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"English, grammar, vocab, algebra, geometry, math, history, Bible"
...Then I explained how five stacked blocks multiplied by three adds up to fifteen blocks. The legos gave him a visible explanation for the concept of multiplication. Simple as it is, it worked! I earned my BA degree from The Master's College, a private school located in Santa Clarita, CA. The teachers there helped hone my listening, teaching, and...
10+ subjects, including algebra 2 | <urn:uuid:12c08ce3-f53d-4255-a63a-a65dd95a4f30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wyzant.com/Whittier_CA_Algebra_Ii_tutors.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955772 | 100 | 1.710938 | 2 |
NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Eye and Vision Care
Flash of Light and Black Bubbles
My wife is suffering from CNS TUBERCULOMA. ATT treatment is continue from last 4 months. MRI has reported 20x15x21mm size tissue in the left perintal lobe. Repeat MRI after one month has shown considerable reduction in EDEMA and about 10% reduction in tissue/clot.She is feeling flash of light and black bubbles like picture in the left eye twice or thrice in a day. Opthalmogist examined her retina and found that retina is alright. My question is a) whether this eye problem is also related to CNS TUBERCULOMA. Please also guide about treatment of this eye problem.
Wow, this is a very difficult question. Even if I examined her, I don't know whether or not I would be able to completely answer your question.
But since her retinas are healthy (as determined by her ophthalmologist), I suspect there may be some swelling along the visual pathway that connects her eyes with the part of her brain that processes visual information. Sight does not actually occur in the eyes, but rather in the brain. So her symptoms of "light flashes" and "black bubbles" - especially since they are transient and not constant - lead me to believe that her brain lesion is affecting her visual perception. And the fact that her lesion is getting smaller with treatment is a good sign that her visual symptoms should eventually resolve.
Keep following your doctor's advice, and report any changes in vision to him.
Robert D Newcomb, OD, MPH, FAAO
Professor Emeritus of Clinical Optometry
College of Optometry
The Ohio State University | <urn:uuid:d2073880-1d04-4668-b20f-7aedf905fc25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.netwellness.uc.edu/question.cfm/81236.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960145 | 389 | 1.554688 | 2 |
In Rivolim mobiliare real estate, you’ll find some myths about real estate agents, a couple of which aren’t so flattering. But because it relates lower in it, real estate agents aren’t too available, and there is might explanation to each misunderstanding. Let’s cope with a couple of myths and particulars.
1: They have large hair.
Fact: Though every once in awhile real estate agents may have large hair, nearly all are other people who awaken every morning like everyone else do, and begin working like everyone else do. Many real estate agents, really, Are going bald due to associated with stress hair loss. Do i think the the intense dagger-created manicures actually, many real estate agents have bitten claws lower to nubs.
2: Real estate agents drive luxury cars while speaking by themselves cell phones.
Fact: Itâ??s factual that real estate agents are often trying to perform a many things simultaneously, nonetheless they want to be careful relating to this. Even though real estate agents are thinking about creating a great impression you, generally they drive Hondas and Toyotas and hope their effort will sell you, not their Lexus.
3: Real estate agents know town.
Fact: Similar to normal people, real estate agents canâ??t know everything. Though they’re doing spend lots of time driving on an outing, they canâ??t maintain most places simultaneously, and so they themselves probably have preferences for starters neighborhood versus another. Ensure it is apparent for the realtor which kind of area you have to live in, and so they can help you look within that part of town.
4: Real estate agents live outdoors of your energy.
Fact: Real estate agents have lives too, and people lives happen to occur inside the same physical realm as yours does. Although it may look like like they spend a oddly disproportionate slice of your time speaking for you, they are really trying to become as time-conscious as you can, to actually can exercise quickly to your house and so they can exercise quickly to helping their next client.
5: Real estate agents just need your hard gained money.
Fact: What real estate agents want is an easy existence. They wish to support you in finding a home you want, and they wish to make their (frequently small) bit of commission from this (and thatâ??s in the purchase, not out of your pocket). They do not would like your soul or possibly your firstborn, some persistence, consideration, as well as an positive home-buying experience for individuals. | <urn:uuid:7d3b410f-97d2-4f28-9c01-95a22b9f2136> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rivolimmobiliare.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97028 | 533 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A Man Fully Alive
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
Every single person, whether a man, a woman, or a child, has been given by God a deep, primal longing for Him.
We generally go through our days thinking of our desires for other things: I want breakfast. I want to sleep. I want to feel loved. I want some coffee. I want to get through this day. I want to finish this project. I want to buy a house. I want a car that won’t break down. I want to find someone who loves me. I want to be somebody. I want to make a difference. I want to get out of this traffic. I don’t want to die.
But if we really start to think about any one of our desires—pick one, any one—then we will find that they are fundamentally a desire for life. The desire for food is an obvious one, just like the desire not to die. But even our desires for possessions are about desiring life—we think they will help us feel alive, or at least that they won’t get in the way. A car that breaks down restricts my life, but a good car will get me there. Even the desire for accomplishment or love are about our desire for life.
But what is life, anyway? Is it simply to be animated, to be breathing and having our hearts beat rather than to be stilled and lying in a grave? Is it getting everything we want? Is it to “be all you can be”? Is it having a big list of accomplishments? Is it feeling safe, comfortable and secure? Is it even feeling content?
Those things are not life, but they do all point to what life really is.
Let’s think back to that moment when God created mankind: At one point, God took dirt from the earth and fashioned it into a man, into Adam. But Adam did not have life until God did something more than just shaping him. Adam became a living soul when God breathed into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). And what is the “breath of life”? It is nothing less than the very presence of God Himself. From the beginning, we were made to breathe God.
So why do we have this longing, this ache for life? Why do we always seem to want more? Why are we driven?
The reason why this desire for life is so driven and can even feel desperate at times is because of what Adam did with this greatest of all gifts given to creation. Yes, it says nowhere in Scripture that when God made animals or plants or rocks or even stars and planets that He breathed into them the breath of life. Only man received the breath of God Himself. So what did Adam do? When he sinned, we could say that in some sense, he exhaled God. He expelled the breath of life.
That is not to say, of course, that he succeeded in getting rid of God entirely from himself. God, in His mercy, remained within Adam enough to continue to keep him essentially alive, moving, thinking, feeling and exercising free will. But all of those functions came to be impaired, and Adam began to die. He also began to sin even more, because his free will had become distorted.
And therefore began the hunger, a hunger that has now lasted for millennia, a hunger that consumes our entire race. We hunger to regain the life that is the breath of God. Life—real life—is actually God. We call Him the “Giver of Life,” and what He gives is Himself, His actual presence. If you have life at all, even incompletely, then you have God within you.
And all of this is why we celebrate the man whom we remember today, on the Second Sunday of Great Lent. This man is called St. Gregory Palamas, and he was the archbishop of Thessalonica in Greece for a number of years in the 14th century, right around the same time that Geoffrey Chaucer was born, the man who wrote The Canterbury Tales.
But before he became an archbishop, Gregory was a monk on the holy mountain of Athos. During his time there and also when he later became an archbishop, Gregory was involved in a controversy that cut straight to the heart of this longing for life that all of us who are sons and daughters of Adam share.
At that time, there was a certain heretic named Barlaam, who was from the southern part of Italy, which was Greek-speaking at the time. Barlaam made the claim that the highest possible knowledge of God that anyone could have was through the mind, that the philosophers knew God better than the prophets and even the apostles.
Gregory answered that the human mind, while a great gift from God, was not actually capable of the kind of intimate knowledge and communion that Adam had received from God, that there was something much deeper, that the Christian could actually know God and see Him with the heart, as a light shining in. And indeed, sometimes this heart knowledge of God was so powerful and so pervasive that some people were actually seeing the light of God with their physical eyes.
Isn’t that why we’re here? Don’t we want to see God? Aren’t we here not just to learn about God with our minds, but truly to know Him with our hearts?
If I just study God but never really come to know Him—that is, if I know about Him, but don’t know Him—then am I really experiencing that breath of life? Am I truly alive?
Another of our saints, who lived quite early on in the Church’s life, in the second century in what is now France—Irenaeus of Lyons—wrote that “the glory of God is a man fully alive.” And with that saying, all of the pieces fit together. God’s breath, God’s life, God’s light—these are our experience of God’s glory. When God’s glory truly shines into a man or woman or child, then that person becomes fully alive, because God’s glory is God.
That is what life is, brothers and sisters—it is to have an intimate, personal experience of God’s glory, of God. All the other things we call “life” are really just reminders of our loss of that one thing needful—the glorious, life-giving breath of God.
That’s what salvation is. That’s what the Church is. That’s what Christian life is. That’s what human life is. It is a struggle to overcome our distorted wills, our distorted desires, so that we return to that perfect moment when the Holy Trinity breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, that moment when the communion with the Creator was perfect.
So how do we do that? In the epistle reading for today, Paul asks us, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” He by no means assumes that you can come here, fulfill a summary “obligation,” and then can say, “Yes, I’ve got the breath of God back.” Salvation is something that can be neglected, and if neglected, we will not escape all that the loss of the life given to Adam really entails—spiritual death, eternal death. Not ceasing to exist—no, for we will all exist forever—but an eternal existence of continual dying, decay and distortion.
But St. Gregory Palamas gives us the key. He earnestly taught that ordinary people, just like you and me, could see the divine light of God, could breathe the breath of God once more, if they will truly give themselves to prayer, to fasting, to worship, to good works, to humility, to real change, to becoming the kind of people concerning whom others can truly say, “Here is one in whom God lives, in whom God breathes. Here is one in whom I see God’s glory.” Are you such a one?
The glory of God is a man fully alive.
To God therefore be all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. | <urn:uuid:5add8ac0-4bb0-46cf-aa6b-deffedc47a64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://roadsfromemmaus.org/2012/03/11/a-man-fully-alive/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972548 | 1,773 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Read for my School
I've just launched Read for My School - the exciting new national schools reading competition from The Pearson Foundation and Booktrust, with support from the Department for Education (visit www.readformyschool.co.uk)
Take a look at my Read for my School opening speech HERE.
Read for My School is:
• free for all primary schools in England
• open to children in years 5 and 6
• running in 2013 from 21 January to 22 March
Reading for pleasure is at the heart of the initiative, which aims to generate excitement about books and cultivate long-lasting positive attitudes towards reading.
Children who attend participating schools will be encouraged to:
• read as much as they can
• explore a variety of genres and formats
• make their own choices as readers
• recommend titles to friends
The competitive element of the programme is designed to:
• be fun and motivate children of all abilities, with a variety of interests
• give children the opportunity to read their way to rewards for themselves and their schools
All registered schools will be entered into a prize draw to receive a donation of fantastic books taken from a pot of 100,000 books provided by Pearson.
For more information, and to register, visit the website - www.readformyschool.co.uk | <urn:uuid:f6224067-3712-4c64-b4a2-f68cf8ec68fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jeremystrong.co.uk/pages/readformyschool | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956502 | 270 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Habit is a compromise effected between the individual and his environment, or between the individual and his own organic eccentricities, the guarantee of a dull inviolability, the lightning-conductor of his existence. Habit is the ballast that chains the dog to his vomit. Breathing is habit. Life is habit. Or rather life is a succession of habits, since the individual is a succession of individuals. | <urn:uuid:695366f1-2418-47cb-9b03-95ba9c4ce3e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ludimagister.tumblr.com/post/32567144170 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977219 | 82 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Dragon Ball episodes
Tambourine Attacks! (ピッコロ大魔王の恐怖!!, Pikkoro Daimao no Kyofu!!) is the second episode of the King Piccolo Saga and the one hundred third episode in the Dragon Ball series. The episode first aired on March 2, 1988.
Goku catches up with the murderer of Krillin. The killer is a demon named Tambourine, who gladly tells Goku about how he had killed Krillin for the Dragon Ball and a list of fighters in the martial arts society. Tambourine beats up Goku, by blasting a Mouth Energy Wave at the Flying Nimbus, causing Goku to fall into the woods. Tambourine then attacks Goku again, until Goku is no longer conscious. He continues back to King Piccolo thinking Goku is dead. Meanwhile, back at the World Martial Arts Tournament, the gang decides to go back to Kame House with Krillin's dead body.
When Tambourine gets back to Pilaf's Airship, King Piccolo tells him to post the martial arts society pictures on the wall. King Piccolo commands Tambourine to go and kill the entire martial arts society to make sure no one can use the Evil Containment Wave to trap him again. Tambourine goes and kills King Chappa and his students at King Chappa's Temple, and Pamput during one of his kick-boxing matches just as Pamput beats his 20th straight opponent. The episode ends on a suspenseful note with Goku laying unconscious on the forest floor. | <urn:uuid:fbb576f8-6fc3-459b-b3d1-f4ef9e130a52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Tambourine_Attacks! | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940021 | 328 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Obama jobs plan may call for repairing nation's schools
WASHINGTON – A plan to boost construction jobs nationwide by providing federal money to repair public schools is picking up support among unions, economists and liberal advocates with direct ties to the White House.
President Obama himself promoted the plan during his 2008 campaign, and some money was made available for school repairs in the $825 billion economic stimulus law passed in 2009. Now supporters are urging Obama to invest tens of billions of dollars as a major component of the jobs plan he delivers to Congress next week.
The proposal would funnel federal money to school districts where repair work has been delayed for years. One option to pay for it: wiping out nearly $50billion in tax breaks for oil and gas companies, proposed by Obama but nixed by Republicans who control the House.
White House allies like the idea because unlike highway construction, where machinery plays a crucial role, fixing up schools would create more jobs.
"It puts people, not machines, to work," says Jared Bernstein, who resigned as Vice President Biden's top economist this year to work at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "It polls very well. It ought to have bipartisan appeal."
The school-repair program is one of several proposals Obama is considering as part of the speech he gives to a joint session of Congress, according to a half dozen White House allies. Among others under review:
•Offering tax credits to companies that hire new workers. The credits — perhaps $5,000 per employee — would be given only for net increases in a company's payroll, rather than for every new worker.
•Providing job training to the long-term unemployed, as has been done in Georgia, where unemployment insurance is used to pay stipends.
•A long list of measures that have been stalled between the White House and Congress, including trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama; a second year of payroll tax cuts; and an extension of unemployment insurance benefits.
If Obama proposes most or all of those initiatives, it would represent a mix of policy and political prescriptions. Some measures, such as the trade deals, are likely to win bipartisan approval. Others, such as any major new public works plan, would likely fail to get past Republicans and instead become political issues in 2012.
Michael Ettlinger, vice president for economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress, says Obama shouldn't "limit what he proposes to what he thinks the House of Representatives would pass." Rather, he says the president should "test the boundaries" of what's possible politically.
Obama began rolling out jobs proposals Wednesday. He pushed Congress to pass stalled bills authorizing new funding for highways, mass transit and aviation. He ordered five federal agencies to expedite job-creating infrastructure projects already in the pipeline.
While his jobs proposals are spilling out, Obama's recommendations for additional deficit reduction are likely to be delayed.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that while Obama still intends to make recommendations to a special, 12-member congressional committee charged with finding $1.5 trillion in savings over 10 years, his speech to Congress will focus mostly on jobs.
School maintenance and repairs were permitted under the 2009 stimulus law, but the need is greater today: $271 billion in backlogged maintenance and repairs, according to a study by the 21st Century School Fund.
Obama hinted at his infrastructure plans two weeks ago during a bus trip through the rural Midwest.
"There's no reason for us to wait putting construction workers back to work all across the country," he said in Decorah, Iowa. "Why don't we put them to work right now rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our schools all across America?" | <urn:uuid:972d2977-80de-4c85-8bec-b4cb4e8dd94e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-08-31/Obama-jobs-plan-may-call-for-repairing-nations-schools/50209136/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970487 | 755 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Oakridge Elementary School teacher Evelyn Schwartz is well aware of the life-changing power of education it was at age 37 when it dramatically altered her own path.
Thats when Schwartz, who had worked for 20 years in business, took the chance of going back to school to finish earning her college degree, with the goal of one day becoming a teacher.
I said to my husband, I can make a change in the world. Im not making a change in business, Schwartz said.
Schwartz later graduated from Florida Atlantic University and launched her teaching career at age 40. On Tuesday almost two decades later Schwartz was chosen as Broward Countys Teacher of the Year.
I have two words that I would like to share tonight, Schwartz told the more than 1,000 colleagues gathered at the awards ceremony. Honor and privilege.
Schwartz hadnt prepared a formal speech, and after the congratulatory hugs were all over, she admitted to being speechless at this most gratifying moment of her career.
That never happens, Schwartz said. I am never speechless; I teach first grade.
Though her classroom is filled with tiny 6- and 7-year-olds, Schwartz says her students are old enough to start learning some of lifes biggest lessons.
Thats why Schwartz doesnt just stick to teaching the basics of math and reading. Schwartz also has her students learn this mission statement: I am responsible for my learning, safety, health, happiness and making the world a better place.
Along with creating a classroom mission statement, Schwartz also started a classroom tradition known as the Daily Five a self-guided reading practice program that makes students responsible for improving their own reading skills.
Schwartzs recognition was part of a larger Caliber Awards ceremony event a black-tie affair held at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to Teacher of the Year, Broward County Schools also selected its Principal of the Year, Brian Kingsley of Gulfstream Middle School in Hallandale Beach; Assistant Principal of the Year, JoAnne Misiewicz-Seltzer of Flamingo Elementary School in Davie; and School-Related Employee of the Year, Krystal Morman of McNicol Middle School in Hollywood.
Winners in all four categories received a $1,000 prize, along with a commemorative ring.
Schwartz, the winning teacher, also becomes Browards nominee for the Florida Department of Education/Macys Teacher of the Year award.
Browards other Teacher of the Year finalists this year were Suzanne Clancy from Challenger Elementary School, Monica Fernandez from Hallandale Adult Community Center, Miranti Murphy from Boulevard Heights Elementary, Traci Porter from Harbordale Elementary, and Marie Rho from Lauderdale Manors Elementary.
At Oakridge, Schwartz has succeeded despite the dramatic deterioration of the school itself the Hollywood school has struggled with leaky roofs and mold problems, among other issues. The school was supposed to receive massive renovations a couple of years ago, but those plans were sidetracked by a combination of district corruption and abrupt cuts in state funding.
Schwartz said she has taken those setbacks in stride.
Yes, I would love for it to have been rebuilt when it should have been rebuilt, but its not an obstacle, she said. I encourage my children to always grow where youre planted and go with the flow, because things arent perfect and they have to learn to deal with that.
Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said the district has made some of the needed repairs at Oakridge, but is struggling to persuade state lawmakers to restore Browards construction budget to its previous, higher levels.
The Oakridge situation, and this Teacher of the Year award, what that kind of says to you is, look, weve got people who are working under all kinds of conditions to deliver, day in and day out, Runcie said. We need to make sure that they have the best conditions possible. If we can do that, imagine what kind of outcomes we can get for our kids. | <urn:uuid:bf88ecd5-06b3-40bc-b7c5-99e567b798ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/19/3295532/first-grade-teacher-at-oakridge.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971973 | 827 | 1.6875 | 2 |
[Manfred Dittler collection, image via waffenrad.at]
It has been so nice to see more and more people revamping vintage bicycles over the past several years, riding them, and sharing pictures with others. Seeing vintage bikes actively ridden and lovingly cared for feels as if history is "interacting" with our contemporary lives - reestablishing a sense of continuity that has been ruptured in many ways over the past several decades. But as the use of vintage bicycles grows more popular, it is worth noting that not everybody holds the same views on refurbishing them. For me, discovering these differences has been educational, and I will try to describe some of the approaches I have come across:
[Panther Damenrad, image via waffenrad.at]
The Full Restoration Approach
To "restore" a bicycle typically implies bringing it back to its former glory inasmuch as possible. If the bicycle is not in great cosmetic shape, then this may include re-painting the frame in a colour painstakingly matched to the original, finding new-old-stock original decals or replicas, and taking the trouble to locate well-preserved versions of the components and accessories, if the original ones cannot be cleaned up sufficiently well. The end goal is for the bicycle to resemble as closely as possible what it looked like when it was sold as new - be it the 1970s or the 1910s.
[Manufrance Hirondelle, image via collectvelo]
The All-Original Approach
In direct opposition to those who restore bicycles, are those who prefer to keep them all-original - meaning in whatever condition the bicycle was found. The reasoning behind this approach, is that a vintage bicycle is a piece of history and should be preserved in its found state. Some who adhere to this method will clean up the components and frame as much as possible - as long as it does not involve repainting or replacing anything on the bike. Others will take things to the extreme and literally leave the bicycle as is - including any dirt or rust that has accumulated on it. Some will perform repairs, as long as the components remain original; while others believe that if the bicycle is not ridable without repairs, then that is how it should stay.
The Period-Appropriate Approach
This approach is somewhat similar to restoration, but is considerably more relaxed and is done with the intent for the bicycle to be ridden, not collected or exhibited. Those who prefer this method, typically clean up and refurbish the bicycle in a way that keeps its appearance period-appropriate without going so far as to replicate the original components, accessories and colour scheme. For example, the bicycle above has been repainted a soft blue - a traditional colour choice for vintage touring bikes, but not the original frame colour. The components selected are also traditional for the time period the owner wanted to evoke, but they are not the components that originally came with this bike. The period-appropriate approach is popular among those who want the bicycle to suit their tastes and riding style, while still paying homage to the era from which it came.
[Motobecane Super Mirage, image via lovely bicycle]
The Updated Remix Approach
Some cyclists prefer to fit vintage frames with modern components - either in part or entirely. The reasoning behind this, is that while they may prefer the looks, ride quality, craftsmanship and other aspects of the older frames, newer components tend to be more comfortable and more convenient. This can include anything from using a modern style of handlebars, brake levers and cranks, to fitting the bicycle with clipless pedals and new high-tech lights. While the newer components are not even remotely original or period-correct, some owners will attempt to make the overall look of the bicycle harmonious. To others this does not matter so much, and they regard the vintage and modern mix as purely utilitarian. If I had to classify the current fixed gear modification trend (whereby parts of the frame are filed off and the bike is fitted with super-modern wheels and colourful components), it would go in this category as well. The degree of consideration that is given to the original frame is up to the owner.
[Jeunet porteur, image via somervillain]
Over the past two years, I have spoken with vintage bicycle owners whose approaches run the full spectrum of these categories, and have at times been amazed by how strong views on this topic can be. Restorers are criticised for recklessly altering pieces of history. Those who keep vintage bikes original are criticised for not giving the bicycle a chance to "live again". Those who take the trouble to set up their bicycle in a period-appropriate manner are perceived as obsessive "retrogrouches." And those who put modern components on vintage frames are accused of butchering or "not caring enough" about vintage bikes. Personally, I can see the benefit in all methods, and I think that quite a lot depends on the bicycle itself - how rare and historically significant it is. The Co-Habitant and I have used the "updated remix" approach at least to some extent on most of our vintage bikes - but none so far have been historically valuable. What is your take on this, and what approaches have you used on your own bikes? | <urn:uuid:2fb8395f-0a67-4f4d-8a4c-ffdb2f17a16b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2010/12/refurbishing-vintage-bicycles-variety.html?showComment=1308397522918 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961244 | 1,085 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Fashion 2.0: 14 Dresses in a Single Ballgown
For the launch of his Fall/Winter 2012-2013 collections on July 4 in Paris, designer Franck Sorbier saved a nightmarish amount of fabric and thread by going almost fully digital: sharing 14 new dresses with the world by projecting each creation onto one enormous flowing white ball gown.
Two models were used as his designs unfolded in the form of a fairy tale. One played the princess and one played the sorceress. The sorceress (at right) used a laptop to cycle through the collection projected onto the gown while recounting Donkeyskin, the tale of a king determined to marry his daughter to fulfill his wife’s dying wishes.
The daughter, hoping to avoid this destiny, finds a fairy godmother who tells her to make impossible dowry demands, like a dress the colour of the sky and a frock as bright as the sun.
“It’s about how with a little imagination you can bring together two worlds that are diametrically opposed,” said Sorbier, “and it is about how we can take haute couture into the future to ensure it survives.”
There are worse bedmates than tech and high fashion. Remember when Johanna Blakley said non-copyrighted industries — including fashion — tend to innovate and compete more readily than copyright-protected ones? It’s right up there with cars and food.
To be fair, Jeremy Danté points out the show bears a reasonable resemblance to Viktor & Rolf’s Blue Screen Collection in 2002 — another really cool concept where small elements of couture hosted luminous and ever-changing projections. But if this is the future, we don’t ever want to go back. Not if it means the stress of staring into the cavernous depths of The Closet could be wiped away forever, relegated to quaint past as our chic white space jumpsuits change colour swatches for us.
See the full gallery of images at Hello Magazine. | <urn:uuid:3b314b97-06e0-4ef4-9085-4c9b34dbab70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://disruptomatic.tumblr.com/post/26770205373/franck-sorbier-fashion-show | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939953 | 425 | 1.546875 | 2 |
On-board fire forces vessel to return to berth
Derek Spalding, Times ColonistPublished: Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A fire aboard a morning ferry sailing out of Tsawwassen gave passengers a scare and sent three crew members to hospital as a precaution on Tuesday.
The Queen of New Westminster left the terminal just after 10 a.m. and was bound for Duke Point until about 10 minutes into its trip when a fire was detected below deck in the bow of the ship.
Passenger Deryk Roberts heard a woman's excited voice broadcasting from crew member radios confirming there was a fire in the bow thruster compartment. Then the fire alarm went off and within minutes all passengers were corralled into the cafeteria, he said.
The captain turned the ship around and returned to Tsaw-wassen where it could be evacuated.
"You could tell the ship was turning around quickly," Roberts said. "Ferries don't normally do anything that urgent."
Sprinkler systems put out the fire, according to B.C. Ferries and Delta firefighters met the vessel at the terminal when it arrived.
Foot passengers are expecting to catch the 12: 45 sailing out of Tsawwassen. Vehicle owners were allowed back on the ship to get their vehicles, but it was unclear which vessel they would sail on next.
Fires are rare on B.C. Ferries, said spokeswoman Deborah Marshall. Several sailings between the two terminals were cancelled, including the 12: 45 p.m., 5: 45 p.m. and the 10: 45 p.m. out of Duke Point and the 3: 15 p.m. and 8: 15 p.m. out of Tsawwassen. | <urn:uuid:980753c8-9c12-4f95-bb29-d357b061d87a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=cca65848-b71a-45c5-a0e3-0d7141f5ddb6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979369 | 361 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Libby Cover-up Completed
President George W. Bush’s decision to spare former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby from jail marks the final act of a crime and cover-up that began four years ago when Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials launched a campaign to discredit a critic of the Iraq War.
That campaign started with the leaking of sensitive classified information, the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, destroying her career and jeopardizing the lives of her agents in other countries. That was followed by White House lies being told to both investigators and the public in order to shield the President from dangerous political fallout.
By commuting Libby’s 30-month jail sentence on July 2 – and dangling the possibility of a full pardon later – Bush has moved to ensure that Cheney’s former chief of staff keeps his mouth shut and that the full story is never told.
The Plame/Libby cover-up also demonstrates the modern techniques available at least to a Republican president who wants to minimize damage from embarrassing or incriminating information. Bush was able to tap into the ideologically committed right-wing news media to confuse the issue and create political space for his final decision.
Ever since July 2003 – when Plame’s husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, revealed that he had conducted a fact-finding trip for the CIA which helped debunk allegations that Iraq had been seeking uranium from Africa – the right-wing media has kept up a steady assault on Wilson.
Wilson received this treatment because his findings contradicted Bush’s claim in his 2003 State of the Union Address that Iraq’s supposed search for uranium suggested that Saddam Hussein was trying to build a nuclear bomb, a key argument for invading Iraq.
Wilson’s public statements – in a New York Times op-ed and later on TV news shows – represented the first challenge to Bush’s case for war from a government insider. At the time, with Bush near the peak of his popularity, Wilson looked like easy prey.
So, instead of showing gratitude to an American citizen who undertook a difficult assignment at no pay, the Bush administration – aided by congressional Republicans, the right-wing media and some pro-war mainstream pundits – sought to tear down Wilson’s reputation and mislead the public on the facts of the case.
The original White House talking points – given to about a half dozen journalists – included that Wilson’s wife, Plame, worked in the CIA office that sent Wilson to Africa, thus suggesting that the trip was a case of nepotism.
One White House official later told a Washington Post reporter that the administration had informed at least six reporters about Plame “purely and simply out of revenge” against Wilson.
Libby was one of the leakers, briefing two journalists – Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time – but neither ran with Plame’s identity. Libby also brought White House press secretary Ari Fleischer in on the leak operation.
Two other leakers, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and his friend, White House political adviser Karl Rove, finally managed to get right-wing columnist Robert Novak to run a story about Plame’s identity.
Novak’s column destroyed Plame’s career and put at risk the lives of her overseas contacts who had helped the United States keep on an eye on proliferation of dangerous weapons in the Middle East.
But the Plame leak backfired on the White House when the CIA sought a criminal investigation into the illegal disclosure of a covert officer’s identity.
In September and October 2003, the Bush administration’s next line of defense was simply to lie. For his part, Bush pretended that he knew nothing about the anti-Wilson leaks, even though he had authorized release of some intelligence information meant to bolster the White House position on the uranium issue and undercut Wilson.
Bush disingenuously urged his subordinates to say what they knew. “I want to know the truth,” Bush said on Sept. 30, 2003. “If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true.”
However, since the various conspirators knew that Bush already was in the know, they would have read his comments as a signal to lie, which is what they did. Rove issued a false statement through the White House press office denying any involvement.
That prompted Libby to seek help from Cheney. As Libby’s lawyer Theodore Wells disclosed at his client’s trial, Libby’s complaint was that “they’re trying to set me up; they want me to be the sacrificial lamb.”
In response to Libby’s complaint, Cheney penned a message to the press secretary demanding equal treatment for Libby. “Not going to protect one staffer + sacrifice the guy
the Pres that was asked to stick his head in the meat grinder because of incompetence of others,” Cheney wrote to press secretary Scott McClellan.
In the note, Cheney initially ascribed Libby’s sacrifice to Bush but apparently thought better of it, crossing out “the Pres” and putting the clause in a passive tense. Complying with Cheney’s wishes on Oct. 4, 2003, McClellan added Libby to the list of officials who have “assured me that they were not involved in this.”
So, the evidence is that not only was there a high-level administration conspiracy to leak Plame’s identity but there was an equally high-level conspiracy to cover up the truth.
Libby got nailed because he failed to shift away from the cover stories when the investigation grew serious following the appointment of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as a special prosecutor in December 2003.
But the cover-up never ended. Republican senators and the Republican National Committee issued harsh attacks on Wilson, making him out to be a liar when the reality was that his fact-finding trip had helped the U.S. intelligence community correctly raise pre-war doubts about Iraq’s supposed pursuit of uranium for nuclear weapons.
As Libby faced trial in early 2007, other right-wingers, such as attorney Victoria Toensing, released other red herrings to confuse the public. Toensing, for instance, began insisting that Plame was not a “covert” officer because she was “stationed” at CIA headquarters in Langley, Viriginia.
Toensing’s argument was based on her assertion that a 25-year-old law protecting the identities of U.S. intelligence officers from exposure required that the person “reside” or be “stationed” overseas in the previous five years.
However, Toensing misstated the law, which actually refers to intelligence officers having “served” abroad in the previous five years, which Plame later testified that she had done by traveling on overseas assignments for the CIA.
In other words, the law would protect the identity of a CIA officer based at Langley who went on missions overseas or, say, a special operations officer who was stationed at Ft. Bragg and resided in Fayetteville, N.C., but who still “served” on dangerous missions overseas.
