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On a Mission
Bishop Clifford Duckworth (in tie left and in burgandy garb at right) says help is on the way for African Christians.
African expedition an adventure in love for Wadley preacher
• Mission trip to Ghana inspires Redeemed church to go worldwide
By Luke Moses
Redeemed Church Senior Bishop Clifford Duckworth said that help is on the way for Christians and churches in parts of Africa and India.
In October, with the assistance of two interpreters, Bishop Duckworth and eight other members of the Redeemed Church family held the first of what the church hopes will be many seminars teaching, training, and helping pastors and members of over 100 churches in Ghana.
The goal of the seminars was to help ill-prepared pastors with limited knowledge of church operations to become better prepared and, in effect, run more efficient churches.
"We gave the leaders there an introduction of what needed to be done," said Duckworth, "but I think it will be an ongoing process."
During the 10-day trip, Duckworth and the other members traveled to other West African cities and villages and ministered between 10 and 15 primitive churches throughout the region.
Duckworth said that one of the most moving experiences of the mission was his visit along with over 60 other pastors to a Liberian refugee camp in Budumburam where 35,000 Liberians lived on a one-acre plot.
Duckworth and the other representatives of Redeemed Church traveled to Cape Coast Africa after the mission to tour Elamina Castle, the holding place for all those who were brought to North America as slaves. Sixty million have slept in the dungeons beneath the castle, which was used not only as a prison and a fort, but also as a home to Spanish and later Portuguese officials.
The tour of Cape Coast and the mission trip in Ghana and other villages were "life changing" for Duckworth.
"I won't ever be the same," confessed Duckworth about his experience. "In actuality, I understood my affinity with the African people. It's a point of origin."
Duckworth said that there is not a problem with the faith of the people in Ghana. He said that the residents of Ghana were some of the most faithful and devout Christians he had ever met. The problem, he said, is that buildings and churches in Ghana are in the poorest condition that he has ever seen. According to Duckworth, most of the churches did not have four walls that extended from floor to ceiling. Some churches had no doors or roofs and the Christian ministers in Ghana have not been given the same advantages pastors in the United States have been given.
With these problems in mind, the Redeemed Church body has decided to spread from a family of 13 churches in the United States to an international family of over 100 churches.
Duckworth said that the churches will receive training on everything from ministering to office management. Physical conditions of the churches are also expected to improve.
Bishop Luke Jones, who also attended the mission trip, will act as international coordinator.
The church has contacts throughout Africa who will be able to monitor the progress of the churches.
Because the church is going on an international level, the name Redeemed Church will be changed to Kingdom Life Fellowship Ministries International.
The Kingdom Life Fellowship Ministries International will also oversee churches in India.
Duckworth, Jones and other church leaders will be conducting a mission trip in India this month to further spread Christianity.
The church is very excited about the journey that lies ahead and the new members in Africa and India are extremely eager about being provided with new opportunities and advantages to better practice their beliefs.
$50,000 embezzled from Wadley store
• Tiffany Taussau was bookkeeper at Wadley IGA grocery
By Ben Nelms
Wadley resident Tiffany Taussau turned herself in at the Jefferson County jail Jan. 24 in connection to the theft of approximately $50,000 from the Wadley IGA grocery store where she was employed as bookkeeper. She was later charged with seven counts of theft by conversion.
Wadley Police Chief Ben Brown said Monday that knowledge of the incident occurred when the IGA manager contacted his office Jan. 23. Brown was told that upon checking the store's accounts, the manager discovered withdrawals of $12,000-$15,000 had been made on several occasions over a one to two-week period at the same time deposits of $5,000 were made to get change for the days' operation.
During the same period of time Taussau made arrangements to purchase a new vehicle from an Augusta car dealership, according to a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Taussau allegedly provided $10,000 as a down payment and wrote a personal check for the balance. The check had not cleared the bank at the time Taussau turned herself in at the jail, the spokesman said.
An investigation determined that Taussau had within the same time frame deposited an undisclosed amount of money into her own bank account in Swainsboro. Her account was frozen after bank officials determined an impropriety with her account, Brown said.
Taussau was being held in Jefferson County jail on $75,000 bond and was later transferred to Emanuel County jail where she will face charges relating to the illegal deposits made into her personal account.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman Mike Seigler said the agency opened its investigation regarding the theft of funds Jan. 28 at Brown's request. Seigler said the investigation into the theft is active and ongoing.
Thermo King releases workers in third layoff in last 9 months
By Ben Nelms
Jefferson County's 9.0 percent unemployment rate crept higher late last week with the announcement that an undisclosed number of hourly, production employees at the Thermo King plant in Louisville would be laid off Jan. 31.
Company officials declined to disclose the number of layoffs, stating that the reduction was handled on the basis of seniority.
"We feel that each individual affected is significant," said Human Resources Supervisor Mary Margaret Clark. "Providing the number of individuals affected by the reduction in force would lessen the individual impact."
Clark added that no current plans exist for additional reduction in force measures.
The current labor reduction, one of three since spring 2002, were due to a decreased number of orders effecting the Louisville plant, said Clark.
According to information provided by company officials the affected employees will be eligible for unemployment compensation and, through Sandersville Technical College, will be provided with information about related educational opportunities. Affected employees will also be eligible to receive from the company's Transition Assistance Plan and to continue their current company medical and dental insurance benefits for up to one year.
The last layoffs at the Louisville occurred in May 2002 and again in September. None of the affected employees from those reductions have been recalled, said Clark.
The Louisville plant opened in November 1964. In recent years Thermo King has been the largest employer in Jefferson County, Clark said. The plant produces air conditioners for buses, coils for refrigeration units and many of the compressors used in company facilities worldwide.
Thermo King is a division of Ingersoll-Rand. Founded in 1938, Thermo King operates 10 manufacturing facilities and 17 distribution centers worldwide.
Preliminary figures for December 2002 released by Georgia Dept. of Labor show the unemployment rate in Jefferson County at 9.0 percent, or 635 people unemployed. Revised figures for one year ago set the countywide unemployment rate at 903 percent.
Hundreds out sick; some schools closed
By Ben Nelms
The rash of influenza and related illnesses that have been responsible for school closures around Georgia led to the closure of Glascock County Consolidated School in Gibson on Feb. 5 and 6 and the closure of Thomas Jefferson Academy in Louisville on Jan. 30 and 31.
GCCS announced that classes would be suspended Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to get a hold on escalating absentee numbers.
The number of children sick grew last week to 128 absentees Monday and 148 on Tuesday, more than one-fourth of its enrollment of 565 students.
"I do hope the move will help," said Principal Sally Garrett. "We have so many out with flu and viruses that some of our high school classes had only two or three students present. We also have quite a number of faculty that are sick."
TJA Headmaster Chuck Wimberly said Monday the two-day closure came after 78 of the school's 250 students were ill Jan. 29. He said the decision was like a two-edged sword.
"You will always have a certain percentage of students that will be out," he said. "But when the numbers keep increasing you have to put a stop to it so you can get the sick ones well and keep the ones who aren't sick healthy."
Absences due to illness at the school rose from 35 on Jan. 27 to 48 on Jan. 28. The decision to close Thursday and Friday came after nearly one-third of students were absent Wednesday. The number of absences at TJA were listed at 45 on Monday and 36 on Tuesday.
Public schools around Jefferson County were also affected with flu-related absences, though not to the degree experienced at TJA.
The effects of flu and flu-related illnesses in Jefferson County's public schools appeared to peak between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, with a far smaller percentage of students absent than experienced at GCCS or TJA. The exception to that trend occurred at Wrens Elementary School, where 83 students were either ill or went home sick Monday. That number had risen to 89 on Tuesday.
The trend of illness has affected a number of public and private schools throughout east central Georgia in recent weeks, forcing school closures as a way of combating high absentee rates.
Burns visits Gibson
• Congressman discussed issues with citizens in local diner
By Ben Nelms
Talk of local, state, national and international affairs at Usry's Diner in Gibson was ratcheted to a new level Jan. 30 as a group of Glascock County residents heard the thoughts and posed questions to newly elected US 12th District Congressman Max Burns.
"We've never had a congressman come here and sit down to talk with us," said Mitchell resident Etta Wilcher of the occasion.
Elected in November in the recently formed 12th US Congressional District, Burns referenced the state of the Union, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime and answered questions from residents on healthcare, prescription medications and the need to keep Ft. Gordon open.
Burns said the goal of the United States in relation to the current status of affairs with Iraq is to resolve the issue without the use of force. The fundamental, twofold sticking point, he said, is that Iraq possesses Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Hussein is not trustworthy.
"I encourage everyone to have confidence in Pres. Bush and in the nation, said Burns. "The result of our efforts will be the disarmament of the Iraqi regime. I don't believe Iraq could deliver WMD on American soil but he could do so in the Middle East or he could provide those weapons to terrorists who might attempt to use them against us."
Burns said he had spoken with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell in the past week and remained confident in the approach being taken by the administration.
Several residents expressed concern over the increasing costs of prescription drugs and the cost of non-covered Medicaid expenses to families of the elderly.
Burns referenced the historic obstacles associated with passing healthcare-related legislation with so many different lawmakers vying for particular proposals combined with a healthcare system whose costs continue to escalate. He vowed to fight to gain control of a system that bears too heavily on Americans.
"I oppose nationalizing healthcare because we can't go into a system of rationing like some countries have," said Burns. "But there will be a prescription drug plan passed this year. It may not meet all the needs but it will be a start."
Burns also called for patent extensions on prescription drugs to be curtailed, thereby allowing greater number of generic drugs to be available for a reduced cost to consumers.
Addressing residents' questions about the necessity of keeping Ft. Gordon open, Burns said he and all Georgia representatives will work in tandem to insure that the state continues to be treated fairly and equitably during the next round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) talks scheduled for 2005. He said Ft. Gordon's mission remains important within the current emphasis on homeland defense and national security. | <urn:uuid:21d747ed-cd5c-4e51-a110-68ccdc177695> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewsandfarmer.com/archive/2003/topstories020603.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970847 | 2,599 | 1.820313 | 2 |
We read about Anne Lindberg on Design Milk and fell in love with her drawings and installations. They are abstract, made from graphite and colored thread, and are simply mesmerizing. Her works are absolutely eye grabbing and inspirational. Lindberg’s current exhibition at the Nevada museum of art is a must.
Anne Lindberg – “My sculpture and drawings inhabit a non-verbal place resonant with such primal human conditions. Systemic and non-representational, these works are subtle, rhythmic, abstract, and immersive. I find beauty and disturbance through shifts in tool, layering and material to create passages of tone, density, speed, path and frequency within a system. In recent room-sized installations, I discovered an optical and spatial phenomenon that excites me as the work spans the outer reaches of our peripheral vision. The work references physiological systems – such as heartbeat, respiration, neural paths, equilibrium – and psychological states.
I’ve come to understand my work as a kind of self-portraiture. Within the quiet reserve and formal abstraction is a strong impulse to speak from a deep place within myself about that which is private, vulnerable, fragile, and perceptive to the human condition. My work is a mirror of how I experience the world and as I negotiate physicality, optics and ideas through drawing languages, my voice withholds, blurs, teases and veils.
I frequently return to subtle distinctions between drawing as noun and verb as a long held focus in my studio practice. This blurred distinction drives my fascination with an expanded definition of drawing languages and the resurgence of drawing in contemporary art. My collective body of work is an iteration of this language”.
Posted by Michelle Lesser at 22 May, 2012 | <urn:uuid:db04c657-72ac-4776-b148-1040483565f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chictip.com/art/anne-lindberg-drawing-and-installations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951823 | 358 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Did He Do What Needed to be Done October 4, 2012Posted by Dr. Robert Owens in Politics.
Tags: 2012 1st presidential debate, Dr. Robert Owens, First debate, Obama loses debate, Romney wins debate
In last night’s first presidential debate of 2012 nothing had the dramatic impact of Ronald Reagan’s spontaneous and memorable quips, “There you go again!” when attacked by Jimmy Carter in 1980 and in 1984, when asked about his age by an obviously mature and experienced Walter Mondale, he replied naturally, “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Nothing had the visual impact of a haggard looking Nixon with poor makeup next to the Hollywood good looks of John Kennedy. And neither politician made a mistake as bad as Ford forgetting that Eastern Europe was under Soviet domination.
Nothing as dramatic as in these game changing debates however, Mitt Romney did do what needed to be done. He came out swinging and he didn’t stop until the bell rang.
Immediately after the debate Neil Cavuto, in my opinion one of the best anchors on TV, called it a draw and quipped that draws always go to the champ, meaning that Obama came off with a TKO.
On the Networks usually devoted to advancing the agenda of the Democratic Party however it was different story. The Progressive media was wringing its hands over Mr. Obama’s lackluster performance. And a CNN poll conducted Wednesday night found that 75% of people thought Romney had won the debate. Even in California, the bluest of blue states the plurality of those watching thought Romney won. Most telling of all Chris Matthews, the MSNBC anchor who is famous for the thrill running up his leg when he listens to Obama said, “I don’t know what he was doing out there. He had his head down, he was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney, on the other hand, came in with a campaign. He had a plan, he was going to dominate the time, he was going to be aggressive, he was going to push the moderator around, which he did effectively, he was going to relish the evening, enjoying it,”
When your opponents say they believe they lost you might as well claim it as a win. Romney may not have convinced conservatives that he is the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan and they may still have to close their eyes or hold their nose when they vote for him at least he might have opened a window to defeat the Progressives’ fearless leader and at least slow down America’s bullet train to bankruptcy. With a delay we may be able to turn this train around and head back to limited government, individual liberty and economic freedom.
Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2012 Robert R. Owens [email protected] Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens | <urn:uuid:317832dc-3289-485e-8155-da3785392c29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drrobertowens.com/2012/10/04/did-he-do-what-needed-to-be-done/?like=1&_wpnonce=3f7689167a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980248 | 633 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Comment: Enzymology moves north
Biochemistry in many UK universities has moved away from its chemical roots and the trend has been to focus on the more qualitative and descriptive aspects of biology. The tide is turning at the University of Manchester with new developments at the interface of biology and the physical sciences.
MIB Centre Manchester
Traditionally chemistry-based disciplines such as mechanistic enzymology have felt the squeeze in UK life science departments because of expansion in the more descriptive aspects of cell and molecular biology.
The erosion of chemistry and quantitative thinking in undergraduate life sciences teaching has ushered in an era in which these graduates are poorly equipped to tackle the challenges at the chemistry-biology interface in fields such as molecular enzymology, protein structure/dynamics and spectroscopy.
It is against this landscape that our enzymology group, one of the leaders in Europe, is moving from the University of Leicester to the University of Manchester to form a nucleus of activity in biological redox catalysis and mechanism. We have developed a highly integrated and effective group at Leicester but we have found the constraints of working in a traditional life sciences department incompatible with our desire to integrate more closely with chemists, physicists and engineers.
The compartmentalised thinking and lack of interdisciplinary vision in many life sciences departments is too restrictive. It's not sufficient to make a token appointment in chemical biology; what is needed is joined-up thinking and strategic vision beyond the familiar boundaries imposed by university structures and departments.
The new Manchester interdisciplinary biocentre (MIB) achieves this goal and creates a truly interdisciplinary environment that fosters meaningful interaction between the different disciplines.
In the field of redox biology strong interactions with, for example, specialised forms of spectroscopy are essential.
We have developed collaborative links over the years with other institutions but our work needs much stronger interaction in these specialised areas, ideally within the same research building.
This battle has not been won at Leicester - not so much through lack of resource but, perhaps, more through low levels of enthusiasm for more chemically-based technologies in the school of biological sciences. The change of attitude and the breadth of the vision at Manchester is refreshing.
The MIB is a bold venture that will enable integrated approaches to solving complex problems in biochemistry. The environment facilitates more lateral thinking and encourages consortium-based research activity with more ambitious goals.
The Leicester team has our expertise in fast reaction kinetics, molecular enzymology, spectroscopy, thermodynamics and protein engineering and interests in redox enzyme mechanism. It also comprises David Leys with expertise in structural biology and dynamics of redox enzymes and Michael Sutcliffe, a computational and physical chemist, with skills in reaction simulations and modelling.
Along with colleagues at Manchester, we will set up the centre for redox enzymology at Manchester. Studies of enzyme mechanisms, structures and biological energy conversion within the group will operate alongside the centre of excellence in biocatalysis, biotransformations and biomanufacture, thus providing a highly integrated group focused on the structure, mechanism and biotechnological exploitation of biological catalysts.
Having computational analysis, biochemistry, biophysics and chemistry on a single floor of a research building is clearly beneficial but the key change is the willingness, at the highest level, to embrace interdisciplinary science and to back it with substantial investment, thus really putting the 'chemistry' back into 'biochemistry'.
At a difficult time for chemistry departments UK-wide, this reinforcement of chemistry's critical importance in modern biological sciences should be seen as a godsend. Is the tide turning at last for recognition of chemistry's pivotal role in biological sciences? It would appear
so at Manchester.
Andrew Munro and Nigel Scrutton are members of the University of Leicester-based enzymology group that is moving to the MIB | <urn:uuid:7518605b-48a7-455a-b739-1ad1569550a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2005/June/Comment.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933005 | 789 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Who Defames the Prophet?
by Ahmed El Aswany
Translated and Introduced by Raymond Ibrahim.
The following op-ed, written by Ahmed El Aswany, appeared in the popular news website El Bashayer, December 22, 2011, following several lawsuits against Egypt's Christians, most notably billionaire Naguib Sawiris, for "defaming Islam." Hard-hitting and self-critical, it deals with an important question: Exactly who is it that defames Islam and its prophet Muhammad? Many in the Muslim world insist it is the West—whether through cartoons, books, or simply free speech. However, as El Aswany boldly argues, no one defames Islam as much as "we Muslims, for imposing a terrorist, hypocrite, and life-hating Islamic model that feeds on killing others in the name of jihad and fighting freedom of expression…"
I do not believe that cartoons, books, or movies can defame any religion or affect the faith of its adherents and true believers.
Those who defame the Prophet are they who slaughter and bomb innocent people all over the world—in New York, Madrid, London, Bali, Riyadh, Cairo, Kabul and Baghdad—while citing the name of Allah and his Prophet and under the banner of Islamic jihad. Ongoing demonstrations follow in support of their acts, while Internet sites sing praises of the "knight" Osama bin Laden, the "hero of the two raids on New York and Washington [i.e., the strikes of 9/11]."
