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News & Events
Clarkson University Offers Summer Program for High School Students in July
The Young Scholars Program, a unique summer experience for talented high school students, will again be offered by Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. The weeklong innovative program, which attracts rising juniors and seniors from around the nation, is designed to spark intellectual development, requiring students to exercise strong communication and cooperative problem solving skills.
Young Scholars is a selective program with a unique approach. Consistent with Clarkson's overall mission of interdisciplinary education and spanning boundaries, students are given a problem to examine and solve from three different perspectives: engineering, business and ethics.
Held on Clarkson's campus from July 27 to August 2, the program is still accepting applications at http://www.clarkson.edu/youngscholars .
In this year's program, students will work collaboratively with Clarkson faculty to identify opportunities to create a riverfront sustainable energy park as part of a new campus master plan. The University is in the early stages of developing a ten-acre site that runs along the scenic Raquette River.
At the end of the week, the students will present their proposals and models to a panel of energy and architectural experts and Clarkson administrators.
William Vitek, associate professor of philosophy; Kenneth Visser, associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering of the Coulter School of Engineering; and Michael Ensby, director of engineering & global operations management, will teach and assist the students. Richard Campbell, director of academic and community relations of the University's Clarkson School, will host and direct the event.
Past Young Scholars topics and projects have included Small is Beautiful: New Home Design, We Can Get There From Here: Rethinking Public Transportation In A Post Carbon-World, Redesigning Portable Housing, Waterfront Recreation-Development, and Small is Bountiful: Advanced Technology Down on the Farm.
The Young Scholars Program is administered by The Clarkson School, the University's early entrance program for talented high school students who have completed the eleventh grade and are ready to begin their college studies. | <urn:uuid:6fe3e805-e73a-48c2-9ef5-ab94f1fff984> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clarkson.edu/news/2008/news-release_2008-05-30-1.html | 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 | 0.933004 | 432 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Me being me, I therefore did a bit of reading around policing, mental illness and criminal justice in South Africa – the natural Venn diagram:
During the last few weeks I have managed to make a couple of loose links with the University of Cape Town, who have circulated the blog to a few staff in the psychiatry and criminology departments! Not sure if they’ll be quite at the stage to put the kettle on when I get there in a week or so, but good to make links and see what comes from it.
Having spent a few hours on the internet looking at mental health issues in South Africa, I know that the South African Police Service, of course, face demands like any other police force for intervention with people suffering from mental ill health and who are in crisis. There are also numerous internet stories of crimes both BY and AGAINST vulnerable people with mental health problems. Quite how the presence of mental illness affects police responses to such crimes – if at all – is less clear. The evolution of the South African system and the interface between law and psychiatry has, in part, been affected by high profile incidents like elsewhere in the world. In 1966, the South African Prime Minister Hendrick Verwoerd was stabbed and killed by Dimitri Tsafendas, a temporary employee in Parliament in Pretoria. Found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, Tsafendas was detained until his death in a psychiatric hospital, suffering from schizophrenia. This incident triggered a commission of inquiry under a judge into the issue of Mentally Disordered Offenders and to the updating of South African mental health law – the 1973 Mental Health Act. This was modernised again in the Mental Health Care Act 2002.
There is a shortage of trained mental health professionals in South Africa – fewer than 400 psychiatrists for a population of around 50 million people; half of them working in private practice and only a few dozen forensic psychiatrists. (In the UK there are over 3,000 consultant psychiatrists as well as the junior doctors in mental health, for a population of 63 million. This includes hundreds of forensic specialists.) As demands for criminal justice intervention in mental health crisis often result from an inability to access or maintain support from mainstream services, it is hardly surprising that the police are involved given the number of psychiatrists available to the public of a developing nation. One tweeter based in Durban indicated that in her experience mental health issues rarely affect police responses to criminal incidents where suspects are thought to be mentally ill.
Recently, I came across a YouTube clip of Dr Vikram Patel presenting on the subject of global mental health and what he calls ‘task shifting’ – an initiative to have certain aspects of medical care administered by non-clincial, but trained volunteers. This is in operation in South Africa, though the PRIME programme at the University of Cape Town and is partly funded by the UK Department for International Development.
Here are a few links:
1. The South African Mental Health Care Act 2002
2. Dr Vikram Patel talking about global mental health in developing countries.
3. The PRIME website.
4. The South African Mental Health Federation – an umbrella organsation for mental health charities.
5. The World Health Organisation (UN) report on South Africa’s mental health system.
Not much more to say than that – I’m now signing off for two weeks amidst celebrations by Mrs MentalHealthCop that we will be well within an internet, wifi and twitter free zone for much of the fortnight. I will try to send a picture from the top of Table Mountain, just to gloat. | <urn:uuid:9c9e07d7-8239-461d-b4ed-589db5a8d4ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mentalhealthcop.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/south-africa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952716 | 731 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Armed with donation pledges, the Whitefish (MT) library is officially severing its ties with the Flathead County Library System.
On Oct. 18, the Whitefish City Council voted to notify the Flathead County Library Board of Trustees that it intends to terminate its interlocal agreement and establish a separate tax-supported city library. Termination will be effective July 1, 2011.
The decision came on the heels of a final opinion from the state attorney general’s office stating that Whitefish can legally create an independent library and collect a mill levy to fund it. The city will levy 5.95 mills, replacing the county levy for library services.
In addition, Whitefish resident Jake Heckathorn has offered $100,000 to help establish a separate library and indicated that he knows of another person willing to donate $100,000. The Whitefish Library Association has also pledged to contribute funds.
The split comes after more than a year of publicized disagreements between Flathead County library officials and advocates of an autonomous Whitefish library. | <urn:uuid:bbb43699-ebef-4a03-bb78-bbe3c29dc44f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lisnews.org/whitefish_wants_its_own_library_thank_you_very_much | 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 | 0.944262 | 213 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Top 1% Of American Income Earners Paid Nearly As Much In Taxes As The Bottom 95%
The latest data from the IRS for the 2010 tax year shows that America’s lop-sided tax burden continues. From Professor Mark Perry:
According to new IRS data, the 1.35 million taxpayers that represent the highest-earning one percent of the Americans who filed federal income tax returns in 2010 earned 18.9% of the total gross income and paid 37.4% of all federal income taxes paid in that year. In contrast, the 128.3 million taxpayers in the bottom 95% of all U.S. taxpayers in 2010 earned 66.2% of gross income and that group paid 40.9% of all taxes paid. In other words, the top 1 percent (1.35 million) of American taxpayers paid almost as much federal income tax in 2010 ($354.8 billion) as the entire bottom 95% of American tax filers ($388.4 billion), see chart above. And it’s that group of top income earners (with income above $221,000 in 2010 to be in the top one percent), that Obama and the Democrats want to tax even more.
According to our friends on the left, “the rich” don’t “pay their fair share” and so should face income tax hikes. But when the top 1% of income earners are paying nearly as much in income taxes as the bottom 95% of income earners, isn’t that more than their fair share?
Not only is that actually very unfair, but it is leading to a government bubble. We’ve seen bubbles in the housing market, and the student loan market, and both were the result of a disconnect between consumer and costs. Because home loans and student loans weren’t, and aren’t, priced appropriately (thanks to government subsidies) too many people bought them which created the bubble.
In the case of taxation, government isn’t being priced appropriately. We are growing government, but hiding the cost either by lumping it on a small portion of the populace (“the rich”) or by not paying for it at all (our $1 trillion annual budget deficit).
If we want end the government bubble, we must start taxing Americans more evenly for the government they’re getting.Tags: national debt deficits, Taxes | <urn:uuid:d448599f-dd98-41d4-8aef-a0230a2673f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/top-1-of-american-income-earners-paid-nearly-as-much-in-taxes-as-the-bottom-95/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963885 | 495 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Transferring pictures, music, data, and other files between your Android device and your computer can be simple--if you've got a cable within easy reach. If not, you may end up sticking with last year's music or keeping your pics locked up tight where nobody can see them. Fortunately, a free app called Software Data Cable lets you use your Wi-Fi network to transfer files easily. Here's how to use it:
- Download Software Data Cable here.
- Make sure your Android device and your computer are both attached to the same Wi-Fi network.
- Launch the app and tap Start Service in the lower left.
- You should see an FTP address near the bottom of your screen.
Type that address into your file manager on your computer.
- You should see a list of folders on your device. (If not, check and double-check that you typed the address correctly. Note also that I tested this with Windows but can't guarantee that it works for Macs or Linux machines.) You can use this folder view to add, delete, or modify contents just as if the device were connected via cable.
- Tap Settings in the bottom right to set up security, set access to SD card only, and more.
- Software Data cable comes with a built-in file manager that's pretty great; just select File Manager from the top center to navigate your phone's files without using your computer.
That's it! This is a great utility for folks who transfer lots of files or have cats who think USB cables are chew toys.
Thanks to PCMag for the link! | <urn:uuid:6f8edea9-6da8-4525-aa89-1d048d211156> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57376939-285/transfer-data-wirelessly-to-your-android-device/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934651 | 329 | 1.71875 | 2 |
ASUS has long supported overclockers with their motherboards, but the Rampage II Extreme takes things to the next level. In addition to an even more robust BIOS than what we’re used to, we’re given the ability to put our multi-meters to good use with the help of easy-access board contacts. When all said and done though, is the RIIE really worth the $400 asking price?
Before tackling our overclocking results, let’s first clear up what we consider to be a real overclock and how we go about achieving it. If you regularly read our processor reviews, you may already be aware that I personally don’t care for an unstable overclock. It might look good on paper, but if it’s not stable, then it won’t be used. Very few people purchase a new piece of equipment for the sole purpose of finding the maximum overclock, which is why we focus on finding what’s stable and usable.
To help find the maximum stable overclock on any given motherboard, we focus on sticking to the simpler voltages, such as the ones for the Northbridge and CPU, and also the DIMM if it’s required. We try to work within safe limits, because anything too high is going to only kill your hardware faster. Luckily, all computer components nowadays are designed to handle some abuse, so you never need a lot of voltage to get anywhere.
With Core i7, more factors can come into play with overclocking, but we focus on increasing the Base Clock first and foremost, just like we focus on the Front-Side Bus on Core 2 motherboards. Our goal is to keep voltages are low as possible while reaching the highest stable overclock. Areas where we will increase voltage if needed is the CPU, Northbridge and QPI.
When reviewing a new motherboard, there’s usually few surprises lurking under the covers, but the Rampage II Extreme gave the opposite experience. There is so much of interest on this board overclocking-wise, that I had to spend more time with it than I do with most boards. I’ll also pre-face this by saying that I’m in no way a professional overclocker, so any results I have here are going to be similar to what the layman could pull off. In that regard, I’m really under-selling what this board can do or handle.
On the first page, we talked briefly about the overclocking-related buttons and switches found at the right side of the board, and we’ll touch on them here in more detail. These buttons are self-explanatory for the most part, but the middle knob will allow you to take advantage of the TweakIt feature and switch between overclocking profiles while in Windows. It’s a feature that will likely see limited use, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
It’s the small beige connectors below the buttons that are arguably of most interest, though. At first, I thought these might have been some elaborate LED, but that’s not the case. Rather, ASUS includes two small cables (for the lack of a better word) that can be plugged into any one of these. On the other end of the small wires are points that can be attached to the end of your multi-meter. What this allows is real-time (and more accurate) readouts of the current voltage information.
Below each one of these is the label for the corresponding component. If you want to get a reading for the CPU voltage, for example, you’d connect the cable to the top-most port, and for DRAM, you’d use the bottom. It goes without saying that this feature will be for enthusiast overclockers only, but it’s an appreciated one. It rids the need to find the proper connect points on the board, and allows you to leave your soldering gun in your toolbox.
I tested the feature out, and overall I’m really impressed. Each figure I captured proved to be slightly higher in the real-world. The BIOS figures would undersell the voltage by a very small margin, but that’s nothing surprising. In the photo below, I was connected to the DRAM port, and while the BIOS reported 1.747V, the multi-meter reported a slightly higher 1.765V.
Again, this is a very limited-use feature, but it’s one I’m definitely pleased to see included. When performing extreme overclocks, it’s not unlike the BIOS to report slightly skewed voltage readouts, so this addition is going to be appreciated by anyone who takes overclocking very seriously.
That feature isn’t the only thing of interest here, however, as this became the first board (out of the four total) that has been able to hit a stable 200MHz Base Clock. The Rampage II Extreme didn’t stop there though, as we managed to push it to 210MHz and still retain full stability.
This overclock required an increase of voltage on the QPI/DRAM Core Voltage to 1.55V (stock is 1.2V), which is considered to be a “moderate” setting. Things get sketchy at 1.6625V, where the BIOS highlights the figure to red, to let us know that we’re entering a dangerous area. Overall though, 210MHz is a very impressive overclock, and beats the previous champion, the Gigabyte EX58-UD5, by an additional 20MHz.
I should note that for the most part, having such a high Base Clock means little, as it’s simply not needed. Like FSB, increasing the Base Clock (and Uncore and QPI clocks) will make very little, if any, difference in overall performance. What a higher BCLK does mean, though, is that locked processors will have a chance at a higher overclock. But even then, 200+ is going to have extremely limited use.
The math can tell all. Even with a Base Clock of 180MHz, which three of our boards was able to hit with ease, a 3.6GHz overclock on the i7 920 would be possible. That of course assumes that your i7 920 would even be capable of that overclock (ours happens to be 100% stable at that frequency). But beyond that, the chances of a stable overclock get dim, very quickly. Having a 190MHz BCLK would allow a 3.8GHz overclock, and it’s at that point that I feel you’ll experience diminishing returns.
That all aside, this board will have no problem hitting extreme clocks, so it’s completely up to your processor to handle the stress of whatever clock speed you’re hoping for. We haven’t been able to achieve 4.0GHz stable on any of our chips here due to temperatures (100°C is hit rather easily on air, with the help of our higher-than-normal ambient temperatures), but I have little doubt that it can be achieved on at least the i7 Extreme 965. | <urn:uuid:dbcb6843-bb98-4f9b-a3c0-ee7a81c6b230> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techgage.com/article/asus_rampage_ii_extreme_-_the_definitive_overclocking_board/8/ | 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 | 0.950397 | 1,496 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Elegant Damascus, besieged by both sides
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - In a city lived in for seven millennia, it may take more than two years of civil war to put a full stop to the genteel round of dinner parties and walks in the park for the affluent folk of downtown Damascus.
But from out in the grim suburbs, rebels incensed at their prosperous neighbors' passivity lob in more bombs and President Bashar al-Assad's forces make their presence ever more heavily felt around his stronghold, disrupting comfortable old routines and setting fear gnawing at Damascenes' cocoon of civilization.
Many feel trapped between an unloved authority in the form of the 43-year-old Assad dynasty and hungry revolutionaries at the gates, who resent the city's privileged lifestyle.
Though fighting has turned parts of the outer sprawl of the capital of more than 1.5 million into an urban battlefield, especially since major rebel advances last summer, and though some 70,000 Syrians have been killed since protests began two years ago, central areas of Damascus long remained untouched.
But that is changing as frontlines encroach and as troops and the shabbiha militias loyal to Assad reinforce the garrison around his power base. Noticeable too is how people who have fled homes in the suburbs have been camping in downtown parks.
Then last week three car bombs exploded in central Damascus, killing dozens. Hours later, mortars fell on the wealthiest district of Maliki, where dozens of high-ranking government officials and the prosperous merchant class live.
One landed next to the home of the foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem, a few minutes walk from the private residence of the president himself. Another fell on a building formerly owned by Assad's uncle, Rifaat, now banished in exile. From the building, which houses top officials, hangs a portrait of the president.
Outgunned by forces dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels have made little headway of late in reaching the center. After the devastation suffered by the suburbs from rockets, rebel attacks on the city center are sparse in comparison.
But those living there see them as an outlet for mounting resentment among the Sunni poor on the outskirts over what they see as sympathies for Assad among the wealthy downtown, not just among Alawites but also prosperous Sunni merchant families.
"You just wait and see what the rebels will do when they enter Damascus," said one taxi driver, originally from the outer suburbs who is now a refugee in what he regards as Damascus proper. "If they destroy it all, it won't be enough."
Another man from the embattled suburb of Harasta said that any looting of the house of the rich in the center would be "halal" - permissible under Islamic law:
"They don't know what we've been through," he said. "Our homes are completely destroyed. You know how many families have been killed in my town? Women? Children? Old people?"
Rebels have repeatedly called on downtown Damascenes to join them, even if only through turning their backs more firmly on the Assads, in civil disobedience. Many feel let down, even by those in the city who would welcome change, suspecting them of putting fear of revolution ahead of their dislike of Assad.
One businessman, a critic of the president, said he sensed contempt for him when he visited his family shoe factory in a rebel stronghold on the outskirts. "I asked them why they had allowed so many kidnappings and killings to happen under their nose," he said, after his own brother survived such a kidnap.
"They told me: 'We protect our own. But outsiders are not our problem. Rich city folks? Not our problem.'"
After last week's car bombings, comments by opposition figures on social media echoed that resentment of the wealthy:
"Good, let them have a taste of what we've been going through," said one.
"Damascenes keep going to work and sending their kids to school every day as if life were totally normal, when the rest of us are dying. They deserve it," said another.
Yet the Damascenes also feel besieged by a government that has militarized their capital and employed motley militiamen from the Alawite rural heartlands to enforce security.
For months, Damascus had already looked like a garrison town, where armed government security can sometimes outnumber and often bully pedestrians in the streets.
Now, the government has responded to last week's mortar attacks on the center by issuing heavier weaponry to its urban armed forces. Where their weapons of choice before were pistols and assault rifles, government security men now lug around shoulder-mounted rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers.
"I don't even feel safe at home any more," complained one Damascene father of two. "It's one thing for government forces to walk around with machineguns. But RPGs? A mortar shell or grenade can come flying through my window any minute.
The government's shadowy shabbiha militiamen move about town with impunity, carrying half-concealed pistols or shoulder-slung Kalashnikovs. They speed through red lights with an apparent disregard for pedestrians, and cut to the front of any line.
Leaving the house at night is dangerous and even simple tasks, like going to the pharmacy, have become difficult.
After a bomb last July killed Assad's brother-in-law, the authorities began to raid clinics and private hospitals in search of doctors who treat wounded rebels.
Medical staff have fled and now almost every pharmacy in the city has had a fixture: an officer from state security who sits behind the counter and watches the comings and goings of customers, looking for tell-tale signs they are aiding rebels.
Prices have risen sharply and militiamen and soldiers manning the streets harass residents as lawlessness and kidnapping continue to rise.
"They keep oppressing and oppressing," said one Damascene, referring to Assad's leadership.
"But the real tragedy is that the rebels hate us, too."
(The name of this reporter has been withheld for security reasons)
(Editing by Oliver Holmes and Alastair Macdonald)
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- Digg this | <urn:uuid:ff661118-ad98-4318-ab56-6a686abb7449> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/27/us-syria-crisis-damascus-idUSBRE91Q12M20130227?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971538 | 1,296 | 1.757813 | 2 |
FORT WALTON BEACH -- Last year state Rep. Matt Gaetz was able to neuter but not kill a state requirement that Florida service stations pump only gasoline containing ethanol.
His fellow lawmakers refused to take the 2008 Renewable Fuel Standard Act off the books, but they did agree to remove provisions through which merchants could be punished for ignoring it.
“Only in government do you get a compromise like I got,” Gaetz told the Okaloosa League of Women Voters recently. “We still have the mandate, but you don’t get in trouble for violating it.”
This year he and state Sen. Greg Evers of Baker have vowed to try again to do away with the ethanol mandate.
Gaetz, who has already filed House Bill 4001 to eliminate the ethanol mandate, said he learned Tuesday that Adam Putnam, commissioner of Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, was dropping his opposition to it.
“Last year Commissioner Putnam’s opposition was a major hurdle for us,” said Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach. Gaetz said Putnam decided to drop his opposition after learning that BP, which had considered building a major ethanol refining plant in Central Florida, was backing off the idea.
“They’ve decided ethanol production in Florida is not viable,” he said.
The Renewable Fuel Standard Act was passed in response to a federal decree that states begin moving toward using gasoline containing more ethanol.
What Gaetz has called “a feel-good attempt to use alternative energy” became state law, he told the League of Women Voters, at a time in Florida when “Gov. Crist was being politically romanced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in California.”
Ethanol is a product created by fermenting and distilling starch crops that is said to help lessen the amount of carbon dioxide released in the air as fossil fuels are consumed.
When the act was implemented in 2010, all the gasoline sold in Florida was required to contain between 9 and 10 percent ethanol.
A ruling by a Federal Court of Appeals this week opened the door to distribution of fuels with a 15 percent ethanol concentration, The Hill website reported Tuesday.
Christina Martin, executive vice president of the national Renewable Fuels Association, said, “Now is not the time for Florida to stick its head in the sand and deny its role as a potential leader in biofuels.”
“At this time, next generation ethanol companies are starting up like the one in Vero Beach, which is currently generating 400 direct and indirect jobs and will result in 60 full-time jobs,” Martin said in an email.
"The state is implementing a vision to improve infrastructure for moving ethanol product," Martin said.
“Florida should be proud. It should lead, not run from a future that is more energy independent and economically secure,” she said.
The Gaetz-Evers bill introduced last year added language making that there would be no penalty for distributors or retailers who provide gasoline without ethanol, Gaetz said.
He argued last year that ethanol had proven to be hard on some engines and reduced a vehicle’s miles-per-gallon performance, and that the energy required to produce ethanol negated any savings that might be realized.
He said he wants to finish last year’s work “to send the right message of freedom in every corner of the market.”
Gaetz also said eliminating the Renewable Fuel Standard Act will clear up any existing controversy for gasoline distributors and retailers.
“I think at a minimum they are confused,” he said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn. | <urn:uuid:1b597212-8e43-4053-abbb-89fb5663bdc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/government/state-rep-matt-gaetz-continues-fight-to-end-ethanol-mandate-1.79675 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958562 | 803 | 1.78125 | 2 |
March 21, 2012
Public Forum on Gang Awareness
Parents, educators, members of the clergy, social service and community organizations and other interested members of the general public who want to advocate for youth are invited to a special public forum on Gang Awareness/Prevention on Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m., at the John H. Stamler Police Academy, 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, on the Union County Vo-Tech campus. This free presentation is being presented by the Union County Human Relations Commission.
“This is the third in a series of public forums to increase our understanding and capacity to intervene to prevent and reduce street violence in our communities,” said Peter McTiernan, who co-chairs the Commission with James Keefe. “It is important for everyone in the community to come together as we explore the best practices for developing outreach to our youth, and to develop and fund gang-prevention measures that target keeping our youth, families and communities safe,” he said.
“Acknowledging the presence and impact the gang culture has in our communities, the purpose of the forum is to discuss and share ways that our community can address these issues and work with youth to encourage healthy choices, relationships and affiliations,” said Commissioner Alfred Brown, who chairs the Commission’s Interfaith Community Network.
Commissioner Martin Dickerson, the curriculum director for Asbury Park schools and a former middle school principal, noted in January’s Forum that “gangs are a community problem, not a police problem. We need for parents and other members of the community to come and be part of the solution.”
Individuals representing law enforcement, the clergy and other social service agencies will share programs and activities they are undertaking in their communities. This program will include remarks by the Roselle Police Department.
Free parking is available on the site, and the facility is wheelchair accessible.
If you are interested in attending this forum, or to receive information on future forums, call the Union County Human Relations Commission at 908-889-9028. | <urn:uuid:e4dab3ae-7597-48f6-bd19-d9df6a162bf4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ucnj.org/government/prosecutor/news-releases/public-forum-on-gang-awareness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954597 | 432 | 1.554688 | 2 |
A photograph of New York Police Officer Lawrence DePrimo giving boots to a barefoot homeless man has gone viral, getting more than 400,000 "likes" on the department's Facebook page and a wave of positive media attention.
The picture was taken by Jennifer Foster, the communications director for the Public Safety Communications Division of the Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff's Office. She was visiting Times Square when she saw the homeless man begging for change.
"Right when I was about to approach, one of your officers came up behind him," she wrote in an email to the New York Police Department that it posted with the image on Facebook. "The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.’
"The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching."
A heartwarming story, but some of New York City's homeless and homeless advocates are not so impressed.
There was the October video of the NYPD cop pummeling a homeless youth who was trying to sleep in a Crown Heights youth center. Then there was the homeless man who says police violently threw him to the ground after handcuffing him, and the off-duty judge who witnessed the June incident saying he got karate-chopped in the throat.
In addition, for decades the NYPD flagrantly abused a loitering law to unconstitutionally arrest the homeless in a manner "offensive to the rule of law," a federal judge ruled in 2010. State courts struck down those laws in 1983 and 1988, but the NYPD continued the arrests until U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin held the city in contempt for "obstinance and uncooperativeness" in her April 2010 opinion. In February, the city reached a $15-million class-action settlement with 22,000 people who had been illegally arrested under the law.
That history tends to color the homeless advocates' less-than-charitable reaction to the NYPD's celebration of DePrimo's charity.
“I think what this guy did was in a spirit of genuine compassion and, I think, a real contrast with Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg’s failed policies over the past decade," said Patrick Markee, a senior policy analyst for the New York-based Coalition for the Homeless. “Look, since the [Mayor Rudolph W.] Giuliani years, the word to police officers is, 'Find any excuse to roust the homeless. Issue them tickets, arrest them, move 'em on.' That’s been the message. And we’ve had a few instances of officers very courageously standing up to that kind of brutal and uncaring policy that essentially criminalizes people’s poverty and homelessness.”
Markee cited NYPD Officer Eduardo Delacruz, who faced charges from his own department in 2003 for refusing to arrest a homeless man sleeping in a parking garage at a time of sharp increases in homeless arrests due to city crackdowns.
The NYPD's history with the homeless had Raul Rodriguez of Picture the Homeless -- a New York advocacy group led by the homeless -- doubting the picture's veracity.
“This is Times Square, you understand?" Rodriguez said. "And because of all the big people who work in Times Square, the Police Department around that area are very, very particular on who hangs out in Times Square. They will make you move right quick because they don’t want people like us hanging around."
He added, "That picture gives the impression the whole department is compassionate. It’s not like that."
The image of a police officer helping a homeless man struck some advocates as running against the grain of city policies both in New York City and in the rest of the nation that aim to "sweep homelessness out of view," said Heather Maria Johnson, a civil rights attorney for the Washington-based National Law Center for the Homeless.
National prohibitions on panhandling and sleeping in public have increased 7% and 10% respectively over the last three years, Johnson said. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, the number of homeless at shelters has increased 50% during Bloomberg's term.
Markee said little had changed between the homeless and the NYPD since Giuliani's threats to arrest anybody police caught sleeping on the streets.
“It was a really moving photo and a moving story," Markee said, "and a stark contrast to a mayor who has largely ignored the homeless crisis that has spiraled out of control on his watch."
"Individual acts of kindness are laudable and we only wish that the NYPD leadership encouraged more of them," McGregor Smyth of the Bronx Defenders, a civil rights legal defense group, said in an email in which he commended DePrimo. "Unfortunately, instead of providing meaningful assistance, the NYPD's overall policies towards homeless New Yorkers include routine harassment, summonses, and arrests for the most minor offenses." | <urn:uuid:a9e7fd3f-e9ae-41fc-8522-92694177fed3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-nypd-cop-helps-homeless-man-photo-20121129,1674529,491425.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967932 | 1,052 | 1.507813 | 2 |
(American Institute for Economic Research’s Walker F.) Todd also questioned the Fed’s decision to accept stock as collateral backing a loan to a bank. “If you make a loan in an emergency secured by equities, how is that different in substance from the Fed walking into the New York Stock Exchange and buying across the board tomorrow?” he asked. “And yet this, the Fed has steadfastly denied ever doing.”
Bloomberg reported that the Fed accepted stocks as collateral for its unprecedented emergency loans. It didn’t calculate how much stock it took on, but it said that Morgan Stanley gave the Fed $21.5 billion in stock, which is about one-third of the collateral it put up for $61.3 billion in loans.
Sure, the U.S. stock market alone is worth many trillions of dollars of course, but most of it isn’t turned over in any given day. Back in 2008, the New York Stock Exchange turned over about 1.4 times a year.
How much total stock did the Fed take on in exchange for that $1.2 trillion? Whose shares were they? Did it effectively subsidize the stock market by preventing banks from forced-selling of tens of billions of dollars of shares all at once?
— Atrios says twenty-three words all you need to know about the economics of subsidizing football stadiums:
It is a mystery to me why anyone thinks a sport with 8 home games per year can provide a local economic boost.
— I almost always find question headlines annoying. But dumb-question headlines can mar a whole piece.
Take this New York Times Magazine story this weekend that ran under this headline:
Does America Need Manufacturing?
Does The New York Times *really* need news?
You don’t need to read a word of the story to know the answer. | <urn:uuid:0ed3c65f-c2b5-47d0-ac16-66b275c92716> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/audit_notes_stocks_fed_stadium.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962408 | 390 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Obamacare ruling Q & A
Asked and answered, by us:
Q: Was any part of the Affordable Care Act struck down?
A: The Medicaid expansion coming in 2014, which will add millions of people to health insurance, was altered from mandatory for states to optional. A majority of justices agreed that the act’s threatening to eliminate all Medicaid funding for states if the states declined to join the coming expansion amounted to “economic dragooning,” and was unconstitutional coercion.
On the primary issue of the mandate, the court simply changed the language. They said a mandate is in fact unconstitutional, but lifted from the bottom of the batting order a lesser-known argument by the Obama administration. If you call it a tax on failing to do something, rather than a mandate to do something, it becomes legal, with plenty of precedent, the court said. So Congress does have the power to issue a tax penalty on people who fail to acquire insurance privately, if they are not covered by their employer or by a government program. That “tax” follows the idea that everybody gets health care at some point, and a large pool of payers is needed to fund it or the system falls apart.
Q: What happens to the rest of the act?
A: Everything else stays in place, including the parts that are already enforced. That means millions of people up to age 26 who latched onto their parents’ insurance policies can stay on; Medicare patients will still get help with their “donut hole” of prescription costs; children with pre-existing conditions must still have access to insurance; and many grants and research projects will move forward, including expansions of local low-cost clinics and experiments with how doctors and hospitals get paid.
More provisions will kick in for 2014, including the basic concept that adults cannot be denied insurance for pre-existing conditions, and insurance companies can’t charge the sick a lot more than the healthy.
Q: Does this end private insurance?
A: It’s certainly not meant to. Companies or firms with more than 50 employees must provide insurance to their employees, or pay penalties. Some smaller companies who currently offer insurance may decide to direct their employees through the state insurance exchanges if they prove to be consumer friendly as promised. Medicare will continue as it has, and Medicaid will be expanded to cover millions more Americans at a higher income level than the low-income program currently covers.
Q: Do the state health exchanges continue?
A: Yes, they will continue to write rules and hire software developers and otherwise prepare for the Jan. 1, 2014 opening date of the exchanges. The state exchanges are meant to be the main consumer interface of the Affordable Care Act. In theory, they will present an easy-to-compare list of insurance plans offering a mandatory level of coverage, at affordable prices. Those who can’t afford the prices can get federal tax credits to help them pay, for people with incomes up to 400 percent of federal poverty level. Colorado’s Health Benefits Exchange is currently working through a $17.8 million federal grant to make policy, prepare software and otherwise shape the exchange and get it ready. Some of the main decisions left involve what constitutes basic levels of coverage, and how to make policies affordable while still including enough care to keep people healthy.
Q: Will everyone in Colorado be covered?
A: The expansion of Medicaid and the subsidies for individuals through the exchange will bring about a half-million more Coloradans into health insurance plans. That will leave up to 250,000 without insurance.
Q: Do Colorado opponents of health care reform have power to block the act at a state level?
A: The Legislature’s oversight committee has in the past approved grant applications by the health benefits exchange for their operating money. Those grants have been approved, and Colorado’s exchange has moved faster than many states, despite Republican control of the Colorado House and some vocal opposition. The Legislature also has oversight on Medicaid spending, but federal rules are so restrictive in that program that a major overhaul is unlikely. If Colorado Republicans wanted to opt out of the Medicaid expansions, they would be giving up a 100 percent pickup of the cost in the first few years by the federal government, and 90 percent pickup thereafter.
Q: Does Colorado have enough space and medical staff to accommodate 500,000 newly-paying patients?
A: Colorado will need more. Some of those patients are already getting care, but simply have no resources to pay for it. The Colorado Health Institute analyzed the needs under the Affordable Care Act Growth, and found the state will need to add “between 71 and 117 additional primary care physicians and between 12 and 24 additional nurse practitioners and physician assistants.”
Low-income and uninsured patient clinics are already adding space and employees under Affordable Care Act grants, and those efforts will continue.
Q: After the federal government stops paying 100 percent of the Medicaid expansion, and only pays 90 percent, how much will that 10 percent share cost the state of Colorado?
A: Some state officials have said there is not yet a calculation for that number, though given that the state’s health finance budget is more than $3.5 billion a year, any expansion to the state contribution can easily run into the tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars. | <urn:uuid:46eddbbc-7c5c-4479-be05-d4b178232519> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.denverpost.com/health/2012/06/28/obamacare-ruling/1236/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954418 | 1,096 | 1.703125 | 2 |
p. 203 Chapter XXV.—Philip and Modestus.
Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius, 1272 was bishop of the parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate work against Marcion, 1273 as did also Irenæus 1274 and Modestus. 1275 The last named has exposed the error of the man more clearly than the rest to the view of all. There are a number of others also whose works are still presented by a great many of the brethren.
