplay”, but came up empty. I knew that Explorer looks for a file named Autorun.inf in the root directory of removable media volumes, which can contain pointers to an icon to show for the volume and an executable that launches when the user double-clicks on the volume, so I next searched for “autorun”. The first hit didn’t look interesting because it referred to the volume’s mount-point GUID, information that Windows generates dynamically when it notices a new volume:
The next hits were just a few entries later and all referred to values that store Group Policy settings:
The queries of the first two locations resulted in NAME NOT FOUND errors, indicating that the policies weren’t defined, but a query of HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutoRun was successful. Process Monitor showed the value Explorer had read in the Details column:
I didn’t know how to interpret a setting of 255, so I executed a Web search for “nodrivetypeautorun” and found a page in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit that describes the value as a bitmask specifying which device types have AutoPlay disabled. A value of 255 decimal (0xFF hexadecimal) disables AutoPlay on all devices:
I used Process Monitor’s Jump-To functionality to launch Regedit and navigate directly to the value, opened the value editor, and changed the setting to 0 to enable AutoPlay on all devices. Next I had to test the change. I removed and reinserted the key and, to my satisfaction, the AutoPlay dialog appeared. Note that on Windows Vista, AutoPlay no longer means "automatically execute what's in Autorun.inf", but rather, "show me my options", so I wasn't introcuding a potential security issue.
The case was almost closed, but I had one detail to wrap up. AutoPlay was disabled on my system by the Group Policy configuration of the Microsoft domain to which the system is joined. That explained why the demonstration had worked for the first few times: my first deliveries of the session were before I had joined Microsoft. It also meant that the value would get restored to its previous setting the next time I logged on and Group Policy reapplied the domain’s configuration. If I happened to logon before the session the demonstration would break again.
There’s no way to opt out of Group Policy updates short of removing the system from the domain or never connecting to the domain. However, because I have local administrative rights, I realized that I could prevent Group Policy from changing the value by setting the permissions on the policy’s key such that Group Policy wouldn’t have permission to do so. Group Policy processing occurs in the Local System account, so I opened Regedit’s permissions editor and removed write access for the Local System account:
I was now confident that the demonstration would work for my current delivery of the Vista Kernel Changes session, as well as any future ones, and I closed the case. Besides highlighting Process Monitor’s usefulness for uncovering a root cause, this example also illustrates the power of local administrative rights. A local administrator is the master of the computer and is able to do anything they want, including circumventing domain policies, something I covered in a previous blog post, and that's just one more reason enterprises should strive to have their end users run as standard users.
Excellent, informative post, as always.
Great to see another posting after a long hiatus!
Although - I've been through this exercise myself; on the OTHER end of the stick - as a Group Policy "administrator" - because AutoPlay is actually located in several places in the registry (at least in 4.0 and 2000, I didn't wrangle so much with it in XP). You can turn it off in one place (like the HKCU setting) and have it overridden by the other setting. I would never have solved this one without Regmon, that's for damn sure.
In addition to the direct AutoPlay disable settings, there's the Policy settings. (I can't be specific, because I dealt with this about two years ago) - PLUS - there were certain third-party software installers that would go in and RE-ENABLE the damn AutoPlay setting on you. (and others that will politely turn it off; VMWare is one example).
Ah, those were the bad-old days. . .
I guess that your domain admin has seen the following post on Steve Riley's blog, applied the recommended NoDriveTypeAutorun 0x255 registry setting and deleted the "mountpoints2" key that stores the history of the USB sticks your Pc has ever seen.
Your administrator may have done this differently. He may have executed
%systemroot%\system32\reg.exe add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\autorun.inf" /ve /d "@SYS:DoesNotExist" /f
"This hack tells Windows to treat AUTORUN.INF as if it were a configuration file from a pre-Windows 95 application. IniFileMapping is a key which tells Windows how to handle the .INI files which those applications typically used to store their configuration data (before the registry existed). In this case it says "whenever you have to handle a file called AUTORUN.INF, don't use the values from the file. You'll find alternative values at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DoesNotExist." And since that key, er, does not exist, it's as if AUTORUN.INF is completely empty, and so nothing autoruns, and nothing is added to the Explorer double-click action. Result: worms cannot get in - unless you start double-clicking executables to see what they do, in which case, you deserve to have your PC infected."
Here is the full story:
Nice catch. I'll come into your cubicle first thing on Monday and remove your Administrator rights. You will also have your coffee machine rights suspended for a week for laughing in the face of company policy.
You don't really want to set it to 0 - you want to set it to the default value of 0x91 (under XP at least - see MSKB 895108)
Otherwise it'll be enabled on floppy drives & network drives. In older versions of Windows (Windows 95) this meant that when you opened My Computer, you had to wait for it to scan these drives for autorun.inf in case they had an icon file entry - hardly ideal!
Not sure if this is still the case for XP but it might be.
Wow, someone who *wants* autoplay, which does both of the following IIRC:
Autodetecting new hardware and possible offering action choices....neat feature for some, distracting and annoying to others.
Autorunning arbitrary content....umm Security?
