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What would happen if there were a massive fire raging through Oakland that was spreading and had overwhelmed the city Fire Department? Or a flu that had killed more than 1,000 people and that public health authorities had not been able to contain?
Would the Oakland City Council hesitate one second to declare a public health emergency as it has the power to do under Section 213 of the city charter? The provision grants a city's governing body expanded powers to "protect the public health, safety or welfare."
I highly doubt it.
Well, there has been a plague ravaging this city for decades now. It may not be a natural disaster or what is typically viewed as a public health crisis like HIV/AIDS, but it is a deadly public health crisis nonetheless. Oakland is in the grips of a street shooting epidemic that has been claiming victims for as long as many people can remember.
In 2012, 131 people were killed. Most of them were shot dead in the streets. Hundreds more were shot and survived. Shooting victims are driving themselves to Highland Hospital.
The California Emergency Services Act defines a local emergency as a "condition of extreme peril to person or property proclaimed by the governing body of the local agency affected."
I don't know about you, but four people shot and killed in six hours on the streets of this city this past Friday? A woman encountering a man who had been shot to death lying on the sidewalk while
I'd call that "extreme peril to persons."
I can't think of one good reason why Oakland shouldn't use its local emergency ordinance -- and everything else at its disposal, for that matter -- to help get control of the killing that is wiping out a whole generation of young black men in East and West Oakland who have been so brainwashed by thug culture that they are intent on destroying themselves along with anyone else who gets in their way?
We are dealing with a lethal disease.
As if we needed a reminder of that fact, city and police officials held a news conference Monday to discuss Oakland's latest shooting madness in front of a mural dedicated to Carlos Nava. In August 2011, Carlos, 3, was shot and killed in gang crossfire on International Boulevard in broad daylight while his mother pushed him in his stroller. Gabriel Martinez, 5, was shot a few months later in December near his father's taco stand not far away on the same street.
I thought about those little boys and about all the people who have been murdered since in gun violence. I thought about how many times I had attended variations of the same news conference listening to the same speeches by public officials and community leaders about how we will not tolerate the killing in this city. Yet we, as a community, continue to tolerate the killing in our city.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and police Chief Howard Jordan said at Monday's news conference that Oakland does not need to pass a local state of emergency ordinance.
"We have already been operating under a state of emergency," Quan said. She and Jordan said they had already asked Gov. Jerry Brown for help. That he had sent U.S. marshals and California Highway Patrol officers to assist the Oakland Police Department. They said declaring a local state of emergency wouldn't get Oakland any more assistance from Sacramento.
I'm not so sure about that. A declaration of emergency followed by a public request for help to Brown could bring more pressure to bear on the governor, who does have a home in Oakland. Who knows if there could be additional state funds found to help hire more police officers? More intensive regional mutual aid. The governor also has the authority to send the National Guard.
An emergency ordinance would give local authorities greater law enforcement powers -- such as the power to "impose a curfew within designated boundaries where necessary to promote the public safety," according to the state emergency services act.
Right now, Oakland could only legally use curfews if they covered the whole city. Which would make no sense when the shooting is concentrated in certain areas.
Jordan said Monday that officials are exploring the legality of using the emergency ordinance even though they have chosen not to use it at this time.
When you have this level of bloodshed on your streets, why not use every available tool at your disposal? | <urn:uuid:a4ae2f05-a475-4131-88f7-ea5ef2637e6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_22372732/tammerlin-drummond-no-good-reason-not-declare-public?source=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9798 | 859 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Over the last year, the state has been talking about the launch of a new political organization: OneMaine. Constructive change is coming to political dialogue in Maine. We want and expect the best from our dialogue and our political leaders.
Stemming from Eliot Cutler’s independent campaign for governor in 2010, OneMaine provides a rallying point for people who want the best for Maine; we believe that our politics need to be more effective and less partisan. The organization will support thoughtful candidates for elected office in Maine, regardless of political affiliation.
OneMaine is not a political party, but a new way of practicing politics.
OneMaine is a group of Maine citizens who believe that the solutions to our problems will be found in partnership with those who occupy and advance the middle ground between the extreme elements and ideologies in both parties. OneMaine is nonpartisan. It welcomes independents and Republicans and Democrats.
The goal of OneMaine? To foster a political conversation that is not about partisan advantage or who defeats whom. OneMaine will be about supporting those who tackle the challenging issues we face and identifying the solutions we need in Maine.
The members of the OneMaine Penobscot County Leadership Team are still proud members of our respective political parties (and we come from both sides of the aisle), but we recognize that we need a new way forward. Even though we come from different parties and perspectives, we agree more than we disagree, we greatly respect each other’s opinions, and we enjoy a lively discussion that ultimately ends in a good solution.
Most of us, as voters in Maine, vote for a candidate and not a candidate’s political affiliation. That’s why we have sent two Republican Senators and two Democratic Members of Congress to Washington. We want common sense solutions, and support such solutions even if introduced by a member of a party different from our own. We want to move Maine forward and beyond a new fad or a new faction, solutions are more important than statements.
We’re all in this together, and we believe that a rising tide lifts all rafts; in this economy, it is particularly important to lift the lives of Maine residents. Too often, however, party interests are prioritized instead of constituent concerns or sustainable solutions. Too often, special interests leverage sound bites and fear mongering in order to influence our elected officials and the voters.
That needs to change.
OneMaine is that change, that new way of practicing politics.
We in the Greater Bangor already work together across party lines. Many of us participated directly in bipartisan, cross-community efforts in the Bangor region with the Arena Yes! Campaign; Bangor residents, whether Democrats, Republicans or independents all came together to support a common cause. Through civil dialogue, and by taking the typical politics out of the issue, we came together and demonstrated that common sense solutions can be reached.
That is one reason why we know OneMaine will be embraced in our community: Many of our friends, neighbors and colleagues are already OneMainers, whether they know it or not. The percentage of unaffiliated voters only climbs as gridlock in Washington demonstrates why partisan politics divide when we need to come together.
In a July Washington Post-ABC News poll, 80 percent of people polled were either “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way Washington works. According to the Post, this is the highest percentage in two decades.
While the same polling hasn’t been done specific to Augusta, we know that people are also frustrated with the current state of our political dialogue in Maine.
As the Bangor Daily News editorialized this spring (“Maine’s Middle Man,” April 7), “If the OneMaine PAC can raise money and distribute it to candidates, from any or no party, who embrace these mixed-bag views on the issues of the day and our legislative process is transformed, Mr. Cutler can rightly claim to have made Maine a better place.”
We agree, and hope you will join us in this important effort.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, OneMaine is having a launch party in Bangor, and we hope you’ll come and hear for yourself about this exciting new movement. The event is at Paddy Murphy’s, 6-8 p.m., and we look forward to seeing you there.
The OneMaine Penobscot County Leadership Team includes Tony Brinkley, Andrew Hamilton, Jim Page, Clare Payne, Sarah Morehead and Miles Theeman. | <urn:uuid:7bbc7807-554f-408d-a546-b5e839d929dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2011/09/18/opinion/contributors/onemaine-a-new-way-of-practicing-politics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940748 | 950 | 1.703125 | 2 |
If you want human rights you must behave like a human
It’s our human right to have the chance of freedom, claim notorious killers sentenced to die in prison
Three notorious murderers sentenced to die in jail are demanding their ‘human right’ to be considered for freedom.
In an explosive move, the unelected European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear the cases, putting Strasbourg on a collision course with the UK Government and enraging victims.
Each killer committed crimes so serious they were handed a ‘whole life’ sentence by the courts.
But Jeremy Bamber, Peter Moore and Douglas Vinter argue these should be subject to ‘regular review’ to prove they have reformed.
Can they understand that their actions, their abuse of freedom and their choice to destroy others is what caused them to lose their ‘rights’? How can they not get that? How can anyone else support them in this fight?
They say condemning them to die in jail amounts to ‘inhuman or degrading treatment’ and breaches their right to a fair trial.
Murdering others is inhuman and degrading. THEY chose to do that now you have your ‘rewards’! If the shoe fits wear it.
They gave up the rights they claim to be in violation when they proved themselves to be severe threats to society in general. These individuals chose to act in a way that severely violated the rights of those that they killed, those that cared for and knew the people that they killed and society by causing fear. These individuals made the decisions they did and chose to give up their rights.
If the court rules in their favour, every one of the 41 ‘whole life’ killers behind bars is handed a chance to get out.
This is insane. The worst of the worst will be given the chance to again walk the streets. Even the chance is a horrifying prospect.
The case has provoked fury from ministers, who have pledged to fight the ruling ‘tooth and nail’.
I hope that the public also fights to make sure that serial killers do not get released back into their societies. The public needs to protest loudly against this. They can not simply hope that the worst will never actually be released because the chance that someone will cry hard and loud enough about their supposed reformed value may get them out.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said: ‘It goes without saying that the Government will be fighting the case vigorously and defending the principle of the whole life tariff.
‘There will always be a small number of prisoners whose crimes are so appalling that judges rule that they should never become eligible for parole.
‘Their decisions should be upheld.’
All convicted murderers are given life sentences but in most cases judges set a minimum term – of up to 30 years.
After this, the parole board rules on whether or not they are safe to be released.
But courts hand out a ‘whole life’ term if the crime is seen as ‘exceptionally serious’.
They are given to repeat killers who plan their crimes or have a sadistic or sexual motive.
Child killers who abduct their victims or abuse them may also receive a whole life sentence.
The case will come before the Strasbourg court within months.
Parole boards have routinely allowed violent offenders to return to general society. In the USA Arthur Shawcross was paroled after 14 1/2 years (on a 25 yr sentence) even though he raped, tortured and murdered two children. The parole board overlooked a report that said he was a danger instead relying on another report that praised his good behavior while in prison. It is usually easier for serial criminals to ‘behave’ in prison due to the tight schedules and the fact that they know parole is dependent on their behavior. They out smart the parole system all too often.
Let’s take a look at these three upstanding citizens that feel their rights have been violated.
Jeremy Bamber slaughtered five members of his family in 1985. He shot his adoptive parents, June and Nevill, his sister Sheila Caffell and her six-year-old twins Daniel and Nicholas at their house in Essex.
Welsh serial killer Peter Moore was jailed for life in 1996 for murdering Henry Roberts, 56, Edward Carthy, 28, Keith Randles, 49 and Anthony Davies, 40.
The men were repeatedly stabbed and left half-naked.
Bodybuilder Douglas Vinter was released from prison after nine years for killing a work colleague, Carl Edon, 22, in 1995.
On his release, he stabbed his wife Anne White four times and strangled her.
So, we have a family annihilator who did not even have a problem killing little kids, a serial killer and double murderer whose second killing was committed right after his release on the first murder charge.
Last night Mr Edon’s mother, Valerie, 65, said: ‘Don’t we have any human rights, what about the victims? He’s a monster. He will definitely kill again if he gets out.’
Miss White’s mother, Peggy, 65, added: ‘It’s scandalous what he’s trying to do. There are two families ruined because of what he’s done.’
I think those are the voices that need to be heard. These two mothers need to scream their feelings from the roof tops before some commission decides to give these repeat violent offenders the chance to kill in the general public once again.
Of course, I say reinstate capital punishment, but that is just my opinion. | <urn:uuid:901773dd-7202-4bbc-9144-f686f8d03329> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychowatcher.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/if-you-want-human-rights-you-must-behave-like-a-human/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96697 | 1,170 | 1.71875 | 2 |
At a news conference this afternoon, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the ING New York City Marathon would be run as scheduled on Sunday.
“There are tens of thousands of people who come from around the world here to run,” Bloomberg said. “We’ve decided that the marathon will go on.
The announcement came after city and race officials determined that it would be safe to hold the 26.2-mile event in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Bloomberg said at the news conference that the race is an important part of the city’s economy, and people who died in the storm would want the race to go on.
“The bottom line is, some people said you shouldn’t run the marathon,” he said. “There are an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people. We have to have an economy.”
The race is expected to attract about 47,000 runners, and will be carried live on ESPN2 and ABC7. The ESPN broadcast is the first live, national airing of the race since 1993. | <urn:uuid:9f0affa4-7c1a-4d84-9095-58f5f1b431db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nyrr.org/newsroom/nyrr-news-service/mayor-ing-new-york-city-marathon-will-go-on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973268 | 227 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Hallelujah to spring and summer! The sun is shining and life is good. Let’s eat outside.
As soon as the first glimmer of sunlight appears, the barbecues are smoking. Everyone is eating in parks, backyards and on their decks. They are eating the summer foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad and macaroni salad.
Macaroni salad is similar yet different in every home and in every delicatessen across America. The personal tastes of individual cooks are added to each version of macaroni salad. I started making my own macaroni salad about 30 years ago.
Mayonnaise and I are not good friends. When I first started making macaroni salad, I added vinegar to the mayonnaise. It tasted good but sometimes it curdled a little. Then I added milk to thin out the mayonnaise, making it smoother. That worked fine. Water works well also to thin out the mayonnaise.
I learned these tricks by tasting other homemade macaroni salads and asking the cooks how they made them. The cooked corn ingredient in my version actually came from my Japanese friend. She invited me to lunch and served macaroni salad with corn. I had never seen it served with that way before, and it was good.
I have been very fortunate to have grown up with a close family. My house was on a very busy street in Queens with three factories on the block and the Long Island Railroad two houses away from mine. The house was Victorian-style—old with a gazebo covered in grapevines on the property.
Inside the gazebo were benches and a table. During the summer the big treat was eating inside the shaded gazebo with my family and my mom’s sister’s family, who lived downstairs from us. Those were special times and we knew it.
It was a lot of extra work to carry everything outside and wait for my dad to get home from work before we could eat, but it was worth it. Those were the lazy days of summer.
Macaroni salad is only a side dish but to me, it represents summer, and summer is a relaxing time of year. It is also a time for eating outside together with friends and family.
I don’t have a gazebo on my little piece of property I have now, but I do have a deck. My husband built it himself. It took two years to build, and believe me, I nagged him about it because we couldn’t take vacations since the money was used to build the deck.
He was right: He said I would love it and I do. We eat Sunday breakfast out there and read the papers. I entertain more in the summer because of the deck—I love that deck. We have had many happy memories on that deck already, and we are working on many more.
If you have a deck, yard or a patio, get out there and have some meals outdoors. If you don’t have any of those areas available to you, pack a picnic basket and head to the park. Before you know it, you will be building your own memory of summer foods and summer fun.
- 1 16-ounce package elbow macaroni
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup green Italian pepper, chopped
- 2 to 3 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1/4 cup of cooked corn (optional)
- 3/4 to 1 cup Hellmann’s real mayonnaise (not low fat)
- 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or water or milk
- Salt and pepper
- Cook elbow macaroni until al dente (a little hard, not too soft) according to package. Immediately when finished cooking, drain macaroni in a colander under cold water to prevent it from becoming sticky.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl add chopped onion, celery, peppers and corn. When the macaroni is drained well and cool toss it in with the vegetables.
- Add mayonnaise and salt and pepper. (I sprinkle in water or milk or apple cider vinegar to make a creamy texture.) Mix well. (Do not use all three; just add one of the liquids to thin out the mayonnaise.)
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.
- ENJOY! Macaroni Salad is really great for summertime or any time of year!
Mariann Raftery, creator of Somebody's Mom blog, cooks up comfort food recipes for families here at home, as well as sending homemade cookie care packages to our American soldiers overseas. Somebody's Mom Cooking videos at http://www.youtube.com, search "Thesomebodysmom". | <urn:uuid:ff5a5640-3d01-477a-af73-f21df9519ad3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newrochelle.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/macaroni-salad | 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 | 0.967048 | 1,008 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Each week we dip into the Ask How-To Geek mailbox and answer your pressing questions. This week we’re looking at installing PDF printers, hiding accounts at the Windows Login Screen, and sharing a USB HDD between computers.
Adding a PDF Printer
Dear How-To Geek,
In your rant article on Style Sheets, you mention Print to PDF: “And of course, there’s loads of people that use print-to-PDF to save articles for later without wasting paper.”
Being basically CHEAP, I liked this idea so decided to try it out this morning. I don’t have a Print to PDF option when I go to print. How do I get this option?
Looking for PDFs in St. Louis
There isn’t a default PDF printer built into Windows, so you’ll need to add one. It’s really simple to do so and once you’re done you’ll have easy-peasy access to a PDF printer for all your future print-to-file needs. While you could go the official route and pay for Adobe Acrobat, that’s overkill for simple access to a PDF printer. Instead we suggest you follow our guide to installing CutePDF under Windows Vista (the guide will work fine for Windows 7, also). You’ll be PDF printing in a matter of minutes.
Tidying Up the Windows Login Screen
Dear How-to Geek,
Today I was wondering why I had to select my username on my laptop that’s only being used by me. Every time I need to click on the same icon after starting my computer. If you have one account on Windows Vista/7 you can just type in the password and start. But when you have 2 accounts (one is the administrator and one is the normal user) you need to select one. I don’t use the administrator-account, at least not in my daily use. I would like to have Windows 7 to ask directly for my normal account. I know it’s just one single click but it’s an useless click. What can I do?
Give Me One Click or Give Me Death
Dear One Click,
It certainly would be nice if Windows had a built-in setting which allowed you to hide logins, wouldn’t it? While we’re sitting around waiting for that setting to appear, however, we can achieve the same end with a simple registry edit. You can check out our guide to removing user accounts from the login screen in Windows Vista/7 here. Other readers might be interested in our similar guide for Windows XP here.
Connecting Multiples Computers to One USB HDD
Dear How-To Geek,
I would like to give four computers access to a single USB hard drive. There’s a big catch, though. None of the computers are networked and I would like to share the hard drive with all of them via USB at the same time. Is this possible?
Sharing USB in San Diego
We’re sorry to inform you that there’s really no way to accomplish what you’re asking, at least not without some concessions that essentially amount to building a simple network. USB cannot be split in the fashion in which you desire. USB connects to a host computer via one controller and that controller handles everything. You can’t split a USB connection between multiple locations and have the HDD simultaneously mounted.
That said, you can easily accomplish the kind of connectivity you need very cheaply. Since you wanted to share the drive among non-networked computers we’ll go out on a limb and assume that they are close to each other (close enough for a USB cord to reach). With the computers that close together it will be absolutely trivial to set up a simple network. You’ll need a router, but not a very fancy one. Ask around to see if any of your friends have an old router laying around (you’ll probably find at least one or two friends with an old Wi-Fi B router they’d be happy to get rid of). Barring that, you can find plenty of cheap but dependable refurbished routers online like this Linksys router.
In addition to the router you’ll need four lengths of Ethernet cable to hook the PCs to the router. Once everything is hooked together you need to plug the drive into one of the PCs (pick the one that will be turned on the most) and share the drive with the network. Read how to share files between XP and Windows 7 here and how to set up simple sharing under Vista/7 here. Once you’ve shared the folder/drive on the network all the other machines will be able to access it with the host computer acting as the controller.
We know that’s not quite the answer you’re looking for but it’s the fastest and most functional solution to your problem.
Have a burning tech question? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and you might just see your question on the front page.
Jason Fitzpatrick is warranty-voiding DIYer and all around geek. When he's not documenting mods and hacks he's doing his best to make sure a generation of college students graduate knowing they should put their pants on one leg at a time and go on to greatness, just like Bruce Dickinson. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 05/2/11 | <urn:uuid:a3982801-ad69-4cb3-b7b5-a1fca12c7a1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.howtogeek.com/61823/ask-htg-adding-a-pdf-printer-hiding-windows-logins-and-sharing-a-usb-hdd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931084 | 1,145 | 1.6875 | 2 |
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the Catholic Church of the Beatitudes will sponsor a talk, “The Story of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious: A Conversation with Sr. Judy Cauley, CSJ, and Barbara Marx Hubbard.”
They will tell their eyewitness experience of the conference. Hubbard delivered two keynote addresses at the August meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Cauley was her thought partner.
Please join us at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St., at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a reception and at 7:30 p.m. for their talk.
The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has been in the news quite a bit lately after the Vatican criticized them publicly for not speaking out more on issues such as abortion, homosexuality, ordination of women, and contraception. They mandated that the LCWR be overseen by three American bishops as they look into reorganizing.
Many of the issues with the Vatican seem to stem from the interpretation of how to live out Vatican II, which began 50 years ago in October. Founded in 1956, the mission of the conference is to assist its members to collaboratively carry out their service of leadership to further the mission of the Gospel in today’s world.
The Vatican claims that its issue of concern is not with women religious but with the Leadership Conference for Women Religious. Women religious elect their leadership who in turn become members of LCWR; they live and act as one. There are more than 57,000 sisters/nuns in our country, 83 percent of whom are active members of LCWR. The women are current or past members of the congregation’s leadership teams and seek to make the Gospel a living reality in our ever-evolving world through their collective and collaborative efforts.
For many of these women, the world and their expression of religious life have undergone significant changes since they joined their communities. These women took the Vatican Council seriously and have continued to respond to the needs of changing times. They walk and work with our marginalized and disenfranchised sisters and brothers to bring forth the emerging church and world.
Sister Sandra Schneiders, IHM, recently referred to Jesus’ leadership, saying: “Jesus did not come to exercise coercive power over recalcitrant sinners, to forcibly mold them according to some abstract divine plan of moral perfection. ... Jesus never resorted to violence, thought-control or loyalty oaths, intimidation through shaming or threats of rejection, expulsion from the covenant community, execution, or eternal damnation. Rather, Jesus taught by world-subverting parables, challenging questions, insistent dialogue, by patient persuasion, repeated invitation, probing argument, and especially by his original and arresting interpretations of Scripture, which were sometimes startling in their radicality because Jesus favored people and their needs over the requirements of even the most sacred laws.”
This interaction of the Vatican with the LCWR is not something new in our church history. Recently, the media reported that Pope Benedict will name Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th century mystic, as a Doctor of the Catholic Church in October. The title, Doctor of the Catholic Church, is reserved for those women and men whose writings have greatly helped our understanding of Scripture and living a spiritual life.
Hildegard is known for her art, music and poetry, but she also wrote volumes on theology, religious practices and medicine. She was an outspoken woman who was consulted by and gave advice to bishops, popes and kings. She took the hierarchy to task for the corruption that took place in the form of sexual, monetary and self-indulgence. When someone asked if it was proper for a nun to speak out, she responded, “Yes, it is both a woman’s and a nun’s place to make their voice heard.”
I was delighted with the news that a fourth woman would be named one of the 35 Doctors of the Church. I began to wonder about the other three women who had been given this prestigious honor. Did they, like Hildegard, feel the necessity to speak out, to question and to seek dialogue?
Saint Teresa of Avila was a mystic of the 16th century. Some critics considered her insights and teaching of doctrine to be suspect. She was under scrutiny for heresy by the Spanish Inquisition for advocating her thoughts on a prayer style that was more meditative than the intellectual Latin form that was the norm.
Saint Therese of Lisieux was from the 19th century and only lived to age 24. Her spirituality, called The Little Way, is about finding God in all things, even the simplest of chores such as washing dishes or sweeping the floor. When told at 14 she was too young to enter the convent, she would not accept the ruling that she wait until she was 21. She pressured her father, convent leadership and the bishop. All declined. Undaunted, Therese went to the pope, who allowed her to enter the convent when she was 15.
Although all four of these women came from different eras and cultures, each, in her own way, was a model of understanding the primacy of conscience, seeking dialogue, speaking out against injustice and speaking the truth to power.
Their actions and interactions do not seem very different from that of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. In her address to the 900 people gathered in St. Louis for the LCWR conference, Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell said, “What would a prophetic response to the doctrinal assessment look like? I think it would be humble, but not submissive; rooted in a solid sense of ourselves, but not self-righteous; truthful, but gentle and absolutely fearless. It would ask probing questions. ... Does the institutional legitimacy of canonical recognition empower us to live prophetically? Does it allow us the freedom to question with informed consciences? Does it really welcome feedback in a church that claims to honor the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful?”
Ending her remarks with a reflection on the Gospel parable of the mustard seed, Farrell showed an image of mustard plants growing in a field, saying the seed is “uncontainable” and “crops up anywhere without permission. ... They can crush a few flowers, but they cannot hold back the springtime.” John Paul II prayed for another “springtime” for the church.
Is that not our prayer, our call — to bring back the springtime?
— Harriet Burke is a parishioner at the Catholic Church of the Beatitudes, which meets at 5:30 p.m. Saturdays at First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara, 2101 State St. Click here for more information, or call 805.252.4105. Click here for previous columns. | <urn:uuid:b6de4029-7fd1-4635-8169-8759aebd957a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.noozhawk.com/article/090612_catholic_church_beatitudes_women_activists/terms_of_use | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974986 | 1,395 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Note: I found these photos on my hard drive from a walk I did last August. It’s not really this green in February.
I decided to put that bold statement to the test one day: I drove around Franklin County, randomly picked a creek, parked on the side of the road, and just walked up the creek.
And I found three moonshine stills.
The area I picked was near the Smith River in a remote section of the county (much of Franklin County is remote.) The Smith River divides Franklin County on the south from Henry County and I’ve found many stills on the Franklin County side of the river, but few on the Henry County side. I drove until I found an area where there weren’t too many houses around and just parked on the side of the road next to a creek.
The first moonshine still I found was at the confluence of two creeks. The still was typical of most that I find: a twisted, rusting piece of metal. It’s interesting to note that I’ve found many stills where two small creeks meet. I think it’s because the terrain that’s created by two creeks meeting is typically flat – a nice area to place a moonshining operation.
I also found what appeared to be a perfect still furnace. It was shaped with rock on three sides and even had rocks across the top. It looked very much like the still furnace diagram in the Foxfire Book. When I looked at it closer though, I noticed water trickling out of the bottom of it. It was probably a spring box which is pretty common in these parts.
I continued walking up the main creek and I found two more stills. One was located high on the banks of the creek. It looked like that’s where it had landed after being blown up by the law. The third still was further upstream, lying in the creek, and hidden by weeds. | <urn:uuid:7d7d009e-4916-47c7-9829-7c8e1132d368> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moonshineheritage.com/blog/franklin-county-moonshine-stills/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981997 | 413 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Indian e-commerce is changing. And is changing fast. Though not new to India, a different approach called the marketplace model in industry parlance is gaining traction. In India, since mid 2011, at least half a dozen online marketplaces including Shopclues, Ladyblush, SellonSnapDeal and Nethaat.com have been launched and it is rumored that biggies like Flipkart and Jabong are planning to launch marketplaces.
Online marketplaces are similar to offline mandis. While companies like Flipkart and Amazon are online equivalents brick and mortar supermarkets like Bigbazaar or Spar, online marketplaces are like the Crawford market in Mumbai or Russel Market in Bangalore (bit more organised perhaps). In the mandi model, people who own the marketplace do not keep any inventory but let their premises be used by third party vendors. In the online world, the marketplace takes care of the marketing, logistics, customer support and payment while sellers take care of manufacturing inventory online.
The marketplace model, pioneered by companies like eBay India is likely to be adopted by Rocket Internet backed Jabong.com, according to industry sources. If sources are to be believed, Flipkart is also thinking of launching a marketplace model. This is a big shift from the traditional approach Indian startups and businesses have taken to e-commerce as opposed to the inventory model which was in fashion until recently.
Global success of marketplace model
The model has been highly successful globally. Except Amazon in US, in most other countries, a marketplace model has ultimately become the market leader. For example, Taobao in China, Mercado Libre in Latin America, Gmarket in South Korea. As of now, each of these newly launched marketplaces target a different audience. For instance, Shopclues sell everything that is allowed to be sold online and can be practically shipped, whereas, Ladyblush is a marketplace exclusively for women. On other hand, Nethaat connects sellers and buyers of handicrafts, designer handmade items and eco-friendly products.
Who else is joining the league?
Joining the marketplace league almost a fortnight back, Snapdeal launched a platform Sellonsnapdeal that enables small and local businesses to leverage Snapdeal’s 17 million registered consumer base. Tradus, a sister concern of ibibo (MIH) has also entered into marketplace space. In July, 2011 Tradus moved from .in to .com for better recognition as an online company.
Recently, Buytheprice repositioned itself as a marketplace from etailing, and when asked the thought-process behind marketplace approach, Ranjith Boyanapalli, founder, Buytheprice answers “It is much easier for a marketplace to move into horizontal than an etailer. Given the electronics only focus we had, we realized that we are missing out on a huge opportunity when there is consumer appetite for other categories”.
So, why have founders of these companies chosen the marketplace model over other formats of e-commerce? In fact, most of these companies see the marketplace as a platform solving the e-commerce pain points in India with minimal investments.
In their view, an inventory model (which e-tailers follow) gets more complex as the business scales and as one introduces new product categories. Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, ShopClues says, “Given, how fragmented Indian retail is, how challenging it is to hold inventory, almost impossible to predict the consumer demand at stock unit level. A marketplace is the right answer to this peculiar structure of India’s e-commerce industry”.
Although, the marketplace as a model is difficult to start but over time, it is easy to ramp up and scale. “It is highly scaleable once you are able to fine-tune the processes and put right systems in place to be able to maintain marketplace hygiene” says, Rahul Sethi, co-founder, Ladyblush. In addition to that, Nethaat believes, in India the marketplace model can be a successful venture in almost any product type. With so many sellers having their businesses offline, they can use the marketplace to sell their wares online.
Boyanapalli of Buytheprice points out that the capital needs for etailing are way high over the marketplace model, and it might further extend the timeline for operational breakeven. According to Boyanapalli, marketplace model helps for quicker launch of new categories and greater customer engagement as when you are able to sell more of what consumer uses, you are increasing the engagement levels.
Margins are higher, burn rate lower
Unlike etailing where gross margin vary from 15 to 30 percent depending on category, marketplace model usually charge nearly 10 percent as selling fee. While etailer usually makes net profit of around 5-7 percent after incurring expenses such as logistics, payment gateway etc., marketplace manages net profit anywhere between 3-5 percent. Although, Buytheprice did not disclose the exact shift in revenue post marketplace model as they moved to this space very recently. But Ranjith says that the trend is certainly positive.
“Buytheprice in electronics etailing was just positive at unit economics, but now the marketplace is able to generate cash. I expect to see a 2% to 5% jump in revenues purely due to shift of the model” adds Ranjith.
Online marketplaces seem to be growing well too. Shopclues had become available in beta in January this year and within 7 months of its public debut it comfortably falls in top 10 e-commerce sites if we go by Alexa ranking. Currently it ships around 2500-2700 orders everyday. Over 2,500 merchants who have signed-up with ShopClues since its launch.
Launched in February this year, Ladyblush initially started with categories such as cosmetics, lingerie and sarees; it has forayed into clothing, home decor , kitchen and toiletries. The marketplace is growing 60 to 80 % month on month across categories with lingerie leading the show, says Sethi.
At present, Ladyblush has more than 120 sellers from across the country. One of the strong focuses at Ladyblush has been unit economics as Sethi says “We ensure that we make money on every transaction that we do. Our gross margins are healthy considering that we focus on fashion and lifestyle category, marketplace as the model, private labels – smaller and lesser known brands as the sellers”.
Sandeep Komaravelly, VP (Marketing), Snapdeal did not reveal the numbers of sellers currently active on Sellonsnapdeal. “We have launched this platform two weeks back and at this stage it would be premature to make any comment”, mentions Sandeep.
Sethi of Ladyblush says that the company wants to grow slowly but steadily. “Our target is to surpass run-rate of Rs 1crore a month by the end of this financial year”. Meanwhile, Shopclues is confident that it will “become the first ecommerce Company in India to achieve profitability,” by the fourth quarter of 2013. It is also under the belief that it will have the largest catalogue of products for any e-commerce company in India by mid next year. With most of the system and services in place, Nethaat intends to put its efforts into increasing the product range, market the brand more aggressively and generate consumer confidence.
With verticalization of marketplaces, are there enough opportunities to accommodate existing as well as new players? The answer is probably yes, as this model has been only evangelized by few players and we do not think that an inventory led ecommerce business model can offer product selection and price advantage to customers similar to a marketplace.
As e-tail stores rely heavily on capital, debuts of more marketplaces could be well expected. However, the road for creating marketplace is not all smooth and it poses dependency on every aspects of business on third parties or outsourcing right from supply chains to payment and logistics. Out of which cracking supply chain is most complex and this is where Flipkart can score over other players as it has been ramping up its own supply chain processes.
eBay India was one of the first to pioneer the marketplace model. Currently, it boasts over 4 million registered users including 30,000 sellers every year. Ebay India gets approximately 80 % of its business by selling new fixed price products such as camera, mobiles, laptops and flat panel televisions. However, it is trying hard to move consumers towards high margin categories like apparels rather than electronic, gadgets and books.
We do not know which of these models will ultimately triumph in India, but the jury is out and many e-tailers are on a very short leash.
What are your thoughts? | <urn:uuid:3d1df86d-376f-4b62-9ec4-7907ad3712ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nextbigwhat.com/ecommerce-marketplaces-in-india-297/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959291 | 1,817 | 1.5625 | 2 |
To the editor:
People forget what brought our great country out of the Great Depression! It wasn’t Hoover’s plans for business and finance (like Romney and Ryan) that did it! It was FDR’s plans by government actions — rebuilding infrastructure and roads, the CCC boys put to work, the TUA, NRA and other government, and I stress government actions first, that put money into circulation — not waiting for the private sector to loosen up financial resources that finally broke the log jam, and allowed the country to recover.