See above, chap. 23, §5.203:1273
Philips work against Marcion which Eusebius mentions here is no longer extant, and, so far as the writer knows, is mentioned by no other Father except Jerome (de vir. ill. 30), who tells us only what Eusebius records here, using, however, the adjective præclarum for Eusebius σπουδαιότατον203:1274
On Irenæus, see above, chap. 21, note 9.203:1275
Modestus, also, is a writer known to us only from Eusebius (here, and in chap. 21) and from Jerome (de vir. ill. 32). According to the latter, the work against Marcion was still extant in his day, but he gives us no description of it. He adds, however, that a number of spurious works ascribed to Modestus were in circulation at that time (Feruntur sub nomine ejus et alia syntagmata, sed ab eruditis quasi ψευδόγραφα repudiantur). Neither these nor the genuine works are now extant, so far as we know. | <urn:uuid:254fb25f-30c9-44e8-99f1-786733fa4c97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/201/2010134.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959801 | 383 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Nutley Historical Society & Museum
The Nutley Historical Society & Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of Nutley. The facility is located in the old schoolhouse, which is a on the national registry of historic places, and the board meets once a month. The upstairs area houses the museum featuring many different items from the history of Nutley and the downstairs is used as a meeting place for cultural events and local civic organizations.
- Hours: Hours vary; visit website for open house dates.
- Founding Date: Mar 5, 1945
- Parking: On-street: free
- Guided tours?: Yes | <urn:uuid:28c2f982-e435-4f1e-85c2-46acb90d6939> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://belleville.patch.com/listings/nutley-historical-society-museum | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930487 | 125 | 1.75 | 2 |
|Regions:Dover/Somersworth -Great Bay - Rochester - Southern Maine|
|Exeter Greenland Portsmouth New Castle Newington Stratham Rye|
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‘Our War’ explores NH involvement in Civil War
Sunday, March 17, 2013
PORTSMOUTH -- RiverRun Bookstore welcomes historian and journalist Mike Pride to read from and discuss his new book, Our War: Days and Events in the Fight for the Union, on Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m.
This innovative approach allows the people of the Civil War generation to answer the big questions in their own words: Why did they go to war? How did the war play out on the home front? How did they view the shift in the war’s cause from preserving the Union to freeing the slaves? Why did men fight on despite poor leadership, ghastly carnage, and epidemic swamp fevers?
A few familiar names show up in Our War, but nearly all its characters are ordinary people trying to survive extraordinary times. In these pages they live again a century and a half later to capture the essence of their war, and ours.
RiverRun Bookstore is located at 142 Fleet St. in downtown Portsmouth. NH. The store hosts more than 150 events each year. For details, call 603-431-2100 or visit www.riverrunbookstore.com. | <urn:uuid:1452b50d-2dd4-44e1-b925-2040462bf947> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130317/GJCOMMUNITY_01/130319380/-1/FOSNEWS03&template=PortsmouthRegion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939531 | 301 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Cooking With Spices
Of Cooking With Spices
Pages: 1 2
"Now, if your local Whole Foods happens to be all out of these healthy items, you might find the solution closer at hand -- lurking at the back of your spice cupboard."
In man’s eternal quest for health, he has turned to many natural remedies that include the mythical aphrodisiacal properties of tiger penis soup to the weird and wonderful world of eel porn. Now, if your local Whole Foods happens to be all out of these healthy items, you might find the solution closer at hand -- lurking at the back of your spice cupboard.
Spices have a host of health benefits and man has been using them as far as records go back for their medicinal value. Scientists in the U.S. recently discovered that these flavor-givers have more antioxidants than either fruits or vegetables.
So, whether it’s weight loss you’re after, muscle relaxants for after bouts of exercise or if you’re having skin problems, the solution might just be a spicy one. Sounds like a good excuse to get a dry-rub on the go and fire up the barbecue -- in fact, recent scientific experiments have shown that a sprinkle of spice on your meat prior to grilling can lower its cancer-causing carcinogens. Here are the health benefits of cooking with spices.
CuminUsed in: an essential part of Indian cooking, Turkish kebabs and kofta, North African and Moroccan food, it also extends as far as China and northern Mexico.
Try: taking whole seeds (toasted), tossed with grated carrot, lime juice, sultanas, and diced pickled jalapenos as a side for grilled meat.
Why: Cumin has a whole host of health benefits ideal for men who are on a fitness regime or interested in their body’s ability to stay at the top of its game. The spice raises one’s metabolic rate and makes it easier for the body to absorb nutrients. It is incredibly rich in iron, which helps to make the blood richer in hemoglobin, which is essential for muscle strength during exercise as it ferries oxygen to, and removes carbon dioxide from, your muscles. It also aids digestion, relieving plenty of potentially embarrassing ailments such as flatulence and diarrhea. Finally, it improves mental alacrity and memory functions, meaning you’ll never forget her birthday, favorite song or, name again.
CapsaicinUsed in: South American cooking and taken around the world by Portuguese sailors, and now one of the backbones of Asian food
Try: Cooking with this spice could take the form of green chilies with fresh cilantro, natural yogurt, lime juice, and mint leaves; serve with grilled chicken.
Why: We’re all familiar with capsaicin in its most commonly found form -- chili. The Scoville scale measures heat in these fiery bad boys according to how much capsaicin is found within them. Scientists originally thought the heat was designed as a defense mechanism, which kind of backfired when it came to humans who developed an addiction to the fiery stuff.
Cooking with this spice packs a health punch as well as a heat kick, providing pain relief, relieving a blocked up nose and preventing painful sinusitis (useful if you still smoke). Probably more key for us guys is the fact it can aid weight loss as a "thermogenic agent," which means it raises metabolic activity in the body thus helping to burn calories and fat. Above all, though, is the fact it that it will "make you strong like an ox" as it increases your libido by increasing your heart rate, stimulating nerve endings and releasing endorphins.
Black pepperUsed in: Nearly every country’s cuisine uses black peppercorns; the most delicious of which are said to come from Kampot in Cambodia
Try: Roll tuna in crushed black peppercorns, sear in a hot pan, chill, and serve thickly sliced with diced avocado, red chili, lime juice, and coriander
Why: Almost every savory recipe these days calls for a generous grind of the pepper mill -- indeed, food can often taste bland without it. It’s a great idea to add lots to your food as black pepper is what is known as a carminative, a substance that helps prevent intestinal gas from forming (and, in turn, flatulence), and anything that can help in that department has to be a bonus. In fact, it’s great for the entire digestive process -- in ingestion it kick-starts the taste buds that, in turn, send a message to the stomach to increase acid production. The outer layer of peppercorns helps break down fat cells, thus, make sure you buy whole spices (a rule that should be followed when buying any spices as their flavor is much more potent when freshly ground).
Convinced that cooking with spices has some serious health benefits? We have four more next... Next Page >> | <urn:uuid:8d1e4f3c-5b9d-49f3-8914-bbf87cd46094> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_400/431_cooking-with-spices.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944781 | 1,041 | 1.796875 | 2 |
She was long in tooth, a blistering, peeling nearly 90-year-old Hollywood dowager in need of some major "work."
After a $175,000 face-lift unveiled Tuesday, the Hollywood sign looks as young as a golden-age Greta Garbo.
"You know, face-lifts are a routine thing here in Hollywood, even on a 90-year-old," said Leron Gubler, president and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, following a hilltop celebration of Los Angeles' most famous icon. "She's been made over three times in the last 20 years - and now looks better than ever."
The biggest star of Tinseltown now gleams in "high reflective white," courtesy of Sherwin-Williams paints and the Hollywood Sign Trust.
The famous sign, perched atop Mount Lee on the eastern face of Griffith Park, was in danger of fading into obscurity.
Despite a new coat just six years ago, the sign's paint was fading, blistering and peeling. Underneath, the 45-foot corrugated steel letters were cancerous with rust.
The sign visible from across Los Angeles was in need of a major makeover, the first in 34 years.
So the Hollywood Sign Trust kicked in $35,000. And Sherwin-Williams, a 146-year-old paint company based in Cleveland that has covered the White House to the Golden Gate Bridge, donated $140,000 more for specially developed paint and labor.
It took a
By the time they finished painting Monday, they'd applied 110 gallons of acrylic primer and another 275 gallons of Emerald Exterior, at $70 per gallon.
The sign, made from wood until its sagging figure was replaced with metal in 1978, looked stunning.
"She needed some work. She's now beautiful. She's even more glamorous than ever," said Ellen Moreau, vice president of communications and marketing for Sherwin-Williams.
"We've covered a lot of the world: the Hollywood sign is an icon, and we're happy to protect it."
The famous sign, now associated with Los Angeles and its entertainment industry, was first raised in 1923 as "Hollywoodland."
Meant to boost an upscale real estate development, it was lit by 4,000 20-watt bulbs - and was only expected to last a year.
Soon, however, it became a tourist magnet and a glamorous symbol of the city's burgeoning entertainment industry.
On a Friday night in 1932, struggling actress Peg Entwhistle leaped from the letter "H" to her death. She was 24.
By the mid-1940s, the deteriorating sign was deeded over to the city of Los Angeles, where it was included in Griffith Park.
But by 1949, it had become ravaged by termites. Its last "O" had tumbled down the mountain, an "L" had been set on fire by vandals.
Three decades later, Hugh Hefner had a Hollywood sign party at his Playboy Mansion, raising $250,000 from such luminaries as Andy Williams, Gene Autry and Alice Cooper, for a new metal Hollywood landmark, according to Hollywoodsign.org.
The new dimensions: four stories high, 450-feet long and weighing in at 480,000 pounds.
It was lit in time to celebrate the 1984 Summer Olympics.
After its first makeover the next year, the late honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant, held a press conference atop the Metropolitan Hotel, with Phyllis Diller as the guest of honor.
Only they couldn't see the new paint through fog.
On Tuesday, city, chamber, trust and Sherwin-Williams officials were luckier.
"Hollywood's leading lady received two tons of makeup in time to celebrate her 90th birthday," said Chris Baumgart, chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, who has served 20 years at the nonprofit formed to safeguard the sign. "It's about dreams - a dream of making it into the (Hollywood) business, and onto screens both large and small."
In tandem with the Griffith Planetarium, she has also become the face of Los Angeles.
And she's got a new glow to greet the world.
"The Hollywood sign is (our) Eiffel Tower, our Golden Gate Bridge, it is the symbol of Southern California," said Gubler, of the chamber. "Hollywood is the most significant industry in Los Angeles, and of the Valley.
"She looks great, even up close. You can't see any blemishes." | <urn:uuid:68eabe49-4712-4175-8b41-04cfb8882d6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_22125900/star-is-reborn-hollywood-sign-gets-makeover | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971504 | 949 | 1.71875 | 2 |
U.S. Dream Academy
You, the Viewers
For more Information, please contact:
U.S. Dream Academy
10400 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
PH: 800-USDREAM (873-7326)
Web site: www.usdreamacademy.org
Hearing Wintley Phipps sing gospel music has brought tears to the eyes of presidents, celebrities, and even Mother Teresa. Now through the U.S. Dream Academy, Wintley is using the power of his voice to reach out to the children of prisoners and give them a chance to achieve their dreams.
"Our motto is a child with a dream is a child with a chance," says Wintley. "And the opposite is also true. A child without a dream does not stand a chance in this world."
Singing to Save the Next Generation
Twenty years ago, a friend brought Wintley to a prison to sing to the inmates. Wintley was alarmed and haunted by the number of African Americans in prison. When he encountered his wife's pregnant niece in a prison, Wintley says he started to think about the children of people in prison and became very concerned about their future.
"All of my wife's seven brothers and sisters have either been in jail or incarcerated at some point in their lives," says Wintley. "Between 60 and 70% of children of prisoners will become prisoners themselves. I had to do something about it."
In 1998, he created a program to help break the cycle he had seen play out so many times in his own family life. Wintley formed the U.S. Dream Academy to give children who have had a family member behind bars mentoring, academic tutoring, and exposure to computers and the Internet. "Just the computers themselves are not going to transform the lives of these kids," Wintley says. "The most important part of our program is really the caring, loving adults who surround them."
Teaching Children to Dream
Due to the fact that 80% of people in prison are high school dropouts, the program also focuses on at-risk children in grades two through five, to try to reach them when they are academically most vulnerable.
The Dream Academy's first priority is to raise these children's self esteem. The mentoring component gives many children the positive role models they are lacking. Mentors shower the children with love and positive reinforcement.
Wintley says, "I believe that I'm helping children to live out their own dreams, to find their own voice and their own path in life."
A Special Gift from Gateway
Gateway Computers donated 50 top of the line computers for the children at U.S. Dream Academy Learning Centers for academic enrichment. For more information visit www.gateway.com
Building on the Dream
Since receiving the Use Your Life Award, a second site has opened in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Dream Academy has redesigned their center to accommodate more students, streamlined their curriculum, and developed an in-house Web site that hosts academic instruction and educational games for students in grades 3 to 5. The U.S. Dream Academy has also recruited mentors from local colleges.
A new site in Philadelphia will open soon, and plans are being made for additional centers in Houston, Atlanta, New York, New Jersey and Baltimore.
Published on June 11, 2001 | <urn:uuid:a4a6cd18-b1fc-4f0a-b26c-6da6f329e13e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oprah.com/angelnetwork/US-Dream-Academy-Use-Your-Life-Award/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968165 | 708 | 1.632813 | 2 |
South African teacher with 100% pass rate
Shape Msiza teaches English teacher in a South African township north of Johannesburg and her pupils say she is one of a kind.
She recently won an award for excellence in secondary school teaching.
There is good reason for the accolade: She always gets 100% pass rates for her final year, or Grade 12, students, even though many face massive social problems.
She told BBC Africa what motivates her to give students the inspiration they need to succeed.
For more African news from the BBC, download the Africa Today podcast. | <urn:uuid:8ee7a7f1-5178-4f71-9eb9-764d925b911e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21065374 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961684 | 118 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Were it not for the motion-picture academy's arcane rules and stodgy membership, "Waltz With Bashir" could have made history last week as the first movie to receive Oscar nominations simultaneously in the animation, foreign-language and documentary categories. (It was nominated for foreign-language film, but lost.)
Ari Folman's groundbreaking and terrifying movie, which captures the terrors of war as filtered through memory, deserved to compete -- and probably win -- in all three.
The movie begins with a recurring nightmare. Boaz is being chased down a Tel Aviv street by slavering dogs. "They've come to kill," he says. There are 26 of them -- one for each of the dogs Boaz shot during his stint the Israeli army in occupied Lebanon in 1982.
Boaz is recounting his nightmare to his friend Folman, with whom he served. Folman realizes he has no memories of his army service in Lebanon. He then sets out to rebuild his memory, interviewing his old friends and comrades.
The interviews elicit strange fantasy and hard reality. His friend Carmi, now in Holland, recounts a vision of being rescued from his transport ship by a giant nude goddess. A former soldier, Shmuel Frenkel, tells of an incident when he shot at snipers in a West Beirut street, dancing madly amid the gunfire near posters of assassinated Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel. And war correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai details the massacre of 3,000 Palestinian refugees at the Sabra and Shatila camps -- mothers and children among them -- by Gemayel's Christian Phalangist followers, as the Israeli army stood by and even shot flares to light up the night.
Folman's examination of the surreal nature of war -- an act of mass insanity and violence playing out, as he puts it, like "a bad acid trip" -- could not have been captured any way except animation. Folman's team, led by animation director Yoni Goodman and art director David Polonsky, uses the stark animated images to blend reportage, eyewitness accounts, faulty memory and recalled dreams into a seamless portrayal of how the mind channels the horrors of war.
The animation also serves to create a distance, a prism of artifice -- similar to the animal drawings in Art Spiegelman's classic Holocaust graphic-novel memoir Maus -- that allows the audience to examine the mass murder at Sabra and Shatila with dispassion. Then, in the movie's final scene, Folman switches to documentary footage (shot at the time by Ben-Yishai) of the carnage and death in the camps. At that moment, the true horrors of war, which Folman's animation has allowed us to keep at bay, hit us with their full fury.
Animation brings the surreal nature of war to life in Ari Folman's examination of a 1982 massacre.
Where » Broadway Centre Cinemas.
When » Opens Friday.
Rating » R for some disturbing images of atrocities, strong violence, brief nudity and a scene of graphic sexual content
Running time » 90 minutes; in Hebrew and German with subtitles. | <urn:uuid:0d8c25f0-dd4c-4b34-89d9-97831dd2ce41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sltrib.com/entertainment/ci_11782584 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953189 | 642 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Book Description: John Schlesinger's extraordinary career in cinema, stage, opera, and television spanned half a century. It was, however, his films that made him famous, including such classics as Billy Liar, Darling, Midnight Cowboy, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Day of the Locust, and Marathon Man, as well as The Falcon and the Snowman, Madame Sousatzka, and Pacific Heights. In Edge of Midnight, best-selling author and historian William J. Mann chronicles Schlesinger's life and career-from his early documentary days at the BBC to his Academy Award for the X-rated Midnight Cowboy and his glittering nights as a Hollywood host. The author draws on Schlesinger's tapes, diaries, production notes, and correspondence, as well as on interviews with Schlesinger, his family, his partner of 36 years, and his friends. Also included are revelatory, often hilarious anecdotes about, and interviews with, such celebrities as Sir Laurence Olivier, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Glenda Jackson, Dirk Bogarde, Ian McKellen, Sean Penn, Sally Field, Rupert Everett, and Madonna. This fascinating biography of Schlesinger, who died in 2003, will be a must-have for every film buff. | <urn:uuid:bec145bf-73a7-4df2-a69e-c394a9f7154c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.campusbooks.com/books/biographies-memoirs/arts-literature/entertainers/9780823083664_William-J-Mann-Mann-William-J_Edge-of-Midnight-The-Life-of.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 | 0.965138 | 257 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Bari, Italy, 26 October 2007--At a time of both opportunity and challenge for non-proliferation, the Pugwash Council, meeting in Bari, Italy, has unanimously elected Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka as the new President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Taking office on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first Pugwash Conference, Dhanapala is the eleventh person to hold this title. He follows in the footsteps of such eminent scientists and thinkers as founder Bertrand Russell, and former presidents Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, M.S. Swaminathan, and Sir Joseph Rotblat.
On accepting the post, Dhanapala said, “I am deeply honored to assume the Presidency of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs in the 50th anniversary year of this great movement founded on the bedrock of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. The contribution of Pugwash has been amply recognized by the 1995 award of the Nobel Peace Prize and our challenge now is to build on the achievements of the past to help find solutions to the problems of the present and the future, such as weapons of mass destruction, poverty and climate change. Pugwash is uniquely positioned to do this because of the rich scientific expertise within its membership and the humanist perspective that unites us all.”
Pugwash Secretary General Paolo Cotta Ramusino said, “I am looking forward to working closely with Jayantha Dhanapala to promote Pugwash activities aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear weapons and promoting peace and conflict resolution in critical areas where nuclear weapons are present.”
Outgoing Pugwash President Dr. M.S. Swaminathan of India said, “I am extremely happy that a disarmament expert of the distinction of Jayantha Dhanapala will serve as President of Pugwash for the next five years. Pugwash under the leadership of Dhanapala will continue to lead the global movement for resolving conflicts through conversation and consensus and for eliminating war as a method of solving disputes.”
Dhanapala will work together with the members of the Pugwash Council, a highly distinguished group of 31 internationally-respected scientists and policy figures. Professor Saideh Lotfian of Iran, the new Chair of the Pugwash Council, said, “Pugwash with the help of Dhanapala will be working to strengthen the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime at this time when the risks and uncertainties of a nuclear war between the nuclear weapons states still persist, and new threats to world security emanate from leaders with no regard for the cost imposed on human society by their disregard for their NPT commitments.”
A former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Dhanapala has had a distinguished career as a national and international diplomat, peace-builder and disarmament expert. Among his many diplomatic successes, Dhanapala was widely acclaimed for his Presidency of the 1995 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference, a landmark event in disarmament history.
For information, contact: Claudia Vaughn, ++39 333 456 6661 | <urn:uuid:b79a996b-c88a-40fc-85f0-9872dfdf0941> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.middlepowers.org/archives/000334.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942043 | 657 | 1.507813 | 2 |
KNAU and Arizona News
Tue August 28, 2012
Low Voter Turnout on Primary Day
It's been slow going at polling places across Coconino County for today's Democratic and Republican primaries.
County officials are expecting less than a 30% turnout.
Coconino County Recorder Candace Owens says she doesn't know why it's slow.
But she says as of about 11:00 this morning, one of the busier polling places, Flagstaff High School, had seen fewer than 40 voters.
And of the 22,000 permanent mail-in ballots, the county had received less than half as of Monday.
Owens says she believes those early ballots may just make up the bulk of the turnout.
"It's a little discouraging to me," Owens said, "because some races are decided in the primary, so it will be interesting to me to see what the results are in the rest of the state."
In the state's most populated county, Maricopa, officials are expecting only 30% turnout as well.
Because of redistricting, some polling places have moved, and Owens says her office has received some calls about that.
Polling places are open until 7 pm.
And if you've got your mail-in ballot with you, you can drop it off at any polling station in the county as well as the county offices on Cherry Street in downtown Flagstaff.
State Capitol News | <urn:uuid:a766a7be-78ac-44b1-a253-fb14adf67cb9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://knau.org/post/low-voter-turnout-primary-day | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974571 | 296 | 1.578125 | 2 |
What has the diminished role of corporate credit unions meant for CUSOs of natural person credit unions? The answer is some challenges but lots of opportunities.
Some CUSOs benefited from corporate credit unions as investors and lenders. However, the loss of the corporate credit unions as a capital and liquidity source is not of great significance to most CUSOs. CUSO capital and lending potential in the industry is less than 15% of the industry's CUSO investment capacity and less than 10% of the industry's CUSO lending capacity.
CUSOs that make residential mortgage loans, member business loans and credit card loans need more capital and liquidity than CUSOs providing other services. Often, the owner credit unions' CUSO investment and lending powers are not sufficient to fully fund the opportunities presented. In those cases, loans and capital from the corporate credit unions will be greatly missed. In addition, the amount of large scale operational services CUSOs is growing in number and scale. The day is not far off when operational services CUSOs will have greater capital and loan demands that could have been aided by a strong corporate credit union system.
Despite the corporate melt-down and the resulting reduction in available capital, there is still plenty of capital in the industry at this time. We need to find new means of moving capital from capital-rich, opportunity-starved credit unions to capital-starved, opportunity-rich credit unions and CUSOs. A corporate credit union is essentially a collaboration of credit unions to aggregate capital for investments and liquidity. CUSOs, also collaborations of credit unions, have the tools to meet many of the capital and investment challenges facing credit unions. Let's talk about some cases in point.
TMG Financial Services Inc., a CUSO out of Iowa, buys credit card portfolios from credit unions desiring to sell their portfolios to a credit union-oriented lender. To fund this operation, TMGFS has a collateralized advance program that takes loans from credit unions to fund the purchase the portfolios. The loans earn very favorable returns for the lending credit unions in today's marketplace. The credit unions participating in CAP do not have to be sellers of credit card lending portfolios. Any credit union can participate. To date, more than $115 million has been raised from over 60 credit unions. TMGFS has filled two roles previously filled by corporate credit unions. It has facilitated the movement of capital from one credit union to another and has provided a return on that capital to the lending credit unions.
Natural person CUSOs that issue loans have approached TMGFS and asked if it can help raise loans from credit unions to fund the liquidity needs of their lending operations in order to take advantage of opportunities presented to the CUSOs. To this end, TMGFS has formed CU Structured Finance LLC. Its first client is an established mortgage lending CUSO that used to rely upon a corporate credit union for a warehouse line of credit. CUSF is putting together a syndicate to fund a one-year line of credit commitment at rates higher than can be obtained by traditional credit union investments.
Other CUSOs are looking to fill other service needs of the industry. There are CUSOs that are exploring the creation of registered mutual funds with the underlying assets of student loans, member business loans or residential mortgage loans. These mutual funds would have high quality control over the loan products in order to earn a registered investment status. If approved by all the regulators involved, the funds would enable credit unions to buy high-quality performing investments in the very assets that drive credit unions: loans to members.
These mutual fund shares may take the place of loan participations in a credit union's portfolio. This might be a good thing as the quality control in the registered mutual funds would tend to be higher industrywide than presently demonstrated in the purchase of individual loan participations. By selling into registered mutual funds, credit unions can reduce loan concentration risks and credit unions can better manage the aggregate member business lending cap.
The very existence of these funds will elevate the loan quality as more and more credit unions will want to be able to meet the underwriting criteria to sell loans into the funds. Facilitating the movement of capital and liquidity within the industry is essential and CUSOs are equipped to be that facilitator.
One final role for CUSOs in the corporate credit union world is to use CUSOs to invest and hold investment securities for corporate credit unions in order to reduce risk in the corporate credit union and the share insurance fund. In the hands of innovative people, CUSOs are able to find solutions to many of the issues facing the industry, including those issues posed by the reduced role of corporate credit unions.
Guy Messick is an attorney with Messick & Weber PC and general counsel to NACUSO. He can be reached at 610-891-9000 or [email protected] | <urn:uuid:d7ae4b44-1579-44e8-8171-c4a1b8cccd82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cutimes.com/2010/09/29/corporate-cu-network-fallout-reveals-the-opportunities-to-be-had?t=cusos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966686 | 1,004 | 1.53125 | 2 |
France bans Muslim full-face veil
PARIS: Police in France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim population, arrested two protesters wearing niqab veils on Monday after a ban on full-face coverings went into effect.
The women, part of a demonstration that erupted in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, were detained for taking part in an unauthorised protest rather than for wearing their veils.
But, in theory at least, French officials can now slap fines on Muslim women who refuse orders to expose their faces when in public.
“Today was not about arresting people because of wearing the veil. It was for not having respected the requirement to declare a demonstration,” said police spokesman Alexis Marsan.
Two women in niqabs, a woman wearing an Islamic headscarf that did not cover her face and a protest organiser were arrested, Marsan said.
Separately, businessman and activist Rachid Nekkaz told AFP that he and a female friend wearing the niqab were arrested by police in front of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Elysee Palace.
“We wanted to be fined for wearing the niqab, but the police didn’t want to issue a fine,” said Nekkaz, who has promised to auction off a two-million-euro property to start a fund to pay off fines for veil-wearers.
One of those arrested in front of Notre Dame was 32-year-old Kenza Drider from the southern city of Avignon, who was due to appear on television and has become a symbol of France’s tiny community of niqab wearers.
“This law infringes my European rights, I cannot but defend them, that is to say my freedom to come and go and my religious freedom,” Drider told reporters as she boarded a train for Paris before the protest.
Many French police fear the law will be impossible to enforce, since they have not been empowered to use force to remove head coverings, and could face resistance in already tense immigrant districts.
“The law will be infinitely difficult to enforce, and will be infinitely rarely enforced,” said Manuel Roux, deputy head of a union representing local police chiefs, in an interview with France Inter radio.
“It’s not for the police to demonstrate zeal,” he said, predicting that when patrol officers meet veiled women they will simply try to explain the law to them and to persuade them to remove their face covering.
“If they refuse, that’s when things get really complicated. We have no power to force them,” he said. “I can’t begin to imagine we’re going to pay any attention to a veiled woman in a sensitive area, where men are proud.” The law came into effect at an already fraught moment in relations between the state and France’s Muslim minority, with Sarkozy accused of stigmatising Islam to win back votes from a resurgent far right.
French officials estimate that only around 2,000 women, from a total Muslim population estimated at between four and six million, wear the full-face veils that are traditional in parts of Arabia and South Asia.
Many Muslims and rights activists say the rightwing president is targeting one of France’s most vulnerable groups to signal to anti-immigration voters that he shares their fear that Islam is a threat to French culture.
But support for the ban bridges the left-right divide.
Although the bulk of opposition lawmakers abstained from the vote on the law, 20 supported it and some feminists traditionally associated with the left support a ban on a garment they feel demeans women.
Anyone refusing to lift his or her veil to submit to an identity check can be taken to a police station. There, officers must try to persuade them to remove the garment, and can threaten fines.
A woman who repeatedly insists on appearing veiled in public can be fined 150 euros and ordered to attend re-education classes.
There are much more severe penalties for anyone found guilty of forcing someone else to hide his or her face “through threats, violence, constraint, abuse of authority or power for reason of their gender.”
Clearly aimed at fathers, husbands or religious leaders who force women to wear face-veils, and applicable to offences committed in public or in private, the law imposes a fine of 30,000 euros and a year in jail.
On Monday, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Hammad Said said the ban “was contrary to the human rights principles” that France takes pride in and warned it was the “beginning of a dangerous battle.” | <urn:uuid:27ea5542-c9b6-48db-940a-8e70eb5e738f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dawn.com/2011/04/11/france-bans-muslim-full-face-veil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967439 | 980 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Road cycling and fly fishing have many things in common, other than a preponderance of carbon fiber. For one, both are viewed as "elitist" in some quarters, with lots of unwritten rules and specialized knowledge needed, and both are thought to require thousands of dollars worth of specialized equipment to enjoy properly (I know these things are not necessarily true of either fly fishing or road biking, but I'm dealing in broad generalizations here).
On the other hand, if you want a light, fast road bike, have a tight budget, and are willing to accept some limitations and extra effort, especially uphill, you can build yourself a fixed-gear bicycle, with a radically simplified drivetrain. With a single gear choice and no coasting allowed, fixed gear riding can be a lot of fun, and make for a super-efficient bike under ideal conditions, but when the conditions are less ideal (ie, hills) it can be a lot more work than a geared road bike.
It turns out fly fishing has a roughly analogous discipline in the Japanse style of fishing known as Tenkara. Tenkara uses a super-light, collapsible rod with no reel and no line guides. The fly line is tied directly to the tip of the rod and the length of line you tie on is the length of line you get. Like fixed-gear bikes, your equipment options are limited, but like the bike, you can still get where you're going and have a surprising amount of fun doing it.
I came across Tenkara while looking for an inexpense, lightweight fishing setup to bring with me on bicycle rides, and the stripped-down approach turned out to be just the thing I was looking for. The rods themselves are long, usually between 11 and 13 feet, but collapse down to about 20 inches long. The line is about the same length as the rod, to which is added a few feet of tippet (thinner line, which is all-but-invisible in the water) and a simple fly pattern of string and feather tied to a hook, which doesn't usually resemble any specific prey animal, but has a generally "buggy" look and motion underwater. It's cast just like a western fly line, with the long, flexible rod and heavier line being used to propel the tiny fly towards the target area. The fly is designed to sink under the water's surface, and is twitched up and down to attract the fish's attention.
See, the funny thing about me is, in spite of the fact that I fix bicycles for a living, and build my own musical instruments, and generally like to tinker, I'm not really a "Gear Guy." When I'm off on a ride, or on stage, or at the riverside, I really have no interest in fiddling around with my equipment. I don't want to adjust things, or swap out parts, or retune or whatever. If the choice is between "bring more complicated gear" and "work a bit harder," I'll generally opt for the slightly more challenging work. So the Tenkara approach, with its simple rod, short reach and traditional choice of only one or two fly patterns seemed to suit me well.
Does it catch fish? Yes it does. I've had more luck in my local water with the Tenkara rod and some hand-tied flies than I've had in several years fishing with a spinning rod and store-bought lures. I can't cast as far as I could with a more conventional setup, but I find myself being able to fish with more precision than with other gear. Most importantly, it's fun. I can grab my rod and a tiny bagful of gear (some flies, a line, extra tipped, a tool to cut line and forceps for unhooking fish) and go with no fuss and no preparation. Because the rod itself collapses so small, it can travel in a backpack or messenger bag just in case I happen to have time to kill while I'm out and about, making me more likely to explore new fishing spots.
So far, however, there is one major difference between Tenkara and fixed-gear cycling: you don't see urban fishermen trying to do it in skinny jeans. | <urn:uuid:18a6f143-f714-41c5-9d43-382fca165e96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mattdeblass.blogspot.com/2011/10/tenkara-fixed-gear-of-fly-fishing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96315 | 876 | 1.570313 | 2 |
One of the stories that most touched me in 2012 was about a runner stopping during a race to give CPR to another runner. I’m sure it was a life changing moment for them, but it also reminded me that this is one skill I have never taken the time to learn.
Since cardiac death is the number one killer of women and more women run races than men now, it only makes sense for all of us lacing up to run together to have a basic level of life saving knowledge. I know many of you are already certified and I’m sorry I was so late to the game. This weekend I officially got certified…and this time not by a mental health professional.
Check it out I can compress like nobodies business! Thanks to CPRFlorida.net for the action shots and great course.
The biggest benefit to taking a class as a parent, athlete, trainer or in general is practice. You want instinct to kick in when an emergency happens and this provides you with hands on experience to help make it more than just something you’ve read. Just thinking about needing to do this made my heart race,so it was great to practice it repeatedly. One thing that Shawn pointed out which I didn’t know is that that you will likely crack their ribs (WHAT?!). But if you are performing CPR the person is dead and thus you are not hurting them you are saving them.
Honestly without this class I would have heard a rib crack and stopped from fear. Now I realize that’s ok and I should keep going. Thanks to the Good Samaritan law you are also protected from any potential lawsuit if you are trying to save someone.
- Have a contact listed as ICE - emergency responders will use your In Case of Emergency number to call someone and get more information about you or to let them know your whereabouts. Alternatively install a free app like ICE: Emergency Contact which will allow you to enter information about allergies, blood type and any known medical conditions.
- Family Medical Info App - While my mom has a little battered notebook with information from my childhood about shots, I can’t say I have a single place that reminds me of everyone’s information. This tool allows you to create a profile for each member of your family and then record insurance, doctors, allergies, medications, vaccinations, etc. It can be tied in to an emergency app for use by EMT’s when needed.
- Pocket First Aid and CPR - If you have not taken a course, this cheap app provides videos and guidelines from the American Heart Association that may help you save your life or someone else’s in an emergency situation.
- Wear a RoadID - If you don’t always carry your phone, it just makes sense to have contact and important health information readily available.
If you need to call 9-1-1 for an emergency it’s best to use a land line so they can more easily find your location. Unfortunately their systems are not as up-to-date with technology as many of us! However, if you like me don’t even have a land line just make sure you have a an emergency unlock feature on your phone.