The settings of these two functions should be separate. :)
I've updated the post to note that on Vista, enabling AutoPlay the way that I did doesn't result in automatic execution of Autorun.inf, but instead configures the display of the AutoPlay dialog.
I think it's unfortunate that group policy settings are automatically applied without the user's knowledge or consent. I had no idea my registry settings were being modified by some external process. It would be helpful to present some kind of confirmation dialog, outlineing exactly what is changing on your computer.
Mark/Anyone that might know:
Today I was investigating ReadyBoost and SuperFetch and have some questions:
1) ProcMon doesn't report file activity on readyboost file on the flash drive, I can see flash drive blinking and I know it being modified. Any ideas why ?
2) Does readyboost file contains/mirrors parts of pagefile? If yes, I didn't find any documentation on this in MSDN but MVP's on newgroups have written that it is so. I would appreciate in depth document about it.
3) Which file contains the statististics/ranking about superfetch ? Is it in c:\windows\prefetch folder ?
Thanks a lot
Christopher Hill: "In older versions of Windows (Windows 95) this meant that when you opened My Computer, you had to wait for it to scan these drives for autorun.inf in case they had an icon file entry - hardly ideal!"
Shhhh. I was looking forward to "The Case of the Unexplained Network Pauses."
Regarding AutoPlay, why was the SHIFT override feature removed in Vista? It was very handy.
I too noticed lots of disk thrashing on my system and ReadyBoost drive. I posted some information on this a while back:
As you'll see in my post, the Vista performance tool does give you some detail about what's being written to an external drive, so you might look there to see what's being written to your flash drive.
Aaron Tiensivu found a post by Robert Hensing that indicates ReadyBoost regenerates its encryption key on every start and resume and rewrites a cache file containing the key. See Aaron's post here:
Robert's original post is here, though he's since recanted:
It looks to me like Robert was right the first time, but I'm certainly no Russinovich. I actually stopped using ReadyBoost because of the disk thrashing it causes on every resume from sleep. Lastly, I thought I read somewhere that Microsoft was changing the ReadyBoost encryption key regeneration feature for SP1, but I can't find where I originally read that.
Hope that helps.
Unfortunate: Acknowledgment is okay, but consent is not. Just imagine what corporate IT departments will think if they suddenly found Microsoft enables random staffs to bypass their restrictions...
I recently inserted a 2GB SD card on this computer for the first time, but the ReadyBoost tab of the drive's Properties dialog continued to show "Do not use this device" selected - or some text that indicated the drive was too small. I don't remember the specifics now, but the problem was that I had been using an SD card that didn't have enough capacity to support ReadyBoost. That eventually set an option to stop checking for ReadyBoost compatibility. I needed to manually override that option in the Properties dialog.
@unfortunate: most computers that are joined to a domain administered by others are not usually the personal property of the computer user, but are instead tools provided by an employer so that the user can do the job he or she is being paid to do. Such users should have no expectation to be told of every configuration change or policy setting unless they need to know it to do their jobs. | <urn:uuid:a37fcdb7-fa6b-4327-9007-d09f20c04bed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/01/02/2696753.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946838 | 2,842 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Each month we look how people have successfully turned their hobby into their profession. This month we continue this feature with web design.
Here we will be discussing the most important factors and issues you may come across when you set up your own business as a freelance web designer.
Freelance Web design
In today’s internet-driven world, having a well-designed website is essential for running a successful business. A huge proportion of business is conducted via company websites. Therefore web designers are in great demand and play a very important part in the online business environment.
There are many factors to consider when developing a web site. It is often the initial point of contact between the customer and the company so the website should be visually attractive but also be functional. The website must help the user find the information they are looking for and make it easy for the user to make a purchase. Because of the technical requirements and huge importance of web design many companies call in professional web designers to develop a robust website.
Getting started: Creating your portfolio
As with all trades it is hard to get started with no contacts. The most important thing to do is to build a good portfolio which shows off the high quality of your work to potential clients. If you studied a related course at university or college then it would be fine to include this work and website examples in your portfolio. To get some “real life” experience, consider offering your services for free to either charities or friends and family who run their own small business and don’t have their own website yet. This way you can build a more diversified portfolio before you’ve even obtained any work yet.
Another option is to create a website or blog for any hobbies you have. You could discuss the web design industry or any sports you enjoy. This is another way to show of your skills and add more websites to your portfolio. You can see some examples of freelance web designer’s websites in our collection of resources.
Developing your business
A large amount of business may come from other freelancers or small businesses who have either just started up or are getting the online side of their business up to speed. Therefore it is important to network with other freelancers and small businesses. You should also network with other freelance web designers. Instead of seeing them as competition; view them as a people you can share knowledge with.
One way of building links with other freelancers and web designers is by establishing a strong social media presence, on sites like Facebook and Twitter, to accompany your website and portfolio. Make sure you regularly discuss the latest trends and developments in the industry via these channels, add lots of influential contacts and even blog about your thoughts. This will help you build up a wide range of contacts in the industry and you will be more likely to attract work from prestigious clients.
It is important to create legal documents with your clients to protect your rights and deal with problems, should there be any. The first thing you need to do is create a contract with your client that sets out all the terms and conditions of the project.
