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The S-50 was Roland's first professional keyboard sampler from the mid-eighties, which also came in the rackmount S-550 form. The S-330 is a compact, 1-unit rack-module with most of the features of the S-550 slimmed down into a more affordable package! By today's standards the S-330 would be considered limited and lo-fi, however for its time it was a powerful instrument which can still prove useful for many music applications today.
Sample memory here is the same as the S-50: 750Kb which yields up to 28.8 seconds at 15kHz. That is half the sample memory available in the S-550. Sampling specs are unchanged, with variable sample-rates from 30kHz down to 15kHz at a 12-bit resolution. The S-330 has room for 32 samples or "tones" and 16 patches in 2 banks. Roland has a vast S-50 compatible sample library of sounds ready to be loaded via the built in 3.5 inch disk drive. Samples of your own can also be saved to disk.
When used with an external CRT monitor, editing samples is a breeze and quite sophisticated. You get waveform drawing and smoothing, auto-looping, tuning, multi-stage envelopes and you can quickly adjust loops and samples. There's an RC-100 Remote Controller with an Alpha Juno type alpha-dial for easier programming control. And the DT-100 Digitizer Tablet from the S-50 for drawing waveforms is also compatible when connected through the RC-100 controller. There is also the SYS-333 sequencing software which offers basic drum machine type sequencing.
New to the S-550 were the realtime Time-Variant filters as used by the LAS-type Roland synths. These filters (and amps) are more digital, more in-depth, more precise and were included in the S-330.
While there are hundreds of modern samplers that will give you precise crystal clear perfect sounds these days, something like the S-330 can give you the audio equivalent of Sepia tone to your samples, coloring them with its unique mid-eighties technology from a time when affordable sampling was coming of age.
- Polyphony - 16 voices
- Sampler - 12-bit, 30kHz, variable
- Multitimbral - 8-parts, 8 outputs
- Memory - 750k-byte, 28.8 seconds total sample time
- Filter - TVF: Time Variant LAS digital filters
- Arpeg/Seq - SYS553 sequencing software
- Keyboard - None
- Control - MIDI
- Date Produced - 1987 - 1988
- Resources & Credits
Images from a Roland product brochure and Perfect Circuit Audio.
Errors or Corrections? Send them here.
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Friday, January 04, 2013
UWG’s 4th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Program will feature renowned journalist and talk show host, Angela Robinson. The Center for Diversity and Inclusion will host this free public event on Thursday, Jan. 17. at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom.
“Each year the center tries to develop a different theme that epitomizes the ideals of Dr. King and leaders of the civil rights movement,” said Deirdre Haywood-Rouse, acting director for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. “We also make sure the program is student centered by involving students in the program while emphasizing service to the community.”
Emmy award winning broadcast journalist Angela Robinson is currently the host and executive producer of the award-winning news and public affairs talk show “In Contact.” Her talk show is Atlanta’s only news and public affairs talk show of its kind that delivers topics and discussions from an African-American perspective.
Robinson, a graduate of Syracuse University, is one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence honored by the Atlanta Business League. She also worked as the primary news anchor for the Atlanta NBC affiliate, playing a key role in several major stories including the 1996 Olympic games, the Super Bowl, and World Series.
“We are hoping that our communities, locally, nationally and globally will come together for a better tomorrow,” said Rouse. “Angela Robinson embodies the principles by which Dr. King and others in the civil rights movement tried to instill: service to others, peace and love.”
Dr. King is most remembered for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent tactics for racial equality. He led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and was a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His esteemed “I Have a Dream” speech established him as one of the most notable orators in history. King was assassinated in 1968.
“We want to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and the sacrifices he made to give us freedom,” said Program Coordinator for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Doris Kieh. “We aim to remind our students about the work of Dr. King. As Dr. King stated, ‘Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed.’”
“This year’s theme is “It’s Time to Come Together,” Kieh continued. “We believe with all that is taking place in our country and around the world, we definitely need to come together if we plan to make a difference.”
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At the beginning of 2005, Sandy Springs was an unincorporated Georgia suburb with a history of grousing that its taxes were subsidizing the rest of Fulton County rather than funding needed services at home. At the beginning of 2006, it is the seventh largest independent city in the state, population circa 85,000, and has mostly succeeded in crawling out from under the Fulton authorities' rule. The wealthy town's new government consists of a mayor, a city council, and a skeleton crew of public employees. Nearly everything else, from public works to urban planning, will be provided by the private sector, with a reluctant county continuing to cover police, fire, and 911 services in the immediate future.
At first glance, that might look like a radical libertarian utopia. My friend Geoff Segal—director of government reform at the Reason Foundation, the institute that publishes this Web site—has written happily that "they privatized virtually every city function" and has joked about how that might affect the Free State Project. Mayor Eva Galambos certainly sounded like a libertarian as she opened her inaugural address last month, declaring that her town had "harnessed the energy of the private sector to organize the major functions of city government instead of assembling our own bureaucracy." But there's a fly or two in the ointment, problems not just in Sandy Springs but with the way local officials across the country have come to think about privatization and property rights.
Most of Sandy Springs' services are nominally provided by private industry, just as Galambos says. But the consumer is the government of Sandy Springs. For the individual citizen, there will be no competing companies with competing qualities, competing prices, competing anything. Different enterprises will contend for the city's business, but the average resident will still face a municipal monopoly; it's just that the government is negotiating its contracts with companies rather than its own employees.
When city leaders talk about privatization, that is almost invariably what they mean: a government contract, not an open marketplace. If you aren't satisfied with the way the local trash collection agency does its job—or if you are reasonably satisfied, but still think you could get a better deal from someone else; or if you have no plans to switch yourself, but would like the company to face the spine-tickling prospect that you might—then you have no more recourse than you would if your garbagemen worked directly for the city.
Now, sometimes such semi-public services are an improvement, especially when the bidding process is competitive and transparent. Sometimes they're worse, especially when the process is closed or corrupt, or when there isn't a bidding process at all. They're most likely to work well when the favored firm gets most of its profits in a real marketplace, where it has to learn customer-friendly habits to survive. A corporation like Edison Schools, whose business model depends overwhelmingly on government contracts, hasn't done a great job of operating entire schools. There are private restaurants, on the other hand, that have done very well when asked to run a school cafeteria on the side.
In the case of Sandy Springs, the city has outsourced all of its activities, aside from the aforementioned emergency services, to a team of businesses led by Operations Management International (OMI), an employee-owned company based in Englewood, Colorado. (With city hall still under construction, even the government itself is temporarily housed at the firm's local headquarters.) Roughly 80 percent of OMI's revenues come from municipal contracts, not private clients.
The second problem arrives when the city offers a "service" that the citizen would rather forego altogether. If the primary function of government is busybodyism, then Sandy Springs has proven itself adept at statecraft: On December 27, before the new government was even a month old, the Associated Press reported that "the city's code officers have issued 51 written warnings for infractions such as not keeping up with property or having junk cars in full view of neighbors." Councilman Tibby DeJulio explained to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that "People have property rights, but neighbors have property rights and we need to protect property values." (Rare indeed is the local pol who understands that "property rights" and "property values" refer to two different ideas.) The movement to incorporate Sandy Springs was driven not merely by the benefits of spending tax dollars closer to home, but by the desire to spend that money enforcing a distinct vision of how the neighbors should behave. The result is not merely an increase in code enforcement, but new restrictions on strip clubs and porno shops.
Interestingly, the twin crackdowns are largely aimed at the same place: Roswell Road. In the same inaugural address that invoked "the energy of the private sector," Mayor Galambos declared that the avenue "begs for a higher class of businesses than spas and adult book stores."
Given all that, is there any possible libertarian defense of Sandy Springs? There is, but it's a peculiar one, because it requires you to imagine that the city is a firm itself. Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that the town was formed by the unanimous consent of its citizens. (In the real world, it came close: When incorporation went up for a vote last year, 94 percent of the electorate endorsed it.) Let's also note that the cost of moving from one town to another, while hardly minimal, is low enough that there's real competition between local governments when it comes to how much they charge to live within their borders, what they offer you in return, and what local rules you have to accept to join the community. Recall also that the distinction between municipal and business corporations didn't really emerge until well into the 19th century, and that even after those formerly semi-private cities became full-fledged arms of the state, there has been a boom in entirely private condos, subdivisions, and, occasionally, full-sized towns. (The latter include Reston, Virginia, population 56,000, and Columbia, Maryland, population 88,000.)
Such contractual communities provide some services themselves, negotiate with other entities to provide other services, and impose rules that are easily as oppressive as the ordinances in Sandy Springs. In general—there are exceptions—libertarians don't complain about this, except perhaps to declare that they would never want to live under such self-imposed regulations themselves. Is it really such a stretch to extend the same tolerance to ordinary local governments? Especially since, while not everyone consented to be ruled by the City of Sandy Springs and Operations Management International, Inc., that's clearly more popular than the previous arrangement?
I don't really buy that argument myself—I'm too attached to the freedoms of that obstructionist 6 percent, not to mention the folks who never voted at all. But it's interesting that the best defense of this town is a federalist one, involving the virtues of competing jurisdictions and local autonomy rather than the fact that it's buying its services from formally private vendors. The best thing about Sandy Springs might not be the fact that you'd want to live there, but the fact that you don't have to.
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A crash course in changing the world.
Almost every day I see atleast 10 homeless people on the street and the thought that comes to my mind is that they are humans like you and me and are spending day after day doing nothing.
What if we could find a way of using this unused man power.... unfortunatly I dont have any ideas yet.
HI Emile, I've been thinking about this issue as well, in tandem with a lot of the stuff brought up while researching food security. Here's my idea, shelters+rooftop/community gardens. What if every homeless shelter had a rooftop garden or community garden? Those homeless needing help could be given workshops by volunteers, taught the necessary skills to cultivate food, be given a plot in the community garden, and a starter kit of seeds etc., and then could either grow food for themselves or to sell. The therapeutic value of gardening has been well doc**ented and would greatly benefit those participating, not to mention give them something to do, as well as giving them a skill set that could help them in a job search. This model would also create an influx of locally grown foods as well as encouraging those participating to continue their farming efforts after they get back on their feet. What do you think?
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Hurricane fraud leaves many going without help
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — In the neighborhood President Bush visited right after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. government gave $84.5 million to more than 10,000 households. But Census figures show fewer than 8,000 homes existed there at the time.
Now the government wants back a lot of its money.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has determined nearly 70,000 Louisiana households improperly received $309.1 million in grants, and officials acknowledge those numbers are likely to grow.
In the chaotic period after two deadly hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005 — Katrina making landfall in late August, followed by Rita in late September — federal officials scrambled to provide help in hard-hit areas such as submerged neighborhoods near the French Quarter.
But an Associated Press analysis of government data obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act suggests the government might not have been careful enough with its checkbook as it gave out nearly $5.3 billion in aid to storm victims. The analysis found the government regularly gave money to more homes in some neighborhoods than the number of homes that actually existed.
The pattern was repeated in nearly 100 neighborhoods damaged by the hurricanes. At least 162,750 homes that didn't exist before the storms may have received a total of more than $1 billion in improper or illegal payments, the AP found.
The analysis discovered the government made more home grants than the number of homes in one of every five neighborhoods in the wake of Katrina. After Rita roared ashore, there were more home grants than homes in one of every 10 neighborhoods.
The investigation drew immediate attention Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Gene Taylor, a Mississippi Democrat whose district was also battered by hurricanes in 2005, thanked FEMA officials for helping but urged Congress to demand a "full public accounting" of all tax dollars spent on the recovery effort in remarks before the House Financial Services Committee.
A spokeswoman for Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who leads the House Homeland Security Committee, said the panel will investigate improper and illegal payments.
FEMA officials defended the payments.
"We don't dispute that more households received expedited assistance in certain ZIP codes than are listed in the 2000 Census," said David Garratt, FEMA's deputy director for recovery. But he called this "not only justifiable, it's defensible."
Officials say a substantial number of those payments — they cannot say precisely how many — were made legitimately to homes where family members were separated after the storm, such as emergency workers who stayed behind as spouses and children fled. In such cases, a single family could qualify for more than one aid package. Because of the chaos after the storm, though, Garratt said officials were in a no-win position.
"We were faced with a situation where we had individuals who needed assistance, and needed it now," he said. "If we'd followed the standard procedures, it would have taken weeks."
Garratt acknowledged FEMA wasn't prepared to verify the identities and homes for everyone who needed help. He said the agency had multiple safeguards to ensure proper payments were made to people who applied online. But a new system designed to keep a tight rein on payments to people who telephoned their applications to FEMA was only partially finished when the storms hit, he said.
The Justice Department so far has prosecuted more than 400 people for storm-related fraud, and $18 million has been returned to FEMA or the American Red Cross, according to a recent report by the department's Katrina Fraud Task Force. The bulk of prosecutions have occurred in Louisiana (115), California (79), Texas (50) and Mississippi (46). The amount recovered so far, however, is slight compared with estimates of widespread fraud.
Among those already prosecuted: Lakietha Diann Hall, 35, of Dallas. Prosecutors said Hall and 10 others — including her mother — filed fraudulent assistance applications over the Internet claiming damage to her home in New Orleans. Hall, whom authorities said never lived in Louisiana, received $65,000 in disaster aid, court records show.
The New Orleans apartment complex where Hall claimed she lived was in a neighborhood of 18,100 homes before the storm; FEMA records show the government gave money to more than 21,000 homes there after Katrina.
Hall pleaded guilty to identity theft. She was sentenced in November to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $100 each month until she repays the U.S. government $83,254 — a court-imposed payment plan that will take nearly 70 years. Her co-defendants were sentenced to anywhere from probation to one year in prison.
Census figures showing the number of households within ZIP codes don't always correspond precisely with the post-office ZIP codes where FEMA sent grant money. But the AP's findings are similar to those of a February report by the Government Accountability Office, which found hurricane aid was used to pay for guns, strippers and tattoos. The GAO concluded that between $600 million and $1.4 billion was improperly spent on Katrina relief alone.
In one neighborhood GAO scrutinized, at least one person gave an address as a cemetery. Records show FEMA gave 27,924 assistance grants worth $293 million in that neighborhood. The AP's analysis shows only 18,590 homes existed, meaning up to $98 million in aid could have been disbursed improperly or illegally.
Other agencies have moved at a more cautious and deliberative pace awarding assistance money.
The Louisiana Road Home program has handed out only a few hundred grants to help homeowners return — even though it has received more than 100,000 applications and is under increasing pressure from the governor and anxious homeowners.
The Small Business Administration also got off to a slow start, cutting its first check more than a month after Katrina made landfall, despite receiving more than 26,000 applications.
Some south Louisiana residents said fraud was endemic in the chaotic days after the storms. In St. Bernard Parish, close to where Katrina made landfall south of New Orleans, the floodwaters rose above 20 feet and white FEMA trailers are still parked outside almost every house. Martina Wiggins, waiting for her grandchildren to arrive home from school, said she was denied aid because someone had already applied using her address.
"They gave away the money too fast," Wiggins said bitterly. "A lot of people got money who didn't deserve it."
People who were forced to flee their homes were eligible for a wide range of federal help, ranging from rental assistance to $2,000 debit cards that could be used to replace personal possessions and buy food. Household payments were capped at $26,000.
Under agency rule changes about three weeks after Katrina, FEMA officials decided some separated households could receive aid. These exceptions included adult roommates who were separated, extended families and some adults still living with their families who were forced to evacuate separately. The government considers a "household" to represent all the people — related or otherwise — who live in a housing unit such as a house, apartment or mobile home.
Still, advocates said thousands of people in separated homes were improperly denied aid or never heard about the rule change. Catherine Bendor of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty said a federal court ruling in June criticized FEMA for not giving enough information to people applying for aid. But coming nearly a year after the storm, she said, the ruling comes too late for the majority of people who needed help.
"The application of the rule has been uneven and arbitrary," she said. "It appears they were making decisions on a case-by-case basis. So it's caused a lot of frustration. There were a lot of individuals who never should have been denied assistance."
In some cases, FEMA is still trying to collect refunds from individuals who improperly received more than one grant or who were ineligible for assistance. But for people like Keshian Mitchell, a 17-year-old Katrina refugee living in a dismal apartment complex in west Houston, it's small comfort.
"They ain't no help now," said Mitchell, who didn't find her parents until six months after Katrina laid waste to New Orleans. "Nobody's getting any more help — they already spent all the money."
Crystal Dixon, who lives near Mitchell, agreed. Dixon, 25, said she saw people bilk taxpayers while she fought for basic assistance to help feed and clothe her five children, ages 1 to 10.
She met one woman who had moved to Houston two years before the storm but kept her Louisiana driver's license. The woman, who had no children, got cash assistance before Dixon was helped, Dixon said.
"I try to understand how confused things got," said Dixon. Her children played outside and chattered excitedly about nearly falling off a roof into flood-swollen streets, being rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter and scrounging for food and water at the overcrowded Superdome. "But I thought everyone should have been treated equally."
A block-by-block survey of flooded areas completed last month also shows that about 10,000 properties in New Orleans remain in a state of withering neglect, according to records provided by City Hall. This means they are in violation of a so-called gutting law that gave owners until Aug. 29, the first anniversary of the storm, to clean out their houses or at least get on a list to have someone do it for them.
Though New Orleans' enforcement initiative, dubbed the Good Neighbor Program, has pushed nearly 900 properties into compliance since kicking off in September, officials admit that administrative bottlenecks have stymied the process at nearly every turn. The effort to cure blight looks likely to drag on for years.
So far, only about 300 of the 9,600 cases of neglect and abandonment have landed before a judge, records show.
City officials blame the slow pace on short staffing, particularly in City Hall's property-research division, which suffered steep layoffs after the flood. Officials say that with help from FEMA, they are bringing in two dozen more employees to beef up every step of the process.
Cedric Miller, a 34-year-old busboy at a New Orleans restaurant, said FEMA officials seemed to be reacting as best they could to the devastation. But Miller also said: "There was a lot of fraud going on. ... There was a whole lot of that going on. It was a big ol' way-drawn-out mess."
Information on non-enforcement of the gutting law was reported by Newhouse News Service.
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
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As part of a war on terrorism, an American president is faced with a decision: Kill a suspected terrorist or try to bring him to justice within the recognized laws of the country?
President Obama considering the killing of al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen? No, Jed Bartlett in the NBC drama West Wing.
If yesterday's killing of Awlaki via a drone strike sounded familiar, it might be because of the eerily similar story line in the NBC series in 2002.
In the episode, defense minister Abdul Shareef of the fictional country Qumar, plans terrorist attacks against the U.S. In the season finale, President Jed Bartlett orders Shareef's assassination after a fight with his conscience and his chief of staff. (You can scroll ahead to 4:16)
Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald verbalized yesterday in writing about al-Awlaki's killing what West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin might've been thinking in writing his story line about the assassination of Abdul Shareef:
What's most striking about this is not that the U.S. Government has seized and exercised exactly the power the Fifth Amendment was designed to bar ("No person shall be deprived of life without due process of law"), and did so in a way that almost certainly violates core First Amendment protections (questions that will now never be decided in a court of law). What's most amazing is that its citizens will not merely refrain from objecting, but will stand and cheer the U.S. Government's new power to assassinate their fellow citizens, far from any battlefield, literally without a shred of due process from the U.S. Government.
"I'm not going to have any objection saying the Pledge of Allegiance tomorrow," President Bartlett's chief of staff responds to his boss' reluctance to order the kill.
That mirrors the comment of an unnamed Obama administration official when pressed on the al-Awlaki killing:
"As a general matter, it would be entirely lawful for the United States to target high-level leaders of enemy forces, regardless of their nationality, who are plotting to kill Americans both under the authority provided by Congress in its use of military force in the armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban, and associated forces as well as established international law that recognizes our right of self-defense," the official said.
In my current closest city of Military Base, Ca. (San Diego), the well-groomed local news talking heads were gleefully gushing that "we took out" al-Awlaki.
I just wanna know one thing: Does this mean my kids don't have to say that silly pledge thing in school anymore?
We launched a war killing thousands on fabricated and fictitious grounds. We put hundreds into Guantanamo for years without due process. We tortured. We carried out secret renditions. And just NOW you start questioning whether we've thrown away the ideals that this nation was founded on?
The appalling thing was that this was done under a president who was awarded a Nobel Peace prize.
Allison - "...a president who was awarded a Nobel Peace prize."
Ever been to Norway? It's a beautiful and wonderful but very small place. The smart money says that he was given the peace prize as a repudiation of Bush's policies, and because the chair of the committee had a man crush on him.
'as a general matter' we can unilaterally kill 'enemy forces' before they actually do anything to harm us, no matter where they're from. -- is what the concluding paragraph states.
The nationality doesn't matter? So when I'm abroad next time, can the State Department simply decide unilaterally that I'm an 'enemy force'? Because if they can, they have carte blanche to murder me, as long as I'm not in the USA.
Just admit that the Constitution is an obsolete annoyance that gets in the way of our nation's Manifest Destiny by protecting people we hate.
Yes, Jim, I understand why the peace prize was given to Obama. It was a ridiculous act to give it to him when they did. He should have declined it. Now he should return it. Or better yet, he could become the sort of man worthy of the peace prize.
For the record, nowhere in the above post do *I* question anything. Clearly, some people do and it's entirely within their right to do so at the time and place of their choice.
You're right, Bob, you didn't question anything. I was more responding to the question in the title using the word 'join', present tense, as if just now we have given up the moral high ground. We gave up that ground long ago. I've grown tired of Americans generally claiming moral superiority over others while failing to live up to their own ideals.
Alison - I completely agree with all of your points. In fact, Glenn Greenwald has said for years that the Obama administration is WORSE than his infamous predecessor regarding the abuse of constitutional and human rights of citizens and captured foreigners and the strengthening of the autonomous rights of the president.
Or that he has done everything that Bush did, only better.
Although the guy appears to be a good dad and well-meaning regarding economic justice and some other issues, I would prefer someone who's honest ALL of the time.
The Mendacity of Hope.
Ah. The quote in the title comes from President Bartlett.
Oh, it's all becoming more clear now.
Excercising power in this way is neither new nor exclusive to the current administration. For example, Gaddafi has been the target of assassination attempts from the British S.A.S., France, and the United States.
There are bad people out there and there are other bad people who will shelter them beyond the reach of our government. While these actions have great potential for abuse, I'm not ready to use a broad brush and say it is universally wrong.
Kennedy - "While these actions have great potential for abuse, I'm not ready to use a broad brush and say it is universally wrong."
That argument is the operational definition of situational ethics.
Where do you stand on torture?
Should we ever draw an uncrossable line on any illegal or immoral behavior?
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The small, Soviet-designed AN-24 plane was carrying 44 passengers and crew from the Black Sea port of Odessa when it crash-landed shortly after 6 p.m. local time, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website.
The plane was operated by the small Southern Airlines company, which mostly runs domestic flights out of Odessa.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear and senior officials were dispatched to Donetsk to investigate.
One of the survivors, a man in his 20s who identified himself by his first name Oleg, said in a video interview posted on the Ukrainian news site Korrespondent that the plane "split open" and caught fire during landing. Many of the passengers escaped the burning plane through the whole that emerged as a result. Oleg said that according to preliminary information, the crash could have been caused by engine failure during landing.
"It was horrible," said Oleg, visibly shaken. "This situation needs to be dealt with."
Oleg as well as regional officials said the plane was filled mostly with football fans heading for the Wednesday night Champions League football match between Ukraine's Shakhtar and Borussia Dortmund. The match opened with a minute of silence in memory of the dead.
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As public schools improve and more parents want their children to attend them, the School Construction Authority is scrambling to create new space and build new schools to ease overcrowding. NY1's Elizabeth Kaledin filed the following report.
On Manhattan's Upper West Side, a fancy new high-rise building under construction features a big ad for the local public school.
But P.S. 199 just around the corner is bursting at the seams. Eight kindergarten classes will enroll there in September, up from seven last year. It is one of many city public schools under pressure from overcrowding.
"The city does anticipate to grow in the next 30 years so we have to stay on top of that and see where that growth will occur," says Sharon Greenberger of the School Construction Authority.
Critics say the Department of Education has not done a very good job of managing the problem, and cite the unhappiness this spring in Greenwich Village, when families were put on waiting lists for neighborhood schools.
The issue has since been resolved, but detractors say the situation was mishandled.
"I question a system that allows such confusion and such chaos over where kids are going to go," says Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. "They didn't anticipate the baby boom with all the kids coming into the system? They didn't anticipate with all the construction that;s going on? Hello!"
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein was not made available for an interview, leaving SCA officials to defend itself themselves.
"This year we're opening 22 new school buildings. Last year we opened 18 new school buildings and next year we'll open 25 new school buildings. So that's 65 new school buildings over a three-year period, which is an unprecedented number," says Greenberger. "It brings on line 43,000 seats in a three-year period."
As part of a $13 billion capital plan just completed, DOE officials say school seats are being created faster than any time since the 1930s and the demand keeps evolving.
"We will still need 25,000 new seats in addition to the 63,000 new seats to continue to relieve overcrowding," says Greenberger.
The SCA admits in the past population shifts were not foreseen and developers were not required to include schools in their plans, but that is going to change.
"We are working with developers throughout the city right now who have big plans, and are insisting that we begin talking with them about school mitigation, to make sure that we anticipate school needs before the students are there," says Greenberger.
It is a new tactic in a shifting educational landscape.
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Tom Catena, an American missionary doctor, has been living since 2008 in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, a land of horrors where families sometimes cower in caves to avoid aerial bombings by the Sudanese government. Rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N), who are fighting for greater autonomy from the government in Khartoum, control much of the countryside, while government forces occupy the towns and prowl the skies. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled.
Villagers who remain scatter at the sound of Antonov cargo planes. From these aged aircraft, Sudanese air force personnel drop crude bombs through open hatches, hoping to hit something below. Catena treats the wounded, as well as the sick and the malnourished. Patients walk for many days to get to his overcrowded Mother of Mercy Hospital. He is the only trained doctor in a rebel-controlled area roughly the size of Austria.
Recently, "Dr. Tom," who got his medical degree at Duke University, was on a very rare home leave to the United States. We met for lunch at a sandwich shop on Second Avenue in Manhattan, where Catena seemed overwhelmed by the number of soft drinks and juices on offer. In college, he played football and weighed 230 pounds. Now he's a gaunt 48-year-old, weighing 155 pounds. Over chicken paninis and apple juice, he spoke about life in one of the most isolated and troubled regions on the planet.
Foreign Policy: You wake up in the morning in the Nuba Mountains. What do you see, smell, hear?
Roosters. I stay on the hospital grounds in a Catholic guesthouse, a little cinderblock building. I don't have an alarm, but wake up around 5:00 or 5:30. The roosters are crowing. We've got chickens all over the compound. Sometimes donkeys are braying and cows are mooing.
We have a couple of priests living there and they say mass everyday at 6:30. So I get up, walk out of the back gate of the compound, cross a dry riverbed to the fathers' compound where there's a small chapel. Usually a couple of the sisters are there, maybe a couple of the people from the area, and we have a mass from 6:30 to 7:00. When mass is over, the sun is up a bit. We have a very small breakfast, maybe some coffee and bread. Then I go to the hospital at quarter-past-seven and start the rounds.
FP: People in the West might have an idea in their heads of what a hospital is, and it might differ from what you're talking about.
It's one floor, shaped like a U, made of hand-carved stones from a quarry in the hillside. We have about 300 beds, and distinct wards, but with the overflow of patients now there are beds in the corridors, beds outside on the veranda. We have beds in a large tent, and in other makeshift tents, spread out all over the place.
We usually have 350 patients, two to three children to a bed. When I left last week, we had 124 kids in the children's ward alone, in maybe 50 beds. There is never enough bed space.
FP: Does the hospital have electricity and running water?
During the day we run solar. We have maybe 12 solar panels and 16 solar batteries. We run the day-to-day operations off that solar bank. As a backup, we also have a 25-kilowatt generator. We're already on our second set of batteries [in four years], and they're expensive. About $8,000 for a full set.
We have two hand pumps: One is in the back, used by patients. One is in our compound, which we use. We also have a borehole with a solar-powered pump that draws water up to two storage tanks on the roof. That comes down and feeds the hospital and our compound. So we have running water in the hospital.
FP: So the area you are serving, how big is it?
Maybe about two-thirds of South Kordofan would be our catchment area, and before the fighting, the population of South Kordofan was about two million. The area we serve now has probably 500,000 people -- in the SPLA-controlled areas of South Kordofan.
FP: How many other clinics or hospitals are in this area?
We are really the only hospital in the Nuba Mountains. That's it. About an hour away from us is a large clinic, run by the German Emergency Doctors. There's no doctor there. Besides that, just small clinics scattered about. Sometimes they have drugs, sometimes they don't.
FP: You are the only trained doctor in the whole rebel-held area?
FP: So tell me about your patients. How do they get to you?
Some take seven days to walk, some five days, some three days. Some will start walking, find a passing vehicle [to give them a ride]. It's very difficult: There's no public transportation anywhere [and none of the roads are paved].
FP: Are there many cars in Nuba?
Very few. There aren't really any NGO vehicles left. There's us, the German Emergency Doctors, and Samaritan's Purse. Everyone else is gone. There's no regular transport. [The rebel forces have vehicles.]
FP: So who are your patients?
Very few can read or write. During the five or six years of peace, when there were functioning schools again, kids were going to school. But that's all stopped. Most of the schools have closed. When patients sign a consent form for surgery, almost everyone has to give a thumbprint. Very few can sign their names. Our medical staff can read and write English a little bit.
Probably 99 percent of Nuba are subsistence farmers. They have maybe two or three cattle, a few goats. Now there are food shortages, so they're very thin. But traditionally, they are very strong and muscular. They grow sorghum, okra, a bit of corn, some peanuts. If they need money, they'll sell one of their animals or sell some sorghum.
FP: Malnutrition has been a problem. There have been reports of people eating leaves and roots, or whatever they can forage.
Before the fighting, we always had malnourished children coming to the hospital. What often happens is that a mother who has a young child conceives, and she stops breast-feeding her baby -- who is maybe a year old. Her belief is that she can't breast-feed when pregnant. So she stops breast-feeding the child, and starts giving the kid poor nutritional food; the kid gets diarrhea, a bit of sickness, and starts the cycle of becoming malnourished. We'd often have five or ten children in the ward in this kind of scenario. Now, in the past two years with the fighting, we see older children and adults malnourished because of lack of available food. Last year, we had people lining up: They would come in the morning and ask us for food in exchange for work. They'd say, "We'll cultivate some of your land, collect you some firewood," whatever. That was something unusual.
We had some extra food. But we had only planned to have enough sorghum for our patients and staff. So it was very difficult. We managed to give them something, at least. Now it's starting again. Whatever they harvested in September is running low.
FP: A recent Human Rights Watch report says the government has imposed a de facto blockade on humanitarian supplies to rebel-held areas.
In August, the Khartoum government signed an agreement to allow humanitarian access to the SPLA-controlled areas of Nuba. I'm still not sure what is going on. There are supposed to be [international] monitors coming in to report back on the situation. I haven't seen anybody. I haven't seen any monitors, I haven't heard of any monitors coming. The Khartoum government is expert at this kind of game. They know how to hide facts, how to hoodwink people, how to tell half-truths, how to obfuscate.
FP: You told me previously that you grew up in a large Catholic family, and that a large part of your motivation was to emulate the life of Christ. Can you tell me a little more about what inspired you to spend the past four years in the Nuba Mountains, and the last two years within a half-mile-square compound there?
Well, certainly it's a religious motivation. I've always wanted to do mission work with the poor. I was influenced very much by St. Francis of Assisi, whose idea was to radically live the gospel. He was not a priest, or even a brother. He was a layperson. His whole concept was to emulate Christ through the gospels, and to live it in a radical way. That has always resonated very much with me: Not to just live it half way, or live it from a distance, but to really enter into that reality. I can still get out if I want to, but I have no desire to do that. I want to continue this line of work, living this kind of life.
As a Westerner, as an American, you never fully enter into the reality there -- to know their mind, their way of thinking. But I try to do it as much as possible, given my limitations.
FP: There's been a lot of criticism of the Western aid community in general, that Western aid or "white saviors" from afar are doing more harm than good -- promoting corruption, dealing unrealistically with situations, making matters worse. What do you make of that kind of criticism?
I would agree with a lot of it. It's very difficult, because most everybody involved in humanitarian work is well intentioned, I think. The trick is: How do you do it in a good way, without making people dependent. My approach is to enter into this work with the people, and to work along with them. We do it in a low impact way. We don't come in with 20 doctors, take over a hospital, and do all the work ourselves. The whole thrust of the church and diocese is that we want the hospital and infrastructure to last for 50 or 100 years.
In a lot of cases, NGO's have a project with money for two years, and they come in and run an emergency clinic. When the money [for that project] dries up, they pack up and they leave -- move on to the next crisis. That's not our idea. The church is part and parcel of the people there. Our goal is that local people will eventually run the place. We tell them over and over: This is your hospital.
It actually helped a lot when [some Kenyan and Ugandan staff, including a pharmacist and a midwife] got evacuated in 2011. That June 16th, I had a meeting with the staff and I looked at them and said, "The expatriates are gone; you're left with myself and a couple of sisters. You need to pick up the slack. You've got to do the job now." And they did it.
The criticism is valid, however. We always have to ask ourselves: Are we doing the right thing? Are we creating dependence or harm? If you don't do that, you can make a mess.
FP: There are some people who will say, well, you have a Christian agenda. Just by virtue of the fact that you're on a Christian mission, you're an outsider who is coming in and trying to influence the ideology of the people. You're a foreigner with a foreign mission. How do you respond to that?
Well, I would say yeah, it's a fair criticism. But first off, the Nuba Mountains are mixed: Maybe 40 percent Christian, maybe 40 or 50 percent Muslim, the rest are animist. We as a church, the mission of the church is to be available to the people. Myself as a missionary, I'm trying to present to you a face of Jesus in what I'm doing. I don't preach, I don't say you've got to be Christian or else we won't take care of you, or you've got to be Christian or we won't treat you as well. This is how I believe Christ would react to this situation and I try to emulate that. The Nuba people can see how I'm behaving, good or bad.
FP: You see a lot of horrors on a daily basis. Has your faith ever been tested? Have you had cause to look upwards and think, "Where the hell are you?"
Yeah, where is God in all this when you see children being maimed and slaughtered and dying? Sometimes I wonder, why does God allow this? And in the end, the only conclusion I can come to is: There is so little I know about the world -- the here-and-now and the hereafter. My role is not to question everything. It's just to be of service, to do my best in this earthly realm. Perhaps after I die, I'll know a little bit more. There's a lot that we as humans have no idea about. Somehow, all this stuff makes some kind of sense in the end. This is a temporary existence.
FP: On the other hand, you look into the face if a child, and regardless of what will happen after or what happened before, that child is in excruciating pain.
The only thing I can think of is: whatever suffering we have in this life, the afterlife is so much grander than anything that we can imagine, all the suffering, all the chaos is overshadowed and forgotten and goes away. Maybe the suffering has some redemptive value. I don't know. [tears well up briefly in Catena's eyes at this point, and he removes his glasses.] Watching a kid die, hearing that mother wailing, for me is so excruciatingly painful. It's excruciating. Those are the only times I feel, I've got to get out of here. Hearing that screaming.
FP: Tell me about patients who have really stuck with you, that can't get out of your memory.
There was one kid who was hit by shrapnel from an Antonov bomb. I can't remember his name; he was about 12 years old. He came about a year ago. The bomb exploded and the shrapnel just tore his face apart. Anyway, he went to some clinic somewhere, a few hours from us, and had some crude surgery. They stitched the wound and you don't want to do that; it traps the bacteria and bugs. He was a total mess. There was pus and stuff oozing from his wounds. We took the sutures out, and inside his wounds was dirt and grass. We cleaned it out and packed the wounds.
He was doing okay for a couple of weeks. The wounds were healing. But every time the Antonov would come overhead, and we'd hear it, he'd just put his face into the wall and moan. He was terrified. Then we saw him one morning and he was going rigid, and we thought, oh no, he's getting tetanus. So we put him in isolation and put a feeding tube down, and started our standard tetanus treatment. He was spiking high fevers, so we put him on antibiotics. And after a couple of days, he just up and died. And it was excruciating.
He was recovering from his wounds. He was doing fine. I discussed it with one of the Comboni Sisters who was in charge of the children's ward. We talked and talked about it. She said, "What can we do? Maybe it was God's will. He would have suffered the rest of his life."