If you use Verizon, I also found a cool thing on my last phone the Droid Incredible. “Verizon Wireless has chosen to offer wireless emergency alerts within portions of its service area…no additional charge for these wireless emergency alerts”. This means you can get a note on your phone about:
- Presidential Alerts: about news of national authority concern
- Imminent Danger Alerts: Severe and Extreme alerts about weather events and threat levels
- Amber Alerts: about the disappearance of persons (minor or otherwise)
***I am a Verizon Wireless Ambassador which means I received the Droid DNA for free in exchange for posts about the phone. I choose all content, all opinions and all information that is shared. I hope it’s helpful. | <urn:uuid:64e7a04a-06b0-4160-8946-7281524518d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.runtothefinish.com/2013/02/cpr-training-florida.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957242 | 815 | 1.820313 | 2 |
United States Drops to No. 7 in 2012 Global Competitiveness Index Report, US Dropped for 4th Year in a Row
Yeah, here is yet another reason why President Barack Obama needs to be a one term president. The United States has now dropped to #7 in the 2012 Global Competitiveness Index report. Thanks President Obama. The US has dropped for the fourth year in a row because of exploding debt and deficits. Another four years of Obama and his $16 trillion debt and climbing should take the US out of the top 10 or even lower.
The U.S. dropped to No. 7 on the World Economic Forum’s newly released 2012 Global Competitiveness Index report. Switzerland retained its top position as the most competitive nation, followed by Singapore, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.
Asian countries continue to be among the most competitive—and many are gaining strength. Among the top 20, five are from Asia. Compared to last year’s ranking, Singapore retains its No. 2 spot, Hong Kong gained two positions, Taiwan remains No. 13, Korea advanced five spots and Japan
However, leaders in Washington have a bit of work to do to help America regain the top ranking . The report argues that the country’s drawbacks have “deepened since past assessments,” says the report. It points to a business community critical toward public and private institutions, a lack of trust in politicians, and a concern “about the government’s ability to maintain arms-length relationships with the private sector.”
What a novel concept that the economies decline occurs when business is demonized by the government. As reported at The New American, the American economy’s sharp decline in recent years is due to, among other problems, a lack of trust in government and politicians, especially by businesses.
According to the WEF survey, the American economy’s sharp decline in recent years is due to, among other problems, a lack of trust in government and politicians — especially by businesses — as well as declining macroeconomic and political stability. More important to the latest drop in the rankings this year, however: increasing fears over the U.S. economy’s fiscal health as the federal government continues to borrow more than a trillion dollars per year with no end in sight
But that is not all. The wild federal deficit spending projected to reach $1.1 trillion this year and the incredible failure to urgently address it contributed too, as evidenced by rating agencies’ decisions to slash their credit outlook on U.S. government debt last year. There is also the looming “fiscal cliff” economists keep warning about as massive tax hikes — so-called “Taxmageddon” — approaches quickly.
“A number of weaknesses are chipping away at its competitiveness … the U.S. fiscal imbalances and continued political deadlock over resolving these challenges,” another WEF economist, Jennifer Blanke, told CNBC. “If you look at competitiveness, what we are talking about is productivity. It’s countries that are productive that can support the sorts of rising living standards and high wages that everyone is looking for.” | <urn:uuid:76784ff8-f154-4b6d-b4f5-71e3d8b5d5e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/09/11/united-states-drops-to-no-7-in-2012-global-competitiveness-index-report/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958769 | 654 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
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OCR for page 296
Final Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 296 3/23/10 3:42:41 PM
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JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE 1929–2008 Elected in 1989 “For distinguished contributions to agricultural drainage concepts, theory, and design.” BY MARVIN E. JENSON, ERNEST T. SMERDON, AND WILLIAM E. SPLINTER J AN VAN SCHILFGAARDE, foremost researcher and research administrator in agricultural water management, was born on February 7, 1929, in The Hague, the Netherlands, and died on March 25, 2008, after a long illness, at the age of 79. He was elected a member of NAE in 1989. Jan’s father, who was nearly blind from the age of seven from juvenile cataracts, was a psychologist, philosopher, and translator of books from 28 languages. His mother was the first woman in the Netherlands to receive a law degree, but she married and never practiced law. Thus Jan was from a well- educated family. When he was nine, World War II began. Although the first war years were not too difficult, food and fuel later became scarce, and the schools were closed for last two years of the war. However, the demanding and very intelligent students in Jan’s class decided to teach themselves, with only occasional help from teachers. After the war, the teachers passed them all with high marks. In the postwar years, opportunities to pursue an advanced education in Europe were greatly diminished, so Jan’s father, working through a university professor friend in Ann Arbor, arranged for a scholarship for Jan at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. A year later, his father’s friend recommended that he transfer to Iowa State College in Ames, where he knew the retired president and where Jan would be able to pursue math and technical subjects. 297 Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 297 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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298 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES Having been born in the Netherlands, a nation that depends on good water management for its very existence, it is not surprising that Jan’s studies in agricultural engineering were focused on water management. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1949 and his master’s in 1950. In 1951, he married Roberta Hansen, and subsequently they had three children, Paul, Mark, and Craig, all of whom have distinguished themselves in their studies and careers. Jan subsequently established a strong relationship with a world-renowned soil physicist, Don Kirkham, under whom he pursued a Ph.D. specializing in drainage engineering and water- flow theory. Jan received his Ph.D. in agricultural engineering and soil physics in 1954. With Kirkham and Richard Frevert, a professor of agricultural engineering, he published a comprehensive synthesis of drainage theory (Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin 436) in the mid-1950s; that work was later integrated into the 1957 monograph published by the American Society of Agronomy. Jan was a distinguished student at Iowa State and was elected to several honorary societies—Sigma Xi (research), Phi Kappa Phi (scholarship), Pi Mu Epsilon (mathematics), and Gamma Sigma Delta (agriculture). With Ph.D. in hand, Jan joined the faculty at North Carolina State University (NCSU) with a joint appointment as assistant professor of agricultural engineering and research engineer with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), becoming a full professor over time. He taught and conducted research in soil- and water- conservation engineering, as well as research on drainage, irrigation, and hydrology. His signal contributions to drainage theory led to improved drainage-system designs based on transient criteria and rainfall-generated probabilities. His research covered virtually all aspects of subsurface drainage, and he pioneered using a thermocouple psychrometer method for determining the water potential of intact plants. Ultimately, he combined climatic data, statistics, and drainage theory with the results of controlled environmental chambers and outdoor lysimeters to develop methods of predicting crop response. Final Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 298 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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299 JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE After 10 years at NCSU, he joined ARS full time in Beltsville, Maryland, as chief water-management engineer for soil and water conservation. At ARS, he not only fulfilled his responsibilities for program leadership and management, but also made important contributions to the technical literature. He ultimately moved up the administrative ladder and became associate director and then director of the USDA Soil and Water Research Program, where he was responsible for overseeing research scientists and engineers in some 80 locations across the country. With the backing of his superiors, Jan promoted fundamental research directed toward solving practical problems. During visits, in meetings, and in correspondence, he showed a keen interest in the direction and details of research by individual engineers and scientists working on specific problems. He always believed that research managers should serve engineers and scientists, not the other way around. Operating at the interface between science and government policy, he never hesitated to express his opinions about specific issues and to promote novel approaches in irrigation agriculture. In the 1972 reorganization of ARS, Jan became director of the U.S. Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, California, where his work was focused on irrigation-water management for controlling salinity in the soil, and he was in a good position to explore the environmental and institutional aspects of irrigation- based agriculture. During this time, he also became involved with interagency teams working on policy and technical issues included in the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974. He was an active participant in discussions about options for reducing the salt load in the Lower Colorado River, as required in agreements with Mexico. Although reducing salt by upstream changes in irrigation water management had been proposed, to the dismay of Jan and others, the government opted to build a desalination plant at the Mexican border, which, however, has never had to be used. Jan also chaired a committee established by the National Research Council (NRC) to assist the U.S. Department of the Interior and the state of California in developing a Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 299 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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300 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES comprehensive research program on irrigation-induced water- quality problems. After 12 years, Jan was asked to become director of the Mountain States Area of the USDA ARS, which had extensive research facilities in six western states. He was responsible for managing research in a wide range of disciplines related to agriculture, including water management and hydrology. In 1987, he became director of the newly formed Northern Plains Area, which included eight states and had a research budget roughly twice that of the Mountain States Area. In 1991, Jan was asked to return to ARS Headquarters in Beltsville as associate deputy administrator for natural resources and systems, with the responsibility of coordinating all ARS research in these areas. Over time, Jan made a gradual shift from strictly personal research, with attention to technical detail, to administrative and management activities, and even to natural-resource policy. As his interest in international resource-management grew, he became more involved in interactions between social and physical sciences to address the urgent need for conservation. Jan became increasingly involved as a volunteer on boards and committees of the National Research Council (NRC) and other groups. In 1979, Jan was appointed a member of the Presidential Commission for Opportunities to Increase Agricultural Production in Egypt, which submitted a report in 1980. He was a member of the NRC Board on Agriculture from 1984 to 1990; chair of the NRC Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems from 1985 to 1990; chair of the National Academy of Sciences World Food and Nutrition Study, Panel 4 (Resources for Agriculture) from 1975 to 1977; chair of the U.S.-USSR Bilateral Science Exchange Team on Movement of Water, Gas, Salts, and Heat in Soils, for which he traveled to the USSR in 1972, 1974, and 1976; a member of the NRC Committee on Biology and Medicine in Space, which advised NASA on priorities for biological research on the Space Shuttle from 1972 to 1974; and a participant in the Brownell Task Force appointed by President Nixon in 1972 to find a “permanent and Final Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 300 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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301 JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE equitable solution” to the controversy with Mexico over allocations of Colorado River water. He traveled to many countries pursuing his interest in water management and in increasing food production. Jan was editor in chief of Agricultural Water Management, an international journal published by Elsevier Science Publishers in Amsterdam, 1988 to 1991; was active in many professional societies; and was a fellow or member of eight national and international science or engineering societies. For his scientific and managerial accomplishments, Jan received many awards and honors. He was a fellow of three professional societies— American Society of Agronomy (1969), Soil Science Society of America (1969), and American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) (1972). His many honors include several technical awards from ASABE (formerly ASAE) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), including the ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 1970, the ASAE John Deere Gold Medal Award in 1977, the ASCE Royce Tipton Award in 1986, and in 1991, he received an ARS Senior Executive Service Presidential award; he was invited to present the Abel Wolman Distinguished Lecture in Washington, D.C., by the NRC Water Science and Technology Board (1992). That same year, he was made a Distinguished Member of ASCE. Jan retired from USDA in November 1997. In March of the following year, he and Roberta moved back to Fort Collins, Colorado, where they lived until his death. Also in March 1998, he and Roberta were special guests at the 7th International Drainage Symposium in Florida, in recognition of Jan’s role in all six of the previous symposia. Jan is survived by his wife, Roberta, his three sons, seven grandchildren, four younger brothers, and a very special cousin, two years older, whose Indonesian mother died in childbirth, and who was brought to live with Jan’s parents after Jan was born. A sister preceded him in death. Though he was often away from home, Jan was a loving and attentive father, and he encouraged Roberta in her numerous volunteer endeavors. His meticulous math instruction was a great boon for his sons but often was the cause of a huge sigh before help was asked. As Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 301 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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302 MEMORIAL TRIBUTES the second son said to the third one time after a huge sigh, “I guess you’ll have to go to Dad.” Huge sighs from both boys. “I know . . . it takes forever, but you sure know what you’re doing when you’re finished.” The hugely benefited sons are known to have used the same technique with their sighing children. Son Paul developed multiple sclerosis in college, having to leave a month before graduation for treatment, but later graduated from home and developed a business as an accountant. Wheelchair bound for 34 years, he and his wife have two grown children. Mark is a theoretical physicist, teaching at Arizona State University. He and his wife have three children. Craig is currently an engineering director in the missile systems group of Northrop Grumman Corporation. Roberta recalls that a short time after retirement in Fort Collins, Colorado, a grandson, Ari, came to live with them, and they sent him to a private high school in Boulder, 45 miles away. Jan was usually the one who drove Ari to school each day, retrieving him in the afternoon until he could drive himself, and the maturing boy became very grateful to his grandfather. After graduating from college, Ari was granted a ten-month Fullbright Fellowship to teach English as a second language in a Muslim girls’ boarding school in Indonesia, and when Jan died, Ari made the three-day trip to Fort Collins from Indonesia for the funeral. He now works for an environmental company in Seattle. Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 302 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM
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Final Final Tribute Vol 13.indd 303 3/23/10 3:42:42 PM | <urn:uuid:6867ad1c-ccb2-4cd3-9719-fc2b63b55439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12734&page=296 | 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 | 0.973165 | 2,802 | 1.6875 | 2 |
From industrious high-schoolers to unstoppable golden retrievers, this year’s Making a Difference crew had many heartening stories to tell, and the magic kept happening long after their stories ran in this space.
Indie Landrum and Holly Hatfield helped the Critical Voice LGBT group throw one heck of a Gay Pride weekend dance. Craig McClain and the Boys to Men Mentoring Network started a new program at Monte Vista High School and netted $113,000 during its 100 Wave Challenge surfing fundraiser. Pieces made by developmentally disabled students in the Sophie’s Gallery jewelry-making class led by Barbie Bates made it into the Mingei International Museum’s gift store.
San Diegans can’t drive in the rain or deal with the Children’s Pool seal problem, but as I discovered while writing this column, we are very good at making a difference. Here are more uplifting updates from the volunteers who keep our region’s heart in the right place.
Sean Sheppard, founder of Embrace: Since June, Embrace’s high-school and college volunteers have delivered food, water, clothes and blankets to thousands of homeless people through their twice-weekly “Embrace the Streets” visits to the East Village. Volunteers for Embrace’s “Healing Our Heroes’ Homes” program just began restoration work on a disabled veteran’s house in El Cajon. Both programs got a boost from the $31,000 raised during the group’s “Ex for Vets” exercise marathon on the USS Midway Museum.
Sheppard plans to restore at least six more homes next year, and he will be unveiling a new Embrace program that could have national impact. He says it will be a blockbuster.
Ricochet the surfing therapy dog: Where to start with this busy, four-legged philanthropist and owner Judy Fridono? In the past five months, Ricochet has met animal-lover Betty White at an American Humane Association fundraiser, received her therapy-dog certification from the American Kennel Club and raised enough money ($65,000) to equip every fire station in Colorado with a pet oxygen mask.
Fridono and her ebullient golden retriever still work with military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Ricochet is learning to take voice commands from an iPad, the better to assist people with verbal disabilities. This month, Ricochet mobilized her more than 113,000 Facebook followers to help buy 700 Guardian Angel teddy bears for the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after the shooting massacre there.
Katarina Stapleford, Del Norte High dynamo: The Do Something Del Norte service club that Stapleford founded last year is doing plenty. The group’s recently completed “Operation Fuzzy Feet” drive collected more than 100 pairs of socks and slippers for homeless children, and despite losing their matching-funds sponsor, Stapleford and her fellow club members still plan to assemble more than 20,000 high-protein meals for hungry children during next April’s food-packing event.
Stapleford aims to travel to Haiti in March, where she will help build an orphanage. The Del Norte senior has been accepted into Point Loma Nazarene University starting in fall 2013, and she is waiting to hear from the University of San Diego. She still makes time for cheerleading and shopping; average human beings still wonder how she does it all. | <urn:uuid:10a96f3c-5559-4aa8-a1ed-978e34831ec1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/29/san-diegans-who-keep-our-heart-in-the-right-place/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93428 | 731 | 1.5 | 2 |
photo courtesy of Facebook
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Florida sheriff's office that investigated the disappearance of Casey Anthony's 2-year-old daughter overlooked evidence that someone in their home did a Google search for "fool-proof" suffocation methods on the day the girl was last seen alive.
Orange County sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said Sunday that the office's computer investigator missed the June 16, 2008, search. The agency's admission was first reported by Orlando television station WKMG. It's not known who performed the search. The station reported it was done on a browser primarily used by the 2-year-old's mother, Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of the girl's murder in 2011.
Anthony's attorneys argued during trial that Casey Anthony helped her father, George Anthony, cover up the girl's drowning in the family pool.
WKMG reports that sheriff's investigators pulled 17 vague entries only from the computer's Internet Explorer browser, not the Mozilla Firefox browser commonly used by Casey Anthony. More than 1,200 Firefox entries, including the suffocation search, were overlooked.
Whoever conducted the Google search looked for the term "fool-proof suffication," misspelling "suffocation," and then clicked on an article about suicide that discussed taking poison and putting a bag over one's head.
The browser then recorded activity on the social networking site MySpace, which was used by Casey Anthony but not her father.
A computer expert for Anthony's defense team found the search before the trial. Her lead attorney, Jose Baez, first mentioned the search in his book about the case but suggested it was George Anthony who conducted the search after Caylee drowned because he wanted to kill himself.
Not knowing about the computer search, prosecutors had argued Caylee was poisoned with chloroform and then suffocated by duct tape placed over her mouth and nose. The girl's body was found six months after she disappeared in a field near the family home and was too decomposed for an exact cause of death to be determined.
Prosecutors presented evidence that someone in the Anthony home searched online for how to make chloroform, but Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, claimed on the witness stand that she had done the searches by mistake while looking up information about chlorophyll.
Many jurors apparently went into hiding amid public outrage over the verdict and refused to comment, but two have said prosecutors couldn't conclusively prove how Caylee died.
photo courtesey of Kelly Connelly
Well, This Baltimore native (who was most recently featured on BET 106 & Park) came from a musical household where love and music guided the way. It was befitting for her to want to become a singer.
Shadina on BET 106 & Park
Shadina's mother, Topaz,is an accomplished singer in her own right. Produced and managed by the team of TEDDY RILEY and GENE GRIFFIN, Topaz was the lead singer on some chart topping hits of her own. She also worked with R&B and Reggae legends RICK JAMES, EVELYN KING, BOBBY BROWN, JIMMY CLIFF as well as many others. Shadina recalls, "I used to go to sound check and watch my mother perform. She'd sit me on a speaker and I would get to see her do her thing." SHADINA was BORN FOR THIS, which is also the title of her CD, released on her own label, LMLD (LIKE MOTHER LIKE DAUGHTER). She's been singing since the age of 2. Shadina started a dance group, Raw Fusion, at the tender age of ten and made numerous appearances on The Apollo Theater stage, which gained her dance group great notoriety. Only 13 years old, OTIS WILLIAMS of THE TEMPTATIONS discovered Shadina. Otis took her into the studio and immediately saw her talent. She learned her way around the studio from her mother and other professionals and from listening to past and present day R&B singers. She collaborated with producers Randy Muller, Jazzo (works with JayZ), Davon Howard and Korean Bad Boy, SEIYOUNG to form her electrifying sound."It's one thing to sing someone else's song but what I want to deliver a song that I feel from deep within, so I write and produce my own music and songs that represents me."Beyond writing songs Shadina has a voice that is undeniably unique. Drawing from an array of influences that range from MARY J, JANET to WHITNEY. Her Godfather, NBA hall of fame superstar Earl "THE PEARL" Monroe, has invested in her career by having her sing The National Anthem at NBA games, including Madison Square Garden. Check out her video for "Pop It". Shadina...a true star on the rise!
Birdman's new Miami Coop
Photo Courtesy of Twitter
Yesterday I told you about the warrant out for Scott Storch's arrest, well to add insult to injury, I just learned that Storch's former "Star Island" mansion in Miami was bought by non other than Cash Money Record's CEO.
The 20,000-square-foot Palm Island mansion that once belonged to the super producer is now rightfully back in the hands of rap royalty. Birdman, the guy everyone from Nicki Minaj to Drake calls "boss," just scooped up the massive home for $14.5 million.
Storch lost the home to foreclosure in 2010. The co-owner of Rockstar Energy drinks bought it up for $6.75 million and according to TMZ has now sold it for a hefty profit to Birdman, co-founder of Cash Money Records.
Check out this realestate tour of the Miami crib | <urn:uuid:ce22aa3a-d2f0-44f8-b2b3-689bac53bdd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.z1043.com/pages/spice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974939 | 1,191 | 1.609375 | 2 |
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Governor Scott Walker says he wants to improve Wisconsin’s public schools, but parents need viable alternatives if their schools do not meet expectations.
That’s how Walker explains his state budget proposals to create more private schools that teach low-income kids with tax-funded vouchers – admit special needs students into the voucher program – and form a new board to start up more independent public charter schools.
At the same time, public schools would get no increase in their state revenue limits. That means a one-percent school aid hike would be given to taxpayers. And they would decide in referendums whether their schools deserve the added aid in the form of revenue cap exemptions.
In the meantime, more of Wisconsin’s largest school districts would lose some of their state aid, as kids head off to private schools under the expanded vouchers. And that’s got some of Walker’s own Republicans in the Legislature concerned.
Four GOP senators have expressed reservations – enough to force changes in the budget plan, since the party only has a three-vote majority. Senators Rob Cowles, Dale Schultz, Luther Olsen, and President Mike Ellis are demanding that new voucher programs be approved by voters in the affected districts.
State public school superintendent Tony Evers says he’s against giving such a large amount of new money to a small percentage of students – while banning revenue growth for the vast majority of Wisconsin youngsters who attend public schools.
But Walker’s plan is expected to sail through the Assembly, where the GOP has a 20 vote majority.
Speaker Robin Vos says kids deserve the best education, and expanding vouchers would, “give options to those stuck in under-performing schools.” | <urn:uuid:ced7d583-e96f-42dc-bb45-07b783814143> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wnflam.com/news/articles/2013/feb/19/gov-walker-defends-plan-to-expand-private-school-voucher-program/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953198 | 360 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Sony unveils world's smallest projector
If only I had bigger pockets...
We're still a while away from a pocket projector, but Sony's new pint sized offering isn't far off the mark.
At 410cc it fits easily in the palm of your hand and would tuck away into most brief cases or handbags. The projector uses 14 LEDs as its light source, which means it will draw a fairly small amount of power compared to traditional projectors which generally use a high power bulb.
The LEDs provide a full spectrum of colour, producing red, green and blue light. Sony has stuck with three LCDs in favour of moving to DLP technology, even though DLP is a lot brighter. Sony has done some refinement to the setup of the components in this tiny projector, but it can still only manage 58cd/m2 on a normal projector screen.
However, the company has developed a special screen that allows for a brighter image, but only at a 20 inch surface. This might not be too much of an issue, as the Sony projector only offers a maximum resolution of 800 x 600, something it shares with DLP powered LED projectors.
There appears to be only a single D-sub input and the projector is powered by a small external power adaptor. So far no model number, pricing or release date have been announced. ® | <urn:uuid:109019f2-c241-4951-929a-1a27baf90784> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/15/sony_unveils_worlds_smallest_projector/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958341 | 277 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Ottawa - And then things got ugly
By Janet Blatter
I met with Linda Simensky, the Vice-President for Children’s Programming at PBS. We had strawberries and tea as she graciously shared her 20-years experience on the international scene in public broadcasting, what produced locally stays local and what gets to go international. (More about that later). But things got ugly when I asked her to define “edutainment”. Here was her response:
“Never use the term edutainment. I hate the term and will hate the person using it! Anybody using that term shows contempt for kids. They think that stuff that’s educational has to be snuck into the program or kids won’t like it. I believe that most 2-8 year olds [PBS’s pre-K science market] are psychologically eager to learn, that our programming [on PBS] should be a role model on being passionate about learning new things. It’s aimed at kids who can’t wait to tell her friends about this new thing they learnt, who can’t sit through a family dinner without telling his family what he’s just discovered. Every kid wants to share something new they learnt, and every kid is a natural explorer”.
I think she nailed it... and not just for kids. It’s like saying you can’t be beautiful and smart at the same time. Or that you can’t chuckle and do abstract reasoning at the same time. This is so wrong on so many levels...uh, oh, I’m about to throw something...
Janet Blatter is a development consultant, currently writing a book (with Mik Casey) on storyboarding for MWP. She has the dubious distinction of having a PhD in cognitive science specializing in how animators solve problems, think about time and space... Dr. J thinks she has the coolest research gig on earth. | <urn:uuid:a7830d4e-6355-43d3-af6b-a1615f37ada9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awn.com/blogs/animated-travels/ottawa-and-then-things-got-ugly | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962743 | 408 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Actually, by experimenting you can get some decent results. I personally use different kinds of paper as diffusers. I have even used credit card vouchers in a hurry.
Unfortunately, my native language is Spanish so it's hard for me to say the correct names of the papers I've used but I can tell you that translucent papers are the best. Other solutions may come from some objects otherwise known as garbage, for example, I once experimented with the "lens" that had come off a car lamp during a crash. Also a bike reflector can do (removing the dark plastic backing).
A few considerations: The flash radiates light in some sort of a cone. Your improvised diffuser should be as big as to intercept completely this cone, and you should hold it as far from the flash lamp as possible, but never further than the front of the lens. If your diffuser does not cover completely the flash's light cone, you will get it's shadow projected in the background, and if you put it further than the front of the lens, the light from the flash will bounce directly into the lens ruining your picture (Unless any of these are your intended results, creativity after all...)
The bigger the "diffuser" the more it will soften the light.
Maybe you can make some sort of diffuser mount out of cardboard paper, clips, adhesive tape, etc... so you keep your both hands free to operate the camera.
But after all, remember, the built-in flash has more limited power, and any diffuser you use will dim the light. Do not expect to get professional looking pictures, but they can definitely improve. Experiment until you get decent results, and do not limit your creativity, you can use diverse materials, even colored ones, papers, plastics, cellphone silicone covers, etc. But take into account the previous advice, do not spend money in any of these! Recycle! Use any material you come across for free! And please, no not stick or glue anything to your camera, but if you feel you need to, use only adhesive tape like masking tape and remove it as soon as you can.
Also consider a small mirror like the ones in makeup kits, or aluminum foil to redirect the flash and bounce it in the ceiling or a wall.
Some situations I've had an advantage from this: 1) Once in a darkly lit restaurant and having only my Point&Shoot, I was able to take a better picture by using a credit card voucher to avoid burned areas in the noses and foreheads. 2) I had forgotten to recharge my external flash batteries, so they where dead, I had no tripod but wanted to take a picture outdoors at night. With a little piece of paper I did the trick. | <urn:uuid:19048f17-da9e-4f74-9cc1-6bdefb111bf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/11392/how-to-get-good-results-with-the-built-in-popup-flash?answertab=votes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958414 | 563 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Malaga Airport New Terminal Building, Costa Del Sol, Spain
Malaga Airport is one of the best-known airports in Europe. Also known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport, it is the main international airport serving the Costa del Sol in Spain, a major tourist destination.
The airport is ideally situated for this purpose, being located 8km south-west of Malaga and 5km north of Torremolinos, two popular resort and hotel locations. In June 2011, the airport was officially renamed as Aeropuerto de Malaga-Costa del Sol. The name change is an effort towards establishing the brand name of Costa del Sol in the tourism industry.
The airport facilities currently include one asphalt paved runway (13/31 10,500ft, 3,200m) – although a second runway is currently under construction and will be open by 2011 – and three terminal buildings (construction of third terminal adjacent to the existing two was completed in March 2010). In 1997 a seven-storey car park opened at the airport.
The airport is managed by the Spanish Airports and Aerial Navigation Authority (AENA) and Aeropuerto de Málaga and is undergoing a major expansion to prepare it for the expected increase in passenger numbers towards 2015 (20 million per year).
The new terminal opened on 15 March 2010. The project cost €320m ($467.4 m). Estimates are that the airport will be handling more than 24 million passengers by 2020. The airport received more than 13 million passengers during 2006.
The busiest routes are from within Europe, particularly to and from the UK and Ireland. In 2010, however, the numbers decreased and the airport received only 12.06 million passengers. The airport handled 105,631 aircraft operations the same year. With the opening of the third terminal, the airport can handle 30 million passengers annually.
Aeropuerto de Malaga-Costa del Sol is the fourth-biggest airport in Spain, absorbing 7.3% of national passenger traffic. Between 2004 and 2010 an investment of around €890m was spent on the airport, in addition to the €75m invested between 1996 and 2003. In 2006 and 2007 alone the Ministry for Public Works invested €530m in the airport. The airport authority announced it would be investing €1.8bn in the airport between 2004 and 2013.
The airport has a number of car parks available for passengers to use; however while the expansion work is going on AENA have requested that to avoid delays and congestion passengers opt to use train and bus services in preference to their cars.
The airport has a well developed public transport system with the Cercanías–Málaga train serving the airport directly from Malaga city centre and Fuengirola. There is also an airport coach on a direct route to Marbella bus station.
In addition, the number 19 bus run by EMTSAM (Empresa Malagueña de Transportes) runs a service to Malaga bus station and the city centre from both terminals 1 and 2.
A new underground train station at the airport was completed in September 2010. It initially features suburban trains but is expected to eventually include high-speed trains in the future.
Following the first terminal building opening in 1972 the airport became a popular hub for package holiday passengers. In 1991, the Pablo Ruiz Picasso terminal was opened (Terminal 2). This was designed by the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, and was constructed to be operated in combination with Terminal 1.
Terminal 2 hosts a large check-in concourse with a long row of check-in desks running left to right. After passengers check-in they have to go beyond the check-in desks themselves to access the security areas instead of having to 'back-track' on themselves meaning that the check-in concourse is less congested.
Once beyond the security check point passengers can then make use of the airport's extensive facilities, including duty free shopping and a number of restaurants. Mainland European flights depart from Pier B and UK and Ireland flights depart from Pier C.
Further airport development in the 1990s included: conversion of the old passenger building into a general aviation terminal; a new hangar for large aircraft maintenance being constructed to the north of the airport site and a new cargo terminal. A new 54m control tower was opened in 2002 (constructed by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC)).
The new developments include a third terminal and a second runway. The new terminal design was based on the dimensions and shapes, already used in the existing terminal, but the colours and materials have been adapted to current trends. The aim was to create holistic airport architecture that meets the requirements for identity.
The third terminal has an area of 385,000m² and includes 86 check-in desks, eight automatic check in machines and 48 departure gates. It extends northward with a 240ft-long loading dock that is parallel to the parking platform of the aircraft which is featured by 20 gates. The new terminal is designed to accommodate around 9,000 passengers and 7,500 piecesof luggage per hour. It has 6,000m² of restaurants, cafeterias and bars and 2,800m² of shops.
The concept design allows for reduced occupancy of apron space, better protection of the tower area and landside from noise, improved security and expansion to the north-east areas of the terminal when the second runway and double-taxiway-link between the runways are finished in 2012. One of the design basic concepts was the use of natural daylight and landscaping elements even in the basement level.
Dedicated areas have been factored in for short-term parking requirements adjacent to the departure and arrival level. The new car park building was initially designed with five floors, but it was then decided to add two more floors to provide an additional 600 parking spaces in view of increasing passenger numbers. The extended airport now has a total of 2,500 new parking spaces along with underground parking for 66 coaches.
In 2000, Bovis Lend Lease was appointed for a one-year contract to consult on the expansion of Malaga Airport. Bovis Lend Lease has been providing technical assistance as a consultant for the expansion programme.
Bovis has taken on the objectives for the project and is working as an integrated team with the other technicians involved in the project. Bovis will be responsible for planning, control and updating of programme, operational analysis, technical assistance and project management.
The project includes the new runway construction and platforms, new terminal building, exterior works, accesses and transport systems including a new multi-storey car park, Airport Baggage Handling System (ABHS) and Automated People Mover (APM), energy systems, aircraft supply installations and integration with public transport.
W&P Architects Engineers were responsible for the design and construction of the new terminal building. Burks Green Architects and Engineers are responsible for the design and planning of the new runway, taxiways and apron areas in conjunction with Aertec of Spain (lighting and power plants).
Another project that includes the renovation of Terminal 2 is underway. The contract for technical assistance for drafting the Terminal 2 renovation was awarded to GOC SA UTE / Conurma in December 2009. The contract is worth €2,567,700.
On 30 June 2009 the airport authorities awarded a contract that includes connecting Terminal 2 with the new terminal. The contract has been awarded to Sacyr Vallehermoso and is worth €11.2m. | <urn:uuid:6e5fb7fb-c825-492a-9084-0e1f3dfa153c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/malaga/ | 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 | 0.958807 | 1,562 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Thought you knew every inch of the Magic Kingdom?
If there was ever an undiscovered treasure in Walt Disney World, it’s Tom Sawyer Island and Ft. Langhorn, located in the Magic Kingdom.
Tom Sawyer Island is a lushly-landscaped outdoor playground in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom theme park where children of all ages can relive the rustic 19th-century adventures depicted in the novels of Mark Twain.
The wooded island is surrounded by the pastoral Rivers of America, and the only way to reach the island is aboard a raft that docks at Tom’s Landing near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Sail across the river to romp through dense forests, forge rugged trails, cross swinging suspension bridges, explore mysterious caves, take shelter in a frontier fort built from unfinished timber and embark on mischievous, playful adventures—just like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Discover hidden treasures for those who care to do a little exploring; highlights include the mysterious jewels hidden deep in the dark caves, the creaky waterwheel at Harper’s Mill, the bouncy barrel bridge and Fort Langhorn with its twisting escape tunnel.
How do you get there?
To get to Tom Sawyer island, you’ll take one of four small rafts from Tom’s Landing located across from Big Thunder Rail Road. The rafts are all named for characters in the book: Injun Joe, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer. Each raft carries about 55 people and contrary to popular belief, they do not run on rails or tracks but are free floating vessels.
Early in the morning, cast members hide several paintbrushes for guests to find. If you find one, let a cast member know and you’ll be rewarded with a small prize, such as a soft drink or a pass to get to the front of the line of an attraction, for your entire group. The island is a great place for kids to stretch their legs and for parents to relax and since it’s Disney, it’s all very safe. Kids will love climbing up and down the stairs at Fort Langhorn and exploring all the rooms. From the lookout towers, they can fire popguns at imaginary targets.