But many in the right-wing news media and even at prestige newspapers like the Washington Post have adopted Toensing’s word games as reality. It’s now an article of faith in some political circles that Plame was not a “covert” officer and that therefore there was “no underlying crime.”
After Libby was found guilty for perjury and obstruction of justice and received a 30-month jail sentence, the cover-up entered a new phase with a new ferocity. His neoconservative allies, the right-wing press and some mainstream pundits joined in a clamor for his pardon.
This phase of the cover-up created political space for Bush to commute Libby’s sentence and to hold open the possibility of a full pardon.
So, rather than Libby cooperating with prosecutor Fitzgerald and laying out the full story, Cheney’s former chief of staff has a very strong incentive to stay mum. Not only won't he go to jail, but he has reason to hope that Bush will eventually wipe out the felony convictions with a full pardon.
Barring some unforeseen development, the Libby cover-up appears to have succeeded.
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'
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Back to Home Page | <urn:uuid:d49594ce-b4a1-4ad3-85a1-6c3594515b8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/2007/070307.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970094 | 1,956 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Cards in hand cannot be items. They are only cards.
The Income Tax rules text:
Discard one item of your choice. Every other player must now discard an item, or items, totaling at least as much value as the item you discarded. If they don't have enough to pay the full tax, they must discard all their items and lose a level.
From the Munchkin FAQ
Q. If you have to lose Items, do you lose the ones from your hand, or just those on the table?
A. Always, always, only those on the table. While cards are in your hand, they're not carried Items yet. If you are meant to lose cards from your hand, this will be specified.
Also from the official rules:
Your Hand: Cards in your hand are not in play. They don't help you, but they can't be taken away except by cards that specifically affect "your hand." At the end of your turn, you may have no more than five cards in your hand.
An item card in your hand does not count until you play it; at that point it is "carried." | <urn:uuid:08850e71-14c5-4a80-a4a6-6698057715f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/7301/income-tax-audit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974174 | 238 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Rob Guttenberg of Bethesda is concerned that toll lanes on the Beltway could further fragment the citizens of Montgomery County. “It seems to me that with these lanes, you can create a greater divide between the haves and the have nots,” Guttenberg said.
“Those who can afford to drive in the proposed toll lanes will be able to get home faster and spend more time with their families,” said Guttenberg, who works with families in his professional life. Children in those wealthier families will already have some advantages that other families will not, and these lanes will add more time with their parents to that list. “You start to see a cycle. Family time together is what builds success.”
Guttenberg was attending a public forum about the proposal to add Express Toll Lanes to the Beltway, I-270, the Baltimore Beltway and a stretch of I-95 north of Baltimore on May 17. The forum, which drew a large crowd, did not have a formal presentation. Instead, interested residents came and asked question of state officials from the different agencies which are overseeing the various aspects of the program.
The proposal, advanced by Robert Flanagan, Maryland’s secretary of transportation, is to widen the Beltway by one lane for its entire 42-mile length, then to convert two of the five lanes into toll lanes.
Tolls would vary by traffic conditions and time of day, and would be collected with an EZ Pass transponder at highway speeds. Guttenberg’s concern was directed at the toll lanes, and the idea that poorer drivers will not be able to afford the toll lanes, sometime called “Lexus Lanes” by opponents.
Those doing the study point out that the toll option will allow the expansion to go forward long before it would normally be able to, since the tolls collected will help to offset the construction costs. “At this point, we are at a standstill,” said Raja Veeramachaneni, director of the Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering for the State Highway Administration. “We have a choice of providing some relief or no relief at all.”
Some think the Beltway traffic study, which was initiated in 1995, has gone on long enough.
“The problem with the Beltway is we keep studying it. We don’t do anything,” said Potomac resident Jerry Garson.
Garson thinks the idea may not be a bad one. “If they want to add a lane, it will help,” Garson said. “I don’t like tolls, but if that’s what it needs …”
The proposed lanes would not be the so called HOT lanes, which are currently under discussion in Virginia. “High Occupancy Toll” or HOT lanes allow carpools to drive for free and charge lone drivers for the privilege of driving in them.
The idea of toll lanes, without the carpool component concerns some in Montgomery County government, as well. “Both the Planning Board and the County Council have come out strongly in favor of HOV (carpool lanes),” said Alex Hekimian, transportation planner with the Planning Board. “This conflicts with county policy. We will be very strong in our support of HOV or HOT lanes as part of the study.”
The study is in its early stages; so many variables are not yet known. For example, there is no estimate on what the tolls might be. Planners have not yet decided if the carpool lanes already on I-270 will be left in place, or would be removed.
There is no preliminary estimate for a cost of the study. A typical highway study costs $1.5-2 million, said Veeramachaneni. However, that figure is based on smaller projects and this one will likely cost “much more,” he said.
Part of the study will also include analyzing the social aspect which concerns Guttenberg and others. “The study is going to demonstrate who is going to benefit,” said Veeramachaneni.
Similar lanes are being used in several other parts of the country, and drivers there are giving them high marks, said Veeramachaneni. “It’s not really one group of people that are using it,” he said referring to California’s SR-91, a road which has lanes similar to those proposed. “It did provide relief.”
Veeramachaneni said that the study will have to demonstrate that people in the general purpose, (not toll) lanes will have to see a benefit, as well in order for the project to go forward. “In order for tolling to be viable, you have to benefit lots of people,” he said. | <urn:uuid:bd30fab1-635f-45be-b47d-5906761e7f73> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2004/may/18/when-social-goals-conflict-with-traffic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969528 | 1,025 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Cisco offers pint-size cell relief, lets mobile data spurt freely
You can pop me on the table, against a wall ...
Cisco CEO John Chambers has confirmed that it will start making cellular base stations, just not very big ones, with a view to integrating the cellular tech into Wi-Fi access points.
The detail came out during a call with investors following the company's quarterly results, which showed increasing profit and revenue but declines in the sales of switching gear and routers. That drop was apparently down to European operators not spending enough on their networks, so small cells are a natural extension for the company.
Cellular network infrastructure used to be a specialist operation, left to a handful of large suppliers, but just as phone hardware has become commoditised to the point where the most popular phone manufacturers have no history in radio, so base station suppliers don't need to be so mired in radio technology.
Macro networks - the big base stations hoisted atop braced masts - are still something of a specialist subject, but Small Cells, which now outnumber their macro brethren, are much more intelligent bits of kit which can be fitted with the minimum of fuss and managed from a central office - exactly the kind of kit which Cisco excels at producing.
Cisco's cells will, apparently, be the kind of thing one sees atop a pole, or bolted to the wall of a shopping centre, and only sold to network operators who own the frequencies in which they operate. Mobile firms will be able to use the small cells in densely populated areas to increase their capacity to push calls and data.
Network World reminds us that Cisco isn't completely new to this market, having worked with AT&T on its consumer-femtocell offering, but that was with the aid of ip.access and didn't lead to Small Cells entering the product catalogue.
Cisco will still want to buy in some technology for its small cells, particularly for LTE support. There's a handful of companies making internals for small cells these days, Mindspeed and Ubiquisys leap to mind, and presumably most of them will be sitting by the phone for the next few months hoping that Cisco will be in touch. ® | <urn:uuid:076ea586-ee85-4ac0-9712-433a0470d199> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/16/cisco_small_cells/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964819 | 453 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Statement by Minister Hautala at the UN Conference on Trade and Development
Statement of Finland
Minister for International Development Ms. Heidi Hautala at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) XIII General Debate in Qatar, 23 April 2012.
Check against delivery
1. Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen; During the last decade or so a number of profound changes have altered the global economic environment. Since Accra 2008 some of these trends have accentuated, partly due to the financial crisis that has shaken the world economy.
2. This Conference is the occasion for us as members to assess and reflect on the role of UNCTAD in this changing economic landscape. It is the time to think about UNCTAD's priorities and work methods in order to respond effectively to these persistent and new economic challenges.
3. I will now highlight a few of the most significant issues that Finland sees important to be taken in to account in the discussions for UNCTAD’s future work.
4. Openness to international trade and investment is one of the key factors behind sustained economic growth. The most important results in poverty reduction during the last decades have been achieved by countries that have managed their integration to the world economy and shared the benefits more evenly. At the same time a number of countries, in particular LDCs and other vulnerable small economies, which have not been able to take full advantage of international trade, are in danger to become trapped in debt and aid dependency. We should try to find solutions such as the Aid for Trade initiative to support these countries.
5. Unfortunately, some of the challenges of the poorest countries face, have not changed much since the creation of UNCTAD in the 60s. These include volatility of commodity prices, low grade of diversification of production and exports as well as low level of value added. In addition to these “traditional” problems we are faced with challenges such as the climate change. It is clear that one of the most important emerging issues in the international policy agenda is how to tackle the transition to an inclusive green economy. Policy decisions in this field will have impact on production costs and competitiveness, which highlight the importance of multilateral solutions together with, but beyond what the markets as such can offer.
6. In addition to the complexity of multilateral trade negotiations and explosion of bilateral and regional free trade agreements trade and investment issues have also become more multidimensional. What I mean is that in trade policy decision-making we must increasingly consider also other policy objectives. For example in the case of raw materials there are issues such illegal logging, impact of bio-fuels, or electronic components produced from minerals originating from conflict zones. Or take rules on intellectual property, there one must consider issues such climate change or access to medicines.
7. We have also witnessed an increasing dispersion of global value chains to different locations. It seems to be more and more difficult to see where most of the economic value added is actually created. Trade policy should not be seen as zero-sum game between them and us, since this difference is becoming impossible to make. National export-import statistics can be even misleading. We need to develop new tools and analysis for the guidance of policy making. Also the difference between services and manufacturing is becoming blurred. The increasing role of services and knowledge intensive production should be paid proper attention in research and technical assistance.
8. According to Finland’s new Development Policy Program sustainable poverty reduction can be only achieved through job creation. Millions of new jobs will be needed for the young, both men and women, who enter the job market each year. This requires mobilization of both domestic and foreign investment on new productive activities. One issue of particular importance in this context is how to better promote women’s employment and opportunities in the job market. This is not only a question of equal opportunity and right to equal pay but also of great economic importance.
9. Reducing inequality is one of the leading principles in our new Development Policy Program. It is important that the benefits created through trade and investment are more equally distributed. We should explore new ways how to support poor countries in developing their taxation systems, for instance: in order to finance social protection schemes.
10. In many of the poorest countries, most of the working population earn their living as self-employed or wage laborers in the informal economy. However, they are not isolated from the global trade, on the contrary, through global value chains we are connected to products and services produced in poor conditions. We should find new ways how to promote decent work and entrepreneurship in the context of open international trade.
11. Different private standards and voluntary certification schemes are becoming more important in international trade and we should pay attention how these can be further developed through public-private partnerships and dialogue. Human rights, transparency, good governance and anti-corruption should be taken better into account in business. I am happy to note that private business is already reacting to these global environmental and social challenges through various corporate social responsibility, CSR, schemes and sustainable and responsible investment.
12. Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen; enhancing the role and impact of UNCTAD requires strategic positioning and focusing of its work on key trade and development issues where it has expertise and possibilities to create value added in collaboration with other international organizations.
13. There is a great demand for UNCTAD’s expertise as the UN focal point for trade, investment and related topics particularly by the Least Developed Countries and other poor and vulnerable countries. I would like to, thus, use this opportunity to urge us all to work even harder for reaching a meaningful outcome of the Conference so as to provide the work of UNCTAD sufficient and appropriate guidance for the next four years to come.
14. We should also pay proper attention to the findings of the UN’s Joint Inspection Unit’s recent management and administration review of UNCTAD to improve the organization’s capacities and standing. Finland, as one UNCTAD’s top 10 donors with total funding for the organization of nearly 3.7 million euro between 2007-2011, appreciates in particular the valuable work done by UNCTAD in research and analysis, culminating into a number of flagship publications. These, and the work well done by the Virtual Institute – also identified as state of art and relevant by the Joint Inspection Unit’s review – deserve and must be far better utilized in the capacity building activities carried out by UNCTAD.
15. Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen; Finland is fully committed to working together with the Members States and the UNCTAD Secretariat to make the organization, including by applying Results-Based Management practices, truly relevant, focused and optimally delivering development results. I certainly wish that this commitment is there and played out by all – UNCTAD can have a great role to play in achieving the global development goals. Thank you. | <urn:uuid:b1364781-a680-4ae1-87e5-4ea375f660b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.formin.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=247554&nodeid=15149&contentlan=2&culture=en-US | 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 | 0.953217 | 1,412 | 1.65625 | 2 |
In the business world, for at least as long as I can remember (hint: back then, human tweets were reserved for the Three Stooges), it’s been popular to compare the world of commerce (i.e., fast money, bone-crushing egos, game-changing deals, cocky winners and bloodied losers) to the world of sports. Football is a favorite. And why not? The relatively rapid spread of stock ownership in America since the 1980s (largely through participation in defined contribution retirement plans, which rely heavily on stock mutual funds) has required that these same investors entrust their nest eggs with presumed experts. And we’ve all seen what that can lead to.
Creating analogies to explain complex, sometimes paradoxical, often volatile and stubbornly unpredictable financial markets is how most of us non-experts make sense of these things. It’s what enables a financial pundit to compare a collateralized debt obligation to making nine small omelets from three eggs. If one of the eggs is bad, three customers are in for a long day and night, and so on. Problems with analogies (sports or otherwise) crop up because analogy isn't just a form of speech. It’s often employed as a logical argument. In other words, if some things are alike in some ways, they can appear to be alike in other ways as well. It’s when something important to us stops being like anything else, that we tend to run out of analogies, and similes, and metaphors, and eventually our composure.
I think that’s where we are now. We’re not in the 9th inning of a baseball game that’s looking like extra innings. Nor are we at halftime in a grueling football game, or down to the bench at the buzzer or, well, you get the idea. Rather, where financial markets are concerned, we’re in quasi-semi-not-quite-ever-before territory. If you need a game analogy, think blindfolded three-dimensional chess underwater in a hot spring. With one hand tied behind your back. It’s the kind of world three panelists grappled with in a recent article in Financial Advisor magazine. Three panelists, three forecasts. You make the call! | <urn:uuid:151ce485-11d6-4ed2-aea0-ed9664e0c738> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unboxedthoughts.com/2012/01/27/financial-markets-and-the-limits-of-analogy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951618 | 483 | 1.5 | 2 |
From a 13 year old girl: Im always light headed/dizzy, tired, and when i watch tv it echoes in my head. I get hot flashes sometimes.
A: I’m guessing that the reason you wrote to me is that you are feeling worried and maybe even a bit scared by your symptoms. Please trust your instincts. You are telling yourself that something may be wrong and you need an appointment with your doctor. Tell your parents or some other trusted adult and get yourself checked out. It may be something as simple as finding out you need more sleep or better nutrition. But it just could be something more serious. I think you’ll find that knowing what’s going on (and maybe even dealing with something) feels better than being afraid.
I wish you well.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 25 Jun 2009
Hartwell-Walker, D. (2009). I’m always dizzy. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 20, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/ask-the-therapist/2009/06/25/im-always-dizzy/ | <urn:uuid:92308667-90a2-461e-9ae2-7e4691263f72> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/ask-the-therapist/2009/06/25/im-always-dizzy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942149 | 239 | 1.742188 | 2 |
More and more companies are moving to agile software delivery approaches. But agile delivery brings with it a new set of challenges; among them, functional test automation-opinion is divided in the Agile community on the value of automated testing. However the reality is that software teams must manage quality if they are to avoid operational risk. Businesses are encouraged to adopt an agile process that fits their unique needs. Nothing about agile is predetermined or dictated so it's no surprise that businesses find it challenging to implement agile as a trusted business process-using tools to automate their agile delivery process is yet another variable that complicates the decisions they must make.
This paper discusses the benefits and offers some guidance on incorporating automated functional testing and testing tools into agile software delivery environments. You will learn about the critical role that automated testing plays in helping companies implement and support an Agile process. The paper discusses aspects of Borland's agile transformation as a reference point or use case. You'll see how a geographically distributed team overcame challenges and leveraged automated testing and other tools to ensure a successful transition. We'll discuss the lessons learned in our transformation and as a result how Borland's automated tools are being developed to support and enhance Agile delivery methods. | <urn:uuid:6a8140c7-3baa-4ae4-aab5-013a2b24effa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agileconnection.com/article/white-paper-using-software-support-agile-software-development | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943705 | 246 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Brazil is facing the challenge of slower China growth
Brazil's mining industry is facing a drop in earnings as the sector adjusts to slower demand from China.
In recent years Chinese manufacturers of consumer goods, from refrigerators to cars, have driven demand for commodities like iron ore, which is used to make steel.
However, falling exports to Europe amid the region's debt crisis, are undermining the growth of the Chinese economy and reducing demand for commodities from Brazil.
Pedro Bastos, the chief executive at HSBC Global Asset Management in Sao Paulo, has been telling Asia Business Report's Rico Hizon more about the trading relationship between China and Brazil. | <urn:uuid:42b240a4-d615-4730-8380-74495488ec4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/19709213 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948842 | 130 | 1.625 | 2 |
LONDON (AP) - Burger King says it has stopped buying beef from an Irish supplier whose patties in Britain and Ireland were found to contain traces of horsemeat.
The fast food chain said in a statement that it had dropped Silvercrest Foods as a supplier for its U.K. and Ireland restaurants as a "voluntary and precautionary measure."
Last week Silvercrest shut down its production line and recalled 10 million burgers from supermarket shelves in Britain and Ireland after horse DNA was found in some beef products.
Products from another Irish firm and one in Britain also were contaminated.
Irish food officials say an ingredient imported from an unspecified European country is the likely culprit.
Officials say there is no risk to human health, but the episode has raised food security concerns.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:de925dd7-016b-4f5e-add8-532bf93fe5bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.13wmaz.com/news/national/article/213661/28/Burger-King-Drops-Supplier-Linked-to-Horsemeat- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968787 | 184 | 1.789063 | 2 |
8:26 a.m. | Updated Clarified whether Dell disclosed the lawsuit to shareholders.
Dell has reached out to its customers two days after The New York Times ran an article detailing the company’s intense struggles with millions of PCs that had been plagued by faulty components.
In a blog post, the PC maker acknowledged that bad capacitors on the company’s computers caused problems for customers “some years ago.” A company spokesman added that “Dell did not knowingly ship faulty motherboards, and we worked directly with customers in situations where the issue occurred.”
The response from Dell comes as a lawsuit filed against the company over the faulty computers nears trial.
Advanced Internet Technologies, a North Carolina-based Internet services company, has accused Dell of misleading customers about the issues affecting Optiplex desktop computers. In its lawsuit, A.I.T. said that Dell employees knew about the problems with capacitors lining the motherboards of the computers, and that Dell employees tried to hide the issues from customers.
Documents recently unsealed in the lawsuit show that Dell ran numerous studies about the capacitors and found they affected at least 11.8 million computers sold between 2003 and 2005.
A.I.T.’s case against Dell is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 18, with A.I.T. seeking about $40 million in damages. That total could be trebled under North Carolina state law if A.I.T. can prove that Dell relied on unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Dell did not disclose this lawsuit in its regulatory filings.
As Dell pointed out, the bad capacitors affected a number of PC makers.
Early this decade, technology publications like Passive Components Industry Magazine and IEEE Spectrum documented the prevalence of faulty capacitors in the computer industry. They reported on tales of stolen capacitor recipes gone wrong and rampant computer failures.
By 2003, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Apple received another bad batch of capacitors on their motherboards, this time from the Japanese supplier Nichicon.
“The faulty Nichicon capacitors affected many manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Apple and others, as discussed in the initial story and several blog posts afterward,” Dell wrote on its blog. “Again, this was an industry-wide problem. Dell suspended use of Nichicon capacitors after we discovered a problem in its manufacturing process.”
But H.P., Dell’s main rival, shipped the bad capacitors only on its niche Compaq D530 UltraSlim computer. H.P. stopped shipping the faulty computers by March 2004.
Documents in the A.I.T. lawsuit show that Dell shipped the faulty capacitors on its mainstream business PC line and sold millions of the computers from 2003 to late 2005.
Dell’s own documents, unsealed in the A.I.T. lawsuit, state that it discovered the bulging capacitors in January 2004. By May 2005, Dell continued to investigate problems as complaints from customers like Wal-Mart arrived. Over this period of time, Dell received three bad batches of capacitors, according to the documents.
By September 2005, Dell was still investigating the matter and found that its SX720, GX270 and GX280 computers were all causing problems. | <urn:uuid:c049f2d1-6df7-4ada-ace1-18e018531892> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/dell-speaks-about-its-struggles-with-faulty-pc-components/?ref=technology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956824 | 686 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Editorial | The feel good issue
Normally, The Copenhagen Post’s articles tend to fall into one of two broad categories: people (particularly cabinet members) telling us what we ought to do, or people (including cabinet members) getting in trouble for saying or doing things they shouldn’t have.
That’s why this week is a breath of fresh air of sorts that we are carrying two articles about ordinary people doing praiseworthy things. And while the first – a community garden in an area once frequented by drug dealers – is a portrait of a project just getting underway, its organisers can be inspired by the second, which shows that personal initiative and persistence can make a difference.
We don’t expect that everyone will go to the lengths Sandra Høj has – that level of persistence is exceptional in every sense of the word – but if her enthusiasm can influence people to think twice about what happens to their rubbish after it leaves their hands, we would we be living in a cleaner city. It would also conceivably be a richer one.
Over the course of a year, the cost of cleaning up Copenhagen adds up to 90 million kroner. According to the city, during the summer months, an extra 40 full-time employees are needed to clean up after visitors. And in 2008, it was calculated that the cost of cleaning up a single cigarette butt costs 2 kroner, while scraping off a wad of chewing gum costs 10 kroner. Take a look down next time you’re out on the pavement and start adding up how much money could be saved and instead spent on your programme of choice.
Add to that the impression visitors get when they come to a city ranked in a poll a few years back as one of the messiest in Europe, and the price of littering starts to become unbearable.
While Høj’s trash vigilantism is a testament to the power of personal persistence, the Nørrebroparken garden offers a model for how a community – whether geographical or social – can beat back blight.
Without intending it, those involved in Byhaven 2200 have forced drug dealers away from their homes. But now that the lesson has been learned, it could easily be applied in other places where residents are committed to reclaiming their territory.
Such measures would require the support of the community, but the rapid growth of Byhaven 2200’s membership underscores that people, given the opportunity, are willing to commit themselves to a project they can engage in with others.
Whether it’s converting litterbugs or keeping drug dealers on the run, both projects will cost the city money, but few would argue that, even during a recession, keeping the streets clean of litter and criminals is a bad investment. | <urn:uuid:5412c89d-a33f-4be8-8581-d462daf0595d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cphpost.dk/commentary/editorial/editorial-feel-good-issue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955909 | 571 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Reviews for Divinely Inspired
A touching narrative that reaches out to the reader and proves that it is never too late to find God. The author believes and rightly so, that the original Ten Commandments are not only to maintain order in a chaotic world, but they are also in their essence, the source for any human efforts at self improvement. A thoroughly engrossing narrative style and almost conversational tone makes this an easy, fast and extremely satisfying read, yet one that leaves the impact of a gentle loving wallop, if there is such a thing.
Denise M. Clark, Denise’s Pieces Book Reviews
Most people thank goodness only know insufferable stress from the accounts of others, but those who know it from personal experience will take comfort from the ways in which the author has contrived to find a peaceful way to handle his battle with anxiety, manic depression, migraines, and that sense of emptiness and sadness.
Ian Tattersall, Ph.D., Curator of Anthropology
American Museum of Natural History
The author writes from a Jewish perspective on spirituality and admits that it would perhaps best serve a Jewish audience, but I have to disagree. No matter what faith we carry, if any at all, we can all learn something from this book. Its honesty is both liberating and refreshing.
Elizabeth Batt, Elizabeth Batt Book Reviews
Jerry Pollock has discovered what very few men of science like him have. We each have available to us, if we recognize and seek it out, a loving and supportive force, an organizing intelligence that in reality is the being of all of us.
Steven Hawlings Martin, Author of Keys to the Kingdom
The reader cannot but be impressed by the honesty and courage of the memoir. The author aims to help people attain inner peace. I hope that the author succeeds and achieves his purpose.
Chaim Seymour, American Jewish Libraries Review
Through primal therapy, he exorcised his painful youth and then his feelings guided him to his spiritual rebirth into the paradigm of the Judeo Christian tradition. That the author is able to provide intellectual, psychological, historical and spiritual content is impressive. A Tilt-A-Whirl of a biography.
Audrey De LaMartre, Steps for Recovery
In his provocative book, Divinely Inspired, Dr. Pollock details his personal journey to his discovery of God that helped him overcome more negativity than one person should suffer. Here is a story that begins in the depths of despair, physical and mental illness, uncaring and cheating parents and a deep sense of inadequacy; and ends with an understanding of not only spirituality but of faith.
Richard Fuller, Metaphysical Reviews
The strength and uniqueness of this tale is its sense of reality, even grittiness and steaminess, not found with most books dealing with personal spiritual growth. Pollock’s book is of interest to anyone suffering and looking for spiritual guidance and how spirituality and related beliefs are incorporated into one’s life.
Henry Berry, The Small Press Book Review
Courage, wisdom, and strength and the unrelenting desire to teach rather than preach are what the author arms himself with. This book has had a profound effect upon me. I’m not only considering what is written among these pages as a description of experiences. I’m considering it a handbook for those seeking to get on the right path.
Jennifer Hollowell, J.M.H. Creative Solutions
Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul by microbiologist and biophysics expert Jerry Pollock is the story of his personal journey beyond Bipolar Disorder into the embrace of God’s love. Professor Pollock has written a candid and moving spiritual guide to accepting the wisdom of God. The pages of this published testimony are aptly written to accurately reflect Pollock’s faith, and offers unforgettable guidance and encouragement to fellow seekers to shed emotional negativity and devastation to search out God’s blessing within the context of a mature and maturing spirituality.
James Cox, Midwest Book Review
Readers will be enthralled sharing the author’s path to recovery―from an emotionally damaged, depressive life to a powerful demonstration of Divine Presence via direct encounter with God. Divinely Inspired is an excellent ‘how to’ attain fresh, enhanced spirituality arising out of direct contact. Anyone can learn from the author’s experience, and receive the blessings of inner peace with increased spiritual awareness.
Bernie Nelson, Mindquest
The devilish paths his childhood demons led him on are painstakingly described in vivid detail so that the reader cringes when Pollock explains what happened. Divinely Inspired gives the reader a frightening glimpse inside the veiled world of mental illness. For those who are not familiar with Bipolar Disorder, this book is a real eye-opener. With this knowledge in hand, readers should never look at the mentally ill in the same dismissive way. The fortitude and accomplishments of the author cannot but help move the reader.
Camden Alexander, Curled Up With a Good Book
Having previously read Jerry Pollock’s book, Messiah Interviews, I was very interested in going back and reading his first work, Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul, to gain more insight into the biographical events that I found so interesting in the second book. Once I started reading Divinely Inspired, I literally could not put it down. The book fits neatly into the categories of both an autobiography and spiritual change. I found Pollock’s childhood and adult life to be very intriguing and I applaud him for the courage and strength it must have taken to put his life experiences down on paper for the world to read. Watching Pollock’s spiritual journey and growth was very fascinating and inspirational. His spiritual insights presented in the Epilogue of the book are also very thought provoking. Once again, as with the Messiah Interviews, I enjoyed the stimulating discussion surrounding The Ten Commandments. I think that anyone can benefit and take something away from Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul and I highly recommend it.
Kam Aures, Rebeccas Reads (1/2009)
Divinely Inspired is written about one man’s spiritual path and how his life experiences brought him through a great deal of spiritual change. It is written from a Jewish perspective; however, I feel that people of religious backgrounds, who respect his belief system will relate to Dr. Pollock’s story. Dr. Pollock tells his personal story with a great deal of honesty and self-revelation. I appreciated his willingness to share both his personal successes and failures with us. By reading Divinely Inspired, it will help us to further our own personal journey and provide us with a great deal of motivation. Because Dr. Pollock is a scientist, I really appreciated how he blended his scientific beliefs into his spiritual beliefs. He offers one of the most fascinating discussions on creationism and evolution that I have ever read. He tells us that when you totally trust in God, you do so because you feel confident enough that when you do it, God will be there to assist you. Accepting this belief awakens our souls to a higher state of spiritual being. I highly recommend reading Divinely Inspired and Dr. Pollock’s other book which I really enjoyed, Messiah Interviews.
Paige Lovitt, Reader Views (12/2008)
If you read and enjoyed Jerry Pollock’s not-so-fictional novel, Messiah Interviews: Belonging to God, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Divinely Inspired: Spiritual Awakening of a Soul. In Divinely Inspired, the author’s spiritual journey brings him past the memories, the hurts, and the disappointments of his earlier years, and moves him toward a life of enduring richness and meaning. In true memoir form, Pollock shares his life in a candid way, holding nothing back, and the reader will be amazed. The dedication of his wife, Marcia, that is so lovingly portrayed in Messiah Interviews, also shines through in Divinely Inspired. Having spent his life as a scientist, Pollock bravely shares his belief that Evolution and Creation are not mutually exclusive because God is the master scientist. A true companion to Messiah Interviews, but also a book that will be enjoyed on its own by those interested in reading how one man’s spiritual journey leads him to inner peace and the discovery of the wisdom of God.
Cheryl Malandrinos, The Book Connection Blog (2/2009)
Divinely Inspired is about the author's early years, his bouts with manic depression, and his recovery. The book is a riveting read and touched me in many ways. One way was how frank Jerry is about his manic depression. This part was very personal to me because my husband had what I call a mental breakdown or what the doctors called severe depression with anxiety. I felt that this part really captures what happens to a person who is struggling with their mental illness. I liked that it was told from point of view of the person who has mental illness. In a way, it made me understand what my husband had gone through. The epilogue is Jerry's spiritual insight. I found it very interesting and thought provoking. Jerry is a gifted story teller. As he tells the story of his life, the reader can relate to what is happening to him and feel his pain and then his happiness as he recovers from his mental illness. This is a great read about one person's life and spiritual journey worth 4.5 stars on a scale to 5.
Lisa Oehlberg, Reading Mama Blog (2/2009)
Divinely Inspired is the personal story of Jerry J. Pollock. Having come from a traumatic childhood and dealing with a mental illness he gives hope to others who have endured the same trials in life. This book is written from a Jewish perspective but is an inspirational read for anyone of any religious background. I found Divinely Inspired to be a well-written, honest, and a thought provoking book to read and I recommend it to others.
Connie Harris, TCM Reviews (3/2009)
Meet Jerry in Divinely Inspired. Know him and you’ll know his journey―a painfully true and frank story that calls out to the reader to embrace Jerry in his pain in one moment and to celebrate with him the next. Walk with him in Divinely Inspired as he takes you through the front door of his life. Then go on to read the Messiah Interviews, as I shall reread again, in order to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation of spirituality.
Chris Querry, My Shelf Reviews (4/2009) | <urn:uuid:22dd8076-ec64-492e-ae36-df522cb90272> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=94231&id=47017 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963148 | 2,202 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Leases for gas drillers don't last forever
Robert Burnett hears from clients about expiring gas leases "almost every day" from his position as chair of the oil and gas group at the Downtown-based Houston Harbaugh law firm.
Which makes sense, considering a day is all it takes to invite a host of legal concerns and questions into leasing litigation. Leases that grant drillers the right to excavate gas from a property don't last forever, and if a firm is slow to set up the rig, a lease can expire without ever being activated.
The chance to renegotiate can be a windfall for savvy landowners, and a costly proposition for drillers. The result, said Mr. Burnett, is a growing number of cases that are trying to determine the way forward for leases approaching an end date without any substantial operations on the property.