Then there's a guy named Daniel, who is still alive. Daniel was hit by an Antonov. He's 14 years old. The Antonov came over, and he fell to the ground and wrapped his arms around a tree. The shrapnel hit him and severed both of his arms. He came in with spaghetti arms, you know? So I had to take off both of his arms.
To amputate somebody's arm is not a nice operation. A leg is better. If you take off a leg, there is a possibility of giving him a prosthesis so he can walk again. But take off somebody's arms, particularly a kid like that, you are screwing that kid. He's left to a life of constant dependency on somebody else.
We just set Daniel up with a program to get him prosthetic arms, but they're cosmetic arms, like a mannequin -- non-functioning. We're hoping we can later give him some kind of a claw or latch [that can grasp things]. But he's depressed now. He needs to have somebody help him pass his stool, to help him wash his butt. He can't eat.
FP: How many patients do you get who have the flu or other more common problems?
We get everything: rabies, tetanus, back pain, a simple fracture, diarrhea.
FP: Your hobbies before going to Sudan included scuba diving, bicycling, and basketball. You can't do any of that anymore. What do you do when you're not working?
If I get some time, I lie in bed and read a bit. My dad sends magazines that get there eventually. Books. The work is pretty much all encompassing. I've thought about getting a mountain bike and bringing that in.
FP: Do you ever think that if you continue leading this kind of life, you won't have a family?
Yeah, I've thought about it. I have. Because it is isolating... Marrying a local person is a possibility if I stay long term. There's certainly a culture gap. But to get a Western lady to go there, it would have to be somebody who has the same mission. I could not meet somebody here in the U.S. and bring her along. It's too isolating. She would independently have to have the desire to work in that missionary field. Otherwise I'd make somebody very miserable.
I really feel that I've been given everything in this life. I was born to this incredible family, very supportive. My parents have been married 50-some years and I've never heard them fight. I got the chance to attend great universities and medical school. I've had everything. I don't think I've had any adversity. I mean, yeah, I studied hard in school but that's not adversity. Everyone in the Nuba Mountains has faced incredible adversity, every single one of them. Just to finish primary school is an incredible challenge. What the heck?
You asked about God. I wonder why God gave me all this stuff and gave them the short end of the stick. I don't understand it. I feel I have some obligation to even the score up a bit.
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Grassroots Mapping awarded Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica
The Grassroots Mapping project was recently awarded an Honorary Mention at the 2011 Prix Ars Electronica:
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
Since 1987, the Prix Ars Electronica has served as an interdisciplinary platform for everyone who uses the computer as a universal medium for implementing and designing their creative projects at the interface of art, technology and society.
The “Digital Communities” category focuses on the wide-ranging social and artistic impact of the Internet technology as well as on the latest developments in social software, user generated content, mobile communications, mash-ups and location based services. Digital Communities” focuses on innovation in relation to human coexistence. Its main goals lie in first, bridging the geographical as well as the genderbased digital divide and second, bridging across cultural conflicts and third, supporting cultural diversity and freedom of artistic expression.
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Former British Minister for the Environment, Michael Meacher, writes another anti-GM food piece for the Independent (London) today. He makes reference to Canadian experiences, which if he is to be believed, are all negative.
I have no brief for GM foods or any company that produces them. What bothers me is the fear of science that GM foods has engendered in people and the "certainty" that GM foods are proof that the "end is nigh". Europe was the center for scientific advances for hundreds of years, but it's now slowly becoming center for luddites and others who are just afraid of change.
By all means conduct tests and prove, if possible, whether GM foods are safe or not. The problem is I can't imagine a scientific study that isn't so politically laden that the result is not pre-determined.
I'm sure I have eaten GM foods many, many times while in the US. I haven't noticed any side effects in me nor in my friends and family at home.
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Get connected with your library patrons! Connecting with patrons in the online world is vital for libraries. Learn how to build and maintain virtual, internet-based connections with your patrons by utilizing the tools they are increasingly using themselves, including Google Plus, QR Codes, and Pinterest. We will focus on how to get started with these platforms and how to immediately put them to use for your library. You will also be provided with ideas to expand your use of these great connection-oriented tools. Learn how libraries are growing virtual community connections and engaging with their patrons.
Presented by: Melanie Hedgespeth, technology manager and Randy Merrell, tech trainer, Salina Public Library (KS)
*If you require Closed Captioning in order to attend this webinar, please contact Jennifer Peterson by April 5 [email protected].
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Newark mayor Corey Booker is a true man of the people who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty (or burned) and that’s why he gets the Shine Award for Most Talked About.
Whether he was interacting with his constituents on Twitter or literally saving citizens from burning buildings, Booker stayed in the news for all of the right reasons unlike some other politicians (see: Rep. Todd Akin).
The 2005 documentary “Street Fight” chronicled Booker’s 2002 run for mayor of Newark, New Jersey against 16-year incumbent Sharpe James. Booker, a young, idealistic and relentless community activist, lived in one of Newark’s worst housing projects and raged against an entrenched political machine and its dirty tricks to try to make a difference in his city. And although Booker’s first run was unsuccessful we saw a glimpse of the city’s future in his effort. Booker became Newark’s 36th mayor in 2006 and since then his calling card has been his a passion for, and connection to, his would-be constituents.
His responsiveness and wit on Twitter have earned him a rep as a politician of the future but let him tell it he’s humble civil servant of the now who is grateful for the ability to communicate with his community directly and quickly. Something tells us that when we talk about Booker down the line we’ll be referring to him as “senator,” “governor,” or even “Mr. President.”
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Original Source Press Release:
Online photography course to commence soon|
(Friday, August 23, 2002 - 00:59 EDT)
We just received an email from Arthur Bleich, Feature Editor of Digital Camera Magazine, announcing that he is now accepting applications for his latest Digiphoto 101 Course.
Commencing on September 3rd, the course costs $360 and takes 10 weeks with a limit of 10 enrollees in each course. Arthur's class instructs both beginner and intermediate students in the technical and creative aspects of digital photography, including lighting, color, texture, composition and more.
Assignments are given on a weekly basis, with feedback via a discussion board limiting access to the enrollees and their teacher. You can see examples of the work produced by past students on Arthur's site to give you an idea of what it's all about, and you can really see a difference
in a lot of the pictures as enrollees' skills mature.
For those of you who have more time to spare, and want a chance to talk to your teacher face to face, remember that Arthur's second "digital photography cruise" is coming up soon. The cruise gives you a chance to relax and get away from it all, whilst improving your photography at the same time - and it takes place on board Carnival's shiny new cruise ship "Legend", which began its first ever cruise today after the official naming ceremony in Harwich, England. (Readers who've watched CNN today may have enjoyed a chuckle at the three attempts it took Dame Judi Dench and the ship's Captain to break the customary bottle of champagne on the ship's bow!)
For further info on either of the photography courses, hop on over to Arthur Bleich's Digital PhotoCorner.
Powered by Coranto
Enrollment is now open for the next session of Digiphoto 101, an online interactive digital photography course that begins September 3rd, 2002 and is taught by Arthur H. Bleich, professional photographer and feature editor of Digital Camera Magazine
Lighting, color, texture, composition, and other subjects are covered to give both beginning and intermediate students a solid grounding in photodigital techniques and esthetics.
Each class is limited to ten enrollees, all of whom have access to the instructor as a mentor throughout the course. Weekly assignments are critiqued online and students may interact with the teacher and each other at a restricted Discussion Board.
Tuition for the 10-week course is $360. For further information email or visit
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InfographicLabs.com's Instagram infographic graphs the rise and success of the popular iPhone application inspired by Polaroid cameras and Kodak Instamatic cameras of the past. The application, which squares photos and gives them nostalgic style tones, is necessary for any iPhone, with impressive statistics, such as an average upload rate of 15 uploads per second.
The Instagram infographic is filled with similarly daunting stats on the increasingly popular app, which has really become a part of social media culture due to its potential to share photos on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Compared to the two years it takes Flickr, Yahoo's professional-feeling photo portfolio site, to acquire 100 million photos, it takes Instagram only eight months. The infographic also outlines the uses of Instagram, including the surprising fact that it has also become a means of spreading news fast.
Photo-Sharing Service Graphs
7,459 clicks in 67 w
More Stats +/-
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Reaction to the government’s proposals on child benefit has been all over today’s papers, with Conservative MPs and commentators among those vocally complaining about the scale of political gamble involved, including comparisons to Gordon Brown’s 10p tax change which proved a major policy and political own-goal.
This has the feeling of a depth charge that could come back to haunt the Chancellor in the way the 10p tax rate damaged Gordon Brown.
One objection to this analogy would be that the political risk involved in the child benefit change is much clearer on day one, even if the government today seems disconcerted by the scale and range of objections.
But the comparison is perhaps most apt in that the change appears to have a wide range of unintended consequences, and that it is not clear that the government has worked through the policy and political implications of trying to deal with this.
Here are 10 challenges to the politics and policy of cutting the universality of child benefit.
1. Breaking clear election pledges not to do this
Then Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond told Andrew Neil before the election that the Tories had made a clear pledge, but this did not apply to a coalition election government. The Lib Dems will not appreciate the implication they are to blame – especially when Nick Clegg gave a similar commitment to Jeremy Paxman. The debate about who did and did not support the proposal may cause friction in the coalition.
Possible solution: The solution to the ‘broken pledge’ problem would be for the government to pre-announce the measure for 2015/16. They won’t do this. Having vehemently accused opponents of lying and scaremongering – on predictions from VAT to universal benefits, which turned out to be true, the Conservatives will be very vulnerable to charges that they have a “hidden agenda” at the next election.
2. Unfairness of who loses child benefit and who doesn’t
Even supporters of the proposal believe it is indefensible that a couple with one earner on £45,000 would lose all of their child benefit, while a couple both earning £40,000 would keep all of their child benefit. The newspapers seem united in saying this aspect of the proposal must be amended. But the crudity of the cut is a central feature of what the Conservatives claim is a “non-means testing” approach to stopping child benefit being universal, and the entire rationale for the policy may then unravel.
Possible solution: Tax credits avoid this problem by being assessed on a household basis. As the government already means-tests the family element of Child Tax Credit on joint incomes up to £50,000, child benefit could be means-tested with no net increase in complexity. This would still be unpopular, but the reason for the unpopularity is that the government is clearly introducing means-testing itself anyway in cutting out families with one high-earner.
If the government insists that means-testing by household would be too complex, it is difficult to see how to get out of this, other than announcing further reform proposals, which will have a complexity cost which will be likely to damage take-up and reduce savings.
3. Hitting stay-at-home mothers… who the marriage tax break won’t help
This issue has the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph up in arms. David Cameron today claimed that his marriage tax system would help here. That will indeed be biased in favour of stay-at-home mothers. (It is a marriage tax break that will exclude all married two-earner couples.) But the Tory manifesto proposal does nothing at all for anybody who has lost Child Benefit, since it also excludes higher rate taxpayers.
If that is not amended, introducing it would increase their sense of grievance further, and exacerbate several problems from the policy, such as the extraordinarily high new marginal tax rates between income tax bands.
Possible solution: Difficult. If the marriage tax allowance were now amended to include higher rate taxpayers, the maximum gain from the marriage tax break is £150, when anybody losing child benefit is losing at least £1,000 (or more for those with two or more children). This remains a policy in search of a rationale. The main gainers are childless married pensioner couples, though only those.
4. Extraordinarily high marginal rates: tax distortion and disincentives to work
The Institute For Fiscal Studies has criticised the proposal as a move away from the goal of tax simplification, pointing out how the proposal will introduce marginal tax rates of over 500 per cent for those who get a pay rise or increased hours to take them across the higher rate threshold. Some people will be much better off if they can negotiate a pay cut of several hundred pounds, but the Conservatives will be seen by key groups of voters as having placed a ‘ceiling on aspiration’.
Possible solution: Tapering would increase cost and complexity, leading to issues of over and underpayment as circumstances change, and will start to eat up the potential savings from the change.
5. Disincentives to marry
The Conservatives have made a great deal of “couple penalties” – and have promised to end them. Their proposal introduces a much larger couple’s penalty for some couples.
Possible solution: Difficult. The Conservatives will have to adopt the argument of their opponents, that financial incentives are not likely to drive behaviour change. This would seem to undermine their broader advocacy on the transferable allowance. (However, these financial effects are much larger).
6. Unfair to single mothers
The charity Gingerbread has pointed out that the single/double-earner anomaly will particularly affect middle-class working single mothers and fathers (who might include those who have been widowed and divorced as well as those who did not marry). These relatively high earning single parents may often have high childcare costs.
This has sympathy on the Conservative backbenches, if for slightly selective reasons.
“Single mothers don’t all live on council estates. There are those whose husbands ran off with the au pair.”
7. Risk to the pensions’ entitlement of women who take a career-break
Women with children under 12 taking a career break have been able to receive National Insurance contribution credits on the basis of receiving child benefit, so maintaining their entitlement to the basic state pension, which requires a certain number of ‘contribution years’. Higher rate taxpayers will no longer be eligible for this as they will no longer be eligible for child benefit.
Possible solution: The government could offer women who do not qualify for child benefit the chance to register for an NI credit on the basis of having a child under 12. It would be very unfair not to do this. But this will require a new administrative system to register non-Child Benefit recipients as meriting NI credits because they were previously eligible for child benefit.
8. Targeting women and families disproportionately in deficit plans
The reform in effect removes a £1 billion tax allowance from higher-rate taxpayers. However, the government’s decision to use child benefit means that it has only affected families with children, and not other higher-rate taxpayers. It has also gone for the only benefit paid to mothers.
This is embarrassing for a government which is already facing legal challenge from the Fawcett Society over whether it carried out a gender impact assessment of its emergency budget. Initial House of Commons analysis suggests women were disproportionately hit. The Child Benefit changes exacerbate this.
Possible solution: Government sources now privately acknowledge that they did not have sufficient processes in place to meet their legal obligations for the emergency budget. They are confident that the CSR process is considerably better.
However, there is little doubt that the impacts will be worse on the poor and on women, simply because most public spending is progressive, and because women are comparatively more likely to work in the public sector. The government’s job will be to challenge perceptions that so many of their measures seem to affect women and families the most.
9. Higher administration costs than the Conservatives think
The Conservatives believe that the crude form of the policy minimises the costs so that some worthwhile savings are made. But £1 billion seems a considerable over-estimate of the net gain, given how many questions remain about how the process of aligning the Child Benefit system and the tax system will work, in particular how this will deal effectively with changes of circumstances. (New children; changes in tax bands as incomes rise and fall; separation and divorce, etc.)
There will need to be increased administration to check up on claimants and to minimise deliberate fraud, convenient forgetfulness and confusion about how the system works.
Possible solution: The Conservatives believe the new universal credit will simplify the entire benefits system, and will provide the long-term answer. But it won’t be in place until after 2013 and there is little detail – and contradictory arguments from the top of government – about what will be included and when.
Hence Iain Duncan Smith talking enthusiastically yesterday about wishing to wrap child benefit up into this. But that raises the spectre of further means-testing. There is now confusion about this. David Cameron said there were no plans for child benefit to become part of the universal credit – but the direction of Tory policy thinking suggests this could well change in the future.
10. A blow to the principle of universalism
This is the central objection from the Fabian left: that the ‘common sense’ case for targeting resources on the poor fails, because in a democracy, the evidence strongly shows that it is much harder to.
Hence Richard Titmuss’ argument that “services for the poor will always be poor services” – as the post-war experience of the universal NHS versus social housing shows – and the Fabian Solidarity Society finding in the comparative international and historic evidence of the “poverty paradox” – that welfare states primarily concerned to address poverty (such as the US and Britain) had a much poorer poverty performance than broader and more inclusive welfare regimes (such as those in Scandinavia).
But this ranks lowest as a Conservative problem – because the measure is in part a deliberate rejection of and political challenge to this political philosophy. However, there is a link here to a centre-right argument, voiced by Paul Goodman of ConservativeHome, that those who contribute most to the common weal through taxation do need to feel that they get something from it.
The outcry about Child Benefit could be seen to exemplify the Fabian argument. It is also the case that any future increase in Child Benefit in better fiscal times – which would once have met general approbation – will now exacerbate a sense of grievance.
Possible solution: Goodman is calling for the Conservatives to say that the suspension of higher-rate child benefit is a temporary measure, which will be reversed in an economic upturn. This would make the many headaches that Cameron and Osborne face to make sense of their new policy at least only temporary headaches.
It may prove a politically attractive option unless the government sees this major fight as a good chance to make a “there is no alternative” case for a tough budget deficit approach.
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- Home »
- Seyfert History
In 1933, Charles Seyfert left his home in PA and drove his pretzel truck to Chicago for the World's Fair. On his way back home, he passed through Fort Wayne, Indiana, liked what he saw of the northeastern Indiana town and stopped there to begin a pretzel-making business. Although pretzels were Seyfert's dream, Fort Wayne wasn't ready for pretzels at that time and the businessman went broke. After a trip back home to PA to gather equipment, Seyfert returned to Fort Wayne and started a potato chip operation. This time, the snack food entrepreneur was successful.
Seyfert opened its doors August 20, 1934, the operation was much different than today's. Charles Seyfert did everything himself – from peeling potatoes to making chips to delivering the finished product. Today, miles and miles of conveyor belts carry the raw ingredients, cooked snacks and bags of goodies from one area of the plant to another.
In 1982, Borden Inc. acquired Seyfert. In October, 1994, Heath acquisition Corporation acquired the Seyfert Foods division from Borden Inc.. In 2001, Troyer Potato Products acquired Seyfert Foods.
The Troyer organization acquired Seyfert Foods in March 2001 but the relationship between the two companies goes back to the 1960s. At that time, Troyer supplied Seyfert's with potatoes. At the time of the acquisition, Troyer sold its products in Pennsylvania, eastern and central Ohio, western New York, and parts of West Virginia and Indiana. "It was a logical move by Troyer, and we're now fortunate to have product lines that have broad appeal in a number of nearby states," added Clifford Troyer.
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For decades our politicians have promised us that the "free trade" agenda would bring us greater prosperity than ever before. They insisted that merging our economy into the emerging one world economy would cause millions upon millions of new jobs to be added to the U.S. economy. Unfortunately, it was all a giant lie. Trading with other countries is not a bad thing as long as the level of trade is fairly equal on both sides. When trade becomes very unequal, the consequences can be absolutely catastrophic. Since 1975, the United States has bought more than 8 trillion dollars more stuff from the rest of the world than they have bought from us. We are the only economy on earth that could have had 8 trillion dollars drained out of it and still be standing. Instead of leaving the country, those 8 trillion dollars could have gone to U.S. businesses and U.S. workers. If we could go back and have a "do over", how much more prosperous would we be today if we had kept that 8 trillion dollars inside the country?
But instead of pursuing a balanced trade philosophy, our politicians were so enamored with the emerging one world economy that they threw all caution to the wind.
So we have lost tens of thousands of businesses, millions of jobs and trillions of dollars of our national wealth.
And this emerging one world economy is absolutely killing American workers. It lumps them into a global labor pool with workers in other countries where it is legal to pay slave labor wages.
Just think of it this way. Imagine that you are a giant corporation that makes "widgets". You can make them in the United States, but you would have to pay your workers about $10 an hour, provide them with a whole bunch of benefits, pay very high taxes, and comply with a dizzying array of laws, rules and regulations.
Or, you could set up shop on the other side of the world where you could pay your workers a dollar an hour. Those workers would receive no benefits and you would have to deal with very little red tape.
Which would you choose?
The "giant sucking sound" that Ross Perot once warned us about has become a reality. Big employers are competing with one another to see who can outsource jobs the fastest, and American workers are the big losers in all of this.
As I wrote about the other day, right now there are some American workers that are actually personally training their replacements from overseas how to do their jobs.
If nothing is done about this, jobs are going to continue to pour out of high wage countries such as the United States and into low wage countries on the other side of the globe, and big corporations are going to keep laughing all the way to the bank as unemployment in America gets even worse.
The following are 22 stats that show how the emerging one world economy is absolutely killing American workers....
#1 One professor has estimated that cutting the U.S. trade deficit in half would create 5 million more jobs in the United States.
#2 The United States has a trade imbalance that is more than 7 times larger than any other nation on earth has.
#3 Overall, the United States has run a trade deficit of more than 8 trillion dollars with the rest of the globe since 1975. That 8 trillion dollars could have gone to support U.S. businesses and pay the wages of U.S. workers. Federal, state and local taxes would have been paid on that 8 trillion dollars if it had stayed in the United States. This is one reason why our national debt is getting ready to cross the 16 trillion dollar mark.
#4 When NAFTA was passed in 1993, the United States had a trade surplus with Mexico of 1.6 billion dollars. In 2010, we had a trade deficit with Mexico of 61.6 billion dollars.
#5 In 2001, American consumers spent 102 billion dollars on products made in China. In 2011, American consumers spent 399 billion dollars on products made in China.
#6 The Chinese undervalue their currency by about 40 percent in order to gain a critical advantage over foreign competitors. This means that many Chinese companies are able to absolutely thrive while their competition in the United States goes out of business. The following is from a recent Fox News article....
To keep Chinese products artificially inexpensive on US store shelves, Beijing undervalues the yuan by 40 percent. It pirates US technology, subsidizes exports and imposes high tariffs on imports.
#7 According to the New York Times, a Jeep Grand Cherokee that costs $27,490 in the United States costs about $85,000 in China thanks to all the tariffs.
#8 The U.S. trade deficit with China during 2011 was 295.4 billion dollars. That was the largest trade deficit that one nation has had with another nation in the history of the world.
#9 Back in 1985, our trade deficit with China was only about 6 million dollars (million with an "m") for the entire year.
#10 U.S. consumers spend about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that Chinese consumers spend on goods and services from the United States.
#11 The United States has actually lost an average of about 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
#12 According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losing about half a million jobs to China every single year.
#13 The United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.
#14 During 2010 alone, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities closed their doors in America every single day.
#15 Since the auto industry bailout, approximately 70 percent of all GM vehicles have been built outside the United States.
#16 As I have written about previously, 95 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were middle class jobs.
#17 According to Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University, 40 million more U.S. jobs could be sent offshore over the next two decades if current trends continue.
#18 The percentage of working age Americans that are employed right now is actually smaller than it was at the end of the last recession.
#19 The average duration of unemployment in the United States is nearly three times as long as it was back in the year 2000.
#20 Due in part to the globalization of the labor pool, only about 24 percent of all jobs in the United States are "good jobs" at this point.
#21 Without enough good jobs, more Americans than ever before are falling into poverty. Today, more than 100 million Americans are on welfare.
#22 In recent years the U.S. economy has embraced "free trade" and the emerging one world economy like never before. Instead of increasing the number of jobs in our economy, it has resulted in the worst stretch of job creation in the United States in modern history....
If any single number captures the state of the American economy over the last decade, it is zero. That was the net gain in jobs between 1999 and 2009—nada, nil, zip. By painful contrast, from the 1940s through the 1990s, recessions came and went, but no decade ended without at least a 20 percent increase in the number of jobs.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
You can get a really good idea of how nightmarish the manufacturing job losses have been in the United States over the past 40 years by checking out this map right here.
And if everything posted above was not bad enough, some U.S. companies even find themselves competing with slave labor here in the United States.
Prison labor is absolutely destroying some businesses here in America. The following comes from a recent CNN article....
Unicor is a government-run enterprise that employs over 13,000 inmates -- at wages as low as 23 cents an hour -- to make goods for the Pentagon and other federal agencies.
With some exceptions, Unicor gets first dibs on federal contracts over private companies as long as its bid is comparable in price, quantity and delivery. In other words: If Unicor wants a contract, it gets it.
One company that tries to compete with Unicor has been forced to lay off 150 people over the years because they lose so many contracts to them....
Wilson has been competing with Unicor for 20 years. He's an executive at American Apparel Inc., an Alabama company that makes military uniforms. (It is not affiliated with the international retailer of the same name.) He has gone head-to-head with Unicor on just about every product his company makes -- and said he has laid off 150 people over the years as a result.
"We pay employees $9 on average," Wilson said. "They get full medical insurance, 401(k) plans and paid vacation. Yet we're competing against a federal program that doesn't pay any of that."
But this is also the kind of thing that U.S. companies are dealing with when they try to compete with big corporations that are exploiting cheap labor abroad.
If you are spending ten times as much on labor as your competitor is, it is going to be really hard to survive.
That is why it has become so hard to find products that are made in America.
Most of our jobs these days are low paying "service jobs", cushy government jobs or jobs where people push papers around all day.
But those kinds of jobs do not create lasting wealth for a country.
Did you know that there are more tax preparers in the United States than there are police officers and firefighters combined?
Our economy is a giant mirage. We consume way more wealth than we produce, but we are able to keep the party going because we are riding the biggest debt spiral the world has ever seen.
But at some point the debt spiral is going to end and the crash is going to come.
Until then, however, those at the very top are still really enjoying themselves.
For example, one of the latest trends is for rich kids to show off pictures of themselves enjoying their enormous wealth on Instagram.
Something has gone very, very wrong with this country.
So what do you think about all this? Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below....
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Bonifay meeting to discuss wild turkey management in Holmes Co.
Monday, February 04, 2013
Media contact: Stan Kirkland, 850-265-3676
Few would argue the wild turkey restoration program in Holmes County has been anything but a huge success.
As a result, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and several partnering groups are urging county residents, and even those who live outside the county, who have an interest in wild turkey management in Holmes County, to attend a public meeting Feb. 21 at the Holmes County Extension Office at 1169 East Highway 90 in Bonifay. The meeting is from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
“The wild turkey population has responded nicely over the years, due to habitat work and protection offered by landowners, farmers and hunters,” said Roger Shields, the FWC’s statewide wild turkey program coordinator.
“The bait station surveys show the presence of turkeys at most of the 28 permanent bait sites where we look for evidence of birds.”
That’s certainly very different from 1997, when biologists found no wild turkeys anywhere in the county. In 1998, the FWC closed Holmes County to turkey hunting and urged landowners to use habitat management efforts geared for wild turkeys. In 1998 and ’99, 121 wild turkeys were relocated to the county. The population boomed, as everyone had hoped.
“Wild turkeys will continue to flourish if we focus on good management techniques and afford the birds the protection they need,” Shields said.
He said the focus of the meeting is what turkeys need: timber thinning, prescribed burning, use of food plots and future management options.
In 2006, limited turkey hunting was allowed in Holmes County with a three-day spring season. Since then, the FWC expanded spring season to 16 days and two days for youth only.
Anyone interested in attending is urged to register in advance by contacting Shep Eubanks at [email protected] or Cindy Owens at [email protected], or by calling 850-547-1108.
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Here are two human-centered healthcare concepts I have come up with and imagine will be true in the future where technology and service design are applied to not only make the health care experience invisible (concept 1) but fun and way beyond simply retaining the human element (concept 2).
Concept 1: The Phone of the Future- Your Guardian Health Angel
Looking into the future, I see you’re phone as your personal health angel. When it comes to taking care of your health, you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to think about anything. The phone will take care of it for you.
Why the phone? Because it is the one object that is with you at all times. You change clothes, you change locations, you change accessories. But the phone is there with you throughout the day and besides the bed while you sleep. It will be your health monitor. You use it in different positions and moods- crouched up, walking, when you’re calm, when you’re tense. With all the data it can sense from you, every single day, nobody better will know your health than the phone, which continuously monitors your health as long as it is with you, which is probably all the time. Forget about getting an additional device to look after your health, the phone is all you need.
If there’s anything of concern to your health that you can cure or prevent on your own, your phone will let you know. If there’s anything of concern that you can’t fix, the phone will contact your doctor or the nurse who will get in touch with you on the phone through video. You won’t ever feel sick and need to take action because you’re phone will have acted on the situation before it happens. Of course, the phone will not be able to detect everything. That’s why you’re medical monitoring report will constantly be streamed to the doctor who will go through it every month and in case he does detect something unusual, he will get in touch with you.
Your health matters and you need to concentrate on the things that matter in your life. But the phone of the future will do this for you, so you have to concentrate on one thing less, and more on enjoying life.
Concept 2: The Children’s (Not)hospital
Do children like hospitals? Of course not. It’s scary. It’s not fun. It doesn’t make them happy.
If I were to design a hospital for children, I would take them one by one to the hospital (when they’re sick, of course) and start talking with them about it what they thought about it right from the gate, all the way till the time they are discharged (well, I would use a modified cultural probe method to record their feelings about it over time if it was a longer stay). What is it they like or don’t like and why?
If I were to design it, I would design it based around what fun is for children. This concept is based upon creating a Disneyland experience to remove the fear of a hospital and gameification to make children heal faster by wanting to heal faster.
If children like fantasy, cartoons and games, why should the hospital not be it? So here’s a story about Anna who has the flu and is being taken by her parents to the hospital.
Far before Anna reaches the hospital, she can see giant waving inflatable jokers at the gate. Anna shows mom sitting with her in the back of the car and asks her what that place is. Mom smiles back while dad drives right through the gate where the guard dressed as a pirate tips his hat. Anna opens her mouth in awe and says, “I thought we were going to the hospital!”. “This is the hospital, my love”, says mom.
They drive for a mile before they reach the hospital and all throughout the way, Anna is busy looking at the larger than life cartoon characters pegged by the sides of the road she loves so much.
When they enter the hospital, she see’s ambient walls filled with fairies, toadstools and funny looking gnomes. While she waits, Peter Pan (the attendant) gives her a pair of gloves that let her play games sitting right on her chair. She moves her fingers which are tracked and suddenly, along with the other children, she’s helping the fairies thwack the funny looking gnomes every time they try to steal a pastry from the spread laid out for their toadstool party. She’s in her own fantasy land right now and there is no hospital and no sickness for her right now. There’s only joy and happiness, a lot of it.
It’s time for the doctor to see Anna and she goes in to be greeted by a magician (the doctor, of course!). After he pulls a rabbit out of his hat that has Anna in squeals, he does a quick checkup with his brightly colored medical apparatus and gives Anna three bunny bottles in pink, blue and green (that she can add to her collection of toys once she’s done with the course).
He then goes on to pull out a few medals out of his hat. “Which one are you going to get, my love?”. “I want all of them”, says a laughing Anna. “Well, you can’t have all, but if you want the gold, here’s how you can win it!”. He tells her that if she takes her colored skittle pills from her colored bunny rabbits as mommy gives them, and she recovers quick and comes back to the hospital with no more flu, she’ll get the gold. “Oh well, if you do that, I’ll give you all three of them! How does that sound?”. Anna looks in disbelief to mom while mom strokes her hair.
Anna comes back in a few days fit as fiddle. She’s laughing before reaching the gate and slips into her fantasy world while she drives through it to reach the hospital, enjoying everything she did the last time round. The doctor, or should I say, the magician, is amazed and says he never could have imagined little Anna would recover so quick. He not only gives her the three medals he promised, but he also gives her a certificate after taking a picture of her with her medals (and him sporting a wicked grin) which she can always look back at with pride to remind her of her amazing victory.
She recovered quickly because she wanted to recover quickly. What the mind can conceive, it can achieve, and this is proven by research available today. She wanted to come back to her fantasy land and she wanted the medals, and she wanted to add the three cute bunny rabbits to her family of toys. She wanted to see the magician again and she wanted those medals.
The whole process of going to the hospital, getting diagnosed and cured was not about going to a hospital, not getting diagnosed by a doctor, and not taking horrible pills. For Anna, it was about fantasy, awe, encouragement and victory. It was something she enjoyed very much.
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Joseph Flanigan rides for a lot of different reasons. After nearly two decades of living with multiple sclerosis, Flanigan discovered four years ago that even though he couldn't walk long distances, let alone run, he could ride a bike. That meant he was able to be physically active, which meant being able to combat some of the debilitating effects caused by the disease that disrupts the central nervous system by blocking the flow of information from the brain to the body.
After his first ride lasted a mere 15 feet, Flanigan quickly got the hang of it and fell in love with the sport, opening his eyes to a whole new way of living with MS. But more importantly, it inspired him to get involved with the MS community as an advocate.
So for the past four years, Flanigan rides not just for himself, but for who he calls his pedal partners, those living with MS who don't have the ability to ride. That's who he'll be thinking of this weekend when he takes on the monstrous challenge of completing the annual Newmont Bike MS, a two-day 150-mile ride that starts in Westminster, goes through Loveland and ends at Colorado State University on Saturday, before a return trip on Sunday.
"The most touching part about riding for me is riding for my pedal partners," said Flanigan, who will be participating in his fourth Bike MS Ride. "Every year I get a new helmet, and every year I get a new helmet signed by pedal partners. Some of them have signed it for four years or more.
"Whenever I ride, I ride not just for myself, but for all those other people who cannot ride... having a pedal partner and people that are watching you and wanting you to succeed, even in the struggle, you can draw on their energies. So my pedal partners are actually my ride inspiration. When I'm out there struggling, I think about all those people whose names are on my helmet. And I try a little harder for them."
Simply training for the ride has been incredibly difficult for Flanigan. In addition to still recovering from a serious injury suffered from a fall earlier this year (one of just several setbacks encountered the past few years), the recent high temperatures and smoke from the High Park fire have made getting out on his bike nearly impossible, as both adverse weather conditions wreak havoc on Flanigan's depleted immune system.
However, Joseph is determined to give it his best shot. And he'll have plenty of support, as he's the co-captain of team Happy Heart, which has already exceeded its goal of raising $5,000. Joining Flanigan as co-captain of the team is Alexi Grewal, who just so happens to be first American to win an Olympic gold medal in road racing when he did so in dramatic fashion at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Grewal initially turned down Flanigan's offer to ride in the event, but after learning that several people close to him have MS, as well as getting to know Flanigan on a personal level, he changed his mind.
"So far everyone I've met with MS has had to be pretty courageous," Grewal said, "and he is too."
Grewal, who continues to ride competitively by racing once a week, knows just what type of challenge Flanigan is up against this weekend.
"I'm just going to go out and have fun," Grewal said. "Riding with Joseph, it's going to be a really hard ride for him, because it's going to be really hot. And with MS, when it's really hot, it's really difficult for people. So it's going to be a tough ride to finish for Joseph, especially both days. So we'll just ride along, cover the distance and hopefully he's OK."
In addition to his wife and daughter participating in Bike MS events this weekend, Flanigan will also have his own personal cheering section rooting him on. Several members of Loveland's Pedal Club, which Flanigan is a part of and largely credits his development in the sport, will serve as course marshals.
One of those club members is Robin Hildenbrand, who four years ago Flanigan said gave him the confidence needed to participate, and finish, his first-ever Bike MS 150.
"He knows we're going to be cheering him on," Hildenbrand said. "I know that the heat is definitely going to be an issue. Hills can also be an issue for him. But again, he's one determined man. He has the perseverance to keep going as long as he possibly can. And he does not like to give up."
In its 27th year, Colorado's Bike MS ride is set to raise $3.6 million to "support vital research programs that benefit the 88,000 people affected by MS in Colorado and Wyoming," event consultant Jeanine Spellman said.
That money is important. But equally significant is the awareness of the disease and the community service programs run by the MS Society, Flanigan says.
"I believe the more people who are aware of it, the better chances we're going to have to find a cure," he said. "MS is really complicated.
"Twenty-five years ago when I was first diagnosed with MS, there was little public information about MS. It was kind of a mystery," he adds. "But because of the efforts of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and other groups, people aren't afraid to interact with people with MS. We've found so much research in the last few years. We've got so many new drugs."
However, despite that progress, with no known cure or cause, MS remains prevalent, particularly in the state, where it's estimated that one in every 500 people are diagnosed with the disease. Which brings it back to creating more awareness, one of the goals of this weekend's ride and a reason why Grewal will be alongside Flanigan on Saturday.
"When I talk about Happy Heart being a community here, it's not just about me or the people I talk to," Flanigan said. "It's people who want to help people do better, and Alexi is that way. He doesn't go out and say it, but he's riding to help me. And that's what's important to me."Sean Star can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 512, [email protected] or on Twitter @seanvstar
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By Josh Edelson
By Chris Hall
By Jonathan Curiel
By Jonathan Curiel
By Sherilyn Connelly
By Mollie McWilliams
By Rachel Swan
By Erin Browner
The local premiere of One Flea Spare gave me a sense of déjà vu. Some time ago I saw another play about enemies pacing and glaring at each other in a cramped house, under bizarre political circumstances, in the tiny Phoenix II. The householder was tied to a chair; someone else gave a vivid speech about atrocities outside ... wasn't it Death and the Maiden? It was! Except the theater still was called the Jewel, and Ariel Dorfman's semilegendary script about Chile after Pinochet isn't as good as Naomi Wallace's newish play about London after Cromwell. The title comes from Donne ("Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare"), and carries reminiscences of flea-bitten rats infected with bubonic plague. It's the Great Plague that brings Wallace's stranger-enemies together.