Tom Sawyer Island usually opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at Dusk. Be sure to check the daily schedule for the exact closing time. If you want to get a snack, Aunt Polly’s Place sells sandwiches and refreshments. It’s open seasonally. Even when it’s closed, Aunt Polly’s makes a great place to sit and relax; consider bringing a sack lunch and eating it there.
Foldable strollers are allow on the Island, but must be folded before boarding the raft. Most people will find strollers hard to use on the island as the paths are not made for them and there are a lot of steps. Still for some it is the only way to get around the large island.
Magic Kingdom Theme Park Frontierland
Fun for Everyone Outdoor
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Cactus Mickey
The hidden mickey this week is located in the cactus outside the Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster Ride. | <urn:uuid:63de96bb-5257-46f8-8edc-1de5f6b94ce5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.d23magic.com/tag/frontierland/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935784 | 663 | 1.53125 | 2 |
G S Paul, Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 25. Niranjeet Kaur and her schoolmate Satya have completed plus two from a local school but are clueless about their future prospects because they have been summoned again to their native town of Peshawar in Pakistan for visa formalities before seeking admission in a college.
Their elders, who have been on petty jobs for over a decade here, would have to accompany them them back to Peshawar to furnish documents to seek extension for their stay in India.
Today, 20 such Pakistani Sikh families, on an initiative taken by Surinder Kumar Billa, president, All-India Hindu Shiv Sena, assembled at the Durgiana Temple complex, urging the Indian Government to grant them Indian citizenship on the plea that they had been living here for over 15 years now.
As Pakistani nationals, they have to go back to Pakistan once every five years to get their passports renewed and every second year to the New Delhi Embassy for their stay permit. “We are scared. Whenever we go back to Pakistan, we are subjected to humiliation by the Pakistani officials. Moreover, life over there is hell, especially for girls. The education scenario is very bad. We demand that the Indian Government grant us citizenship”, said 18-year-old Niranjeet, who came here when she was three. | <urn:uuid:683f1ea0-023f-4309-a2e7-a9bfb02cd6ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maninblue1947.wordpress.com/tag/indian-citizenship/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972672 | 278 | 1.8125 | 2 |
First, free was all the rage among newspapers; now, the pendulum has swung back, and at least some newspaper companies are convinced that their future lies in charging for their content. What does someone who has relied on the pay model from day one think about that? It won’t work, at least not the way that many papers are now talking about it.
In a two-part series on the Reflections of a Newsosaur blog, former WSJ.com managing editor Bill Grueskin argues that once newspapers decided to put their news online there was no going back because, in his opinion, readers won’t pay for news that was once free. This is why, he said, the WSJ.com was so stubborn about not making its content free even when pundits and analysts were questioning the pay model.
(Since Grueskin’s departure, under Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS) has made more of WSJ.com free, while keeping much of its core economics and business coverage behind the pay wall.) Where papers do have the option to charge, Grueskin says, is for non-news content, including the following:
– Daily emails with actionable information, like the best-and-worst traffic routes during rush hour.
– Sites that offer real-time intelligence about the real-estate market.
– Survey sites that accept user submissions about the best-and-worst teachers in local markets.
– In-depth coverage of local government, including publishing bills and video. | <urn:uuid:bf3a4f7e-d238-4657-bec8-23bf1221aeaf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paidcontent.org/2009/03/25/419-former-wsj-com-editor-why-wsj-paid-content-model-cant-be-replicated/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980166 | 317 | 1.601563 | 2 |
China Backs Plan to Search North Korean Ships and Halt Arms Deals
The major powers, including the United States and China, agreed yesterday on a system to inspect suspect cargoes in and out of North Korea despite Pyongyang’s warning that it would regard such checks as an act of war.
The draft UN resolution — a response to North Korea’s nuclear test on May 25 — would also expand the arms embargo on the country and clamp down on arms-related money transfers. The full 15-nation Security Council is expected to endorse the plan as early as tomorrow.
The UN Security Council authorised cargo inspections after North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006. The new resolution fleshes out the detail, particularly with respect to suspect ships on the high seas. The US had wanted a mandatory inspection but China softened the language so that it became a political rather than a legal commitment. | <urn:uuid:03686820-4532-4654-b4ff-1bbd924a499e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2009/06/china-backs-plan-to-search-north-korean-ships-and-halt-arms-deals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945752 | 183 | 1.765625 | 2 |
ALGIERS, Algeria, March 14 (UPI) -- International oil company chiefs gathered at a recent energy conference in Algiers hailed the protection Algeria's security forces provide the country's vital energy facilities, despite the January attack at a natural gas complex.
But that bloody episode, in which 40 foreigners were killed when Algerian forces stormed the In Amenas desert installation, has heightened fears in the industry that it faces growing trouble across Africa and the Middle East.
The Financial Times reported that the British-sponsored Algiers conference last week was packed with international executives in buoyant mood, lunching on grilled salmon and apple crumble.
"Nowhere on the agenda was there a mention of the terrifying breach at In Amenas," it observed.
"For the energy industry, it is almost as if the hostage crisis at In Amenas never happened, say insiders."
At the time, the policy of no negotiations, no prisoners that the Algerians used in storming the facility in which the captives and most of the 40 attackers were killed, was widely criticized.
But now, the Financial Times observed, "industry officials and diplomats say Algeria's heavy-handed response ... has actually bolstered confidence in the security forces as a deterrent against future attacks."
That's a little difficult to comprehend since jihadist militants have repeatedly demonstrated the kind of religious zeal that produced suicide attacks and a willingness to die for their Islamic beliefs.
But the Financial Times noted that the "lure of billions in energy wealth and infrastructure contracts has trumped worries of further terrorist attacks."
A $1.5 billion electricity generation contract that General Electric signed with Algeria's state power company Sonelgaz this month would seem to illustrate that.
"They're still eager to engage," a Western diplomat in Algiers commented.
"I think In Amenas clearly had a short-term impact on confidence but this is a wealthy country and there aren't that many wealthy countries around anymore. There are big opportunities here."
In comparison to most countries in Africa, where the western region is now a major oil producer and the east is on the cusp on a major gas boom, Algeria has a formidable security establishment.
These forces have been battling Islamist militants since 1992, crushed them during a decade-long civil war and had until recently largely contained diehard remnants now allied with al-Qaida.
The attack on In Amenas was the first militant strike against a major energy facility in Algeria.
Since that bloodbath, security at gas and oil installations, with troops deployed inside the facilities, supplanting security regimes run by the companies.
But the International Energy Agency, the oil industry watchdog, reported post-In Amenas: "A new wave of political unrest in Africa is clouding the outlook in a growing number of producers.
"Following the recent attack an Algerian gas facility, companies have begun to reassess their security arrangements in the region."
The security crisis, coming amid the political upheaval of pro-democracy uprisings across the Arab world, show no sign of easing as turmoil in Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere drags on, affording opportunities for the militants to exploit.
Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe, may find itself facing growing security problems as jihadist groups affiliated with al-Qaida expand operations.
Jihadists seized control of northern Mali in early 2012, establishing a stronghold in a remote area the size of France that European and regional powers saw as a launch pad for transnational terrorism.
French forces intervened in Mali Jan. 11 and drove the jihadists into the mountains, where they launched a guerrilla war.
The attack on In Amenas by a group headed by the veteran Mokhtar Belmokhtar, was retaliation for the French intervention.
He has warned of further attacks against Western-owned installations that will help drive off already-spooked foreign investors at a time when they've been expanding operations across Africa.
Libya, still ravaged by the aftermath of its 2011 civil war, is a security nightmare of rival militias. Energy facilities have been attacked and others closed because of lack of security.
Oil-rich Nigeria in West Africa is fighting an insurgency by homegrown jihadists widely believed to be linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the main Islamist group in North Africa.
The Nigerian group known as Boko Haram, and an even more violent offshoot known as Ansaru, are abducting foreign workers. Some have been killed.
|Additional Energy Resources Stories|
ALGIERS, Algeria, May 24 (UPI) --Algeria's government is under pressure to ease its foreign energy investment laws after BP warned it may delay important projects in the North African state.
ARLINGTON, Va., May 24 (UPI) --BAE Systems has received a two-year contract extension from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command to support its Future Warfare Center. | <urn:uuid:ac2cf3fc-abe4-4502-bbb4-6c72523265ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2013/03/14/Oilmen-see-security-problems-in-Africa/UPI-19011363299467/?spt=hs&or=er | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959366 | 1,002 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I’m back after a fantastic spring break vacation with my guy. We did plenty of awesome and relaxing activities, but one of the many financial activities we did over our break was buy some extra life insurance. You’re probably thinking, “But Christine, you’re in your 20′s. Do you really need life insurance?” To which I would respond with a resounding, unflinching, “ YES!!”
There are two types of life insurance; term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Both types of life insurance pay out their death benefit if the policy holder passes away. However, there are some major differences between term and permanent life insurance, three of which I plan to talk about below.
The first major difference between the two is that term life insurance has an expiration date and permanent life insurance doesn’t. So at 30 years old you could buy a term life insurance plan that lasts ten years. It would expire when you turn 40. However, if you purchase a permanent life insurance plan at 30, it never expires.
Another major difference between term and permanent life insurance is that term life insurance doesn’t build cash value, while permanent life insurance does. With term life insurance, you pay for it, and it covers you for a specific amount of time, somewhat like care insurance or home insurance. With permanent life insurance, you pay for a specific number of years, lets say ten years again, but at the end of the ten years, when you stop paying, the policy doesn’t expire. As the years pass the policy builds cash value and you can withdraw from the policy for things like retirement income or for unexpected expenses. When you take money out from the policy, the amount you borrow gets deducted from what your death benefit would be.
A third major difference is that term life insurance tends to be significantly cheaper than permanent life insurance, especially for young people. Because of the fact that you build value over time with permanent life insurance, it is more expensive.
Depending on your situation, you may want to consider term, life, or both types of insurance. For example, if you are in your 20′s with no dependents (kids), no mortgage, and no health problems, you probably want to get permanent life insurance. It will be cheap because you are young, and the risk of you dying in the near future is pretty small. It will take you a few years to pay off, and then you will be insured for the rest of your life. Plus, it will give you an option for supplemental retirement income in the future.
If you have kids, you probably want to get some term life insurance. It’s cheaper than permanent insurance, so it will be better for your diaper and baby food filled budget. Regardless of whether you are a working parent or a stay at home parent, I recommend getting a term policy. If you’re the breadwinner, you want enough money that if you aren’t around to provide for the family, you know the family will still be able to live. If you’re a stay at home parent, you should consider getting a policy that is enough to cover the cost of a caretaker for the remainder of your dependents’ childhood years. Remember, if you aren’t around while your significant other is out bringing home the bacon all day, your child(ren) will need care, and care is expensive.
Personally, I’ve chosen to take a balanced approach to life insurance, meaning some term and some permanent insurance. I have enough term life insurance to cover my major financial obligation, my mortgage. This way, if anything were to ever happen to me, I know that D, my fiancé, could stay in our home comfortably. Luckily, I don’t have any other debt, but if I did, I’d want enough to cover any other major debt I had. I also have some permanent life insurance. It’s more costly, but I’m using it as a financial vehicle for my retirement planning. Specifically, I plan to use it to supplement my income upon retirement. Or, in the event of my untimely passing, it would cover my funeral costs and give my family a couple thousand extra dollars for any unexpected expenses associated with my death.
The bottom line here is that you may not realize it, but you need life insurance. Whether you are single or taken, have kids or not, it’s a smart move to ensure your future financial stability and the financial stability of the people you love just in case you aren’t around anymore. | <urn:uuid:00c3d811-8f7b-40f6-9e5a-b5990b547150> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thechickvestor.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9581 | 955 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Cartoon Network Puts Toons/Games Multitasking On One Mobile Screen
Hey, if you can’t beat limited attention spans, then you may as well program around them. Turner’s Cartoon Network has taken the first and second screens and scrunched them together in a novel bit of evil genius app development. The 2.0 release of their on-demand TV app for iOS allows the viewer to play a simple video game at the bottom of the iPad screen as a cartoon episode plays on the top half.
No kidding. Attention deficit disorder is now a design feature.
The app itself is an excellent design, although the experiences are different between the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch iterations. On the tablet, the portrait oriented display is literally divided in half. As usual, cable customers can log into their account to get access to full episodes of most CN shows. Others get clips. These video streams run on the top half of the screen. At the bottom you can rifle through more than half a dozen rudimentary swipe and tap games to play.
The games are not involved enough to be completely absorbing, but they do require reflexes and hand-eye coordination that must distract the eye from the top-screen video. But the viewer/player can stop or pause either screen experience independently of the other. So if you are playing an intense patch and want to pause the video stream to play, you can. And vice versa.
The model is different on smaller handhelds. The screen is dedicated to only one media experience at a time. Rotate the iPhone or Touch to the left or right landscape mode and the app turns into a game or a video player. All quite cool from a design perspective.
Go ahead and bemoan Turner seeming to cater to limited attention spans. All they really are doing here is admitting the obvious. If kids today are anything like my daughter ten years ago, then they have memorized most of the cartoon they watch endlessly rerun on CN anyway. Many of them are actively engaged on a second screen when the TV is on. This just compresses the two-screen experience onto one.
Which is to say “watching” TV is not really “watching TV” for them, as it may be for us. But wait. How many times have my wife and I watched that TNT rerun of "Big Bang Theory," while she reads a book and I peruse my iPad? At what point does our evening second-screen dive become so important that we start choosing first-screen programming that does not require our full attention?
By the way, the Windows 8 tablets are supposed to support same screen multitasking that will allow some apps to be “snapped” onto certain quadrants of the display. This could become very interesting for tablet video viewing and social TV. | <urn:uuid:9dd714b6-83bd-4914-a233-3a74117c7e37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/180564/cartoon-network-puts-toonsgames-multitasking-on-o.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955924 | 579 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Republicans and Democrats agree that we need to find a balanced approach to solving our long-term fiscal challenges. We didn’t get into this problem overnight, and we’re going to have to make some tough choices on how we get out of it.
President Obama recognizes this, and it’s why he put forward a serious plan to reduce our deficit and provide middle-class families with the economic certainty they are asking for. He’s willing to compromise with Republicans, but he’s not going to compromise on his principles of fairness and balance that asks the wealthiest few to pay their fair share.
The president’s plan focuses on main street, fostering economic growth in communities in every corner of the country and providing millions of Americans, both families and individuals, with a shot at achieving the American dream.
Congressional Republicans need to come to the table with a serious plan that asks everyone to do their part in building an economy that lasts. | <urn:uuid:0db0e7ee-7c9d-4131-919a-0f912ba73e35> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brainerddispatch.com/opinion/2012-12-05/compromise-needed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956955 | 198 | 1.53125 | 2 |
12-31-11 the year is coming to a close. Another year behind us. More personal data has piled up in our individual lives than we can possibly manage without a Continue reading
December 1st is upon us. Personal Information Management (PIM) tips for December.
1.) Pay your bills. Continue to automate your bill paying process
2.) Review and construct your financial planning moves in anticipation of year end.
3.) Start to gather Continue reading
This is a MUST Read regarding Personal Information Management (PIM)
Results of a survey conducted by Wakefield Research include the following (Note-1):
* 51% of Americans have experienced a computer crash where they lost ALL of their digital files.
* More than one-third (39%) admit they have never Continue reading
Keep personal information and work data separate! Here’s why.
Cisco Systems recent study data: “68% of employees and 71% of college students believe corporate devices should be used for Social Media and Personal use, too” See Note: 1
This is an understandable set of conclusions, and desires on the part of employees. But a very bad policy choice for both the companies and the individuals. Here’s why. Continue reading
How to: Manage your Phone – PIM training tip
Consider your phone as a very valuable tool in your Personal Information Management – PIM – strategy. It should also be considered to be a very dangerous and vulnerable access point for a lot of your critical data. If managed improperly, it is Continue reading
Birthdays: How to keep track of everyone’s birthday. Use your Personal Information Management PIM system
This is an easy to follow Tip. Add each Continue reading
Today is October 1st, the first day of a quarter. It is a significant day as it relates to personal information management. The first day of every quarter is a significant day as it relates to performing tasks to “Manage the Data Deluge”.
My goal is to coach individuals to get into a rhythmic routine they’ll follow. The first effort is Continue reading | <urn:uuid:f4adcc68-9947-4e70-a88d-f98eaa984edd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pimcoach.com/calendar-tips/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931645 | 436 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The mayors of New York and Detroit are squaring off on who has the worst crime.
He said the shirts — worn at vigils, funerals and demonstrations — fill about 85 percent of his orders today.
Lansing officials say the city had 12 homicides last year, the most since 2008 when it had the same number.
Across the city of Detroit, residents are growing weary of the violence — especially after crime statistics revealed 386 criminal homicides took place in the Motor City during 2012. So, what are city leaders doing about the problem?
Interim Police Chief Chester Logan says America has a problem with guns and Detroit is the epicenter.
Michigan’s two largest cities, Detroit and Grand Rapids, have seen more homicides this year, even though the overall crime rate has remained steady.
Federal authorities say they’re withdrawing a dozen agents brought to Flint from around the country earlier this year to help deal with the city’s crime rate.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder got the extra police troopers and summer jobs programs for inner city youths he wanted in the new budget, but he failed to get lawmakers to tie education money to student performance or invest as much as he wanted in health initiatives.
Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee said the department is having some success fighting crime by putting more cops on the street and going to 12 hour shifts for officers.
Detroit police say the murder rate in the city is up 15 percent from last year at this time, with more than 180 homicides as of July 10.
- Detroit Tigers @ Cleveland... Detroit Tigers @ Cleveland... Student Construction Science... Detroit Red Wings Vs. Chicago...
- Ticket Chicks At The Detroit... Detroit Tigers @ Texas... Detroit Tigers @ Texas... Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago...
- Detroit Tigers @ Texas... Detroit Tigers @ Texas... Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago... Detroit Tigers Vs. Houston...
- Detroit Tigers Vs. Houston... Detroit Tigers Vs. Houston... Detroit's Robocop Statue... Detroit Red Wings @ Anaheim... | <urn:uuid:06385209-e2b9-4275-85c5-0fc3e738f361> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://detroit.cbslocal.com/tag/crime-rate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941123 | 409 | 1.523438 | 2 |
If you are newly diagnosed with blindness and wish to read a book, menu or map in braille, who was the translator for the book, map or menu?
If you are in need of a vested service dog to assist you at all times in your daily living, who trained that dog?
Who are the men and women caring for babies born in captivity to inmate mothers in Kentucky?
Three programs at KCIW PeWee Valley Women’s Penitentiary are worthy of mention: the braille translation program, the Paws With Purpose program, and the Galilean Children’s Home.
In association with the American Printing House for the blind, KCIW inmates translate print materials into braille. I had a fascinating conversation with an inmate who was involved in braille translation; she had advanced her expertise such that she was currently working on map translation.
There are about thirty such programs nationwide. At KCIW, some of the women are certified literary transcribers through the National Library Service of the Library of Congress. If you come across a braille textbook, there is a chance that an inmate did the transcribing.
To qualify for admission into the braille program at KCIW, an inmate must meet honor status, but also must be quite a ways from meeting with the parole board. The learning-intensive program takes time and so, inmates participating in the program are serving lengthy sentences.
My eight-year sentence was so long it was absurd (my judge sentenced a knife-point cab driver robber to less time than me), yet not long enough to gain admission into one of the learning-intensive training programs. In other words, my sentence length was problematic because it was too long for some things and not long enough for others, leaving me in a void. Hence, it is actually possible to be jealous of people serving lengthy sentences. I really admired the women in these programs.
The Paws With Purpose puppy prison program is another wonderful intensive program, where women train service dogs. Barkley, the doodle, was one such dog, too cute for words. The dogs stay with the inmate trainers pretty much around the clock during the week. Sometimes the dogs take breaks to go into the community with volunteer program trainers, so the dogs can be exposed to traffic, malls and the like. Usually the dogs-in-training on the KCIW campus are vested, which means that inmates other than the trainer are not allowed to touch, pet or play with the dogs.
Again, an inmate must be something like two to five years to the parole board (I am not sure which) and must have attained honor status. Honor status is achieved through good behavior over a long period, and has perks such as desired housing in Pine Bluff Dormitory, as well as eligibility to apply for admission to programs such as Paws With Purpose of the braille translation program.
The Galilean Children’s Home (video above) is a wonderful program, supported by private donation and non-profit, that was founded by Mennonite couple Jerry and his late wife Sandy Tucker.
Babies born to inmate mothers at KCIW are often cared for in the Angel House division of the large Galilean Children’s Home, which also houses and cares for other orphaned children.
Each week, the women of the Galilean Home, which is located in Liberty Kentucky, Casey County, bring the babies to a visiting nursery in the chapel at the prison, for a bonding session with the inmate mothers. Please have a look at the video, as I believe this program is unique to Kentucky.
We need more programs such as these, but unfortunately they seem to be disappearing. Kentucky is turning jails into prisons, in the name of money, and warehousing Class D nonviolent offenders in cement with no programs, so they return to the community with nothing but a new criminal skill set in hand. Would it not make more sense to have inmates parole to the community with job skills and references in hand? Would it not make more sense for a Class D nonviolent offender to be able to state, proudly, that she had given something back to the community during incarceration? That she had put some thought and work into goals and planning for the second part of her life?
One of my goals is to get books into jails and prisons, but this will be difficult because some Kentucky jails ban educational materials outright, as I have previously mentioned. It makes absolutely no sense to ban education to the largest incarcerated population that will parole into the community the soonest: Class D nonviolent offenders.
Braille Translation Program in conjunction with KCIW.
Paws With Purpose prison puppy program.
The wonderful Galilean Home. | <urn:uuid:1af16656-8818-49cb-8ebf-ecab4673d961> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://froggravy.wordpress.com/tag/braille-translation-program-kciw-pewee-valley/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969584 | 963 | 1.78125 | 2 |
- Tenants: Trust, Tradition, & Discipline
- Capitol City: Nascosta
- Government: Elected Monarchy
- Ruled by a single elected official who stays in the position for thirty years unless overthrown.
- Population: Ruling class of Elves and Eladrin. Rest of the populations made up of mostly Elves and Eladrin with very few other races mixed in.
- Elven/Eladrin homeland.
- Are very secretive and not much is known about them to the outside world. | <urn:uuid:d742f651-c1e0-4e5d-b378-01feca670090> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/jorrahu/wikis/argoth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950147 | 108 | 1.703125 | 2 |
AERODINE COMPOSITES PROVIDES CRITICAL SUPPORT TO JFR
-Indianapolis technology company helps step up safety effort-
INDIANAPOLIS --- Following 14-time Funny Car World Champion John Force's dramatic crash last September in Dallas, a decision was made by John Force Racing to pursue the design and manufacture of an integrated composite safety structure that could be mounted into the existing chromoly chassis that would provide additional protection to the driver's lower extremities in the event of a chassis failure.
John Force Racing through The Eric Medlen Project (TEMP) brought in Aerodine Composite Group, to develop a safety structure that would protect the driver's lower extremities. John Medlen, director of TEMP, had previously worked with Aerodine Composites and knew they were the perfect company for this critical job.
With input from all of the JFR crew chiefs and chassis builder Murf McKinney, Aerodine Composites was able to develop a lightweight two-piece composite footbox structure built from carbon fiber and ballistic fiberglass that further added to the safety of the cockpit. The initial part was designed, manufactured, and fitted to a chassis in time for NHRA championship contender Robert Hight to race in Richmond, Virginia, less than two weeks after John's horrific crash. The use of advanced composites allowed Aerodine Composites to add the additional protection required inside an already cramped cockpit, while minimizing weight that could adversely affect the performance of the car.
During the off-season, the chromoly chassis that becomes the backbone of these 8,000 horsepower, 320 mph nitro Funny Cars was completely redesigned by the National Hot Rod Association. The arrival of the new chassis meant that the footbox structure also had to be redesigned to a new set of specifications. Aerodine Composites was once again charged with taking driver safety to a whole new level.
The latest revision of the footbox structure incorporates a proprietary laminate of carbon fiber, Kevlar, and titanium panels to produce a ballistic structure that will not only provide for the containment of lower extremities during a crash, but also offers ample anti-intrusion protection for the driver. Also added was an integral drive shaft containment cover that supplements the NHRA mandated safety equipment. The first four complete footboxes, one for each for the stable of John Force Racing Mustangs, were once again developed and manufactured in a tight two week timeframe so that the team could make the first test session of the year in Phoenix, Arizona.
Also developed during this time was a light-weight composite throttle pedal that mounts directly to the footbox. | <urn:uuid:87e6ab14-f160-4f44-af12-9cada57e38a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motorsport.com/automotive/news/john-force-racing-temp-update-2008-03-04/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95642 | 533 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Chairman's Remarks on Cybersecurity at CENTCOM Conference
PREPARED REMARKS OF FCC CHAIRMAN GENACHOWSKI
CENTCOM CONFERENCE: “ADVANCING CYBER SECURITY THROUGH REGIONAL
NOVEMBER 14, 2012Now let me talk for a few minutes about the FCC’s efforts on cybersecurity.
Tackling the challenges to network and Internet security is extremely important. It’s so important
because the benefits and opportunities of the Internet are so great.
Broadband Internet – over wired and wireless networks – has transformed our economy and society,
opening up a new world of uncharted opportunity. Eight trillion are exchanged over these wired and
wireless networks each year, and growing. The Internet is driving productivity gains, economic growth,
and job creation. If you shut down the Internet, you’d shut down our economy. That's increasingly true
around the world.
The Internet presents vast new opportunities, but also new dangers. The challenge is to tackle the
dangers without undermining the opportunities. It’s not an easy challenge.
One of the first steps, I think, is to break down the challenge into categories that allow for meaningful
discussion and problem solving.
One division of the threats is into three categories of networks. The first is government-owned networks.
The second is the networks that sustain vertical industries like financial services and our energy grid. And
the third area is commercial networks, wired and wireless, which are what most people are using every
day to send e-mails, pay bills, or shop online. Commercial networks are also increasingly integrated with
the second category – vertical networks of critical infrastructure.
At the FCC we’ve been engaged in all three areas. For example, we’ve been advising both the White
House and Congress on various cybersecurity matters, including legislation that's been in front of
Primarily, we’ve been focused on the third category – commercial networks. As the nation’s expert
agency on communications networks and technology, the FCC has always had as a fundamental part of
our mission the security and reliability of commercial communications networks.
So what is the FCC doing proactively to make our commercial broadband networks more secure?
Let me start with one example of how doing relatively easy things - what we call "low hanging fruit" -
can have a big impact. I’m talking about helping small businesses improve their security.
Don’t let the name fool you. Small businesses are a huge part of the U.S. economy. They employ more
than half of all private sector workers.
Increasingly, small businesses depend on broadband Internet to reach customers and boost productivity.
But in the U.S., 83% of small businesses don’t have cybersecurity protection plans. And too many U.S.
small businesses are not doing obvious things to guard against cyber attacks, such as encrypting their Wi-
Fi networks or better password protection.
So the FCC helped build a coalition that included government partners like the Small Business
Administration, non-government organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the
National Urban League, and several major private technology companies to try to tackle this
problem. Working together, this group has develop easy-to-use tools and resources to help small
businesses protect themselves from cyber attacks, including basic materials with easy-to-
understand steps small businesses could take to improve their security and derive the many
benefits of being online.
Now I’d like to talk in a little more detail about a significant multistakeholder initiative the FCC drove
last year. This involved Internet Service Providers and many others. The goal was to identify and tackle
concrete, high priority security challenges.
Last year, I tasked a coalition of FCC partners and stakeholders with making recommendations to help
address three concrete challenges that our work, and the work of others, had identified: botnets, Internet
route hijacking, and domain name fraud.
This was a deliberate choice. I didn’t give the general charge of tackling cybersecurity. I gave this group
three concrete areas in which we wanted progress and solutions. I encourage this approach to others. I
fear that a boil-the-ocean approach is less likely to lead to material real-world progress.
The group that developed these solutions is the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and
Interoperability Council – or CSRIC. CSRIC is an advisory council to the FCC that is made up of
industry leaders, academics, engineers, and federal partners. This Council and its predecessors have been
working on cyber security issues for some time. In fact, in 2001, the Council – then called the Network
Reliability and Interoperability Council – was one of the first federal entities to develop cybersecurity
CSRIC’s current membership includes companies working every day to build and expand Internet
infrastructure and services, from Verizon and Comcast to Amazon and PayPal. It includes outside experts
from academia. And it includes federal experts from multiple agencies, as well as representatives from
state and local public safety entities.
Early in 2012, CSRIC issued a series of smart, practical recommendations on the three issues I
On botnets, CSRIC developed a voluntary U.S. Anti-Bot Code of Conduct to reduce the threat of bots in
residential broadband networks. The Code includes steps to better detect bots in customer computers, and
to notify consumers when their computers have been infected. It includes steps to remediate bots,
including educating consumers so that users can look for signs that their computers are being used as
On domain name fraud, CSRIC endorsed new steps toward implementing expert-designed security
improvements to the Domain Name System – DNSSEC. In particular, CSRIC recommended that ISPs
use DNSSEC to give their customers the ability to validate the services they use on the Internet. For
example, ISPs that implement CSRIC’s recommendations will be providing customers with the means to
verify the authenticity of websites they visit.
On Internet route hijacking, the CSRIC report called on network operators to develop and adopt new
technical standards that will secure Internet routing. The standards would establish an authoritative
registry that will enable ISPs to validate the authenticity of routing information, securing the foundations
of trust between networks, which has been so essential to the Internet’s success.
CSRIC laid out a concrete plan for action in three key areas, and we were able to accomplish more than
that. In conjunction with issuance of the CSRIC report, ISPs that serve roughly 90% of the country’s
Internet users committed to implementing the recommendations.
In all of our work to enhance online security, we have made sure these efforts are consistent with key
values that have fueled the Internet’s growth and success.
One of those values is Internet freedom. Both President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have
spoken about how the open architecture of the Internet and the free flow of information online have been
essential to the Internet’s success as an engine of innovation, economic growth, and democracy.
Privacy is a similarly vital principle. The notion that we face a fundamental divide between privacy and
security is a false choice. Privacy and security are complementary – both are essential to consumer
confidence in the Internet and to adoption of broadband. We can and must improve online security while
protecting individuals’ privacy.
In the U.S., we’ve found that a key part of the recipe for driving investment and innovation that unleash
new opportunities and greater prosperity is moving strongly to address security concerns, while always
remaining true to these guiding principles.
Of course, technology continues to change, consumer behaviors continue to evolve, and new cyber threats
will develop. Looking ahead, an increasingly important area that we’re focusing on is securing advanced
mobile devices, including smartphones.
Worldwide, more people are getting online with mobile devices than with PCs. Consumers are
increasingly installing different types of apps on their smart devices and browsing mobile websites, while
most are unaware of the potential risks created by their behavior and the best practices to mitigate them.
Consequently, we're concerned that consumers are generally not taking adequate precautions against the
threats that can harm their devices and exploit the information on their devices.
These mobile devices we use to help run our lives and businesses are really just mobile computers. We
need to be thinking about how to make sure the risks to our PCs—like botnets—don’t make their way
onto our smartphones and tablets. The FCC will be announcing concrete steps to tackle this issue in the
In each of these areas, we are working through a similar, highly effective model that I believe can be
applied broadly: recruiting top talent to the FCC to focus on these issues, coordinating with multiple
stakeholders, charging them with solving concrete problems, and honoring core Internet values we want
When we talk about coordinating with multiple stakeholders, we're talking about two buckets.
First, it is essential that government collaborate with the private sector to solve these challenges.
Second, inter-agency collaboration is essential.
We’re applying this collaborative approach in other critical public safety situations, aside from
For example, the FCC recently supported America’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
and other government agencies in response to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated parts of New York and
the New Jersey coastline, reporting daily on the state of the communications networks in the affected
And it's the same collaborative model we used after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, where we
worked in close coordination with FEMA, the branches of the U.S. military, and private companies to
quickly restore communications to communities that had been cut off.
I had a good conversation with Brigadier General Baker last week about the importance of taking a
similar approach in other areas - for example, cable landing stations, which are often controlled by private
licensees, are also vital pieces of security infrastructure, and are often underprotected. We must work
together collaboratively to tackle challenges like this.
I mentioned that in developing strategies to tackle cyber threats we have sought to protect the key values
that have fueled the Internet’s growth and success.
I’d like to close by discussing next month’s World Conference of International Telecommunications in
Dubai, which poses real challenges to these values.
As you know, that Conference will be reviewing the International Telecommunication Regulations, and
cybersecurity issues have become a focus of discussion.
Since the 1990s, opening up global telecommunications markets to greater competition and private
investment, and embracing a multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance has helped fuel massive
deployment of communications infrastructure, contributing significantly to economic growth, job
creation, and new opportunities in areas like health and education around the world.
The bipartisan position of the U.S. government is that the multi-stakeholder, market-based and consumer-
driven model for international telecommunications and the Internet is working and will continue to be the
best engine for growth and opportunity in these sectors, all over the world.
The U.S. supports, and will work for, continued growth and expansion of a vibrant, competitive
international communications and Internet sector.
This will contribute to more innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth, creating opportunity all
over the world.
This is why we remain concerned about ongoing discussions about cybersecurity in the context of WCIT.
Cyber threats are a growing issues, but one that is being addressed in a variety of multistakeholder fora.
Calls to add cybersecurity provisions in the International Telecommunication Regulations are misplaced
and ultimately counterproductive. International regulations are simply too broad, too inflexible, and too
slow to change to effectively address cybersecurity issues. And any attempt to draft a “one-size-fits-all”
text could easily do more harm than good.
We believe it is important to have a successful WCIT, and we want to encourage other administrations to
seek consensus and avoid extreme positions. We believe the Conference should take a pragmatic,
flexible, and real-world approach.
On a final note, we at the FCC believe that the whole world benefits when countries work together to
promote core ideas like competition, the free flow of data, and secure networks – pillars of the digital
economy that drive economic growth, new opportunities, and global prosperity.