Though the first deep well broke into the Marcellus Shale rock in 2004, leasing activity really picked up several years later, as billion-dollar players moved in and tried to snatch up land before their competitors. Most leases signed in 2007 and 2008 were for five-year terms, meaning many that never saw drilling are coming close to expiration now.
The terms of the expiration language can mean a difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars for leaseholders. In the early days of drilling, firms could present agreements without as much competition as they see now. At this point, expiring leases can give landowners who felt low-balled in the past the chance to renegotiate for more lucrative terms.
But to rule whether a lease is activated by drilling operations and therefore not expired, lawyers must rely on a legal gray area that determines what level of drilling operations constitutes an "active" lease.
"If you're negotiating a lease, the gas operator wants [the expiration language] to be as broad as possible," Mr. Burnett said. "And landowners want it to be as specific as possible."
To help clients faced with an impending expiration, Mr. Burnett has written a questionnaire that examines what cause for litigation a landowner might have.
• Is there a well on the property that's producing gas?
Easy answer: If there is, that lease is activated.
• If there's not a producing well, take a look at the lease language to see what it says about what constitutes an "active" well site.
Drillers don't necessarily need to erect a complete rig to activate a lease. There have been horror stories across the state of landowners frustrated by drillers who park a truck or dig a ditch to lock the lease terms into place.
"Is parking a bulldozer on the well pad site enough? Probably not," Mr. Burnett said.
The law often requires drillers to demonstrate that they are "drilling in good faith" -- that is, if they do park a truck one day, that they return the next as part of continuing operations.
• Has the land been pooled into a bigger holding?
Drillers often pool several leased properties into a larger pool, and drilling anywhere on the holding activates all of the leases that comprise it. It's possible that operations occurring elsewhere in the pool have activated the lease.
• Is there an extension clause?
To understand lease expiration litigation, it helps to understand the stages a lease can enter. The typical five-year agreement, which includes details on any signing bonus or royalty payments, is called the primary term. If sufficient drilling activities start on the property, the lease enters its secondary term.
Secondary terms can stretch for decades and last as long as there is a producing well on the property.
"I have clients that have leases that are well into their secondary term because the primary term expired in 1905," said Mr. Burnett, referring to the decades-old shallow wells that have long been in Pennsylvania.
Overall, Pennsylvania law remains murky on what constitutes "sufficient" drilling operations, said Mr. Burnett. States such as Texas and Oklahoma, which have seen more drilling for more years, have more settled law on the matter.
He expects Pennsylvania appellate courts to provide more guidance over the next two years or so.
In the meantime, drillers have started to compete with one another for those land parcels coming up on lease expiration.
If a lease is set to expire soon, drillers will often introduce a so-called "top lease" to the landowner, which essentially extends the driller's right to develop on the land. Top leases are activated only after the original lease expires, and landowners often collect a signing bonus for agreeing to take on the extension.
But companies playing catch-up and trying to secure valuable land they missed the first time around have complicated matters, Mr. Burnett said. Now, it's not uncommon for a competing driller to introduce top leases to landowners who signed with a competitor, in the hopes of snatching up the leasehold once the original terms expire.
First Published October 1, 2012 12:00 am | <urn:uuid:34bde0ab-7722-4fd6-af0b-12ad880698e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/leases-for-gas-drillers-dont-last-forever-655624/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966854 | 1,015 | 1.5 | 2 |
Florida Red Light Camera Law Doesn't Care Who's Driving: Car Owner Fined
from the as-long-as-the-city-gets-paid,-who-cares? dept
There are an awful lot of problems with red light cameras -- starting with the fact that they don't actually decrease accidents or make the roads any safer. Most evidence suggests the only thing they're really good for is increasing the revenue for a city -- which is why a bunch of cities have broken the laws over the years and shortened the length of the yellow light to "catch" more red light runners -- while also actively ignoring any actual data around the cameras. Reader Gabriel Tane points us to a newly proposed law in Florida for red light cameras that, on top of everything else, would automatically fine the owner of the car even if he or she wasn't driving. It's difficult to see how this is reasonable... unless of course this law has nothing to do with making drivers safer, and is, instead, a way to raise extra money for a city. | <urn:uuid:72cc852b-00e6-4ec5-94ab-84039b3b1547> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090308/0956264033.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950066 | 213 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Published May 09, 2011
You’re young, ready to start a family and make the most significant investment of your life — the purchase of your first home. You’ve saved for a sizable down payment, but have you assessed your debt health?
The Great Recession has driven home the perils of plastic dependency, yet the average credit card debt per household in the U.S. is $14,750, according to CreditCards.com. And, in March alone, there were 144,657 consumer bankruptcy filings, up 41% from February’s total of 102,686.
“Right now, in this economy, credit is essential to getting a mortgage. There are different kinds of mortgages, but credit is a huge factor, along with the value of the property and your income,” says Tracy Becker, author of the Credit Solutions Kit and founder of credit restoration company North Shore Advisory.
Debtscore.com — a free financial tool developed by oweing.com — is designed to take the guess work out of assessing your debt health and help “borrowers understand for the first time how much debt is appropriate for their age, income and educational level.”
A debt-to-income ratio — the number used by many lenders to assess loan candidates — doesn’t adjust according to age, whereas this tool grades your debt health more strictly as you get older, taking into account your earning power through the years, JB Orecchia, CEO of oweing.com and former executive vice president of marketing for freecreditreport.com, says.
“The main need for the service was we saw people were paying the minimum payments on their bills and they weren’t making any headway in terms of paying down their debt and they also didn’t know exactly where to start,” Orecchia says.
A credit score tells you what you can borrow whereas a debt score tells you what you should borrow. Everyone is entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide credit agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Log on to annualcreditreport.com for your quarterly update.
How can you boost your debt health before you knock on your lender’s door? Follow these tips to get a handle on what you owe and improve your credit score:
Establish a credit history
You need credit to get credit, and if you’re new to the credit game, your creditworthiness may not satisfy a lender. Most lenders require you have a credit history of at least a year to qualify for a loan, Becker says.Tracy Becker is pictured in this undated handout photo. REUTERS/Handout
“People sometimes think it’s better if they don’t have a lot of credit, but that’s false. You need at least two to four accounts that are in your name only that are anywhere from a year to two years old,” she points out.
Credit.com is a good place to start. The website compares the best cards for a number of categories: cards for people with bad credit, student cards and airline miles cards.
Assess your balances and payment history
There are many different kinds of debt — revolving credit, installment debt, open debt — all of which will come into play when applying for a loan. However, the majority of banks will look at your FICO score, which is very sensitive to revolving credit.
“Before they go shopping for a mortgage, they need to make sure their revolving balances are as low as possible – 10% of the limit is the highest they should be if they want the best score,” says Becker.
Ever late with a payment? It may haunt you in more ways than one. Take student loans, for example: for every semester you borrow, it counts as a separate account on your credit report. Have a four-year degree? That’s eight different accounts, assuming two semesters per year.
“If they have one late payment, and they are showing up as 10 late payments on a student loan, when they go for a government-insured loan – an FHA – the government doesn’t want to insure them if they’ve been late on student loans because that’s really money they owe to the government,” says Becker.
Know your front- and back-end debt
When assessing a mortgage candidate, lenders take into account both your front-end and back-end debt. The front-end debt consists of the loan principle, interest, taxes, insurance and any home owner association fees (HOAs) if purchasing a condominium. If you’re looking for a loan, you must demonstrate that 28 to 31% of your gross income can go towards paying for front-end debt.
Back-end debt consists of revolving and installment debt. “If you’ve got credit card issues and student loans, that’s going to raise you back-end debt over the average amount of 36 to 38%. That’s not going to change and it makes it very difficult to get a loan,” says Scott Withiam, manager of the housing department of American Consumer Credit Counseling.
Try to boost your credit score
Asking a spouse or family member with older credit to add your name as an authorized user will also help to boost your score by as much as 60 points.
“If my mother has a credit card that’s 30 years old and she puts me on as an authorized user, even though I’m not responsible for that account, in three to six months, it’s going to show up on my credit report as a 30-year-old account,” says Becker.
Opening and closing credit can cause your credit score to plummet by as much as 50 points, which could shut you out of the mortgage you want. Be wary of impulse applications at department stores that promise discounts on merchandise if you open up a credit account with them. Is that new pair of shoes worth the 50-point drop? Not likely. | <urn:uuid:10706760-3536-4463-889f-b69edb438596> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/05/06/need-loan-4-tips-improve-debt-health/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965371 | 1,268 | 1.75 | 2 |
“When you want what you’ve got and you’re grateful for what you’ve got, that’s true prosperity,”-- Ekhert Tolle.
These days, when we’re all so busy and stretched to the limit, I know it’s difficult to take the time to think about all that we’re thankful for. So make sure this November you pause each day to reflect on the good things in your life.
Nothing is too small to include on your gratitude list. I’m thankful for a roof overhead, thriving children, food to eat, a fruitful marriage, gainful employment, my art etc. I’m also thankful for the little things—like the fact that my daughter has an easy to maintain hairstyle this week. And A few days ago I was feeling under the weather and I was thankful that we had the foresight to get some Theraflu before I got sick. I’m thankful for 99 cent notebooks and short lines in the grocery store. I’m grateful for early morning library hours which allow me to visit almost daily before work.
According to the Law of Attraction, gratitude attracts more of the things we’re thankful for. You can express your gratitude in so many ways. You can write down the things that you’re thankful for in your journal. Also when you take notice of something you like, when you celebrate something positive or when you remember a good event these are all expressions of gratitude.
Of course the mother of all forms of gratitude is to give a heartfelt “thank you” to someone else. And the person doesn’t necessarily have to know you personally or even be alive. I am indebted to the late writer Charles Bukowski who gave the world the novel Factotum. I think about that book just about every day when I trot off to work. It’s a darned good book and I’m so thankful to have experienced it.
Being grateful is good for your physical health. Psychologists Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough discovered that grateful people tended to be
more alert, enthusiastic and optimistic. Grateful people also reported fewer physical ailments and were more willing to help others.
Once you’ve practiced being thankful during November, make it a permanent part of your life. When I interviewed actress and educator Leila Danette Smalls many years ago, as parting words she gave me this piece of advice. She said “the tribal people of the world believe that there are three things that everyone should do to be a good person…First, everyone should pray everyday. Second, everyone should give gratitude everyday. And third, everyone should perform a service for someone or something every day.” | <urn:uuid:13f49ee1-c068-4d06-9c83-9cec3406d317> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art69023.asp | 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 | 0.955582 | 576 | 1.726563 | 2 |
FeministSchool: The following article is Shirin Bahramirad’s speech delivered at Amnesty International Exhibition Titled ‘Keep Iran’s Heart Beating’ on 8 March 2013, Miesbach:
I would like to tell you tonight how women issues in Iran might not be as black and white as it appears and how a kind of balance is preserved between how we manage to get part of our rights and how the government maintains its grip upon us. But let me begin with a story.
In Iran, the right to travel abroad, work, (...)
...read more » | <urn:uuid:e385a83a-674e-4f18-b82f-c8fb765618fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.feministschool.com/english/spip.php/dist/dompdf/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957471 | 125 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Dios aprieta pero no ahoga. (God squeezes but doesn’t choke.)
— Spanish proverb
Somebody rained on my parade this week. I saw it coming, in banner headlines and economists’ warnings, but kept hoping the weather forecast would turn sunny and dry.
It hasn’t — but I’m not giving up.
New data reveals, and The New York Times confirms, that we baby boomers are Generation Squeeze, the most affected victims of this, The Late Great Recession. Those of us in our 50s and early 60s are at the tail end of our careers, close to retirement but not close enough to claim Social Security and Medicare. Stuck in this limbo, we’ve lost the most earning power of any age group. Our household income is 10 percent below what it was three years ago, just in time for us to help support our underemployed children and elderly parents.
We could work longer, but that may be wishful thinking for those who have a lost a job. The average duration of unemployment for older workers is 53 weeks, and when we do find a gig, we end up making less than we once did — a lot less.
To add salt to the economic wound, our retirement savings and home values plummeted at the very time we should have started to cash out in preparation to exit the job market. Sure, housing is crawling back and stocks have made a good run, but neither market is where we thought it would be.
Could it get any worse? Apparently yes. A new study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs before becoming eligible for Social Security lost up to three years in life expectancy, mainly because of limited access to affordable health care.
And yet … yet … in the long shadows of our dark times, I have found pockets of hope. People who have clawed their way out of the hole, people who have chased dreams long-deferred, people who have re-invented themselves. They are proof that even the grimmest challenges can be lined with opportunity. Backs against the wall, we’re never too old to face down our fears.
I have a friend who is writing the young adult novel she has always longed to pen — and she will keep at it until her savings run out, though she’s confident it won’t come to that. I know a man who set up a consulting firm weeks after he was laid off, a human resources executive who is buying a yogurt franchise with a friend and a former journalist who now runs a couple of websites.
They are proof that we boomers are, if anything, a resilient, resourceful generation. Maybe a little whiny and self-absorbed, maybe even a bit spoiled, but we are also survivors. Of the Cold War and Vietnam. Of political assassinations and presidential disappointments. Of gas shortages, stock tumbles and civil rights sit-ins.
So yes, call us Generation Squeeze, pinched here and jammed there, but we are, by no means, Generation Choke. We baby boomers won’t let a little rain cancel our parade.
Follow Ana on Twitter @AnaVeciana. | <urn:uuid:f4398f05-aa62-4bc3-a9ea-62cf638e98cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/09/3223504/ana-veciana-suarez-baby-boomers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958153 | 677 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The present financial crisis was caused by greedy financiers located on Wall Street and at other financial centers of the world, not so much in Washington D.C., although their lobbyists there were not without influence in their underlying pecuniary mon-omania.
Those who hold the so-called “free market” as a sacred aspect of democracy or of the new global structure have yet to learn of the corrupting nature of government and market when combined in their efforts toward avarice.
The slow but steady reduction in school enrollment along with the underutilization of our school facilities is significant evidence of this evolving shift.
Our changing demography can also be seen in the kind of redevelopment process and in the home occupancy that is being reflected in an increase in mature households, smaller-sized families and families without children in the household. Many of these families have adult children that are off to college.
With our life span greatly extended today, we cannot continue to follow retirement standards of the 20th century.
We should begin thinking of extending our productive lives for another decade or so. Some who could have retired at 65 have instead chosen to carry on their work for another decade and could have been as effective and perhaps more effective for still another decade.
The consequence of our emphasis on education within school institutions that have developed over the years turns out to be an ostracism or "a banishment of children from the world of adults," let alone that of the oldest adults. (Hannah Arendt).
On the other hand our perception of older adults as people on the path to marked physical and mental deteriorating conditions steer all generations away from much involvement with the oldest generations.
I was a young idealist when I first heard someone say that “truth and politics are like water and oil and do not make a good mix.”
Politics on today's national scene seem to be a good demonstration of this sapience.
Suzanne's drawings, her reference to Central Park, her declaration of love of people and reference to the force or energy of ink shot right through my thoughts revolving around the meaning of culture.
Of course Governor Palin doesn't believe paying taxes is patriotic.
She lives in an oil producing State where the government pays dividends from its oil proceeds to its citizens. But here in the United States we cannot pump our tax money out of oil holes.
Well, here's one October surprise.
Is today's news about Governor Palin and her first dude in the “ state troopers case” the beginning of her political bridge to nowhere? How does Senator McCain shake out in this one?
When I started writing this, this morning, I had just been watching the sun rise out of Lake Michigan into a partially cloudy sky, this huge ball, the center of our universe.
Now here I sit in Shorewood, an urban place that we call a village, the sun streaming though the window a reminder of the insignificance of human presence here.
Our country has evolved into a two political party system sharing power in the congress and with a relatively strong presidency that cannot function well without its support.
Therefore these two units of government are involved in the real functioning leadership of this country.
The eldest in society, those fortunate enough not to be too concerned with obtaining food and shelter tend to turn inward and usually to the past.
After all, the greater part of life for elders is in the past. And who knows more about one's life than oneself and therefore inward viewing becomes somewhat a functioning form of personal history.
For many years I've been concerned about the existence of things and of the existence of thought itself.
But life has kept me too busy with other things to devote the time that a would-be philosopher should to such notions of this nature as they come to mind.
Memories seem to be packaged emotions staked up on a shelf somewhere in the mind, labeled “happy” and “sad.”
As we grow older I've noticed we go to that shelf more and more often, especially when chatting with old friends.
Senior group living and senior cohousing are two methods for providing seniors with security and independence in the later years of their lives.
Here older adults are involved in their own actual care and participate in the provision of care for others on a family-like and small-town and village community basis, that of living as independently as possible.
When I use the term, I'm not talking about the building that is referred to as Village Hall but to our governmental institution as a collective body, physically represented by that building.
I'd like to put our village board members to a test.
As a citizen of our village, I want to submit a proposal for an indoor coffee patio, mainly to be used by our senior citizens at the basement level of our library building that would remove the three upholstered pieces and include about twice that area for the purpose proposed..
How long can one wait for a response to a proposal for an indoor coffee patio?
Scientist remind us that time is relative, yet we are told that the sun will fairly soon, that is in a billion years begin its route to becoming a black hole.
Einstein said that time is relative.
To a 20 year-old, a billion years is forever. Even fifty years is forever.
Those whom we call the greatest generation are mistakenly called so.
It was their parents who were the greatest generation.. They experienced both the great depression and the greatest of wars and sent their sons and daughters off to war to protect this country, Europe and most of the peoples of the world.
It has become obvious that Shorewood has most of the elements that would constitute a real village and real community.
They are already here and need to be organized for that purpose.
The purpose of education is to create new ways of thinking of the world based on new information.
Does this mean that we discard information accumulated in the past?
Human beings concern themselves with good and evil as life and survival encounters both. And both are rather indefinable forces.
A physicist might regard these to be two opposing forces, one negative and one positive. Each is required and both must exist like two magnetic forces in order to maintain the energy field that results from that existence, like two celestial revolviing bodies pulling away but attached to each other by a magnetic force.
It seems that politicians are insensitive to needs of the elderly and have an alien disinclination to think about them and their social lives. I find this to be the case here in Shorewood.
Monetary considerations seem more important features of community governments and if seniors are considered at all, they are thought of merely as tax-paying residents.
The total number of older adults, 65 and older is significantly close to the total number of children enrolled in the Shorewood School District and rapidly increasing.
Most of these adults are directly or indirectly paying property tax to maintain the educational process within Shorewood's school system. | <urn:uuid:310146c2-7599-4e11-8cdd-9b3c4301d9c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shorewoodnow.com/blogs/communityblogs/from_the_village_square.html?action=blog_archive&startDate=10-01-2008&endDate=10-31-2008&blogID=43801987 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972042 | 1,437 | 1.789063 | 2 |
To schedule a procedure, please call 281-737-1900. For your convenience, you can also pre-register online.
Download Patient Forms to fill out before your appointment.
Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
To coordinate a patient referral, please call scheduling at 281-737-1900 or fax 281-737-1362.
A mammogram is an x-ray examination of the breast. It is used to detect and diagnose breast disease in women who either have breast problems such as a lump, pain, or nipple discharge, as well as for women who have no breast complaints.
A diagnostic mammogram is also used to evaluate abnormalities detected on a screening mammogram. It is a basic medical tool and is appropriate in the work-up of breast changes, regardless of a woman's age.
Mammography has been used for about 30 years, and in the past 15 years technical advancements have greatly improved both the technique and results. Today, specialized equipment, used only for breast x-rays, produce studies that are high in quality but low in radiation dose. Radiation risks are considered to be negligible.
Usually, a mammogram is done on an outpatient basis, although it can be part of inpatient care. There is no specific preparation for the examination. However, a woman should not wear deodorant, powders, or lotions under the arms on the day of the examination, as these substances can interfere with the images.
Although each hospital may have specific protocols in place, generally, a mammogram procedure follows this process:
To prepare for a mammogram, dress comfortably. A two-piece outfit is usually the most convenient because you will need to undress above the waist. You should not use any type of powders, deodorants, ointments or creams prior to your exam because they can affect the quality of the mammogram. If possible, you should not schedule your mammogram just before or during your menstrual period, especially if you have breast pain at that time. If you have breast implants, please inform the technologist before the exam because a different procedure will be used.
A screening mammogram usually consists of two views of each breast. During the procedure, each breast is placed on a platform in the mammogram machine, pressed firmly between two plates and an x-ray is taken. This takes only a few minutes and will be performed by a trained technologist. Most women say the compression is uncomfortable, but not painful. Once completed, a qualified radiologist will analyze the x-rays, looking for specific abnormalities or changes related to cancer. The findings will be reported to your healthcare provider who will, in turn, forward the results to you.
The complete screening mammogram procedure takes about 20 minutes.
A mammogram helps to identify the following conditions:
In the United States, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women. Almost 185,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year. Only lung cancer causes more cancer deaths among women than breast cancer.
Consider the following additional breast cancer facts:
Any woman may develop breast cancer. However, the following risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing the disease.
It has been found that 70 percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer had no significant risk factors. This means that monthly self-examination of the breasts, regular screening mammograms, and clinical breast examinations are extremely important in the early detection of breast cancer.
For more information about Willowbrook Imaging & Diagnostic Services at the Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, please call 281-737-1234. | <urn:uuid:3ce2d6f0-650e-492d-b5fe-121418b57ab0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.methodisthealth.com/mwh.cfm?id=36962 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942149 | 746 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The junior ISA limit for 2013-2014 is £3,720 from 6th April 2013. A junior ISA offers a convenient, tax-efficient way to save for your child's future.
James Caldwell, Director
Junior ISAs were introduced in November 2011 with the intention of replacing the now-defunct Child Trust Funds. Each eligible child receives an annual allowance, which gives parents, relatives and family friends a tax-free way of saving and investing for the child's future. Transfers can be made between junior cash ISAs and junior stocks and shares ISAs, and between ISA providers, but only one junior cash ISA and one junior stocks and shares ISA can be held per child at a time.
Recent research suggests that the vast majority of parents with children under 18 believe it's important to save on behalf of their child, but over half of those questioned said they hadn't heard of junior ISAs. Launched in November 2011, junior ISAs offer each eligible child an annual allowance - just like an adult ISA allowance - which can be put into a cash ISA and a stocks and shares ISA, in whatever proportion the adult opening the account chooses.
The current junior ISA limit is £3,720, which means that parents, family members, or friends can shelter up to £3,720 per tax year for a child, by putting it into either cash or stocks and shares, or both. This limit will apply until 5th April 2014 and will then be updated annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Anybody - family members, friends, or organizations - can contribute to a junior ISA on behalf of a child, but it must be set up by someone who has parental responsibility for the child. Once the child reaches 16, they can manage the ISA themselves, but they won't be able to withdraw any money from the account until they reach the age of 18.
On the whole, junior ISAs are quite similar to regular adult ISAs in terms of rules and regulations. It's important to note that the junior ISA limit can be divided between a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA in whichever proportion you wish - this is one of the key differences between an adult Isa and a junior ISA. You can also switch a junior ISA from a cash ISA to a stocks and shares ISA, and vice versa, something which is not permitted under the current rules for adult ISAs.
*Source: Family Investments
See the tables below for more information on junior ISAs.
|Provider||Junior ISA Provider||Regular Savings||Investment Options||Online Valuations||More Info|
|JP Morgan Junior ISA||Over 850 Funds to choose from with no initial transaction charge or annual account charge. Invest up to £3,600 per year, per child. Invest from £50 per month or lump sums of £500.||More Info >|
|Fidelity Junior ISA||Over 1200 Funds from over 70 Investment Companies||More Info >|
|Family Investments Junior ISA||Invest in worldwide stocks and shares and fixed interest investments. Receive a £20 Boots Voucher when you set up a Direct Debit online (terms and conditions apply)||More Info >|
|Shepherds Friendly Junior ISA||A range of assets including UK and global shares, bonds and cash||More Info >|
|Sippdeal Junior ISA||A range of investment opportunities, including all the FSTE 350 companies.||More Info >|
|Scottish Friendly Junior ISA||A range of assets including UK and global shares, bonds and cash||More Info >|
Important Risk Information:
This website contains information only and does not constitute advice or a personal recommendation in any way whatsoever. The value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount invested. The tax efficiency of ISAs is based on current tax law and there is no guarantee that tax rules will stay the same in the future.
Different types of investment carry different levels of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you read the Important Risk Information for further details. Prior to making any decision to invest, you should ensure that you are familiar with the risks associated with a particular investment and should read the product literature. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of a particular investment, both in respect of its objectives and its risk profile, you should seek independent financial advice. | <urn:uuid:69439a25-a16a-4f9b-bae7-ccc9d32f2802> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.isa.co.uk/junior-isa/junior-isa-allowance.aspx | 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 | 0.938236 | 932 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Zimbabwe's Cycle of Crisis
The outcome of regional intervention in Zimbabwe has been a thirty day ultimatum to implement the agreement and a return to the government by opposition party. However a major sticking point is the trial of one of the opposition government ministers which is going on despite these new developments! This is beginning to be a cycle that starts with violations of aspects of unity agreement, reaction by opposition party, intervention by regional leaders, promises to implement agreement and then the cycle starts again. A weariness in the political process is inevitable. It is necessary to watch and pray. Please continue to pray.
Take Action on This Issue
Nontando Hadebe, a former Sojourners intern, is originally from Zimbabwe and is now pursuing graduate studies in theology in South Africa. | <urn:uuid:30bd130e-955d-46ce-908a-c9bd0543f487> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sojo.net/blogs/2009/11/10/zimbabwes-cycle-crisis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960108 | 159 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Rahm Emanuel's Judaism Through His Rabbi's Eyes
Rabbi Asher Lopatin talks with Beliefnet about the religious observance of the White House chief of staff.
BY: Alana B. Elias Kornfeld
New White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel isn’t only known for playing hardball (he’s been called a “profane, hyperactive attack dog”). The former Chicago politician and chairman of the House Democratic caucus, is also known for something far more enlightened: his religious commitment to Judaism.
Beliefnet recently spoke with Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Chicago's Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation--a modern Orthodox synagogue where Emanuel and his family are members. Lopatin, who famously gave Emanuel permission to take a conference call on Rosh Hashanah (something prohibited by the laws of the holiday), offered insight into the “model congregant” and how his faith influences his public work.
Would you explain the difference between modern Orthodoxy and ultra-Orthodoxy for our readers?
Modern Orthodoxy believes that there are a lot of benefits to engaging the contemporary world outside of Judaism. It encourages engagement--and even struggling--with the parts of the outside world that seem strange. Whereas, I think I should say that more traditional, or maybe ultra-Orthodoxy, really has a negative attitude towards the outside world and basically feels that the more you can isolate yourself from the outside world, the better.
How would Emanuel classify himself in terms of his religious affiliation?
I think you’d have to ask him. Even though Rahm and his family are members of our modern Orthodox synagogue, that doesn’t mean necessarily that they would classify themselves as modern Orthodox. I do know that he and the family are close to a Conservative rabbi in the D.C. area, Rabbi Jack Moline. And I think they were involved with Rabbi Moline’s synagogue. I know that the Emanuel children go to a community Jewish day school, the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, which doesn’t classify itself with any movement.
There’s been a lot of talk about Orthodox ascendancy in politics, mostly as a politically and religiously right-wing endeavor. But now we have Rahm Emanuel, a very significant counterbalancing individual entering into a very important role in American politics. How do you see this changing the status quo?
Well, I’m not sure I agree with all the assumptions in the question. I believe that, within the Orthodox world, there is a sense that modern Orthodoxy’s on the defensive and the decline and ultra-Orthodoxy’s on the offensive and the ascendancy.
And I think that just the fact that Rahm Emanuel and his family are members of a modern Orthodox synagogue has to help modern Orthodoxy and give it a higher profile. I think we see that that a modern Orthodox synagogue can foster people that really can make a difference in this world.
But I think in some ways it shows the broader Jewish world and the non-Jewish world that Orthodoxy itself is not about hiding from the world, but it’s about really engaging the world and being a good citizen of the world. | <urn:uuid:c0f61bd8-0152-4911-8266-0a9c624ab189> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2009/01/Interview-with-Rahm-Emanuels-Rabbi.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966624 | 677 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Department of Public Safety is an integration of police, fire, and first responder emergency medical service. Each member is cross trained to rotate between the roles of Police Officer, Firefighter and EMT during the course of their duty shift.
About Director of Public Safety
The City welcomed Terry Garrett as the Director of Public Safety on January 9, 2006. Director Garrett served with the Rockwall Police Department for twenty-six years and as a member of the Rockwall Volunteer Fire Department for 25 years.
In alliance with our community, the members of the Heath Department of Public Safety provide public safety and protect the lives and property of the citizens of Heath through emergency response, education and prevention while promoting a high quality of life.
Effectively respond to the adaptive challenges created by a rapidly growing community that is striving to maintain its low crime rate and high quality of life. Deliver policing that responds to the needs of the community and engages them to share in the responsibility of keeping Heath a great community. The Heath Department of Public Safety is a professional organization continually seeking opportunities to serve our community through fire prevention, emergency operations, patient care and excellent customer service.
We believe in honesty, acting ethically, and making wise and informed decisions. We admit mistakes, take corrective measures, and accept responsibility for our actions and our own problems. We work only for the public good and toward the accomplishment of the departmental mission, never seeking personal advantage. By action, we exemplify all of the departmental values.
We strive to maintain the highest standards of fairness, credibility and professionalism when interacting with the citizens we serve. We endeavor to communicate, cooperate and collaborate as a partner with the community to create a better quality of life.
We believe the best way to enhance our services is to talk with and listen to others, both employees and the citizens we serve. We believe constructive decisions result from seeking the input of employees and hearing the concerns of citizens.
We are committed to maintaining a mutual respect and trust among all employees. We believe in, foster and support teamwork to accomplish our mission.
We identify problems and seek long-term solutions. We are committed to the problem-solving process and using data, rather than emotions to drive decisions. We are willing to take risks by challenging the status quo. All employees are part of the shared vision and direction, seeking feedback and participation from all levels of the organization and the community. We strive to improve systems and examine processes.
We are committed to making the right decisions, the right way, and for the right reasons. We accomplish this by creating leaders that communicate effectively, have high moral and ethical standards, and have the capability of effective problem solving. As leaders, all employees work to ensure teamwork, accept responsibility through accountability, and strive to provide the optimum service. | <urn:uuid:817cb051-aa05-469c-8d03-262401617aec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heathtx.com/department_detail.php?department=Dept.%20of%20Public%20Safety | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950151 | 566 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I mentioned this briefly yesterday, but the Greek bailout is truly in trouble, and it’s unclear whether the problem lies with Greece or the bondholders. Either way, it’s not as if anyone will suffer other than the Greek people.
Germany and France warned Greece on Monday it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the euro zone’s most debt-stricken nation.
They rejected both a call by a European Central Bank policymaker to abandon plans to make private investors take losses, and a leaked International Monetary Fund memo that cast doubt on Athens’ ability to reform its public finances.
“We must see progress on the voluntary restructuring of Greek debt,” Merkel told a joint news conference. “From our point of view, the second Greek aid package including this restructuring must be in place quickly. Otherwise it won’t be possible to pay out the next tranche for Greece.”
Gotta love that the ECB wants to protect debt holders entirely. This tells you that, in the event of a default, the ECB will come rushing to the rescue of the debt holders, mostly banks, and the Greek people will have nobody to turn to. So when Merkozy put pressure and threaten the next tranche of bailout funds, it inevitably helps the debt holders get a better deal. Because Greece is the only entity truly threatened by a default.