London in 1665 has ground to a halt. Ships don't sail, trade has stopped, people are dying in the streets. Sick residents are quarantined in their own houses by armed municipal guards. William and Darcy Snelgrave have dismissed their servants and keep to themselves in a corner of an elaborate bourgeois manse; they're healthy, so far, but when two ragged refugees break into the unused living room, a guard boards up the windows and declares the Snelgraves quarantined.
The refugees are Bunce, an unemployed sailor, and Morse, a 12-year-old girl who claims to be the last surviving daughter of a family known to the Snelgraves. Mr. Snelgrave is obnoxiously proper and strict; when the girl and ex-sailor tell dirty stories he stamps on the floor with his walking stick and yells, "Not in my house!" He also teases Bunce by giving him his "gentleman's leather" shoes and stockings to wear. Bunce finds them comfortable. What if he just didn't give them back? he says. Snelgrave admits he would probably just buy another pair. "Then we'd both have a pair!" says Bunce, brightening.
"You're not playing the game correctly," answers Mr. Snelgrave. "If we both had them, we'd both look the same. People wouldn't tell us apart."
Wallace wrote One Flea Spare several years ago in the wake of the L.A. riots in '92, but the play sits just as well in the context of widening class differences in San Francisco. Wallace is an American living in London, more famous in England than she is over here; she's soaked up a London idiom and can write about politics and class without the timid PC sentimentality that infects so much of our political art. She can be powerfully emotional, too. The Crowded Fire cast, unfortunately, seems cautious and muted; some emotion falls flat and so does a lot of the savage London wit.
For example: Bunce is a sailor, full of stories about Caribbean whores and sea battles, but the actor who plays him, Darin Wilson, is sensitive, tall, and earnest -- not a convincing salt. In one sense he shouldn't be -- part of the point of Bunce is to counter Mr. Snelgrave's clichéd idea of a ragged sailor -- but Wilson can't even carry off the foul language, and his working-class diction doesn't sound right, either. "A coal miner, I was," Bunce says, describing his adolescence, and then gives Mrs. Snelgrave a story about his brother's death in the mine. "I couldn't take him up in my arms; he just spilled away." The scene should be stark, heavy with grief, but as he stares at Mrs. Snelgrave you get only the political point.
Tiffany Hoover is crisp and poised as Mrs. Snelgrave, who wears gloves and a high collar to hide a body's worth of burnt numb skin. When Bunce seduces her, Hoover's expressions nicely evoke the ambivalence of a half-convinced bourgeois wife. But her performance overall is restrained. Mrs. Snelgrave earned her scars as a girl by trying to save a horse whose mane caught fire, and Hoover somehow makes the story -- about burning horses -- fall flat.
A brilliant exception to the cast's overall restraint is Juliet Tanner's performance as the petulant, 12-year-old Morse. She gets to act childish, cruel, and pouty; her speeches about living and dying in the plague pits are breathy, panicked, and shot with real emotion. Of course Tanner's prettiness doesn't hurt (coal-streak eyebrows, fervent brown eyes), but her conscious effort to invigorate Morse pays off. "In the pits they all looked the same," she says, "who was living and who was dead." George Frangides, however, plays Mr. Snelgrave as a wooden cutout, but that could be how Wallace wrote him. He either needs to be humanized or played to the hilt; Frangides accomplishes neither.
A quotation from Tony Kushner about the play has been floating around that should probably just be disregarded. "Most devastatingly it addresses a tragedy of almost inexpressible dimensions," Kushner wrote, or said in an interview, " -- the consequences of the horrors of biology and capital on the young. As the play draws to its shattering close I was filled with thoughts of the children of Sarajevo and Rwanda and the slums of America." Don't let that deter you. It may not be enough to send you into yelps of ungrammatical ecstasy, but One Flea Spare is worth a look.
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City May Improve Zoo's Bison Pen
ELGIN, Ill., July 29 (UPI) — Officials in Elgin, Ill., have taken steps to improve the fencing for the city zoo’s bison pen and may add more bison to the exhibit.
The Elgin City Council gave preliminary approval Wednesday to soliciting bids to improve the fencing at Lords Park Zoo, but no funding for the project has yet been approved, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.
The improvement project is being spearheaded by Friends of Lords Park Zoo, which has been pushing for officials to improve the facility. The zoo’s exhibits include bison, deer, elk and farm animals.
The zoo has only one remaining bison, Pokey, after the animal’s companion, Cahoya, died recently at the age of 24. Officials said they have been considering offers of bison donations.
UPI - United Press International, Inc. Since 1907, United Press International (UPI) has been a leading provider of critical information to media outlets, businesses, governments and researchers worldwide.
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The family of a six-and-a-half-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School student killed in Friday's shootings plans on establishing a music scholarship in memory of the girl who loved to sing.
Jimmy Greene, a music professor at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, also asked that other consider selfless acts of kindness to help cherish the memory of his daughter, Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, who was among 20 children who died in the Newtown shootings.
In a statement from Greene issued through the university, he said his daughter showed a love of singing even before she could talk. With the statement, Greene also shared a video of his daughter singing as her brother, Isaiah, plays the piano.
Here is the text of the family's statement:
It is with immeasurable grief and heavy-heartedness that we mourn the loss of our precious angel, Ana Grace Marquez-Greene. She was taken from us far too soon in the horrific massacre enacted upon Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning December 14, 2012. She was 6 ½ years old.
In her short life, Ana strengthened us with her loving, generous joyful spirit. She routinely committed selfless acts of kindness: every drawing or craft project she began was envisioned not for her own enjoyment, but as a gift for another. She often left sweet notes that read, “I love you Mom and Dad,” under our bedroom pillow – not on special occasions, but, rather, on ordinary days. She would not allow me to kiss her goodbye. Instead, when I bent down to kiss her, she would take a step backwards, poke out her lips and wait for me to lower my cheek -she made it clear that she wanted to do the kissing.
Ana’s love for singing was evident before she was even able to talk. In a musical family, her gift for melody, pitch and rhythm stood out remarkably. And she never walked anywhere – her mode of transportation was dance. She danced from room to room and place to place. She danced to all the music she heard, whether in air or in her head. Ana loved her God, loved to read the Bible and loved to sing and dance as acts of worship.
We ask that you pray for the legions of people who are left behind to cherish memories of her. We also ask that you, like Ana, commit selfless acts of kindness to all those around you. Maybe, in some way, through love, similar senseless acts of violence could be prevented. Funeral arrangements will be announced soon. In lieu of gifts and flowers, the family is working to establish scholarships in Ana’s name at Western Connecticut State University’s Department of Music in Danbury, CT, and the Artist’s Collective in Hartford, CT.
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Paulsboro residents can now ask questions about Friday's train derailment online, thanks to a new online form created by officials in Gloucester County.
The county says the online form allows residents or members of the public to ask a question and have the opportunity to get it answered in regards to the train derailment.
"As the county is working in a support capacity to the agencies involved, we know our residents, we know they have concerns and we are going to work to get their questions answered in a clear and concise manner by experts in the field," Freeholder Director Robert Damminger said in a statement.
The county says its office of emergency management will work to find the appropriate expert to answer the question as soon as an answer is available.
You can find the question form on the county's website in the "alerts" section.
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To know Luol Deng is to respect him.
Forget the Bulls. In Deng's eight NBA seasons in Chicago, no professional athlete has represented the city or himself with any more class than the Sudanese refugee whose rare sense of social responsibility stems from a powerful personal narrative.
London after Britain offered political asylum.
It was on English soil that Deng, a natural soccer player, honed his basketball skills playing alongside boys who would grow up to be teammates on Britain's national team. It was there that Deng first dared to dream of fulfilling a goal that remains special based on the conviction in his voice late Thursday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.
"Since I was a kid growing up, it's something I always wanted an opportunity to be part of,'' Deng said after the Game 6 loss to the 76ers. "I'm going to play in the Olympics.''
But if Deng indeed plays in the Games, he risks putting his own interests ahead of his employer's. Will Deng place patriotism rooted in his past ahead of a paycheck that has afforded the lifestyle allowing him to change the future? That would be a bloody shame for the Bulls.
The torn ligament in Deng's left wrist needs rest and likely surgery. If Deng delays surgery until after the Olympics in mid-August, which he is considering, he could miss the first three months of next season. The Bulls already plan to be without Derrick Rose until at least January because of knee surgery and will need Deng more than ever.
I understand England gave Deng and his family the opportunity of a lifetime. But the Bulls gave Deng generational wealth in 2008 when they signed him to a $71 million contract. Deng's $13.3 million salary calls for him to make $162,000 per game next season. I doubt he plans to pay back the Bulls for any games he misses by opting to delay surgery.
The small fortune has allowed Deng to go around the globe, including back to his homeland that is now the liberated nation of South Sudan, to make a big impact investing in better lives for children everywhere. The role the Bulls have played in helping Deng become an international ambassador of basketball and American athletes' philanthropy cannot be ignored when weighing a decision that affects their 2012-13 season.
The NBA's collective-bargaining agreement prohibits teams from offering recommendations about international play, but sources indicate the Bulls will make sure Deng realizes how much they hope he reports to training camp ready to go.
Pressure exists on the other side of the pond too. Basketball still lacks popularity in Britain, but Deng is the sport's David Beckham there. Local currency in Brixton in South London featured Deng's face. British coach Chris Finch suggested Deng's appeal makes him a candidate to carry the country's flag during opening ceremonies.
A March profile in the Sun reflected that celebrity.
"He is Barack Obama's favourite athlete, earns more cash than most Premier League footballers and is arguably Britain's most successful sportsman in the US,'' the story began.
"He's a bit of a hero here,'' said Zoe Jewell, editor of the Brixton Blog. "It would be a real shame if he can't play, but I suppose it's not life or death.''
No, but it marks the first time the British basketball team will compete in the Olympics since 1948, and Deng represents "the best player ever produced here by a long shot,'' said Jimmy Rogers, a Brixton coaching legend.
Rogers first coached Deng when he was 10 and, interestingly, planned to advise his former prodigy not to ignore his professional obligation.
"I know Luol will play through anything, but he cannot overlook the fact he has to earn a living in the future too,'' Rogers said in a phone interview.
Finch, an NBA assistant with the Rockets as his full-time job, grasps the dilemma facing Deng and will honor his organization's "no-pressure policy.''
"It's a delicate one,'' Finch said. "If he were to call and ask me what to do, I'd tell him the same thing I tell him every summer. It's his choice. Make the decision that's best for your life and career.''
Who deserves Deng's allegiance more, the Bulls or the Brits?
Though complicated, to me one simple question answers another: Who signs his checks?
Deng should skip Olympics
Rather than represent Great Britain in London Olympics, forward should allow wrist to heal to fulfill obligation to Bulls
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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
During the 1920s and 30s, there was division within the Japanese elite. On the one hand there were the diplomats in the Foreign Ministry, typically Western-educated, cultured men; and the leaders of the zaibatsu (financial cliques like Mitsui and Sumitomo) who feared boycotts of Japanese products in China. They tended to oppose imperialist war. On the other hand, there were hotheads in the Japanese Army, influenced by fascist ideology, hell-bent on establishing Japanese domination over China and Southeast Asia (creating what they came to call the "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere"). The latter won out decisively with the Manchurian Incident in 1931.
For some time now, here in the USA, it’s been apparent that there’s a power struggle, perhaps what you can call a "two-line struggle" between Colin Powell’s State Department and Donald Rumsfeld’s Defense Department. (Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has referred to this as the "split personality" of the Bush Administration.) The former seems dominated by professional diplomats who find it in U.S. interest to maintain friendly ties with the world in general. The latter is dominated by the neocons, whose project for a New American Century includes (among other ambitious goals) plans for regime change in Iraq, Syria and Iran, change plans that the world tends to oppose and fear since they mean U.S. hegemony throughout Southwest Asia. The former receives some neocon input (notably in the form of John Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, whose appointment Powell is said to have opposed), but like the Japanese Foreign Ministry before the Manchurian Incident, it generally takes a cautious approach to war. Powell, whose career includes some unpleasant incidents and so does not attract my own admiration, is nevertheless a professional committed to the fundamental task he has been assigned (pursue diplomacy), and he is probably committed to opposing aspects of the neocons’ program which seem to require for popular support exploitation of anti-Arab racism.
(I refer specifically to the cynical expectation of the neocons that the U.S. public’s response to 9/11 and widespread, irrational assignment of blame for that event on a vague "raghead" category, would allow them to conflate bin Laden with Saddam Hussein on meager evidence, and insure popular support for the war on Iraq. And also, their supposition that they can take the war into Syria and Iran with popular support, knowing that a certain component of the population will just be happy to see further humiliation of Arabs and other Muslims without really thinking about the reasons or repercussions. The neocons know they can’t justify their project to the public on the basis of conventional logic; or rather, should they do so, it would have to be on the basis of Machiavelli’s logic—or what some political scientists call "realism"—which would require admission that disinformation [lying] is a useful tool in the project’s execution. Instead they rely on the public’s fear of Arabs, all Arabs anywhere, as potential terrorists planning further Sept. 11s.)
In recent days the split between the factions has been evidenced by quarreling over the leadership of occupied Iraq, with Powell favoring L. Paul Bremmer III as paramount civilian administrator (in deference to the apparent Iraqi hostility to a military governor) and Rumsfeld and the Pentagon wanting Gen. Jay M. Garner (ret.) to head the new regime. It has also been conspicuous with regard to policy towards Syria and Iran (as well as North Korea). Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker, Rumsfeld intimate, and member of the Defense Policy Board until recently chaired by chief neocon ideologue Richard Perle, in a speech to the neocon-dominated American Enterprise Institute, denounced Powell’s diplomacy (among other things, oddly blaming Powell for the fact that 95% of the Turkish population opposed the U.S. attack on Iraq) and calling the Secretary of State’s decision to visit Syria and talk with its president, Bashar Assad, "ludicrous." This suggests (to me, anyway) that the neocons really want to attack, rather than talk with, Syria. It’s in their script, and Powell at least to some extent disagrees with that script.
But the reporting on the "tough and at times blunt" encounter between Powell and Assad (Washington Post, May 4) suggests the issues the neocons have and will continue to raise as they muster support for the Syria invasion. In no particular order:
1. Syria’s possession of chemical and biological weapons. (Note: quite a number of nations, including the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, Egypt, possess such weapons. To make this grounds of war with Syria would strike many in the world as ludicrous. However, if an invasion of Syria resulted in the occupying army’s discovery of such weapons, they could be represented as transported Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (whether they are or not). And some among the neocon’s domestic support base would be happy and satisfied with that discovery, and feel safer in consequence.)
2. Syria’s "sponsorship" of Lebanon’s Hezbollah (viewed by most in Lebanon as a large, mainstream political party), the Palestinian group Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, all officially regarded by the State Department as "terrorist." Assad told Powell that these groups’ offices in Damascus are media outlets, whereas the State Department believes they are command headquarters for operations against Israel. (Maybe they’re both.) Assad reportedly agreed to a Powell proposal "to curtail the ability of the organizations’ leaders to appear on television" (which does not seem to me to enhance freedom of speech or of the press in Syria, not that I want to get picky).
3. Syria allegedly allowed personnel and equipment to flow into Iraq during the invasion.. While there surely was nothing illegal in this, from the standpoint of international law, especially given that the Anglo-American attack itself lacked international support, it "deeply angered" US officials according to the Post. Just as that lack of international support, and the opposition of France, Germany, Belgium, Turkey etc. deeply disappointed and angered them. (Note: Syria and Iraq have not been close friends. They have longbeen ruled by rival factions of the secular Baath Party. Syria supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. If Syria afforded Iraq some support during the invasion, it may reflect pan-Arab sentiments emanating from the Syrian street as much as Assad’s own calculations.)
4. Some fleeing Iraqi officials may have made their way into Iraq "to escape capture," which is understandable. (What would you do?) Rumsfeld has said there’s "no question" that senior Iraqi officials are now in Syria. Syria is being pressured to turn over such officials, and may be wondering by what right the US is exerting such pressure, having illegally invading neighboring Iraq in the first place.
5. Child custody disputes between Syrians and their American spouses. Probably not a casus belli. But a grounds for depicting these Arabs as violators of Americans’ human rights.
I assume that the neocons’ real intention is to invade Syria, in large part to eliminate the threat to Israel of the above-listed organizations. But any shred of evidence that they might threaten Americans will also be amplified as they prepare the case. And the weapons of mass destruction issue will be highlighted, although it does raise the question of why Egypt (on the U.S. payroll, $ 2 billion per annum specifically) can have them but not Syria. (Syria’s been calling for the elimination of all WMD in the region, which include most notably Israel’s undeclared nukes that Washington never wants to talk about.) And I assume the State Department will continue to advocate diplomacy, and that until someone resigns the line struggle will continue. Following Bush’s awkwardly interesting statement "First things first. We’re here in Iraq now and the thing about Syria is that we expect cooperation," Lawrence Eagleburger, Secretary of State under the president’s father, said he felt that should Bush invade Syria, he ought to be impeached. "You can’t get away with that sort of thing in a democracy," he said. I’d hope not. Anyway it’s clear the power structure is deeply divided on this issue.
Meanwhile, tempers flare about how to deal with Iran. (The neocons steering the Pentagon seem apt to represent all Shiite resistance as Iran-induced; the old "outside agitators" device.) The Pentagon arranged a ceasefire agreement with the (quite secular) Iranian organization Mujahadeen Khalq, based in Iraq, on April 15. But according to the Boston Globe (May 4) unnamed "State Department officials said the truce is another example of the Pentagon making decisions that undermine State policy." The Mujahadeen Khalq is an interesting organization. Its ideology is sometimes called "Islamic Marxism" and it was one of the groups that brought down the Shah of Iran in 1979. Later, it fell afoul of the mullahs and hundreds of its cadre were killed. Saddam Hussein allowed them a presence in Iraq and made use of them in his war against Iran in the eighties. They occupy the curious status of being on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations but also enjoying a good measure of support from the U.S. Congress. Many legislators have petitioned the State Department to remove them from the list.
It looks as though the neocons want to use, however counterintuitive this might seem, this putatively terrorist organization to abet their aim of expanding the Terror War into Iran, and that the State Department (whose functions have been so rudely superceded of late by Defense) finds this irritating. Said the above-quoted State Department official, "We believe in dialogue with Iran. But there are others in the administration who believe that fighting Iran by proxy is better." A very telling statement. There is division at the top, and so far, as in Japan in the 1930s, the most bellicose have won the most battles, which is scary.
GARY LEUPP is an an associate professor, Department of History, Tufts University and coordinator, Asian Studies Program.
He can be reached at: [email protected]
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Those Winter Sundays
Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
Thus begins one of my favorite poems, “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden. If there is verse that more honestly, more painfully expresses gratitude for love, I don’t know it. Writing these lines, Hayden makes nothing up. He goes simply and directly to his own experience. But this isn’t a “confessional poem” in any meaningful sense, despite its reporting from life. He doesn’t sensationalize or complain. He simply tells.
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze.
The poem is autobiographical but it’s not really about him. It’s about his father, one of those stern working class men uncomfortable to be around who had a thousand expectations, pointed out every shortcoming, and never said, “I love you,” not even once. The flames that heat the house, stoked before the speaker wakes, reflect the daily duty of the unsung founder going on even when he’s not at work, blissfully absent.
No one ever thanked him.
These are the kind of hands that run furnaces in the basements of buildings, or in the cavernous windowless spaces of factories and mills, but also invisibly provide the ambient passion that holds the family together. The hearth is the heart of the house and its consumptive burning that demands constant fuel is the patriarchal lineage of perseverance and commitment.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
In a family like this, a mother’s love— implicit here, though never mentioned—is abundant and easily acknowledged despite the meager circumstances. But a father’s love is more taciturn and tenuous, subtle, perhaps even denied as somehow unmanly by both father and son.
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Hayden didn’t have it easy, growing up poor in Detroit. He resented his father’s failure to give them more or better, and he lived afraid of the dissatisfaction and repressed rage that such inadequacy left just beneath the surface of the day to day. In every room, at every meal, in every forced proximity lay the chance that silence would blaze into conflagration.
Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
Yet at the end of the day, Hayden had a house, food on the table, a kind mother and an honorable father, who laid down his life year after year to give his son life. It was that man, not some other, who stuck around to raise him up into a decent human being. To paraphrase James Wright, this wasn’t a good home, it was a home, and that was enough.
What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?
It was Hayden the man not the child, who too late as is often the case, understood he owed his imperfect father everything, and with these humble words repaid him.
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A few weeks ago, I was talking with Elizabeth Weise, a reporter for USA Today, about food safety issues, specifically the advent of pre-harvest controls and how animal ag would react. Not well, I told her, but “There are two companies that could make this happen in a second, McDonalds and Walmart. If either decides to require it, the industry will turn around on a dime."
The reasoning is simple and the thought process has been shared with me by industry execs several times. What the USDA or the FDA might decree is often seen as a needless and expensive incursion into doing business, an impediment to be resisted at all costs (pun unfortunately intended). What McDonald’s or Walmart will decree is a necessary cost of doing business.
Do you want to sell to the two biggest players in the food business? Follow their rules or go away. Fair enough.
Which brings me to the recent Mercy for Animals (MFA) video of alleged animal cruelty at Sparboe Farms. You can see the ABC News 20/20 coverage which includes the video here. There should be two things that are no surprise here:
(1) An animal activist group got an undercover video of animal cruelty and engineered an embarrassing expose, and
(2) the ‘caught on tape’ company execs expressed shock and disavowed the activity immediately.
Disavowing such practices immediately is a noble deed that does no good, by the way. The damage has already been done; just ask anybody who has already been caught in that nasty little net. Those stellar performers that ran the Decosta egg facilities have now thankfully exited the business
Nathan Runkle, MFA Executive Director, is a man who doesn’t hide his intent. He’s out to get you. When I interviewed him about the notorious E6 video last April (see Jolley: Five Minutes with Nathan Runkle Executive Director of Mercy for Animals) he said, “It’s true that without exception, each time a Mercy for Animals investigator enters a factory farm, hatchery, or slaughterhouse they uncover appalling abuses. E6 is the 15th facility MFA has investigated since our inception.”
Let me ask two questions:
(1) How many more of these high shock value tapes will the animal agriculture industry have to endure before we institute far more serious controls than are in place now, and
(2) how much longer can we not do something before those necessary steps are forced on us by a government entity bowing to public pressure?
A Reinvented Egg McMuffin
A CNN news story about the Sparboe Farms video said “McDonald's and Target dropped an egg supplier this week after an activist group released disturbing video showing what it says shows animal cruelty at three of the company's barns.”
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Witchi Tai To
In 1969, my friends and I heard an exciting song on the radio, entitled Witchi Tai To. We couldn’t get enough of it. Performed by a band called Everything Is Everything, the song mesmerized us. The lead vocalist on the song was Jim Pepper, and it would be several years before I knew who he was. At the time that Witchi Tai To came out, it was simply this euphoric, remarkable piece that swept us away.
Jim Pepper was a Native American jazz saxophone player of Creek and Kaw ancestry. Pepper was greatly admired by his musical peers, and played with some of the legendary jazz greats of his time. He died way too young, at age 51. Of all the songs Pepper wrote or played, Witchi Tai To was the one that rose to greatest prominence.
Witchi Tai To comes from a Native American Church peyote song that Pepper learned from his Kaw grandfather. When my friends and I found out the peyote connection with Witchi Tai To, that only further amplified the mysterious spell of the song.
Witchi Tai To became one of my all-time favorite songs. Many artists, including Brewer and Shipley, Oregon, Harper’s Bizarre and The Supremes recorded Witchi Tai To. Those versions were good. But only Jim Pepper infused it with the heart and soul for which both the Everything Is Everything version and the version on Pepper’s Comin’ and Goin’ became known. On Comin’ and Goin’, Pepper’s saxophone elevates the song and gives it a beautiful power.
In October of 2012, I made one of my appearances on The Dr Oz Show. The producers wanted me to chant as part of a longevity program, and I chose Witchi Tai To to sing on air. I think the studio audience found the chant a bit strange. But after the show aired, requests poured in from all directions. What are the words to the song? Where can I get that tune? Somewhat to my surprise, Witchi Tai To struck a chord with The Dr Oz Show viewers. Who knew?
Realizing that there was an opportunity to provide people with a fresh new version of Witchi Tai To, I got together with the members of Blue Streak to record the song. Blue Streak is composed of guitarist John Sheldon, drummer John “Koko” Kokoszyna, bassist James Chetz Keegan, and saxophone player Joe Roderick. We recorded at Shoestring Studios in Western Massachusetts. Engineering and mixing were all done by Rusty Annis. I sat in on lead vocals. My wife Zoe Helene co-produced the song.
Over the course of several nights we sang and played, until we had a song we felt very good about. This version of Witchi Tai To is different from the others, but Joe Roderick’s searing saxophone is a very fine tribute to Jim Pepper. We offer this version of Witchi Tai To with great joy and pleasure. We hope this song will inspire you as it inspires us.
Click the link below to download and listen to the song.
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|A member of the Funky Media Group|
|Review: OCZ ZT Series 650W Power Supply|
|Posted by Ed Smith|
|Tuesday, 24 April 2012 03:51|
Page 1 of 9
This edition of Bobnova Reviews a PSU will focus on a rather more mainstream unit than some of the others. It puts out "only" 650w and has some very nice features such as fully modular cables. It looks pretty cool, too!
Power Supply Testing Methodology
Unlike most computer parts, power supplies require rather specialized equipment to test correctly. Sure, you can plug it into a computer system and see if it can run a 980x and a couple GTX580s, but that doesn’t tell you how much power the PSU is putting out, nor what that output looks like. Worse, if the unit is defective or simply underbuilt/overrated the unit can fail catastrophically and take your computer along with it!
Purpose built loads and the testing units to run them cost thousands of dollars. They’re easy to use and very accurate and definitely the ideal way to test power supplies, but also entirely too expensive for me to afford. Instead I have built my own! It’s entirely mechanical and not automated in the slightest, but it can put a serious load on a PSU and will survive the PSU fails in the process.
For more on this, read on!
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(written from a Production point of view)
Denver Mattson (12 July 1937 – 24 September 2005; age 68) was a stuntman, stunt actor, and stunt coordinator who served as stunt double for Budd Albright in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?". He received no on-screen credit for his work.
Born in 1937, Mattson was a veteran US Army paratrooper before becoming a top motion picture stuntman for more than 40 years. He began doing stunt work on the Irwin Allen-produced television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, from 1964 through 1968, and Land of the Giants, from 1968 through 1970. He would go on to perform stunts in two of Allen's films, The Poseidon Adventure in 1972 and The Towering Inferno in 1974.
Other films he performed throughout his long career include The Hindenburg (1975, directed by Robert Wise and starring Rene Auberjonois), John Carpenter's The Thing (1982, with David Clennon), Police Academy (1984, starring Kim Cattrall and David Graf), Critters (1986, starring Ethan Phillips), Slam Dance (1987, starring Virginia Madsen, Rosalind Chao, Herta Ware, Robert Beltran, and John Fleck), Universal Soldier (1992, starring Leon Rippy and Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993, starring Whoopi Goldberg), and Lethal Weapon 4 (1998, featuring Richard Riehle).
Mattson also tried his hand at acting, appearing in such films as 1977's The Domino Principle, co-starring Robert Herron and Majel Barrett, and 1994's Wagons East, starring Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Ed Lauter, and Charles Rocket.
Denver Mattson passed away peacefully as a result of kidney disease in September 2005, surrounded by his family. He was 68 years old.
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BAGHDAD // When he started work as in interpreter for the US army, Bob - as he was quickly nicknamed by the soldiers in his unit - was convinced the Americans had come to stay. Washington would garrison the country as it had western Europe during the Cold War and would never really hand it back, he thought. A Christian from northern Iraq, Bob did not see a permanent occupation as necessarily a bad thing, as long as it resulted in some prosperity, stability and a modern government for his people.
That was back in 2007, when Iraq was tearing itself apart and George W Bush was in the White House. With the heat now rising to the insufferable temperatures of an Iraqi summer, Bob, and other Iraqi interpreters with the United States military, have been watching US troops pack-up their equipment and prepare to scale back their presence, with a deepening sense of unease. "They're going to leave us behind, I can see that now," he said. "I never thought this day would come and even when [president] Obama said they'd pull-out, I believed all the promises from the soldiers that they'd take us with them, that we were their brothers, their buddies, their guys.
"But now they're going and it's obvious they're not going to take us. We'll be left here, we'll be hung out to dry, we'll be [expletive]." In his late 20s with a wife and two young children, Bob is one of an estimated 6,000 Iraqi interpreters currently contracted to work for the US military. Their numbers are likely to be reduced as the US army cuts its strength in Iraq to 50,000 combat troops by the end of August, ahead of a total withdrawal scheduled to have taken place by the start of 2012.
Which means the interpreters are now facing two problems - the immediate prospect of joining Iraq's massed ranks of unemployed and the longer-term worry of being left at the mercy of militants who have vowed to hunt them down and kill them as traitors. Countless numbers of interpreters or their family members have already lost their lives to violent extremists or insurgent attacks. There are no accurate records for how many have been killed but The List Project, a US-based advocacy group that has helped resettle 700 Iraqis to the United States, believes that thousands have died.
"It's a bad situation," Bob said in a telephone interview from the outskirts of Mosul, in Ninewah province, on Tuesday. "Yesterday I watched on TV as some guy from al Qa'eda said they will follow the 'terps when the Americans leave, and kill us all. "I'm sure he wasn't joking but no one seems to care. The Iraqi government doesn't give a damn about us and I've come to realise that the Americans don't either."
The US government has already resettled 35,000 Iraqi asylum seekers, and continues to process applications from those who have worked on behalf of the United States, under a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) scheme. A total of 20,000 Iraqis - 5,000 per year between 2008 and 2012 - are to be given permission to live in the US. But Washington has been criticised for the slow rate of processing SIVs and for capping the numbers - as many as 70,000 Iraqis are estimated to have worked for the US since the 2003 invasion. Campaigners continue to urge the government to draw up a specific and comprehensive evacuation plan for all Iraqi employees.
Bob himself decided to apply for SIV at the end of last year and enlisted the help of a US army captain who said he would assist in completing the complex paperwork and getting the necessary testimonies and recommendations from senior officers. "I spoke to the captain last week about it and he said 'I lost your papers'," Bob explained. "What can I say to that? You can't argue with an army officer, there's nothing I can do but I'm really angry about it."
Other interpreters interviewed by The National made similar complaints, saying that while in theory they were able to apply for SIVs, in practice the army units they were attached to showed little interest in following through on promises to deal with paperwork. "I sent in my papers [for an SIV] a year and a half ago and have heard nothing back," said Abu Mohammad, a former English teacher from Baghdad who has worked with US troops for five years. "When I talk to the soldiers or officers to follow the matter up, they laugh at me or brush me off.
"I've lost count of how many times different army units have promised to help me and my family, they've all promised not to forget me. Then they leave the country and I never hear from them again." Abu Mohammad said he was grateful to the US military for giving him a job, and that he had enjoyed working with American soldiers, despite the difficulties. A resident of Sadr City, a stronghold of the anti-US Sadrist movement, Abu Mohammad said he had been forced to all but sever contacts with Iraqis because of his work, fearing for his life. The increasing power of the Sadrists following the March election has only added to his sense of vulnerability.
"I still hope that the US government will see the seriousness of our situation and give us its hand in friendship," he said. "I hope my visa gets approved. But as the days pass I'm more and more afraid that won't happen." @Email:[email protected] [email protected]
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Smarter Education Forum Focuses on Growing Demand for Analytics Skills
On April 28, the Yale School of Management Center for Customer Insights (CCI) and IBM hosted the Smarter Education Forum. The event brought together students, leaders from IBM, academics, venture capitalists, and industry analysts to discuss the importance of social analytics in business strategy, the growing demand for analytics skills in the job market, and how Yale MBA students are gaining these skills.
Social analytics technology can help companies make sense of the vast amount of information being generated by consumers through new media and social networks like Facebook and Twitter. By mining and translating this unstructured data, companies can learn about their customers' buying habits and preferences, and use that knowledge to make better business decisions.
"Analytics skills are no longer just a requirement for the IT professional," said Rob Ashe, general manager of business analytics at IBM. "The business world continues to become more complex and information is at the center of all its challenges. Analytics has quickly become one of the most important skills required to prepare our business leaders of tomorrow."
Last semester, IBM and CCI partnered on a project-focused "Customer Insights" course that gave students the opportunity to use IBM's analytics tools to help one of IBM's clients. Making use of the technology as well as psychology and economic principles, the students helped the client understand how its customers engaged in an online community and developed recommendations for product improvements and new ways the company could reach its customers.
"It's important for us to energize the classroom and that calls for integrating the latest technology into our curriculum in order to prepare students for high-value jobs opportunities," said Ravi Dhar, George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing and director of the Center for Customer Insights.
The event was also an opportunity to announce a new collaboration: CCI is now a member of the IBM Academic Initiative, a program that gives the center, and Yale SOM faculty and students, free access to IBM software, discounted hardware, course materials, and training and curriculum development.
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In "The Jazz Photographs of Milt Hinton" there is a picture of Billie Holiday, reunited with the great Count Basie, rehearsing in a New York City television studio. Basie sits at a piano with Holiday standing behind him. She seems to be giving the pianist a serious chewing-out or at the very least telling him something sassy. For his part Basie, wearing his trademark porkpie hat, looks up at her with a you-old-devil grin on his face. The year, 1957, was one of Holiday's last good ones.
Another photo by Hinton, taken two years later, captures the 43-year-old Holiday during her final recording session. She's alone in the frame, apparently staring at her sheet music. But in fact she's listening to a playback of her own voice -- which, after years of heroin abuse and heavy drinking, had withered into an old woman's croak. Holiday seems to realize for the first time what she's done to herself: She looks devastated, her eyes wet, her teeth clamped down on her lower lip. She died later that year.
"Her voice was not what she wanted it to be," recalls Hinton, now 87, speaking over the phone from his home in Jamaica, New York. "I got a lot of flak for taking that picture, but I wanted to show how she felt about it."
Forty-five of Hinton's photographs are now on display at the Hollywood Art and Culture Center. Hinton is not a professional photographer per se. He's a jazz bassist whose career stretches back to the late Twenties, when he was a session man for various Chicago musicians, most notably the innovative pianist Art Tatum. In 1936 the famous and flamboyant singer Cab Calloway made Hinton part of his band, one of the hottest and highest-paid ensembles of its time. Hinton found himself in the company of bright young players such as Chu Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Cozy Cole, Illinois Jacquet, and Ben Webster.
One of them -- Hinton can't remember who -- gave him a very nice, $25 Argus camera as a birthday present one year. It was the start of a major avocation for Hinton, who became not only a photographer but a chronicler of some 60 years of jazz history.
Hinton, who has played on more jazz records than perhaps anyone in the business, has been part of the inner circle of the jazz world for his entire adult life. His camera has captured everyone from Duke Ellington to Wynton Marsalis, usually at work recording, rehearsing, or playing.
"I had it in my mind to take pictures then of musicians the way we musicians see us, not the way photographers see us," Hinton says.
In Hinton's photographs the backdrops are often the same: the acoustic baffling of recording booths, the white walls of rehearsal spaces. And the props don't vary much. Musicians hold their instruments as they sit on chairs and scan the sheet music on the stands before them. Which is exactly what makes Hinton's modest black-and-white pictures so captivating. There are no lights set up to catch a perfect curl of smoke, no inspired camera angles, no heightened chiaroscuro. Though Hinton unarguably has a keen eye, a nice sense of composition, and a knack for seizing the moment, what he takes are essentially rather handsome snapshots. What Hinton saw, day in and day out, as a working jazz musician, is what his camera saw.
Walking around the exhibit is like hanging out with some of the most legendary names in jazz. There's the burly saxophonist Cannonball Adderly perched on a metal folding chair that hardly looks able to support his massive bulk. He smokes a cigarette with the same thick but nimble fingers that played the lighthearted bop that was his trademark.
