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IPython is an ambitious project that is still under heavy development. However, we want IPython to become useful to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. To help us accomplish this, we are laying out a roadmap of where we are headed and what needs to happen to get there. Hopefully, this will help the IPython developers figure out the best things to work on for each upcoming release.
During the summer of 2009, we began refactoring IPython’s core. The main thrust in this work was to make the IPython core into a set of loosely coupled components. The base configurable class for this is IPython.core.configurable.Configurable. This section outlines the status of this work.
Parts of the IPython core that have been turned into configurables:
Parts of the IPython core that still need to be Configurable:
A few things need to be done to improve how processes are started up and managed for the parallel computing side of IPython:
Dropping 2.5 support was a major step towards working with Python 3 due to future syntax support in 2.6. IPython 0.11 requires 2.6 now, so 0.10.2 will be the last IPython release that supports Python 2.5.
We currently have a separate repo tracking IPython development that works with Python 3. The core of IPython does work, but the parallel computing code in IPython.parallel does not yet work in Python 3, though the only major dependency of the parallel code, pyzmq, does work on Python 3. | <urn:uuid:64c17db1-4103-4e82-8647-5fd8edbb050a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ipython.org/ipython-doc/rel-0.13.1/development/roadmap.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956864 | 329 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A Chinese man in the northern Shandong province of China sold off 38 kilograms worth of gold bars to fund his online gaming habit, in order to explain why the family fortune was suddenly missing he went to the police to report that he was robbed.
Midday on July 30th, the man, surnamed Yan, reported to police that he had been robbed of 6 million yuan ($941,706 US) worth of gold. When police arrived at the scene the only fingerprints to be found were that of the Yan. Suspicious of the Yan’s claims police scoured local cctv cameras and found out that Yan never visited a bank that could handle transactions in gold.
After detaining Yan and talking to his family the police revealed the plot. The Yan’s uncle, a Mr Zhong, had invested in 38 kg worth of gold bars a year ago and passed it onto his nephew for safekeeping. Mr Zhong then contacted Yan in early July asking him to sell some of the bars because he needed cash. Unable to come up with cash the nephew reported a false robbery.
So what exactly happened to the money? During the year that the gold was under the care of the nephew, he had systematically withdrawn the gold, exchanged it for cash, and spent said cash on an online game in China. He had spent all the money trying to purchase a set of “legendary” in game equipment.
Yan is currently in jail awaiting judgment on his crimes of both stealing and filing a false police report.
男子玩网游花掉38公斤金条 报警谎称被盗600万 [Tencent] | <urn:uuid:1761ffd2-1d83-45e8-a9a9-7551f92c6eb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/08/man-sells-family-fortune-to-play-mmo-then-claims-he-was-robbed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984787 | 365 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Area dog owners are reminded their dogs must be on a leash when visiting state parks according to state law. This law is intended to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all park users. As far as I know the law does not make exceptions for “good” dogs. St. Lawrence County also has an annual dog quarantine against dogs running free during the winter months. If a dog owner is not willing to put their dog on a leash while visiting Higley Flow State Park, it would be best to leave Fido at home. Let’s make voluntary compliance work this winter! | <urn:uuid:df175e90-a9ab-4886-8094-19ef076a7daf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://northcountrynow.com/sound_off/use-dog-leashes-018561 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97401 | 118 | 1.523438 | 2 |
1993 Hall of Fame Inductee and famed host of American Bandstand, Dick Clark, passed away on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. He was 82.
Affectionately known as “America’s oldest teenager,” Clark was significant in transforming the record business into an international industry. As host of American Bandstand, Clark provided many acts with the opportunity to reach a national audience via television, spreading the gospel of rock and roll to teenagers across the country.
Born Richard W. Clark in 1929, he entered the music business as a sales manager for an upstate New York radio station at age 17. In 1952, he began doing a radio show ("Caravan of Music") at WFIL in Philadelphia. The station’s TV affiliate had a teen-oriented show called Bandstand that was taken over in 1956 by Clark. He was such an affable, magnetic host that Bandstand was picked up for national distribution by ABC in 1957. With Clark as businessman, personality, music lover and host, American Bandstand catapulted to popularity and, in 1996, celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Although his demeanor was low-key and agreeable, Clark did not shrink when it came time to defend rock and roll. He stood up for the music when it ... | <urn:uuid:20fefd4e-12da-4f91-9749-7a33f4399578> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rockhall.com/blog/tag/clark/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972706 | 260 | 1.585938 | 2 |
When Joshua Goldenberg couldn't find the batteries he wanted at the grocery store, he had a simple answer.
The clever, visually-impaired youngster looked up at his mom and asked why the store couldn't just add Braille to the product shelves.
"I went online and started [Google searching] how blind people grocery shop," said Christie Goldenberg, Joshua's mother. "Of all the things I had thought of having a child that never dawned on me once. Here I am ready to send him off to college and everything else, but I never thought of the simple things."
Joshua and his family made a trip to the Newtonville Whole Foods on Friday to help launch the Braille Independence Initiative at the store. The Newtonville market is the first store on the East Coast to offer Braille labels on the product shelves.
"This is the first step of a strategic plan," National Braille Press President Brian MacDonald told Patch last week. "This is a great start and a great opportunity."
The National Braille Press, along with the Carroll Center for the Blind and Perkins School for the Blind, teamed up with Whole Foods and the Goldenbergs to launch the initiative, something the Goldenbergs started back home on the West Coast.
Christie Goldenberg told Newton Patch Friday that after her son asked about Braille labels in the store, she began making phone calls, writing letters and arranging meetings with her local Whole Foods.
"When I saw there were stories of [visually-impaired] people going into stores and waiting 20 minutes [for an assistant], I thought, Josh is so fiercely independent, he'll never go for that," Christie said. "So, I thought, there has to be a better way. And [Josh] said, 'Mommy, just make them put Braille on the labels.'"
And although she thought her son's idea would be brushed aside, the reaction was quite the opposite. Whole Foods embraced the concept and soon after, Joshua was at home making labels for the Thousand Oaks, CA store.
Now, Christie says Josh likes to run the show when the family shops for groceries. He also has ideas for Braille on coupons and labels at his local library.
"People say to me, 'oh it's so great you thought of that,' but you know, I really can't take any credit," Christie said. "We're simply a vehicle for this kid who drives us."
Soon after the launch in Thousand Oaks, Josh's initiative reached more than just his local grocery store. Here in Boston, the National Braille Press (NBP) found out about his project and decided to fly Josh and his family out to the East Coast to receive NBP's Hands On! Award at the NBP annual gala.
MacDonald explained that the annual award looks to recognize someone who is making a positive impact in the world of Braille literacy.
But the trip was not about just an award. The Goldenberg family wanted to bring Josh's Braille Independence Initiative to the shelves of a Massachusetts store, and the Newtonville Whole Foods was a perfect location.
"Beacuse of our proximity to Perkins and Carroll, we were the logical choice," said Terri Petrunyak, a marketing and community relations representative for the Newtonville Whole Foods.
Aisle by aisle and department by department, the Newtonville store will work through its products and add Braille labels to assist the large visually-impaired community in the area. The store started with the produce department and will move on to frozen food and the bakery next, Petrunyak said.
"This is really a demo project where we’re doing a section at a time, evaluating what works and then we're going to determine how to better improve the next section," Petrunyak said.
Braille labels, MacDonald says, are just the beginning of independence for visually-impaired customers. In a phone conversation with Patch last week, MacDonald explained that technologies incorporated with Android phones, such as bar code scanners and text scanners, will soon be able to help make shopping easier for blind customers.
"We think that this is a great start," MacDonald told Newton Patch. "It can let the general public realize, although it's a disability, through providing these kinds of resources everyone can have the same opportunities."
During Friday's event, Josh helped label a few of the items in the store including some papaya, fruit bowls and watermelon. After he finished, various members and students from Carroll and Perkins walked through the fruits and vegetables and were able to identify the produce on their own.
Being able to help other visually-impaired people, Josh's mother said, is what truly made the cross-country trip worthwhile.
"When we told him that the Braille in the store was going to be helping a lot of people out here, he said 'I'm so happy Mommy, I'm so happy to help them," she said. | <urn:uuid:33ad6891-6293-40aa-b651-af1f770df3ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newton.patch.com/articles/seven-year-old-brings-braille-to-shelves-of-newtonville-whole-foods | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972037 | 1,026 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Chris Campbell, on 20 December 2012 - 02:22 PM, said:
I have written an article for the January issue of Pottery Making Illustrated on the revolutionary "Skinner Blend" technique of blending colored clay.
Colored Clay has been my passion for over 20 years and for the past two years I have been working on adapting this polymer clay technique to our earthen clays.The ease and intuitive simplicity of this process makes using colored clays so much easier and quite frankly, so much more FUN.
I hope you all enjoy the article and if any of you do decide to try the process, let me know if you come up with any new twists on it.
Chris, or anyone, can you give me some suggestions on how much stain to add to thick slip to get a nice dark clay? I have a small amount (a few tablespoons) of black and brown Mason stains and I'd like to mix it into my B-Mix (cone 5) clay slip. I'd like to try what Thomas Perry's article demonstrates in the article right after yours.
Some hints on how much stain per cup of thick slip would be appreciated! I'll mix them with a stick blender and then pour it on my wedging plaster and wedge. OH!! I wonder if it would stain the plaster??
Helpful ideas, anyone?
Ginny C (Happy New Year to all) | <urn:uuid:5be41ddd-3d7e-44c9-adc0-dc6f0004a874> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/topic/3290-january-issue-of-pottery-making-illustrated/page__p__27100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948142 | 286 | 1.734375 | 2 |
I really think that Gary brought up the discussion about Lisp library packaging at the right time. My logs definitely seem to hint at the existence of a formidable interest about this topic. I've taken a look at Matthew Kennedy's Lispy project, which strives to be a next generation package manager for common lisp and Gary brought up another topic, which I've thought about some years ago: an abstraction of modules above single systems (I called it "worlds").
DISCLAIMER: I've just looked very briefly at the code of Lispy!
Matthew Kennedy's Lispy aims to be simple and easy to use and is based on concepts which are proven to work for Linux distributions. Lispy is not really centrally organized, but it doesn't seem to emphasize distributed facilities very much. It seems to be quite easy though to setup a Lispy repository - all you need is some web space and a mapping file which stores metadata about all provided packages. As far as I understood it, versions are handled as chronological markers and there is a distinction between versions which come from package authors and versions which are managed by the Lispy system. There are MD5 sums of the asdf-system tarballs to enable efficient ways for verification of integrity and authentication. Matthew's design is based on his experience from managing Lisp packages for the Gentoo portage project and it actually is designed as a system to manage package distributions. In regard to my find/acquire/verify/authenticate quadruple he decided not to conflate loading of packages and installation of packages into one operation (acquire); this is maybe indeed the better thing to do. I didn't understand really who is responsible for the creation of the mapping-files; particularly where the :depends-on information is coming from. My opinion about Lispy is, that it looks very well designed. On the first sight it seems to be more suited for package maintainers than for developers. That may sound a bit weird, what I actually mean is that it seems to be more suited to manage released versions of a package. What should I do if I need a particular (perhaps locally patched) version of a package for only a particular project? If I understand Lispy right, then I would define a repository (mapping-file) for each such project. It also doesn't seem to support fetching packages out of scm repositories (cvs, darcs, svn...) and defines asdf-packages as tarballs. I still think the MD5/SHA digest should be computed from a defined order of the files of a source package and not from a tarball. Perhaps there could be an ASDF operation which computes the digest instead of compiling the files - so the digest would be defined only by the files relevant to the ASDF-System.
To me a world in the common lisp system management context is a logical bundle of systems used in a particular project or setting. It defines the context needed for development and deployment. A system-version could be uniquely identified by its system-name and a digest from the defined order of the content files. This would also mean, that world is actually defined by the a set of particular versions of asdf-packages. If one changes one of the packages it is not the same world anymore. This is similar to the concept of identity in git (see e. g. Nikodemus Siivola's explanation) Gary's command-set for working with worlds (he called them "environments") looks a bit to procedural to me. I would prefer a more declarative syntax. So instead of writing CREATE-WORLD and CLONE-WORLD as a user I would rather use a DEFINE-WORLD macro which defines the dependencies of a world. A world should know anything needed to upgrade the systems if needed. So if a system in my world is defined to track the changes of a particular branch in a scm system - so be it. I think worlds could be quite similar to the shelfs of cl-librarian. The main difference between "worlds" and "mapping repositories" (like in lispy) is that the first is a set of asdf-systems from the standpoint of a asdf-package user and the latter is from the standpoint of a package-publisher. The only reason to publish a world definition is actually to readily deployable (batteries included) projects. So the packages within a world should in some way depend on each other while the packages within a mapping repository (a "distribution") may have the only common point that they are maintained by the same person. | <urn:uuid:440f18d4-fe5e-43e6-bbbb-08da8a15146c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.codeartist.org/2008/01/new-worlds-and-lispy-solutions.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957859 | 946 | 1.53125 | 2 |
I found this article to be of interest. It seems that there is some speculation that in less than five years, keyboards will be scarce, and that in the next ten years the primary Internet connection will be cell phones.
Can you imagine having to dictate your entire novel? I can’t. I know some people who can do that, but I don’t work that way. My thoughts don’t flow as well when I’m talking out loud (ask my friends and family–I tend to stumble through my words). But when I’m writing or typing, it comes easier. So, if this is the wave of the future, I’ll be taking a backwards step and go back to the “old-fashioned” way of handwriting everything before I dictate it into a computer.
I’m also trying to picture the cell phone being the primary way to access the Internet. Talk about an increase in people needing reading glasses if they are going to spend hours staring at a tiny cell screen. I can also see that there will be more cell phone related car accidents with people browsing the Internet while driving.
Of course this is all speculation–and you know how that generally works–so it’s more likely that such things would not happen in the time span they are predicting. Anyway, I just thought the article was interesting and made me think. I certainly have discovered that I’m becoming more old-fashioned and set in my ways as I get a little older…even though I’m still very young | <urn:uuid:b26b465e-c4f3-4dc9-bd0e-9b5c425b461f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inthewritemind.wordpress.com/tag/cell-phone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964047 | 322 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Mon July 30, 2012
Legislators Question What Affordable Care Act Means For Idaho
Some Idaho lawmakers met Monday to talk about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on the Affordable Care Act. Idaho was one of the state’s that brought a lawsuit to strike down the health care law. The court upheld the law and now state legislators on the Health Care Task Force are discussing what's next.
Department heads and experts say Idaho needs to decide whether to expand Medicaid. Then there's the federally required health insurance exchange which Rupert Senator Dean Cameron says the state must also decide what to do. “We either jump in with both feet and do our own exchange or we walk away and say we’re not gonna do anything and we’re gonna let the federal government do it to us.”
The state has to make a decision about an exchange by November 16th. In addition to the costs associated with an exchange, the task force also wants to know who makes the final decisions. Brian Kane with the Attorney General’s office says that’s not clear.
“If the Governor were to come out at some point and say I think that Medicaid expansion is the proper course for the state of Idaho and then the Legislature were to essentially not appropriate or not authorize, and then, for example, the Governor vetoed those activates, I don’t know there’s an answer to that at this point,” says Kane.
Samantha Wright breaks down Monday's meeting with Scott Graf, just click the Listen button to hear more.
Copyright 2012 Boise State Public Radio | <urn:uuid:168e853a-4bc8-484b-b6d8-9e774965af45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boisestatepublicradio.org/post/legislators-question-what-affordable-care-act-means-idaho | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953295 | 342 | 1.71875 | 2 |
By Jillian Jorgensen Staten Island Advance
U.S. Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco’s high-tech Smart Home isn’t far from the ocean — and not at all far from The Annex, a Prince’s Bay bar that Sandy smashed to bits.
But somehow, the veteran’s home escaped the storm mostly unscathed.
“He was very fortunate,” said Frank Siller of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to the Towers Foundation, which helped build Marrocco’s home along with Building Homes for Heroes. “The Annex before him, the bar before him, got leveled.”
The home — outfitted to be totally accessible for Marrocco, the first U.S. soldier to survive losing all four limbs in combat — shipped less than a foot of water, Siller said.
“The Sheetrock is already torn out, and that was done immediately, and the property has been cleaned up,” Siller said.
But the house and its electronics came through the storm intact.
“Thank God, the house is fine structurally, absolutely 100 percent fine,” Siller said. “Just like a lot of other people, it’s still nonetheless nerve-racking because of the situation.”
If storms like this one only hit once every 500 years, Siller said, it should be fine — but the foundation is already discussing potential ways to protect the house in the future if storms like Sandy become more common.
“So many people called me on it and asked how Brendan was,” Siller said.
Marrocco wasn’t on the Island during the storm, but his father, Alex, stayed in the house during Sandy.
“His father, who is one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, was there protecting his house,” Marrocco said.
Marrocco is staying with his dad while the minors repairs are finished at the house, Siller said, and he was put up for a few days after the storm by Richard Nicotra, owner of the Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn hotels in Bloomfield.
The Siller Foundation has been busy in the wake of the storm — the organization has added helping Sandy victims to its long list of services, including helping wounded combat veterans and holding the Tunnel to Towers run every year in memory of Stephen Siller, a firefighter who died responding to the September 11, 2001 attacks. | <urn:uuid:55dfb223-1b31-48c9-8973-5138aeaf8581> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://911families.org/wounded-warriors-staten-island-home-survived-sandy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961228 | 526 | 1.578125 | 2 |
African American DNA Research Forum
Re: DNA Testing.....Curious
In Response To: Re: DNA Testing.....Curious ()
>Hello, My family is thinking about have the DNA testing done. I have
There are three different types of tests that your brother could have done. Which are you considering?
The Y-chromosome test gives you lineage of ONE male in each generation, NONE of the females. It doesn't matter which brother you test. All should have the same Y-chromosome which will give you your WEST male lineage.
2. The mitochondrial (mtDNA) test gives you the lineage of ONE female in each generation, NONE of the males. But this would be the lineage of your mother, and her mother, etc.
With these two tests, the DNA submitted is compared to a database of samples from around the world, and you will be given the name of the ethnic group which matches yours. Or if they can't match it they will tell you that.
Very dark skinned people CAN have a European Y-chromosome (about 1/3 of African American males tested do) or European mtDNA result (about 2% of African Americans do). Skin color won't predict what shows up.
There is a third type of test which gives you percentages of four ethnicities that you may be: (1) European (2) Native American (3) Sub-Saharan African (4) East Asian. This test will not connect you to any specific ethnic group.
Are you considering testing the females? Do you have aunts on the WEST side? Testing them will give you the results for your WEST Grandmother's maternal lineage. Testing one of your mother's brothers (if there are any) or their sons can give you your maternal grandfather's lineage.
Here is the web site for African Ancestry, one of the companies I have used: http://www.africanancestry.com You can order the test online. Costs, procedure are spelled out there as well.
They do both the Y-chromosome test (males only) and the mitochondrial test (males and females).
>I have white West ancestors in my family. Should we do the Slaveowner >West side first?
Since you are testing your family, I'm not sure I understand this question. Do you know who the slaveowner was? If so, do you have contact with descendants of that slaveowner? If not, there is no way to do the slaveowner West side.
Messages In This Thread | <urn:uuid:e05dac73-8bb2-45ac-a753-cd9fc454d217> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afrigeneas.com/forum-dna/index.cgi/md/read/id/40/sbj/dna-testing-curious/ | 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 | 0.937966 | 530 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Thu January 10, 2013
City Highlights Progress on Demolitions, Foreclosures of Vacant Properties
Joined by Councilwoman Attica Scott, D-1, and other city officials, Mayor Greg Fischer says Louisville Metro Government is increasing its efforts to tackle vacant and abandoned properties.
The demolition of abandoned properties went up by 30 percent in 2012, and city officials are aiming to foreclose on another 100 homes by June 30. According to different housing reports, Louisville has an estimated 7,000 vacant homes and approximately 1,300 of those are abandoned.
Fischer is spending $125,000 in the current city budget to file those foreclosures, and says the goal is to reduce the number of abandoned properties by 40 percent in the next three years and 67 percent over the next five.
"This is one of those projects that is so big it's easy just to throw up your hands and say it's been going on for decades, and we can't do anything about it. Well, I want to say that if you live next to an vacant or abandoned properties and the weeds are six feet tall, I can tell you that it is not an acceptable answer to say there's nothing we can do about this," he says.
The mayor also announced that starting on February 1 and on the first business day of each month, the city will release a list of all properties that have either been forced into foreclosure or demolished in the previous month.
A report compiled by the Metropolitan Housing Coalition last year showed that the concentration of vacant properties disproportionately affect west Louisville neighborhoods. One such property is a house located 3313 Hale Street, which was demolished by Public Workers on Thursday and is among a dozen slated to be torn down in the coming weeks.
Scott is vice-chair of the council's ad hoc vacant properties committee and has been among those publicly pushing for the Fischer administration to do more to raze those structures. She says the homes present a public health and safety issue.
"There may be some who are sad to see that home go, but to be honest with you the block watch captain who lives three doors down from that house is going to be happy that we're making his job easier. Because we all know the issue with houses in this type of disrepair, and the kind of illegal activity associated with them," says Scott.
The west Louisville Democrat is spending $25,000 in discretionary funds to speed up the city's demolition program, which the city lawmaker has dubbed the "Bringing Down the House" campaign.
The council has taken a more active role in the city's housing crisis in the last year, with the creation of an ad hoc committee. It is also gearing up to discuss a new ordinance proposed by Councilman Rick Blackwell, D-12, to hold banks accountable for vacant properties.
Fischer reiterated his support for that legislation despite opposition from the Kentucky Bankers Association, saying he hopes lawmakers adopt the measure.
The mayor's office also announced the hiring of a real estate broker who will work to dispose of properties the city owns by selling them to residents, businesses, non-profit groups or investors.
Fischer's office also has created a new online Google mapping system that pinpoints vacant structures and vacant lots along with property maintenance violations. | <urn:uuid:2c84bae1-9dcb-4599-a171-c71b15775490> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wfpl.org/post/city-highlights-progress-demolitions-foreclosures-vacant-properties | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971389 | 664 | 1.617188 | 2 |
But I also think that society will become more tolerant of what might be called dignified promiscuity: open relationships and marriages, where the negative externalities of promiscuity are dealt with at their source, and where safe sex is respected, even within an ethic that allows for a more interesting sex life. I’d guess that straights will be come more promiscuous and gays will become less promiscuous, and some middle ground will be carved out.
Ambinder assumes two points here without, I suspect, even realizing it, so obviously true are those assumptions to him: first, that it’s important for one’s sex life to be “interesting”; and second, that “interest” derives from variety and novelty of partners.
The category of the “interesting” is an aesthetic category — indeed, if Kierkegaard and Auden are right, it is the aesthetic category — but what if sexual experience is misconceived by being interpreted aesthetically? What if an aesthetic understanding of sex is an impoverished one?
And even if one does think about sex in such aesthetic terms, why assume that novelty and variety are the only things that interest us? Art is about repetition as much as variation, after all. There comes a point when novelty becomes not exciting but arithmetical: ask Don Giovanni, after you’ve fed him a few drinks, about his “thousand-and-third in Spain.” And perhaps the long-faithful couple know a few things about what’s truly interesting that the promiscuous could never guess. | <urn:uuid:20629e5c-2bf5-4adb-9d34-dac44d6713af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theamericanconservative.com/jacobs/noted-with-interest/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970739 | 332 | 1.703125 | 2 |
santa100 wrote:twelph wrote:
"I was just wondering how the monk in the sutta is able to experience this aspect of 4th jhana called the imperturbable while walking"
Are you sure the monk was "walking" instead of "standing"? To put the body into motion, one would need to breathe oxygen to generate energy for the muscles to move. But one stops breathing at the fourth jhana according to SN36.011 (ref:http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.011.than.html ):
"And I have also taught the step-by-step cessation of fabrications. When one has attained the first jhana, speech has ceased. When one has attained the second jhana, directed thought & evaluation have ceased. When one has attained the third jhana, rapture has ceased. When one has attained the fourth jhana, in-and-out breathing has ceased"
While practicing walking meditation, my breathe becomes very refined and slow. I am not denying from an outside perspective that in 4th jhana the breathe can not be felt or measured, but that does not necessarily mean the breathe has stopped completely. Strong developers of pranayama are able to be buried alive for days because of how much their breathing has slowed. I'm assuming that mind objects take a considerable amount of energy and therefore oxygen to sustain at a constant pace. It doesn't seem so far fetched that someone could still be in motion while their breathe is seemingly non-existent. Though this is all just speculation, considering all I'm basing this on is a small part of a sutta. | <urn:uuid:cb450cd4-e885-42bd-ba1f-cd794ce6647d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=200024 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977437 | 360 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The House and Senate are working to reconcile their differing health care reform bills into one final bill. Tax increases remain a stubborn sticking point. The House prefers a surtax on high-earners and the Senate an excise tax on so-called “Cadillac” health insurance plans that cost over $8,500 for individuals and $23,000 for families.
Labor unions, and their backers in the House, have made clear they are staunchly against the excise tax. Congressional negotiators are now looking to reduce it so it has less of an impact on union members, but will need to raise other taxes to replace the lost revenue if they do.
Their latest idea to bridge the divide is to apply the payroll tax to investment income for the first time. Currently, the payroll tax applies only to wages. Increasing taxes on investment income would be a bad idea at any time, but doing so now as the economy is just emerging from a deep recession is downright irresponsible. We are in the beginning of recovery and higher taxes on investment would threaten that recovery. The Obama Administration has reportedly even considered that it will likely have to put off the tax increases it wants - including increasing taxes on capital gains and dividends – because of the weakened state of the economy. If Congress goes through with its plan to hike taxes on investment income and capital gains it will hurt economic growth at the worst possible time and contradict the sensible concession of the administration that taxes should not be raised now.
The tax code already taxes investment too much. High taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest and business income increases the cost of capital. This drives down wages and costs the economy jobs. Increasing these taxes will further depress investment at the very time when the economy needs new investment to grow and create jobs.
Applying the payroll tax to capital gains and dividends would hurt those that rely on investment income for their livelihood – especially seniors. Seniors live off their dividend and interest income in addition to their pension and Social Security checks to pay for their living expenses, including basics such as housing, food and medical care. When the taxes on them go up, seniors have less after-tax income for expenses. Seniors also sell assets, recognizing capital gains, when their expenses exceed their income, so raising the tax on capital gains further reduces their resources. In addition, raising the taxes on capital income and capital gains will lower asset values, leaving seniors less to sell when they need it.
Nearly 30 percent of all stocks are held in retirement savings plans. Most of the seniors that rely on the income from these plans for their livelihood are not “fat cat” investors that have been the target of so much criticism lately. They are people that spent their working years saving money for their own retirement in mutual funds, 401(k)s, IRAs, and other savings vehicles. Slamming them now with higher taxes would punish them for a lifetime of frugal living and careful planning.
All stock holders, including seniors, already pay a substantially higher real capital gains tax rate than the current rate specified in law because capital gains are not indexed for inflation. Increasing the rate will worsen this effect and further increase the tendency of investors to hold on to assets to avoid paying the capital gains tax. This will result in capital not being efficiently allocated to the most deserving projects, which will further lessen economic growth.
Breaking the link with payroll and benefits
Expanding the payroll tax to investment income would also further dissolve the fundamental policy that taxpayers pay payroll taxes during their working years and receive benefits for paying them during their retirement years. The policy was first weakened when the traditional cap was eliminated so payroll tax was applied to all wages and salaries. The Senate bill took this a step further by increasing the Medicare portion of the payroll tax for taxpayers making more than $200,000 a year to pay for a new, separate health care entitlement program. Applying the payroll tax to investments is the next step down a slippery slope where Congress further obliterates the tie between the payroll tax and the retirement benefits it is supposed to fund.
Congress’ willingness to violate this fundamental policy exemplifies how determined they are to pass a health care bill. At this point, they appear willing to tax anything and violate whatever principles previously defended to get the bill over the finish line. Since the economy is still shedding jobs and it’s clear that anything approaching full employment is a long way off, it is time for Congress to take notice of the economic harm they threaten. A good first step would be to drop this idea of increasing taxes on investment. Doing so is a common sense action that both the left and right can agree on. Will Congress wake up and see what everyone else does? | <urn:uuid:f6863c3b-7f2f-40f5-a920-257f0df33f22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.heritage.org/2010/01/13/applying-payroll-tax-to-investments-will-slow-recovery-and-hurt-seniors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970681 | 951 | 1.773438 | 2 |
According to David McClintick ("Swordfish: A True Story of Ambition, Savagery, and Betrayal"), in the late 1980's, the FBI and DEA set up dummy corporations to deal in drugs. They funneled into these corporate fronts money from drug-related asset seizures.