Those who defame the Prophet include men like [Yusif] Qaradawi [the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader], who incite killing Jewish babies in their mothers' wombs (his lecture at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate in 1996), and who incite and support suicide bombings and declared jihad in Iraq, in the name of religion and the Prophet, leading to the killing of innocent people.
Those who defame the Prophet are they who demand the world to enact resolutions against the "defamation of religion," while they practice this defamation in every prayer in their mosques, schools, and satellite stations—especially against Christians and Jews, whom they curse in every prayer. (After the Islamic Human Rights Commission of the United Nations motioned this resolution against "Defamation of Religion," according to the Saudi internet site ArabiaNet, the Saudi Shura [Consultative] Council opposed the resolution—because defaming other religions is a rite and part of the rituals of Islam.)
Those who defame the Prophet are they who issue fatwas sanctioning "adult breastfeeding," who claim that drinking the Prophet's urine is a blessing, and allow such hadiths to be taught in schools and religious universities—including the hadith of the fly and other hadiths advocating humiliating the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] and treating them with contempt, the hadith of "paradise is under the shades of swords," and thousands of other hadiths, the mere existence of which defame the Prophet and Islam.
Those who defame the prophet are they who teach children in Islamic schools to hate Christians, that befriending them is forbidden ("your enemy is the enemy of your religion")—as one niqab-wearing teacher taught my friend's ten-year-old daughter at Al Fateh Islamic Schools in Maadi; and when the parents complained they were told "This is Islam."
Those who defame the Prophet are they who believe that outward appearances—such as beards, zibibas [callous mark, or "raisin," on forehead from prayer], and Islamic female dress—are part of the statutes of Islam, and they accuse people of being infidels and kill them in their cause.
Those who defame the Prophet are they who deem women defective, equating them with dogs and donkeys in that they invalidate prayer, as per the famous Sahih Muslim hadith. They believe that women are brainless and impious—forgetting that women are mothers, sisters, sweethearts, daughters, and wives, and are on an equal par with men. What is even sadder is that the majority of Muslim women believe in the authenticity of such hadiths that disparage them.
Those who defame the prophet are men like [Dr.] Zaghloul El Naggar, who have a claim to knowledge, yet proclaim natural disasters such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and floods as Allah's punishment for sinners, and denigrate both the Bible and Torah, claiming that they are fabricated books. And he does all this under the banner of the Prophet and in the name of Islam, and many rabble emulate him.
Those who defame the prophet are they who propagate myths among the Muslims—such as the "Prophet's medicine" and dream interpretation—and call their followers to replicate the Prophet's traditions [Sunna], thus promoting ignorance and retrogression among Muslims, who fall easy prey into their wicked web.
Those who defame the prophet are the rulers and Sheikhs of the Arab world who have transformed their countries into the last strongholds of tyranny and dictatorship in the world and who manipulate religious texts to justify their crimes.
Those who defame the prophet are not in the West, but rather we Muslims, for imposing a terrorist, hypocrite, and life-hating Islamic model that feeds on killing others in the name of jihad and fighting freedom of expression on the pretext of defending the Umma's [Islamic world's] precepts, which mean only regression and ossification.
They [Western people] only defame and combat the model that we—and no one else—created.
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum. | <urn:uuid:b8769b38-4fe9-4945-92d1-9be1549e9a04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://israeljewsjudaism.blogspot.com/2012/02/who-defames-prophet.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946069 | 1,182 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Naperville Area Humane Society
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naperville humane society
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naperville animal shelter
The Naperville Area Humane Society (NAHS) is a non-profit, limited admission animal shelter accepting cats and dogs. Our shelter can house as many as eighteen dogs and forty cats.
Each animal is tenderly cared for at NAHS. Entering a shelter can be stressful or possibly even terrifying to some cats and dogs. Our dedicated and highly trained staff and over 400 volunteers offer compassionate care to each animal and work to address his or her individual needs.
The staff works diligently to match the needs of each pet with a family eager to adopt a dog or cat. While at NAHS, all animals receive basic vaccinations as well as medical care. All animals are neutered or spayed before being released to their new owners. In addition, dogs’ temperaments are thoroughly assessed before being made available for adoption. Each year, we care for roughly 1,600 cats and dogs.
Unfortunately, there continues to be far too many cats and dogs needing help in our society. Since we cannot solve this overwhelming problem ourselves, we have evolved our approach to the homeless animal crisis to include innovative community service initiatives, such as humane education and a behavior helpline, while we continue to re-home animals.
Our Mission: Naperville Area Humane Society is a private, not-for-profit organization founded in 1979 to develop and implement animal welfare programs and services within Naperville and the surrounding area. Our goal is to protect animals and prevent animal suffering. While providing shelter and adoption programs for homeless animals, NAHS also strives to educate the community on compassion, respect and kindness towards all living things.
Our History: In 1979, a group of caring citizens dedicated themselves to helping homeless companion animals in their community. They created the Naperville Humane Society and fostered animals in their homes until permanent homes could be found. Wishing to serve more people and animals, this group solicited the financial support of the community and built a 3,500 square foot shelter in 1988.
After 25 years and more than 20,000 animals served, the Board of Directors changed the name of the organization to more accurately reflect the population we serve. In January of 2005 the name was officially changed to Naperville Area Humane Society., which more accurately reflects the areas we serve. | <urn:uuid:ba744f27-0f24-4583-8013-8e017d9ab011> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biz.prlog.org/N-A-H-S/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946448 | 485 | 1.734375 | 2 |
OXFORD, England -- Belgium's Catholic bishops have pledged a "culture of vigilance" against future sexual abuse by priests and said guilty clergy must compensate their victims even if their crimes are no longer punishable by law.
"We cannot repair the past, but we can take moral responsibility by recognizing sufferings and helping victims recover," Bishop Guy Harpigny of Torunai and Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, the church's delegates for abuse, told a Brussels news conference Jan. 12.
"Above all, we ask forgiveness for the suffering we weren't able to prevent, and we commit to treat this problem differently in future."
The bishops introduced a 52-page booklet, "A Hidden Suffering," setting out lessons from the abuse scandal and a "global action plan" to prevent similar "contradictions of the Gospel ethic."
They said church leaders had been "filled with confusion" at the "wave of moving accounts" of abuse, and had accepted proposals by a parliamentary commission for a "neutral arbitration procedure outside church structures" to enable victims to seek financial damages.
"As bishops and religious superiors, we at first maintained silence. But this silence was not indifference and had nothing in common with any wish to conceal the facts," the bishops said.
"It merely showed our bewilderment. We sank our heads in shock and asked very seriously how all of this could have happened."
Belgium's Catholic Church has been dogged by abuse allegations since early 2010, alongside parallel claims against the church in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
In its brochure, the bishops' conference said the moment had come for "coherent and energetic action" and a "culture of vigilance."
It added that the church's action plan would include "standing on the side of victims" and "breaking the silence," as well as "not leaving abusers in peace" and being "on the look-out for future prevention."
Speaking Jan. 12 to the Associated Press, Bishop Harpigny said the church had initially urged victims to report crimes to the civil authorities, but would now also impose its own penalties by seeking to make abusive priests apologize and pay damages even if their cases were beyond Belgium's statute of limitations.
He added that the church would consider compensation itself if guilty clergy were unable to pay. | <urn:uuid:be618692-b2b2-4b59-a70f-a3b4d1052f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ncronline.org/print/news/belgian-bishops-pledge-pay-damages-abuse-victims-under-new-plan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979878 | 474 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Every cloud has a stormy lining
Economics, to me, is like art; I can appreciate it, I can discuss it, even argue about it but I can’t really do it; as the following paragraphs will probably go to show.
I attended a conference at the end of last week which contained a number of presentations and conversations about the economy. It changed how I think about things quite substantially.
On the one hand, while we face huge fiscal challenges and the austerity programme is already causing pain, I concluded that the straight jacket we are in may not be at tight as is usually presented. For a start, the scale of the fiscal challenge depends a great deal on the estimate of how much of the deficit is structural – the more scope we judge there is for the economy to grow without inflation the less we should be worried about the medium term sustainability of public debt. A speaker at the conference said he had heard convincing estimates for the size of the output gap ranging from zero to six per cent of GDP. Second, adding a year or two to the timeframe for cutting the deficit (as George Osborne has already done) can make quite a difference to the speed at which cuts need to be made. Third, as the muted market reaction to the decision of the heavily indebted Japanese Government to inject yet more cash into the economy suggests, international financial markets seem right now more concerned about growth – or the lack of it – than debt.
When economic debate isn’t focussed on the deficit it tends to focus on growth. The implication is that if only we could have a few years of two or three per cent growth – perhaps spurred by a temporary tax cut or some infrastructure spending – then we would be well on the way to recovery. But this belies the deeper nature of our economic problems.
For example, we continue to be the most privately indebted of the OECD countries, a debt concentrated disproportionately in the lowest income groups. There is simply no way for the poorest to get out of debt, because even if the economy did grow a rise in interest rates would plunge over the edge millions who are only just managing to meet interest charges. As ministers desperately scan the sky for rays of sunshine the clouds are continuing to gather over these families with welfare cuts and rising transport and utility charges (water becomes the latest today).
Back out in the economy at large, there is the huge decline in productivity which has occurred in the last few years, from the already modest base line at which we started when the credit crunch hit. This may in turn help to explain why after a twenty per cent devaluation in the pound in the last few years we are still experiencing a huge balance of payments deficit, one which would be substantially worse were it not for the contribution of the publicly-reviled financial services sector.
At this point we might add to the list the continuing hollowing out of the labour force leaving an ever bigger gulf separating the low productivity low pay service sector from the professional and managerial classes, and the latter from the global plutocracy who now use central London property as a massive piggy bank. And even at the scientific top end of the economy on which so many ministers seem to rest their hopes, there is both a decline in research and development investment by big firms and problems with translating Government intentions and funding for innovation into anything like the scale of new invention and enterprise needed.
There are three ways of looking at this (there always are). The basically complacent one I have described; with a bit of pushing and shoving growth will return. Then there is the gloomy one suggesting we have entered an era of low growth, stagnant living standards and a declining public sphere. The third is that in the face of all of this we need not only to think much more profoundly and talk much more openly about our economic challenges, but also to be willing to do some genuinely innovative things in relation to policy on tax (maybe a ‘use it or lose it’ tax on corporate balance sheets), spending (making tough decision on less productive public spending so more can go to those things which boost employment and skills), employment (an urgent national crusade to end long term youth unemployment), training (by 2020 every job should be a learning job), investing assets (using social housing receipts and public sector pension for productive investment) devolving to cities (implementing the Heseltine report and strengthening city regions).
To be honest, I don’t know all the pros and cons for these six ideas, and even if I did I might not understand them. But desperate times require desperate measures and, be in no doubt, for the UK economy these ARE desperate times. | <urn:uuid:95b91106-2448-4938-8ea9-16d59c120897> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.matthewtaylorsblog.com/politics/every-cloud-has-a-stormy-lining/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958837 | 946 | 1.507813 | 2 |
MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the daily pill Tarceva® (erlotinib) as a maintenance treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed after four cycles of platinum-based first-line chemotherapy.
“We are delighted that lung cancer patients and their physicians will have the option of beginning Tarceva therapy in the first-line maintenance setting. We believe that Tarceva, as the only medicine approved in the maintenance setting for the squamous and non-squamous forms of NSCLC, offers a valuable treatment option for these patients,” said Colin Goddard, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals. “We remain committed to a strategy of maximizing the value of Tarceva as an important therapy for cancer patients and are pursuing the study of additional uses for Tarceva, including as a first-line treatment for lung cancer patients with an activating EGFR mutation, as an adjuvant therapy in NSCLC, and in other tumor types such as ovarian cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma.”
The new approval for Tarceva was based on data from the pivotal Phase III SATURN study. SATURN showed that Tarceva given as a maintenance therapy immediately after first-line chemotherapy significantly extended overall survival (OS) and significantly improved the time people with advanced NSCLC lived without the disease getting worse (progression-free survival, PFS) in a broad patient population, including squamous and non-squamous histology, compared with placebo. The goal of maintenance therapy, a new approach in lung cancer, is to provide an active treatment for patients whose disease either responded to, or was stable, following initial chemotherapy before their cancer worsens. Many people are unable to receive further treatment after their cancer grows or spreads because of rapid cancer growth and worsening symptoms.
Tarceva is already FDA-approved for people with advanced NSCLC whose cancer has grown or spread after receiving at least one course of chemotherapy. Tarceva is not meant to be used at the same time as certain types of chemotherapy for NSCLC.
According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and approximately 159,000 Americans died from the disease in 2009. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer. Most people are diagnosed with advanced stage disease and only one to five percent of people with advanced stage (IIIB/IV) NSCLC survive five years.
SATURN was an international, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, Phase III study that enrolled 889 patients with advanced NSCLC at approximately 160 sites worldwide. Patients were treated with four cycles of standard first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and then randomized to Tarceva or placebo if the cancer did not progress. PFS was defined as the length of time from randomization to disease progression or death from any cause.
* OS was significantly improved by 23 percent with Tarceva compared to placebo (hazard ratio=0.81, 19 percent reduction in the risk of death, p=0.0088).
* People who received Tarceva had a 41 percent improvement in the likelihood of living without the disease getting worse (PFS, the primary endpoint) compared to placebo (hazard ratio=0.71, 29 percent reduction in the risk of cancer progression or death, p<0.0001).
* The most commonly reported adverse events in patients who received Tarceva as maintenance therapy were rash (49 percent) and diarrhea (20 percent). Grade 3 rash and diarrhea were experienced by six percent and two percent of patients, respectively. There were no cases of Grade 4 rash or diarrhea.
Tarceva is a once-a-day pill that targets the EGFR pathway. Tarceva is designed to inhibit the tyrosine kinase activity of the EGFR signaling pathway inside the cancer cell, one of the critical growth factors in NSCLC and pancreatic cancer. The way Tarceva works to treat cancer is not fully known.
In addition to its indications in advanced NSCLC, Tarceva is also prescribed in combination with gemcitabine for patients with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer whose cancer has spread, grown, or cannot be surgically removed, and who have not received previous chemotherapy.
There have been reports of serious Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)-like events including deaths in patients taking Tarceva. Serious side effects (including deaths) in patients taking Tarceva include liver and/or kidney problems; gastrointestinal (GI) perforations (the development of a hole in the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine); and severe blistering skin reactions including cases similar to Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Patients taking Tarceva plus gemcitabine were more likely to experience bleeding and clotting problems such as heart attack or stroke. Eye irritation and damage to the cornea have been reported in patients taking Tarceva. Difficulty with blood clotting, and bleeding events, including gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal bleeding, have been reported in clinical studies. Women should avoid becoming pregnant and avoid breastfeeding while taking Tarceva. Patients should call their doctor right away if they have these signs or symptoms: new or worsening skin rash; serious or ongoing diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting or stomach pain; new or worsening shortness of breath or cough; fever; eye irritation. Rash and diarrhea were the most common side effects associated with Tarceva in the NSCLC clinical studies. Fatigue, rash, nausea, loss of appetite and diarrhea were the most common side effects associated with Tarceva plus gemcitabine therapy in the pancreatic cancer clinical study.
For full prescribing information, please call 1-877-TARCEVA or visit http://www.tarceva.com.
About OSI Pharmaceuticals
OSI Pharmaceuticals is committed to “shaping medicine and changing lives” by discovering, developing and commercializing high-quality, novel and differentiated targeted medicines designed to extend life and improve the quality of life for patients with cancer and diabetes/obesity. For additional information about OSI, please visit http://www.osip.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and results to differ materially from the statements made. Factors that might cause such a difference include, among others, OSI's and its collaborators' abilities to effectively market and sell Tarceva and to expand the approved indications for Tarceva, OSI’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights, safety concerns regarding Tarceva, competition to Tarceva and OSI’s drug candidates from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, the completion of clinical trials, the effects of FDA and other governmental regulation, including pricing controls, OSI's ability to successfully develop and commercialize drug candidates, and other factors described in OSI Pharmaceuticals' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kathy Galante, 631-962-2043
Kim Wittig, 631-962-2135
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Joele Frank/Andy Brimmer/Eric Brielmann, 212-355-4449
Lisa Burns, 212-213-0006 | <urn:uuid:9b64694c-b5bb-4e75-9754-ed818f693234> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biospace.com/News/roche-osi-pharmaceuticals-inc-win-u-s-approval-for/177157 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945637 | 1,562 | 1.65625 | 2 |
These measures are failing all over the place, and for good reason. Thousands of families aren't able to afford a co-pay or a day off to see the doctor for cold medicine. Nor should they have to. The drugs are safe for normal consumption, and the failure on the part of law enforcement should not result in a burden on people who are already struggling to make ends meet. Those same people can't afford sick days, and may be going without something else just to get the medicine.A Springfield City Council member is drafting language that would ban over-the-counter sales of a key methamphetamine ingredient.Zone 1 Councilman Jeff Seifried said he intends to “start a discussion” on the topic and asked city legal staff to work on language for a bill that would likely require a prescription for the purchase of a popular cold and allergy tablet, pseudoephedrine.
One proposed solution has been a database where you are forced to provide your driver's license to purchase "dangerous" OTC medicine. No, that's not unnerving at all. Meanwhile, delivery trucks are moving it to criminals by the case, and citizens are forced to sign and pay for the expense of having their right to privacy squashed.
Fight the battle a different way. This will just send people over city or county lines, idiots. | <urn:uuid:e39399e7-183a-4dbe-99f7-46bf44b3035a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2012/09/here-we-go-again.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962439 | 271 | 1.625 | 2 |
Tens of thousands of students, teachers and parents were out on the streets in Hong Kong on Sunday, protesting against Chinese patriotism classes.
The public and pro-democracy activists say that these classes will brainwash children into supporting China's Communist Party.
Protesters carried banners and placards, and shouted slogans, calling for the Chinese government to withdraw its plan.
Some of the placards used lyrics from the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall,” and a group of parents and their children waved posters reading, “We don’t need no thought control. Leave them kids alone.”
Others carried banners reading, “Our previous generations came here to escape the Communist Party, don’t let the next generation return to the grip of the demon.”
Video screen capture
Protest against the new education system in Hong Kong, July 29, 2012.
While the government's decision to introduce the new Moral and National Education curriculum sparked concerns amongst the public, authority claim that the classes are merely aimed at building Chinese national pride.