Doc Cheatham, the aged trumpeter, is also here. He greets the camera with a big smile, a pipe between his crooked teeth, looking exactly like a man who's beaten the odds. While most trumpeters lose their breath by age 60, Cheatham only began to find his distinctive style as a solo player around the age of 70.
On a railroad platform in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, stand trombonist Tyree Glenn and trumpeter Chu Berry. Expected to become a major force in jazz, Berry was killed in a car accident at the age of 33. Hinton still has Berry's pipe and watch -- they were given to him by the trumpeter as he lay dying on the asphalt near his wrecked car.
In another photo are two more brilliant young men, the trumpeters Danny Barber and Dizzy Gillespie, sitting on a bench on a train in 1940. Bundled up in hats and overcoats, they've fallen asleep against each other. In another image, made in Nice almost 50 years later, a graying Gillespie sits surrounded by a group of French schoolchildren. Upon his instructions they've all put their fingers to their lips and puffed out their cheeks. But Diz has them beat: His elastic cheeks are stretched out so far that they threaten to engulf his nose.
For the younger generation, jazz is as much about style as music. Some of Hinton's pictures could serve as models of coolness. Basie's porkpie hat, for instance, is always set at the perfect angle. The pianist Bob James embodies the jazz-nerd aesthetic, his pale face offset by severe, black-framed glasses. Best of all is Gerry Mulligan, one of the original Mods: close-cropped hair, dark shades, slim tie, and checked blazer, with his baritone sax at his side.
For Hinton and his generation, however, jazz had other undercurrents, the most obvious one being racial segregation. A handful of Hinton's photographs are conscious documents of the color barriers he and his colleagues found in the South. Hinton poses various musicians in front of telling signs such as "Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Lunches -- For Colored Only." One memorable picture shows a group of musicians, obviously having just arrived in town, hamming it up happily at the "colored entrance" of a large building.
"I wanted to catch that for the simple reason that today my children don't know that that happened," notes Hinton. "I wanted them to see what we had to go through, where we had to eat and sleep and where we couldn't eat and sleep. So I took pictures of what it was then."
It will come as news to no one that the very people who gave this nation one of its most important musical idioms were treated as second-class citizens for decades. But Hinton's pictures bring the issue into sharp focus, even when he's captured a scene as simple as the black singer Sarah Vaughan rehearsing with the white pianist Bob James.
"I wanted also to show that the world was racist, but we was musicians," explains Hinton, "and we didn't care what color you was. We was musicians."
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When the publicity for a continuing education program is being prepared and before it is distribured to the public, a Planning & Approval Form must be submitted to and approved by the Office of Continuing Education. The Form can be filled out, printed, and signed and sent via campus mail to the Office of Continuing Education at box 136. The Director of the Office of Continuing Education reviews Planning & Approval applications for approval. All programs that are offered out of WSU's jurisidiction must be approved by the appropriate schools, the Board of Regents and the Director of the Office of Continuing Education before the program is offered to the public (See Appendix F). The Office of Continuing Education will process the paperwork with the appropriate schools and the Board of Regents. Once approval has been granted, the Office of Continuing Education will return a copy of the approved and signed Planning & Approval form for your files.
If CEU's are requested by the student or the department, please call 978-6493. The Office of Continuing Education will work with you on the necessary steps and documentation required to process CEUs.
At the end of each Fiscal year, the Office of Continuing Education prepares a report of the year's non credit activities. It is very important this information is completed and reported in a timely manner. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Jana E. Woods or Charlotte Howard at 978-6493. NOTE: Not all CEU's meet the criteria for professional relicensure credit. Please contact Charlotte Howard at 978-6493 for more information.
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Emily Margaret “Rose” Stocker was born to Jane Kezia Stocker (nee Elliot) in Glanville, Adelaide, South Australia, on 5 Mar 1897. The details of her father however are not so clear. Her birth certificate lists her father as Isaac Alfred “Ike” Stocker but she is also cross referenced to a James O’Brien (or perhaps Tucker).However it seems as though she lived by the name Stocker, regardless of who her father was.
The following is what I know of Rose at the time of writing this post. If you are able to add to it, I would be most interested as there are fellow researchers in several states who are interested in this topic.
“Rose” was baptized in St Paul Church, Port Adelaide, South Australia, on 8 Dec 1897 and was residing in Langham Place, Portland, Adelaide, South Australia, on 22 Nov 1915 when she was was 18.
Emily Margaret “Rose” married William George Dawson, son of Henry Frank Dawson & Eliza Annie Connor who was born in Portland Estate, Adelaide, South Australia, on 9 Jun 1890.
On the 22nd November 1915 William George Dawson enlisted at Adelaide in the Australian Imperial Force. At the time he was living in Portland (now Port Adelaide) and was married with two children. he was 24 years and 4 months of age, stood 5’ 5½” tall, weighed 136 lbs and had dark hair, grey eyes and a dark complexion.
March 16, 1916 saw Gunner Dawson embark for England with the Field Artillary Detail for service in the European theatre. He is recorded as “taken on strength” at Telellkebir” on 15 April 1916 and then a month embarks at Alexandria for England. Over the months of October and November that year he was admitted to the miliotary hospital at Bulford on about four occasions, although the excat reasons are not known, his records do indicate a number of “V.D. periods” of treatment. It also unlikely that the internment was for battle wounds as he did not procede to France until March 1917. Although after going to France, he did continue to spend time in hospital.
So much time was spent in hospital that it began to worry his wife Emily Margaret Rose Stocker and she write in Dec 1916:
“To Headquarters Melbourne,
I am the wife of No. 2169 Priv. W.G. Dawson, 2nd battery, AAT Depot, Parkhouse Camp, Salisbury, AIF England, late 15th of 3rd Light Horse.
My husband wrote and told me he has been admitted into a London hospital suffering 7 weeks and is still there I beleive I feel a bit worried over him could you oblige me by finding our what he is suffering with and what Hospital he is in trusting you will Kindly let me know at your earliet
Yours Mrs WG Dawson,
I am sending a card he sent last month thinking it may a little use to use Kindly forward it back.”
In August 1918 he was “invalided to the United Kingdom” and returned to Australia on the “City of York” in January 1919. He was discharged from service at the cessation of hostilities on Feb 24, 1919 after serving a total of 3 years and 154 days with 2 years and 246 days overseas.
They had the three children and Emily Margaret “Rose” was 29 when she died in Adelaide, South Australia, on 17 Jul 1926. Her husband William was 75 when he died in Henley Beach, South Australia, on 5 Nov 1965.
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Posted: Wednesday Oct 26, 2011
Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center is offering a workshop on the accounting software package, QuickBooks® on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
This program is designed for individuals who are familiar with QuickBooks®, but would like to become more proficient in its various capabilities.
Topics include working with inventory, processing and accounting payroll, using estimates and time tracking, working with accounts payable, analyzing financial data, customizing forms and letters, tracking asset and liability accounts, preparing bank reconciliations, financial reports and creating checks.
The fee to attend is $40 or $35 per person when two or more attend together. Included with the registration fee is a one-year subscription (12 issues) to Inc. magazine, valued at $10. Three (3) CPE Accounting and Auditing credits are available on request.
This workshop is presented by Dennis Piper and Associates, a firm that specializes in working closely with small to mid-size companies to develop, train and enhance accounting processes through this software.
The Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center is part of a statewide system of university-based economic development organizations, whose mission is to provide high-quality education and consulting to entrepreneurs, to help them start and grow their businesses in the competitive global economy. Early registration is recommended, as space is limited. To register or to obtain additional information, contact the Saint Vincent College SBDC at 724 537-4572 or stvincent.edu/sbdc.
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From Oxfam's website:
Oxfam International is now assessing the situation. We have committed $800,000 to an initial response and together with our affiliate organizations we have a team on standby. Like all international aid groups, we are facing tight government restrictions while working to meet the needs of thousands of very poor people affected by the cyclone.
An estimated 24 million people—nearly half the country’s total population—live in areas struck by the disaster. When Cyclone Nargis slammed into the Irrawaddy delta it whipped up a massive storm surge reportedly 12 feet high. Reuters is reporting that Nargis is the most devastating cyclone Asia has seen since the 1991 storm that killed 143,000 people in Bangladesh.
“The aid effort faces huge challenges,” said Sarah Ireland, an Oxfam East Asia regional director. “Communications are down in the cyclone-hit areas, roads have been washed away, and getting aid to people will be very difficult. The international community needs to be quick to respond to this crisis and to ensure the needs of those most affected are met.”Donate here.
Mission Of Burma - "Weatherbox (Live)" mp3
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The English composer and jazz trumpeter Geoffrey Burgon was born on 15 July 1941 in Hampshire. He taught himself to play the trumpet whilst at school, and studied at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, initially intending to be a trumpeter, but discovering that composition was his greater interest.
He made a living as a jazz trumpeter during his twenties, but later turned to composition full time. Working for one or two months a year for the film and TV industries, he was able to devote much of his time to serious composition.
His Requiem, performed at the 1976 Three Choirs Festival, brought him to the notice of various organisations, who then commissioned him. A well-known Nunc Dimittis featured in the BBC Television spy thriller Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy in 1979 won him an Ivor Novello Award, and City Adventures, a percussion concerto for Evelyn Glennie, was first performed at the 1997 BBC Proms.
Burgon died on the evening of 21 September 2010, aged 69.
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PingMag is a bilingual online design magazine that writes about ideas and inspiration by two designers from Japan. This online magazine is full of great articles and content.
LOVE THIS MAG!!!
Storyboard Design: Hey teachers, feeling like you need a little inspiration? Looking at that storyboard unit and dreading it? Check out the article in PingMag. The writers take you through 5 different storyboard case studies:
With each case study there is an example of the drawn storyboard, discussions about the creative journey of the "storyboarders" and examples of the finished product.
As I was reading through their archives I came across a hilarious and entertaining article they did on the Website Development Process. Using Lego they created a superb visual story of what all web designers have gone through with their clients....from conception to completion of a design project. Great resource to help your students understand what is involved in the completion of a project (plus it will give you a giggle.)
My husband will shake his head when I write about this one....but every morning before work, my husband packs up his eyeglass case, wallet, Tupperware bowl of cereal, spoon, bits and pieces of paper and religiously places them all in a nice plastic grocery bag. I keep teasing him and tell him that I am going to buy him a real man bag.....anything would be better than the plastic bags. Well in Tokyo apparently the fashion IS for a man to carry a fashion "man bag" .....who would of thought.
You really need to check out this site! Some of the categories that are available (which I am sure are growing daily):
- Arts & Crafts
- Conscientious Design
- Events & Exhibits
- Street Art
And in case you didn't pick it up at the beginning......LOVE THIS ONLINE MAG!!!
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Gamesharing. As the Nintendo DS does with its DS Download Play, the PSP allows one user to share their game with a third party, usually—but not necessarily—as a precursor to multiplayer gaming. A self-contained version of the game being shared is sent to the remote PSP over the wireless network, whereupon it boots and runs as though loaded from a UMD disc. Such 'Gameshare versions' of software usually have their featureset reduced and are intended, for example, to allow the multiplayer aspects of the software to be used while holding back single player or bonus functionality.
The UMD disks are small enough to fit comfortably in a short, and superficially analogous to Sony's past invention, the MiniDisc, but for the need of a protective secure and vaguely different cartridge structure. There is also a row of derived reins along the audio off and on in sport or selecting different equalizer presets in the OS), monitor brightness, reaching the system's core menu, as well as the pennant Start and limited buttons, a digital 4-directional pad, and an analog store. The PSP's opinions are geared for controlling book, harmony settings (either switching the bottom of the project, for gaming quite than multimedia, with two shoulder buttons (triggers), the iconic PlayStation face buttons birth and Select buttons.
First party European titles Fired Up and Wipeout Pure both shipped with Gamesharing features; subsequent titles have followed suit.
The graphics and audio capabilities of the PSP lie somewhere between those of the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2. While most of the available games are less complex than games available on PS2, the graphics nonetheless tend to be much closer in quality to the PS2 than the PS1. This is probably in large part due to the small size of the screen, combined with the fact that unlike the PS1, the PSP's graphics chip performs texture filtering.
OS ANGELES — Nintendo dominates handheld video games now, but its biggest competitor and a number of other companies are getting into the business.
Sony announced yesterday that it will start selling a handheld video-game machine, called the PSP, by the end of next year. The company, appearing at a news conference before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), didn't give many details about the device, but the PSP is expected to compete with Nintendo's Game Boy game players.
Nokia disclosed more information about the N-Gage, its combination cellphone and handheld video-game player, which is scheduled to go on sale Oct. 7 for $299.
A company called Tapwave recently said it will debut a handheld gaming device by the end of the year that can also play music and videos and display photos. The company was formed by former executives from Palm, the maker of the popular handheld computers.
1 Generation of Chaos 2 Splinter Cell Essentials 3 Daxter 4 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children 5 Pursuit Force 6 Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX 7 Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror 8 Metal Gear Acid 2 9 Mega Man Maverick Hunter X 10 Monster Hunter Freedom
1 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2 Generation of Chaos 3 Splinter Cell Essentials 4 Daxter 5 Need for Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 6 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children 7 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 8 Pursuit Force 9 Prince of Persia Revelations 10 Ape Escape Academy
The PSP's analog input, often called the "analog nub," is not a traditional analog stick, but rather a sliding flat panel. Its odd placement initially led to speculation that it was a speaker (there are two holes on the front of the PSP that are also not speakers, but are made to look like them, the actual speakers are on the bottom). Concerns existed regarding the practicality of the input (its position requires a slightly asymmetrical grip on the unit to adequately use, with the left hand being lower than the right). While it is used in the same way as the analog thumb stick of a modern console, the resistance springs are calibrated differently: They are softer, making quick, coarse adjustments a bit easier, but fine-grained ones a bit more difficult.
With all of these developments, this could be the year the video-game industry hits the road. No longer content to follow the traditional console model, companies are looking to new devices to move game playing away from the television set and are showing them off this week at the industry's big trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
These companies are intent on cutting into the dominating lead Nintendo and its Game Boy line have had in the handheld-gaming market, particularly with younger players who are content to trade more sophisticated game technology for a small device that can be brought to school or to a friend's house.
Nintendo said yesterday it does not feel threatened by the new competition, particularly the Sony PSP, which does not have a price yet and will not launch until late next year. "We don't feel that there's anything in particular that we need to be worried about right now," said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.
The PSP promises to be more technologically advanced than Nintendo's portable game players. It will play games stored on an optical disc about half the diameter of a compact disc but which holds an enormous amount of data. The devices will have a backlight and will be able to connect to each other and to PlayStation 2 systems.
It "is the Walkman of the 21st century," said Ken Kutaragi, chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment.
Nokia said yesterday that its N-Gage mobile phone features a digital music player and an FM radio. It is set to launch with 10 titles, including "Tomb Raider," "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" and "Rayman 3." The games will cost about $30 to $40.
Major retailers have agreed to sell the N-Gage, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Electronics Boutique, GameStop and Target.
"Mobility is where gaming is going, and nobody owns mobility like Nokia," said Nada Usina, a general manager for entertainment and media at the company.
Sega is developing four games for the N-Gage, including "Super Monkey Ball" and "Virtual Tennis." The company has for years had a mobile gaming group, and said it is working with the N-Gage because the device has enough graphic speed and screen colors to meet Sega's standards.
"Teens and 20- to 30-year-olds, they just can't live without their cellphone," said Sega spokeswoman Jennifer Walters. "We found that there's this need to fill time, and entertainment is always there."
Tapwave said it was founded to create handheld products focused on mobile entertainment, mainly for the tech-savvy 18-to-34 age group. It has not yet disclosed the games to be offered with its first product, code-named Helix.
"For the first time ever, the technology has finally reached a point in time with graphics acceleration where you can create a very sophisticated console experience," said Byron Connell, a co-founder of the Silicon Valley company.
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Recognizing that mentoring plays a critical role in a person's decision to pursue a career in dentistry, the American Dental Association has launched a new Career Mentoring Program that includes mentor coordinators representing dental societies and dental schools across the country, including the NYU College of Dentistry.
NYUCD's career mentor coordinator is Dr. Ivy Peltz, Clinical Associate Professor of Cariology & Comprehensive Care. According to Dr. Peltz, "The program is designed to attract students to dentistry-especially underrepresented minority students-by matching young people (K–12) with local dentists who are interested in having such students shadow them in their private offices for a day. Providing an opportunity for students to spend a day with a dentist is a wonderful way to help them decide if a career in dentistry is the right path to take.
"In addition to the obvious benefits for the students and for the long-term vibrancy of the profession, there are significant benefits for mentors, who have the opportunity to give back to the profession and make a difference by sharing their expertise with young people."
If you would like to become a mentor, please contact Dr. Peltz at [email protected]. A guide that includes formal mentoring resources is available.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Agnes Martin: Paintings, Writings, Remembrances is the most extensive retrospective publication on this visionary painter.
Though a major influence on Minimalist painters, Martin saw her own work, more closely related to Abstract Expressionism, her paintings being ‘meditations on innocence, beauty, happiness and love.’ This book brings together 130 of Martin’s paintings and drawings, with her previously unpublished writings and lecture notes, which vividly illuminate her art. Letters and facsimiles are reprinted in Martin’s own hand, and cut to notebook size, adding an element of intimacy to the book.
Pace Gallery founder, Arne Glimcher’s illuminating introduction, his personal remembrances of visits to Martin at her studio, and their correspondence throughout her career, reveal much about the artist’s life and work.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
While living in New York between 1957 and 1967, Agnes Martin began to experiment with symmetrical compositions comprising circles and squares under the influence of artists such as Ad Reinhardt and Ellsworth Kelly. Her grid paintings, which some critics linked to the machine-edged Minimalist movement, are actually examples of Abstract Expressionism, dense with gestural markings and unmistakable traces of the artist’s hand. In their purity and meditative quality, the canvases suggest a spiritualism that reflects Martin’s interest in nature (particularly the desert landscapes of New Mexico) and Eastern religions, notably Daoism. The paintings created after her return to Taos in 1967 became increasingly ethereal, the grids sometimes so faint that they seemed to be fading into a shimmering mist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arne Glimcher is an influential art dealer, and the founder of the Pace Gallery. He has worked with some of the worlds greatest artists including Pablo Picasso, Ad Reinhardt, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Robert Rauchenberg, and Agnes Martin. He has also produced and directed several films, including The Mambo Kings, and Gorillas in the Mist. Glimcher managed the exhibitions and sales of Martin’s work through most of her career and became one of her closest friends.
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PITTSBURG -- Michael Fiore and his son, Matthew, became homeless in 2010, after Fiore survived cancer but couldn't find work.
After losing their Concord apartment and nearly everything they owned, the 61-year-old former Sears appliance technician and his son have alternated the last two years between sleeping in their car, in shelters and with friends.
Matthew, a Clayton Valley High sophomore, is one of thousands of homeless students in the Bay Area trying to keep up with his assignments while dealing with an unstable living situation.
"Only my two best friends know that I'm homeless," said the soft-spoken 17-year-old, who is currently sharing a room with his dad in a friend's Pittsburg home. "I do my homework. I've just been doing the best I can."
There were 220,738 homeless students attending schools in California last year. Nationwide, the number of homeless students could surpass 1 million this year for the first time, said Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
Unlike most schoolchildren, they're not looking forward to summer vacation, she said.
"It means a period of increased stress," she said. "They may miss the certainty of knowing: 'I'm going to go to school, see Mr. Smith, see my friends and be able to be a kid for eight hours. And I know I'm going to get something to eat.' "
Matthew and his dad aren't sure if their friend will let
The number of homeless students in Contra Costa County jumped from 1,773 in 2009-10 to 2,222 last year. This year's numbers won't be available until July, but they are expected to rise due to the lagging economy.
"Our numbers have been increasing, unfortunately," she said, "because so many people are losing their housing and that is increasing the number of homeless families."
The rising numbers are an issue throughout Bay Area school districts, whether the districts are located in low-income or more affluent areas. There were 2,538 homeless students enrolled in Santa Clara County schools last year, and San Mateo County served 739 homeless students. Alameda County had a staggering 5,804 homeless students enrolled in district schools last year.
By the end of this school year, Mt. Diablo had served 534 homeless students, including 35 who were just identified this month, said James Wogan, who coordinates the district's Homeless Outreach Program for Education, or HOPE.
"We know that there are more," he said. "We do outreach and make sure schools know the definition of legal homelessness. We know there's some stigma attached. They worry that they might lose their school placement. We try to make sure everybody knows their rights."
According to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, schools must allow students to stay in the same school they attended before they became homeless and must provide transportation, supplies and other services such as tutoring.
Trish Anderson, who coordinates homeless student services in collaboration with Alameda County district schools, said the problem is growing.
"We've seen a rise in the number of unaccompanied youth, including runaways or those who are not living with mom and dad," she said. "And unfortunately, there's no housing really available for them. They don't have anywhere to go."
Anderson said some kids are resourceful and find temporary employment, while others will just hang out or couch-surf.
"Our priority is just keeping them in school, making sure they have equal access to education and that they're not pushed out -- because for so many of them, school is the only constant in their life," she said.
Olympic continuation high school student Christina Reyes, 18, said she has been couch-surfing for a couple of years.
"I stay at friends' houses and stuff," she said. "I used to live with my mom, but she had difficulties with her living situation, so it just wasn't working out for me. I had the opportunity to just drop out of school, but I didn't because it gives me something to do. I have something to look forward to every day."
Bret Baird, who teaches physical education at Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City, said he has noticed dramatic changes in the behavior of some students when they become homeless.
"I found out after the fact, because kids are embarrassed to tell you," he said. "The ones who act out will get noticed and will get help. But you really feel for those who suffer in silence, and they're probably the majority."
In an effort not to miss those who don't speak up about their living situations, the Santa Clara Unified School District's homeless liaison gives presentations to schools to make sure employees know what to look for and are comfortable referring students.
"We offer a range of services, such as bus passes and really helping a person advocate with external agencies for medical service, dental care and community programs," said district spokeswoman Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley.
Duffield said American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding helped provide additional services during the past few years, but those have dried up, even as the homeless population is increasing. Still, she said, schools are filling critical needs for these students.
"Public schools are the best safety net that kids have, because they're the only place that kids have a right to be," she said. "When there are no shelters or shelters are full, when food banks have no food, children have a federal right to a seat in classroom where they can get free meals and have structure with help from adults. It's a tribute to schools that without more money, they're serving and enrolling more kids. The hope is that education is still what these kids are clinging to when they have nothing else."
Details about services for homeless students in Contra Costa County are available by calling 925-942-3300 or by visiting www.cocoschools.org/yds. Alameda County information is at 510-670-4160 or www.acoe.org. Click on "Student Programs." In San Mateo County, call 650-802-5446 or visit www.smcoe.k12.ca.us/InstructionalServicesDivisionISD/CurriculumServices. For Santa Clara County information call 408-453-6956 or visit www.sccoe.org/programs/foster-homeless.
State homeless program information is at www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs. National Center for Homeless Education resources are at www.naehcy.org.
For additional information, read the On Assignment blog at www.ibabuzz.com/onassignment.
homeless student population by the numbers
California's increase in homeless students,
grades Pre-K to 12
Sampling of Bay Area districts' 2010-11 homeless students
Alameda County 5,804
Alameda City Unified 698
Berkeley Unified 759
Hayward Unified 960
Oakland Unified 1,311
Contra Costa County 2,222
Antioch Unified 382
Mt. Diablo Unified 515
W. Contra Costa Unified 908
San Mateo County 739
Bayshore Elementary 123
Ravenswood City Elem. 269
San Mateo-Foster City 122
Santa Clara County 2,538
Gilroy Unified 649
San Jose Unified 361
Santa Clara Unified 608
Source: California Department of Education and Alameda and Contra Costa County Offices of Education
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Is your life simple or are you feeling a bit overwhelmed?
Is your home full of things you no longer use?
Wouldn’t you rather be deliriously happy in an almost empty space?
I cannot emphasise enough the value and beauty of living a simple, uncluttered life.
I began my journey of personal growth a decade ago and the single most important thing I did initially was to simplify and declutter my life.
It was amazing what a difference it made when I started doing fewer things and most importantly when I dramatically reduced the amount of physical stuff in my life.
Indeed, when I take on a new coaching client, one of the first things we look at is how their life can be simplified and how they can declutter their homes.
In recent years, more and more people have begun to wake up to the idea of living simpler lives with fewer things and recycling as much as possible.
There are a number of resources available online for living a minimalist life and I shall discuss these in a future article. But for now you can start with this excellent “Minimalist Guide” from my blogging mentor and friend Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.
A few months ago, I spent an amazing 2 weeks in India. Whilst visiting some villages in Gujarat (where my family originates from) what struck me was how happy the people were. They had so little in terms of all those material things which in the West we believe we must have to be happy.
I wondered whether the relatives we were visiting in their simple homes even had any idea of just how much stuff we had in our UK homes.
It certainly was a wake up call to not only appreciate what privileged lives we lead, but also realise just how much superfluous our possessions really are.
At the same time, it was sad to see that in the Indian cities there is now a growing desire to consume and collect stuff, so as to be like the “enlightened” West.
It just doesn’t make any sense to me in buying, collecting and hording things we don’t really need and not ever likely to use.
So often we keep things in case one day they are useful. I bet right now you can mentally recall the things you in your home for this very reason.
We all keep things for some day and one day – and that day never comes.
I shall never forget how whilst helping my late father with some old paperwork, I found that he had kept cheque book stubs going back over 30 years!
“As you focus on simplifying your life, make sure your approach to the process is a loving and accepting one. Know that you are now doing all that you can do right now, and that is all anyone can do. When you stay in the moment, you have all the time in the world, and whatever needs to be done will be completed in the exact right time. ~Deepak Chopra~
Today, I am going to urge all of you to start simplifying your life – and start decluttering. Sometimes it feels as if I am on a crusade to create a simpler world and I apologise for being so directional!
But please believe me that once you have begun to de-clutter your life, you will begin to notice amazing shifts in your energy and your thinking.
Clutter is not just those physical things hoarded for years. It includes relationships, time commitments and other things that use up more of your energy than you can afford to give them.
For example, you can easily create an extra hour a day in your life simply by decluttering.
So here are my 20 questions which will transform your life forever. The idea is to answer NO to as many questions as possible.
Wherever you have said YES is an area for further work:-
1. Do you hang on to clothes that no longer fit you?
2. Do you have in your wardrobe items bought years ago and not worn since?
3. Do you own shoes that hurt your feet?
4. Do you own spectacles for old prescriptions?
5. Do you have toiletries or cosmetics which have dried up or are half finished?
6. Do you have a pile of papers /unopened mail/junk mail awaiting action or filing?
7. Do you have a pin-board with more than one layer of papers on it?
8. Do you keep old newspapers or magazines as there is an article you want to read?
9. Do you have so many books there is not enough room on your shelves?
10. Do you own gadgets you never use?
11. Do you have a drawer stuffed full of plastic shopping bags?
12. Do you have half finished projects stashed around the house?
13. Do you have hundreds of photos in boxes, unfiled or not put together in some order?
14. Do you have old medicines and pills stored in a cupboard?
15. Do you have things awaiting repairs for months?
16. Do you keep things purely because they were a gift?
17. Do you keep things in case one day they come in handy?
18. Do things fall out of your cupboards when you open the doors?
19. Do you have problems finding things just when you want them?
20. Do you have in your kitchen any items in cupboards or fridge/freezer past their use by dates?
As I said, wherever you have said YES is an area for further work. Start clearing out that area today, even if you get rid of just one item.
I have learnt that life really is simple if only we can apply this principle in all areas.
Even if you just do a tiny little thing today to declutter your life, it will make a huge difference to you – and the world.
Spring has finally arrived here in London and traditionally that’s been seen as the perfect time to declutter our homes – but it can be done anytime – start today wherever you are in the world and whatever your season!
How will you begin to simplify your life from today onwards?
Please do also share below your own questions and tips for decluttering and creating simplicity.
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By Karen Ravn
September 1, 2012
Pillows. They're not just for nestling your noggin anymore. They're also for keeping your stiff neck from aching, your sinuses from congesting, your acids from refluxing, your snores from snorting, your tinnitus from tintinnabulating and — yes! glory be! — your face from turning into a prune.
Or, so go some of the claims. Here's a heads-up on how well the hype holds up.
Acupressure pillows. Laying your head on a bunch of pointy spikes may not sound especially therapeutic. But that's the basic principle involved in acupressure pillows, which are intended to relieve headaches and stiff necks.
"You have to reach a certain pain threshold in order to get the benefits," says StJohn Wiles, chief executive of Halsa in Warwick, N.Y., which markets the Halsa pillow. "But after you've used it once or twice, you don't notice any discomfort anymore."
Like acupressure therapy, the pillow spikes are supposed to stimulate the release of natural pain-relieving hormones. "Our users swear by their effectiveness," Wiles says. And a Swedish study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2011 found that lying on an acupressure mat, which uses the same pointy spikes, helped people relax (as measured by their physiological responses).
Acupressure pillows are meant to be used about 15 minutes a day. But if you zonk out on one, no harm done.
Sinus congestion-prevention pillows. Your pillow can be a great place for dust mites to hang out, feasting on the dead skin cells you serve up for them every night. You might never even know you have all those hungry guests unless you're allergic to them, in which case they may well announce their presence by giving you sinus congestion. A dust mite-proof pillowcase is your best defense, says Dr. Mark Aronica, an asthma specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. Dust mites will set up housekeeping in an ordinary pillowcase, whether or not you have a hypoallergenic pillow. (They'll also take up residence in your mattress and bedding, so you need to take additional steps to battle them there.)
For sinus congestion not caused by an allergic reaction, "all you can do is prop yourself up so your nose is higher than your heart," says Alan Kominsky, a physician in Cleveland Clinic's Head and Neck Institute. "Any pillow can do that."
Anti-acid reflux pillows. Gravity is a natural antidote to acid reflux since it can help keep your stomach contents down where they belong. Pillows designed to reduce acid reflux rely on this fact, but Kominsky questions whether using such a pillow is the most effective measure. "You really have to tilt the whole bed," he says. "One way is to put a brick under the headboard." You definitely don't want a pillow that makes you bend at the waist, he warns. By pushing stomach contents up instead of keeping them down, "that might even make your acid reflux worse."
Speaker pillows. Speaker pillows are meant to block out, or mask, sounds that keep you awake — the snores from your bed partner (but see below!) or the rings, buzzes and whistles of tinnitus — with sounds that help you get to sleep, such as a dull monotone or the strains of Brahms' Lullaby.
Masking tinnitus doesn't work for everyone. To see if it's likely to work for you, try the "faucet test": Stand by a faucet that's turned on as high as it will go. If you can't hear your tinnitus over the sound of the gushing water, masking is probably worth a try.
For many of these, the goal is to keep your airway as open as possible by keeping your chin lifted away from your chest. There's an assortment of pillows that use an assortment of designs that are intended to accomplish that, but there's not much research to support the use of any particular one of them, says Dr. Joseph Kaplan, director of the Mayo Sleep Center at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.
Fountain of Youth pillows. To review, sleeping on your back can make you snore, and it can be bad for sleep apnea patients too. But uh-oh. The American Academy of Dermatology says sleeping on your side, with your face rubbing against your pillow night after night, can give you wrinkles.
It's a dilemma all right. One possible solution: the Cupron pillowcase. An unpublished but randomized controlled trial of 55 women and two men found that after four weeks the appearance of both facial wrinkles and crow's-feet was significantly reduced for those who slept on this pillowcase compared with those who slept on regular pillowcases. The Cupron case's unique feature is the copper oxide it contains, which some believe stimulates the production of collagen.
Long before there were copper oxide pillowcases, there were silk and satin ones, which are thought to lessen wrinkle production by minimizing friction between face and pillow. More recently, the Save My Face pillow was invented to minimize any contact between face and pillow at all. Shaped like back-to-back letter Cs, it lets you position your cheek in the opening, thus touching nothing but air, while your head is supported because your temple and jaw rest on the pillow.
"Some of my patients like it," says Dr. George Sanders, a plastic surgeon in Encino. "They don't see wrinkle lines when they get up anymore. Others say it doesn't work for them."
In fact, how much benefit any pillow can give may depend to some extent on just whose noggin is nestling on it. "If you think a pillow will help," Aronica says, "then potentially it will."
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Doug's latest column focuses on the legacy of Steve Jobs.
Unless you've been stuck in Bio-Dome 3 with no cell or Wi-Fi, you know Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple.
Mr. Jobs is not the man he used to be. Health issues have physically transformed his appearance and made him give up what must be the true love of his life -- Apple.
He's still engaged as chairman, much like Bill Gates, who maintains a gentle grip on the Microsoft helm. But while Gates fights disease and hunger (and much more) through his foundation, Jobs has a more intimate battle, for his very life and vitality. Both geniuses in their own way are trying to cure disease -- Jobs' fight is just more personal.
We've all been through these struggles, either with our own health or that of friends or family. Man is, after all, a fragile being. Steve Jobs' illness is no more or less important than yours, or that of your friends or family members.
I'm not sure what makes me think I have anything new to say about Steve Jobs -- or why on earth anyone would waste a page in a Microsoft-focused magazine on such a purely Apple-committed man.
Jobs is important because he is a master innovator and the perfect foil for Microsoft: Jobs makes Microsoft a better company. There are many areas where Microsoft has decided (or has been forced) to follow Mr. Jobs: the GUI (yeah, Xerox PARC invented it but Apple made it work), music players, phones and tablets. Windows 8 looks more like it came out of Cupertino labs than the Redmond salt mines.
The old saying used to be "Never trust anyone over 30." Like with Robert De Niro and Johnny Cash, the younger generation always thought and still thinks Steve Jobs is cool. My 18-year-old son David is one of many young Jobs enthusiasts. "Jobs, after his return, changed the face of Apple," David says. "That so many diehard Apple fanboys exist is a testament to how Jobs made Apple into an alternative to Windows."
Jobs almost missed his chance at this cult status. After getting booted from Apple in 1985 (does anyone remember John Sculley?), Jobs was begged back more than a decade later. In 1996 things were dire indeed. Anything that wasn't PC-compatible went out of business -- the Atari ST, Amiga, Tandy 2000, even Jobs' own $10,000 Next machine. The Mac was barely hanging on.
In a 1997 move that may have saved both companies, Microsoft -- in a decision crafted by Jobs and Gates -- invested $150 million in Apple. This float loan gave Apple the dough to move forward and helped keep the antitrust cops off Redmond's butt. Microsoft later sold its 18-million-plus shares at a tidy profit, but if Redmond had kept them, they'd be worth more than $4 billion.
Am I overly kind to Mr. Jobs or not kind enough?
Your thoughts are welcome at [email protected].
Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.
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Science policy launched
ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: After a delay of three decades, the Ministry of Science and Technology on Friday launched its first national policy.
A ceremony marked the launching of the ‘National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2012’. The event was organised by Pakistan Council for Science and Technology in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology at a local hotel.
The idea for a national policy first came up in 1960 when the National Science Commission of Pakistan was constituted to consider how best scientific research could be promoted.
In 1975, preparation of the first national S&T policy was initiated. However, it took another decade for the final approval to develop the policy in 1984.
“Now about three decades later, the policy is being launched,” said Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali.Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar said: “The new policy envisages a paradigm shift, in which innovation is recognised as an integral part of the S&T system.”
He highlighted the aims and objectives of the policy under the broader areas of socio-economic development, human resource development, R&D infrastructure and promotion of science and technology.
The Pakistan Commission for Science and Technology has been entrusted with the implementation of the policy, he added.
Chairperson PCST Prof Mudassir Asrar said they would take all the stakeholders on board in the implementation of the policy.
The highlights of the police include ST&I planning and management structure that has not been functioning in an optimal manner.
The policy emphasises development of quality human resource, training and education.
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3 Kinka Rd, Duffys Forest NSW 2084, AustraliaHistory
9 older records found on this numberPhone Type
Local ServiceLatest Holder
Telstra Corporation LimitedNumbering Area
Terrey HillsLast found
October 2010Other Formats
0294500690 / 9450-0690 / 94500690 / (02) 9450 0690
Mobile number only 0414 665 517
In 2006, there were 3,750 persons usually resident in Duffys Forest: 49.0% were males and 51.0% were females. Of the total population in Duffys Forest 0.3% were Indigenous persons, compared with 2.3% Indigenous persons in Australia. more
English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 83.8% of persons usually resident in Duffys Forest. The most common languages other than English spoken at home were: Italian 1.5%, Dutch 0.6%, German 0.6%, Mandarin 0.5% and Japanese 0.5%.