The way you charge for your work should also be discussed with the client before any work is carried out. There are two ways you could chose to charge for your work. The first method is fixed-price. This means that you charge a fixed price for a set project which you agree with the client ahead of time, irrelevant of how long it takes to complete the work. It can be difficult to determine a fixed-price for a project before actually completing the work, however this method also means that designers with efficient methods for saving time won’t be unfairly penalised with a low cost.
Alternatively, you could choose to charge your clients per hour. This method means it is much harder to be under or over paid for a project. However, this also means that you will need to fill out timesheets and there needs to be an effective way to transfer timesheets back and forth between yourself and the client. For this you should look at small business accounting software which allows you to track the time you spend on each project and generate flexible timesheet reports to pass onto the client.
Success as a freelance web designer ultimately depends on your ability to establish yourself in this highly competitive industry, and also your ability to network with others. There are relatively low entry barriers to establishing yourself and experience will be your greatest asset. It is a fast moving industry so you need to take a proactive and innovative attitude to finding work and keeping up-to-date with industry developments.
Check out our summary of our top tips for becoming a freelance web designer or you can find this guide in a downloadable format via our PDF sharing account. If you have any other tips for starting out as a freelance web designer please leave a comment! | <urn:uuid:e40c6c9e-4005-4341-a36e-e7c50956c424> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cashzilla.co.uk/2012/04/18/turn-your-hobby-into-your-profession-freelance-web-designer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954582 | 976 | 1.523438 | 2 |
30 January 2012
with Bonnie Holub
To Dive or not to Dive ...
To dive or not to dive, that is the question. A standing room only crowd filled the Wakulla Agriculture Extension Arena the evening of January 19 to voice opinions on whether scuba diving in Wakulla Spring at Wakulla Springs State Park should be allowed.
Currently the only sanctioned dives in Wakulla Spring are for research on Wakulla’s underwater cave system. Scuba diving in three other springs within the park boundaries is already allowed, but not in the coveted Wakulla Spring, the big one, or as someone said, “the Mt. Everest” of diving. Scuba diving is allowed in a few other Florida state parks.
In one way, the meeting reminded me of a basketball game. If you were on the “no diving,” side of the issue, it appeared that your team would “win” the evening…at least during the first hour and a half of speakers. But sometime during the second half of the meeting, the “yes to diving” side started making gains - that is if you count gains based on the number of people speaking to one side of the issue. And by the end of the meeting, it appeared to be a tie. But it isn’t over yet. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will make the call as to whether the issue continues through the halls of regulation for potential approval or whether the final buzzer has sounded and the current policy of “no public diving in Wakulla Spring” continues.
Those who spoke against opening Wakulla Spring for diving gave several reasons for their stance, including the desecration of underwater caves by overuse and careless divers, the opportunity for unscrupulous people to take artifacts that have been protected in the springs for thousands of years, the liability that comes with the dangers of cave diving, the potential negative effect on other activities at Wakulla Spring such as the proximity to the boats, swimmers and people using the dive tower, a feeling of reverence toward Wakulla Spring and the belief that adding more activities, such as scuba diving, will alter the character and environmental quality of this special place.
Those who spoke in favor of diving in Wakulla Spring cited the increased revenues for the park, and for Wakulla ecotourism in general, and the opportunity for the diving public to experience one of the most unique underwater worlds in the world. Many of the divers were offended by the accusations that divers would desecrate the caves or steal underwater artifacts such as the mastodon bones scattered in the spring, and responded by saying divers are concerned with protecting the environment, not degrading it, and divers will assist with protecting, and not harm, the cave system or the artifacts.
One of the divers who spoke in favor of opening the Wakulla Spring for diving said unauthorized people are already diving in the unique spring. He humorously added, “Here’s’ how you do it, unique in and unique out.” Many believe it would be safer to allow sanctioned diving, where divers would be screened for capabilities and park personnel would regulate the dives. The pro-diving group said divers would help keep the spring free of litter and assist with maintenance of the area.
In reality, the issue is much more serious than a sporting competition. Many view Wakulla Springs State Park and the headwaters of the Wakulla River as a spiritual place; even the word sacred has been used to describe the site. Many have memories of the spring as a place where they spent time as youngsters swimming and picnicking with their families and where they now spend time with their children and grandchildren. A place where families hold celebrations and a place where individuals go in search of serenity and communion with the out-of-doors. And some believe scuba diving in Wakulla Spring “just isn’t right.”
On the other hand, those in favor of scuba diving at Wakulla Spring believe it just isn’t right to ban the qualified public from experiencing the natural wonders offered by underwater cave diving at a state park and to ignore the economic benefits they believe will come to ecotourism in Wakulla.
What do you think? For information about the status of the issue of scuba diving at Wakulla Spring, and to voice your opinion, contact the Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Recreation at (850) 245-2157. | <urn:uuid:dfd905aa-9cfc-4df6-8fc2-0aee36040aa2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forgottencoastline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1134:wakulla-springs-center-of-controversy&catid=48:wakulla-ways&Itemid=201 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953194 | 914 | 1.601563 | 2 |