Hong Kong's Secretary of Education, Eddie Ng said on Sunday, “Brainwashing is against Hong Kong’s core values. We would not support or accept that.”
However, Hong Kong's residents see this move as yet another attempt by China to limit democracy in the semi-autonomous territory.
Anger was shown over a new government-funded textbook, “The China Model.” The text, which was prepared by a pro-Beijing organization, describes the Communist Party as “selfless and united” and presents it as "an indispensable agent for stability and success."
P.S. Ho, who protested along with his wife and four-year-old daughter told media, "We don't want our child to be fed this material. If the initiative continues without changes, maybe we will change schools later or immigrate to another country."
The protest kicked off from Victoria Park, and then blocked off parts of the Causeway Bay commercial area as they headed towards the new government headquarters in the city center.
Hong Kong's public broadcaster, RTHK, was told by organizers that 90,000 people turned out for the protest. However the police say the figure was more like 32,000.
Digital Journal reported on a protest in Hong Kong on July 1, over the city's new leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, chosen by an elite pro-Beijing committee and widely suspected of having close ties to the Communist Party.
Hong Kong was previously a British colony, and 15 years ago, China recovered sovereignty of the territory, which is now becoming increasingly dependent on mainland China. However, according to a recent opinion poll by Hong Kong University, residents in Hong Kong now have less trust in the central government in Beijing than at any time since the 1997 handover. | <urn:uuid:45650e5e-2dd5-4a94-b9a4-9b550a8f7623> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329629 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962439 | 593 | 1.820313 | 2 |
July 13th, 2011 by Abby Keane
If you filed an immigrant visa petition for your relative, you should be the sponsor. You should also be at least 18 years old and a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident. It is also important that you have a domicile in the United States or a territory or possession of the United States. It simply means you must actually live in the United States, or a territory or possession, in order to qualify as a sponsor. Even if you live abroad, you may still qualify as a sponsor if you can show that your residence abroad is temporary and that you still have your domicile in the United States.
The INA permits both a “joint sponsor” and a “substitute sponsor” in certain cases. If the visa petitioner’s household income is not adequate enough to meet the requirements of INA , a joint sponsor can sign an affidavit of support, in addition to the affidavit of support signed by the main visa petitioner. A joint sponsor is someone who is willing to accept legal responsibility for supporting your family member along with you. A joint sponsor has to meet all the same requirements as you but the joint sponsor need not be related to the immigrant. The joint sponsor (or the joint sponsor and his/her household) must reach the 125 percent income requirement. You cannot combine your income with that of a joint sponsor to meet the income requirement.
There can be a substitute sponsor if:
the Service approved an immediate relative or family-based immigrant visa petition on behalf of an alien;
after the Service did so, the visa petitioner died; and
the Service has determined, in the exercise of discretion, that humanitarian factors make it prudent not to revoke approval of the visa petition.
A substitute sponsor will also be accepted if the visa petitioner dies after the principal beneficiary of the visa petition has immigrated, in the case of an alien spouse or child is seeking to follow to join the main beneficiary after the visa petitioner’s death.
To qualify as a substitute sponsor you must be a US citizen or national, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, at least 18 years of age, and domiciled in the United States. In addition, you should be a qualifying relative, or the legal guardian, of the intending immigrant. The qualifying relatives include the intending immigrant’s spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sibling, child (if at least 18 years of age), son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild. As a substitute sponsor, you have the responsibility to sign and complete the affidavit of support in place of the deceased petitioner. You have to meet all of the same income requirements of a sponsor and you will also have all of the same responsibilities as a sponsor.
You should complete Form I-864, Affidavit of Support when your relative has been scheduled for an immigrant visa interview with a consular officer overseas OR when your relative is about to submit an application for adjustment to permanent resident status with the USCIS or with an Immigration Court in the United States.
If you have a joint sponsor, the joint sponsor must also file Form I-864 at this time. If you are using the income of other household members to qualify, then each household member who is accepting legal responsibility for supporting your relative must complete a separate Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member. | <urn:uuid:767cf817-5610-49f4-a91a-3c027a056265> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.immigrationdirect.com/immigration-articles/who-is-required-to-be-a-sponsor/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955371 | 722 | 1.710938 | 2 |
As the Madison County team captain of the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform(ACCR), which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization, we support a "yes" vote for statewide Amendments 4, 9 and 10 on the Nov. 6 ballots. Only these three amendments, which are part of 11 statewide amendments, are the product of the bi-partisan Alabama Constitutional Revision Committee.
This committee is tackling article by article of the antiquated 1901 constitution, which is an improvement for the many years of neglect. However, ACCR prefers a convention with elected delegates without special interests to rewrite the whole constitution. The Judicial Article was approved in 1973.
In a nutshell, the three amendments say:
Amendment 4 removes the racist language in the Education Article, which requires black and white children to attend separate schools and to fund them with poll taxes.
Amendment 9 modernizes the Corporate Article by eliminating references to telegraph and implement business priviledge tax.
Amendment 10 updates the Banking Article by deleting sections on the printing of money and gold and silver standards.
There are 17 local amendments that apply to only one county. Madison County has an amendment that deals with dangerous dogs.
One major concern about these local amendments is that they add to the constitution's already-cumbersome 850 amendments. It's time for a change in this practice.
Isaiah J. Ashe | <urn:uuid:13f0cdc9-7653-4e42-b96a-3f30082bc06b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.al.com/times-views/2012/10/vote_yes_on_amendments_4_9_and.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947787 | 277 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Directory: Catalog >
Bock Water Heaters
Removing Anode Rods for a Bock Water Heater
There are several ways to get anode rods out of the water heater, but always
using an anti-seize compound on the rod threads before putting them back in will
make it easier to get them out the next time.
Drain a small amount of water from the heater after shutting off its electricity
and cold water supply. Don't drain the water to below the T & P valve, as the
water's weight will help keep the tank from moving while you work on loosing the
Bock Water Heaters suggests using a 1/2" drive breaker bar with a 1 1/6"
socket. The breaker bar is preferable to a ratchet wrench, as it's longer and
won't slip. If the anodes haven't been removed for some time, a "plumber's
helper" (a pipe 1" in diameter and 3' long) fitted over the handle of the
breaker bar will work every time.
Before trying to loosen the anode rods, use a rust devolving spay on them
- WD40 works nicely. If you're pressed for time, a product called "PB Blaster"
(available at most automotive stores) works the best.
Before trying to loosen the rods, lift the vent piping from the heater flue
outlet just far enough to expose two large holes in the flue. These holes will
accept a 3/4" solid bar about 3' to 4' long, which will be used as a lever
to help break the anodes loose.
Information Source: Bock Water Heaters
Some contractors who normally replace anode rods during their annual service
of customers' water heaters are using electric impact drills, which are relatively
inexpensive and available at stores such as Sears, Lowe's, and Home Depot.
After removing the old rods, drain and flush the tank. Before installing the
new rods, fill the tank at least three-quarters full to help in tightening down
the new rods. And do NOT use Teflon tape on the rods, as it acts as an insulator
and makes them useless. | <urn:uuid:414d005a-f61a-4a11-be9b-2eb32ef6963e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jupiterheating.com/bock-water-heaters/bock-help-remove-anode-rods.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937176 | 463 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Question by badboy: How long should the bunnies be allowed to nurse?
I know a person that is caring for two week old bunnies. She is wondering how long she should let the bunnies nurse with their mother. Also should she slowly start giving them solid food? If so how often and how much?
Answer by Sd S
baby rabbits should be weened at 5-6 weeks and can go to a new home at 7-8 weeks.
Give your answer to this question below! | <urn:uuid:7b07378d-b2ed-430e-81b2-c53d6c6ea968> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nurseatlanta.com/Nursing/bunnies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978624 | 108 | 1.664063 | 2 |
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This paper presents an approach to the verification of large Java programs. The focus lies on programs that implement a distributed communicating system e.g. in a M- or E-commerce scenario. When trying to verify such programs, thousands of Java classes with tens of thousands of lines of code would have to be taken into consideration. That is impossible. The paper introduces a technique that dramatically reduces the amount of source code that must be considered. Additionally, a suitable method for programming security critical systems is introduced. The reduction is achieved by extracting a verification kernel from the program, which is sufficient for proving the correctness of the relevant part. An algorithm for the automatic computation of the verification kernel has been developed and is presented in the paper. The correctness of the verification kernel approach is proved on the level of the Java language semantics.
Date of Conference: 7-9 Sept. 2005 | <urn:uuid:dd9e1027-577b-4181-8e7e-ff79d6afb7ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?reload=true&arnumber=1575906&contentType=Conference+Publications | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932597 | 179 | 1.789063 | 2 |
En español │Remember when putting a fence up between your home and your neighbor's was considered a hostile act? Today, new homes often come with fences already built. As a society, we've apparently opted for privacy over community. Studies show that the number of meaningful contacts most of us have with neighbors has declined precipitously in the past 50 years.
Many factors have contributed to this, but the most pervasive one is the Internet. The more time we spend “connected” online, the more disconnected we often are in real life. Today, people can have hundreds of Facebook friends, but few or no actual pals on the street where they live.
A few years ago, I decided to make a concerted effort to get to know the people who live on my block. In the course of doing so, I came to the firm conclusion that there are important reasons for all of us to do this — especially as we age. The older we get, the more likely we are to live alone — and the greater our risk of some kind of emergency. In an emergency, a friend even 10 minutes away may be a friend too far. Sometimes, only the person next door or across the street is close enough to help.
Beyond that, neighbors can enrich our lives — particularly in retirement when people have more time on their hands. There is a real pleasure in having unplanned conversations with folks nearby. It's a special kind of connection that coffee dates don't quite replace. And neighbors may have something of value to contribute to your life: Maybe it's just borrowing a lawn mower, exchanging a recipe or offering to give a piano lesson to a visiting grandchild. These are advantages we never know about until we actually get to know our neighbors and to say more to them besides, “Hello, how are you?”
The good news is that, no matter how long you've been living on your block, it's never too late to get to know your neighbors. If you would like to turn your street of houses into a closer-knit community, try these five time-tested tips on ways to strengthen a neighborhood.
1. Make a neighborhood directory. Include street and e-mail addresses and phone numbers and distribute the directory to everyone on the block. This is a good first step that doesn't take much time. While collecting the information, you might become surprised at how eager other neighbors also are for this kind of connection. | <urn:uuid:c2418412-649e-4b30-b099-c2918b8fb086> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aarp.org/relationships/friends/info-09-2010/connecting_to_neighbors..html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973097 | 499 | 1.773438 | 2 |
This repair is performed on a 1992 Miata in the photographs and example below. Later models may require a different method.
On the lower-exterior is a single weatherstripping which keeps water out of the door – protecting interior components of the door from wind and weather and creating an aesthetic appearance at the lower edge of the window. Over the years, this weatherstripping may decay and become unsightly. My own ’92 was showing some age, but the door weatherstripping had become unsightly – to the point that the molded-in metal frame of the weatherstripping itself was showing through the thin rubber covering – rusty colored metal. This is distracting, even once the car is cleaned and detailed.
1. First, confirm that you received the right parts from the dealer.
2. Then gently pry the front and rear retainer snaps on each weatherstripping.
3. Grab the weatherstripping with pliers at the rearmost edge of the door – the pliers will damage the old weatherstripping – but you will soon discarding these to the trash.
4. With a firm pull, the weatherstripping will slide back in one piece.
5. Remove the plastic retainers being careful not to drop them down into the door. Discard these. If you do, and you may - a cheap tool which I call a “grabber” will help you get that piece out. Or, simply a piece of tape on the end of a dowel rod.
Replacing each weatherstripping is the simplest and most obvious step and takes about one minute – simply position it carefully and snap it into place firmly listening for the click of the interior plastic retainers. The front and rear snaps are inserted last – observing the nearby weathersripping dress.
nce you have snapped each weatherstripping
into place, you are done. Enjoy the renewed appearance of your car. | <urn:uuid:075c891b-4a25-4103-8c28-5bde5bbf4aec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://miata.net/garage/weatherstrip.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941156 | 397 | 1.5 | 2 |
Happy Birthday! One year eduFire – time really flies.
So let me give you my personal review of the past year with eduFire and my wishes for the year(s) to come.
Ain’t it interesting how one single company can change things that remained unchanged for centuries before? If you ask people today “What is an online marketplace?” they will certainly answer “eBay, of course.”
But why do we call eBay a market place? I think there are two big differences that don’t really match the marketplace idea.
No, this is not another virtual classroom software. So it is not education 2.0, you might say. Well, not on the first look but I found this product on an education 2.0 website I am currently reviewing for this blog, languagesoutthere.com. It immediately got my attention and I want to share this with you because I think most of us online teachers still have offline clients and there are new and interesting synergies between on- and offline.
I think we can all agree on this definition:
Everything that is invented, build, manufactured is made with a certain purpose in mind. If this thing does not serve the purpose it is broken.
A car is made to bring you from A to B. If the car does not serve this purpose anymore, it is broken.
A toaster is made to toast bread. If it does not toast bread anymore, it is broken.
And I think we can all agree on this second definition:
If something is broken and does not serve its purpose anymore, it is useless.
busuu.com offers two brand new features to their students. One is the busuu-energy that you can send to your friends, the other one is a personalized learning progess report.
Both features are made to support the students in their language learning. Everyone who learns a language comes sooner or later at a point were the enthusiam of the first steps is gone away. busuu.com wants to help you to get over that gap.
Today it is up to me to announce a new project of mine. On the 1st of June 2009 a couple of colleagues and I will open the E-Teachers Academy.
The Academy is a direct result of my experience in the past year teaching online and the talks I had with different CEOs, colleagues and students from around the globe. The main goal of the Academy will be to empower teachers for education 2.0.
So let me explain the idea. | <urn:uuid:58a17a59-b640-43ba-b157-2e89b1a414b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirstenwinkler.com/2009/05/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970452 | 525 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Photo courtesy of: americansforpositivechange.com
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a ministerial declaration at its 2012 High-level Segment by consensus on Tuesday, successfully closing week-long deliberations on promoting productive capacity, employment and decent work to eradicate poverty by means of inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth for achieving the internationally agreed upon UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and beyond.
The High-level opened on July 2, focusing on the global jobs crisis with discussions searching for ways to stimulate real impact on full, decent and sustainable employment as 205 million people around the world find themselves currently unemployed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Report for the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-level Segment, states that global unemployment has increased from 170 million in 2007 to 197 million in 2011, noting employment impacts were particularly strong in developed economies, where jobs growth turned negative.
"Boosting productive capacity, strengthening development cooperation and creating decent, sustainable work", the theme of the Segment brought in more than 500 participants, including government ministers, heads of international organizations and civil society groups, and the private sector to hone in on how to stimulate full employment and decent job creation in developing and developed nations, alike.
On Tuesday, some member states, including the Group of 77 and China and the European Union had some reservations or wishes surrounding the Declaration's text, derailing Monday,
July 9th's scheduled closing; some concerns, editorial nature and others of political importance, but member states managed to come to agreement on critical international issues by Tuesday afternoon, reflecting ECOSOC's President, Milos Koterec's sentiments that , "unemployment is the biggest challenge of our time he said, underlining how important it is to put our act together", he told member states.
At day one of the High-level Segment, the UN Secretary-General emphasized that getting the global economy back on track will require decisive action, and underlined the need to pursue a “new model of growth within the framework of sustainable development and enhanced international cooperation.”
The day also highlighted a series of national voluntary presentations, as part of the annual ministerial review, which allows countries to explain the progress and challenges that they have encountered throughout the last year, in the interest of sharing best practices, and learning new techniques to meet the needs of their citizens.
Day two focused onpolicy dialogue with the executive heads of the international financial and trade institutions who discussed the state of the world economy and its implications for the achievement of the United Nations development agenda.
Day three focused on future development cooperation, and accountability issues. Day four took in the lessons of South-South and triangular cooperation, and day five honed in high-level discussions on accountability, transparency and sustainable development.
ECOSOC'SMinisterial Declaration calls for the strengthening of partnerships amongst Governments, the private sector and civil society to tackle current economic, social and environmental challenges and turn those challenges into sustainable development opportunities with a focus on forging full employment and decent work. | <urn:uuid:c68a9caf-0b3d-40a1-9835-77f2d171e8bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.southsouthnews.com/pages/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=059b879e-f0b2-4e79-865f-d1ac2735c055 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939824 | 622 | 1.75 | 2 |
ABSTRACT: Patients with malignant glioma (grade III or IV) face a poor prognosis, and few evidence-based treatment guidelines are available. There is a dearth of prospective data on patterns of care for these patients.
To provide benchmark data to enable comparison of individual practice patterns and outcomes.
The Glioma Outcomes (GO) Project enrolled 788 patients at 52 clinical sites, both academic and community practices, between December 1997 and July 2000. The enrollment criteria included adult patients with primary grade III or IV glioma undergoing a first or second operation for diagnosis or treatment. The data collection instruments included questionnaire forms given at enrollment, during the perioperative period, and at follow-up intervals of 3 months until death or a maximum of 24 months. Of the patients recorded in the GO database, 565 patients with newly diagnosed tumors were used for this analysis.
Patterns of care (surgical management, perioperative care, postoperative management).
Most patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (n = 518; 92%) and an attempt at tumor resection (n = 425; 75%). Cortical mapping (n = 107; 19%) and intraoperative image guidance (n = 161; 29%) were uncommon. Most received perioperative corticosteroids (n = 535; 99%) and antiepileptic medications (n = 497; 88%), but few received antidepressants (n = 38; 8%) or prophylactic heparin (n = 42; 7%). Most received adjuvant radiation therapy (n = 479; 87%), but fewer received chemotherapy (n = 300; 54%). Practice patterns varied significantly between academic and community settings.
Reliance on magnetic resonance imaging, surgery, and radiation is generally accepted; however, relatively infrequent chemotherapy use may conflict with published literature, and frequent use of prophylactic antiepileptic medications contradicts established practice guidelines. Other practice patterns involving surgical adjuncts, prophylactic heparin, and antidepressants require further investigation to clarify appropriateness. Establishing further clinical guidelines may help reduce variability in practice patterns.
JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association 03/2005; 293(5):557-64. · 30.03 Impact Factor
ABSTRACT: The Glioma Outcomes Project represents a contemporary analysis of the management of malignant (Grade III and Grade IV/GBM) gliomas in North America. This observational database was used to evaluate the influence of resection, as opposed to biopsy, on patient outcome as measured by the length of survival. Attempts were made to reduce the impact of selection bias by repeating the data analysis after omitting patients with major negative prognostic factors.