Remember that Germany helped negotiate the deal with Greek debt holders to take a 50% haircut. Now they’ve become completely hands-off on the deal, leaving a weak Greek government with no leverage to negotiate. Predictably, the creditors are bailing on the agreement, and nobody knows yet whether this “voluntary” haircut will trigger credit default swaps.
Meanwhile, to what are Greeks turning in this crisis? Subsistence farming.
Nikos Gavalas and Alexandra Tricha, both 31 and trained as agriculturalists, were frustrated working on poorly paying, short-term contracts in Athens, where jobs are scarce and the cost of living is high. So last year, they decided to start a new project: growing edible snails for export.
As Greece’s blighted economy plunges further into the abyss, the couple are joining with an exodus of Greeks who are fleeing to the countryside and looking to the nation’s rich rural past as a guide to the future. They acknowledge that it is a peculiar undertaking, with more manual labor than they, as college graduates, ever imagined doing. But in a country starved by austerity even as it teeters on the brink of default, it seemed as good a gamble as any.
See, there’s always hope for people, they can put their college degrees to work and live off the land! So what is everyone worried about? | <urn:uuid:5f11dd89-4bea-49c2-998e-88a0023b8cf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/01/10/greek-bailout-threatened-as-bondholder-agreement-lags/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94681 | 594 | 1.609375 | 2 |
In walked a father and his two young sons, dressed formally for a boys night out in Paris on New Year’s Eve. You could see the sense of pride in the eyes of the youths, most likely eight and twelve years of age, as they took in the linen covered tables and plates filled with lobster, Dover sole, and braised short ribs. As they settled in for their evening together, the three appeared happy to be together as they excitedly placed their orders.
Just 30 minutes later, the youngest was sound asleep. His head was at that awkward angle often achieved by children who’ve lost their fight with fatigue in public. The older boy, when he was not imitating his sleepy sibling, busied himself with his meal as did his father. The initial excitement of having a fancy dinner clearly faded away.
What happened in those prior 30 minutes? Texting happened and not by whom you may think. It was the father who, just minutes after being seated, began a prolonged session of texting someone while taking a moment here and there to address his boys, order his meal, and eat what was placed in front of him. The initial happiness of the boys progressed to boredom and, in the case of the youngest, sleepy dreams of what might have been.
If a father can’t be fully attentive on such a special night with two of the most important people in his life, is it any wonder that attention spans wane at work as well. Multitasking during phone calls, checking e-mails in meetings, and managing competing priorities are just a few common examples of how people dangerously divide their attention. The result is that details are missed, colleagues are not thoroughly heard, and customers are not as well served as they could be.
While medicines are often prescribed for the clinical version of ADD, the remedy for ADD at work and home, which I call the Attention Divided Dilemma, is choosing single-tasking over multi-tasking. When something is truly important, single-task it by giving it your absolute, undivided attention. Make it your personal goal to notice every nuance and hear every detail, down to even the slightest changes in someone’s tone of voice. Do that and you go from Attention Divided Dilemma to Attentiveness, Discernment, and Deeper relationships, which undisputedly will create better results in both personal and professional situations of all kinds. | <urn:uuid:94191070-c14b-4bea-9cac-207f727f33c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/corporate-add-attention-divided-dilemma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985697 | 498 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
On the Road to Zero Growth
Jeremy Grantham, GMO Quarterly Letter
Introduction: Wishful Thinking
Attitudes to change are sticky. We cling to the idea of the good old days with enthusiasm. When offered unpleasantideas (or even unpleasant facts) we jump around looking for more palatable alternatives. Critically, the tech boomand bust and the following housing boom and housing and financial busts helped camouflage the recent unpleasanteconomic development lying below the surface: the steady and important drop in long-term U.S. growth. Someday,when the debt is repaid and housing is normal and Europe has settled down, most business people seem to expect arecovery back to America’s old 3.4% a year growth trend, or at least something close. They should not hold their breath. A declining growth trend is inevitable and permanent and is caused by some pretty basic forces. The questionhere is not “Has the growth rate dropped?” (yes, it has) or “Will it continue to drop?” (yes, it will). The question is“At what rate will it drop?”...
...The key issue will be how much unnecessary pain we inflict on ourselves by defending the status quo, mainly bydenying the unpleasant parts of the puzzle and moving very slowly to address real problems. This, unfortunately, isour current mode. We need to move aggressively with capital – while we still have it – and brain power to completelyre-tool energy, farming, and resource efficiency. We need to do all of this to buy time for our global population togracefully decline. It can certainly be done.
The short- and intermediate-term consequences for investors are complicated and (with luck) will be addressed nexttime, perhaps with help from one or more of my colleagues.
Is green growth possible?
Arthur Neslen, Euractiv
Clean tech jobs to power green growth is considered a no-brainer by progressive policy makers, NGOs and businesses, and the idea forms the core of the UN’s Year of Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL). But some economists, academics and environmental thinkers increasingly question its central premise.
Critiques of ‘green growth’ have often been articulated by business lobbies opposed to climate action, but also by environmentalists and socialists, who argue that infinite growth is impossible in a finite natural world.
One EU official speaking to EurActiv on condition of anonymity said that achieving the emissions cuts needed to contain global warming to the UN’s 2 degrees Celsius target, while maintaining growth was an “outlandish” notion.
“If you want growth in the way that we define it as exponential – a year-on-year increase – and project it into the future, then you have an incredible gap between the increase in total economic output and the decline in total emissions that you rely on,” he said.
Indeed, many climatologists now see the 2 degrees target as doomed.
Last month, a report from Germany’s green Heinrich Böll Foundation argued that increased energy savings do increase productivity and result in income gains, but that these in turn also stimulate demand.
Because this demand will be met by a still mostly-carbonised grid, ‘Green Growth Unravelled’ contends that the “fatal fallacy” of this kind of green growth is that its ‘rebound effects’ will actually increase CO2 emissions.
For instance, increased airplane fuel efficiency may lower flight prices and lead more people to take long-haul holidays...
(27 November 2012)
Charles Eisenstein // Living Without Economic Growth
Justin Ritchie & Seth Moser Katz, The Ectraenvironmentalish
(27 November 2012)
Have we really seen the end of growth?
Jeremy Warner, The Daily Telegraph
If you believe Robert Gordon, the Northwestern University professor whose work on technological progress – or to his mind, the lack of it – is gaining a cult following, economic growth in advanced economies is essentially over, not just for now, but forever...
there are good reasons for believing there may be something in it this time around. With long yields on government bonds in any halfway creditworthy advanced economy tumbling to historic lows, this seems to be the predominant view of millions of investors around the world. Money managers are betting on low to nil or even negative growth way out into the indefinite future...
It is not hard to pick holes in Prof Gordon’s argument. What about the Renaissance, or indeed the invention of the printing press? How come these big leaps forward didn’t have the same traction as the inventions of the second industrial revolution? As for running water, the Romans were using this work saving device more than 2,000 years ago. Why did it take so long to catch on?
I’m sorry, but I don’t buy any of this, and nor do Julian Jessop and Andrew Kenningham of Capital Economics, who in a recent analysis, roundly and rightly dismiss Gordon’s ideas as a load of bunkum. “There is no compelling case that the pace of technological change and productivity growth in advanced economies will be slower in future than in the 20th century,” Capital Economics concludes. “On the contrary, there are good reasons to believe it might accelerate”...
(28 November 2012) | <urn:uuid:41575382-1154-4d6c-8bba-3556e2b46544> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://energybulletin.net/print/65811 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934966 | 1,146 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A health care professional will ask you whether you have the classic symptoms of first-step pain and about your activities, including whether you recently have intensified your training or changed your exercise pattern.
Your doctor often can diagnose plantar fasciitis based on your history and symptoms, together with a physical examination. If the diagnosis is in doubt, your doctor may order a foot X-ray, bone scan or nerve conduction studies to rule out another condition, such as a stress fracture or nerve problem.
Once an appropriate treatment program begins, it may take six to eight weeks before the pain begins to be relieved. Total pain relief may not happen for several months. | <urn:uuid:252d2457-de71-44eb-8578-26f12f2db1e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/guide-154668-75.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932821 | 134 | 1.671875 | 2 |
For many people just getting into digital photography, the world of photo editing can seem a tad overwhelming. Hewlett Packard offers some help in the foray through the forest of editing your precious snapshots and helping you turn them into all they can be, even if it didn’t happen exactly the way you wanted right from the camera.
The Adobe Photoshop program, a perennial favorite among many photographers is rather tried and true. It’s used by everyone from magazine layout staff and professionals to the Joe Schmoe who captured his son playing flag football at the weekend game. However, if you are first wading into the waters of photo editing…granted, the program may seem a little daunting, especially for those not familiar with any kind of editing or publishing software.
The capabilities of Photoshop are amazingly wide-ranged. You can do the simple crop/adjust color/brightness/contrast etc, all the way to applying different photo filters to your pictures after you shoot them. Layer photos, create collages, Photoshop even offers something called “PS Actions” which is just full of nifty little photo tricks. And the best thing about taking the free online course is that you don’t have to figure out all the buttons on your own. You have an instructor walking you through it showing you how to use the program’s features.
Right now, HP is offering a totally free class on Adobe Photoshop. Enrollment runs from July 4 through July 31, and the class ends August 8, 2008. Previous students ranked the course 4 out of 5 stars. You can sign up for the course by going to the HP website. | <urn:uuid:736d3439-89de-4f93-bbe3-4baccf836f28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technologytell.com/gadgets/36276/hp-offers-free-online-photography-classes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952045 | 335 | 1.617188 | 2 |
I think podcasts are an excellent promotional device for museums, yet I have not yet seen the medium applied very much. I thought it would help for museums to publish their audio tours they have anyway and while at it, they might add some more content. What better way for a visitor to come prepared after a series of podcasts. What better way to become interested in an exhibition when you have been sufficiently warmed up. In Germany an exhibition about the Scythians has applied this method and done so very well. Museums in Hamburg and Berlin have profited - I hope.
I traced the podcast through Chronico's Geschichtspodcast, that I have reviewed before (Geschichtspodcast - history podcast review), where the maker of the Skythen-podcast (Im Zeichen des Goldenen Greifen; Königsgräber der Skythen), Birge Tetzer was interviewed and explained the ratio of making a podcast series for a museum exhibition, just as I pointed out above. She also explains how to cut the issues for an audience as wide as to range from the ignorant and mildly interested, to the enthusiast experts.
Tetzer interviewed Hermann Parzinger, of the German Archeological Institute, to explain about the Scythians and his research after them and cut this to thematic, short and to the point podcasts. They range from explaining the origins of the Scythians, the range to where they lived, the sources we have for them (mostly Herodotus) and eventually what remains of them today. Between the sound bits of Parzinger's, Tetzer explains what can be seen on the exhibition, relevant to the theme at hand. It feels I have already been there and as soon as I get near the exhibition, or it gets near me, I will attend.
Geschichtspodcast - history podcast review,
When Steppe meets Empire,
Dan Carlin about the Scythians and other steppe people. | <urn:uuid:e2292c7a-7fcd-4c94-b026-38d736b67319> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anneisaman.blogspot.jp/2008_12_21_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968215 | 403 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A decade ago, my wife, Barbara, and I spent a week on Italy's Sorrento Peninsula, mostly driving at a snail's pace behind smoke-belching buses on twisting two-lane coastal roads, with the sea just out of reach. A couple of days before we were due to fly home, a restaurant owner overheard me griping about the mean, crowded pebble beaches of the Amalfi Coast and demanded to know why we had not been on the water. The next day, his uncle Yé Yé took us to Capri on his wooden gozzo (or belly boat, named for its shape).
We thought we were quite the cognoscenti. Staggered by Capri's beauty, we returned year after year, but eventually, we had to admit the island was congested, there was too much English spoken at the spiagge, too many cigar-waving Americans outside the Quisisana Hotel. Then, two years ago, Roman friends invited us to join them on a jaunt to their favorite secret getaway: the Tuscan Archipelago, which lies between the Ligurian coast and Corsica, about 300 miles north of Capri. We visited a comma-shaped speck in the Tyrrhenian Sea called Giannutri, where we snorkeled in crystal waters and swam carefully through a vast colony of sea urchins. Later, we sailed around granite-edged Giglio and lunched on scampi crudi at a family-run restaurant in the tiny port. No one there spoke a word of English. We were the only foreigners in the room.
The waters off Italy are full of islands, but many of these places are overexposed and overrun. The super-yachts that crowd the small harbors obscure what drew their owners into dock in the first place. Charming little restaurants quickly lose their charm when you can't get a reservation. Only a few spots remain undiscovered—and for good reason. They are difficult to reach, unattractive, unfriendly, or lacking in basic amenities. Giglio was something else: an easily accessible aquatic paradise with some trappings of civilization. We vowed to return soon—and started investigating to see if we could find other, similar Italian islands.
It wasn't easy. The people who know of such hideaways aren't entirely convinced that getting the word out is a good thing. These places have no advertising, publicists, or fancy Web sites boasting of their attractions in six languages. Our attempt to contact hotels by e-mail and fax elicited little response. Finally, though, we found out about two other clusters that, hiding in plain sight, are unknown to most non-Italians: the Pontine Islands, an hour south of Rome, and the Pelagi Islands, 160 miles from Sicily and 80 miles from Tunisia.
These island groups are not for everyone. The food is native and unembellished. Forget designer boutiques—there are none. Even where there are hotels, the accommodations are not luxurious. If your idea of a perfect morning is drinking an espresso while reading the International Herald Tribune or watching CNN in your room, you would be well advised to look elsewhere. And if your prerequisites for a happy journey include the regular use of the English language, you may want to turn the page.
But despite their inconveniences, these discoveries satisfied our craving for what has become the greatest novelty of all: authenticity.
"It is Africa!" announces Renato Righi, owner of El Mosaico del Sol hotel, as he greets us at the airport just outside Lampedusa's single, sunbaked town. And indeed, the island—long, flat, scrubby, subtropical, and distinguished by ancient, endless vistas, a desert palette, and Arabic architecture—feels more like Morocco than Italy.
The other Pelagi include tiny, unpopulated Lampione and Linosa, a strikingly black volcanic rock with a small village, one hotel, and a couple of restaurants. Lampedusa is the largest and the most welcoming, but on first glance not easy to love. Deforested in the 19th century, it was later flattened by Allied bombs at the end of World War II. The peanut-colored terrain remains mostly dusty and barren. In 1986, Lampedusa's U.S. Navy base was the target of a mouse-that-roared bombing raid by Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi. He missed. Boatloads of refugees from Libya and Egypt are more accurate, landing here regularly—only to be shipped home.
Tourists get a kinder reception. Most of Lampedusa's better hotels throw in a free rental car, all meals, and daily yacht trips. There's Il Gattopardo, a compound on the bay of Cala Creta with thick stone walls and domed roofs inspired by the naturally cooled local dwellings called dammusi. La Calandra, a cliffside hotel right next door, is almost as attractive, as is Club Cala Madonna, a former private house on the other side of the island. But all of these require a week's stay. We settled on El Mosaico del Sol, which rents rustic-modern rooms with kitchenettes by the night and has a swimming pool, one of the few on the island.
Although it is the southernmost point in Italy, Lampedusa is easier to reach than Capri or even the more popular Aeolian Islands off Sicily: the airport receives direct flights from all over Italy. Outside of town, however, it is mostly undeveloped, with only two roads. One of these runs along the northern coast, with its sheer cliffs, moonscapes, and an abandoned military installation, before meeting the other, which veers to the south. We spend our first afternoon driving around. Here and there, we spot the signposts of Lampedusa's future: new villas, built by Milanese millionaires. We stop briefly atop the cliff that overhangs Spiaggia dei Conigli (Rabbit Beach), a broad, sandy spot popular with both breeding turtles and sunbathers. Still jet-lagged, we decide against parking in the helter-skelter of cars, motorcycles, and scooters and hiking down the long, winding path to the beach. | <urn:uuid:42949dfe-ded4-403d-bfa8-6d8f203d1953> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/italys-undiscovered-islands?comments_page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962613 | 1,316 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The state's unemployment rate stayed flat in July at 9.5 percent, essentially unchanged from 9.4 percent in June.
So did job growth. From October through February, the state added 22,800 payroll jobs, seasonally adjusted. Since then, only 400 jobs.
But the private sector shows relative signs of life. Over the past four months, seasonally adjusted private employment expanded by 7,300 jobs, while government declined by 4,900, according to the Oregon Employment Department.
"In July, most of the major industries experienced close to the normal seasonal employment hiring patterns," the agency's monthly employment report said today. "Leisure and hospitality stood out, showing a substantial seasonally adjusted gain as it added 2,000 jobs."
Losers were financial activities, educational and health services and other services all lost jobs, along with government. Construction showed a glimmer of activity, adding 3,000 workers at a time of year when a gain of 2,400 would be expected due to seasonal factors.
"The industry seems to be gradually rebounding from its lows of last year," the Employment Department report said.
Oregon's unemployment had been significantly above the national rate during and since the recession. But the state's July level of 9.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, was just 0.4 percent above the U.S. rate of 9.1 percent.
"The difference between the Oregon and the U.S. unemployment rates was not statistically significant," the report said.
In July, 189,501 Oregonians were unemployed. That's 21,148 fewer than in July 2010, when 210,649 were jobless.
-- Richard Read Twitter: @ReadOregonian | <urn:uuid:d3285153-c9e3-482e-8823-54152d91a9ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/oregons_economy_stuck_at_95_pe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981659 | 347 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A high over southern Western Australia is becoming the main driver of weather across the continent as a low in the Far south east moves towards New Zealand on Saturday. The high will push the rain bearing trough in Queensland and north east New South Wales out to sea overnight or early Saturday with generally dry and cool to cold southerly winds affecting both states. As the high moves east in the coming days winds will tend more onshore with coastal cloud and showers returning.
South to south west winds in the south east will push a weakening cold front through the south east early Saturday with another slightly stronger front crossing overnight Saturday but falls will be considerably lighter than experienced on Friday, but cloud and showers will linger through southern parts of South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria but become more isolated Sunday before mostly clearing Monday as the high moves closer to the region.
Areas under clear skies and lighter winds through the influence of the high can expect to record widespread frosts in the coming mornings. | <urn:uuid:84a694a2-4c06-4857-bc1d-e2199b666ab1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.abc.net.au/weatherman/2012/05/25/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948186 | 193 | 1.640625 | 2 |
What happens when a veteran of the civil rights struggle goes off the rails? When does the next generation tell the previous one to step aside? That's been a question on a lot of minds, particularly after Jesse's comments on B-Rock. It has always been a sticky area and taboo subject back home in Louisville.
Rapper Nas made it plain about Jesse.
"I think Jesse Jackson, he's the biggest player hater," he said. "His time is up. All you old niggas, time is up. We heard your voice, we saw your marching, we heard your sermons. We don't wanna hear that shit no more. It's a new day. It's a new voice."
Check me out in LEO Weekly, 'Attack of the activist'. Underneath the juicy quotes are several pertinent questions about grassroots organizations, 'damaged goods' members, iconic veterans and the generational divide.
From LEO Weekly:
For years Gracie Lewis has worked to fight racism, but the feisty advocate’s longtime tenure with the Kentucky Alliance now is in jeopardy after she reportedly got into an altercation with a child, then berated the boy’s mother.“Gracie had an inappropriate and totally out-of-line confrontation with my 13-year-old son and I approached her about it,” says Attica Scott, a fellow activist and coordinator at Kentucky Jobs with Justice. On July 21, she says Lewis verbally abused her son, Advocate, who was participating in the Arts and Activism Summer Institute at the Kentucky Alliance.
Specifically, the 13-year-old claims Lewis accosted him for getting in her way, then waved her finger in his face and told him not to speak unless spoken to.
The boy’s mother says she approached Lewis about mistreating her son, and that she received the following threatening message on her answering machine the next day: “This is Gracie Lewis you black bitch. You better not never bring your skinny, narrow ass and get in my face again because I will kick your black ass. Peace.”...
Looking the other way might be the accepted way of doing things it can potentially endanger the reputation and work of social justice these groups claim to hold dear. Of course it'll upset some people that I wrote this piece, but accountability matters -- does it not? | <urn:uuid:84ed2140-ceae-4c2c-83f6-a7c5509c894e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://the-soulution.blogspot.com/2008/07/attack-of-activist.html?showComment=1217869980000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966603 | 489 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Q How many pets per team member does our practice need to pay for?
"Pet benefits are one of the perks of working at an animal hospital," says Nancy Potter, a Firstline Editorial Advisory Board member and the practice manager at Olathe Animal Hospital in Olathe, Kan. "Wages paid at animal
hospitals are typically lower than other healthcare careers, so many of us feel that a pet benefit balances out the wage discrepancy."
However, she says, most hospitals are beginning to limit pet benefits for several reasons: first, the employee who acquires
several pets and expects to have unlimited benefits for unlimited pets. "This is not only unfair to the employees who have
fewer pets but also puts a burden on the hospital owner, who is taking a loss on those services provided as well as the time
it takes to treat those employee pets," Potter says.
GETTY IMAGES/BARRY KUSUMA
Another reason: IRS regulations state that discounts of more than 20 percent on services need to be categorized as income
on an employee's W2, Potter says. Many hospitals don't comply with this regulation and hope they won't be audited.
"In the future, I think we'll see more of a limit on pet benefits for employees, whether they follow the IRS guidelines, limit
the number of pets that an employee can receive discounted services on, or purchase pet insurance as an employee benefit for
a limited number of pets," Potter says.
Finally, she says, the employee handbook needs to be clear on exactly what the pet benefits are and whether there's a limit
on the number of pets covered. It's also a good idea to specify that qualifying pets must live in the employee's household. | <urn:uuid:c0c62427-baf7-4537-bc34-b1b5f905d1cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://veterinaryteam.dvm360.com/firstline/Veterinary+team/One-cat-four-cats-10-cats--more/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/803196?contextCategoryId=44845 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970733 | 358 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Alsa is one of the most difficult to work with interfaces. There are several ways to talk to the mixer but that should be handled at a pretty low level. The driver abstracts those issues from LMCE as near as I can see. I have used audio cards from motherboard level to the Hammerfall without problems in terms of the mixer. And you can create an .asoundrc file (look at this for guidance for each card that is supported http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Main
). The format is as non-intuitive as any I have ever seen and many have complained about it.
There are also interactions between the players (Xine, Mplayer) and Alsa that need to be accounted for. Mostly documented in several places.
Linuxmce shouldn't need to get involved with this unless you want custom setups or autoconfiguration of special cards. Its possible with Alsa to have a number of independent cards and audio streams in the same box but LMCE's architecture doesn't really support that in one box. I suspect it would be very complex to manage even if not difficult to program.
I hope this is close to what you wanted to know. | <urn:uuid:c24e3e84-7b53-4357-a621-037b5ff8971a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6307.0;prev_next=prev | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981607 | 251 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Getting People Outside
Connecting with Acterra ED Michael Closson
In a previous era, Michael Closson might have been a pioneer outdoorsman in the Sierra Nevada. Now he’s simply an avid hiker – and a passionate advocate for the environment. When he’s not hiking, Michael channels his passion into his work as Executive Director of Acterra, a South Bay nonprofit that provides people with tangible, hands-on activities they can do to improve the planet.
BN: Did you grow up in the Bay Area?
MC: No, I grew up in the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. and lived on the edge of town. I didn’t have structured nature education, but I just explored the hills and woods and creeks. And I developed a familiarity and comfort with the natural world that continued when I went to Middlebury College in Vermont, where I did a lot of hiking and cross-country skiing.
BN: When did you first arrive in the Bay Area and what first brought you here?
MC: I first came out here in 1972 for a job at Stanford as an Assistant Dean. After four years I realized my skill set was a better match for small organizations. Since then, I’ve worked for a series of nonprofits, mostly ones with an environmental focus. And there were the mountains out here. I’ve always been drawn to the Sierra Nevada; I was very inspired by my first hiking experience there in 1974 – I felt like I’d been there in a previous life. Since then, I’ve taken 70 backpacking trips there.
BN: Tell us about Acterra.
MC: We primarily help people learn to live in harmony with the natural world by providing them with hands-on tools they can use to protect our environment. These hands-on activities give people something tangible to get engaged with. In some ways, we’re really more a behavior change organization than an environmental organization. That is, we don’t spend a lot of time trying to change state policy or even regional policy. Our impact comes from affecting the behavior of people in our area.
BN: It looks like Acterra does a lot of restoration projects in the South Bay.
MC: Yes, we involve about 4,000 people a year in restoration projects. Two-thirds of them are young people. And it’s not just about doing the work; it’s also about educating them about our Bay Area ecosystem and exposing them to its beauty. For instance, we take people out into Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto. It’s only 700 acres, but it’s a lovely spot for bird hikes, moonlight hikes—just to get people out in the natural world to learn about it and enjoy it. So in our own modest way we’re trying to overcome “Nature Deficit Disorder”.
BN: You have some big plans for a future Sierra trip, don’t you?
MC: In the summer of 2014 I hope to spend 75 days backpacking in the Sierra to celebrate my 75th birthday. I won’t be doing it all at once; I plan on taking 9-10 different trips with different people.
BN: What are some of your favorite places to hike closer to home?
MC: Sunol Regional Wilderness is one of my favorites – it’s a pretty big preserve and such a wonderful wild place. I encounter wild boar, bobcats; I’ve seen the remains of boar killed and partially eaten by mountain lions. In the early spring – the best time to go – you can go over these large hills and enjoy beautiful vistas, and you can go backpacking there.
I also like Henry Coe State Park, which is also very wild, and huge.
BN:Any final thoughts?
MC: We try to build love for the natural world. So many people are divorced from it. We are so blessed to live in the Bay Area. I don’t think there’s another part of the country that has so much natural beauty – and places to go to enjoy it.
>> Learn more about Acterra’s restoration activities, hikes, and special events here. | <urn:uuid:920f0ddf-006e-4ae7-becc-e576a0624300> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://baynature.org/articles/getting-people-outside/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960981 | 890 | 1.703125 | 2 |
What is appraisal?
Appraisal is when the insurance company and policy holder are in a disagreement and need to have the claim reviewed by a third party.
Does it matter what insurance company you have?
Yes, it does matter. There must be an appraisal provision in the policy that covers your loss for the insurance company to demand it or for you to be able to demand it.
When Can you Demand Appraisal?
In order to demand appraisal, aside from having that provision in your policy, it can only be used when the claim has been confirmed. Meaning: if the insurance company confirmed the type of damage and coverage, and are paying to repair it, but you want to dispute the amount of money it’s going to cost you to replace or recover the damaged property, then the appraisal process would be appropriate.
What is the Appraisal Process:
If we establish throughout your claims process that we have a clear disagreement, we can demand the dispute be settled through the appraisal process. Each side will hire their own appraisers. After they have completed their investigations, the two appraisers will present their estimates and negotiate a final settlement. Call All American Public Adjusters, Inc to see how we can help you.
“If you and we fail to agree on the amount of loss, either may demand an appraisal of the loss. In this event, each party will choose a competent and impartial appraiser within 20 days after receiving a written request from the other. The two appraisers will choose an umpire. If they cannot agree upon an umpire within 15 days, you or we may request that the choice be made by a judge of a court of record in the state where the “residence presses” is located. The appraisers will separately set the amount of loss. If the appraisers will separately set the amount of loss. If the appraisers submit a written report of an agreement to us, the amount agreed upon will be the amount of the loss. If they fails to agree, they will submit their differences by the umpire. A decision agreed to by any two will set the amount of loss. ”
Each party will:
1. Pay its own appraiser; and
2. Bear the other expenses of the appraisal and umpire equally. | <urn:uuid:ffd3ea53-ccd2-4582-befa-695e2e11c6c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.getclaimhelp.com/insurance-adjuster-services/appraisal-services.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961893 | 469 | 1.710938 | 2 |
The British government says it is facing an onslaught of state-sponsored attacks on its key infrastructure, and claims that a “determined attack” could have seismic impact. In response the UK is to set up a special defensive cyber squad.
“The internet transforms the risk we face. It is why we have rated attacks from cyberspace one of the top four threats to our national security,” declared Cabinet Minister Francis Maude, ahead of an update of the country’s cyber defense strategy.
The government has been highly reticent about the nature of the attacks, but according to a senior government official, the targets have been “essential services” such as electricity, water and heating companies, with the attacks coming from “hostile states”.
“I am not going to say whether the attacks were or weren't successful,” the unnamed official was quoted as saying by the Independent.
He also claimed that the rival powers are not necessarily attempting to cause widespread destruction – just yet.
“There is a concern about a determined attack against the critical national infrastructure,” said the official.
He also claimed that the Ministry of Defence had been targeted daily.
Industry insiders agree that the strength of attacks has been growing exponentially over the past few years.
"Some of the attacks we've seen launched against government contractors are pretty sophisticated – they're not just somebody messing around, they're not making pranks or using social engineering tactics," said chief security strategist Hugh Thompson from Blue Coat Systems, one of the world’s biggest web security firms.
"Along with stealing technologies, one of the main activities of these intruders is "mapping" – finding the weak spots in an existing security network, so that a serious attack can be carried out at a later time," Aleksandr Gostev, chief virus analyst at Kaspersky Labs, told RT.
Last year, the UK government pledged to spend $1 billion on cyber defense by 2015.
Now, it says it will establish a round-the-clock national computer emergency response team (CERT), which the US has maintained since 2003, but the UK previously said it had no need for.
Rik Ferguson, director of security research and communications at Trend Micro, a security company, told PC Pro that the decision was “long overdue”
Last year, Baroness Neville-Jones, the Minister of State for Security and Counter Terrorism at the time, identified the most powerful adversaries in the undeclared war against state-backed hackers – China is by far the biggest threat, with Russia a distant second.
"The US has always grouped those two countries together. But while there has been plenty of evidence about China, Russia's involvement is somewhat more sketchy. Of course, looking more globally, all the major powers are engaged in the invisible war," claims Gostev.
In the US, a report delivered to Congress only last month, provided explicit detail about how the Chinese hackers, in particular, operated. It accused “quasi-official cyber militias” of breaking classified passwords, accessing networks and mapping infrastructure.
"There are two main types of Chinese hackers," says Gostev. "One type is freelance teams, who operate on the black market, and often sell their information to anyone, often including the government, and the other is specially assembled government operations, who have a specific task and target."
It also claimed that Chinese-made electronic components may come pre-implanted with harmful software that activates once the equipment is deployed in the US.
It said the purpose of the attacks was both, military espionage and the thirst for private corporate data that would give it an economic edge.
The US, EU and UK have all separately declared that the damage caused by cyber attacks amounts to billions of dollars in their territories alone.
Incidentally, China has already gained legitimate access to key facilities in those countries through investment by its companies. For example, in the UK Northumbrian Water, a large utilities company, is already owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, a Hong Kong company. | <urn:uuid:ec372e58-a2d0-4c1b-9223-d9f32431d4b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rt.com/news/cyber-attacks-infrastructure-uk-173/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968977 | 845 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Office of the Premier
Restoration of traditional military service names welcomed16 August 2011
FREDERICTON (CNB) – Premier David Alward welcomed the restoration of the historic names of the three branches of Canada's military. National Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced the restoration of the historic names earlier today in Halifax.
The historic names are the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Alward said the decision brings back the original titles for Canada's three services while keeping the unified, modern military structure intact.
"As premier of a province with a strong and vibrant military tradition and as a proud Canadian, I am pleased that the federal government is restoring the proud names of our three services," said Alward. "Countless New Brunswickers and Canadians fought with honour and pride as members of these services in the two world wars and in Korea. Canadian personnel also began our proud tradition of peacekeeping during the cold war under these three historic banners."
The restoration of three service names was announced 100 years, to the day, after King George V signed a letter granting a Royal Designation to what was then known as the Canadian Naval Service, giving birth to the Royal Canadian Navy.