The idea was to infiltrate global crime networks but a lot of the money in "Operation Swordfish" may have ended up in the wrong pockets. Government agents and sheriffs got mysteriously and filthily rich and the whole sorry affair was wound down. The GAO reported more than $3.6 billion missing. This bit of history gave rise to at least one blockbuster with Oscar-winner Halle Berry.
Alas, slush funds are much less glamorous in reality. They usually involve grubby politicians, pawky bankers, and philistine businessmen - rather than glamorous hackers and James Bondean secret agents.
The Kazakh prime minister, Imanghaliy Tasmaghambetov, freely admitted on April 4, 2002 to his country's rubber-stamp parliament the existence of a $1 billion slush fund. The money was apparently skimmed off the proceeds of the opaque sale of the Tengiz oilfield. Remitting it to Kazakhstan - he expostulated with a poker face - would have fostered inflation. So, the country's president, Nazarbaev, kept the funds abroad "for use in the event of either an economic crisis or a threat to Kazakhstan's security".
The money was used to pay off pension arrears in 1997 and to offset the pernicious effects of the 1998 devaluation of the Russian ruble. What was left was duly transferred to the $1.5 billion National Fund, the PM insisted. Alas, the original money in the Fund came entirely from another sale of oil assets to Chevron, thus casting in doubt the official version.
The National Fund was, indeed, augmented by a transfer or two from the slush fund - but at least one of these transfers occurred only 11 days after the damning revelations. Moreover, despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, the unfazed premier denied that his president possesses multi-million dollar bank accounts abroad.
He later rescinded this last bit of disinformation. The president, he said, has no bank accounts abroad but will promptly return all the money in these non-existent accounts to Kazakhstan. These vehemently denied accounts, he speculated, were set up by the president's adversaries "for the purpose of compromising his name".
On April 15, 2002 even the docile opposition had enough of this fuzzy logic. They established a People Oil's Fund to monitor, henceforth, the regime's financial shenanigans. By their calculations less than 7 percent of the income from the sale of hydrocarbon fuels (c. $4-5 billion annually) make it to the national budget.
Slush funds infect every corner of the globe, not only the more obscure and venal ones. Every secret service - from the Mossad to the CIA - operates outside the stated state budget. Slush funds are used to launder money, shower cronies with patronage, and bribe decision makers. In some countries, setting them up is a criminal offense, as per the 1990 Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime. Other jurisdictions are more forgiving.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands issued a press release November 2001 in which it welcomed the government's plans to abolish slush funds. They described the poisonous effect of this practice:
"With a few notable exceptions, the practice of directing funds through politicians to district projects has been disastrous. It has created an atmosphere in which corruption is thought to have flourished. It has reduced the responsibility of public servants, without reducing their numbers or costs. It has been used to confuse people into believing public funds are the 'property' of individual members rather than the property of the people, honestly and fairly administered by the servants of the people.
The concept of 'slush-funds' has resulted in well-documented inefficiencies and failures. There were even accusations made that funds were withheld from certain members as a way of forcing them into submission. It seems that the era of the 'slush funds' has been a shameful period."
But even is the most orderly and lawful administration, funds are liable to be mislaid. "The Economist" reported recently about a $10 billion class-action suit filed by native-Americans against the US government. The funds, supposed to be managed in trust since 1880 on behalf of half a million beneficiaries, were "either lost or stolen" according to officials.
Rob Gordon, the Director of the National Wilderness Institute accused "The US Interior Department (of) looting the special funds that were established to pay for wildlife conservation and squandering the money instead on questionable administrative expenses, slush funds and employee moving expenses".
Charles Griffin, the Deputy Director of the Heritage Foundation's Government Integrity Project, charges:
"The federal budget provides numerous slush funds that can be used to subsidize the lobbying and political activities of special-interest groups."
On his list of "Top Ten Federal Programs That Actively Subsidize Politics and Lobbying" are: AmeriCorps, Senior Community Service Employment Program, Legal Services Corporation, Title X Family Planning, National Endowment for the Humanities, Market Promotion Program, Senior Environmental Employment Program, Superfund Worker Training, HHS Discretionary Aging Projects, Telecomm. & Info. Infrastructure Assistance. These federal funds alone total $1.8 billion.
"Next" and "China Times" - later joined by "The Washington Post" - accused the former Taiwanese president, Lee Teng-hui, of forming a $100 million overseas slush fund intended to finance the gathering of information, influence-peddling, and propaganda operations. Taiwan footed the bills trips by Congressional aides and funded academic research and think tank conferences.
High ranking Japanese officials, among others, may have received payments through this stealthy venue. Lee is alleged to have drawn $100,000 from the secret account in February 1999. The money was used to pay for the studies of a former Japanese Vice-Defense Minister Masahiro Akiyama's at Harvard.
Ryutaro Hashimoto, the former Japanese prime minister, was implicated as a beneficiary of the fund. So were the prestigious lobbying firm, Cassidy and Associates and assorted assistant secretaries in the Bush administration.
Carl Ford, Jr., currently assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, worked for Cassidy during the relevant period and often visited Taiwan. James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs enjoyed the Taiwanese largesse as well. Both are in charge of crafting America's policy on Taiwan.
John Bolton, erstwhile undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, admitted, during his confirmation hearings, to having received $30,000 to cover the costs of writing 3 research papers.
The Taiwanese government has yet to deny the news stories.
A Japanese foreign ministry official used slush fund money to finance the extra-marital activities of himself and many of his colleagues - often in posh hotel suites. But this was no exception. According to Asahi Shimbun, more than half of the 60 divisions of the ministry maintained similar funds. The police and the ministry are investigating. One arrest has been made. The ministry's accounting division has discovered these corrupt practices twenty years before but kept mum.
Even low-level prefectural bureaucrats and teachers in Japan build up slush funds by faking business trips or padding invoices and receipts. Japanese citizens' groups conservatively estimated that $20 million in travel and entertainment expenses in the prefectures in 1994 were faked, a practice known as "kara shutcho" (i.e., empty business trip).
Officials of the Hokkaido Board of Education admitted to the existence of a 100 million yen secret fund. In a resulting probe, 200 out of 286 schools were found to maintain their own slush funds. Some of the money was used to support friendly politicians.
But slush funds are not a sovereign prerogative. Multinationals, banks, corporation, religious organizations, political parties, and even NGO's salt away some of their revenues and profits in undisclosed accounts, usually in off-shore havens.
Secret election campaign slush funds are a fixture in American politics. A 5-year old bill requires disclosure of donors to such funds but the House is busy loosening its provisions. "The Economist" listed in 2002 the tsunami of scandals that engulfs Germany, both its major political parties, many of the Lander and numerous highly placed and mid-level bureaucrats. Secret, mainly party, funds seem to be involved in the majority of these lurid affairs.
Italian firms made donations to political parties through slush funds, though corporate donations - providing they are transparent - are perfectly legal in Italy. Both the right and, to a lesser extent, the left in France are said to have managed enormous political slush funds.
President Chirac is accused of having abused for his personal pleasure, one such municipal fund in Paris, when he was its mayor. But the funds were mostly used to provide party activists with mock jobs. Corporations paid kickbacks to obtain public works or local building permits. Ostensibly, they were paying for sham "consultancy services".
The epidemic hasn't skipped even staid Ottawa. Its Chief Electoral Officer told Sun Media in September 2001 that he is "concerned" about millions stashed away by Liberal candidates. Sundry ministers who coveted the prime minister's job, have raised funds covertly and probably illegally.
On April 11, 2002 UPI reported that Spain's second-largest bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), held nearly $200 million hidden in secret offshore accounts, "which were allegedly used to manipulate politicians, pay off the 'revolutionary tax' to ETA - the Basque terrorist organization - and open the door for business deals, according to news reports."
The money may have gone to luminaries such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Peru's Alberto Fujomori and Vladimiro Montesinos. The bank's board members received fat, tax-free, "pensions" from the illegal accounts opened in 1987 - a total of more than $20 million.
Latin American drug money launderers - from Puerto Rico to Colombia - may have worked through these funds and the bank's clandestine entities in the Cayman Islands and Jersey. The current Spanish Secretary of State for the Treasury has been the bank's tax advisor between 1992-7.
The "Financial Times" reported in June 2000 that, in anticipation of new international measures to curb corruption, "leading European arms manufacturers" resorted to the creation of off-shore slush funds. The money is intended to bribe foreign officials to win tenders and contracts.
Kim Woo-chung, Daewoo's former chairman, is at the center of a massive scandal involving dozens of his company's executive, some of whom ended up in prison. He stands accused of diverting a whopping $20 billion to an overseas slush fund.
A mind boggling $10 billion were alleged to have been used to bribe Korean government officials and politicians. But his conduct and even the scale of the fraud he perpetrated may have been typical to Korea's post-war incestuous relationship between politics and business.
In his paper "The Role of Slush Funds in the Preparation of Corruption Mechanisms", reprinted by Transparency International, Gherardo Colombo defines corporate slush funds thus:
"Slush funds are obtained from a joint stock company's finances, carefully managed so that the amounts involved do not appear on the balance sheet. They do not necessarily have to consist of money, but can also take the form of stocks and shares or other economically valuable goods (works of art, jewels, yachts, etc.) It is enough that they can be used without any particular difficulty or that they can be transferred to a third party.
If a fund is in the form of money, it is not even necessary to refer to it outside the company accounts, since it can appear in them in disguised form (the 'accruals and deferrals' heads are often resorted to for the purpose of hiding slush money). In light of this, it is not always correct to regard it as a reserve fund that is not accounted for in the books. Deception, trickery or forgery of various kinds are often resorted to for the purpose of setting up a slush fund."
He mentions padded invoices, sham contracts, fictitious loans, interest accruing on holding accounts, back to back transactions with related entities (Enron) - all used to funnel money to the slush funds. Such funds are often set up to cover for illicit and illegal self-enrichment, embezzlement, or tax evasion.
Less known is the role of these furtive vehicles in financing unfair competitive practices, such as dumping. Clients, suppliers, and partners receive hidden rebates and subsidies that much increase the - unreported - real cost of production.
BBVA's payments to ETA may have been a typical payment of protection fees. Both terrorists and organized crime put slush funds to bad use. They get paid from such funds - and maintain their own. Ransom payments to kidnappers often flow through these channels.
But slush funds are overwhelmingly used to bribe corrupt politicians. The fight against corruption has been titled against the recipients of illicit corporate largesse. But to succeed, well-meaning international bodies, such as the OECD's FATF, must attack with equal zeal those who bribe. Every corrupt transaction is between a venal politician and an avaricious businessman. Pursuing the one while ignoring the other is self-defeating.
Article Source: http://www.redsofts.com/articles/
Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at samvak.tripod.com
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Ethical and Religious Considerations in Physician Assisted Suicide | <urn:uuid:abbde776-69e8-4dbf-b0cc-03de2bdaedba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://redsofts.com/articles/read/49/17193/Slush_Funds.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962199 | 3,132 | 1.6875 | 2 |
The invitation, which has been accepted, was extended by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), sources said.
The invitation letter sent to Gadkari by the International Department of the CPC Central Committee says, "this will be the first ever BJP delegation led by its President to visit China.
"Your visit to China would lead to a further promotion and strengthening of the cordial relations that already existed between the CPC and the BJP."
The CPC Central Committee is headed by General Secretary Hu Jintao, who is also the Chinese President.
Gadkari has accepted the invitation to visit China along with a delegation on a mutually convenient date, sources said.
The BJP president, they said, is considering an early visit, probably before the end of this month in view of the hectic political developments expected during the budget session of Parliament beginning in February and also keeping in mind the assembly elections in five states in April 2011.
The probable mutually convenient dates under consideration for the proposed week-long visit may be January 20-25, 2011, the sources said, adding that the BJP president is likely be accompanied by his wife Kanchan Gadkari.
Beijing: China's ruling Communist party has invited BJP president Nitin Gadkari for a visit to further strengthen party-to-party ties.
First Published: Sunday, January 02, 2011, 13:51 | <urn:uuid:9206af71-dda5-42cb-b4b8-c2f9b5763f60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/china-s-cpc-invites-nitin-gadkari-for-a-visit_678085.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974738 | 285 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Officials consider growth
By RICHARD BURGESS
February 22, 2013
SCOTT — Scott officials are expected to begin developing regulations this year to implement a long-term plan for growth and development that emerged from a series of community forums in 2011.
The Scott 2032 plan addresses everything from landscaping, green space and street design to preserving the city’s historic character and identifying the best locations for future commercial and residential developments.
The Scott Planning Commission adopted the Scott 2032 plan last month, but the Scott City Council would need to decide what codes and laws are needed to implement the recommendations.
“Right now, the plan is a vision and a guide we can follow,” said Pat Logan, a retired associate director of public works for city-parish government who has been hired by Scott to help implement the plan.
Logan said he anticipates the first wave of codes needed to implement the plan to be in place by mid-year, assuming approval by the council.
Scott Mayor Purvis Morrison said a critical component of the plan involves identifying which areas of the city should be open for residential, commercial and industrial development.
“Right now, we have nothing to stop anything from coming anywhere,” he said. “Some businesses don’t fit in certain areas.”
Still undecided is how strict those new development guidelines might be, but Morrison said he anticipates regulations that allow for adequate space between industrial and residential areas and possibly an outright ban on new mobile home parks.
“You might not see another trailer park in the city of Scott,” he said.
The plan also lays out how to decide routes for new roads and sets guidelines that in some cases call for boulevards with sidewalks and landscaping.
“It’s how we want certain streets to look in our community as we build them,” Morrison said.
Logan said there has been talk of requirements related to landscaping, lighting and architectural style for new businesses in some areas of the city, but some of those issues might not be addressed initially.
“That is farther down the road,” he said.
Logan said the Scott 2032 plan will also attempt to address how best to develop the floodways and flood zones in the city — areas that account for much of the undeveloped land in Scott.
Development is generally allowed in flood zones as long as buildings are elevated to a certain height, but floodways are considered higher-risk areas that bring much tougher restrictions.
Among the solutions offered in the Scott 2032 plan is to use some of the floodways for parks, trails and sports fields and for large retention ponds to help absorb floodwaters from other areas.
Morrison said the council has already acted on some of the recommendations in the Scott 2032 plan, including one for a new farmer’s market.
He said a tract has been purchased for the market in the heart of the city.
“We are working on a grant now to have the farmer’s market in by the end of this year or early next year,” Morrison said.
Morrison said the he believes Scott is the first city in the region to begin work on implementing a so-called comprehensive plan to address nearly all facets of growth and development in the coming decades.
Lafayette city-parish government is now working on a similar plan, but the specifics of that plan are still being discussed and there is no timeline for implementing it. | <urn:uuid:6f988252-d68a-4658-98ef-c5fc6477b8e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/5178933-123/officials-in-scott-moving-on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955478 | 724 | 1.664063 | 2 |
I recently set up my file server/media server and it's running an AMD 64 X2 5000 OC'd @ 3.4 Ghz. I've noticed that playback on the PS3 for 1080p videos will stutter at times, I've ruled out bandwidth because I'm on a Gigabit connection and I've noticed on the status bar on the PS3 Media Server the buffer bar can barely keep up. So I'm positive it's the CPU. Now I need to figure out a solution without having to buy a new CPU.
Does the quality options affect the processing power needed? Like would the Lossless quality option (high bitrate) require less CPU power then the rest?
Is there anyway to give more CPU power to the encoder? I tried setting the mencoder.exe priority to Real Time but that didn't seem to make a difference, the max load it was doing was around 60%.
Are there any other options I can change? I heard that tsMuxer (sp?) requires less CPU power then Mencoder. How would I do this?
Thank you for your help | <urn:uuid:a0ee4a5c-1f72-4d95-b98d-f6e85d83c652> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=634 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96212 | 227 | 1.5 | 2 |
Dickinson Police: Drug Users Carrying Others' Urine to Beat Drug TestsDICKINSON, N.D. – Area drug users carrying around other people’s urine or synthetic urine is becoming an issue, officials say. “We see it on average probably two times a month where somebody will have urine,” Dickinson Police Capt. David Wilkie said. “It’s a problem.”
By: The Dickinson Press,
DICKINSON, N.D. – Area drug users carrying around other people’s urine or synthetic urine is becoming an issue, officials say.
“We see it on average probably two times a month where somebody will have urine,” Dickinson Police Capt. David Wilkie said. “It’s a problem.”
Authorities said some drug users buy urine to pass testing, and that’s when carrying urine becomes illegal.
“You can walk around with urine in your pocket if you want to,” Wilkie said. “If I can show that you are supposed to be drug tested and you have somebody else’s pee, then that makes it illegal.”
Purposely defrauding a urine test for drugs could land a person in prison for a year with a $2,000 fine.
“It says they’re guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly possesses, distributes or assists in the use of a device, chemical or real or artificial urine advertised or intended to be used to alter the outcome of a urine test,” Tom Henning, Stark County state’s said of state law. “It doesn’t say in the law that if you possess it you’re presumed to be having it for this purpose, and that would be an unconstitutional presumption.”
However, he said it’s hard to imagine why else a person might be carrying a human urine sample around if not to pass a drug test.
“We’ve been advised of more incidents of it to where two or three years ago I hadn’t heard much of it,” Henning said. “That doesn’t mean it never happened, but from the information we’re getting, it is more common.”
A person can also legally sell their urine, so long as they can prove it wasn’t sold to help somebody pass a drug or alcohol test, Henning said.
“You can buy that stuff over the Internet,” Wilkie added.
He said instances are likely increasing because more companies are requiring their employees to furnish a urine sample.
“It’s going to be more of a problem because … a lot of the oil companies are urine testing,” Wilkie said.
Jan Kuhn, clinical director of Sacajawea Substance Abuse Counseling and Drug Testing Center, said her employees follow their clients into the bathroom to be sure they didn’t bring someone else’s urine.
“You have to get right down there and look,” she said. “You can’t hide it under your arm and use a tube because if you’re being observed, we’re going to find it. We’re going to see it.” | <urn:uuid:ce1afdab-10db-4d5d-af76-47d282ab4c77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/13084/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950373 | 698 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The gloves are coming off as school districts, parents and legislators prepare to duke it out in court over Kansas’ school funding formula. At odds are two lawsuits, each challenging the way the state funds education.
In early November Schools for Fair Funding, a lobbying group, filed a lawsuit against the State of Kansas on behalf of a group of parents, alleging that public schools are not being funded adequately and are denying Kansas children the right to an education. More specifically, the suit maintains that four school districts – Wichita, Kansas City, Hutchinson and Dodge City – and 32 students from those representative districts are being denied adequate education. The Gardner Edgerton School District is one of 63 districts helping to fund the suit.
In mid-December a group of parents from the Shawnee Mission School District filed a motion in federal court challenging the constitutionality of Kansas’ school funding formula – currently there is a cap on the Local Option Budget, the amount of funding districts can raise through local taxes. The Shawnee Mission parents want to be able to option local tax dollars to supplement the amount of funds the district receives from the state.
Their action was spurred by that district’s plan to close several schools that have experienced declining enrollments. Initially the group wanted to buy some time for those schools on the chopping block, however district officials have since moved forward with their plans to close or shift attendance areas.
“This legal action is an effort by the parents and citizens to help the district obtain the necessary funding it needs to provide the best education possible to all of its students across the entire district,” read a statement released by the parents named in the lawsuit.
More recently, on Dec. 23, Schools for Fair Funding filed an additional motion to intervene in the case filed by Shawnee Mission parents earlier in the month. Schools for Fair Funding alleges that the Shawnee Mission suit wishes to convert the statewide school funding plan to a local funding plan, shifting the responsibility of funding education from the state onto local property taxpayers.
In a statement released by Schools for Fair Funding, the group said, “Kansas Courts have consistently held that the responsibility to fund the education of children in Kansas does not fall on the local district, but rather on the state as a whole. Vastly different district wealth across the state requires that limits be placed on wealthy district spending. It is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Kansas and U.S. Constitutions to make the education of a child a function of or dependent upon the wealth of the district in which the child resides. A local wealth-based funding scheme is clearly unconstitutional.”
Kansas Representative Mike Kiegerl said that Johnson Countians do pay a disproportionate amount of taxes and receive a smaller amount of return compared to other counties in the state.
“We pay 32 percent of the taxes, we have 18 percent of the students (in the state) and we receive eight percent of the money we send to Topeka,” Kiegerl said. “The problem is this, our property taxes are high because we have high value property; if you live west of Topeka in a small town, the property values are very low, so local income is going to be low. The rich counties like Johnson and Sedgwick should be supporting the smaller counties, but four to one is not reasonable.”
He said that it is imperative during the upcoming session that the legislature address financing for K-12 education, which comprises 52 percent of the state budget.
“The only winners in these lawsuits are the lawyers. If they prevail we could have a situation like in Missouri where we don’t have the money to keep going. We need to have a look at this issue, that is the biggest issue in our budget and it shouldn’t be sacrosanct,” Kiegerl said. | <urn:uuid:e1378944-d112-4a2d-bc77-c6de20dea3a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gardnernews.com/competing-lawsuits-put-school-funding-at-center-stage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963512 | 794 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A canvas print, also known as a stretched canvas or canvas art, is the result of an image printed onto canvas which is stretched, or gallery-wrapped, onto a frame and displayed. UPrinting.com Canvas Prints is often used in interior design, with ‘stock’ images, or customized with personal photographs. The canvas print substance is usually cotton, or a alternative plastic based poly canvas is often used for the reproduction of photographic images. In this post I have come up with an extremely inspirational collection of retro gaming canvas prints. Learn how business card design can add an impact in your work status.
Retro Gaming Canvas | <urn:uuid:febca35a-b90b-40ad-896b-35a6aaaf15d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://printbench.com/canvas-retro-printing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950288 | 132 | 1.570313 | 2 |
(Read entire article.)
It (civilization) has been struggling there for decades, as social engineers and radical feminists – all heirs to Marx – have been cutting away at elemental human instinct, social grace, language and thought itself. This overhaul of manners and mores, the family structure and marriage – even private aspects of the relationship between men and women – has been successful to a point where the cultural argument against women in combat (women in the military being a lost cause) is rarely voiced, not even on the right. (I watched Fox News on women-in-combat announcement day, listening in vain for just one culture warrior.)
We are left to make only the utilitarian arguments – body strength and speed, unit cohesion, even urinary tract infections and other hazards that front-line deployment pose to females. These are compellingly logical points, but they are unlikely to reverse an ideological juggernaut. When the secretary of defense says putting women in combat is about “making our military … and America stronger” and no one says he’s lying to further a Marxian ideal via social engineering, the cultural argument is lost, and the culture it comes from is bound and gagged, hostage to what we know as “political correctness.”
I still see threads of the cultural argument in emails and some blog responses to the Pentagon’s latest whack at creating “gender neutrality.” It erupts like a reflex against the conditioning to deny differences defined, at their essence, by muscle mass and womb. Such conditioning erodes the male protective instinct – which, surely, is what war is supposed to arise from – and the female nurturing instinct, which surely is what a civilization depends on.
No more. Women with wombs and without manly muscle mass now count as Pentagon-approved “warriors,” modern-day knights in Kevlar, soon to be humping 80-pound packs over mountain and desert. | <urn:uuid:7b413947-850a-4100-b9e7-11f2040aa56c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/2013/02/when-women-fight.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950734 | 398 | 1.664063 | 2 |
To be an employee or an entrepreneur - that's really the question
Start-ups are popping up all over the place, but is being a business owner really for you?
Friday, January 25, 2013
Remember the promises we made to ourselves when we were young? Those daydreams about all of the things we were going to do when we got older?
I’m not talking about those kiddy dreams about pitching for the Yankees or becoming the first astronaut to visit Neptune, I’m talking about the goals we developed late in high school or in college.
During those days maybe you started making clothes for your friends that were well received, so you decided to head to New York to try your hand at a fashion business. Or maybe you’ve taken your mother’s recipes -- that you couldn’t care less about as a child -- and decided you wanted to open your own little café or luncheonette.
But somewhere in-between coming up with that idea and settling into the real world, those entrepreneurial ambitions started to subside and began to be replaced by hefty bills and an immediate need for employment. Plus, the pressure from your folks to “get a real job” didn’t help your level of ambition all that much either.
Most of us throughout the years have heard the advice of following your dreams, doing what you love, monetizing your passions, blah, blah, blah -- but is that really better than finding a job and having a consistent paycheck, a daily routine and some level of job security?
Stuck in jobs
It’s a question that many people go back and forth on, especially those people who are currently stuck in jobs they hate.
And we all know that trying to turn a passion into a fulltime business is risky, but just how risky is it? To be an employee or to be an entrepreneur -- for many, that is the true question.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration seven out of ten businesses shut down within two years and only 25 percent last for 15 years or longer, which shows just how large the potential for failure really is when starting a company.
But that shouldn’t discourage people from wanting to be a business owner, said Scott Shane in a Washington Post interview. Shane is a professor who teaches entrepreneurship at Case Western University.
He says quitting your job in order to start a business might not be the best game plan; instead you should work your business and your 9-to-5 simultaneously, which will better help your company get off the ground.
“Unemployed people tend to not start as successful companies on average as people who are employed do,” he said. “You’re not going to get as many successful businesses with young unemployed people as if you put your money into encouraging entrepreneurship among employed middle-aged people.”
In short, it takes a consistent flow of cash in order to add the things to your business that it needs. Being able to use your own capital to build your company -- at least in the beginning stages -- is preferable to starting out under any kind of debt.
In fact, Shane says if you hate your job but love the field, it’s best to stay in your position and learn all you can about the industry, that way it will be easier for you to build and maintain a customer base -- especially if you’ve already established a good reputation within that industry.
“Most people start businesses to pursue customers with similar products or services as their previous employers,” said Shane. “What helps to organize a business is industry knowledge, and that knowledge is learned by doing.”
But not all future entrepreneurs are working a 9-to-5, and many don’t want to wait until they’ve mastered their industry before they start their companies.
A good portion of wannabe entrepreneurs still happen to be students, and many are eager to leave the college world for the business world, regardless of how huge the risk of failure is.
Take Eric Zhang for example a student at UC Berkeley who dropped out for a short while to pursue his dreams of starting an online company. Zhang has an opposite view of some experts that say people should wait to gain experience and money before starting a business.
The variance in philosophy could easily be attributed to generational differences, as many young people who begin start-ups may feel waiting for years is just too conservative, and if one waits until there’s no risk involved before starting business, they’ll be waiting forever.
No pain, no gain
“Entrepreneurship is never about ‘I’m going to wait until the risk is lowest,” Zhang told a California news outlet. “It’s always about taking every opportunity, even if the risk is high. And if you take 10 opportunities and you fail nine times and succeed once, then you’ve still succeeded.”
Many experts also say that having more than one business idea is key since the potential for one business failing is so significant.
Also, having a lot of resiliency is equally important when taking that entrepreneurial leap, due to the many no’s you may get and the amount of doors that will close before you even get a chance to get one toe across.
So again, the main question is should one be okay with being an employee if they ever had entrepreneurial ambitions or should they just throw risk and caution to the wind and hope it doesn’t blow back and painfully strike them?
The answer may lie in a person first defining what success is to them.
If success is being able to be good at a particular job — whether you love it or not — while making enough money to pursue outside interests like traveling, shopping or dining out, the entrepreneur's life may not be worth it for you.
But if just learning how to cope at your current job, while your mind is always on your passion, and you’re willing to take on the huge potential of your business not thriving, you may want to give being a company owner a shot.
Not always either-or
Also, it’s important to remember when it comes to deciding whether to stay at a job or start a business it’s not always either-or.
Not every start-up has to have Facebook-like ambitions, and people can work at their jobs, while still trying to turn the dreams of their youth into something profitable.
As a matter of fact, that’s what many experts suggest you do.
More like this story
- Japanese entrepreneurs aim for Silicon Valley
- White House Announces Startup America Partnership
- Youth Remain Interested in Entrepreneurship Despite Economy
- Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 Designed to Create Life-Changing Experiences and Spur Firm Creation around the Globe
- ‘Pitch Palooza’ encourages entrepreneurs | <urn:uuid:3db87b33-e649-441b-8453-44d6736ce8c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newstribune.com/news/2013/jan/25/be-employee-or-entrepreneur-s-really-question/ | 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 | 0.963696 | 1,433 | 1.65625 | 2 |
MANAMA, Bahrain -
AP Photo: Hasan Jamali
Bahraini anti-government protesters wave national flags and carry signs during a march called by several opposition groups to demand freedom for political prisoners and democracy, in Muharraq, Bahrain, on Monday Feb. 4, 2013. Arabic on the image at right reads, "Martyr Yousef Mowali."
Young men wearing masks lurk in the darkened alcoves of the old market in Bahrain's capital. "To victory," they whisper as they hand out pamphlets calling for greater rebellion after two years of nonstop unrest in the Gulf kingdom.