Outcome data from 788 patients accrued from multiple sites over a 4-year period (1997-2001) were analyzed with the primary outcome measure being length of survival. Of these, 565 patients with recent diagnoses formed the basis of the present analysis. Patients were systematically followed up until death or up to 24 months after enrollment in the study, and survival data were correlated with the histopathological grade and location of the tumor, the extent of surgery, the patient's performance status, and demographic factors. The median length of survival was 40.9 weeks for patients with recently diagnosed GBMs. The true median length of survival for patients with Grade III gliomas was not reached, although there was a 58% survival rate at 104 weeks. In multivariate analysis, resection rather than biopsy (p < 0.0001), age 60 years or younger (p < 0.0001), and a Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score of 70 or greater (p = 0.0004) were associated with a prolonged survival time for patients with Grade III or IV gliomas. The prognostic value of resection compared with biopsy was maintained (p < 0.0001), even after eliminating patients considered to be "poor risk" (those with age > 60 years, KPS score < 70, or presence of multifocal tumors), who may have been overrepresented in the biopsy group. Survival "tails" at 24 months were 58% for Grade III gliomas and 11% for GBMs.
These data provide Class II evidence to support tumor grade, patient's age, and patient's functional status as prognostic factors for survival in individuals with recently diagnosed malignant gliomas. Resection (compared with biopsy) is also a strong prognostic factor; however, no quantitative attempt was made to assess the true extent of the resection.
Journal of Neurosurgery 10/2003; 99(3):467-73. · 2.96 Impact Factor
ABSTRACT: In many new clinical trials of patients with malignant gliomas surgical intervention is incorporated as an integral part of tumor-directed interstitial therapies such as gene therapy, biodegradable wafer placement, and immunotherapy. Assessment of toxicity is a major component of evaluating these novel therapeutic interventions, but this must be done in light of known complication rates of craniotomy for tumor resection. Factors predicting neurological outcome would also be helpful for patient selection for surgically based clinical trials.
The Glioma Outcome Project is a prospectively compiled database containing information on 788 patients with malignant gliomas that captured clinical practice patterns and patient outcomes. Patients in this series who underwent their first or second craniotomy were analyzed separately for presenting symptoms, tumor and patient characteristics, and perioperative complications. Preoperative and intraoperative factors possibly related to neurological outcome were evaluated. There were 408 patients who underwent first craniotomies (C1 group) and 91 patients who underwent second ones (C2 group). Both groups had similar patient and tumor characteristics except for their median age (55 years in the C1 group compared with 50 years in the C2 group; p = 0.006). Headache was more common at presentation in the C1 group, whereas papilledema and an altered level of consciousness were more common at presentation in patients undergoing second surgeries. Perioperative complications occurred in 24% of patients in the C1 group and 33% of patients in the C2 group (p = 0.1). Most patients were the same or better neurologically after surgery, but more patients in the C2 group (18%) displayed a worsened neurological status than those in the C1 group (8%; p = 0.007). The Karnofsky Performance Scale score and, in patients in the C2 group, tumor size were important neurological outcome predictors. Regional complications occurred at similar rates in both groups. Systemic infections occurred more frequently in the C2 group (4.4 compared with 0%; p < 0.0001) as did depression (20 compared with 11%; p = 0.02). The perioperative mortality rate was 1.5% for the C1 group and 2.2% for the C2 group (p = not significant). The median length of the hospital stay was 4 days in each group.
Perioperative complications occur slightly more often following a second craniotomy for malignant glioma than after the first craniotomy. This should be considered when evaluating toxicities from intraoperative local therapies requiring craniotomy. Nevertheless, most patients are neurologically stable or improved after either their first or second craniotomy. This data set may serve as a benchmark for neurosurgeons and others in a discussion of operative risks in patients with malignant gliomas.
Journal of Neurosurgery 06/2003; 98(6):1175-81. · 2.96 Impact Factor | <urn:uuid:e51f5c55-0d51-4a7a-8bf8-27216fae720e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/63039021_Henry_Brem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933533 | 1,566 | 1.539063 | 2 |
By Chris Roberts
By Joe Eskenazi
By Albert Samaha
By Mike Billings
By Rachel Swan
By Erin Sherbert
By Joe Eskenazi
By Albert Samaha
Three federal judges held last week that the Mount Davidson cross violates California's constitution because the monument's landlord, the city of San Francisco, is not allowed to favor one religion over another. Although the U.S. Supreme Court will likely get its mitts on this ruling before all is said and done, a group of Christian leaders already has begun exploring how to buy the land from the city to save the crucifix from the wrecking ball. That, in turn, has occasioned hue and cry from cross opponents who say a sweetheart deal for a private buyer would distinguish without differentiating: The city would still be treating one denomination preferentially.
The appellate court was willfully ignorant of the profound secular value of the site -- where Clint Eastwood filmed a crucial scene in Dirty Harry. But, even without that transcendent touch-point, you would be forgiven cognitive dissonance about all of this, considering that the city is named after the founder of a zealous monastic order.
The American Civil Liberties Union, however, is not a lone ecumenical grouch here; Baptist, Jewish, Unitarian, and Buddhist organizations joined the alliance against the cross. "This is a victory for religious pluralism," ACLU attorney Margaret Crosby told the San Francisco Daily Journal. "The presence of a towering cross in a public park makes San Francisco's many religious minorities feel uncomfortable and unwelcome."
Apparently, token variety doesn't absolve the city of preferentialism. The ruling's author expressly rejected the city's argument that Golden Gate Park's statue of Buddha somehow demonstrated S.F.'s commitment to equal denominational access: "The fact that San Francisco may have other religious symbols in its art collection spread throughout the city does not minimize the cross' effect," wrote Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain.
Fair enough. But crucifixional demolition is not the best answer. A better solution would provide enough significant symbolic representation throughout the city in order to balance out the hilltop cross. So, with a little exercise of eminent domain (and knowing we get the added bonus of leveling or reclaiming some of the most horrid aesthetic detritus in S.F.) we offer the following modest proposals:
* Since its construction in the late '60s, the Bank of America building has resembled nothing so much as a diseased internal organ. Inasmuch as the Episcopalians already own the U.S. Mint, let's give that oxblood skyscraper to the Presbyterians.
* The Catholics should be obliged to demolish the Brazilian kitchen appliance that is St. Mary's Cathedral and replace it with a simple green park dotted by plain wooden benches. Which they then have to give to the Quakers.
* The Baptists get Lake Merced.
* As mystical cousins to the more worldly Masons, the Rosicrucians will be allowed to top the Transamerica Pyramid with their all-seeing eye.
* Tibetan Buddhists will be allowed to name the Giants' new China Basin ballpark the Dalai Lama Meadows.
* Zen Buddhists will be given the key to the city -- and not given the key to the city.
* Hindus get the Cow Palace.
* Hasidics will be allowed to place a menorah atop the Drake Hotel, which will thereafter be known as the Starlite of David Room.
* The Reform crowd will be given free passes to all S.F. movie theaters on Easter, Christmas, St. Michaelmas Day, and such other obscure Christian holidays as they are able to lobby the Board of Supervisors to include hereafter.
* Rastafarians get the Cannabis Buyers' Club.
* Fundamentalist Muslims get the Presidio (either mollifying the Bay Guardian by solving one conspiracy theory, or provoking the paper into overcoverage of another).
* Zionists get the Marina Green (which historically was part of the Presidio!).
* Mormons will be given control over the archives at the California Historical Society, in order to turn all members of the S.F. citizenry into descendants of Joseph Smith.
* The Unitarians will be given as much time as they need to divine exactly what it is they want.
* At the Market-Van Ness intersection, former site of Bill Graham's Fillmore West, the homely Honda dealership will be replaced by a space where Deadheads can noodle-dance in memory of Saints Bill and Jerry.
* Followers of est will be required to program their cars' autopilots to pass through special higher-priced tollbooths on both bridges.
* Atheists and secular humanists -- well, they already rule the Western world, now don't they!
* Gnostics get the knowledge of what everyone else has received.
* The Sutro Tower atop Twin Peaks -- better known to victims of electromagnetic fields, as well as anyone with a modicum of taste, as the Devil Tower -- will be donated to Satanists so that they may continue to blight the rest of the city with their cold, heartless, forever-blinking, horned beast.
* Hare Krishnas will be given the air-port.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city | <urn:uuid:d1ef56be-e6e4-4141-adca-292c9dbca5eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfweekly.com/1996-08-28/news/totems-are-taboo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930177 | 1,145 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Imagine having fun with a gaming system with really realistic artwork and audio. Imagine a the game console . that has the opportunity to let you use millions of people worldwide in a virtual group by connecting you to the internet. Then, make a gaming console that gives you independence from wires and cables, one that provides you with the best gambling experiences ever before and a gaming experience you will never find in another gaming console.
Sony is known to create one of the most advanced gaming consoles offered. During its time, the Ps3 is one of the sophisticated and also the most popular consoles in the world. And also this paved the way in which for Sony to develop the actual PlayStation 2 along with like the predecessor; Ps3 2 is also the most advanced gaming console available in the market in the course of its time.
Right now, because of the continuing advancement inside gaming console engineering being offered by many companies, Panasonic again produced the most innovative gaming consoles on the market presently. This is whats called the Ps 3. With the Ps 3, you can expect to experience the best gameplay that you can have.
Integrated with the advanced technologies, such as the newest central processing unit along with the latest artwork processing system, PlayStation 3 can deliver spectacular high definition images to your gameplay.
It is a fact how the PlayStation 3 is actually Sony’s most innovative product or service ever introduced. Some people also consider the Dsi 3 as the supreme entertainment ‘ninja-like’. Besides, having a PlayStation 3, who needs Disc players or perhaps DVD participants when you have all this in one technique in the Ps 3?
This fresh innovation from Sony is also equipped with Wi-Fi technology that will enable you to definitely access the internet and enjoy online Dsi 3 games using millions of people all over the world. Because of this, you will be joining an online community to chat and earn friends coming from someone coming from halfway around the world.
Also, your Sony Ps 3 is also built with the most innovative disc generate called the Blu-ray travel. Blu-ray discs are prepared for five times a lot more data compared to your regular Digital video disc. This means you will have more control for sport developers to produce a more reasonable and make use of his or her creativity. With the large capacity Blu-ray disc, the possibilities are almost endless.
Another benefit that you can expect through PlayStation 3 may be the backward if it is compatible. This means that forget about the in your previous PlayStation as well as PlayStation 2 game titles will never get wasted. PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game titles can still be played in the PlayStation 3. This development is one of the popular features of PlayStation 3.
Having a CPU that may run with 3.2 GHz, along with a built-in memory of 512MB of Memory, you can expect top quality performance along with maximum satisfaction when taking part in your favorite games. The unit will even contain a hard disk where you can retailer your preserved games with a higher ability than storage cards.
Wireless bluetooth wireless controllers will be able to give you freedom when you play your chosen games. You’ll be able to play anywhere you want provided that the Bluetooth signal is in range using the controller. This means more freedom and you defintely won’t be stuck in a single place when playing PlayStation 3 games.
Using a large collection of well-known game titles, PlayStation 3 is definitely a have to have for every family. Now you know regarding PlayStation 3, you would definitely have to have one for your home together with your existing home theatre system. Dsi 3 is scheduled for launch in Nov 2006 in Japan, U . s . and Europe and on March 2007 in Europe as well as Australasia. | <urn:uuid:f730c999-0c2a-4818-b61e-83c8872b74f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thegadgetcity.com/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956014 | 760 | 1.625 | 2 |
When it comes to choosing a holiday destination, many of us will consider financial factors as well as things like weather and accommodation.
But it seems that money is no obstacle for the over 60s, as research has revealed that this age group spends more on a holiday than any other.
Holidaymakers aged between 60 and 69 spend an average of £1,248 each on a holiday, according to a survey by Travel Supermarket.
This princely sum is comprised of £794 for flights and accommodation, and a further £454 in spending money, and is in stark contrast to the holiday outlay made by younger generations.
The research found that 18 to 29-year-olds will pay an average of £968 each for a holiday – £540 for the holiday and £428 in spending money.
But while the over-60s may be shelling out more for a holiday, they are taking longer breaks of around 11 days on average.
Older generations are also more likely to experiment with different holiday destinations, with those in the 50-59 age bracket named as the most likely to try somewhere new and exotic.
Unsurprisingly, the 30-39 age group – those most likely to be raising young children – are among the least adventurous, choosing a safe and reliable destination.
Those in their 30s spend an average of £1,037 each on a holiday, as the cost of keeping the kids entertained while away stacks up.
This figure is similar for those in the 40-49 age group, at an average of £1,029 per person.
Once the kids have flown the nest it seems that many parents start to splash out on themselves. Holiday budgets increase to £1,195 for those in their 50s, as child-free parents push the boat out and spend £709 on travel and accommodation alone.
“Each of us look for something different from our holidays,” said Bob Atkinson, of Travel Supermarket.
“While some are juggling family commitments, tight budgets or school timetables, others are looking to make the most of their free time after retirement.”
See our research: 8 out of 10 Britons stuck in a holiday rutCheapflights Media | <urn:uuid:9e4598a5-34ac-46a1-b675-b1260a12439d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/rise-of-the-silver-surfer-over-60s-are-the-biggest-holiday-spenders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969719 | 453 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Often times December to mid-January birthdays and anniversaries get over shadowed by the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year holidays. So we’re going to shine a spotlight on those family members and ancestors this time around. Select one or more December to mid-January birthdays and/or anniversaries on your family tree. Write a short tribute to or memory of those birthday guys and gals and write a toast to the anniversary couples.
In my family there are lots of celebrations in December and January and we have always made a real effort to make sure that Christmas and New Years celebrations did not overshadow the other events.
For starters we have birthdays of two sisters, Peg on Dec 16 and Alice on Jan 1, in addition to the Dec 6 birthday of brother Tom. Moving to the next generation we celebrate the birthdays of Nieces and nephews Leslie, Nicole, Holly and Nicholas. (Do you see a Christmas theme here?)
There was also the family of my dad's only sister Dorothy. Dorothy's birthday was Dec 26 and two of her daughters were also born on Dec 26. Dorothy's husband Robert (Bob) Murray was born on Dec 16.
Overshadowing all of the celebrations was the death of my dad on Dec 28. He was only 49 and had never been sick.
Dad was extremely proud of his family of nine children and loved to walk us down the main street of town on the way to church on Sunday. We would fill an entire pew at Mass and then some of us would walk to the bakery after church to get bismarks and the Sunday paper.
I was 17 when dad died, so I can't evaluate him on an adult level, but I don't ever remember seeing him angry. He worked hard and played hard. He loved sports of all kinds and wrote poems about events in our lives, births, illnesses, successes etc.
I often think of him beaming as he looks down on how each of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have developed. He would be VERY proud of each and every one! | <urn:uuid:6518921f-0cbd-43c0-b8a1-606c5247adcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hangingwithdonna.blogspot.com/2012/12/advent-calendar-of-christmas-memories_15.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987796 | 433 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The bundle declaration itself on lines 4 - 11 is pretty straightforward. If this part is not clear, read through the docs on Ant bundles. Where things became a little less than straightforward is with the <exec> task starting on line 18. The first problem I encountered was Ant saying that it could not find run.sh. I think this is because it was looking for it on my PATH. Adding resovleexecutable="true" on line 21 took care of this problem. This tells Ant to look for the executable in the specified execution directory.
On line 22 I specify arguments to run.sh. -b 0.0.0.0 tells JBoss to bind to all available addresses. Initially I had line 22 written as:
<arg value="-b 0.0.0.0"/>
That did not get parsed correctly and resulting in JBoss throwing an exception with an error message saying that an invalid bind address was specified. Specifying the line attribute instead of the value attribute fixed the problem.
The last problem I encountered was Ant complaining that it did not have the necessary permissions to execute run.sh. It turned out that when the EAP distro was unpacked, the scripts in the bin were not executable. This is why I added the <chmodgt; call on line 17. It seems that the executable file mode bits are getting lost somewhere along the way in the deployment process. I went ahead and filed a bug for this you. You can view the ticket here.
After working through these issues, I was able to successfully deploy my JBoss server and have it start up without error. Now I can easily deploy my bundle a single machine, a cluster of RHEL servers that might serves as a QA or staging environment, or even a group heterogeneous machines that could consist of Windows, Fedora (or other Linux distros), and Mac OS X. Very cool! Provisioning is still a relatively new feature to RHQ. It add tremendous value to the platform, and fortunately I think it can add even more value. One of the things I would like to see is more support for common tasks like starting/stopping a server whether it is in the form of custom Ant tasks or something else. | <urn:uuid:afd21eee-e0e1-42ac-8f90-2ab00b6ac29d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnsanda.blogspot.com/2011/02/rhq-bundle-recipe-for-deploying-jboss.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955601 | 456 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Middlebury’s liberal arts curriculum will challenge you for the rest of your life. Four years of intellectual and personal growth prepare students to meet the challenges of responsible citizenship in a complex, changing world.
Our curriculum is designed to ensure that each student's education includes breadth of experience across many fields and disciplines, as well as in-depth study in one area defined by the major. Breadth is achieved through a set of distribution requirements that encompass seven academic categories and four courses in different cultures and civilizations. An emphasis on writing in all disciplines sharpens students' capacity for critical thinking and expression.
An array of interdisciplinary programs provide opportunities to synthesize and connect what you learn in many different departments. Intensive study in the major may culminate in a senior thesis, independent project, or artistic production, working closely with professors in laboratories, studios and classrooms to collaborate on research and creative projects. You'll have a broad range of choices, and a great deal of freedom to set your own academic path. | <urn:uuid:2f64ff8a-d3e0-4ad2-96e4-a9a0303c939d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946712 | 203 | 1.820313 | 2 |
ANTHONY HOPKINS (Alfred Hitchcock) received an Academy Award
for his performance in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991), and was
subsequently nominated in the same category for his performances in
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993) and NIXON (1995). He was also given
the Best Actor Award by the British Academy of Film & Television
Arts for THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. In 1993, he starred in Sir Richard
Attenborough's SHADOWLANDS with Debra Winger, winning numerous
critics awards in the United States and Britain. In 1998, he was
nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in AMISTAD.