"In restoring the names of the three branches of the Canadian Forces, The Department of National Defence is bringing back an essential part of our military heritage and of our Canadian identity," said Brian Macdonald, legislative secretary to the premier responsible for intergovernmental affairs and military affairs. "From this point forward, the historic identities of our three military commands will return to official use, reminding all Canadians of the proud tradition of service and sacrifice that the men and women serving our country continue today."
According to the Department of National Defence, the restoration of the historical names will be phased in over time and will not affect the capabilities, organization or operational effectiveness of the Canadian Forces.
● Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces: www.forces.gc.ca | <urn:uuid:8b98e62f-4496-4536-815e-85d09c436cc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2011.08.0889.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946553 | 399 | 1.804688 | 2 |
TOKYO -- Japan's Meteorological Agency has lifted a tsunami warning for the country's northeastern coast.
The warning was issued after a magnitude 7.3 quake struck offshore at 5:18 p.m. (0818 GMT) Friday, swaying buildings across much of Japan. There were no immediate reports of serious damage but two people were reportedly hurt.
After the quake, authorities issued a warning that a tsunami potentially as high as 2 meters (2.2 yards) could hit. Ishinomaki, a city in Miyagi, reported that a tsunami of 1 meter (1 yard) hit at 6:02 p.m. (0902 GMT).
About two hours after the quake struck, the tsunami warning was cancelled.
By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press
The Associated Press | <urn:uuid:520b4bc3-1f4a-4cd6-be27-f6b2e30445f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=272614 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969467 | 169 | 1.828125 | 2 |
From the early 1960s until the early 1970s a student group known as the Campus Folksong Club, under the leadership of faculty advisor Archie Green, brought folk musicians from all over the country to perform on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Over the years, the Folksong Club hosted performances by the Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Doc Watson, and in 1965, Louisiana bluesman Robert Pete Williams.
The story of Robert Pete Williams is well known; while serving a life sentence for murder at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in the late 1950s, Williams’ songs and stories were recorded by folklorist and ethnomusicologist Harry Oster. Under considerable pressure from Oster and others in the academic community, Williams’ sentence was commuted, and by 1964 he was released from the terms of his parole and allowed to tour outside Louisiana for the first time. We are fortunate that some of these early performances were captured on tape, including the Campus Folksong Club concert featured here, tape number FT-4189/FT-4190 in the SFC’s Archie Green Collection.
Listen to a clip of Robert Pete Williams performing “I’ve Grown So Ugly”, live at the University of Illinois, Feb.12, 1965: | <urn:uuid:ddb56dcd-6882-45b3-bd8e-b52dd1a1ca91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/sfc/index.php/2009/09/16/robert-pete-williams-at-the-university-of-illinois-campus-folksong-club/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965273 | 278 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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Elgar conducts Elgar
Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55
Recorded 20th – 22nd November, 1930 in Kingsway Hall, London
Falstaff - Symphonic Study in C minor, Op. 68
Recorded 11th and 12th November, 1931 and 4th February, 1932 in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
Before its sensational première in 1908, Hans Richter, the work’s dedicatee and first conductor, acclaimed Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 as ‘the greatest symphony of modern times’.
Although Falstaff is often treated merely comically, Elgar’s virtuosic tone poem presents him and Prince Hal with a psychological insight truly worthy of Shakespeare.
On these historic and thrillingly realized recordings, made between 1930 and 1932, there really is no match for the composer’s insight and instinctive way with his own works, especially when conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, of which he had been principal conductor from 1911 to 1913.
“Elgar’s recordings of his own music have come to be regarded as one of the great achievements of gramophone history.” MusicWeb International
“It’s a joy to be reintroduced to these wonderful performances — with the Violin Concerto, the summits of Elgar’s recordings of his own music. We have been living in an age of outstanding Elgar conductors — Davis (Colin and Andrew), Elder, Barenboim, Hickox, Vernon Handley, Andrew Litton, Adrian Brown — but none of them surpasses, or even quite matches, the best of the composer’s interpretations. The strong, purposeful tread of the symphony’s opening, straightforward and sublime, the subtlety of the movement’s close, the scherzo’s sheer electricity, the adagio’s astonishing fluidity (scarcely two bars are the same length) and its almost unbearable expressive intensity: these are landmarks in an Elgarian’s experience. As for the captivating Falstaff, recorded two years later, in 1932, it is hard to imagine a more brilliantly convincing reading.” Sunday Times, 15th February 2009 ****
“The LSO plays out of its skin for the composer; Falstaff is brilliantly characterised, the Symphony has serious intensity. Fair sound for the vintage, with some harshness in the Symphony.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 *****
(also available to download from $8.75)
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“As digital Falstaffs go, Sir Andrew Davis's 1995 account with the BBC SO remains arguably the front-runner. If both Elgar himself and Barbirolli impart the greater vulnerability and compassion to the illimitably moving closing pages, the irresistible symphonic current coursing through Davis's meticulously observant conception provides ample compensation. The figure. Rodney Macann as the Watergnome tends to steal the show, his dark, incisive bass very characterful. Ann Howard is wonderfully menacing as the Witch, while the fluttering vibrato of Phyllis Cannan as the Foreign Princess adds to the exotic image (in Act 2, when most of the characters are dressed in white, she stands out in a crimson gown). The three Woodsprites are lively, and incidental characters are well taken.
Mark Elder draws warm incisive playing from the orchestra, adding to the dramatic impact and underpinning the moving final scene, when the Prince kisses Rusalka, knowing it will mean his death.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
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Sir Edward Elgar Conducts Elgar
“It was Mike Dutton, when he was at EMI, who supervised the transfer of all of Elgar's electrical recordings. That set has been available only intermittently, which makes Dutton's revised transfers of these three works specially valuable, particularly the 1928 recording of the Cello Concerto with Beatrice Harrison. It now has a satisfying weight and body, though Harrison's wiry tone is not to everyone's taste and the intonation is occasionally suspect.
The Falstaff, made at the opening of EMI's Abbey Road Studios in 1931, has always been impressive in transfers, and the recording of the Nursery Suite made in the same year with the dedicatees, the Duke and Duchess of York and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret present, comes out brightly and clearly. The Royals were particularly delighted with 'The Wagon Passes', with the whistling of the carter charmingly portrayed.
The septuagenarian Elgar put love into his performance, as he did also in Falstaff with its swaggering Prince Hal theme and tragic epilogue which so echoes the epilogue of Strauss's Don Quixote.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010
“…Dutton's revised transfers of these three works specially valuable, particularly the 1928 recording of the Cello Concerto with Beatrice Harrison. It now has a satisfying weight and body… The Falstaff, made at the opening of EMI's Abbey Road Studios in 1931, has always been impressive in transfers, and the recording of the Nursery Suite made in the same year... comes out brightly and clearly.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2007
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The 1956 Nixa-Westminster stereo recordings Volume 1
A release that all Boult fans have been waiting for :-
Cockaigne is the first release in the UK in any format.
Most works are first releases on CD of the original Westminster source masters.
First stereo release on CD & first stereo release in UK of Cockaigne, Young Person’s Guide, Soireés musicales & Matineés musicales.
First release on CD of Elgar’s Falstaff from tape source.
All recorded at Walthamstow Assembly Halls in 1956, re-mastered at Abbey Road Studios 2010.
“...the performances of Britten and Walton...give a wider sense of Boult's sympathies as an interpreter. this account of Falstaff, in particular, has never been bettered for its sense of drama and narrative flow...The orchestral sound...generally stands up well in these transfers.” The Guardian, 3rd June 2010 ***
“The Walton Symphony...comes up more brightly than previously: it's an intensely rhythmic performance...the slow movement builds surely and passionately, and the finale comes as the culmination and catharsis that it should be” BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 ***
Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. | <urn:uuid:109f6d56-6efc-4b71-99a3-3555c981462b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/w/68694 | 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 | 0.935642 | 1,446 | 1.78125 | 2 |
|Anime||Naruto Shippūden Episode #152|
|Game||Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations|
|Appears in||Anime, Manga and Game|
The crow looked no different from a normal crow, except for the fact that its left eye socket bore Shisui's Sharingan.
Itachi Pursuit Arc
During an encounter with Naruto, Itachi asked Naruto what he would do if Sasuke ever attacked the village. Seemingly satisfied with Naruto's answer that he would stop Sasuke and save the village, Itachi stated that he would give Naruto some of his power, but hoped that he would never have to use it. Using a genjutsu as a distraction, he sent one of his crows inside of Naruto.
Shinobi World War Arc
When Itachi was reincarnated during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the crow emerged from Naruto's mouth during his and Killer B's fight with Itachi and an also reincarnated Nagato and overwrote Kabuto Yakushi's control over Itachi. Itachi later explained that he had set up the crow it so that it would show itself in response to Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi made it so that the genjutsu would give the order "protect Konoha" to whomever was affected by it. Itachi intended this to be used on Sasuke Uchiha, as he anticipated that Sasuke would transplant Itachi's eyes into his own and also feared that he might one day turn on the village. Seemingly not wanting Shisui's eye to fall into the wrong hands, Itachi incinerates the crow, stating that Shisui's eye would be of no use to them now because it would take another ten years to regenerate its Mangekyō Sharingan form. | <urn:uuid:eeb4ccc6-5de8-437f-a47a-67307a688236> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Itachi's_Crow?direction=next&oldid=741967 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954912 | 374 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Silhouette of Trees at Yosemite Park
So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.”
― Hermann Hesse, Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte
My Silhouette at Lands End, San Francisco
“As soon as he had disappeared Deborah made for the trees fringing the lawn, and once in the shrouded wood felt herself safe.
She walked softly along the alleyway to the pool. The late sun sent shafts of light between the trees and onto the alleyway, and a myriad insects webbed their way in the beams, ascending and descending like angels on Jacob’s ladder. But were they insects, wondered Deborah, or particles of dust, or even split fragments of light itself, beaten out and scattered by the sun?
It was very quiet. The woods were made for secrecy. They did not recognise her as the garden did. (“The Pool”)”
― Daphne du Maurier, Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories | <urn:uuid:2eca80b9-cbbc-4f37-b34b-716c029aa556> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/photo-journal-weekly-photo-challenge-silhouette/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963609 | 331 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Myslik-McFadden’s novel tells an inventive tale of death and transformation.
Much of the narrative is a book within a book, written by the protagonist, Maria. Maria flies to Georgia to visit her mother, who is on her deathbed. The two have been distant, if not estranged, and Maria has never met her half sister, Gwen. It’s not just her mother’s sickness that leads Maria to fly to her side. Her mother wrote her a letter detailing her plans to shoot herself to end her life with dignity. Maria has to reconcile her own past and develop her relationship with Gwen. Her mother asks Maria to read the novel she has been working on. Maria reads it to her and decides which parts she wants her mother to hear; she’s nervous because the story concerns a woman finding herself through writing and visiting her sick mother after a long absence. Dream sequences and poems, all in different font sizes and formats, appear throughout. To Myslik-McFadden’s credit, this isn’t as confusing as it sounds. She keeps the stories separate, even if the different formats distract. Maria’s novel seems to reflect much of her life, though she tells her mother that it’s not autobiographical. The novel within a novel makes up the bulk of the book’s final 200 pages, only returning to the main story occasionally to mark the passing of time. The author leaves the reader to decide how much of Maria is contained in Anne, her novel’s protagonist. Myslik-McFadden imparts a wonderful sense of place and setting, letting the readers see, feel and smell the scenes. The action is clear and vivid, but the consequences are for the reader to ponder.
A nuanced, memorable book that draws no facile conclusions. | <urn:uuid:c32d5d04-63af-4523-b619-656a7097e7c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/connie-myslik-mcfadden/imago-TWERCSQA/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966082 | 381 | 1.828125 | 2 |
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December 14, 2010 - Meg Alexander
Using up the last of my vacation time before the end of the year, I spent much of the past few days on the couch, getting our money's worth from our Netflix membership. It was an uneventful, relaxing, enlightening experience. Yes, enlightening, for it was during this slothfulness that I stumbled across the truly, truly, mad, mad genius (?) of Hunter S. Thompson, the pioneer of gonzo journalism.
At this point in time, you, the reader, are likely thinking one of two thoughts: "Who the heck is Hunter S. Thompson and what the devil does 'gonzo' mean?" or "How the heck did she not know who Hunter S. Thompson is and what is this world coming to?"
Let's assume for the purpose of this blog that you, the reader, share my ignorance, in which case I will gladly give you a brief synopsis, courtesy of Wikipedia: "Hunter S. Thompson was an American journalist and author, most famous for his works Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories.
"... The term "'Gonzo' was first used in connection with Hunter S. Thompson by The Boston Globe magazine editor Bill Cardoso in 1970. He described Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," which was written for the June 1970 Scanlan's Monthly, as 'pure Gonzo journalism.'
"... Thompson based his style on William Faulkner's idea that 'fiction is often the best fact.' While the things that Thompson wrote about are basically true, he used satirical devices to drive his points home. He often wrote about recreational drugs and alcohol use which added additional subjective flair to his reporting."
Regardless of your take on him and his mad methods, there’s no doubt Thompson was a fascinating character in and of himself and one hell of a writer. For an easy intro, I strongly recommend the documentary “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.” A fascinating followup is “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, in which Depp freaking nails Thompson. Not as good, but interesting nonetheless, was the documentary, “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride,” also about Thompson. Not to be forgotten, wrap it all up with Bill Murray playing Thompson in “Where the Buffalo Roam.”
Having watched everything readily available on the man, I’ve also added his books to my Amazon wishlist and I’m off to the library to see what’s available.
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News, Blogs & Events Web | <urn:uuid:184e0801-622c-4683-b1db-7b68b01aa9f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fairmontsentinel.com/page/blogs.detail/display/544/Gonzo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967012 | 612 | 1.75 | 2 |
Best Books Of 2012
True Originals: Biographies That Defy Expectations
Originally published on Fri December 28, 2012 6:26 pm
It's probably not true that truth is stranger than fiction, but in the hands of a great biographer, it can be just as compelling. Novelists can create unique and unforgettable characters — there's never been anyone quite like Jane Eyre or Ignatius J. Reilly — but there's no shortage of fascinating literary protagonists who just happened to exist in real life.
This year brought us some brilliant biographies of world-famous leaders like Lyndon B. Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill, but this list focuses on books that chronicle the lives of some true originals from many different walks of life. From a spy turned chef to the highest-ranking black military leader in European history, the subjects of these biographies spent most of their lives well off the beaten path and gained fame for their stubborn refusal to conform to other people's expectations. You could say the same thing about the biographers. These books are written with extraordinary style and originality, by masters of the craft who can spin a tale as adroitly and memorably as any novelist out there.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
NPR's book critics have been compiling their lists of best books of the year. Reviewer Michael Schaub has put together of his favorite biographies, and it includes books about President Obama, Julia Child and Lillian Hellman. But Schaub's favorite is the story of the man with this distinctive voice.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, I'M YOUR MAN")
LEONARD COHEN: (singing) If you want a lover, I'll do anything you ask me to.
MICHAEL SCHAUB, BYLINE: That's singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. In Sylvie Simmons' new biography, "I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen," she does a wonderful job explaining how a small charismatic kid from Montreal became the world's unofficial poet laureate of, as Simmons writes, survival, sex, God and depression. "I'm Your Man" is one of the best biographies of the year in large part because Simmons shares Cohen's wry sense of humor and love for the unexpected.
She tells the story of the first time Rufus Wainwright met Cohen. Leonard was in his underwear chewing a boiled hot dog into tiny little bits and spitting it out and putting it on a toothpick and feeding this little bird that had fallen from a nest.
Cohen is known for his often depressing lyrics, and his life has been far from easy, but as Simmons points out, his darkest moments made him who he is now, or as Cohen himself once sang: Forget your perfect offering, there's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANTHEM")
COHEN: (Singing) There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.
CORNISH: The biography of Leonard Cohen is called "I'm Your Man," and the man who recommended it is Michael Schaub.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANTHEM")
COHEN: (Singing) We asked for signs. The signs were sent. The birth betrayed the marriage spent... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:0e6b5eea-7f8b-42eb-be86-74b4d02f982e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weku.fm/post/true-originals-biographies-defy-expectations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961298 | 707 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Economist, Paul Krugman:
Clearly, there was a massive increase in financial concentration, with a few true behemoths emerging. It’s easy to argue that this creates moral hazard, because the giant firms know that they’re too big to fail – which is also an easy slogan to remember. The idea that size is the problem has gained a lot of credibility from Paul Volcker, who personally embodies the truth of too big to fail (if you’ve ever met him); more seriously, Volcker has argued strongly that the repeal of Glass-Steagall, allowing financial firms to grow big in part by merging conventional banking with investment activities, set the stage for the crisis.
My view is that I’d love to see those financial giants broken up, if only for political reasons: it’s bad to have banks so big they can often write laws. But I’m not sold on the centrality of too big to fail to the crisis, for reasons best explained in terms of the second doctrine.
Economist, Simon Johnson:
There is no social value to having banks above $100 billion in total assets and we all now understand the danger of allowing banks to become 10 times that size – let alone entering the $2-$3 trillion range; we will gradually and responsibly force our biggest banks to become smaller. This worked for Standard Oil – no one can claim it hurt the oil industry. And who would really want to go back to having AT&T run a monopoly in any part of telecommunications? | <urn:uuid:beb2da39-69a5-4606-875c-24c59b7c1ae7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://indiedesign.typepad.com/inspire_political_discour/economists/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956177 | 315 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Full physicals now advised for teen athletes
As summer approaches, the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic is sending out a reminder that pre-participation sports physical exams will soon be due.
In the past, this meant that students would take the sports physical exam consisting of a brief screening exam which was targeted at preventing injury, illness, and sudden cardiac death. However, it has been found that this service has not performed to expected standards, and with growing concern, the medical community has seen this lesser service replace the more vital service of preventive care for young community members.
Starting in June, the clinic will recommend that school age and adolescent patients be scheduled for an age-appropriate preventive care exam. The American Academy of Family Practice recommends this service every two years. It consists of a detailed personal and family history, lifestyle assessment, physical examination, vaccine review, and risk discussion. Most insurance companies will pay for this service, which will eliminate the need to pay cash up front for the non-covered Sports Physical. For those with no insurance coverage for preventive care, the clinic can discuss several options. The clinic will no longer offer the sports physical exam as a routine service.
If a student has had a preventive care exam within the last two years, a brief exam may be necessary to update and complete the paperwork required. The clinic fee is just $25 for this service. | <urn:uuid:3fcccecb-570b-4a2e-a79a-81d57b19367d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.waheagle.com/news/article.exm/2008-05-01_full_physicals_now_advised_for_teen_athletes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961358 | 278 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Written by Olivia Putnal Tuesday, May 08 2012
Snapshot: Anne Mahlum, Founder and CEO of Back on My Feet
In 2007, Anne Mahlum went out for her morning run through the streets of Philadelphia. That run and the homeless men along her route changed the direction of her life. Today, five years later, she is the founder and president of Back on My Feet (BoMF) – a nonprofit that works not to create runners within the homeless population, but to create self-sufficiency in the lives of those experiencing homelessness by using running as a vehicle. The goal is to see the participating “members” go from homelessness to securing employment and housing.
Born and raised in North Dakota and now a New York City resident, Mahlum has launched nine branches of her $4.8 million dollar nonprofit and doesn’t plan to stop there. Over the last few years, Mahlum has been recognized around the country for her amazing efforts. She has been honored as the ABC World News Person of the Week, CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of the Year in 2008 and one of Philadelphia’s 101 Young Connectors by Leadership Philadelphia. Earlier this year, Mahlum hosted MTV’s “THE BREAK” -- a documentary following less fortunate young people through their everyday lives. With Mahlum’s help, they are given the opportunity to get back on track and realize that someone still has faith in them.
Womenetics: Tell us about the moment in 2007 that you first launched BoMF in Philadelphia. What was that like?
Anne Mahlum: I didn’t expect any of this; it happened really organically. I realized one morning how much running helped me, and after passing a group of guys staying at a local shelter several times, I realized I was being selfish. I needed to share running with them because I knew it could help, and things happened quickly from there. Our first run together was so much fun! The immediate response from the media, local running stores, companies and the community was surprising and exciting. It’s a big part of the reason that Back on My Feet is in nine markets today!
Womenetics: Fundraising events are the main source of growth for BoMF. Which fundraising event means the most to you?
Mahlum: We created a 24-hour race called the Stroehmann Back on My Feet 20in24 Challenge that is now in its fifth year. It’s unique; there’s really nothing like it, and it raises about $300,000 annually. The race includes a 24-hour ultra marathon, relays, a glow-in-the-dark midnight run and sunrise pajama run. We now have runners from around the world who attend! It’s very inspiring to create something that hasn’t been done before and watch it grow into something meaningful for thousands of people.
Womenetics: Who or what was your inspiration for creating this nonprofit organization?
Mahlum: My father. We have a relationship and closeness that’s hard to describe.
Womenetics: Who or what motivated you to become a runner? Have you always been a runner?
Mahlum: When I was younger, running helped me to deal with my dad’s gambling addiction. I couldn’t find a way to help my dad and needed an outlet. I quickly found that running could teach me about life and about myself. There are many beautiful life metaphors that come from running — taking things one step at a time, the character that comes from navigating difficult roads and the simple notion that you can’t get anywhere if you don’t put one foot in front of the other.
Womenetics: You’ve launched Back on My Feet in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Atlanta and now New York City. Any plans to expand to other cities in the future?
Mahlum: Of course! Unfortunately, homelessness plagues many cities around the world. We plan to open a Back on My Feet chapter on the West Coast in 2013, and our goal is to bring our program to every city that can benefit from it.
Womenetics: How do you brainstorm new fundraising ideas? What’s your process for that?
Mahlum: I am almost always thinking about how to sustain, grow and improve Back on My Feet. Honestly, quite a few ideas come to me while I am running!
Womenetics: Since launching in 2007, you’ve hired more than 40 full-time employees and enlisted the support of thousands of volunteers. How do you select your employees? What are some of the characteristics you look for?
Mahlum: We look for people who are energetic, passionate and self-motivated.
Womenetics: What are some hurdles you’ve faced along the way?
Mahlum: There have been a few—everything from doubt and skeptics to paperwork and office space. There will always be challenges and if you let them bog you down, you will never get very far.
Womenetics: Any advice you’d care to share?
Mahlum: There are many elements that go into starting a business or organization and two very important things to consider: Is the timing right for you and do you have something unique to offer? Listening and learning are very important!
Womenetics: Besides running, what are some of your favorite pastimes or hobbies?
Mahlum: I enjoy spending time with my family in North Dakota!
More women who draw inspiration from the everyday:
Hanna Rochelle turned her habit of scribbling song lyrics on her jeans into a full-fledged fashion business, Lyric Culture.
After being unable to reach her own doctor after being thrown from a horse on vacation, Linda Nash founded PartnerMD, which provides 24/7 access to doctors and healthcare information.
After picking her sons's sippy cup off the floor countless times, Sara Crevin saw the light and created the SippiGrip, which keeps the cup connected to the child's seat or stroller.
Olivia Putnal is a writer and editor in Atlanta. She formerly wrote web articles and blogs for WomansDay.com in the areas of health, fitness, beauty, fashion, entertainment, news and food. | <urn:uuid:3714d838-e918-4ad3-b974-9a42339bf375> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://womenetics.com/Social-Innovation/anne-mahlum-runs-to-inspire | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956942 | 1,324 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 9:35 PM
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Waiting in emergency rooms can be a long, painful period. With an increase in flu patients hitting the emergency rooms, hospitals are seeing more crowded waiting rooms. One San Antonio hospital has come up with a solution: Register online and wait at home.
Southwest General Hospital now uses an online registration program to check in patients from any computer or smart phone. Southwest General says they have one of the shortest wait times in San Antonio.
Critical Care Director Daniel St. Armand said, “We’re averaging about two hours and 20, to two hours and 30 minutes from the time you come into our department to the time you are discharged.”
The average wait time for emergency room visits in Texas is four and a half hours. Depending on your condition, you can now wait at home.
The program used by Southwest General Hospital can detect key words during registration to determine if a patient needs to be seen right away or may be put into a queue.
“It triages patients out if they answer specific questions that puts them into a sick category. Therefore it will cue them to call their primary care physician, call an ambulance or come directly to the emergency department,” said St. Armand. | <urn:uuid:18ab9bd4-0398-4c21-be12-c94c8eaf9e2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kvue.com/news/health/San-Antonio-hospital-offers-online-ER-check-in-187226111.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942989 | 267 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The proposition behind Economic Principals always has been that all those who are interested in the production and distribution of economic ideas should have access to its journalism, especially those around the world who are far removed from economics’ major research centers, and the lively conversations that go on around them.
The problem is that journalism is costly to produce. In this case, the front-end costs were paid long ago by a series of magazines and newspapers, chiefly the Boston Globe.
But experience notwithstanding, it still takes money to operate EP — not a lot of money, but some.
Moreover, in a blogosphere where almost everything is free, a modest revenue stream can only enhance the weekly’s authority. If (some) readers are willing pay for Economic Principals because it is independent, then EP can remain independent and report more energetically precisely because people are willing to pay. Such circular reasoning is the essence of markets for all new goods.
That is the two-fold logic behind Economic Principals’ new version of its email edition. For nearly four years, that service has been free and open-ended (if somewhat haphazardly administered, in an age of ever-more complicated protection against spam).
After Sunday, November 26, however, the email-edition will be available for a $50 annual subscription. The weekly will continue to be made available on the Web, but only after a certain interval.
The email edition moves Sunday at 0400 EST, around 18 hours before the Web version is posted. An email subscription also will bring four quarterly reports that are sent only to subscribers.
The expectation is that a relative handful of core supporters will bear the cost for all the rest — a little like public television.
(It is, of course, possible simply to contribute to EP’s maintenance — to elect to receive only the subscriber reports, and continue to read the weekly on the Web. Gift subscriptions, family and group discounts are available as well.)
Who should pay? Those who want the weekly as early as possible, of course. Those who wish to be reminded of its existence by a thump in the mailbox. Those who seek to influence, in a small way, the rest of the community of journalists who cover economics.
Perhaps most of all, those interested parties who cultivate a sense of civic virtue should kick in. In a world in which advertising-supported media seem to be retreating from independent coverage of the economics profession, $1 a week is not a lot to pay for pluralism.
With the new funding mechanism will come a new selection principle, adequately described, at least for now, as “all economics all the time.” Since EP first evolved as a Boston newspaper column about political economics, the principle of diversification was central to it for many years.
The Web permits the teasing apart of its concerns. EP will stick to what its readers understand as economics. Purely local and political topics will find a home somewhere else.
We’ve set our fixed costs arbitrarily low, at around $25,000 per annum. We aim to cap our revenues at around that sum, meaning that we need around 500 subscriptions to make a go of it.
For three years, email circulation has held steady at around 2,000, despite many delivery problems. (Such failures will be eliminated under the new scheme.)
Meanwhile, readership on the Website itself has climbed steadily, to around 21,000 unique visitors in more than 90 countries last month. This is the real yardstick of EP’s success.
Many current subscribers naturally will choose to opt out of the new arrangement. Other subscribers will sign up. If we can re-build to a thousand subscriptions, we’ll cut the price to $35. If we can’t make our nut, like any other business, we’ll fold.
The micromarket for quality news is in it infancy. Economic Principals is happy to enter the fray. | <urn:uuid:dd1244e9-3da5-4468-aa6e-11c27e21970c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2005.11.06/173.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953498 | 820 | 1.5 | 2 |
It wasn’t that long ago when a competent doctor might have told us that “there is no pain associated with MS.” It’s funny how much they’ve learned in the past few years.
We’ve talked about some of the pains associated with multiple sclerosis here before. There have been discussions of the MS Hug, stabbing leg & foot pain, Lhermitte’s sign, etc. One MS Pain we haven’t much talked about is trigeminal neuralgia (TN) also known as tic douloureux. When people have this, they feel a hot, stabbing facial pain.
We haven’t spoken about it in these pages because, quite frankly, I didn’t think that many of us experienced it. After one of the guys in my “MS Poker Night” guy’s group missed a meeting and returned the next month to tell us about it, I started looking around.
Just like any other nerve in the central nervous system (CNS), the Trigeminal nerve (which runs along the head, face and jaw line) can be de-myelinated. This stripping of insulation caused issues different than many others.
The good news is that most people don’t lose function in the muscles controlled by said nerve (though I’ve read a few accounts). The bad news is that the pain can border on the unbearable.
When it was described to the group, we all shrunk at the thought. This man was walking along on his daily exercise route when he was struck to the ground with pain radiating from the side of his head along his jaw. It isn’t a lasting pain for this man (about 5-7 seconds at a time) but it comes and goes to the point that he will no longer drive.
Just like when I first heard of pain associated with Ocular Neuritis, I was shocked and horrified!
Reading the bits and bobs I’ve found on the Web (even from pretty reliable sources) seems to be a bit more vague than I’m comfortable sharing. So, I thought, let’s go to my favorite source…YOU!
I’d like to open the weekend’s conversation about trigeminal neuralgia and see what any of you know about the topic. Have you endured such symptoms? Have you even heard of it? Do you know someone with MS (or another disorder) who lives with these symptoms?
I always, ALWAYS, learn so much from this community…and I’m not alone. Let’s share what you may know, or not know, about TN.
The heat has finally broken here in Seattle, so I’m happy for that!
Wishing you and your family the best of health. | <urn:uuid:3933e06a-f74b-4363-a0d1-072599527a39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/trevis-life-with-multiple-sclerosis-ms/multiple-sclerosis-and-facial-pain/?comments_page=1&cmt_sort=0&nkr=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967103 | 593 | 1.570313 | 2 |
If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words? People kill people, we have heard it a hundred times, but it is true.
According to Sen. Feinstein, so-called “assault” weapons have been used in 385 murders since the assault weapons ban expired in 2004, or about 48 per year. But, there were 8,583 total murders with guns in the United States in 2011, meaning the so-called “assault” weapons were used 0.6 percent of the time.
Furthermore, the FBI database shows that 323 murders were committed with rifles of any kind in 2011. In comparison, 496 murders were committed with hammers and clubs, and 1,694 were perpetrated with knives.
I was a police officer for 29 years and I am here to tell you the police can’t react quick enough to stop a criminal from breaking into your home to do harm to you or your family.
I own “assault” rifles and I hunt with all of them. One rifle saved me from being mauled by a bear. After I retired I used an “assault” rifle to stop two burglars from entering the home of my neighbor. Would our community be any safer if I was told I could not possess an “assault” rifle or I could not have a magazine containing more than 10 rounds? In both incidents I had an “assault” rifle and large capacity magazine, so I felt confident I could handle the situation.
Let’s get the definition of an “assault” rifle in perspective. It’s a semi-automatic rifle, with a flash suppressor, a pistol grip and maybe a folding stock. Other than these options that affect the way the weapon “looks,” they function the same as any other semi-automatic rifle, pistol or shotgun does; you pull the trigger fire one shot, pull the trigger again and fire another shot.
What is the solution to saving our kids? I don’t know, but do you dismiss having armed guards in schools or having armed teachers? After 9/11 we placed armed federal officers on airplanes, and sent pilots to school and taught them to shoot. My neighbor is an armed pilot for a major airlines. I’m glad he has a gun.