Government has to act first, historically, but the GOP lock on the House has prevented any recovery through government spending.
Look at the Obama bailout of the auto industry, and say that didn’t work, saving thousands of Joes, and probably the entire U.S. leadership, in automobile manufacture.
Even while Obama was taking his oath of office, the GOP was openly plotting to make him a one-term president. Look back at your own paper’s coverage and see. That’s what caused the log jam/gridlock in Congress: shortsighted Republicans voting against any measure to ease problems, refusing to compromise even when Obama risked his own party’s policy to get something done.
The financial bailout of finance and insurance companies was a failure, with no one being brought to justice. This was due to the Republicans push to deregulate Wall Street, and Romney and Ryan want even more deregulation. Doesn’t anyone see that that’s what caused the problem in the first place? Again, look at how few of these white-collar losers face any prison time for their greed and disregard of regulations, and those practices are still going on. Note the $2 billion plus loss recently, nobody doing more than saying that it was a poor judgment call, using junk bonds and the same deregulation from the Bush years.
Obama inherited a huge financial burden, but could not get anything done because of the Republican Party’s pledge to make him a one-term president, with all Republicans in lock-step, pushing the economy down.
I repeat — look at the Great Depression and what brought us out of it — government spending, to bring much needed money into play and to rebuild our roads, open up national parks, and so much more — before private enterprise began helping. | <urn:uuid:5878cad1-0c2c-4faa-9c29-3187b0479027> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eagletribune.com/opinion/x674146376/Letter-Republicans-hindered-effort-to-fix-economy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965739 | 484 | 1.539063 | 2 |
We often question the presence of God and his miracles. But we must acknowledge that every day is a miracle, and His merciful benevolence has seen us through the tough times. The Thanksgiving feast is the proof of His love and we are blessed to share the feast with our loved ones.
Here are some religious Thanksgiving quotes to make your Thanksgiving Day special. Use these to say a simple prayer of thanks, offering God your unconditional love and devotion.
- Hebrews 13:15
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
- Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins
Giving thanks to God for both His temporal and spiritual blessings in our lives is not just a nice thing to do - it is the moral will of God. Failure to give Him the thanks due Him is sin.
- Jeremy Taylor
God is pleased with no music below so much as with the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows and supported orphans; of rejoicing, comforted, and thankful persons.
- David - Psalm 57:7 - 9
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
- William Shakespeare
O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
- Henry Ward Beecher
Remember God's bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!
- Apostle Paul - 2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
- John Clayton
Thanksgiving is a season that is very much in accord with the themes and teachings of Jesus Christ.
- John Clayton
There is no racial or ethnic involvement in Thanksgiving, and people who may be very distant from the Christian system can see the beauty and the positive spirit that comes from the holiday.
- George Herbert
Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
- Thomas Watson
God takes away the world that the heart may cleave more to Him in sincerity.
- Psalm 50:23
He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God.
- Samuel Adams
It is therefore recommended to set apart Thursday the eighteenth day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor.
- Psalm 95:2
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
- Theodore Roosevelt
No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us.
- Thomas Merton, Thoughts on Solitude
Our knowledge of God is perfected by gratitude: we are thankful and rejoice in the experience of the truth that He is love.
- Psalm 26:7
That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works. | <urn:uuid:3f4a5c58-5369-4e3f-acae-76ec8673a747> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://quotations.about.com/od/thanksgiving/a/Religious-Thanksgiving-Quotes.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93853 | 784 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Introducing Our New Eco-Friendly Recyclable Packaging
Wooden Bristle Brushes
A well-known hair stylist in Milan who worked with models developed the WIDU® concept. He was concerned that the constant washing of hair and heat from the photographic lights dried the scalp. As he felt that boar bristle and nylon bristle brushes had the tendency to both scratch the scalp and tear the hair, so he developed the wooden bristles. The brushes are handmade in Italy by adult native artisans that have perfected their skills over the last thirty years. No child labor is utilized. Our products are of impeccable old world quality and long lasting value unlike many of our imitators.
After an extensive study and research the hard white wood of the hornbeam tree was chosen for the bristles. Horn beam is in the birch family and has a strong resistance to breakage and maintains its exceptional smooth qualities.
The WIDU® Wooden Bristle brush is all-natural. Neither animal by-products nor synthetic materials are used in its manufacture. It is an animal and cruelty-free product. We have discovered that:
1. Wooden bristles gently massage the scalp and move natural oils through the hair. The brushes aid in scalp massage, blood circulation, excess sebum absorption and the removal hair impurities.
2. Massaging the scalp helps promote hair growth and stimulate acupressure points.
3. The combination of wood and natural antistatic rubber helps to prevent flyaway hair.
4. When exposed to a blow dryer, the brush stays cool because wood and rubber do not conduct heat. When hair is wet the wooden bristles glide easily through the tangles.
5. The brushes and combs are naturally hypoallergenic. The comb’s wooden teeth are turned and well finished so they do not tear at the hair. The majority of our brushes and combs are only finished with a protective coating of beeswax or purified linseed oil.
6. Only wood suppliers who agree to a policy of Forest Stewardship Council sustainable forestation are utilized. This also applies to the African wood suppliers.
Although we've received a wonderful response from the effects of WIDU® brushes on hair, the highest praise seems to come from their effect on the psyche! One customer described the feeling as "lifting the mundane to practically the sublime". WIDU® massage brushes carry this feeling to the rest of the body by reducing tension and fatigue as they stimulate circulation.
"I bought my first Widu wooden brush in California 1980. After nearly 30 years of great service, massaging my scalp and shaping my hair, it went AWOL in some hotel, I know not where. No, I had not mistreated it! It was still perfect, with no signs of wear or age - unlike its owner!
Now I have bought more Widu brushes for myself and family, and am overjoyed to find they are better than ever. I attribute my lack of any scalp problems for 30 years to the daily massage of my Widu brush - and its wooden bristles feel so good! My head and my heart thank you, Widu!
Brenton Canberra, Australia
Best hairbrush ever. Now I really do get why they are expensive. Because the quality is extraordinary. It really does beat out all the other wood bristle brushes I have used. For the first time, I experienced ecstatic shudders just from brushing my hair. It was like getting a deep scalp massage. I am a creature of intense touch, of extreme sensation, with focus on my head. A scalp massage will make me your best friend. Now I have an inanimate best friend that fits in my purse... I am in love. J Paul
We have had a Widu large oval ash pneumatic brush for almost 20 years and we absolutely love it. There is nothing like it when it comes to comfort and function. Giulia and Enrico Mezzacappa
My last brush lasted 20 years. I have sent many customers to you. Thanks for valuing quality. Lisa Reid
I have been using one of your brushes for years but the rubber holding the wooden bristles has worn out. I am ordering the one now where I can just replace the rubber piece. I am 67 years old & get compliments all the time about my hair; I think it has to do with your brush. Thank you.
Linda Watson, Washington state
List of Retailers by State
Interested in being a wholesaler? Please see our Information for our Wholesale Clients | <urn:uuid:ef948815-5be3-493d-9ffc-7b1f783fbee5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.widu.com/about/?vcomses=d52a1c867a0acccf016baad833e1876e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954449 | 947 | 1.539063 | 2 |
This blog heartily endorses typewriters, fountain pens, analog cameras, print media, retrotech, mail art, independent publishing, paper notebooks, Model M keyboards, letter writing, Alphasmarts, bookbinding, woodcase pencils, zines, ephemera, book arts, letterpress, Polaroid, rubber stamps, and fellow paper-based romantics who like the sound of a typewriter bell at the end of a sentence.
P.O. Box 182 Woodinville, WA 98072 e-mail: strikethru (at) tiny-dog.com
In a fit of insomnia, I just read an interview with Jaron Lanier, author of You are Not a Gadget, who happens to be a personal hero of mine, in that he dares to question the trajectory of the internet and of technology toward the expectation that as individuals we freely produce information from which search aggregators profit, in the case of Google, and that technology can redefine us as consumers of paid-model content of a company's choosing simply by changing devices and paradigms, as Apple has done with the iPad:
"The Apple idea is that instead of the personal computer model where people own their own information, and everybody can be a creator as well as a consumer, we're moving towards this iPad, iPhone model where it's not as adequate for media creation as the real media creation tools, and even though you can become a seller over the network, you have to pass through Apple's gate to accept what you do, and your chances of doing well are very small, and it's not a person to person thing, it's a business through a hub, through Apple to others, and it doesn't create a middle class, it creates a new kind of upper class. ... Google has done something that might even be more destructive of the middle class, which is they've said, "Well, since Moore's law makes computation really cheap, let's just give away the computation, but keep the data." And that's a disaster."
By contrast, I think of the typewriter (of course). It is a device in which you define and create the content, without influence from Royal or Olympia. It provides no options to serve up advertisements or content of Royal's choosing, or shape in any way the kind of content you choose to consume and at what cost. It's only job is for you to create writing of your choice, completely outside of the connected network of online expectations about the life of information and its uses. There is no function inherently built into the device compelling you to share your work for free with a click to be monetized by Google search; we have to drag out middleman technology like scanners, cameras, and computers to make that possible, and even scans of typecasts evade the search engine's current requirement for digital text to parse.
These things being the case, does the typewriter, by dint of its independence from this work-for-free system offer us the opportunity to profit from our work, in and of itself (and by means other than selling hardware on eBay, I mean, in the act of creating content itself)? Can you create wealth with a typewriter?
It would be revolutionary for one of us to show that it's possible. I'm curious to know what your wild theories are about this.
Mine is this: there is a certain type of person out there who craves authentic experience, not just ideas but the tactile manifestation of authenticity: a hand-bound book, typed or hand-illustrated information, on paper. Not just nostalgics but people looking to engage their mind and creativity not with online groupthink or aggregated crowds but with the real work and ideas of individuals and artists. If the content and the quality of these publications is sufficiently high, the market may be there.
If you take zines as a case study of this kind of thinking, the problem of free reappears in the spectre of collectivism. Any group that functions mostly on the goodwill of people can tend toward this line of thinking, that profit is immoral and freedom is benevolence. (The typosphere itself functions on this sort of value system, in fact). The problem with this thinking is that people need to earn money, full stop. It has to come from somewhere. If it can't come from, as Lanier says, "the products of our hearts and minds," if the value of those things is agreed to be zero, except by large corporations that can mine it for advertising revenue, from where does the profit come for the creators? Are we not able to create a viable market between ourselves by agreement? Must we give our work away to the aggregators for profit, but insist that we exchange it between ourselves for nothing?
Putting this to the test, if you had only a typewriter to work with, how would you create an income with it? (Consider this a variant on a common technology interview question, in which one is prompted to come up with a monetization strategy for 1,000 ping pong balls on the spot). | <urn:uuid:e7aad4af-59d8-45f1-970e-07ed4dcd4be8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.strikethru.net/2011/09/can-you-create-income-with-typewriter.html?showComment=1316053746142 | 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 | 0.957983 | 1,045 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Designing the Non-Desktop Web
A collection of resources for designing beyond the desktop. Curated by Cameron Moll, who thinks the web is the bee's knees.
Good-natured and nefarious critics alike will argue "non-desktop" is frivolous and unnecessary for describing what should really just be called the web. They're right. But for the sake of using a terse phrase that encapsulates mobile devices, tablets, and anything else internet-enabled that isn't a desktop computer — and that works well in a conference presentation title, to boot — non-desktop will have to do. | <urn:uuid:710d38b6-2d4e-4b11-9967-92f1080c1cbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://checkthis.com/x5pa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931928 | 122 | 1.664063 | 2 |
House Approves Legislation to Create Jobs and Increase North American Energy Supplies
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives voted to create jobs and reduce our dependence on Middle East oil today with passage of H.R. 1938, North American-Made Energy Security Act. The measure passed the House with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 279 to 147.
The North American-Made Energy Security Act, authored by Reps. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Mike Ross (D-AR), will force the administration to make a final decision on a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring millions of barrels of Canadian oil supplies to U.S. customers. The presidential permit application for the pipeline has languished at the State Department for nearly three years.
Completion of the pipeline expansion will double U.S. imports of Canadian oil, carrying nearly 1.3 million barrels a day to refineries throughout the Midwest and Texas. The increased capacity of safe and secure oil supplies will help restore confidence in the markets and bring down prices at the pump. The pipeline will also put tens of thousands of Americans back to work. Construction and operation of the pipeline is estimated to generate over 100,000 jobs.
"The United States needs the president to make a decision on the Keystone XL's permit. The uncertainty has gone on too long, and if we don't act, these energy supplies will go somewhere else. This bipartisan bill does not tell the president how to decide, it just requires him to make a decision. I commend Representatives Terry and Ross for finding a commonsense, bipartisan solution," said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton.
"This bipartisan bill has a simple and straightforward objective - set a schedule, coordinate that schedule, and execute a decision process. The more we delay this decision, the more reliant we become on oil from countries in the Middle East," said Terry. "This bill means less reliance on foreign oil, more jobs, and an energy policy which doesn't rely on less-than-friendly foreign nations. We cannot afford any more delay." | <urn:uuid:dbc8eca0-35a6-40b0-8f86-972aeb3b171e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/house-approves-legislation-create-jobs-and-increase-north-american-energy-supplies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942278 | 422 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Written by PETA
PETA and ZooCheck have been campaigning to convince officials at the Edmonton Zoo, deemed Canada's worst zoo for elephants by African elephant biologist Winnie Kiiru, to release its sole pachyderm prisoner, Lucy, to a sanctuary. We've reasoned with zoo officials. We've enlisted support from experts and celebrities. And we've called on caring supporters to write letters pushing for Lucy's retirement.
Unfortunately, it took proposed litigation against the city of Edmonton for zoo officials to make a pathetic attempt to improve Lucy's sad state and announce their "plan" to improve her life by putting her on a diet, giving her some sand to stand on—and possibly providing her with a treadmill.* We responded to this craziness with a full-page ad, which ran yesterday in the Edmonton Journal.
The zoo's policy of locking Lucy inside during the long, bitterly cold winters means that Lucy spends most of her time in a small barn. When she is allowed outside, she's primarily restricted to an enclosure that is less than an acre in size. It's no surprise that Lucy exhibits signs of mental distress, and her medical records reveal that she has been suffering from arthritis as well as chronic foot and respiratory problems.
It's time that Edmonton Zoo officials made the decent decision to help Lucy by retiring her to a sanctuary where she can enjoy warmer temperatures, acres of space to roam, and the company of other elephants. Please help by sending your polite comments to Edmonton's mayor and city councilmembers.
Stay tuned for updates.
Written by Karin Bennett
*I think if Edmonton zoo officials were serious about enriching Lucy's life and improving her health, they'd sign her up for some Jazzercize classes. I'm obviously joking, but building a jumbo-sized treadmill for the overweight elephant is just as ludicrous. (Am I right—or am I right?)
you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail [email protected]. If you need to report cruelty to
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Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? Read more. | <urn:uuid:004a84ca-bddf-41aa-af2c-aee6a2595d00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/treadmill/default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964922 | 548 | 1.71875 | 2 |
An Italian cream cheese from the Lombardy region of Italy. It is not made with rennet but uses citric acid to curdle the cream.
The fruit of the coconut palm, made up of a fibrous husk surrounding large, brown, hard-shelled seed. The coconut seed contains white flesh surrounding a juice-filled central cavity. Unripe coconut flesh is jellylike; when ripe the flesh becomes firm and white in color. The flesh of the coconut is shredded for use in food
No matter what side of the Valentine’s Day fence you stand on, our chocolate picks for this year are something you can appreciate. Say what you will about love, romance, and passion come February 14th. Some say it’s sweet to have an excuse to spoil that special someone. Others cry “sickly” and wonder … Continue reading →
Follow Us on Twitter! | <urn:uuid:2a904cee-23d2-4e57-8cb3-3cf16d7b0bef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pastryscoop.com/2010/09/21/mascarpone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930319 | 186 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Just following up on the news I mentioned earlier today that the Taliban is suspending preliminary talks with the U.S.
Robert Dreyfuss, a regular The Diplomat contributor and long-time Afghanistan watcher, shared his thoughts with me on the implications of that announcement, as well as Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s call for U.S. troops to withdraw from its military outposts.
“I’ve long believed that Afghanistan was never going to be easy. And it’s getting a lot harder. It’s no real surprise that Karzai would take a hard line, since he’s been building toward that for a long time, on night raids, on contractors, on the handover of prisoners, and on talks with the Taliban,” Dreyfuss told me. Like many of those issues – but not night raids, so far – the differences have been solved or papered over, and that’s likely to be the case here, too. But Karzai is following the Iraq model that Maliki used, first pushing U.S. forces out of cities and back into bases. I don’t think his idea is likely to be carried out, but it’s another important signpost toward the inevitable exit.”
I also asked him what his take was on how committed the Taliban has been to the talks. “I do think that part of the Taliban is serious about talks, and likely they still are. But the more the timetable accelerates for a U.S. withdrawal, the more the Taliban is likely to wait things out,” he told me.
“They might be willing still to explore talks with the U.S., but unless Pakistan uses its muscle with the main Taliban factions, the talks aren’t likely to succeed. I think Karzai knows that a deal with the Taliban means the end of his reign, and I don't see a path for him to stay in power in the middle of some U.S.-Pakistan deal over a new Afghan government. But the writing is on the wall for the U.S. drawdown, and that puts pressure on Karzai to make a deal. So he’s got to bolster his anti-American credentials.” | <urn:uuid:2ab9d7b0-b3a1-442f-b41c-e1ec882a4cb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thediplomat.com/the-editor/2012/03/15/more-on-afghanistan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978644 | 473 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Cambodia to Kosovo
No doubt about it. We’re heading straight for the quagmire. These days there are so many ghosts from the Vietnam era hovering behind every headline about the war on Serbia, you can practically hear them clanking their chains. General Westmoreland, sorry, General Clark says we’re winning the war, and that the Serb forces in Kosovo are near breaking point. Bill Clinton says his policy is working, and we must stay the course. We’ve got the “peace-seeker” pantomime conducted by the State Department’s special envoy Chernomyrdin as a way of distracting attention. And now we’re getting the word that a build-up of 50,000 on the Kosovan border with Macedonia is the next order of business. Wait for the next upward revision to 150,000 in a week or so. Then 200,000….
We’ve got an administration that doesn’t know how to cut its losses and which is therefore prepared to wipe Serbia off the map rather than lose face. In short, we’re in the count-down phase to disaster. Now we need something that took half a decade to build towards back in the Vietnam era: a huge peace march on Washington. We need a Congress that will go on telling the President loud and clear: he has no mandate for war and he won’t get the money to fight it. On May 25 Clinton was in breach of the War Powers Act of 1973. Spare a moment and travel back with us to that same year of 1973 and see why Congress voted in that law, over Richard Nixon’s veto.
Here we are, on the morning of August 7, 1973, and the dignity of the Richard B. Russell Senate Office Building, Room 235, where Senator Stuart Symington was presiding over a hearing into the secret bombing of Cambodia. Also present: Senators Strom Thurmond and Harold Hughes. The first witness that summer morning was George Moses, at that time a staff assistant to a California Congressman but in an earlier phase, commencing in September 1969, an intelligence officer in the Seventh Air Force, serving in Vietnam.
It was Moses who had written to Hughes, alerting him to the secret bombing. Across that summer the Senate hearings disclosed that between March 18, 1969, and the end of May 1970, B-52s had flown more than 3,600 sorties, dumping bombs on Cambodia in a war that most certainly wasn’t secret to the Cambodian people, or to anyone who bothered to listen to their frequent public complaints. These started with a broadcast over Cambodian radio in French to all of Southeast Asia, US journalists included, at 12:30 GMT, March 26, 1969, monitored by the US Foreign Broadcasting Information Service: “The Royal Government undertakes to point out that the Cambodian population living in the border regions has been bombed and strafed almost daily by U.S. Aircraft. The Royal Government demands that the United States immediately stop.” It then gave precise details of whom the “secret” bombings had killed the previous night.
On August 7, Moses read publicly his letter to Hughes. “Two hundred years ago,” it concluded, “we put our faith in the judgment of the people, and that judgment has proved sound. When Americans put on a uniform today, they do so in defense of the open society in which we live, and the activities I have described have no place in such a society, or the military that defends it.”
“And why,” Hughes asked, “did you send this letter?”
“I have a strong belief,” Moses replied, “in the Constitution as the working document by which this country operates. Through hearings held by this committee in the past I became aware of a feeling on my part that perhaps these principles were not being best served by some of the activities I observed.” Moses was putting in delicate form what Hughes had said far more explosively on July 30, when he roared to his colleagues and to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Earle Wheeler:
“I want the record to show damned clearly that I totally reject the concept of representation of the American people by notification of one or two members of a certain committee in this Congress of what the war policies of this country are-and if that is or has been the policy of the Pentagon, and still is, I reject it totally. The Congress must correct it, or there never will be a moment in the history of this country in the future when the people will have a hand in the declaration of war or the conduct of war over international borders. That sort of a concept of operating this government in warfare, declared or undeclared, is totally unacceptable to me. I have been elected by the people of Iowa to represent my State. The Constitution gives me that right and that responsibility. You have no right, nor anyone else, to deny that to me.”
Hughes was a great man. He fought in World War II, started civilian life as a truck driver, battled out of alcoholism and near-suicide to become a two-term Governor of Iowa, then a Senator, before quitting after one term. He felt as a matter of conscience that he could no longer be party, even as a dissenter, to legitimizing the process of allowing war to be considered a rational option in international disputes. (History, has it’s little ironies. Working for Hughes then was Sandy Berger, now President Clinton’s war counseler.)
The Cambodia hearings led the House to consider the inclusion of Nixon’s bombing of Cambodia among the articles of impeachment. They also led Congress, over Nixon’s veto, to pass the War Powers Act of 1973, which requires that within forty-eight hours of introducing US forces into hostilities the President report to Congress. Within sixty days he must terminate such use of force unless he gets explicit authority from both houses. Such authority denied, he must withdraw forces. Only if the President certifies in writing that “unavoidable military necessity respecting the safety of US armed forces requires the use of such forces to bring about prompt removal” can he continue for another thirty days.
Now enters a populist Democrat, Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, an opponent of the bombing of Serbia. Shortly before April 28 Kucinich noted that the White House was trying to win House approval of Senate Resolution 21, giving support to the bombing. If the House passed the resolution, Clinton could plausibly claim he had explicit authorization of force, which could then be used to escalate the war and deploy ground troops. Kucinich rushed out a leaflet to colleagues warning that approval of the resolution would be “a blank check for the President to wage war.”
The night of April 28 the vote came. The White House was lobbying hard. Seconds before the gavel fell the tally stood at 213 to 212 in the White House’s favor. At the last moment came the tying vote, dealing Clinton a huge and significant defeat. Kucinich spoke six times on the floor that day, but just twenty-five Democrats agreed with him, along with 188 Republicans.
With this defeat for Clinton, Representative Tom Campbell called Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights to file suit-joined by several other Republicans, plus only two Democrats, Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur, also of Ohio-charging Clinton with violating Article One, Section 8 of the Constitution and, after May 25, the War Powers Act. “No other President,” Ratner says, “has carried out such levels of hostilities as Clinton has for the past sixty days without explicit authority, and it’s the first time since the Boland Amendment against Reagan in the 1980s that the House has denied this authority to the President.”
Ratner thinks there’s “a slight chance” a federal judge will rule against Clinton. And the point of the suit? “It challenges the imperial presidency. It says the guy is willing to flout Congress. It’s closer to impeachable stuff.” There you have it. Onward to impeachment, on substantial grounds! We’re not big on Democrats, but Hughes and Kucinich advertise the best of the breed.
The administration knows it hasn’t much time to lock in a land war strategy. Public opinion is turning against even the air war. The April 28 vote threw the Administration off balance. That same coalition of Republicans and a handful of Democrats has to dish out another blow at war-making by Executive Order. There’s not much time. CP
Click here to read the text of the lawsuit drafted by Michael Ratner in Campbell v. Clinton. | <urn:uuid:8a9848ce-08f7-4674-ad91-7e64721d1f3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.counterpunch.org/1999/06/15/cambodia-to-kosovo/ | 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 | 0.964731 | 1,833 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The paper discusses methods that the US uses to ensure that money that is earmarked for the PA or Palestinian Arabs are not diverted to terrorist organizations. For direct aid, they have made progress compared to the past, although it is far from perfect.
The section on UNRWA aid is most revealing.
The US has given over $4 billion to UNRWA since its inception, and the amount has been increasing. Of course, the US is UNRWA's biggest donor, by far.
UNRWA tries to assure the US that funds are not going to terrorists, but there is a significant loophole. Here's the relevant section:
The primary concern raised by some Members of Congress is that U.S. contributions to UNRWA might be used to support terrorists. Section 301(c) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act (P.L. 87- 195), as amended, says that “No contributions by the United States shall be made to [UNRWA] except on the condition that [UNRWA] take[s] all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerrilla type organization or who has engaged in any act of terrorism.”
The May 2009 GAO report said that, since a previous GAO report in 2003, UNRWA and the State Department had strengthened their policies and procedures to conform with Section 301(c) legal requirements, but that “weaknesses remain.”33 Neither report found UNRWA to be in noncompliance with Section 301(c), and to date, no arm of the U.S. government has made such a finding. The following are some points from the 2009 report and subsequent developments related to it:
- ...UNRWA said that it screens its staff and contractors every six months and that it screened all 4.6 million Palestinian refugees and microfinance clients in December 2008 (and intends to make this a routine procedure) for terrorist ties to Al-Qaida and the Taliban, pursuant to a list established pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1267. UNRWA said that it is unable to screen those of its beneficiaries who are displaced persons from the 1967 war because it does not collect information on those persons.37
This means that while UNRWA will happily check to ensure that none of its contractors or other beneficiaries of aid are members of Al Qaeda or the Taliban, they refuse to check for membership in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades, the PFLP, the DFLP or any of other known terrorist groups. The ones that are actually based in areas that UNRWA works!
- UNRWA’s UN 1267 terrorist screening list does not include Hamas, Hezbollah, or most other militant groups that operate in UNRWA’s surroundings. UNRWA is unwilling to screen its contractors and funding recipients against a list supplied by only one U.N. member state. Nevertheless, UNRWA officials did say that if notified by U.S. officials of potential matches, they would “use the information as a trigger to conduct their own investigation,” which led to the report’s recommendation that the State Department consider screening UNRWA contractors. In response, State says that it now screens quarterly against the Excluded Parties Lists System (EPLS, which is a list of parties excluded throughout the U.S. government from receiving federal contracts)....
The report touches on other problems with UNRWA as well, and dismisses them:
In Gaza, most observers acknowledge that the role of UNRWA in providing basic services (i.e., food, health care, education) takes much of the governing burden off Hamas. As a result, some complain that this amounts to UNRWA’s enabling of Hamas and is an argument militating for its activities to be discontinued or scaled back. However, many others, U.S. and Israeli officials included, believe that UNRWA plays a valuable role by providing stability and serving as the eyes and ears of the international community in Gaza. They generally prefer UNRWA to the uncertain alternative that might emerge if UNRWA were removed from the picture.29The footnote points to a document justifying the US foreign policy budget, with these words:
U.S. government support for UNRWA directly contributes to the U.S. strategic interest of meeting the humanitarian needs of Palestinians, while promoting their self sufficiency. UNRWA plays a stabilizing role in the Middle East through its assistance programs, serving as an important counterweight to extremist elements.Nowhere does the footnote say that UNRWA is serving any constructive role as the "eyes and ears of the international community in Gaza" - and that is a dubious assumption, since practically all UNRWA employees are Palestinian Arab. Also, nowhere does it say that Israeli officials agree.
Elsewhere the budget documentsays (sorry, it doesn't allow copy/pasting, but it is on page 88) that if the UNRWA wouldn't provide the services, then extremist groups would, especially in Gaza and Lebanon. But what this also means is that Hamas would have to divert some of its budget that now goes towards weapons into basic services for its people!
From all appearances, while Congress seems to be trying mightily to oversee US funds to UNRWA, it is not enough. UNRWA's pushback on not vetting for Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorists is unacceptable, especially to the major donor country of that agency. And no real evidence has been provided that UNRWA is in fact acting as a moderating factor against terrorist influence in Gaza or elsewhere. | <urn:uuid:b8e8199b-2d6e-4930-a2df-c928880b15a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/01/unrwas-hamas-loophole.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962795 | 1,190 | 1.796875 | 2 |
|Photo by Ana Schechter
Melanie Notkin is America’s premier Savvy Auntie, empowering the nearly 50% of American women—who are not moms—to celebrate all they do for the children in their lives, while living their own lives to the fullest. She launched SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for aunts and godmothers, in the summer of 2008 to wide acclaim. The website includes expert content designed specifically for aunts, activities, community features, and trendy gift ideas.
Melanie identified this influential segment of women, which she has dubbed PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids), when she herself became an aunt. In February 2009, she guest posted for Lisa Belkin’s parenting blog at The New York Times
to explain the value of aunts and godmothers in family life. The term has also appeared in More
magazine, TrendCentral.com, Washington Post
, The Record
, The Star Ledger, Dallas Morning News
, among others. On July 26, 2009, she launched Savvy Auntie’s Day, the first national holiday to honor aunts and aunt-hood.
As child lifestyle expert and tastemaker, Auntie Melanie has been featured... | <urn:uuid:5955d51b-e481-47a1-9c35-ec1dd78f8858> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=37160 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941506 | 261 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A new fad, when interviewing candidates for a potential job, is to ask them ridiculous questions in an effort to figure out how they think. For tough or oddball interview questions, it’s not always about getting the right answers it’s about how you tackle a challenging problem. The question for employers may be really about how fast you think on your feet.
Shine recently posted twenty different questions that are supposedly used by various companies. You can read them here.
A writer for The Morning News, recently took the challenge of answering all 20 of the questions. Most of his answers aren’t very good, and some are downright vulgar, but his answer to Proctor & Gamble’s request to “sell me an invisible pen” is spot on:
Imagine that pen you loved. Remember? It was a great pen. Then that jerk in the office asked “Can I borrow that for a second?” and it was gone, never to be returned. You still see that jerk every day, but have you seen your pen? That need never happen again with the invisible pen. It’s a pen only you can use, because you’re the only one who knows it’s there. | <urn:uuid:0b53a106-b306-4bcb-ac51-df2be3b0233f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2011/07/27/how-to-sell-an-invisible-pen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968369 | 257 | 1.78125 | 2 |
In case you hadn't already noticed that President Obama's priority list has been mixed up, there is now yet another example of it. Last week it was announced that a year-long construction project would begin at Guantanamo Bay; the finished product will be a $750,000 taxpayer-funded soccer field for detainees. Somehow, President Obama sees cutting $1 trillion from our military budget as the solution to our deficit problem. I disagree!
When candidate Obama was out on the campaign trail in 2008, one of his biggest promises was to close Gitmo within a year. He cited inhumane conditions and harsh interrogation as some of the main reasons. One of his first actions as President was an attempt to fix "the mess at Guantanamo." It included closing it within a year, ending all harsh interrogation techniques, and an immediate review of the detention operations. The two-week review that followed would confirm what most Americans already knew; the detainees at Gitmo were treated humanely and detentions were in compliance with the Geneva Conventions. The review team also recommended several options to decrease the amount of assaults on the guards. They included "more human-to-human contact, recreation opportunities with several detainees together, intellectual stimulation and group prayer."
Even during the Bush Administration, most prisoners at Gitmo were treated better than some prisoners on the mainland. Those who were "compliant" were rewarded with days full of outdoor recreation, such as basketball, gardening, jogging-- even soccer. Now President Obama has found the need to build even more "accomodating" conditions for the prisoners of war that reside there. This is just one more confirmation that the President's priorities list has been mysteriously randomized.
Our military is one of the major factors in what makes America great. President Obama is planning to cut $1 trillion in funding for our military to solve our deficit problem. This is wrong in itself; but it becomes even more wrong when he turns around and chooses to spend $750,000 in taxpayer dollars to build a better soccer field for prisoners, most of whom are being held on the crime of trying to destroy the United States of America. I am certain that if given the choice, most Americans would choose to send their tax dollars toward our military rather than building better recreational fields for Gitmo detainees.
The issue comes all the way back to Obama's election. Based on some of his statements on the campaign trail, it is apparent that he was not properly informed on the situation at Guantanamo Bay. It was found that only 1% of detainees were ever abused, and most of those cases were the result of desperate attempts to avoid another 9/11. He campaigned on the promise to close Guantanamo within a year; instead, he is now building soccer fields there. Gitmo does not need to be closed, nor do they need soccer fields. This is just one more confirmation that we must replace President Obama in November! | <urn:uuid:5bbc93ff-d028-435f-8bbb-19b19df9790c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sgpaction.com/bethanybowra/mixed_up_priorities?recruiter_id=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983546 | 588 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Argentina’s Congress nationalized the country’s biggest oil company, YPF, by an overwhelming lower house vote on Thursday that underscored broad popular support for a measure that threatens to scare off foreign investment.
The Chamber of Deputies voted 207-32 in favor of expropriating YPF, clearing the way for Argentine President Cristina Fernandez to sign the bill into law. The Senate last week approved the measure by a similarly overwhelming margin.
Fernandez, who has tightened state control of the economy, unveiled the plan to seize a majority stake in YPF from Spain’s Repsol six months after her landslide re-election.