In 2001, Hopkins starred in the sequel to SILENCE OF THE
LAMBS, HANNIBAL, in which he starred with Julianne Moore. Directed
by Ridley Scott, the blockbuster film grossed over $100 million
domestically. He also recorded the narration for the 2000 holiday
season's hit film DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.
In 1998, he starred in MEET JOE BLACK, directed by Martin
Brest and INSTINCT, directed by Jon Turletaub, and in TITUS, Julie
Taymor's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus with
In 1992 he appeared in HOWARD'S END and BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA
before starring in LEGENDS OF THE FALL and THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE.
He made his directorial debut in 1995 with AUGUST, an adaptation of
Chekhov's Uncle Vanya for which he composed the musical score and
also played Vanya. He starred in the title role in SURVIVING
PICASSO and with Alec Baldwin in THE EDGE, a dramatic adventure
written by David Mamet and directed by Lee Tamahori. THE MASK OF
ZORRO, directed by Martin Campbell and co-starring Antonio Banderas
and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was released in July 1998, and AMISTAD,
directed by Stephen Spielberg, was released in December 1997.
Earlier films include 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, THE ELEPHANT MAN,
MAGIC, and A BRIDGE TOO FAR. THE BOUNTY and DESPERATE HOURS were
his first two collaborations with Dino De Laurentis Company. In
American television, he received two Emmy Awards for "The Lindbergh
Kidnapping Case" (1976) in which he portrayed Bruno Hauptmann, and
"The Bunker" (1981) in which he portrayed Adolph Hitler.
Born December 31, 1937 in Margum near Port Talbot Wales, he is
the only child of Muriel and Richard Hopkins. His father was a
banker. He was educated at Cowbridge Grammar School. At 17, he
wandered into a YMCA amateur theatrical production and knew
immediately that he was in the right place. With newfound
enthusiasm, combined with proficiency at the piano, he won a
scholarship to the Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff where
he studied for two years (1955-1957).
He entered the British Army in 1958 for mandatory military
training, spending most of the two-year tour of duty clerking the
Royal Artillery unit at Bulford.
In 1960, he was invited to audition for Sir Laurence Olivier,
then director of the National Theater at the Old Vic. Two years
later, Hopkins was Olivier's understudy in Strindberg's Dance of
Death. Hopkins made his film debut in 1967, playing Richard the
Lionheart in THE LION IN THE WINTER, starring Peter O'Toole and
Katherine Hepburn. He received a British Academy Award nomination
and the film received an Academy Award as Best Picture.
American television viewers discovered Hopkins in the 1973 ABC
production of "Leon Uris' QBVII," the first American mini-series, in
which he played the knighted Polish-born British physician Adam
Kleno who is ultimately destroyed by his wartime past. The
following year, he starred on Broadway in the National Theatre
production of Equus, and later mounted another production of the
play in Los Angeles where he lived for 10 years, working extensively
in American films and television.
After starring as Captain Bligh in THE BOUNTY (1984), he
returned to England and the National Theatre in David Hare's Pravda,
for which he received the British Theatre Association's Best Actor
Award and The Observer Award for Outstanding achievement at the 1985
Laurence Oliver Awards. During this time at the National he starred
in Antony and Cleopatra and King Lear.
Hopkins also appeared in the feature adaptation of Stephen
King's HEARTS IN ATLANTIS for director Scott Hicks, the action
comedy BAD COMPANY, co-starring Chris Rock, and the box-office hit
prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, RED DRAGON, co-starring Ed Norton,
Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watkins, and in Miramax Films' adaptation of
the Phillip Roth novel The Human Stain, opposite Nicole Kidman and
directed by Robert Benton.
He also starred in Miramax Films' PROOF, opposite Gwyneth
Paltrow, THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN, for director Roger Donaldson,
ALL THE KING'S MEN for director Steven Zallian and co-starring Sean
Penn, Jude Law, and Kate Winslet, and the crime thriller FRACTURE,
opposite Ryan Gosling. He wrote, directed and composed the score
for his debut independent feature film SLIPSTREAM, which premiered
at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was seen in Robert Zemeckis'
adaptation of BEOWULF, for Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures'
WOLFMAN, opposite Benicio Del Toro, and Woody Allen's YOU WILL MEET
A TALL DARK STRANGER in which he co-starred with Josh Brolin and
Most recently, Hopkins was seen in the Warner Bros./Newline
Films thriller RITE, and Paramount Pictures' film adaptation of the
Marvel Comic THOR.
In addition to his busy filming schedule, Anthony Hopkins is
also an accomplished composer, whose work has been performed by the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, he participated as a composer
in the Festival Del Sole in Cortona Italy, and recently released a
CD collection of his compositions recorded by the City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra. Entitled Anthony Hopkins: Composer, the album
reached the #1 spot on England's classical music charts.
In 2004 Hopkins started painting, quickly gaining recognition
as a prolific contemporary artist. His work is currently being
exhibited in fine art galleries, and has been acquired by prominent
art collectors around the world (to view visit | <urn:uuid:194d7de7-5e09-49eb-9d23-5a33d172378b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cinemareview.com/castcrew.asp?id=472 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947574 | 1,485 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Nebraska's governor has finally approved a new route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, so Southeast Texans might be thinking that this long-running controversy is headed for resolution. Not so fast.
The Obama administration has said it won't reveal its decision until March for the northern half of the pipeline, which runs from Canadian oil fields to Oklahoma. The southern leg from Oklahoma to refineries in Port Arthur and Houston was approved last year, so all the pieces are in place for this game-changer.
Any further foot-dragging by Washington seems pointless. It is widely believed that President Obama only delayed the pipeline last year temporarily to placate environmentalists while he was still running for re-election.
Canada will either sell its tar sands crude to the United States via safe pipeline or ship it to China. This is a no-brainer, and the president needs to realize that as soon as possible. | <urn:uuid:91039d6c-c433-4add-b28e-53a82a386192> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/jasper/opinions/editorials/article/EDITORIAL-Keystone-pipeline-needs-no-more-delays-4214982.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977165 | 182 | 1.835938 | 2 |
FAKE reviews and group buying sites offering discounts are top of the competition watchdog's hit-list as it moves to police misleading online behaviour.
With more people using review sites for product advice, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is concerned they may be misled by reviews, chairman Rod Sims told Fairfax Media.
''Our concern is that people trust online websites more than they do company advertising, or more than they do reading the newspaper. And yet if those things are not reliable … then that is both unfair to the consumer … and … to competitors.''
The ACCC will next year investigate companies suspected of writing their own reviews or paying for positive reviews, Mr Sims confirmed in a wide-ranging interview.
''We have looked at some of this and some websites are saying these are authentic consumer experiences, and we have got some concerns that they are not. We are looking at it.''
Meanwhile, the ACCC and state consumer groups are receiving up to 140 complaints each month about group buying sites such as Groupon, Cudo, Spreets and Living Social, making it an area of urgent concern. The sites offer discount vouchers on goods and services - provided enough people sign up for the deal.
''People are buying a voucher and the circumstances are such that they cannot actually redeem it, and therefore they just lose their money. Many do get a discount, but some just lose their money,'' Mr Sims said. ''That is unfair on the small- business person who either breaks his or her back to try and meet them, or just suffers the reputational damage. And it is unfair to consumers.''
The owner of a Sydney driving school told the Herald his business was damaged by a group deal. He made no profit and had to put his own customers aside while fulfilling vouchers.
''It is not worth it [because] I made no profit at all and the price they advertise my business is too cheap for me. I cannot afford it [and] they take too much [commission].''
Living Social sold vouchers for Elite Driver Education for $49 and took a 40 per cent cut, leaving $29.40 for two lessons that normally cost $60 each.
The owner agreed to the vouchers because a Living Social sales representative called him repeatedly for months until he finally agreed to a contract involving 200-300 vouchers. ''People who bought the voucher did not ring until the end of the deal. They were calling too late and I was booked out,'' he said.
A spokeswoman for Living Social said it was up to businesses to capitalise on the vouchers as a ''customer acquisition tool''.
''Living Social welcomes open dialogue with the ACCC. Living Social has a best-in-class refund policy and offer a five-day change-of-mind refund option,'' she said.
In September Fairfax Media revealed that online reviews are regularly bought from temporary job forums such as Freelancer.com.
In November 2011 moving company Citymove was fined $6600 for fake reviews on the Moving Review website. Such reviews are considered to be misleading and can attract penalties up to $1.1 million for companies and up to $220,000 for individuals. | <urn:uuid:2c650305-ae53-49de-be16-49c904bf4ac8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.braidwoodtimes.com.au/story/1188072/consumer-watchdog-targets-website-product-reviews-and-discounts/?cs=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974131 | 644 | 1.632813 | 2 |
June 18, 2012 in Minimalist Tips
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I wanted to run this money thing by the numbers to see how un-simple it really is. (check out our simple money post last Monday). Because numbers aren’t always easy to find in a lot of areas they are not all from last year. I tried to get as recent as possible so they should all be from 2010-2012 (but things haven’t changed that much)
- Average Household Income = $49, 500 ish (source)
- 401k or retirement contribution at 6.8% = $3366 (source)
- Per month income = $3844.50
From what I have figured out there isn’t much tax for this amount of income for a family of 4 (with deductions and tax credits) …. so we will try this experiment without taxes.
- Average price of a house = $250,000 ish (source)
- Current 30 year mortgage at 4% on this loan (including taxes and insurance guesses) = $1453.95 (source)
- Average monthly food costs = $950 (used the moderate eating plan for a family of 4 and split between the older and younger kids plan. source)
- Average car cost = $28,400 (source)
- Average monthly car loan cost at 4% for 48 months = $641.25 (source) x 2 cars = 1282.50
- Gas = $368.09 (source)
- Cost of car insurance and life insurance = $200 a month (taking a guess)
- Average American healthcare costs 5,500 x 4 people / 12 months = $1833 per month (source) … this seems crazy high, but health care costs come in waves and could easily cost this in a year. Not clear but we can say this includes the cost of health insurance.
- Entertainment, Clothes, Misc expenses = $400 (taking a guess)
- Utilities including electric, gas, TV, phone, internet= $246.60 (source)
- What about daycare or school costs, piano, gymnastics, lawn care = $400 ish (give or take several hundred, different families are way different on needs)
Incoming = $3844.50
Outgoing = $7334.14 (almost double what is coming in)
This doesn’t include savings or charitable contributions…both of which are very important.
Here is the problem. Take out the car payments and the health costs, or cut down the home loan and daycare, or don’t eat. It is hard to make this work. So, if you are having trouble making it all work…this is probably why. If you think you are ‘average’ and want to spend only ‘average’ you can’t. If you are making way more than average…you might still not be able to spend much more than ‘average’. If you make below average than you are really in a pickle… but because we are talking about average it means that lots of households make less than this.
So what do you need to do about it? In the words of Dave Ramsey ‘you need to live like no one else so later you can live like no one else‘. Basically, looking at these numbers you need to live like no one else so you can live period. If you are making average you need to be spending way less than average, if you are making way more than average you might still need to spend only ‘average’. If you are making less than average you need to really live tight. (check out an article about living on less than 40,000 I did last fall).
At the end of the month, if money isn’t working out as you think it should, this is probably it. So breathe a sigh of relief. It isn’t you No one can make this work.
Moral of the story is that we need to spend less than we think we should for our ‘economic status’. There is no ‘but I make decent money so I should deserve this’. Nope, unless you are really rolling in the money there is a good chance you can afford much less than you think you should. Pick up, move on, make the necessary changes so you can live on less than you bring in, and get on with enjoying life without money stress.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article or this site please help me spread the word by sharing on your social media sites. Bye for now | <urn:uuid:67a8f1b7-3e16-4272-ac09-3d9869d9c0e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lovingsimpleliving.com/2012/06/simple-money-2-the-problem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957444 | 964 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Why stress matters in the nursing world
I recently had an interview for my first job as a Nurse Practitioner when I graduate this spring. It was a whirlwind of a day, let me tell you–nothing like the typical interviewing process I grew accustomed to over the years. It was more of a marathon than a sprint. I believe I met and interviewed with at least six different key players that I would be directly involved with at the job.
I’m not here to talk about interviewing tips, or the interview itself (although I can proudly say I got the offer and I accepted); I’m here to discuss one aspect of the interview.
I was asked, "How do you deal with and/or relieve stress." My immediate response was, "I exercise." Which was an honest and very real answer. I make a valiant attempt to exercise, at the very least, three days a week.
What struck a chord with me, though, is how others answer this question. Do they answer it quickly, do they have to think of their answer, make up an answer, or jokingly quip that they don’t have any stress?
If you claim you have no stress in the world, then you are just lying to yourself and those around you. AND, if you’re a nurse claiming that you have no stress, you need your head examined!
Stress and stress management is as much a part of nursing as taking vital signs. You either deal with it in a healthy manner, or you avoid it in the most unhealthy ways.
Employers want to know how you handle stress. Do you admit to having it, and how do you ensure it doesn’t wreak havoc | <urn:uuid:213d3a37-f2b3-4887-a942-dcecc0582b5a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nursinglink.monster.com/topics/127875-why-stress-matters-in-the-nursing-world/posts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978431 | 354 | 1.5625 | 2 |
AT LAST Spain has a new government. Yesterday a glowing Mariano Rajoy emerged from the first two-day session of the new parliament with the backing of his People's Party, which won a comfortable majority at November 20th's general election, as well as two deputies from minnow parties. Today he announced his cabinet, naming Luis de Guindos, a former secretary of state for economy, as his finance minister.
But anyone who expected Mr Rajoy to break the near-silence he has maintained since the election with a firework display of dazzling policy announcements will be disappointed. His eagerly anticipated speech to parliament contained little more than broad brushstrokes and some rather obvious objectives. No one ever accused Spain's new prime minister of being exciting.
Mr Rajoy repeated, for example, his commitment to meet Spain's EU-agreed budget-deficit target of 4.4% of GDP for next year. That, he announced, would mean closing a gap of €16.5 billion ($21.6 billion) in the country's accounts.
So much was obvious—that figure is simply the difference between this year's deficit target of 6% deficit and next year's figure. What Mr Rajoy did not say was exactly how he planned to close the gap. A reduction in the number of quangos and other public entities will be accompanied by a freeze on civil-service hiring. But a large part of the public sector, including the armed services, the police and “basic services” (presumably health, education and social services), will be exempt from the recruitment freeze.
The only specific pledge on spending was, in fact, an increase: allowing pensions to rise with inflation this year after a freeze imposed by the outgoing Socialists. On the evidence so far, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the outgoing Socialist prime minister (who also cut civil-service pay and extended the retirement age to 67), beats Mr Rajoy as Spain's king of austerity.
That is unlikely to last. Mr Rajoy will probably have to find more than €16.5 billion-worth of savings. Some put it closer to €27 billion, on the basis that this year's deficit target may be missed by a full percentage point. Angel Laborda of Funcas, a think-tank, sees it even higher, at around €40 billion.
Add the cost of higher unemployment, which is set to rise even higher than its current 23% rate (the worst in the EU), and damage to revenues as the economy slips into recession, and the picture looks gloomier still.
Mr Rajoy did make it clear that spending on everything bar pensions was likely to be reined in. He hopes not to raise taxes, so the initial adjustment must come from cuts. Still, he may struggle to resist a hike to sales tax.
Regional spending is still not under control, despite the efforts of Elena Salgado, the outgoing finance chief. Moody's, a credit-ratings agency, blames the regional problem for this year's missed deficit target. One of the first problems Mr De Guindos will face is a demand for €759m that Catalonia claims it is owed on this year's budget.
More exciting is the reform schedule, although here too details are scant. Changes to Spain's rigid labour laws will be forced through in the first quarter of 2012. Banks will be forced to own up to "latent or hidden losses" left on their balance sheets by the burst housing bubble.
This comes just as bad loans reach a 17-year high of 7.4% of total outstanding loans. Expect a new round of restructuring and consolidation by the summer, Mr Rajoy said. With banks being encouraged to offload toxic real estate, house prices are likely to drop dramatically—to a realistic level.
The performance of Spanish bonds has provided some good news. This week yields on ten-year notes came close to an annual low of just under 5%.
But there are greater dangers in the wider context of the euro zone. Spain knows how to keep Angela Merkel happy: Mr Rajoy revealed that the structural-deficit ceiling to be put in place by 2020 will be 0.4% of GDP. But will Mrs Merkel return the favour by doing all she can to stop market flight from countries like Spain?
(Picture credit: AFP) | <urn:uuid:b1ac7f96-0fa2-48e3-84cb-0104e3118995> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/12/spains-new-government | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964923 | 893 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Monday, January 18
Basic Beef Stew Recipe: Meat and Potatoes Can Be Good Food, Mom
One day when I was a little girl watching my mom make dinner, I asked her why we weren't a "meat and potatoes" family. She said, "That's because we're Italian, and we eat good food."
I remember thinking, was meat and potatoes bad food? Would it make you sick? I suddenly felt sorry for all those kids at school whose moms cooked meat and potatoes. I secretly wished I could bring them home for dinner so they could have good food like my mom's eggplant parmigiana, escarole and beans, and macaroni with gravy and meatballs.
Other than the once-a-year New England boiled pot roast with potatoes and carrots, my mom never made meat and potatoes meals, and I don't either. The closest I get to making meat and potatoes is a burger and fries, which suits Jeff just fine since his mother also never made meat and potatoes.
Since I'm a food blogga and since this week is about as wintery as it's going to get in San Diego -- 50's and rain -- I have decided to post some belly-warming one-pot meals. Everyone should have a basic beef stew recipe because it's easy, inexpensive, and satisfying. It also tastes great with beer and sports, so the men in your life will love you for making it. Rich red wine and beef broth along with earthy thyme add depth of flavor to this simple beef stew that is chock-full of firm carrots and potatoes.
I guess I didn't need to feel sorry for those meat and potatoes kids at school after all.
Basic Beef Stew
Print recipe only here.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds top round or chuck steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with a little salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups red wine
3 cups beef broth
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
salt and black pepper, to taste
1. In a large, deep pot, heat olive oil. Dredge meat in seasoned flour. Place in hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes (don’t overcrowd meat or it’ll steam). Transfer browned meat to a bowl. In same pot, add chopped onion and brown for 3-5 minutes. Deglaze the pot with the wine. (Pour wine in the hot pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.) Add meat back to the pot. Cover the pot, and cook on low for 25-30 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and carrots. Cook covered, on low heat until meat is very tender, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add more broth if necessary. When meat is cooked, stir in herbs, salt, and pepper. Add fresh parsley before serving.