83.5% of persons usually resident in Duffys Forest were Australian citizens, 19.6% were born overseas and 0.3% were overseas visitors.
The most common industries of employment for persons aged 15 years and over usually resident in Duffys Forest were School Education 3.5%, Legal and Accounting Services 3.2%, Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 3.1%, Residential Care Services 2.6% and Computer System Design and Related Services 2.4%.
* statistcs taken from the 2006 Census for postal area 2084 conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
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Most of the times people opt for herbal soaps. They have great fascination for nature. These people can always be seen wandering in search of a good herbal, animal friendly and vegan soaps. But, to find such soaps is not an easy task. If you go to the market, you would find a number of synthetic soaps. Even the salesperson will promote synthetic soaps. The obvious reason is their high commissions and margins. But one should not play with their skin. You should know that these types of synthetic soaps are made from harmful chemicals. The worst thing with these soaps is that these are not only harmful for nature, but for your own skin too. They have petroleum contents in them is very harmful for skin. So, the need of the hour is to move towards nature. You can choose any herbal handmade soap. To help you, we have enlisted some handmade eco-friendly soaps. These soaps are easily available in the market. You can also order them online. These handmade soaps are very good for the skin. Above all these are less expensive too.
1. Dead Sea Spa Bar
Dead Sea Spa Bar is a totally nature friendly soap. It is made from dead sea mineral mud. One should know that this particular kind of mud is very useful in removing impurities from the skin. Not only this, it also has some extracts of rosewood and geranium. Rosewood has antibacterial properties. It helps in maintaining the oil balance of the skin. Geranium helps in regulating the blood circulation just under the skin. The perfect blend of all these ingredients is really very beneficial for skin.
USP: Rosewood and Geranium are very good for all types of skins. Dead Sea Spa Bar also has olive oil, Shea butter, coconut, palm kernel, apricot kernel and castor oils. These all ingredients make it one of the best handmade soap.
Pros and cons: Its natural contents help in reducing scarring in skin. It also helps in equal distribution of melanin in the skin. One should know that it is this melanin that is responsible for skin color. So, this soap also helps in lightening of skin color. It helps your skin glow naturally.
2. Honeysuckle Calendula Soap
Honeysuckle Calendula Soap is a soft, floral and feminine soap. This kind of soap is perfect for a person in all seasons. It is basically a glycerin soap. But the manufacturers have used only vegetable glycerin in it. No synthetic chemicals have been added. Glycerin makes this soap very good for dry skin. It contains coconut milk, herbs, fruits and vegetables. It is totally animal friendly soap. No tests on animals were made while making this soap. It will surely give you a good feeling while using this soap.
USP: The best thing about this soap is that it is made in US, but has natural ingredients collected from across the world. The ingredients are of high quality. Yet, the price has been kept low.
Pros and cons: Each bar of Honeysuckle Calendula Soap is individually handmade, packaged and designed. This gives you a unique and a personal treatment.
3. Goat’s Milk Soap
Goat milk soap will surely make you fall in love with it. This natural handmade soap has sandalwood extracts. This gives it a unique and a very good smell. Even long after bathing, you can feel its smell. One should know that goat milk is a very good antioxidant.
USP: As the name says, Goat milk soap has goat milk. As goat milk is very good for skin washing your skin with such kind of soap will definitely make your skin healthier. The best thing is that it is very good for sensitive skin. People who cannot use all types of soaps because of their skin being very delicate for such people handmade soap is a boon. This is totally natural and has no ill effects.
Pros and cons: Unprocessed farm goat milk has many merits. It has vitamins, cream and minerals etc. All these nutrients and minerals are very useful for our skin. You may switch to this soap irrespective of your skin type.
5. Patchouli Beer Bar
Patchouli soap is made from pure and dark patchouli oil from Indonesia. This Indonesian oil is of much high quality as compared to its Chinese variant. This makes it a totally irresistible for patchouli lovers. It also has clove and beer. Both are very good for skin. Beer is said to be an ultimate conditioning agent. Manufacturers of this soap have never compromised on the quality of the ingredients.
USP: Patchouli notes on the top with floral Lavender in the mid and a sweet undertone of vanilla make it the real handmade soap. Its special cleansing formula is entirely different from others. It is of much superior quality and a skin caring person really deserves this soap.
Pros and cons: Patchouli is very good for all skin types. This soap also has beer contents. It makes this soap superior to other soaps available in the market. It has a skin conditioner that helps in cleansing as well as conditioning your skin.
6. Bub Marley Soap
Bub Marley soap is a natural handmade soap containing clove, patchouli and sage. These all make it a skin friendly soap. This soap is designed in small batches, thus making it the best soap. Both clove and patchouli are very good for skin.
USP: It has Italian olive oil making it the best soap ever. This high quality oil is very good for your skin. Manufacturers have not saved their costs by using the oil of inferior quality. The best thing about this soap is that it is always manufactured in small quantity with lots of care and finest ingredients.
Pros and cons: This spicy warm soap of clove is different. Clove is very good for skin. It is a natural medicine for skin with acne. Its superior quality refined ingredients make it a good soap. Clove was the most recommended medicine for acne in the ancient time as well.
Hallowclean is a spooky soap. This soap has tangerine and anise in it. It is totally handmade soap which is designed keeping your skin in mind. Its natural ingredients will make you fall in love with this soap. Its ingredients include; wild crafted Shea butter, Coconut oil, Palm oil, Avocado oil and Organic Hemp seed oil. All these contents are very good for human skin.
USP: The ingredients of this soap make it a winner in all natural soaps. Manufacturers have used the best ingredients. One will surely love this soap. Using Shea butter with various oils is a unique thing in this kind of soap. This unique blend of natural herbs and nutrients cannot be seen easily in any other soap.
Pros and cons: The biggest merit of such soaps lie in their ingredients. Hallowclean has Shea butter. Shea is actually a natural antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. The extracts of butter promote cell regeneration and capillary circulation in the body. Shea Butter soaps are also very rich in vitamins A, E and F. It has the extracts of cinnamic acid, which is very good for skin. It provides natural protection against the damaging ultra violet rays of the sun. These days due to pollution, human skin is damaged mostly by these harmful rays. This soap protects you from such rays.
8. By the Sea, Sea Salt Kelp Handmade Soap
This soap is different from other soaps. It has the extracts of sea salt in it. This soap is also scented with some good oil. Manufacturers have used bayberry oil which is very refreshing oil. You can have a smell of the sea in this particular soap. This ingredient surely gives this soap a unique advantage over all other soaps available in the market.
USP: This particular handmade soap contains 100% vegetable glycerin. It means there are no animal products in it. Manufacturers of this soap are famous all across the world in designing 100% animal loving soaps and that too of very high quality. This herbal handmade soap is really very good for the skin lacking essential minerals. Most of us, have skin problems only because of the lack of necessary minerals in the skin. These days most of the food products are either adulterated or have inferior quality ingredients in it. To supplement it, this soap has been designed.
Pros and cons: Manufacturers of this particular handmade soap have used the best ingredients from the whole world. No inferior quality ingredients have been used. Sea salt has various minerals in it. This is very good for the health of our skin. The bayberry oil is also very good for human skin.
9. Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Goat Milk Soap
This soap is a rare combination of goat milk, honey and oatmeal. All these ingredients have their own plus points. You can feel all these ingredients in this soap. Goat milk gives the rich lather to this soap. Honey is used because of its naturally sweet scent. Oatmeal helps in gentle exfoliation. This way old and dead skin can be removed from the body very easily. Dead old skin blocks the inner skin and prohibits the flow of oxygen to the deep skin. This may lead to various skin related diseases. Thanks to the new handmade soap as it protects from all such problems.
USP: This goat milk soap is very good for both male as well as female skins. It helps in removing dirt and dead skin from the skin of both genders alike. This great feature makes it a complete family soap. Its rich oatmeal extracts help in removing dead skin. It helps in scrubbing the skin. This is a unique feature of this soap.
Pros and cons: The rich extracts of oatmeal, honey and milk make this soap very superior. This soap has a merit that it is very good for people in all age groups. Any person of any skin type can use this soap without any side effects. These all makes it a perfect gift for any family.
10. Fir Needle Vegan Handmade Soap
Fir needle vegan handmade soap is an excellent handmade natural soap. It has a smell of tree. It may sound quite odd, but this is true and will give you the feeling of nature. Users of this soap have liked its smell the most. It is a perfect soap for holiday season.
USP: Fir needle vegan handmade soap has the extracts of coconut milk. The coconut milk is very good cleansing agent. It helps you in cleaning your skin gently. It washes away all the impurities out of the skin and makes it glow naturally. The coconut milk has a unique formula that helps in making your skin soft. It leaves your skin feeling clean, glowing and scented. This makes this soap the most preferred soap in its category.
Pros and cons: The natural ingredients used in manufacturing fir needle vegan handmade soap are much superior to other harmful man made chemicals. You can go for this particular soap irrespective of your skin type. This soap is equally good for all types of skins. You can trust the manufacturers. They are designing handmade natural soaps for decades.
All above mentioned handmade soaps are equally good. These soaps are 100% natural soaps. They have a good blend of various nutrients and minerals. Some have the extracts of rosewood while others have olive oil. Some soaps are rich in Vitamins while others have a good cleansing formula. You can have a look over all these soaps and can order any one over internet too. The common thing about all these soaps is that these are herbal and eco friendly. All these soaps are very good for the skin and helps in making it glow naturally. This is the reason why most of the cosmetologists have also started recommending these soaps.
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|The month of the wikileaks debacle|
Tuesday, 07 December 2010 07:02
To say the month of November was an interesting one would be an understatement. The most sensational event in the month was what is now commonly referred to as
Wikileaks is an international new media website that publishes and comments on leaked documents which revolve around government and corporate misconduct through the posting of highly classified documents and videos online. According to the most recent leaks, American ambassadors appear to be quite frank and merciless in their appraisals of the countries in which they are posted. In the case of Kenya, leaked reports from the US embassy in Nairobi proved a diplomatic disaster for US- Kenya foreign relations as the contents depicted Kenya as "a swamp of flourishing corruption."
Nearly every single sentence in the embassy reports contains disdainful undertones particularly in relation to the references to the two principals- President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. According to a graph on the Wikileaks website, they claim to have to date collected 1,427 US diplomatic reports related to Kenya. In 2007, Wikileaks had disclosed a report done by the international risk assessment group Kroll which alleged colossal corruption amongst the associates and relatives of former President Daniel arap Moi. The report had actually been commissioned by Kibaki
|Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 December 2010 12:47|
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When I intentionally type these words into my computer, there is the material cause of the action, which is the associated neural and other physiological activity, and the efficient cause of the motion of my fingers, which includes this physiological activity; but there is also thefinal cause of the action, which is the end or goal of conveying some philosophical ideas, and the formal cause, which is the human soul -- “human soul” here understood, not in the popular sense of a wispy, ghostly thing that enters into a body in order to animate it and exits it at death, and not in the Cartesian sense of an immaterial substance, but rather in the technical Aristotelian sense of the substantial form of a rational animal. And the efficient cause of the action includes the intellectual activity distinctive of something with that sort of substantial form (as contrasted with the merely sensory or imaginative powers that a non-rational animal possesses) -- where the intellectual element and the neural element are not two things (as they are for the Cartesian dualist) but rather two irreducible aspects of one thing (just as a sentence is one thing with two aspects, material and semantic).
Sunday, March 25, 2012
… Edward Feser: Scruton on “neuroenvy”. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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In the first few days of our first visit to China, I was nonetheless unable to keep myself from formulating a hypothesis. In China the distinction between art, artifice and artificiality is not drawn as sharply as it is, at least in principle, in the West.
By Gary Schwartz.
The occasion for my first visit to China, with my wife Loekie, was an invitation to participate in the eighth installment of the annual Beijing Forum, held from November 4 to 6, 2011 on the grounds of Peking University. (We were unable to get a grasp on the principles guiding the use of one name of the city or the other in English.) The theme of the forum, which is convened every year under the motto “Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All,” was Tradition and Modernity, Transition and Transformation. The panel in which I participated was entitled “Artistic Heritage and Cultural Innovation.” One quaff of bromides after the other down the hatch, which nonetheless reminded us of the high purposes to which we were called.
Because we had no intention of flying up and back to Beijing without seeing more of China, we stretched our stay as far as we could in either direction, expanding it to 13 days from November 24 to December 7. Taking advice from friends and a Dutch tour operator, we flew to Hangzhou, were driven after two days to Shanghai via the water village of Wūzhèn, then went on by air to Xi’an and by night train to Beijing. Our guides were qualified mainly for their knowledge of English. They were not up on the latest developments in the arts, and there is much that we missed. In Hangzhou we would have liked to visit the Chinese Academy of Art had we been aware of its existence, but instead we were taken to a number of standard attractions, the China National Tea Museum and the Chinese Traditional Medicine Museum. Having said this, it must be admitted that the National Tea Museum is an outstanding presentation of the subject. Of course it ended with a tasting session and a sales moment.
The biggest surprise in Hangzhou was the house of the nineteenth-century merchant Hu Xue-yan (1823–85), which can be called a new museum following its drastic renovation after the year 2000. A tourist weblog states the bottom line about Hu in a word: “He was as rich as a country.” His walled mansion, in the middle of a thriving city, is as big as a football stadium. It reminded me of nothing so much as the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, though the British Prince Regent will not have thought of his palace as the quintessence of all of creation that Hu seems to have been after.
The complex has one feature of a kind that never fails to grab my imagination. One corner has been cut off from the grounds. The guide told us, if I remember correctly, that there was a shop on that spot, where the shopkeeper wanted to stay. Hu let him have his way, although he was warned that nicking the rectangle would bring him bad luck. Fifteen years later he lost favor at court and went bankrupt.
For a number of compelling reasons, I have a deep aversion to Chinese traditional medicine. This was not allayed at the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou, as fascinating and impressive as it is. The museum was founded as a pharmacy in 1874 by none other than Hu Xue-Yan, on his own signature cosmic scale of ambition. Today it is the only officially recognized institution of its kind in the country, producing pharmacies for sale on site and to the trade as well as displaying and explaining Chinese medicine to visitors in a splendid historicizing and now historical building.
Not all the explanations are as candid as they should be. The claim that rhinoceros horn was used “previously” in Chinese pharmaceuticals is belied by the ongoing slaughter of the rhinoceros in Africa, which has reached such a devastating level that total extinction of the animal is a real danger. Traditional Chinese medical practitioners sell crushed rhinoceros horn today, not “previously,” according to The Independent (November 28, 2012), at £35,000 a kilo. An irony attending the tragedy is that the criminal gangs who kill the rhinos must themselves believe in the medicinal efficacy of the horn. Otherwise they would sell for those prices doctored talcum powder that you can buy at the drugstore and that will work just as well in assuring that a woman will bear a son rather than a daughter.
The museum experience in Hangzhou is not limited to institutions bearing that label. Much of what we saw bore out what the prophetic German philosopher Hermann Lübbe, in the 1980s, called the progressive museification of the world. The Chinese have been at it for a long time.
The entire West Lake section, where we stayed, was configured as a scenic attraction in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and has kept up its semi-museological mission on and off, leading to its recognition in 2011 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . . . and a motif for the 1 yuan bill. The lake itself is an artefact, as are the park and all its appurtenances. The house of Hu Xue-Yan can be thought of as a collapsed version of West Lake.
Museified too are many Buddhist sanctuaries. The Hall of Five Hundred Arhats of the Lingyin Temple looks less like a place of worship than a sculptural portrait gallery.
Even consumerism is museified in Hangzhou. The main street for tourist items is an evocation of Olde Hangzhou, with ersatz heritage buildings in which to peddle the goods.
Touring in China, the way we did it, follows an itinerary that is signed, sealed and delivered in advance by us, our local travel agent, the Dutch tour operator they bring in, and the Chinese tour operator that the Dutch one works with. Air and train tickets and hotel vouchers are supplied, and at every moment, we have an English-speaking guide and a non-English speaking driver with a comfortable car at our disposal. There is a bit of wiggle room to depart from the master plan but not much. On our last morning in Hangzhou, our guide Grace—the Chinese guides all used English names for the supposed convenience of their foreign charges—suggested that we visit the Leifeng Pagoda before leaving the city and that we sacrifice one of the two destinations where we were going to stop on our way to Shanghai.
The original Leifeng pagoda was built in the year 975 and remained standing, with ups and downs, until in 1924 believers in Chinese traditional medicine, having been told that its bricks, ground into powder, favored male births and cured what ails you, pulled out one brick too many and the edifice fell to the ground. A substitute was constructed on the ruins in 2002, and this is what we see today. It may be a trick of memory, but I do not believe that Grace told this to us on the spot.
The stop on the way to Shanghai was another exercise in museification. The village of Wūzhèn has been mummified into an open-air museum. It fulfills this purpose admirably and provided us with a magical hour or two. Although—or perhaps because—the center of Wūzhèn is now a mere simulacrum of what it was when the town was fully populated, it has a nearly unbearable poignancy. The physical remains have been repaired and restored, with spotty functionality filled in where possible, cleaner than it will ever have been as a living town. Having the place to yourself, as we did, with a handful of other tourists, you are taken in its grip. Imagine to boot that this narrow waterway is a local branch of the Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing, begun in the sixth-century B.C. and at 1100 miles said to be the longest canal on earth. The immediate experience of the place, with its potent local character, is amplified by these dizzying chronological and geographical perspectives.
With only Hangzhou and Wūzhèn to go by in the first few days of our first visit to China, I was nonetheless unable to keep myself from formulating a fargoing hypothesis. That is, that in China the distinction between art, artifice, and artificiality is not drawn as sharply as it is, at least in principle, in the West.
Parts 2 and 3 of “Some new museums in the east,” a notion I apply broadly to include some non-museums and museums that are new only to me, will deal with museums and museified environments in Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing.
© Gary Schwartz 2012.
The period since the last column was cluttered with obligations, short deadlines and one trip abroad. From November 15 through 20, we were in Scotland. On the 15th, I delivered the keynote address to a one-day symposium on Rembrandt’s painting of the Entombment of Christ in the Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow. The painting belongs to the museum and served as the centerpiece of an outstanding small exhibition, with all relevant comparative items.
The symposium, organized by the Hunterian curator Peter Black, was wonderfully relaxed. There were only four talks, and as much time was reserved for discussion as for the lectures. After spending the day after the symposium trying and failing to enjoy Glasgow in the pouring rain, we were relieved to duck into a comfortable hotel room in Edinburgh and to take our time in the coming three days for the Royal Botanical Garden, the amazing Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and the National Gallery of Scotland on The Mound and at the Modern.
In the month of December, two scholarly articles of mine were published in volumes dedicated to two of my favorite colleagues. For Ildikó Ember, chief curator of Dutch and Flemish paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts (Szépmüvészeti Múzeum) in Budapest, I wrote a contribution on a painting in the museum by the church painter Emanuel de Witte: “With Emanuel de Witte in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.” The other one was dedicated to Rudi Ekkart, on an artist of whom even some the editors of the volume had never heard, Gerrit Pietersz. van Zijl. Awaiting the digital offprint, which will be nicer, I am provisionally posting the final page proofs.
Loekie came out with a new publication, an introduction to the catalog of an exhibition on country houses in the Vechtstreekmuseum in Maarssen. 2012 was the Year of the Country House in the Netherlands; the exhibition covers that theme from various angles. In her essay,Loekie sketches the history of gardens and parks in country houses, bringing in the political dimension on which she began to work last year when she planned a trip to English country houses for the Teyler Museum. She was able to show how the transformation of symmetrical formal gardens to picturesque landscape gardens was related to new anti-absolutist ideals in the Whig faction in Parliament. Unfortunately, the trip to England did not materialize, but the ideas it generated have fed into her views on the Dutch garden. The introduction made an impression – after it came out, Loekie was invited by two gardening organizations to lecture on the subject.
Loekie Schwartz, “De geschiedenis van tuinen en parken bij buitenplaatsen langs de Vecht,” in Aanschouw de lusthoven aan de Vecht: achtergrondinformatie bij de gelijknamige tentoonstelling, Maarssen (Vechtstreekmuseum) 2012, pp. 9-32.
At the beginning of March, we will be flying again, to the US west coast, for a lecture on March 9th on Rembrandt and Dürer at Christopher-Clark Fine Art on Geary Street in San Francisco.
Despite the bad news we get on the radio half hour by half hour, I cannot say that 2012 was a bad year for us. And 2013 too is shaping up nicely, with commissions for writing, lecturing, teaching, translating, editing and research from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, the UK, and the US well into the year, apart from the commissions I give myself, such as writing more Schwartzlist columns. All I have to do is keep my nose to the grindstone.
Wishing you, dear readers, a full and fulfilling 2013.
Gary Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1940. In 1965 he came to the Netherlands with a graduate fellowship in art history and stayed. He has been active as a translator, editor, and publisher; teacher, lecturer, and writer; and as the founder of CODART, an international network organization for curators of Dutch and Flemish art. As an art historian, he is best known for his books on Rembrandt: Rembrandt: all the etchings in true size (1977), Rembrandt, his life, his paintings: a new biography (1984) and The Rembrandt Book(2006).
His Internet column, now called the Schwartzlist, appeared every other week from September 1996 to April 2007 and has been appearing since then irregularly.
In November 2009, Schwartz was awarded the coveted tri-annual Prize for the Humanities by the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation of Amsterdam.
Responses always welcome at [email protected].
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The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist; austere towers of steel and cement and limestone, sturdy as cliffs and delicate as silver rods. They were neither citadels nor churches, but frankly and beautifully office-buildings.
The mist took pity on the fretted structures of earlier generations: the Post Office with its shingle-tortured mansard, the red brick minarets of hulking old houses, factories with stingy and sooted windows, wooden tenements colored like mud. The city was full of such grotesqueries, but the clean towers were thrusting them from the business center, and on the farther hills were shining new houses, homes—they seemed—for laughter and tranquillity.
Over a concrete bridge fled a limousine of long sleek hood and noiseless engine. These people in evening clothes were returning from an all-night rehearsal of a Little Theater play, an artistic adventure considerably illuminated by champagne. Below the bridge curved a railroad, a maze of green and crimson lights. The New York Flyer boomed past, and twenty lines of polished steel leaped into the glare.
In one of the skyscrapers the wires of the Associated Press were closing down. The telegraph operators wearily raised their celluloid eye-shades after a night of talking with Paris and Peking. Through the building crawled the scrubwomen, yawning, their old shoes slapping. The dawn mist spun away. Cues of men with lunch-boxes clumped toward the immensity of new factories, sheets of glass and hollow tile, glittering shops where five thousand men worked beneath one roof, pouring out the honest wares that would be sold up the Euphrates and across the veldt. The whistles rolled out in greeting a chorus cheerful as the April dawn; the song of labor in a city built—it seemed—for giants.II
There was nothing of the giant in the aspect of the man who was beginning to awaken on the sleeping-porch of a Dutch Colonial house in that residential district of Zenith known as Floral Heights.
His name was George F. Babbitt. He was forty-six years old now, in April, 1920, and he made nothing in particular, neither butter nor shoes nor poetry, but he was nimble in the calling of selling houses for more than people could afford to pay.
His large head was pink, his brown hair thin and dry. His face was babyish in slumber, despite his wrinkles and the red spectacle-dents on the slopes of his nose. He was not fat but he was exceedingly well fed; his cheeks were pads, and the unroughened hand which lay helpless upon the khaki-colored blanket was slightly puffy. He seemed prosperous, extremely married and unromantic; and altogether unromantic appeared this sleeping-porch, which looked on one sizable elm, two respectable grass-plots, a cement driveway, and a corrugated iron garage. Yet Babbitt was again dreaming of the fairy child, a dream more romantic than scarlet pagodas by a silver sea.
For years the fairy child had come to him. Where others saw but Georgie Babbitt, she discerned gallant youth. She waited for him, in the darkness beyond mysterious groves. When at last he could slip away from the crowded house he darted to her. His wife, his clamoring friends, sought to follow, but he escaped, the girl fleet beside him, and they crouched together on a shadowy hillside. She was so slim, so white, so eager! She cried that he was gay and valiant, that she would wait for him, that they would sail—
Rumble and bang of the milk-truck.
Babbitt moaned, turned over, struggled back toward his dream. He could see only her face now, beyond misty waters. The furnace-man slammed the basement door. A dog barked in the next yard. As Babbitt sank blissfully into a dim warm tide, the paper-carrier went by whistling, and the rolled-up Advocate thumped the front door. Babbitt roused, his stomach constricted with alarm. As he relaxed, he was pierced by the familiar and irritating rattle of some one cranking a Ford: snap-ah-ah, snap-ah-ah, snap-ah-ah. Himself a pious motorist, Babbitt cranked with the unseen driver, with him waited through taut hours for the roar of the starting engine, with him agonized as the roar ceased and again began the infernal patient snap-ah-ah—a round, flat sound, a shivering cold-morning sound, a sound infuriating and inescapable. Not till the rising voice of the motor told him that the Ford was moving was he released from the panting tension. He glanced once at his favorite tree, elm twigs against the gold patina of sky, and fumbled for sleep as for a drug. He who had been a boy very credulous of life was no longer greatly interested in the possible and improbable adventures of each new day.
He escaped from reality till the alarm-clock rang, at seven-twenty.III
It was the best of nationally advertised and quantitatively produced alarm-clocks, with all modern attachments, including cathedral chime, intermittent alarm, and a phosphorescent dial. Babbitt was proud of being awakened by such a rich device. Socially it was almost as creditable as buying expensive cord tires.
He sulkily admitted now that there was no more escape, but he lay and detested the grind of the real-estate business, and disliked his family, and disliked himself for disliking them. The evening before, he had played poker at Vergil Gunch’s till midnight, and after such holidays he was irritable before breakfast. It may have been the tremendous home-brewed beer of the prohibition era and the cigars to which that beer enticed him; it may have been resentment of return from this fine, bold man-world to a restricted region of wives and stenographers, and of suggestions not to smoke so much.
From the bedroom beside the sleeping-porch, his wife’s detestably cheerful “Time to get up, Georgie boy,” and the itchy sound, the brisk and scratchy sound, of combing hairs out of a stiff brush.
He grunted; he dragged his thick legs, in faded baby-blue pajamas, from under the khaki blanket; he sat on the edge of the cot, running his fingers through his wild hair, while his plump feet mechanically felt for his slippers. He looked regretfully at the blanket—forever a suggestion to him of freedom and heroism. He had bought it for a camping trip which had never come off. It symbolized gorgeous loafing, gorgeous cursing, virile flannel shirts.
He creaked to his feet, groaning at the waves of pain which passed behind his eyeballs. Though he waited for their scorching recurrence, he looked blurrily out at the yard. It delighted him, as always; it was the neat yard of a successful business man of Zenith, that is, it was perfection, and made him also perfect. He regarded the corrugated iron garage. For the three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth time in a year he reflected, “No class to that tin shack. Have to build me a frame garage. But by golly it’s the only thing on the place that isn’t up-to-date!” While he stared he thought of a community garage for his acreage development, Glen Oriole. He stopped puffing and jiggling. His arms were akimbo. His petulant, sleep-swollen face was set in harder lines. He suddenly seemed capable, an official, a man to contrive, to direct, to get things done.
On the vigor of his idea he was carried down the hard, clean, unused-looking hall into the bathroom.
Though the house was not large it had, like all houses on Floral Heights, an altogether royal bathroom of porcelain and glazed tile and metal sleek as silver. The towel-rack was a rod of clear glass set in nickel. The tub was long enough for a Prussian Guard, and above the set bowl was a sensational exhibit of tooth-brush holder, shaving-brush holder, soap-dish, sponge-dish, and medicine-cabinet, so glittering and so ingenious that they resembled an electrical instrument-board. But the Babbitt whose god was Modern Appliances was not pleased. The air of the bathroom was thick with the smell of a heathen toothpaste. “Verona been at it again! ’Stead of sticking to Lilidol, like I’ve re-peat-ed-ly asked her, she’s gone and gotten some confounded stinkum stuff that makes you sick!”
The bath-mat was wrinkled and the floor was wet. (His daughter Verona eccentrically took baths in the morning, now and then.) He slipped on the mat, and slid against the tub. He said “Damn!” Furiously he snatched up his tube of shaving-cream, furiously he lathered, with a belligerent slapping of the unctuous brush, furiously he raked his plump cheeks with a safety-razor. It pulled. The blade was dull. He said, “Damn—oh—oh—damn it!”
He hunted through the medicine-cabinet for a packet of new razor-blades (reflecting, as invariably, “Be cheaper to buy one of these dinguses and strop your own blades,”) and when he discovered the packet, behind the round box of bicarbonate of soda, he thought ill of his wife for putting it there and very well of himself for not saying “Damn.” But he did say it, immediately afterward, when with wet and soap-slippery fingers he tried to remove the horrible little envelope and crisp clinging oiled paper from the new blade.
Then there was the problem, oft-pondered, never solved, of what to do with the old blade, which might imperil the fingers of his young. As usual, he tossed it on top of the medicine-cabinet, with a mental note that some day he must remove the fifty or sixty other blades that were also temporarily piled up there. He finished his shaving in a growing testiness increased by his spinning head- ache and by the emptiness in his stomach. When he was done, his round face smooth and streamy and his eyes stinging from soapy water, he reached for a towel. The family towels were wet, wet and clammy and vile, all of them wet, he found, as he blindly snatched them—his own face-towel, his wife’s, Verona’s, Ted’s, Tinka’s, and the lone bath-towel with the huge welt of initial. Then George F. Babbitt did a dismaying thing. He wiped his face on the guest-towel! It was a pansy-embroidered trifle which always hung there to indicate that the Babbitts were in the best Floral Heights society. No one had ever dared to. No guest had ever dared to. Guests secretively took a corner of the nearest regular towel.
He was raging, “By golly, here they go and use up all the towels, every doggone one of ’em, and they use ’em and get ’em all wet and sopping, and never put out a dry one for me—of course, I’m the goat!—and then I want one and— I’m the only person in the doggone house that’s got the slightest doggone bit of consideration for other people and thoughtfulness and consider there may be others that may want to use the doggone bathroom after me and consider—”
He was pitching the chill abominations into the bath-tub, pleased by the vindictiveness of that desolate flapping sound; and in the midst his wife serenely trotted in, observed serenely, “Why Georgie dear, what are you doing? Are you going to wash out the towels? Why, you needn’t wash out the towels. Oh, Georgie, you didn’t go and use the guest-towel, did you?”
It is not recorded that he was able to answer.
For the first time in weeks he was sufficiently roused by his wife to look at her.
Excerpted from Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis. Copyright © 2002 by Sinclair Lewis. Excerpted by permission of Modern Library, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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I’ve had an *interesting* week, to say the least. So when I opened a packed from Random House and saw a book with monarch butterflies on the cover, it was like it was meant to be. The book had not even been on my radar, but I settled in to read it.
Told in a series of vignettes, To Come and Go Like Magic is the story of twelve-year-old Chili Sue Mahoney. Growing up in 1970′s Kentucky in Appalachia country, Chili dreams of growing up and getting out. Her family and friends can’t understand why she would want to leave home but Chili can’t understand why they won’t let her. But when Miss Matlock is brought in as the new 7th grade substitute teacher, Chili and her friend Willie Bright are both excited. Miss Matlock has traveled around the globe. Town gossips can’t understand she’s come back to the town she grew up in after all this time. Both children are forbidden to befriend her but eagerly start spending time at her house, despite the rumors. As the three spend time together, Chili learns about the world outside Appalachia- rain forests, jungles, foreign lands. But Miss Matlock also teaches her that there’s more to Mercy Hill, Kentucky than Chili gives it credit for: there is beauty all over Mercy Hill, in the most unexpected places.
The vignette style serves this book well. The story flows well without seeming disjointed. At the same time, the reader is able to move through time with Chili without getting bogged down in mundane details. The vignettes reminded me a lot of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Both focus on a different culture and share the stories through small stories. While Appalachia isn’t a different “culture” for some, it is drastically different from the environment of my students.
There was only one point that bugged me in the story, and most likely no one else will notice. The time period is given as 1970′s Kentucky. However, Miss Matlock tells Chili about the monarch butterfly migration to Mexico. It wasn’t until 1976 that Dr. Fred Urquhart published his findings of the monarch migration in National Geographic. I guess the story could take place in the late 1970′s, but that small detail nagged at me throughout the book. Most people didn’t know about the migration to Mexico until well after the 1970′s and the actual location wasn’t shared by Dr. Urquhart until many years later.
Regardless of the monarch connection (a very small one), this was a great story and one I look forward to recommending to my students.
*Review copy courtesy of publisher
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I do enjoy Bev Bos! That woman is in a league of her own! Well, it’s thanks to Bev that I’ve learned the secret to great shaving cream painting! In the past, I’ve had children paint with colored shaving cream, and they’ve had a great experience, but unless they spread the foam out, once that foam’s dry, it all seems to fall apart. Enter Bev. Her big secret is to add equal parts Elmer’s glue and shaving cream and whip them together. Then add your color and you’re good to go!
One of the best kinds of fingerpaints ever! (Great with brushes too for the mess-avoidant child.) You can add glitter right to it, or let the little ones sprinkle it on top. It’s still fragile after it dries, but it does hold it’s shape- and the sparkles- much better than shaving cream alone!
It’s a great sensory activity, creative activity, and small motor activity. And really, it’s just plain fun! Who can walk past a pot of colorful foam and not want to join in? And as I look at these projects, and think of Bev Bos, I’m reminded of her statement, “children have to use too much”. It’s not a judgemental statement, it’s a reminder of the exuberance with which they approach art. So be prepared to supply them with “too much” of your art supplies! In fact, I’ve learned that when given a shaker of glitter, the typical child will empty it entirely onto one piece of paper. It doesn’t really seem to matter whether the shaker had .8 oz or 18 oz! So I now use a smaller amount in the shakers (or smaller shakers) and refill them if needed for the next child. That way, each child can have the satisfaction of emptying the container! ♥
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The TV dinner was a prepackaged meal which could be easily purchased frozen in a supermarket and heated at home that was introduced in the 1950s. It was intended to be eaten in front of the television. They were an early application of cryogenics.
Trip Tucker had difficulty believing T'Pol's second foremother, T'Mir, and her stranded Vulcan crewmates had crashed on Earth, hustled a game of pool, and lived on TV dinners in 1957. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")
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ASIA NEWS NETWORK
WE KNOW ASIA BETTER
Chance to step back from the brink
Publication Date : 23-05-2012
Though rounds of talks have achieved no concrete progress in finding a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, the most recent talks in Istanbul seem to have defused the tensions to some extent.
However, people should not be too optimistic about the talks in Baghdad on Wednesday. Each time the P5+1 countries - Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany - have held talks with Iran there has been an easing of tensions only for them to intensify again later.
A critical issue now is how much time remains for diplomacy and sanctions to work before the US and/or Israel decide military action is the only way to prevent Iran possessing nuclear weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that nothing would be better than a diplomatic solution to the problem, but he said Iran is just using the talks to "buy time". He did not give any ultimatums but he told US president Barack Obama in March that Israel is prepared to launch air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities with or without US backing in order to stop what it perceives as a threat to its existence.
Adding to the international pressure, US ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said on May 15 that the necessary planning for US military action against Iran had been done and it was not just available, "but ready".
For Israel, Teheran must stop enriching uranium. But Iran is unwilling to abandon its "right" to nuclear weapons when Israel is widely believed to have them already.
US President Obama discussed the Iran nuclear issue with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House in early March. Obama said he believes there is still a window for a diplomatic solution to be found, but Teheran needs to abandon its plan to develop nuclear weapons. The US has no objection to Iran's nuclear programme if it is geared to peaceful purposes.
Obama even asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to deliver a message to the supreme spiritual leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in order to help defuse tension in the Persian Gulf.
More specifically, Obama requested that the Iranian spiritual leader backed up his public announcement that Iran would never pursue a nuclear programme, as "holding these arms is a sin as well as useless, harmful and dangerous". Because Iran has multiple centres of power, the US apparently hopes that the supreme leader has the greatest influence in the country.