We also recognize that we have common challenges when it comes to seizing the opportunities of the
digital age: challenges around broadband adoption and deployment, and maximizing the benefits of
broadband in areas like health care, education, and public safety.
This is not a zero-sum game. We can learn from one another and all can benefit.
That’s why we are committed to greater transparency at our agency, and making information about our
policies and practices available online. And why we have also dedicated significant time and resources to
direct engagement with our foreign counterparts, and the ongoing exchange of information.
I’m proud to say that we are actively engaged with your region as we have hosted 28 delegations from
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen during the
last two years. We have a very active International Visitor’s Program and we look forward to continuing
our full engagement with the region.
Working together, I am confident we can make a real difference in increasing the security of the Internet
and harnessing its enormous opportunities. I look forward to continuing what has been a tremendously
Note: We are currently transitioning our documents into web compatible formats for easier reading. We have done our best to supply this content to you in a presentable form, but there may be some formatting issues while we improve the technology. The original version of the document is available as a PDF, Word Document, or as plain text. | <urn:uuid:56b71d2f-8390-4106-9deb-74125bcd871c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fcc.gov/document/chairmans-remarks-cybersecurity-centcom-conference | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934009 | 2,926 | 1.570313 | 2 |
- Inc. Technology - http://technology.inc.com -
The Art of the Net
Posted By Ilan Mochari On August 1, 2000 @ 12:00 am In E-Commerce | No Comments
Best of the Web
You can shop for art in cyberspace, but does it make sense? Eighteen CEOs scout sites offering everything from Picasso originals to basic frames
As the manager of a new office in San Francisco last year, Richard Ogden drew the assignment of decorating the space. His employer, Quidnunc, an E-commerce consultancy based in London, provided $5,000 for artwork. Ogden, a musician by training, didn’t know much about buying art, so he went online. He zipped to NextMonet.com, perused its offerings of original paintings, and created his own virtual “gallery” of works that he thought might jibe with Quidnunc’s style.
NextMonet.com, one of several Web sites that market art to businesses, concentrates on works by contemporary artists. If Ogden’s budget had been far larger, he might have checked out Fine Art Lease’s site, which features original Picassos and Pissarros that companies can buy or lease. Or if Ogden had been hunting simply for vintage van Gogh and Matisse prints or posters, he could have turned to Art.com. In addition to actual art, these Web companies typically market framing, matting, and installation services, as well as art consulting.
These sites are, of course, businesses themselves, aiming for a slice of the burgeoning corporate-art market, though all of them seek individuals as customers as well. They vary as widely in their content and character as the products they sell. Artsourceonline.com, for example, is the Web arm of ArtSource, based in New Berlin, Wis. It was founded in 1990 as a mail-order catalog, the sales from which still account for part of its $3 million in revenues. At the other extreme is start-up NextMonet.com, based in San Francisco; leading Web investor CMGI owns 38% of the company.
Unlike ArtSource, which displays art on its site but urges customers to contact the company by E-mail or telephone, NextMonet.com is set up to consummate its sales online. But Ogden, for one, didn’t buy over the Net. He chose to visit NextMonet’s headquarters, which happened to be down the block from Quidnunc’s. During the six weeks that followed, NextMonet dispatched representatives to the Quidnunc office to measure walls and observe the light. Eventually, Ogden bought six $600 abstract paintings by Derrick Buisch. By posting Quidnunc’s preliminary selections on NextMonet’s virtual gallery, Ogden made it easy for other Quidnunc employees and NextMonet representatives to weigh in with opinions and scope out alternatives.
Shopping on the Web saved Ogden from having to browse galleries from New York to Paris. But if you go online in search of art for your company, which site would serve you best? To guide your search, Inc. asked 18 small-business chief executives to review five Web sites that sell art to companies. The panelists differed widely on which sites they liked and didn’t like, based on their tastes and needs. Which site is right for you? Read on.
What it’s good for: Prints and posters of well-known artists and genres. The CEOs generally lauded Art.com’s framing and matting services, as well as its pricing. “Simple, recognizable prints at a decent price,” said one CEO.
Don’t waste your time if: You want paintings. Asked if he’d return to the site, one CEO replied, “Maybe for reasonably priced prints.”
What our CEOs had to say: Another reviewer reflected the consensus of his fellow panelists when he said that judging Art.com in relation to Fine Art Lease, for example, was “like comparing a poster outlet store in a mall to a fine art gallery.”
What you ought to know: The site’s parent company, $248-million Getty Images, based in Seattle, provides digital images to such customers as publishers and graphic designers. In light of how well Art.com scored with our CEOs, it’s noteworthy that Getty Images considers Art.com a sales channel primarily for reaching consumers rather than businesses.
What it’s good for: Browsing for posters and “understanding different looks and treatments,” in the view of one CEO.
Don’t waste your time if: You want a 100% online transaction. Many of our panelists were miffed that most items were unaccompanied by listed prices. “The service generally requires you to add a piece to a personalized gallery, which requires registration, then forces you to request a quote,” said one reviewer. “Too much trouble to go through for the generic Jimmy Dean poster I was looking at.”
What our CEOs had to say: Several lauded the site’s setup, which lets the user point to paintings according to price bracket. But they said other aspects of the site’s search function needed work. “I could see all fine art between $751 and $1,500,” one said, “but if I limited the search further, I was likely to get a goose egg on the results.”
What you ought to know: The absence of pricing on some sections of the site is intentional. ArtSource sells to many wholesalers, and it doesn’t want to intimidate them by posting the more expensive retail prices conspicuously on the Web.
What it’s good for: Leasing, leasing with an option to buy, or outright purchasing of renowned paintings, photographs, sculpture, and drawings. “I really like the idea of being able to lease a piece of nice and expensive art,” said one CEO.
Don’t waste your time if: Leasing gives you the creeps. The reviewers liked the concept, but none said they’d actually do it. “I can’t imagine leasing a $200K painting,” noted one. “If I wanted it enough, I’d buy it.”
What our CEOs had to say: Ironically, the only site of the five that offers original Picassos was considered “boring” to look at. “Fine Art Lease gave me sort of a foreboding feeling … dark colors … not much help,” one CEO explained.
What you ought to know: According to Fine Art Lease chairman and CEO Ian Peck, the company’s average work costs $35,000. To lease a $35,000 work for three years would cost $690 a month, which might explain why our panel found leasing appealing only in theory.
What it’s good for: Affordable work by up-and-coming artists. Even one of the most critical CEOs said, “I felt as though there was art I liked at a price I would pay.”
Don’t waste your time if: You need answers right away about frames, since the site refers inquiries to its network of framers all over the United States. “I didn’t find the framing options when you purchase a piece, which is important,” said one CEO. A few panelists wished the site had different search criteria, since they wanted to view artwork by movement (impressionism, for instance) rather than by medium (say, sculpture).
What our CEOs had to say: The site was well organized and good-looking.
What you ought to know: NextMonet.com’s specialty is original contemporary art. Don’t shop there if you’re looking for a print of your favorite Rembrandt.
What it’s good for: Specific information on how businesses should buy art. “Great for the corporate user,” one of the panelists said. “It’s like having your own corporate interior designer.” There is, in fact, a specific area of the site devoted to the corporate user.
Don’t waste your time if: You want something by someone famous. Like NextMonet.com, Visualize showcases its own troupe of artists.
What our CEOs had to say: The site is presented very effectively and offers great information. It’s not too flashy but is clearly navigable and easy to understand.
What you ought to know: Visualize has a rental program; monthly rates range from $25 to $60 for a piece of artwork.
The Bottom Line
Receiving the most laurels were Art.com and Visualize, each of which scored well in every category. However, the three CEOs who reviewed both sites liked Visualize a little better, singling out portions of the site that catered specifically to business buyers. NextMonet.com and ArtSource Online rated about the same, but the former generally received more enthusiastic comments. Fine Art Lease brought up the rear, despite its seemingly business-friendly leasing options. The CEOs didn’t burn with desire for the site’s crÃme de la crÃme collection, and they found the art too expensive even as a rental.
Ilan Mochari is a reporter at Inc.
The savvy entrepreneur’s guide to the art Web
|Would our CEOs go back?||What is the site good for?||CEOs’ quick take|
|www.art.com||“Yes, for specific personal art.”||“Prints from known artists and genres.”||“Quick, easy, enjoyable.”|
|www.artsourceonline.com||“Maybe.”||“To browse posters.”||“Not possible to browse and buy in a single session.”|
|www.fineartlease.com||“No.”||“To lease a piece of nice and expensive art.”||“Not my style — can’t imagine leasing a $200K painting.”|
|www.nextmonet.com||“Just out of curiosity.”||“Possible discovery of new artists.”||“I didn’t find the framing options.”|
|www.visualize.com||“You bet.”||“Corporate programs and options.”||“Very good; I like it.”|
|Ease of navigation||Inventory||Content||Reliability||Framing/
|Pricing||Something you’d pay for?||Average grade|
Terry Benish, president and CEO, Purple Solutions
Jeffrey S. Davis, CEO and chairman, Mage
Bryan Desloge, CEO, TMC Medical
Don Epperson, president, HookMedia
Julio Gomez, CEO, Gomez Advisors
Sam Goodner, founder, Catapult Systems
Pamela Hawken, president and CEO, Gardenside
Samuel B. Kellett Jr., founder, president, and CEO, eAttorney.com
Brent M. Kleinheksel, CEO and founder, PlanetPortal
Jack Littman-Quinn, CEO, OneCore
Michelle Lubow, CEO, Design One
Bret McElfish, CEO, McElfish + Co.
Spencer Newman, CEO, AdventurousTraveler.com
Bill Oxford, CEO, The Oxford Group
Gary G. Pan, CEO and founder, Panacea Consulting
Claude Pope, president and CEO, Office Supply Solutions
Dennis Scheyer, president and creative director, Scheyer/SF
Steve Warren, owner, Katzinger’s Deli
Please e-mail your comments to [email protected] .
Article printed from Inc. Technology: http://technology.inc.com
URL to article: http://technology.inc.com/2000/08/01/the-art-of-the-net/
URLs in this post:
www.art.com: http://www.art.com
www.artsourceonline.com: http://www.artsourceonline.com
www.fineartlease.com: http://www.fineartlease.com
www.nextmonet.com: http://www.nextmonet.com
www.visualize.com: http://www.visualize.com
Ilan Mochari: mailto:[email protected]
[email protected]: mailto:[email protected]
Copyright © 2011 Inc Technology. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:525f1733-90a0-4357-a3ba-031609daf774> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://technology.inc.com/2000/08/01/the-art-of-the-net/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933963 | 2,732 | 1.625 | 2 |
|Dear Bartlesville Community Partner,
|Five years ago, as we fashioned our strategic plan for the Bartlesville Public School District (BPSD) —
which is known as Vision 2012 — we wanted our goals to be lofty. The key areas of focus within that
plan were academics, staffing, technology, facilities and student activities. As we created measurables
for each focus area, we needed other school districts with which to compare ourselves. The BPSD is one
of the 32 largest districts in the state, so the other districts that comprise that collection make for a
natural peer group.
|In the area of academics, which is obviously a particularly key focus area for any school district, our main
objective was to achieve “the highest Academic Performance Index [API] of the 32 largest school districts
in the state.” The API is the most prominent testing series mandated by the Oklahoma State Department
of Education (OSDE) and focuses on the core subject areas of math and reading. The API monitors the
academic integrity of every school district within the Sooner State as well as the sites that comprise them.
|A strategic plan can be viewed as a roadmap for a school district, helping educators understand exactly
where they are, where they’d like to be and the best ways to get there. That is the way we used the
Vision 2012 plan, which mapped out the goals of the BPSD beginning in 2007 until the present year.
|The strategic plan has served us well in all five focus areas, particularly in the area of academics. We
have improved our district API in every year the OSDE has used it. And when the latest scores were
unveiled in fall 2011, we boasted our best score to date — an impressive 1,325, which marked a
40-point leap from our tally the previous year. Better yet, when we compared our latest API mark to the
other largest school districts in the state, we featured the second best score. We still have some time
to achieve our ultimate goal, and with the 2012 scores due to be unveiled this fall, we look forward to
finding out whether or not we have done just that.
|Now that 2012 has arrived — and we have seen through many of the visions that were spelled out in our
last strategic plan — we have unveiled a new plan for the coming five years. As you read this outstanding
plan, please note not just the goals but our core beliefs and the vision and mission statements that
they support. Within the plan, we feature six areas of focus. Five of those areas of focus — student
ex-perience and activities, staff effectiveness and experience, technology support, community partnerships
and communications, and physical environment — support our overriding focus area, which is student
|As we go forward into a very bright Bruin future, we will never rest on our laurels. We will continue to
strive to offer the best education possible for each and every student in our care. Presented in great
detail in the following pages is a strategic plan to help us realize that goal. Please follow the links below and view the new Strategic Plan 2017.
|Thank you so much for your support of the BPSD.
|Bartlesville Public School District | <urn:uuid:e3e0e239-5b81-40e1-8f42-dd5079f7d5c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bps-ok.org/Stragetic%20Plan/default.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960581 | 684 | 1.710938 | 2 |
'Make' was a bit of an exaggeration: really all I did was cut and glued. Still. They were necklaces.
To make them, I just ordered some glass domes, premade bezels, glue, and ball chain off the interwebs. (You can find them at most online bead and jewellery type places, they are not expensive, and don't forget jump rings like yours sincerely.)
I found some images I thought would look nice, roughly cut them out, and then applied a good amount of glue to the back of the glass (I used Weldbond, and you do need something made specially for this kind of job, but most suppliers have their preference, so whatever they recommend should do just nicely).
The tricky bit is then applying one surface to another without air bubbles. It's harder than it looks. Either that, or I'm a thicky thick thick who can't glue things. I put a heap of glue on the glass, spread it out, and then just pressed it into the cut out design real hard until I couldn't see any air bubbles anymore. It meant I had a lot of glue pushed out to the side, but that was easy to trim off and clean up afterwards. And it helps if your paper is thick and strong, as the map of Paris was. The magazine paper I tried to use sucked the big one.
And there you go. They are teacher gifts for Christmas, and no, I am not super organised - though it's only mid November, my children finish school in two weeks. Two weeks people. God help me. | <urn:uuid:437aa354-738c-4c1b-9e1f-691e187a8f2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thescentofwater.typepad.com/thescentofwater/2012/11/the-necklaces.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979522 | 329 | 1.539063 | 2 |
By Ed O’Keefe
Jail cells might keep inmates from escaping, but don’t appear to stop some from filing fraudulent tax returns.
More than 48,800 of the nation’s prisoners claimed $130 million in fraudulent tax refunds by March of this year, and the numbers are probably much higher, according to a new watchdog report. The IRS paid $112 million of the claims, a small fraction of the $326 billion in refunds so far this year.
But the number of fraudulent payments made to inmates has climbed 37 percent since 2004, said the report, which also acknowledged that the rise is partly a result of increased detection and enforcement by the IRS.
The IRS doesn’t screen most prisoners’ tax returns, according to the report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), set for release Thursday. A review of tax records found that 88 percent of the 287,918 returns filed by prisoners by late March were not screened for potential fraud. Of those, about 48,800 returns lacked wage information reported to the IRS by employers, the report said.
“There is a major problem with returns being filed fraudulently by people who are incarcerated,” TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George said in an interview. “What makes this even more problematic is that we identified this as a problem more than five years ago. The problem not only persists, it’s gotten even worse.”
In 2005, TIGTA found that 18,000 prisoners had filed fraudulent returns in 2004. The report prompted a 2008 law that now requires George’s office to file regular updates on prison-based tax fraud. The number of bad claims has climbed because the IRS has stepped up detection and enforcement, as well as because a higher number of prisoners are making fraudulent claims, TIGTA and IRS officials said Thursday.
The IRS “is making very good progress” in identifying cases of fraud, George said. Overall, in the general population, the agency stopped almost 250,000 fraudulent returns totaling $1.48 billion through March, double the number from the 2009 filing season.
“The IRS takes refund fraud seriously and has programs in place to aggressively combat it,” agency spokesman Terry Lemons said in a statement. Tracking prison fraud “is not a simple process, particularly considering the fact that some inmates and their families are legally entitled to tax refunds and that the prisoner population is constantly changing,” he said.
The agency is working with state and federal officials to ensure timely updates and last summer met with federal prison officials to improve detection and prevention of prisoner fraud, he said. | <urn:uuid:5b172bc5-5536-4820-8af6-d99bf0b1333f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://positivereform.com/category/government/treasury/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955308 | 547 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Distribution Center equipment is known to create a large amount of toxic waste from wash water including Oil & Grease, Emulsions, Heavy Metals, Zinc, Lead, Chrome, and general Dirt and Road Silt. The OilTrap Electrocoagulation system is the most economically friendly and effective treatment on the market today. Using cutting-edge technology, we are able to guarantee clean water that will meet all current and future discharge standards. This clean water can also be reused for washing- getting you the most from your dollar.
Business owners today, more than ever, want to conserve and reuse as much as possible. Why should water treatment be any different? OilTrap Environmental has ElectroPulse systems operating in distribution centers and warehouses around the world providing not only an environmentally friendly solution to all the wash water generated, but also a consistently effective automated system that will last for years to come.
Not only is it cost-effective, but also almost 100% automated reducing operator time and saving you the stress that comes from out-dated technologies such as filtration, chemicals and bioremediation. The ElectroPulse EC system has been determined to be the greenest, and most effective water treatment system on the market- Even earning a LEEDS (U.S. Green Building Council) recognition. OilTrap Environmental Inc. has earned the respect and loyalty of small and large companies alike.
See the brochure here: Distribution Wash Water Treatment | <urn:uuid:4c704700-4ef2-4bd2-bb41-96f422976a07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oiltrap.com/applications/distribution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953809 | 298 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital
South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela was hospitalized in Pretoria.
Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday celebration
JOHANNESBURG Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was discharged from the hospital Wednesday, according to several reports.
Mandela will receive "home-based high care" at his residence in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton until he fully recovers, said presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj.
Officials had said the 94-year-old leader was improving in recent days since he was hospitalized on December 8. Mandela was diagnosed with a lung infection and underwent gallstone surgery.
Mandela, who battled apartheid before becoming the country's first democratic leader, has a history of lung problems. He suffered from tuberculosis towards the end of his 27-year prison term.
- Nelson Mandela to spend Christmas in hospital, South African presidency says
- Mandela undergoes successful gallstone surgery
- Watch: Confusion reigns over Mandela's condition
"We thank the public and the media for the good wishes and for according Madiba and the family the necessary privacy," said Maharaj in a statement, using Mandela's clan name, a term of affection. The statement requested that Mandela's privacy continue to be respected "in order to allow for the best possible conditions for full recovery."
David Phetoe, a resident of the Johannesburg township of Soweto, reacted with joy when he heard that Mandela was no longer in a hospital.
"It's not always the case, when people offer great expectations, that those expectations are fulfilled," he said. "In this case, we say in the same tone, in the Christmas mood and in the Christmas season, let him stick around for a while!"
Mandela is revered around the world as a symbol of sacrifice and reconciliation, his legacy forged in the fight against apartheid, the system of white minority rule that imprisoned him for 27 years.
The Nobel laureate served one five-year term as president after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. Although the country today struggles with poverty and inequality, Mandela is widely credited with helping to avert race-driven chaos as South Africa emerged from apartheid.
South African President Jacob Zuma was among those who joined Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, and other family members in wishing a Merry Christmas to Mandela at his hospital bedside in Pretoria, the South African capital.
"I think he is an icon of hope and we are very excited" that Mandela is out of the hospital, said Sipho Sibiko, a Soweto resident. "I personally know that he is one of the people that inspired me. He inspires a lot of people and we are excited that he has been released. We wish him many more joyous years and good health."
Mandela shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with then-South African President F.W. DeKlerk for their work in steering the country toward democracy. Before he was elected president in 1994, Mandela was imprisoned for over three decades on sabotage and other crimes during his fight against apartheid.
After his five-year pesidency, Mandela devoted himself to fighting against poverty, illiteracy and AIDS in Africa. He has cut back his appearances in recent years due to his old age and has been spending more time with family
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Boat hijack stokes tension between N. Korea, China
- China probes rice tainted with cancer-causing cadmium
- Hezbollah suffers heavy losses fighting inside Syria
- Lebanon reportedly stopping Syria refugees at border
- Israel and Syria exchange fire on Golan Heights
- Syria activists: 31 Hezbollah fighters killed in Qusair
- Russia shows accused U.S. spy heading home
- Some Swedish youth riot over police shooting death | <urn:uuid:40a849cb-aa7c-4b21-abac-2e3f00eec9d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57560877/nelson-mandela-discharged-from-hospital/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973009 | 776 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Life imitates art in The Lady in the Van, the story of the itinerant Miss Shepherd, who lived in a van in Alan Bennett's driveway from the early1970s until her death in 1989. It is doubtful that Bennett could have made up the eccentric Miss Shepherd if he tried, but his poignant, funny but unsentimental account of their strange relationship is akin to his best fictional screen writing.
Bennett concedes that "One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation", but as the plastic bags build up, the years pass by and Miss Shepherd moves into Bennett's driveway, a relationship is established which defines a certain moment in late 20th-century London life which has probably gone forever. The dissenting, liberal, middle-class world of Bennett and his peers comes into hilarious but also telling collision with the world of Miss Shepherd: "there was a gap between our social position and our social obligations. It was in this gap that Miss Shepherd (in her van) was able to live".
Bennett recounts Miss Shepherd's bizarre escapades in his inimitable style, from her letter to the Argentinean Embassy at the height of the Falklands War, to her attempts to stand for Parliament and wangle an electric wheelchair out of the Social Services. Beautifully observed, The Lady in the Van is as notable for Bennett's attempts to uncover the enigmatic history of Miss Shepherd, as it is for its amusing account of her eccentric escapades. --Jerry Brotton [via] | <urn:uuid:4f8725d4-7c1e-42af-80c8-1f6d979b6439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookfinder.com/author/alan-bennett/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971758 | 309 | 1.671875 | 2 |
More dangerously cold temps on tap
BY ART GOLAB Staff [email protected] January 21, 2013 12:42PM
With a wind chill advisory temperature of minus eleven degrees, people walked briskly along Milwaukee Avenue, on one of the coldest days of the year so far in Chicago on Monday, January 21,2013. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-Times
Updated: February 23, 2013 6:23AM
Temperatures plunged into the single digits Monday evening and stayed there Tuesday morning, while the area remained under a wind chill advisory until 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
The biting cold is the product of a frigid air mass, the coldest the region has seen in two years, descending over the area. That means temperatures will be mostly in the single digits until Wednesday, the weather service said.
At O’Hare Airport the recorded temperature at 6 a.m. Tuesday was a frigid 1 degree, but that dropped to about minus 13 once the wind chill is factored in, according to the weather service.
A little sunshine Tuesday morning will help temperatures creep back to a high of 12 degrees, but high winds were forecast to push wind chills to as low as 25 below zero, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a wind chill advisory through Tuesday morning.
Tuesday night lows will stay above zero, in the 3- to 7-degree range, and it will be somewhat warmer Wednesday, with highs in the low 20s, according to the National Weather Service.
Before the most recent cold wave, the last subzero reading was minus 9 degrees on Feb. 10, 2011. As of Monday, Chicago has gone 332 days without a snowfall of at least an inch.
During the Martin Luther King holiday Monday, 10-degree temperatures led 95 people, mostly homeless, to show up at the city Department of Family and Support Services warming center at 10 S. Kedzie, according to DFSS spokesman Matt Smith.
It was the only DFSS warming center open due to the holiday, but other alternatives, such as police stations were available, Smith said. Six DFSS warming centers will be open Tuesday, and Smith said people can call 311 to find a warm place day or night.
Meanwhile, a 70-year-old suburban Des Plaines man found dead Sunday in his home was declared the seventh cold-related death of the season in Cook County, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
An autopsy Monday found Lawrence Sviontek died of hypothermia caused by cold exposure, with alcoholism as a contributing factor.
Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire | <urn:uuid:32153def-08a8-48d4-86da-3bdc0e47efa1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/17712846-418/dangerously-cold-temperatures-on-tap-for-chicago.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94201 | 553 | 1.617188 | 2 |
PlayStation 3 to get 45nm Cell 'mid year'
PS3 diet looming?
A slimmer PlayStation 3 could hit the shops this summer, because Sony’s finally said when it’ll begin replacing the console’s 65nm Cell chip.
David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, told The Guardian that Sony is looking to replace the console’s current 65nm chip – produced by Toshiba – with a 45nm one “probably in middle of year”.
The new chip would enable Sony to slim down the bulky and heavy PS3, because the 45nm chip doesn’t consume as much power as the current one. In turn, this would allow Sony to scale down the PS3’s power brick and cooling system.
Crucially, the 45nm chip would be just as powerful as its predecessor.
In September 2008, Toshiba said it had inked plans to begin mass-production of the 45nm Cell chip in early 2009. Toshiba will also use the 45nm Cell chip in its TVs. ®
Re: @Simon Ward
"re: XBOX 360 - "I don't - if I anticipate playing something a lot, it goes onto the HDD". I had no idea you can do this - Halo3 and COD 5 are the most played games. I'll look into it; I am surprised because of the risk of copying (i.e borrow a game, copy it to the hard disk)."
Seems a lot of people didn't know this! I discovered it somewhat by accident because the clattering noise of the DVD drive whilst playing Fable 2 was driving me up the wall. You still need to have the original game disc in order to play, but with the HDD install option it reads the data off the hard disk rather than the DVD (duh!) - to do it, try the following steps:
- Go to "My Xbox"->"Game Library"
- Click on the game you want to transfer to HD
- Select the 'Install to Hard Drive' (or similarly worded) option
- Wait ... depending on the amount of data to transfer it'll take anything from a little while to
bloody ages. The amount of disk space taken by the game will vary, but 5-6Gb is usual.
From then on, the game should play from the hard disk until such time as you delete it - you still have fan noise to contend with, but I can live with that. The whole process is a bit of a ball-ache, but again, it's bearable.
As for the PS3, I'd be pretty pissed off if I'd paid full price for it (I didn't - it was second hand) - the range of games is, currently, pretty poor compared to the 360 although there is some promising looking stuff in the pipeline. On the other hand, compared to Xbox Live, PSN really is laughably poor. Lack of PS2 backward compatibility, at least on European machines, was a major shark-jumping incident from Sony, IMO - granted, the number of 'classic' Xbox titles playable on the 360 is limited, at least the capability is there.
So, of the three consoles I have, the PS2 gets wheeled out for the oldies that I like, the 360 is my main 'gaming' machine and no doubt the PS3 will get more usage when I've managed to dig up a few more games that appeal to me - in the meantime, it's a good enough media player.
Hope this helps.
I migrated from a PS2 to an XBOX360 - that's the perspective seen in my comments.
re: XBOX 360 - "I don't - if I anticipate playing something a lot, it goes onto the HDD". I had no idea you can do this - Halo3 and COD 5 are the most played games. I'll look into it; I am surprised because of the risk of copying (i.e borrow a game, copy it to the hard disk).
I did want to get a PS3 instead of the XBOX360 - however, most kids in my son's school have an XBOX360 and there is peer pressure because of XBOX Live. My comments on the PS3's size were based on how it seemed - the curves made me think it was bigger.
I'll get a 45nm PS3 this summer for viewing BluRay movies. The XBOX360 with Live will remain for gaming. The PS3 is the best value BluRay player out there.
My comments on Microsoft's profits and their poor performance are relative - I'd have thought Microsoft would at least be as influential as Apple were. I don't expect them to be a major manufacturer like Sony, but their "influence" should be significant and allow them access to the latest hardware I'd have thought. That said, no iMacs are Quad core and they all have underpowered graphics...
Microsoft does not know how to write software, they are a marketing company.........
and throw lousy products on the market!
Look at Xbox (RROD), and other MS products...... Sony is a reliable and promising company, unlike MS.....
PS3 is the best, there is no hardware comparison to the Xbox!
Clearly you are confused. Whilst the 360 may be big and noisy, the latest 65nm PS3's are super silent. I can't even hear mine from a couple of meters viewing distance.
Why can Sony do it? Simple. Sony make hardware, Microsoft write Software. You wouldn't buy your car from a company that writes software, so why buy your console from one?
FYI. The current 80GB PS3, with 65nm Cell and 65nm RSX draws about 100w (I tested it earlier with a plugin meter). The 360 is a whopping 170w.... That's why it's so noisy.
As for Microsoft "with infinitely more profit", I also think you need to read less of Redmond spin, and more of reality. The XBox has lost so far about $9Billion. The PS3 about $4Billion (this includes development costs for both, and RROD for Microsoft). The only difference, is Microsoft hid all theirs in a single quarter, so the next quarter they could claim "profitability".
Neither console is profitable, but Sony is one hell of a lot closer to breaking even than Microsoft ever will be.
James, go out an buy a PS3..
Really, you will love it.. How do I know you don't have one?
"PS3’s power brick"..
Only the big white turd has a big power brick at the back (sat next to the white elephant HD DVD bolt on). | <urn:uuid:57a7b245-7b9a-434f-9ca8-6c01d5479293> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/06/ps3_45nm_chip_start_date/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96152 | 1,397 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Archive for the ‘Journalism’ Category
On Thursday, Newsweek announced they will be an all-digital magazine by the start of 2013. After nearly 80 years in print, “challenging economics of print publishing and distribution” means that the publication will solely be found online. When I read Tina Brown and Baba Shetty’s article online first thing yesterday morning, I wasn’t at all surprised.
There are certainly some unhappy with the news. But the loss of Newsweek’s hardcopy was predictable. It cost $40 million per year to publish, while ad rates everywhere were dropping and Tina Brown saw circulation halved from 3,158,480 in 2001 to 1,527,157 last June. Her attempts to goose sales with ridiculous covers (a few on Michelle Bachman, heaven and the Middle East) did not do the trade proud.
Today, The New York Times officially banned “after-the-fact quote approvals.” This is the fairly common request from PR people and spokespeople to approve their quotes following an interview. The Times memo stated that “demands for after-the-fact quote approval by sources and their press aides have gone too far.”
Everyone understands the desire to ask to approve a quote. We’ve seen the perils of misused quotes and statistics all too often in this year’s presidential race. However, most of us aren’t running for public office, and in journalism, unlike the creative halls of political campaign ad execs, the truth is the ultimate goal. In fact, reputable reporters follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.
Show and tell. That’s the thing you did in second grade when you found a rock, assumed it had fallen from the moon and you wanted to share it with your classmates.
Then there’s show, don’t tell. Not to be confused with Truth or Dare.
Show-don’t-tell is what good journalism schools and what creative writing professors and literary editors preach all day, reminding authors that if you want to grab the reader by the collar, stating the facts isn’t enough. Yes, characters, plot and premise are essential. And yes, your writing needs to be crisp. But then what?
Here are four tips to get you going:
My Facebook feed this week has been buzzing with Chick-fil-A updates. There was the viral letter that Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wrote to the restaurant chain’s President Dan Cathy saying Chick-fil-A was not welcome to open a store in the city because of its stance against same-sex marriage. And then there were these photos below, posted by different friends; each shows a brand—Sarah Palin and KFC —taking advantage of the media firestorm to get some attention for themselves.
This got me thinking: when is it ok to be opportunistic, piggybacking on an issue in the media? When is it not? And what are the do’s and don’ts?
Do be opportunistic if:
The funny thing about being a blowhard communicator is that, eventually, it comes back to bite you. Look no further than former Red Sox ace turned video game entrepreneur Curt Schilling. When Schilling was in his prime he was a fierce competitor, tireless worker and driven to succeed. To some, he also came across as somewhat crass and arrogant. Whether he was giving the beat writers assembled pre-game in front of his locker a hard time or calling into WEEI as “Curt in the car,” it was clear that he had an opinion and demanded to be heard.
Back then it sure seemed that the only thing Schilling liked to do more than pitch was talk, and no subject was safe from Curt’s version of reality. In short, he was the ultimate blowhard. The media was only too happy to put the microphone in front of him.
As the world casts its eyes on London for the 2012 Summer Olympics, writers can go for the gold in their prose.
The Associated Press (AP) has published its editorial style guide for the Summer Games, compiling essential terms, spellings and definitions for the XXX Olympiad. Opening Friday, July 27, the London Games will feature 26 sports and 39 disciplines with about 10,500 athletes vying for a total of 2,100 gold, silver and bronze medals.
When watching U.S. swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte’s aquatic quests or Team USA’s vaults in gymnastics, writers can follow AP’s Olympic terms and usage:
- Olympics or Olympic Games: Always capitalized. There are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, or Summer Games and Winter Games.
- Olympics (n.): Always capitalized.
Everyone knows that creative ideas never happen at your desk, looking at a blank screen or—even worse—seeing a steady stream of emails pervade the space. Right?
So, I took my salad to the kitchen and ate it at a proper table while reading Time. Leafing through the front of the book, near a photo of a Muslim Brotherhood rally, were some large orange words that read: “It represents the archetypal ‘turd on the plaza.’”
I put down my fork.
Oliver Wainwright, a British architecture critic, was lambasting the new ArcelorMittal Orbit structure that the highly talented Anish Kapoor designed for Olympic Park in London. The picture of the structure was right there, under the quote, but it is so strange looking—a rollercoaster, meets post-modern sculpture, meets something under construction—that my eyes had skipped over that mess and settled on Wainwright’s words, written large.
Words, when cobbled into descriptive sentences, can create some of the most striking works of art. These verses wield the power to convey detailed messages, paint vivid images and absorb all readers—while informing audiences.
Mark Ragan, CEO of Ragan Communications (the leading publisher of corporate communications, public relations and leadership development), recently hosted a writing webinar that discussed how communicators can sharpen their prose. At the heart of communications is storytelling, and in order to successfully express narratives, clear writing is the vehicle that turns tangled thoughts into dramatic tales.