In another part of the city, leaders of established Shiite opposition groups study their next moves. One option is to open talks with the Sunni monarchy as a possible soft landing from the Arab Spring's longest-running uprising against a sitting power.
The two faces of Bahrain's tumult have never been clearer as the struggles in the strategic island home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet_ mark their second year next week.
The old guard Shiite political factions appear worn down by the ceaseless tensions and seem increasingly open to some kind of face-saving compromise with Bahrain's Sunni leadership. Such negotiations are endorsed by Washington and other Western allies of Bahrain's ruling dynasty.
On Monday, Bahrain's justice minister, Khaled bin Ali Al Khalifa, said preliminary political talks are scheduled to begin Feb. 10 just days before the second anniversary of the crisis. The official Bahrain News Agency called it an important step toward "national consensus."
But the clashes and bloodshed also have elevated another voice from Bahrain's streets: A shadowy network of youth groups and hard-line Shiites knitted together by social media that have coalesced around an angry axis. Calls to bring down the monarchy are now staples in the near daily skirmishes with security forces.
"No to dialogue! No to surrender!" several hundred protesters chanted during a recent confrontation between demonstrators with firebombs and riot police responding with tear gas and stun grenades.
It might seem like a worrisome groundswell for Bahrain's Sunni rulers, who have managed to keep a close grip on power for decades under what critics call a two-tier system. The majority Shiites, about 70 percent of the population, claim they are relegated to the lower rungs with limited say in the country's affairs.
Bahrain's uprising seeks to tilt the scales toward the Shiites. But divides within the Shiite population whether to battle harder or open talks could end up giving Bahrain's rulers more breathing space. If the main Shiite factions can be brought into negotiations, the opposition left on the streets would continue as an annoyance to the monarchy but less of a potential threat to their power.
"The confrontational elements in Bahrain those who have effectively rejected dialogue as pointless are certainty taking more charge of the tone on the streets," said Toby Jones, an expert on Bahraini affairs at Rutgers University. "It invites a type of comparison to the 50s and 60s civil rights movement when activists had to be provocative enough to provoke police backlash and brutality and the cycle goes on."
It's not hard to lose track of little Bahrain on the greater Arab Spring stage.
Bahrain's two-year death toll of more than 55 was exceeded in a single day in Syria. There is no clear center of gravity in Bahrain's uprising like Egypt's Tahrir Square. Bahrain's protest hub of Pearl Square was cleared by police raids in the early weeks of the unrest and now is ringed round-the-clock by security forces, razor wire and concrete barricades.
But the tensions on the tiny island whose native population of more than 550,000 is equivalent to a Cairo neighborhood resonates in many important directions.
The survival of Bahrain's monarchy is a priority of the highest order for the fraternity of other Gulf Arab leaders, who have so far ridden out the Arab Spring and have united to stamp out potential threats. Among the crackdowns: Arrests in Kuwait and Qatar for alleged online dissent and charges against 94 suspected coup plotters in the United Arab Emirates with claimed links to Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Problems in Bahrain also spill over into the Gulf Arab showdowns with Shiite power Iran.
Gulf Arab leaders never miss an opportunity to accuse Iran or its proxies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, as being off-site masterminds of Bahrain's unrest. Iranian officials and its state media often portray Bahrain's Shiite protesters as freedom fighters and distant kin. But no clear evidence has emerged to back up claims of direct aid.
Still, the Gulf claims ring powerfully in the West as part of wider fears over Iran's expanding influence.
And that is just part of delicate diplomatic balance for the U.S. in Bahrain.
Washington is unlikely to do anything to sour relations with Bahrain's Western-educated king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, or jeopardize its vital military interests such as the 5th Fleet, the Pentagon's main base to counter Iran's expanding military presence in the Gulf and protect oil shipping lanes through the Gulf of Hormuz.
Yet the U.S. is increasingly uneasy about hard-edged Bahrain measures such as stripping citizenship from 31 Shiite political activists and upholding life sentences for eight others.
"Unfortunately, 2012 was the year that Bahrain's ruling family showed it prioritizes repression over reform," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "This year the government needs to act on its reform rhetoric by setting free all peaceful protesters, including the protest leaders still serving long prison terms for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly."
There seems little to indicate Bahrain will ease up on the opposition. Authorities use phrases such as "saboteurs" and "terrorists" as violence has risen, including a series of five bomb blasts in November that killed two South Asian workers.
But Bahrain's leaders also have made noticeable reforms along the way, including giving the elected parliament more oversight powers and pledging deeper investigations into alleged abuses by security forces. Although tangible concessions, they are dismissed by many Shiites as mere window dressing that still leaves the monarchy in control of all key posts and decisions.
"The authorities can no longer go by the old notion of possession and absolute control of the land and people," Bahrain's most influential Shiite cleric, Sheik Isa Qassim, said in a December sermon. "`This old perception is no longer accepted today in any place on earth."
Hard-line Shiite opposition groups have pushed this view even further under the banner of the Feb. 14 movement the date of the first major demonstration in 2011. Photocopied pamphlets distributed during protests set their goal in absolute terms: A fight to strip the monarchy of its powers and stewardship over Bahrain.
"These groups are not just going to fade away because of some kind of possible political dialogue. Too much has happened in two years," said Jones, the Rutgers professor. "They now feel it's not over until they say it's over."
The main Shiite parties initially welcomed the call for talks, but then wavered after suggestions that only lower-ranking Sunni officials would take part. Without top-level participants, there is little chance that key items would be on the agenda such as breaking the monarchy's control on all top government and security appointments.
"The talk of dialogue is still no more than a media show," said Jameel Khadhim, a senior official with Al Wefaq, the biggest Shiite political group, which has called for peaceful opposition gatherings until the second anniversary of the uprising.
In alleys and side streets in Shiite neighborhoods, meanwhile, other types of showdowns take place. Shiite youths set roadblocks of burning tires and gather Molotov cocktails and rocks for the inevitable arrival of riot police.
"The king's days are numbered," said 18-year-old Mohammad Jaffar. "We are not going to surrender."
Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. | <urn:uuid:8c7a49ea-844e-4eae-8e9b-755ab7336ec6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=450225 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951577 | 1,630 | 1.75 | 2 |
Much faster I would imagine. Software raid is going to have an overhead.
I use Software RAID 1 (SCSI), its pretty fast and very reliable, but has
a few percent CPU and RAM overhead.
I only have the UDMA66 version of the Highpoint chipset, and don't think
it supports hardware RAID. Think I'll add a second drive and try it out.
This is definitely quite a different driver from the standard kernel
version - it
supports RAID 0 & 1 - but as this hardware RAID is anyway not really
hardware RAID I wonder what advantages there are over simply using Linux
software RAID ?
Maintained by the ILUG website team. The aim of Linux.ie is to
support and help commercial and private users of Linux in Ireland. You can
display ILUG news in your own webpages, read backend
information to find out how. Networking services kindly provided by HEAnet, server kindly donated by
Dell. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds,
used with permission. No penguins were harmed in the production or maintenance
of this highly praised website. Looking for the
Indian Linux Users' Group? Try here. If you've read all this and aren't a lawyer: you should be! | <urn:uuid:c8d9b869-1ea6-413b-8c51-0c33e47d1318> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linux.ie/lists/pipermail/ilug/2001-November/039396.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938515 | 266 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Ralph Nader has built his career as a consumer advocate and, of late, a presidential candidate from 1996 to 2008. Nader decided not to run for president this year but continues his work, including his new book, “The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future.” Nader joins POLITICO for our latest Answer This interview installment.
Tell us your favorite joke.
My favorite “politico joke” is from Jay Leno: “Earlier this week, the Senate voted 97-0 for tougher regulations. For example, when corporations buy a senator, they must now get a receipt.”
When’s the last time you used profanity?
When was the last time Congress betrayed the American people?
How many hours of sleep do you get (on average)?
Describe your level of ambition.
Ambition is too often applied to what a person will do to increase his or her wealth or status. The Oxford Dictionary notes the origin of the word is: “Middle English: via Old French from Latin ambitio(n-), from ambire ‘go around (canvassing for votes).’” Keeping this in mind and defining ambition as “a strong desire to do or achieve something” significantly expands the concept of ambition. That said, I have a very strong desire to improve our democracy and society.
You’re president of the United States for enough time to make only one executive decision. What is it? Establish a civil facilities agency to make it easy for workers, consumers, patients, taxpayers, voters and citizens to band together for the public interest and a deep democracy. See: http://csrl.org/model-laws/consumer-protection-act/
What’s a common and accepted practice for Americans nowadays that you think we’ll look back on with regret?
Surrendering our civil liberties.
What is your favorite body part on yourself and why?
No favorites. As Barry Commoner wrote: “Everything is connected to everything else.”
What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail?
Advance civic skills through experiential public and adult education courses everywhere.
What type of products do you never go cheap on, for the sake of quality?
Underwood Five typewriter ribbons.
Describe a few pet peeves of yours.
Anti-passenger automotive designs — think Corvair and Pinto. Voice mail. Decision makers not responding in any way to letters.
How often do you Google yourself?
Never. The Underwood Five typewriter doesn’t have that function.
What do you know now that you wish someone had told you 10 years ago?
That the end of the Cold War would not reduce but instead increase the budgets and the militarization of foreign policy by the American empire.
What childhood event shaped or scarred you the most?
Access to our local library helped me understand the world.
Would you rather…
… be gossiped about or never talked about at all?
Remember, if we all followed Will Rogers’s advice to “live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip,” gossip would surely start to diminish.
Think of one of your least favorite people in Washington and, without naming him or her, describe what makes that person so unappealing.
Lacks any concern for the poor and utter lack of respect for our democracy — a monetized, imperial mind.
Let your mother know how much she means to you, in the form of a haiku.
I don’t have the poetry skills to do my mother justice in just 17 phonetic sounds. But you can read an earlier book of mine, “The Seventeen Traditions,” which captures some of what my siblings and I learned from our mother and father. See: http://www.seventeentraditions.com/
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the title of Nader’s latest book. It is “The Seventeen Solutions.” | <urn:uuid:067d9263-8c0c-4646-bd61-84161f1d761c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=20C5157C-6597-46F5-8B27-BCCCF104A2FA | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941001 | 862 | 1.5 | 2 |
The first thing you can do is take a razor blade to the inside covers. This will remove the hard cardboard covers (which you can scan with a flatbed scanner later) and leave you with the textblock. The textblock will either be composed of groups of pages called signatures, sewn together, or individual sheets of paper glued together, which is a type of binding called "perfect" binding. "Perfect" not as in "cannot be improved upon", but as in "completed, done, finished, the end" -- it is a very quick and cheap way of binding loose pages.
Anyway, the best thing to do is take two long pieces of wood (I recommend a hardwood such as oak, not pine or plywood), maybe a foot long, by a few inches wide, drill two holes on either end, get two long bolts and some wingnuts, and put them through. You've just created a bookbinding vise. Here is an example
of one which is fancier, which includes a squaring guide. BTW, the binding shown in that example is a very flawed perfect binding. A real perfect binding involves bookbinding glue and fanning the pages out a bit.
Anyway, stick the textblock into the vise so that the inside part of the textblock is sticking out by a millimeter or so. Make sure the textblock is approximately straight by measuring both sides of the stickout with a ruler.
Now get a sharp knife that can take a lot of pressure (a box cutter, utility knife, or some other thing) and start cutting off the inner part of the text block. It will take a while, and your knife will get dull fast, but you'll end up with really nice pages to feed to your sheetfed scanner.
Alternative methods involve table saws. | <urn:uuid:e9ad865c-54a7-4f45-8c47-70801e2fad77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12217 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957365 | 374 | 1.65625 | 2 |
La Feria Es El Momento: Edúcalos
On Oct 22, thousands of parents in the Los Angeles area attended the third annual extension of the Feria Para Aprender (Learning Fair) at CSU Dominguez Hills. More than 100 exhibits were there to guide parents in raising a successful student in the U.S. educational system. Resources were available for every age group as well as special reading gardens and 30,000 book giveaways. View the event page for more information. | <urn:uuid:a2764993-6277-4c71-81ff-ed7c3d09584e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.preschoolcalifornia.org/news-media/preschool-press/in-the-field/la-feria-es-el-momento.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954265 | 102 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The study was set up by Mary Pillai, a Consultant Gynaecologist and Forensic Sexual Assault Examiner at Cheltenham General Hospital, and Sheila Paul, a Forensic Physician for Thames Valley Police and general practitioner, after learning from concerned colleagues that services to complainants were becoming increasingly disparate across the UK. The organisation of a forensic medical examination following a complaint of sexual assault has traditionally been a police responsibility with the main focus being the forensic element and varied attention given to the medical needs arising for complainants. There are however, other therapeutic considerations at the initial examination and subsequently, if physical and psychological sequelae are to be minimised and recovery facilitated.
The results of the study showed that complainants of sexual assault in the UK, especially children, face wide differences in forensic and medical services between SARCs and non-SARC facilities. It also revealed that there is a severe shortage of experienced doctors willing to do this work, and in many no, some areas only male doctors are available. Some areas, including those served by SARCs, have so few doctors that they cannot provide a rota, or 24/7 cover for examinations, resulting in long waits for an examination. For children identified acutely following a sexual assault there is virtually no service available.
Although there was some variation in services between SARCs, all offered better all-round services to complainants than non-SARC facilities, providing attendees with all the fore
Contact: Tina Cherrington | <urn:uuid:eca73ab4-dc45-488b-8c31-a4dd24f457f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-3/Victims-of-rape--especially-children--failed-by-lack-of-referral-centres-and-experienced-doctors-4829-1/ | 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 | 0.9574 | 298 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Frances Townsend, 51, served as counter-terrorism adviser to President Bush from 2004 to 2007.
Before 9/11 you didn’t need any specific training to work in Homeland Security and people came from a variety of backgrounds. I initially went to law school and, during the course, I ended up working on a few international cases. The first one involved the Italian Mafia and then I was asked to help on terrorist cases. So, believe it or not, it was a natural career progression.
Neither of my parents graduated from high school and their main goal for me was that I should have a university education. I had to support myself by working part-time and I took out loans so I could go on to graduate school. I knew I wanted to work in public service because I was ever so grateful for the opportunities education gave me and I wanted to give something back and to serve my country.
In 2003 I started out as the deputy homeland adviser for the George W Bush administration, working for Condoleezza Rice. From 2004 I chaired the Homeland Security Council and in this position you see every threat. There was never a night when I wouldn’t be concerned one of the things I had seen might actually be beyond our ability to stop.
I resigned from the Homeland Security Council at the end of 2007. I had done the job for five years and I was ready to move on. My youngest son was 18 months old when I started and I could never have done it alone. I had a very supportive family and a nanny who is like a second mother to me and my sons.
The job takes up your whole life. Even when I wasn’t in the office I was always thinking about it. In my home I had a safe of classified material and a confidential, secure phone line so I could talk in secret to my colleagues. Everywhere I went I had to be contactable and I could never have any ‘off’ time.
I do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner but while I was in the job I would never have one. I felt a responsibility to always be at the top of my game. It is difficult with a family and a lot of school plays and holidays were missed.
However, there is nothing I regret. It was a privilege to be serving my country, which made even the bad days fabulous. The expression I saw on my sons’ and my mother’s face when I got to walk them into the Oval Office to meet the President made it all worthwhile – it made them realise that every time I was late, what I had been doing was important.
Whenever I went to meetings with the Homeland Security Council, there was never a queue for the ladies’ room. Things are beginning to change, though, and more women are entering the world of Homeland Security, which I think is great.
Homeland is actually my favourite television show. It’s obviously a dramatised version of reality, but the anxiety, the stress, the passion and the commitment of the people involved in trying to stop terrorism or destruction are all real.
Townsend appears in the new TV series Black Ops, Thursdays at 10pm on Yesterday. www.uktv.co.uk/yesterday | <urn:uuid:a0eac8e5-8ed6-4dd5-85ee-ec442f1ce48c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/11/counter-terrorism-adviser-frances-townsend-homeland-is-my-favourite-television-show-3532882/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.99029 | 667 | 1.625 | 2 |
"WEAR A SURGICAL MASK" Top 5 Page for this destination Parc National de Virunga Things to Do Tip by DAO
Parc National de Virunga Things to Do: 11 reviews and 34 photos
No. You do not get a choice. I have been asked about the mask in my photos. Older photos here on VT will show people near the Mountain Gorillas without any masks. Not any more. There are only 700 Mountain Gorillas in the world and they live here and just over the border in Rwanda and Uganda. While DRC has had an increase, it’s not by much. Only 81 live here in the park and about 130 elsewhere in DRC. Apes (Gorillas) and Chimpanzees are very closely related to humans and diseases can be transmitted between them. The very scary disease, Ebola, has wiped out 1/3 of all gorillas in the last 20 years. Ebola is also sometimes fatal to humans as well. Further, there is a possibility they can catch strains of Flu from us as well.
So that mask is a good idea for protecting the endangered Gorillas here. You will be issued with a new one before you begin any tracking of the Gorillas and the Rangers carry spares. I found out when my pack decided to open and drop my VT Hat and mask. When we found the Gorillas the Rangers ask you to put on your mask. That’s how I know they carry spares.
If you find my VT hat, please let me know !
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Have you been to Parc National de Virunga?Share Your Travels | <urn:uuid:3cacc9cc-9d9e-48e1-97b3-508762a3cd85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1f8576/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930705 | 361 | 1.546875 | 2 |
**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**
I received a question from Cheryl Lynn asking how to attach a jeans button to the center of a flower pin. I'm sure that some of you were wondering the same. I thought that I would show you with a few pictures. It seems that the indention between the top and bottom of the button is the perfect place to hide the mechanics of a pin.
With needle and thread, take a running stitch along the bottom edge of the petals.
Gather petals into a circle. Pull tight, making sure that the gathered edges fall into the indention between the top and bottom of the button. Tie off securely. Clip thread.
The bottom of the button will show on the back. You may choose to cover it with a piece of felt before attaching a pin back or leave it as is to show that it is a recycled jeans button.
The perfect embellishment for a recycled denim handbag!
Take care, everyone! | <urn:uuid:7e944ebf-8a7b-4d27-b530-91b45ed498d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mousechirpy-polkadotpineapple.blogspot.com/2009/03/inquiring-minds-want-to-know.html?showComment=1238032620000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958567 | 203 | 1.78125 | 2 |
|Demonstrators from 30 different countries have converged on Brussels, the Belgian capital, to protest cuts [Reuters]
Thousands of workers from across Europe have taken to the streets to protest against a growing number of austerity measures adopted by governments to combat public deficit crises.
Police barricaded banks and shops in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, where labour leaders estimated 100,000 people turned out; other estimates placed the turnout closer to 60,000.
Strikes and demonstrations over austerity measures were also held in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, Italy, Serbia and Ireland.
"We're here to say 'no' to the multiplying number of austerity plans, whether adopted by governments or by European institutions," Bernard Thibault, head of the major CGT French trade union, said in Brussels.
Europe lost millions of jobs during the financial crisis, and more look set to vanish as public sectors across the region are shrunk by debt-laden governments eager to save money.
Protests began in Spain on Wednesday morning, with picketers throwing eggs at buses and blocking trucks on a main thoroughfare in Madrid, the capital.
Striking workers also staged a pre-dawn sit-in outside a garage housing buses in the city, screaming "scabs" at drivers attempting to get out onto the road.
Unions are angry at wage cuts and tax increases put in place by the country's socialist government, amid high unemployment - with the jobless rate more than doubling since 2007 hitting 20 per cent in July this year.
In Ireland, a cement-mixer plastered with anti-banking slogans blocked the entrance to parliament, while trade union leaders planned to march to the building's gates later in the day.
Greece, which has seen a series of strikes and protests over the strict spending measures imposed to remedy the country's severe debt problems, saw public hospital and transport workers stage a strike, disrupting travel in the country.
In Slovenia, public-service unions are continuing a strike that started on Monday after the government froze workers' wages for two years.
Protesters in Brussels are targeting a controversial EU plan to fine governments that run unsustainable deficits. Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Brussels, said the unions argued that budget cuts will not help Europe out of recession but slow economic growth.
"The demonstrators want the banking sector to bear the burden of the recession, with a new tax on financial transactions. A proposal that many European politicians dismiss," she said.
John Monks, Secretary-General of the European Trade Union Confederation, said: "This is a crucial day for Europe because our governments, virtually all of them, are about to embark on solid cuts in public expenditures.
"They're doing this at a time where the economy is very close to recession, and almost certainly you'll see the economy go back into recession as the effect of these cuts take place."
There is widespread public anger that governments are making the cuts after spending billions on propping up investment banks as they teetered on the brink of collapse during the financial crisis.
European governments were forced to ramp up public spending to avert total meltdown during the global financial crisis, leaving them with huge structural deficits.
Union leaders argue that the public are being made to pay for the bankers' mistakes.
"Those responsible for this crisis, the banks, the financial markets and the ratings agencies are all too quick in asking for help from states and public budgets and today want the workers to pay for their debts," Jean-Claude Mailly, a French labour leader who heads the FO union, said.
The pain of payback is being felt across Europe. In Greece, where the EU and International Monetary Fund stepped in earlier this year to prevent the country defaulting on its debts, severe austerity measures have already sent unemployment to a 11-year high.
Ireland, formerly known as the Celtic Tiger for its robust economy, is facing unemployment at a 16-year high as welfare payments and civil service wages have been cut.
In Britain, a massive belt-tightening plan launched by the coalition government will see some ministry budgets slashed by 25 per cent and an increase in the retirement age.
France and Italy are also planning major spending cuts to fill black holes in their public coffers and are braced for more protests from unions, who say workers will suffer disproportionately as a result. | <urn:uuid:ea74b04c-f636-4c3c-b5dc-504e3357e1fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2010/09/2010929114043842969.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962235 | 895 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The Meyerhoff Scholars Program challenges notions about minority achievement. The goals and success of the program have changed many students own minds about their academic and career aspirations. In turn, Meyerhoff Scholars have changed the perceptions of those around them the expectations of faculty who instruct them, the attitudes of students who learn beside them, and the perspectives of scientists who engage them in research.
Meyerhoff Scholars turn the typical stereotype of a minority student on its head. They set the curve. Many are straight-A students and members of Phi Beta Kappa. They are valedictorians, student government officers, and scholar athletes. They are published journal authors and recipients of numerous scholarships and fellowships for graduate study. They lead class discussions, and they inspire admiration in other students. The sheer magnitude of the program, with roughly 50 to 60 students in each incoming cohort, demonstrates that exceptional minority students are not an exception.
While their achievements cause scholars to stand out among their peers, they are not set apart from other students. Nor is the program isolated within the university it impacts students on campus and fits squarely with UMBC's broader culture and strategic goals.
Freshman Class Profile
Cohort Total: 69
Average Math SAT: 700
Average High Scholl GPA: 4.2
Asian/Pacific Islander 15 | <urn:uuid:06a22837-8246-44a9-af60-839db56f1ca4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umbc.edu/Meyerhoff/our_scholars.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938856 | 265 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Remember the Midwestern Blizzard of February 1 and 2, 2011? What would you have done in that blizzard?
What would you have done if you opened your front door on February 2 to find this?
Or if you pushed the snow off your back steps and looked across your courtyard toward your garage and found this?
Or if you trudged around the block and into your garage and opened the door to look across your courtyard from the other direction and you saw this?
If there were snowdrifts taller than you, what would you do? If you were She Who Shall Not Be Named, you'd get your snow shovel and twenty (20) minutes later you'd see this:
Her name must be Superwoman!
And if you were the mother of Superwoman, what would you do? You'd print the photos on fabric and make them into a wall hanging for Superwoman's birthday present.
Happy Birthday, Superwoman! | <urn:uuid:450ee538-49c5-4dab-92f5-321f1609f250> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crackpotbeader.blogspot.com/2011/03/blizzard-of-2011-and-what-she-did.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979239 | 193 | 1.5625 | 2 |
I've been making changes to the design of the double crank mech that I started yesterday.
There were a few problems with the design that needed a bit of tweaking. Firstly, as the crank turns there is a linkage moving the central push-rod up and down. The linkage is very short which means that as the crank turns it leans over at quite an angle and pushes the push-rod to the side in the direction of the arrow. This causes the push-rod to stick a little.
I could extend the linkage but this would make the box base taller than I want. I've got a couple of things to try. To start with, the linkage currently joins to the edge of the push-rod. If I centre it, it should limit the range of angles quite a bit.
Starting with the linkage. I made a linkage with the joint part centred by making a little roof shape. (Left) I then realised that this was geometrically identical to a straight box shaped linkage (centre) and ended up with pointed linkage (right) which is easy to make, neat and effective.
Okay, so that did nothing apart from neaten up the design. Next the push-rod itself. I want to be able to join the linkage to the centre of the push-rod. I made a simple fold of card which slips into the push-rod and gives a fixing point.
The linkage joins on here. Everything nicely centred. So now, I need to remake the full thing and see how it works.
The other thing I need to check out is whether I need a left handed or right handed crank!
Octopus model? How does that look?
Rate this post: | <urn:uuid:32bade03-24fb-4439-ada2-4c1208eadcbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.robives.com/blog/double_crank_some_development_and_prototyping_fun | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971402 | 351 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Obama’s Pump Dream
March 7, 2012 by John Myers
“This president, systematically, is doing everything he can to raise the price of energy in this country. He’s shutting down all sorts of opportunities for us to drill for oil.”
If you think gasoline is expensive now, just wait and see the price at the pump if Barack Obama is re-elected. His policies have steadily dragged the country toward $5 per gallon. If he gets another term in office, affordable gas will be a faint memory. And that will have Obama and his Green backers tickled pink.
The Obama Administration doesn’t seem to care that every 1 cent increase in the price of gasoline costs the economy $1.4 billion. America is becoming more dependent on Muslim oil while turning its back on a half-century energy alliance with Canada. This has been made evident by the President’s rejection of the Keystone Pipeline.
When Obama was sworn into office, the price of gasoline was $1.80 a gallon. Three years into his term, prices for some Americans are approaching $5 per gallon.
That is just the way Obama likes it. Given another four years, gasoline prices could reach $8 a gallon. This is because Obama has a greater allegiance to the Green Machine that drove home his victory in 2008 and that is fueling his chances for another victory lap come November.
The specifics of what the President promised to the environmentalists if he is re-elected remain a secret. But what we know for certain is that Obama clamped down on deep-water drilling inside the Gulf, tightened Federal restrictions for onshore oil exploration and vetoed the Keystone Pipeline, a major oil artery that would secure dependable Canadian crude to a nation thirsting for oil.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said the evidence is in, that the Obama Administration has willfully brought higher prices to the gas pump because it has put an embargo on fresh and dependable sources of North American petroleum.
“We can’t slow down global demand for oil and gas, but we can do a lot more here at home to assure that we have the energy we need and to halt skyrocketing costs,” Hutchison said. “President Obama’s policy has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown in new exploration and production of oil and gas.”
Speaker of the House John Boehner said the President has been reckless in mismanaging the nation’s energy policies.
When added up, not passing the Keystone Pipeline and “scrapping leases for oil-shale development” makes the President responsible for $5 gasoline, read a press release from Boehner.
“The Obama administration has spent more than three years blocking efforts to expand energy production and bring down gas prices, while pushing job-crushing tax hikes and taxpayer-backed loans to companies like Solyndra.”
Boehner laid out a timeline showing Obama’s purposeful drive to sending gasoline prices higher:
- Jan. 7, 2010 – The Obama administration announces new bureaucratic hurdles to American energy production that Secretary Salazar admitted “could add delays to the leasing and drilling process.” Gas is $2.67 a gallon.
- March 31, 2010 – Instead of opening new areas to energy exploration and development, President Obama blocks deep-ocean energy production on 60 percent of America’s Outer Continental Shelf. Gas is $2.80 a gallon.
- Dec. 1, 2010 – The president re-imposes and expands the moratorium on offshore energy production. Gas is $2.86 a gallon.
- Jan. 2, 2011 – TIME reported that the Obama administration issued the first in a series of regulations on January 2 designed to unilaterally impose a national energy tax. Gas is $3.05 a gallon.
- May 5, 2011 – The White House issues a formal statement opposing House-passed Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act and Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, legislation designed to jumpstart [sic] American energy production, address rising gas prices, and help create new jobs. Gas is $3.96 a gallon.
- June 21, 2011 – The White House opposes the House-passed Jobs & Energy Permitting Act that would unlock an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Gas is $3.65 a gallon.
- Nov. 8, 2011 – The Obama Administration releases a plan for a five-year moratorium on offshore energy production, placing “some of the most promising energy resources in the world off-limits,” according to the House Natural Resources Committee. Gas is $3.42 a gallon.