Western countries believe that if Iran develops nuclear missiles it will inevitably encourage Islamic extremists throughout the world to challenge the current international rules and the core interests of Western countries. So the message Obama delivered to the Iranian supreme spiritual leader in March had two meanings: On the one hand, Obama obviously made his proposal to highlight the role of diplomacy and economic sanctions. On the other, his message could also be understood as a warning, the delivery of such a soft message if ignored could justify massive air strikes against those nuclear facilities in Iran if Teheran adheres to its nuclear weapons programme.
The arrival of International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano and his two aides in Teheran on Monday suggests Iran wants to avoid military confrontation.
But it is trying to win support and fight back. On Sunday, Iran's economic minister warned the upcoming European Union embargo on Iranian oil could lead to the price of oil soaring to $160 a barrel this summer and said Iran would never give up its nuclear programme, which it insists is for peaceful energy purposes.
Iran has called for the sanctions against the country to be lifted at the Baghdad talks, but in return the P5+1 countries will want proof that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Although many analysts believe the US and Israel are divided on the issue, the possibility of military action by either or both cannot be ruled out unless there is further progress made in Baghdad.
The author is a research associate at the centre for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University in California, US.
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The City’s transportation agency will decide in September whether to pursue an enforcement program that would allow cameras affixed on street sweeping vehicles to ticket motorists for illegally parking.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency already has a similar video program on its buses, where cameras snap photos of cars parked in transit-only lanes. The owners of those vehicles are sent a citation without ever being approached by a parking-control officer.
For the past year, the agency has outfitted two street sweeping machines with cameras in an effort to determine if clear video footage of license plates can be captured via the equipment. In September, agency officials will recommend whether to expand the program and begin issuing citations, spokesman Paul Rose said.
The street sweeping camera program could help the agency redeploy its parking control officers to cover The City more effectively. A recent city controller’s report highlighted the flaws of the SFMTA’s parking control program, which lacks the numbers for adequate citywide enforcement. The controller’s report recommended expanding the street cleaning camera program to ease the burden on the agency’s 221 active parking control officers.
However, the program faces many obstacles. Technical flaws in the cameras’ setup result in many license plate images being blurry, concealed or illegible, according to the report. There also is a chance that the cameras could snap up photos and send out citations to legally parked cars.
And there is growing public sentiment against the transportation agency leaning on motorists to balance its budget. An online petition is circulating asking the California Senate to step in and prevent the agency from implementing the street sweeping camera program. Several neighborhood groups also have been established to fight the installation of new parking meters on city streets.
SFMTA Transportation Director Ed Reiskin recently announced plans to raise $7 million in extra funds by redeploying the agency’s parking control officers to capture more citation revenue. The agency’s camera program currently operates on 30 Muni buses. In 2011, those 30 cameras netted an additional $314,385 for the agency, and there are plans to expand the program to cover the entire Muni fleet by next year.
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Kiribati to buy land in Fiji before rising sea levels swallow the island nation – ‘Relocating the whole country is our last option’Posted by Jim at Monday, February 04, 2013
By Mereseini Marau
4 February 2013
NEW DELHI (Fiji Times) – The government of Kiribati will buy about 6000 acres of land near Savusavu for its food security as the country has started feeling the effects of the rising sea level.
And it will ensure that it protects whatever part of Kiribati that can be saved from the wrath of climate change.
In an interview, Kiribati President Anote Tong who was in New Delhi for the 12th Delhi Suistanable Development Summit, said the last thing he wanted was for people to panic.
"We are buying this land in Vanua Levu, near Savusavu, to address our food security and not for the relocation of our people," he said.
"The survey is concluded and we are now waiting for the approval of the Minister of Lands."
Mr Tong who has been advocating about the adverse effects of climate change in his small island state said that a whole community in Kiribati had relocated and the frequency of those relocating was more often now than before.
"We don't want our people to panic," he reiterated. Mr Tong said they were training people on what to expect if they were to relocate.
"We are not picking them up and relocating them. We are training them and they have a choice if they want to move."
Mr Tong said they did not want people to say they relocated because of climate change but because they had a choice to do so. With some of the islands on the verge of sinking in Kiribati, the first citizen of that small island state said everyone accepted that they could not save all their islands by building them up.
But, he said, that they would do everything they could do to ensure that they did not lose their nation to the rising sea level.
"We have accepted that we can't keep everyone in Kiribati, some will have to relocate. Relocating the whole country is our last option.
"We will try and build up some of our islands, but we can't do that for all. Nobody is going to give us the money to build up all our islands," he said. [more]
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Christian TV: does that bring to mind endless televangelists, some of them very good teachers and preachers, but many seem much too slick (bad haircuts and gaudy furniture on the set)? Most of the general public doesn't' even know that there is such a thing as “Christian TV”. Dish, cable and now the internet have opened up unbelievable new access to programming of all kinds (and much of it of a kind no one should watch).
Recently I discovered on the internet “God's Learning Channel”. Located in Texas,this online and satellite network features programming unavailable elsewhere including video on demand of most of their programs. Since most of my study resources are web based (I live and work on a ranch), I gave it a test drive. To my growing amazement and knowledge base, there is real gold there. In particular is a series of programs on the concept of Hebraic Roots, studying the world of the first century when Jesus brought into this world the redemption we were dying for. The Hebrew concept of thinking and realizing the world around them was immeasurably different from the way the Greeks,Romans and we ourselves see reality. When you think it over carefully, the early church was already seeing different teachers spin off parts of Yeshua's mission into their own particular ideas. Even Paul said that there were people in the churches he planted that were following the teachers not the Messiah. Perhaps the most damaging and best known of these new sects were the Gnostic who placed entirely different meanings to Yeshua's words and added their own ideas. The recent controversy over the National Geographic article on the Gospel of Judas (he never write one, please stick to geography,thank you !) is the best known example. The Edict of Milan whereby Constantine allowed the previously persecuted Christians to now be the state sanctioned religion of the Roman Empire began an adaptive and assimilation process where the church added Roman types of structure, practices, holidays and even adaption of some pagan practices (now Christianized) into the liturgy and lifestyle believers.
Our Bible today is often published in “updated” and specially edited versions to fit into issues we face. There are versions for personal application, lifestyle, missions, etc. The Basic Bible has had different emphases placed upon it for the reader. Much of this grows out of the Reformation and the growth of denominations, each separating due to a disagreement or influence on an issue which the members felt to deserve a new congregation. How different this is from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,Joseph, Moses,the Prophets and Yeshua. They knew One God, spoke one language of worship, and knew one Law. Today's rediscovery of the “ancient methods” is a growing movement to return to a time where the Word was understood in a way that everyone could grasp. Ancient Hebrew had an agricultural and biological understanding, it was a concrete language. Remember the parables Yeshua taught ? Almost all had an agricultural understanding. The Pharisees and Sadducees who had “revised” the Law had spent so much time reading, revising, studying, debating etc. that they had lost touch with the soil and flocks ( the classic city people versus farm folk comparison). They didn't understand what Yeshua said because they preferred their own meaning to God's.
Several teachers stand out on GLC, Brad Scott of Wildbranch Ministries. His concept of Agri-Bio Linguistics is intriguing and draws a student deeper and deeper into the gold mine of the Word.Avi Ben Mordechai delves deep into word meanings and the concept that the Bible is an intricately interwoven, inspired work. You cannot isolate sections all relate to one another. Avi is direct, friendly and challenges you to "check it out for yourself", as the Bereans did and were rewarded for doing so. The further away we traveled from God's inspired words by adding our own spins, versions, interpretations etc. the more we could read into it and get around His commandments and Law. Rationalizing has never been so easy as it is now. We have an emerging church, prosperity gospel, liberation theology, social gospel, liberal and conservative congregations, even the Unitarian Universalists who have a place for pagans and Wicca in their “fellowships”.
Maybe its time to get back to our roots before the concrete sets over them and hardens. Our goal is to make our lives relevant to the Bible and not the other way around. Check it out: www.ptcbglc.com/
Read more articles by Tom Brennan or search for articles on the same topic or others.
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Wyoming has rolled out Google Apps for Government for all state workers, the first state-wide implementation of the cloud platform in the U.S.
Officials marked the completion of the migration of about 10,000 users Wednesday with a "ribbon cutting" that had Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead cutting a networking cable instead of a ribbon.
Flint Waters, Wyoming's CIO, said he expects to save more than $1 million a year in costs associated with running at least 13 separate email systems, including Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise. The entire transition, from the time the state signed the deal, took about eight months, he said.
The move to Google allows state agencies to function more as a unified enterprise around a single domain instead of disparate IT islands, said Waters. Accomplishing that required changes in how people thought about IT in state government, he said.
"You're talking about changing a mindset about operating at a department level to operating at an enterprise level," said Waters.
Key to the project's success was support from top management -- in this case, the governor -- for the migration, said Waters. "You need that type of support, that type of buy-in, when you are shifting that dramatically," he said.
State governments, as well as federal agencies, are gradually moving email services to the cloud. The City of Los Angeles has moved to Google, and Colorado has a statewide effort under way, although sign-up is voluntary.
Microsoft is also gaining some big contracts . Last December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was moving 120,000 users to Microsoft Online Services, which includes messaging and collaboration.
A major gain with the new system in Wyoming is collaboration, said Waters. That includes the use of text chats and video for face-to-face discussions, as well as shared work on documents. "There is not the travel, there is not the scheduling challenge," said Waters.
Shawn McCarthy, an analyst at IDC, said it may be easier for the smaller states, such as Wyoming, to move to cloud platforms because they may have less integration issues.
There is a lot of potential to a cloud move, said McCarthy, though for some states the migration and integration challenges may be too costly to justify the expense.
Google Apps for Government is a version of Google's app offering that includes Federal Information Security Management Act ( FISMA ) certification. It also includes 25GB of storage per user, Google Docs, Calendar and Web page development, called Google Sites.
Waters said that Google's uptime record exceeds his state agencies.
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed . His e-mail address is [email protected] .
Read more about cloud computing in Computerworld's Cloud Computing Topic Center.
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Statement by Congressman David Dreier and Jane Harman on Egyptian Presidential Elections
“Once again the Egyptian people have shown their determination to build the first democratically-elected government in modern Egyptian history. We have been in Cairo to witness this important next step. It was an inspiration to see the palpable excitement of Egyptians from all walks of life lining up to cast their ballots to choose their President and shape the future direction of this great country.
The voters and judges we met were pleased with how well the process went. A number of mistakes from the parliamentary elections had been corrected. Egypt appears to have done well under challenging economic and political circumstances.
The vote count is now underway. We look forward to closely following the next steps in this election as Egypt completes its transformation to a representative democracy with a constitution that guarantees the rights of men and women.”
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GUIDE TO NEW RIGS AND RIG FLOOR EQUIPMENT 2010
Newbuild Report: New rig orders indicate brighter times ahead
Despite an uncertain deepwater regulatory regime, shipyards are busy with 109 offshore drilling units under construction or on order.
Justin Smith, Offshore Rig Data Editor
To say that 2010 has been a tumultuous year for the offshore oil and gas industry would be something of an understatement. Following the sinking of Transocean semisubmersible Deepwater Horizon in April and the subsequent oil spill from the Macondo well in the US Gulf of Mexico, considerable scrutiny has been applied to offshore exploration and production activities around the globe.
Although it did not receive nearly as much media attention, the sinking of another rig in May, this time Aban Offshore’s semisubmersible Aban Pearl off the coast of Venezuela, did not help to assuage the fears of politicians and concerned citizens. Governments around the world began to reevaluate their offshore drilling regulations, particularly when it came to deepwater work, but only the United States imposed any sort of drilling ban.
Despite the troubles in the US Gulf of Mexico and the international economic recession, many of the offshore oil and gas markets in the rest of the world are recovering, Table 1. Oil companies are beginning to generate higher profits, leading to greater investments. Recent rig orders that rig contractors have placed with shipyards are a clear indicator that strength and confidence are returning to the industry.
|TABLE 1. Rig count by region
DEEPWATER GULF IN LIMBO
Even though the US Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling moratorium was lifted in October, permitting has been another issue altogether. Operators and rig owners are in the process of recertifying their blowout preventers (BOPs), but not a single drilling permit has been awarded for deepwater drilling, not even for rigs with approved BOPs. Operators fear that it may still be months before any permits are issued, which many industry representatives argue is, in effect, keeping the drilling ban alive.
At the moment, according to World Oil’s RigStar global offshore rig database, there are nearly 25 deepwater-capable drillships and semis in the US Gulf that are on standby awaiting permits. A few of these rigs have picked up brief workover assignments, which is an activity that was never obstructed by the drilling moratorium, but most are simply waiting on location.
The owners of many of these rigs have come to agreements with operators for reduced standby rates, which will be in place until they can begin drilling again. BP is paying $360,000 per day to keep Pride International drillship Deep Ocean Ascension in the US Gulf, but will return to paying $540,000 when drilling commences. Noble Drilling semi Noble Clyde Boudreaux is earning $145,000 per day now from Noble Energy, but will return to $397,000. Semis Deepwater Nautilus and Ensco 8502 are also earning standby rates from Shell and Nexen, respectively. The contracts for these rigs will be extended by the amount of time that they are idle.
|TABLE 2. Mobile offshore drilling units under construction or on order
Other operators have opted to move their contracted rigs out of the US Gulf in an attempt fulfill other drilling requirements elsewhere, while still paying a full day rate. Statoil chose to move Transocean drillship Discoverer Americas to the Mediterranean Sea to temporarily work offshore Egypt, while another Transocean rig, semisubmersible Transocean Marianas, was moved to Nigerian waters by Eni. Murphy Oil moved Diamond Offshore semi Ocean Confidence to the Congo, but will return the rig to the US Gulf in the first quarter of 2011.
Meanwhile, other operators are declaring force majeure with their rig contracts. Anadarko has declared force majeure in relation to semisubmersibles Ocean Monarch and Noble Amos Runner, and Statoil has done the same with semi Maersk Developer (Fig. 1) and Transocean drillship Discoverer Deep Seas.
Norway’s Statoil declared force majeure on its contract for the Maersk Developer semisubmersible in June, during the US Gulf of Mexico deepwater drilling moratorium. Before resuming its original contract with Statoil, the semi will first drill a well for ExxonMobil, which should be complete in the early spring.
Rig owners and the operators continue to attempt to settle these force majeure claims. One settlement option is for the operator to cancel the contract and pay a termination fee. The first rig to leave the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the drilling moratorium followed this course; Devon Energy terminated its contract of Diamond semi Ocean Endeavor with a $31 million fee. The rig is now working for Burullus Gas Co. off the coast of Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea.
NEW WAVE OF RIG CONSTRUCTION
Not surprisingly, the combination of a global economic recession, reduced oil and gas prices, and a weakening in the demand for energy led to few new rigs being ordered from shipyards throughout most of 2010. However, early in the fourth quarter, a number of new rigs, specifically jackups, have been ordered.
On Oct. 1, Atwood Oceanics executed construction agreements with PPL Shipyard in Singapore to construct two Pacific Class 400 jackups. These new rigs, which are scheduled for delivery on Sept. 30 and Dec. 31, 2012, will each have a rated water depth of 400 ft. The total cost of each rig is about $190 million. Atwood and PPL have also arranged option agreements for up to three additional Pacific Class 400 jackups.
Mermaid Maritime has entered into a letter of intent with Keppel FELS to build two jackup rigs with options for another two jackups for a new Mermaid-led joint venture named Asia Offshore Drilling (AOD). The letter of intent has a combined value of about $360 million, with each of the first two rigs valued at $180 million. If exercised, the options for the additional two rigs are expected to bring the total contract value to more than $700 million.
The two Mermaid jackups are scheduled for delivery on Dec. 1, 2012, and March 1, 2013. All four of the rigs will be based on Keppel FELS’s KFELS B Class proprietary design, each with the capability of operating in up to 350 ft of water.
Also in Singapore, Seadrill has entered into an agreement for the construction of two jackup rigs with Jurong Shipyard. The new units, which will be built to Friede & Goldman’s JU2000E design, are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013, with a total price of $400 million. The rigs will be able to drill to 30,000 ft while working in up to 400 ft of water. In addition, Seadrill has options for the construction of up to four more jackups at Jurong.
Not all of the rig orders were placed with Singaporean shipyards. Seadrill placed an order in mid-November for two more F&G JU2000E jackups to be built at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Offshore Co. (DSIC). These units are scheduled for delivery from the Chinese yard in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, respectively. Seadrill has options with DSIC for the construction of two additional jackups.
In the Middle East, Eurasia Drilling entered into a letter of intent with Lamprell to build a new jackup rig destined for Caspian Sea operations. The new jackup will be built to the Letourneau Super 116 E design, with the hull and related components to be pre-fabricated by Lamprell at its Sharjah, UAE, facility. The remaining component fabrication, final assembly and commissioning will be performed at a shipyard in the Caspian Sea. The rig will be designed to operate in water depths to 350 ft and drill to a total depth of 30,000 ft. Construction is expected to be complete at the end of 2012.
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries on Nov. 11 received an order for two dynamically positioned, dual-derrick drillships from Seadrill. Capable of operating in up to 12,000 ft of water, the rigs are scheduled for delivery in the first and second quarters of 2013. In addition, the Norwegian contractor can order two more drillships from Samsung through an option that can be exercised in the first quarter of 2011.
At the moment, 109 mobile offshore drilling units are under construction or on order around the world, according to World Oil’s RigStar, Table 2. Of those 109 rigs, 45 are jackups, 34 are drillships, 27 are semisubmersibles and the final three are tenders.
Seventeen rigs that were originally scheduled for delivery in 2010 have yet to be delivered, and the vast majority of those will be pushed back to 2011 or beyond. Currently, 54 rigs are scheduled for delivery in 2011, with 31 more planned for 2012. Only seven rigs are scheduled for delivery in 2013, but that number is certain to climb as rig deliveries slip back and new rig orders are placed.
Recent rig deliveries include two jackups, COSL 921 and COSL 922, which were delivered to China Oilfield Services Ltd. from the Huangdao Shipyard of Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. in Qingdao, China, on Oct. 31. The rigs are cantilever jackups built to the Friede and Goldman L-780 Mod II design. They are designed to operate in water depths up to 200 ft with a maximum drilling depth capability of 20,000 ft. Both rigs are now working in China’s Bohai Bay.
Meanwhile, Keppel FELS delivered the first of three KFELS N-Class jackup rigs being built for Rowan Companies. The rig, Rowan Viking, can operate in up to 430 ft of water and drill to a total depth of 35,000 ft. Construction of the remaining two KFELS N-Class rigs, the Rowan Stavanger and the Rowan Norway, are on schedule with expected deliveries in the first and second quarters of 2011, respectively.
Not only jackups were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2010. In addition to the two jackups COSL received, the company also took delivery of DP-3 semisubmersible COSL Pioneer on Oct. 26 from Yantai Raffles. The rig is capable of drilling to a total depth of 25,000 ft while operating in up to 2,500 ft of water. Another semi, Lone Star, was delivered Oct. 13 to Queiroz Galvão Perfuraçoes from International Metal & Construction Company Inc. (IMAC) in Abu Dhabi. While COSL Pioneer does not yet have a contract, Lone Star, which can drill to a total depth of 25,000 ft in up to 7,800 ft of water, is working off Brazil for Petrobras.
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After the infamous 9/11 attacks of 2001, there came a virulent resurgence of antisemitism reemerging in America convinced that the Jews were responsible for the terrorism. Feeding this is the repeatedly debunked book libel, Protocols of the Elders of Zion and its disguised adaptations. Director Marc Levin goes on a journey to interview the promoters of this kind of hate in all its forms. Written by
Kenneth Chisholm ([email protected])
One of the subjects from Trembling Before G-d, another American documentary concerning contemporary Jewish issues, can be seen briefly in the anti-war protest. See more »
When Marc Levin is walking up a gravel road with a white supremacist leader, the shots from behind show them passing several parked cars as they are engaged in conversation. Shots of them from the front, however, do not include these cars. In addition, the shots from behind show the two persons approaching the same cars several times. See more »
Protocols Of Zion is a bit of a fun documentary that sort of dives into the subject of anti-semitism, by covering the strange popularity of The Protocols of Elders Of Zion and how people took what was in that book as complete fact. The filmmaker, Marc Levin, takes us on a trip around North America (but mostly around New York) and talks to a wide range of folk, from Skinheads to Sikh leaders to yes, Rob Reiner, to try to get down to the Zion mystery, on the way he finds out that people make up the weirdest things about the Jews. Did you know they were pre-warned about September 11th? That they run Hollywood? These and other fallacies are explored, but rather lightly I found, nothing really extreme here.
21 of 32 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
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The Gallup data above won’t take anyone by surprise. People don’t like Congress. I’ve always assumed, however, that this sentiment wasn’t consequential. After all, most people do like (and vote for) their member of Congress, even if they hate the institution.
But I may be wrong. And, if I am wrong, House Republicans should be concerned.
That’s the implication of a recently published book—Americans, Congress, and Democratic Responsiveness—by David Jones and Monika McDermott. You can also find a distillation of part of their argument in this ungated article (pdf) by Jones.
Here’s the rub: when people dislike Congress, they punish members of the House majority and reward members of the minority. Opinions about Congress are important even when controlling for other things that affect congressional elections, such as approval of the president or economic conditions in the country. In the article, Jones finds that a ten-point decrease in approval would cost majority-party incumbents about 4 points at the polls. It would also help minority-party incumbents by a smaller amount (just over 1 point). Even more consequential for elections, these effects are larger in swing districts. And they are not going away anytime soon. Jones finds that the effect of congressional approval grew as the parties polarized, and polarized parties are here to stay for the foreseeable future.
What does this imply about the seats that will be won and lost in 2012? Jones and McDermott estimate that, in the 1974-2006 elections, a 10-point decrease in approval led to a loss of 17-seats, on average.
Political scientist Alan Abramowitz recently noted that Democrats could possibly regain the majority in the House in 2012. This low ebb in congressional approval, if it continues, will likely help.
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Sir John Phillip William Dankworth passed away on February 6, 2010.
Sir John was born in Woodford, Essex, England on September 20, 1927 into a musical family. Dankworth had piano and violin lessons from an early age, settled on clarinet at sixteen but switched to alto saxophone after hearing a recording of Johnny Hodges. John studied in Londonís Royal Academy of Music and after serving in the army began his professional career in Londonís Jazz scene. In 1949 he attended to Paris Jazz Festival and played with Charlie Parker there which led to a tour of Sweden with Sidney Bechet. Dankworth was voted musician of the year in 1949.
John formed a small group in the early 1950s and after having much success with them formed his big band in 1953. It was as a composer and arranger John would leave his mark and his big band experienced great success. They were invited to play Newport Jazz Festival in 1959, various clubs in New York City including a series sharing the stage with Duke Ellingtonís Orchestra. In the 1960s John scored music for television and film along with his performing career. In the 1960s John also served as musical director for Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole among others. Dankworth has served as Pops Musical Director for Orchestras all over the world and has received honorary doctorates from Universities around the world. John received the Freedom of the City of London in 1994 and earned knighthood in 2006 New Years Honours.
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App DescriptionThe U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 2010, comprises recommendations for the use of specific contraceptive methods by women and men who have certain characteristics or medical conditions. The app is developed directly from the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR, May 28, 2010) by the Division of Reproductive Health and covers >60 characteristics or medical conditions. The recommendations in this document are intended to assist health-care providers when they counsel women, men, and couples about contraceptive method choice. Although these recommendations are meant to serve as a source of clinical guidance, health-care providers should always consider the individual clinical circumstances of each person seeking family planning services.
May 06, 2013 New version 1.0.2
February 24, 2013 New version 1.0.1
February 08, 2013 Initial Release
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It took about nine years from an initial idea to when the doors were opened and residents could move into second-stage housing in Maple Ridge.
Alouette Heights at 222nd Street and Brown Avenue was officially opened on Wednesday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The project was first conceived almost a decade ago when the community homelessness task force recognized a need for a place where people could go to get back on their feet and transition to stable, permanent housing, according to Alouette Home Start Society's past president Sheila McLaughlin.
There was no place to go to in the community when people left emergency shelters like the Caring Place and Cythera Transition House.
Alouette Heights is a place where people come to get support and retrain so they can get their lives back together, McLaughlin said.
"They just want a place to call home," she said.
Alouette Heights was built with $8 million from the provincial government. The District of Maple Ridge donated the land, valued at about $1 million.
Residents started moving into the 45 apartments this summer and will typically live there from six months to two years. There is round-the-clock support for the residents.
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Shell VP conducts talks with Egyptian oil minister
The Shell Oil Company had invested nearly $3.5 billion in its oil and gas exploration and excavation operations in Egypt over the past 20 years, one billion of which was invested in 2001 alone stated Shell Vice President Jurgen Vir, during a recently visit to Cairo, Al-Ahram reported.
Vir conducted talks with Egyptians officials including Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmi, to discuss future expansion plans for Shell’s operations in Egypt, in a bid to increase the country’s gas and oil reserves through developing existing oil fields.
Shell in Egypt hit record production levels for gas this year, at some 700 million standard cubic feet per day, said Shell Egypt Chairman Andrew Vaughan. This output came from the company’s operations in the Badr El Din field and Rosetta field, where the DCQ (Daily Contracted Quota) has been reached.
Despite some subsurface difficulties, the Obaiyed field is also producing reasonably well, said Vaughan. "The downstream gas business is also very exciting and we are awaiting the start-up of the Fayum gas pipeline this autumn. In Egypt, some 20 percent of industry is still not connected to the gas grid and is, therefore, using imported oil, so I believe there are great opportunities for development here," he added.
Shell started its operations in Egypt in 1911, operating under the name Anglo-Egyptian Oil Company (AEO). In 1964, the company ceased operations in Egypt, when Shell was nationalized. Shell returned to Egypt in 1974 with two new concessions in the Western Desert with another partnership, Suco, in the Gulf of Suez with Deminex and BP.
In 1979, Shell Egypt N.V. was established, when it started its ventures with the Badr El-Din and Sitra concessions, managed through the sister company Bapetco. The partnership with EGPC was established in 1983.
Shell Egypt N.V. is involved in major exploration and production activities throughout Egypt, including the Obayied, NE Abu Al-Gharadiq, South Balayim, Rosetta Offshore, Matruh On & Offshore projects, North Rahmi, North Abu Rudies and NW Demiatta. In 1998, Shell Egypt N.V. was awarded a deepwater block in the Mediterranean of some 43,000 square kilometers. — (menareport.com)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
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Women are by nature less muscular than men, and upper body definition can be a nagging problem we face throughout our lives. By adding yoga poses such as Plank pose and Side Plank pose to your daily yoga sequence, you’ll see a difference you’ll love in the way you look in any sleeveless fashion. Here’s how you’ll get those toned arms.
Adding these asanas to your existing yoga routine is easily done by moving into Downward Facing Dog and then proceeding. Popular sequences, such as the Sun Salutation, is ideal, and is what I use to accomplish this. However, if you use a simple warm-up first, such as a few minutes on the elliptical, you can perform these two asanas as a quick stand-alone target routine, which is also ideal when you’re pressed for time.
These poses are simple, but not easy. So if you’re a beginner the times noted here will not be possible. Cut them in half, or less, to start out, and work your way up. Slow, steady progress is the way of yoga, and its effectiveness is truly remarkable. Let’s have a look at the poses that can really get you nice, beautiful and toned arms.
Plank Pose For Toned Arms
- Start in Down Dog. Inhale and draw your torso forward until your arms are perpendicular to the floor and your shoulders are directly over your wrists. Your torso should be parallel to the floor.
- Press your outer arms inward and keep the bases of your index fingers strong and stable; pushing into the floor. Pull your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine.
- Lower your hips and tailbone toward the floor as you lengthen toward your heels. Lift the base of your head away from the back of your neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping your throat and eyes soft. This pose is the start of what has become the traditional push-up, and that’s how it will feel.
Hold 30 seconds to 60 seconds.
Side Plank Pose For Toned Arms
- Start in Down Dog. Shift onto the outside edge of your left foot, and stack your right foot on top of the left. Now swing your right hand onto your right hip, turn your torso to the right as you do, and support the weight of your body on the outer left foot and left hand. Make sure that the supporting hand isn’t directly below its shoulder.
- Position the hand slightly in front of its shoulder, so the supporting arm is angled a bit relative to the floor. Straighten the arm by firming the triceps muscle, and press the base of the index finger firmly against the floor.
- Strengthen the thighs, and press through the heels toward the floor. Align your entire body into one long diagonal line from your heels to the top of your head.
Hold your position for 15 to 30 seconds.
Side Plank Modification for toned arms: If you’re more experienced, you can stretch the top arm up, toward the ceiling, parallel to the line of the shoulders. Keep the head in a neutral position, or turn it to gaze up at the top hand. This is excellent for adding the benefits of improved balance and a more graceful standing posture.
Come back to Down Dog, take a few deep, cleansing breaths, and repeat for the right side, using the same length of time as your did for the left. Then return to Down Dog for a few more breaths, and finally release to the floor.
Are you feeling your toned arms already?
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THE TIME has now come for high school graduates in Dubbo to start a new chapter in their lives, which may include applying for a TAFE or university course.
But which is the better option for students - TAFE or university?
This of course depends on the student, but there are many beneficial reasons why a school leaver should study at one or the other.
The Daily Liberal underwent an investigation into what educational institutions like Charles Sturt University (CSU) and TAFE Western have to offer students not only in Dubbo but in NSW as a whole.
Dr Beverley Moriarty, head of CSU Dubbo and the school of teacher education, said the university was dedicated to excellence in the delivery of higher education.
"Our students have the best of both worlds in more ways than one and have a range of options available," she said.
"Students can gain a cutting-edge degree and practical experiences to help ensure that they are industry ready in their field without leaving the region.
"Many students come straight to university but there are also many who study at TAFE first and then come to university."
She said people were fortunate in this region to have options that enabled students to choose the higher education pathway most appropriate for them.
"Our region needs university and TAFE graduates to sustain our workforce," she said.
TAFE Western's director of learning and engagement Jo Sedgers believed there should not be an "either/or", just as long as a student got the qualifications necessary for the job they want.
"Traditionally, students pick TAFE for a more hands-on experience, particularly for trades," Ms Sedgers said.
"People often forget that TAFE isn't just for further education, it's also second chance education. Students can prepare for university education, as well as work on their language, literacy and numeracy skills... an important thing to remember is pathway planning to university."
She said both university and TAFE worked together to help students gain the highest qualification possible, as long as it helped them get the job they wanted.
"TAFE targets different industries but we're not interested in competing with universities. Students from any background could struggle going from school straight to university...TAFE can be a pathway into university, depending on what a student wants," she said.
TAFE Western is renowned for its mining courses, mobile delivery and TAFE Connect initiative - which has helped them win Innovation and Excellence awards.
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65 brick kilns, 32 stone crushers operating unauthorizedly in JK
Jammu, Mar 28: Signifying the lackadaisical approach of the authorities towards pollution control measures, 65 brick kilns and 32 stone crushers in J&K were operating unauthorizedly during the last two years.
Data submitted to the House Committee on Environment by Pollution Control Board revealed that keeping in view the environmental concerns, the Board had ordered closure of 63 stone crushers as these were functioning in violation of norms. However, only 13 stone crusher owners closed their operation in past two years, while notices against 11 units were withdrawn after they completed the pollution control formalities. The owners of remaining eight crushers went to court and secured stay against the closure notice.
“The department has communicated the reminder letters with regard to the closure orders to the concerned Deputy Commissioners for their implementation”, PCB responded to the Committee in reply to its queries.
Committee members had directed it to furnish district wise list of crushers which were still functioning in violation of rules so that the members could take up the issue with concerned Deputy Commissioners and seek action against the violators.
Committee has also expressed dissatisfaction against the way brick kilns are openly violating the norms and the failure of the Board to enforce the same.
Referring to the records submitted by the officials, the report says that about 400 hundred brick kilns were operating in the State without formal sanction. “663 brick kilns are operating in the State out of which consent has been granted to 270, while closure orders were issued to 65 brick kilns and legal notices to 229 for violation of the norms. The fate of 99 such units has not been decided so far as their files are under process”, the report says while quoting the information furnished by the Board.
The members however took strong notice about the Board’s failure in implementing the closure orders of kilns on the ground.
The report also mentions that the Geology and Mining Department has given licenses to different parties to extract sand, stone, Bajri, Clay, Muck and Boulders at 119 mineral blocks against a fixed royalty.
Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST
- MORE FROM JAMMU
- 223 diagnostic centres, clinics registered: Javid
- Improve investigation skills: DGP
- 65 brick kilns, 32 stone crushers operating unauthorizedly in JK
- DCs appointed as licensing authorities
- Congress shortlists candidates
- SHORTAGE OF RATION IN JK
- Forest division at Sopore under consideration: Main Altaf
- Timeframe of delimitation commission extended to July 2011
- ‘Govt keen to retrieve state-owned properties’
- 'T&D network to be strengthened in Bijbehara'
Srinagar, Mar 28: Absence of institutionalized financial aid and proper medicare for recovery is devouring the lives of injured civilians who survived initial trauma during the past 20 years of conflict More
- Srinagar City
GK NEWS NETWORK
Srinagar, Mar 28: For the comfort of devotees during cold weather conditions, particularly winter, the government has installed state-of-the-art under floor heating system at Hazratbal shrine on the Dal More
Jammu, Mar 28: Minister of State for Health and Medical Education Javid Ahmad Dar today said as many as 223 registered diagnostic centres, including X-Ray units, ultra-sonography units and laboratory clinics More
- News in Brief
Srinagar, Mar 28: Kashmir Theatre Guild held a meeting on “World Theatre Day” discussing the steps to revive the art of theatre in the valley. KTG said in a statement that a meeting of theatre groups More
GK NEWS NETWORK
Jammu, Mar 28: In a move which is likely to face strong opposition from the legal fraternity, Jammu and Kashmir government Monday introduced a Bill in the state Legislative Assembly seeking re-organisation More
NISAR AHMED THOKAR
Rawalpindi, Mar 28: The Prime Minister of Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Monday said the forthcoming meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, to be held More
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|Home | Before Pickup | Starting Pickup | In The Middle Of Pickup | The End Of Pickup|
YOU are the one controls your perspective
Every experience in life that you have, and how it makes you feel, is a direct result of your perspective on life.
Let this sink in for a second, in fact, re-read that line, and stare at the ceiling thinking about it for 30 seconds.
Every experience you have and how it makes you feel is a direct result of your perspective on life.
YOU are the one who controls your perspective. No one else can change that. Unless you let them. No advice given on this forum will help you, unless you let it. Unless you absorb it. If you see something that doesn't sound right to you from your perspective, you're going to reject it. Right? Sounds like real life, right? If someone gives you advice that makes sense to you from your current perspective, you might absorb it and change a little. Yes?
What I'm saying is, advice isn't going to help you. But changing your perspective on life, will. And you're the only one who can do that, not us. Think deeper.
For example, let's say you were single. Let's say you'd been single for a year or so, and the girlfriend factor just isn't there. And you go to a bar hoping to meet some cool new girl, and hopefully take her home. You get to the bar, you talk to some new girl, she turns out awesome, but then isn't too interested in you, doesn't give you her number. You come home sad.
Let's look at the events here, with the emotions thrown out:
You were single
What you need to do is find a point of view such that however your life is going, it's seen from a perspective that your life is all right. You will not be able to convince yourself, with your current perspective, that your life is fine.
This is a subtle point I'm trying to get across, because it seems like you're already sitting there convincing yourself, "My life is good...! I have a job! My girlfriend's pretty damn cool!" But it seems like you're... well, doing just that. Convincing yourself. Or more accurately, squeezing these observations through the lens of your current perspective, and trying to make them fit so that they make you happy. This won't work! It will feel forced! You need to change your reasoning and your values. You need to realize that some of these things aren't as important as the weight you are giving them. You may need to relax. You may need to let go of life.
I recommend finding a park and laying out in the grass and staring at the clouds for one hour, once a week. Ask yourself, "What is really important in life?" Making a living so you can eat, yes. Having a woman? No. That's a bad perspective because it means you are basing your happiness in something that someone else has to give you. The only person you can rely on to make you happy is yourself, and it is done by creating a new perspective lens to see the world, through which everything you observe feels calm, happy, or peaceful.