When I was in high school a lot of us had guns in our vehicles. No one thought about killing our classmates. We live in a different time, we need to figure out why our kids are killing kids. | <urn:uuid:2ee0749c-9f56-436a-b941-a3b8be48311c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://union-bulletin.com/news/2013/jan/24/why-are-kids-killing-kids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973574 | 521 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Paris is known as one of the most romantic places in the entire world. And people everywhere know the world-famous tourist destinations like the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe. However, there is much to see off the beaten path in Paris that can leave you swooning, and it is definitely worth the effort to find these lesser known destinations. On your next trip to Paris, plan carefully and be sure to include these little known sights to see in Paris:
Basilique St. Denis. The basilica is one of the earliest examples of French Gothic architecture, featuring awe-inspiring stained glass works and giant statues of famous French rulers. The Basilique St. Denis tour takes you through the burial ground of nearly all of France’s royalty, where you can see the tombs of the likes of Marie Antionette, Clovis, and Louis XIV during a two-hour, 45 minute metro ride. This is a very interesting tour of French history, and not for the faint of heart.
Rue Cler. Walk along the cobblestone path to take in the feeling of old Paris, and visit the numerous shops and cafes that line the street. Visit on Sundays to shop at an authentic Parisian street market.
Cour Saint Emilion. If you want to do some shopping but want to avoid the crowds of trendy Paris shopping districts, then this charming pavilion is your perfect stop. Just off the city center and near the Grand bibliotheque, the Cour Saint Emilion is a village of boutiques and restaurants house in historic Bercy storefronts.
Musee Carnivalet. This charming museum is the perfect place to brush up on the history of Paris, covering everything from the city’s origins to its modern condition. If you are a fan of French literature, then you will be pleased to find that the Musee Carnivalet features fascinating exhibits on Rousseau and Voltaire.
Opera Garnier. Home of the famous “Phantom of the Opera,” this opera house is a beautiful work of romantic architecture, and a great place to spend some quiet time reflecting. If you visit on a Thursday afternoon, you can take a tour in English.
Place de la Contrescarpe. This charming pavilion in Paris’ Latin Quarter was memorialized by none other than Ernest Hemingway himself, who once occupied an apartment overlooking the square. It’s a great place to walk around and people watch, and to learn a lot about authentic Parisian culture.
There are many places to visit in Paris that you won’t necessarily find in all of the popular travel guides. Keep these great lesser-known destinations in mind when you visit Paris.
Abuout the Author: Ludivina Bessemer loves to travel throughout France and often helps others set up their own France tours, whether they want to work with a formal tour group, explore on their own, or both! | <urn:uuid:3fb0a1c8-e613-47fc-bef4-a01f763404a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.writeideas.net/travel/beaten-path-sights-paris/ | 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 | 0.933311 | 621 | 1.585938 | 2 |
"It's time," said Sen. Jane Earll (R., Erie), the bill's sponsor. "This issue has percolated long enough, and to me it's embarrassing that we haven't been able to bring this to a resolution for so long."
The legislation in some respects has been in the works since a series of court rulings began flowing from a landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision on interstate wine sales. In short, the justices ruled that all states must treat out-of-state wineries the same way they treat in-state wineries.
Pennsylvania generally prohibits out-of-state wineries from shipping directly to the state's residents - but it does allow smaller in-state wineries to do so. The Supreme Court ruling meant the state's shipping laws were unconstitutional and had to be changed.
This being Pennsylvania, where liquor laws date back to Prohibition and any proposed change is cause for a legislative impasse, the issue was left to wither on the vine.
After the 2005 ruling, the Liquor Control Board came up with an interim fix until the legislature could agree on a permanent solution. The LCB allowed some smaller out-of-state wineries to ship directly to Pennsylvania consumers. But many wineries were too big to qualify, and others did not want to participate until the state had passed a firm law.
The result was frustration, said Sen. Jim Ferlo (D., Allegheny), who supports the current bill and has championed similar legislation in the past.
"Often times," Ferlo said Tuesday in an interview, "folks who visit Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley get excited about a wine and want to order it for back home, only to find out that they can't."
But with proposals to privatize the LCB a frequent topic of discussion over the last few years, changes to liquor laws that once were considered untouchable are now in the realm of the possible. Even the LCB has said it supports direct shipping, contrary to its hands-off stance of the past.
The bill now before the Senate seeks to even out the playing field by allowing out-of-state wineries to register with the LCB for a license and ship directly to Pennsylvania consumers.
Under the bill, the wineries would be required to collect and remit the state's 6 percent sales tax, as well as the 18 percent so-called Johnstown flood tax that the LCB charges customers at its stores.
And therein lies one potential legislative quagmire.
The Corbett administration, a proponent of privatizing the liquor system, warned Wednesday that the measure would cost Pennsylvania precious revenue: the LCB, aside from imposing the sales and Johnstown flood taxes, also marks up its product 30 percent when it places it on retail shelves.
Some senators said privately that their counterparts in the House had similar worries.
And on the flip side, many vintners think the state's adding on of this tax, that tax, and the other tax would make their wines so expensive that no 21st century consumer with any sense would shell out the cash.
Steve Gross, director of state relations for the Wine Institute, which represents 1,000 California wineries, said the LCB applies its markup and taxes on the wholesale price. Wineries, on the other hand, are selling their wines at retail value - so, by Gross' math, imposing all those extra charges could shoot the price of home-delivered wine into the stratosphere.
Other states, Gross said, have opted to ask wineries to charge a standard percentage on sales.
"If you pass a bill that no one is going to use, then everyone is going to be frustrated," he said Tuesday in an interview.
Ferlo, for one, hopes there can be a compromise.
"Hope springs eternal," the legislator said.
Contact Angela Couloumbis at 717-787-5934 or [email protected], or follow on Twitter @AngelasInk. | <urn:uuid:4f565c65-520b-467d-ad16-4db76ce2d862> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-28/news/31250141_1_lcb-liquor-laws-wineries | 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 | 0.967058 | 831 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Here's one of those glass-half-empty/glass-half-full bits of news: Recently online company househunt.com surveyed real estate agents and concluded that 51 percent of U.S. home sellers are getting 95 to 100 percent of their asking prices.
You can look at that glass as half-full because, well, about half of the sellers seem to be hitting their target.
During the housing boom, selling your home for 95 percent (or better) of your asking price became something of an icon--a reliable, reasonable goal. But as the market has cooled, "asking price" has become a moving target.
How much is a fair price, anyway? A response from the glass-half-empty camp might sound like the late cartoonist Jeff MacNelly's parody of how the Internal Revenue Service determines how much tax you owe: How much did you make? Send it in.
That is, no matter how certain you are that your home is worth a specific figure, there's a good chance that in today's climate, it will turn out to be less.
"The old, easy model [for pricing a house] is to look at the computer to see what sold last year and add 5 percent," said Stephen Baird, president of Baird & Warner Real Estate in Chicago. "That model doesn't work now."
Baird said that coming up with a figure has become less an exercise in math than an exercise in group-think for agents.
"We get the office together and price the property," he said. "It's much more of an art than it was a year ago."
Brokers, agents and people trying to sell their homes on their own have told me that starting out with the right asking price is akin to being told to shut up and eat your spinach. And we all know how palatable spinach has become.
"You have to look at what is actually selling in your price range right now," Baird said. "That determines the market.
"The period of time you look back at now [for sales prices of comparable properties, or comps] is three months. Anything over three months is not a good comp now."
Even someone as economics-impaired as I can grasp this concept: Your home (or your car or your collection of Mark Foley campaign posters) is worth only as much as someone will pay you for it. Today.
Or, as Baird put it, "The market is going to tell you what a house is worth. You just may not like what the market says.
"If you want to sell your house against the 20 other properties that are like it, you have to get aggressive on your price," Baird said. "Out of that 20, somebody will step out from the pack and price it more aggressively, and it will sell."
Lest we end this chat on a negative note, here's a reminder of the cyclical nature of real estate. If you're a seller and you have the luxury of time, conditions are likely to improve.
"People are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens with pricing," Baird said. "The nice part about this business is that demand doesn't go away, it just gets put off. If somebody isn't going to get what they want, they're going to wait until next year."
It's always worked for the Cubs, right?
Here's a vivid reminder that communities that have tree-preservation ordinances probably mean what they say: A Silver Spring, Md., man recently was fined $62,000 plus the cost of restoring about two acres that he was found guilty of clearing without permits. The restoration costs could amount to $20,000, according to local news reports.
Last year the man bought the land, where he planned to build a house, for $65,000.
Hear Mary Umberger on WBBM Newsradio 780 at 6:21 p.m. and 10:22 p.m. each Thursday and Friday and 7:20 a.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
[email protected] Mary Umberger | <urn:uuid:6532497b-d567-407c-a014-2d26b5b656da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.radiomichiana.com/wsbtam/lifestyle/realestate/chi-0610150425oct15,0,507088.column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978961 | 848 | 1.5625 | 2 |
While the best way to deal with damage resulting from winter weather conditions is to protect and prepare a home beforehand, that may not be possible. If it is too late to get ready and a home is damaged in some way, homeowners will likely want and need to take steps to remedy the situation. Whether approaching the situation as a resident planning to live there or a homeowner planning to sell a property, it will need to be in good condition.
Home damage and trees
Homeowners’ insurance policies generally cover damage due to common winter hazards such as ice dams, burst pipes and the weight of snow or ice, according to the Insurance Information Institute. While they will need to pay their deductible, this means homeowners may not find themselves struggling as hard with the expense of potentially serious home repairs, so such coverage can be important, especially in areas with harsher winters.
The weight of snow and ice can affect a home directly, but more commonly will put too much pressure on the branch of a nearby tree, causing it to break. High winds can also break trees, so snowstorms, ice and strong windy weather can be cause for caution. If a great deal of snow is on a tree or its branches are noticeably straining, one expert told MSN Real Estate the homeowner can use a broom or rake to remove some of the snow, easing the burden and reducing the chance of breakage.
Any more involved preparations should be done more carefully, he noted, since broken branches are as hazardous to people as homes.
Water and ice
Frozen pipes are a common problem. Another expert indicated that if pipes do freeze, it may be possible to thaw them with a space heater, while one source suggested a hair dryer might work. In either case, the water should be turned on at a trickle and heat then applied to the pipe, focusing on the faucet and the frozen section. If the freezing is relatively minor, this may solve the problem. More serious difficulties are likely to require a professional plumber, however.
If a home suffers water damage due to ice dams or burst pipes, physical damage from a falling branch or other serious problems, professional assistance is likely to be an unavoidable necessity. Homeowners are likely to find such efforts time-consuming and possibly expensive, so preventive measures to protect a home are strongly advised by many experts. | <urn:uuid:86fcd140-6cf4-463e-86f7-eccdb1eda8b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/dealing-with-winter-weather-damage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961852 | 475 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Chi Alpha Epsilon Induction and Pinning
History and Purpose
CHI ALPHA EPSILON National Honor Society was formed to recognize the academic achievement of students admitted to colleges and universities through non-traditional criteria/opportunity programs. Dr. Elbert M. Saddler, Ph.D., founded Chi Alpha Epsilon (XAE) in 1990 at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and there are now over 30 chapters in the United States.
Eligible students must be full-time (12 credit hours) and hold a 3.0 cumulative GPA for two consecutive semesters.
A private initiation, which included ritual materials for each inductee, was conducted before the EDP Awards Ceremony. The pinning took place during the awards ceremony.
20th Annual EDP Awards Ceremony - March '02
EDP General Meeting - January '02 | <urn:uuid:f820f4db-5120-4cf2-94a0-1d9a598af590> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fredonia.edu/edp/cae02.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943952 | 177 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It seems this week has brought more than the usual portion of trouble- personally, locally, nationally- and I might be tempted to have a small pity party if I did not keep one foot firmly planted in the past. My research of Caddo history is a constant reminder that times have always been troubling and people have endured. And most people have endured far more than I have. No matter what happens to me or to my loved ones or to my friends or country, I can find a similar problem in the past. And while that doesn’t eliminate my problems or even lessen the pain sometimes, it does put things in perspective and help me understand the “big picture”. I think that one of the worst feelings you can have is that you are alone with your problems and that no one else cares about you or understands what you are dealing with. Knowing what my ancestors endured helps keep me grounded and makes me feel like a part of a larger tribe that will go on to influence future generations.
God never promised us that all of our days would be filled with comfort and ease. He did promise that we could find joy in our life, despite less than perfect daily circumstances. However, some folks make themselves miserable by expecting their lives to be the exception to everything, by expecting happiness to be a right instead of a privilege. Happiness feels good and we are certainly a “feel good” society.
I suppose our craving for happiness begins in childhood. Parents tend to smooth the path and help children avoid unpleasant and painful experiences if they can do so. I’m not so sure that is always wise. Some of the best lessons are learned by having a painful experience, learning how to deal with it, and feeling confident about facing the next problem. Of course the trick is deciding what a child can handle, so once parents start protecting their children from physical pain it seems logical to expand to emotional pain as well, and pretty soon you can get a child who is “carried around on a pillow” as Gran was fond of saying. I watched yesterday in the cafeteria as a child dropped his milk carton and then stood frozen in place waiting for an adult to pick it up. He made no attempt at all to solve the problem on his own. And unfortunately someone quickly solved it for him.
I am praying this week for wisdom and patience, for a friend who is watching her mother’s last days, for a friend who is battling cancer, for a friend who has serious decisions to make, for a community that is feeling despair, for a country that has lost its vision. I don’t have the answers for our troubling times, but I know they are balanced by the joy of knowing we are never alone. | <urn:uuid:bf92062c-ad26-4193-8368-599e738fc999> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mem55.typepad.com/the_view_from_here/2011/10/troubling-times.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978215 | 560 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Egypt's YouTube Democrats
Is the cause of liberal democracy in the Arab Middle East dead? It would be easy to jump to such a conclusion in Washington, given the Bush administration's shameless retreat from its "freedom agenda" and the recent campaigns by Arab autocrats to crush liberal politicians, journalists and civic activists. But it's also easy to overlook the fact that the Middle East's movement for human rights and democracy originated not in the White House but in capitals such as Cairo, Beirut and Amman. There, it is still alive, well -- and even growing.
I was reminded of this when seven Egyptian civil society activists toured Washington in advance of a meeting last week with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. All are in their 20s; all are leaders of groups promoting such causes as women's rights, prison reform, religious tolerance and political change. All believe that Egypt could become a liberal democracy in their lifetime. And why not? They're not acquainted with the numerous Washington experts who have dismissed the possibility.
They do know a lot of people like themselves. "The majority of Egyptians are like us, under the age of 35," said Ahmed Samih, the 28-year-old director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies in Cairo. "Our president is 85, and far away from Facebook."
Samih, a fearless man who says he has been a political activist since age 17, ought to know. Six months ago he founded a Facebook group called "What happens when Hosni Mubarak dies?" Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt under "emergency law" since 1981, is actually only 79. But he is noticeably fading. And Samih's group has attracted 2,741 members, almost all of them Egyptian.
Facebook and YouTube are where the young Egyptian democracy movement lives -- mostly out of reach of Mubarak's secret police. There are more than 60 Facebook groups devoted to liberal Egyptian causes; many of them have thousands of members. On YouTube, one can find hundreds of video clips showing demonstrations for human rights in Egypt, speeches by liberal activists, sermons by reformist Muslim clerics -- and torture by Mubarak's security forces, captured on cellphones.
The king of torture videos is Wael Abbas, a 34-year-old journalist and blogger. A clip he posted of police sodomizing a minibus driver with a stick scandalized the country and forced the prosecution of two officers. Last month, his YouTube account was suspended, on the grounds that his videos violated the site's standards. Following a clamor from human rights groups and a shower of e-mails from outraged Egyptians, his access was restored, and 187 of his clips were back up last week.
This is not to say that Egyptian activists can't be found in real-life neighborhoods. One of the interesting things about the activists visiting Washington was their disdain for the aging elite of Egypt's opposition parties, who mostly confine themselves to editing small newspapers or writing books. "It's time to get out and work with groups that have concrete problems," said Mozn Hassan, the 28-year-old head of Nazra for Feminist Studies, a group focused on training female activists. "People who are living in Upper Egypt don't care about the emergency law. But if we can relate this to their rights as a woman, or as a [Christian] Copt, or as a person who cannot get work, we can recruit them to the overall cause of reform."
The activists were brought to the United States by the human rights group Freedom House, which gave them one-month fellowships to work with U.S. community organizations and arranged for them to meet Rice on Human Rights Day. Many of them were in the United States for the first time. They seemed grateful for the opportunity to meet Rice even though they've been disappointed by her swivel in the past two years from calling on Egypt to "lead the way" to Arab democratization to embracing Mubarak as a "mainstream ally" and helpmate in Israeli-Palestinian talks.
"The United States has decided it needs Mubarak more than they need to support the human rights cause," said Ola Shahba, a 29-year-old project manager for Nahdet El Mahrousa, a group that promotes community development projects. "We are in trouble, and we need to work our way out of it."
Part of that work, as the activists saw it, was reminding Rice and others in Washington that support for democracy in Egypt is not a matter of charity. "We are not just saying, 'We are some idealistic group so help us,' " said Samih. "We are saying, 'This is in your national interest.' Reform in Egypt is important to the United States. The theory that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't doesn't work -- because the devil you know brought you Mohamed Atta."
For now that truth seems to have been forgotten at Rice's State Department. But Samih and his friends are young, and they are busy planning for life after Hosni Mubarak and George W. Bush. | <urn:uuid:6d90e8f5-1106-4c48-9cda-4ad86adead26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601559.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978709 | 1,042 | 1.773438 | 2 |
As the Advent season approaches, it is nice to think back to one of our less solemn moments as a Bible study group when we decided to get together for a Christmas party. Being relatively new to Seattle, my wife and I hadn’t met a lot of people yet, so we were feeling excited to share our home as a party venue. I don’t know how it got started, but somehow we decided to make the theme of the party “Ugly Christmas Sweaters,” or maybe it was “Tacky Christmas Sweaters.” I’m not sure.
At any rate, the idea was that we would wear those garments that we almost never wear except at Christmastime. You probably have some of them in your back closet. They are the red and green monstrosities, the Santa Claus ties, and the horrible Christmas sweater that Great Aunt Tilda knitted for you. We weren’t trying to be the best dressed. We were trying to be the silliest.
The party was wonderful. The mood was instant laughter from the start. There was fun, food, and drink. And there were games to play! That’s one of the things that makes me love my group so much. They are willing to play games.
So we played “Ho Ho Ho,” which is a game where you try to guess a word from its definition. The catch is that each word ends with the letters HO, (like Groucho and nacho, etc.). And we played “Christmas Carol Chaos” where we tried to guess whether a song being sung was a real Christmas carol or a fake.
And of course we sang lots of carols. (You know a party is going well when people will sing together.) It is wonderful to sing carols with people who love and serve Jesus Christ. When they sing it, you feel like they really mean it too.
We also had something called a “Yankee Swap.” Everyone had bought a small gag present costing no more than $10. In random order, each one of us got to unwrap a present. If you liked the present, you could keep it. But if you didn’t like it, you could swap your present for somebody else’s present!
Some of the gifts were pretty cool. Others were, well, let me describe the funniest: the gift was a plastic bag containing shredded wheat. Shredded wheat was a running gag in our group. One of our group members had commented on the deliciousness and healthful benefits of shredded wheat for breakfast. And he had even gone so far as to give two of our group members who had never sampled the delicacy some sample bags. And yes, you probably have guessed that I was the one who ended up holding the gift!
But I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. In a world that can be cynical, hectic, and far too commercial at Christmastime, we had a moment of joy. The joy of fellowship, of being with people who share our thoughts and feelings, our failures and fears, our moments of praise, and our moments of prayer; this is the kind of joy that grows by sharing.
Our Bible study group has shared many wonderful experiences together. Now we are much more than people who get together two hours every two weeks to study the Bible. We have come to know each other. We have become even better friends. And in a real way we are brothers and sisters in Christ. And what a gift that is!
I’ll take the shredded wheat over a flat-screen TV any day.
A Christmas Ode to My Small Group
Some people met to form a group
at the home of Sally and Frank.
They studied the Bible and shared their thoughts
and ’twas tea or juice they drank.
A Lenten study for a few short weeks
was all that they had to commit.
But once they got to know each other
they decided that this group was it.
For there’s joy to be found in praying together
and laughing in fellowship.
So they gathered and shared, and honestly cared.
They were off on a wonderful trip.
And they still get together in all kinds of weather
to enjoy all sorts of great fun.
For movies and parties and bocce ball,
or just watching the setting sun.
But the best time of all is those special times
when they all are of one accord,
Reading and praying and being together
and working to serve the Lord. | <urn:uuid:935062e9-e3e3-48bd-8c6b-5ea9a18015dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upctimes.org/a-moment-of-joy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98017 | 953 | 1.65625 | 2 |
SEMINOLE, Fla. (AP) — Eager to change the subject after a dismal jobs report, President Barack Obama tried to rekindle some of the enthusiasm of his 2008 campaign Saturday with a bus tour through a must-win swath of Florida, urging supporters not to ‘‘buy into the cynicism that somehow the change we fought for isn’t possible.’’ Republican Mitt Romney wasn’t about to stop hammering Obama over the weak economy, though, as the two sides jostled over who can best salve the anxieties of the middle class.
Obama, speaking to a crowd of 11,000 at the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg College, gave Floridians a populist plea not to ‘‘turn away now.’’
‘‘If you give up the idea that your voice can make a difference,’’ Obama said, ‘‘then other folks are going to fill the void: the lobbyists, the special interests, the people who are writing $10 million checks, the folks who are trying to keep people from voting’’ and more.
Campaigning in a state where the 8.8 percent jobless rate tops the national average, the president made no mention of Friday’s government report showing a weak employment outlook for the nation. But he urged people to help him ‘‘finish what we started,’’ and he put creating more jobs at the top of his to-do list.
The president called on people to rally behind ‘‘real, achievable goals that will lead to new jobs and more opportunity.’’
Romney, campaigning in Virginia’s military-dependent tidewater area, was determined to keep the spotlight on the country’s weak jobs outlook, laid out in the latest Labor Department report on unemployment. It was the first topic he raised in an appearance before a flag-waving audience of 4,000 in a hanger at the private Military Aviation Museum, vintage aircraft on display around him.
‘‘This is not the kind of news that the American people are hoping for and deserve,’’ he said. Then he projected forward to a Romney presidency to add: ‘‘I'm here to tell you that things are about to get a lot better.’’
Speaking in the Navy town of Virginia Beach, where many jobs are tied to defense, Romney faulted the president both for past cuts to the military and ‘‘unthinkable’’ potential reductions threatened under the so-called ‘‘sequestration,’’ a series of automatic, across-the-board cuts that will take effect if Congress doesn’t reach a budget solution in the next few months. Half of the cuts are set to come from the Pentagon under a deal negotiated between Obama and Republican leaders in Congress.
‘‘I think it was a mistake for Republicans to go along with it,’’ Romney said in an interview taped for Sunday’s broadcast of ‘‘Meet the Press’’ on NBC. On the stage, he'd only blamed the president for the defense cuts.
Obama has opposed the depth of the cuts but has said congressional Republicans need to adopt a plan that includes increases in revenue.
Romney called the potential cuts ‘‘unthinkable to Virginia, to our employment needs. But it’s also unthinkable to the ability and the commitment of America to maintain our liberty. ... If I'm president, we'll get rid of the sequestration cuts and rebuild America’s military might.’’
From Virginia Beach, Romney headed for NASCAR territory, prime ground for working-class white voters. He planned to attend the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Romney and Obama are deadlocked in Virginia, where the Democrat is strong in the northern suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Romney does better in the south and rural areas.
In Florida, where the race also is extremely tight, the president’s two-day, 260-mile trip in a fortified, million-dollar bus is taking him though the center of the state along the politically important I-4 corridor that separates Democratic-leaning southern Florida from the Republican-leaning north. The center swath from Tampa and St. Petersburg through Orlando and on to the Atlantic coast is considered the state’s swing region.
It’s Obama’s third campaign bus tour since July after earlier road trips in Ohio and Iowa. The buscapades attract significant media attention in the states and allow Obama to engage with local voters in unscheduled stops in the small towns that he can’t reach by only flying on Air Force One.
On Saturday, he stopped at a Cuban restaurant in West Tampa, where he mingled with customers, took pictures and ordered five ‘‘honey Cuban’’ sandwiches. Among those in the sandwich shop: Dan Gemmell, one of the undecided voters so coveted by both Obama and Romney.
Gemmell said he’s a Democrat who voted for Obama in 2008 and still thinks the president’s a ‘‘great guy.’’ But the retired Army major said he’s a Roman Catholic and has ‘‘trouble with some of his issues, the birth control and gay marriage thing.’’
Obama is eager to connect with voters in the middle, and he enlisted Florida’s former Republican governor Charlie Crist in the cause. Crist, now an independent, spoke at the Democratic National Convention, and he introduced Obama in Seminole, telling the crowd that Obama was ‘‘working hard for the middle class,’’ for Florida and the nation.
Obama had a hug for Crist, and said his support shows ‘‘the values that we’re fighting for are not Democratic values or Republican values, they are American values.’’
At Obama’s second rally of the day, before 3,000 people in Kissimmee, he had a ready answer to Romney’s complaints about defense cuts.
‘‘As long as I'm commander in chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known,’’ he said. He said he would use some of the money that had been used fight wars for rebuilding schools and roads and bridges. There is actually no such leftover pot of money because the wars were fought primarily by borrowing.
Former President Bill Clinton will be campaigning for Obama in Florida in the coming week.
The Obama campaign sent Vice President Joe Biden to Ohio, another electoral battleground, where he mocked the Republicans for belatedly ‘‘discovering’’ the middle class.
Speaking to a crowd in Zanesville, Biden reminded voters of Romney’s opposition to the president’s auto industry bailout and asked if Republicans truly believe that had Romney been president, ‘‘there would be today, 115,000 auto jobs in Ohio.’’
‘‘All you Buckeyes out there, do you really think that Ohio, since 2010, would have added 50,000 manufacturing jobs? I think these are fair questions.’’
Later, Biden ducked in to the Dairy Queen in Nelsonville, where he mixed with customers and shared an ice cream cone ‘‘toast’’ to Nelsonville with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
Rep. Paul Ryan, Romney’s running mate, was dispatched to California, for an evening fundraiser in Fresno, a rare departure from the battleground states dominating the campaign itinerary.
Both sides were stepping up mobilization efforts as Election Days approaches — with early voting kicking off in many states over the next few weeks. Democrats held a ‘‘nationwide weekend of action’’ courting voters in battleground states, and Republicans held their third ‘‘Super Saturday’’ to turn phone calls and door-to-door visits into votes.
Romney’s campaign announced Saturday it was showing a new Spanish-language ad in Florida that reinforces his argument that Obama is a decent man, but incapable of leading a more robust economic recovery.
‘‘He looks like a nice guy, but that doesn’t get us jobs,’’ a man says.
A political group supporting Obama released an ad criticizing Romney for policies that it says would increase the tax burden on middle-income families. The ad by Priorities USA Action, a so-called super PAC, is showing in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Beaumont reported from Virginia Beach, Va. Associated Press writers Nancy Benac in Washington and Matthew Daly in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:e5ba68e4-26d4-4cc0-a603-a2a64f349265> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/09/08/florida-obama-says-not-nation-decline/sNXiy014MMtIlhnxHuWfUL/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957924 | 1,865 | 1.53125 | 2 |
U.S. looking to toughen Iran sanctions, hold back Israeli attack
Western moves to pressure Iran have been made more urgent by Netanyahu’s stern call for a “clear red line” against the Islamic state’s nuclear drive, diplomats said.
Officials said the United States and European Union were set to toughen nuclear sanctions aimed at punishing Iran while seeking to hold Israel back from a military strike, the French news agency AFP reported Sunday.
One senior official close to the sanctions talks said the U.S. was looking for “new areas” where sanctions could be applied or toughened. The U.S. administration “wants to pursue diplomacy, so we are nervous of any suggestion of any attack,” the official said.
Over the weekend, Netanyahu reiterated his view that drawing the red line for Iran would actually lessen the likelihood of a military confrontation with the Islamic republic.
“But if the Iranians breach that line, Israel, the U.S. and all other parties will have full legitimacy to act to stop their progress,” Netanyahu told Israeli reporters. “I have always stood firm when it comes to Israel’s right to defend itself precisely when it chooses. This right is self-evident and everyone knows that.”
Netanyahu associates said his speech at the United Nations Sept. 27 rippled throughout the world and put Iran’s behavior front and center. They predicted the international community would now focus on how to check Iran’s nuclear program.
“I tried to say something yesterday that I think reverberates now around the world, and that is to translate the agreement and principle of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons to practice,” Netanyahu said after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at UN headquarters in New York.
On Sept. 28, Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama by phone. Shortly afterward, the White House released a statement saying the conversation was “part of their regular consultations, and to follow up on Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton’s meeting with the prime minister.”
“The two leaders discussed a range of security issues, and the president reaffirmed his and our country’s unshakable commitment to Israel’s security,” read the official statement posted on the White House’s website. “The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The prime minister welcomed President Obama’s commitment before the United Nations General Assembly to do what we must to achieve that goal. The two leaders took note of the close cooperation and coordination between the governments of the United States and Israel regarding the threat posed by Iran—its nuclear program, proliferation, and support for terrorism—and agreed to continue their regular consultations on this issue going forward.”
Over the weekend, Netanyahu said his “long conversation” with Obama and his Sept. 28 meeting with Clinton were part of “our efforts to translate our shared goal into practical terms.” In addition to Harper and Clinton, Netanyahu also met with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Netanyahu also spoke by phone with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who later told the U.S. media that he did “not believe that in the final analysis we will have to use military action.”
“I certainly hope we don’t have to,” Romney said. “I can’t take that option off the table—it must be something which is known by the Iranians as a possible tool to be employed to prevent them from becoming nuclear. But I certainly hope that we can prevent any military action from having to be taken.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said Sunday that Netanyahu’s address might help change the stated policy of the Obama administration, which had rejected Netanyahu’s request to draw a clear red line for Iran over its nuclear program. Speaking with Israel Radio, Steinitz described Netanyahu’s speech as “masterful” and said it could prompt an American change of heart in a few months’ time.
“Netanyahu’s in-your-face speech forced the international community to rethink the way it views this issue by using a new paradigm. The world has come out of its hibernation,” Steinitz said.
Israeli Ambassador the U.S., Michael Oren told Israel Radio on Sunday that Netanyahu’s speech not only highlighted the fact that the U.S. and Israel were on the same page over the threat posed by Iran’s possible nuclearization, but also induced “a real dialogue over how to confront this issue and achieve that goal [of denying Iran a nuclear weapon] through increased cooperation.”
The bomb diagram that Netanyahu presented to the General Assembly triggered a torrent of satirical spoofs online. But Netanyahu has reportedly been encouraged by the scope of exposure his unusual speech has generated and has deflected criticism that he resorted to shallow gimmickry.
“I tried to convert our core convictions and goals into practical terms,” Netanyahu said over the weekend. Later, he said: “Hundreds of millions of people saw the diagram and now they understand what they might not have previously comprehended, namely, what it means to stop Iran and at what stage on its march towards nuclearization this must be done.”
“I don’t call it a gimmick,” he said. “I call it a good way to drive home your message, and that message got through quite well. You always have a tough job on your hands, an intellectual challenge: how to take a topic and simplify it.”
Romney also joked about Netanyahu’s bomb diagram, telling the U.S. media shortly after his phone conversation with the Israeli leader that he had “complimented him on his address,” but had suggested that his graphic was “not up to the usual Boston Consulting Group standards” (referring to the company both worked for several decades ago). | <urn:uuid:2173b1c2-4ae0-4833-b0b4-a38cbc2f346c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cjnews.com/international/us-looking-toughen-iran-sanctions-hold-back-israeli-attack | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966704 | 1,275 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Water Shut Off, leaks Investigated Near Phoenix SchoolWater service was shut off this morning in the 400 block of Belmont Avenue in Grand Forks as crews repaired water leaks that flooded Belmont and part of an apartment building.