- Jan. 18, 2012 – President Obama rejects the bipartisan Keystone XL pipeline and the more than 20,000 jobs that would come with it. Gas is $3.39 a gallon, and rising faster and earlier than ever before.
Rising in tandem with gasoline prices has been crude oil. As you can see from the chart below, crude oil has risen almost 40 percent in the past two years and last week had an upward gap at $105 per barrel. This is a bullish signal and technically indicates the price of oil is going to go higher. More importantly, I think Obama will continue to provide the fundamentals for crude and gasoline to increase, perhaps another 40 percent higher if he is re-elected this November.
While debating other GOP candidates last month, Newt Gingrich criticized Obama’s national energy program, saying it has been instrumental in driving the price of gasoline to $5 per gallon in some parts of the country.
“[America needs a new] energy policy, getting back to $2.50 a gallon gasoline, outlining both the economic and National Security implications, indicating that instead of bowing to a Saudi King we ought to be drilling, and our goal should be to be so independent that we don’t care what the Iranians are doing in the Straits of Hormuz,” Gingrich said.
That really is a pipe dream for Gingrich and it can only happen if a Republican is in the Oval Office next year. Short of that, Obama’s pump dream of $8 per gallon gasoline is what we will have. That might good for Green backers and tree huggers, but it will cripple the recovery for the rest of the Nation that depends on affordable gasoline.
Yours in good times and bad,
Editor, Myers’ Energy & Gold Report
Editor’s Note: Last week, TransCanada announced it would move ahead with part of the Keystone XL pipeline, completing a section Oklahoma to Texas. This plan does not require Federal approval. In January, the Obama Administration rejected TransCanada’s proposal to build a pipeline from the Montana-Canada border through Nebraska because of pressure from environmentalist groups. | <urn:uuid:e79da15c-ae34-47dd-9767-614da18ad9a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personalliberty.com/2012/03/07/obamas-pump-dream/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=c1c9c39881 | 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 | 0.935619 | 1,414 | 1.554688 | 2 |
When news of the Connecticut elementary school shooting broke early Friday, few could comprehend the horror that unfolded there.
By the time the ordeal was over, shooter Adam Lanza had killed 27 people, including his mother and 20 children - some as young as 6 years old. He then killed himself.
How do you wrap your head around a tragedy like that? More importantly, where do you begin?
There are no easy answers to those questions. But Chief Kim Raney of the Covina Police Department can probably come as close as anyone to answering them. Raney was among the first to respond to a 2008 Christmas Eve massacre in Covina that left nine dead.
"When you hear about something like the Connecticut shooting it takes you back to what you experienced in the past," Raney said.
And what Raney experienced in 2008 was horrific indeed.
Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, estranged husband of Sylvia Ortega, showed up at the Ortega home on east Knollcrest Drive at about 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve where a holiday gathering was under way. Dressed as Santa Claus, he pulled out a 9mm handgun and began firing.
When the rampage was over his ex-wife, her parents and six other family members were dead. Pardo later shot himself to death at his brother's Sylmar home.
"There are so many different complexities to an event like that," Raney said. "That night there were 25 people at the house and we had to find everyone who wasn't accounted for. It took
And beyond the physical evidence, police were looking to explain why it happened.
"You look for motive and you look for co-conspirators," Raney said. "And there's lots of forensic evidence. You're trying to find a reason ... an explanation for the inexplicable."
Raney said he arrived about 20 minutes after the shooting took place.
"It's an experience I'll never forget," he said. "We set up a command post and we had firefighters there trying to put out the blaze. The house was fully engulfed and there were rounds going off inside because there were four guns involved and he had dropped some and left them behind."
In the aftermath of the Covina tragedy, police were also tasked with helping family members, friends and neighborhood residents come to grips with the situation.
"There is no script or guide on how to do that," Raney said. "In this situation the Ortega family had a tremendous amount of character, and the neighborhood was very supportive. We brought in mental health professionals to help them try to heal."
Raney said the mental health support was crucial.
"We had one meeting two days after the event for the affected neighborhood and another meeting two days after that for the general public," he said. "We wanted to put those out as fast as we could so there were no rumors running around."
Raney said his department has stepped up patrols of area schools in the wake of Friday's school shooting in Connecticut.
"I'm sure schools will be evaluating their security plans," he said. "This is traumatic for parents. Kids should be off limits. The challenge is that we live in a free society. And if someone has enough conviction and they don't mind dying in the commission of a crime, it's hard to stop them." | <urn:uuid:01164e02-59ae-4528-a937-c38b8908c915> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_22196671 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991061 | 687 | 1.5 | 2 |
Shambhala Music and Lyrics
The Truthsayers reintroduce a genre of music that is as old as antiquity. They are part of a renaissance of the original intent of music and art, which, according to the ancient texts of the I Ching, was “to ease tension within the heart and to loosen the grip of obscure emotions … ”
The Truthsayers look upon their words and music, not as entertainment, but as a means to liberate all peoples from whatever separates them from themselves and others. Their musical narratives, just as the musical stories of antiquity, reunite the heart, mind, body, and spirit, allowing individuals to become more mentally open, emotionally receptive, alive, aware, awake, cognizant, apprehensive, and knowing.
Lyrics by L.M. McDermott
Music by Baylor Maggenti, L.M. McDermott and Joseph Carrella
Keyboard Accompaniment by Derrick Mercurio
Music and Lyrics Copyright © 2011 Forerunner Publications | <urn:uuid:f19b270a-a02c-4b10-a261-869528e048a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shambhalablackbelts.com/music-and-lyrics.php/music_anythingatall.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941091 | 209 | 1.59375 | 2 |
TIME – Person Of The Year 2010
Time Magazine has announced their “Person of the Year” for 2010 and as usual it offers up some controversy. Some might be a little surprised that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg got the top honor, others will say it was the obvious choice.
When you connect half a billion people around the world. (Thats 1/12th of humanity!) We must also mention that this all began 7 years ago from a dorm room at Harvard when Zuckerberg was only a 19 yr old sophomore. Since then, his website-which was originally dubbed “Thefacebook.com” has made him a billionaire 6 times over. Over half of all Americans are Facebook users and we only account for 30% of the database. Like it or not, we have entered the “Facebook Era” and Mark Zuckerberg is at the steering wheel.
For connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is TIME’s 2010 Person of the Year. | <urn:uuid:d59759ed-aec4-4e3e-8288-1443afd84d78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://1079ishot.com/time-person-of-the-year-2010/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957453 | 226 | 1.601563 | 2 |
In the wake of the horrific Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin by Wade Michael Page—an ex-military neo-Nazi—comes a startling new investigation that reveals the depths of the extremist and criminal elements that have infiltrated the US military over the past two decades. Compiling years of research, interviews, and reporting from around the globe, journalist Matt Kennard presents a hard look at how the deliberate loosening of enlistment standards, especially after 9/11, allowed neo-Nazis, gang members, and the mentally ill to flood the ranks of the military.
Since the launch of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars—now the longest wars in American history—the US military has struggled to recruit troops. It has responded, as Irregular Army makes clear, by opening its doors to the volatile fringes of society—including white supremacists like Wade Page. Kennard’s report includes extensive interviews with extremist veterans and leaders of far-right hate groups who spoke openly of their eagerness to have their followers acquire military training for a coming domestic race war, encountering minimal resistance from recruiters. As a report commissioned by the Department of Defense itself put it, “effectively, the military has a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy pertaining to extremism.”
Kennard additionally tracks the rising enlistment of a variety of dangerous groups—including the physically unfit, the mentally ill, and convicted felons. He turns an eye on prominent gangs, such as the Bloods, Crips and Gangster Disciples, whose members join the military to receive weapons and combat training, and in some cases, use their stations as platforms for global drug trafficking and the illegal sale of high-power arms. Kennard shows the presence of all these criminals causes deep and irreparable harm; not only to occupied populations and fellow soldiers, but also to the countries to which these dangerous combatants return.
Irregular Army is a powerful investigation that exposes both the roots of defective military recruitment and its deadly aftershocks. Kennard’s book issues an urgent warning to the American public. With millions of veterans now back in the US and domestic extremism on the rise, Kennard calls upon the Department of Defense to tighten its regulations. “These are easy regulatory changes to make—if the will is there,” Kennard states. “But in terms of future attacks in the vein of Page, it could already be too late.”
Matt Kennard is a journalist based in London. He has worked for the Financial Times in Washington, New York, and London, and has written for Salon, the Chicago Tribune, and the Guardian. He graduated as a Stabile Investigative Fellow from the Columbia Journalism School. (Verso)
[As a courtesy to our guests, please keep comments to the book and be respectful of dissenting opinions. Please take other conversations to a previous thread. - bev] | <urn:uuid:3d824588-8c1f-4f5c-a95b-15a34956e800> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fdlbooksalon.com/2012/11/04/fdl-book-salon-welcome-matt-kennard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947959 | 597 | 1.640625 | 2 |
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Mon May 21, 2012
Opinion: The Right Recipe for Marriage
On May 9th, Barack Obama made history and headlines, becoming the first sitting president to openly support gay marriage. As expected, media outlets jumped on this announcement, a contentious social issue with favorability weighing almost an even split for and against in the polls. Commentator Richard Nelson argues that overall media coverage appeared bias, praising Obama for his “evolution” on the issue, without considering the other 50 percent or so who disagree on the issue. In his commentary, Nelson takes the opposing view and argues that the right recipe for marriage should include God in the mix.
Please note: Commentaries political in nature are solely the opinions of the commentator and do not necessarily reflect the views of WKMS or its staff.
Between an inmate receiving 41 percent of the vote in the West Virginia primary over President Barack Obama and six-term Indiana Senator Richard Luger’s ousting by a Tea Party darling, gay marriage remains the topic du jour after last week’s saucy mix of politics, pundits and an electorate who got the last word on the subject in North Carolina.
North Carolinians became the thirty-second state to amend their constitution to keep the timeless definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. Even though it passed by a 22 point margin, pollsters persist that Americans are really in favor of gay marriage. The New York Times cited nine surveys saying that 50 percent of American’s are for gay marriage. Apparently that memo didn’t make it to the Tar Heel State. It is understandable however, that when media serves up marriage as simply a social concoction of two parts “civil rights,” one part “equality,” and a pinch of “compassion,” they cultivate a new political taste amongst the masses. But also in the mix is a recipe of seismic social change at the hands of media cooks trolling for answers to fit their worldview.
If he who defines the terms wins the argument, then he who phrases the questions grades the test. In other words, the answer all depends on how you ask it. According to Greg Scott, director of national media relations at the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) “the fact that the questions are asked in the way they are, the pollsters know they’re going to get a certain result. It’s called acquiescence bias.”
Surveys cited in the New York Times used phraseology such as “allowing” gays to access certain “rights” or making marriage between homosexuals “legal.” Using such terminology in the questioning will garner a different response than: “Is marriage between one man and one woman for life?” When asked that way, 62 percent of the respondents said yes according to Scott. In fact, that number is corroborated by the average by which voters in all 32 states have approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. While public opinion on gay marriage has yet to be proven to be changing, the way the major media reports the news is. Call it their “evolution” toward advocacy journalism—which is often partisan and non-objective. A prime example is how the press covered President Obama’s “evolution” on gay marriage last week. He told ABC’s Robin Roberts. “The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the golden rule — you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids, and that’s what motivates me as president.”
Roberts got “chills” from the interview while President Obama got a free pass from the press when it came to whether he was “imposing his religion”—a disqualifier if not an epithet often hurled at social conservatives who invoke God and Biblical beliefs as a basis for their positions. Politicians of any party shouldn’t be demonized for referencing God but the media should play fair with both sides of the aisle, lest they fall into the trap oflooking down on anyone as Neanderthal for failing to “evolve” to their views.
To be sure, good measures of civility and respect are as necessary to this debate as are a transcendent and moral foundation. For the latter, social conservatives can thank President Obama for appealing to a higher authority for what constitutes the most basic of human relationships, however much they might disagree with his theological interpretations. In times when politicians from both parties do some collective soul-searching, seeking the Creator isn’t a bad place to start. In fact when it comes to marriage, God must be in the mix. Of course, answers are arrived at more readily when the media and their poll-tracking-brethren pursue truth and objectivity first and foremost.
Richard Nelson is a Trigg County magistrate and Executive Director of the Commonwealth Policy Center. | <urn:uuid:5b9168fb-52b1-4f8e-b9b1-69f1a22fa02d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wkms.org/post/opinion-right-recipe-marriage?ft=1&f=147377418,153224363,162247527 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954264 | 1,057 | 1.820313 | 2 |
As another source debunking the "it's all the Church's fault" see the recent works of sociologist Rodney Stark, most notably "The Victory of Reason."
Another good refutation of the "it's all the Church's fault" argument are the recent works of sociologist Rodney Stark, who suddenly (he used to describe himself as the "village atheist" ) has produced a series of books defending monotheism, the church, the Crusades, etc. against their over-educated despisers. ("It takes years of social scientific graduate training to believe such nonsense," he says at one point) Most specifically, see "The Victory of Reason," we he asserts was won by . . . wait for it . . . Roman Catholicism.
We must be defenders of the faith. That means defending the Catholic Church (church founded by Jesus Christ).We are here to learn and we have learned about many writings that "knock" the Church. It really is quite simple so do not get caught up in the retoric of the theologins.......A word to the wise!!!
The Catholic Church is definitely not to blame for the mess in the world, but individual Catholics ARE certainly to blame. We abort, contracept, divorce, fornicate, (and probably lie, steal, fail to help others) at the same rate as non-Catholics and perhaps even atheists (no stats on that). If Catholics really LIVED the FAITH the world would be a far better place. Catholics of the past two generations have not been catechized, nor converted, and people much older than that grew up believing whatever Sr. or FR. said was the TRUTH. Since Vatican II many of these Sisters and Fathers have gone over the cliff in their beliefs and practice. Perhaps the coming persecution will awaken us to what Christ has been calling us to do and to be since He left this earth physically. The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Faith, and we have definitely been in a huge drought for decades.
Interesting that critics of the middle ages look down on ascetical practices.But in our day, we laud bodybuilders, marathon runners, triathlon participants, vegans, and others who concentrate on self-discipline for one reason or another, generally not spiritual.
Post a Comment | <urn:uuid:778c4869-dffc-4223-82c1-44d8b13a9e19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marysaggies.blogspot.com/2011/10/fr-barron-criticizes-theory-of-catholic.html?showComment=1318619528939 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965412 | 472 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Ground is cleared for Saltash Celtic Cross
An area of ground in Cornwall is being cleared ready for a 20m (66ft) Celtic cross to be put up.
Devon and Cornwall Air Cadets have been working at Elwell Woods in preparation for the Saltash Celtic Cross to arrive.
The cross, which will be near the Tamar Bridge, is part of a woodland regeneration programme and it is hoped will attract tourists into the town.
It is anticipated that the cross, designed by Simon Thomas, will be put up in January.Town 're-regeneration'
Joe Ellison, a Saltash town councillor and project leader, said: "This is the final stage. The cross itself is virtually finished now, there's one component still to be manufactured.
"Because of the sheer length it can't go through the Glynn Valley to Saltash so it's going to have to go via the A30 to Exeter and back over the bridge to Saltash."
The cross is made of carbon and resin and will be finished in gold, silver and copper to reflect Cornwall's history of mining.
Mr Ellison said: "We think it will bring visitors into Saltash, who will bring money into Saltash and it will be a good way of re-generating the town."
In January an orchard with up to 20 varieties of Cornish apple will also be planted at the site as part of the project in a bid to restore it to its original use. | <urn:uuid:f2b52608-1bc1-4f34-9a86-e2b927e6f7f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20015786 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966727 | 304 | 1.617188 | 2 |
A beautiful garden is a place to marvel at nature, relax the mind, and entertain with family and friends. It’s a chance to show off all the hard work you’ve done, choosing just the right plants and creating the perfect arrangement to display them. But what if you’re looking to add a little something extra to your garden? Where do you turn? One of the best, most eco-friendly ways you can do that is by adding a solar fountain to your garden. Here are some things to consider when purchasing one.
Entries Tagged as 'imagination'
August 25th, 2011 1 Comment
July 28th, 2011 No Comments
Do you sometimes look out at the garden and wish for something a bit different but aren’t quite sure what? You are not alone. The garden can become a bit like wallpaper that’s been around for a few years and it is suitably inoffensive and ‘does the job’.
Take a look at your garden – would it cheer you up to see some changes for the better? Feedback from my customers strongly suggests that you would – so don’t leave it any longer – we can start straight away!
July 3rd, 2011 5 Comments
A group of around twenty people brought together by a love of gardens and the phenomenon known as Twitter were welcomed to The Laskett by the head gardener. The introduction was, in some respects, an apology. an apology for all the shortcomings of the gardens we were about to see: That it had been designed and built in stages on a tight budget: That there were only two gardeners working four days a week; That it was changing – implying that the owners weren’t necessarily happy with it; It was almost as if he was saying don’t expect too much of this garden – this of course after we had all paid our £10 entrance fee!
June 30th, 2010 6 Comments
The element of the Green Dock that I had particularly come to see however was the large rectangular formal garden with ribbons of topiarised Yew hedging trimmed in undulating waves running the entire length of the garden, crossed overhead with angled walkways.
May 12th, 2010 3 Comments
Every year the gardeners at Hidcote plant around 14,000 Tulips and as soon as they finish flowering they dig them all (well nearly all) of them out to make way for the summer planting. Why do they dig them out?
Everywhere you turn you can see how this Arts and Crafts garden of ‘rooms’ has been influencing gardens and garden designers ever since.
May 11th, 2010 No Comments
One of my main reasons for visiting as a Garden Designer is to look at the Show Gardens. Malvern isn’t known as a hotbed for innovation particularly but it can provide some neat glimpses at how other designers approach a garden or planting and I particularly enjoyed chatting with Deb Bird about her garden The Nature of Nurture which particularly struck a chord as I learned much of my gardening from my parents and grandparents. Perhaps one of the most interesting ideas though came in the Schools Section, where two gardens featured greenhouses made from recycled plastic bottles.
May 3rd, 2010 1 Comment
When you meet an iconic person from your chosen field it is difficult to know what to expect. When that designer has won a prestigious RHS Gold Medal at Chelsea flower show for the stunning Champagne Laurent-Perrier Garden you have a real sense of anticipation. Joy then when Luciano smiles in a totally relaxed greeting. Here [...]
March 31st, 2010 1 Comment
In an article today appearing in Horticulture Week, research by multimedia retailer QVC shows that an untidy garden can knock £5,000 off the value of your property. That’s a lot of hard earned money going down the drain!
February 8th, 2010 1 Comment
Garden Organic are running a new campaign called One Pot Pledge where enthusiastic gardeners encourage others who perhaps haven’t tried growing their own vegetables to give it a go. With that in mind I thought I’d share a quick and easy way to make your own recycled newspaper plant pots that biodegrade directly after use.
November 10th, 2009 No Comments
An article in todays Daily Telegraph by Maria Fitzpatrick shows how a well designed garden can add value both to your life and the value of your property. Whilst this may be obvious for a larger garden it is also true of smaller gardens. Several of the gardens that I have designed have done just exactly this for the owners. | <urn:uuid:9a2bb4f7-6a34-4ae2-8ad2-e5b6de8e0dbc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timmatchamgardendesign.co.uk/tag/imagination/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966492 | 948 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Written for the 'young adult' market, Inventing Elliot deals with something everyone goes through; finding a place for themselves in society.
For Elliot Sutton, the job is particularly tough. His father's a wreck in the aftermath of a brutal mugging, his mother's run ragged and desperate for cash, and he's small for his age. His lack of confidence and security marks him out as a victim and a magnet for bullies and thugs.
When his father's government compensation pays for a fresh start for the family, Elliot reinvents himself; a fresh image, a cool haircut, a place in his new school's swimming team. His aim – to stand out just enough to fit in, to pass unnoticed by the agencies that secretly police his new environment. But his plan misfires, and he soon finds himself co-opted into the ranks of The Guardians, the school's unofficial elite. Now he's the one who must punish the misfits, the freaks and the victims. Prey has become predator.
Gardner is excellent on character and relationship. Elliot's alliance with a younger boy who reminds him of his earlier self is tenderly drawn, as is his tentative relationship with the bright but virginal Louise, and there's a powerful portrait of a vulnerable English teacher who tries to get behind Elliot's increasingly inflexible mask.
But the plotting is not quite so strong. The novel takes too long to build up to Elliot's central moral conundrum, and its eventual outcome is anti-climactic, with important elements of the storyline left unresolved. Its influences (primarily Orwell's 1984) are a little too visible in places and we never really learn much about the human motivation behind the sinister Guardians' philosophy of control.
Nevertheless, this debut novel offers a powerful insight into the masks and armour we assume in an effort to defend ourselves from danger, and the moral sacrifices we make in order to maintain an illusion of security.
:: Clare O'Brien | <urn:uuid:eac81227-a17f-41ea-bacf-3448f5847330> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.counterculture.co.uk/book-review/inventing-elliot.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96904 | 405 | 1.585938 | 2 |
GC 2005: Project Gotham Racing 3
We get our first look at the game up and running.
Although PGR 3 has virtually been Microsoft's poster child for their next-generation system, to be honest, we really haven't heard much about it. MS has released shots, shown some mighty pretty trailers and has even been hyping PGR 3 in their viral marketing campaigns, but we have yet to actually witness any real-time gameplay. That was, until today when we had a chance to sit down with Bizarre Creations' Design Manager Nick Davies at the German Games Convention and see the game in motion.
Nick started off the demo by sharing Bizarre Creations' motto for designing PGR 3: "Life begins at 170 miles per hour." He explained that all of the 80+ licensed cars from over 30 manufacturers (including Ferrari, Dodge and Lamborghini) in the game will go at least 170 miles per hour, so don't expect any granny-mobiles here. Unlike most racing games, you can drive any car on any track out of the box. Nick explains, "Our thought is that if you spend $50 on a game, you should be able to play whatever you want."
The next part of our demo focused on the highly realistic environments in the game. To build the cities in the game -- New York, Tokyo and London -- artists took a minimum of 20 thousand photographs of each city, and compiled a whooping 40 gigabytes of picture data for each locale. We saw a side-by-side comparison of a real-life building in Manhattan and the in-game model, and it was difficult to determine which was which. Some of the signs were changed for legal reasons, but for the most part, the buildings looked spot on. As Nick tells us, "If you live there, you'll recognize the building around the corner."
The game also sports realistic, detailed interiors and dashboards that animate as they would in real life. If the player uses the handbrake in the game, the animated driver will pull it up in the car. If the player shifts gears, the driver will work the clutch and gear shift. The car models themselves also look quite realistic, and you can even notice little details like the engine gleaming through the grill on the Enzo.
The audio in PGR 3 should also be some of the most realistic in any racing game as the development team recorded every car in the game, redlining all of the engines to get the full range of the noises these powerful speed beasts can make.
Realism won't just be confined to the cars and the environment, though. Instead of being just flat, cheering masses, even the crowd will react to the race as it happens. If you slam into a guard rail along the course, those behind where you struck will jump back in fear. If you're doing well in the race, you may hear cheering as you fly around the track; if you're not doing so well, you may hear booing. In addition, Bizarre Creations has tried to accurately depict the size of the crowd in attendance at every given race, and the number of onlookers will be determined by the popularity of the race within the circuit. | <urn:uuid:b27a2f7c-b1f2-40c2-932f-de59f10890de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/08/20/gc-2005-project-gotham-racing-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971293 | 660 | 1.5 | 2 |
The defense in Jerry Sandusky's child sexual abuse trial is suggesting that a personality disorder explains some of the charges the former Penn State assistant football coach, but one expert says that may be a stretch.
Sandusky's lawyers are arguing that he suffers from histrionic personality disorder. It's defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking. It's often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior and rapidly shifting emotions.
According to the National Institutes of Health, histrionic personality disorder occurs more often in women than in men.
At least one expert wonders if it is a separate personality disorder, or just an aspect of broader personality defects. | <urn:uuid:2cb4564e-6f8a-4d51-8f8a-7b1163da118f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wilx.com/news/nationalnews/headlines/Experts_Cast_Doubt_on_Sanduskys_Disorder_Defense_159507055.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959506 | 139 | 1.804688 | 2 |
2012 is the year that Pinterest goes mainstream. Some universities have already jumped on board and are experimenting with the latest social network. Will Pinterest be the next big thing for universities? We think there’s a good chance.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board that enables users to share interesting images, videos, and links. Users can create pinboards based around certain themes. Other Pinterest users can share your pinned items by “repinning” it. The site is quite addictive since the visual layout makes it easy to browse what other people find interesting.
Pinterest is exploding in popularity. Over the last 6 months traffic has increased by 429%. Engagement is through the roof and has now become a daily fixture for many users. 70% of Pinterest users are female, a rare occurrence for early adopters in the tech world. All of these facts have drawn comparisons to Facebook’s early days.
How Universities Are Using Pinterest
Drake University has emphasized the student experience on its Pinterest page. They have boards dedicated to adorable pictures of bulldogs (its mascot), dreamy pictures of study abroad destinations, and an assortment of delicious looking treats for when students get hungry.
The University of Maryland has created several pinboards that showcase images of its campus and wrestling team.
Texas A&M University has boards featuring pictures of its campus, dorm room decoration ideas, and the best food for tailgating on game day.
Oberlin College has pinboards dedicated to artwork created by students, achievements from alumni, and recipes for vegan students.
Yale University has created a board that features videos of its art collection. How pinteresting…
Drake University should be the model for higher ed to follow. If you’re a prospective student, one look at Drake’s page and you get a good feel of the student experience. While other schools and brands tend to use Pinterest for self-promotion, Drake is using Pinterest to engage with its community. Pinterest shouldn’t just be a collection of images taken from around campus (you can have one board for that). It should be about collecting interesting and inspiring content from around the web that highlights the uniqueness of your institution.
Should Universities Use Pinterest?
Michael Fienen on eduGuru wrote a scathing post about higher ed embracing Pinterest. He argues that Pinterest might prove to be just another fad that goes away. Institutions should think twice before committing resources to the emerging social network when schools are still trying to figure out how to use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It’s a fair criticism since brands are still experimenting with using Pinterest for marketing. For some universities, a “wait and see” approach could prove to be the most effective.
Does your school need to be on Pinterest? It’s not necessary yet, but its a good idea to watch what other schools do. If your institution is a fashion or design school then you should consider signing up soon. Just remember, don’t make your brand page all about you. Be creative and make it about the students. | <urn:uuid:8e6c019d-6f6c-4fe0-b703-d9694a939b9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://geniusrecruiter.com/2012/02/08/how-universities-are-using-pinterest/ | 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 | 0.944485 | 632 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The society is trying to raise money to put a roof on the outside kennels at the animal shelter so the dogs are protected from the elements while volunteers clean the inside kennels, as well as build a safe outside area for dogs to run and exercise, said Executive Director Shawna Longcor. The shelter could also use some stainless steel kennels for cats in the isolation area.
While the last few events have brought in about $2,000, it will take $30,000 to make the improvements at the shelter, she said.
The society just wants the best environment possible for the
The Fort Morgan Veterinary Clinic recently donated some used cat kennels for the shelter, but better ones would be helpful, she said.
The shelter averages about 10 to 12 stray animals a week, with highs up to 40 a week, Longcor said. It receives more animals in the summer than any other time.
The Fort Morgan shelter goes to great lengths to prevent having to kill animals and find adoptive homes.
At least one of the walkers in the event had adopted a dog at the Fort Morgan shelter. Audra Unrein of Brush adopted "Keisha," a five-year-old Husky mix that seemed to enjoy the cold as she walked with her owner.
Mario Garcia and Luke Eikenberg, 13, both of Wiggins, finished at the same time as the first men in the run part of the event, with a time of 21:24.
Allison Johnston of Fort Morgan finished in first place among women. She said she has won other races, and is a long-distance runner.
Eikenberg is a member of the Wiggins High School cross country team, and Garcia is its head coach.
Garcia said there were about 50 people either running or walking in the event.
National figures are hard to come by, since shelters do not uniformly
About 56 percent of dogs and 71 percent of cats were euthanized.
Only 15 percent of the animals were reunited with their owners.
It is estimated that 3.7 million animals were euthanized in 2008.
To donate to the Fort Morgan shelter, go to the office at 900 E. Railroad Ave. or send a donation to Fort Morgan Humane Society, 900 E. Railroad Ave., Fort Morgan, Colo. 80701.