What about being happy about having good grades, basing your value off your academic performance? Still, bad. People get burnt out, people slip. You can't pressure yourself all the time to be perfect. Because when that doesn't happen, your perspective that was causing your happiness to hinge on it, breaks. All you really need out of life is to eat and sleep and have a roof over your head, that's all that's absolutely necessary. And it's relatively easy to achieve, at least for anyone here. Obviously you're doing well enough to afford a way to connect with us through the internet, so you can afford to eat I hope.
www.seductionbase.com @2009 - The Ultimate Collection Of seduction Opener, Close Routines and Other seduction Tactics
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The White House today released a copy of President Obama’s “Certificate of Live Birth,” a document that for the first time claims Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital as the president’s birth place.
Released by the White House
The White House confirmed the document as “proof positive” the president was born in Hawaii.
According to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, Obama decided the full document was needed because of the growing questions about the president’s birth.
He described how there had been concern about the Internet “chatter” that had grown into a national political debate.
He said the president thought it was becoming a “distraction” from the issues that face the nation.
On April 22, Obama sent a letter to Hawaii authorities asking for the document.
“The President directed his counsel to review the legal authority for seeking access to the long form certificate and to request on that basis that the Hawaii State Department of Health make an exception to release a copy of his long form birth certificate. They granted that exception in part because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting,” Pfeiffer said in a statement.
Real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, a possible GOP Republican candidate in 2012, has been asking questions about Obama’s documentation for several weeks now.
“First we have to look at the certificate,” he said. “I want to look at it, but I hope it’s true, so we can get to more important national issues.”
“Why he didn’t do it when the Clintons asked for it. Why he didn’t do it when everyone else was asking about it, I don’t know,” he said.
President Barack Obama in the Oval Office April 4, 2011
“You’re going to have many people looking at it …. It’s amazing that all of a sudden it materializes. Experts will look at it … and I’m very proud that I was able to bring this to a point.”
The issue has been dogging Obama since before his election, and WND has reported on the multitude of lawsuits and other challenges to the president’s tenure in the Oval Office. They center on his status as a “natural born citizen.”
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
If the document proves valid, it could answer the questions raised by those who have alleged he was not actually born in Hawaii. But it also could prove his ineligibility because of its references to his father. Some of the cases challenging Obama have explained that he was a dual citizen through his father at his birth, and they contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born citizens.
Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of WND, the only news agency that has waged a relentless investigative campaign on questions swirling around the Obama’s eligibility for nearly three years, was elated at the turn of events.
“We’re gratified that our work has begun to pay off,” he said. “The certificate of live birth is an absolutely vital foundation for determining constitutional eligibility of any president. We look forward to reviewing it like so many other Americans do at this late date. But it is important to remember there are still dozens of other questions concerning this question of eligibility that need to be resolved to assure what has become a very skeptical public concerning Barack Obama’s parentage, his adoption, his citizenship status throughout his life and why he continues to cultivate a culture of secrecy around his life.”
Obama, addressing the White House press corps, said, “Normally, I would not comment on something like this.”
“We posted the certificate that is given by the state of Hawaii on the Internet for everybody to see. Provided an affidavit that they have seen it. Yet this thing just keeps on going.”
He boasted of giving a speech about the budget and the nation’s debt, but lamented, “during that entire week, the dominant news story wasn’t about these huge monumental choices we have to make as a nation, it was about my birth certificate.”
He said the nation can’t solve problems if “we spend time vilifying each other … if we just make stuff up and pretend facts are not facts … if we get distracted by side shows and carnival barkers.”
The Washington Times described Obama as “visibly frustrated” and noted that a recent CBS News-New York Times poll showed 45 percent of registered Republican voters believe Obama was not born in the U.S.
“I know that there’s going to be a segment of people for which, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest, but I’m speaking to the vast majority of the American people,” Obama said. “We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We’ve got better stuff to do. I’ve got better stuff to do.”
Obama was scheduled today to travel to Chicago to appear on the Oprah television show.
“The news media and the political establishment were quick to rush to judgment regarding Obama’s eligibility in 2008, without any basis. It would be a big mistake for everyone to jump to a conclusion now based on the release of this document, which raises as many questions as it answers,” Farah added.
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BMW i3 Concept
For many people though city driving is the most stressful situation you can encounter, so surely self-driving cars would make sense in crowded urban environments too?
BMW has taken us one step closer with the new 2014 BMW i3 battery-electric concept car, unveiled last week. Whilst many have been concentrating on the unusual styling and glass doors, and others the electric powertrain, the i3 also features several electronic gadgets that should make city driving a breeze.
BMW has said the i3 Concept is "designed for stress-free driving around town". Like any electric car it's already off to a good start, with a torquey electric motor offering smooth, vibration-free and silent progress without the need to shift gears. With a 170-horsepower motor, it'll be quick enough for any city driving scenario, and the small size should make it convenient and fun to nip around in, too.
However, it's features like active cruise control with stop & go, passive front protection, parking assistant and traffic jam assistant that we're interested in.
Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go is already familiar to many of us - using radar it can keep your vehicle a safe distance from the car in front, speeding up and slowing down with them at a preset distance. Even if the car in front stops, your car will do the same, and re-accelerate as they pull away again.
Passive Front Protection is featured in both the i3 and 2013 i8 sports car. Like Volvo's system it detects a collision risk ahead whether with another car or a pedestrian, before issuing a warning to the driver and if necessary, automatically braking.
BMW's Parking Assistant really does take the stress out of parking. Automated systems so far have required some level of driver interaction - usually control over the throttle and brakes, whilst the car does the steering as and when required. BMW Parking Assistant is entirely autonomous. Simply pull up beside a space and let the car do the rest...
Traffic Jam Assistant sounds quite convenient too - using the functions of Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go it both drives your vehicle along in slow-moving, stop and start traffic, but also steers you between the road markings - though it does require you to keep a hand on the wheel.
BMW i3 Concept Automated journey?
BMW i3 ConceptEnlarge Photo
All these systems take the BMW very close to being entirely autonomous.
Setting off from home you'd need to control your car initially, but once on the main road you could use active cruise control to follow another vehicle all the way into the city, only requiring you to steer yourself. Once in the city, Traffic Jam Assistant would keep you moving along until you found somewhere to park - then a simple button press and the car would slot you into a space.
With the inevitable navigation systems included on most modern cars and making further use of radar guidance, it doesn't take too great a leap before your journey could be entirely automated. You'd simply set a destination and let the car do the rest.
So who will launch the first entirely driverless car? Legalities permitting, it could well be BMW...
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Thursday, November 22, 2007
Click here for quite a sidewalk parade.
I humbly ask you to read first the translation and Bhaktivedanta purport to today's verse, the 18th verse from the Third Chapter of the Second Canto
Prabhupada sums up the whole darn situation pretty straight when he writes in the purport that "The modern man wants to live forever by the advancement of material science, and there are many foolish theories for prolonging life to the maximum duration. But the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam affirms that life is not meant for so-called economic development or advancement of materialistic science for the hedonistic philosophy of eating, mating, drinking and merrymaking. Life is solely meant for tapasya, for purifying existence so that one may enter into eternal life just after the end of the human form of life."
This pushing forward of tapasya at the expense of personal enjoyment is one of the foundations of the revolution in consciousness that we are trying to spread via the teachings of the parampara, and it is one of the most difficult aspects. After all, we know from our own personal experience, via our cultural upbringing, especially in the West, that we aren't exactly chomping at the bit to give up all we find comfortable, pleasurable, and soothing.
Prabhupada was keenly aware of this. He knew because of the various sundry influences of the age of Kali, we were not meant for the traditional forms of tapasya like sitting and fasting and controlling the breath in the examples of Parkisit Maharaja and Dhruva Maharaja.
In the purport to SB 10:3:34-35, Prabhupada writes "human life is meant not for becoming a hog or dog, but for tapo divyam [SB 5.5.1], transcendental austerity. Everyone should be taught to undergo austerity, tapasya. Although it may not be possible to undergo tapasya like that of Påçni and Sutapä, the sästra has given an opportunity for a method of tapasya very easy to perform—the sankirtan movement.....yet simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mahä-mantra (kirtanäd eva krsnasya [SB 12.3.51]), one can become so pure that one becomes free from all the contamination of this material world (mukta-saìgaù) and goes back home, back to Godhead (paraà vrajet). "
So, there's no doubt about it. We can't avoid austerity, we have to give up material sense enjoyment, but this seemingly impossible process is made easy simply by chanting, with all sincerity, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. This is the mercy of the panca-tattva.
HG Balarama Chandra Prabhu spoke nicely in relation to this in his Bhagavatam class this morning. One point he made was that when we think of establishing varnasrama, there is a tendency among devotees (myself included) to think of farm life, cow protection, and the like.
These aspects are certainly essential to Prabhupada's vision of varnasrama, but we must not forget or ignore the actual developing of the varnas, or the development of brahminical consciousness, as being the most important aspect. We can't begin to develop self-sufficient lifestyles in our communities without the proper consciousness preceding it.
This summer, I remember being told that one devotee who was visiting had been helping in some harvesting in our Garden of Seven Gates here at New Vrindaban, and at one point he suddenly got very fed up and stopped, saying that he wasn't there to do "slave work." I was very much taken aback by his strong, negative response to some very needful service. I understand more now that his consciousness was not in the right place to understand and appreciate the austerity of the service he was performing.
For anyone who harvests crops, and for anyone who's not used to harvesting crops, it is austere work. As we really don't like in this age to have to undergo austerities, unless we have developed a strong consciousness as to why we should perform services that are difficult for us, we will think of it simply as "slave work."
Chanting the maha-mantra is our main austerity, and as we develop an appreciation and real taste for the Holy Name, then we will not find other austerities so difficult.
I also like Prabhupada's image of the "polished animal" or "persons who are simply engaged in planning a better type of animal life consisting of eating, breathing and mating". These "polished animals cannot benefit suffering humanity, for an animal can easily harm another animal but rarely do good."
By doing all we can to get out onto the streets and spread the resounding sound of the Holy Name, we can provide the actual benefit, the highest benefit. We can strip away the polish, break down the animal instincts, and let the light of the soul we shine through. When we actually experience that bliss, how can anything in Krsna consciousness be considered an austerity?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Click here and here for all the mayhem!
And remember, no one may care about your soul if you smell bad...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Today we go way down, into the caverns of Manhattan known as the "subways" bringing harinama sankirtana to the nighttime travelers of NYC, and also all assembled species of animal life, such as the legendary subway rat, as we continue the Day of Harinama Madness featuring the brahmacaris of Manhattan and New Vrindaban.
Click here for all of the fun.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Also, to back up a bit, here's Part 2 of the madness, as HH Radhanath Swami leads the assembled masses at Radha-Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn.
Wow, three videos in one! Don't hurt yourself!
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In the late spring of 1969 four members of the teaching staff in the Sculpture Department at St. Martins School of Art in London began work on a project for students who would be entering the new three-year degree programme in the autumn. Their unique pedagogic experiment, which came to be known as the ‘A’ Course, was an extraordinary and inventive teaching programme that had a significant impact on what was taking place in British art education at the time. Because of its highly unorthodox nature the ‘A’ Course was widely known and largely misunderstood; it would not be unfair to say it was notorious.
As part of a process of re-activating the past and involving original participants, MayDay Rooms has been in contact with former ‘A’ Course tutors/staff Garth Evans, Gareth Jones and Peter Kardia and students who have kindly participated, donated and loaned material. This ongoing ‘A’ Course Collection also opens onto other, less well known avenues taken by ‘A’ Course students in the 1970s including the Manydeed Group and the Poster Film Collective.
‘A’ Course tutor/staff Peter Harvey interviewed by Christopher Burstall for Omnibus; A Question of Feeling. First broadcast on the BBC September 9, 1973.
‘A’ Course Collections spreadsheet. Showing historical material held, identified or ‘in process’ at MayDay Rooms as of March 2013.
‘Locker Project’ 1970. Poster contribution to ‘A’ Course: An Inquiry, March 26-27, 2010. Former ‘A’ Course student, Ted Walters.
Andy Darley Course ‘A’ Stuff. Blue Folder. Andrew Darley Collection deposited at MayDay Rooms, August 2012.
‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course group photograph. First 1st Year intake September 1969. Back row: Richard Deacon, Andrew Rice?, Ted Walters, Ian Kirkwood. Middle row: Gareth Jones (p/t staff), Peter Atkins (f/t staff), Peter Harvey (p/t staff), Garth Evans (p/t staff), Front row: Tim Jones, Andrzej Klimowski, Deirdre McArdle, David Millidge. Photo courtesy Deirdre McArdle, March 2010
Peter Kardia (ne Atkins) and Ken Adams in conversation with current CSM staff and students linked the 10th Floor during ‘In Exchange’, a five week process of recovering and activating histories linked to St. Martins School of Art (1962-1980). February – March 2011 ‘A’ Course Mask Project. Still 1972. Reconstruction for Omnibus: A Question of Feeling. Christopher Burstall. First broadcast September 9th 1973
Donated and Loaned Collections include:Ken Adams Collection Staff/tutor at St. Martins School of Art Sculpture Department 1962-1996
‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course sketch showing chronology and structure of the course 1969-1977. Ken Adams Collection deposited with MayDay Rooms, September 2010. Adam’s diagram pinpoints “A before A” and the precise moment when the ‘A’ Course first appears as a title. It also references how the Head Of Sculpture Frank Martin’s “unease about stringency of Locked Room led to notion of one-to-one tutorial encounters” in 1970 and how the following year his “…unease about how tutorials worked out led to notion of diagnostic first years”.
John Burke Collection ’A’ Course/Locked Room Course student 1970-1973.
Boxing Programme. Student initiated event “Eddy Hemsley Promotions Present”. ‘A’ Course Project 1971? John Burke Collection deposited with 10th Floor March 2010 – September 2011.
Andrew Darley Collection ’A’ Course/Locked Room Course student 1970-1973.
‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course 1969-1973. ‘Correspondence Project’. L. “Do not communicate verbally…..” 3.23. January 7th, 1972. R. “Your are required to be absent…” Documents from the Andrew Darley Collection deposited with MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London. August 2012.
Tony Hill Collection ‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course student 1969-1972. First student intake.
‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course 1969-1973. ‘Independent Mondays’? student initiated projects: T.H. Sensory Deprivation. Date unknown 1970-1972. Photo from the Tony Hill Collection.
David Millidge Collection ’A’ Course/Locked Room Course student 1969-1972. First intake.
A’ Course/Locked Room Course 1969-1973. Mask Project (final assessment) with two hooded members of A Course Staff ‘interrogating’ student David Millidge. 1972.Photo from the David Millidge Collection, held at Mayday Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4. “I prepared the room by covering the floor with white paper. Anyone entering the room was given a felt tip pen that hung by string from their clothes. This traced a line recording where anyone walked. You can see the pens in the pictures. At random I would turn a tape recorder on and off and take photographs on time delay. I would record by writing on the floor the position of the camera and the time of the photo. I also said aloud what I was doing for the benefit of the tape recording. The transcript is punctuated by me stating that I am taking a photo. I am submitting all of this as a historic record. [[....]] I am not endorsing it as being significant. I am not passing judgment on it as being good or accomplished. I am not suggesting that I am proud of the work or that I think that the course was a good idea. I was there, and these were the records that I have kept for 40 years.” David Millidge email to Anthony Davies, March 12, 2010
Peter Venn Collection ‘A’ Course/Locked Room Course student 1970-1973
The Locked Room 1971. ‘A’ Course Sitting Project. St. Martins School of Art, Sculpture department. Photo from the Peter Venn Collection. “[[....]] For me what’s missing is the powerful experience of being productive in conditions of uncertainty and over an extended period of time, and by placing the events of that time so clearly within a political/educational perspective [[....]] ignores the radical nature of experiential/educational ie. of learning over time in the conditions that we worked in. Experience itself being forced back onto itself. This forcing back of experience onto itself – outside the support of assumptions and conventions of accepted practice and understanding – speaks to me of that possibility for “meaning-making”. For me at least, the sense of “political” grew hand in glove … as part and parcel … of such experiential engagement.” Peter Venn email with MDR (a), July 27th, 2010
The ‘A’ Course: An Inquiry.
26th-27th March, 2010
The ‘A’ Course: An Inquiry Invite. March 2010 ’A’ Course An Inquiry. Preparation and seminar set-up in Studio A2, the site of the Locked Room in 1969-1970. CSM Charing Cross Road site (Adam from the 10th Floor). March 2010
‘A’ Course An Inquiry. Preparation and seminar set-up in Studio A2, the site of the Locked Room in 1969-1970. CSM Charing Cross Road site (background former staff: Gareth Jones). March 2010 ‘A’ Course An Inquiry. Preparation and seminar set-up in Studio A2, the site of the Locked Room in 1969-1970. CSM Charing Cross Road site. March 2010
’A’ Course: An Inquiry. Schedule. March 26th – 27th, 2010
‘A’ Course An Inquiry. Panel from Day 1. Foreground: Anthony Davies. Table L-R: Gareth Jones, Joy Sleeman, Peter Kardia, Garth Evans. Studio A2, the site of the Locked Room in 1969-1970. CSM Charing Cross Road site. March 26th, 2010 see: http://newsevents.arts.ac.uk/event/the-a-course-an-inquiry/
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HANDS is a non-profit that focuses on housing and neighborhood development through the high impact development of empty or troubled properties. In many ways their goals and practices align with ours, in terms of healthy and sustainable community development. From their website they write, “The HANDS’ strategy is built upon a working philosophy that believes that neighborhoods are revitalized by the actions of hundreds of individuals investing their time, their funds, their energy, and their hopes in the future of that neighborhood. HANDS believes the role of the CDC is to leverage those investment decisions, to bolster public sector action, and to generate more private sector investment.” Together, and with Daily Soup, one of our recent ventures was to plant a small demonstration garden, which certainly fits snugly in their strategy of individuals investing time and energy for their neighborhood as a whole.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Dan Richer is the passionate and talented Chef Owner of Arturo’s Osteria and Pizzeria in Maplewood, NJ and a frequent supporter of Brick City Urban farms. A champion of local and seasonal cooking here in Northern New Jersey, on Saturdays they offer a 6-course tasting menu. One recent Saturday featured local vegetables from the Greenmarket at Union Square in New York. And you guessed it, this Saturday May 30th, they will present a menu featuring produce from your very own Brick City Urban Farms for $45. For reservations call 973-378-4500. If this Saturday doesn’t work for you, they are open 7 days a week and offer great tasting wood fired pizza and authentic Italian pastas, small plates, and salads. For more information visit their website at www.arturosnj.com Support local!
We have lots of Lettuce, Arugula, Kohlrabi, Collard Greens, Spring Onions, Swiss Chard, Spinach, and more ready to go! And of course everyone’s summer favorite, tomatoes, are in the ground and look set to shoot up. They may look small now, but before we know it they’ll be unwieldy and delicious.
Here at Brick City Urban Farms we have been lucky enough to have countless individuals help us along the way. Our friends spread the word, gave advice, and even dug in and got their hands dirty. This year has been no different. Just recently some of our new friends from Gramercy Tavern in New York City stopped by, and some of our old friends from the neighorhood have been around all over again. Gramercy helped out by planting our heirloom Tomatoes, while the kids were sowing some of our bean seeds. The folks from Gramercy Tavern even took back some things to put into service that very night!
We are now selling fresh Lettuce, Collards, Scallions, Broccoli, Arugula and more from our site at Washington and Spruce. Officially we are open for business from 3-7 Monday thru Fridays, and working out our weekend hours. So stop by, check out our progress, and take home a beautiful salad mix sometime this week.
We hope that you stayed warm this winter and are dreaming about the hot, sunny, days to come. Here at Brick City Urban Farms we are ready to get our hands back in the dirt again. We’ve been daydreaming about cucumbers, okra and fresh basil and we are so looking forward to offering the best locally grown produce for you and your families right in downtown Newark. We are thrilled to announce that Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District has agreed to give us a 2nd season of “the farm” on their Washington/Spruce Street Lot! We also have a rooftop location in the Ironbound and we plan to be in other areas throughout the city.
So while we count the days until the last frost of the season, we thought that we would collect some information from you all in order to make sure that everyone is able to find what they are looking for, when they are looking for it at our farms this summer!
Please take a few minutes to fill out our survey and tell us what you would like us to grow and share your thoughts, ideas, frustrations with us so that we can work together to make Brick City Urban Farms (Season II) the best ever! (click anywhere on this paragraph to view the survey)
We are looking forward to working with you in the coming months!
This last week we have had a real push to clear our lot in Lincoln Park and prepare the Earthboxes for all our seedlings in the coming weeks. Thankfully, some of our friends from Torchlight Academy came down to help out.
Thank you to everyone for coming by and expressing your interest at the Mindful Living NJ Fair in Maplewood yesterday. It was great to talk to so many of you who share the same goals of a fresher, healthier, and more delicious way of living.
We have just recently been putting the finishing touches on our most recent plan, and you could consider the fair our first unveiling of it. In addition to our current efforts in which we provide some of the only access to great vegetables for many Newarkers and beautify otherwise unused lots, we plan to offer a Backyard Harvest, for those who wish to experience what Brick City Urban Farms has to offer, but in their very own backyard, rooftop, driveway, or patio. It’s a great way to have truly local produce right at your backdoor, and is a uniquely enriching experience for whole families. And it’s cheaper and more convenient than traveling to the supermarket!
If you would like more information please fill out the following brief form.
Thanks for stopping by and you’ll be seeing more and more of us as the weather warms.
Just this summer the Torchlight Educational Academy and Tutoring Center moved into the building adjacent to our farm, and we had the pleasure of hosting their pre-k through middle school students, staff and parents earlier this week. They had lots of great questions, helped harvest, and brought home some goodies from the farm. We hope this is just one of many visits.
Welcome back! It sure has been a while, and we apologize for slacking a little bit in the update department. Don’t worry though, we have kept busy, focusing our attention on our beautiful tomato, pepper, and eggplant harvest, our first neighborhood and restaurant sales, and even the addition of our new rooftop site, with views of all of Newark and even New York City.
Billy Haberthur was one of our earliest supporters, back when our farm was still an empty lot, and without him and his forklift we may not have even been able to unload our first potting soil.
Ever since, we’ve been using his office at North American Facilities Group as a make shift office and podcast studio. Even more recently he offered us his rooftop, already replete with chairs, grills, an inflatable pool, and ceramic full size cows. We have just begun to see the cauliflower, collard greens, and varieties of lettuce and spinach start to take off. It even made it onto the cover of Newark Live, a Star-Ledger creation.
Back on the original Lincoln Park site, we have been nearly overrun with our vegetables coming into their full maturity. The unique heirlooms and delicious hybrids have been a wonderful addition to our harvest, as local restauranteur Dan from Arturo’s, a great Italian restaurant offering authentic fare, has taken note and began to take whatever tomatoes we can offer him.
Lastly, there are a few people who we couldn’t have done without. Our friend Tom Venezia from County to County Landscaping has been an invaluable source of knowledge and expertise, and his son Tommy spent many days down on the farm with us.
Our super volunteer Belinda, whom we met at the Lincoln Park Music Festival has spent three full days a week for the past month, and has become an integral part of our efforts.
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May 22, 2013 | By isosteam |
Previous iterations of the Global Reporting Initiative’s standards have been all-inclusive, encouraging reporters to report widely on their environmental, social and governance issues. Some critics of the G3.1 and G3 standards complained that they rewarded breadth over depth by categorizing reports into three levels (A, B and C) – with the “best grade” given to the reports with the biggest scope.
G4 represents a big shift in the standard – away from “put it all out there” to “less is more” – so long as what gets reported is material to the organization. The new standards ask reporters to use the sustainability report to document what really matters- a big shift away from reporting on everything the company monitors.
First things first. The G4 is split into two complementary documents: a manual consisting of the principles and standard disclosures themselves and a separate implementation manual to help reporters make their way through the process. The second document details the necessary steps a reporter needs to take to launch and manage a sustainability reporting process within any organization, regardless of their level of experience. The first document offers flexibility for preparers to choose which disclosures to focus on and how to align efforts to local/regional report requirements and frameworks. In addition, new clarifications on how to report on shared supply chain impacts outside of operational control will hopefully support organizations in taking additional responsibility for supply chain sustainability and governance.
Here are the key changes reporters need to know about from G4:
Gone are the lettered reporting levels (A, B, and C) that encouraged American reporters to go for that A+. There will now be an “in accordance” system with two distinct tracks: an entry level track for General disclosures and a more Comprehensive track.
The concept of full or partial coverage will no longer be relevant. Now, reports can only be “in accordance” or not. If a company does not have all the data available, in order to be “in accordance,” it now must disclose omissions using detailed guidance within the G4.
Organizations can still determine the depth of reporting they wish to undertake. For the immediate future (approximately three months), GRI will continue to offer Application Level Checks. The board of directors will then meet in September to discuss continuation and/or approach to offering this service now that the levels are going away.
What happens to companies that choose not to be “in accordance”? Reporters that refer to GRI as a guide, but do not fully implement the principles and components are not required to publish a Content Index. They are however, encouraged to state that the Guidelines were referred to.
Materiality will continue to be emphasized in prompts throughout the guidelines. Where issues are deemed material, reporters will be required to disclose on those issues.
When organizations are unable to measure and/or track all material aspects or indicators, they will need to acknowledge the relevance and admit limitations in data availablility.
G4 will not require a reporting organization to discuss each indicator – as with the previous A level scenario. Now reporters only need to discuss those that relate to a material aspect. That means that organizations with a large staff of knowledge workers in the U.S. and no physical products, probably do not need to spend much time addressing supply chain issues. For new reporters, this may make things easier as only one indicator from each material aspect requires a response. However, it may require more preparation as going through the materiality process is essential and more details may be required.
Materiality Revisited: It is likely that organizations will be asked to select aspects solely within one or a pair of categories, as opposed to the many different aspects A level reporters were previously expected to report on. This means that some of the reporting process will be a judgment call since organizations need to determine what they can feasibly report on.
DISCLOSURES ON MANAGEMENT APPROACH
DMAs will now be more focused at the Aspect level (GRI’s term for general fields of sustainability performance, like Energy Use or Labor/Management Relations) – meaning that companies will disclose on how they manage each Aspect separately. Makes sense, right? More Generic DMAs will allow for several aspects to be grouped together and addressed at the Category level (one step up). Three distinct elements will help guide reporters in reporting. First, organizations will explain why an Aspect is material and which impacts make it material, second, how the organization manages impacts, and third, which mechanisms are in place for evaluating the management approach.
Though a General Disclosure item will also prompt organizations to describe the supply chain and shared impacts, supply chain mapping as proposed in the exposure drafts will not be a required step in the process. Considering shared impacts across the supply chain and determining who is affected will be an integral concept fed throughout.
Current Sector Supplements (specific reporting guidelines for various industries) will be adapted to Sector Disclosure Tables- starting with Financial Services and Mining & Metals. All others will be adapted soon after along with additional sectors developed in time.
The guidelines now allow for external (third party) assurance to be conducted by different organizations for different impact areas. Disclosures about the assurance should be indicated in the Content Index accordingly.
All in all, these changes will make the G4 much more straightforward and easy for newcomers and experience reporters alike. The development of the guidelines took two years, and GRI went through nearly one thousand drafts to reach these final edits. The development of these guidelines required extensive stakeholder consultation. Working Groups from across the world contributed feedback as did thousands of individuals around the world. GRI should be applauded for conducting such a thorough process and using this enormous amount of feedback effectively to produce a simple and effective guideline for reporting.
If you want to learn more about the G4, a bridging module on the G4 will be incorporated into all the ISOS Group GRI certified sustainability reporter trainings happening after July 1st. A free webinar will also be available (soon!) for ISOS Group’s past course participants. Visit our GRI training page to sign up for a full course.
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Jay Peak Resort Fined, But Penalty Questioned
11/17/12 9:30AM By John Dillon Download MP3
The Jay Peak ski resort faces a $5,250 fine for violating an environmental permit.
The state says the resort failed to report how much water it was drawing out of a local brook for snowmaking last winter.
Jay Peak has admitted to the violation. But there are questions about whether the fine is tough enough.
As a condition of its Act 250 land use granted in 1988, Jay Peak was supposed to file monthly reports showing how much water it pulls from Jay Branch Brook to make snow.
For three months last winter, Jay didn't file the reports. And when the state Agency of Natural Resources investigated last February, officials learned that the stream sensor was showing levels far below what was expected.
Christopher Kilian, the Vermont director of the Conservation Law Foundation, says the state sets minimum stream flow standards for snowmaking in order to protect fish and other aquatic life.
"Which is why we ask Jay Peak and other resorts to monitor what the river flow is and how much water they're taking out at what times," he says. "It's critical that we know those things so that appropriate decisions can be made to shut off the equipment in order to protect the waterways."
Kilian says the low levels seen in Jay Branch Brook last February means the stream could have been affected by the resort's snowmaking.
"What that indicates to me is that Jay Peak was withdrawing water at a time that the river was already stressed and they shouldn't have been withdrawing water," he says.
Jay Peak spokesman J.J. Toland says the resort didn't make much snow last winter because the weather was so warm. He says the monitoring system also got damaged by the high waters from Tropical Storm Irene.
"So once we realized the system was in error we took all steps to correct it and since stepped up our reporting protocols to come in well ahead of the deadline," he says.
Jay Peak has admitted to the violation and agreed to pay the fine.
"You know, you never like to see yourself getting fined but we've worked closely with the state on everything we've done and worked to be as environmentally sound as we can possibly be," he says.
The settlement and the fine are now under review because a new law allows the public to comment on environmental enforcement actions.
Kilian of the Conservation Law Foundation questions whether a $5,250 sanction is a sufficient penalty for this violation, and for a company as large as Jay Peak.
He says fines for environmental violations must take into account the economic benefit the company received from the violation. Otherwise, he says, the fine just becomes a cost of doing business.
"It should include some form of deterrent effect," Kilian says. "And really it seems like there are a few zeroes missing in this number or it's just seems to me an extremely minimal penalty for a resort like Jay Peak."
Kilian says he's studying the case to see whether CLF will get involved. He points out that the environmental group has pursued citizen enforcement actions under the federal Clean Water Act throughout New England and has never won a penalty as low as the one proposed for Jay Peak.
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The Italian government is keen on keeping Parmalat in Italian hands, on the basis that it’s a big player in the agrofood sector deemed strategic for the country.
The integrity of the supply chain around a key company is especially important, one minister said Tuesday.
Parmalat’s Italian turnover was only €963 million last year. That’s significant, but only 10% more than domestic rival Granarolo, and, interestingly, about the same as France’s Lactalis group, which owns the Galbani brand which makes many of the ricotta cheeses found in Italian supermarkets.
Parmalat, meanwhile, has €4.3 billion in global sales.
It’s that number, and the €1.4 billion in cash on its balance sheet thanks to legal settlements after its massive collapse in 2003, that caught the financial market’s eye.
Given that milk is not something shipped around the world, Italy’s food supply chain could be secured by hiving off Parmalat’s Italian business, possibly selling it to Granarolo or local investors.
Lactalis, which does €9.4 billion in revenue, could snap up the foreign assets, allowing it to expand in Latin America, Canada and Australia, where the French company is not well-developed and Parmalat is.
Indeed, Parmalat’s sales in Canada were €1.6 billion last year, making Canada its largest single market. Australia came right after Italy at €742 million.
The logic of a breakup is so clear that an Italian labor union leader spoke out against it on Tuesday.
The definitive solution to keep Parmalat Italian would be “a takeover bid by an Italian consortium, but that seems highly improbable,” said Mauro Macchiesi, head of the agroindustrial chapter of the left-wing CGIL union.
“The Italian government’s intervention has come too late in the game,” he said. “What’s important now is to avoid a breakup of the group.”
The Italian government’s threat didn’t deter Lactalis from buying more shares.
That’s because there’s the potential for a serious amount of cheese for the family-owned Breton company.
Consider: Parmalat’s market capitalization today is just short of €4 billion. Its gross operating profit margin in Italy was 9.9% last year, higher than the group average, so that part of the business could be valued at around €1.1 billion. That happens to be what Lactalis has paid so far for its shares.
Selling the Italian operations for that price would leave a rump Parmalat with €2.5 billion in cash. A special dividend would channel around €750 million to Lactalis, given its 29% stake.
In less time than it takes to make ricotta, Lactalis would end up having paid around €350 million to take effective control of a company with €3.4 billion in sales with a strategic geography for the group and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around €280 million.
Such a deal would call for champagne, not milk.
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Towards a Royal College of Teachers
As part of the discussion about the creation of a Royal College of Teaching as an independent professional voice for teachers in England a collection of think pieces has been ...
Proposed College of Teaching
Download a Press Release from the Prince's Teaching Institute here. Don't believe all you read in the papers or recent utterances from M.Gove!
Manifesto for the Creative Economy
NESTA's manifesto has implications for the curriculum amongst a range of policy recommendations. You can download a copy at http://www.nesta.org.uk/home1/assets/features/a_manifesto_for_the_creative_economy
Membership survey analysis 2012
In October 2012 the CfSA undertook a membership survey to find out how well subject associations are coping in the current educational and economic climate, and to establish what changes ...
The Council for Subject Associations
Welcome to the CfSA website
Do you know there is a subject association for you?
Would you like to:
- be up to date in your subject?
- be part of your subject community?
- pursue your own learning?
- have access to dedicated sources of information?
For more information about the subject association members and associate members of CfSA and the services they offer, please click on the Membership section.
If you would like to learn more about the Council for Subject Associations, or indeed subject associations in general please see About Us
Reform of the National Curriculum in England
At a meeting of associations held on 9 April 2013 a clear consensus emerged that if the Government's proposals were implemented as they stand it would be detrimental forEnglish education. This is a curriculum appropriate for the past and not for the present or the future. It is not a curriculum that our children deserve.
Click this LINK to read the full response.
National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE)
NAWE's mission is to further knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of Creative Writing and to support good practice in its teaching at all levels.
As Subject Association, NAWE promotes Creative Writing as both a distinct discipline and an essential element in education generally. Our membership includes those working in Higher Education, the many freelance writers working in schools and community contexts, and the teachers and other professionals who work with them.
NAWE is commited to ensuring that all writers working in education are prepared to the highest professional standard. We offer a range of training days for writers and teachers, plus one-to-one sessions to help members plan their writing careers.
Benefits of Membership:
All members receive:
• free copies of all NAWE publications
• reduced rates to NAWE events, including the Annual Conference
• access to the extensive online Archive.
In addition to which, Professional members are entitled to:
• free public liability insurance cover
• CRB Disclosure processing
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G. G. Wilderson is an enterprising and progressive business man of Leetonia, and is identified with the Crescent
Manufacturing Company as president. He was born in Canton, Ohio, March 10, 1870, and is a son of Charles and Susan
Charles Wilderson, deceased, was a native of eastern Pennsylvania, as was his wife. He was a carpenter by trade
but later in life engaged in general farming and stock raising in Columbiana County, after having removed here
from Canton, Ohio, in 1870. He was a member of the Reformed Church. Mr. Wilderson died in 1905 and his wife died
in 1912. They were the parents of seven children as follows: Ella, married A. W. Harold, lives at Columbiana; Edward,
lives at Poland, Ohio; Ida D. Smith, lives at Leetonia; C. G., the subject of this sketch; and three children died
After completing his schooling, C. G. Wilderson learned the machinist trade while in the employ of the Buckeye
Engine Company at Salem. In 1903 he founded the Crescent Manufacturing Company in partnership with R. C. Harrold
and Mr. Grove. The officers of the Crescent Manufacturing Company are: Mr. Wilderson, president; W. G. Bess, secretary,
and R. C. Harrold, treasurer. The company manufactures many kinds of woodworking machinery and has a well established
market for its products throughout the United States and Europe. Approximately 125 people are employed.
In 1892 Mr. Wilderson was united in marriage with Miss Hilda M. Betts of Leetonia, the daughter of S. P. and Mary
Jane (Hoffman) Betts, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wilderson have a daughter, Myrna Marie, a graduate of Leetonia
High School, lives at home.
Mr. Wilderson is a Republican and has a wide acquaintance in Columbiana County.
History of Columbiana County, Ohio
By: Harold B. Barth
Historical Publishing Company
Columbiana County, Ohio Biographies
Names A to F
Names G to M
Names N to Z
For all your genealogy needs visit Linkpendium
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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Protesters packed heat on Utah's capitol hill to protest gun control and to send a message to State lawmakers.
This rally began on State Street. Gun supporters marched up Capitol Hill as a symbolic gesture of their political march to defend the Second Amendment.
Many at the rally had large guns strapped to their backs as their children carried toy guns.