The move drew a swift reprisal from Spain, which curtailed Argentine biodiesel shipments. Wall Street warns that Argentina risks scaring off investment needed to bolster growth against fallout from Europe’s debt crisis and slower demand from key trade partner Brazil.
Business groups have long been put off by Fernandez’s policies, such as her government’s takeover of Argentina’s private pension system in 2008 and, more recently, import and foreign exchange controls that have hurt confidence.
Fernandez justifies the renationalization of YPF — which was privatized in the 1990s after decades as a state-owned company — on the grounds that it failed to boost oil and natural gas production needed to keep up with local demand.
Energy import bills have shot higher, putting Argentina’s prized trade surplus at risk.
Repsol denies under-investing, but the government’s message has struck a chord with Argentines, many of whom are suspicious of foreign companies and blame the free-market policies of the 1990s for setting the country up for its 2001-2002 sovereign debt default and shock currency devaluation.
“All oil companies that operate in Argentina, Repsol and the rest, have to work in the public interest, which in this case means energy self-sufficiency for Argentina,” Agustin Rossi, leader of the official bloc in the lower house, shouted during a speech to the chamber just before the vote.
“Repsol invested little in Argentina,” Rossi said. “But it was YPF and Argentine oil that financed Repsol’s growth around the world.”
With the private sector worried more nationalizations may be on the way, attention now turns to how much Argentina will pay Repsol for control of YPF. Officials have said it will be a lot less than the US$9.3 billion the Spanish company wants.
“The goal is for YPF to be aligned with the interests of the country,” Fernandez said in a speech on Thursday.
“When corporate interests are not aligned with national interests, when companies are concerned only with profits, that’s when economies fail, which is what happened globally in 2008 and what happened to Argentina in 2001,” she said.
While most of Fernandez’s local critics agree that YPF should be in state hands, some say her confrontational approach could harm the country’s already tarnished reputation abroad.
“It’s a good move for the country because if the government does not control strategic resources such as oil, it loses power,” financial analyst Leonardo Rodriguez said. | <urn:uuid:78ec213f-8c73-454a-afe6-627e57dde61f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2012/05/05/2003532016 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950701 | 679 | 1.601563 | 2 |
I do tend to get a little bit of starsan sucked in, which I'd much rather than oxygen.
O2 could still get into the carboy by this method. If CO2 can get out by positive pressure inside the carboy, than O2 can get in when that pressure differential is reversed. It kind of a reversed bubbler then. If you were able to keep adding starsan to the airlock before the level of the outside column of starsan was sucked down below the holes in the middle piece of the airlock, then you might be able to avoid getting oxygen in the carboy.
I wonder just how much O2 gets pulled into a carboy during the chilling time. I know that quite a bit of liquid can be pulled up into a blowoff hose during that time, but I wonder if the amount of O2 in an equivalent volume of air is enough to really cause any problems. In one of the last session episodes, Chad talked about how he purges his hoses with CO2 prior to transfering beer due to the volume of air that he thinks can cause oxidation problems. If that bit of air would cause problems, then certainly the volume pulled into a carboy druing cooling could too, right? I realize that during transfering the beer is being agitated while the beer in the carboy isn't; and there's alos a blanket of CO2 over the beer in the carboy so maybe the comparison isn't valid.
Sure, but it'll take less pressure to suck the starsan in than the O2, unless the starsan falls below the level of the cap, so I'm still in inclined to believe that this is a good enough method.
You could always flush it out with CO2 and put a cork on, but as the pressure goes down it's going to create a vacuum and suck air in when you remove the cork
Either way, any time you take the cork off your carboy you're going to introduce a little bit of oxygen. I guess it's just up to you to choose the time and place to do so. Doing it my way, I've never had comments about oxidized beers, even months after I bottled it. I'm inclined to believe that if there is introduction of oxygen, it's fairly minimal. | <urn:uuid:4db673b8-ba92-49c1-9321-55a2a522dfb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=204431 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977164 | 471 | 1.523438 | 2 |
We, the undersigned people of Ulster County, oppose the Ulster County Legislature's Draft Resolution No. 0154, "Opposing The Process Of Enactment And Certain Provisions Contained Within The New York SAFE Act," to be voted on by the full County Legislature on February 19, 2013. We are concerned about the escalating epidemic of gun violence in our country and support good faith measures, like the New York SAFE Act and President Obama's initiatives, to curb it.
We are not challenging the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But unlike proposed Draft Resolution No. 0154, we do not see it as a right that trumps all other rights, including the right of citizens to be free from deadly gun violence. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court said: "Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited." The Second Amendment does not confer "a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever for whatever purpose." The court specifically affirmed support for "prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons,” a description that surely fits the numerous assault weapons that are too freely available to virtually anybody. We agree.
We specifically reject the Ulster County Legislature's Draft Resolution No. 0154 provision that requests "the repeal of any legislation, including the sections within the NY SAFE Act (Chapter 1 of the Laws of 2013), which infringe upon the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
Help stop gun violence by supporting the NY State SAFE Act, which calls for restrictions on assault weapons and high volume magazines, and tougher background checks before purchasing guns. | <urn:uuid:073ed18f-3672-4ef4-8685-87731c80bf7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ulster-county-legislature?source=c.url&r_by=1508413 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941258 | 332 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Caring Times, Feb. 2006, p.28
Presents a vision of domiciliary care in which workers would respond flexibly to customers’ requests, instead of following a care plan set by social services. They would undertake a range of tasks to improve customers’ quality of life as well as ensuring their basic survival. These could include taking clients out for a walk, putting up Christmas decorations or helping to look after pets.
Community Care, Feb.23rd-Mar. 1st 2006, p.38-39
The Supporting People National Strategy unveiled in November 2005 breaks down the artificial divide between social care and housing support. It proposes re-positioning the Supporting People programme as the broker of inter-agency partnerships to meet cross-cutting needs and the glue which binds other services together. | <urn:uuid:9232c67b-a3ac-45ab-829d-ba357043361c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bl.uk/welfarereform/issue80/commcare.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959706 | 164 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Volunteer Opportunities at…
On any given day in Oregon, many of the young adults leaving foster care lack the community support, education, and skills necessary to prepare them for the world beyond the state’s care and custody. Those who begin a post-secondary education, don’t often finish.
- Only 2-9% of foster youth graduate with a bachelors degree as compared
to 24% of the general population.
Coaching for College Success aims to provide college-focused support and resources to youth aging out of foster care in order to increase their integration into the college environment, help youth build stronger support networks, improve or maintain their academic ability, and prepare youth for future careers.
You can help! Become a mentor!
Become a part of the team.
- Mentors meet with youth twice a month for a total of five hours a month with a
minimum six month commitment.
- Volunteers complete a written application, including background and reference
- Program Coordinators provide initial training followed by on-going support and additional training throughout the length of the match.
Mentors will work with students to help them:
- Achieve their academic goals and enhance academic performance.
- Get involved in clubs, sports, internships, or any other extracurricular activities that will help build their social and professional networks.
- Develop stronger and larger support networks for social, academic, and career goals.
Call Coaching for College Success at 503-234-8757 x27 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
Coaching for College Success is a program of the Inn Home, Inc., which is a registered 501C 3. | <urn:uuid:645c5d7d-0bdd-46b5-ae3e-68f72c03524c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theinnhome.org/coaching.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93017 | 354 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Fri November 23, 2012
Need Tax Amnesty? Deadline Looms
In just a few days, the deadline will pass for Kentuckians who owe state taxes to pay back without financial penalty.
Delinquent taxpayers can pay what they owe and avoid penalties, fees and additional interest by Nov. 30. Kentucky Secretary of Finance and Administration Lori Flanery says it’s been ten years since Kentucky has offered tax amnesty.
“The amount of money that is anticipated is about 55 million dollars," she said. "In the 2002 effort, there was actually 40 million dollars collected.” After tax amnesty ends on Nov. 30, additional penalties will be levied on delinquent taxpayers, she said. Flanery said tax delinquents who participate can result in substantial savings… “Depending on what types you owe and how long you have owed it, our research shows that you can save between 25 and 35 percent. Part of that is because all of the penalties You’ll have to pay full interest instead of half interest you pay under amnesty.” She said about 75 percent of overdue tax money comes business. | <urn:uuid:55553f0c-8c21-4300-80ab-a208eb322421> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wfpl.org/post/need-tax-amnesty-deadline-looms | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961341 | 226 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Caitlin Moran, a columnist for The Times of London, is frequently dubbed the “British Tina Fey.”
How to Be a Woman is not only a feminist memoir, it is a humanist manifesto- a hilarious one. Do not be fooled by what you think you know of feminists. Ms. Moran trumps all preachy tomes that came before, and she throws preconceived notions about who and what a feminist is out the window. Her honest storytelling possesses the ability to rekindle the feminist discussion, and to coax closet feminists out into the open.
What is so wrong with feminism anyway? Ms. Moran cites that only 29 percent of American women describe themselves as feminists. Therefore, she knows her subject matter will encounter automatic resistance. She tackles an array of touchy subjects, from abortion and the dishevelment of childbirth, to the costly preening credo placed upon women by society. She stands up for feminism bravely, without apologies, and she wonders why women (and men) fail to do the same: 'What do you think feminism is, ladies?’ ‘What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry?’
Ms. Moran’s narrative follows significant milestones of her life, from the age of thirteen to her present mid-thirties. And while the events are muliebrity based, they are also simply human. We feel awkward, self-conscious, uncomfortable, joyous and resilient, right along with her. She communicates with a conversational writing style that lightens any possibility of sanctimonious overtones. You are just another friend over to her house for an evening of funny, albeit poignant, stories.
Case in point, as a child of the nineties Moran is still slowly emerging from her grunge phase and encounters serious dilemmas with the business of fashion. What woman cannot relate to the ‘nothing to wear’ predicament? Moran hits the bull’s eye: "When a woman says, ‘I have nothing to wear!’ what she really means is, ‘There’s nothing here for who I’m supposed to be today.’” She pinpoints how entrenched we are in sexism, to the point that we hardly notice it. Women are what they wear, and unlike men, women are required to be primped and poised to be taken seriously.
If you think you know something about feminism, this memoir is for you. And if you are confident you know everything about feminism? Then this memoir is definitely for you. How to Be a Woman is so much more than its title. Caitlin Moran rollicks through the human experience with one frustrating and good-humored experience after another. Her expedition offers much to breach the gender gap, but only if you dare to pick this book up and read. | <urn:uuid:9166c94b-f115-4bbf-ad1e-16b45710ae71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.examiner.com/review/review-how-to-be-a-woman-by-caitlin-moran?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96323 | 607 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Carbon tax period as short as possible: PM
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she is determined to introduce an emissions trading scheme as soon as possible, amid reports the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee has agreed the transition from a carbon tax to an ETS will take three years.
It is understood the Government, Greens and independents agreed to transition from the carbon tax to an ETS in 2015 - at the early end of the stated aim of three to five years.
The Government wanted to go directly to an ETS, but the minority nature of the Parliament meant the Greens were able to insist on an initial fixed carbon tax.
"I've always been determined to create an emissions trading scheme and I've always been determined that the fixed-price period would be as short as possible and we would get to that emissions trading scheme," Ms Gillard told reporters in Darwin.
She sought to change the nature of the rhetoric, rejecting the term "carbon tax" as a description used by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
"What Tony Abbott likes to refer to as a carbon tax, a fixed-price period, before an emissions trading scheme should be as short as possible," she said.
Mr Abbott hit back later, saying Ms Gillard has been calling it a carbon tax for months and calling the change of description to "fixed-price period" trickery.
"If it looks like a tax, if it works like a tax, if it costs like a tax - it is a tax," Mr Abbott told a press conference in Melbourne.
"We know that this is a Government that was untrustworthy, now it's being tricky as well."
Deputy Greens leader Christine Milne has confirmed reports of a carbon tax breakthrough, saying the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee is "on track" to have the scheme starting in July next year.
Independent MP Tony Windsor says a deal may be signed "next week".
It is believed the Government has agreed to the Greens' proposal for an independent climate change commission to advise on what Australia's 2020 emissions target should be.
At present, the target is 5 per cent below 2000 levels, but the Greens want a far higher figure - up to a 40 per cent reduction.
"We set ourselves a deadline of trying to reach an agreement by the end of the month with a view to having legislation later this year and the scheme starting on July 1 next year," Senator Milne told ABC News Breakfast.
"I'd say we are well and truly on track to achieving that outcome."
Mr Windsor says there is no signed deal yet, but it is close.
"There's been nothing signed off in my knowledge and probably won't be until next week," he told ABC Radio News.
But fellow independent Rob Oakeshott believes it is premature to open the champagne, saying people should take a "cold shower".
"There are details still being negotiated and ironed out and I'd urge the Greens, the Labor Party and the public service to allow that upcoming meeting to happen in a sensible way," he said.
"Cold shower all round - both amongst the stakeholders and amongst those in the community with great interest in this.
"We are still finalising a package, and we still need to keep the eyes on the prize on getting the best possible package we can and we haven't got that yet."
Mr Windsor was critical of the Government for releasing details of the ETS, saying the Government has embarked on a "risky strategy" by talking about some details of household compensation.
Ms Gillard has announced nine out of 10 households will be compensated under the scheme, and low-income households will be overcompensated.
"If people are jumping to conclusions and running their own race they do that at their own risk," Mr Windsor warned.
"And, more importantly, they do that at risk to the substantive issue that most of us have been trying to deal with at a confidential level."
Details to finalise
While not being drawn into what sticking points have been resolved, Senator Milne says they have "gotten through some of the major hurdles" and only have details to finalise.
She says the Greens want to see a transformation very rapidly to a "de-carbonated economy" and so they are prepared to compromise.
"We are negotiating with a Labor Government. We are negotiating with two independents. Everybody's views have to be respected," Senator Milne said.
"It will not be everything the Greens would like, not everything the Government would like, or the independents. But we will compromise.
"We want to see a transformation to 100 per cent renewables as quickly as we can get them."
And she repeated Greens leader Bob Brown's promise to block any attempt to repeal the legislation by a future Coalition government.
The Greens will take control of the Senate from tomorrow when four new Greens senators take their seats.
"It's difficult to see how [Tony Abbott] would achieve that because the Greens are going to have the balance of power in the Senate and even after the next election that will still be the case," Senator Milne said.
She would not confirm reports of a $1.5 billion coal compensation package, saying there needs to be "a transition to renewables".
"We recognise that can't be achieved overnight, it is transitional and it's about how quickly we can get there," she said.
Mr Windsor says he has spoken to many businesses and most of them have already factored a carbon tax into their activities, saying they want certainty above everything else.
"Privately, most of them would argue uncertainty is the big killer here and probably the worst option is that nothing happens," he said.
"It might suit the Tony Abbotts of this world but it's not going to suit the long-term interests of business and investment.
"Publicly they're probably saying they're going to be doomed and the economy is going to fall apart - I don't think any of those things are going to be happening." | <urn:uuid:c6ae15bb-0200-453a-ba7e-a7697cc727d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-30/carbon-tax-period-as-short-as-possible-pm/2778124 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978003 | 1,234 | 1.6875 | 2 |
“I’ve been ‘unofficially’ told by the H.R. manager of my employer,” wrote RG from Los Angeles, “that it will be cheaper for them to take the penalty than to continue insuring us.” RG’s question — whether it was true that “many, many companies will start dumping health insurance benefits” — was one of several we fielded last week about how the new health care reform law would affect small businesses. And though this query came from an employee, not an owner, of a large company, not a small one, clearly many entrepreneurs are also worried that they’ll have to abandon group coverage.
But as we’ve reported before (here and here), health policy analysts have told The Agenda that this massive dumping scenario is pretty unlikely. The fact is that most businesses that provide insurance for employees will continue to do so.
Now that the Senate Finance Committee has passed a health reform bill, it must now be melded with the variation passed by the Senate Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. And that amalgamation, should it pass the Senate, will then have to be reconciled with the version that passes the House — itself the product of three separate committees. Much is the same across the three bills, but not the employer mandate.
The different mandates would have very different effects on businesses. We’ve already seen (here, here, and here) how one regional convenience store chain might react to the Senate Finance Committee’s plan — not only would it not offer insurance to the employees who don’t now have it, but it might even cancel coverage for some who do. How might this company respond to the other proposals?
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired until his death by Edward Kennedy, came up with a slightly stiffer measure. Here, companies would have to pay $750 a year for each employee who works a 40-hour week but is not offered the minimum coverage (defined both in terms of benefits and a contribution of at least 60 percent of premiums) and $375 for each part-time employee.
The H.E.L.P. (love that acronym!) mandate would apply only to companies with more than 25 employees (excluding seasonal staff), and the first 25 are exempted. (That is, a business with 30 workers that does not offer the minimum required coverage will pay the mandate penalty on just four of them.) Under this mandate variation, companies wouldn’t be able to avoid responsibility for health care costs altogether by reclassifying full-time employees as part-timers, as in the Finance committee bill, but they could halve those costs simply by cutting employee work schedules to 39 hours. A company with 50 full-time employees could save around $9,000 by doing this.
Update | 5:17 p.m. The Baucus bill was voted out of committee today (with Olympia Snowe’s support).
In last week’s post, we considered how the employer mandate proposed by the Senate Finance Committee would affect one company’s health coverage decisions. The health care overhaul that contains this provision, which is also known as the Baucus bill (for Montana Democrat Max Baucus), goes to a vote in the committee this afternoon, and is likely to pass. It appears to have won one Republican vote, that of Maine’s Olympia J. Snowe, who is also the ranking Republican on the Senate Small Business committee. Before the vote happens, it’s worth taking one more look at the employer mandate the bill proposes.
It seems likely to deliver unintended consequences. Recall that under this measure, when an employee of a company with more than 50 workers uses public subsidies to buy health insurance on her own, the company will normally have to pay the government $400 a year for every full-time employee. (Alternatively, the company could simply reimburse the government for the subsidies expended on its workers, if that turned out to be cheaper.) As we saw on Oct. 6, this will neither encourage employers to offer insurance to their workers, nor punish them if they do not. One regional convenience store chain, with 570 employees, might very well cancel existing coverage for low-paid store managers, who would then be eligible for government-subsidized policies. Even though canceling the coverage could save the company more than $800,000, the company’s mandate penalty, according to retired labor lawyer Ann Arnold, would be just $123,000. And the cost to taxpayers for subsidizing the full-time employees to whom it offers no insurance could be 10 times higher.
Last Wednesday, The Agenda took a closer look at the big job losses that did not result from San Francisco’s play-or-pay mandate. But there’s another fear that critics of a mandate sometimes voice: that many businesses will simply drop health insurance because it is cheaper to pay the tax.
After all, the steepest of the proposed mandates, the one that’s under consideration in the House, would assess most firms a tax of just 8 percent of payroll. Meanwhile, the cost of health insurance is typically 12 percent of payroll, according to the Congressional Budget Office and could very well rise if the government mandates a richer benefit package than companies offer now.
Recall that the economist studying the San Francisco example has yet to see evidence of companies canceling coverage, though the program is still young. And here again, if the C.B.O. and other economists are right, he won’t ever see such evidence. They say that a play-or-pay mandate is unlikely to leave many workers without the employer-sponsored insurance they currently have.
Agenda readers were, well, skeptical when we highlighted a radio story showing that, so far at least, a recent play-or-pay mandate for employers in San Francisco to provide health coverage hasn’t led to significant job losses. “Thin reporting,” chided “Ted.” “Gabi” suspected that the economist studying the program, U.C. Berkeley’s Will Dow, was sloppy. “I would suspect that the decrease is there alright, but I’m not seeing it; I’d call it measurement error.”
In fact, most of Mr. Dow’s colleagues are probably not surprised by the results that he returned. In July, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office took on the question in an issue brief that looked at how health insurance reform might affect labor markets. Although these so-called employer mandates ostensibly make the business pay health care costs directly, it is the workers, says the C.B.O., who actually bear those costs.
Employers’ payments for health insurance are one form of compensation, along with wages, pension contributions, and other benefits. Firms decide how much labor to employ on the basis of the total cost of compensation and choose the composition of that compensation on the basis of what their workers generally prefer. Employers who offer to pay for health insurance thus pay less in wages and other forms of compensation than they otherwise would, keeping total compensation about the same. | <urn:uuid:56933303-1efe-47a4-ac3c-bbd2ce882d43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/congressional-budget-office/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968526 | 1,490 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The Rapture Retirement Plan
Every so often, a religious figure appears in the news headlines proclaiming that the world will end at a specific date in the future, or that the faithful remnant will be taken up from the earth in the blink of an eye. Of course, history shows that the track records of these prophets have thus far been less than perfect. But an ironic truth can be found in the budgets, checkbooks and financial statements of many Americans who are quick to laugh at these doomsayers. These items reveal a mindset that the world will end tomorrow …or certainly before they reap the consequences of their current financial irresponsibility. There are several financial habits that reflect this mentality. (For those who don't believe in the Rapture, check out 5 Painless Ways To Save More Money.) TUTORIAL: Retirement Planning
Failure to Pay Taxes
If the end was really going to come tomorrow, then it probably really wouldn't matter whether you paid Uncle Sam or not. But since this is uncertain, the smart play is to stay current on your tax payments. And the failure to file taxes is an even bigger mistake; the penalty on your unpaid tax for this accrues at 10-times the rate as the penalty for simple failure to pay them.
Failure to Save for Retirement
It can be tempting to forgo having to save now in order to be able to buy items that you want now. And, of course, if the end comes before you stop working, then you will have gambled and won. Unfortunately, if this doesn't happen, you will be left without any savings after your working years have ended - a scenario that can have ugly consequences. (To learn how you can save for retirement, read 7 Tools For Rebuilding Retirement Savings.)
Failure to Pay Off Credit Cards or Other Debt
Just like saving for retirement, it may be tempting to forgo making payments on your car, credit card or other debt and spend the money now. But this can have very destructive consequences for you over time. Your credit rating will be destroyed, along with your balance sheet. Waiting for the world to end before this catches up with you may result in substantial inconvenience.
Purchase of Big-Ticket Items
If you believe that you won't ever have to suffer the consequences of your actions, then why shouldn't you buy that second home, cabin cruiser or Caribbean cruise? You can afford the payments for the moment, so that's all that matters. Besides, if the end is coming, then why not enjoy yourself in the meantime? (For more information on saving, check out 12 Ways To Shop Smarter.)
Spending Your Retirement/Investment Portfolio
This is perhaps the most foolish of all financial behaviors. But it falls right in line with the other habits listed here. You've worked hard to build up your portfolio; shouldn't you be able to enjoy it now? If the end comes before you have the chance to liquidate your savings, then won't all your efforts have been for nothing? You can't take it with you, so spend it now!
The Bottom Line
Of course, most people who engage in the habits listed above have no particular beliefs about when the world will end. They simply persist in managing their money as if they believe that it will end very soon. Many consumers refuse to face the fact that their finances are out of control and need substantial adjustments. Those who are unable to come to terms with their spending and saving habits are every bit as disconnected from reality as the prophets who tell us to prepare for the end. Unfortunately, the consequences of this type of irresponsibility can last a lifetime. (For more on how to save money, check out The Beauty Of Budgeting.) | <urn:uuid:439b3017-d8bf-41c7-8966-c9991853bdc2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/the-rapture-retirement-plan.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959085 | 759 | 1.507813 | 2 |
NORMAN — City of Norman recycling plans may have a glitch if one council member’s reading of ballot language is correct. The Norman City Council instructed city staff on Tuesday to move forward with preparations to enter a contract with new vendor and low bidder, Republic, for the city’s curbside reycling service.
In order to keep costs down and increase service, city leaders said Norman will move to biweekly recycling pickups with polycarts to allow for curbside carboard recycling.
“I got the ballot language and it clearly says weekly curbsie recycling,” said Council member Tom Kovach. “I’m afraid we’ll have to revote the public if we go to biweekly.”
The rub? If the city stays at weekly curbside recycling, it will still have to go to the polls — to request a rate increase.
Kovach thinks the public will support biweekly recycling pickup to include cardboard and keep the rates the same, but the 2007 ballot language indicates a vote will be needed to make that change in his opinion.
A legal opinion from the City Attorney’s Office indicates a vote is not needed to go to biweekly pickup, however.
“The only reason the citizens got to vote on it at all is because they have the right by charter to vote on the rates — it’s not the service, it’s the rates,” said Assistant City Attorney Kathryn Walker. “Biweekly in 96-gallon polycarts is not a reduction in services.”
Walker cited the additional space in polycarts allowing for more recyclables and for the addition of cardboard.
“And it’s what we can do within our rate structure which is what is important to our citizens,” Walker said. | <urn:uuid:5abfcfa3-d1d3-476d-8322-c41502121648> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://normantranscript.com/archive/x1746086009/Recycling-policy-may-face-public-vote | 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 | 0.930063 | 383 | 1.578125 | 2 |
I am probably the least flexible person in the world and have always struggled to find ways to improve my flexibility. Most stretching routines too complex and time consuming to do on a daily basis so I’ve gone my whole life without ever stretching. Now that I’m constantly in the gym, I’m finding that my limited flexibility limits my ability to properly do some workouts and I knew that it was time for a change.
I started doing a bit of research and found a beginner’s stretching program called ‘Starting Stretching‘ created by phrakture. It’s the perfect program for a person like me who has absolutely no idea what they are doing and is too overwhelmed to know where to begin. The routine should take about 15 minutes to complete and should be performed in succession daily and after every workout. Keep reading below for the complete program pasted from Phrakture’s website as well as some pictures to help with the explanation of the movements.
The Starting Stretching Program
This program covers a series of 9 stretches – 3 upper body, 4 lower body, and 2 torso. Each is to be done for a total of 60 seconds. Doing this in one stretch is the best, but if you need to stretch for 30s, relax, and finish 30s, that is fine too. Try not to go lower than 20s intervals – if you can’t do a stretch for at least 20s, lessen the intensity.
These stretches are to be performed in succession after every single workout. This should take only 10-15 minutes. It is recommended, however to do them every single day. If you have time, repeating the stretches 2-3 times is also recommended.
Place your hands on some object that is overhead, while keeping your arms straight. You may bend forward to an object, as long as it is still “overhead”. Attempt to push your head and chest through so that the arms are pressed behind the body. Variation 1, Variation 2.
Beginner: As above, with palms facing down
Intermediate: Place your elbows on the object and bring the hands together as it you were praying.
Advanced: Rotate the palms facing upward. Holding a stick might be useful to help keep the hands from rotating. Alternatively, a dead hang from a bar in a chinup grip might be used.
Underarm Shoulder Stretch
While seated, place your hands behind you on the ground, fingers pointing away, and slide your butt forward, keeping the arms straight. This can also be done by placing your hands behind you on a tall object, and squatting/crouching down.
Beginner: As above, keeping hands on the ground, approximately shoulder width.
Intermediate: Use a stick or resistance band to keep arms narrower than shoulder width.
Advanced: Do this while hanging from a bar. Also known as a “German Hang”
Rear Hand Clasp
With one hand overhead and the other hand behind your lower back, attempt to grasp fingertips behind your back. Make sure to do this on both sides. Example Video.
Beginner: Use a towel or strap to bring the hands together
Intermediate: Grab opposing fingers or hands
Advanced: Grab opposing wrists
Keeping the heels on the ground, squat down as far as your body will allow. Keep your arms inside the knees and press them outward. Feel free to hold on to something for balance, as it should not affect the stretch, but free balancing is preferred.
Beginner: Just get into the position and hold
Intermediate: Work on sitting up as straight as possible. Chest and head held high
Advanced: Sit up vertically and attempt to keep the toes pointed forward
Bend forward, hinging at the hips while trying to keep the back flat. Do not try to touch your toes – instead, try to touch the ground 1-2 feet in front of your toes. This will help you hinge at the hips and not bend at the back. When you can get decently below parallel with a flat back, then you can grab your calves and attempt to pull your head to your knees.
Note: When returning from the stretch, bend your knees and let your hips drop, before lifting your upper body up. Stand up as if squatting. Doing otherwise can risk back injury
Beginner: Forward bend with a flat back
Intermediate: When below parallel with a flat back grab your calves and pull your knees to your chest
Advanced: Pull your knees to your chest without using your arms to pull
Kneel on the ground and place one foot in front of you, flat on the ground, in a lunge position with the back knee and top of foot on the ground. Squeeze the glutes and press the pelvis forward, stretching the rear leg. Move the front foot forward as needed to ensure the front shin remains roughly vertical. Ensure the torso remains vertical, and not bending backwards or leaning forwards.
Beginner: Perform the kneeling lunge with hands on the front leg, supporting some of the torso
Intermediate: Keep the hands at the side of the torso, with palms facing forward and shoulders pulled back
Advanced: Raise the rear leg up against your glutes and hold with both arms
Sit on the ground, and bring the bottoms of your feet together in front of you. Hold your feet together with your hands and pull them slightly towards you. Actively try to press your knees towards the ground. See here for more instruction
Beginner: Use strength alone to push the knees towards the floor.
Intermediate: Lean forward slightly (with a flat back) and press the legs towards the floor by using your elbows.
Advanced: Lean forward with a flat back, attempting to touch both your chest to your legs and your knees to the ground.
Backbends are fairly difficult for people who have never done them, so we’re going to scale it with a few other stretches first. With any of these stretches, if you feel pinching in the lower back, you’re doing it wrong. Take a step back and don’t push so hard.
Beginner: Glute Bridge. While lying on your back, bend your knees and put your feet near your buttocks. By squeezing the glutes, lift the hips and pelvis off the floor and press it towards the ceiling.
Intermediate: Camel. Kneel on your shins on the ground. Curl the toes under your feet, and reach behind you, grabbing the heels with the respective hand. From here, squeeze the glutes and push the pelvis forward as much as possible while holding onto the heels. Look upward and pull the shoulders back. You may need to use blocks or pillows to raise the heels higher at first.
Advanced: Bridge/Wheel. Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled into your glutes. Place your hands on the ground beside your head, with fingers pointing down towards your shoulders. From here, press with the arms and glutes to lift yourself onto the top of your head. Hold this position for time. As you get better in this position, you will eventually be able to lift your head off the ground by pressing the arms straight. In doing this, make sure your shoulders remain above the hands and much as possible, and strive to straighten the legs.
Lie on the ground, facing upward, and extend your arms out to the sides. Lift one leg up at a 90 degree angle (bend the knee as much as necessary). Now lower the leg to the opposite side of the torso while keeping the shoulders on the ground. Attempt to touch the ground with the leg while maintaining shoulders on the floor. Turn the head in the opposite direction of the leg. Repeat for both sides.
Beginner: Bend the knees at 90 degrees and press down with the arm to deepen the stretch
Intermediate: Use a straight leg (locked knee) and press down with the arm
Advanced: Use a straight leg and no arm assistance – use only muscular power to maintain the position
After every stretching session, it is also helpful to work on weaknesses. Choose 1-3 stretches above where you’d most like additional flexibility, and add those at the end. I’d also suggest wrist and ankle stretches here as well. | <urn:uuid:bc55fe64-c380-4b48-830a-c663ed2af7e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.andrewsaladino.com/tag/article/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937285 | 1,722 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Hindu Marriage Act applies to separated couple who got married in J&K: HC
The Bombay High Court on Monday held that the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 can apply to Hindu couples who have previously lived together in Jammu and Kashmir and have now separated.
The judgment came in response to a dispute between an estranged couple whose marriage had been solemnised in Jammu and Kashmir. The couple had also lived in Jammu for 15 years after their marriage, till they separated in June 2008.
The wife later came to Mumbai and filed an application for divorce at the family court here. However, the husband filed an application, contending that the dissolution proceedings of their marriage should be decided by a court in Jammu and Kashmir.
While giving its judgment, a division bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and N M Jamdar said, "There is no express provision in the Central Act (Hindu Marriage Act) to suggest that, if the marriage is solemnised outside the territories to which the Central Act extends, presentation of petition by invoking provisions of the Central Act would be barred."
The wife's response to the husband's application pointed to Section 1(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The section says that the Act "extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and applies also to Hindus domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends, who are outside the said territories."
However, the husband had referred to Section 21 of the Jammu and Kashmir Hindu Marriages Act, 1980, which says that every petition under the Act needs to be presented to the district court within the limits of whose ordinary jurisdiction the marriage was solemnised.
While dealing with this argument, the judges said, "...that does not mean that Section 21 bars presentation of the petition under the Central Act."
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- 2 weeks after harassment, Haryana schoolgirls return, cops in tow | <urn:uuid:d50f72be-8b20-41d0-8558-648f1656484f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hindu-marriage-act-applies-to-separated-couple-who-got-married-in-j-k-hc/978676/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967227 | 476 | 1.734375 | 2 |
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How to understand financial advisers' charges
Are you thinking of using a financial adviser? Read our guide to adviser charges first. The way you pay for financial advice has just been changed.
by Michelle McGagh on Jan 25, 2013 at 13:00
Adviser charges are in focus right now because financial advisers are no longer allowed to accept commission from the financial companies whose products they recommend.
This is probably the most important reform of the FSA's 'retail distribution review' (RDR) which took effect at the start of this year. It means that consumers now have to pay financial advisers directly.
Although financial advisers are required to be clear about their fees and tariffs, the variety of different adviser charges is confusing.
Read our guide below before seeing a financial adviser.
What’s the RDR?
The retail distribution review (RDR) is the biggest shake-up to ever happen to financial advice firms. In order to better protect consumers, the FSA has raised the minimum professional qualification financial advisers must have.