You might also like these one-pot meals from Food Blogga:
Italian Chicken and Escarole Soup
Turkey Pot Pie with Mashed Sweet Potato Topping
Fast and Easy Herbed Chicken and Cauliflower
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Chili with Crispy Spiced Tortillas
You might also like these one-pot meals:
Lamb Tagine recipe at David Lebovitz
Beef Tagine recipe at Real Epicurean
Chicken Stew with Sherry recipe at Thyme for Cooking
Paprika Pork Stew with Sour Cream recipe at The Naptime Chef
One Pot Chicken with Beans and Vegetables recipe at Kitchen Parade | <urn:uuid:44cebaff-78e0-41a7-ba0e-ce4c370e2dc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://foodblogga.blogspot.jp/2010/01/basic-beef-stew-recipe-meat-and.html?showComment=1263847543555 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955237 | 786 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Here is how I built a Tipi for use on camping trips. I don’t have pictures of the process of cutting, peeling and smoothing the poles. My two Son’s and I harvested the 25 foot pines in a small stand in the middle of a cedar swamp. The pines were growing so thick that they only had branched near the tip. They all grew very straight and tall as they had to compete for the sun light. I think thinning them out did the remaining trees a favor. At least I hope so. Here are the poles right after peeling as I get ready to transport them from the family farm back to my place.
Here they are drying in the sun. Each day, I would give them a quarter turn as they dried. I had not yet smoothed the poles and removed the little branch stubs
During the drying time, I began to sew the part of the Tipi and the liner. This is the Tipi liner which I made from sewing together a bunch of canvas, painters drop cloths. each was cut into a sort of pie section and when laid flat on the grass it looks like the letter “C” Here it is installed.
The bottom flaps of the liner lay on the ground and are covered with whatever is used as a floor for the Tipi. It could be hides or canvas but this liner keeps the bugs and dust out as well as the wind during regular Tipi living. It also helps create the draft needed to allow for a small fire to be made in the Tipi. The top pf the liner is held in place with a rope that is tied around all the poles and the bottom in held by tying off to stakes in the ground.
I painted a scene on the liner. It is supposed to look like a painted hide but I did a rather poor job on the outline.
This Tipi is 14 feet across at the bottom and has 25 foot tall poles. I took 33 yards of Waterproofed and fireproofed cotton canvas to do the job.
In order to layout the pattern on the canvas, I first needed to join a few large sections of the canvas together. I used a 60′s vintage Singer and at times had to go through up to 6 layers of the canvas.
Once sewn. I could mark out the pattern on the canvas and cut out the pattern.
Then it was back to the sewing machine to fold and hem all the cut edges to keep them from fraying. This included the opening for the door
The area for the lifting pole.
and the pockets for the smoke flap poles.
This is what it looks like on the ground.
Then it’s time to put it up. Three poles are set and marked as the ones that will form the tripod. They are lashed together and set up and the rest of the poles are set in the “V” created by the intersecting poles. All work is done on the ground. No ladder is needed.
Then all the poles are held together by circling around and around and tying off the rope to one of the poles so the process can be reversed when taking the Tipi down.
The last pole is used to lift the canvas in place and is called the lifting pole. The canvas is tied to the lifting pole and then lifted and leaned against the rest of the poles.
Then the canvas is walked around the frame of poles.
While the canvas is still loose, the lacing pins are installed.
To tighten and stretch the canvas to give the tipi a full and tight look, all the bases of the poles are moved outwards. The canvas is held tight by tying it off to stakes. To keep the canvas from ripping, small stones are lashed into the canvas with ropes and it’s those ropes that are used to tie it down. The outer Tipi does not go all the way to the ground. This creates an area for air to come up and in between the outer Tipi and the inner liner. As the air warms, it rises. It acts like the attic of your house and it’s this circulation that carries the smoke up and out.
The next step is to insert the smoke poles. These poles are shorter than the other poles and allow for adjusting the smoke flaps based on wind direction and allows for closing them all together in case of rain.
The bottom of the smoke flaps are tied off to something to direct the wind or left untied in calm.
Here they are closed for the night and this picture reminds me that I forgot to mention painting the Tipi
Member: Wisconsin Bowhunters Association
Member: Wisconsin Traditional Archers
Member: Professional Bowhunters Society
Member: Pope and Young Club
Member: American Broadhead Collectors Club
Member: Sherwood Forest Bowmen Instinctors
I painted the Tipi with exterior house paint that was watered down. On the base, I painted bison along one side and wolves along the other and climbing from the base to the top I added wolf paws and a sun.
On the door, I added a bison skull and feathers.
It makes a great night light.
Here is your view as you wake up in the morning.
The entire process of erecting the Tipi takes an hour and a half and can be done alone and without a ladder. I have spent many nights in it and it sleeps 6 adults. | <urn:uuid:163a8787-8bf9-4d5a-b584-9205bc3875fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.arquiecologia.com/como-construir-tipi/comment-page-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970187 | 1,124 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Be Very Afraid! In this mini-interview Simon gives a quick introduction to the Communications Data Bill, recently introduced to the UK Parliament, which proposes to establish a nation-wide database of all citizens' text and email communications, and explains the problems with the proposals, notably the lack of judicial oversight and the massive potential for mission creep.
doubi: We're here at OggCamp 2012 at John Moores University in Liverpool and I'm here with Simon Phipps who's going to be giving a talk tomorrow on behalf of the Open Rights Group. Simon, what will your talk be about?
Simon Phipps: I'm going to be talking about the Communications Data Bill, which is a piece of legislation that's just about to go through Parliament, and has very worrying consequences for people's civil liberties on the internet.
doubi: Right, "Communications Data" maybe doesn't sound like it's to do with people's civil liberties, so what's it all about?
Simon: Well, this is a Bill that solves a problem for the security services in the UK, in particular the secret service that we have over here, and the police forces. They're very worried that they can't see what's going on inside your email, and inside your text messaging, and inside your other online communications.
They have for a long time been trying to get a succession of governments to put into law rules that allow them to snoop on all of your communications. They tried to do it under [the previous Labour Party government], and it didn't quite work out because there was an outcry in civil society about it, and it's now happening under the Tories and Liberal Democrats. So this is not a partisan issue at all. This is an activity that is arising out of the Cheltenham data centre that is used by the intelligence services and arising out of the police forces, who are all very worried that they can't read your email.
doubi: Now, I've heard a little bit about this and I've heard it pitched in terms of, "This is the security services just trying to keep up with changing technology." What do you say to that, because people obviously people are using different forms of communication now; is there anything legitimate in the security services needing to "keep up" with that?
Simon: I think it's legitimate for them to need to "keep up" but that is not a good excuse for them to do what they're doing here, because what they're doing is creating a right to ask every internet service provider to keep, for twelve months, all of your traffic on the internet, so they can analyse it off-line. That gives them plenty of time to crack SSH, to crack SSL keys, to crack any encryption that's going on.
The big problem is that this right is being created fresh, it's being created without any right for you to know that it's happening, it's being created without any judicial oversight, so that the police can just decide to ask for your material to be created. It's also being created in such a way that should the police choose to they could create a central database of all this information that could then be casually searched.
By "casually searched", I mean it could be searched, for example, by organisations enforcing family law disputes, organisations enforcing defaults on mortgage payments, organisations who are looking into whether you have renewed the MOT [annual road-worthiness test] on your car. All of those would be the sort of excuses to go dipping in on a fishing expedition on your personal data.
So what's being proposed is not just keeping up to date with technology, it's going way, way, way beyond any scope for keeping up, and it's creating for the first time a database of citizen communications that can then in the future be fished-into arbitrarily, without notification, without recourse and without judicial oversight.
doubi: It might sound to people like some of the examples you gave about the misuse of such a database are hypothetical or facetious, but already if people were to go to the Open Rights Group website, openrightsgroup.org there are on the wiki there are documented examples of how local councils, both individuals and in an official capacity, are already abusing some of these databases that are intended for much more serious purposes and are ostensibly there to save us from real threats [NB: This is inaccurate; please see footnote].
Simon: When these things get started, they're always packed in guarantees that nobody will do anything bad with your data. The CDB is no different: all of the padding around it says, "Trust us to create this database of communications, because look at all these protections we're putting around it to prevent abuse." Now what we know is that once you've created a resource, mission creep in the future will change the way that it's used.
Take for example the congestion charge cameras in London. All around London now there are number-plate [license-plate] recognition cameras that were put there only to collect congestion charges. But as time has gone by, people have found other, extremely legitimate uses for them: to prevent terrorism, to enforce laws. And now they are part of a network that the police can routinely use to identify the location of any vehicle in central London. That wasn't what the cameras were put there for, and when they were set up we were told that wasn't going to happen.
I look at the CDB and I believe it's exactly the same thing. The thing that's wrong with the Communications Data Bill is not the uses to which the authorities will put the data, it is creating the repository of data in the first place.
doubi: Absolutely. And I think together with the lack of judicial oversight which you already mentioned, those are the really scary aspects about this. What can people do at this stage?
Simon: Well, at the lowest level what people can do it join the Open Rights Group. The Open Rights Group is an organisation which is funded largely from the membership fees of its members. You can visit openrightsgroup.org and sign up, set up a standing order to pay is little as £5 a month, that will help to pay for professional researchers to understand all these highly complex laws, and then go and engage on your behalf, to make sure that the bad things don't happen.
If you're more motivated than that, than just joining, you could get involved with a local chapter of the Open Rights Group. There are local chapters all over the UK, where you can meet with other like-minded people and take local action: ttalking with MPs, talking with local radio stations, talking with local newspapers, and making sure that the digital rights agenda of the individal citizen has as loud a voice as the media lobby is able to bring to corporate concerns.
doubi: Sounds great. Simon, thank you very much; do you want to give your vital statistics, where to find you on the web?
Simon: I do all sorts of things of the web. They are all locatable from my website webmink.com.
doubi: Thank you very much, looking forward to your presentation tomorrow, and enjoy OggCamp!
Simon: Thank you very much.
NB: I was quite wrong about the ORG wiki. There isn't a page about concerted abuses of centralised data repositories as such; what there is the UK Privacy Debacles page, which lists (worryingly numerous) examples of companies and public bodies accidentally losing or releasing data. There's only one example of malicious abuse by an individual.
However, these examples of organisational incompetence to deal with data in themselves give an independent reason why the data store proposed by the CDB is a bad idea. Secondly, the examples of misuse of investigative resources and powers has been well documented elsewhere (, ). | <urn:uuid:ad21a21d-39c4-4d13-b5e9-f960222ddcc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackerpublicradio.org/correspondents.php?hostid=220 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970082 | 1,620 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Something that is really fruity, feminine-like of a male.
Geovanny: Hey bro, I like that scarf. Maybe we can go shopping together for one.
Jain is a believer or follower of Jainism Religion.
"Jain" or more properly speaking "Jaina" means a follower of Jina, which is applied to those persons who have conquered the lower nature, passion, hatred, etc. The word ‘Jain’ comes from the word ‘Jina’ which means a conqueror. ‘Jina’ comes from the root ‘Ji’—’to conquer’. It means conquering the passions. It does not mean conquering nations. The passions are considered as enemies of the soul. They taint the natural qualities of the soul, obscure right belief, cause false knowledge and wrong conduct. Lust, anger, pride and greed are considered as the major passions.
Follower of Christianity is called a Christian, Follower of Hinduism is called Hindu similarly follower of Jainism is called Jain.
1-Wack ass dude who usually has the first name Harsh.
2-A kid sooooooo wack that nobody wants to talk to him, which usually results with him being shunned from the crew.
3-Wack kid that laughs at all his jokes and claims they're always funny.
4-'jained'-to kill a joke.
Dude 1: Yo did you hear about that cutie?
Jain: yea i heard about your mom, ahahhahahahaha.
Dude 1: smh...wtf man...wtf.
Jain: KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED. (kid.)
Jain is an act of Ninjaing, or stealing an item or thing. It can also be used as a noun in which the person calls someone a jain. This meens that this person is a person who ninjas or steals things, or that person is really really gay. Also one can yell jain to imply they are angry or simply to be inine.
Nick says "aaron you jain, you just stole my dignity"
Medivh says "Wow you are a complete jain" Instead of saying "Wow I completley hate you your gay.
Aaron yells "JAINNNNN" | <urn:uuid:4b6b1643-b0e5-4005-b2f3-36b8595d4a54> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jain&defid=4461460 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943813 | 494 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Voice Over Tips
Below are some voice over tips to nail your next voice over audition.
Voice over auditions are completely different from regular acting auditions.
You still need to know how to act, of course, but you also need to know how to
modulate your sound, give the voice over casting director lots of choices and take direction.
Knowing how to take direction and perform different versions of the same voice over
is very important, because the decision maker is often not in the room. All they will have to
go with is your recorded voice. For that reason, a good command of microphone techniques is a big plus.
Below is a list of the most important things an actor need to nail voice over auditions.
Voice Over Tip 1 - Working With the Mic
Microphones used at voice over auditions are very sensitive, so you may be surprised
at what comes out of your mouth. It can be both good (for example, if you learn
how to find the "sweet spot" where your sound is the best)
or bad (if you make clacking noises, for example).
The only way to work on microphone technique
is to practice with a good microphone, preferrably in a voice over class where you will get
tips on how to improve the quality of your sound.
To get started, watch this short video where Yuri Lowenthal,
an experienced voice actor and co-author of the book
Voice Over Voice Actor,
talks about the distance
a voice actor should be from the mic and shares other tips
about working in a recording booth.
Voice Over Tip 2 - Give Them Choices
Voice over casting directors know exactly what the client wants, so simply listening
and following their directions will increase your chances of getting a callback. Often, you will
have a chance to record a few different takes, especially if you are recording the audition yourself.
Give the casting director a lot of choices. There are many things you can change about your performance.
The acting, of course, can be different. You can change your objective or do a different character entirely.
But showing range doesn't need to be to drastic. Just changing one aspect of your voice can make for a different
audition. For example, you could go louder or softer, have a faster delivery, try a higher pitch or use an accent.
You can also show variety in the places where you don't speak, by pausing in different places.
Voice Over Tip 3 - Finding the Reason for the Line
A lot of voice over auditions are for commercials, which means your lines are meant to
sell a product and create a reaction in the consumer who hears - or sees - the ad.
If you are able to find out in the commercial copy what the intent of the client is, you will be
able to say the line just the way they want to hear it.
That means you need to break down the commercial script and find the "key words" in the script.
You also need
to ask yourself what kind of audience this is for so you know if you should do a hard-sell
or be more subtle in your voice.
How do you do that?
Practice. Start asking these questions of any commercial you see or hear. If you go to acting schools,
ask them for a stack of commercial copy and practice daily.
In the short video below, Yuri shares tips on what you can do to be ahead of the game
at voice-over auditions, whether it's for commercials or animation.
Voice Over Tip 4 - Take Care of Your Voice
The best thing you can do for your voice is breathe. If you get nervous, your voice
will be the first thing to be affected, so learn to relax your throat, tongue and facial muscles.
If you can, try to warm up your voice with a few exercises before a voice over session, especially
if you have a lot of copy to read.
What you eat and drink can have a big impact on the quality of your voice.
To maintain a healthy voice, drink plenty of water (not too cold)
and avoid coffee, alcoholic drinks, milk. Every little sound gets picked up
in a voice over booth, so avoid any foods that can give you indigestion but
make sure you eat. Some voice over professionals
say that eating apples really helps with dry mouth and voice quality.
For more voice over tips, check out
this interview with veteran with voice actors Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal.
Voice Over Tip 5 - Voice Over is Voice Acting
You don't need to be an actor to be a voice actor, but you do need to know
how to act. Animated characters require just as much research and characterization work
as a live character. Commercials are short, but you still need to be able to
break down a script and look for objectives. Many jobs require the voice over artists
to portray emotion in their voice, which requires acting skills.
How to Get Voice Over Auditions
Although a good agent has access to a lot of voice over casting calls,
there's other ways to find voice over jobs,
so don't wait to get an agent to have a voiceover career.
The best way to get started is to sign up for an online voice over service -
a website where you can browse through voice over jobs and apply to postings directly.
More and more companies hire voice-over talent this way nowadays because they
are not limited by space and time, so promoting yourself on the internet is very important.
Return from Voice Over Tips to Voice Over Jobs
Return from Voice Over Tips to Acting School Stop Home | <urn:uuid:4057f65f-7fb5-4198-b2e7-3f4aa397d612> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acting-school-stop.com/voice-over-tips.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936503 | 1,180 | 1.71875 | 2 |
1st AFI Life Achievement Award
JOHN FORD: LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 73 TRIBUTE ADDRESS
On February 26, 1973, the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute voted to initiate an annual award to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to the enrichment of American culture through motion pictures and television.
The Trustees specified that the yearly recipient must be one whose talent has, in a fundamental way, advance the film art, and whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public. The Trustees specified that the recipient must be one whose work has stood the test of time.
The Trustees voted unanimously that the first award would go to a man who clearly stands preeminent in the history of motion pictures John Ford.
Altogether, John Ford's films are a creative tapestry representing over 50 years of work. No individual has more fully explored on film the American experience. What Ma Joad says of her life in THE GRAPES OF WRATH is true of Ford's work, "...it's all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on."
The First Annual American Film Institute Award was presented to John Ford on March 31, 1973.
The American Film Institute 1973
NOTE: Due to licensing restrictions, the telecasts of the AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to George Lucas and past honorees are not available for distribution or purchase on DVD or VHS. | <urn:uuid:f13cb58d-464e-42e7-97b8-e8ee8dba94c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afi.com/laa/laa73.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934759 | 316 | 1.765625 | 2 |
First Tycoon The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt (Paperback) Book
SKU ID #257679
To Order by Phone Call 1-800-933-6249
A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism.
Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt is an American icon.
Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington’s presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation’s largest fleet of steamships to lord of a railroad empire. Lincoln consulted him on steamship strategy during the Civil War; Jay Gould was first his uneasy ally and then sworn enemy; and Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States, was his spiritual counselor.
We see Vanderbilt help to launch the transportation revolution, propel the Gold Rush, reshape Manhattan, and invent the modern corporation—in fact, as T. J. Stiles elegantly argues, Vanderbilt did more than perhaps any other individual to create the economic world we live in today.
In The First Tycoon, Stiles offers the first complete, authoritative biography of this titan, and the first comprehensive account of the Commodore’s personal life.