President Obama says he's not going to ban guns, but he would like to restrict assault weapons and create a national gun registry and this is where the battle lines are drawn.
Gun-rights advocates say a gun registry could be used to confiscate guns in the future and restricting assault weapons is the first step to more restrictions.
This Utah pro-gun rally is focusing all its attention on State lawmakers in the hopes they'll take the fight to President Obama.
"Trying to get Governor Herbert and all the rest of the senators in Congress to recognize the Second Amendment and not try to tear it apart piece by piece," said Jared Robertson as he marched in the rally.
One man suggests the pro-gun rally may backlash.
"It's disturbing to me to see guns on the State Capitol. I don't see any need for a gun. We have armed police everywhere," said Derek Kitchen as he watched the rally.
He supports President Obama regulating guns and fears too many gun rights could results in more harm.
A pro-gun rally with protesters carrying guns on Utah's Capitol hill was Organized February 8, 2013.
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7 Tips for Using the Homebrew Kit Santa Brought You
Along with the flocks of folks shaking off hangovers to make their way to the gym and others half-heartedly embracing a New Year's resolution to drink more green juice, there are undoubtedly brewmasters-to-be out there trying to figure out how to use the beginner's homebrewing kits that were waiting for them beneath the tree this year. To you, fledgling brewers, I say, "Welcome!" This is going to be fun.
But before you get started, allow me to share a few tips that will give you a leg up and improve the quality of your initial batches of beer. Most of them don't cost a thing!
1. Start Simple
Let's take things slow. Chances are your equipment came with a beginner's recipe kit for something like a basic American pale ale, amber ale, or porter. Stick with something like one of those beers at first and resist the urge to tart it up with a load of additional ingredients. Straightforward recipes will make it easier for you to get your footing and to figure out what went right and what went wrong once the beers are finished.
There'll be plenty of future batches when you can get all Sam Calagione with multiple fruit, spice and exotic wood additions.
2. Clean and Sanitize!
Ask 10 different home or professional brewers for the best brewing techniques and you're bound to get 12 different answers. However, there's one point on which they'll all agree: Sanitation is the most important part of making good beer. On brew day, you're trying to create the best possible conditions for yeast to grow in and ferment your wort. (Wort, pronounced like "hurt" with a "w," is what we call beer prior to fermentation.) Unfortunately, those are also the best possible conditions for beer-spoiling wild yeasts and bacteria lurking in the air and on the surface of just about everything around you. Sanitation will help keep them at bay.
Once you've cleaned any visible dirt or build-up from all of your equipment, you must sanitize everything that will come in contact with your wort after the boil (carboys, buckets, tubing, spoons, thermometers, etc.). I use an acid-based sanitizer like StarSan (1 ounce per 5 gallons of water) or an iodine-based sanitizer like Iodophor (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water). StarSan will sanitize clean surfaces with 30 seconds of contact time; Iodophor takes longer (at least 2 minutes, 10 minutes for hospital-grade sanitation). Both sanitizers should be drained, but neither requires rinsing. StarSan will leave behind quite a bit of foam, but that won't hurt the wort.
There's no need to sanitize any of your equipment that will touch the wort before it's cooled because the boil will take care of that. And make sure to clean and sanitize your bottles and caps once the beer is ready to be packaged.
3. Chill Fast
After the boil is complete, you want to chill the wort as quickly as possible. The wort is most prone to infections by bacteria and wild yeast at temperatures above 80°F, so you want to minimize the time it spends in that danger zone. Rapid chilling also causes proteins to coagulate and drop out, which can reduce haziness in the finished beer. This is mostly a cosmetic issue, but it can lead to the beer going stale faster. Chilling more gradually will be less effective against these proteins or not effective at all.
Joe Postma has already laid out the pros and cons of different chilling methods, but for your first batches you'll probably want to put your brew pot in an ice bath. I started off making huge quart-size ice cubes in plastic takeout containers. If you want to speed the chilling process, use a sanitized spoon to gently stir the wort without splashing, which will increase the amount of hot wort that comes into contact with the cooler walls of the brew pot. Also be careful to keep the unsanitized ice water from splashing into the wort.
Shelling out $50 to $100 for an immersion chiller is one of the first equipment upgrades I recommend if, after you've made a few batches, you decide homebrewing is for you.
4. Aerate the Wort
These next 3 tips all deal with yeast. Why is yeast so important? Simple. Brewers make wort. Yeast makes beer. As brewers, we can't control the billions of yeast cells charged with that lofty task, but we can certainly influence them and help them out along the way.
Boiling drives off the oxygen dissolved in the wort, which yeast needs for healthy reproduction. If that oxygen isn't added back, the yeast can become stressed, leading to the development of off-flavors during fermentation. The cheapest way to aerate the wort is shaking the hell out of it for several minutes. Once you have the wort in a sealed, sanitized carboy or bucket, place a folded towel on the ground and vigorously rock the full carboy or bucket back and forth until it's good and frothy. I do not recommend picking the carboy up and shaking it back and forth. Carboys are dangerous, brittle, and unforgivingly messy if dropped.
5. Pitch Enough Yeast
Having plenty of healthy yeast is crucial, and most 5 gallon batches of beer require more than one package of liquid yeast for an adequate number of yeast cells. I use Mr. Malty's Pitching Rate Calculator to determine how many yeast cells I'll need in each batch. To get the appropriate cell count, you have the option of pitching multiple packages of liquid yeast, making a yeast starter, or pitching a single package of dry yeast.
Pitching multiple packets of liquid yeast is expensive, so in general I'd advise to avoid that route. Making a yeast starter isn't difficult, but requires some planning in advance of brew day. If you don't have the Erlenmeyer flask mentioned in the link above, you can use a sanitized growler to grow up the starter after boiling your starter wort in an ordinary pot.
The final option is dry yeast, which contains a much greater number of cells than a single package of liquid yeast. One of the drawbacks of dry yeast is there are fewer options available. However, a standard American ale yeast (such as Fermentis Safale US-05) or English ale yeast (such as Safale US-04) should do the trick for most entry-level recipes.
6. Control the Fermentation Temperature
Now that you've chilled and aerated the wort and pitched an appropriate amount of yeast, it's almost time to sit back and let the yeast cells do their thing. But first you need to make sure they're at a comfortable temperature so they can do their best work. I say "comfortable" because yeast cells can reproduce and convert sugar into alcohol and CO2 in a wide range of temperatures. However, each strain has a narrower optimal temperature range. You can find the recommended fermentation temperatures for each strain on the manufacturers' websites. Most American and English ale strains will perform best in a range of about 63°F-68°F. If you ferment cooler, you run the risk of an incomplete fermentation. If you ferment much hotter, the yeast can produce more fruity esters than are desirable as well as harsher, higher alcohols.
To keep your fermentation in check, find a cool place that doesn't see a lot of temperature fluctuations. Also keep in mind that the yeast will produce heat while it's reproducing and creating alcohol, so temperature of the fermenting beer may be 5 to 7 degrees warmer than the ambient room temperature. If you have trouble finding a place that's cool enough, Joe Postma has a few tips for adjusting your temperature.
7. Take Notes. Read. Share.
Once you have your first batch under your belt, you'll see making beer is really pretty easy. It's making great or even good beer that brings difficulty. Taking notes and learning from your mistakes and successes will help you improve your process and ultimately your results.
There's no substitute for repetition, but there's plenty you can do to expand your knowledge when you're not brewing. Read everything you can get your hands on. In addition to Serious Eats' homebrew articles, check out John Palmer's How to Brew, Charlie Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, The Brewing Network podcasts, and Zymurgy magazine, which is available to members of the American Homebrewers Association—and it alone is worth the cost of membership.
You can also look for local homebrew clubs in your area. Joining a club is a great way to hang out with other brewers with all levels of experience and get no-nonsense feedback on your beers. Chances are your friends and family will tell you that they like just about everything you make, regardless of its actual merit. And why wouldn't they? It's free beer for them and they want to be supportive. Sharing your beer with other brewers will give you the opportunity to learn what you did right and what you did wrong from people with a deeper understanding of how beer is made. The lessons I've learned in homebrew clubs have made the biggest differences in my brewing, no question.
There's always more to learn, but for now it's time to get brewing. So read your instructions, make sure you have all of your equipment, and have at it.
About the Author: Jonathan makes wort and writes about beer. He lives in St. Louis. Find him on Twitter at @jonathanmoxey.
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10/20/2011: "Whooping Cough Continues"
Pertussis, commonly called whooping cough is with us in the county once again. There are currently several cases, and the SJC Health Officer stresses the greatest concern is for infants. The good news is the exposure time for the first reported cases is coming to an end, and hopefully that will also be the end of new cases. Flu shots can be helpful, so contact your medical provider for advice.
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The Archaeological Institute of America has come out as completely opposed to open access in an editorial by Elizabeth Bartman, president of AIA, in the current issue of AIA’s popular magazine Archaeology.
We at the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), along with our colleagues at the American Anthropological Association and other learned societies, have taken a stand against open access. Here at the AIA, we particularly object to having such a scheme imposed on us from the outside…
This letter is a more extreme version of what the AIA submitted to the White House last December, where the AIA aligned itself with the initial American Anthropological Association’s position against open-access (which later shifted in response to public outcry; update: see Joslyn Osten’s comment below on the official AAA stance).
Founded in 1879, the AIA is the largest organization in North America devoted to archaeology. With more than 220,000 professional, student, and lay members belonging to more than 100 local societies throughout the US, Canada, and overseas, it represents a very diverse population joined by an interest in learning about the material remains of the past.
One of the primary tools for advancing its mission of education is the scholarly quarterly American Journal of Archaeology (AJA), whose annual print length is approximately 800 pages. While AJA does present some primary archaeological reports (i.e., through its occasional “field reports,” data gathered in the field) almost all of its content deals with archaeological interpretation rather than the primary reporting of archaeological data.
We agree with the AAA that “while the government might have a right to the unfinished work product (i.e., the research data or ‘findings’) of researchers to whom they provide financial support, it does not have the right to journal articles that are the cumulative result of the significant time and financial investment of reviewers, editors, copywriters, designers, technology providers, archivists, publishers and distributors of such journal content—none of which is supported by federal research dollars.”
Chris Kelty has a step-by-step dismantling of the Bartman AIA letter in his post Not that kind of “living in the past” AIA obfuscates the issues involved, from what the federal legislation would do to what counts as open-access.
In particular, the AIA uses a slight-of-hand to imply that professional companies are the ones who take charge of the arduous peer-review process, and thus significantly improve the final publication:
When an archaeologist publishes his or her work, the final product has typically been significantly improved by the contributions of other professionals such as peer reviewers, editors, copywriters, photo editors, and designers. This is the context in which the work should appear.
In other words, for-profit companies provide the necessary context for research. Well, in archaeology, context is everything!
If the context were simply one where for-profit companies compete to provide a service to professional organizations – taking charge of submissions and type setting and distribution – then I wouldn’t have much of a problem. Companies would compete, and that would drive both innovation in that service and help keep prices low for providing that service. In turn, the companies provide significant money to organizations like the American Anthropological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America, which is used to support the organizations’ activities.
But of course the context is not so simple. The companies make a profit off of the research; little of that money flows back to the researchers and communities involved. The majority of the editing and peer-review is provided for free as well by professional archaeologists in university settings. Finally, the companies make their money largely through university libraries paying exorbitant fees for access to research produced in university contexts – we give it away, and then have to pay to get it back. At every step, companies take the work done by researchers, reviewers, and librarians and uses that work for their own benefit. Put bluntly, the AIA as a professional organization is reaffirming the rules of a rigged game to the detriment of its own members.
The other pernicious effect is that companies, by taking charge of the production process, have legal rights over the final products – the papers reporting the research. These companies do not always act in the best interests of the researchers who did the research, or of the communities where the research was done. They limit access to the public, including 220,000 professional, student, and lay members, because it is through restricting access that they can charge higher price – that’s basic supply and demand.
But most research is driven by the discovery of new knowledge, and the recognition that archaeology has much to say about peoples’ pasts. Restricting access for others’ profits needs to be justified against the importance of sharing knowledge and giving communities’ access to knowledge about their own past. Should companies own that knowledge? Or should researchers and communities?
The Archaeological Institute of America has come down on the side of companies, who use the legal framework imposed by the federal and state government to take ownership of research. Then the companies and the AIA profit from the money generated.
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President of IOC, Samaranch presented the prize for Deng at 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Full name: Deng Yaping
Date of birth: February, 1973
Place of birth: Zhengzhou, Henan Province
Events: table tennis
Deng Yaping is a Chinese table tennis player. She won six world championships and four Olympic championships between 1989 and 1997. Deng is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
Deng began playing table tennis at the age of five. Four years later, she won the provincial junior championships. She was 13-years-old when she won her first national championship.
Despite her success, Deng was initially denied a spot on the national team because she was so short (she stood only 1.5m [4 feet 11 inches] tall). Her talent, however, could not be denied, and she was finally included on the national team in 1988. She teamed with Qiao Hong to win her first world championship title in the women's doubles competition in 1989. Two years later in 1991, Deng won her first singles world championship.
At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, she won a gold medal in both the singles and doubles competitions. She repeated the feat at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She also earned singles and doubles titles at the 1995 and 1997 world championships.
When she retired at the age of 24, she had won more titles than any other player in the sport, including four Olympic gold medals and the title of World Champion 18 times. From 1990 to 1997, she was ranked as the world’s No. 1 female table tennis player for eight years. She was voted Chinese Female Athlete of the Century, and joined the International Table Tennis Federation Hall of Fame in 2003.
Life after retirement
After retiring at the end of the 1997 season, Deng served on the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission as well as the Athletes’ Commission. She is a member of the elite Laureus World Sports Academy, and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
She earned a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University, a Master's degree from the University of Nottingham, and in 2008 received a PhD in land economy from the University of Cambridge (Jesus College). Her thesis, “The impact of the Olympic Games on Chinese development: A multi-disciplinary analysis,” coincided with her professional work as a member of the Beijing Organizing Committee.
In 2007, she married Lin Zhigang, also a table tennis player, and later gave birth to a baby boy.
40th World Table Tennis Championship (1989) Women's Double Gold.
1st Table Tennis World Cup (1990) Women's Team Gold.
41st World Table Tennis Championship (1991) Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold.
2nd Table Tennis World Cup (1991-1992) Women's Team Gold, Women's Double Gold.
25th Olympic Games (1992) Table Tennis Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold.
42nd World Table Tennis Championship (1993) Women's Team Gold, Women's Double Silver.
43rd World Table Tennis Championship (1995) Women's Team Gold, Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold, Mixed Double Silver.
4th Table Tennis World Cup (1995) Women's Team Gold
26th Olympic Games (1996) Table Tennis Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold.
44th World Table Tennis Championship (1997) Women's Team Gold, Women's Single Gold, Women's Double Gold, Mixed Double Silver.
(China.org.cn September 11, 2009)
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Is extorsion a common crime in your countries?
Two years ago, when my grandmother was still living, someone called our house: "mother, mother, some men took me with them, I'm now inside their car, I'm blind folded, they now want to talk to you, please help me and do what they say". Then there was the voice of a man, he sounded like someone from Northern Mexico: "listen carefully, do not call the police, do not call any authority or you'll regret it. Unfortunately we saw your daughter walking alone, we kidnapped her, this is "express kidnapping", please tell me if you can pay for her life". My 87 year old grandmother inmediately called our relatives asking for money so that we could pay the ransom wanted by these criminals.
Fortunately, some minutes later my mother came, she had been in the supermarket for two hours, she was never kidnapped and she knew nothing of such calls. We later learnt that this was some form of extorsion and that these criminals were mere con artists.
Last year another group of con artists tried a different thing. They called my house saying: "This is Sargeant X from airport and border police. Your son arrived to Mexico City on an international flight and he brought a large sum of money in foreign currency, he attepted to hide this from the tax authorities and he's now under our custody. It's our duty to arrest him and bring charges. However we can make an exception if you can send 10,000 MXN to my bank account and we will free him." I was at that time in France, the good thing was that they called my friend who was also in France and he told them I was with him and that we had no intention to take a flight to Mexico City.
They actually call every home of the country using the yellow pages. They know that many Mexicans have relatives abroad so they always have the chance to find "the right person". If one number fails then they try another, and so on.
Is this also happening in your countries?
Though I'm sure it happens, I don't know how common it is; I'd say blackmail would probably be more common.
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Factional and Government Make-Up of the Fifteenth Knesset
Elected on 17 May, 1999.
Speaker: Avraham Burg
Deputy Speakers: Naomi Chazan, Abdulmalik Dehamshe,
Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, Gideon Ezra, Shmuel Halpert, Nahum Langental, Maxim Levy,
Yehudith Naot, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, Avraham Ravitz, Reuven Rivlin, David Tal.
Secretary General: Arye Hahn
The twenty-eighth government was formed by Ehud Barak on July 6, 1999. The members of
the coalition were One Israel, Shas, Meretz, Center Party, Mafdal, Yahadut Hatorah, and
Yisrael B'Aliya. When the government was formed, there were 18 active ministers, and that
number later increased to 24. Yahadut Hatorah resigned in September 1999 over the
transport of a turbine on Shabbat. The government fell due to security issues following the
onset of the El Aksa Intifada.
The twenty-ninth government was formed by Ariel Sharon on March 7, 2001, following the
special direct elections for a new prime minister. The government was a wide, National
Unity Government which included Likud, Labor-Meimad, Shas, Center Party, Mafdal, Yahadut
Hatorah, Yisrael B'Aliya, and Ichud Leumi-Yisrael Beteinu.
At the formation of the government, there were 26 ministers, and at its height, the government
included 29 ministers.
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Harvey Milk - the first openly gay politican to be elected to office in California - speaks at a rally in Gus Van Sant's drama about his life, "Milk". He is played by actor Sean Penn.
My name is Harvey Milk and I want to recruit you.
I am here tonight to say that we will no longer sit quietly in the closet. We must fight - and not only in the Castro, not only in San Francisco, but everywhere The Anitas go.
Anita Bryant did not win tonight - Anita Bryant brought us together! She is going to create a National Day for us! And the young people in Jackson, Mississippi, in Minnesota, in the Richmond, in Widmere, New York who are hearing her on television - hearing Anita Bryant on television, telling them 'they are sick, they are wrong, there is no place in this great country for them - no place in this world.' They are looking to us for something tonight, and I say we have got to give them HOPE!
Nobel Prize laureate Jody Williams challenges commonly-held images of peace and shares her vision of what peace truly means.1 people like this
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Author's Note: In the years since I wrote this satire, much of the original context has been lost, and judging by the emails I occasionally receive, the article makes me sound like a fascist. Please keep in mind that when this article was published, there was an ongoing debate about the possibility of amending the United States Constitution to prohibit gay marriage; this article reflected my opinion on that idea.
Jail Bill Watterson
I really liked “Calvin and Hobbes.” In fact, I’m pretty sure most of you did, too. It was like “The Simpsons”; not just funny, but warm and insightful, taking us back to the carefree days of childhood. Yet Bill Watterson cruelly stopped drawing “Calvin and Hobbes” in 1995, only ten years after it began, and well before it started to get old. It was still funny, still great, and he just stopped. If I were the president of the United States, I’d throw him in prison and force him to draw more strips.
Before you go nodding your heads in agreement, I’d like to point out a problem with this plan: the Supreme Court. Even if I did manage to get elected president, I just know those pesky justices would disallow my imprisonment of Mr. Watterson, citing constitutional concerns. They would claim that his imprisonment would violate his constitutional rights, without ever considering our rights to read “Calvin and Hobbes.” This is why I would like to propose Amendment 28 to the United States Constitution: “Upon the ratification of this Amendment, Bill Watterson will be jailed for 15 years, or until he has produced 5000 additional ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ strips.”
Amending the Constitution is no simple matter, and not one to be taken lightly. However, in this case, the benefits are so great that we have no other recourse. While the sensible readers among you understand that this plan simply “makes sense,” I will outline my arguments below to satisfy those law-school types:
1) Bill Watterson is a small minority. There are an estimated 290,809,777 people in the United States of America (July 1, 2003 estimate of the U.S. Census Bureau), 290,809,776 of whom are not Bill Watterson. Even if Mr. Watterson himself is inconvenienced, the people who read his new “Calvin and Hobbes” strips will be thrilled to re-enter the magical world of a boy and his tiger. Sometimes, we must make tough decisions for the greater good of the greater number; sometimes, these decisions harm good people. This is a mere inevitability of politics.
2) Bill Watterson is a cartoonist. The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was written in 1868, before cartoonists ever existed. Had our founding fathers known of “cartooning” and its implications, they would have explicitly exempted them from certain rights, most likely the right to the “pursuit of happiness” when it impinges upon other citizens’ happiness. Although the Constitution may appear to protect cartoonists, this is merely an illusion caused by our projection of our current society onto an ancient document.
3) Bill Watterson is a cartoonist by choice. Just as Yo-Yo Ma was not born a cellist nor George W. Bush born a president, Bill Watterson was not born a cartoonist. His ultimate choice of profession was deliberate, as shown by his dogged determination in the face of multiple rejections. Although his rare interviews cite him as having been interested in cartoons his whole life, it is obvious that he chose cartooning of his own volition, thereby sacrificing some of the rights afforded to other workers.
4) The sanctity of our newspapers is in danger. When I open The Boston Globe and flip to the comics page, it is usually a disappointment. Curtis is flushing his dad’s cigarettes down the toilet while Garfield bemoans the fact that it is Monday. Strong newspapers are built on strong comics. Although poor comics may be tolerated for a period, slowly this mediocrity will creep into the rest of the newspaper like an infectious disease. If our citizens do not rally to the defense of the comics page in their time of need, they will soon see grammatical errors in New York Times headlines and sheets of blank newsprint in The Washington Post.
5) Our entire political and social system is threatened. Professor Peter Eigen of Transparency International has done groundbreaking research which proves that newspaper readership and public perceptions of corruption are strongly correlated (see www.transparency.org for further details). A decline in the quality of our newspapers will obviously lead to less readers, which in turn will allow the government to perpetrate further abuses of its power. It is every citizen’s civic duty to ensure that our political process remains a paragon of integrity. The only way to do this is to re-introduce “Calvin and Hobbes” to American newspapers.
6) The majority of Americans want this to happen. Ask the person on your right if he or she would like to see “Calvin and Hobbes” return to the funnies page. Now ask the person on your left. See? The foundation of a democracy is the will of the people, and the people demand “Calvin and Hobbes.” If Bill Watterson refuses to accept this, we must resort to the power of the law. The law we must resort to does not exist yet, but it will if my fellow Americans support me on this critical issue.
“In all that lies ahead, let us match strong convictions with kindness and goodwill and decency” (George W. Bush; remarks given on February 24, with full transcript at www.whitehouse.gov).
Amal Dorai is a member of the class of 2004.
This story was published on Friday, April 9, 2004.
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Return to Current Exhibits
Return to Past Exhibits
Return to Future Exhibits
Metal Imagined by Matt Clark
September 22, 2012 through December 29, 2012
Matt Clark is a lifelong resident of the southern Utah and grew up on a ranch north of St. George. He taught himself to weld and work with metal beginning at age fifteen. As a child he dreamed of becoming a world champion cowboy, but at age 17, he experienced a serious spinal cord injury. After months of hospitalization and rehabilitation the doctors released him with a diagnosis that offered no hope for a future, but something deep inside him said, �Wait a minute. I am going to define my life.�
Thirty-four years later, he still works from a wheelchair. His physical limitations have required him to create his own tools and processes for doing things, but his accident has also gives him the opportunity to recreate himself. Clarks says, �I was bored one afternoon and had a pile of scrap.� He welded up a dinosaur and was surprised to find that �people liked it.� He started by making gifts for friends and family, and then he moved on to selling his work.
The steel, stainless steel, copper, stone and found objects he uses in his art were originally created to perform a specific function but had outlived their usefulness. Clark studies each piece searching for its innate power and then gives it a new life through welding, cutting, grinding, and forging. For him, the transformation of these objects is symbolic of his own journey�of ultimately transcending broken dreams and heartache. His artistic process is a reenactment of his life�s journey.
A capable marketer as well as a sculptor, Clark sells his work in Juniper Sky Gallery in Kayenta, through art festivals, private commissions, and interior designers. His work falls into two main categories: the whimsical and the contemporary both formed of natural rocks and welded metal.
Some of his accomplishments and awards include: 2009 presented with the Art Around the Corner Partner in the Arts award; 2004 purchase award winner for the Art On the Corner competition in Grand Junction, CO; 2004 first place sculpture St. George Art Festival just to name a few.
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The event was carried live on local television stations, from the landing of Air Force One at CHO through following the motorcade down a deserted Route 29 through the speech itself to the lift off of the President's airplane barely two hours later.
The question remains, however, as to why the President came to Charlottesville in the first place. The appearance was, it seems, the only one at which Mr. Obama offered his campaign support to an individual Member of the House of Representatives. (In other campaign appearances around the country, the President spoke on behalf of candidates -- some incumbents, some not -- for the U.S. Senate and for governor, but not for House Members.)
Here's my interpretation of the events of these past days, which must have been pretty heady for local Democrats. People who live in Washington, D.C., can be cynical about presidential motorcade sitings, but such things are rare in Central Virginia. (In the past 100 years or so, there have been scattered visits by Franklin Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton [as president-elect], and George W. Bush. Charlottesville is long past the days when three presidents called it home.)
So why did Obama come? And why did Perriello accept his visit, considering that the Fifth Congressional District is far more conservative than Perriello himself is, or claims to be?
It might not be risky for Perriello to be seen (figuratively) bumping fists with Obama at Charlottesville's downtown pavilion, in a city where Democrats show a routine 4-to-1 advantage in election returns. But down toward Farmville and Bedford and Danville, associating with the highly unpopular president days before the election is quite risky. It might make Charlottesville and Albemarle voters more enthusiastic about their candidate -- who they were going to cast a ballot for, anyway -- but it might also incite fence-sitting or complacent conservative voters farther south.
So, my take on all this: Regardless of whether Perriello wins or loses next Tuesday, the new Democratic establishment is setting him up to be a favored candidate for statewide office in 2013.
Face it, after the Republican sweep of 2009, the Democrats don't have much of a bench of eager potential candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general. Terry McAuliffe may be up for a repeat run for the Democratic nomination for the top spot, but few others seem to want to go through the (political and personal) pain that plagued Creigh Deeds last year.
Democratic powerbrokers see Tom Perriello as a rising star within their party, an opinion shared by many in the party's grass roots. He voted for Obamacare, cap-and-trade, and the failed stimulus package but kept his distance on the administration's budget, banking "reform," and other controversial issues. He has a great resume: two degrees from Yale, experience as a humanitarian in combat zones overseas, and at least two years as a Member of Congress. He's proven himself to be a hard worker and indefatigable campaigner. (It helps that he's unmarried and childless.)
My prediction is that, win or lose on November 2, Tom Perriello will be a candidate for Virginia Attorney General in 2013. I also predict that the Democratic Party will give him a clear path to the nomination. (Sorry, Senator McEachin! You had your chance.)
I can't wait to talk to Ken Cuccinelli to ask him what he thinks of his re-election opponent.
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All rooms are equipped with an overhead projector
Rooms C, D, E, F, G and H (H only on Saturday): slide projector (framed slides, carrousel. There are extra carrousels available to set up your presentation in advance)
Rooms C, D, M, N, O, U and Committee Room 2: beamer to connect your laptop. You have to bring you own laptop. (If you want to use your Apple notebook, please contact us, as it may be incompatible.)
Rooms C, T and U: VCR
|Evil by Design: The Creation and Marketing of the Femme-Fatale in 19th-century France|
|This presentation summarizes my search for the origins of the femme-fatales of the French Belle Epoque (1885-1900). Scholars including Virginia Allen and Bram Dijkstra believed the femme-fatale was linked to the rise of feminism but their comparisons between Salon paintings and the documents of feminism proper yielded little definitive evidence of antifeminist or misogynistic tendencies. Similarly the use of sinuous plant forms, including large threatening blossoms within Art Nouveau images has engendered discussion of Baudelaire’s Fleurs du Mal (1857) without an explanation of the nearly thirty-year gap between the appearance of his book and the decorative art movement near the end of the century. The nature of the Academic system of art training which encouraged artists to look at earlier paintings, not popular culture, served to reinforce this gap; it is one reason that Art Nouveau is discussed today as a movement not of the "fine" arts, but of the "decorative" or "popular" arts.
Several years of research on inter-related themes present in literature, illustrated journals, advertisements and other manifestations of popular culture have allowed me to trace the development of the French attitude towards women at century’s end. The themes have in common concepts and characteristics associated with the Biblical Eve—from "Paradise" to curiosity, temptation, sin, sexuality and even the creation of the first clothes. These provide the basis for investigation of prototypical manifestations of the femme-fatale found in popular culture as early as the1860s. It is within these images of the contemporary woman—the Filles d’Eve of the nineteenth century—that an intersection of the mythologizing forces of the patriarchal system and agitations of a "new woman" in her many forms takes place. The sexually aggressive image of woman demonstrates the power of contemporary women on the brink of liberation to engender fear within the male population. Artists who drew these images attempted to control what they believed to be the subversive nature of woman through their definition of her characteristics. This presentation will consider the development of the femme-fatale in popular media and interpret her importance against the larger narrative of gender relations during the last quarter of the nineteenth century in Paris. |
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It's the last thing a nervous consumer and a fragile economy needed: a confidence-killing nosedive on Wall Street.
Americans struggling with lean wages, job insecurity and high gasoline prices have seen a 15-percent plunge in stock prices shrink their 401(k) accounts over the past 2½ weeks. When consumers feel less wealthy, they're less likely to buy new furniture, new appliances or new cars. And their spending drives about 70 percent of the economy.
Murray Specktor, 58, a retired Northwest Airlines pilot, says he has enough money tucked away to support himself in retirement. But after the stock market's plunge, he's taking further precautions.
"No expensive meals out," he says. "Entertainment's going to get cut back. Until I see where this is going, I've just got to preserve capital and try to get my comfort level up."
The drop in the stock market, through Friday, could cut overall spending by $140 billion, or 1.3 percent, over the coming year, says Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. Dales forecasts that the stock market turmoil could reduce the economy's annual growth rate by half a percentage point through 2012.
There isn't much to spare. In the first half of the year, the economy grew at a scant 0.8 percent annual rate. That helps explain the dive on Wall Street: Stocks are falling partly on fears that the nation could slip back into a recession.
David Kelly, chief market strategist with J.P. Morgan Funds, said he fears the market drop will become "a self-fulfilling prophecy ... and we'll just scare ourselves into a recession."
Tumbling stock prices could especially depress spending by wealthier consumers. Eighty percent of stocks belong to the richest 10 percent of Americans. And the richest 20 percent represent about 40 percent of consumer spending. Luxury retailers that have helped sustain the economy could suffer.
Even before stocks began dropping last month, consumers weren't exactly exuberant. In June, they reduced spending for the first time in 20 months. The Rasmussen Consumer Index, drawn from a national survey, found Monday that 70 percent of Americans think the economy is worsening. That's up from 45 percent at the start of the year.
The stock-market drop means "people will put off spending decisions, particularly for large-ticket items, and that will ... reduce growth," says Brian Gendreau, a market strategist with Cetera Financial Group and a finance professor at the University of Florida.
Rob Stein, senior portfolio manager at Astor Asset Management, worries that the stock market could remain depressed for months and hurt sales during the crucial holiday season. Still, he holds out hope.
Usually, "slowdowns based on market movements are temporary," Stein says. "Just like high gas prices, you get used to it."
James O'Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global, takes some comfort in what happened last year. Stocks plunged 14 percent between late April and early July on fears about Europe's debt crisis.
"The economy lost a bit of momentum, but it didn't go into recession, and it accelerated again before the end of the year," O'Sullivan notes.
Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors says the damage to consumers' psyche would have been worse years ago. But when the tech-stock bubble burst in 2000 and stocks tanked in 2008, "people lost an awful lot and became more conservative."
Yet if the selloff in stocks continues, Naroff says, "it could convince people we're heading toward another recession" — and perhaps turn the fears into reality.
Sentiment among consumers is especially critical because of the outsize impact of their spending. But plunging stocks also hurt business confidence.
Companies whose share prices have sunk can't raise as much money by issuing shares to the public. Some will delay initial public offerings that would have generated cash they could have used to expand and hire.
U.S. companies are sitting on about $2 trillion in cash. Economists say their reluctance to spend that money is a big reason the economy is still sputtering.
The stock market turmoil is likely to remind many executives of the 2008 financial crisis. Even big, profitable corporations had trouble getting short-term loans. Fears that that could happen again could give companies another reason to hoard cash.
"It just reinforces the hesitation" of companies to hire and invest, says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. The market's drop "validates large corporations' decision to hold cash."
Mainly, though, they're waiting for consumers to start spending freely again. It may take a while.
Patrick Sheehan of Palm Springs, Calif., says the stock plunge has "caused a lot of hysteria in people." Sheehan, co-creator of a documentary film festival, says he and his wife have already cut spending.
"We're bracing for the next storm," he says.
Technology consultant Greg Schulz of Stillwater, Minn., spent about $200 on memory and a hard drive for his computer a few days ago, even as the stock market was falling. He's still spending on essentials. But the market's continued fall has caused him to avoid any extravagances.
"I found a good bargain," Schulz said of the computer gear that will help him do his job better. "But am I going to go out and buy that new 80-inch 3D TV? Nope."
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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06/14/11 CNSNews.com - MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin’s polarizing union rights law will take effect, thanks to a sharply divided ruling by the state Supreme Court that determined a judge overstepped her authority when she voided the governor’s plan to curb collective bargaining rights for most public workers.
The ruling Tuesday evening was a major victory for Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who said the law was needed to help address the state’s $3.6 billion budget shortfall. His proposal — which drew tens of thousands of demonstrators to the state Capitol for weeks earlier this year — thrust Wisconsin to the forefront of a national debate over labor rights.
In a 4-3 decision that included a blistering dissent, the Supreme Court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped when she declared the law void last month. Sumi sided with a lawsuit that claimed Republicans didn’t provide proper public notice of a meeting that helped get the original legislation approved after Democratic senators fled the state to prevent a vote.
Walker claimed that the law, which also requires public employees to pay more for their health care and pensions, would give local governments enough flexibility on labor costs to deal with deep cuts to state aid. Democrats saw it as an attack on public employee unions, which usually back their party’s candidates.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again,” Walker said in a one-sentence statement Tuesday.
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EGYPT: Rights group alleges military forced captured female protesters into taking 'virginity tests'
Female activists detained during the Egyptian army's evacuation of Tahrir Square on March 9 told human-rights organizations that they were beaten, tortured and forced to take virginity tests while in military custody.
Salwa Hosseini, 20, who was taken by soldiers to a military prison on the outskirts of Cairo, told Amnesty International that she and fellow female detainees were strip searched, photographed while naked and subjected to electric shocks. Hossein added that female guards warned the captured women they would be charged with prostitution if they didn't take medical tests to prove they were virgins.
"Forcing women to have 'virginity tests' is utterly unacceptable. Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women," Amnesty International said. "The Egyptian authorities must halt the shocking and degrading treatment of women protesters. Women fully participated in bringing change in Egypt and should not be punished for their activism."
The human-rights group alleges the tests were carried out by a male doctor and that one woman, who claimed to be virgin while tests proved otherwise, was beaten and given electric shocks.
"The army officers tried to further humiliate the women by allowing men to watch and photograph what was happening, with the implicit threat that the women could be at further risk of harm if the photographs were made public," Amnesty's statement added.
Journalist Rasha Azeb, another female activist detained in Tahrir Square, said she was insulted, handcuffed and beaten.
El Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence announced that testimonies given to them by other female captives echoed those of Azeb and Hosseini. Following the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, several hundred protesters decided to prolong their demonstrations in the square until what they called "all the Jan. 25 revolutionary demands" were fulfilled by the ruling Supreme Military Council.
On March 9, military forces intervened to clear the square in an incident that saw at least 100 activists detained, including more than 17 women. Many of those captured were initially taken to the nearby Egyptian museum, where they claimed to have been tortured and beaten by soldiers.
All female detainees were released on March 13 after appearing in front of a military court. A few, including Hosseini, were convicted of disorderly conduct, destroying private and public property, obstructing traffic and carrying weapons. Hosseini was sentenced to a suspended one-year imprisonment.
-- Amro Hassan in Cairo
Photo: Female protesters taking part in the Egyptian revolution. Credit: Associated Press
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