-- Contact Dan Barker at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:d681ec4b-76ac-4a99-a25b-326a676e2ce3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/fort-morgan-local-news/ci_21740241/fort-morgan-humane-society-5k-ers-defy-elements | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972372 | 492 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Tag Archives: Ask
If you are looking for a specific piece of information on the Internet, you would have to spend literally days sifting through the millions of sites if it were not for search engines. Search engines are simply programs that do the searching for you. They use the words or phrases, called keywords that you have input into their request box to locate websites that contain the information you are looking for. Popular search engines, like Google, Bing and Ask, processes millions of requests every day. They churn out search engine result pages, loaded with websites, in mere seconds. When you consider the sheer amount of data contained on the web, it is easy to understand how truly amazing these programs are. | <urn:uuid:8922da14-b349-461e-a277-09a2a24d2904> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.optimum7.com/tag/ask | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945786 | 141 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Sully points us to an interesting blog post on the decline of St. Louis courtesy of the interstate highway system. There is, unfortunately, a whole lot of truth to this.
St. Louis is a fascinating town. It is very old, considerably older than most other cities west of the Mississippi. Geographically it's almost a southern city but no one from the area would dare refer to St. Louis as a Southern town. It has a long standing history of sharp racial divisions. The city itself (the city and county are entirely separate entities) has a political system from when it had 3,000,000 residents, not 275,000 - which leads to almost total political gridlock. I could go on and on, someone should write a book. | <urn:uuid:ef5e2c2b-099c-4ea0-a0fb-213c6c98a0d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://steampoweredopinions.blogspot.jp/2010/07/decline-of-my-hometown.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976965 | 153 | 1.59375 | 2 |
YouTube is taking what it thinks is a big step towards keeping the video sharing site a leader for first-hand reporting with the introduction of a face blurring tool. The new option is available to uploaders in the Video Enhancements menu after uploading and it is activated in one click. The technology will then be used to identify faces throughout your video and blur them. It's designed for any sort of sensitive video — be it of a human rights protest or your child's birthday party. Unfortunately, there's no option to manually add blurring, so if the automatic tool misses any faces your only option is the mark the video as private. YouTube believes the new feature "allows people to share personal footage more widely and to speak out when they otherwise may not," but it also says that face blurring is just the "first step towards providing visual anonymity" — suggesting that we'll be seeing more identity-masking technology on the site soon. | <urn:uuid:6c5e6b9d-b46f-45b1-9e51-c070766e5e8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/18/3167154/youtube-face-blurring-option-sensitive-videos-human-rights | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939675 | 189 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Department of Public Safety & Oregon State Police
A safe and secure environment is made possible through each member of the Oregon State University community's involvement in crime prevention and sensible behavior.
In order to have a safe and successful Oregon State University experience, each person must take responsibility to recognize one's own vulnerability to crime and reduce risks through preventive action and cooperation with Oregon State Police and the Department of Public Safety.
Campus Safety - Active Shooter Awareness: Options for Consideration
For information about how you should respond to an incident of an Active Shooter click here.
For more information about OSU's policy against smoking on campus click here.
Oregon State University recognizes the importance of maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for our students, staff and faculty members. It is critical that everyone has an awareness of appropriate measures to be taken and procedures to follow to insure the safety of all. These guidelines and procedures are provided to assist the campus community in recognizing emergent situations and taking proper actions to reduce exposure to risk and harm. Each of us recognizes that there are no detailed instructions on how to deal with an emergency situation, however, we can learn from the recommendations and decide on the best course of action as the situation develops. These guidelines will serve as general reminders for students, faculty and staff when called upon to take immediate and deliberate action when an emergency strikes a building, an area of campus or the entire Oregon State University community. We are reminded that each of us as members of the campus community as a collective whole need to be familiar with policies, procedures and systems in place that will guide us in reponding to emergencies in a safe and proper manner.
News & Events
New Campus Alert System Implemented. This site keeps the OSU Community apprised of emergency situations related to campus and serves as an entry point to the OSU Alert notification system. To learn more and set up your emergency contact information visit the main Alert site here. For definitions of the OSU Alert Status colors mean visit here.
OSP/Department of Public Safety Security Alert: Registered predatory sex offender who has recently been released from prison and now lives in close proximity to the Oregon State University campus. Click here for specific information.
STOP TAGS/BIKE REGISTRATION: OSU Public Safety will be doing Stop Tags for Laptops, etc. and Bike Registrations on the following dates.
October 1-4 at the Memorial Union Quad. Time: Noon to 4 p.m.
Cost for the Stop Tags is $12.00 payable by Check or Money order. (No Cash/Debit/Credit Cards) Payable to: OSU Property Management
Bike Registration is free. Please bring your bike for verification.
For more information on Campus Bike Policy and our new Bike Theft Video Click here.
First Aid Supplies
The Oregon State Safety code requires that first aid supplies be available in close proximity to all employees. The required supplies are based upon the intended use and types of injuries that could occur in the work environment. Each department is responsible for determining how many first aid kits are needed for its work areas and the development of a program for maintaining these kits. First aid kits and replacement supplies are available through the Department of Recreational Sports Safety Programs (737-5411). | <urn:uuid:8b7a4207-d3f0-4041-983c-b4999e035d63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oregonstate.edu/dept/security/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936321 | 667 | 1.765625 | 2 |
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We are soon approaching that non-official holiday that we tend to celebrate anyway, known as Valentine's Day. In thinking of this day, I came upon a quote from that funny lady Lily Tomlin who said, "If love is the answer, would you restate the question?"
The quote brought to mind my mother's answer to me when I asked about love. Why she said what she did, I don't know, but her reply was that it was a tickling sensation around the heart that can't be scratched. Obviously the answer satisfied me until I garnered my own interpretation.
Today, we view the day much differently and, like many things, it has been highly commercialized. We now can find a variety of decorations to adorn both inside and outside of our homes, some can be seen right next to the still hanging Christmas lights or teetering reindeer.
Children's valentines have come further than the make-them-yourself variety we did in school, with paste sticking not only on the construction paper but our hands and everything else (thank goodness for glue sticks). Children are also guaranteed they will all receive a card since the rule is you bring one for everyone, which saves a lot of tears.
As adults we have also taken it a notch up. We have been inundated with ads for flowers, jewelry, candy, cards and gift items. If those are your choices, you don't have to go far. I count six flower shops in the Riverside and Brookfield area. If you go that route just remember red roses mean "I love you."
If you're giving candy and feel guilty that it isn't the healthiest choice, Aunt Diana's Fudge Shop in Riverside carries a good selection of dark chocolate, which is good for you. There are plenty of places to dine out, and the Chew Chew even has a special Valentine's Day menu.
Then again you may look at the day as one with a religious significance and reference St. Valentine. Actually there was more than one St. Valentine, and they didn't seem to have much to do with "love." They were all martyrs.
Around 1969 the Pope even removed St. Valentine's name from the calendar and now he/they are just listed among the long, long list of saints.
Celebrate however you wish. A random act of kindness would be nice! Hearts to you, readers! | <urn:uuid:81f296fc-1297-4873-984b-d31e2991d7be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rblandmark.com/News/Articles/2-7-2012/Getting-in-the-mood-for-February's-big-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981723 | 507 | 1.820313 | 2 |
WordPress is my favorite blogging platform and it will remain so, always. However, there is some kind of “soft corner” being formed towards Blogger.
Reason ? …. I found lot of Malayalam blogs on Blogger. Blogger makes it easy to write and publish in Malayalam and few other Indic languages. There is a good community being formed around these Malayalam blogs on Blogger. I did try this Malayalam typing, and found really really easy.
The Malayali Blogging community, is trying hard to Malayalam Blogs popular. I am trying to find information on how to blog in Malayalam using wordpress. I would like to document it, at one place. If you have some information about WordPressing in Indic languages, or some plugins that you know about, please drop me a comment here
So far, I have managed to post using copy n paste method. I found one plugin too, which is not working here ( may be because its not compatible with the latest wordpress version. ) I will keep you guys updated !!
How to write Malayalam for WordPress
As I said earlier, we do not have something similar to what blogger.com has. For now, you can either use blogger.com, to create the blog content and then paste it to your WordPress blog editor.
If you do not want to use Blogger to type in Malayalam, you can use Google Transliteration to write in Malayalam and then paste it to WordPress.
Where to Look for Malayalam WordPress Blogs | <urn:uuid:2a948bb1-c8c1-49e6-b821-cc0924c9d156> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.offlineblog.net/tag/typing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936322 | 330 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Hello my friends! I know,i know is been a long time since i last posted here. I was awfully busy!
Now i am back with some new ideas and of course your requests on new tuts based on Blender 2.64 which came with new hot features.
In this video we will explore the effect of Time Warping. With this effect we can give emphasis to events within a footage that was shot with high frame rates such as 100fps and up. The more the FPS ,the better in order to have a better time resolution.
Always remember. Common Cameras such as Cellphones or DSLR usually shoot 24-50 frames per second so we do not have so much time resolution. I used a GoPro Hero 2 for that little shooting.
(Image Courtesy of Sportsmag.gr)
You can download the test footage@100fps 424×240
Of course in case you missed it there is a very early sample here together with sound manipulation that match the speed. | <urn:uuid:be0961d3-5440-4015-bf37-d74268144f14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cgdudes.com/ | 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 | 0.950359 | 203 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Business School Offers 2 New Master’s Degrees
Finance, Supply Chain Management Programs Broaden Management Offerings
July 17, 2008
To keep pace with the changing business world’s demands, UT Dallas is rolling out new graduate programs in finance and supply chain management.
New Master's Degrees
The School of Management’s new master’s programs make their debut in August.
The finance degree will prepare students for a variety of careers. Students will specialize by choosing one of four degree concentrations:
- Financial Analysis, for students interested in completing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) examinations in preparation for careers as financial analysts.
- Financial Management, allows students to tailor their course work for careers in a range of activities: e.g., corporate finance, investment banking, venture capital, private equity, commercial banking, insurance, etc.
- Financial Risk Management, designed for students interested in careers in financial risk management and one of the financial risk management certifications.
- Financial Engineering, designed for students with the quantitative ability to pursue a career applying quantitative methods to investment and risk management problems.
“These are some pretty hot areas right now that will help people planning to take specific certifications,” said David Ritchie, associate dean for operations in the School of Management. Dr. David Cordell is faculty liaison for the program.
Dr. Robert Kieschnick, associate professor of managerial economics and finance, pulled together observations from graduate students and employers to fashion the new degree.
“Students wanted to be identified as a master of finance; the old degree didn’t identify their expertise,” Dr. Kieschnick said. “This degree better suits their needs. If you were to ask people what they wanted in finance, this is what they would ask for.”
For the master’s degree in supply chain management, students will study the intricacies of supply chain management, which is the discipline of finding the cheapest and most timely way to procure parts and supplies for a company’s operations.
Because businesses spend billions of dollars buying parts from all over the world, even a marginal improvement in the procurement process can result in substantial cost savings and the reduction of bottlenecks.
A supply chain manager bridges the gap between a company’s needs and the availability of supplies. The manager must use his knowledge to optimize the process. The tools include inventory management, logistics, information technology, marketing and negotiation.
The program will furnish opportunities to learn about improvement of supply chain operations in addition to projects and connections with area companies. “The program has been driven by the industry and tailored by people high up in surrounding corporations,” said Dr. Avanti Sethi, faculty liaison for the supply chain management degree. “They told us what they needed and we built from there.” | <urn:uuid:7603775e-99ae-4de3-8bb1-fbf07a570034> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2008/07/17-002.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944155 | 594 | 1.5625 | 2 |
SB 1218, a Texas bill which was geared to restrict transgender Texans from getting marriage licenses has died.
News that impacts the transgender community, from transphobic news coverage to positive and uplifting personal stories
Latest Update on Transgender
As part of our support for transgender media coverage, we talked to Stephanie Battaglino and Mari Rosenberger about their careers, their work in transgender advocacy for employees, and their relationship.
A closer look at a wonderful piece CNN aired on transgender youth.
GLAAD worked with producers of "The Insider" to highlight five prominent members of the transgender community in a segment responding to Chaz Bono's appearance on "Dancing with the Stars" this week.
As part of our support for transgender media coverage we talked to Jamison Green, Ph.D., about his experience as an educator, policy advisor, and advocate for transgender health and non-discrimination.
Tune into "The Insider" tonight to watch five prominent members of the transgender community give their take on Chaz Bono's participation in "Dancing with the Stars."
Just when you thought it was safe...maybe... to watch Fox News cover trans issues.
After outreach from GLAAD, Boston's #1 rated radio station will now air a series of PSAs about the need to protect transgender people from discrimination.
Ablow neglected his duties as a doctor, and instead played the role of an anti-transgender activist, spreading harmful misinformation about the lives of transgender people.
Ella Vincent at Clutch highlights black LGBT women who have been a beacon of strength and inspiration within the LGBT liberation movement, including Janet Mock, Staceann Chin and, Nikki Giovanni and Monica Roberts to name a few.
Although the movement for transgender equality has seen significant milestones over the past year, there is still much work to be done to keep momentum going. Helping to reach this goal is the Transgender Law Center, which will be hosting its 7th annual Transgender Leadership Summit at UC Berkeley on November 9 -11.
The San Francisco Health Commission today voted unanimously to remove transgender exclusions from the Healthy San Francisco program, which provides health care for uninsured residents.
The Daily beast highlights the impact of revised photo-ID laws on trans voters.
Isis King shot to fame -- and consequently became voice for transgender women -- when she competed in cycle 11 of hit reality TV show "America's Next Top Model." As the show's first trans competitor, King's brought mainstream attention to transgender issues, including the transitioning process and LGBT homelessness (King was in assisted living before the show), as the model openly shared her story with fellow contestants and the judges.
Servicmembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and OutServe have appointed transgender Army veteran Allyson Robinson as their leader. Robinson previously worked at the Human Rights Campaign addressing workplace issues.
Lawyers for transgender inmate Ophelia De' Lonta in Virginia presented her case before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, asking that a lower court ruling that denied her state funding for surgery be reversed.
A Cook County Judge has approved a court agreement that will allow transgender people to change their Illinois birth certificates without undergoing genital surgery. | <urn:uuid:6a2f9e0a-a611-4393-9bd0-58a68e584782> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glaad.org/issues/transgender?page=47 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955826 | 651 | 1.695313 | 2 |
KOREA: Hospital Ads to Be Allowed on TV
Hospitals and other medical facilities are now allowed to run advertisements on television and radio
Sunday, February 21, 2005
By Kim Rahn
Hospitals and clinics will be allowed to run advertisements through television and radio from next year.
The regulation banning them from putting advertisements in newspapers more than twice a month will also be scrapped, and hospitals will be able to publicize their surgery methods.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that the government is preparing a revision bill of medical laws to ease regulations, and plans to implement the new laws from next year.
Current medical laws prohibit medical advertisements through television and radio, and allow a hospital to advertise in newspapers and magazines only twice a month, not including advertisements for opening, closing and relocation of hospitals.
The advertisements may also contain doctors’ resumes and surgery methods, as well as 12 items such as the names of doctors and hospitals and the operating hours.
Experts will examine advertisements suspected of containing exaggerated or false information, and punishment will be extended from a one to two month business suspension to three to six months.
Following the measure, hospitals and clinics, especially large hospitals, are expected to actively engage in marketing by introducing their up-to-date operation methods and special medical instruments through mass media advertisements.
Also, along with the policy allowing medical treatment for Koreans at foreign hospitals in free economic zones in Inchon, Pusan and Kwangyang, fierce market competition is expected next year.
"We plan to prepare a revision bill in the first half of the year, and pass it at the ordinary session of the National Assembly. We’ll scrap unnecessary regulations, leaving some restrictions only for exceptional cases," a ministry official said.
Fair Trade Commission chairman Kang Chul-kyu had said in an interview with a radio program last month that the government supports easing of the regulations, as there are criticisms that regulating medical advertisements infringe on the people’s right to know.
Date Posted: 2/21/2005 | <urn:uuid:fcb5ed51-2827-4060-963d-106f04db913a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=21057 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95353 | 421 | 1.71875 | 2 |
How to share the gospel
As I have been studying and learning in seminary about the gospel of Jesus it seems that there are two ways in which most people talk to others about the gospel of Jesus.
*Warning, this is really hard to talk about. When talking about the risen Jesus all human words fall short. My advice is to go read the Bible and figure this out for yourself*
It seems that the first way and the most common way is short and easy, typically called the “Romans Road,” or something witty like that. Whatever it is called it follows the same route.
- You are a sinner and that means Jesus will send you to hell.
- Jesus died for you.
- To avoid hell believe in Jesus and say this special prayer with me.
- Now that you believe in Jesus you can have eternal life with him.
- Now that you believe in Jesus tell others and live a good life happily ever after.
This is typically the style that is seen by street preachers and people who mean well. This style does work, it worked for me and it I have seen pastors use it at Christian events where thousands stand up to accept Jesus.
This way of talking about Jesus to others is not un-biblical and necessarily wrong, like I said it worked for me. However, there seems to be a second way, which is often called emergent or neo-evangelical yet it isn’t new it has been around for hundreds of years.
- We were created by God and created to be in relationship with God.
- When there was nothing good in us, Jesus died for us.
- We already know in our guts that our life is a mess and we feel distant from the God who created us, this is why we try to fill that void with everything else.
- Jesus’ death and resurrection is the manner in which we have hope not just for a future resurrection into eternal life but for a life now that is better than the distance and loneliness we experience now because we experience a relationship with the risen Jesus.
- Accepting that Jesus’ work on the cross was for you and that Jesus loves you (no matter what you did or what happened to you) brings you into a relationship with God and you begin the journey to become more like Jesus.
This way seems to be what I am hearing lately. It doesn’t seem wrong, however, it also isn’t nearly as easy. This second way may not work with a group of people we don’t know but it would probably be better with someone who is a friend.
So which one is right? I have no idea, maybe it depends on how well you know the person? Maybe it depends on your goals: is it to keep them out of hell or is your goal to tell them about a relationship with Jesus that is real and helpful for now and for later?
Both ways proclaim that only through Jesus’ work on the cross are we forgiven. One starts with the person as a worthless sinner and relies on the person to reach out to God. The other places all the work on God as the creator, the Savior and the sustainer of the person. | <urn:uuid:2e7ad474-9dfe-48de-a532-f0e4df706cb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.divinecrash.com/2010/02/03/how-to-share-the-gospel/ | 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 | 0.982149 | 665 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Florida will have a 12th university.
In a year when the state’s current 11 universities’ budgets are being cut by hundreds of millions of dollars, Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a bill creating Florida Polytechnic out of the University of South Florida’s branch campus in Polk County — the final approval of the pet project of departing Senate President JD Alexander.
Meanwhile, as the governor signed the bill Friday making Florida Poly Florida's 12th state university, he also vetoed four budget conforming bills. They are HB 5009, dealing with state employees' health insurance benefits; HB 5011, dealing with state technology; HB 5103, dealing with school readiness programs; and HB 5505, dealing with the Department of Financial Services, under the supervision of CFO Jeff Atwater.
Opposing the new university were students, faculty, Florida’s top business leaders and citizens all over the state, who felt that now is the wrong time to embark on an endeavor that will cost taxpayers for years to come.
The bill, slipped into the budget during the last Legislative session, circumvents a decision made last year by the Board of Governors. Also upon the urging of Alexander, the state university system governing board voted in November to allow the campus to split away only after meeting certain benchmarks, including a minimum enrollment and accreditation.
Alexander says the new university will be good for Florida because it will focus on science, technology, engineering and math.
-- Kim Wilmath and Steve Bousquet | <urn:uuid:ee67802e-d961-45ce-8425-84de19b968e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/04/scott-approves-12th-university-and-vetoes-four-budget-related-bills.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944191 | 310 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Canadian culinary historian Pamela Foster has crafted a cookbook based on the early 20th century British cuisine featured in the show -- though she's given it a modern, and more healthy twist.
So don't expect to find a recipe for kidney souffle in Foster's book, no matter how much Downton's lords and ladies -- and their maids and footmen -- may have enjoyed it.
"Some of the food, people nowadays just wouldn't like it," she said of the dishes that use "parts of animals that most people aren't used to eating anymore."
Foster also reduced the fat content and amended the cooking methods so the recipes could more easily be replicated by today's cooks. And she took out some of the butter to lighten up the rich pastries served with tea "to make them healthier."
"There are some recipes (Scotch eggs or fritters) I wouldn't touch because they're fried," Foster said in a telephone interview from her Toronto-area home.
Foster, whose blog DowntonAbbeyCooks.com chronicles her thoughts on the show with recipes to fit the mood, started the project last year after a marathon viewing of the first season.
"Each episode, I paid close attention to what was being served. Some was just mentioned, and some you saw on camera," Foster said.
The author told AFP she had long been interested in the cuisine of Britain's nobility, because her husband traces his roots to a family like Downton's Crawleys.
Foster's blog turned into an e-cookbook "Abbey Cooks Entertain" and now, due to its huge popularity, a print version is being considered.
She explained that the cuisine of the Edwardian period was influenced by both French and Indian foods.
"Edward VII loved food, sauces and curries in particular, and people did then as (royal watchers) do now: they did what the king did and his food passions spread," Foster explained.
Many of the recipes are easy even without kitchen staff, she said, because French chef Auguste Escoffier simplified them at the end of the 19th century.
However, she cautioned that Downton's fans probably won't want to eat exactly like the aristocracy did back then.
The English aristocracy, wary of fresh vegetables they believed caused scurvy, ate a lot of meat and fish bathed in French sauces in the upstairs dining rooms, while servants ate mostly vegetables downstairs.
Moreover, "if you were the king, you ate five or six times a day, multiple courses... and then had a midnight snack. To eat like they did, you'd spend all day eating," she said.
Her cookbook includes 220 recipes, including the roast chicken Mrs Patmore dropped on the floor in the first season of the show and the apple charlotte that she refused to make.
"I tried to give a flavor of the cuisine," Foster said. "It's nice to give British cuisine a boost in popularity and respect. They were known as the worst cooks in the world, except for the Scots and their broth." | <urn:uuid:0c02d55e-502a-4554-83f3-e5291a882a3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/downton-abbey-cookbook-2013-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984798 | 645 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Everybody gets criticized on social media. It’s common sense; sometime someone’s going to offer a review that’s less than complimentary. One hairdresser I knew had a laptop in his reception so people could leave a review on Qype on their way out. I asked what happened if reviews weren’t great and his answer was straightforward: “Everyone gets a dud review sometimes. Deal with it.”
There are ways, though, of dealing with hostility online, whether on Twitter, Facebook or any of the other networks. Here I’m excluding so-called “cyber-stalking” and deliberate bullying – these can require external help. But turning old-fashioned criticisms around can be dealt with in a number of ways.
First consider that the critic may be right, if not in what they’re saying then perhaps in the way they are saying it. For example, a software company recently hired a blogger to write about small business issues and the response from readers was universally hostile in spite of the company itself being happy with the posts. A few explanations spring to mind:
- The writing may have been poor – although the software company may have spotted this
- The writer had misunderstood the customers’ needs
- The software company may have misunderstood its customers’ needs and briefed inappropriately as a result
Each of these is a reasonable possibility and the negativity offered an opportunity to re-evaluate some of the underlying processes.
A more explicit example of someone turning critics around was Carphone Warehouse, which has someone employed to monitor the social networks and see if there are complaints. If there are, he offers to help and takes the issue to email – thus taking it out of the public view as quickly as possible and hopefully resolving the issue, prompting the initial critic to say something about the way the issue has been addressed.
O2 does much the same thing, although it’s notable that some of the press has seen this as further reason for criticism – the Daily Mail ran a piece on Big Brother watching people’s Tweets and intervening when there was any criticism a while ago, which seemed to many to miss the point.
Vince Tseng is managing director of technical support company Squaretrade and has a lot of experience in this area. “Reputation management is key to protecting and enhancing a service brand,” he says. “Social media has opened up a new sphere in which businesses can achieve this. For example, if a customer has a bad experience with your brand, they can come directly, and easily, to you through Twitter to complain or seek advice. This direct access without the stress of being on hold for ages makes the process easier for the customer and then if you respond accordingly, it can be one of the best ways to turn that user into a brand advocate.”
There have indeed been cases in which corporates or their representatives have tried to fake positive comments or negatives about the competition – the instance in which the MD of King of Shaves saw a Tweet suggesting his products cut people’s faces to ribbons and responded with the accurate “Shall you tell everyone you’re the competition’s PR, or shall I?” was a pretty blatant example.
Sometimes something else happens and a campaign goes wrong – people find it interesting for all the wrong reasons. In February 2012 burger giant McDonald’s found itself at the sharp end of this when it started Tweeting about its suppliers with the hashtag #McD Stories. Critics took it up with Tweets like “Found a fingernail in my burger” – true or not, it got a laugh and didn’t help the brand.
Jay Hallberg is founder and MD of Spieceworks, a B2B social media network. One of his clients found an advert caused unexpected laughter and indeed ridicule. “Unitrends, a data backup and disaster recover vendor, posted an advertisement with the aim of driving traffic to a new whitepaper,” explains Hallberg. “The advertisement attracted a lot of negative and comical attention, as a result of the person and items in advertisement looking unrealistic. Within a matter of hours, the thread took a life of its own as more and more Spiceworks users began to comment and laugh about the adverts’ poor quality.”
The company was able to turn this around, though, Hallberg explains. “Rather than withdraw the advert and hide from public embarrassment, Unitrends took the courageous step to admit fault, and after listening to the Spiceheads, launched a competition for the community of users to create a better advertisement,” he says. “Thus, they were able to step out from behind their logo, and become more of a personality. The competition was widely popular, and received over 150 entries, with the winner being by the Spiceworks users. Now, many of the 1.8 million Spiceheads view Unitrends as a brand with real personality, and one that is willing to listen to its customers.”
The moral is that anything can be turned to a company’s advantage either with attention to the complainer or, in the case of a campaign backfiring, a lot of imagination.
With over 20 leading corporate practitioners sharing best practice, the conference is designed to help you develop better customer retention, positive brand sentiment and competitive advantage by incorporating social media into your customer service strategy.
Speakers contributing include Citi, Virgin Atlantic, Domino’s Pizza, BT, Nokia, DHL, Zappos, KLM, Vodafone, and many more.
To download a conference brochure for all the info you need, go here: Customer Service Brochure | <urn:uuid:b979786f-43ca-4acd-b92b-b54b7dd19b52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usefulsocialmedia.com/blog/featured/turn-critics-into-advocates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968042 | 1,191 | 1.585938 | 2 |
On completion of a successful project, Draka UK Ltd has been awarded certification to ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management. The awarding body, SGS, carried out a three-stage assessment process including: Initial Assessment; Document Review; and Final Audit, prior to recommending the site for registration to the internationally-recognised environmental standard.
Accomplishing the ISO 14001 certificate completes stage two of a three-stage process to achieve a fully integrated management system encompassing Quality (ISO 9000), Safety (ISO 18001) and Environment (ISO 14001).
According to Russell Salt, Draka’s Quality, Safety and Environment Manager, “Achieving ISO 14001 required a considerable team effort and significant investment in the company’s oil, water and waste management systems and procedures”.
Following achieving ISO 14001 status he says: “Our customers have an expectation that good businesses demonstrate their commitment to improvement through the adoption of best practice principles defined within British and International standards. Previously, the market focus was on product quality, which ultimately led to the introduction of the ISO 9000 series of standards.” He continues: “Now with the increase in global environmental awareness and social responsibility it is recognised that industry needs to take a leading role in assessing its environmental aspects and controlling its impacts on the world around it.”
ISO 14001 has been written in the same vein as ISO 9000 and introduces best management practice into environmental controls across all types of organisations. Objectives and targets are set and regularly reviewed via continuous improvement strategies required to maintain certification. Russell reminds us that, “Certification is reliant on successful surveillance audits and we realise that our teams are the key to maintaining and improving all our activities within the integrated management system framework. Our people are our most important asset, hence our commitment focuses next on achieving certification to OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety).”
The 18001 standard has been developed to provide businesses with the elements of an effective Occupational Health and Safety system that help achieve health, safety and economic objectives. It has been written specifically to integrate with existing systems, such as ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environment).”
Russell concludes: “Achieving our integrated management system goal is essential to our business; the bringing together all of the company’s systems and processes into a single framework will allow us to work as a single unit with a common set of objectives. Every department and every individual employee will be working towards improving the performance of our site and the entire supply chain.”
Draka UK is the country’s leading designer and manufacturer of fire performance cables, zero halogen power cables and building wires. The company is part of Netherlands-based Draka Holdings NV, which has over 9,000 employees worldwide. Further details are available by telephone on +44 (0) 1332 345431, by fax on +44 (0) 1332 331237, and via email at [email protected]. The company’s website can be found at www.drakauk.com | <urn:uuid:5cd72e43-be85-40c6-a11e-b38fce18238c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drakauk.com/news/news_details.aspx/55/Congratulations_Derby__Environmental_Success___A_Step_Closer_To_Full_Integration | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941222 | 638 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The Yorkville-based Kendall County Food Pantry will benefit with cash and food donations from the 18th annual Kendall County CROP Hunger Walk on Sept. 30 at Oswego Presbyterian Church, 1976 Rt. 25.