Unblemished writing has never been so important during the digital age as newsrooms dwindle and blogs flourish. As a result, brand journalism has spawned, enabling companies to act as media outlets, report their stories and generate engaging content that they can propagate across the Web. | <urn:uuid:3d659afb-1cbe-4c55-b9c9-599daaa0a438> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inkhouse.net/category/journalism/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956192 | 1,378 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Despite the fact that copyright owners asked Google to remove 1.2 million Web pages from its search index last month alone due to alleged infringement, the music industry is still unhappy with its efforts.
In a blog post published Wednesday, RIAA Executive Vice President of Anti-Piracy Brad Buckles accused Google of misleading the public about the scope of its attempts to fight online piracy, and offered a list of “facts” that Google failed to point out in its Transparency Report.
“Even more transparency is needed to fully understand the scope” of online piracy, writes Buckles. A good place to start, he says, would be to publish “the total number of links to infringing material available” as well as “the limitations Google imposes on rights owners to search for infringements reveals how meager the number of notices is relative to the vast amount of infringement.”
RIAA cries “limitations”
Google’s “limitations” on copyright holders lay at the heart of Buckle’s complaints about the search giant’s approach to anti-piracy. As Buckles explains, Google uses an “automated tool” to process all the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) takedown notices it receives from copyright holders. “In order to notify Google of an infringement, you first need to find the infringement,” writes Buckles. “But Google places artificial limits on the number of queries that can be made by a copyright owner to identify infringements. These limits significantly decrease the utility of Google’s take down tool given the vast nature of the piracy problem today and the number of titles we are trying to protect.”
According to Google’s count, RIAA member companies — EMI Music North America, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group — serve a median total of about 4,200 DCMA notices each week, with the total number of requests clocking in at just under 440,000. The RIAA ranks fifth in terms of total requests sent, with Microsoft taking the top spot, having requested the takedown of more than 1.2 million URLs.
Google hits back
Google senior copyright attorney Fred von Lohmann denies that Google limits the number of takedown requests a copyright owner may send, but says that the company does have “technical safeguards” in place simply as a way to make sure it does not drown in the mountain of complaints.
“We have never imposed any limit on the number of notices that a copyright owner or reporting organization may send us, although we do have some technical safeguards in our trusted partner program (where submitters may be using automated mechanisms to send large volumes) as a safeguard against accidental flooding of the system,” von Lohmann said in a statement released to various media outlets.
Google says that it currently receives an average of 250,000 DCMA notices each week — roughly the total number that it received in all of 2009. Approximately 97 percent of the requests it receive result in a link being removed from its index, the company says. And each removal takes about 11 hours to full process, as Google attempts to make sure each removal request is legitimate before acting.
“We try to catch erroneous or abusive removal requests,” wrote von Lohmann in a blog post last week. “For example, we recently rejected two requests from an organization representing a major entertainment company, asking us to remove a search result that linked to a major newspaper’s review of a TV show. The requests mistakenly claimed copyright violations of the show, even though there was no infringing content. We’ve also seen baseless copyright removal requests being used for anticompetitive purposes, or to remove content unfavorable to a particular person or company from our search results.”
More RIAA complaints
In addition to takedown request limitations, Buckles complains that Google “also limits the number of links we can ask them to remove per day.” He also claims that Google’s removals are only cosmetic, since they only account for 0.1 percent of the total number of links for sites that are most often targeted by DCMA takedowns. “For example, Google calculates that infringing links account for only 0.1 percent of links on filestube, a notorious source of infringing links,” he writes. “For anyone who knows filestube, this seems unlikely, especially given that Google’s data doesn’t include DMCA notices sent directly to the site.”
In other words, the RIAA would prefer that Google simply wipe entire websites from its search results if they’ve are regularly accused of hosting a significant number of infringing content. Nevermind that proactive censorship is not Google’s responsibility, and would likely result in the censorship perfectly legal content.
Lastly, Buckles is upset that Google continues to index websites regularly accused of copyright infringement, which allows these sites to simply repost the exact content that the RIAA wants removed from the Internet. “If ‘take down’ does not mean ‘keep down,’ then Google’s limitations merely perpetuate the fraud wrought on copyright owners by those who game the system under the DCMA,” writes Buckles.
Needless to say, the RIAA will not be satisfied until it has the power to wipe every piece of allegedly infringing content off the Web. Buckles’s blog simply shows that the entertainment industry feels not only that Google isn’t doing enough to protect its bottom line, but that the DCMA is an inadequate law for fighting piracy. It is this mindset that led to the creation of bills like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). And further shows that Hollywood will not stop pushing such measures until they can slam a hammer on every website that it has a problem with. | <urn:uuid:eaf84406-e1f1-416c-875a-ba76f573d06c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitaltrends.com/music/riaa-to-google-you-still-dont-do-enough-to-fight-online-piracy/?showall=1&flagcomment=449868 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937288 | 1,228 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Medicaid programs could face a revenue crunch that hurts programs and provider reimbursement in fiscal 2011 after federal stimulus money dries up, said a survey released Wednesday.
The state-administered programs saw bigger-than-expected jumps in enrollment and spending during fiscal 2009, but money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped soften that burden, according to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
Medicaid is a state-federal program that covers health care for the needy, the elderly and people with disabilities.
The federal government will provide about $87 billion to states through the stimulus funding, but that ends Dec. 31, 2010, or in the middle of most states' 2011 fiscal year. Medicaid programs then may have to consider "previously unthinkable eligibility and benefit reductions," according to the study.
New York, for instance, may consider cuts for its home care or personal care services, which could push patients into even more expensive nursing home and institutionalized care, said state Medicaid director Deborah Bachrach during a Wednesday afternoon teleconference.
Nevada expects a $240 million revenue shortfall when the federal funding ends, and it may consider changes to program eligibility, said Charles Duarte of the state's Department of Health and Human Services.
Duarte said his state also may have to cut reimbursement to providers, a move that could lead to fewer doctors accepting Medicaid.
"But we're at the point where that may be a secondary consideration if we're really going to face some of the revenue shortfalls that we're anticipating as a state," he said.
The recession helped drive Medicaid enrollment up 5.4 percent on average in fiscal 2009, the highest rate of increase in six years, the study said. Meanwhile, spending growth on the programs averaged nearly 8 percent, the highest rate in five years.
Both increases exceeded expectations.
A total of 29 states said they would have cut eligibility without the stimulus help, and 36 said the money helped them avoid benefits cuts, the survey said.
"Clearly, the federal stimulus funds preserved Medicaid coverage of current beneficiaries across the country," said Vernon K. Smith, a principal with the consulting firm Health Management Associates and one of the study's authors.
Even so, 33 states cut or froze provider reimbursement rates, and 39 are expected to do so in fiscal year 2010, the study said.
While economists say the recession is fading, the growth trends are expected to continue into fiscal 2010. Experts say state revenues generally lag behind a recovery from a recession by a year or two. Medicaid enrollment gains are expected to linger for as much as two years.
The study also said the extra burden health care reform may place on states also worries Medicaid officials. Congress is considering several bills that aim to lower the cost of care and cover the uninsured. An expansion in Medicaid eligibility is a key element.
The expansion could lead to additional administrative expenses as well as a benefits cost increase, noted Laura Summer, a senior research scholar at the Georgetown Health Policy Institute who studies Medicaid. She was not involved with the survey.
"Its kind of a lesson for health reform, thinking about Medicaid expansion and how much burden could be on states if there's not proper attention to the financing mechanism that's used," she said.
On the Net:
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Cobram tattoo artists say it’s time to stamp out inking issues. The Shepparton Custom Bike, Car and Tattoo Show this month also prompted Federal Member for Murray Sharman Stone to speak out on industry regulation.By Jemima Lewis
Cobram tattoo artists say it’s time to stamp out inking issues.
The Shepparton Custom Bike, Car and Tattoo Show this month also prompted Federal Member for Murray Sharman Stone to speak out on industry regulation.
She says backyard tattooists using inferior inks and re-using needles to lower costs are a grave concern.
Ink Me Tattoo and Piercing’s Paul Boyd and Ren Sommers have helped at least six people with ‘‘backyard tattoos’’.
‘‘This is just the tip of the iceberg,’’ Mr Boyd said.
And Mr Boyd says the pair are sick of cleaning up the mess.
‘‘We have to refuse some — they are just too bad to fix,’’ he said.
They are worried about hygiene and contamination, and fear the spread of diseases including Hepatitis C.
‘‘People seem to think that if the needle is in a clean packet, then it’s all good,’’ Mr Boyd said. ‘‘Backyard tattooists don’t have autoclaves to clean the whole machine, which means blood and fluid can get caught and passed on.’’
Mr Boyd has heard some shocking sterilisation practices from backyard tattooists.
‘‘Using a lighter on a needle or boiling something in water on the stove doesn’t do anything,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve heard of dogs running through the house and people smoking inside where they’re meant to be tattooing.’’
Mr Boyd said backyard tattooists used inferior machinery which could, literally, scar people for life.
‘‘Backyard tattooists are using the wrong machine for outlining or shading,’’ he said.
‘‘This leaves you with scarring on the skin, and once it’s scarred there is no going back.’’
Tattooists are regulated under the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Act.
This legislation states that it is only ‘‘preferable’’ for tattooists to be qualified.
There is also no minimum ink quality standard recognised in the Victorian legislation.
Dr Stone said use of low-quality inks from foreign countries was concerning. She said these inks could contain severe allergens such as nickel, arsenic and lead compounds.
‘‘If tattoo ink is searched on the internet, the components of the ink are not identified. Local tattooists are worried about ink coming from overseas countries where there is very little regulation,’’ she said.
Dr Stone said while the majority of tattooists were following correct procedures, some were slipping through the cracks.
Mr Boyd said people who wanted to get a tattoo should do their research.
‘‘Ask to look at photo albums of their work. Put a bit of consideration into it,’’ he said
Mr Boyd said at the end of the day, the cost of the artwork should be irrelevant.
‘‘Some people are happy with a bad-looking tattoo. Each to their own,’’ he said.
‘‘But really, money shouldn’t factor in the decision for a tattoo — quality and cleanliness are the most important.’’
Mr Boyd and Ms Sommers don’t want customers anywhere getting more than what they paid for.
‘‘Laser removal is expensive if you end up hating it,’’ Mr Boyd said. ‘‘And there’s no cure for Hepatitis C.’’
Shepparton's Eric Magelinkon has taken out the World Karate and Kickboxing Association K-1 regional title after outlasting Ross Sbisa last weekend.
The winning form continued for the Mulwala seniors against Deniliquin at Lonsdale Reserve on Saturday.
The seventh annual Tatura Rotary Club Art Show, held over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, was a resounding success, attracting its largest ever attendance of around 1000 people.
Giving birth at home was a risk-free option for Moama mum Samantha Dawson, she says.
After suffering with reading difficulties for many years, former Rochester resident Nelson Jones has benefited from being diagnosed and treated for Irlen Syndrome.
Kyabram’s first tourism booklet is to be launched in late September.
Something truly inspirational took place on Saturday as former teammates honoured the memory of Eamonn O'Connor.
Valda Cole likes to keep herself busy and enjoys giving back to the community. It’s a commitment she dived head first into almost 20 years ago.
A group of yarnbombers dressed an oak in Heathcote’s High St in a vibrant, woolly patchwork coat last week.
Cobram produced another positive and impressive performance on Saturday with an 88-point victory over an undermanned Rumbalara
Former AFL player Heath Black sent an inspiring message to Deniliquin youths last week.
Goulburn Broken region dairy farmers are irrigating more crops and pasture than in 2009-10, an ABARES survey has found.
Discover unbelievable local deals from local businesses every week in the Goulburn and Murray Valley area with Leapon.com.au!
Search properties for sale or rent across North Central Victoria and Southern NSW. Visit your local website for local homes....
Search for published and unpublished photos from McPherson Media Group newspapers and magazines. All our photos are available to purchase.
Place an advertisement in any one of McPherson Media Group's local newspapers. | <urn:uuid:bf348def-7803-4b59-abad-39ea523e661b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mmg.com.au/local-news/cobram/think-about-your-ink-1.39705 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942807 | 1,265 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Associate Professor MaryNell Morgan to Perform at National Museum of Dance Black History Month Event
By Helen Edelman, manager, Exchange
February 22, 2012
A Black History Month celebration at the National Museum of Dance, South Broadway, Saratoga Springs, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2-4 p.m., will spotlight the music, dance, literature and visual art that often have reflected the turbulent lives of African Americans throughout history. Associate Professor MaryNell Morgan, at left, will sing during the afternoon.
Well known for her inspirational vocal performances and speaking, Morgan teaches cultural studies, historical studies, social theory, structure and change and is a W.E.B. Du Bois scholar who has studied and presented research on Du Bois in both academic and popular forums.
A long roster of other artists also will be featured at the event, which is free and open to the public. | <urn:uuid:be38b4fa-bb73-4429-9897-2db06b020188> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.esc.edu/student-connection/issues/articles-prior-to-issue-36/morgan-to-perform.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940841 | 185 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Home Security Tips
If you want to be able to relax without worrying about your home and property being targeted, finding ways to secure your home is important. While fancy high-tech security systems are absolutely worth the investment, some of the best security measures you can implement are far more inexpensive, such as getting a dog. No other security feature will be quite so happy to see you every day when you arrive home, and you’ll know that while you’re away from the house your pooch is keeping everything safe and secure. The following are some of the ways your dog can help to secure your home.
Securing your home can be quite a simple endeavour, unless of course you live in a massive house or mansion, in which case your home security systems will prove a little more complicated. Regardless, even having the bare minimum when it comes to home security will do a lot to deter crime and protect you from attempted intrusion. The following are five of the main things to think about in terms of your home security.
Leaving valuables outside or failing to lock windows and doors is just asking for trouble, so unless you’re trying to have items stolen, secure your place as best as you can. Even your insurance may not cover you if you have left the keys in the door or the window wide open. The majority of home theft happens at homes that have their doors or windows open, or their alarm turned off, making a mockery of any semblance of security. So don’t become a sad statistic, and at least try to prevent someone coming in and taking everything you’ve worked so hard for.
Teaching your kids about the dangers posed by people they don’t know is as important a lesson these days as ever before. With child abductions disturbingly on the increase, it’s more important than ever that your children know how to keep themselves safe when you’re not around to protect them. The following are some of the ways to reinforce the concept of stranger danger with your children.
One of the biggest benefits of CCTV is being able to clearly see who is at the door without having to open it, which not only gives you the option of ignoring it, but also makes it so that the person outside doesn’t know who is home. It’s easy to train your child to see who it is on the CCTV camera at the door before opening it; it’s also a good idea to train your kids to never open the door at all, as everyone who needs access should have their own key. CCTV has become an increasingly popular element in modern alarm systems and home security systems in average people’s homes.
Securing your home is an important responsibility, especially if you have kids, and while home security systems have gotten quite high-tech over the years, the basics haven’t changed and still mostly boil down to common sense. The following is a brief discussion of the basics of home security.
Use what you have
The first thing you need to do is utilise the security devices that you already have and ensure that you are locking locks, dead bolting bolts, and shutting gates. A significant amount of home theft results from homes and properties being left unsecured, so use what you have for your best chance of avoiding a problem. Trim trees that may be blocking your view of the perimeter and ensure that fencing is well maintained and intact; leaving a hole in the fence is just providing another way for an intruder to get in.
It can be hard watching your parents get older, and most people spend a lot of time worrying about whether their parent’s are doing okay. Rather than just sit around waiting for bad news, be proactive and make sure that your parents are as safe as they could possibly be. The following are some tips for helping keep your parents safe in their own home.
The biggest risks facing elderly people in their homes is the danger of slipping and falling, so if you notice that your parents aren’t quite as fleet footed as they once were, it might be time to start looking at making things a little safer. Risk areas usually include slippery, narrow, sharp or steep things, so keep your eye out for accidents waiting to happen.
Saving money on a security system by getting one you can install yourself is a popular option these days as people strive to keep their homes safe on a budget. However, installing your own security systems can end up making you far less safe than you thought. The following is a discussion of the pros and cons of do-it-yourself home security systems, versus using a professional security company services.
- DIYalarm systems are simple and easy to install.
- They’re inexpensive and come in quite a large range.
- No need to wait for security companies to come and install the system for you, as you can have your own alarm system set up and operating shortly after taking it out of the package.
It’s a sad part of life, but many people who get to their senior years are not safe within their own homes and may not make the changes necessary to make it safe until after a fall or other traumatic event. As we get older, our bodies change. We move a little slower, don’t see quite as well and our bodies begin to lose some of the core strength needed to maintain balance. Combined, these changes can lead to accidents such as falls, breaks and sprains. Safety for seniors is important and there are plenty of things you can do now so you can continue to live a healthy and active lifestyle for a very long time.
Don’t waste any more time — take some steps to feel safer at home. Here are a few things that are sure to help.
Create a safe home
There is no worse feeling than coming home to find that you have been burgled, but now certainly isn’t the time to rant and rave. There are important things you have to take care of. Stay calm and focus on what you can do right now and you will have your place secure before you know it. The following are some of the things you should do straight away.
Call the police
As soon as you realise that you have been robbed, call the police and leave the building. The intruder may still be there. So, for your own safety, leave your home and wait outside until the officers arrive. If the police aren’t able to come straight away, call your local security provider to attend. They will be able to send a patrol vehicle with a highly trained guard to ensure you are safe and that it is safe to re-enter your home.
Over time, we collect so much personal property that it can become difficult to keep track of it all. Unfortunately, this can lead to a great deal of heartache in the event of a burglary or disaster such as fire or flood; with so many items destroyed or stolen, it can be impossible to think of everything that you lost if you don’t have a record-keeping system in place. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of keeping a record of your home’s contents for home security purposes, as well as some of the best practices in keeping these records.
Why keep records?
In the unfortunate but very possible event that your home is broken into or destroyed by disaster, you’ll want to turn to your insurance company to see that all your belongings are replaced. What many people find, however, is that they are unable to recall everything in their home when such an event occurs because they haven’t kept proper records.
There are many compelling reasons to install home security systems. In this article, we’ll take a look at six of the best reasons, from providing you with peace of mind to offering remote surveillance capabilities.
1. Peace of Mind
Our homes are our havens from the world, and invariably they contain items that we could not bear to lose. These could involve expensive electrical equipment, furniture and antiques. Alternatively, it could involve items of high sentimental value, such as old love letters or souvenirs. More important than these, even, are the fact that our loved ones are often in our home — families, friends and, of course, ourselves. Installing a security system in your home gives you the peace of mind you need to know that all of the above will be protected.
2. To Act as a Deterrent | <urn:uuid:1e33fdd4-3877-436e-b0d7-e883b843b7d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newhamssecurity.com.au/blog/home-security-tips/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96891 | 1,739 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Spruce Plateau in Lijiang, Yunnan
In fact Spruce Meadow is a vast grassland in the virgin spruce forest. During each period between spring and summer the grassland is delightfully green and the flowers are pleasantly beautiful. From a distance, the Spruce Meadow looks like a jade green blanket in the ranges of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
According to the legend, the Spruce Meadow is the place where the first pair of lovers of Naxi nationality died of love. If you come here you can have the chance to witness the mighty thousand-year-old glacier on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the fantasticality and quietness of virgin forest and the amazing songs and dance of Naxi nationality. You will be warmly welcomed by Naxi people. | <urn:uuid:a530ce64-b532-4b78-894e-401a0a507677> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.realityfanforum.com/index.php/topic,24849.msg595759.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938524 | 162 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Greg Kimsey, Auditor
The Clark County Auditor is elected to a four-year term. In addition to being the county’s chief financial officer, the auditor also oversees several essential county services. Additionally, the auditor works with various state agencies and the state legislature regarding legislation and issues affecting Clark County citizens.
Issues titles, registrations, and state licenses for automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats, and other motor vehicles.
Conducts federal, state, and local elections and manages voter registration for the citizens of Clark County.
Issues marriage licenses for weddings to be performed in the State of Washington.
As the county’s primary financial officer, the Auditor provides timely and accurate fiscal and debt information, evaluates financial alternatives, and provides financial support functions to the county to meet the county’s public service goals.
Performs analytical reviews of internal controls and accounting records to promote security of county assets and accurate financial reports. Conducts performance audits, which focus on program quality and the results achieved.
Records certain public documents and provides a means for the public to view the records. | <urn:uuid:9f25f59b-694e-46a5-a97c-e51e578738ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.co.clark.wa.us/auditor/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939568 | 225 | 1.5625 | 2 |
PBS is celebrating the holidays by sharing some of the favorite traditions, memories and recipes that make all of our holidays so very important and special. Each day we will highlight a new story from some of your favorite personalities.
Cookbook author Joan Nathan shares a memorable trip to Israel during Hanukkah.
One of my most memorable Hanukkahs was the simplest. About fifteen years ago, my young children and I were in Jerusalem, walking past house after house with menorahs shining in windows, observing the real spirit of this holiday of lights. When we reached the house where we were to have dinner with friends, there were no gifts, just the Hanukkah lights, good food and friends. There weren’t even potato latkes. But there were stuffed Moroccan vegetables and sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts that I contend are really the only Israeli food, concocted after the state of Israel was created in 1948. The lack of gifts and the celebration of just being with family and friends made it a truly special holiday. What is more, the men helped wash the dishes, always a satisfying event for me. | <urn:uuid:0ed02a38-dc74-4d2d-b21b-92e07f781aca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/food/features/holiday-traditions-joan-nathan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975563 | 232 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Yours is a common cry heard from women who tend to deposit their body fat in their abdominal area. First, you are not obese. We have to keep these measurements in perspective.
Look at the other women on both sides of your family. Do some of them have the same fat distribution? Genetics does play a role. Your waist size is very good at 30 inches but may seem to be large in your eyes because the rest of you is so much smaller in comparison. Most women would love to have a 30-inch waist.
Just as an aside, ask your gynecologist to check you for ovarian cysts. Sometimes, women have polycystic ovaries that lead to a greater abdominal fat distribution. There is a simple sonogram and blood test you would undergo.
If you don't have this issue, then you're left with your genetics. Some women simply have more active fat storage enzyme in their abdominal area. Others bemoan the fact that they have it mostly in their buttocks or thighs. Everyone's different here.
Here are some tips to optimize your waistline:
1) Watch out with overconsumption of alcohol. It tends to favor ab fat distribution. Moderation please!
2) Eating too many breads, pastas and heavy complex carbs bloats most women esp in the ab area.
3) Watch your posture. If you're tall (hey I'm 5'9" so I know!) and you stoop over, that will make your tummy look large to you and the world. Straighten up and practice good core power throughout the day.
4) Speaking of core, I would most definitely do a core program, including pilates. You need to keep that long waist and back strong and toned.
5) Try to keep your calories spread out over the day. Eating too much late at night leads to a tummy hang in the morning.
This answer should not be considered medical advice...This answer should not be considered medical advice and should not take the place of a doctor’s visit. Please see the bottom of the page for more information or visit our Terms and Conditions.
Thanks for your feedback.
8 of 12 found this helpful | <urn:uuid:268bee94-bea3-4928-8c47-7d3217419ad2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1194052/i-am-5-8-and-weigh-only | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965662 | 452 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Approximately a year ago, Google blogged about its new copyright piracy policies and the steps the company committed to undertake. Today we offer a report card and comprehensive evaluation of each of the specific commitments. Please find the report card here.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) recently issued an authoritative report on rogue sites bills currently pending in both houses of Congress. The author, ITIF Senior Analyst Daniel Castro, concludes that “the claims by opponents of the legislation that the bills would ‘break the Internet’ or lead to censorship are unfounded” and offers a detailed response to many of these claims (with special attention on DNS filtering). It also puts forth five suggestions to Congress, stating, “Finding a reasonable solution to the problem of online piracy and counterfeiting is too important to let hysterical, ideological posturing and threats influence public policy. It is time for policymakers to take a deep breath and consider this issue on the basis of facts and rational argumentation.”
We encourage you to read this compelling report which can be found here.
More than 15 organizations and companies representing America’s country and gospel music communities wrote to Congress this week asking members to support H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA Act). Those artists, songwriters, producers, publishers, engineers and other music industry workers add their voices to an enormous network of creators and businesses -- large and small -- that have endorsed rogue websites legislation to help protect American creators, innovators and workers from unscrupulous foreign rogue websites that illegally counterfeit American goods.
Read the full letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives here. | <urn:uuid:c46c1a02-660d-4636-9ead-ac399f6396e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://riaa.com/news_room.php?content_selector=riaa-news-blog&blog_type=&news_month_filter=12&news_year_filter=2011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950116 | 338 | 1.757813 | 2 |
A new bill could make the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana no longer a misdemeanor, but a civil infraction, if the bill passes and becomes law.
A bill introduced by State Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr. (D-Mecklenburg) to downgrade the penalty for simple possession of marijuana in North Carolina passed first reading Wednesday and was referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.
HB 637 would replace criminal penalties for the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana with a civil infraction similar to a traffic ticket. Simple marijuana possession is currently classified as a Class 3 criminal misdemeanor and is punishable by a suspended sentence and a $200 fine.
A majority — 56 percent — of North Carolina voters believe the penalty for marijuana possession should entail only a fine, according to a Public Policy Polling survey of 611 voters released in March.
Robert Capecchi, Deputy Director of State Policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said, “We applaud Rep. Alexander and his House colleagues for championing a more sensible marijuana policy for the Tar Heel State. Nobody should be subject to life-altering criminal penalties simply for using a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol. Police and prosecutors’ time and resources would be better spent focusing on violent and otherwise serious crimes instead of enforcing criminal penalties for simple marijuana possession.”
With only eight weeks left in legislative session, and between 600 and 700 bills to go through, State Rep. Ken Goodman of Richmond County said he isn’t sure the bill will be read. He said he hasn’t had time to read the bill himself, but feels there are bigger bills coming down the line that will affect more people in North Carolina.
Vietnam veteran, medical cannabis advocate and President of the North Carolina Cannabis Patients Network (NCCPN) Perry Parks said this is a simple bill that could help prevent many young people caught with marijuana from having their lives impacted by a criminal conviction.
“One marijuana cigarette kills your education. Do we want to do this to the future of our children?” said Parks, of Rockingham.
Parks cited the recent poll that showed over half of North Carolinians are against marijuana laws.
“The legislature doesn’t seem to understand the public,” said Parks. “How long before they catch up? Doesn’t it make you question the whole system of democracy? This bill could stop the criminality associated with cannabis.”
Renewed public discussion of marijuana and the laws surrounding it may be driving more interest in the NCCPN.
Parks said his organization’s website, www.nccpn.org, has recently seen a large spike in traffic. He said the website had been averaging about 500 guests a day, but lately has seen as many as 3,000 to 4,000 during the evenings.
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg), Rep. Beverly Earle (D-Mecklenburg), Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe), Rep. Susi Hamilton (D-Brunswick, New Hanover), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Rep. Rodney Moore (D- Mecklenburg), and Rep. Bobbie Richardson (D-Franklin).
— Staff Writer Dawn M. Kurry can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 15, or by email at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:b2ffb9cd-232d-47a9-a091-5ed5b913a111> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yourdailyjournal.com/pages/home/push?per_page=3&rel=&class=&x_page=53 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952221 | 726 | 1.695313 | 2 |
With limited outdoor storage, compact landscaping equipment like the Smart Garden Cart is about as handy in form as it is in use. This versatile wheelbarrow helps you to more easily perform a range of yard work and only takes up the space of a slender trolly.
The object was developed with a short flat bottom platform and a much longer perpendicular surface, with two handles on the top, a retractable puller and a pair of wheels. Designer Stephen Reon Francisco modeled the handgrips on the shape of rats' ears, allowing the user to comfortably grasp them from a couple of different angles.
The Smart Garden Cart can be dragged upright as a dolly or lower as a wheelbarrow. For more awkward loads it can be hauled with the help of the shaft. When not in use, it can stand erect and act as a rack for landscaping tools like rakes and shovels.
Multifunctional Landscaping Tools
1,439 clicks in 52 w
More Stats +/- | <urn:uuid:3e919adc-ad16-4df9-af78-89d0207216cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart-garden-cart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938281 | 205 | 1.671875 | 2 |
That's most likely not right. At least, Thutmose III wasn't locked up. From what I understand he was head of Hatshepsuts army (If that were so I think he could find a better way of getting rid of his step-mother than poisoning her).
And also, as far as I know there has been no proof that Thutmose was a murderer. If he wanted to get rid of Hatshepsut I'm sure he woiuldn't have waited twenty years. Around the time Hatshepsut "Dissapeared" she would have been fifty or more, pretty old for an Egyptian. So she probably died of natural causes.
And I think that all of Hatshepsut's monuments weren't destroyed until after Thutmose III ruled, and it was only so other females wouldn't get the same idea and try to take over the country
Oh. and I went to this history expo thing at our community college last year, and they had a class about Hatshepsut. I learned something I had never heard of before. Thumose III built his own mortuary temple right next to Hatshepsut's at Dier el-Medina. No, not the 11th dynasty one, but it was right by that, nearly on top of it. Surely he wouldn't have done that if he hated her. The other interesting thing was that it was tiny in comparison to hers.
Well, two years ago I have a report on Hatshepsut and I dressed up and stuff, but this is all i can remember, so if I'm wrong, please tell me.
Oh, by the way, what was the author of that book? I'd like to read it. | <urn:uuid:94297c73-d9b5-4f9b-8149-fbd182f99baf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kingtutone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23&start=15 | 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 | 0.993029 | 359 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The inspiration for the recommendation to follow is inspired by the positive financial implications of Boulder's municipal electric utility Study Group Report. The city recently published its magnum opus clearly demonstrating that Boulder's citizens and businesses will reap not just climate action virtue but also much lower electricity bills.
It took a while to plow through the document but one thing is clear -- Boulder's municipal electric utility will generate lower rates than those from Xcel Energy. And, over time, the savings enjoyed by Boulder's ratepayers will expand.
Even with the lower anticipated retail electric rates, it is probably fair to say that a significant number of citizens are still skeptical. Although perfect knowledge is unavailable, if you isolated the 2011 ballot initiative voters into two groups -- those who will live here in five years, and those who will not -- I would bet the ballot initiatives would have been defeated by the former group. Add the outside-the-city-limits customers who recently learned they will be coerced into the new service without the benefit of a vote, and majority support becomes even more dicey.
How then to generate support without threatening city council's clear desire to preside over its own electric utility? Simple -- offer all potential ratepayers one of two billing methods. The Municipalization Faithful can choose to be billed based on the customer class cost assignment and rate design offered by the city utility and the Skeptical can choose a parallel billing process equivalent to Xcel's retail sales rates.
The benefits to the city are impressive. First, the city will generate more revenue from those who choose to be billed as if they were still Xcel customers. Those excess revenues can be used to reduce the rates of the Faithful or for any other desirable purpose. Second, the primary argument of the Skeptics will be eviscerated once they are no longer required to participate in the city's rate making. The billing choice ought to generate additional support or at least indifference from the Skeptics.
This proposal will have no effect on the electrons flowing into the city. Those electrons will be just as virtuous as the city desires. The only difference is that some of those electrons will cost a portion of our citizens more because they chose to stick with the dinosaur-like incumbent utility's rates. But those citizens will have chosen the more expensive electric rate alternative rather than being coerced into the alternative.
Implementation will require work. Certainly, many of the more vocal Municipalization Faithful will impulsively reject billing choice, believing instead that all should suffer equally. But most of the vocal Faithful believe the city's new utility will cost Boulder's ratepayers less than continued service from Xcel. So, their predictable objections will not possess the ring of sincerity. Either they believe Boulder's utility will generate lower costs or they don't.
Anyone choosing to retain equivalent Xcel retail sales rates would have to agree to the punishment for some period of time -- say 10 years from initial service. Otherwise, they will scamper back to the lower rates of the city's utility when they understand the financial value of the city's rates.
Finally, debt underwriters ought to love the parallel billing outcomes. One group of ratepayers will voluntarily agree to accept higher rates, strengthening the new utility's finances.
Nothing is perfect. Nor is the two-track billing system without flaws. Those who choose the Xcel-based rates would prevent city government from fully exercising the impulse to institute conservation rates and other social engineering plans.
I scoff at the notion of win-win solutions when mutually exclusive outcomes are the issue. But the parallel billing system allows all sides to achieve their goals while building support for the city's plan to condemn Xcel's distribution system and take over power supply decisions. Perhaps win-win has a place in the discussion.
Kent Taylor is founder and chairman of KTM Energy Consulting Services in Boulder. | <urn:uuid:7d7623a2-1883-4b43-b344-dc042ff77163> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailycamera.com/guest-opinions/ci_22825079/expanding-support-municipalization?source=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953173 | 782 | 1.679688 | 2 |
September 18 2008 / by John Heylin / In association with Future Blogger.net
Category: Culture Year: General Rating: 7 Hot
If there’s one thing NASCAR has shown the world, it’s that people will watch even the most boring “sport” on the planet in the hopes they’ll see a little blood.
The fact is, people like to see destruction. No, I’m not saying they like to watch death or serious injury, but they do enjoy dramatic destruction. Like it or not, seeing cars smash into each other at high speeds makes is exciting. Even crashing airplanes gets a good deal of attention on YouTube.
Think about it. There’s a reason traffic slows down by an accident even though the crash has been cleared off to the side of the road, there’s a reason people crowd around a burning building, there’s a reason The Dark Knight was so popular (want to watch me make a pencil disappear?), and there’s a reason torture-porn movies like Saw and Hostel have raked in so much cash.
So what about our future sports?
We may begin to see more sports straight out of post-apocalyptic movies. With nanobots able to repair injuries within minutes and safety technologies advancing day by day, shouldn’t we expect sports to continue pushing the envelope?