By: Herald Staff Reports, Grand Forks Herald
Water service was shut off this morning in the 400 block of Belmont Avenue in Grand Forks as crews repaired water leaks that flooded Belmont and part of an apartment building.
Water was reported nearly to the curb at Fourth Street and Belmont Avenue between 7 and 8 a.m.
The source appears to be a water service line leak that goes to an apartment building on the 400 block of Belmont, according to Hazel Sletten, Grand Forks water utility superintendent.
The leak initially was reported at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, as water was leaking into two residential buildings on the block.
“It got worse overnight,” Sletten said.
Water was reported to be flooding part of the apartment building this morning.
The city water department shut off water service to the 400 block of Belmont at about 8 a.m. today, so crews can make repairs, she said.
Phoenix school, which is across the street, has not been affected by the leak and continues to have water service, a spokeswoman there said.
The apartment building leak was the second of two in the area investigated Wednesday by city water department crews.
The first occurred Wednesday morning in a water line leak at a fire department at Fourth and Belmont. That was repaired by about noon.
The cause of the leaks appears to be shifting soils that often occur during extreme temperature changes, according to Sletten. | <urn:uuid:aa03be78-fefb-4879-9874-2211172aa1bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/16355/publisher_ID/30/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978076 | 348 | 1.515625 | 2 |
There’s something bewitching – and deeply melancholic – about old shop signs disinterred during refitting and renovation. After decades hidden away, they are often in the light just for a few hours or days before being again entombed under plastic fascia. A fleeting memento of a past era.
I spotted the sign above – ‘Tobacconist – S.E. DEVENISH – Confectioner’ – on Junction Road in north London. From the top deck of a bus. By the time I returned a couple of hours later, the sign – earlier pristine and freshly uncovered – had been drilled into in preparation for the new nameboard.
And now, just a couple of days on (as the photo on the right illustrates), the old sign has again been laid to rest.
Small businesses such as this have left next-to-no digital footprint. Search as you may, they simply aren’t there. For S.E. Devenish, I have untraced just one internet reference – suggesting that in the 1960s or ’70s this business printed postcards, historical maps of London localities. I seem to think I remember these. Yet it’s through the internet, and a blog, that I heard from Ken – brought up nearby but long since moved away – who has memories of popping into this shop to buy sweets half-a-century and more ago.
Less than a mile away, a still older shop sign has enjoyed a very different fate. Last year, Cafe Brassino on Kentish Town Road – a greasy spoon type of place as far as I can make out – closed down.
As the building was being refitted as a kebab shop, an elegant handpainted shop sign, probably from the 1920s, came to light. I photographed it, and others did too, and lamented that this evocative sign would soon again be obliterated.
‘E. Mono / For Value’ – painted with a flourish. A business without any digital record whatsoever, not even in the 1911 census. Kentish Town Library just across the road, has a local history section so denuded that if offers no clue about the store’s line of business.
There will no doubt be information to be retrieved from street directories. The 1915 Post Office Directory, which is online, declares this shop to have been a branch of Boots the Chemists. The Mono business seems to have moved in later – certainly the Mono family are listed from this address in a phone directory from the late 1920s.
This story, though, has a happy ending. Although the owners of the new business knew nothing of E. Mono, and certainly didn’t share the surname, they decided to make a virtue of the signboard. They incorporated it into the new shop front, and chose it as the name of their kebab shop.
It was a smart marketing move – not only gaining the approval of local bloggers but also the attention of food critic Giles Coren. In the Christmas Eve edition of The Times, he gave Mono’s kebabs 8 out of 10 – ‘the best kebab I’d had in years’, he declared, describing the kebab shop as (and this is a bit of a stretch) ‘the hippest place to be seen at the moment’.
The Times article is hidden behind a pay wall, but a local paper reported how the review catapulted E. Mono and its kebabs to ‘superstar’ status. (I’ve been there myself – the kebabs are not at all bad).
And all this from the serendipitous decision to save an old shop sign. | <urn:uuid:92bb8ec5-39af-471d-b220-5d25b3250eab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/a-tale-of-two-shop-signs/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966597 | 780 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Lyme - Two recently dedicated forest preserves have added 128 acres of open space here for wildlife habitats and new trails, according to land conservationists.
The Walbridge Woodlands Preserve, bordered by Gungy Road to the west and the Nehantic State Forest to the east, stretches south of the town-owned Hartman Park. The Philip E. Young Memorial Preserve extends below the Woodlands.
Newly marked walking trails run south from Hartman Park through the preserves, which were acquired this year and dedicated at a public ceremony on Nov. 18.
The Lyme Land Conservation Trust acquired the 46-acre Woodlands Preserve with a monetary donation from the Sargent family while the Young family donated the 82-acre Young Preserve to the town, explained Humphrey Tyler of the Lyme Land Conservation Trust.
The Sargent family made the donation and set up a fund for the preserve's maintenance in honor of the late David Sargent, a conservationist, said John Pritchard, the president of the Lyme Land Conservation Trust. The Young family donated the land for the preserve in honor of the late Philip E. Young.
"These two gifts represent acts of extraordinary generosity by the Sargent family and Ruth Young and her family," said Pritchard, adding that such contributions help preserve the town's "largely rural and scenic character."
Some of the lands north of Lyme's Hartman Park across Route 82 into Salem are also protected areas, said Lyme Land Conservation Trust Executive Director George Moore.
"It's an enormous greenbelt from north to south, east to west," he said.
About 9,000 acres of Lyme - approximately 40 percent of the town - can be considered open space, according to Anthony Irving, chairman of the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Study Committee. By neighboring other natural areas, the new preserves increase the amount of diverse and protected open spaces for wildlife species to thrive, he said.
Ruth Young and her family had wanted the land her father purchased to remain undeveloped. After her son Philip passed away, Ruth and his children, Cathleen and Patrick, wanted to give the land to the town in his memory as a preserve for open, recreational use.
"We're very pleased that this is the way it is going to be used," said Ruth. The family has allotted an additional parcel of land on which the town can build an affordable house, when needed, she said.
Cathleen Young said her late father, Philip, a computer technician for the Lyme-Old Lyme schools, had a giving spirit and enjoyed the outdoors.
"The more time he could spend outside, the happier he was," she said. | <urn:uuid:b95decbd-0c7e-4f37-97e0-b1d9e8abc744> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shorepublishing.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121126/NWS01/311269975/1070/BIZ02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958489 | 549 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Chanel, Nazi’s Mistress, Spied for Germans: Lewis Lapham
Coco Chanel liked being cosseted by high-born rich men, who helped her rise in business and society. When Hitler marched into France, Chanel took a German lover.
(To listen to the podcast, click here.)
Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage was a charming, handsome man, who became the last great love of Chanel’s life. He was also a spymaster reporting directly to Goebbels.
As the French starved and suffered, Chanel and Dincklage lived the high life, residing in the Hotel Ritz, going to Maxim’s, eating pheasant and drinking Chateau Latour.
During their affair, the baron recruited her for German military intelligence. In 1941, the Abwehr enrolled Chanel as Agent F-7124, code name Westminster (after her ex-lover, the Duke of Westminster), and began sending her on missions.
After the liberation of Paris, Chanel was brought in for questioning about her collaboration with the enemy. She was allowed to go home, saved by the intervention of an old friend. “Churchill had me freed,” she said.
I spoke with Hal Vaughan, author of “Sleeping With the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War,” on the following topics:
1. Virulent Anti-Semite
2. Chic Courtesan
3. Nazi Mistress
4. Spying for Germans
5. Postwar Success
To buy this book in North America, click here.
To contact the writer on the story: Lewis Lapham in New York at [email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:1284fe3a-7c6f-418e-8c1d-ec61dceeadcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-24/chanel-nazi-s-mistress-spied-for-germans-lewis-lapham.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951686 | 401 | 1.726563 | 2 |
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) -- Superstorm Sandy may have one more nasty surprise still to come: higher taxes.
The math is simple and cruel. The storm left fewer properties standing, often wrecking waterfront communities that paid the highest taxes because of the desirability of living near the water.
Unless shore towns from Rhode Island to New Jersey get a big influx of aid from the state and federal governments, which are themselves strapped for cash, they will have no choice but to raise taxes on homes and businesses that survived to make up for the loss. Even with federal reimbursement of 75 percent, the towns -- many of which were already struggling before the storm -- could still be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.
"Hopefully taxes won't go up; we all have individual bills that we're going to have to worry about," said Ralph Isaacs, a 71-year-old retired teacher whose home in Long Beach, N.Y., was flooded with 18 inches of water, knocking out the electricity and heat and forcing him and his wife into a rented recreational vehicle for 17 days. "We're pretty sure the insurance money is not going to cover everything."
Toms River, where 5,000 residents are still out of their homes, recently passed a $35 million emergency appropriation; debris removal alone is costing it $1 million a week. The township's Ortley Beach section, where property values and taxes were highest, saw 225 homes destroyed. Administrator Paul Shives asked state officials this week for three to five years of extra state aid.
Right now, he said, it is impossible for towns like his to even consider formulating a budget without knowing how much tax money will be coming in. Shore towns especially are expecting a wave of tax appeals from storm-damaged or destroyed homes that will lower the towns' tax bases, though that doesn't appear to have begun in earnest yet.
The realities have touched off an intense push to get the federal government to assume the largest share of the cost. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week upped his state's reimbursement request from $30 billion to $42 billion; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asked Wednesday for $36.8 billion.
Cuomo said most of the recovery should be paid for by the federal government.
"To try to finance (recovery costs) through taxes would incapacitate this state," said Cuomo, who noted the cost of repairing just one subway station in lower Manhattan will be $600 million.
Christie -- who this week announced his campaign for a second term amid high poll ratings for his handling of the storm and who is considered a leading potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016 -- has told residents in storm-damaged areas to expect to pay higher taxes. This month, he told communities they can exempt storm recovery costs from a state-imposed 2 percent limit on property tax increases.
"You know, it's got to be paid for," said Christie, whose constituents already pay among the highest property taxes in the nation. "There's no magic money tree. But I think most people's towns will recognize that if they believe that the money is being spent reasonably and responsibly to rebuild their towns, they'll be happy to do it."
Vinny Curtain, whose Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., home was damaged by flooding, agreed -- reluctantly.
"Every town up and down from Long Island, Staten Island to Long Beach Island is dealing with this," he said. "They're all going to face the same problem. If spending continues -- and it has to -- and the tax base goes down, you've got to make it up from somewhere. It's got to be paid for. It's definitely a concern."
With local towns reeling and state governments equally cash-strapped, many are looking to the federal government to make things right through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the arm of government that has paid out billions in disaster recovery funds for Midwestern floods, tornadoes and Hurricane Katrina, among others.
But politically, Sandy couldn't have come at a worse time, with Republicans and Democrats locked in a bitter standoff over spending and taxes as a series of painful automatic tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" looms if lawmakers can't agree on a deficit reduction plan. Lawmakers from states hit hard by Sandy are eager for the White House to make its emergency request to Congress for more Sandy money.
A new disaster aid funding plan was put in place by last year's budget agreement that permits President Barack Obama to seek another $5.4 billion in disaster aid -- on top of $7.1 billion approved as part of a six-month government funding bill -- without breaking budget limits. Lawmakers are eager to at least obtain the $5.4 billion during Congress' lame duck session. It's more likely any additional funds would come next year.
There's also a possibility that more Sandy funding could get wrapped into a broader budget deal as part of the fiscal cliff talks.
On Wednesday, FEMA approved $8.3 million in debris removal funding for four New Jersey municipalities, and New Jersey's state government got $31.1 million for feeding and housing rescue and utility workers after the storm.
On New York's Long Island, Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman said the community already took steps this year to reduce a $10.25 million deficit from its $87 million annual budget. The city workforce was cut by 10 percent, including five firefighters from a 35-member force. The city also imposed a three-year tax surcharge on all homeowners to close the deficit.
That puts the city in no position to ask taxpayers to cover the costs of Sandy, which he estimated at $200 million. Moody's Investor Service says after FEMA reimbursements, the city could be left with a bill of as much as $25 million. Schnirman said he is still seeking ways for other federal or state money to cover that cost.
"We can't go back to our taxpayers," he said. "That's not a viable option."
Municipal governments are already doing the calculations -- and not liking the answers. On the eastern half of Long Island, Suffolk County officials say Sandy has cost an estimated $70 million for debris removal and beach and road repairs, as well as police overtime. A county official estimated that after FEMA reimbursements, the county could be on the hook for $50 million but didn't anticipate having to raise taxes.
Westerly was the Rhode Island town hardest hit by the storm. Town Manager Steven Hartford said it has already paid $400,000 for storm-related repairs and sand removal; the total cost is likely to reach $3.5 million before FEMA reimbursements.
"If we spend between $3 million and $4 million, even if we hit a grand slam and get 75 percent of that reimbursed, we're still out a million dollars," Hartford said.
Likewise, in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Mayor Vincent Barrella is bracing for a higher tax rate in a town that has already approved $2.4 million for emergency cleanup. It approved more than $1 million in spending this week for boardwalk repairs, sand removal, replacing police cars destroyed in the storm, a front-end loader and other Sandy-related costs.
"This is stuff you have to do," Barrella said. "You have to haul away the debris, you have to pick up the downed trees; you can't just leave the sand in the middle of the street."
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Long Beach, N.Y., Andrew Miga in Washington, D.C., and David Klepper in Westerly, R.I.
Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC | <urn:uuid:e72d0434-a63a-4fad-9cb8-123a95112e03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.state-journal.com/ap%20financial/2012/11/29/the-reward-for-surviving-sandy-may-be-higher-taxes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972734 | 1,611 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has turned out a blockbuster economic-growth plan, including deep
cuts in taxes, spending, and regulations. It’s really the first Reaganesque supply-side growth plan from any of the GOP presidential contenders. And he caps it all off with a defense of optimism as he charges ahead with a national economic growth goal of 5 percent.
That’s right: 5 percent.
Pawlenty calls this target aspirational. OK, fine. But deeper down, he’s basically saying no to the declinists and pessimists who seem to populate the economic landscape these days. Big government doesn’t work. Let’s try something different.
Ronald Reagan always believed that America is exceptional. By removing obstacles to growth, the Gipper held that economic policies could unleash a massive outpouring of risk-taking, creativity, and entrepreneurship. He was right, and his policies launched a two-decade-long boom.
Actually, the first couple years of the Reagan recovery came in at over 7 percent. And as Pawlenty noted in his speech at the University of Chicago this week, between 1983 and 1987, the Reagan recovery grew at 4.9 percent annually. I note that Pres. John F. Kennedy also had a 5 percent growth target, a response to Ike’s three recessions.
So while those on the left criticize Pawlenty, and while even some conservatives scoff at his growth target, history says we’ve been there before.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page calls it a “growth marker.” Famed CEO Jack Welsh calls it a vision for America. I think it’s an act of great leadership.
The details of Pawlenty’s economic program are very similar in scope and structure to Reagan’s. Slash tax rates.
In particular, the single-best Pawlenty proposal is to take the business tax rate all the way down to 15 percent from 35 percent, get rid of all the deductions, and quit taxing foreign earnings of American companies. Critically, he would make small-business S-Corps or LLC partnerships eligible for the new low corporate rate.
Small businesses and brand-new start-ups have faltered during the Obama years. They should be the engine of job growth, but it’s not happening. Under Pawlenty’s plan, however, their rewards for new pass-the-hat investments among friends and families would be lifted by more than 40 percent on a take-home-pay basis.
The former college hockey player also would reform the personal tax system by moving to two rates of only 10 and 25 percent. And, get this: He would abolish taxes on capital gains, interest, dividends, and estates. He’d also sunset all economic regulations. And he’d apply a “Google test,” whereby if you can find a federal government good or service on the Internet, the federal government doesn’t need to run it. That means the Post Office, the Government Printing Office, and Amtrak could be sold off, privatized, or leased out.
The governor also comes out for a strong King Dollar, with a blistering attack on the Bernanke Fed’s loose-money policies. He also offers up an outline for entitlement reform, along with a 5 percent budget-impoundment approach until such time as the budget is balanced.
Quintessentially, Tim Pawlenty has delivered a private-sector, free-enterprise vision of economic growth and jobs, saying: “Markets work. Barack Obama’s central planning doesn’t.” It’s in this spirit that he would repeal Obamacare, which is one of the greatest job-blockers of all right now, with its maze of tax-and-regulatory interventions into the private economy.
But let me return to the key point — Pawlenty’s 5 percent growth vision for America. He’s not going to accept some kind of “new normal,” 2 percent growth rate.
Smaller government, lower tax rates, fewer economic regulations, and sound money were tried down through the 20th century by Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. These policies worked. Over the past decade, however, the historic postwar U.S.-growth baseline of 3.4 percent per year has been dismantled. Through 2010, actual growth is nearly 20 percent — or close to $3 trillion — below the historical norm. Pawlenty is saying we have to do our best to close that humungous output and jobs gap.
He also notes that by reigniting growth and a stronger jobs market that demand for government-spending assistance will come down while tax revenues will go up. In other words, we’ll never solve the spending-and-borrowing problem without a major increase in growth.
Is he serious? Of course he is. And he’s pretty darned specific. Remember, this is a guy who said no to ethanol subsidies in Iowa, yes to extending the Social Security retirement age in Florida, and no to crony capitalism for Wall Street banks in New York.
In other words, Tim Pawlenty is a tough hombre.
If he stays on message unrelentingly, his growth plan could carry him right to the White House.
To find out more about Lawrence Kudlow and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
© Creators Syndicate Inc. | <urn:uuid:e16d4503-c9d0-4bbc-a0bc-45e1d89ca473> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moneynews.com/LarryKudlow/larry-kudlow-Pawlenty-5-/2011/06/13/id/399790 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946144 | 1,168 | 1.796875 | 2 |
New bridge vital link for whole regionPublished 9:23am Tuesday, August 28, 2012
After several years and just as many delays, Ironton residents began to wonder if we would ever see a new Ironton-Russell bridge.
Thankfully, the span continues to take shape and is on track to be completed in 2015, providing a vital link between Ohio and Kentucky.
Having a new structure with improved access points on both sides of the Ohio River is key for both states. The Tri-State wouldn’t be as strong as it is without the many bridges that bring us together.
Although the bridge does allow many Irontonians to spend their money in Kentucky, it also allows more people to live in Ironton and the surrounding areas even though they are forced to work elsewhere.
A strong highway system and stable infrastructure are vital components when it comes to growth and economic development.
Ironton’s forefathers understood this and that is why they paid to build the original span.
Although taxpayers are footing the bill for this new version, the Ironton-Russell Bridge is just as important today as when the original one was built all those years ago. | <urn:uuid:57804a5b-9178-46a7-b509-5ce9b6394f2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irontontribune.com/2012/08/28/new-bridge-vital-link-for-whole-region/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973937 | 244 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Companies to report on business-wide risks and opportunities of climate management.
Some of the biggest institutional investors in the US have welcomed new guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that aim to clarify the information that public companies should disclose to investors in terms of ‘material’ effects on their business operations from climate-related issues. The guidance, the world’s first corporate climate risk disclosure ruling, was approved in a contentious vote at today’s (Jan 27) SEC Commissioners meeting in Washington. The guidelines were approved in a 3-2 vote by the SEC Commissioners, split between supporting Democrats and opposing Republicans.SEC Chair, Mary Schapiro, said: “We are not opining on whether the world’s climate is changing, at what pace it might be changing or due to what causes.” Shapiro said the guidance would help to ensure that US climate impact disclosure rules were consistently applied, giving investors reliable information. Companies will now be prompted to report on the potential business-wide impact of greenhouse gas emissions management policies, the physical impacts of changing weather or business opportunities in cleaner energy sourcing. Some institutional investors, led notably by Ceres, the environmental investor coalition, and the Environmental Defense Fund, have been lobbying theSEC since 2007 to require legal SEC filing disclosure of climate-related business impacts and strategies to address them. Anne Stausboll, chief executive officer of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest US public pension fund with more
than $205bn in assets, said: “We’re glad the SEC is stepping up to the plate to protect investors. Ensuring that investors are getting timely, material information on climate-related impacts, including regulatory and physical impacts, is absolutely essential. Investors have a fundamental right to know which companies are well positioned for the future and which are not.” Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, said: “State Treasurers invest vital taxpayer funds. We oversee public retirement and pension systems, college savings plans and more. As investors safeguarding the economic welfare of so many state citizens, we have to be informed about the risks of companies we invest in. Easy and understandable access to accurate, comparable information regarding these very real risks – and climate change is certainly one of them – is essential to protect the investments our states depend on.” The SEC decision is the latest in a series of US regulation amendments requiring more detailed climate risk disclosure from US corporations. The Environmental Protection Agency started collecting data on January 1 for a new mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule for large polluting industrial plants. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has also approved a mandatory requirement for insurers with annual premiums of $500m or more to disclose climate risks to regulators, shareholders and the public beginning in May 2010. | <urn:uuid:9d9d7c1e-d17e-420c-960d-412b26e9d307> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sirp.se/web/page.aspx?refid=62&newsid=51485&page=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952279 | 565 | 1.835938 | 2 |
ADL Says U.S. Based Anti-Semites Are Feeding Sept. 11 Rumor Mill
New York, NY, November 9, 2001 (Updated December 5, 2001)... Jews and Israel are being blamed in some Muslim and Arab countries and media for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks hate groups and exposes extremism, has confirmed that some of these rumors are being fueled by U.S.-based extremists and anti-Semites.
"Anti-Semites in the U.S. have always exploited current events to make the case for blaming America's troubles on Jews and Israel," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The September 11 terrorist attacks, however, have created a new dynamic where rhetoric of anti-Semites in this country is being picked up and recycled in some segments of the Muslim and Arab world to advance hateful myths and conspiracy theories about Israel and Jews."
ADL has documented instances where haters in the U.S. have seen their rhetoric published in the Arab world. Some hate groups have also found an audience in American Muslim newspapers and e-mail lists. In several instances, Muslim newspapers and Web sites have reprinted articles found on Internet sites operated by hate groups. The Internet continues to play a prominent role in disseminating hate literature.
Yemen Observer (added December 5)
This independent English-language weekly online newspaper covers current events, culture and society, and has posted anti-Semitic articles in the past. On October 13, Yemen Observer posted among its articles the essay, "Will Anyone Dare Ask Why?, by white supremacist David Duke.
Muslims of the Americas/Al-Fuqra (added December 5)
This Muslim organization, also known as Al-Fuqra, has been linked with bombings, murder and arson - including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. On November 20, the group forwarded to their e-mail list an article by Hector Carreon, head of the Nation of Aztlan (NOA), a fringe anti-Semitic Hispanic nationalist organization based in California. The piece referred to an article on the ADL Web site that mentioned NOA. "Who are these Zionists that call themselves the 'Sons of the Covenant" and why have they chosen to defame our publication La Voz de Aztlan?," Carreon wrote. "The 'Sons of the Covenant' are better known by the Hebrew term 'B'nai B'rith' and they operate under the world organization called B'nai B'rith International.' B'nai B'rith International is the primary international Zionist machine that advances their plan for world dominance that is outlined in the infamous 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.'"
Muslims of the Americas forwarded to their list on October 31 an article from the American Free Press, a weekly newspaper produced by the former staff of The Spotlight - a weekly that was published by the anti-Semitic propaganda outlet Liberty Lobby, until that organization's legal troubles forced it into bankruptcy earlier last summer. Titled "Team-B Targets Bush-Powell," the article describes the U.S. President and Secretary of State as being "under increasing fire from highly-placed lobbyists for Israel who want the United States to launch an all-out global war against the Muslim world."
Muslims of the Americas sent to its mailing list on November 2 an essay by David Duke titled "America on the Brink." In the article, Duke argues that "Cheered on by the Jewish media and the Jewish Lobby, the White House has already launched a series of devastating attacks on Afghanistan. The ultra-powerful Jewish lobby now screams for a much wider war, a global war to supposedly protect us from terrorism…. Only Israel would benefit from this war, and the Zionist warmongers in media and government seek to use America's guns and money to strike devastating blows at Israel's enemies. They also know that the ensuing war fever will shift attention away from Israel's brutal terrorism and suppression against the Palestinian people…..Even before the blood had dried from the terror attacks on New York and Washington, the mass media and the Zionist Lobby began to manipulate American public opinion for the Jewish agenda….. They didn't want the American people to know that our support for Israel directly led to the carnage….Arab terrorists struck America not because it is a democracy, but because it supports Israel. The Big Lie about attacking democracy is to cover up the obvious truth that the terrorist acts happened in retaliation for America's unconditional support for the terrorist state of Israel and its leader."
Moqawama (added December 5)
This is one of three Web sites run by Hizbullah. In its "Zionist Entity: Features" section, there is a link to the text of a November 17 address by William Pierce, head of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, based in Hillsboro, West Virginia. The page also contains several links to National Alliance Web pages.
In the address, Pierce states that "George Bush is a very sick man. Anyone who consciously and deliberately betrays his own race or his own nation, anyone who commits treason, is a defective person, a sick person. And George Bush, by consciously following a policy he knows is not in the interests of America but only serves Israel's interests, a policy he knows is responsible for the September 11 attack against America, a policy he continues to follow despite that knowledge, is a traitor. That's George Bush I'm talking about, the President of the United States. He may look stupid, but he knows what he's doing. George Bush believes he's a smart guy, a guy who knows which side his bread is buttered on, a guy who can get away with anything as long as the Jewish media will back him up. And so far he has been getting away with it." Pierce also claims that "When the Taliban was in charge at least there was peace and stability. There were no massacres or gang rapes. The U.S. government, with its bombing campaign and its mercenary troops in the Northern Alliance, has succeeded in destabilizing large portions of Afghanistan."
Mujahideen (added December 5)
This British Web site, devoted to the Mujahideen, posted information and links on November 8 to articles about the death of militia leader and conspiracy theorist William Cooper. "Just the beginning in silencing the voices of opposition to the New World Order?," concludes the coverage.
Muhajiroun (added December 5)
Al-Muhajiroun, a militant London-based Islamic organization, posted on its Web site an October 21 article quoting from Lyndon LaRouche's publication, Executive Intelligence Review, to make the case that "The September 11 attacks could not have been carried out without complicity from rogue elements in military/security circles inside the United States." The article goes on to draw a parallel with an account by James Bamford in his book Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency. Bamford concluded that in 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff "proposed launching a secret and bloody war of terrorism against their own country in order to trick the American public into supporting an ill-conceived war they intended to launch against Cuba." The article concludes, "To the astute reader, the potential parallels with recent events should be chilling."
American Muslim Newspaper Reprints National Alliance Screed
Muslims, a weekly English-language newspaper based in New York City and circulated in eight states and Washington, D.C., reprinted a scathing attack on Israel and Jews by William Pierce, founder and leader of the neo-Nazi National Alliance and author of the Turner Diaries. Pierce, a notorious anti-Semite who leads the national group from headquarters in Hillsboro, W.Va., believes in creating a "whites-only" homeland and a government free of "non-Aryan" influence. Pierce's message appeared on the front page of the October 5 edition of Muslims beneath the headline, "Israel Wants America to Send Ground Troops, Whip Muslim Armies, Take Over Their Countries, and Install Puppet Governments That Will Follow the Jews' Orders."
Muslims has also used articles by William Cooper, a tax protestor and militia figure who recently was killed in a shootout with police. In the article reprinted in Muslims, Cooper speculates that the Israel or the U.S. could have caused the terrorist attacks.
The online Syria Times reprinted an article under the headline, "Anthrax Terrorists May be Zionists," by Hector Carreon, head of the Nation of Aztlan, a fringe California-based Hispanic nationalist organization that has published several anti-Semitic articles in the past year in its online publication, La Voz de Aztlan. White supremacist groups such as White Aryan Resistance, World Church of the Creator and the National Alliance have posted articles by the Nation of Aztlan to their e-mail lists. In the Syria Times, Carreon wrote, "Everyone is assuming that Islamic terrorists are actually Zionists … . The Zionists want to silence us because they do not like what we write."
Arab Students United at NYU
Arab Students United, a recognized student group at New York University, e-mailed to members a lengthy anti-Israel diatribe by well-known hater David Duke, titled "Will Anyone Dare Ask Why?" A former Klansman, Duke is the founder and president of the anti-Semitic and racist European-American Unity and Rights Organization. The group later issued a disclaimer saying that they do not identify with Duke.
Al-Manar Television, Lebanon
The official television station of Hezbollah in Lebanon, licensed in 1997, Al Manar has the stated goal of preserving "the Islamic values and the civilized role of the Arab and Islamic community, and claims to be the first "Arab establishment" to "stage an effective psychological warfare against the Zionist enemy."
On September 17, Al-Manar posted to its Web site a story that has since been widely re-posted, including by white supremacists such as August Kreis of Aryan Nations, that claims that 4,000 Israelis were absent from their jobs at the World Trade Center on September 11, thereby implying that Israel was in some way behind the attack.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. | <urn:uuid:d88e5c75-30e5-4287-8ce8-f401b0c6c1f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.adl.org/presrele/Mise_00/3959_00.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963812 | 2,139 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The Uni K Wax Center is currently running a July special, but if you're not under the age of 15, don't even bother.
The salon is offering a 50 percent discount to young girls because they feel it'll help guide them through their teen years.
"By the age of 11 or 12, some young girls develop hair on their legs and upper lip. This can not only be embarrassing, but it often makes these young girls targets for bullying at school, especially during PE and recess."
A New York City mom disapproves with adolescents waxing, she said:
"To encourage it at such a young age is completely inappropriate and disgusting."
And to top it off, the beauty parlor's ad states that waxing is NATURAL, SAFE, and PLEASANT, which is not all the way true.
This just seems like another way to make teens feel bad about themselves, and that's just unacceptable!
Do U approve of the salon's practice to target teen girls??
[Image courtesy of Uni K Wax Center.] | <urn:uuid:22b5166e-ce2f-4e89-8894-0f4d9466c8ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://perezhilton.com/cocoperez/2012-07-10-salon-offers-wax-specials-to-girls-15-and-under/?feat=yes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959501 | 217 | 1.601563 | 2 |
In this Tuesday photo, Cecilia Rutherford joins a group of protesters outside Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mich., after a nurse filed a complaint against the hospital claiming it had agreed to a man’s request that no African-American nurses care for his newborn.
The case involving a white swastika-tattooed Michigan father and a black nurse at the hospital highlights one of medicine’s “open secrets” _ allowing patients to refuse treatment by a doctor or nurse of another race. The nurse is now suing the hospital, claiming it bowed to his illegal demands. Associated Press
Read the article: Some patients won’t see nurses of different race | <urn:uuid:1db2acd7-3935-44e9-80dd-3ea974fbfad3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inforum.com/event/image/id/333690/headline/Cecilia%20Rutherford/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94696 | 138 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The entire Gulf region, fresh from the devastation of Katrina, is concerned about Rita, which became a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday morning, with winds up to 95 mph, and could intensify into a Category 3 as it moves across the Gulf. The storm is expected to travel westward toward Texas, and authorities in Galveston have already called for a voluntary evacuation of the city beginning Tuesday, several days before Rita is expected to hit.
In Florida on Monday, in the chaos before the storm, long lines of cars snaked northward on U.S. 1 into Miami-Dade County, motorists lined up at gas stations, some of which had run out of regular gas, and shoppers at Costco in North Miami Beach waited on line for bottled water. Some residents of Key Biscayne, south of Miami, bagged beach sand to protect their homes from flooding. Others expressed no desire to evacuate. "We've been through so many of these things," says Jim Brewster, a longtime Key Biscayne resident. "I'm not going anywhere unless it's a Category 4."