The public is invited. Participation is free.
Walk co-leaders Kathy Davidson of Montgomery and Cindy Pittsford, Oswego, said more than $4,000 was donated to the pantry from last year's Kendall CROP Walk.
"The food pantry is feeding more clients with fewer donations," Davidson said. "Walkers and others are invited to bring cash and food donations to a pantry truck that will be stationed at the church."
Items needed most are canned fruit, tuna,mayonaisse, mustard, ketchup, and dish soap Davidson said.
On Sept. 30, the three-mile walk opens with registration and a free hot dog lunch at 1 p.m.
At 1:30 p.m., walkers will step off on a route that loops back to the church. A water station will be available.
"This year's walk is dedicated to the memory of Charles Doetschman and Lyle Hardecopf, longtime Kendall CROP Walk supporters," Davidson said.
Walkers are welcome to bring their dogs on leashes.
Prizes donated by local businesses will be raffled..
Davidson said the walk's goal is $20,000 to help stop hunger and poverty in Kendall and around the world, through self-help initiatives.
Twenty-five percent of the funds raised in Oswego will go to the Kendall County Food Pantry.
Last year, about 150 Kendall County walkers raised more than $16,000 in their locally organized CROP Hunger Walk.
Since 1985, the Kendall County walk has raised $158,371 to fight hunger. A quarter of those funds were returned to the local area.
In Illinois, the Kendall County walk was the 26th highest fundraising CROP event in 2011.
According to Davidson, "On Sept. 30, we will gather with others in Kendall County to fight hunger both here and around the world.
"We need walkers and sponsors for the walk. Please contact me or a church recruiter for more details and to sign up to be a walker, a sponsor, or both.
This year, Kendall County communities are among 2,000 cities and towns nationwide joining together in interfaith community CROP Hunger Walks around the theme "Ending hunger one step at a time."
Many of the CROP Walkers will be wearing T-shirts, proclaiming their solidarity with the millions of neighbors around the world who have to walk to live -- as well as with the millions served by local food pantries, food banks, and meal sites in the U.S.
For the 21st year, Colonial Café & Ice Cream will give a cash donation to the Kendall CROP Walk for every walker. Additionally, Colonial will give each walker a free sundae certificate to help stop hunger after the walk.
Kendall churches participating with team recruiters are:
Montgomery--Neighborhood Church of the Brethren, Ginger Florence;
Newark--Immanuel Lutheran, Laura Devick
Oswego--Oswego Presbyterian, Davidson, Montgomery
Plainfield--Followers of Christ Lutheran, Rev. Ron Voss; Wheatland Presbyterian,Nancy Krumpolz
Yorkville--Church of the Good Shepherd, Donna Rodriguez; Kendall County Food Pantry, Mary Ellen Dempsay; Trinity Church United Methodist, Deb Croyle and Katherine Kunkel, Montgomery; Plattville United Methodist; AuSable Grove Presbyterian; Yorkville Congregational United Church of Christ, June Davis.
Responding to Overcome Poverty (CROP) hunger walks are sponsored worldwide by Church World Service, an international relief agency.
CROP Hunger Walk is the oldest hunger-fighting fundraising event in the U.S. CWS helps people around the world have enough food to eat and clean water to drink--allowing children to have the best start at life possible.
Haiti is one part of the world where CROP Hunger Walks are making a big difference.
In the aftermath of the killer earthquake, CWS was there with much-needed emergency assistance.
With the recovery effort in full swing, CWS is helping families and communities to rebuild homes, food supplies and livelihoods.
CROP Hunger Walks also play a role in the U.S., helping communities ravaged by floods and tornadoes to recover.
For more information about the Kendall County CROP Hunger Walk, call Davidson at (630) 897-1108. | <urn:uuid:81a64ca4-310b-4280-b4da-313a0bacfbb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.legalrecord.net/kane-county/6850-kendall-county-food-pantry-to-benefit-from-sept-30-walk.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931072 | 967 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Security and Defense News
Sep 26, 2012
In this interview, Counterterrorism expert Philip Mudd describes the ability of the US to identify and respond to emerging global threats such as terrorism, drug cartels, and human trafficking. Are we safer today and what is the US national security narrative in the age of globalization?
Sep 20, 2012
This project emerged from an awareness of the growing influence, in both the United States and especially China, of both public and elite attitudes on what many analysts recognize as the increasingly turbulent bilateral security relationship. Its objective is to obtain non-partisan policy-relevant data and insights on the evolving content and influence of such attitudes, as policymakers seek to reduce the likelihood of serious future bilateral crises or conflicts.
Sep 14, 2012
On Sept. 13, Gallup released a poll showing that 95 percent of surveyed Libyans want militias to turn in their weapons immediately. Gallup conducted more than 1000 face-to-face interviews with adults during March and April 2012.
Sep 11, 2012
After the terror attacks on 9/11, a public opinion survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs showed widespread support for increased spending on national security and counterterrorism. A decade later, a new survey shows that "Americans have become increasingly selective about how and where to engage in the world." Jane Harman and Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution, spoke with listeners about the results of the 2012 survey on NPR's Talk of the Nation.
Sep 05, 2012
Both Washington and Beijing consider good bilateral relations of vital importance. But their growing strategic rivalry has the potential to evolve into mutual antagonism. The hard reality is that China and the United States will not be able to lessen strategic mistrust unless and until they are prepared to address a central question: is there an array of military deployments and normal operations that will permit China to defend its core interests while allowing America to continue fully to meet its defense responsibilities in the region and protect vital U.S. interests?
Aug 30, 2012
Santos has made ending the conflict a goal of his administration, and the challenge has been operating under conditions that are conducive for meaningful talks and not for a charade.
Aug 30, 2012
Director Cynthia Arnson was invited onto Al-Jazeera to discuss the negotiations with FARC insurgents begun by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
Aug 28, 2012
Ecuadorian President Correa’s decision to grant asylum to Julian Assange is bringing his country’s relationship with the U.S. (its top trading partner) to a new low.
Aug 24, 2012
Director Cynthia J. Arnson discusses why she thinks Rafael Correa has been so protective of Assange.
Aug 16, 2012
As the world’s largest exporter of corn, soybeans, and wheat, the United States is vital to the global food market. But this summer has seen the country’s worst drought since 1956, and several other key grain-producing regions have been affected by abnormal weather this year as well. | <urn:uuid:2fd2b83c-ab09-4de4-af65-09937774b972> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news-list/Security%20and%20Defense?page=8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951236 | 613 | 1.734375 | 2 |
‘Eat organic.’ ‘Buy local.’ ‘Grow our own.’ Directives tossed from one green-thumbed hand to another. But to actually grab hold of one and plant it in solid ground, to tend and nurture it until it grows, takes perseverance and dedication. Grahame Hughes has shown these qualities by producing local and organic produce for the past 30 years. On the tenth of October 2008, he spoke at the Greenhouse to ask his audience to actively support local organic food production.
32 guests and 11 volunteers gathered in The Greenhouse Café for Trading Fairly: Going Local, the first in a series of events funded by the National Lottery through Awards for All, designed to promote fair and sustainable trade. The group shared a locally sourced, organic, three-course meal before hearing Hughes' perspective on sustainable local trade. After butternut squash soup swirled with soya cream and a veggie Shepherd's Pie bursting with roasted carrots, parsnips, beetroot and tomatoes, drizzled with gravy and served with sweetcorn, Hughes drew on his deep roots in the organic movement to rally a call for inclusive participation in local food production.
It had been a turbulent week for the speaker. He was the central figure behind Eostre Organics, a co-operative of local organic farmers. After six years of promoting a fair, local and co-operative food system, Eostre’s members voted to disband the organisation the day before Grahame was due to speak. Eostre’s last act was to supply the mouth-watering ingredients for the meal. In the current economic climate, small organisations are most at risk, and the end of Eostre demonstrates the urgent need to support local organic food production, before the opportunity to do so disappears.
Hughes founded Eostre Organics six years ago in response to the need for a co-operative that would link existing single producers across East Anglia, as well as giving new producers ready-made marketing schemes, trade routes, and networking platforms. These small producers may otherwise have lacked the start-up capital to break into the trade. But an established market gave new producers existing consumers to buy their produce.
Eostre sought to offer a wide selection of fruit and vegetables, and to maintain a supply all year round, so they cultivated a relationship with a co-operative in Northern Italy. By working exclusively with one supplier, Eostre developed a reciprocally beneficial trading relationship, offering the Italian co-operative a trading outlet whilst expanding their own portfolio of produce.
But an explosion of interest in local, organic food did not create a sustained appetite for buying it. Even as Eostre grew and carved out more clients, existing trade contracts would lose faith. The constant treadmill exhausted their resources. In a year when Tesco reported record profits, Eostre voted to disband on an economic basis. The shadow of cheap, imported, intensively produced food looms large over the possibility of a sustainable food system. | <urn:uuid:7235aea3-faf5-44be-b7a9-2450df4781dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.greenhousetrust.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109:going-local&catid=58:projects&Itemid=111 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94661 | 624 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The art major at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences is designed to prepare students to be the next generation of artists and designers by emphasizing production techniques, as well as research in aesthetics, art criticism, and art history. By developing critical thinking, effective communication, and practical skills necessary for professional development and further education, graduates of the art degree program will impact the future cultural landscape in innovative and inspired ways.
- Art Major Welcome Message
- Art Major Curriculum
- Why Study Art?
- Art Major Resources
- Gallery and Studio Facilities
- This Season's Exhibitions
The art major is offered during the day and evening on NSU's main campus. | <urn:uuid:ba70870c-e319-4b73-9575-ad36a85ab11b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fcas.nova.edu/programs/undergraduate/art/index.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94404 | 139 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Forget all the talk about whether we will or won't go over the fiscal cliff. We ourselves are the fiscal cliff and have been for some time now. The real fiscal cliff is not the point at which we run out of money, our credit rating sinks lower than Enron and or everyone is fighting over jars of cat food at Wal-Mart. The real fiscal cliff is when even the dumbest person in the country is no longer able to deny what the packs of robbers and thieves he appointed to steal for him have perpetrated for their own benefit in his name. And that fiscal cliff may never come.
Our class warfare is not determined by paycheck size. The United States has only two classes. The working class and the government class.
The working class extends through the lower class, the middle class and the upper class, and everyone of every income level who derives their income from gainful employment. The government class similarly extends from the poor to the middle class to the rich, and consists of those whose chief source of income is the government; whether it's welfare checks, government jobs or crony capitalism.
Not everyone in the working class is a saint and not everyone in the government class is a parasite. There are plenty of corporations who care only about short term profit and create social problems that the rest of the country has to live with. Immigration is a classic example. And there are also plenty of government employees who perform vital and even heroic functions. Your local firefighter and member of the armed services are obvious examples.
The government class is dependent on the working class, deriving its income from their income. The government class turns from the symbiotic to the parasitic to the extent that its demands on the working class become unsustainable and exploitative, that its functions grow bloated, its spending programs reek of corruption and its government contracts emerge out of backdoor deals with friendly politicians.
The government class can never be productive, because it is not a creative force, it only provides secondary non-innovative services to the working class, but it is legitimate to the extent that it performs vital functions on behalf of the working class with their consent and in an economically sustainable fashion. When it violates these principles, then it becomes a parasite sucking the life out of the working class.
It is not just the government employee who is a member of the government class. The welfare class is a subgroup of the government class. And the welfare class is not only parasitic, it is the axis around which an entire parasitic constellation of the government class revolves around.
The classic welfare family has become the income generating center of the government class. They are the "wealth creators" for an entire infrastructure of social services built around them from the government officials who process their aid forms to the social workers who provide them with benefit counseling to the employees of those clinics who provide them with health care, and the extra teachers hired to help raise standards at their perpetually failing schools, the drug counselors who help them get clean and the police officers who break up their fights.
All or almost all of these people are members of unions. Those unions have their own employees. Those union employees have their own politicians. The politicians provide grants to the community social welfare infrastructure and generous benefits for union contracts. All this money and influence spins around the welfare family, but they only benefit from a minute fraction of it.
Around their dungheap, fly community groups and a horde of other private non-profits, "advocating" for them while operating on government grants. The buildings they live in are affordable housing projects built for them by the government, and cleaned, managed and repaired for them by government employees.
When they go to the supermarket, they buy food with money from the government. When they go to the pharmacy, they get free medication from the government. The web of clinics, supermarkets and pharmacies are not part of the working class, they are subsidized by government money and prosper by feeding off that government class.
The seven members of the classic welfare family, Grandma, Ma and her five kids, are the axis around which thousands of government professionals revolve. Their dysfunctional state keeps an entire state of government employees, employed. And it is in the interest of those government employees to seek out and create such dysfunctional families by championing social policies that break up families and keep them down, under the pretense of helping them because those families are the cash cows of the government class.
In a hybrid economy, the differences between the government class and the working class aren’t always as obvious. There are any number of businesses, large and small, that are members of the government class, and derive the bulk of their income from the government.
The fundamental difference between the government class business and the working class business is that the government class business is an instrument of government policy. While its owner may derive value from it, the government class business only exists because it fulfills an objective of government policy. And that makes the government class business indistinguishable from the policy it represents.
As the government class expands, the number of individuals and businesses in the government class grows because joining the government class, whether as a welfare recipient, government employee or crony capitalist company is a better strategy than staying in the working class. Planned economies are easier to profit from in the short term, whether it's by getting free stuff, early retirement or contracts on generous terms, because their centralization makes them predictable and influence-able. The only problem is that they have no future.
American society has been reshaped to seek short cuts, whether it's through lottery tickets, credit cards or corporate mergers, at the expense of long-term profits through hard work. Corporations don't look past the next quarter and many people don't look past the next interest payment. And joining the government class is the ultimate shortcut. It wrecks families, trashes the economy and robs the country of its future, while providing limited short-term benefits to members of the government class.
Cities and towns are going bankrupt because government class unions asked for and got financially unsustainable benefit packages. Those small implosions are a metaphor for the tremendous harm that the government class is inflicting on the working class, and also, in the long term, on itself. In the long run, parasitism is not sustainable. In the short term, there's a great party. In the long term, the parasite dies.
The major development of the last decade has been the government's class disinterest in the economic sustainability of its demands. Call it the Californization of America under a government class that is both determined and doomed.
Obama has emerged as the champion of the government class, his complete disregard for the fiscal consequences of his actions, allows him to act as the champion of a predatory government class that lies and bludgeons its way through all obstacles like a horde of Black Friday shoppers, grabbing everything in sight, without caring about what will happen tomorrow.
Some might call this a cunning strategy, but it's not as if the government class has anywhere to advance to. Pulling the same trick in 1932 might have led to government control of industry and agriculture, but in 2012, this is a country that lives off service industries, not manufacturing. Going Full Communist is not an option, because there is hardly any manufacturing sector left and national agriculture is already so government controlled that there might as well be actual Commissars in charge of it.
Trying to nationalize chain stores, dot coms and the rest of the modern economy is not only hopeless, but it won't produce any income worth mentioning from an economy that is based more on marketing and price cutting, than on production. There are already plenty of government class businesses turning out government subsidized windmills and solar panels. There's no point to nationalizing them because they already serve as instruments of government policy, their owners are politically connected and they are already failing nearly as fast as they would if the government were running them.
The parasite has gotten so big that it believes that it is the host and that the host is the parasite. It is completely sincere about its attacks on the host and that makes it even more dangerous. Under the influence of its own propaganda, the government class has come to think of itself as productive and creative, and of the working class as a parasitic blot, holding on to the money that rightfully belongs to the government class. But just as parasites cannot survive without hosts, governments cannot survive without people to do the actual work.
The government class has shown that it is unwilling and unable to make the responsible decisions that need to be made. It is being led by liars and fools who see it as a lever for upending and taking over a working class society, and replacing it with a parasite's paradise of academics making laws, unions setting their own terms and a government that is always expanding and never contracting.
A host and a parasite of equal size cannot both survive for long. Either both the host and the parasite will die. Or the parasite will die and the host will live. | <urn:uuid:78c1e208-a1f1-408c-872a-3f56cb7593b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-working-class-and-government-class.html?showComment=1354462681734 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968036 | 1,841 | 1.632813 | 2 |
More than $1,000 stolen from Girl Scouts Smoky Shadows Service Unit on July 4th. Picture courtesy: Terri Butler
The Fourth of July is usually a time of happiness and fun spent with friends and family. However, for the Girl Scouts Smoky Shadows Service Unit, a hard day's work ended in despair.
Pigeon Forge police are hoping to find the man who stole a large sum of money from the Girl Scouts Smoky Shadows Service Unit, after they spent the holiday raising that cash.
"We sold fans and noisemakers," 11-year-old Rebekah Hemphill said on Tuesday as she described the details of her hard work. The group spent most of the day at Patriot Park selling toys, fans, glow sticks and noisemakers to people celebrating the Fourth of July.
The fundraiser was intended for a scholarship fund that would have been used to help pay for girls to join the Girl Scouts.
When the fireworks display began, the thief took hard-earned money while the Scouts were enjoying the celebrations.
The man reportedly reached into the canopy the group was using, took the cash box and fled the scene after being chased by one of the unit's leaders, Sheron Duckworth.
"I just gave chase, because that's what you do," Duckworth said of her pursuit. In the end, the suspect escaped with the cash box.
According to the police report, the man took the cash box and took off across Patriot Park towards the KOA Campground. Duckworth ran after the thief but was unable to catch up to him as he jumped the fence and ran off.
Duckworth said what happened taught the young girls an unfortunate tough lesson.
"Mainly we'll tell them, what I say to my kids, 'be smart, not scared. You just have to be smart,'" Duckworth said. "In the future, we'll take many more measures to keep everything safe."
Pigeon Forge police are continuing the search for the person who stole the cash box. Meanwhile, the Girl Scouts Smoky Shadows Service Unit is moving forward and hoping that whoever stole their hard-earned money will come forward and return it.
"He should be nice and give us the money back," Hemphill added.
Mountain National Bank has set up a donation fund for the group to help compensate their losses. | <urn:uuid:e4f0417e-1e35-4df8-b873-e261cba17829> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbir.com/news/article/226238/2/More-than-1000-was-stolen-from-Girl-Scouts-Smoky-Shadows-Service-Unit-on-July-4th | 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 | 0.976615 | 488 | 1.554688 | 2 |
With an oceanic climate, a highly developed infrastructure system, a booming economy, a wide spectrum of hotels, creative festivals and contemporary arts and a vibrant and entertaining night life; Berlin is a must see destination.
Berlin’s economy is primarily stimulated by the service sector as there is a wide range of creative industries. Culture, politics, science and media all encompass the true meaning of the city. Berlin is world renowned for its prestigious universities, unique museums, dynamic orchestras, celebrities and spectacular sporting events.
Berlin is the Capital city of Germany and has a population of approximately 3.5 million people. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and one of the most populous cities. Berlin is located in the North-eastern region of Germany. Parks, rivers, lakes and forests account for one-third of the cities area.
Yes, Berlin is an enormous city but one can make use of their pristine transport system. Whether it is by the bus, train, tram or underground services, all parts of Berlin are easily accessible. One can also make use of the taxi service and most taxi drivers are familiar with the language of English. If you find yourself caught up in the hype and excitement of the city and are not sure of how to get to your next destination, there is a number for a customer service center and they will successfully re-direct you to your next destination of choice. It’s also useful to know that the house numbers do not necessarily run in one direction. On many streets, the numbers ascend on one side and descend on the other.
At Berlin and Beyond we will provide you with information and knowledge on this popular tourist destination. You will also find the history of Berlin and how the city developed into a hub of excitement and hype. | <urn:uuid:b1fa1de3-2f33-40e0-bcd0-6234469bf834> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.berlinandbeyond.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949102 | 359 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Pretend that, even though it violates the current statewide burn ban and possibly a municipal law, you go to a 4th of July party where people are setting off fireworks. You see Roman candles, bottle rockets and what appears to be an M-80. Imagine, then, a fragment from an exploding firework pierces and permanently injures your left eye. Can you sue the host for not preventing the injury?
According to precedent, no. This same situation occurred in Massachusetts in the late 90s. The injured man sued the host and the jury ruled in favor of the host. Since the host did not furnish the fireworks, he was not liable for injuries caused by other guests.
“Their status as social hosts carried with it neither the means, nor the legal obligation, to supervise or prevent the discharge of fireworks by others,” the judgment in Luoni v. Berube says.
However, this does not necessarily preclude a lawsuit against the host if someone is injured at a party involving alcohol. Colorado social host laws indicate that the host can be liable if he or she “[gives] away intoxicating liquors to any habitual drunkard,” and that “drunkard” causes a firework burn injury.
The best bet for anyone hosting a party on or around July 4th is to make sure all the guests know that fireworks are strictly prohibited. If you were injured at a party that involved fireworks, however, you may be able to seek justice for your injuries. Call us today for free to discuss your options.
The Metier Law Firm, LLC – Denver accident lawyers | <urn:uuid:ce75534b-4512-4821-8717-b5c4ead32a40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesafetylawyerblog.com/2012/07/firework-injuries-at-a-house-party-who-is-responsible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96892 | 333 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Founding of the "A"
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Beaver Murdock Academy--Beaver (Beaver County, Utah)
ment as drawn up by Mr. Emil Hansen, gardener at the U.A.C., the work will be carried on to a much greater extent next year. The plan calls for the following improvements: the moving of the athletic field, the laying off of walks, the leveling and...
that the Council lend their aid to provide armory and drill rooms for whatever Company of Militia may be organized in our City. Tabled for present. The Marshal was instructed to take all loose animals found running a t large on the streets to the...
not have enough horses. Brother Pugmire and Brother Bosnell refused very strongly to lend their horses to George Wood, Captain of the Minute Company. Two days later, Saturday, February 19, four of the men returned very early in the morning and...
have you any more meal you could lend me, my family hasn't a dust of bread stuff in the house.' Father's reply would be, 'Ah, dear brother, you will have to see Sarah.' 1 have heard Mother bear her testimony many times to the fact that she divided...
STRAIGHT IS THE GATE 76
The transition of accepting a new woman into the family is a period of growth and adjustment. In some families the transition is relatively smooth. Interviewee #2 describes her experience as she entered an established family...
STRAIGHT IS THE GATE 78
So many variables and emotions are involved in each relationship that without each person sacrificing, the relationships do not mesh well. No matter how easy or hard the transition is to add another woman to the family, the...
The last aim of this study was to see whether or not a correlation existed between degradation of the physical latent fingerprint and degradation of the DNA within it. Again there was no relationship between degradation of physical fingerprint...
PREFERENCES FOR GROUP LEADERSHIP STYLE 57
health teams, nurses and surgeons would be assigned to teams not according to similar schedules, but only after affective, behavioral or cognitive domains had been identified in each individual. After this...
The I-Text Distance Learning System 6
The I-Text was developed using Acrobat 9, Flash CS3, Flex 3.0, PHP and MySQL. The
individual consoles were written in Actionscript 3.0 and compiled using Flash CS3. The consoles
communicate with a web server...
The I-Text Distance Learning System 8
contact was synchronous (though they used different words). Further study is necessary to determine in
what ways communication was better with the I-Text system.
The differences in opinion with regard to...
STUDENT EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK 9
has been collected for initial revisions of the handbook using a survey method which will be
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The Human Element 34
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Reading reluctance is a complex issue that has major educational ramifications
over time. During the elementary school years, a reluctant reader may initially function at
the same skill level as involved and interested...
Prater and Turner (2002) have suggested that the predicament of a being reluctant reader
is admittedly hard to pin down. The reasons for students’ reluctance to read widely differ.
Sometimes reluctance can be rooted in reading difficulties, but...
motivation to read and have been shown to improve students’ reading levels and
performance on tests.
Book clubs can provide new exposures to reading opportunities that many
students have not been exposed to in the past. Diversity is welcomed...
the time to talk about books, let imaginations wander, and discuss literature “what ifs”
with the project students.
As an educator, this project has reminded me why I wanted to become a teacher in
the first place—my love of books and my...
school and using a well developed classroom management plan will help teachers to avoid
Teachers should be advised to develop a classroom management plan with consequences
that can be administered exclusively inside the...
THE FINEST IN MEN'S
CLOTHES AND SHOES.
YOUR FRATERNITY AND
MADE TO ORDER BY
SALT LAKE KNITTING
one moment please—
Contrary to traditionally established pre-cedent—
against all rules or history-recording | <urn:uuid:6cdb57c2-84e9-4590-8c87-f4c370a67b12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.li.suu.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/lend | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938964 | 1,101 | 1.578125 | 2 |
For a luxury carbuilder, BMW has been expanding in all directions as of late. On Tuesday, it held a swanky event in New York for its upcoming i3 and i8 hybrids with Uma Thurman. Two months ago, it showed off its first front-wheel-drive car. But the newest BMW vehicle goes even more green by using only gravity and foot power -- a two-man bobsled for the U.S. Olympic team to use at the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia.
As one of the title sponsors of the U.S. Olympic teams, BMW has lent the expertise of its U.S. engineers to sports, helping long jumpers perfect their form for the summer games. BMW says its DesignworksUSA studio in California was asked to help the two-man team build a better ride; the current bobsled design was 20 years old, and the United States hasn't won a gold in the two-man version of the race since 1936 -- and has been shut out of all medals in the sport since 1952. (The two-women U.S. team has been more successful, but only won a bronze in 2010).
After analyzing the sled for aerodynamics and better materials, BMW says it spent a year refining its ideas before delivering a prototype to the USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation, which will give the automaker feedback over the next year before the Sochi games. While a big sled might have little in common with a BMW at first glance, a two-man bobsled can reach 75 mph and must weigh 860 lbs. -- making it closer to a custom-built race car than the Radio Flyer sled in your garage. At least this will be one BMW that won't have to worry about generating fake noises for its occupants. | <urn:uuid:33a8b4ef-d94e-481e-8e50-b01e4290c15e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/bmw-building-bobsled-u-olympic-team-145847826.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964584 | 366 | 1.585938 | 2 |
| | pelvic pain...please help
Sometimes I may have lower pelvic pain, but it usually goes away after a day...although I'm not sure what it may derive from. Sometimes I think that it is appendicitis, however the pain is not always on my right side and usually do not have the other symptoms that are assoc. w/ appendicitis. But, now I am having this pain in my lower right abdomin, actually close to the pelvic area. It seems like its near the inguinal region or McBurney's point. I am on my 4th day in my period. I always have PMS symptoms and menstrual pain the before my period and extremely on the 1st day of my period (respectively); but I'm not sure if this is associalted w/ my period b/c my cycle is almost over with and the pain started yesterday. I thought it was b/c I held my urine too long, but it is still hurting (and it does hurt, but not extremely when I pee). Is this a symptom of an inguinal hernia or appendicitis? Please let me know ASAP. Thank you. | <urn:uuid:79b3ba8a-fafe-4f17-9cc8-430469358100> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthboards.com/boards/1077917-post1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969913 | 239 | 1.5 | 2 |
Homeopathic Materia Medica by Nash
(cimx)It has one characteristic symptom which has been verified. "Sensation as if the tendons were too short." There is sometimes actual contraction as if the legs cannot be stretched out. This has been verified in intermittent fevers, and only the other day (a short time ago) Dr. Brewster, of Syracuse, told of a case in which he was guided by this symptom.
A man was driving a fractious horse that started to run away with him. Thinking to give him enough of it he let the horse run, and when tired of running whipped him into running more until he had run him up a hill several miles long. The road over which he passed was very rough, and the man was so bruised and sprained about the buttocks and legs that he was confined to the house for a long time in consequence. It finally settled into what seemed likely to be a permanent contraction of the tendons of the lower limbs. No remedy relieved, until the good doctor bethought him of a case of intermittent fever which he had cured twenty years before, being guided by this symptom. He gave the patient a dose of Jenichen's 600th potency of CIMEX, with immediate result, and cure
of the case. "Honor to whom honor is due," even if it be a bed-bug. | <urn:uuid:9888d7b7-719d-4888-b69c-cf65fc0f320c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vithoulkas.com/en/component/content/article/3351.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987896 | 281 | 1.835938 | 2 |
MARQUETTE - With a goal of eating five cups of fruits and vegetables per day, participants for the Healthy Lifestyle Journal: Community Wellness Challenge 2013 are always looking for creative ways to incorporate the five cups into their daily meals.
And Deb Sergey, RD, IC, Supervisor at MGHS Wellness Center, recently offered a list of what she calls "power foods" to continue with the HLJ motto "making the healthy choice, the easy choice."
"I think it's important to know what foods pack a wallop," Sergey said.
She emphasized that stepping out of comfort zones and trying new foods is important. While compiling the list of power foods, Sergey said she aimed for foods that are high in fiber and phytochemicals that are vital for health and can't be achieved by simply taking a vitamin supplement.