Cities around the country could set up their own arenas, much like the Romans built coliseums around their empire. The Thunderdome from Mad Max could soon become a contemporary institution (in fact, real-life Thunderdomes already occur today, but are notably less deadly than the fictional kind). With such new sporting events, sports relying on violence for viewers, like the UFC, which displaced boxing, might find themselves outdated. | <urn:uuid:3e5e8be9-1faf-49df-bc4d-becea8a4ea4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.futureofgadgets.com/futureblogger/tag/violent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944191 | 377 | 1.5 | 2 |
Ministers call time on hidden card fees and rip-off phone lines
Boon for consumers as Government gets tough on big business and costly tricks of the trade
Excessive credit card surcharges, premium-rate telephone lines for customer complaints and hidden extra costs on online sales are to be outlawed in a crackdown on sharp practice by big businesses.
Ministers will set out plans next week to boost consumer rights by insisting customers know more clearly exactly what they are paying for goods and services. They will promise to end the practice of adding an automatic levy when a credit or debit card is used to pay for a holiday, an air or train journey, a concert ticket or a visit to the theatre or cinema.
The levy can add £8 to the price of an air flight or 75p to the cost of seeing a film – and the surcharge is often levied after customers have clicked through a succession of web payment pages. Ministers are proposing to allow retailers to add only the actual cost of processing a card payment, which can be as little as 10p.
Companies will be prevented from using premium-rate phone numbers, such as those beginning with 0870 or 0845, for customers with queries or complaints. As such numbers can cost up to £1 per minute, callers can rack up hefty charges just waiting to speak to someone – and even bigger bills if calling from a mobile phone.
The Government will introduce new measures to ensure they are charged nothing more than the basic rate for calls. A booking trick used by many travel companies to increase prices paid by online shoppers will also be targeted. Many firms automatically add the cost of extra services, such as insurance or access to airport lounges, unless customers "untick" a box on their booking form.
In future, customers will have to take an active decision by ticking a box asking for extra services. Other moves will entitle customers to more information about refunds, cancellations and delivery times – whether they are buying from a shop, online, at a fair or from a door-to-door salesman.
The plans were drawn up as part of the European consumer rights directive, which comes into force next year. On Monday, Norman Lamb, the Consumer Affairs Minister, will announce a consultation on implementing the directive in Britain. It comes eight months after the Treasury announced its determination to stamp out hidden credit card surcharges.
Mr Lamb said: "This is an area where Europe can make a big impact on our day-to-day lives. Many people will have been ripped off at some point by hidden online charges while booking a holiday, premium rate helplines when returning a purchase or extra credit card fees if you don't use your debit card. The consumer rights directive will end certain bad business practices and help consumers make well-informed decisions when buying products or services."
He said the moves would also see traders operate with clearer rules and responsibilities – and help ensure those who treat their customers fairly were not put at a disadvantage with less scrupulous competitors.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of the consumer group Which?, said: "Protecting consumers from hidden online charges, cracking down on rip-off premium-rate customer helplines and improving delivery services are actions Which? welcomes.
"Strengthening consumer rights is better for businesses and benefits the economy."
Customers will have to make an active decision by ticking a box asking for extra services
Sting in the tail: The extra costs
Ryanair charged customers £1 a minute from a landline, while Wizz Air charged 77p and BMIbaby 65p. An analysis of 34 banks, insurers and energy firms in May found that 27 offered free numbers for new customers, and six for existing ones.
National Express, Saga and Travelodge are among firms that add travel insurance to bookings unless travellers "untick" a box. Travelsphere levied £27 per person on a cruise for an ESTA permit to enter the US. It costs £9.
Credit card surcharges
Surcharges can add up to one third to the cost of the cheapest Ryanair and easyJet flights, while Thomas Cook adds up to 2.5 per cent for credit card bookings – equivalent to £50 on its most exotic destinations.
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
German chancellor Angela Merkel named most powerful woman in the world by Forbes - again
World news in pictures
Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 1 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Bloody attack brings terror to capital’s streets
- 2 Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies
- 3 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
- 4 Eyewitness gives extraordinary account of her confrontation with Woolwich attackers
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL might have a sinister plan as a soldier is murdered in suspected Islamic terrorist attack
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page. | <urn:uuid:341792ab-c64a-42f1-b501-12188294699a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ministers-call-time-on-hidden-card-fees-and-ripoff-phone-lines-8057366.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934742 | 1,115 | 1.53125 | 2 |
An Assessment of the Economic Conversion Movement
Presented at the 21st Annual Conference of Concerned Philosophers
for Peace at SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY October 31, 2008
by Charles J. Guenther, Jr.
Political economists Seymour Melman and Jeff Dumas have argued for decades that increased military spending leads to decreased security by every possible measure, while peace activists have promoted the idea of conversion of military oriented manufacturing and services to peaceful purposes. Although the primary focus of the economic conversion movement has been on re-orienting the private sector, other goals have been a shift of government spending priorities and to encourage socially responsible engineering employment.
The movement has survived the Cold war, the Vietnam war, and wars over energy resources. However. the Cold war has been supplanted by an endless “War on Terror,” as an excuse for continuing what Melman called the “permanent war economy.” Although the economic conversion movement has been largely ignored by politicians, and sometimes co-opted by government bureaucrats, it remains as a moral beacon calling citizens and employees to create some of the conditions pre-requisite for a more peaceful and just society.
Introductory Remarks for Oral Presentation:
I begin by expressing thanks to Concerned Philosophers for Peace for accepting my abstract and inviting me to present here today. My professional background includes careers in electrical engineering and engineering education, not philosophy. However, I have written papers and developed course work concerning the ethics of technology and engineering practice, as well as the philosophy of technical education. My passion for these fields arises from some of the experiences that I will share this morning.
An important practical aspect of peace studies and peace education is the analysis of the impacts of military contracts and expenditures on local communities and individuals, as well as nations. An economic conversion movement dedicated to such analysis remains inspired and informed by political economists, notably Seymour Melman and Jeff Dumas. The movement has manifested itself in local organizations in regions such as St. Louis, where weapon systems and components are manufactured. These organizations, such as the Peace Economy Project in St. Louis, begin with research on the military contracts awarded by the Pentagon to local corporations.
Such research raises important questions such as: What are the long term effects of weapons production in a community? How are the political and economic characteristics of the community affected by military expenditures? How is the demand for such weapons affected by the political power wielded by the contractors? What sorts of dependencies are created by military contracts? How can military workers imagine a future in which there would be no demand for the weapons they work on?
The goal of the economic conversion movement has been to reduce or eliminate the political power that military contractors wield because of the jobs that the contractors provide.
in their communities. The argument is that by simply making plans for alternatives to weapons production, the corporations could demonstrate a willingness to do something else if there is a shift in government priorities. Shifts away from military weapons production and sales might then become more politically palatable.
Appeals for economic conversion planning have been made for at least three decades, spanning the Vietnam war, the Cold War (especially the military buildup of the Reagan Administration), the Gulf war, and the so-called “war on terror. Such appeals have been consistently viewed as “threats” by the vested interests that lobby for business as usual. In November 1989, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers featured a special report on “The Threat of Peace” in its publication, IEEE Spectrum. One article in this issue was titled, “A rising war on terrorists.” The September 2000 report by the Project for a New American Century called for the massive increases in military spending implemented by the George W. Bush Administration stating: “Use of the post cold war ‘peace dividend’ to balance the federal budget has created a ‘defense deficit’ totaling tens of billions of dollars annually.”
Suppose that, prior to the U.S. government embarking on one of its huge military buildups, citizens were engaged in meaningful conversations concerning the premises behind the proposed buildup, questioning the use of their tax monies, and proposing alternative approaches to national security. Imagine that major news media outlets broadcast such conversations. What would have been the result of such broadcasts, say in late 1982, as the Reagan Administration began its campaign to spend $1.5 trillion over a five year period for military weaponry?
Suppose that a major news network (CBS for example) visited a major U.S. city that was heavily dependent on military aircraft production, and spoke with people who could point out the pitfalls of such dependence and had concrete knowledge of human suffering that would result from the skewed priorities of the Reagan Administration. Suppose the network interviewed an engineer who had recently resigned from a secure position at an aerospace corporation in order to end his own dependence on military contracts.
In fact, the aforementioned interviews did take place. CBS Evening news anchor Ray Brady and producer David Gelber visited St. Louis during November 1982 for the stated purpose of investigating the economic impact of military spending in a region where employment was dominated by a large contractor, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation.
On the evening of November 22, the CBS crew recorded an hour long round table discussion by a diverse group of citizens, including teachers, social workers, a minister, community organizers, and a technical employment recruiter. Organized by the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project, the discussion took place at the home of educators Dan Bolef and Regina Birchem. Earlier that afternoon, I was interviewed just outside the corporation’s world headquarters building, stating why I left employment there. I said that McDonnell Douglas workers were unwittingly contributing to the risk of nuclear destruction. CBS also interviewed Cassell Williams, President of District 837 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers representing the factory workers at McDonnell-Douglas.
The program which was broadcast on Dan Rather’s CBS Evening News, Friday, December 3, 1982, was a huge disappointment to supporters of the economic conversion project. It had been condensed to a length of only 4 minutes, 40 seconds, and included none of the interviews conducted in St. Louis, except for a brief appearance by Mr. Williams of the Machinists Union stating he “wants a slice of the miliary pie.” David Gelber, who had accepted collect calls from the economic conversion project prior to his visit to St. Louis, was unavailable for comment after the program was aired and never returned our phone calls.
Perhaps news sources outside the U.S. are more free to report opposition to the military industrial complex here. During February 2003, during the buildup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Frank Faulk visited St. Charles, Missouri, home of Boeing Corporation’s missile plant that produced the JDAM (smart bombs) used in the invasion. Mr. Faulk produced a “faith documentary,” that was broadcast on CBC Radio’s series, “The Current,” on February 13, 2003. This program devoted ample time to the views of those opposed to the Iraq invasion..
Faulk interviewed anti-war activists (including my wife and myself), an engineer who worked at the missile plant, as well as a local news reporter who had covered demonstrations at the plant, asking each of them the question: “In a time of impending war, where do you put your faith?” My answer to Faulk’s question was simply that I trust that all human lives are important, and that human suffering has meaning beyond what can be comprehended in a lifetime.
Faulk also interviewed Bob Algoratti, a spokesman for Boeing’s JDAM plant in St. Charles. . He also reported how he was interrogated by local police at his hotel room late at night after his initial drive to the gates of the missile plant in preparation for his interview with Algoratti. (Faulk was not arrested or charged with anything; he was harassed and intimidated.) The next day, Algoratti apparently sabotaged his own interview by demanding that Faulk make no “reference to possible use of the [JDAM] system by our customer.” The quoted words by Algoratti were the only ones included in the broadcast, indicating that he put his faith.in the U.S. government.
How did I make the transition from from aerospace engineer to antiwar activist? The journey was not made overnight! In a 1983 article, Kurt Vonnegut wrote about “weapons junkies,” describing “compulsive preparations for war” as the “worst addiction of them all.” I cannot say I was not forewarned of such an addiction. My engineering education included a mechanics course called “strength of materials.” As an electrical engineering major, I started out with little interest in this course. But professor Anthony Celis was a registered civil engineer who had contributed to the structural design of the Houston Astrodome. His pride in engineering as a profession was contagious. Though I was more interested in designing transistor circuits, I designed a wood floor for my final examination During one class period, he expressed deep regret that most of us would probably go to work for large aerospace corporations (especially McDonnell Aircraft) where we would serve as “technical clerks,” rather than professionals. His prediction was right, of course. The lure of high starting salaries and draft deferments during the Vietnam war drew me and many of my classmates into the military-industrial-complex. In a sense, we too were drafted.
Sixteen days after graduating with a B.S. degree, I began working as an engineer at McDonnell Aircraft Company. Most of this career was spent designing measurement systems for flight testing military aircraft. My first project involved gunfire vibration measurements and bomb drop tests with the F-4E aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In the early 1970s, I designed the electronics for system that measured the air temperature outside the F-15 aircraft within a quarter of a degree Celsius. During the mid-1970s, I worked on automatic test equipment used for avionics maintenance, and designed software to evaluate aircraft stability. My last major project was a U.S. Air Force contracted research and development study, designing a system for airborne acquisition and ground processing of in-flight vibration and acoustic noise data from 144 simultaneous measurement locations (Detmer, et al, 1981).
Throughout my fifteen years at McDonnell-Douglas, I tried to dissociate myself as much as possible from weapons systems and their military applications. By focusing on the technical details of my projects as if with a zoom lens, I avoided the larger context of my work, namely that I was helping to pave the way for more efficient death and destruction.
This escape strategy worked for a while. But in 1974, my four year old son began asking me about my job. He was fascinated by airplanes and he dreamed of becoming an airline pilot. Inquiring about the F-15 aircraft, he asked, “How many passengers does it carry?” Almost apologetically, I explained that it wasn’t designed to carry passengers; it was a warplane. When he asked, “Daddy, what’s war?”, I did not have an answer.
One weekend, also during the mid 1970’s, I had a conversation with my Grandfather in the basement of my parents home. Grandpa had been drafted for service in the army during World war I. A 29 year old married man, he was shipped to France during the 1918 flu epidemic, and spared from combat by a lengthy quarantine. Since his career had been in sales, I was not too surprised by his question that day: “Is your firm getting enough orders?” I replied, “Oh, yes– I’m busier than ever now these days.” My Grandfather paused, puffed on his pipe, and looked away as he said, “Well, that’s good then.” My thoughts at the time (which I kept to myself) were: ”He’s glad I’m steadily employed, but he also worries about what kind of a world his great-grandchildren will inherit.
These innocent questions asked by my grandfather and my son arose during the political upheaval of Watergate and President Nixon’s resignation. Around the same time, my father retired from a long career as a civilian librarian for the U.S. Air Force.
All of these events helped me to develop an interest in McDonnell-Douglas products and in the U.S. military policies that ensured the uninterrupted flow of contracts that kept me employed. I also began to grapple with the ethical consequences and responsibilities of my work. I realized that the work of my hands and mind had already contributed (albeit in small and indirect ways) to the killing of human beings and was also being used to prepare for nuclear war. I began a struggle for independence from what I began to view as a huge welfare program for the weapons industry.
In 1980, I joined the advisory board of the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project, a group that promotes community-based peace conversion planning for military facilities and contractors (Dumas, 1986). But it was obvious that McDonnell-Douglas Corporation was adamantly opposed to planning for peace, especially given the plans for military “re-armament” (Cypher, 1981) by the Reagan Administration. At the 1979 and 1980 annual meetings, McDonnell-Douglas shareholders followed the recommendations of management by defeating resolutions calling for economic conversion planning.
On my last assignment at McDonnell-Douglas, I got an inkling of how executives in the aerospace industry view the world. In late May 1981, I took a 7:00 a.m. flight on a small company jet to the Patuxent River Naval Base in Maryland. My brief case contained tape recordings of aircraft vibration measurements that I would use for evaluating test procedures on a Hewlett Packard signal analyzer at the McDonnell facility there. I also carried a copy of Daniel Berrigan’s book, The Catonsville Nine, which told the story of a Vietnam era civil disobedience action. I was accompanied on the flight by Henry Katz, manager of the structural dynamics department, and Bill Ross, vice-president of the Laboratory and Flight Development Division of the company. .Under each plane seat was placed a boxed breakfast and a copy of the morning St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper. Bill Ross glanced at a front page article about the priorites of the new Reagan Administration, including increases for military expenditures and decreases in social welfare programs. “Those welfare cheaters are finally getting what they deserve,” he exclaimed.. Having nothing polite to say, I said nothing. After landing at Pax River, I headed across the flight ramp towards the hangar building where I would be working for several days. I turned around briefly and watched Bill and Henry carry their golf bags to a waiting Navy limousine. At that moment I felt a degree of satisfaction, because my briefcase also contained the job offer letter that would be my ticket to at least a degree of independence from the largest welfare system of all, the military industrial complex.
On June 19, 1981, I resigned from McDonnell-Douglas, citing reasons of conscience in a certified letter to CEO Sanford McDonnell and other executives including Bill Ross. (Uhlenhuth, 1982). None of the executives responded to my letter; however the company later regularly reproduced my opinion articles and letters published in local newspapers in daily company news briefings distributed to managers. A security guard was assigned to watch me during my only subsequent visit to the company (I attended a shareholder’s meeting to present a shareholder resolution to the directors.)
I spent two years in temporary and part-time work, including organizing for the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project, and teaching electronics and mathematics courses at the Forest Park campus of St. Louis Community College. In August 1983, I received a full-time faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Engineering and Technology Department at the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College. I retired last year after 24 years.
I am enormously grateful to the founders of the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project ((now known as the Peace Economy Project) for their steadfast work for peace over several decades. Although they were not successful in transforming the military industrial complex, they continue to serve as a moral beacon, reminding the community of the dangers of dependence on military contracts and preparations for war.
Charles J. Guenther, Jr. is Emeritus Professor of Engineering and Technology at the Meramec campus of St. Louis Community College, where he taught for 24 years. He also worked for 15 years as an engineer at McDonnell-Douglas Corporation, and later worked as a researcher and organizer for the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project. His papers have been published by the Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, and the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. | <urn:uuid:7a3ac72c-0d8e-413d-adca-3e7f128c09a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peaceeconomyproject.org/blog/?tag=guenther | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971853 | 3,510 | 1.8125 | 2 |
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants to stop a soon-to-be very wealthy Facebook co-founder from avoiding taxes by renouncing his citizenship.
Eduardo Saverin was born in Brazil, but moved to the United States and gained citizenship here. He now lives in Singapore.
In September 2011, Mr. Saverin, who helped create the social networking giant, began the process of renouncing his citizenship. If he doesn't have to pay taxes on the billions of dollars he's expected to earn with Facebook's upcoming initial public offering, he'd save $67 million on his U.S. tax bill, according to Mr. Schumer's office.
“It's infuriating to see someone sell out the country that welcomed him and kept him safe, educated him and helped him become a billionaire," Mr. Schumer said in a news release. "This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong. We plan to put a stop to this tax avoidance scheme. There should be no financial gain from renouncing your country.”
Mr. Schumer announced legislation legislation today with Sen. Bob Casey that would punish those who renounce their citizenship for tax evasion purposes. Cleverly dubbed the Ex-PATRIOT Act, it would prospectively tax capital gains earnings 30 percent for the renouncers.
It would also bar them from ever entering the United States again. | <urn:uuid:e8ead5f1-ea05-4c5f-8db8-6c3420bb63bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ogd.com/article/20120517/BLOGS13/120519913 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984673 | 285 | 1.75 | 2 |
Do you keep putting off your workouts?
It’s a struggle at times, I know!
What we need to do is put some firm habits into action. Getting a regular routine going, with workouts taking place at the same time of the day is essential.
People who do that tend to stick with it much longer than those who adopt a more sporadic approach.
I know this from personal experience.
So, what’s the perfect time of the day to complete your workout?
I believe a morning workout is the answer.
5 benefits of an early morning workout
1. Start the day energised
Getting up early to workout is one of the best ways to begin your day. Exercise gives you an energy boost, and those feel-good endorphins will have you in a “happy place” for a least a few hours!
I know, I know, great in theory, but how do you implement this every day?
If morning isn’t normally your thing, try to push through this barrier — set goals, work on the old “positive mental attitude”, and eat a healthy, wholesome diet.
These will help, but it will still be difficult at times — you need to make a resolve to stick with this long enough to experience the benefits. When you do, it will become easier to continue.
2. Rev up your metabolism
Having a high metabolic rate is important for everyone, but tuning it up a few notches is even more important, if you are trying to lose or maintain weight.
Obviously, any exercise you do will be beneficial in boosting metabolism, but by getting your workout over and done with first thing in the morning, you are giving yourself the best chance of seeing that result.
The exercises you choose should be a combination of aerobic exercise, which make you breathe more heavily, and strength training exercising, which tones your muscles.
Remember, the harder you work your body, the faster your metabolic rate will be.
3. Prevent distractions
If motivation to workout is a big problem for you, preventing those inevitable distractions is important.
You may have the best intentions in the world to get your workout done later in the day, but then life happens!
Meetings run late, your kids need picked up from school, the ironing is calling you, your neighbour drops by for a long chat. Whatever it is, it’s probably legit, but your workout just keeps getting pushed aside.
However, exercising first thing in the morning means that these other factors don’t have a chance to hold you back.
4. Improved mental outlook
Working out in the morning improves your entire mental outlook. That’s fact!
Why? Well, one reason is that you feel good because you’ve already done something positive for your body, before most people are out of bed, and so you don’t want to ‘wreak’ your progress by eating junk food later in the day.
When you get to the end of the day, you’ve made healthy choices, and you feel positive about what you’ve done (rather than feeling ‘flat’ all day)… that’s fantastic for your self-confidence and belief in your ability to get healthy.
5. It’s peaceful
Many people find their early morning workouts are something they actually look forward to — imagine that!
Mornings are often a quiet time, with fewer people on the road, which is nice if you like to walk or run, or if you go to the gym, there’s much less bustle.
This can be your time, which is set aside to do something good for you, with no distractions. It’s also an opportunity to think, plan your day, or just mentally prepare for what’s ahead, rather than stumbling out of bed late and hassled.
The key to a good workout is really about finding a time when your energy levels are at their best. It’s also about exercising consistently, because you’ve found something that fits well with your lifestyle.
For me, the biggest benefit of an early morning workout is, that it gets it out of the way before distractions have a chance to convince me that’s I’ve something better to do!
Now, I’m off to put this all into practice ;-)
Have you tried exercising first thing? Share your tips or struggles below…
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
~ Ben Franklin | <urn:uuid:8e5a46b8-3d3d-4370-8417-811a42e36b63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dietriffic.com/2010/09/22/morning-workout/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952112 | 957 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Monday, June 29, 2009
Katherine Jackson is seeking to be named the guardian of Michael Jackson's three children. In the petition, Debbie Rowe is listed as the mother of the oldest two children. The mother of the third child is listed as "None". When Michael died, his children became fatherless. However, his third child was born legally motherless. Katherine is in poor health. Given her age, it may be difficult for her to raise three children. Debbie Rowe would like to have custody of her two children, and the nanny wants custodyof the third child. Should the court give the surrogate, who is the biological mother, the opportunity to be recognize as the legal mother? | <urn:uuid:e4be0999-1f07-43f6-96bb-2afd3d3c80b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://artificialconception.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991998 | 141 | 1.585938 | 2 |
After todays scan we found out that my baby has not heart beat. I was 12 week pregnant. Besides in the ultrasound scan report it says there is a fibroid at uterine fundus measuring around 7 cm. Big one. This was my first pregnancy. We are so deeply devastated today after hearing this news. Could I become pregnant again with the big fibroid? What are the chances of this fibroid making problem during pregnancy? The position of the fibroid matters? If this need to be removed, what are the options? would it affect next conception and pregnancy? Has anybody become pregnant with such large fibroid? what was the complications if any had? I am waiting for a natural abortion, as I heard the news today. Would it make any problem for natural abortion? If abortion is not happening, what are the chances of infection? if infection happend what can I do? would it affect next pregnancy?
I have written lot of questions. being in a desperate situation, I am writting all these.
If you can answer to any of these, it would have been helpful.
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Do not consider WebMD User-generated content as medical advice. Never delay or disregard seeking professional medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of something you have read on WebMD. You should always speak with your doctor before you start, stop, or change any prescribed part of your care plan or treatment. WebMD understands that reading individual, real-life experiences can be a helpful resource, but it is never a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified health care provider. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or dial 911 immediately. | <urn:uuid:c0044cf2-ca4d-46d8-b288-0c340f9b05fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://exchanges.webmd.com/pregnancy-high-risk-conditions-exchange/groupstory/25306611 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962916 | 482 | 1.625 | 2 |
My only real gripe with it is that it doesn't teach the script, which is very attractive and I'd love to learn more of (I'm using various websites as well as the short appendix in the BBE companion booklet to teach me it, but none of them are particularly good so the process is slow).
It attractive, but it's also rather difficult. Like most Southeast Asian languages, Burmese has a "deep" orthography. That is, spellings have hardly changed in the thousand years since the script was first adopted. The language, of course, has continued to evolve, so the mismatch between spelling and pronunciation can be significant (i.e. worse even than that of English, which is is only a half millennium out of date). | <urn:uuid:5ab894ad-bcc6-46c3-b5c1-f2fcc2199c86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.omniglot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8635 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984559 | 155 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Steve Jobs talked content-owners into a new digital market
August 30, 2011 | 2:15 pm
On PaidContent, Charles Arthur brings up one of the important facets of Steve Jobs’s legacy that tends to get overshadowed by Jobs’s hardware successes. Quite apart from all the gadgets Jobs designed, he also designed a new business model for the music industry: the 99-cent song.
The headline of Arthur’s article suggests that Jobs’s great success was “persuading the world to pay for content,” but the article itself seems to take the opposite tack: the world was ready to pay for content, but Jobs’s success was in persuading the content-owners to sell it digitally.
Arthur explains that Jobs was able to get the record labels to let him start selling music through iTunes on the strength of Apple being such a tiny player in the industry at the time, but its sales far outstripped record-label expectations from day one—and not only was this the key to the phenomenal growth Apple experienced over the last decade, but it also ushered in the era of digital content sales on the Internet.
Nowadays Apple sells TV shows, films, books, apps, as well as music. We take the explosion in available content for granted. But without Jobs, it’s likely we wouldn’t be here at all; his negotiating skill is the thing that Apple, and possibly the media industry, will miss the most, because he got them to open up to new delivery mechanisms.
Arthur points out that companies have been and are still reluctant to allow consumers to pry content loose from their physical media. Just look at Blu-ray, a format that Hollywood’s incipient digital piracy paranoia causes it to break, intentionally, a couple of times per year, so that new movies won’t work with older players until they get updated firmware.
(This causes all sorts of unnecessary trouble—in my day job supporting a major brand of TVs and Blu-ray players, I frequently hear complaints from people who own players whose firmware the company has decided to stop updating. “How are we supposed to watch these newer movies?” they ask. “All you can do is buy a new player,” I have to tell them. You never got that with DVDs!)
Jobs was able to slip past that sort of content-holder objections, perhaps with the aid of his famous Reality Distortion Field. Thanks to him, digital content found new markets it might never have found if he hadn’t persuaded its owners to unbend a little.
Of course, e-books are one form of digital content whose success Jobs had little to do with. He famously scoffed at e-books and e-reading for years, leaving it to Jeff Bezos to take e-books from a few relatively small stores that formed a fraction of a percent of the overall book market to the huge 25%-market-share behemoth they are today. Jobs did try to hitch his wagon to that star with the iPad, and probably part of that tablet’s huge sales are due to people wanting to read e-books with them. And it’s true that the blame for the agency price model can be laid at his door. Yet compared to Amazon and Barnes & Noble, the iBooks store still remains an also-ran. | <urn:uuid:b89641b0-3c38-4403-af3d-d58c41192485> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/steve-jobs-talked-content-owners-into-a-new-digital-market/?params=email | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969286 | 698 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Officials said a mother and son in Ottumwa were found living among filth, trash, and diseased animals.
Police know of at least 15 diseased cats living in an Ottumwa home and they said there could be as many as 30, they just can't find them all.
Janet Jackson, 59, and her adult dependent son lived there.
Police said Jackson has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty and one count of poor sanitation on the premises.
Photos: Animals Found In Filthy Conditions
Records show this is not the worst case of animal hoarding Ottumwa police have seen in their town.
Since February 2008, 30 animals have been rescued from a building not far from the Jackson home. In the past year and a half, nearly 250 animals have had to be rescued from squalor in separate incidents in Ottumwa.
There is no law in Ottumwa limiting the number of animals in one home.
Ottumwa police chief Jim Clark said it happens in every town, "I don't think setting a limit is going to keep people from hoarding."
Clark said the Jacksons are getting help but he wouldn't elaborate on the whereabouts.
Police have set up live traps to catch the cats in the Jackson's home. Police said the cats they've already rescued have had to be put to sleep becuase there were in such bad shape. | <urn:uuid:bc1ee9c0-cffe-4784-bf74-ff9a2a559432> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/showthread.php?22295-Janet-Jackson-(no-relation)-hoards-cats-with-craptastic-pictures&p=257403&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985468 | 290 | 1.671875 | 2 |
UC Berkeley Summer Research Opportunity (SROP)
Please consult the program website to confirm program details, including applicable deadlines.
The Summer Research Opportunity Program at UC Berkeley promotes access to graduate education among undergraduates who have been educationally or economically disadvantaged and who may not have exposure to the academic environment of a research university. The goal of this eight-week summer program is to increase the level of diversity among students entering Ph.D. programs by providing research opportunities under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
This program offers 8-week internships in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences. The program is also able to accommodate students interested in applying to law school.
Students will be awarded a $3,000 stipend. In addition to the stipend students will recieve room and board along with travel costs to and from the program.
Applicants must have shown potential for success, but may have had limited access to graduate research or other preparatory opportunities. Applicant should also indicate his/her potential for success, particularly as it relates to educational achievement while overcoming obstacles. The program strongly encourages applications from undergraduates who have been educationally or economically disadvantaged.
The program accepts full-time sophomores, juniors, or seniors who will return to graduate in the fall.
U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Usually the beginning of February. | <urn:uuid:e4359ece-44d9-45d9-b3fe-434486754019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfsu.edu/~fellows1/249.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937326 | 279 | 1.726563 | 2 |
This week we look at the links between the US trade deficit, the low savings rate in the US, home prices, and interest rates, all in an effort to answer the question: "Do trade deficits matter?" I think I will offer a few practical, if simple, insights to the matter.
At the end of last year, I did a series of e-letters on the debate over dinner in London between Bill Bonner and Charles and Louis-Vincent Gave. Both had just published a book. Bill's book, Empire of Debt (which is still doing well) states that the US trade deficit, coupled with massive government and consumer debt, is going to drive the dollar to its knees and end up with the US in a soft depression. You can chalk it safely in the doom and gloom column. | <urn:uuid:d8591bd3-d574-443f-aaa4-508f3f699669> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/tags/tag/Assets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966443 | 165 | 1.539063 | 2 |
"One has to be cautious, though, because depression waxes and wanes on its own, and it's always hard when looking at a small number of people, whether it is the effect of the drug, or if it would go away anyway," said Robbins. "We have to make sure we are careful with the studies. There is a long history of people making claims about substances helping depression."
But, he warns, taking a drug for an off-label use can be dangerous -- and not only for Cheryl's health.
"I have delayed telling my story for so many years, and the main reason is because I am risking my ability to get this drug for my own well-being," she said. "It's a federal offense. RU-486 is a schedule 1 drug, the most controlled we have."
Cheryl, who is uninsurable except in an expensive high-risk pool, said she averages about $15,000 to $20,000 a year on her drugs. Her lucrative high-tech job allows her to medicate herself.
Scottish doctors plan on injecting fetal stem cells developed from a 12-week aborted child into the brains of stroke patients.
ReNeuron, the British biotechnology firm behind the project, are waiting to get final clearance for the surgery.
When they do, Dr Muir will inject the contents of a single vial of the stem cells into the brain of the successful volunteer.
According to a poll of Russians , 41% of country favors a complete abortion ban, up from 8% in 1998. Another 25% of the country only approves of "therapeutic" abortions. | <urn:uuid:acfbceeb-6598-4983-98ab-6deb351ea5fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jivinjehoshaphat.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-links-82310.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95583 | 338 | 1.570313 | 2 |
WATERVILLE, Maine – Gov. Paul LePage changed his Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend plans and showed up at a breakfast honoring the slain civil rights leader Monday, days after he said critics of his decision to skip other events could "kiss my butt." He even joined some of the participants in an African dance.
The Republican governor's appearance was organized in the days after he made the remark Friday, responding to a reporter's question about criticism he had received over his decision not to attend the state NAACP's annual King Day celebrations. He said at the time that he didn't attend events for special interests, and his spokesman cited scheduling conflicts.
"Tell them to kiss my butt," LePage said.
The comment drew harsh criticism from state and national leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Maine NAACP Director Rachel Talbot Ross said her organization is no special interest, and the group's national president and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said LePage's comments "inflame racial tension."
Actually Ma'am, the NAACP is in fact a special interest group. I'm not saying it's a bad or evil one, but yes, it is a special interest group. It represents black folks, not asians, not whites, not hispanics. Black folks. And to be honest, with todays' laws and past court decisions, I'm not really sure it's a necessary special interest group.
And as far as the Governor backpedaling....... he is a politician. | <urn:uuid:08d57462-32ca-4109-adc4-7209f5401a47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2011/01/backpedalin.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973006 | 308 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Being at One: Neale Donald Walsch Interview with Gil Dekel, PhD (Part 3 of 3).
Gil: What about the drama of life? It is an illusion, yet we live within it to the extend that it becomes true to us; the illusion becomes a reality. In that respect it is not illusion at all…
Neale: That’s right; and free will is the act of choosing what we wish to call illusion and what we wish to call real. You’re absolutely correct… It’s real enough to me. What we forget is that we have the power to make that which seems real very unreal. In a moment, you could be changing your mind about it. That’s the point I make in the book ‘When Everything Changes, Change Everything.’ You can change any reality back into illusion or you can make an illusion seem like a reality. You can go either way you want. That’s the marvellous thing about life; because it is all illusion, we can make any part of it real if we want. And we can take anything that seems real and turn it back into illusion in the same way, by just using the process in reverse. And that’s what the master understands. The master knows this. Shakespeare wrote this. Shakespeare wrote, “Nothing is evil lest thinking make it so.”
You seem to have a direct communication with God, yet do you think the knowledge from this communication is based in some ways on the traditions of the world’s religions?
[Laughs...] Yes, every page of ‘Conversations with God’ contains the knowledge and the wisdom of all the world’s religions – the best of Judaism; the best of Christianity, the best if Islam. The best of the Hindu Tradition; the best of Buddhism (which is not a religion but a philosophy). And then ‘Conversations with God’ goes beyond those religious traditions to a place where none of them have ever gone.
I’m not aware of any religion on the earth that teaches that we are one with God; that we are all one with each other, and that there is nothing else but God in different forms. Perhaps the Baha’i faith comes closest to it. But I am clear that ‘Conversations with God’ brings to humanity a revolutionary spiritual message that combines the best and the highest thoughts of all world religions and then goes beyond them.