It is a sweeping, fast-moving epic, and a complex portrait of the great man. Vanderbilt, Stiles shows, embraced the philosophy of the Jacksonian Democrats and withstood attacks by his conservative enemies for being too competitive. He was a visionary who pioneered business models. He was an unschooled fistfighter who came to command the respect of New York’s social elite. And he was a father who struggled with a gambling-addicted son, a husband who was loving yet abusive, and, finally, an old man who was obsessed with contacting the dead.
The First Tycoon is the exhilarating story of a man and a nation maturing together: the powerful account of a man whose life was as epic and complex as American history itself. | <urn:uuid:d4680463-03c3-49c2-bcbb-d1be59e218ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shop.history.com/first-tycoon-the-epic-life-of-cornelius-vanderbilt-paperback-book/detail.php?p=257679&v=history_show_men-who-built-america&pagemax=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954399 | 428 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Jim Davis was born on July 28th, 1945 in Marion, IN. He later attended Ball State University in Muncie, IN where he distinguished himself by earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university. (Incidentally, a fellow classmate named David Letterman earned the other). The Garfield strip was born on June 19th, 1978, syndicated in 41 US newspapers. Today it's syndicated in more than 2,500 newspapers worldwide with 263 million readers. Recently, Guinness World Records‘, named Garfield "The Most Widely Syndicated Comic Strip in the World."
Jim Davis has had many successes with Garfield including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program and induction into the Licensing Hall of Fame (1998), but his most prized awards are from his peers in the National Cartoonist Society: Best Humor Strip (1981 and 1985), the Elzie Segar Award (1990), and the coveted Reuben Award (1990) for overall excellence in cartooning. | <urn:uuid:4c4d9d8e-b09d-454e-a6c7-88dcfdfa9f46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.com/book/37537/garfield-blots-out-the-sun-by-jim-davis/9780345466150 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976566 | 203 | 1.71875 | 2 |
As a high school junior during the winter of 1982, Bernard Hopkins was convicted for strong-arm robbery. He was sentenced to 18 years in the state penitentiary. During the 56 months he was incarcerated, Hopkins turned his life around. As prisoner Y4145, Bernard earned his GED and won the national penitentiary middleweight championship three times. In 1988, Hopkins, a model prisoner, was granted parole.
On October 11th, 1988 in Atlantic City, fighting as a light heavyweight in his pro debut, Hopkins lost a four-round majority decision to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen month layoff, Hopkins returned to the ring eleven pounds lighter, fighting as a middleweight under the guidance of respected trainer Bouie Fisher. On May 22, 1993, riding a 22-fight win streak, Hopkins lost a unanimous decision to Roy Jones in his first crack at the middleweight title. A year and a half later he got a second shot at the title; this time he fought to a disputed draw against Segundo Mercado for the vacant IBF title.
On January 8, 1995, retired legendary middleweight champion Carlos Monzon was killed in a car accident at age 52.
On April 29, 1995, Hopkins stopped Mercado in the seventh round of their rematch to win the IBF middleweight championship. At the time of his death, Monzon had held the middleweight title longer and made more successful defenses than any other middleweight champion in history. Today, it is Bernard Hopkins who holds that distinction, having broken Monzon's two extraordinary records.
As of this writing, Hopkins is closing in on Monzon's record of going undefeated over the last twelve years, seven months of his career before retiring. If Hopkins remains undefeated through February 1, 2006, he'll surpass Monzon's last significant record.
In his last fight Hopkins defeated top contender Howard Eastman to extend his record-setting number of consecutive title defenses to twenty. Only three other middleweight champions in history have made ten or more . . . and let’s consider these other facts about Mr. Hopkins:
- The only middleweight champion in history with 10 or more successful title defenses who has never been down as champ.
- The only middleweight champion in history to win a title fight after his fortieth birthday.
- Ranks third in boxing history, behind former heavyweight champ Joe Louis (eleven years, seven months) and former featherweight champ Johnny Kilbane (eleven years, four months) in length of title reign.
- With 20 title defenses, Hopkins joins Joe Louis (25) Ricardo Lopez (24) and Larry Holmes (20) as the only champions to make 20 or more defenses of a world title.
- The only fighter to have stopped both Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad has just started to get props as an all-time great. However, there are some who may argue against Hopkins being a top-ten middleweight great.
One of the arguments disputing Hopkins as one of histories greatest 160-pound champions seems to apply to him more than it does other fighters. The fact that Hopkins wasn't the unified champion his entire ten year reign is used to water down his legacy. Hopkins didn't officially become the undisputed champ until September 2001.
During Hopkins first six years as IBF champ, Keith Holmes held the WBC middleweight title for all but an eleven month interval from March of 1996 until losing it to Hopkins in April 2001. The WBA middleweight title was held by William Joppy from June of 1996 through May of 2001 when he lost it to Felix Trinidad. Hopkins defeated Trinidad in September 2001 to unify the middleweight title. The point is Hopkins has been the best middleweight in the world since winning the IBF title.
Trying to denigrate Hopkins for being the unified champion for only 40% of his title reign is ridiculous. Larry Holmes never unified the heavyweight title during the seven years he was champ, but it hasn't tarnished his legacy.
Some attribute Hopkins success to the mediocrity of his division, but the middleweight division Hopkins dominated was no more pedestrian than the heavyweight and light heavyweight era's that Larry Holmes and Roy Jones ruled.
Another argument that rings hollow against Hopkins is that his signature wins have been against great fighters who moved up in weight to challenge him. Those making that claim need to brush up on middleweight history. Many past middleweight champs defeated fighters moving up to establish their legacy. The former champs Hopkins is most often compared to, Monzon and Hagler, also have a history with welterweight champs. Monzon defeated two great fighters as middleweight king, Emile Griffith and Jose Napoles, considered two of the greatest welterweight champions ever.
If Hopkins’ claim to greatness is beating welterweights, what's Marvin Hagler's? Hagler's signature wins are against 32-year-old former lightweight champ Roberto Duran. In that fight, Hagler needed to rally in the final three rounds to secure the decision over Duran. The defining fight of Hagler's career is his stoppage of former welterweight champ Thomas Hearns (who was stopped by Sugar Ray Leonard four years earlier).
Hagler, who held the unified title for more than six years, lost it to Sugar Ray Leonard in his last fight. The Leonard who took the title from Hagler had only fought once in five years and hadn't fought above welterweight in six. Anyone who thinks Hopkins' claim as a great was established against smaller fighters moving up in weight must view Hagler the same way.
I'm not saying Hopkins would've beat Monzon or Hagler. He no doubt would've been a betting underdog. I just don't see it as a mismatch. The fact is Bernard Hopkins is one of the top-ten middleweight champions in history. But Hopkins is much more than a champion who had longevity and compiled numbers. He's a complete fighter inside the ring.
Hopkins possesses the things that can't be seen on the outside but are essential to every great fighter. He's super tough mentally and physically and has total belief in himself. He knows exactly what he wants to do. Hopkins understands how to apply strategy in the ring and how to force his opponent to fight from his weakness instead of his strength.
Physically, Hopkins is stronger than he is given credit for and he also has a concrete chin. He can fight inside or outside and has enough power to trade and get rough if he has to. Counterpunching is his forte and taking the fight to him aggressively is almost ring suicide. Yet, if forced to, he can be effective attacking and stalking his opponent and methodically breaking him down.
Hopkins stays in excellent condition and is well informed of what the other middleweights are doing. He has a boxing acumen unmatched by any active fighter. What makes him even more formidable to his peers is the fact that he has a plan and knows how to implement it during his bouts. Bernard knows exactly what it will take in order for him to get the job done - whether it's how much he has to weigh by a certain date, enabling him to execute the fight he has mapped out, or what side of the hotel to book his room on so he can rest without distractions.
Bernard Hopkins is definitely an all-time great, based on his ability as a fighter in the ring and the monumental accomplishments he reached as middleweight champion.
Q: What do George Foreman, Oliver McCall, Riddick Bowe, Bruce Seldon, Frank Bruno, Frans Botha, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield, Herbie Hide, Henry Akinwande, Lennox Lewis, John Ruiz, Roy Jones, Hasim Rahman, Chris Byrd, Wladimir Klitschko, Corrie Sanders, Vitali Klitschko and Lamon Brewster share with undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins?
A: All of them have held a piece of the heavyweight title during his ten-year reign as middleweight champion.
* Read PART 2 of Frank Lotierzo's Series on Bernard Hopkins. | <urn:uuid:3d1a7e37-7056-40b3-8816-5f69d5dfd49d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesweetscience.com/article-archive/2005/2038-bernard-hopkins-10-year-title-reign-unique-and-complete | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97919 | 1,670 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Stock market plunges fuels fears over retirement funds
If there’s one thing on many minds, it’s the stock market.
The country’s current financial state has many people keeping a very close eye on their investments – specifically their 401-K. Lori Stova is concerned that she’s losing more money than she can afford.
“If the Dow keeps dropping the way it is, how much is going to be left for retirement?” she asked. “Your funds will be wiped out if you are invested high.”
Financial advisor Pete Muckerman has been more than busy dealing with worried clients. He says that while the damage is done, the market should rebound once confidence is restored.
“if you’re really, really aggressive in terms of your portfolio then you should definitely review it,” he said. “But if you have a conservative portfolio then my sense is that you are probably okay.”
While many are still worried, some are choosing to be still.
“I think because it's a longer term investment, it’s not something I'm looking to make money (off of) or be able to take out from my 401k in the next few years,” said Shelley Pursell.
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Here's a visual look at the eight most delicious, disgusting meals in the country. | <urn:uuid:b05af8d7-147a-4773-b8ef-8c3f1b8d7223> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/08/stock-market-plunges-fuels-fears-over-retirement-funds-64902.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957647 | 354 | 1.515625 | 2 |
A note from Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center about Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn’s last advice to America – and to me:
A Broad Coalition for Independence
From the Corporations & the Military
Tuesday morning — just two days ago — I wrote half a dozen leaders of progressive thought and action in America, each separately, the letter that follows. One of the people I wrote was the historian/activist Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, whom I have known for 45 years or so. He responded just 90 minutes later, and his response is also below.
All day yesterday I was meeting with doctors who cleared away the last of my medical barriers to travel and to risking arrest in nonviolent civil-disobedience actions. I intended this morning, Thursday morning, to write Howard back to ask how to follow up on his comments.
But I can’t. Howard died yesterday, at 87. He was one of the wisest, gentlest, drily good-humored of progressive thinkers and activists. The best of the America he celebrated in his bottom-up history, in which the energies and currents of Blacks, of workers, of women, of religious minorities, of war resisters, were the center — not Presidents and Senators.
After I share with you this last exchange I’ll be able to have with him — perhaps the last commentary he made on the American political scene — I’ll share two stories — one long ago that has stayed lit up for me all these years, and one very recent.
This is what I wrote him Tuesday morning:
It seems to me that the confluence of massive disemployment, plus knee-jerk militarism, plus stalemate on the climate crisis and on health care, plus the Supreme Court decision on corporate financing of elections, plus the use of the filibuster in the Senate — all in what many assumed or hoped would be a year of major progressive change — has shocked enough people that it should, and might, make possible a progressive coalition.
I’m imagining a coalition aimed at “independence from the military-corporate alliance,” with a platform that includes strong planks on climate, jobs, health, ending the present wars, major reductions in the military, transforming campaign finance, and ending the filibuster.
Perhaps with rallies, vigils, sit-downs, etc. in state capitals and other centers all around the country on July 4, and support for specific progressive candidates in the 2010 Congressional elections.
Do you think this would make sense?
How would it be possible to begin shaping such a coalition?
Shalom, salaam, shantih — peace, Arthur
And this letter back from Howard:
Arthur, you are absolutely right, this is the time for the resurgence of a national movement that begins with a co-ordinated country-wide action.
The theme you describe, “independence from the military-corporation” is one that all sorts of people and groups can unite around. I believe millions, probably tens of millions of people are ready for this because there is little left of the early euphoria that greeted Obama’s election.
A huge job to organize it, but it was done for Mobilization Day Oct.15,1969, and without the advantage of the Internet.
Someone or some group that is respected throughout the progressive movement would need to take the initiative and summon supporters. With blacks, Latinos, women prominent, and not disdaining celebrities. I think of Julian Bond, Danny Glover, Rosie Perez, Cindy Sheehan, Harry Belafonte, Matt Damon, Oprah, Alice Walker, Marian Wright Edelman — some well-known clergy, you and others, some labor leaders. Maybe not that exact group, but just to suggest a direction. And a few super-organizers.
I’m not up for organizing these days, maybe for consultation, and whatever help I can give.
I was going to write Howard today to ask whether he’d invite some of those people and a few others to meet to talk about the possibilities.
Now — is it possible to see those few words as a kind of legacy that we can turn into a new chapter of the “people’s history”?
Two stories: In the mid-’60s, Howard spoke at some gathering in Washington about the Vietnam War. He said that most of the time, the American people — any people — walk around in the dark, bumping blindly into extremely dangerous and hurtful objects — wars, depressions, racism, drug epidemics, police violence. Literally blind-sided, again and again.
But occasionally, some event would become a lightning flash, illuminating the structures of power behind these disasters. He said Vietnam had become a lightning flash. We were for the first time seeing the connections between the universities and the military, we were seeing the way children were channeled from their earliest years (without regard to their intelligence or creativity) into becoming factory workers, or unemployed, or lawyers, or …
And our job, he said, was to try to turn these lightning flashes into steady light, to help a whole society keep seeing the truth about itself.
And just last month, late December: I had sent out an essay in a satirical vein, pointing up the absurdity of the way Washington is carrying on the Afghanistan war in order to defeat “terrorism.” (You can click to it here:
Several folks wrote or called to tell me they didn’t think humor, even or especially bitter humor, was appropriate in talking about a war. I felt dismayed, unsettled, dispirited.
Then I got this note from Howard:
“Dear Art, A friend of mine just sent me this piece you wrote — satiric, powerful — about Detroit, Islam, Kabul, terrorism. It is a brilliant commentary and I have passed it on to a number of people. Thank you for it. I wish you a peaceful and joyful New Year. Howard”
So — dear Howard, I’m not so sure about “brilliant,” but I’m glad you felt the humor had some bite where our rulers need to be bitten. You revived my spirits.
And — dear, dear Howard, I wish you a joyful New Year making trouble for the Authorities in Heaven. If ever the memories, the teachings, of a tzaddik — a practitioner of tzedek, justice — could bring blessing to those who are still scrabbling for justice on this stricken earth, it’s the memories and teachings you left us.
Shalom, salaam, shantih — peace!
The Shalom Center | 6711 Lincoln Drive | Philadelphia, PA 19119
http://www.theshalomcenter.org | [email protected] | 215.844.8494 | <urn:uuid:a19ea9d3-e134-46a4-a713-355fe46916b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://heysonnie.wordpress.com/tag/arthur-waskow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954499 | 1,445 | 1.585938 | 2 |
view in catalog
In Girl Land , essayist and magazine writer, Caitlin Flanagan writes about the period she considers "the most psychologically intense period" of a girl's life--adolescence. Her focus is on how it feels and what mores and culture govern the lives of young women in the 21st century in the age of Facebook, 24 hour Internet and cell phones, etc.
Her premise is that each generation pushes the envelope for sexual and other freedoms more, and that activities that the last generation might have found shocking often become commonplace. If you're a parent of a female teen, or just want to compare your own youth to what it's like now, you'll enjoy this book. In a chapter on dating, Flanagan covers the interesting history of dating. It didn't become very popular until the roaring 20s and the advent of cars--roadsters--in those days. Sex became easier to do away from homes and watchful parents. Flanagan also postulates that the expectations that the female would apply the brakes to sexual activity also become prominent then.
Other chapters cover diaries, proms, menstruation, and sexual initiation. The one on proms is both scary and revealing. Scary because post-prom events have become occasions with lots of alcohol, drugs, and sex. Flanagan also describes upper and middle class girls dressing like streetwalkers and some schools hosting Pimps and Hos parties. She describes young people using these events as "an aggressive assertion of maturity." They get away with this because the parents have some decades-old image of proms as romantic, flower- and gown-filled events.
Flanagan warns parents sharply that in this age of social media, girls in particular, need quiet "alone" time to discover who they really are, the adult women they are becoming. She strongly advises against having Internet availability in girls' bedrooms. As to social media, she believes that it pushes girls to present themselves in a very sexual way when they aren't at all ready.
My favorite sections occur when Flanagan writes more personally, for instance, she records the time her mother (shortly before dying) took off two gold bracelets and gave them to the author. Her Mom wore them--they had belonged to her mother--all through Flanagan's childhood.
If you're at all curious about the state of girlhood in America now, this is the book for you. For a more personal take, try Esmeralda Santiago's coming of age story, Almost a Woman . It's about a young Puerto Rican teenager describing her growing-up years in the new culture of New York City. | <urn:uuid:c1175d4a-3a20-489b-bb8a-328dce8fb612> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mcpl.info/print/blogs/love-reading/girl-land?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966815 | 541 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Interviewed at length last week, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy seemed more in command of the details of public policy than any of his predecessors going back 40 years, as well as candid, confident, and willing to argue. And yet halfway through his term, conditions in Connecticut are not improving and the governor, a Democrat, is beginning to alienate elements of his party.
The governor's new budget proposal moves state financing away from general municipal purposes and into municipal schools, infuriating mayors. It slashes support for hospitals on the doubtful premise that they may recover the money from the federal government someday, as if that will help now. It reduces state support for nursing homes too.
Meanwhile the governor would lavish another $1.5 billion on the University of Connecticut on the premise that getting more science and engineering graduates will revive the state's economy, as if such jobs aren't already being exported from the state, as if the graduates couldn't follow them, and as if the four lesser state universities and 12 community colleges aren't getting resentful.
The governor realizes the necessity of preschool and more vigorous schooling generally for neglected children, but his modest initiatives there - a thousand state-funded placements for preschool and state takeover of two dozen or so poor-performing municipal schools - are to be dwarfed by the UConn project. Since everyone will go to elementary, middle, and high school but not everyone will go to college, the problems of lower education are far more compelling.
Of course Connecticut has been raising spending on municipal education for 30 years without improving anything but the compensation of educators, so why should more money make a difference now? The governor says greater accountability will make the difference, as with tougher evaluation of teachers.
But in 1984, upon the demand of the teacher unions, the General Assembly amended the Freedom of Information Act to exempt teacher evaluations from disclosure, alone among evaluations of Connecticut's public employees. Public education in Connecticut then was essentially privatized. And far from proposing to make education public again, the governor keeps trying to weaken the Freedom of Information Commission.