It has also widened the scope of financial products and investments that advisers must research and know about if they want to practise as an 'independent' financial adviser (IFA).
Advisers who don't meet this challenge or who prefer to specialise on a narrower area of expertise must label themselves as a 'restricted' adviser.
The third reform is that financial advisers can no longer be paid commission by the pension and investment companies whose products they recommend.
Pros and cons of scrapping commission
The abolition of commission is a huge change in financial services. It has raised fears of an 'advice gap' if consumers refuse to pay adviser charges or are left behind as more financial advisers focus on wealthy clients.
Although the abolition of commission will take time to get used to it is a good thing to have done.
The commission system was unclear and misled the public into thinking financial advice was free, when it wasn't. This is because pension and investment companies recouped the cost of paying commission to advisers through higher charges on their products which consumers paid.
Also, the existence of commission raised the fundamental question of who advisers were really working for. Their client or the company who paid them commission? The payment of commission led to suspicion that advisers were biased towards selling financial products because they wanted the money rather than because they were right for their customers.
The abolition of commission should make financial advisers far more professional in everything they do. But it means you have to pay them directly for their advice.
Do I have to write a cheque to get advice?
No, you won’t have to write a cheque necessarily, although you will be able to if you want. The new adviser charging system means the adviser has to make it clear to you just what their advice costs and you can then choose how to pay them.
You may want to write a cheque out to your adviser or you can agree for the cost to be paid out of your invested money (just like commission used to do but this time you should know exactly what is being deducted).
Your adviser should give you the option of how to pay and explain what their service costs. If they are not doing this then they are breaking the regulator’s rules.
How do advisers set their fees?
The fees charged by advisers will vary depending on the services you require and how the adviser decides to charge. There is no set minimum or maximum they can charge you and no set way they have to charge you – they just have to make sure that the fee is explained to you explicitly.
However, this doesn’t mean that you will get a pounds and pence breakdown of the cost. Advisers can charge in different ways.
This is the most common way for advisers to charge, based on a percentage of the money you want advice on or managed.
There is usually an initial percentage charge for taking you on as a client and investing your money, and then an ongoing percentage charge levied each year for continuing to manage your money.
These charges often take the form of ‘three plus a half’: this means 3% taken from the money you transfer to the adviser or each time you invest plus an annual charge of 0.5% of your money under advice.
This charging structure most closely resembles what advisers used to get paid in commission, which is why many have adopted it as their new charges.
The trouble is the more money you have with an adviser, the more you pay for the advice and ongoing service. Many advisers get round this with a sliding scale that lowers the percentage as the amount of money increases.
Fixed fee per service:
Some advisers take a different approach and charge a fixed fee for the one-off projects that many people go to see them about: such as, setting up a financial plan; consolidating different pensions picked up during a career; or simply investing your money.
Fixed fees are a good idea if you don’t want ongoing advice and just want help with a specific job.
However, if you want to keep in contact with the adviser and receive regular updates and an annual review you will have to pay a percentage fee. At least then the adviser is incentivised to see your money grow and not fall in value!
Most advisers now have a menu setting out the different levels of service they offer and the different fees and tariffs for each.
Some financial advisers are trying to mimic other professionals like accountants and solicitors and charge by the hour. If they do this they should provide a full breakdown of the work they’ve done and how long it took. Some will even let you know what member of staff has completed the work as many advisers pass on tasks to their paraplanner (their technical assistant) or an administrator and these people are cheaper on an hourly rate than the adviser.
Don’t be scared to ask for a detailed breakdown of the work and who did it – if the advisory firm is working on this basis it should have a strict process in place for determining costs.
Advice isn’t the only cost
The fee your adviser charges you, whether on an hourly, percentage or fixed basis, isn’t the only cost you’ll incur. The fee you pay to your adviser is for the service they provide – advising you and managing your money.
You adviser will invest your money, whether it’s in investment funds, a pension, or ISA , and all these products have their own charges that will have to pay.
Don’t be embarrassed to ask your adviser what you’re paying for. Get details of the advice costs and the costs of any investment products to try and get a good picture of just what you’re paying and whether your adviser is providing you with good value.
Questions to ask a financial adviser:
- Is there an initial charge for investing my money?
- What are the ongoing charges for investing my money?
- What exact services are included in the charge?
- Are there any extra charges that are levied for other services?
- How many times a year will I see you, and are the meetings included in the cost?
- Will I be charged if I contact you between meetings?
- What are the costs of the products you are investing my money in?
- Are there any extra costs that I will incur?
- Will the cost of advice reduce the more I invest?
For more on these important changes read our 'guide to the RDR savings revolution'.
More about this:
More from us
- How to find a good financial adviser after RDR
- Banks suspend advisers as RDR deadline looms
- How to pick a good fund for your ISA and pension
- Never trust an IFA? Why advice is undervalued
- Stick to your plan in good times and bad
- Don't throw good money after bad
- The Citywire Money guide to the RDR savings revolution
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Keep an eye out for us in your inbox, and please add [email protected] to your safe senders list so we don't get junked. | <urn:uuid:3dd51d58-7085-4762-8d2b-75a7d35db5af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://citywire.co.uk/money/how-to-understand-financial-advisers-charges/a652394?ref=citywire-money-the-lolly-list | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962553 | 1,765 | 1.835938 | 2 |
couple didnt touch each other from past 6years, even though they live with each other but dont share bed neither room, dont even talk to each other. husdand cooks, cleans, washes,irons and all related tasks himself. in according to islamic law whats status of this marriage? is this marriage still class as valid?
This is very sad to hear. Sometimes woman loose the respect for husbands espacially if you give give give and she doesnt do anything in return. People dont expect the man to suffer in a marrige and thats why it Is probably hard for them to understand his point of view. Here is some information I hope it helps.
The Prophet (SAWS) is known to have helped his wives in the house. And if the Prophet (SAWS) was not above doing housework, modern Muslim husbands shouldn't feel that they are.
Communication is Important
Communication, Communication, Communication! This is the big word in counseling. And it should be. Husbands and wives need to talk to each other. It is better to deal with problems early and honestly than to let them pile up until an explosion occurs.
Forget Past Problems
Don't bring up past problems once they have been solved.
Don't be jealous of those who seem to be living a more luxurious life than your family. The 'rizq" is from Allah (SWT). In order to develop the quality of contentment, look at those people who have less than you, not those who have more. Thank Allah (SWT) for the many blessings in your life.
Give Your Spouse Time Alone
If your mate doesn't want to be with you all the time, it doesn't mean he or she doesn't love you. People need to be alone for various reasons. Sometimes they want to read, to think about their problems, or just to relax. Don't make them feel that they are committing a sin.
Admit Your Mistakes
When you make a mistake, admit it. When your mate makes a mistake, excuse him or her easily. If possible, never go to sleep angry with each other.
Physical Relationship is Important
Be available to your mate sexually, and don't let your sexual relationship be characterized by selfishness. The Prophet (SAWS) was reported to have said: 'It is not appropriate that you fall upon your wives like a beast but you must send a message of love beforehand."
Have Meals Together
Try to eat together as a family when possible. Show the cook and the dishwasher, whether it is the husband or the wife, appreciation for his or her efforts. The Prophet (SAWS) did not complain about food that was put before him.
Be Mindful of Your discussion Topics
Never discuss with others things about your marriage that your spouse wouldn't like you to discuss, unless there is an Islamic reason to do so. Some husbands and wives, believe it or not, complain to others about their mate's physical appearance. This is a recipe for disaster. Information about your intimate relations should be kept between you and your spouse.
Many of us treat our spouses in ways that we would never treat others. With others, we try to be polite, kind, and patient. With our spouses, we often do not show these courtesies. Of course, we are usually with our spouses at our worst times --- when we are tired and frustrated after a hard day. After a bad day at the office, husbands usually come home angry and on edge. The wife has probably also had a hard day with the children and the housework. Wives and husbands should discuss this potential time bomb so that if they are short-tempered with each other during these times, they will understand the reasons rather than automatically thinking that their spouse no longer loves them.
Good marriages require patience, kindness, humility, sacrifice, empathy, love, understanding, forgiveness, and hard work. Following these principles should help any marriage to improve. The essence of them all can be summed up in one sentence: Always treat your spouse the way you would like to be treated. If you follow this rule, your marriage will have a much greater chance for success. If you discard this rule, failure is just around the corner.
DU’AA FOR HAPPY MARRIED LIFE 'Allaahummaj-al min azwaajinaa wa dhurriyyaatinaa qurrata a-ayunin waj-alnaa lil muttaqeena imaamaa' (O Allah! grant us such wives and offspring who have a coolness of the eyes, and make us leaders of the Allah-Fearing)
Is there a reason why this happend ? Why is the husband cooking cleaning and doing all of the work? I understand that the husband has to support his wife but In this case it seems like he doesnt get any support or help back from her. It seems like a very dificult life for the husband and could be the reason why he hasnt had the desire to touch his wife or sleep with her at night. There seems to be spme type of resentment and that is never good for a marrige.
suhhanallah, there are many shortcomins to dis story i wont say sin because Allah know best. first of all the man has lost his stand as the head reasons best know to Allah and for the wife, if she is part of us may Allah forgive her coz she realy needs it, subhanallah. the prophet said nobody should keep queit to his follow brother or sister for more than three days (malis) in the bottom line that family needs to find its cause in the best way islam prescribe, may Allah help us all.
as long as he is supporting you and giving you what you want but if neither of you want that then iy counts if he isnt fulfilling your desire you may divorse him but the marrige is still valid as loonng as no one has initiated divorce
I hope this might help you a little,you say that the wife continued with her behavior than it is obligatory for the husband to divorce her.
If one finds that one’s wife has committed the absolute abomination of adultery, and the husband sincerely believes that his wife fears Allah and is sincerely repentant at her abomination, and he can bring himself to forgive her her crime, there is no harm if the husband chooses to forgive her and save the marriage. But if the husband finds and knows with absolute conviction that his wife has committed or commits the abomination of adultery, and she neither fears Allah, nor is repentant, and given half a chance, she would commit the abomination again….then it becomes absolutely obligatory for the believing husband to separate himself from such an evil wife through divorce, if indeed he fears Allah and the Last Day. | <urn:uuid:fddd9495-ffa6-4b52-b47c-301b2878d528> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.islam.com/questions/3334/loveless-marriage?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974244 | 1,418 | 1.59375 | 2 |
An official report to the director of the Australian Trade Commissioner Service in 1963 declared: “It is difficult to support the appointment of women.”
It was difficult, apparently, because although a “relatively young, attractive woman could operate with some effectiveness in a subordinate capacity”, the appointee “would not stay young and attractive for ever”. And that could well “become a problem”.
It was difficult because “relationships with businessmen would tend to be somewhat formal and guarded” and because it was “doubtful” if a woman could stand the “fairly severe strains”. It was difficult because “a man normally has his household run efficiently by his wife”, but “a woman Trade Commissioner would have all this on top of her normal work”. And it was difficult because “single graduates” would “probably marry within five years”, but “a spinster lady can turn into something of a battleaxe”.
You can see why the report might conclude “that the noes have it”. Too young, too old, too pretty, too ugly, too weak, too bossy. Too exhausting, in fact. Better, much better, to stick to the status quo. Women “in a subordinate capacity”, ideally “young and attractive”. Which, I”m afraid, is largely what we’ve done. Forty-six years after the submission of the report (one of thousands of gems in the National Archives of Australia), the situation relating to women and work is barely better.
The pay gap between men and women in this country has actually grown wider: from 21.9% in 2007 to 22.6% in 2008. And a quick glance at the website of the Equality and Human Rights Commission confirms that the overall trend isn’t good. “New report highlights shocking lack of women in positions of power and influence in Wales”, is one of the cheery headlines you get when you tap “women” into the website. Or just “Fewer women in top posts.”
And for the non-‘spinster ladies’, the ones who mess up the workplace with their big bumps and tiresome maternity leaves, it’s even worse. More than a third of working mothers want to leave their jobs to look after their children, according to a new report. And a further six in 10 would prefer to reduce their hours.
Leaving aside the women MPs who will almost certainly be leaving their jobs to “spend more time with their families”, that still means that nine in 10 mothers are unhappy about their jobs. The Government can extol the virtues of work as much as it likes, but when the work available to you is tedious and poorly paid then it’s not surprising that the “balls” (in super-remunerated Cherie Blair’s memorable phrase) seem barely worth juggling. No wonder Sarah Brown sticks to home baking and Twitter.
The arguments about work and motherhood will, of course, run and run. Yes, we need cheaper childcare and to combat the macho, long-hours culture; yes we need to remember that it takes two people to create a child and the responsibilities of one of them don’t cease at conception. And yes, we need to address the inequities of a public sector which allows half the workforce to absent itself at the first whisper of a child’s cough and a private sector which barely glimpses daylight.
But there’s another issue here and it’s got nothing to do with children. More than 80 years after women were given the right to vote, we seem more convinced than ever that the chief role of women in our society is adornment. Want to be a receptionist, read the news, present a chat show, judge ballroom dancing, write a book, be an MP? Well, you’d better be hot. Oh, and young. Ideally, under 30. Someone like our own Christine Bleakley, perhaps.
Fail this test, and you’ll suffer. Even Ann Widdecombe dyed her hair and went to fat club. Jacqui Smith was accused of driving her husband to porn. And if you want to survive as a woman over 50? You might — think Anne Robinson, think Julie Christie — need surgery.
On Saturday, I went to see The Hangover. I don’t think anyone was suggesting that this tale of a stag night gone horribly, riotously, sickeningly wrong was any kind of a blueprint for a civilised society, but still, the women characters were a little depressing. A plain fiancée who’s a pain. A silent, pretty bride. A super-sexy whore. The plain fiancée gets dumped, of course, for the tart with the heart — and very long legs indeed. | <urn:uuid:6433d913-6f38-4d5d-8d00-2232aefd4038> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/would-the-one-show-presenter-christine-bleakley-be-a-tv-host-if-she-was-ugly-28490014.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969482 | 1,040 | 1.804688 | 2 |
A recently launched theater in the Confucius Temple in Taipei that shows the history of the temple in a “4D” film format is poorly operated and attracts a low number of visitors, two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors said yesterday, urging the Taipei City Government to stop wasting its money on the theater.
The temple’s 4D theater, built with a budget of NT$21 million (US$ 710,000), was opened in March. It shows two 15-minute films in a 4D format that highlight Confucius’ philosophy on music and courtesy, combining visual content with special physical effects such as falling snow, wind and vibrations.
DPP Taipei City councilors Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) and Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said yesterday that the theater has an attendance rate of 30 percent, with each showing attracting about 30 viewers on average. The number of viewers who have seen the two films is only about 15,000, which led the councilors to question the city government over the lack of promotion for the theater.
“The 4D theater is poorly operated because of the city government and temples’ terrible management. However, the city government has not tried to examine its management skills. Instead, it has listed a budget of NT$13 million next year to improve the theater’s infrastructure,” Wu said.
Describing the theater as another “mosquito facility” in the city, with a low useage rate and poor operations, Liang urged the city government to focus its efforts on improving management and strengthening promotion.
In response, the temple’s executive secretary Chen Tsai-hung (陳彩虹) said the theater began a trial run in March before formally opening in July.
Entrance to the temple is free and the number of visitors reached 10,102 in July.
Chen said the budget listed for next year is to be used on maintenance of theater facilities, new films promoting the temple and Confucian culture, promotional events and traditional costumes for staff.
“The temple attracts a great number of local and foreign visitors each year, and the theater is part of our efforts to present Confucian culture in a modern way. We believe that the theater will gain popularity once more visitors learn about it,” she said. | <urn:uuid:b74bfcbb-58ad-489b-80b0-ef40a18418e3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/10/13/2003545088 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950241 | 506 | 1.546875 | 2 |
BENTLEYVILLE -- One of Bentleyville's oldest, most historic homes is well on its way to getting a makeover.
Built in 1848, the Duncan McFarland Homestead is located off Cannon Road in the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation and has been vacant for approximately 30 years. In 2000, a vision for restoration came alive.
Initially, the Village raised money for the project through the sale of furniture and other items in the home and then had the building assessed by restoration architects.
Although the house was in poor condition, the village decided to lease the property for $1 each year from the Cleveland Metroparks. By doing so, they were able to prevent the home from being demolished.
Currently, the lease agreement is in the process of being renewed, and as owners of the property, the Cleveland Metroparks hopes to continue seeing positive progress.
"At one point, the Metroparks talked about tearing it down," Councilperson John Bourisseau said. He explained the village has worked diligently to make progress on the home.
Some of the most crucial issues facing the home were problems with the roof, foundation, beams and major floor joists.
"Over the last three years, we've been really active to bring the house to a stabilized condition," Bourisseau said.
With help from volunteers, the village has replaced the roof and engaged in tuck-pointing all around the home. More recently, volunteers removed all the floor joists and installed basic flooring.
Several Boy Scouts have also aided with the project, including Troop 241. They spent a portion of their summer vacation demolishing two porches on the homestead, which were additions to the home that lacked historic accuracy.
All of the funding for the project has come from Friends of the Duncan McFarland Homestead, a 501(c)(3) entity.
As one of the village's earliest residential properties, the McFarland home reflects Greek Revival architecture and is one of few dwellings of its kind in the Western Reserve.
"It's a somewhat rare style. There are two more homes in Bentleyville that are similar to the McFarland Homestead, and they were both owned by Duncan's brothers," Bourisseau said.
The home's brick exterior was made locally from orange clay, while hand-tooled sandstone lintels and sills border the windows. The homestead also features an original blown-glass transom window on top of a paneled front door, in addition to an ornate staircase with hand-carved railing that leads to the second floor.
As home to one of the area's early pioneers, the McFarland house offers historic value that Bourisseau believes merits preservation.
He expects the project will resume in the summer, with planning meetings set for the early spring.
The village's next priority is to finish tuck-pointing and sealing brick around the home, and afterward, French drains may also be installed.
"At this point, I feel we have the house well stabilized," Bourisseau said. "We just have to broaden our base of support from members of the community to continue moving forward."
To inquire about offering time and/or financial support to assist with the McFarland home restoration project, contact Bourisseau or visit the village's sign-up page. The village is also seeking individuals interested in aiding with the development of a financial plan for the site. | <urn:uuid:096b5922-6192-4489-b463-7f87e7293890> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cleveland.com/chagrin-valley/index.ssf/2013/01/bentleyville_seeking_financial.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973062 | 712 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to John Murdock, August 29, 1832, at Hiram, Ohio. For over a year, John Murdock had been preaching the gospel while his children—motherless after the death of his wife, Julia Clapp, in April 1831—resided with other families in Ohio.
1 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Murdock—thou art a to go into the eastern countries from house to house, from village to village, and from city to city, to proclaim mine everlasting gospel unto the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of b and wickedness.
2 And who a you receiveth me; and you shall have power to declare my word in the b of my Holy Spirit.
3 And who receiveth you a a little child, receiveth my b; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain c.
4 And whoso rejecteth you shall be a of my Father and his house; and you shall cleanse your b in the secret places by the way for a testimony against them.
5 And behold, and lo, I a quickly to b, to convince all of their ungodly deeds which they have committed against me, as it is written of me in the volume of the book.
6 And now, verily I say unto you, that it is not expedient that you should go until your children are a for, and sent up kindly unto the bishop of Zion.
7 And after a few years, if thou desirest of me, thou mayest go up also unto the goodly land, to possess thine a;
8 Otherwise thou shalt continue proclaiming my gospel a thou be taken. Amen.
Official Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
© 2013 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:498a6b22-9380-4afd-82e7-289808ae142b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/print/dc/99?lang=eng | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957464 | 381 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Every single day more Americans fall into poverty. This should deeply alarm you no matter what political party you belong to and no matter what your personal economic philosophy is. Right now, approximately 100 million Americans are either "poor" or "near poor". For a lot of people "poverty" can be a nebulous concept, so let's define it. The poverty level as defined by the federal government in 2010 was $11,139 for an individual and $22,314 for a family of four. Could you take care of a family of four on less than $2000 a month? Millions upon millions of families are experiencing a tremendous amount of pain in this economy, and no matter what "solutions" we think are correct, the reality is that we all should have compassion on them. Sadly, things are about to get even worse. The next major economic downturn is rapidly approaching, and when it hits the statistics posted below are going to look even more horrendous.
When it comes to poverty, most Americans immediately want to get into
debates about tax rates and wealth redistribution and things like that.
But the truth is that they are missing the main point.
The way we slice up the pie is not going to solve our problems, because the pie is constantly getting smaller.
Our economic infrastructure is being absolutely gutted, the U.S. dollar is slowly losing its status as the reserve currency of the world and we are steadily getting poorer as a nation.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Members of the French parliament have thrown out a proposal to audit their allowances as the government prepares austerity measures for the economy.
They voted four to one to reject the bill which would have each deputy account for his or her annual allowance of 76,944 euros (£60,000; $93,000).
One deputy who opposed the bill said it would impinge on parliamentary freedom.
The bill's sponsor predicted an eventual expenses scandal like that which gripped Westminster in 2009.
A French study conducted in June suggested that, on average, those working for the French parliament enjoyed a 77% higher income than their counterparts in the British House of Commons or the German Bundestag.
The French are fiercely defensive of the benefits they have earned and none more so than the members of the National Assembly, the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
Bars and cigars
There have been several recent rows over expenses.
Last month the Mediapart website exposed the Socialist member for the Ardeche region, Pascal Terrasse, who had reportedly charged to his expenses account foreign holidays for his family and private bar bills. Mr Terrasse said he sometimes muddled his credit cards.
Under the last, conservative government, Christian Blanc, state secretary for the Paris region, was forced to stand down when it emerged he had put 12,000 euros spent on Cuban cigars on expenses.
Jellyfish Rat-Heart Robot Bankers - Max and Stacy with Mark O'Byrne + Max Keiser, Shabbir Rasvi and Ravi Batra: West bankers destroy global economy
Aldous Huxley imagined a world in which the Status Quo satisfies its lust for power by "suggesting people into loving their servitude."
Yesterday I discussed the Convergence of Marx, Orwell and Kafka as a means of understanding the global crisis. It's not just financial fraud on a vast scale, or debt or leverage or derivatives or a hundred other arcane mechanisms of parasitic predation; it's the partnership of a mindlessly expansive Central State with Monopoly Capital and the media machine that serves them.
I considered including Aldous Huxley in the convergence, as he too anticipated the essential nature of modern life. But perhaps his insights are more complementary than convergent, for he understood the media and State's capacity to not only present a deranged and destructive Status Quo as "normal" but to persuade the serfs to embrace it.
Aldous Huxley foresaw a Central State that persuaded its people to “love their servitude” via propaganda, drugs, entertainment and information-overload. In his view, the energy required to force compliance exceeded the "cost" of persuasion, and thus the Powers That Be would opt for the power of suggestion.
He outlined this in a letter to George Orwell:
"My own belief is that the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power, and these ways will resemble those which I described in Brave New World. Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience."
They are bailing out Dexia, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Societe General, that’s who they are bailing out. They are buffaloing everybody by telling them they are bailing out these other nation’s banks.
All they are doing is forcing the people in those countries, with the so-called austerity measures, to rape them by privatizing all of the great and valuable public assets and giving it to the big banks.
Look, when I talk about the greatest bank robbery in world history, look at the Libor scandal. Those are the people that set all of the rates artificially, and then bet on them, as we are finding out with Barclays and some twenty other banks that were in on the scheme... The game is rigged. It’s rigged in front of everybody’s eyes.
Chris Busby introduces a new Japanese language book published today in which he presents the truth about the health effects of the Fukushima Catastrophe to the Japanese people. In this book is much new information about the cover-ups including leaked documents showing the the US knew from the very beginning that the radioactivity had reached Tokyo as they were measuring it on their Embassy roof. However no-one was informed.
By James E. Miller: In a recent BBC News article, philosopher John Gray asks the quaint but otherwise vain question of what would John Maynard Keynes do in today’s economic slump. I call the question vain because practically every Western government has followed Keynes’ prescribed remedy for the so-called Great Recession. Following the financial crisis of 2008, governments around the world engaged in deficit spending while central banks pushed interest rates to unprecedented lows. Nearly four years later, unemployment remains stubbornly high in most major countries.
Even now in the face of the come-down that inevitably follows any stimulus-induced feelings of euphoria, certain central banks have taken to further monetary easing. The Bank of England recently announced an extension of its quantitative easing program by £50bn. Not to be outdone, both the People’s Bank of China and the European Central Bank cut interest rates in an effort to boost consumer borrowing. Still, these new rounds of monetary stimulus don’t appear to be doing the trick. The Keynesian miracle cure has been a spectacular dud thus far. All that modern day disciples of Keynes can do is scratch their heads and say “more should have been done.” They never allude to how many more trillions of paper dollars should have been created or spent; just call it the excuse that keeps on giving. | <urn:uuid:076037f0-b798-46d4-ad55-c7fc513ab817> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stgeorgewest.blogspot.com/2012_07_26_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963449 | 1,523 | 1.804688 | 2 |
SHOULD SIT ALONGSIDE AVIPRO IN THE MEDICINE CHEST!
CCF is used at a dose rate of one scoop per 200g of bird per day, mixing one scoop of CCF with two scoops of water and administering by stomach/gavage tube - usually split into two or three feeds.
CCF is the ultimate product for emergency feeding of ANY SPECIES. The product is a mixture of selected short chain maltodextrins (derived from corn starch) and a protein concentrate supplemented with amino acids. The protein source has been designed to match the constituents of whole egg protein.
Animals or birds which are off their food or with wasting problems can be helped during treatment by feeding CCF. This needs to be sufficiently often to be effective yet not too often that it compounds the problem due to stress. CCF was formulated with this in mind.
The product should be made up freshly each time. It has great benefits over commonly used liquid formulations of easily digestible carbohydrates in that it is a powder and can be stored until a small amount is needed. CCF in powder form remains stable for months provided that the container is sealed and also provides a suitable protein source which counters the hypoproteinaemic states of catabolism, which in birds especially is a major problem. | <urn:uuid:36158e38-750b-4ca6-9c96-237b9c045a39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vetark.co.uk/Shop/Ornamental-fowl/Health/Critical-Care-Formula-CCF/Critical-Care-Formula-CCF_7.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968418 | 269 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Monday, 04 June, 2012 22:02
Also known as Common Law vs Civil Law.
There is wonderful coffee in Ecuador. It’s grown here and also imported from Columbia. As a matter of fact, I’m enjoying some pretty tasty Columbian coffee right now in my apartment on Simon Bolivar.
However, this isn’t really just about coffee. It’s about coffee and holes and utility line poles and handicap ramps (or the lack thereof) and a whole bunch of other stuff.
The other day I was cogitating on the utility line “poles” at the bottom of the steps that lead down from Calle Beningo Malo here in Cuenca. They are completely different from the ones I’ve seen just about anyplace else because they have these conveniently spaced holes up the posts that are perfect footholds.
The thing that struck me is that if I were a kid, I’d climb that “pole”. And I’d probably get electrocuted because there are more wires running from pole to pole than I’m used to seeing. Check out the picture I took in Quito of what a typical utility pole looks like – truly boggles the mind.
Back to the poles and coffee. A major difference between Ecuador and the US is that in the US we have Common Law and in Ecuador it’s Civil Law. Basically, what that means is that if I climb that pole and electrocute myself in the US, the lawsuits will fly. Everyone from the city fathers and mothers to the utility company to the manufacturer of the pole will be sued and possibly even the hospital if I’m rushed there and die within their facility. (Well, this is a bit of a reach because my family would think I was nuts to have done that in the first place and wouldn’t sue.) But you know what I mean. It happens ALL THE TIME in the US.
And that’s where the coffee comes in. We all know about the McDonald’s hot coffee suit that was found in favor of the plaintiff. She was not responsible for handling the hot coffee (that she ordered of her own free will and ask for it ‘to go’) and spilling it on her hand and then on other parts of herself because it was so hot when it hit her hand that she splashed it around.
But I digress. The point is that in Ecuador if I climbed that pole and electrocuted myself, Civil Law would determine if there was cause for me to climb that pole and, if so, was there any reason for me to get up close and personal with the hot wires. If not, then it’s my own fault and we’re really sorry for your loss everyone but this was a really stupid thing to do.
And getting burned by your own hot coffee – forget about it.
Same goes for stepping in a hole (and there are some amazingly big ones), or just about anything else. Go to someone’s house and trip on the step…well, you should have watched what you were doing, doofus. End of story.
So if you get your kicks by placing yourself in harm’s way and then suing the hell out of as many people as possible, don’t come here. In Ecuador you actually have to take responsibility for yourself, especially if you perform some truly brainless action.
One last comment – the people here are so incredibly kind that if you should trip and fall or step in a hole, they will rush to help you and be very concerned that you’re okay. Just don’t ask anyone to be a witness for you. It’s not part of their culture.
Comments are closed. | <urn:uuid:7587ba72-f76c-4fc1-b0fb-20237a0ebd9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://enjoylivinginternationally.com/hot-coffee-in-ecuador/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974117 | 791 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Ogre to Slay? Outsource It To Chinese
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: December 9, 2005
One of China's newest factories operates here in the basement of an old warehouse. Posters of World of Warcraft and Magic Land hang above a corps of young people glued to their computer screens, pounding away at their keyboards in the latest hustle for money.
The people working at this clandestine locale are ''gold farmers.'' Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they ''play'' computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash.
That is because, from Seoul to San Francisco, affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay the young Chinese here to play the early rounds for them.
''For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, my colleagues and I are killing monsters,'' said a 23-year-old gamer who works here in this makeshift factory and goes by the online code name Wandering. ''I make about $250 a month, which is pretty good compared with the other jobs I've had. And I can play games all day.''
He and his comrades have created yet another new business out of cheap Chinese labor. They are tapping into the fast-growing world of ''massively multiplayer online games,'' which involve role playing and often revolve around fantasy or warfare in medieval kingdoms or distant galaxies.
With more than 100 million people worldwide logging on every month to play interactive computer games, game companies are already generating revenues of $3.6 billion a year from subscriptions, according to DFC Intelligence, which tracks the computer gaming market.
For the Chinese in game-playing factories like these, though, it is not all fun and games. These workers have strict quotas and are supervised by bosses who equip them with computers, software and Internet connections to thrash online trolls, gnomes and ogres.
As they grind through the games, they accumulate virtual currency that is valuable to game players around the world. The games allow players to trade currency to other players, who can then use it to buy better armor, amulets, magic spells and other accoutrements to climb to higher levels or create more powerful characters.
The Internet is now filled with classified advertisements from small companies -- many of them here in China -- auctioning for real money their powerful figures, called avatars. These ventures join individual gamers who started marketing such virtual weapons and wares a few years ago to help support their hobby.
''I'm selling an account with a level-60 Shaman,'' says one ad from a player code-named Silver Fire, who uses QQ, the popular Chinese instant messaging service here in China. ''If you want to know more details, let's chat on QQ.''
This virtual economy is blurring the line between fantasy and reality. A few years ago, online subscribers started competing with other players from around the world. And before long, many casual gamers started asking other people to baby-sit for their accounts, or play while they were away.
That has spawned the creation of hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of online gaming factories here in China. By some estimates, there are well over 100,000 young people working in China as full-time gamers, toiling away in dark Internet cafes, abandoned warehouses, small offices and private homes.
Most of the players here actually make less than a quarter an hour, but they often get room, board and free computer game play in these ''virtual sweatshops.''
''It's unimaginable how big this is,'' says Chen Yu, 27, who employs 20 full-time gamers here in Fuzhou. ''They say that in some of these popular games, 40 or 50 percent of the players are actually Chinese farmers.''
For many online gamers, the point is no longer simply to play. Instead they hunt for the fanciest sword or the most potent charm, or seek a shortcut to the thrill of sparring at the highest level. And all of that is available -- for a price.
''What we're seeing here is the emergence of virtual currencies and virtual economies,'' says Peter Ludlow, a longtime gamer and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. ''People are making real money here, so these games are becoming like real economies.''
The Chinese government estimates that there are 24 million online gamers in China, meaning that nearly one in four Internet users here play online games.
And many online gaming factories have come to resemble the thousands of textile mills and toy factories that have moved here from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other parts of the world to take advantage of China's vast pool of cheap labor.
''They're exploiting the wage difference between the U.S. and China for unskilled labor,'' says Edward Castronova, a professor of telecommunications at Indiana University and the author of ''Synthetic Worlds,'' a study of the economy of online games. ''The cost of someone's time is much bigger in America than in China.'' | <urn:uuid:20abf4a6-8d87-4daa-805d-b55cb5875493> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50E16FC3A550C7A8CDDAB0994DD404482&fta=y&incamp=archive:article_related | 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 | 0.952228 | 1,053 | 1.585938 | 2 |
American ballet music at Monadnock; a young Latin American conductor at Tanglewood
James Bolle’s final concert of Monadnock Music’s summer season began with a work that had had its premiere in Keene, New Hampshire, 70 years and three days earlier. No surprise there, but the work, Pocahontas, is by Elliott Carter! This was a ballet score he’d composed for Ballet Caravan, a touring company devoted to American themes and American composers that was sponsored by the WPA and formed by the wealthy ballet aficionado Lincoln Kirstein, Carter’s classmate at Harvard and a George Balanchine fan who would soon be the prime mover for New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Carter was Ballet Caravan’s first music director, and Kirstein himself worked out the Pocahontas scenario; Lew Christensen was the choreographer. At Keene’s Colonial Theatre, August 17, 1936, there was only a piano accompaniment. The New York premiere, three years later, was a much revised version for full orchestra. It’s from that version that Carter drew the suite Bolle conducted.