She added that since the HLJ began, there has been a great deal of improvement in participants food choices.
"We had a sharing session at the Marquette site recently and people talked about eating a piece of fruit first thing instead of skipping breakfast, so that's a step in the right direction."
She added that they also swapped ideas on how to get creative with fruits and vegetables.
Sergey's list of power foods include: dark greens, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, avocados, berries and legumes. She also highlighted certain spices such as turmeric, ginger and chili powder that individuals can use liberally to flavor food and which may help cut down the amount of salt used.
"In fact, toss together the combination of foods listed with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing, and you will have a powerhouse salad!" Sergey said.
She also offered tips on how to add the foods listed above, such as eating broccoli raw with a low fat dip or salsa or mashing some avocado with some plain low fat yogurt and spices for guacamole dip or a sandwich spread.
And there is no better time to try these foods according to Sergey, with March designated as National Nutrition Month. The slogan this year is, "Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day," which Sergey said fits perfectly with the HLJ.
Sergey said there are so many opportunities to eat unhealthy food, it takes some planning to get the right nutrition.
"Taste is important, but I think if you find the right vegetables and fruits and try something new each week, you'll find ones you really enjoy and gravitate more often to those instead of potato chips."
She added that people can still join the HLJ challenge at anytime. To learn more about the HLJ or to register, visit www.fitup.org. For more information on National Nutrition Month visit www.eatright.org/nnm/.
Abbey Hauswirth can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 240. | <urn:uuid:bfef10d8-0bd6-4ed9-93a7-27ebfbde822d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/585256.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957727 | 588 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Groton — Capt. Mark VanYe said the coldest he has ever been was standing in the bridge of a submarine in the driving sleet near Sitka, Alaska.
"Our sailors should be able to tell stories like that," VanYe, commodore of the Regional Support Group Groton, said Friday. "Their sea stories shouldn't be about how their introduction to the submarine force was standing in the bitter cold a week out of basic submarine school, trying desperately to qualify on a small arm so they could qualify for their first watch, unable to hit a target because their hands were too cold to aim the weapon."
Standing in front of a new $11 million, high-tech, indoor small arms range at the Naval Submarine Base, VanYe said, "This building proves we're better than that, that we mean it when we say we are a professional force, dedicated to the quality of service of the exceptional men and women who join our force."
The base held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the new range, which is replacing a 10-lane outdoor range that was built in 1950.
Other than its roof, the outdoor range was unprotected, Capt. Marc W. Denno, the base commander said, and training sometimes had to be done after hours or on the weekends during the severe New England winters. It was no longer "up to our 21st-century warfighting needs," Denno said.
"This state-of-the-art small arms range is another example of the impact of our ongoing and dynamic basewide transformation effort," he said, and the building "highlights the Navy's committed investment" in the base and its mission.
The new range has 20 lanes with a fully automated target system for pistols, rifles, shotguns and machine guns. It was built using environmentally friendly technologies, and the number of shooters per day is not limited.
Many of the local leaders in attendance wanted to see the new facility because the base lets the Coast Guard, Connecticut National Guard and law enforcement officers use its range.
Coast Guard Capt. Eric C. Jones, assistant superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, said he was interested in sending cadets over, and he thinks the range could possibly host intercollegiate competitions.
Groton City Police Lt. Harry Merritt was also excited about the prospects.
"There's no doubt we'll be using this," he said after the ceremony. "The Navy has the money to do this. Local governments don't. We really appreciate it. We're a Navy community, and we'll be working hand-in-hand for a long time to come."
Watermark Environmental of Lowell, Mass., was the prime contractor for the project, which took just over a year to complete. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, secured the funding as part of the 2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act. The Navy did not plan to fund the project until 2013.
Courtney and others toured the range. New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said the city's police department could possibly use it, too. | <urn:uuid:1b9b7560-c9c8-433d-b063-e4cfea7aa8cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theday.com/article/20120831/NWS09/120839925/1070/SPORT05 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976862 | 645 | 1.59375 | 2 |
DECEMBER 29, 2008
A Grand Prix in Rome?
Maurizio Flammini was a winning Formula 2 driver in his day, finishing sixth in the European Formula 2 Championship in 1975 and 1976. He even drove a Formula 1 car for Frank Williams, although he crashed heavily in practice for the Race of Champions and was not seen again. He then turned his attention to promoting sporting events and since 1990 has been the leading architect of the success of the FIM World Superbike Championship.
Flammini is now saying that he would like to see a Formula 1 street race in Rome. It is not a new idea but the idea that Monza will be dropped from the F1 calendar is pretty unlikely, given the continued popularity of the event, the investment that has been made at the track by the local government, and the historic traditions of the venue, which go back to 1921.
Flammini says that the current F1 trend towards street races, taking the races to the people rather than vice versa, would make Rome an ideal location for a race.
Behind the remarks there is sound commercial sense. Although Italy remains the fifth most visited country in the world, with an estimated 43.7m tourists a year, it is underperforming dramatically in comparison to France (82m) and even Spain (60m).
Forbes Magazine estimates that the Vatican and the Colosseum now each attract around four million tourists a year. This is dwarfed by the big draws such as New York's Times Square (35m), and even by European destinations such as London's Trafalgar Square (15m) and Notre Dame de Paris (12m). More importantly, Rome attracts only six million of Italy's 43.7m tourists and lags way behind London, Europe's leading city, which boasts 15m visitors a year.
The Italian National Union of Chambers of Commerce (Unioncamere) reported last summer that in 1980 Italy was the top tourist destination in Europe with an impressive 9% of the total market. That has now fallen to around five percent. Tourists are discouraged from visiting Italy because of street crime, poor hotels and high prices.
The Italian government is talking of boosting the industry in an effort to push up revenues by improving infrastructure and services.
|Print News Story| | <urn:uuid:34f403d8-ada0-456c-bfbf-aadd494f586c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21063.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967149 | 469 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Teen Volunteer Programs
2013 - 2014 Teen Volunteer Application Process
1) Fill out the application form and return it by June 10th.
2) Have a teacher, youth group advisor, rabbi, employer, school counselor or other adult who knows you well (who is NOT related to you) fill out the letter of recommendation and return it by June 10th.
3) Sign up for an in person interview.
Gateways Sunday Program
Boston-area high school students in grades 10-12 volunteer to support students in the Gateways Sunday Program as one-to-one aides or classroom assistants. Teens receive weekly training and support throughout their experience from on-site special education teachers and administrators. The teen training focuses on specific special education strategies that support student learning and includes the fundamentals of Applied Behavior Analysis, Structured Teaching, and Social Stories. Teens also benefit from guest speakers from many disciplines such as Hebrew reading, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology. Additionally, volunteers receive “on the job” support from the classroom teacher, from the Volunteer Coordinator, and from the Program Director. These experienced staff members support and guide volunteers in helping the students be their most successful.
We are fortunate to have forged an important bond with Hebrew College's Prozdor Hebrew High School. For more than eight years, many of our volunteers have worked at Gateways with the wonderful support and cooperation of the Prozdor staff and faculty. Prozdor students may elect to take a training course in the 10th grade, may volunteer for credit in the 10th and 11th grades, and can continue in their senior year.
Mitzvah Menches is an inclusive social action youth group in which students learn about mitzvot and social action while practicing social skills in a fun, relaxing, yet structured setting. Mitzvah Mensches is just like any other youth group, except half of the teens have special needs, and the other half act as peer models in weekly activities that promote friendships, responsibility, and Jewish values. We are grateful for the partnership of our friends at the North of Boston Jew Crew who travel all the way from the North Shore to participate in this program. The class meets from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. every other Wednesday evening at Congregation Mishkan Tefila, 300 Hammond Pond Parkway, Chestnut Hill.
For more information about Mitzvah Mensches, please click here to contact Nancy.
Teen Madrichim Training
Training teen volunteers to work with diverse learners in tutorial or classroom settings. Training is conducted on site, in partnership with synagogues around the Greater Boston area with the goal of building capacity locally, and community building among the teens. The training consists of the following modules: Learning and Leadership, Teens and Teachers Together, Communication and Classroom Management, Memory and Learning, Typical Child Development, and Issues in Social-Emotional Development. Interactive module activities include simulations that build empathy and understanding, communication-building exercises and applied opportunities to differentiate lessons for their own classes. The modules are framed in a Jewish context that gives participants an understanding of Jewish perspectives on education.
If you are interested in Teen Madrichim Training, please click here to contact Rina. | <urn:uuid:1d2fcfaf-8b79-483c-8bf7-f2cd08246c03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jgateways.org/Programs/Teen-Volunteer-Programs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943449 | 660 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Finding just the right safety shoes for your needs depends upon knowing exactly what sort of conditions you will be working in.
Whether you are a roofer working on sloped roofs or a meat cutter working in a butcher shop, the type of sole on your safety shoes greatly impacts upon your ability to do your job in a safe manner.
By knowing what your options are, you can make an informed and intelligent choice.
Different Types of Soles on Safety Shoes
One of the softest soles you will come across on safety shoes is a crepe sole. These soles are usually a light cream colour and are fairly soft to the touch.
While you think crepe might not be as durable as other soles, it is this softness that helps keep your feet firmly in place when working on sloped roof surfaces. In comparison, an oil resistant sole might work well if you are working in a mechanic shop.
That same sole however, will be too hard and potentially slippery when worked in sloped rooftops. By opting for crepe soles, you will likely remain much safer as you do your job as a roofer.
Safety Shoes with Oil Resilient Soles
A popular option for individuals working in a variety of fields is an oil resistant sole. These soles tend to have a smoother surface over a slightly soft interior sole.
The harder outer surface helps protect against slips and falls due to wet or oil floors. Great for workers in automotive shops, these work footwear favourites are also popular with employees in other careers.
Employees that are frequently in and out of freezer compartments like those in butcher shops and grocery stores, often opt for a oil resistant sole on their work boots. The freezing temperatures do not impact on the soles so there is less chance of an employee slipping and falling as the exit the freezer compartment.
By being fully aware of the conditions in which they will be working, an employee is in a much better position to purchase safety shoes that will serve their needs well. Chances are they will get much more wear out of their footwear if they purchase the appropriate type of sole for their needs.
An informed consumer is usually a wise consumer. To get more information about safety shoes, or to view our online range, click through on the link below. | <urn:uuid:a8060f37-1864-4393-a71c-cea46f3c1119> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://safetyboots.org.nz/safety-shoes-info/right-sole-on-safety-shoes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967207 | 467 | 1.757813 | 2 |
By: Paul Casey
Retired People Ideal To Start A Business
Over the age of 50? Considering retirement? In his new book, Is Self-Employment for You? Paul Casey asks, “Why stop, when you have the energy to keep going?”
As Americans’ life expectancy continues to rise, it’s not uncommon to anticipate living decades beyond today’s retirement age. Running a business keeps you in a healthy, active life where you are continuing to achieve and meet goals.
“Life experience is the #1 qualifier for running a successful business,” says Paul Casey. “When you’re older, you’ve experienced setbacks, you’re more seasoned, you have bounced back from those setbacks and you’ve seen the way things work first-hand.” Paul Casey believes experience cannot be taught, but can only be achieved over time. “The 50+ population should not be intimidated by our youth-oriented market,” says Casey. “They are actually more likely to succeed than their younger counterparts.” As an example, Casey believes that one of the reasons why many businesses of the dot.com era failed was due to young, less experienced entrepreneurs starting up companies they weren’t equipped with the life experience to successfully sustain.
“Is Self-Employment For You?” delivers the ‘street smarts’ they don’t teach in business school and unconventional ideas that turn everything you thought you knew about business upside down. In fact, they are proven, on-the-job lessons gleaned over the course of Casey’s impressive career — first in state government office, then as a public relations account executive, public affairs director for a downtown Seattle transit tunnel, the first director of the Alzheimer’s Association of Western Washington, and finally as owner of his own communications firm since 1988 where he has produced and hosted his own radio show and newspaper.
Casey’s ideas make an argument for why business plans can’t be carved in stone and the customer is not always right. He discusses why competitors can be your best friends, real entrepreneurs don’t need partners, and many businesses fail because they have too much money.
For more information about “Is Self Employment for You?” or to order a copy of the book, visit the web at www.selfemploymentforyou.net or www.amazon.com. | <urn:uuid:eeada13e-3528-43c5-823a-ba89438827df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businesslife.com/articles.php?id=154 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952569 | 512 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Another question from Facebook: Gregg Chamberlain asked about the “benefits and drawbacks of keeping a dream journal as a source of ideas?”
A deceptively simple question, because this topic actually comes up a lot. Do writers dream about stories? Do we get great ideas from dreams? If dreaming is our subconscious mind talking to us, then it ought to be just full of strange and beautiful images, ideas, connections, and characters.
Alas, I’ve found it isn’t so. I kept a dream journal for awhile when I was in college, but this was mostly to keep track of my intensely bizarre and detailed dreams for my own edification. Because I do have intensely bizarre and detailed dreams, filled with medieval wars and alien invasions, magical powers and deep conspiracies. But I’ve never knowingly based any of my writing on my dreams. Because my dreams don’t make a whole of sense, and trying to make them make sense, enough to build a story out of them, isn’t a project I’m willing to take on. I like writing about the world as I see it.
Dreams — even my long, detailed ones — are not narrative. They’re chaotic, they jump around in space and time, characters change identities in the middle of them. So while dreams may be a rich source of images or feelings, or snippets of ideas, they’re not actually a good source for stories. An idea gleaned from a dream would have to be adjusted and manipulated until it was unrecognizable for it to make sense as a story. And if that process works for you, that’s great. But ideas aren’t stories, not by themselves.
So, that’s my answer, but I know other people have different experiences: do you remember your dreams? Do you write them down? Do you mine them for stories? | <urn:uuid:2c9fc870-43fd-4e52-a6fe-83b57f478090> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genreality.net/2012/06/04 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934974 | 397 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Barack Obama's glib announcement in declaring his candidacy for the presidency provides clues about the man and reminds us, contrary to his stated message, of the great chasm that separates people of different political orientations.
Mr. Obama appears to have fallen prey to the wave of public adulation accompanying the media's hype about him -- to the point that he broke his recent promise not to seek the presidency at this early stage in his inexperienced political career.
I realize many politicians, like Hillary Clinton, break similar such pledges. But with Obama it's a bit different. He actually seemed to believe his earlier admission that he hadn't yet accumulated sufficient miles in government to prepare himself for what is not an entry-level position. On the surface his confession reflected a degree of humility, or at least an awareness that the public wouldn't seriously consider someone so green.
But his formal announcement, by contrast, evinced an abrupt graduation from any hint of his previous humility. He even acknowledged as much, admitting "there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity. I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington."
Many interpreted Obama's follow-up remarks as lofty and uplifting. I think they are further evidence of his arrogance, either newfound or previously concealed, or his abject insincerity. While not quite portraying himself as a messianic figure, he did project that he, personally, was needed at this time to deliver our society from its ailments.
He said, "Divided we are bound to fail. But the life of a tall, gangly self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible. He tells us that there is power in words. He tells us that there is power in conviction, that beneath all the differences of race and religion, faith and station, we are one people."
Do you suppose Obama really believes the Rodney King philosophy he espoused: "Why can't we all -- as "one people" -- just get along?" Does he mean the problems of America and its people will disappear if we just realize we are "one"?
That's hard to believe when you understand that "E Pluribus Unum" ("Out of many, one") is as foreign to the modern liberal mindset as the notion that there is anything redeeming about big corporations.
Instead of promoting a common culture with a common language to unite us "as one people," they worship at the altar of multiculturalism and preach an inherently divisive diversity that is preoccupied with race and gender consciousness.
Obama's message is even harder to believe when you consider his allusion to the possibility of a "different future." By longing wistfully for "a different future" is Obama not making a commentary on the misery of our present circumstances?
Indeed, when liberals look at America they don't see a land of robust prosperity and outward benevolence. It is a nation where wealth is unfairly distributed and one that imposes its will on the world through oppressive imperialism. It stirs up terrorism, wreaks havoc in an otherwise peaceful Iraq and tortures its military prisoners.
If liberals and conservatives don't see or envision the same America; if we can't even agree on the problems we face, how easy will it to be for us to reach consensus on proposed solutions?
When I see Obama proposing a number of genuinely conservative ideas, I'll reconsider the ludicrous possibility that he values bipartisanship and getting along more than advancing his liberal vision for America.
Let's put Obama's professed longing for harmony among the people to the acid test. Let's tell him that we hawkish conservatives are not going to feel real chummy with him and his colleagues as long as they are telegraphing to the enemy that we're ready to surrender in Iraq by withdrawing our troops by March 2008. If we convince him our condition for breaking bread is that he forthwith withdraw his withdrawal idea, then we'll see how much he truly values breaking bread over breaking faith with America's cause in the war on terror. We'll see how much he truly believes in "the power in conviction" when that conviction concerns ideas he considers abhorrent.
While it goes without saying that we should treat each other respectfully and seek to work together, it is the height of folly to believe that people of different worldviews don't see America and its problems through wholly different lenses.
Let Obama vigorously advocate, through his power of conviction, his vision. But couldn't he please spare us the empty platitudes about our "oneness," so that we can get on with the national debate? | <urn:uuid:9c0865b7-8c83-41c2-a730-fbdb58be6a6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://townhall.com/columnists/davidlimbaugh/2007/02/16/barack_rodney_king_obama/page/full/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97671 | 943 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Many of you have been asking about the effects of the Tsunami on Cambodia. Luckily, we have been spared from any serious consequences, at least in the material sense, even though we just spent Christmas vacation in Indonesia!
The recent events of the Shelter Project could easily make up and entire movie plot! Many things have taken place in these past few months, from everyday life and karaoke to the first real setback.
When two new girls came to the shelter after a brothel raid, some of their captors discovered the location of the shelter. The criminals came to the shelter’s gate several times, threw rocks and bullied and threatened the guards. The unwanted visitors had plans to return the girls to the brothel. Their last attempt was successful. One night, despite the barbed wire and security measures, we lost a number of our girls from the shelter. It was the hardest setback we've had so far.
Two out of the first three girls who came to the shelter, who I mentioned in the last newsletter, were among the missing ones. Luckily, one of them managed to call my cell phone the following morning and tell me where she was. She also knew where the other girl was and we managed to get them both back into safety. We had to move fast as the other girl had already been sold and was to be taken back to the brothel to work as a child prostitute that very day.
We also tried to track down the other two girls, who came to the shelter later and whose whereabouts we got some hints of. Despite our best efforts we could not find them. As for me, I found it very hard to go on with the work with the same enthusiasm after these events.
Sex trafficking has become such a large business that the arrogant kidnappings carried out by the criminals are not unusual. For example, here in Phnom Penh, right before Christmas, an armed attack was carried out in the largest shelter of Cambodia and the organized criminals dragged out and packed into their cars some 90 women and girls.
It is still a mystery to me why the International Community does not do more about this problem. Slavery and the degrading of girls to the level of merchandise are unacceptable and a shame on the whole human family no matter which continent it takes place in. Yet, compared to the magnitude of the problem, it seems that there are only a handful of people working against human trafficking.
Our psychologist Ean Nil
Our work, of course, goes on. If everything goes well our shelter will receive some new girls next week. The girls currently residing at our shelter are doing well and making good progress. We are committed to help and support them for as long as possible, to adulthood.
We are still in need of additional sponsors for the new girls. We encourage the new sponsors to have personal contact with the girls through e-mail or conventional letters etc. We will send information about/from the sponsored child about three times a year. A warm thank you to all the current sponsors!
Our other project in developing the local orphanage is moving along its own quiet path with the volunteer workers still taking the lead role. Unfortunately the management of the orphanage does not give us the opportunity to help as much as we would like. We did not for example receive permission to hire staff: a local to be in charge of the volunteers and a full-time physiotherapist. However, the time and care the volunteers give to the children is still vitally important to each individual child.
I would like to extend a big thank you to all those who have supported and continue to support our work in so many ways! I wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to 2005 regardless of the challenges that lie ahead.
Children of Cambodia | <urn:uuid:c9c56ac8-ca9f-4fb7-a298-59fd6b24003e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.childrenofcambodia.com/newsletter-2005-01.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976198 | 767 | 1.585938 | 2 |
A few days ago, Paperback Reader wrote a post on The Lottery by Shirley Jackson that really captured my attention. I had to stop what I was doing and immediately read the story. A single word sums up my reaction - horror. I was utterly and completely horrified.
The Lottery, first published in The New Yorker in 1948, centers on a very ritualistic yearly lottery that occurs in a small, pastoral village. The story is very short (just 5 pages) and to say much more could spoil it. Read the story for yourself here, if you dare.
Throughout her life, Jackson (1916 - 1965) shied away from interviews and refused to promote or explain her work. However, The Lottery aroused such controversy that Jackson issued a statement in The San Francisco Chronicle on July 22, 1948:
Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.
The Lottery is truly an amazing read. I've never had a story evoke such strong emotions. Jackson is also well known for The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle It sounds like these would make excellent Halloween reading fare, and I'd like to read at least one of them this fall.
To see who else is talking about short stories today, visit The Book Mine Set. | <urn:uuid:70f20016-2a58-41ad-b0d1-54386afd652a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2009/06/lottery-by-shirley-jackson.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981651 | 313 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Approximately 78% of credit profiles in the United States contain some sort of error or omission materially affecting credit worthiness. Absent self-help and the “do-it-yourself” approach, a consumer may hire a credit repair company in the restoration of their good name and reputation.
In tough economic times, your good name and reputation is more important than ever. Creditors have tightened their guidelines effectively barring millions of Americans from borrowing money. Even those with excellent credit are experiencing reduced credit limits and closed equity lines. Mortgage lenders, auto finance companies, credit card issuers and banks have all raised the bar.
The terms credit repair, credit restoration or credit rehabilitation are somewhat synonymous. Those with bad credit histories cannot afford to ignore the potential benefits of credit repair. In today’s economy, a strong FICO score is more important than ever.
Long gone are the days of obtaining credit, goods, benefits, services and/or employment with a 620 score. In most instances, a consumer will be denied if they maintain a credit score lower than 740. Even those with high credit scores have experienced closed credit card accounts and equity lines. When an account has not been closed, credit limits have been reduced to the current balance due.
Borrowers with low credit scores can expect to be denied or to pay significantly higher interest rates than those with excellent credit.
Operating within William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates is a small credit service organization specializing in the restoration of consumer credit worthiness as well as identity theft. We assist consumers in achieving a favorable financial credit profile.
Everything we do at William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates is legal utilizing laws enacted by Congress to dispute negative, erroneous, obsolete, and/or fraudulent information contained within your consumer credit profile.
Utilizing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates will assist consumers in the submission of disputes electronically, verbally and in writing to the Equifax, Experian and Trans Union consumer reporting agencies in addition to creditors, collection agencies, third-party record providers and state/federal/private regulatory authorities.
Keep in mind that anything William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates can do – you can do yourself. That means that you do not have to hire William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates – or any other credit repair company – to review, investigate and/or dispute alleged discrepancies on your credit report.
Where William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates may have an edge over the average consumer is that we possess the education, knowledge and a source proven method that consistently yields results.
William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates has obtained thousands of deletions and updates for its clients and can help remove erroneous and/or inaccurate judgments, liens, bankruptcies, student loans, inquiries, derogatory tradelines, personal identifiers, arrests, etc. While the credit restoration process can take anywhere from 30 days to six months, most clients see dramatic results in 45-60 days.
Credit repair, credit restoration and/or credit rehabilitation is as legal as pleading “not guilty” in a court of law. With that said, one must understand that William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates is not a law firm and that none of their employees is an attorney licensed to practice law.
As such, William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates cannot provide legal advice nor represent any individual before any court or in any legal proceeding. In the event that legal representation is required, William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates may provide an appropriate attorney referral for consultation. | <urn:uuid:8faaf8cf-c179-43a2-b395-c46285a7dbd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenumbers.marketplace.org/publicradio/news/read/22786060/william_e._lewis_jr._&_associates_announces_the_formation_of_a_credit_repair_component | 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 | 0.943246 | 752 | 1.507813 | 2 |
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The United Nations will send a team to Burma to push the military regime and ethnic rebels to cease in the use of children in their armed forces.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, in a press conference on Tuesday in New York said the UN will send a team to assess details of the activities of the country taskforce and Burmese regime to end the use of children in the Burmese Army and ethnic rebel groups.
The announcement comes after the UN Security Council, on August 4, unanimously adopted a new landmark resolution on children and armed conflict and called upon Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to expand his "list of shame" on the recruitment and use of children in armed forces.
Burma is also included among the Secretary General’s list of countries that uses underage children in the armed forces.
Ban Ki-moon, as part of a June 1 report, said UN agencies and its partners are unable to effectively monitor the “grave violations” perpetrated against children by the Burmese Army and armed resistant groups because of the absence of an agreed action plan and access as well as security impediments.
“The severe restriction of access by the government to locations of concern continues to limit the ability of the country task force and its partners to monitor and report on grave violations being perpetrated against children by all parties to the conflict, despite the fact that the basic structures of the monitoring and reporting mechanism have been in place since February 2007,” noted the Secretary General’s report.
Meanwhile, Steve Marshall, Liaison Officer for the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Rangoon, said he welcomes the visit of a UN team and hopes it will prove useful in the activities of the UN task force in eliminating the use of children in both the state army and rebel groups.
“It will be useful and supportive to the country in assisting in establishing the structure and the plan,” Marshall told Mizzima on Thursday.
Burma and the ILO in 2007 agreed to set up a complaint mechanism on the use of child soldiers.
Marshall said over the past two years the ILO has received approximately 60 complaints from concerned relatives of underage children, among whom only a few have been reunited with their families.
“The reality is there has been some progress but the progress has been small. There are still a lot of things to be done,” added Marshall.
While the number of child soldiers seems to be difficult to accurately measure, some NGO’s estimated in 2002 that there were about 60,000 children recruited into the Burmese Army and about 7,000 into ethnic armed rebel groups.
Aung Myo Min, director of the Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), on Thursday told Mizzima that there has been no significant decrease in the use of children in the Burmese Army and rebel groups.
Aung Myo Min also called on the UN Security Council to initiate a time-bound program aimed at eliminating the use of children in all armed forces present in Burma. | <urn:uuid:156a1568-de57-40c0-ad72-534161934b38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mizzima.com/news/world/2587-un-to-press-burma-on-child-soldiers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96373 | 653 | 1.773438 | 2 |
BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 18, 2013 – Remembering the 32 who lost their lives six years ago and affirming the values of community characterize Virginia Tech’s 2013 Day of Remembrance events.
As in previous years, the Day of Remembrance will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16, with the ceremonial candle lighting at the April 16 Memorial located in front of Burruss Hall. The names of the 32 individuals who lost their lives on April 16, 2007, will be read out loud to honor and remember their vibrant lives, followed by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets standing in watch for the first 32 minutes of the day.
Later that morning, a state-wide moment of silence will be observed at 9:43 a.m. State flags on campus will be at half-staff throughout the day.
Other “Expressions of Remembrance” will be held Tuesday, including opportunities for quiet reflection and exhibits of memorials, tributes, and gifts received in 2007. Information on these and other events will be posted on the We Remember website as details are confirmed.
Also on Tuesday, members of the Virginia Tech and New River Valley communities are invited to a community picnic beginning at 11:30 a.m. on the Drillfield. Food from local vendors will be provided, however, all participants are encouraged to bring additional food and picnic blankets.
The 2013 Day of Remembrance will conclude when the ceremonial candle is extinguished at 11:59 p.m. Corps members will again stand in watch for 32 minutes prior to the extinguishing, and once the light is extinguished, the candle will be carried back into Burruss Hall, representing the commitment to never forget.
Student organizers elected not to hold a formal candle light vigil Tuesday evening.
Other related events will be held on Saturday, April 13. For the fifth consecutive year, Virginia Tech will host the 3.2-Mile Run in Remembrance in Blacksburg. This year’s event will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, rain or shine. Participants will start on the Drillfield near War Memorial Gym and finish on near the April 16 Memorial across from Burruss Hall.
Preregistration for this event is strongly encouraged; visit the Department of Recreational Sports website for registration and event information.
Also on Saturday, the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second floor of Norris Hall. At 7:30 p.m., Virginia Tech’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble will present the Remembrance through the Arts Showcase at Squires Student Center.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Virginia Tech alumni chapters across the United States often organize community service projects or 3.2-mile runs to extend of Day of Remembrance observances. Confirmed events will be posted to the We Remember website.
Free public parking for all events in Blacksburg is available in the Perry Street lots and parking garage, located off Prices Fork Road.