I thought that Kabala teaches the same philosophy – that God is everywhere and in everything.
Yes, but Kabala is not a religion. It’s an interpretation of or a doctrine perhaps. But if you ask the ‘average’ Jewish person on the street, “Are you God? Is that tree God? Is Hitler God or was he?” The average Jewish person (and I know because I’ve talked to many people around the world of all religions) would probably not claim that; or they might say they don’t know. Jews like to say, “I don’t know.” My experience of Judaism is that Jews either argue or they say they don’t know; but they very seldom claim absolute knowledge of anything, which is the great part of Judaism. That’s what makes Judaism wonderful. They don’t have a pope; they don’t have anybody who says, ‘This is how it is.’ They simply sit around and discuss it forever; they discuss all the possibilities.
But the average Jewish person that I’ve met in the world would not go around stating, ‘I’m one with God’, even though the Kabala may actually say that everything is one thing, and there’s only one thing. People who embrace the Kabala actually are a subset of mainstream Judaism. It’s a whole cult if you please… In fact, many Jews don’t even know what the Kabala says. Just as many Catholics have no idea what the New Testament says. They claim to be Catholic but when you quote the New Testament to them, they’re shocked because they have actually never read it.
At one point God mentioned that you had something like 600 past lives?
647, I think was the number, but who cares?
Do you remember any past lives, and do you see yourself evolving from one to the other?
I really don’t have any memory of that, I have to tell you. It would be fun to say that I did, but I don’t.
You can learn to get in touch with it…
I suppose one could. Yes, you’re right. But why bother? Only if it brought me information that I don’t have any other way. I think that my life, however – that is, my awareness and my understanding – is the sum total of all of my lives. I do think that.
I happen to be aware that every experience of my life and of my many lives has brought me and led me to this moment. I am very aware of that; deeply aware, and I’m very grateful for that. That’s why I can’t find anything in my life that has caused me sadness – not any more. I used to but not any more. Now, I celebrate all of that, including my own misdeeds for that matter that were not very nice for others. In a strange and fascinating way, I can even celebrate those things. Not that I would ever do them again; but I celebrate even my own mistakes as stepping stones to a place of greater awareness.
I’m only sorry that I had to do it in that way and hurt people in my life. My only regret is that my steps to awareness had to include some of the things I did to you. I’m really sorry that’s how it turned out for you; and at a higher level, I realize that it’s all perfect and that you took those steps with me for reasons of your own evolutionary process. I understand all of that. It’s a very philosophical way of looking at life but I understand it.
Can you help me now? I have memories of few past lives, one was being a Roman soldier… We were not bad but we were very violent, believing in protecting our country. Now, I have the ‘understanding’ of what you say here, Neale – but I want to apply this in life. How can I do so?
Teach someone else to apply it. The fastest way to apply anything in your life is to help someone else to apply it. The fastest way to know, as a function of your life, anything in life, is to help someone else to know it. The fastest way to use any wisdom that resides in your soul is to help someone else to use it.
That is why any great spiritual teacher – Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Mohamed, Lao Tsu, the Buddha – every single one without exception was a teacher. They understood that you teach what you wish to learn. They knew that the fastest way to bring something into their experience was to carry it into the experience of another. Why? Because we are all one; because there is no other. Until we heal the rest of us, the part of us that we call ‘me’ cannot be healed.
It’s really quite simple. You can’t heal your body if you’re letting your foot go unhealed. You can’t heal the whole of your body if you let your finger be cut and bruised. So in order to heal the body whole, you must heal the body’s many parts. That is why every great teacher has expressed spiritual principles in the way they have. And that is why every great spiritual leader has been a great spiritual teacher. They understood that we are all one; and until everybody gets it, nobody gets it – not fully, not completely. The answer to your question therefore, is to turn outside of yourself and not worry how you’re going to overcome this particular challenge. Do not worry how you’re going to overcome your memories of past lives or anything else for that matter. But really, how others overcome; and when you teach others how to do it you’ll automatically be teaching yourself and you will heal the two of you. I asked God, ‘why doesn’t my life work?’ and God said to me it’s really quite simple: you think your life is about you, but your life isn’t about you. It has noting to do with you. It has to do with everyone whose life you touch. When you heal it over there, you will heal it over here.
So clear and simple…
Well, God is pretty clear. He doesn’t leave very much ambiguity…
19 Sep 2010.
Text © Gil Dekel and Neale Donald Walsch. Images © Natalie and Gil Dekel.
Interview conducted over the phone on 30 Aug 2010. Neale in based in the USA. Gil is based in The UK. Humanity’s Team website. | <urn:uuid:0c071b6e-7fe0-497a-9c4d-ed1d83aad345> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/creative-thoughts/being-at-one-neale-donald-walsch-interview-with-gil-dekel-phd-part-3-of-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967661 | 1,928 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Evolution Deceit
Excerpt from Mr. Adnan Oktar's Live Interview on Kackar TV dated March 18th , 2011
Then We gave them good in exchange for evil until they increased in number and said, 'Our forefathers too underwent both hardship and ease'. Then We seized them suddenly when they were not expecting it. (Surat al-Araf, 95)
So they said forefathers had alsosuffered from sucheconomic crisis in the past, this always happens.
Do the people of the cities feel secure against Our violent force coming down on them in the night while they are asleep? (Surat al-Araf, 97)
So in essence Allah says, 'How do they know that I won't send my violent force'.
Do the people of the cities feel secure against Our violent force coming down on them?"
That is, were they secure from Allah's revenge?
No one feels secure against Allah's devising except for those who are lost. (Surat al-Araf, 99)
Meaning Allah says that 'They cannot feel secure', Insha'Allah.The grounds of devastation is generally to deny the messengers, that is to deny Mahdis, not to take lessons from afflictions befalling, not to heed them, to grow arrogant and cruelty. Devastations come about because of these four reasons.2011-06-19 16:00:25 | <urn:uuid:db097861-9f7d-452d-9198-ba66d988aa36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.evolutiondeceit.com/en/Some-secrets-from-the-Quran/43080/Surat-al-Araf;-959799-(The-grounds-of-devastation-of-peoples-are-generally-their-denying-the-messengers-their-failure-to-take-lessons-from-and-heed-afflictions-befalling-them-their-growing-arrogant-and-their-cruelty) | 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 | 0.964197 | 301 | 1.625 | 2 |
A new report from real estate data provider CoreLogic shows that home prices in the Triangle have remained largely flat over the past year.
Home prices, including distressed sales, increased 1.5 percent in the Raleigh-Cary market in October compared to the same period a year ago, according to CoreLogic. Prices in the Durham-Chapel Hill market declined 1.1 percent over that same period.
Those numbers were well below the strong gains recorded nationwide. Home prices in the U.S. increased 6.3 percent in October compared to the same period a year ago, according to CoreLogic.
How accurate is CoreLogic's pricing index? Hard to tell. CoreLogic uses a repeat-sales index that tracks increases and decreases in prices for the same homes over time, which it claims provides a more accurate view of pricing trends.
Locally, many real estate watchers often look to the average home price data provided by Triangle Multiple Listing Services. That data, however, really just provides a snapshot of the homes that sold during that period and may not be a very good indication of where prices are headed.
Triangle home prices were still falling in the third quarter according to the Housing Price Index published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The two metropolitan areas in the Triangle, Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Cary, have seen 14 consecutive quarters of housing price declines, according to the HPI, which is based on average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.
But the size of those declines have been getting smaller over the past year. In the third quarter they were the smallest since the HPI index turned negative in the second quarter of 2009. | <urn:uuid:1d213269-d23e-4635-89c0-5b26f900652f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/new-report-shows-triangle-home-prices-largely-flat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966286 | 354 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The study and discourse surrounding societal privilege (in any context, of which there are many), does not exist for you to take offense to.
It is simply a way of understanding inequalities and the institutionalization of oppressed groups.
When discussing privilege and social inequality, one is not in the practice of trying to determine which groups have it “better” or “worse” than others.
When discussing privilege, there is no blame-gaming amongst groups of people.
The blame lies with society.
So stop taking it personally. | <urn:uuid:2119b42f-8bf8-45c9-bca0-95981b84af65> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://redefiningbodyimage.tumblr.com/post/29492236562/the-study-and-discourse-surrounding-societal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942368 | 112 | 1.765625 | 2 |
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. suffered a medical scare yesterday afternoon when he had a seizure and fell on a dock near his summer home on an island off the coast of Maine.
Roberts, 52, was taken by a private boat from Hupper Island to the mainland and then by ambulance to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport.
A statement issued by the court last evening said Roberts "underwent a thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern." He was kept overnight at the hospital as a precaution.
"The chief justice is fully recovered from the incident," said court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg, adding that he had "experienced minor scrapes in the fall."
She said Roberts had suffered "what doctors describe as a benign idiopathic seizure."
Idiopathic means that the cause is unknown. Medical experts said doctors would have performed a magnetic resonance imaging scan, or MRI, and other tests to rule out the possibility of a brain tumor or a stroke.
The court confirmed that Roberts had suffered a similar seizure in 1993. For several months afterward, he did not drive but instead took a bus to work in downtown Washington or car-pooled with a friend.
A seizure is caused by "excessive electrical activity in the brain," according to Medline Plus, an online medical encyclopedia published by the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine. Some seizures are focused on one part of the brain or one side of the body; others are classified as generalized, meaning the whole body is affected. Not all seizures cause an individual to lose consciousness or experience convulsions.
In yesterday's incident, which occurred about 2 p.m., Roberts "was conscious and alert" while being transported, the local fire chief, Tim Polky, told the Associated Press.
Just about everyone is at some risk of a seizure, said Dr. Marc Nuwer, an expert in seizure disorders at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine. In an adult, a seizure can be triggered by a variety of factors, including sleep deprivation, stress, alcohol consumption or certain medications, such as the anti-depressant Wellbutrin.
Because of his previous seizure, physicians may offer Roberts drugs to reduce the risk of recurrence. But given the length of time between the two incidents, the benefits of such medications, which are taken daily, might not outweigh the risks of side effects.
For the next week or so, Nuwer said, Roberts will probably have a headache and a sore body. "He will feel bad, like he ran a marathon but was not in shape," he said.
Roberts will probably be told not to drive a car for at least a week until physicians are confident he will not have another seizure.
Nuwer emphasized that the seizure should not have any effect on Roberts' mental abilities or his time on the court.
Two years ago this month, President Bush selected Roberts, then an appellate court judge, to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. At that time, Roberts' health was described as "excellent."
Six weeks later, when Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died of cancer, Bush switched course and made Roberts his nominee for chief justice.
David G. Savage writes for the Los Angeles Times. | <urn:uuid:faafbca9-8e47-4f6f-8971-6e99b3594be0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2007-07-31/news/0707310283_1_seizure-roberts-school-of-medicine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969637 | 677 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Sumario: January 12, 2005: José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. Intervention in Plenary session of European Parliament on aftermath of earthquake and Tsunami. Session of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
My trip to Jakarta last week brought home to me the full scale of the tragedy caused by the Asian earthquake and tsunami. And it confirmed for me that the international community - including the Commission - was right to respond quickly with very substantial pledges of aid and other support.
What Commissioner Michel saw when he went on the ground in Aceh was shocking. The tidal wave literally erased civilisation along 500 kilometres of coastline, destroying all that was in its path as it crashed inland, reaching in places a depth of five kilometres. And the tragedy is that the majority of the population lives on that very coastal belt which was so devastated.
Similarly harrowing stories have been recounted from Sri Lanka, Thailand, India and the Maldives. And the damage on other less accessible countries such as Somalia is only now emerging.
This awesome act of nature has left in its wake over 150,000 people dead with some five more million people without home and shelter, traumatised and now facing the task of reuniting what is left of their devastated families and of rebuilding their homes and businesses.
Explaining and approving the EC pledge
The scale of the disaster and the shocking images plastered on our televisions and newspapers sparked massive sympathy among our European citizens who rightly demanded a very quick and large response.
In other emergency situations, the Commission has had more time to discuss and prepare its response beforehand with Parliament and the Council, our budgetary authorities. In this case, we did not. Within nine days of the wave striking the coastlines of Asia and Africa, the heads of government from the affected countries and the major donors were gathering in Jakarta to agree how we would repair the damage and what funds we would make available.
To prepare the ground within the limited time we had, I discussed with President Borrell and Prime Minister Juncker the Commission's proposal to pledge €450 million before leaving for Jakarta. They were both very positive and supportive of the approach I proposed. But without having had the chance for detailed discussion in Parliament plenary and Council, I indicated to the Jakarta pledging conference that the Commission's €450 million pledge was conditional on approval with the budgetary authorities.
This is my first priority today - to listen to your views, answer your questions and agree on how we can best tackle the two main tasks we now face - how to rapidly turn our "conditional" pledge into concrete money on the budget and then to turn those funds into effective reconstruction programmes on the ground that help the people rebuild their shattered lives.
Detailing the Commission's proposal
While this is still early days, I'd like to explain in more detail what I have in mind on how best to use the Commission pledge, if you and Council agree to the funding.
On the humanitarian side, the Commission has responded fast and very efficiently. We were first on the ground and first in delivering on our promises. The first support package was announced on the day that the tsunami struck and we have now committed through ECHO 23 million euro. However, as Kofi Annan has underlined, a billion US dollars will be needed immediately. In answer to this, I propose as part of the pledge that €100 million further is allocated from the emergency reserve to assist in this effort. I understand your committees have been discussing this proposal favourably.
In this regard, I fully support the Parliament's approach of underlining the coordination role of the UN.
On the reconstruction side, I propose that €350 million is made available. I had envisioned that part of this would come from fresh funds and part from a reprogramming of funds already planned for the affected countries. Although reconstruction task will take up several years, the financing this reconstruction effort should be provided in this and next year.
I understand the reprogramming part of my proposal has caused some concern in Parliament. So why am I proposing this? The main reason is speed - the funds for projects planned for 2005 are already on the table and can be used for the urgent immediate reconstruction work. Waiting for fresh funds to come on stream will take up to six months - we need to move with reconstruction funds now. All donors are responding in the same way - including the World Bank - to leverage funds for tsunami as fast as possible.
I also do not believe this approach will have any negative side effects. Will this lead to a cancellation of already planned projects? No - if governments decide with us that a tsunami related project takes immediate priority, the originally planned project can be taken up in 2006 or 2007, under the new financial perspective.
Will this lead to Asia robbing other regions of their funds? No. Any projects that would be reprioritised and delayed in this way will be within the Asia envelope which if necessary will need to be readapted and I count on your support in this regard. Quoting from a draft resolution I have seen from Parliament, I can assure you that "the poor across the world will not pay the price of this disaster."
Let me give you some specific examples of how this reprogramming approach can be of immediate value. In Indonesia, the Commission has a 35 million euro programme which aims to improve access and quality of health care at the community level. If government agrees, this can be extended quickly to help rebuild and strengthen health care facilities damaged by the tsunami. Alternatively, in Sri Lanka, we are planning to cooperate with the World Bank on a housing programme to help resettlement of internally displaced persons. Similarly, this could be broadened quickly to help rehouse families displaced by the tsunami.
Whatever the level of new funding, I stress that the Commission needs to look at how planned projects can be reprogrammed in this way to ensure that we can respond on reconstruction within the critical first months.
But the Commission's pledge was provisional and could be revisited once final costings are in. We already know needs are huge and there could be room even for a higher contribution of fresh funds if both Parliament and Council would agree to it.
Affected countries lead on reconstruction
I fully support the line agreed in Jakarta that the affected countries must lead the needs assessments and create their own national tsunami reconstruction plans that will identify the priority projects and the means to implement them. This is a matter of basic principle - responsibilise the countries and ensure they lead to coordinate all the generous commitments made. We should not flood the countries with tens of different facilities and instruments cooked up beforehand with donors or international financial institutions.
Let us look at another principle all donors and countries agreed in Jakarta - we must deliver our support rapidly. I emphasised in Jakarta that the Commission would seek to explore all means at its disposal to turn our pledge into effective programmes as fast as possible. The General Affairs Council further lent its support to this commitment. This means accelerating our procedures as much as possible, within the confines of the financial regulation, so unnecessarily heavy bureaucracy does not slow us down.
I saw how rapidly and efficiently the countries have already moved in helping their citizens - it is impressive. As such, we should provide the bulk of our aid as budget support, giving the countries the tools to rebuild their destroyed infrastructure and to restore the livelihoods of their shattered communities.
This approach is the only way that the affected countries can coordinate the aid efficiently. It would be an impossible task for them if the hundreds of donors give their aid separately and each demand that their own procedures be followed.
Of course, we will ensure that budget support will be properly overseen so we have the comfort of sound financial management of our funds.
However, the Commission will need to also address punctual and particular projects that will be better delivered by direct implementation rather than passing through the national budgets. For example, there may be some specific work that is started in the humanitarian phase that can be usefully continued under the initial reconstruction phase. Alternatively, there may be specific conditions that prevent easy access for the national budget to certain geographic regions or indeed to the poorest communities who must benefit from this tsunami reconstruction. Such cases would also warrant the continued channelling of a part of our funds through NGOs.
Reporting to Parliament
In every successful emergency programme organised by the Commission, the Parliament has played a pivotal role. In this regard, I think of Afghanistan or the Balkans. And this role is not simply to agree on funding but to follow the programme and to lend political weight when needed to ensure the programme's political goals remain on track.
I am confident that you will play a similar role in facilitating the Commission's programme of reconstruction after the tsunami. To this end, I will undertake that the Commission will report to you regularly on progress both in plenary and committees.
My colleague Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner will go down to the region in the coming weeks to further assess the needs and to put more flesh on this proposal. I would propose that she reports to the Parliament on her return.
I recognise the importance placed by parliament on additional measures beyond aid that the EU can provide to further help the countries affected by the tsunami.
You can rest assured that all Commission departments are mobilised to investigate in their particular areas what can be done in this regard. This includes support to G8 debt moratorium initiatives, investigation of possible trade initiatives ease trade access to the Union for the countries' concerned and work with the governments in seeking to facilitate the implementation of the European Investment Bank's "Indian Ocean Tsunami Facility".
The member states and Commission agreed in the General Affairs Council to offer direct support to the countries in their efforts to develop early warning systems so they will be better able to respond to future natural disasters.
The Commission is also considering proposals for a new EU approach to reinforce capacity for disaster prevention. I welcome proposals for the development of a rapid response humanitarian capacity for the European Union which would permit it to enhance its assistance in future disasters and humanitarian crises.
I noted with interest the ideas being floated on the possibility of supplying fishing vessels from decommissioned EU fleets to the fishing communities in the affected countries. The idea is very appealing - we have all seen pictures of boats wrecked by the tsunami and our own fishing industry is about to destroy boats from its own fleet in line with fishery limits. My services are currently exploring whether vessels are available, what state of repair they are in and, if they meet the needs of the fishing communities in the tsunami affected areas, how they could be made available to fishermen in the tsunami affected areas. I hope that this initiative will work and will report back to you with the results of our work.
New Opportunities for peace process
Last but not least we must recognise the political dimension of the tsunami crisis on the political problems in Aceh and in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The international community must impress on the players involved that the tsunami crisis must not lead to a drift back towards conflict but that instead it is recognised as an opportunity to reinvigorate the search for peaceful and long term solutions to these problems. In doing that, we will of course pay due attention to the sensitivities of the two countries concerned.
We have set ourselves high targets both in Jakarta and in the UN Geneva meeting. Your debates so far show your commitment to see action. Similarly the General Affairs Council showed the commitment of the European Union.
The outpouring of support from our private citizens for this crisis further show their support for the full commitment of all the EU's institutions to deliver on the promises we have made.
The questions are already being posed - can we deliver or will our response to the tsunami go the way of past less successful responses to natural disasters. We must now give the answers. I count on your support in helping the Commission deliver. And I give you my promise to work closely with you in this massive task ahead of us. | <urn:uuid:30b2a8d2-1e3a-4597-b287-16f605fcf3c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/es/article_4217_es.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958228 | 2,427 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Companies quietly push for tax break on foreign profits in ‘fiscal cliff’ debate
By Jia Lynn Yang and Suzy Khimm,
Amid the tumult over looming tax hikes and spending cuts, a massive change to the corporate tax code is quietly gathering steam.
U.S. multinationals have spent years pushing for a change to the tax code that would eliminate taxes on business profits overseas, just as these firms are banking their futures on growth abroad.
Now, with the debate over the country’s fiscal future in the spotlight, executives, lobbyists and some on Capitol Hill are latching onto the “fiscal cliff” as a potential springboard for their cause.
To the companies, no other tax issue matters more.
They say U.S. multinationals face a disadvantage against overseas competitors because, unlike practices in many other developed countries, the Internal Revenue Service collects taxes on foreign income when it is brought back into the United States. These companies argue that if the tax were eliminated, they would be more likely to bring their overseas earnings back to the United States. It is estimated that U.S. multinationals are holding $1.7 trillion in earnings abroad, largely to avoid being taxed at a 35 percent rate.
“At least it will be here and not circulating in other countries,” said Erskine Bowles, co-chair of a White House commission that was tasked with addressing the country’s debt and a supporter of eliminating taxes on foreign profits.
Some tax experts warn, however, that such a change could radically alter how companies behave and have broad implications for the economy. Without the right safeguards, they say, eliminating taxes on foreign profits and switching to what is known as a “territorial” system would blow a hole in tax revenue, give multinationals more leeway to exploit tax havens and drive jobs overseas.
“The territorial tax system they envision would gut the entire U.S. corporate tax code,” said Edward D. Kleinbard, a professor of tax policy at the University of Southern California. “It would lose gigantic sums of money every year.”
Support for a territorial system has appeared in a number of prominent places. It is among the recommendations from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co-chaired by Bowles and former senator Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), and President Obama’s jobs council. It was part of GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s economic platform. And it has been a perennial on the wish lists of business groups such as the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as many individual multinational companies whose chief executives met with leaders in Washington this past week.
So far, the territorial tax issue has received little public attention in the fiscal-cliff debate; the George W. Bush-era tax cuts that are scheduled to expire Dec. 31 do not affect corporate tax rates.
But policymakers are deliberating a potential compromise that could be attached to a bigger overhaul of the tax code next year.
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, wants to extend the Bush tax cuts for a year and “let Congress undertake comprehensive tax reform in 2013 with a shift to a territorial system as a part of that exercise,” according to Hatch spokeswoman Julia Lawless.
“It’s not going to do a whole lot to reform individual tax rates if you don’t reform the corporate tax rates,” said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who supports a territorial tax system and says the issue comes up “in every discussion where we talked about tax reform.”
In fact, House Republicans have already passed a budget that includes a transition to a territorial tax system, reflecting a framework first laid out by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.).
Democrats are largely opposed to a territorial tax system, often contending that it would encourage firms to move more operations overseas, as Obama frequently argued on the campaign trail. The Obama administration has instead proposed a “global minimum tax” that would apply to income earned in any country.
But some prominent Democrats agree with Republicans that the fiscal cliff could be a golden opportunity for reforming the entire tax system, with some openly welcoming a debate on how to deal with overseas corporate earnings.
“I think that all of this has to be dealt with as a package — it’s the only way to make the trade-offs that are fair and transparent,” said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Conrad is not sold on a territorial tax system but acknowledged that “it deserves consideration and deserves a full debate and hearing.”
There is broad bipartisan agreement that the corporate tax code needs to be changed, since it presents the worst of all worlds: rates that are relatively high and tax receipts that are too low. In the current system, a U.S. firm is supposed to pay a 35 percent tax on both domestic and foreign profits; taxes on foreign income can be deferred until companies use that money in the United States.
In reality, though, some multinational firms are able to pay a much lower rate by shifting their income to overseas tax havens and then deferring taxes on that money indefinitely. As a result, revenue from corporations as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product is near its lowest point in the past 30 years.
Whether a territorial system would help fix these problems — or make them worse — depends wholly on the details, which have been scant from both the business lobby and the recommendations from Simpson and Bowles. Usually, advocates simply say they want “territorial” without defining what that might look like, when in fact small adjustments can have radical consequences.
A switch to a pure territorial system, for instance, could cost jobs, said Kimberly Clausing, an economics professor at Reed College who calculates that as many as 800,000 jobs could be added to low-tax countries instead of the United States.
Another critical detail — how tough the U.S. government will be on overseas tax havens. Japan is often cited by business lobbyists as a model for the United States, since the country switched to a territorial system in 2009. But Japan’s new system also taxes a company’s foreign income if the other country’s tax rate is less than 20 percent.
This kind of system would slap a number of U.S. multinationals with much higher rates than they are paying, raising the question of whether they would still support a switch to a territorial system if it looked like Japan’s.
The proposal from Camp offers some hints of what a territorial proposal from Republicans might look like. His plan would exempt 95 percent of overseas earnings from U.S. taxation when that income is brought back to the United States. It would also include “anti-abuse” rules to make sure companies do not skip out on paying “their fair share of U.S. taxes.”
Individual corporations and advocates that favor such changes have recently come into the spotlight in the fiscal-cliff debate. One group, Fix the Debt, which includes dozens of big-business chief executives, has gained prominence as it has pressed Democrats and Republicans to compromise on the fiscal cliff.
Fix the Debt said it wants to see comprehensive tax reform that tackles the country’s debt, but it does not advocate a specific plan.
The group includes a number of advocates for a territorial system, though. The co-founders of Fix the Debt are Simpson and Bowles. Honeywell chief executive Dave Cote, who has been a high-profile advocate of cutting taxes on overseas profits, sits on the steering committee. Officials at Caterpillar, whose chief executive, Douglas Oberhelman, is also part of the group, testified before Congress last year that a territorial system is critical to creating a “level playing field” for U.S. companies at home and abroad.
In addition, a PowerPoint presentation on the group’s Web site mentions the possibility of a territorial system on a slide with the heading, “What can we do?”
Among the bullet points: “Use the fiscal cliff as an opportunity.” Under another heading of “Budget basics that need to be addressed,” the No. 1 item is a “simplified tax system that is territorial and collects more revenue.”
Alice Rivlin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a member of the Fix the Debt steering committee, said the two debt commissions she has participated in have diverged on the issue. The group headed by Simpson and Bowles, she said, advocated a territorial system because “the most articulate spokesperson on this issue” on the committee was Honeywell’s Cote.
By contrast, the plan she helped develop with former senator Pete Domenici for the Bipartisan Policy Center did not include it, because the group had a small-business representative instead, and small businesses are less likely to operate overseas.
The Business Roundtable, a strong supporter of a territorial system, is also making the case on Capitol Hill for overhauling the corporate tax code.
“If you don’t press the urgency, this can be pushed down the road for years and years,” said Matthew M. Miller, a vice president for the Business Roundtable.
The Chamber of Commerce is advocating for a “big deal” on the fiscal cliff that includes a comprehensive tax overhaul, with the hope of moving to a territorial system in the process.
Some Democrats fear, however, that attaching a fiscal-cliff deal to more far-reaching changes to the tax code could undermine their own policy goals, particularly if Congress agrees to comprehensive changes without letting tax rates go up first on upper-income Americans. “I think it boxes us in,” said one Democratic aidewho spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations. “Let’s do what needs to be done — let’s not complicate things here. Let’s use this time and let the high-end Bush tax cuts expire.”
An upcoming fight over the territorial issue also has the potential to split the business community, between those whose operations are mainly domestic — and thus pay higher taxes — and the country’s biggest multinationals.
Tech and pharmaceutical companies in particular have an easier time reducing their taxes because they can pick and choose where they park profits associated with their intellectual property, a practice known as “income shifting.” Meanwhile, companies with brick-and-mortar operations mostly in the United States, like many retailers, are stuck with much higher tax rates.
Kleinbard, the USC tax professor, wondered why corporate tax reformers are not looking first at the higher rates paid by domestic firms that do not have overseas operations. “Of course we need a lower corporate tax,” he said. “If we’re going to start with lower tax rates, maybe we should start with lower taxes for domestic operating business so they can expand. Wouldn’t that be our first priority?” | <urn:uuid:a6ffe5d8-f2ef-428e-94f6-d515f801f218> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://failover.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/with-fiscal-cliff-some-promote-corporate-tax-code-reform-to-territorial-system/2012/11/28/d8588c1a-2f56-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963688 | 2,336 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Interbike 2011 – Calfee’s trick Face plate Light Mount and Custom Di2 Battery With USB
Beyond having some very nice stuff from eecycle works mounted up in their booth, the guys at Calfee were also sporting some trick stuff of their own. First up, I spotted a very odd looking stem faceplate and asked what was going on there. I was told it is an early prototype that is a socket to hold an LED light. The stem faceplate is somewhat universal-ish from what I am told, so with any luck it will fit a variety of stems. However, if you are paying Calfee for a full custom bike, I have a feeling one might spring for a custom bar-stem setup with fully integrated wiring. The light should have around 200 lumens output. Look for more details plus a finished product at NAHBS in March.
Head on over to the other side for more images and details.
The power for the light will come from a battery mounted in the steerer tube, and the port to charge the battery will be in the top cap. That same power source can also power a Di2 set up, and has a USB dongle for charging up your gadgets should it be needed.
The screw on cap should help keep the elements from damaging the USB port. | <urn:uuid:57b78729-5cf1-4cb5-a442-617fbbef6ba3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/09/27/interbike-2011-calfees-trick-face-plate-light-mount-and-custom-di2-battery-with-usb/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967912 | 271 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Active asset allocation would be of importance to the investor with respect to decisions regarding where exactly to deploy his resources and in what proportion.
Active asset allocation has attracted a lot of interest from investors in recent times. But asset allocation also means different things to different people; therefore it would be appropriate to define the use and application of various terms in this regard. While, long term asset allocation would establish a policy mix consistent with the long term portfolio objectives; tactical asset allocation would add value while opportunistically responding to changing patterns of risk and reward, which would enable a buy low, sell high stance on the part of the investor; and portfolio insurance would of course protect against unexpected performance while allowing a sell low, buy high on the part of the investor.
While explaining this concept, we shall be covering the following aspects: | <urn:uuid:331ff82a-6af3-4bd9-91ff-0f8f48d073bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.narachinvestment.com/active_asset_allocation.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95634 | 164 | 1.742188 | 2 |
For some electric car enthusiasts in South Florida, it's better to build your own.
Architect and computer specialist Andrew McClary bought a rusty 1968 Ford GT40 sports car for $500 on eBay and spent about two years stripping it, restoring it and installing a battery pack and other features to produce the red electric beauty that now wows people at auto shows.
"For me, oil is just wrong. We don't need to be using it on our cars," the 44-year-old family man said from his home west of Boca Raton. "And the price of gas is more than what we pay at the pump. Our country is going bankrupt and getting into war, defending oil."
My dad was going to do something similar to this with his truck. I don't know why he didn't, probably just didn't have the time.
He could have put a lot of battery packs in the bed of the truck. | <urn:uuid:6951f916-cdb8-449b-ac58-3e20b9cb629e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/make-yer-own-fkn-electric-cars-in-fl-stoked | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982391 | 192 | 1.585938 | 2 |
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MARYVILLE, MO (2010-08-04) As one of the hottest weeks of the year rolls on, North Missouri's largest electric provider is offering tips on staying cool.
Clara Miller is with KCP&L and says checking the filter on your air conditioner once a month is not too often. She says the monthly check can ensure your AC is working efficiently, keeping you cooler. She also says ceiling fans won't change the temperature of your house but it sure will your attitude. The electric company also recommends replacing the incandescent light bulbs with the new compact florescent ones which they say produces much less heat in your house.
© Copyright, KXCV | <urn:uuid:a4933f5e-f8f6-4a1f-8177-a9f096c68a31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kxcv.org/news/regional_stories/August/2010/Heat_Tips.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952167 | 153 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Do you live in a dangerous place?
I don't. I honestly don't. People think I do and sometimes warn me to be careful, but it's really silly. If they only knew...
Years ago, while traveling from a client's office in Netanya back home to Maale Adumim, a colleague wished me a safe trip and warned, "be careful driving home."
I looked at him and remembered that he lived in Tel Aviv and worked there in Netanya. This was back in 2001 - 2002 when things were exploding regularly in Israel, especially in those two cities. I was astounded that he thought to warn me when I felt, if anything, I should be warning him. With a smile, I answered, "I'll be fine as soon as I get out of Netanya."
The next week, a bomb exploded in Netanya and I wasn't smiling anymore as I called to make sure all my friends were safe. But the memory remains - even 10 years later.
A few days ago, I noticed a sign just to the right as I pass the checkpoint. There is a turn off there - that bypasses the checkpoint into Jerusalem.
It warns people, "This road leads to Palestinian village. The entrance for Israeli citizens is dangerous."
Two thoughts crossed my mind as I saw the sign. The first, I'll be honest, was that once again, Israel had failed the sign making test and someone has to instruct them on the proper use of capitalization.
The second thought was to wonder if there are any signs at any of the entrances to Israeli cities that say, "This road leads to an Israeli village. The entrance for Palestinians is dangerous."
I've visited most of Israel's cities - there aren't that many and it's a tiny country. I haven't visited all of Israel's villages - there are many - but I have visited many and I can tell you in almost 20 years in Israel, I have never seen a sign warning Palestinians that their lives are in danger if they enter an Israeli town, village, or city.
I have seen thousands of Palestinians - in our stores, on our trains, in our cities. I have never seen any being harassed.
Today, the UN Secretary General urged Israel to return to the peace table. How funny. We've been there so many times and each time we arrive, the other side isn't there. What purpose is there in calling us to the table when there is no one there with whom to speak.
Rather, Mr. Secretary General - perhaps you could ask the Palestinians WHY it is dangerous for Israeli citizens to enter an Arab village? That is the reason there is no peace here - not Israel's lack of a willingness to meet a real Palestinian partner in peace. | <urn:uuid:c22ba2c6-02ff-4d37-b1ed-2bfe9a363fe8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.co.il/2013/02/where-danger-is.html | 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 | 0.982453 | 566 | 1.507813 | 2 |
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