STILL IN THE GRADUATE PROGRAM AT JUILLIARD: voluptuous mezzo Isabel Leonard was the Falla soloist.
It’s a very grand piece: expansive, colorful, atmospheric, mysterious. We hear John Smith and John Rolfe getting lost in the Virginia forest; we hear the rituals of “Princess Pocahontas and Her Ladies,” in a slow unfolding of bird calls and forest noises that hints at Carter’s later slow movements. The music sounds mostly like 1930s Americana, but Pocahontas goes to England, so there’s also a stately neo-classical Pavane and some pungent Stravinsky-like harmonies. Both the opening and closing are startlingly grim. Bolle led the Monadnock Music Festival Orchestra in a performance both more powerful and more alluring than the one on the 1982 American Composers Orchestra recording.
This long program, “The Birth of ‘All American’ Ballet and of an Authentic Voice for American Composers,” originally included three other rare Ballet Caravan works, but Bolle decided to cut the most familiar one, Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid. Filling Station (1938), “a ballet document in one act” about late-night goings on at a gas station (drunken revelers, a hold-up), with a score by Virgil Thomson, sets and costumes by homoerotic artist Paul Cadmus, and choreography again by Christensen, was a direct assault on Eurocentric ballet — “America’s answer to Swan Lake,” as the Monadnock program note had it. It begins with a drum roll, virtually a dead march. But Bolle decided not to play every fragment in the suite, and the chosen excerpts sounded shapeless and didn’t call to my mind the comical incidents I was expecting. (I thought I heard a hornpipe.) It was hard to estimate the true quality of Thomson’s score.
The final Ballet Caravan item was Paul Bowles’s extended suite from his 1937 Yankee Clipper (choreography by Eugene Loring), which depicts a sailor’s nostalgic reminiscences of putting in at a variety of exotic ports. Bolle announced that the score hadn’t been performed since 1939 and that we might see why. It’s a long, charming work that deserves occasional resurrection. Bolle and the orchestra were back in form.
: Music Features
, Entertainment, Music, Imogen Cooper, More | <urn:uuid:28909cad-e690-44ef-b418-f7ddee1d72bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/21420-caravan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948766 | 800 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The majority of injury and death that occur in Chicago truck accidents, are suffered by the occupants of the smaller vehicles involved in these accidents. Truck litigation involves claims against negligent truck drivers and the companies that hire them.
Generally, truck negligence falls into two categories: driver error and poor vehicle maintenance. Examples of driver error can include: fatigue, inexperience, poor training and/or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Additionally, overloaded and oversized trucks can be other possible causes of such accidents.
Truck accidents can cause victims to sustain physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotional injuries and can cause victims to incur significant medical bills and lost wages. Even accidents that seem relatively small in nature can produce injuries with severe consequences. | <urn:uuid:da1f839f-c4bf-4c96-b707-42c913caf56c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cjw-law.com/practice-areas/truck-accidents/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945478 | 146 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Benita got the show from the library and we prepared to watch the 6 episodes over two days.
|picture from amazon.ca|
The Victorians- high protein/low carb diet. (that means mostly meat- and not much else.)
The Edwardians- the "Chew Chew" diet- chewing each spoonful of food 32 times- but otherwise no food restrictions.
1920s- the first calorie restricted diet at 1200 cals a day. (mostly veggies- lots and lots of celery)
They also participated in the popular fitness trends of the day- dancing, weights, running and so on... and also had to wear the appropriate attire (ie. corsets)
I don't want to give away the results of the challenge because I think it is worth watching. I will say that I wasn't surprised by the results and I think it gives all of us in present day something to think about. The main idea that Sir Roy (the host and ultimate judge) pushed was that we have lost self discipline and need to reintroduce this into ourselves and society as a whole if we are going to win the fight against obesity.
I recommend watching this show with a good friend and a pot of tea! :o) | <urn:uuid:65ab2c1f-7264-40c4-ae76-63b7a7ff5634> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lesliechomp.blogspot.com/2010/11/diets-that-time-forgot.html | 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 | 0.974832 | 257 | 1.75 | 2 |
My Pecha Kucha went a little something like this…
”In my Pecha Kucha, I wish to show how I think and see differently as a result of this class. My views on fine art and design have significantly changed as well as how equal their relationship is to each other. In a nutshell; I think design is art, and art is design. These are now my personal views and I have seen them carry into some of my recent work...”
“I think that watching the movie Wasteland really gave me an interesting view on art and design together.
I saw along the emotional and inspirational journey Vik Muniz took, he created fine art with designed products even though they were trash.”
“This journal entry was just notes I took on Wasteland.
During the movie I thought about what art means to people.
I kept finding connections to the answers i had about art with things i started thinking about design.
like for instance i wrote that “art should be explained in a way that relates to you if you have a different view point from the creator.” and at the same time, designers take functional objects, and practically make them into art. we as consumers understand the function and aesthetically appreciate the way they look.”
“It led me to look into more trash as art. This is where I found artist couple Tim Noble and Sue Webster.
They use the shapes of products to make literally a big mound of trash.
But the trash gives form to an actual work of art. I just really thought this was cool.”
“Our class went to visit Design within Reach, and it was a very eye opening experience.
All of the furniture I saw had a lot of thought put into them.
They had good design and clear functionality, but I definitely saw them as art.”
“My sketches aren’t amazing but you can see the possible confusion of how the designs maybe be art.
I think even the fact of having to sketch them made me notice contours and shape more.”
to be continued… | <urn:uuid:73f9bcb9-f15b-4048-a397-39a9416a4515> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://saigejournal.tumblr.com/post/14123198867/rehash-peh-chah-koo-chah | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987153 | 437 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Interview: Realease and the Shogo tablet running Linux
I've recently had the opportunity to interview a long-time friend of mine, Daniel Schneersohn, CEO of Realease, the company that makes the 10 inch Shogo Tablet I have already written about: Shogo, the tablet you can control, extend and hack ;.
QUESTION: Daniel, can you introduce yourself and your company?
RealEase is a company setup in Hong Kong by 3 French Engineers one based in HK the other two based in France. We realized 3 years ago that to design and build anything electronic our days, we had to be doing from Asia and in particular from the South China region and Shenzhen in particular. But we also quickly learned that without good old western (US or European) ways, the results of what we designed or produced over there was often disappointing. We embark on the idea to setup a company that would bring the best of both world, western design, creativity and software development and China's supply chain, production capability, and rapid response time for development and production
QUESTION: Tell me more about Shogo, your product
After introducing the world first Digital photo frame with WiFi and a touch screen interface in 2008 we realized the potential of what we could design and build using the latest ARM processor now that full version of Linux were becoming available on these processors and we were no longer limited by smaller processors running proprietary OSes with limited APIs The combination of the power of the ARM processor available and now all of them running a full fledge Linux OS with all the world of open source (and free software) tools and libraries that could be used to create new solution was going to make an entire new category of devices possible in the embedded category. We envisioned the happening of the Internet Tablet category at the end of 2008 and started our development. Our idea was simple, we are not Microsoft nor Apple and cannot embark on the development of a proprietary GUI that could run on a tablet device and be feature rich enough to compete on the general purpose consumer tablet category. But we were starting to sense that given what was becoming possible with these devices and at the price we were going to be able to produce them, this was going to create a huge demand for people wanting to create their own tablet as a delivery device for their specific application, or content or services.
QUESTION: so what does the Shogo looks like today?
As we embarked on the development of our ARM based Linux Open source tablet, we were approached by a company at the beginning of 2009 asking us to develop for them a custom tablet for their own application / solution. This is how we teamed-up with UnoWhy of France to develop and product the QOOQ tablet what was launched in France in the fall of 2009 and was the first 10" capacitive touch screen tablet ever. This is a Tablet that is custom-designed for the kitchen with a very rich content dedicated to the Epicurian in us.
Since then, we have designed and developed the 10" Shogo Tablet based on the same ARM processor from FreeScale running Linux with the Qt Development framework. The idea for the Shogo Tablet is to provide a platform, hardware and software for customers who have an application, a solution, some content, or some services that they would like to deliver to their customers on a tablet form-factor. They might already have the application or service, or have the idea or the plan to develop such application or service that will need a tablet device to be delivered or deployed. We needed to create the Shogo tablet as a "Generic" tablet that can be used by these developers to evaluate, prototype and develop their solution before deciding if they would need a custom device for their solution (with specific ID Design and casing and form factor etc... like the QOOQ), or if the Shogo tablet itself with some level of customization would be suitable for their target audience.
We made some changes to the design in order to be more flexible and allow for some customization cosmetic ones like allowing to change the logo the color of the plastic, the entire packaging but also to include or omit some electronic elements like bluetooth, sensors, webcam...
QUESTION: In short, you're enabling companies to follow the famous quote by Alan Kay "People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware."?
It's exactly that! In reality, you can do so much with the hardware available today, look at the QOOQ, when you have a file system custom-designed for what you need it to do, you do not need ultra high speed CPU nor gigantic amounts of RAM because you are not stuffing your environment with software that is not needed.
QUESTION: Why a company should build their future product on top of the Shogo instead of the iPad or a mass-market Android tablet like the Samsung Tab?
Well basically people contacting us start by telling us that they need something else for the following reasons:
- They need to be able to use whatever they want to be able to use whatever tools and environment they want and do not want to be limited by what Apple or others are going to make available for them
- they want to be able to create an environment they can control 100% for the user of their tablet or their application. Only see the GUI they have created, only allow the use of the applications they want, and if they want to allow to browser the Internet, limit access to whatever site on the Internet or intranet they want. It is meant to be a working device or a single purpose device not a general purpose Internet browsing device they want to be able to customize every aspect of the UI including the device setting menus etc...
- they want the device to have no resell value to avoid theft.
Also some people are specifically looking for a device capable to run Qt Development framework to run application developped with Qt.
QUESTION: So what's the next step is for your company?
We have recently released the Shogo, in November 2010, and started to ship it to customers around the world for the past few weeks. Companies are now evaluating the product and prototyping their solution on it. Some of them will do it on the stock Shogo tablet, some other will need customized hardware. Many of them are already hard at work building solutions around the Shogo! | <urn:uuid:a80a78ee-9873-4659-8cd3-f5446ee7f1b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://standblog.org/blog/post/2011/02/11/Interview%3A-Realease-and-the-Shogo-tablet-running-Linux | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965807 | 1,294 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held convictions called The Baptist Faith and Message. It serves as a guide to understanding who they are. Copies are available at Southern Baptist churches. The topics here provide only a brief, partial summary. The full text on the issue discussed is also available. The Scriptures God God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit Man Salvation God's Purpose of Grace The Church Baptism & the Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members … memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. The Lord's Day Last Things Evangelism & Missions Education Stewardship Cooperation The Christian & the Social Order Religious Liberty Family
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
There is one and only one living and true God. …The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. …God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. …He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. …He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. …He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. …By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. … The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. …All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel…and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. …This church is an autonomous body. …The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. …It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. …It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. …Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly…the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. …The righteous… will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations … to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort.
The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence … there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. …The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions.
Christ's people should … organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. …Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations.
Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society. ... The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice.
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. …A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. …Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. …The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. …Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held convictions called The Baptist Faith and Message. It serves as a guide to understanding who they are. Copies are available at Southern Baptist churches. The topics here provide only a brief, partial summary. The full text on the issue discussed is also available.
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
God's Purpose of Grace
Baptism & the Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members … memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
The Lord's Day
Evangelism & Missions
The Christian & the Social Order | <urn:uuid:9f8edc69-d657-4665-b358-bb271a98fe72> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenecountyba.com/custompage1.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947623 | 1,416 | 1.804688 | 2 |
1.4 mile (2.2 km) Great Head Trail is rated as “moderate” and
loops around the perimeter of the small peninsula called Great Head
located on the east side of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park. (photos) This
is a great early morning hike, or afternoon for that matter, and one
that the whole family can experience (with caution of course).
Park in the lower Sand Beach parking area located on
the left of the Park Loop Road and
on the east side of Mount Desert Island. (This
trail may also be accessed from the Schooner Head Road out of Bar Harbor.) Granite steps lead down to the beautiful Sand Beach.
Straight ahead, you will see the cliffs which is your direction. Depending
on the tide, you may want to walk on the compressed sand next to the
shore for an easier walk. Note the fence to your left to protect the
grass on the sand dunes.
the base of the rocky outcropping, look to your left for a great view
of The Beehive reflected in a
tidal pool. It's 520 foot (158 m) summit is often visited by hikers.
Depending upon the time of day, you may have already noticed climbers
on its trails when you arrived earlier. If not, be sure to look up
when you return to your vehicle.
to this spot you will see a small sign leading to steps where
you will begin your ascent. This starts as a leisurely climb leading
to some beautiful pink granite cliffs.
Follow the blue lines to be sure to stay on the best route up as it
can be steep at times. Pause to look back at Sand
Beach, The Beehive, and other sights.
on top, the hike is fairly easy. A sign leads your way to the right
leading to Great Head where you will have wonderful views of the rocky
coast, Otter Cliff, and the churning
ocean below. There are ample spots for you to have a picnic, relax,
or sit and reflect on the power of this place.
you continue on the loop back, you will go through a beautiful
pathway through a section of white birch trees. Up ahead, there
will be a path split. Take the left up the granite, following the markers,
to return to Sand Beach. Watch for signs. There is one that you will
not see the front of until you look back at it as you pass. If you
continued straight, it would lead to the Schooner Head Road in Bar Harbor.
By now, the daylight has changed somewhat and some of
the sights will have changed. Have your camera ready because there
is much beauty here. Take your time and enjoy!
(Refer to the Acadia
Hiking Trails page for suggestions and rules while hiking in
Acadia National Park. Always wear the appropriate attire such as hiking shoes, let others know where you will be, and excercise caution!)
Please share this with friends & family! | <urn:uuid:2003925f-abd1-4e5e-a193-38be807fe39a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acadiamagic.com/great-head-trail.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935204 | 641 | 1.507813 | 2 |
More soya milk?
Well, if soya milk adherents could have their way, more soya milk will be enjoyed by people the world over. Indeed, in all the world's hotspots - from New York, Hong Kong, London to Sydney - trendsetters are dumping the dairy and drinking the soy!
Most recently, Manila was the latest world capital to join the soy bandwagon.
Of course, soy products are not new to Manileños or even Filipinos in general. After all, the taho vendor is a regular fixture in Metro
Manila's streets since time immemorial. However, it seems that lately, soy products are now becoming more and more visible in groceries, cafes, gyms and even ice cream shops. Indeed, several well-known food outlets are offering soy ice cream and gelatos.
Anyway, a little endorsement from celebrities
doesn't hurt in further increasing soya milk's popularity. Lord of the Rings actor, Orlando Bloom for instance, says
"no" to a milk mustache, preferring to be a sultry "soy boy" instead. Marge Helgenberger of the outrageously popular TV show, CSI, also prefers her lattes tall, hot and soy!
Fortunately, Filipinos could have their lattes with soy as well, as the
country's leading coffee houses now offer soy milk in lieu of dairy. The same could be said of the country's leading gyms, most of which have soy milk available in their branches.
Of course, health enthusiasts have always known how healthful soy milk is. Anyway, drinking soy milk may be an alternative to Filipinos who
can't drink milk, as 50 percent of Filipinos are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance may cause cramps, bloating and diarrhea.
Other studies point out that soya cuts cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease, protects against breast cancer and prostate cancer and even alleviates symptoms of menopause. Moreover, it is also a great source of protein and calcium; aside from boosting the immune system. Lastly, women concerned about osteoporosis should take note that soy protein actually helps in preserving calcium in the body and promotes healthy bones as well.
So drink some soy!
More SOY Trivia...
Here are some more inspiring information about the soya bean and the numerous products that are made from it.
The soya bean is one of the oldest domesticated plants consumed until today. In China for instance, the soya bean has cultivated for thousands - not just a millenia - of years.
The soya bean has also been invested with mystical qualities. In Chinese civilization, soya was actually deemed one of the holy crops along with rice, wheat, barley and millet - all of which are grains, except the soya bean.
Soya beans are very versatile. As such, it can be used as a whole bean, as sprouts, turned into soya milk, tofu, soya sauce and miso (a fermented soya paste). Also, it is one of the world's most important sources of protein, considering that most Chinese - and there are over a billion of them - get their protein from the humble
One of the more interesting soya products of late is the soya candle which is gradually being accepted by a lot of people. Instead of beeswax, soya candles are made from soya wax (made from hydrogenated soya oil). It is a recent invention, considering that soya wax was invented only in 1993. | <urn:uuid:3ae53be6-dec8-46a1-97f4-b97fb68ebfd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lutongbahay.com/index.cfm?pagename=articles&opn=1&ArticleID=204 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954103 | 729 | 1.75 | 2 |
Directed by: Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie
Saturday, March 3, 2012
An old man gathers his grandchildren to tell them the story of 10-year-old Maki, who is kidnapped by slave traders. He quickly escapes to find himself on an epic journey. Maki is determined to rescue his new friend, the orphaned giraffe Zarafa, from the Bedouin prince who is taking her to France as a gift to the King. Stowing away on the journey, he looks for opportunities to escape with her. Their travels take them to Alexandria, Marseille and Paris. But the slave trader is on the same route and he is still angry about losing Maki and wants him back! Ages 7+. | <urn:uuid:9ea412fe-2095-4fde-a99d-3da2768d7e1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ifccenter.com/films/zarafa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973133 | 153 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Just about anything you find on TravelOregon.com can be added to your own personal Trip Planner. Find out how.
As Linn County’s newest and longest covered span, the Shimanek Bridge offers an exception to the usual open-sided structure with rounded portals.
Red paint, portal design and louvered windows are features similar to the former span, which was built in 1927, and found on no other bridge in Linn County. Rods in the truss are grouped into a series of four instead of the usual three at each compression joint. The bridge shares the white painted interior of other Linn County bridges.
What’s around here? Location & Nearby Things to See & Do
Is any of the information on this page incorrect? | <urn:uuid:c7da4b74-f873-45a7-afc9-6fda12fe694e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://traveloregon.com/see-do/oregon-heritage/covered-bridges/shimanek-bridge/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93773 | 158 | 1.601563 | 2 |
KVBC-TV, the NBC affiliate ion Las Vegas, NV, ran a simulated analog shutoff recently to test viewers’ awareness of the Feb. 17, 2009, deadline by showing them what no reception looks like. The educational effort was the brainchild of the station’s general manager Lisa Howfield, who was praised by two FCC commissioners for the “gutsy” idea.
On May 2, for a few moments during each of its seven daily newscasts, the station stopped broadcasting its normal programming and instead ran a brief clip of simulated static. Overlaid on the fuzzy screen was a graphic telling viewers to call 888-DTV-2009 or visit DTVanswers.com online.
The simulated blackouts, which included footage of an actual cable being pulled, began with the 5 a.m. newscast. KVBC anchors explained to viewers that those who could still see them after they “pulled the plug” have nothing to worry about come February 2009 — those who got only white snow, however, need to act now to make their sets DTV-ready.
The station also explained that while the transition won't affect viewers who watch KVBC through cable, since the station already provides both analog and HD feeds via fiber to local operators, it will disrupt service for over-the-air viewers who don’t buy a digital-to-analog converter box or a new digital set. | <urn:uuid:805e45a3-612e-4bcd-a41f-547a3da96dd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://broadcastengineering.com/hdtv/las-vegas-station-tests-viewers-readiness-dtv-transition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963243 | 320 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Porsche has released the first of a multi-part video series which showcases the new Porsche Archive Museum, not open to the public. The museum features a complete collection of Porsche vehicles, including special one-off prototypes and rare race cars.
The secret storage facility is located somewhere in Stuttgart and contains around 505 Porsche models. The climate controlled facility is not open to the public and is simply a place for Porsche to park its own vehicles in between shows and events. As Porsche explains,
“The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart displays a rare wealth of Porsche cars that have shaped the company since 1948. However there is more.
“There is a wider collection of very special and important cars that belong to the Museum, that up until now, have sat in separate locations. Recently a new storage space was found to hold all of these wonderful cars together allowing them to be maintained and cared for all under one roof.”
In the first video the company shows the very first Porsche 911 Turbo (930), which was originally given to Ferdinand Porsche’s daughter (Louise Piech) as a birthday gift. Click play below to take a look. Is this the ultimate garage or what? | <urn:uuid:a4371a4c-2f42-4e05-a06a-c600169dffda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://performancedrive.com.au/video-porsche-archive-museum-with-complete-collection-part-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961445 | 245 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Photos and VideosMore Photos and Videos
The latest Internet time-suck is a virtual time machine that’s well worth the trip.
The issues tell at least part of the story of the U.S. and the world around it, from the Great Depression to the dawn of Watergate – with wars, assassinations, the space race, social upheaval as well as four decades worth of celebrities, sports and fashion in between.
Many of the cover subjects are icons still identifiable by initials, or first names: FDR, JFK, MLK, Marilyn, Jackie. Between the covers resides some of the best photojournalism of the last century, including the work of Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Capa and Gordon Parks, among others.
Not all the gems are photos – Marilyn Monroe’s last interview is among the many articles worth reading. (“Sometime I feel I’m fooling somebody, maybe myself,” she said.) The ads over the years, touting the virtues of everything from bacon (“Be one step ahead with meat power from Swift!) to smoking (“Dutch Masters For Christmas”), are priceless, shameless products of the “Mad Men” era.
The Internet often gets blamed for slowly killing print, but this is one case where Google is helping revive a lost art form. In an age of instant video, it’s all too easy at times to forget the lasting power packed by a great photograph – there was a reason grandma kept that dusty stack of LIFE magazines long after the issues arrived in the mail.
The magazine was reborn a couple times over the years in different forms, before folding, apparently for good, in 2007. But it lives online, with new photographs, at LIFE.com.
Google Books’ new collection is a nice addition to Google Image’s archive of 10 million photos taken by LIFE photographers, even if navigating through the pages can be a little clunky at times.
But that’s a small price to pay for the opportunity to get lost in LIFE.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:cb707414-ff22-4796-9c36-964e31fcd2a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/tech/A-New-Lease-on-LIFE-62380187.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936817 | 490 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Museum at FIT Awarded Accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM)
Established in 1967, MFIT is the only museum in New York City, and one of a handful around the world, dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Located at Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, it is free and open to the public. Best known for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, MFIT has a collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present. The museum’s mission is to advance knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.
MFIT joins an elite group that includes the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, the Field Museum in Chicago, and The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, along with 20 prestigious accredited institutions in New York City. These include the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, Frick Collection, International Center of Photography, The Jewish Museum, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Morgan Library & Museum, Morris-Jumel Mansion, Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden, Museum of Arts and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, Museum of the Moving Image, New York Botanical Garden, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of Art.
“While The Museum at FIT has proven to be exemplary in all that it does – a prerequisite for receiving accreditation – it has placed forging community ties among its top priorities,” said AAM president, Ford W. Bell. “The museum has established strong bonds with local students, its residential neighbors, and with the college as a whole, always a critical issue for college and university museums. The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology is certainly one of New York’s – and the country’s – finest museums.”
“The Museum at FIT is an integral component of an FIT education and campus life,” said Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of FIT. “However, it also is an important part of the Chelsea community, as well as a vital component of New York City’s cultural offerings and resources. The college is extremely pleased by the AAM’s recognition of the museum’s quality and commitment to excellence. By achieving accreditation, The Museum at FIT has confirmed something many visitors likely already know: it is one of the truly outstanding museums in America.”
“The Museum at FIT is very proud to receive this distinction,” noted Dr. Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT. “We sought accreditation through the AAM to emphasize the museum’s commitment to the core values and principles of collections stewardship. However, this recognition validates the dedication of our staff to the highest standards in all aspects of the museum’s operations, from governance and planning to exhibitions and public programming. We will continue to serve the FIT community, the Chelsea neighborhood, New York City, and the global fashion community by advancing knowledge of fashion, preserving this important collection, and mounting r innovative and exciting exhibitions.”
MFIT underwent a rigorous year of self-study, followed by a two-day site visit by a team of external museum professionals. The site visitors found “the museum to meet the characteristics of an accreditable museum, and in some ways to have exceeded them.” In particular, they praised MFIT’s small staff as “well trained, professional and dedicated”; they identified the collections to be “well organized and carefully preserved”; and they concluded that MFIT is “truly a teaching museum in all senses of the word. Its professional staff is deeply committed to the highest standards of original scholarship at the same time that they work very hard to make all the collections accessible to a broadly diverse audience.” The commission particularly applauded the museum’s Presidential Scholars’ Museum Facilitators Program and the “recent reorganization that resulted in the Department of Education and Public Programs that welcomes and responds well to the community.”
MFIT’s priority is to use collections and exhibitions to advance knowledge of fashion More than 7,000 students from FIT and other schools and colleges took part in classes held in the museum in 2011. In addition, the Museum hosts many free public programs and exhibition tours; the museum participates in the Chelsea Cultural Partnership; a Design Membership, available to industry professionals, affords access to the collections; the museum has over 600 objects online for study and dissemination; and a forthcoming book, to be published by TASCHEN, will feature photographs of more than 500 fashions from the museum’s collection, as well as photographs from many past exhibitions.
The Fashion Institute of Technology, a college of the State University of New York, has been a leader in career education in art, design, business, and technology for nearly 70 years. With a curriculum that provides a singular blend of hands-on, practical experience, classroom study, and a firm grounding in the liberal arts, FIT offers a wide range of outstanding programs that are affordable and relevant to today’s rapidly changing industries. Internationally renowned, FIT draws on its New York City location to provide a vibrant, creative community in which to learn. The college offers more than 45 majors and grants AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees, preparing students for professional success and leadership in the global marketplace. Visit www.fitnyc.edu.
The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 17,000 individual, 3,000 institutional, and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org. | <urn:uuid:9ae71d8d-79a8-4184-871f-c70e3af1e0b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fitnyc.edu/13217.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951715 | 1,269 | 1.609375 | 2 |
State Sen. David G. Argall (R-29) and state Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-124) announced on Monday two state grants totaling $500,000 for Orwigsburg and Tamaqua.
The funding was awarded through the Department of Environmental Protection's PA Conservation Works grant program.
The program's primary goal is designed to assist local governments and non-profits with the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with the goals of reducing costs, creating jobs, and making advancements in green energy technology.
"It's gratifying to see this important funding targeted for municipalities in Schuylkill County," Argall said. "These grants will provide savings for these two boroughs by significantly reducing their energy costs," Argall added.
"At a time when governments are trying to do more with less, any effort to reduce costs is welcome," said Knowles. "By employing state-of-the-art technologies in these projects, Tamaqua and Orwigsburg will see significant reductions in their energy costs and that means savings for local taxpayers."
"When borough council and the Taskforce started the redevelopment of Community Memorial Hall we wanted to create a viable community asset which could sustain itself," said Mike Lonergan, Orwigsburg borough manager.
"Utilizing state of the art Geo-Thermal and Solar energy systems for heating and cooling should reduce energy costs for the Memorial by close to 50 percent."
"In the midst of this terrible recession, I am pleased to see such a significant amount of money flowing into our community," said Micah Gursky, president, Tamaqua Borough Council.
"Tamaqua Borough is making a serious effort to implement improvements to our waste water treatment facility. In addition to being good stewards of the environment, this funding will also reduce the financial burden on local taxpayers," Gursky added. | <urn:uuid:3b2199bc-3893-42d4-b7c4-8fb52e69d3fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tnonline.com/2009/nov/17/500000-grants-tamaqua-orwigsburg | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955888 | 386 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Tag: "involved" at medical news
A new century of Alzheimer's disease research
... early-onset Alzheimer’s, and these two genes were involved
in the production of AB. In 1995, Dr. Younkin and ...s Flurizan) for 18 months. Dr. Golde, who is not involved
in this trial, suspects that r-flurbiprofen will show some benefit, but that newer, designer AB42-lo...
M-rated Violent Video Games Most Popular Among Young Teens
...t. The researchers also found that kids who were involved
in these games were more likely to play in groups. "Contrary to the stereotype of the solitary gamer with no social skills, we found that children who play M-rated games are actually more likely to play in groups - in the same room, or over the Int...
Those Who Cure can Kill Dire Prophesy of the doctors Plot
... whether authorities believe that Haneef is indeed involved
in the daring crime. For the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Mick Keelty, said last night that Haneef "may have done nothing wrong and may at the end of the day be free to go." Haneef was arrested after a tip-off from British ...
Beijing Says Food Safe for Olympic Athletes, Tourists
...nces. However, only top-flight suppliers will be involved
in the Olympic catering operation, according to Tang. "Chinese firms who will supply produce for the Games all have a fairly high level in terms of quality, and their goods meet international standards," Tang said. The government is also trying t...
Robbie Donates 1.5 Million Pounds to Help His Native People Beat Addiction
...s, which got 27,000 pounds. The singer has been involved
in other charity works as well, for he organised a charity football match in May 2006, to raise funds in Africa, with the help of pal actor/musician Jonathan Wilkes....
Bio-defense Lab Ordered Shut Down as Researchers Get Infected
Chickens are coming home to roost? Those involved
in biological weapons programs should be logically...3 labs throughout the United States, four of which involved
worker exposure. The information was gleaned from the Sunshine Project's review of publicly accessib...
UK Army Personnel Involved in Iraqi Invasion Not at Risk from Depleted Uranium
Army personnel involved
in the Iraqi invasion of 2003 have not absorbed da... exposure. These comprised 199 soldiers directly involved
in fighting, 96 soldiers involved
in other duties, 22 medical staff, and 24 people responsible for c...
Epilepsy Increases Suicide Risks
...ture known for many decades." Dr. Sperling was not involved
in the study. Persons with epilepsy, Dr. Sperling said, "are also more likely to experience depression and, particularly when the seizures are uncontrolled, suicides are significantly higher." The most common cause of death associated with epilep...
Survey Finds Wide HIV Ignorance in the UK
...stricted to youngsters, for out of the 1000 people involved
in the poll 28 percent admitted about their misconception related to condoms. Twelve percent of the people believed that HIV can be transmitted by sharing cutlery while ten percent thought that sweat can also spread the disease. Only one in three...
Malaysian Astronaut to Conduct Cancer Research in Space
Malaysia's first astronaut, involved
in a 25 million dollar space programme, will carry out scientific research including a study on the growth of cancer cells in outer space, reports said Wednesday. The astronaut would conduct research on cells, bacteria and the crystallisation of p...
Dietary Counseling Leads to Weight Loss
...5 pounds) after one year, compared with people not involved
in formal weight loss programs. The authors ana...ng-based weight loss programs and 5,467 people not involved
in formal weight loss programs. Programs with more frequent meetings and greater calorie restriction...
Diabetic Skip Jabs to Stay Slim
...ng disorders and insulin misuse. Of 33 young women involved
in the study, nearly a third admitted that they sometimes did not take insulin in order to control their weight. "Diabetes is a chronic condition. Teenagers and young adults need appropriate and rapid access to psychological care and support to he...
New Drugs Show Promise in Fighting Drug-Resistant HIV
... The multinational phase III clinical trial, which involved
18 nations and more than 30 centers in the United States, is the first trial to offer patients infected with resistant HIV the potential of receiving two investigational new drugs together to fight the disease. The two drugs, amongst the most powerfu...
Kids With Crohn's Disease are at Ease Now
...ents selectively target key inflammatory processes involved
in the development of a disease in this case infliximab blocks the bodys inflammation response. Its side-effects can include upper respiratory infections and other potentially serious reactions. The Al and Heidi Azus Foundations Pediatric Infusion ...
New Device to Treat Snoring and Sleep Apnea
...nsils relax during sleep. This is the same process involved
with normal snoring but with sleep apnea the airway narrows so much that it closes. In the new procedure - which takes just 15 minutes - surgeons make a tiny incision in the side of the neck and then implant a small metal anchor-shaped device, abou...
Hydrogen Fuel Is It a New Fuel for the Future?
...st oil company and one of 40 partner organizations involved
in the project, called HyNor. "This is very much a 'learning by doing project', as we want to increase our knowledge of hydrogen as well as stimulating wider interest in more environmentally friendly fuels." Thirteen Toyota Prius hydrogen cars have...
NanoSensors Provides Update on Its Biosensor to Detect E.coli and Salmonella
...oss 19 states). The third and most recent outbreak involved
the United Food Group recalling 5.7 million pounds (2,850 tons) of ground beef that sickened 14 people," Dr. Wong added. The Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 76 million cases of food poisoning a year resulting in 325,000 hospital...
Role of MicroRNA in Cancer Suppression Identified
...or of this study. "MicroRNAs have been shown to be involved
in the most important cellular processes including apoptosis, and this study helps us better understand their important role in the tumor suppression mechanism."...
Benefits From the Use of the Internet in Healthcare Applications Highlighted
...owing number of patients are becoming increasingly involved
in the healthcare service they receive. These 'power patients' possess characteristics that distinguish them from traditional patients and are an important factor in driving the use of the Internet in healthcare. "Free choice of doctors, control ...