Planning for the 2013 Day of Remembrance is being led by the April 16 Student Planning Committee made up of representatives from nine student groups and an at-large member from the student body. Organizations represented on the planning committee are the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, Council of International Student Organizations, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Council, Residence Hall Federation, Student Alumni Associates, Student Government Association, and Students Against Violence.
Event logistics are being managed by an implementation committee composed of university staff from service departments across campus and coordinated by the Office of Alumni Relations. | <urn:uuid:1e35a8da-e512-4e99-91db-5f79fd7fa4b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2013/02/021813-alumni-dayofremembrance.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938256 | 754 | 1.695313 | 2 |
ABSTRACT: Aim: Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) system, a new method for wound treatment, has been widespread over the world. There are few reports about this treatment in Japan. The purpose of this report is to consider the usefulness of VAC treatment at our department.Methods: A retrospective review of 24 patients with 27 chronic wounds, which have been treated with VAC, was presented. The following parameters were studied: age, gender, present illness, complications, duration of VAC treatment, and its result.Results: Eight women and 16 men were presented. The median age was 66.1 years (range, 20–84 years). Eleven of 27 wounds were mediastinitis. Six were pressure ulcers, and nine were other complicated ulcers. Tweleve patients had diabetes mellitus, and nine had hypertension. The median duration of VAC treatment was 32.5 days. Tweleve wounds healed only with VAC, and nine healed with a combination of VAC and small operation. Six were halfway stopped a VAC treatment due to infection.Conclusions: Our results suggest that VAC system is an alternative treatment for chronic wounds of elder patients with high risk.
Wound Repair and Regeneration 01/2005; 13(1):A7 - A7. · 2.91 Impact Factor | <urn:uuid:7659a6eb-3b77-4ec3-867d-1a1809059996> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/82963127_Hideaki_Nonomura/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974843 | 271 | 1.679688 | 2 |
September 24th, 2005 08:18 PM
WRT54G: Sniff Wired from Wireless
From my laptop that is connected wirelessly to a WRT54G, I want to sniff a computer plugged into one of the wired ports using arp spoofing. I turned wireless security off, so it is completely open. Is this possible? Also, if it is possible, can it also be down with encryption turned on? (I use WPA-PSK with TKIP.)
I tried with Cain wirelessly and was only able to get half-routing for the DNS servers, DoSing the wired computer. Cain worked for wired to wired just fine. Is there a better Windows program to do this?
(I downloaded the Knoppix Auditor CD to try linux apps, but I want to know if it's even possible first, before I start going nuts with ndiswrapper and remaking the bootable CD.)
Thanks a lot!
September 26th, 2005 03:00 PM
you will have to blow open the switching on the router -- flooding the cam tables is the standard approach, though I don't know what defenses, specifically, the wrt54g will have. (if you know the mac addie of the nic you want to spoof, you can do this pretty easily, otherwise, you'll have to brute-force it.)
October 4th, 2005 07:07 PM
You're not going to see all the traffic on the wired ports because it is a switch.
Blankety Blank Blank Blank!
October 4th, 2005 07:18 PM
There are ways around a switch, you are on the right track with arp spoofing/poisoning.
Try nemisis (google it) what you are trying to do can be quite simple but it is a big subject, have a read of the Spoofing section of this paper I wrote for a CEH class i took last year
October 4th, 2005 07:28 PM
I am still learning the ways of AO. Sometimes it appears to be OK to directly tell someone how to exploit a vuln. (for example, ARP and MAC spoofing in this case), and in other posts, people get negged and criticized for explaining how to craft an attack....I am so confused.
Anyways, to staticsage:
The link that Nokia provided will tell you exactly what you need.
Blankety Blank Blank Blank!
October 4th, 2005 08:01 PM
I know what you are saying Miracle and agree, I go off the "feel" of the post.
We all got to learn somewhere, I learnt from setting up my own LAN in my house and paractising on that, which is what staticsage seems to be doing.
He didnt seem obnouxious in the way he asked hae seemed to genuinely want to learn on his own equipment - which I cant see a problem with!
If you want to help someone, help them, dont worry about what everyone else will think!
October 5th, 2005 01:59 AM
Thanks a whole lot for all the feedback guys. I'll check out all the links. I do just want to learn things...with no malicious intent. I got an internship in Network Operations for an investment bank, so I'm basically just learning as much as I can. | <urn:uuid:bb6de08c-3b46-4d32-9155-3a8d6ba384c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?267990-WRT54G-Sniff-Wired-from-Wireless&p=861937 | 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 | 0.947612 | 699 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Since 2006, aboveground animal activists in the United States have had to worry about a sweeping piece of legislation called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), which is intended to suppress speech and advocacy by criminalizing First Amendment-protected activities such as protests, boycotts, picketing and whistleblowing.
Today, animal rights activists who say their freedom of speech has been violated by AETA filed a lawsuit asking the court to strike down the statute as unconstitutional.
Sarahjane Blum, Lauren Gazzola, J Johnson, Lana Lehr and Ryan Shapiro, all of whom have long histories of participation in peaceful protests and animal rights advocacy, say that fear of prosecution as “terrorists” has led them to limit or even cease their lawful advocacy.
“I spent years uncovering conditions on foie gras farms and educating the public about the way ducks and geese are abused,” says lead plaintiff Sarahjane Blum, who co-founded the site www.GourmetCruelty.com with Ryan Shapiro. The two openly rescued animals and created a documentary exposing the horrors of foie gras farms. “Today, due to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act’s unconstitutional assault on free speech, I am afraid to even publicly screen the documentary we produced.”
“As I have done in the past, I would like to document conditions on factory farms and educate the public about this animal cruelty, so that individuals can make informed decisions about whether they want to continue paying people to abuse animals on their behalf,” says Ryan, now a doctoral candidate at MIT. “The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act prevents me from educating the public about what goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms. Affecting the profits of an animal enterprise, even by exposing animal abuse on factory farms, or by encouraging people to become vegan, is now prosecutable as a terrorist offense under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.”
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act was pushed through Congress by well-funded industry groups that profit from animal exploitation, including the Animal Enterprise Protection Coalition, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the deceptively-named Center for Consumer Freedom, with bipartisan support from legislators like Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative James Sensenbrenner. The new law replaced its predecessor, the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA), which had become law in 1992. Proponents of the AETA argued that the AEPA did had not provide a sufficient deterrent, and that “animal rights extremists” were using new tactics such as making threats and targeting anyone affiliated with animal enterprises and called for an expansion of the federal law to address such acts. Yet in reality, the language of the AETA covers many First Amendment activities, such as picketing, boycotts and undercover investigations, if they “interfere” with an animal enterprise by causing a loss of profits. So in effect, the AETA silences the peaceful and lawful protest activities of animal and environmental advocates.
Specifically, the AETA creates the terrorist offense of traveling in interstate or foreign commerce, or using the mail or any other facility of interstate commerce, “for the purpose of damaging or interfering with the operations of an animal enterprise,” when in connection with such purpose, an individual (A) intentionally damages or causes the loss of any real or personal property used by an animal enterprise, or by a person or entity with a connection to an animal enterprise; (B) intentionally places a person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury through a course of conduct involving threats, vandalism, property damage, criminal trespass, harassment or intimidation; or (C) conspires to do so. (Investigative journalist Will Potter has an excellent analysis of the law on his site.)
The first use of the AETA to prosecute activists came in 2009, when four people in San Jose, Calif., were accused of chanting, making leaflets and writing with chalk on the sidewalk in front of a biomedical researcher’s house, as well as using the Internet to research the company whose actions they planned to protest. Under the AETA, they were charged with acts of animal enterprise terrorism. Last year, the court dismissed the indictment.
“Some of my clients want to engage in simple public protests — perhaps in front of a fur store — to change public opinion about fur,” says staff attorney Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is representing the five activists in today’s lawsuit. “But they feel restricted from engaging in that clearly lawful activity because under the plain language of the law, if that protest is successful in convincing consumers not to shop at that fur store, they could be charged as terrorists.”
Co-plaintiff Lana Lehr, who founded the advocacy group RabbitWise, says the AETA has clearly put a chill on lawful, peaceful protests about the maltreatment of animals. “It has done this by making it legal to charge a lawful protestor with a felony, a fine and possible jail time if an animal enterprise decides that the activities of the protester caused a loss in their profits.” The law, she argues, “is too broad: An ‘animal enterprise’ can include any company that sells an animal product, a 7-Eleven that sells beef jerky, for example. Also, AETA does not spell out exactly what behaviors by the activist are unlawful so they can’t adjust their actions accordingly.”
“Though now a scholar behind a desk,” adds Ryan, “I just as easily could have found myself a supposed terrorist behind bars. Corporate power should not dictate the limits of free speech. It’s time to strike down the undemocratic and un-American Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.” | <urn:uuid:85502f8e-ed6f-48e1-a7af-6cef5850a11a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://strikingattheroots.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/activists-challenge-animal-enterprise-terrorism-act-in-federal-court/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957079 | 1,186 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Agent Describes Pamir Plane Crash Recovery Efforts
Special Agent Adriene Sullivan describes the FBI's role in a recovery effort following a plane crash outside Kabul in 2010.
My very first experience with the international community here in Afghanistan revolved around the Pamir crash that took place on May 17th.
This was not a traditional FBI investigation.
We put together a team of maybe four or five FBI personnel.
Not just agents because it was such a very robust investigation.
Everybody worked together very well.
We had a system set up. And from the very beginning that system was followed out and we were able to collect immediate samples.
It was amazing in that the Afghans learned quite a bit because it was something new for them.
We learned quite a bit because it was something new for us. Because we had never worked with the DVI.
It was very satisfying in that everyone was able to get their loved ones back.
The gratification from doing this type of work is second to none. | <urn:uuid:4a2aa3e8-ce04-4929-bcfe-dd78610b50b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fbi.gov/news/videos/pamir | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986395 | 207 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Photo: David McGregor<br>Toys for Tots volunteer Michael Wilson stacks boxes of toys at the Lawrenceville warehouse.
LAWRENCEVILLE -- Inside a Lawrenceville warehouse, volunteers are hard at work Saturdays and Sundays sorting toys.
Donations of bikes, bats and balls, dolls, games and more come into the Toys for Tots distribution site but don't remain there for long.
"If you can kind of picture Santa's workshop, instead of building the toys, we're sorting them so they can go on the sleigh," said Carolyn Salvador, a board member for the North Atlanta Toys for Tots, a new branch of the Atlanta organization based in Marietta. "It's kind of Santa's little helpers' area."
Toys that come to the distribution site are sorted based on the genders and ages of children for whom they would be appropriate. Toys are then boxed or bagged to go out to the agencies that serve children who otherwise might not receive Christmas gifts this holiday season.
More than 9,000 toys have gone out so far, a small dent in the goal of giving 128,000 toys to 64,000 kids in Gwinnett alone. Toys for Tots hopes to distribute a total of 140,000 toys to the five counties served by the North Atlanta distribution site.
The northern division for the Atlanta Toys for Tots organization was formed this year to increase toy donations and distributions in areas previously underserved.
Last year, just 5 to 6 percent of the 720,000 toys collected through Atlanta Toys for Tots were distributed in Gwinnett.
"(These numbers were) not indicative of the people in need in Gwinnett County," Salvador said. "By creating this north Atlanta division, we're hoping to reach a larger number of disadvantage families."
Going into the giving season, Toys for Tots is in need of gifts for girls ages 11 to 14. Salvador suggested small electronics, inexpensive cameras, music, books, arts and craft items, cosmetics that are heavily packaged to withstand sorting, CDs and books.
Gwinnett residents can donate toys at drop sites in Lawrenceville and Lilburn. Toys for Tots has also partnered with the Gwinnett Gladiators to collect toys at home games Dec. 4 and 9. Every person who brings along a new, unwrapped toy will receive a raffle ticket for prizes drawn during the game.
The Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville will be collecting toys throughout the late November and early December runs of its holiday shows, and concert-goers can donate toys during Star 94's Jingle Jam at the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Dec. 17. Anyone who brings a toy to the concert will be entered to win a guitar signed by all the Jingle Jam artists, which include the band The Fray and Owl City and singers Jordin Sparks and Leona Lewis. The more toys donated, the more chances to win.
Toys for Tots also accepts monetary donations that are used to purchase gifts for children in age groups in which donations were low.
For more information on Toys for Tots, visit atlantatoysfortots.com. | <urn:uuid:a25261a8-cce5-4cbd-9837-2963fea6d807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2009/nov/26/toys-for-tots-seeks-more-donations/?opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952399 | 645 | 1.523438 | 2 |
- Click here to access a copy of ExportHelp's proforma invoice (Word document)
A proforma invoice (sometimes written as pro forma invoice) is little more than a 'preadvice' or indication of what will stand in the commercial invoice once negotiations have been completed. Indeed, the proforma invoice and the commercial invoice often look exactly the same, except that it should state clearly "proforma invoice" on this document, whereas the commercial invoice will state "invoice" or "commercial invoice". The proforma invoice serves as a negotiating instrument. The initial proforma invoice often sets the stage for the first round of negotiations if the exporter and importer have not yet had any real discussions.
What is the difference between a proforma invoice and a quotation?
In reality, there is very little difference in function between the two and the proforma invoice is really a quotation in invoice form; in other words. the difference really comes about in terms of the structure and layout of the proforma invoice/quotation. A typical quotation appears more like a business letter describing a written offer, while a proforma invoice appears exactly the same as a invoice (except with the words "proforma invoice" written on the document). The proforma invoice essentially serves as a 'quotation' that sets the road to further negotiations. Some exporters choose to prepare an 'official' quotation, while others prefer to use the proforma invoice as their quotation. In fact, the quotation can contain the same information as a proforma invoice. Sometimes a firm may send out a written quotation and the importer may ask for a proforma invoice.
It is important to note that there is no standard format for the proforma invoice and one proforma invoice may differ redically in layout from the next (although there is common agreement on the information that should be included in the document).
It is a document prepared by the exporter and so will take the format/layout decided on by the exporter.
You need to do a lot of homework before preparing your pro-forma invoice
You need to ensure that the information that you include in your proforma invoice is sufficently accurate and realistic, as well as being comprehensive enough to cover all the issues of importance to the importer. This will enable him or her to make an informed decision to buy from you. Remember, the proforma invoice is your offer to sell - it reflects on you. Based on this one single document, the importer will need to come to a dceision to buy from you or not. If you do not provide sufficient information, or any crucial information is lacking, the importer (if you are lucky) may have to revert back to you and ask you to provide this information - this will delay the purchase decision and may result in you incurring additional costs (for example, you may have stock sitting around longer than it needs to because of the delay). Worse still, the importer may ignore or reject your offer and buy from someone else. In fact, it is quite a common problem in exporting that proforma invoices often lack the crucial detail that the importer needs in order to make a decision, thereby resulting in delayed purchase decisions or rejection of the offer altogether.
To this end you should use a costing worksheet to calculate your export costs and to determine an acceptable price. ExportHelp has compiled a comprehensive costing worksheet that you can use to help you determine your costs. Click here to access this costing worksheet. You can also read up more on various pricing approaches and strategies by clicking here.
The proforma invoice sets the stage for the negotiation process
Assuming that an importer e-mails you - an exporter - asking you to submit a proforma invoice (or a quotation) for the supply of 100 pumps according to a set standard. You would then prepare and submit a proforma invoice to the potential importer outlining a desciption of the product, what the price is, what the delivery terms will be, what the payment terms will be, as well as any other information that may be pertinent to the sale. Before this, of course, you will ahve done the costing exercise mentioned above. The importer will most likely reply to your proforma invoice requesting/negotiating different requirements such as a lower price, longer terms of payment, different methods of payment, a different delivery schedule and may even request changes to the product specifications. You may be required to revisit the design and manufacture of your product, the costing exercise mentioned earlier, as well as you pricing strategies. You may even have to find alternative ways of getting your product to the customer and you may need to carefully rethink issues such as packaging, labelling, insurance, commissions, etc.
Several versions of a proforma invoice may be involved
Based on these requests from the importer, you may choose to comply or to refer back to the importer (probably via telephone, fax or e-mail) to discuss or negotiate compromises to these requirements. When you and the importer finally come to an agreement, a second (sometimes even third or fourth) proforma invoice will be exchanged between the two parties. This final proforma invoice - accepted by the importer - sets the stage for the further processing of the order. You should be aware that the importer may use the proforma invoice to request foreign exchange within his/her country if his/her currency is not freely convertible. The proforma invoice can also help the importer apply for a letter of credit at his/her bank.
The proforma invoice must be comprehensive, accurate, clear and concise
In other instances where the exporter and importer have met before and have already discussed and thrashed out an agreement perhaps in a face-to-face meeting, only one final proforma invoice is necessary to confirm that the two parties are indeed in agreement. If the importer is satisfied with this final proforma invoice, he/she will request their bank to issue an L/C on the strength of information stipulated in the proforma invoice. For this reason, it is essential that the proforma invoice be comprehensive, accurate, clear and concise. Any errors or misunderstandings will be transferred to the L/C and will cause problems, frustrations and delays down the line. What is more, the proforma invoice is also important to the importer for the purpose of obtaining an import permit and foreign exchange allocation within his country. At the same time, the exporter may use the proforma invoice and acceptance of the order from the importer to obtain funding to pay for the manufacturer of the goods concerned. | <urn:uuid:d551b65a-9078-4e93-9d36-a193728a4e85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.exporthelp.co.za/documentation/proforma.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945951 | 1,387 | 1.664063 | 2 |
It’s John Stuart Mill’s world. Jeremy Waldron is just living in it. Not that Waldron isn’t a smart guy in his own right. A law professor at NYU and Oxford, the author of 10 books, one of Ronald Dworkin’s favorite students, and a leading figure in debates about the use of foreign law in American courts, Waldron has established himself at the center of the academic profession. And just as he did with his 2010 book on torture, he has injected himself into contemporary policy debates with this latest work.
His way of entering that debate is a little peculiar, for he more or less admits that the hate-speech laws he favors have little chance of passing constitutional muster. But then, he says, the American Constitution forces us to allow any number of things—gun ownership, for example—that the rest of the world sees as uncivilized, so why should free speech be any different? According to Waldron, the absence of hate-speech law is a failure of our constitutional way of governing, for hate speech is a grievous harm that cries out for punishments that the American government is prohibited from assigning.
I have to confess, here at the outset, that I find The Harm in Hate Speech a horrifying book; so will you, I imagine. But the curious thing is that Waldron clearly does not intend it to be divisive. He’s not aiming to twit the unthinking bourgeoisie or be a gadfly. The voice of thoughtfulness runs through the book, even while it tries to erase a line of classical liberalism that runs from John Milton and John Locke down to Mill—a line of liberalism that profoundly influenced the American Founders and defines us still. Waldron’s voice of moderation never wavers, even while saying things with the most outrageous consequences.
Think of it this way: Take a figure—Charles Murray, say. To read his critics you’d think that Murray deliberately and loudly insulted various racial and ethnic groups in The Bell Curve, the 1994 book on intelligence he coauthored with Richard Herrnstein, and Human Accomplishment, his 2003 volume that ended up a paean to Western civilization. For such transgressions against received consensus, the Victorians would have crossed Murray off their dinner lists. They would have sent him to Coventry. Jeremy Waldron would send him to jail. But thoughtfully and moderately.
Some of what Waldron has to say is welcome. He points out, for instance, the unctuous and self-serving tone that usually accompanies an invocation of that potted bit of pseudo-
Voltaire about how I detest what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it. More significantly, Waldron deserves some credit for the central thrust of his book, which is an attempt to shift the harm of hate speech from the victims to the culture. We should object to hate speech, he suggests, not just because it harms minorities, but also because our entire civil society is harmed when hate speech is allowed to go unchecked.
The idea is that hate-speech laws would not be used for negatively protecting individuals against offense; such laws would be designed, instead, for the affirmative protection of dignity. We should not have censorship for the sake of sheltering minorities, but for the sake of allowing citizens to participate in the social order with the respect their citizenship demands. Under First Amendment jurisprudence, the offensiveness of a public statement does not touch the freedom a person has to say it, but Waldron believes that the damage to the dignity of citizens may be another matter.
In our current climate of personal grievance, any appeal to the broadness of civil society is gratefully received. We may be less grateful for the legal consequences of the appeal in The Harm in Hate Speech, but Waldron is at least consistent. If the real victim is society, then we are forced to stop thinking of hate speech as a tort (a harm done to an individual), and start thinking of it as a crime (a harm done to the public order).
Forced, that is to say, if law is the only device by which civil society can be constructed and maintained. Attempting to defend his concept of “group libel,” Waldron undertakes a complicated analysis of the hurt done to an individual by an insult to the ethnic or religious group to which he belongs—which is more complicated than the dull and obvious point needs. Meanwhile, Waldron lacks significant analysis of the relation of groups, or even individuals, to the general society, when the need for such sophistication in this analysis fairly screams from the text. All through The Harm in Hate Speech, he takes a John Rawls-above-the-fray stance—that extremely annoying assumption that somehow he (and his ilk) are the arbiters of society: groupless themselves, and thus able to tell the rest of us how us to treat certain groups.
The real problem, however, is that Waldron cannot conceive of any way to redress harm except through law. The type of liberalism that defined the American Founding, and continued into the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, concluded that acceptance of some offensiveness was the price that had to be paid in order to prevent the government from curtailing the freedom of its citizens. Mill was hardly alone in adding that social culture could be as oppressive as political government, but in On Liberty, he gave fullest expression to the idea: In order to maintain freedom, we have to limit both the reach of law and the power of social convention.
Manners, in other words. It would be a fascinating exercise to read through the Founding Fathers and try to identify which problems they expected society to address and which they thought government would need to solve. Regardless, Jeremy Waldron is caught in a conundrum. To solve the problem of the First Amendment’s prohibition against laws banning expression, he moves hate speech from the category of individual harm to the category of social harm—but then cannot bring himself to deploy the social tool of manners as something that might address the harm.
Thus, he has to make a law. And it is a law that so offends the American sense of limited government that it practically begs to be violated. If it’s ill-mannered to say that Muslims are fundamentally antidemocratic, or Roman Catholics are deeply un-American, then I won’t say it, even if I believe those propositions to be true. But if it’s against the law to say such things, then I’ll shout them to the rooftops, even if I don’t believe them. As laws, prohibitions against hate speech are offensive to the sense of American citizenship that was formed at the time of the Founding and is maintained to this day. As rules of civil behavior, prohibitions against hate speech are merely good manners.
Early in The Harm in Hate Speech, Waldron tells the story of a Muslim man, walking with his children, who sees a sign that says, “Muslims and 9/11! Don’t serve them, don’t speak to them, and don’t let them in.” He intends the visceral offensiveness of the scene to lead us to enact laws against hate speech. Unfortunately, that’s what salesmen call a “bait and switch”—for it’s not the illegality but the impoliteness of the sign that offends us. As a matter of law, I rather like the sign: It helps prove what a robust and strong Constitution we have, when government cannot intervene to prohibit offensive speech.
The Harm in Hate Speech is state-of-the-art for an academic treatise, and it makes the best case currently available for enacting hate-speech laws. But even if we find the argument persuasive, the centrality of free speech for the American Founders ought to give us pause. They had actually experienced governmental censorship of the kind for which Jeremy Waldron calls, in a way no later American ever has. Isn’t an answer to Waldron’s argument that their response was the First Amendment?
Joseph Bottum is a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard. | <urn:uuid:4d2ff0b0-578b-406c-a46c-62e1d6b22c8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/articles/uncivil-tongues_648535.html?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967031 | 1,692 | 1.710938 | 2 |
There’s a strange genre of relationships that many artists (including myself) must deal with – the invisible one. A psychologist might call it a “parasocial” relationship: a relationship where person A knows a great deal of information about person B, but person B knows little or nothing about person A. An ideal example of a parasocial relationship is that of a young pop music lover to Justin Bieber. Other examples are my relationships with Matthey Barney, Matthew Marks, and Klaus Biesenbach. A psychiatrist might call it a hallucination and give me happy pills to make the psychotic relationship go away.
My invisible relationships with other artists emerged in art school, where undergraduates are taught to research the hell out of modern and contemporary art figures. Through these repeated acts of exploration, learning, and ultimately stalking, I created a sophisticated process of developing relationships not only with artists but with their artwork and their celebrity. Teachers might call it influence or homage, but there is a deep investment in a relationship with an artist that manifests itself in the artwork that is produced during school.
After art school ends, the real crazy comes out – invisible relationships with dealers, directors, critics, and curators. Since when do artists create parasocial relationships with these types of individuals? Oh, you mean that time when I emailed Jeffrey Deitch and told him how much I loved him? Or right now, when I’m blowing kisses to Michelle Grabner, Anthony Elms, and Stuart Comer?
When it comes to invisible relationships, there is little to no visible evidence that any artist’s relationship to another person exists. However, there is the possibility that a work of art can evidence a relationship that exists within the artist’s own mind. It is through this type of work that the representation becomes the real thing–an invisible relationship is made visible.
Prime examples of this invisible-relationship-made-visible are the “candy” pieces by Félix González-Torres. While love, disease, and death are critical concepts behind his sculptural installations, which consist of hundreds or even thousands of pieces of wrapped candy, his parasocial relationship with us–the audience–is the defining component of the work. He created the work for us to take. He makes visible the invisible.
Contrast those works with Ryan Trecartin’s videos. Trecartin’s playfully aggressive characters break the fourth wall and look directly at us, communicating in a contemporary yet still-strange American lingo. Here, the simple eye contact between them and us is a relationship that can easily be found on any television channel today – a host speaking to and looking at us, grabbing our attention, gaining our trust, and exploiting our carnal desire for more. While we build a personal relationship with the artist/host, it is easy to forget that the artist/host is merely performing before a camera lens and not actually looking at me.
I’ll conclude with a subject that is on many people’s minds at this time of year: Christmas. With love and snow and merriment, a culture surrounds the rational thought that Santa Claus is coming to town. Whether or not you believe, we’ve subscribed to various things that visibly represent the invisible relationship we have to Santa. One piece of art, the song “Santa Baby,” is the perfect example of an invisible relationship made visible: “I really do believe in you/ Let’s see if you believe in me.” Oh, and that cookies and milk by the tree thing? Totally a takeaway art piece! | <urn:uuid:dc36e644-d62f-4b88-accb-30112ee8b455> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.art21.org/2012/12/17/invisible-relationships/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949237 | 749 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Somalia: Radio stations bow to Islamist ban on music
A majority of radio stations in southern and central Somalia today stopped playing music and jingles, to comply with a ban by Islamist militants. Hizbul Islam, one of the two main insurgent forces in Somalia, issued the order on 3 April, saying music broadcasts violated Islamic principles. It gave FM radio stations – the main form of news and entertainment in the country – 10 days to comply or be shut down. Islamic groups have previously outlawed music in some areas under their control, along with beards, football, movies, women's beauty salons and bras. The latest ban on all tunes – including those used in commercials – appears to be the most widely applied yet, and indicative of the rebels' ability to instil fear.
In the capital, Mogadishu, where there are 16 FM radio stations, only the government-controlled Radio Mogadishu, which is protected by African Union peacekeepers, and the UN-funded Radio Bar-Kulan, whose studio is in Nairobi, resisted the order.
"I've listened to three of my regular stations today, and there's no music at all," said Abdulkadir Khalif, a Mogadishu resident. "There's not even a jingle."
Instead, some stations used birdsong or vehicle noises to introduce programmes. One of the broadcasters aired "a recording from a warzone" to signal the start of the news, as an ironic gesture, Khalif said.
The sounds of war are not difficult to record in Mogadishu. At least 19 people were killed there yesterday in fighting between insurgent and forces allied to the government, which controls just a few blocks of the capital. A children's school and a United Nations compound were hit by rebel shelling, while retaliatory fire struck the market and residential areas, the UN said.
Hizbul Islam and its bigger rival and sometime ally, al-Shabaab, control much of south and central Somalia, alhough their support among ordinary people is limited. The music ban is likely to be highly unpopular, since many Somalis enjoy listening to pop songs and more traditional compositions.
But the radio station owners – even those broadcasting from outside rebel-held areas – would have felt they had no option but to comply. Numerous Somali journalists, particularly those working for radio, have been assassinated in recent years.
"Journalists working in these stations have in the past witnessed broad daylight assassination of their colleagues and have now been signalled that they would follow the same fate if they do not obey these oppressive orders," said Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists.
Control of the airwaves appears to be a clear priority of the insurgents. Last week Shabaab leaders banned the BBC and the Voice of America, which have large audiences in Somalia, accusing them of being anti-Muslim and of bias towards the government. Five FM relay stations were closed, silencing the stations for all listeners who do not have shortwave radios.
Tuesday 13 April 2010 18.07 BST | <urn:uuid:8abce0da-5cbf-4484-bc97-898245a45081> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wluml.org/zh-hant/node/6178 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967997 | 631 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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