Brewster says he feels secure in his ground-level condo. During Hurricane Katrina, he simply rolled shut his hurricane shutters and invited friends over for drinks and a game of rummy. "It was just like living in a cave," he says of the snugness provided by the shutters. "I didn't hear anything." As soon as Rita blows over he plans to hit the Key Biscayne golf course to collect golf balls that shake free of the palm trees during the storm. "The golf course after a hurricane comes alive," Brewster says. "All the birds, all the iguanas come out. It's magical." | <urn:uuid:366b123e-3ae9-49ef-8170-9c0c877ae2ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1106981,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978683 | 350 | 1.640625 | 2 |
But I just understand how the others may not be as convincing to some people, however I think the moral and the historical evidence for Jesus stand very strong and I am more then willing to interact on those if you all would like. But to further answer the question these two arguments I have just named, if those were logically, truthfully, and coherently disproved I would have a lot to rethink.
Lets assume for a moment that Jesus did exist, that physically there was a man in that region at that time. The historical evidence for even that is sketchy, but I will give you that. I will also give you that if he did exist, his teachings were generally moral. There are exceptions to that, but largely I would consider the tradition of Jesus to be "moral".
The thing is... at what point does that prove the existence of God? I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that a man who occasionally goes by the name of Garja online, currently lives in South-Central Ohio, behaves morally, loves his family, teaches children and wants the best for society. Garja stands in front of a rapt audience 180 days a year for 45 minute sermons 6 times a day. His teachings are moral, they talk frequently about the sins of those in the past and how men and women can move beyond that while recognizing how those past decisions effect us today. Garja has spoken with thieves, drug dealers, gang members,rapists and drug dealers and approached them as equals, but equals who lacked the ability to lead moral lives.
At what point does being moral equate divinity?
I think you ask a good question, but I'm going to present a bit of quotes I think are very significant to the topic. I have tried to represent different views But you can give your responses.
“I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful¡¨. He further added: “No man can read the gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus.” — Einstein – Scientist and Mathematician
“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.” — Napoleon (French General, Politician and Emperor (1804-14). 1769-1821)
“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” — Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political leader (1869-1948
“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” — H.G. Wells, British author (1866-1946)
“In his own lifetime Jesus made no impact on history. This is something that I cannot but regard as a special dispensation on God’s part, and, I like to think, yet another example of the ironical humour which informs so many of his purposes. To me, it seems highly appropriate that the most important figure in all history should thus escape the notice of memoirists, diarists, commentators, all the tribe of chroniclers who even then existed.” — Malcolm Muggeridge, British journalist (1903-90)
“Jesus Christ was an extremist for love, truth and goodness.” — Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights leader (1929-68)
Jesus Christ is to me the outstanding personality of all time, all history, both as Son of God and as Son of Man. Everything he ever said or did has value for us today and that is something you can say of no other man, dead or alive. There is no easy middle ground to stroll upon. You either accept Jesus or reject him. --Sholem Asch
I accept the resurrection of Easter Sunday not as an invention of the community of disciples, but as a historical event. If the resurrection of Jesus from the dead on that Easter Sunday were a public event which had been made known...not only to the 530 Jewish witnesses but to the entire population, all Jews would have become followers of Jesus. --Pinchas Lapide, Orthodox Jewish scholar, Germany (born 1922)
Because Christianity’s influence is so pervasive throughout much of the world, it is easy to forget how radical its beliefs once were. Jesus’ resurrection forever changed Christians’ view of death. Rodney Stark, sociologist at the University of Washington, points out that when a major plague hit the ancient Roman Empire, Christians had surprisingly high survival rates. Why? Most Roman citizens would banish any plague-stricken person from their household. But because Christians had no fear of death, they nursed their sick instead of throwing them out on the streets. Therefore, many Christians survived the plague. --“2000 Years of Jesus” by Kenneth L. Woodward, NEWSWEEK, March 29, 1999, p. 55.
I know the brutality and the cruelties of war better than many people. Now I want to work for peace. But how can mankind achieve a lasting peace? True peace of heart, mind, and soul can only come through Jesus Christ.Mitsuo Fuchida Navy Captain (Japanese; commanded air strike against Pearl Harbor in 1941)
Ernst Bloch German Marxist Philosopher It wasn't the morality of the Sermon on the Mount which enabled Christianity to conquer Roman paganism, but the belief that Jesus had been raised from the dead. In an age when Roman senators vied to see who could get the most blood of a steer on their togas - thinking that would prevent death - Christianity was in competition for eternal life, not morality. April, 1996 Newswe
Sir Lionel Luckhoo Trial Lawyer (won a world-record 245 murder acquittals in a row, making him the most successful lawyer in the world, according to The Guinness book of World Records) I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt. 1998 "God's Outrageous Claims" by Lee Strobel
The ordinary group of worshipping Christians, as the preacher sees them from the pulpit, does not look like a collection of very joyful people, in fact, they look on the whole rather sad, tired, depressed people. It is certain that such people will never win the world for Christ... It is no use trying to pretend: we may speak of joy and preach about it: but, unless we really have the joy of Christ in our hearts and manifest it, our words will carry no conviction to our hearers. Stephen Neill (1900-1984)
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
? C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
To the Christian, love is the works of love. To say that love is a feeling or anything of the kind is really an un-Christian conception of love. That is the aesthetic definition and therefore fits the erotic and everything of that nature. But to the Christian, love is the works of love. Christ's love was not an inner feeling, a full heart and what-not: it was the work of love which was his life. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855
I will finally stop here and talk for a moment about the author of this last quote here I think most of you know him maybe, maybe not. But I won't to show you another quote of his, this is geared to this whole hiddeness of God, and when I said I don't think he is hidden at all, I meant at this point in time for me. Because before he was hidden to me in just about every way possible. I tend to agree with newton when he said god is revealed in two books the Bible, and the book of nature or science. I think God reveals himself in more ways though not restricted to these two, but personally I think it is set up brilliantly by God that we can explore the science, mathematics, logic, and other principles of the universe. In this sense he has hidden himself in the universe, so we can use our intelligence to discover the intellect and truth God displays in the universe. So I believe he reveals himself through the Bible, through personal revelation, or through his creation. I don't see how God could be loving if he forced us to believe in him? I need to start a thread for a few things, one geared towards intelligent design and evolution, one on whether the Bible is reliable or not, and finally one more specifically Jesus and whether or not what he said was true.
God is not like a human being; it is not important for God to have visible evidence so that he can see if his cause has been victorious or not; he sees in secret just as well. Moreover, it is so far from being the case that you should help God to learn anew that it is rather he who will help you to learn anew, so that you are weaned from the worldly point of view that insists on visible evidence. (...) A decision in the external sphere is what Christianity does not want; (...) rather it wants to test the individual’s faith."1847 Kierkegaard
Sorry I know these are older I'm going to respond to newer ones next mainly, the question on animals and humans and how different they are. My next reply will come faster sorry school is starting to pile up. | <urn:uuid:1f8ed38b-1044-4f3a-bb0b-1fc14267a242> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/forums/index.php/topic,23300.msg529822.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973006 | 2,292 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Weighing the statements from the Wisconsin Uprising, hiring the autistic, blood sweat and chemo, the reporter who was having a stroke wasn't having a stroke, and boys wrestling girls.
1) TRUTHS, HALF-TRUTHS, AND LIES
In any political struggle, the rhetoric is going to go over the top. As the Wisconsin Uprising (yeah, I'm capitalizing it) enters a 4th day, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Politifact looks into the statements surrounding public pensions. Sen. Alberta Darling claimed that limiting Wisconsin employees to wages-only bargaining -- no bargaining on benefits -- is the way it is in the private sector.
False, Politifact says. Federal law protects bargaining rights for private sector employees who are in unions.:
Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy."
But Gov. Scott Walker says most state employees could pay twice as much toward their health care premiums and it would still be half the national average. That's true.
And it's false that Wisconsin public employees earn 8 percent less than private employees, it says. That's a factoid that has rapidly spread.
Find more here.
This morning, ABC's Good Morning America found one of the Democrats who fled Wisconsin to stall a vote on a bill that would remove bargaining rights:
FoxNews found the governor:
Meanwhile, MPR's Tim Nelson compares Wisconsin public pensions with Minnesota public pensions and finds that Wisconsin's are generally more bountiful. It doesn't mention, though, that yesterday a Minnesota legislator filed a bill to eliminate pensions for the state's public employees. But that's probably more of a stick-in-the-eye bill than one that has a legitimate chance; it had no co-sponsors.
2) BOYS WRESTLING GIRLS
In Des Moines yesterday, a young man had an opportunity to win a state wrestling title. But he would have had to wrestle a young woman who had the same goal. He refused, the Des Moines Register says.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for (Cassy) and (Megan Black) and their accomplishments," Joel's statement read. "However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith, I do not believe that is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."
What would you have done?
Here's a video of the moment of triumph:
Question: Couldn't the young man have stood with the ref and the victor?
3) ON HIRING THE AUTISTIC
A fascinating story this morning from the Pioneer Press: A presentation at 3M yesterday said as baby boomers retire, employers should consider hiring employees with some form of autism:
"You get the people who are kind of quirky, kind of different, and they're very good at one thing," celebrity author Temple Grandin, who has autism herself, told hundreds of attendees at 3M's Maplewood headquarters. "Don't try to de-geek the geek. You can't make him something he's not."
Here's a Ted Talks of hers from about a year ago:
But it looks like it'll be a long time before the lack of people to hire will be a motivating factor to get employers to reconsider their typical hiring patters. MPR's Paul Tosto looks at the numbers and says it's still a buyer's market.
4) BLOOD, SWEAT, & CHEMO
Andy Thieman, a local biker, was diagnosed with testicular cancer on Christmas Eve. So he did what a lot of people do: He started chemo and wrote a blog: Blood, Sweat, & Chemo. On Sunday, a fundraiser is being held in Minneapolis
5) IT WAS MIGRAINE-RELATED, REPORTER SAYS
The Los Angeles TV reporter whose post-Grammy live shot sparked concern that she'd suffered a stroke is talking about what happened. "I knew something was wrong about the third word in," Serene Branson says:
Bonus: Where did OK come from? How did it take over the world? No less an institution than the BBC tackles this one.
Wisconsin politics are in an uproar over an effort to cut benefits and limit the right of public employees to bargain collectively. Should public employees belong to unions?
WHAT WE'RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) - First hour: While the recession technically ended eight months ago, the economy has no clear path to a sustained recovery. How will consumer spending gain traction? What will lead companies to hire more? How will American innovation be impacted in the future?
Second hour: Much has been written about George Washington, but less is known about how George Washington's upbringing and private life shaped his view on politics and leadership. Historian Ron Chernow's new biography aims to change that.
Midday (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) - First hour: Republican legislative leaders on the budget: GOP Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and GOP House Majority Leader Matt Dean.
Second hour: Garrison Keillor, speaking this week at Concordia University in St. Paul about comedy writing.
Science Friday (1-3 p.m.) - First hour: How would you spend money for science research?
Second hour: How games can change the world for the better.
RE: The wrestling match
By refusing to wrestle a girl because he believes it's inappropriate touch (let's infer he believes it's sexually inappropriate), doesn't that sort of imply that boys are also engaging in sexually inappropriate touch during wrestling? What's the difference?
It seems like a pretty rhetorically weak argument to me.
(And let's be honest--any boy wrestling a girl is going to much more concerned about, say, NOT LOSING TO A GIRL than he is about copping a feel or taking advantage of the opportunity to grab some boobies.)
Re: the westler from Iowa, let me first say I think that I agree with idea that "co-ed westling" is a bad idea.
However, I find the young man's comment on "his faith" interesting. What faith, I wonder, supports 'combat and violence' among boys but forbids the same between genders?
Does this faith prohibit westling with any other kind of person? Gays? Stamp collectors? One-armed Mormons?
I agree he -- and Casey -- were put in a bad situation that really had no winners. He lost a shot at the title, and she scored no victory for equality in women's sports.
Anyone who's ever wrestled competitively knows that there's nothing in the world less sexually charged than a wrestling match. My high school team had a girl for a brief time, and since wrestlers are matched up by weight class, she never looked physically overmatched by her opponents.
I came out as gay when I was 15, just before wrestling season began, and as word got around our high school league over the next year, I suddenly found myself winning a suspicious number of forfeits. This was nearly two decades ago, though - things may be quite different today.
For me the intergender nature of the competition takes a back seat to the question of why a home-schooled kid is being allowed to compete on a public high school team?
Sports are a reward for kids who take ALL their classes. Home schoolers are mostly home schooled because their parents are intolerant of mainstream values and good science. (In some cases it's a reaction to poor public schools, but that's clearly not the case in Cedar Rapids.)
I'm sure he's a great kid, but he stole his spot on that squad from another kid who had to sit through real classes before being allowed to compete.
Regardless of how you feel about the wrestling issue, it is neither right nor appropriate to put school children in the position of defining public policy. Some person or organization in a position of authority should release a public statement. A lukewarm policy of "accepting" female competitors is not sufficient. If coed competition is inappropriate for a particular sport, the rules should reflect that. If coed competition is appropriate, release a clear statement that also includes consequences for forfeiting a match.
The coach or athletic director should have made the public statement and endorsed the athlete's position.
Bob, my band Red Label will be playing at the Blood Sweat Chemo fundraiser on Sunday (but I'll be out of town) so thanks for the plug! | <urn:uuid:3eb20133-4252-4010-bc7f-4dfcc6af3b75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2011/02/5x8_-_21811.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96496 | 1,839 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Intel Haswell chips expected to be launched next week, cut power usage and boost performance
Intel Corp will tout a new generation of processors, named Haswell, next week that consume less power, hoping to reinvigorate a stagnant personal computer industry and soothe increasing concerns about its growth.
Intel said it has improved performance and graphics in the upcoming version of its Core chip line, while also slashing power consumption by a whopping 41%.
That, say industry analysts, could help laptop manufacturers build and sell, thinner and smaller computers with significantly longer battery life, which could be a boost to the sluggish PC industry.
Intel is also expected to show off a range of Ultrabook laptops powered by recently launched Ivy Bridge processors, as well as hybrid devices with screens that detach from keyboards to be used as tablets.
Intel’s processors are used in 80 percent of the world’s PCs but the Santa Clara, California company has been slow to adapt its chips for smartphones and tablets and now trails Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which design their chips using power-efficient technology licensed from ARM Holdings Plc. | <urn:uuid:06830515-3647-41b9-a784-53f3f91e47ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://igyaan.in/29642/intel-haswell-chips-expected-launched-week-cut-power-usage-boost-performance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95497 | 227 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Top 10: Must-See Locales In Spain
PamplonaThis well cared for medieval town in northern Spain has many interesting things to offer. Its very well conserved historical center includes many wonderful monuments; the gothic cathedral, built between 1397 and 1530, is listed as one of Spain's most important religious buildings.
The 16th century walls surrounding the city, which remind us that Pamplona was once a fortress, now serve as an orientation tool for visitors as they walk around. The Citadel, a pentagonal fortification also built in the 16th century, is now used for concerts and exhibitions.
In the picturesque mountain ranges of the Navarra region surrounding the city, you will find some of the most original folklore in all of Spain. Finally, wine connoisseurs will surely enjoy the famed D.O. Navarra wines produced in this region.
Main attraction: The annual running of the bulls, one of the most famous events in the country.
MalagaJust as one would expect from the capital city of a region called Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun), Malaga has amazing beaches and great weather. However, this vibrant town has much more to offer than just sea, sand and sunshine. In fact, you will discover many impressive historical monuments, including the kings' palace, Alcazaba, Malaga's most important building from the Moorish period.
The city also boasts breathtaking architecture, several world-class golf courses, wonderful arts and entertainment, and an exciting nightlife. You can start off your evening in one of Malaga's many lively entertainment districts, such as the Zona el Palo, a boardwalk lined with great seafood restaurants and hip bars, or the Zona La Malagueta, a more modern area where young tourists and trendy locals hang out.
After dinner, you have more exciting activities to choose from; there are five main theaters presenting world-class dramatic and musical productions, as well as several very popular nightclubs where you can drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning.
Main attraction: Malaga is famous for its locos veranos or "crazy summers," during which people party and dance on the beaches.
SevilleOne of the most beloved cities by visitors of Spain, Seville boasts great weather with about 3,000 hours of sun per year.
Be sure to visit the winding roads of the old Jewish quarter, known as Barrio de Santa Cruz. Then take a walk along the Guadalquivir River, which features many impressive old buildings and a vibrant nightlife with its many cafés and bars.
In the north of the city, there are many more sights, such as the spectacular Plaza de España. A nice way to get there is by horse cab; just be sure to negotiate the price before you get in.
Seville is at the very heart of Andalusian culture; don't miss out on Andalusian traditions such as bullfighting on Sunday evenings in the summer, traditional flamenco song and dance, and the famous tapas , small dishes often meant to accompany drinks.
Main attraction: In April and May, La Feria de Abril (April Fair) is held; this is the city's best party with traditional dress, parades, dancing, and wild times.
Paradise in Spain and the rock of all rocks... Next Page >> | <urn:uuid:d7c3a97c-6ede-4d02-858b-94b6ac98218e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askmen.com/top_10/travel_top_ten_60/62b_travel_top_ten.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962962 | 702 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Transmits letter [from Fritz Müller].
Has been asked to permit a French translation of Orchids and Journal of researches.
At work on sexual selection.
I think that part of the enclosed letter is well worth your reading, viz about the grass of which the awns like a tendril catch its own rachis. The first part about Escholtzia, which is self-sterile in a much greater degree in S. Brazil than here, is not worth your reading. At the end of the note however there is a good & precise case of the transmission of character from the individual flowers on the same spike.
Please return the letter.
I am rather glad to have the excuse of sending it, as I want to hear a little news of you. About myself I have no news, as I am going on in my old routine. The subject of sexual selection grows bigger & bigger as I progress but I suppose I shall some day end it. We are a very small party here at present for Lizzy is gone to Germany & Henrietta is in a very poor state & has been confined to her bed room for the last fortnight.
As you always puff me up so I must tell you that I have just been applied to to permit a French trans. of my Orchis book. It bothers me a good deal to know how much to add, for I have an immense amount of new matter; want of time however will compel me I think to make but few additions.
yours affectionately | Ch Darwin
Though I am so despised by the great guns of the Institute, I presume I am rising in estimation amongst the mob, for another man has applied to translate my Journal of Travels.— Here is a boasting note.
- f1 6647.f1The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from Fritz Müller, 12 January 1869.
- f2 6647.f2CD evidently enclosed the letter from Fritz Müller, 12 January 1869. CD refers to Müller's experiments with Eschscholzia californica and maize.
- f3 6647.f3CD refers to his research for Descent.
- f4 6647.f4According to Emma Darwin's diary (DAR 242), Elizabeth Darwin left on 5 March, and Henrietta Emma Darwin was very ill from 23 February until 9 March 1869.
- f5 6647.f5The French translation of Orchids by Louis Rérolle was published in 1870 (Rérolle trans. 1870). CD's additions to the French edition were in the form of footnotes ending `C. D., mai 1869'. CD published an English version of these notes in Annals and Magazine of Natural History in July 1869 (`Fertilization of orchids'). Much of this material was later incorporated into the text of the second edition of Orchids.
- f6 6647.f6CD probably alludes to the Académie des Sciences and to the negative reception of Darwinian views among the French scientific élite (see Browne 2002, pp. 260--1). Charles Phipps Haussoullier had requested permission to translate CD's Journal of researches into French (see letter from C. P. Haussoullier, 31 January 1869 and n. 1). | <urn:uuid:156b474a-cf77-4f62-9521-c3e461d79503> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-6647 | 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 | 0.94757 | 700 | 1.695313 | 2 |
360° Business Smarts
Just how alien is the business side of an organization to the IT workers running things, and vice versa? Traditionally we think of IT guys as geeks who are focused on their own narrow little world. Still, any worker could help watch to see that little things which might have slipped by someone on the business side are caught before they create a problem. But is it reasonable to expect those same IT workers, who are often heavily involved in tasks strategic to running the business, and who may need to focus fully on the IT tasks at hand, to also keep an eye on customers, competitors, and the business environment, as if they were the guys wearing the business suits?
If optimum utilization of every IT worker is important for peek efficiency, who funds his/her time learning the other non-IT side of the business? Is there any special viewpoint an IT worker’s eye might catch that might otherwise go unnoticed? What about the true geeks who can’t or don’t want to pay attention to non-IT? Since the IT work has to get done, how much time is it fair to expect an IT worker to spend in cultivating 360 degrees of business smarts? | <urn:uuid:a2bf5d60-a1b2-4d06-b66d-c9d6d9b85e4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ciotalkradio.com/Blog/Entry/360d-business-smarts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9707 | 248 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Australian Government's decision to ban Huawei from tendering for the National Broadband Network (NBN) has sent ripples across the Tasman, with the New Zealand Labour Party calling on its government to explain Huawei's involvement with New Zealand's ultra-fast broadband roll-out.
The government banned Chinese-owned network vendor Huawei from competing for contracts with the NBN because of security fears. Huawei has long been under scrutiny because of alleged links with the People's Liberation Army. The office of the attorney-general said that it had the responsibility to protect the integrity of the network and the information carried on it, and Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the decision was "prudent".
Huawei has picked up a number of contracts for rolling out fibre across New Zealand as part of the government's NZ$1.5 billion ultra-fast broadband project. The open-access fibre network will cover 75 per cent of the country and will be able to offer Kiwis download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 50Mbps. As with Australia's NBN, the roll-out is expected to take 10 years.
Although the contracts were awarded with not much controversy in 2011, in light of the ban in Australia, Labour Party ICT spokesperson Clare Curran has said it raises questions about the security and integrity of New Zealand's own network.
"The government is refusing to explain why it has taken a different decision to the Australian Government when it comes to security matters relating to Huawei's involvement in broadband projects," Curran said in a statement.
"While the Australian Government has banned Huawei from tendering for any contracts attached to its $36 billion broadband scheme, our Prime Minister blithely says he is 'comfortable with checks done' over the security of the New Zealand network."
Curran said the government was refusing to say whether New Zealand Prime Minister John Key had been briefed by the Australian Government for the reasons behind the ban, and would not offer any guarantees about the security of the New Zealand broadband network.
"Essentially, our government is looking the other way and refusing to take a second look at the contracts that have been given to Huawei despite the intense public interest in this matter."
The country's Greens Party has also asked the NZ parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee to investigate Huawei, according to Yahoo News New Zealand.
New Zealand ICT Minister Amy Adams told ZDNet Australia earlier this week that the government doesn't comment on specific vendors.
"Network security is an issue we take seriously. The government will work with all suppliers and operators to address any security concerns that may be identified, and is committed to working with operators and suppliers to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the [Ultra-fast Broadband] and [Rural Broadband Initiative] networks."
The news comes as newly inducted Foreign Minister Bob Carr has urged Huawei to continue expanding in Australia despite the ban.
"I would urge the company to continue to expand in Australia not withstanding this decision," Carr told the ABC.
"It's not unusual for countries, and China cannot be exempt from these considerations, to take national security concerns into account when it looks at certain types of foreign investment."
Yesterday it was also revealed that security firm Symantec had ended its US joint venture with Huawei because it reportedly feared its affiliation with the Chinese telecommunications company would prevent it from obtaining classified information from the US Government about cyberthreats.
AAP contributed to this article | <urn:uuid:cb2f6f76-1b70-457f-ab3f-9fd959221f5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zdnet.com/huawei-fears-spread-to-new-zealand-1339334731/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967329 | 707 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Image via Wikipedia
As you read the article from the National Post below, understand the underlying process taking place.
This is part of the UN/NWO/Elite/Banker/Corp plan for domination. This follows the UN plan for depopulation and bankrupting of people.
If you can’t access the medicines you require you obviously won’t live as long. If you own assets like property, you may be forced to sell to get money for medicine or medical treatment like an operation. Agenda 21 states that private property is not sustainable. What a great way to get you to give up your property…..something anyone would do to save their life.
Also understand, the gov could make available all medicine and operations if they wanted to. They unfortunately have bought into the UN/NWO/Corp agenda.
You are no longer a living breathing person, not in their eyes. You are a “human resource”, like any other resource, used for generation of corporate profit. When a resource costs a corporation money, it becomes a liability and is “risk managed.” If you become ill or have reached retirement age you become a liability.
This also reflects the UN Universal Human Rights Code which declares everyone has the right to adequate health-care. Problem-who decides what “adequate” is? You, your doctor, your employer or the UN and the Corporations?
It’s time to wake-up to the “new reality.”
Keep this in mind as you read the National Post story below-
A growing tide of high-priced specialty medicines for arthritis, cancer and other diseases is set to put unprecedented pressure on workplace drug plans, likely forcing strict limits on what they cover, higher employee premiums and even an end to some plans altogether, experts are warning.
The private benefit programs that millions of Canadians depend on are due for “radical change” that could force many to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for their medications, one consultant planned to tell a conference Thursday of the Health Charities Coalition of Canada.
“I believe it’s going to move the employer drug plan into an era of unaffordability and unsustainability,”
David West of Mercer Human Resources Consulting said in an interview Wednesday. “I think it’s a critical issue. Unless all the players and stakeholders get together and develop a mutually beneficial process, it’s going to be difficult for a lot of individuals to access these meds.”
Even now, specialty drugs like Remicade — a “biologic” treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease — account for less than 1% of the number of claims to private insurance, and 16% of the total costs. A year’s worth of infusions can carry a price tag of close to $50,000.
One mid-size employer decided this week that its plan would no longer cover any biologics, said Mike Sullivan, president of Cubic Health, which advises employer benefit managers.
Mr. West said he has heard from other employers seeking to end their biologics coverage, too.
“It’s a massive issue that is really only starting to come to the surface now,” Mr. Sullivan said.
Mr. West said he first became aware of the issue about a year ago when he learned of a new biologic to treat Lupus. Very pricey, it was still likely to be relatively widely used.
Further research revealed 74 biologics and other speciality drugs for diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s far into the pipeline, plus 22 new cancer drugs that were late in the stage of development and would qualify for coverage under most private plans, said Mr. West.
He estimates that costs will soar by 2.5 to three fold by 2019 at the latest and possibly within the next three to four years. Benefits mangers are rattled by the fact many of the high-cost medications are for ongoing, long-term treatment of conditions, rather than, say, an expensive cancer drug that may only be needed for a few months.
Some plans are already reporting claims of $650,000 a year for Soliris, a drug to tread a rare blood disorder, Mr. West said.
Meanwhile, those savings from generic drugs are disproportionately benefiting government drug programs that mostly cover the elderly, said Mr. Sullivan. Many of the new specialty medications will be used more by people in their working years, covered by employer plans, he said. And those products average about $1,500 a claim, versus $50 a claim for the standard type of medication.
The result is likely to be restrictions on what is covered and overall caps on how much each employee can claim, said Mr. Sullivan. Mr. West said it is possible some drug plans will be cancelled entirely.
“We’re moving into an era where, if the drug spend rises too high, too quickly, employers will likely take drastic action,” he said.
Mr. West suggested that plans will have to take more measures to control costs, such as ensuring that medical guidelines are followed, which can mean reserving the new, high-cost drugs as last-ditch treatments.
Not convinced? Read on……..
For environmentally sustainable populations
Too Many Canadians?
In Canada many believe there is an abundance of resources and endless space for more and more people. But, numbers are growing by nearly 1% a year and non-renewable resources diminishing. In the densely populated southern tier where 90% live, urban congestion, environmental pollution and social challenges associated with crowded living conditions are a growing reality. Ecosystems face increased pressures as we devour our best farmlands and forests, pollute the waters we drink and the air we breathe, in the process hastening the pace of habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and climate change.
Too Large a Footprint
With one of the largest per capita ecological footprints in the world, Canadians can no longer ignore the negative impact of our population growth on the environment.
World Bank United Nations Monsanto global food agenda population control
Bill Gates – Does He Want You Dead?
Dr. Arlene King – Is the H1N1 Flu a Hoax?
WHO memos 1972 explains how to turn vaccines into a means of killing
H1N1 Vaccine with Mercury and Squalene Pushed on Pregnant Women
Bill Ryerson – Global Population Speakout
Horrors of Vaccination Exposed and Illustrated | <urn:uuid:c3ea2ba5-1f9b-4766-b853-ab8f83a4fa19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://canadiantruths.wordpress.com/category/health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948159 | 1,357 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Virginia Commonwealth University currently offers first professional degree programs leading to the Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) degrees. VCU’s professional degree programs are administered by the individual health sciences schools. Professional licensure requirements, the accreditation agencies for each professional program and the curriculum committees of the individual health sciences schools determine the program requirements.
The Professional Studies Bulletin documents the official admission and academic rules and regulations that govern education in the professional degree programs at the university. In-depth descriptions of each professional degree program are provided in the individual school and program pages of this bulletin. The bulletin Web site also provides program updates that occur throughout the academic year.
It is the responsibility of all professional students to be familiar with the Professional Studies Bulletin of record (the bulletin in effect at the time of official admission), as well as the academic regulations in individual school and department publications and on program Web sites. Students enrolled in professional degree programs should contact their dean’s office at any time regarding questions relating to professional programs study at VCU. | <urn:uuid:5a24e168-996a-484a-8e92-3885dd162ace> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/Bulletins/professional/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938581 | 241 | 1.515625 | 2 |
COVINGTON -- Area libraries are hoping to make your trip to the library a little more enjoyable this week by celebrating National Library Week.
The special week, which starts Sunday and ends next weekend, has been celebrated in the United States since 1958.
This year, the Newton and Rockdale county library systems will continue the celebration with some special events.
The Newton County Library System will hold a weeklong celebration at the Covington Branch.
All week in the Garden Room, the Satsuki Garden Club will feature homemade arrangements based on books suggested by staff.
"They really get into it and have a good time doing it," said Stevin Herald of the library's information desk. "It's fun for us, and it brightens up the Garden Room for at least a week."
Library staff plan to judge the arrangements Tuesday, and they will remain up all week.
The celebration will continue on Wednesday, when library staff and guests are encouraged to wear fun hats, and on Thursday, when they are asked to wear blue. Everyone is asked to dress up as their favorite book characters on Friday.
"We like to have fun all the time at the library, but during this week, we like to turn it up a notch," said Herald. "We try to come up with fun activities ... and show support for our staff."
At the Nancy Guinn Memorial Library in Conyers will celebrate the week with a special guest. Susan Rosson Spain, a Conyers author of books for young adults, will present two programs this week.
From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the meeting room, she will meet with middle and high school students for a discussion of her novel, "The Deep Cut," which is set in Virginia during the Civil War and based partly on her family history. She will teach students about the impact of the Civil War from a teenager's perspective and discuss the setting and characters in the novel.
At the same time and place Wednesday, Spain invites adult writers to participate in an open discussion about what it takes to become a successful published children's author.
"We hope to reach out to more citizens of Rockdale County," said Lauren Knowlton, youth services librarian at the library.
She said the library has always had active children and youth programs and now hopes to offer more adult programs, like an adult summer reading, with the recent expansion and renovations.
"We're able to look forward now," she said.
April also is School Library Month, and Tuesday is National Library Workers Day.
The Newton County Library's main Covington branch is located at 7116 Floyd St. N.E. in Covington. Its hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays; it is closed Sundays.
The Nancy Guinn Memorial Library, which is located on at 864 Green St. in Conyers, is opening from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; it is closed on Sundays.
Both are part of the PINES Georgia library system. | <urn:uuid:20eecee6-148e-4748-a69d-885b9bb8204a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2011/apr/08/branches-to-hold-events-for-national-library-week/?community | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975926 | 679 | 1.695313 | 2 |
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