AIDS Foundation Lauds Brazil for Negotiating Price Cut on Abbott's Kaletra
...etra is a protease inhibitor that blocks an enzyme involved
in the virus's replication, slowing its progression to AIDS. It's often used in combination with other drugs. It's the second most-used drug on Brazil's AIDS cocktail. About 31,000 adults and 1,200 children ingest it daily in Brazil."...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | <urn:uuid:9d0cc4a9-8c83-4940-a510-ad70550b9690> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/tag-1/involved/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937988 | 1,514 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Rebecca Jean Catering promotes healthy lifestyles — that includes what and how you eat at work! We’re frequently asked about the nutritional value of our food and are happy to share our approach to shaping our Daily Dining menus.
Q: Is your food healthy?
A: Yes! All of our menus are well balanced and healthy, consisting of whole foods that are minimally processed. We use non-hydrogenated oils (like olive, canola, and rice bran oil). We do not use cans for anything.
Q: What about portion sizes?
A: We usually compose a sample plate on our buffets to demonstrate what a healthy serving looks like, or have educated Front-of-House staff available at meal time to direct behaviors. Our food is meant to be eaten together as a complete meal: mixing the provided vegetable, protein, salad, and sauce options on your plate will result in a well rounded and filling meal.
Q: I am a vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free eater, or following other special dietary restrictions. How will I know that my needs are being met?
A: All of our menus are labeled with accurate nutrition coding, specifying W (wheat), D (dairy), GF (gluten-free), DF (dairy-free) or V (vegan). Follow the code, or ask one of our on-site servers if you have a question or concern. We try to make it easier to have a delicious meal while following dietary restrictions, so if you have a specific request, just ask!
Q: Do you provide fat/calories or other detailed nutrition information for your meals?
A: Our menus are so dynamic that we would need a full-time lab of analysts to run reports on each our items for nutritional information that specific (no joke). Because we rely upon the skill of our chefs to create each dish, as opposed to standardized recipes, we focus on fresh ingredients and healthy preparations rather than lab results.
Q: Why do your menus change daily? It is December, where are my tomatoes?
A: We are blessed with a bounty of seasonal ingredients and we use this to our advantage. There is nothing like sinking your teeth into a local peach when it is in season. Sure, we may miss that tomato momentarily… but it is hard to mourn too long when butternut squash and kale are calling.
Q: What about dessert? All this talk of vegetables has left me feeling rebellious…
A: Don’t worry — we can’t live without chocolate either. The good news is that all of our pastries are made in-house and we use real ingredients like European butter, flour, and fresh eggs to make our baked good, truffles, cakes, and cupcakes. We also produce a wide selection of gluten-free and vegan baked goods because let’s face it… everyone needs a little sweet in their life.
Q: Okay, I am convinced. Where can I find pictures of your food and reviews from clients?
A: We thought you’d never ask! Visit us on Facebook and check out our reviews on Yelp or write one of your own once you’ve given us a try. We look forward to sharing your next meal with you!
Yours in good taste,
Rebecca Jean Catering | <urn:uuid:4994647e-5973-4375-8f5f-350889327867> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rebeccajeancatering.com/daily-dining/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936767 | 690 | 1.664063 | 2 |
It seems that almost everything about modern life — people living longer, the well-off exercising more, the poorer exercising less and even the recession — means that there is a growing demand for physiotherapists.
There are certainly more of them. Government statistics show that the number of physiotherapists in England and Wales has increased by 64 per cent in the past nine years, with 44,174 registered with the Health Professions Council to practice in the UK.
Increasingly, too, they are working in private practice. The Chartered Institute of Physiotherapy has about 6,000 members who work in the private field, many of whom | <urn:uuid:5b82d6fd-3ee0-4693-8fcf-76a885f2c62e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/health/article2781321.ece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974678 | 132 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The hearing dealt with DOE's plan to bring all appliance rulemaking activities into compliance with the applicable statutory requirements. The department will finalize its standards scheduling plan after consideration of comments received.
"ASHRAE's participation and presentation in the DOE hearing was because of our 'proactive' approach that the Society is initiating for the legislative and budgeting processes in Washington, D.C.," said Terry Townsend, president-elect and chair of ASHRAE's Government Advocacy Committee. "Since ASHRAE Standard 90.1 is referenced in not only the new Energy Policy Act of 2005 but also Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, our members need to have a strong and authoritative voice in recommending priorities for DOE and other government agencies to operate under next year - something that we as a Society have been relying upon other organizations to do for us in the past.
"The response to our participation by the DOE leadership in this hearing was, quite frankly, surprising - they really appreciated ASHRAE's participation and hoped that it signaled a strengthening of the working relationship between ASHRAE and DOE."
The Energy Conservation and Production Act requires that whenever ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, "Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings," is revised, DOE must make a determination within a year on whether the revised standard would improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The last version of Standard 90.1 to be ruled on by DOE was the 1999 standard. ASHRAE is encouraging DOE to make a determination on the 2004 standard.
"Standard 90.1-2004 has significant improvements in energy efficiency over the 2001 version," said Chuck Miré, ASHRAE director of government affairs, who gave the testimony. "This means that Americans could anticipate increased energy efficiency through the adoption of even stricter energy codes across the country in 2007 or 2008. ASHRAE strongly urges the DOE to complete a determination at the soonest time possible on the latest available version of ASHRAE 90.1."
ASHRAE's advocacy program was created to provide technical guidance to government in developing programs related to the built environment. An update on the program will be given at ASHRAE's 2006 Winter Meeting in the Issues Update seminar hosted by the Chapter Technology Transfer Committee.
The seminar, "How Government Advocacy Can Impact ASHRAE, Our Members and the HVAC&R Industry," will be held from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23.
Publication date: 12/19/2005 | <urn:uuid:745ede72-f2b9-48fd-936f-8382e5cf5b05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.achrnews.com/articles/print/dec-19-2005-ashrae-testifies-at-doe-hearing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939195 | 535 | 1.546875 | 2 |
With the arrival of yet another Valentine's Day, a young entrepreneur's thoughts may turn to love. And though many of us yearn for it, we often think we simply don't have time because we're so busy with our business.
Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, explains the situation he experienced as an entrepreneur with six startups under his belt, "Starting a company requires a marriage-like commitment -- for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health…"
In other words, you're stuck with your other loves: Your love of entrepreneurship, love of owning your own business, setting your own hours, making your dream a reality. Although the money is tight -- or often nonexistent -- and 18-hour days are the norm, your dream keeps you going. But the question is, for how long?
At some point, you may look up from your desk or your laptop and realize that somewhere in your future you want a life, and not one lived in solitude. What can you do to make that happen? You're an expert at business planning, so why not use some of those insights to find room for love in your life?
Here are seven steps that may help you make time for love:
- Clear some space. Do you have the time to build and maintain a relationship? Figure on a couple of phone calls a week and two evenings, one morning and an afternoon of free time minimum. And this means totally free -- no answering the cell phone or checking email. Well, maybe once with an apology for the intrusion, but that's it.
- Return to civilization. Are you living in your parents' basement? This is not conducive to developing a relationship. Does your apartment or home have any furniture other than desks and file cabinets? Are the only clothes in your closet networking outfits and sweats? If you want to attract and keep the attention of a real person, better start acting like one.
<insert ad here>
- Reconnect with friends. Guess who provides the best introductions to relationship candidates? That's right, the people who really know you and have a good idea of the kind of person best suited to you. Spending some time with friends will also let you see how well you can carve out some space from your entrepreneurial efforts.
- Make expectations clear. If you do find someone you value, you should explain how your life works and what you're capable of, given the requirements of your business. Not ready for a full-time relationship? Say so. Not interested in marriage or children in the near future, or ever? Make that clear. That special person will be investing in you and has the right to a clear picture of what to expect in return.
- Don't expect instant success. You're a nontraditional person, so finding someone who values that can take time. It's particularly difficult if you're also smarter than the average bear. In the meantime, enjoy the process.
- Don't backslide. Once you find yourself in a good situation, or even find the person of your dreams, it's easy to think, "Well, that's taken care of," and jump right back into your business full-time. Understand that another person in your life isn't a project you can set aside until you're ready to work on it. You've made a commitment, with the attendant responsibilities.
- Be honest. Can you really do this? Are you willing to give up the time and dollars and commit to something other than making your business concept a reality? If the answer is no, that's OK. But be honest with yourself. Is your work worth the sacrifice of the rest of your life? Maybe for a while, but someday you're probably going to want more.
So as another Valentine's Day comes and goes, it's up to you to decide whether you're going to add life balance to your strategic plan or find yourself alone again next year. If you're not ready for the big leap, you could start smaller. How about a dog? | <urn:uuid:ff28f8c2-2149-419a-89d1-11d435c2d134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222828 | 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 | 0.961751 | 823 | 1.539063 | 2 |
High seas cause double overboard
High seas cause double overboard situation. A Boston couple was rescued by the Coast Guard in Delaware Bay in mid-October after being washed overboard, one after the other, in heavy seas caused by Hurricane Josephine.
Tom and Carol Moreau alerted the Coast Guard at 1600 on October 7 and reported that they were unable to make way against 20-foot seas and 50-knot winds and were requesting assistance. A 47-foot Coast Guard cutter was launched from Station Cape May as well as a pilot boat from the Delaware Pilots' Association. As the two rescue craft were trying to lead the stricken sloop into calmer waters, an electronic control system in the transmission failed aboard the Coast Guard vessel, causing it to turn back.
An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter was immediately launched from Group Air Station Cape May just as Tom Moreau was swept from the cockpit of the 40-foot Fuji-design Sun Tanner and into the seas. He was soon located by the helicopter crew. However, shortly after a rescue swimmer assisted Moreau into an airlift basket, it was discovered that Carol Moreau had been washed into the sea as well. She, too, was recovered without incident. Both crewmembers were wearing personal flotation devices, according to Coast Guard reports.
"They were very experienced sailors," said Coast Guard Chief Thomas Peck. "I don't really know how they were both swept away."
The yacht was left motoring in circles, and the couple was flown to a waiting ambulance in Cape May when they arrived at 1800, their troubles apparently over.
Sun Tanner was discovered the following morning by a passing fishing vessel about 25 miles east of Cape Henlopen, Del., according to Chief Peck. "The crew of the fishing boat boarded the sailboat, secured the engine, then towed it to Rhode Island for salvage rights," he said. "The only problem is, the Moreaus didn't abandon their boat; they were washed overboard," said Chief Peck. "There's a difference. If it had been abandoned, the crew of the fishing boat could claim 75% of the cost, but since it wasn't officially abandoned they could only ask for their expenses as payment."
As of press time, a settlement had not been reached, pending negotiations with the insurance company. | <urn:uuid:e93a2302-60a9-4599-a93e-64d04deea433> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oceannavigator.com/January-February-2003/High-seas-cause-double-overboard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.992759 | 468 | 1.710938 | 2 |
UMass Lowell offers a Legal Studies minor for students considering law school or who want to learn more about the legal system. The program is taught by the law faculty of the Department of Economics. The faculty also serves as pre-law advisors for university students.
The Legal Studies minor provides students with a broad conceptual framework of legal studies and an opportunity to explore the law in an interdisciplinary perspective. We offer law courses in a wide variety of topics to compliment your academic program of study. | <urn:uuid:48984151-e31f-4d11-9ceb-2ce311defa0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uml.edu/FAHSS/legal-studies/About-Us.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952111 | 97 | 1.523438 | 2 |
If you enjoy lit candles around your home, I have some saftey
tips for you...
Making sure that your home is fire safe, and that you are ready
in case of an emergency is easy. I have the hints you need...
I love my fireplace, it's so cozy... but did you know that your
fireplace can be a real hazard for your family if you're not
careful. Here are some easy ways to keep your loved ones safe...
Most of us have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in our
homes, but there are some other safety issues to consider...
Home Safety and Security
If you're looking for some ways to make sure your house is safe
and secure, I have a few ideas to give you peace of mind...
Home Safety Checklist
Everyone wants to be safe in their own home. We buy all kinds of
safety devices, but there are some things that you may not have
thought of. Here is a checklist...
Whether you're cleaning your gutters or changing a lightbulb in
the ceiling, a ladder is a necessity. But there are a few things
you should know so you stay safe and your house doesn't end up
Lead Paint Safety
Older homes are certainly charming, but the paint used in those
homes can pose a health risk, especially for children and
pregnant women. I have some tips to help keep you and your
family safe from lead poisoning...
Stock the Car
We all make sure our homes are safe and stocked for emergencies,
but what about the car...
Safety is important all over the house, but especially in your
project work area... | <urn:uuid:36d4db5b-acaf-40a4-912c-0b1ca256b4a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.diyfinds.com/home_safety.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957533 | 349 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Dr. McIntyre, retired from the Foreign Service after more than twenty-three years abroad, lives with his wife Jessie in Chapel Hill, NC. During the Second World War, he was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as an infantry battalion surgeon.
Saigon Medical Care, 1959-1961:
Present at the Creation
By Donald K. McIntyre, M. D.
Ask most Americans about Vietnam today and you will get a variety of answers and expressions of opinion about the country. This was not the case when I was sent there in 1959 to supply medical care to official Americans, personnel whose numbers were growing rapidly to reinforce our global policy of Containment. There were no books about the area in libraries available to me before I left and no general knowledge of the country. The lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington who was preparing us for our assignment told us he had found in the libraries which he checked only one book about Vietnam -- one he himself had written -- in the libraries he had explored.
I soon became familiar with the country. My impressions of conditions and the people that I found in Vietnam in 1959 may occasion surprise or disagreement by many, but one should remember that war changes things, sometimes drastically. When I arrived, it was a delightful, beautiful country inhabited by an uncomplicated, lovely people. They were physically small, making the features and figures of the women extremely feminine. Women wore the ao-dai, the traditional dress consisting of loose-fitting, flowing trousers over which a long, high-necked, close-fitting tunic in pastel colors hung to the ankle, with a slit on each side to mid-thigh. Going to work and returning home each day, I enjoyed such striking beauty while driving in the streets of Saigon. The men were generally lean, as pleasant appearing as the women, and looked physically fit.
With its broad, tree-lined boulevards and solid, handsome buildings, Saigon deserved its name, the Paris of the Orient. The restaurants were among the best in the world, offering the excellence of both Chinese and French cuisine -- a choice of the best of the East and the West. Good medical care was available, but from a decreasing number of French and French-trained Vietnamese physicians.
Today it may be difficult to conceive of the U. S. Foreign Service without medical care abroad, but for 165 years, until the enactment of the Foreign Service Act of 1946, the nation had no legislative authorization for medical care for diplomatic and consular personnel, not Even then, three years passed before a Health Branch was formed in the Department of State. Dr. George Mishtowt, the first Foreign Service doctor hired to serve at an embassy abroad, entered the Service in 1955; when I was assigned to Saigon in 1959, I was one of only eleven Foreign Service physicians. Today there are thirty-seven regional medical officers, with a commensurate increase in medical support services.
When I was in Saigon, medical care for the growing U. S. presence was provided through an American dispensary established by the U. S. army, situated close to the famed Cercle Sportif and the Saigon central market. The dispensary was headed by a U. S. army doctor, a major in the Medical Corps, who was supported by a navy doctor, a navy dentist, a junior army medical officer, and me. A number of Army noncommissioned officers handled the laboratory, x-rays, and pharmacy, along with six excellent Thai nurses who had received their training at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Bangkok. We had eight beds for short-term inpatient care, but when necessary evacuated seriously ill and surgical patients to the military hospital at Clark Field in the Philippines.
During my two years in Saigon, 1959-1961, the Vietnam War had not yet really begun for the United States. Though still small, the U. S. military assistance staff, with its mission of advising the Vietnamese army without actively participating in combat, far outnumbered that of the Embassy. As a consequence of the mission's limited role as advisers, war injuries were not a significant problem, although I do recall occasional incidents such as a grenade being thrown over a wall into the garden of an American residence. Our daily patient load then was much like that of a general practice at home with the addition of amebiasis and an occasional exotic ailment.
One personal experience that previewed events to come may be of interest. I remember all too clearly an unsuccessful coup mounted about half-way through my tour by one faction of the Vietnamese army against President Ngo Dinh Diem. In November 1960, I had just obtained permission to visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia over the weekend and had arranged for another doctor to take my duty. In the early morning before leaving I went out to mail some letters; while on that errand I heard sporadic rifle fire and saw Vietnamese running in various directions, some of them jumping over garden walls and fences in the neighborhood. I hurried home to warn my wife that something was happening and that we should hurry to catch our flight before the airport was shut down. We started out, but were turned back on the way; the airport was already closed. Since there was no chance of leaving town, I arranged to take over my scheduled weekend work and reported to the dispensary.
I recall no casualties during that first day. This was a Vietnamese affair, with South Vietnamese regiments fighting other South Vietnamese units. Americans were staying indoors. I, however, ventured downtown and from the shelter of doorways and arcades observed fighting around the Intercontinental and Caravelle hotels and the National Assembly building. There was more to be heard than seen. I saw no vehicles and very few soldiers, but I was surrounded by the rattle of rifle and machine gun fire.
With nightfall action picked up. Trucks and tanks moved about outside the dispensary and the sound of firing grew from our area towards the Cercle Sportif and the Presidential Palace. Soldiers took up positions in our dispensary doorways and joined the firing. Inside we kept in touch with the Embassy by military radio.
During the early morning hours the next day, we received a call from the Embassy that a Foreign Service officer had been struck in the shoulder by a bullet while standing on an Embassy balcony observing troops moving across the river into the city. I explained that I was pinned down and unable to respond because of the action all around us and suggested that they call the young Navy medical officer whose home was located nearer the Embassy, who might be able to provide care.
An hour or two later, when conditions were calmer, I checked with the Embassy on the wounded officer. The doctor had seen the patient, but needed instruments and an ambulance. I agreed to try to reach the scene and left with the dispensary ambulance driver in the direction of the Palace. In the first fifty yards, a man lay dead in the center of the street, and a hundred yards father along we found ourselves staring into the mouth of a heavy tank's cannon. Soldiers ordered us back.
We thereupon took another route to the Embassy, picked up our wounded officer, and headed back to the dispensary en route to Saigon's French Hospital, pausing a few moments at the dispensary to check out the situation. All appeared to be fairly calm, so I told the drive to proceed. We got as far as the next street corner, where a line of soldiers ran out into the street virtually surrounding us. Of course we stopped. The soldiers began firing at unseen targets, leaning across the hood of our ambulance. My Foreign Service patient rolled himself from the stretcher onto the floor, and I immediately followed. The driver bailed out and fled. Rather than stay there in the middle of a fire fight, I decided up to take over the controls of the ambulance, although I had not driven one since World War II. Fortunately, the rattled driver returned as quickly as he had left, and we sped off, unhurt, to deliver our wounded man to the French Hospital.
From there I went home, but felt that I should report the weekend's events to the major in charge of the dispensary, who lived a few blocks away. As all seemed quiet, I took my nine-year-old daughter with me in my jeep -- perhaps not the wisest move I made that day. Given the disturbed situation overall, we astounded the major just by showing up at his home. We stayed only a few minutes, for we could see troops moving toward the radio station across from the major's residence. By the time my daughter and I reached the next street, firing had started; troops were moving past us toward the radio station. We lay low in a gutter until matters calmed down a bit and we could reach safety in a nearby house. Soon thereafter the uprising came to a close and we returned to our more usual routines.
During World War II, I was a battalion surgeon with 159th Infantry Regiment in the European Theater of Operations, where I witnessed considerable combat. When I signed on as a Department of State medical officer in the late 1950s, I had expected a business day filled with immunizations and treatments of the ills and surgical procedures, routine and otherwise, that Americans exposed to unaccustomed bacteria abroad are prone to suffer. I had not counted on grenades, gunfire, and tanks as part of my new job. Saigon taught me quickly that modern diplomatic life is not for the fainthearted, an appreciation that has grown stronger each year since, as the list of U. S. Foreign Service personnel who have lost their lives serving their countries abroad becomes ever longer. | <urn:uuid:6ced2b57-5aae-46cc-872a-8e31b9b109e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/AD_Issues/amdipl_5/mcintyre.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982026 | 1,973 | 1.671875 | 2 |
“Getting involved with digital printing opened so many doors for us in reproducing other people’s fine-art work."
Karl Jaeger didn’t set out to be a specialist in giclée printing. But, as others have discovered, interest in digital print technology can add a new dimensions to an artist’s career.
“I first considered digital printing as a way to reproduce my work, then it morphed and evolved into something entirely else,” says Jaeger, both a photographer and master of colored-pencil drawings. With his father Frank and brother Chad, they now operate Art by ASI, in Buffalo, Minnesota. They bill themselves as specialists in fine-art and custom-canvas printing. ASI also offers custom-framing services, and maintains an art gallery at its office and on its website, where the public can purchase prints from Jaeger and several clients.
“Getting involved with digital printing opened so many doors for us in reproducing other people’s work,” he says. He’s relied on a succession of Epson printers since 2002 before investing in the company’s 8-color Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 almost two years ago.
An artist himself, he also sees economic incentives in digital fine art, both for archiving, and for reproducing work without the upfront investment once required to print a limited series.
“It’s the flexibility of digital printing, and the low risk of being able to sell their work without a huge investment that appeals to artists,” he says. “The beauty is we can offer them what amounts to a print-on-demand service. They can order their prints in small quantities, then re-order more only after they’ve sold them.”
As area artists learned of these capabilities, they began bringing their work to ASI. “We benefited from a lot of word-of-mouth, and never really had to promote this service,” he says. The company now serves approximately 25 artists working in a variety of media. “We do a lot of work for them on Epson’s canvas and other fine-art papers,” he notes. Typically, prints are in the 18 x 24-inch range, and most orders are for stretched canvas.
“Some will describe the work we do as a limited edition of their work, and number each print in a series of as many as 500,” he says. “It’s giving them a new and affordable way to develop new markets for their work.”
Speaking artist to artist, Jaeger can convey the advantages of digital printing in terms they understand, even advising them on how to price their fine-art prints. “This is all entirely new to some people,” he notes. “A good starting point is to figure at least three times the cost of the print.”
Artists can also draw ideas and inspiration from the ASI website, where the work of Jaeger and a select group of client artists can be purchased. Fine-art prints are offered on paper and canvas, in signed versions and limited series, with or without frames.
Jaeger’s own work focuses mainly on sports: regional teams, stadiums and venues, and star athletes in football, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, and hockey. In fact, the ability to easily reproduce and mount digital prints sometimes leads to installations in the same types of venues he celebrates in his art and photography.
A recent project for the new Sanford Arena, home of the WCHA Beavers hockey team at Minnesota’s Bedimdji State University required a series of prints celebrating the team’s All-American players, chronologically arranged against a background highlighting the team history. Jaeger designed all the art, printed it on canvas and vinyl, and handled the installation.
“It combines three of our strong points: our artistic ability, adhesive vinyl application, and canvas stretched prints,” he notes.
ART BY ASI
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine. | <urn:uuid:5ec83231-94ec-4c19-9091-65675f4d47d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigpicture.net/content/developing-new-markets-art-asi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963353 | 863 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Can't believe how well Reiki music works...the HS kids even ask for it and the class is SO Quiet!!! This along with explaining the left brain right brain thing...it's like magic. Am thinking of doing a workshop on this. Now, sometimes my classes are so quiet, I have to put on music just so my shuffling and consults with students is not a distraction.
These are Art1 mostly ninth grade classes...once they get in that right brain mode they are like in a trance! Also realized that if anyone is drawing or doodling while I'm talking, they are not processing my words!
Can't believe this works!
From: houstonia nerd [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 9:24 PM
To: ArtsEdNet Talk
Subject: Re: Music in the Artroom
Eric Jensen has talked about this. He says if you want to slow a class down, play music that is slower than your heartrate, and if they're a lethargic group, speed them up with music that's faster than their heartbeat.
I know we have discussed this thread over and over through the years but I
need to know if anyone has heard of any actual research on this. I am
working on my master's and am taking a class titled, "Educational Research
Literature and Techniques. We have to conduct an action research project,
my title is, "Which music, if any, soothes my savage beasts?" I will need
to support other research to refer to in my research. | <urn:uuid:ab2b593e-5dbc-4b31-8f5f-cee7a0b45ae1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Sep04/0717.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955745 | 333 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Plans to fly a black, grey and white Union Flag above Norwich Castle have been scrapped amid fears it would offend British patriots.
The decision not to fly the flag has been called 'almost censorship'
Surrey artist Jonathan Parsons who was commissioned by Norwich Castle Museum to produce the monochrome flag has said the decision is a kind of censorship.
The flag, for a new exhibition called Art out of Place, will go on display on a plinth inside the castle.
A museum spokesman said the decision was made after staff raised concerns.
Mr Parsons, from Farnham, said: "What has happened here is almost a kind of censorship.
"I wanted to see the flag go up to make a statement, but the situation has deprived people of the right to judge for themselves and that is what freedom of speech is all about.
"The extreme reaction is to do with people's perceptions. I cannot understand why people have taken it as a personal insult."
The U-turn comes little more than a week before the exhibition is due to open.
Nicholas Thornton, curator of arts at the museum, said the decision was made after staff raised concerns about the flag.
"It was felt disrespectful to veterans who fought and died in the war," he said.
The museum commissioned the work after seeing an original picture of a flag he had produced in 1993. | <urn:uuid:9fa8d58c-1ef0-413a-9b64-03c674e3fd46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/4116988.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983973 | 282 | 1.789063 | 2 |
On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the legality of the federal government targeting American citizens for assassination by drone.
Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the committee, released the following statement before hearing testimony from a panel of expert witnesses.
On Feb. 4, 2013, a confidential Justice Department white paper outlining the legal justification for targeted killings of U.S. citizens overseas was leaked to NBC News. The leak of this white paper brought renewed attention to an issue largely ignored during President Obama’s tenure — is the targeted killing of alleged American terrorists appropriate and under what circumstances? The white paper also confirms a palpable shift in War on Terror policy by this President.
In 2007, Barack Obama, the then-junior Senator from Illinois laid out his position on the War on Terror.
“To build a better, freer world, we must first behave in ways that reflect the decency and aspirations of the American people…. This means ending the practices of shipping away prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far-off countries, of detaining thousands without charge or trial, of maintaining a network of secret prisons to jail people beyond the reach of the law.”
The same president who opposes the detention of foreign terrorists, who opposes the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on foreign terrorists, and who attempted to bring foreign terrorists to trial in New York City is now personally approving the killing of Americans. Ironically, the detention facility in Guantanamo remains open and Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his co-conspirators are being tried before a military commission.
Following the release of the white paper, a bipartisan group of Committee members requested the opportunity to review the memos that form the basis for the white paper. Our request was denied. One of President Obama’s first acts as President was to release the Bush Justice Department’s enhanced interrogation techniques memos to the public. But he now refuses to provide his Justice Department’s targeted killing memos not just to the public but even to congressional overseers.
The white paper referred to by Chairman Goodlatte is a 16-page justification released by the Justice Department on the eve of the confirmation hearing for John Brennan, President Obama’s choice to replace David Petraeus as director of the CIA.
In the document, the Justice Department claims that the decision regarding who will be killed by the government will be made by “an informed, high-level official of the U.S. government.” That is hardly sufficient protection of the due process rights of Americans. Due process requires that the suspected terrorist “co-belligerent” be charged with a crime, allowed to answer those charges, and defend himself against those charges before an unbiased judge in court.
The memo also insists that constitutionally mandated rights of due process must be by-passed in the name of national security, arguing that the safety of America is more important than the constitutionally protected rights of one individual. Furthermore, the memo claims that only those who pose an “imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” will be targeted.
Of course, just how imminent the threat must be is not discussed, nor is the fact that buried in the memo is the assertion that there are no geographical limits to the president’s lethal authority. In other words, despite Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing’s focus on Americans overseas, the Justice Department makes no such jurisdictional distinction.
Three regular contributors to the Lawfare blog testified before the committee Wednesday in favor of extra-judicial killing of Americans. Although all three admitted that there were "difficult" and "complex" issues of constitutional law involved in the targeted killing of Americans, none of them opposed the policy.
John Bellinger, a former George W. Bush administration official, testified that “killing al Qaida leaders, may at some point cause the U.S. more harm than good. These are important questions for U.S. policymakers to consider, but I do not have sufficient information about the effectiveness of drone strikes, or their negative effects, to offer a view on them here.”
Bellinger must be too busy with his law practice to read accounts of the growing violent backlash to the U.S. drone war or the horrendous psychological effect these strikes are having on the people of Yemen and Pakistan.
Speaking about the Justice Department white paper purporting to lay out the legal justification for targeted extra-judicial killing of Americans by the president or the CIA, Bellinger said, “I agree with the general legal analysis in the White Paper and the Attorney General’s speech." While Bellinger claims that he believes "that an American citizen who is a senior al Qaida leader outside the United States does enjoy a constitutional right to due process before being targeted," he believes that having the assassination vetted by a "senior, informed government official" is sufficient to satisfy the constitutional due process requirement before blowing the American to bits by a Hellfire missile launched from a U.S. drone.
Joining the pro-assassination chorus, Professor Robert Chesney of the University of Texas testified that judicial review of targeted killing by the government is not "strictly required by current law, still less that the government acted unconstitutionally in using force in the particular case of Anwar al-Awlaki or that the positions set forth in the Justice Department’s White Paper are incorrect.”
How is it that a presidential presumption of guilt by association followed by the autocratic order of a lethal drone strike doesn’t bother these legal experts? So many questions of legal and constitutional importance remain unanswered and should give such experts pause.
For instance, why can’t these alleged “terrorists” be tried in our federal court system? For decades those accused of terroristic crimes have been formally charged with those crimes, had those charges heard before an impartial federal judge, and been permitted to mount a defense to those crimes.
In fact, a survey of such trials conducted by Human Rights Watch reported, “Federal civilian criminal courts have convicted nearly 500 individuals on terrorism-related charges since 9/11.”
Add to this the story of Timothy McVeigh, who was executed in June 2011 for the Oklahoma City bombing, the worst terrorist act on American soil until 9/11. Extending the full panoply of due-process rights — including a trial in federal court — did not allow McVeigh or other convicted terrorists to evade justice. Furthermore, the purpose of protecting and providing civil liberties to those accused of crimes is not to set the guilty free, but to avoid punishing the innocent who are wrongly accused of crimes.
And should the president suggest that alleged evildoers cannot be apprehended, he should be reminded that “public enemy number one” Osama bin Laden was reportedly tracked and overtaken by a U.S. special operations team. Why could other less high-value targets not be similarly found by the military? Although bin Laden was reportedly killed in the raid, there is every reason to believe that a team skilled in this type of operation could have captured him alive if those had been the orders they were following.
Once in the custody of the United States, these suspects could be brought to stand trial for their alleged crimes. This would preserve, protect, and defend the fundamental concept of due process, one of the pillars of liberty upon which our Constitution is built.
Sadly, the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the drone war provided another piece of evidence that increasingly, legal minds in positions of power and influence have no problem suspending the rights of due process to men suspected (not accused or convicted) of being an “imminent” threat to the security of the homeland. This should frighten all friends of the Constitution who recognize that the right to life, liberty, and property was given to all men not by the Constitution, but by God. The Constitution merely protects these rights, providing safeguards protecting them from being unlawfully (and often immorally) denied by the federal government. | <urn:uuid:2fb9b2cd-610c-43dc-a46d-ea3a1d07b2ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/14651-lawyers-testify-before-house-committee-in-favor-of-targeted-killings-of-americans/14651-lawyers-testify-before-house-committee-in-favor-of-targeted-killings-of-americans?start=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956537 | 1,648 | 1.5 | 2 |
One of the big trends right now in restaurants and supermarkets is the concept of “buying local”. The message is that locally grown produce is fresher and costs less to transport – a win-win for both the consumer and the vendor.
It’s a message that marketing teams should take to heart, regardless of the industry or products/services that are being offered. Currently, marketing departments for larger chains spend 80% of their budget on national campaigns, and yet research has shown that 90% of consumers make purchasing decisions on local factors – is the product available at my local store? Is support available in my area code? Does the company promote my local community?
Why the disconnect?
Theoretically, national campaigns are easier, faster and more-cost effective. Marketing teams at a head office are asked to push an upcoming product or promotion. Rather than contact 100 local advertising channels and create 100 variations of an ad campaign, it’s much simpler to contact a national ad seller to promote one single creative with a “see your local store” message.
What if you could eliminate the theoretical time, money and ease cost associated with pushing the same brand locally? What if you COULD create 100 variations of an ad for 100 different local campaigns in the same time, with the same costs?
Research shows that your sales would benefit. 9/10 consumers would choose your product over a nationally advertised product.
That’s the power of MarketingBox. | <urn:uuid:a5890f60-630a-4ace-9782-b7560f34372e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://iterro.com/blog/?p=734 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930605 | 303 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A Joseph Spurr along with John Murfin, Godfrey Bosville and Richard Watson were tenants in 1742 of land at Domine Well, Rotherham owned by John Hyde and Ellen his wife and Henry Newton of Wickersley, yeoman.
Children of James SPURR, b.1728 Chesterfield, s/o Joseph:
Children of James SPURR and Ann:
James Spurr married Elizabeth Foster on April 7th, 1757.In 1788 had a Paper Mill at The Ewes Maltby. He had died by 1813.
In 1803 a lease for 21 years was granted to Peter Spurr, cutler for property in Sheffield Park at a rent of £42
A Peter Spurr was Master Cutler in 1781 and 1824.
William Spencer of Bramley Grange in 1818 and by 1826 of Windsor, Bucks, leased to Peter Spurr of Windsor, merchant, and Charles Spurr of Windsor, merchant a messuage at Bramley with closes called the Croft, 2 Balk Lane Closes etc. and Bramley Grange. From year to year at an annual rent of £21.
In 1827 a Lease for 13 years was granted to to James Yeomans and William Spurr, trustees of the last will of Francis Mayor, of property in Sheffield Park: The Croft, The Orchard and the Orchard Croft, at a rent of £11.
James Jeremiah Spurr, eldest son of James Spurr, was of Ewes, Maltby, a papermaker, bankrupt by 1834. He was married to Betsy. He held land in Oldcotes in the parishes of Blyth and Harworth, Notts., with a blacksmiths and wheelwrights shop.
Will of John Spurr late of Bramley parish of Braithwell in the Diocese of York Gent, dated 19th June 1807
Joshua Spurr - Brother - of Maltby Farmer
Sarah - Sister - Wife of Thomas Roebuck of Woodhouse parish of Stainton Farmer
Charlotte - Sister - Wife of Robert Carr of Waleswood Miller
Children of John and Sarah Spurr (Nee Tootle) born Wickersley:
In 1822 John Spurr and William Spurr. were butchers and Joshua Spurr was a Grocer.
Thomas Askin, w., Thribergh. & Eliz. Spurr, w., of Wickersley, married by lic at Rotherham 20 Jan 1835 in consequence of Wickersley Church being rebuilt. Source; Yorks Marriage Licenses.
This extract is from The Times date 28th August, 1862
In 1862 , a Charles Spurr was farming at Bramley.
Charles Spurr of Braithwell married Mary Didsbury, by license at Rotherham 20 October 1831. | <urn:uuid:48ebfee8-ef2b-4f01-a7cf-fc210c162757> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wickersleyweb.co.uk/gen/spurr.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949674 | 589 | 1.773438 | 2 |
On Valentine’s Day, Sierra College students and local activists delivered an over-sized Valentine’s Day card, signed by hundreds of concerned citizens, to Representative Tom McClintock’s district office calling on him to show his love for Placer County by voting for a budget deal that will end sweetheart tax loopholes for corporations, rather than cutting investment in the economy here in Placer County. With Congress approaching yet another fiscal cliff on March 1st, California Fair Share and concerned citizens described what they call an “economic heartbreak.” Specifically, they highlighted the fact that corporations continue to ship profits and jobs overseas to get out of paying their fair share in taxes, and, as a result, the State of California loses $4.2 billion a year in tax revenues. Proportionally, Placer County loses approximately $39.6 million in revenue, which could pay the salaries of over 550 teachers or 660 police officers.
“At a time when our economy is struggling, we all need to do our part. It is an economic heartbreak that the largest corporations are not paying their fair share. The question today is, why is Representative McClintock continuing to give sweetheart tax deals to big corporations, while Placer County needs him to be our Valentine?” asked Patrick Stelmach, the organizer with California Fair Share.
Currently, large tax loopholes for corporations are costing both federal and state governments billions of dollars. Recent research shows that the federal government loses around $90 billion and state governments about $40 billion, because of corporations’ use of foreign tax havens to hide profits abroad and avoid taxation. With Congress trying to reach a compromise between Republicans and Democrats that will reduce the deficit and still pay for national priorities, these loopholes could make up a significant portion of the final package.
Across-the-board cuts, called the sequester, are set for March 1st, a prospect that is scaring economists and local leaders alike. The sequester, it is estimated, will have numerous impacts:
- A loss of one million jobs;
- 70,000 children dropped from Head Start;
- 10,000 teachers’ jobs at risk; and,
- Small business loans reduced by $540 million.
“The hundreds of citizens that have joined our campaign are putting Representative McClintock on notice: stop giving corporations a free ride while the rest of us pay the fare. By closing massive corporate tax loopholes, Representative McClintock can deliver a stronger economy and a stronger budget in 2013,” said Stelmach. | <urn:uuid:5d2fe442-1a74-4e3c-b464-0eba3c1dedc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://roseville-ca.patch.com/groups/patrick-stelmachs-blog/p/bp--congressman-mcclintock-gets-giant-valentine-calli555800b2d5 | 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 | 0.952659 | 529 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A recent case of suspected meningitis at Milford Mill Academy has prompted Baltimore County health officials to interview parents of schoolmates who had come in close contact with the ill student, health officials said yesterday.
The student, who last attended school Feb. 21, was hospitalized with symptoms consistent with meningococcal meningitis.
Doctors suspected a bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis, which can be found in healthy people, but in rare cases can lead to serious infections such as meningitis and septicemia.
The presence of meningitis, which can be deadly, was never confirmed, and may never be, because the student was treated with antibiotics before lab tests were completed.
But health officials stressed that no other Milford Mill students so far have come forward with symptoms, that the incubation period is nearly over, and that the disease -- if the student had it -- would only be spreadable through contacts with nose and throat fluids, such as by sharing utensils or cigarettes, or kissing.
"This is not easily spreadable through casual contact. You have to have more intimate contact," said county Health Director Michelle A. Leverett.
The suspected disease is in the same family as the meningitis that killed a student recently at Morgan State University, but is not the same strain, Leverett said.
Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, stiff neck, nausea, severe headache and a rash.
Pub Date: 3/04/97 | <urn:uuid:ec0ffbfc-905d-4652-9f58-058bb605caa3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-03-04/news/1997063111_1_meningitis-contact-septicemia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974621 | 305 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Graphic Lit: Death Note
A young man walking home from school discovers a small black notebook lying on the ground.
Taking it home, he quickly discovers that whoever’s name he writes in the book will die of a heart attack within 40 seconds, provided he’s seen that person’s face.
Emboldened by his discovery, he decides to begin a campaign against crime, doing away with dangerous evildoers and anyone else he considers unworthy, with the ultimate goal of creating a utopia on Earth — with him as supreme ruler of course.
That’s the basic premise behind “Death Note,” one of the most popular and ingenious Japanese manga currently being published in the West.
The comic, written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takeshi Obata (who also draws the popular series “Hikaru No Go”), has led to numerous cartoon and film adaptations in Japan and has developed a large following here in the U.S., only slightly behind media juggernauts like “Naruto” and “Bleach.”
The young man is Light Yagami, who is not only an ace student, but apparently one of the smartest people in Japan.
Indeed, he’s so smart he’s bored out of his mind, and the notebook’s discovery rejuvenates him with a sense of purpose. The fact that he slowly loses his soul along the way seems of minor consequence to him.
Of course, hundreds of convicted killers suddenly dying of heart attacks doesn’t go without notice, and very quickly an international police force is formed to catch the mysterious serial killer, dubbed “Kira” by the press.
A cat and mouse game quickly forms between Light and the leader of the police investigation, a mysterious, eccentric young man known only as “L.”
L turns out to be more than a worthy opponent to Light, and a further twist is added when Light ends up joining L’s investigation team, in effect attempting to catch himself.
The phrase “Hitchcockian” kept popping up in my mind while reading “Death Note,” in the way that Ohba and Obata keep the readers in constant suspense and even toy with their emotions to the point where they find themselves rooting for a serial killer.
In fact there’s a masterful sequence where Light must try to get rid of a young woman before she talks to the cops that the Master of Suspense might well have approved of.
Considering the high body count, the series is pretty bloodless, suitable for teenagers as well as adults. If anything “Death Note” is an extremely plot-heavy and excessively verbose comic, something uncharacteristic of most manga.
That it’s so readable is in large part due to Obata’s considerable artistic talents. He’s able to keep your eye moving across the page easily, so that even a sequence involving a lengthy discussion among a board of directors seems riveting.
The series is known for completely turning on a dime every two volumes or so, and indeed a major surprise event occurs in volume seven that alters your entire expectations.
Sadly, “Death Note” will be coming to a close soon. The 11th volume just hit stores last week, and the final, 12th volume will be out in July. The good news is Viz should be releasing the Anime adaptation of the manga in the near future.
“Death Note” at times becomes a bit dry, and the whole “He knows that I know that he knows that I know” mind games between Light and L can make your head spin.
In spite of that, “Death Note” remains one of the most consistently entertaining, even addictive manga I’ve read in recent years. It’s a cerebral thrill ride that any fan of the genre will enjoy. I can’t wait to see how it ends.
Copyright The Patriot-News, 2007 | <urn:uuid:a191d7f6-650a-40ed-8b5e-fdab3caf0bb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://panelsandpixels.blogspot.com/2007/04/graphic-lit-death-note.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955988 | 841 | 1.789063 | 2 |
For one important moment of their difficult lives, the Catch-A -Dream Foundation offers youth who battle life-threatening illnesses the tranquility of the outdoors and genuine bonding time spent with their family.
That was the initial vision of Bruce Brady, who expressed his hope for such an organization only weeks before he died of cancer. He was worried by the thought that children with life-threatening illnesses wouldn’t have such opportunities after the Make-A-Wish Foundation discontinued hunting experiences in 1999 following animal rights group protests.
Martin Brunson was brought in to meet with Brady to help him articulate his vision. Brunson, who has a background in wildlife and fisheries, had an appointment to discuss the idea with Brady, but Brady didn’t live to see the appointment.
From there, Brunson and others took over Brady’s idea and played a big role in the foundation’s inception up to its status today. The foundation has sent about 400 children on their dream hunt, but even Brunson, who has been its Executive Director since Catch-A-Dream’s inception in 2000, didn’t think it would end up like this.
“Our initial vision was very small,” Brunson says. “Bruce’s initial vision, and the vision we picked up on, was to hopefully do two or three experiences for children in Mississippi each year if we could identify [the children]. We had no idea that this thing would become as large as it has, nor that we would become national or literally, North American, in scope.”
The Catch-A-Dream Foundation has expanded from helping a handful of children in Mississippi to sending dozens of children from the United States and Canada on hunting and fishing trips every year.
Brunson and his team in the organization’s only office, located on Mississippi State University’s campus, receive about 75 to 80 applications a year, of which about 80% meet the qualification requirments. Catch-A-Dream relies on the big hearts of volunteer hosts and guides. All trip logistics are planned in the foundation office and trained hosts accompany the children and families to facilitate the experience so that families have nothing to worry about except the experience itself. Guides are local outfitters at the destination of choice who donate their time and resources.
Over the years, Catch-A-Dream participants have had the opportunity to hunt whitetail deer, caribou, bear, wolf, bison, turkey and even alligator. Anglers have taken snapper, mackerel, shark, halibut, marlin, tuna, and salmon. That’s just the short list of successful harvests. Catch-A-Dream only offers hunts and fishing trips in the United States and Canada and even though inexperienced hunters are trained and aided if they are handicapped, the foundation will not put their lives in danger on a big bear (such as grizzly) hunt or other dangerous or illegal animals.
Catch-A-Dream is all about relationships. They strive to foster a better relationship between the sick children and their families, especially their siblings. What makes them a unique entity is that they foster their own relationship with former participants. Relations with Catch-A-Dream do not end when the hunt ends.
“We track their medical progress, we track their birth dates, we certainly track, unfortunately, death dates and anniversaries of those things.” Brunson says. “We know when they graduate high school, we know when they get better, when they get worse… I’ve attended high school graduations, I’ve attended a couple of weddings, and certainly a couple memorial services and everything in between.”
Participating children do not have to pay a penny out of pocket for the experience. The Catch-A-Dream Foundation works through generous donors and fund-raising events to secure all the funds necessary to supply the gear, equipment, oftentimes meals and transportation for the entire family to join their young fisher or hunter.
While raising the funds to support the program is not the overriding issue, Brunson wishes they only had more children whose lives they could affect.
“We virtually don’t think we’ve maxed out. We don’t recruit or solicit families. We get a lot of exposure in medical clinics and hospitals, but if we had one challenge, it’d be to get more word out to children.”
Anybody willing to help can do so. If you know a child who is age 18 or younger, has a life-threatening illness, is a citizen of the U.S. or Canada and has not previously taken part in another hunting experience grant then they are potentially eligible for a Catch-A-Dream experience.
For more information about the foundation, visit their homepage at http://catchadream.org/.
Photographs courtesy of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation | <urn:uuid:cc4125db-125b-43c5-a6f8-3e0c2b1f712c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.outdoorhub.com/stories/last-chance-outdoors-wishes-granted-by-the-catch-a-dream-foundation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967264 | 1,020 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Contact: Robin Swanson (916) 204-6890
The budget deal passed today by state lawmakers includes deep cuts to education unlike any we have seen in our state’s history, to the tune of $11.6 billion dollars in cuts to K-12 public schools alone. There is no question that the consequences of these budget cuts will directly impact students in the classroom, devastating our state’s public schools and chronically shortchanging California’s 6.3 million schoolchildren.
In addition, California’s Community Colleges, which serve 73 percent of all students enrolled in California higher education, will be cut by more than $230 million.
With this budget package, California’s students, who already live in a state that ranks 47th in the nation in per-pupil spending, will be forced to endure an additional nearly $2,000 in per-pupil cuts. These massive cuts will give California the dubious ranking of “last in the nation” in spending per student.
To illustrate the magnitude of these cuts, $11.6 billion in slashed funds is equivalent to:
- $49,153 less per classroom, or
- $19.66 million less per district, or
- Laying off 165,714 teachers, or
- Laying off 290,000 custodians, food service workers, bus drivers and other classified employees, or
- Closing California’s schools for 40 days, or
- Swelling class sizes by up to 55%
Clearly, none of these cuts is acceptable in a state where we value our students’ education and our shared future. We invite lawmakers to visit schools in their districts to witness firsthand the impacts these cuts will have. It's more apparent than ever that we need long-term, permanent solutions to provide adequate funds for California’s schools. It is time to stop devaluing our children and start listening to the people of California, who have said, time and again, to put our students first.
That’s why the Education Coalition will continue to fight to restore the funding schools are owed under Prop. 98. We recognize that the budget plan includes a provision that will go on the May 19th ballot, which could pay back approximately $9 billion of the funds schools are owed.
The Education Coalition represents more than 2.5 million teachers, parents, administrators, school board members, school employees and other education advocates in California. For more information, please visit our website at www.protectourstudents.org. | <urn:uuid:3a160918-a780-4011-9719-430f95a53271> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cta.org/en/About-CTA/News-Room/Press-Releases/2009/02/20090219-2.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942697 | 521 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine. Anything human!
On rense.com there is an mp3 file where Rense interviews Drs. Staninger and Karfoo (sp?), both well-credentialed researchers, talk about Morgellons research. During this, talking about where the samples examined came from, it is mentioned that one set of 'blind' samples came from...........chemtrails.
Now if you think about it, it could be in the air. It could be in grey water. Or clean water. But what could cause all of that? Chemtrails.I.e. spraying from high in the air.
Jan Smith features in this .mp3. She talks about running round taking samples from everywhere with scotch tape. Same thing applies. Aerial spraying.
Yes it is my right eye
The Lacrimal gland on my upper lid is swollen. Slightly purple
Both corners have what appear to be stitches over the lid and into the eye.
A lot of previous irritation.
In answer to your last question...Yes.
But they still can not see this in the eye hospital. I have tried for two days to direct them to my upper lid but they can not make the connection...
A question : would Praziquantel affect this form ?
Last edited by hartuk on Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sabrina, I think DS asked a fair question there. TamTam has
consistently avoided answering this and many others like it.
Does he owe people an answer? No.
But most people will not believe information presented to them
from an unknown source unless they are able to question it and
receive satisfactory answers right?
How are you Sabrina?
Very sorry to hear of your continued eye problems.
Have they confirmed Pythiosis insidiosi or is this what most closely
resembles your symptoms?
There was a poster on Lymbusters some months back reporting
similar problems with their eyes. I did a search on Lbusters but
couldn't find it. I'll make a post there and see if anyone can
What I know is that if they point the slit lamp to the corners of the eye they may be able to see a brownish infiltrate.
Brownish infiltrates are consistent with a protothecosis like infection. What the organism does is that it attempts to replace tissue - also behind the eye.
You could try to emphasize that often no organisms are found. This type condition is well known by dogs.
Did you experience a sudden onset of floaters or blurred vision?
On Rense tonight, also.
Dr. Staninger and Dr. K. are studying this very intently, and found that the clear and/or white fiber is motile, the red and blue are not.
If you listen closely, he is taking samples for free, and if you can see him, you can go to the clinic for free.
If you want more information, it is listed under LB board.
Dr. Wymore has not found this yet, but, he comes from a different angle,
Does not mean any are wrong, plus whatever study was done in Florida is being looked at seriously. Randy do you know if that study is posted anywhere?
I would appreciate the link if you would be so kind as to post.
Enough running around the bush, the estuary and dodging the chemtrails.
that one that effects frogs, could have something to do with swamp areas, estuaries, any water areas. The phytoplankton most likey killed by the motile fibers, and or protists. Would also kill frogs and amphibians, they have soft skin, like us.
Our Great Lakes are becoming near dead zones, the Epa has not cleaned up any areas, nor has the Regional done anything.
I think more concentrated study on DNR, Conservation and other will reveal what is going on in the environment. Will look further into that area.
Here is a piece on amphibian skin:
Comparison of reactions to skin grafts in green frogs: Rana lessonae cam., R. esculenta L. and R. ridibunda pall.Semik D.
Adult, field-collected green frogs, Rana lessonae and R. ridibunda, and their interspecific hybrid R. esculenta were tested with skin grafts at 22 +/- 2 degrees C. Two types of reactions to grafts were observed. 1) Median survival time (MST) was about 25 days, which was observed in R. lessonae hosts in response to allogeneic stimuli and to skin grafts from R. esculenta, and R. esculenta hybrids given grafts from the parental species. 2) MST was equal to or longer than 30 days, which was observed in the case of grafts among R. esculenta, and in R. ridibunda hosts given grafts from R. esculenta and R. lessonae. It seems that a high histocompatibility allele polymorphism occurs in R. lessonae even within one population, whereas lower polymorphism and/or reduced immunological reactivity occurs in R. ridibunda.
PMID: 6367697 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
histocompatibility allele polymorphism is a complex that I believe is related. More on that later.........
The symbiosis between algae and bacteria, protozoa, protists, where the prokayrote invades the eukaryote, is where the novel organism is living and killing in wildlife, I believe.
The fires out West, metals in the chemtrails, have thought this a long time.
The metals, nanoparticles, when heated by sun, will burn what is dry.
So, nanoparticles with organic and metals, will alter the landscape.
Agenda 21 will educate you. But, it is slick.
I think it began with Buckyballs, fullerene, carbon sequestration. Silicon is not supposed to be used now in nano materials.
And, silicon is was/is used as coating on biomaterials, genes, etc.
Try to listen to program tonight.
Comprehensive articles about quorum sensing as earlier mentioned;
"As recently as the late '90s, the National Institutes of Health routinely rejected Bassler's grant applications, politely suggesting that she apply again to a different committee the following year"
Another interesting way to communicate:
"These guys know self and other, friend and foe, and have been doing biological warfare for over a million years."
Wired 11.04: The Bacteria Whisperer
He assumed that quorum sensing was limited to the marine microbes he was studying. ... Quorum sensing has profound implications in the war against disease. ...
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.04/quorum_pr.html - 26k - Cached - Similar pages
The presence of a second, seemingly redundant apparatus for quorum sensing in Pseudomonas bacteria "makes us wonder if something else also is going on," Winans said
Quorum-sensing bacteria discovery
Molecular structure is solved for key protein of quorum-sensing bacteria ... The work is reported by researchers at Cornell, Argonne National Laboratory and ...
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/ 02/7.11.02/quorum-sensing.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages
Err, escuse me, hartuk, but lacrimal gland = tear duct and the tear duct, unless your eyes are weird, is where your tears come from, i.e. the small hole at the lower inner corner of each eye. So what do you mean by "lacrimal gland on upper lid"?
And, temtam, please, can't you use layman's language?
"Quorum" in tamtam's "quotum sensing" is the same as with any Robertson's Rules meeting, under which a quorum is enough people to make the meeting legitimate. "Quorum sensing" merely means a particular organism being able to recognise the same organisms.
Is that correct, temtam?
Tamtam, Do I understand you correctly? Are you saying that the microorganism discussed as fiber disease is attempting to replace our tissue? Like it is destroying our muscles etc. and replacing them with the dead fiber material. If this is the case it could explaing why one must keep moving in order to retain mobility. Many people suffering from this who also have been diagnosed with fibroymalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, gulf war syndrome, etc. have difficulty with muscle strength and mobility.
Microchip and fiber disease. I read somewhere yesterday on the internet that they experimented on service people during the first Gulf War with implanted chips such as those that they want to use in the future for identification and diagnosis. Has anyone researched the possibility that the microorganism might be a microchip experiment gone wrong? Are there any service people on this board who may have been microchipped. Perhaps they were able to put it into vaccines. I had a lot of vaccines, during trips to sunny places and also for the flu.
Check Wikkipedia before posting.
Google "lacrimal glands". It's top of the list. Go to this page.
Observe the diagram carefully and you will see exactly where it is located above the upper lid.
You don't suffer from disease this do you?
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest | <urn:uuid:a16ff34f-f06c-40f7-9260-bbeec3299cf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about1958.html?p=59302&hilit=Praziquantel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951818 | 2,022 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Some time ago i purchased a lot of old brass lenses, from Germany.
Today i was cleaning the last one, a nice projection lens made by Riechert, Wien, and i discovered that the lens had been reassembled the wrong way.
It is a 200mm Solar, with no diaphragm, and with rack and pinion focusing. It is attached to a wooden board, probably from a magic lantern.
Each cell is made by a positive meniscus, and a negative doublet, with blackened rim.
The lens is not symmetrical, one of the cells has a distancing ring.
As i found it, the lens had the ring placed in the wrong cell, and the two groups in the other cell were reversed.
I think i have corrected the most evident problems, but i am at loss with "fine tuning".
Practically speaking, i don't know which of the two cells goes at the front (with ring, or ringless?), and how to mount the two doublets (thinner element towards the inside or the outside?).
It is the first projection lens which is neither a petzval nor a triplet, hence i can't take any advantage from personal experience.
The Vademecum is of no help either (there is an f/6.8 dialyte, which is NOT my lens), and i couldn't find find any practical informations online. Just an identical lens on sale on Ebay, for a high price (although i must admit i don't have the slightest idea of how much it could be worth).
My only hope is to find a nice soul who owns the same lens, and who's willing to take a peek at its own example.
I hope that in the near future we will see a much needed documentation site about projection lenses (like, for example, what has been done by Dr. Klaus Schmitt for macros).
During my first examination, i saw 5 reflections for each cell, thus i took for granted that the internal negative element was in fact a doublet.
I am not so sure anymore.
The rim of the element is blackened, there is an imperfection that looks like a seam between two cemented glasses. Again, not so sure about it. I have to reopen the lens and look better.
It could be a very fast dialyte. Not an f/6.8, as the Vademecum suggest, more an f/4 (that's the ratio between FL and diameter of light path). | <urn:uuid:fe941caa-37bc-4401-a41f-b5bc3016c083> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?92209-Reichert-Solar-200mm-need-info-about-optical-layout&p=902957 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973166 | 525 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Judge's Ruling: UCPD Illegally Searched Journalist's Photos
Monday, June 21, 2010
Category: News > University > Academics and Administration
An Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that campus police illegally searched a journalist's camera used to document the Dec. 11 attack on Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's campus home.
Judge Yolanda Northridge's ruling invalidated a search warrant that had been used by UCPD to review photographs taken by David Morse on Dec. 11 and ordered the return of all copies of Morse's photographs, which police used as part of their investigation into the attack.
Morse, who has covered hundreds of demonstrations in and around the Bay Area since 2002, was reporting for Indybay on the night when about 70 protesters - some wielding torches - vandalized Birgeneau's home.
According to the First Amendment Project, an East Bay firm that represented Morse in the case, he repeatedly identified himself as a journalist before he was arrested, and police obtained a search warrant to review his photos before he was released on bail.
Geoffrey King, Morse's lawyer, said police did not tell the judge that he had identified himself as a journalist when they requested the warrant.
UCPD Capt. Margo Bennett said she could not comment on the ruling because campus police had yet to review the judge's decision. However, she added that UCPD wrote the original affidavit for the search warrant in good faith and that they had received a judge's approval.
"If a judge now has an order out that says something different from what was originally stated, we will do what the court has ordered," Bennett said.
King also said he would expect UCPD to act quickly on the ruling because according to California's shield law, every day that they retain possession of Morse's photographs, his journalistic integrity is "harmed."
"I would not expect the police to dilly-dally on this kind of thing," he said. "The judge ordered the property to be returned to Morse as soon as possible. The fact of the matter is that they can't get these unpublished photographs and cannot subpoena him to use them again in the investigation."
Initially, Morse said he was able to retrieve his camera and backpack from campus police in late December, but when he asked for the return of his photographs, he was instead given blank discs while the police kept the original copies to use as part of their ongoing investigation.
Morse said he hopes his case encourages other reporters to feel "a little bolder" when defending their rights. He added that while he found the case an educational process, it has taken a toll on how other news sources view his work.
"Standing up for myself and going to jail knocked the wind out of me," he said. "The ruling is a big step in the right direction, but I still find myself looking over my shoulder."
Katie Nelson covers academics and administration. Contact her at [email protected]
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The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regards to both the readers and writers of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. Click here to read the full comment policy. | <urn:uuid:1c606b6a-e9fe-4848-8882-b25a8ecd3715> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.dailycal.org/article/109706/judge_s_ruling_ucpd_illegally_searched_journalist_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981678 | 709 | 1.84375 | 2 |
In a February survey of 200 senior health care executives nationwide, 69 percent of the executives polled reported that their institution would most likely take on a major expansion project within the next three years. The survey was conducted by Bayer Consulting for Turner Construction Co., a subsidiary of a leading U.S. building contractor, The Turner Corp.
Robert Levine, vice-president of healthcare for Turner, said, in news release that “the construction of health care facilities is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, for the first time since 1975, there has been an increase in the number of general acute-care beds across the nation.”
That is good news for Jonathan Bailey Associates, an international health care architectural firm hired by Memorial Hospital to design a main campus expansion and a new hospital. Jonathan Bailey Associates is an award-winning firm with offices in Dallas, Orlando, Honolulu, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The company has designed major medical facilities throughout the world.
Dallas-based Tom Dwyer is the operations and hospital planner for Jonathan Bailey. He said that this is his firm’s first project with Memorial.
“Our firm follows the local building codes and the health care building guidelines, which are equivalent or above state standards, depending on the state,” Dwyer said. “We then study the demographics of the area and evaluate the needs with hospital managers and supervisors. From there, we put all of the information into an Excel-type spreadsheet of space.
“There are 33 or 34 groups of people we talk to, from doctors to staff to focus groups of patients and family members, including ambulance drivers and city police.”
Dwyer said efficiency factors and square footages compose the “Bible” of how to interact with the environment and the budget. “We look at the efficiency factors for nurses, the delivery efficiencies of products and the delivery efficiencies of patients,” Dwyer said. “When the cost to build is approximately $450 per square foot, we do not want to waste one square foot. If we can cut just one square foot, it translates to almost $500, so if 10,000 square feet can be saved, lots of project costs are removed.”
A clover-leaf-designed nurses’ station at Memorial will save nurses from walking long distances. The design calls for 80 feet of space from the nurses’ station to the farthest room, which saves square footage and time, Dwyer said. It also is important to create design flexibility to adapt to changes that might happen 20 years down the road. Dwyer said windows that allow for natural light, ceiling heights and overall aesthetics are equally considered. “The design has to be sensitive to the healing process,” Dwyer said.
That sensitivity and a focus on health care facility design topped the reasons Memorial chose Jonathan Bailey Associates over a multitude of architects to design the main campus expansion and the new hospital, said Cherie Gorby, senior administrator of patient care. “This firm designs around the patient and the caregivers, and they understood things like the average age of the nurse – they think outside of the box,” she said. “They told us our nurses would never have to walk farther than a Suburban to get something.”
To enhance the efficiency factor, supplies will be available in each hospital room so caregivers have everything at hand, Gorby said. The plans also allow patients to be in constant view of their caregivers.
“Eighteen years ago, when the Springs’ population was about 250,000, we had Eisenhower, Memorial, Penrose, Penrose Community and St. Francis hospitals,” Gorby said. “Our population has doubled, and we’ve gone from five hospitals to two systems – Penrose, Penrose Community and Memorial.”
Memorial houses the busiest emergency room in the state, so plans to double its space to 40,000 square feet are overdue. The emergency-room design includes a separate area for pediatrics, where children will not have to mingle with injured or ill adults, Gorby said.
The main campus’ 250,000-square-foot expansion includes a 107-bed children’s hospital and a women’s and maternity services ward.
Memorial is accredited by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions as a children’s hospital within a hospital. The children’s hospital includes a neo-natal intensive care unit, with 120-square feet of space designed around each bed, making it roomier for visitors. The premature babies will experience their first days on the outside in an environment designed to emulate the womb. “Their neurological systems are immature, and we have to minimize noise and do everything to protect them,” Gorby said. A Ronald McDonald House is planned inside the main campus’s women and children’s area. Even though there already is a Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, Gorby said parents with critically ill children do not want to venture across the street.
The focus groups that Dwyer discussed included 10 children who are former Memorial patients.
The campus expansion is scheduled for completion in late 2006.
Also scheduled for completion in 2006 is Memorial Hospital North, an 84-bed facility offering a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, located at the intersection of Powers Boulevard, Union Boulevard and Briargate Parkway. A nearby 150,000 square-foot medical offices facility is in the works as well.
Today, patients’ expectations of hospitals are the same as hotels, Gorby said. “Our new hospital is designed with private rooms only,” Gorby said. “People don’t want to be in a room with someone else when they are sick. It’s no longer about cold, white walls – we want a healing environment, with healing colors, sounds and light.”
Dozens of people were involved in creating a design that was best for patients, staff and the community’s interests, Dwyer said, “I’ve been in this business for 35 years, and we always want the community to get the best and most efficient design for every penny spent.” | <urn:uuid:19eaffdc-d389-49f4-b5fc-f7ffdfdbd4fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://csbj.com/2004/04/23/smart-designs-keep-healing-process-in-mind/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95863 | 1,296 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Wheeler lets you exercise and power your gadget at the same time
An article in a Dutch Newspaper stating that the use of electronic gadgets alone is responsible for the forthcoming creation of an extra 30 power plants in the very near future, made Michiel van der Kley decide to do something extra as a designer. Having designed furniture for 20 years, he wanted to design things that not only look cool but might be meaningful as well. The Wheeler is an attempt to bring together energy and activity. When you exercise for half an hour, you produce enough energy to power your device: you work on your health, you do not use any fossil fuel while doing it, and on top of it all, you are independent. Bam! | <urn:uuid:5cea2df8-998b-41da-b682-a651c7e99dea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/02/18/be-your-own-power-plant/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955781 | 145 | 1.71875 | 2 |
JAMES S. CHRISTIE, real estate and insurance agent, Springfield. James S. Christie is one of the oldest business
men of Springfield; he was born in New Boston, N. H., Sept. 6, 1798; the maiden name of his mother was Rebecca
Smith; her marriage with Robert Christie wads consummated in 1796; she died in 1804, leaving four children - James
S., Mary, Jesse and Rebecca (deceased in 1845). Mr. Christie married his second wife, Mrs. Sarah Ordway, in 1807;
she was the mother of Sewell and John Ordway by her first husband; by her union with Mr. Christie, she became the
mother of Sarah and Robert Christie, and one other child, that died in infancy. They emigrated to Vermont, and
from there to Springfield, Ohio, arriving in October, 1811. Mr. Christie, being a carpenter, and aided by his son
James, the subject of this sketch, built a large fiat boat, and launched it at Olean, the head of navigation on
the Allegheny River. they were joined by two other families who wished to come West, and their passengers were
thus increased to thirty; the river in many places was very rough, and they were forced to employ Indian pilots;
Indian wigwams lined the entire west bank of the river, but they treated our voyagers kindly. They arrived safely
at Cincinnati in June, 1817, and, in the fall of the same year, came to Springfield, which was at that time only
a small hamlet, containing perhaps 400 inhabitants; there is but part of one brick house now standing that was
here when Mr. Christie came; the magnificent city of Springfield, with her population of 21,000, and her large
manufactories, have all grown since his coming. James was married to Miss Laura Beardsley, Feb. 22, 1824; her parents
were natives of Connecticut, and her father, Elijah Beardsley, was a Revolutionary soldier; his wife was Miss Sarah
Hubbell; they came to Ohio in 1811. James and his wife are parents of eleven children, four living - Mary, Edward
P., Harlen P. and James B.; all are married and living in Springfield except Haden, who resides in Decatur, Ill.
Mr. Christie engaged in contracting and building until 1847, when he established a planing mill and sash factory,
which he managed for ten years. In 1860, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and served six years, since which
time he has engaged in the real estate and insurance business, etc., etc. He furnished three noble sons to do battle
for their country during the late civil war, who enlisted at the first call for troops, and gallantly engaged in
several of the hardest fought battles of the war. One wonderful circumstance connected with the Christie family
is in the fact of the celebration of the golden wedding of the three children who came to Springfield in 1817.
and all of them are as hale as many persons many years younger. Mr. and Mrs. Christie have been members of the
Presbyterian Church nearly half a century, forty seven years of which Mr. Christie has been an officer in the church;
would that we had many more like them. His father, Robert Christie, died in September, 1823, aged 47 years, and
his wife in 1852; they were estimable people, and have left a posterity who do honor to their name.
History of Clark County, Ohio
W. H. Beers & Co.
Clark County, Ohio
For all your genealogy needs visit Linkpendium | <urn:uuid:d3c69188-ed32-4231-aabd-0c7f1513a028> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinebiographies.info/oh/clark/christie-js.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980631 | 773 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Tamaqua Area discusses letting staff carry guns
TAMAQUA - Tamaqua Area school board members are exploring a policy that would allow certain staff members to carry firearms in school in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting.
Talks on ramping up safety have increased in area school districts in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which a gunman fatally shot 20 students and six staff members. But Tamaqua Area is the first local district to take action at a voting board meeting, giving unanimous approval to a recommendation authorizing district administrators to develop a policy that sets the rules for arming school personnel.
School board President Larry Wittig stressed at a meeting Tuesday that talks are very preliminary and school board members are far from arming school employees.
"We are charging administration to explore a policy that allows certain staff members to be trained in handling firearms," Wittig said.
"That's a very broad statement and we are very cognizant of the complexity of the whole thing. When is it going to happen? I don't know. It depends on what administration finds out. The devil is in the details and that is what we don't know yet," he said.
Kathleen Barker, a member of the public, sat with a half-dozen other district residents listening to board discussions.
"Who is going to have the (guns)? How will they be trained? How will we, as parents, know which teachers are armed?" Barker stood and asked the board.
The first hurdle is to determine whether it would be legal to arm district employees.
"We have to make sure we are doing it legally," Wittig said. "Existing law makes schools a gun-free zone, but even within existing law, there are exceptions for certain people in certain situations."
The plan as discussed at Tuesday's board meeting would keep the identity of the armed personnel a secret. Only district administrators would know who is armed.
Only district employees who are already trained and licensed to carry firearms and other employees who are willing to be trained and licensed would be called on to carry a weapon during the school day.
The armed employees will not only be teachers but also qualified custodians, cafeteria workers, office staff and administrators.
"That leaves the question to the perpetrator, who will know that any person he comes up against inside the building might be armed," Wittig said, adding that the board wants news of the action to be widely known because the knowledge that school personnel are armed is, in itself, a deterrent.
"The people who commit these crimes are supreme cowards," he said. "They know that schools are gun-free zones. If they have even the utmost inkling that there will be confrontation, they don't want that. That bird in Connecticut, as soon as he heard sirens, he took his own life. So, to have an armed person on the property who is trained and the community knows about it, that would be a deterrent," he said.
Baker asked why not armed guards instead of employees secretly armed.
Wittig said he would rather have armed employees than armed guards and metal detectors, which would make the school more like a prison than a learning institution. Plus, an armed guard at the door is a single target for a gunman, where anonymously armed employees are a shell game a would-be gunman is not likely to risk.
"It's about having a deterrent in each building," he said.
A man in the audience named Brian, who declined to give his last name because a member of his family is employed by the district, said he supports the concept.
"We have armed people protecting our government leaders. We have armed people protecting movie stars. Why wouldn't we have armed personnel protecting our children?" he said.
Although Wittig was the only board member to speak on the proposal and answer questions, the motion to craft the policy won the unanimous approval of the full board. | <urn:uuid:f66c208a-2480-4393-bfae-d97666b6b3a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://republicanherald.com/news/tamaqua-area-discusses-letting-staff-carry-guns-1.1430291 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982891 | 806 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Gov. Lincoln Chafee on Tuesday signed a reworked public records bill into law that unseals government employment contracts and creates a so-called “balancing test” for disclosures modeled after federal statute.
The new law is the first significant change to the state’s Access to Public Records Act (APRA) in 14 years and Chafee said he hopes it will make government more transparent in Rhode Island.
“It’s a good bill, passed almost unanimously,” Chafee said moments after signing it. “We’re always criticized for being inaccessible and we struggle with some of our ethical issues in this state, so it’s always good to [let] sunshine in.”
The law – which goes into effect Sept. 1 – also requires certain details of an arrest to be released within 48 hours on weekdays or 72 hours on weekends. The information would be presented as an arrest “log” and include the name of the person charged, the alleged crime and where and when it took place. Massachusetts uses a similar process.
The most significant change is the addition of the balancing test, which is designed to counter a broad exemption in the old law that keeps sealed all records that are “personally identifiable” to an individual. | <urn:uuid:8314f8cf-b3d8-419c-abbd-52bb0e2024a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theartofaccess.com/tag/foi-reform/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954216 | 269 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Travemünde - Lübeck's fair daughter
The district of Travemünde is fondly referred to as “Lübeck's fair daughter”. A broad, white, sandy beach, and over 200 years of history as a seaside resort and Germany's largest port on the Baltic, give this haven at the mouth of the Trave river its special maritime charm. Each year, over 140,000 guests find accommodation and welcome here amongst the 14,000 or so local residents.
One building in particular stands out as an unmistakable landmark. Over 125 metres tall, the Maritim tower houses Europe's highest beacon. It not only guides ships to Travemünde but is also visible with the naked eye from the old city centre of Lübeck, 22 kilometres away.
With its somewhat dreamy air, its cosy old-town lanes and historic facades along the Trave river, Travemünde has seen dynamic developments in recent years. The facilities for holidaymakers have expanded, and now range from luxury hotels to family vacation villages —without seriously affecting the incomparable charm of this pearl of the Baltic. | <urn:uuid:7b628984-6f6d-4994-807d-46f7260296d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travemuende.de/tourismus/geschichte/stadtportrait/en/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938363 | 237 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Mario Williams and Tarvaris Jackson
The Texans defense took a major hit in Week 5 as their sack leader will miss the remainder of the season with a torn pectoralis muscle. The pectoralis muscles are located in the upper portion of the chest and are most commonly associated with bench pressing. The pec major sits superficial to the pec minor fanning out across the chest. However most people don't realize that in addition to its connection with the sternum and the rib cage, the pec major actually attaches to the upper arm bone, the humerus. This enables the pec major to aid in shoulder motion, helping flex and extend the upper arm while also pulling the arm toward the body in a motion known as adduction. The muscle also is involved in rotating the arm, making it a critical component of throwing. The smaller pec minor serves as a shoulder stabilizer, drawing the scapula (shoulder blade) down and in.
It appears Williams' tear is located near its attachment site at the shoulder. While the tear was incomplete, the damage was extensive enough to warrant surgery. The former number one overall pick will undergo a procedure in the next few days to anchor the muscle back to the bone. He should be ready to go for next season.
In Seattle, Jackson also suffered a high-grade pectoralis strain but there is no indication at this time that surgery will be needed. Instead Jackson will spend the bye week rehabbing the injury but will not attempt to throw a football. Should the conservative approach fail to work, the quarterback could be forced to go under the knife. Coach Pete Carroll said a healthy Jackson would remain the starter with backup Charlie Whitehurst set to take over should he be unable to go.
Johnson appears to be improving after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in his strained hamstring. Head coach Gary Kubiak would not rule the receiver out for his team's Week 6 game against the Ravens but the likelihood of Johnson playing two weeks after suffering a Grade II hamstring strain remains extremely low.
In a PRP injection, a platelet-rich mixture is obtained from a sample of the athlete's own blood and then injected into the injury site. The area surrounding the injury becomes more favorable to healing with the introduction of the concentrated amounts of platelets, the primary component of blood responsible for clotting. While PRP injections are intended to increase the rate and efficiency of healing, time is still needed for any injury of this kind to completely heal. Houston should be all too aware of this after managing Arian Foster and his hamstring strain. Look for Johnson to realistically aim for a Week 7 return and don't be surprised if he isn't back until Week 8 against the Jaguars.
The Colts injury woes continue as Addai suffered a strained right hamstring in a loss to the Chiefs. The often-injured back limped off the field in the first quarter and did not return. He will undergo a MRI to determine the extent of the damage but the former Pro Bowler doesn't feel the injury is serious. If any athlete can be taken at his word regarding injuries, it's Addai. After playing in all 16 games of his rookie season, he has missed time in each of the following four seasons with a variety of ailments, including a partially torn hamstring in 2008, a chest contusion in 2007, and shoulder and knee issues that ultimately required surgery. Still the MRI results will serve as a better indicator of how much time, if any, Addai will miss.
Delone Carter and Donald Brown would benefit from Addai's absence with Carter being the safer investment. Brown has shown a propensity for injury and it was Carter who received the bulk of the carries following Addai's departure.
One of the surprising fantasy producers in the first quarter of the season left the San Diego locker room on crutches while wearing a protective boot on his left leg. Mathews suffered a calf strain in his team's win over the Broncos but returned in the second quarter, finishing with a career-high 125 yards rushing. Mathews has dealt with a myriad of lower extremity issues since entering the league last season. A high ankle sprain in his right ankle limited Mathews throughout his rookie year while a left toe issue has been problematic for majority of this season. A toe issue, particularly turf toe, could have played a factor in his most recent injury, serving as a reminder of the importance of a healthy kinetic chain. The Chargers are off in Week 6 allowing Mathews to receive some much-needed rest. Keep an eye on his availability during practice in the days coming out of the bye to get a better idea on his availability for Week 7.
LeGarrette Blount: A knee injury makes Blount an extremely iffy start for Week 6. The Buccaneers are closely guarding information surrounding the injury and will wait to see how he feels later in the week.
Miles Austin and Dez Bryant: Both Austin (hamstring) and Bryant (quad) were back at practice Monday. They are expected to play against the Patriots in Week 6. The return of the two receivers would be a big boost for Tony Romo, who had a week to rest his fractured ribs.
Julio Jones: Jones will not practice before Thursday as he rests a strained hamstring. The rookie wideout came up limping in the third quarter of Atlanta's loss to Green Bay. Like we've seen with other hamstrung receivers, Jones may not be a wise choice until he proves the injury is behind him.
Josh Morgan: Morgan is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured right ankle against the Buccaneers. The receiver underwent surgery Monday but has yet to be placed on injured-reserve.
Julius Peppers: The Bears defensive end yo-yoed in and out of the game on Monday night after suffering a left knee injury. Peppers will undergo further examination this week to determine the extent of the damage.
Matt Schaub: The Houston quarterback has been sacked nine times this season and is starting to feel the effects. The signal-caller is now nursing a bruised thigh, a foot problem, and a sore shoulder. He is not expected to miss any time but he should be downgraded for the immediate future as the injuries and the absence of Andre Johnson will likely diminish his production.
Mike Tolbert: Tolbert suffered a concussion in Week 5 but will have the advantage of a schedule bye week to gain some extra rest. Barring any lingering symptoms, look for him to be available in Week 7 when the Chargers travel to face the Jets.
Jeff Stotts is a Certified Athletic Trainer, MAT, PES and the Injury Analyst for Rotowire.com. You can follow him on twitter @RotoWireATC. | <urn:uuid:b913dd49-e698-4d2a-a63e-405c9e5da33d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rotowire.com/football/showArticle.htm?id=14041 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970666 | 1,379 | 1.515625 | 2 |
For the third consecutive year, Hyundai Hope on Wheels presented MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) with a $250,000 check to support pediatric cancer research.
Hyundai donates $250,000 to MGHfC
HANDPRINTS OF HOPE: MGH staff and Hyundai representatives.
For the third consecutive year, Hyundai Hope on Wheels presented MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) with a $250,000 check to support pediatric cancer research. The program will award $10.25 million to 41 recipients throughout September in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Staff from MGHfC and representatives from Hyundai celebrated the donation at a Sept. 7 event in the Bulfinch Tent.
The MGHfC funds will go to Miguel Rivera, MD, assistant molecular pathologist, for his research on genomic abnormalities in osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma, the two most common pediatric bone tumors. These are tumors with significant rates of metastasis and survival rates of approximately 65 percent, considerably lower than the average for most pediatric tumors. Rivera’s work is a collaboration involving the departments of Pathology, Pediatric Oncology and Orthopædic Surgery.
“We believe that our project has a high likelihood of providing novel insights into cancer biology and revealing opportunities for therapeutic intervention,” Rivera told the six Boston-area Hyundai representatives in attendance. “We really appreciate your confidence in our mission and your trust in what we do.”
Burke puts her handprint on Rivera.
Ken Bloech, regional general manager for Hyundai, presented Rivera with a white coat featuring the Hope on Wheels logo and the handprint of Samantha Burke, 22, an MGHfC patient, to remind Rivera of those his work will help. Burke and other pediatric oncology patients covered a canvas with their handprints and initials, which Howard Weinstein, MD, chief of MGHfC Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, gave to Bloech as a token of thanks.
In honor of its 14th year fighting childhood cancer, Hyundai Hope on Wheels will donate an additional $5,000 to 14 of the 41 grant recipients. From now until Sept. 30, MGHers can vote for MGHfC to receive that money by tweeting “Vote @mghfc #Tweet4Hope.”
Read more articles from the 9/14/12 Hotline issue. | <urn:uuid:53f72d2e-a8e3-4045-982f-235e74bb0426> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.massgeneral.org/give/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=3734 | 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 | 0.938218 | 512 | 1.5 | 2 |
By Tom, Pure Matters
It used to be that when you wanted to get in shape you either strapped on a pair of sneakers and went for a run or got in a car and drove to a place that was packed with people and waited your turn to move around some rusty (and sweaty) weights. But in recent years the explosion of the digital fitness market has made getting fit as easy as clearing a little space in your living room and turning on the television. In the last year or so in particular, we’ve seen things develop so far as to allow your gym to fit your pocket. With mobile apps, the world has become our weight room. It’s never been easier or more fun to exercise and today we’re taking a look at some of the best options that the digital fitness market has to offer.
It’s as Easy as Pressing “Play”
One of the largest markets in digital fitness is home workout videos. These range from cable providers’ “On Demand” yoga workouts to DVD programs like P90x, an incredibly popular 90 day fitness routine that has grossed over $500 million according to NY Daily News. Other options include fitness videos available to purchase on iTunes as well as a whole heap of free videos on YouTube. My only advice is to be weary of what you find on the latter–if only because while legitimate exercise videos made by professionals exist, anyone with a camera can post on YouTube and they may not show proper form.
Aren’t Video Games Just for Kids (…and Couch Potatoes)?
There’s unfortunately a stigma associated with video games as being the play thing of children or couch potatoes, but lately, game developers and new technology developments have made them so much more than a thumb exercise. From the Xbox Kinect, which uses a camera to track and sync your body movements with an avatar on the screen to the Nintendo Wii, that uses an infrared remote sensor to record motion, interactive dance, sports, and fitness games have become a whole new division of the gaming world. Sure, you’ve probably seen those Dance Dance Revolution monstrosities in a local arcade, boardwalk, or shopping mall, but did you know that Xbox’s Dance Central tracks your whole body, burns a ton of calories, and can be done in your living room without a clunky floor mat? Add Nike + Kinect Training, Zumba Fitness, Wii Fit, and Self-Defense Training Camp to the long list of options for both adults and kids to break a sweat.
Wait, you mean my body is the controller?!
Need further proof that fitness games are a significant “game changer”? An article published last week highlights a study conducted by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services called, “Can E-gaming be Useful for Achieving Recommended Levels of Moderate to Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity in Inner-City Children?” The study found that “E-gaming might be a useful alternative to traditional physical education -- at least for younger school children” and can serve as a major step in the battle against childhood obesity–a problem effecting more than 17 percent of U.S. children.
Use Your Phone, Duh! | <urn:uuid:a55bae00-a065-4ab7-b3ed-63c4dca7ff32> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.4029tv.com/4-digital-fitness-trends-you-need-to-check-out/-/8898190/18310434/-/pb554y/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946176 | 672 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Remember the 10 plagues- blood in the water Pestilence-frogs-lice-hail-boils -flies and Darkness . I forgot the rest. Anyway this Frog plague or natural phenomena is scary. Is Chytrid Fungus caused by the toxins in our water? Climate Changes. They say it was brought in from Africa, to the states with the 1930 Frog /pregnancy testing.
I think I have changed my mind. Lobster is better. These infected frogs are being born deformed. Missing legs and some are male frogs that have become female by producing and laying eggs. HE?SHE"S It may be in our drinking water. Disposing of all kinds of drugs, down the toilets.
Food for Thought !!
So what's your opinion? That is if you are interested .
Sanitation District prefers that expired or surplus medications NOT be “flushed down the toilet” and disposed of through sanitary sewers.
Posted by Yvonne @ La Petite Gallery Comments are welcome
Yvonne started painting and drawing in High School in Houston Texas. She earned extra money drawing insects in science class for classmates.
Yvonne's mother encouraged her to attend art classes at the Art Museum in Houston in the 1960's.
After her marriage she moved to Miami Beach, while living on Palm Island she continued her education in art, and Design. Also studied with notable artist from the area.
Yvonne was painted by friend Florence Taylor Kushner, from Boston and in women's Who's Who. Florence painted many famous families. Yvonne was lucky enough to receive private tutoring from her.
In the 1970's she went to Interior Design School .
Years later she started her own Interior Design firm named 'Chez Moi Interior's.
Yvonne continued painting and showing her work at Beau Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Also she exibhited her work in North Carolina, the Florida Keys, and at the Childers Art Gallery on Las Olas Blvd (Ft. Lauderdale).
Yvonne won the prestigious 'Hortt Art Competition Award' at the Museum of Ft.Lauderdale, Florida. This work of art remained on display for several months at the Museum. Over the years Yvonne has entered many competitions winning countless blue ribbons.
A trip to Paris, and a stay in Monmarte where she spent time with a few choice artist's changed her views toward her own art work.
Art is truly an expession of experience and love to her.
She likes her work to show a moment in time or tell a story.
To know more about Yvonne Leyden and her work contact her at: | <urn:uuid:f5547cac-542a-4adc-a84d-7b13391d9031> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lapetitegallery.blogspot.com/2012/08/plague-on-frogs.html | 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 | 0.965962 | 562 | 1.640625 | 2 |
By Sami Moubayed
The last thing Arab seculars wanted was an Islamist being elected as president of Egypt. Having said that, Mohammad Morsi's victory is a glorious day in Arab history - a benchmark for Arab democracy - that ought to be appreciated and respected, regardless of what one thinks of the Muslim Brotherhood that brought him to power.
After almost 80 years spent in the underground, the Egyptian Brotherhood finally has been given rightful turn at the Egyptian presidency. They achieved this through the ballot box, rather than via a military coup, the route for all the officers who had ruled Egypt since 1952.
Seculars are furious, however, arguing that the Brotherhood is as autocratic as deposed president Hosni Mubarak because their charter will be the Holy Koran, rather than the Egyptian constitution that is yet to be authored.
This is nonsense to those who have faith in Egyptian institutions and the judiciary. Some, however, are arguing that this day marks the start of the Brotherhood's long march into history, as it will walk a path taken before it by revolutionary parties that performed exceptionally well when serving in the Arab underground, but faltered the minute they came to power.
The case of the Iraqi and Syrian Ba'ath parties are prime examples, and so are Fatah and Hamas in Palestine. Catchy slogans from the streets of Cairo and pointing to stories of agony in Mubarak's jails are one thing, but running a state is completely different.
Having battled the autocracy of King Farouk, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat, and Mubarak, the Brotherhood's new battle will be protecting its members from the temptations of corruption, greed, nepotism, and embezzlement that come with the reins of power in the Arab World.
What makes it more difficult is the Arab Spring, though this paved the way for Morsi's rise to the Presidential Palace. The Egyptian youth are on high alert and ready - when the need may come - to take to the streets again, and again, and again, should Morsi transform into another Mubarak. They did it once in February 2011, and can do it again should Morsi fail to deliver. In the hands of Egyptian youth, Egypt's future remains safe.
For starters, the new president-elect cannot rule Egypt in a similar fashion to Mubarak. Nobody can anymore. He won't be able to feed off the country's riches, nor can he groom his sons for power. Gone are the days of family rule and dictatorship. Certainly, he won't be staying around for the next 30 years.
Morsi will get two terms - at best - at the Presidential Palace. There is no more "president for life" in the Arab world; that is a fact.
It is already being said that the new president will pack his administration with non-Brotherhood politicians, and make Mohamed ElBaradei the next prime minister. Morsi needs to sit back and recall the long list of wrongs committed by Hamas, Fatah, and the Ba'ath, to avoid repeating their failures.
First and foremost, he needs to come across as a statesman of international caliber, rather than a bearded Islamic leader feared by the entire world. He needs to have an open mind, embracing Egyptian Copts, for example, and accepting the Egyptian Camp David Accords with Israel as a fact - unless he can get legislative backing for its amendment, or abolishment.
The Brotherhood still views Israel as "an enemy" and is ideologically, politically and emotionally attached to resistance groups in Palestine, like Hamas. If the Camp David Accords are unilaterally abolished, or modified, the United States would surely freeze its annual US$2.1 billion in military and development aid to Egypt, which Washington has steadily provided since 1982.
Although the Brotherhood has said it would uphold cordial relations with the US, the group remains staunchly anti-American, despite the fact that Morsi was educated at the University of Southern California and that his children are US citizens. The Brotherhood victory, in theory, spells out a u-turn for Egypt's foreign policy, similar to the dramatic changes undergone by Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that severed relations with Israel and the US.
If Morsi abides by ideology, rather than pragmatism, then alarm bells will ring for the future of Egypt. This would mean a compulsory hijab for women, for example, a major slump in tourism, and zero innovation or courage in Egypt's ever-booming artistic scene.
However, such moves would likely be too difficult for the new president of Egypt, as he will face strong challenges from parliament, the military council, and the powerful judiciary. If he does try to break with his conservatism, which will be difficult, then the Muslim Brotherhood, as we knew it, is finished.
Hamas, the world remembers only too well, was bent on destroying the state of Israel, not too long ago. Its bearded leaders appeared wearing Islamic uniforms, quoting battles from Muslim history, and praising figures like Osama bin Laden.
When Hamas realized that such rhetoric will not pass in the international community, and scored poorly with ordinary Palestinians, it quickly began to change colors. In 2007, for example, Ismail Haniya said that he was willing to start peace talks with Israel, based on the 1967 borders of Palestine, and not to obstruct the 2002 Arab League Peace Plan.
Gone was the rhetoric that refused to accept anything short of the 1948 borders of Palestine. Sooner or later, the Egyptian Brotherhood will come to that hard reality. When that happens, they will have to market themselves as moderate Islamists, like the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, regardless if they really believe in that moderation or not.
The Brotherhood needs to invest in an unspoken truth - that the US and other international players realize that seculars in the Arab world can no longer deliver; neither on nation-building nor on peace. If the world wants the Arab world to move forward, it has to do so while engaging, rather than shunning, Islamic parties like the Brotherhood and Hamas.
The more these parties are engaged with respect and confidence, the more they will transform into Erdogan-like politicians, rather than Bin Ladens. Barack Obama judges leaders by what they are worth, and how beneficial they are to world progress and regional development. Morsi needs to prove that he is an asset to the Arab world, rather than a liability, and the entire world needs to give him the benefit of the doubt and respect the will of Egyptian people.
Sami Moubayed is a Syrian university professor and historian. This article appeared in Asia Times on June 25, 2012. | <urn:uuid:c4726655-73e9-4b9f-a2e7-2208e71ae8ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mideastviews.com/last.php | 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 | 0.965409 | 1,354 | 1.804688 | 2 |
He fought for his country in World War II, but Wesley Bonham’s sacrifice didn't earn him a proper resting place at a Missouri veterans' cemetery.
Officials at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery told Bonham's surviving family members that if they wanted to replace the flat marker at his grave site with a free-standing headstone, they would have to pay to have the remains dug up and moved to another section, despite a mandate passed years ago by Congress that entitles every fallen vet an upright stone.
“We would never disturb his grave,” Bonham’s daughter Weslene Prevallat, of St. Louis, told FoxNews.com. “We thought that since they passed a law making the headstones mandatory, that there wouldn’t be an issue.”
“[Cemetery] officials told us that we would have to move him to another section. They should [simply] replace the stone. It’s the right thing to do.”
In June, Prevallat sent a letter to the director of Jefferson Barracks pleading with them to replace all flat markers with the upright marble stones.
“My family and I have been very saddened with the decision of the VA to not elect to remove these unsightly flat, gray markers and replace them with the upright white marble headstones…the very SAME white marble headstones that are placed on thousands of military grave sites throughout the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and in the many other government cemeteries,” reads the letter.
Prevallat also maintains that many of the grey markers, including her father’s, are damaged from lawnmowers and slanted and sunken.
"They should replace the stone. It’s the right thing to do."
- -Weslene Prevallat
“The section has not been maintained properly over the years. Probably because no one knows the grave sites are there,” Pravellat quipped.
A few days later, she received a response from Jeff Barnes, Cemetery Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs which operates Jefferson Barracks.
“It is our intent to honor every person who is buried in this national cemetery, regardless of the style of marker used, and to care for each grave with fitting dignity. We have recently completed a renovation project for all flat markers,” the response reads. “However, your loved one may be disinterred from a flat marker section and moved to an upright headstone section. In that case, you are responsible for the cost of disinterment.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs referred to a law enacted in 1986 that made upright headstones mandatory for interments in new sections of national cemeteries, but also permitted the continued use of flat markers in sections where they were already place.
“The use of flat markers implies no disrespect to a veteran’s memory,” the spokeswoman said to FoxNews.Com. “In fact; there are other national cemeteries where veterans groups and families have advocated the continued use of flat markers in new sections.”
Upright grave markers would add about 2 feet in length to each grave site, because their weight precludes them from being placed over the actual grave due to stability issues.
Pravallat said her congressman, Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., has pledged to bring this issue before the house.
“I asked Democratic Leadership to assign me to the Veteran’s Affairs Committee because I believe we owe a sacred debt to those who died to preserve this nation, and because those Veterans who are still with us deserve our utmost respect and service,” Carnahan said in a written statement to FoxNews.com. “My staff always works hard to ensure that we address any concerns regarding Veteran’s issues, including our National Cemeteries. I will work with my staff, the VA and the Bonham family to make certain we do everything possible to honor their wishes.”
Prevallat made clear that she hopes this will help other families in a similar situation.
“This just isn’t for my father. This is for all the veterans buried there with a flat marker,” She said. “If no one speaks up on this, then nothing will get done.” | <urn:uuid:6c09b680-b2e9-44f2-8347-3fc10b5a1d2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/25/family-world-war-ii-veteran-fighting-for-proper-headstone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962567 | 913 | 1.773438 | 2 |
He said he’s glad he was able to avoid some of those potential downfalls. “I’m kind of glad Twitter and Facebook weren’t around when I was just getting started in Washington.”
Bonjean said to treat all social media “like it’s a virtual job interview,” while Matsdorf likened it to “talking with the media or talking with a constituent.”
“Treat everything you do and say as if the employer is seeing it,” Bonjean warned.
And many employers will be able to find social media accounts. Although users can put some limitations on who can see their Facebook and Twitter content, that doesn’t make it invisible, warned Patrick Hynes, president of new media and online communication agency Hynes Communications. “Anything that lives on the Web is going to be seen by anyone who wants to see it,” he said.
For Hynes, consistency is key.
“I think the most important thing to do would be completely authentic or be completely professional, but don’t try to mix the two,” he said.
Creating dual accounts for personal use and professional use is one option, he said. Regardless of whether the nonprofessional account is personal or humorous in nature, such as a parody account, acknowledge ownership from the beginning, Hynes advised.
“I think fake Twitter feeds are funny, but I think that you should be prepared to be transparent,” he said. “Trying to maintain anonymity is just going to get you caught.”
Land a Job
After establishing a consistent, polished identity across social media platforms, job seekers can use those sites to find opportunities.
Hughes suggests starting with LinkedIn. “Every single applicant should have a LinkedIn account,” he said, calling the site “a superlative way of representing yourself and opening up doors.”
Another benefit to LinkedIn is its job postings and education- or industry-based networks, Hughes said. Some of the networks are vast: The American University Alumni group alone has more than 9,000 members.
Employers are also using Twitter to connect with potential applicants, Hughes said. For example, @IdealistJobsDC tweets Washington, D.C., job postings from the website Idealist.org.
Applicants who contact employers by more traditional means can demonstrate their Web savvy by including information about social media accounts on a résumé.
Hughes has seen students include Twitter handles and other related information, but he advises that they only do so if it’s relevant. “I would only put a Twitter account on your résumé if you’re using it primarily for a professional or field-related content,” he said.
Matt Lira, director of new media for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), has seen some applicants go even further.
He recalled one instance when a job seeker bought ads on Facebook to target potential employers. “That’s a risk,” he said, “but I thought it was pretty clever.”
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously. | <urn:uuid:c4506428-affa-4d7a-89d4-75d0a5d16326> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_29/Social-Media-Savvy-Can-Help-in-Job-Search-208719-1.html?pg=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950948 | 722 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Zodiac Sun Signs
Zodiac Sun Signs
In a competitive world, apart from one’s own interest and inclination to his career, there are so many other factors which influence a person’s life. In such situation don’t panic just checkout the sun signs which would best suit “BIOTECHNOLOGY” as a career. They are Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius.
When concerned with career biotechnology has become one of the fastest growing sector has a great scope in future. Bio-technologists can find careers with pharmaceutical companies, chemical, agriculture and allied industries. They can be employed in the areas of planning, production and management of bio-processing industries. There is a large scale employment in research laboratories run by the government as well as the corporate sector. They can work in a government-based entity such as universities, research institutes or at private centers as research scientists/assistants. Alternatively they may find employment in specialized biotechnology companies or biotech-related companies such as pharmaceutical firms, food manufacturers, aquaculture and agricultural companies. Companies that are engaged in business related to life sciences also consider a biotech degree relevant to their field. The work scope can range from research, sales, marketing, administration, quality control, breeders, technical support etc.Thus with a background of fundamental cell and molecular biology and applied science; graduates are well placed to take up careers in plant, animal or microbial biotechnology laboratories or in horticulture, food science, commerce and teaching.http://www.findyourfate.com/career/Biotechnology.html | <urn:uuid:6ecfceeb-33a2-440c-a9d1-641bae443978> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pharmadiversityjobboard.com/cm/articles/article_5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944792 | 332 | 1.726563 | 2 |
NAACP Joins Legal Challenge To Arizona Racial Profiling Law
Posted on June 03, 2010
Nation's largest civil rights organization will not host any events in the state; Calls for direct action against the law and will urge MLB to move 2011 All Star Game
The NAACP in coalition with other civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit today challenging Arizona's new law requiring police to demand "papers" from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S. If an individual is caught without papers they can be arrested and jailed. The extreme law, the coalition charged, invites the racial profiling of people of color, violates the First Amendment and interferes with federal law.
"We are joining this lawsuit because the Arizona law is out of step with American values of fairness and equality. It encourages racial profiling and is unconstitutional. African-Americans know all too well the insidious effects of racial profiling," said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP. "The government should be preventing police from investigating and detaining people based on color and accent, not mandating it. Laws that encourage discrimination have no place in this country anywhere for anyone." "Subjecting human beings to discrimination and punishment based upon race and accent is morally offensive, unconstitutional and un-American, said Wilbert Nelson, the president of the NAACP Arizona state conference "We will fight vigorously to make sure this poisonous law never takes effect. It is part of a menacing return to racial discrimination and the beginning of a slippery slope. Right after this hate law was passed, a statute banning the ethnic studies in our school was passed. "Tweet | <urn:uuid:7b862701-3df7-4906-ab71-373ad472ed10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.naacp.org/blog/entry/naacp-joins-legal-challenge-to-arizona-racial-profiling-law | 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 | 0.953994 | 331 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The reform, which will be promoted by Labour to counter accusations that the Brown government has run out of fresh policy ideas, will for the first time involve allocating NHS money to local councils to spend on social care services designed to keep people out of hospital.
The programme, called Putting People First, is being launched with the support of six government departments and organisations across the health and social care sectors.
The health secretary, Alan Johnson, will describe it as "potentially one of the most radical public service reforms for a generation".
At the core of the plan is the allocation of a personal budget to every individual assessed as eligible for social care services. This may be in cash form, if the person opts to take a direct payment, but will usually be held by the council to be spent in line with the person's wishes once their care plan is approved.
The idea is being piloted by more than 2,000 people across the country and, although the pilots have yet to be evaluated fully, the emerging results are so positive that ministers have decided to push ahead and make the approach the basis of all adult social care services.
Ivan Lewis, the care services minister, said: "There is absolutely no doubt that people who use individual budgets say it has transformed their lives. It's our job now to support the implementation of this agenda."
With the freedom of personal budgets, people have chosen to employ their own care assistants, join local clubs rather than attend day centres and go to hotels or on package breaks, rather than to residential homes, for respite care.
Ministers are braced for controversy over some such choices as the scheme expands.
The £520m budget will be distributed over three years across all 150 councils in England with social care responsibilities, with each receiving almost £3.5m on average, and will be ring-fenced to stop it being spent on anything other than new systems and staff training to deliver the new approach.
A portion of the money will come from the NHS kitty at the Department of Health. This follows a recent finding that investment in community support for older people pays for itself, through savings in avoiding costly hospital admissions.
Gordon Lishman, director general of charity Age Concern, welcomed the initiative but warned: "The project has an ambitious agenda and it will need very substantial funding if it is to deliver what it promises." | <urn:uuid:639b59ac-14b0-4668-a7f4-080859737709> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/dec/10/uk.publicservices | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966751 | 485 | 1.640625 | 2 |
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