As long as teacher evaluations remain secret, there can be no validation of claims of accountability in public education. Indeed, in the absence of disclosure, the prerequisite of accountability, the governor's transferring funds from general municipal purposes to municipal schools, where it may be used mostly for raises for teachers, may seem like political compensation for his controversial remark a year ago that to earn tenure teachers have to do little more than "show up." The governor surely may want them to keep showing up - at the polls in next year's election for governor and to keep voting Democratic despite his brief lapse into political incorrectness.
Meanwhile, last week the governor upset some legislators and other participants in the gun-control debate by offering some proposals and declining to wait for the recommendations of his own study committee and one appointed by the General Assembly. He said he thought those committees were moving too slowly, though barely two months had passed since the school massacre in Newtown and though the state police report on the massacre is months away from completion itself.
More probably the governor wanted to be able to offer his own thinking upon Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Connecticut to agitate for more gun laws. But the governor's proposals were only those commonly being offered - universal background checks, smaller gun magazines, etc. - their enactment would have had no bearing on what happened in Newtown, and they don't preclude action by the legislature. Thus the indignation about the governor's proposals was more of a political stunt than the proposals themselves. | <urn:uuid:0d483179-5764-4527-937a-ba0f9c1197d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shorepublishing.com/article/20130226/OP03/302269983 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971343 | 719 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Joel Ryan / AP
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez shakes hands with director Oliver Stone as they arrive for the screening of the film 'South of the Border' at the 66th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2009.
As thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas to mourn President Hugo Chavez after learning of his death Tuesday, tributes began pouring in from supporters around the world — including several Hollywood heavyweights who stood by the socialist firebrand during his reign.
Actor Sean Penn, one of the Latin American leader's most vocal supporters (he once joined Chavez on the campaign trail and attended a candlelight vigil for him in Bolivia last year) said the United States had "lost a friend it never knew it had."
Str / AFP/Getty Images
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and actor-director Sean Penn listen to an explanation from a doctor during a visit to a hospital Aug. 3, 2007 in San Cristobal, Venezuela.
"And poor people around the world lost a champion," Penn said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I lost a friend I was blessed to have. My thoughts are with the family of President Chavez and the people of Venezuela."
Filmmaker Oliver Stone, who first met Chavez in December 2007 and credited him for many of the social changes taking place in South America, said the former leader would live forever in history.
''I mourn a great hero to the majority of his people and those who struggle throughout the world for a place," Stone said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Hated by the entrenched classes, Hugo Chavez will live forever in history."
"My friend, rest finally in a peace long earned," Stone added.
Actor Danny Glover, who had visited Chavez in Venezuela several times, echoed the same sentiment.
Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images
File picture dated Sept. 21, 2006 shows Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and actor/activist Danny Glover hugging each other while attending The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program inauguration ceremony at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.
"In sadness and in tribute to my friend, Hugo Chavez, I join with millions of Venezuelans, Latin Americans, Caribbeans, fellow U.S. citizens and millions of freedom-loving people around the world, in hope for a rewarding future for the democratic and social development charter of the Bolivarian Revolution,” Glover told theGrio.
“We all embraced Hugo Chavez as a social-champion of democracy, material development, and spiritual well-being.”
Others, including Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona, paid their respects via Twitter. "So long comandante @chavezcandanga, we will miss you forever #ChavezVive," Maradona posted Wednesday.
"Ruling Classes hated Hugo Chavez. RIP," tweeted comedian Roseanne Barr.
"You won't hear much nice about him in the US media in the next few days. So, I thought I'd say a couple things to provide some balance," tweeted filmmaker Michael Moore Tuesday.
"54 countries around the world allowed the US to detain(& torture) suspects. Latin America, thanks 2 Chavez, was the only place that said no," he added.
"We spoke for over an hour," Moore said of an encounter with Chavez in 2009. "He said he was happy 2 finally meet someone Bush hated more than him." | <urn:uuid:74817180-962a-421c-87e8-11cc87bb7cba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/06/17213515-socialist-socialites-hollywood-mourns-hugo-chavez?lite= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958889 | 718 | 1.5625 | 2 |
A young boy who’d been told often enough of the virtues of honesty,
Resolved to tread the same path even in difficulty.
He decided he’d never tell lie nor steal things,
Love all those around him, be they paupers or kings.
He knew the path he’d chosen was going to be tough,
And the journey he had initiated was going to be rough.
But his resolve was firm and his mind was set,
He wanted to find the truth in the advice that he’d never forget.
Saying so, he walked forth, never to turn back again,
To bear all that befell, sunshine or rain.
But how was he to know of the hardships to come,
For advices are not to be followed, only to be given by some.
The very next day at school, the teacher asked him a question he didn’t know,
He refused to cheat, even when proffered to so.
So he was beaten by his teacher for his ignorance,
But he bore his first reward of honesty with forbearance.
And later in the day when his teacher asked him if he had taught well,
He replied honestly, that he thought it was worse than hell.
The teacher was infuriated by his remark hence,
And he was beaten again for his insolence.
He uttered not a cry nor did he complain,
The path of righteousness was difficult to him it was plain.
When back at home his mother asked him how he’d fared at school that day,
His honest reply infuriated her straightaway.
So he was beaten once again,
The poor boy, his honesty did not go in vain.
And then, while playing his team decided to cheat,
But he was honest enough to point it out to the kids across the street.
Furious now his teammates told him to quit the field,
From their wrath, his honesty did not shield.
But the poor fellow bore it with courage and goodwill,
It was a small price for honesty, he decided still.
And when in the evening, he had guests at his place,
He honestly told them they’re a great nuisance on their face.
This remark annoyed his father no end,
And the poor fellow was grounded for the weekend.
All his agonies made him realise with tact,
That advices look good only in books is a fact. | <urn:uuid:1e92c4c7-0782-4036-bf00-884a3224b8d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poem_detail.aspx?ID=319908 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.994603 | 514 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Slavko Lovric is the Chief of Police of Travnik. He works in the heart of the old city at the main police station. Lovric, a Bosnian Croat, has 146 officers under his command, a majority of whom are Bosniaks, reflecting the ethnic composition of the municipality.
Travnik's police force today is ethnically mixed, though this was not always the case. At the end of the war there were two police forces in the canton, one Bosniak, one Croat, with separate uniforms, insignia, offices, budgets and command structures. They operated in areas that "their" respective army controlled at the end of the war. Citizens had either "Croat" or "Bosniak" licence plates on their cars. Freedom of movement to respective "other" areas was restricted; in the early post-war days it was dangerous to move into territories controlled by other ethnic groups.
Between 1997 and 1998, 13 returnees were killed in Travnik municipality. The unification of the police forces, therefore, was a hotly contested issue. Initially, there were serious problems. Two Croat policemen were killed in Travnik in 1998 and in 1999 another was badly wounded in a car bomb explosion. Since then, however, the situation has improved dramatically.
Today Central Bosnia is very safe. Across the whole canton, there were only seven murders in 2005 and 2006, all of which have been solved. None was ethnically motivated. Ethnically-motivated crime, in fact, is noticeable by its absence: only three cases of "provocation of racial or ethnic hatred" were reported in 2006; two had been reported in 2005.
Fortress and old town of Travnik. Photo: Alan Grant
Nowadays, says Lovric, the major security issue is car theft. The problem became particularly prevalent after 2000.
"At the time we had hardly any information systems with which to make checks, but now things work much better as we have excellent cooperation with INTERPOL and the RS police. But it is still a problem."
However, even this problem appears manageable. There have been 210 cases of car theft in the canton in 2006, down from 239 the previous year.
The overall clearance rate for crimes is around 65 percent – a good result, by international standards.
While police patrols – in order to win the confidence of ordinary citizens – have been ethnically mixed since 1997, the Travnik force has started to relax this practice over the past year. Slavko Lovric explains:
"We no longer see people viewing the police from a national perspective. We have no complaints about discrimination because of ethnicity." | <urn:uuid:c7b7461c-8080-4072-a7fe-e798b22a2f59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/events/index.php?lang=en&id=311&film_ID=5&slide_ID=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981053 | 547 | 1.84375 | 2 |
... by dropping all need and effort to attain enlightenment ...
... thus, enlightenment immediately attained!
It is often said that our Shikantaza way is about "not seeking", being "goalless", abandoning the need and search for "enlightenment" ...
It is also said sometimes that, in "just sitting," we best drop all desire to be peaceful ... happy ... and just allow the world "as it is" (which includes our quite often being anything but feeling peaceful and happy) ...
But let me get on my soapbox and makes some things clear, set all straight:
Who ever said that there is "nothing to find" in, through and as this practice of "not seeking", no place to "get", no treasure to snare at the end of the rainbow?
Not me. I never would say such a thing. Then why pursue this path?
Who ever said there is no "enlightenment" to be achieved? I never would say that. It would not be Buddhism in that case.
What's more, this practice lets us be happy, joyful. Who said not? Not me.
Ya really got to pay attention to what is being said. You see:
Just because we are "not seeking" does not mean we are "not seeking" ... nor that there aren't wondrous marvels thus to find!
To the marrow sitting free of seeking ... is a dandy way thus to find that which can only be found by sitting radically free of seeking. Realizing that there is no where to "get to", and no place you can get or need get ... is finally getting somewhere that will revolutionize life, and put your "you" out of a job. One gets very far, one finally arrives ... by sitting still.
Being the "Buddha" all along, and having not a thing about you that is in need of change ... that does not mean you don't have some work to do to realize truly that you are the Buddha without need of change. To realize that you are never, from the outset, in need of change is a VERY BIG CHANGE! There is absolutely nothing about you and the universe (not two) to add or take away, and tasting that there is "nothing to add" is an irreplaceably important addition!
By being "goalless" we hit the goal ... a goal which is hit by being thoroughly goalless.
In seeing the ordinary as sacred ... we find (as Hakuin Zenji wrote) "this earth where we stand is the Pure Lotus Land, and this very body the body of Buddha". This very life is it!
Yes, the key is "not me" ... because that "me" is a trouble maker of frictions with the "not me" world. But depriving the "me" of its fuel, dropping body-mind, the friction vanishes. The way to "drop body-mind" is to drop all thought of achievement of "dropping body-mind" and all other need for achievement ... which results in a very major achievement, namely, the "dropping of body-mind."
And, yes, finally ... this practice makes me happy, joyful, deep down and pervading. It is an abiding happiness and joy at a life in which I do not need to, and will not, feel happy and joyful all or much of the time. And that makes me happy! It is a Peace which sweeps in all peace and war, is at home with all ... at peace in, as and with a life that is oftimes anything but peaceful, thus True Peace.
See how that all works?
For more details on this wacky, crazy, Koany, Zenny way of inside out, Alice through the looking glassness ... the BRILLIANCE of our path of silently-illuminated "Non-attaining" ...
HEED CLOSELY THE FOLLOWING!
"Shikantaza" Zen practice is a radical, to the marrow, dropping of the self's demands that something needs to be attained to make this world "right", that something must be added or removed from our lives to make life complete, that something is defective and needs to be changed., that we need to get some place to find our "True Home".
HOWEVER, radically dropping, to the marrow all need to attain, add or remove, or change in order to make life right and complete --IS-- A WONDROUS ATTAINMENT, ADDITION and CHANGE TO LIFE! Dropping all need to "get somewhere" is truly finally GETTING SOMEWHERE! The True Home is here and everywhere! Abandoning all need in life's race to cross some finish line over a distant hill, is simply arriving at the finish line which is our every step!
ALL THAT, even as we continue to move forward, make choices, have preferences ... LIVE! Moving forward, yet as still and unmoving as a mountain or a stone ... having choices and preferences while choices and preferences are fully dropped, and we drop all demands to get somewhere ... living passionately, yet not a prisoner of passions ... at once, the still mountains walking, the stone women dancing ...
We fix what needs to be fixed .. in this world, in our life ... all without thought of something to repair. We clean what needs to be cleaned ... the messes and disasters and filthy oil spills ... yet there is no "clean" or "dirty".
GOT HOW THAT WORKS?
All the conflict and division is dropped from mind ... with other related clutter and clatter like thoughts of this and that, self and other ... and, in doing so, the body-mind of self (being out of a job) drops away too!
ZAZEN ANSWERS GREAT QUESTIONS AND MYSTERIES
You bet your sweet kind of non-existent ass it does!
For the first time in our sentient lives ... perhaps since the womb ... life is without the division of "self" and "other". The intimate wholeness and interpenetration of all this life=self=world is just who we are. We are as whole and complete and unbroken as raindrops are falling rain, a breeze but the gently moving air. All barriers and resistance tumbles away.
Like all warm blooded animals, humans feel we must hunt, improve, capture life, attain goals and reach "success" ... yet, for the first time, this practice allows us to experience life as the stones and trees and stars and mountains. Do stones feel that they must get somewhere, achieve something to be more "stoney"? Does little Mt. Tsukuba feel some sense of lack and inferiority when it considers and compares its life to tall Mt. Everest? Is there a star in the sky that thinks "I do not belong in this universe, and this is not my place and time"? Do birds move through the sky leaving traces?
Can we be more as the flowers and trees which, naturally sprouting from the ground, growing, reaching for the sun, seeding life generation to generation ... yet toil not, have no goal or thought of achievement? Flowers achieve, yet without thought of achieving!
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
And thus we sit Zazen ... as a sacred act, as natural whole holy ... as a flower reaching for the sun.
In Zazen, we learn to see and penetrate the deep interpentration and interbeing of all things, all time, all events, all beings. Phenomena on worlds countless light years away, and the dew on the nearest blade of grass are each as much "you" as the winking and blinking of your own eye.
In that way ... the mystery of life and death is no mystery at all ... for the simple reason that there never was a separate self to be born, thus no separate self to die. Where is the air when the wind stops to blow? Where does the sea "go" when the single wave vanishes? We are as the little wave, looking for the water and afraid of what lies ahead when it crashes on the beach!
The human mind imposes judgments on the life=self=world ... it is "good" it is "bad" ... it is "starting here" and "ending there" ... it is "originating in the past" and "rolling toward the future" ... etc. etc. Instead, our Zen practice gives rise to a reality without judgment, destination, here vs. there ... past future --or-- present (for by what measure is "now" without any other time to compare it to?). What remains is alive and very GOOD!
For the first time perhaps we experience reality in what, to ordinary minds, is typically considered contradictory ways ... moving forward in actively living, yet always right here.
It might even allow us a glimpse of the "non-origin" of all reality ... beyond small human ideas of "created vs. uncreated" "finite vs. infinite" "beginning vs. what was before the beginning?" "ending vs. what comes after the ending?" "purpose vs. no purpose". What is one's foundation, original face without all thought of source, here/there, coming and going?
What remains when all that is dropped away? SPEAK! SPEAK!
Yet the wind blows, the star shines, the flower reaches for the sun.
Oh, sure, there are some mysteries that this practice won't tell you much about, such as God's favorite ice cream flavor, whether Big Foot really exists, whether Clapton or Santana or Page is the greater guitar player, whether a circle is just a round square.
However, those other resolved and dissolved mysteries are enough.
CAUTION: Of course, this must NOT be understood merely intellectually, and instead actually made the living practice of our life ... thus, all that Zazen! Chasing that which cannot be chased, attaining that which need not and cannot be attained.
Now, someone has also rightly pointed out that Zen is not a solution to many of life's problems. Zazen is not a "self help tool". It will not let you avoid growing old, cure your cancer, repair your broken marriage, or even fix your flat tire. It will not add one thing to your life, nor make any improvement in it whatsoever.
And realizing that is instantly a solution to all your problems ... because they are not problems when you do not resist them as problems, and when all separation of "me" from "them" drops away.
... body-mind is dropped away when all resistance to life is dropped away ... putting the self on the shelf ... | <urn:uuid:8852f24d-2dc0-4f44-ba80-06e0e3b4ff28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?7461-How-to-attain-enlightenment&p=39403&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954178 | 2,248 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Fishing company fined $36,000 for misreporting catch
30 April 2008
A Tauranga fishing company was fined $36,000 yesterday after being convicted of three charges of misreporting catch involving 5.1 tonnes of snapper and gurnard.
RMD Marine Limited pleaded guilty to the charges of making misleading statements in its Monthly Harvest Returns, before Judge Harding in the Tauranga District Court
The charges related to fishing returns filed in October, November and December 2005.
Senior Fisheries Prosecutor Morgan Dunn told the Court that the Ministry of Fisheries accepted that there was no intent by the company to defraud the Quota Management System (QMS) and that it was a case of sloppy record keeping,
Judge Harding said that the fine effectively removed any profit from the offending and was a clear indication from the Court, even if the offending was accidental to start with.
Ministry of Fisheries Investigation Manager Mark Nicholson said outside court that filing misleading returns undermines the QMS, which is the key to sustainably managing our fisheries.
Mr Nicholson said the QMS is based on setting annual catch limits for each fish species and rigorously monitoring how much fish is being caught against these limits.
“The system relies on fishers accurately and honestly reporting their catch to MFish every month.”
“Sloppy, slow or inaccurate reporting by fishers all threaten the sustainability of New Zealand’s fish stocks, as fisheries managers are left making decisions with flawed information. The Court is clearly indicating that such practices will not be tolerated.
“These fisheries belong to all New Zealanders, and protecting their sustainability is something MFish takes very seriously.” | <urn:uuid:391c3548-4ff2-4eac-a3b0-8754f63aacca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Press/Press+Releases+2008/April08/rmd.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished%23MainContentAnchor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961526 | 342 | 1.78125 | 2 |
A recording by the two most influential classic guitarists from Panama. Teresa Toro and Emiliano Pardo-Tristán. Their duet debut recital on July 6, 1989 in Panama's National Theater was well received and sold out. Since then, Teresa and Emiliano have performed recitals and concerts with orchestras to an enthusiastic audience of followers.
MADE IN SALAMANCA: THE COMPOSERS AND THEIR WORK.
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) a Spanish composer born in Cádiz, wrote the two act opera La Vida Breve (Brief Life) in 1905. The same year he also won the first prize in the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts composition contest. The opera script is adapted from the poem La Chavalilla (The girl) by Carlos Fernández Shaw. It tells the love story of the gypsy Salud and Paco, a wealthy young man. Paco will betray Salud and marry Carmela, a woman of his own social status. Although the entire opera is rarely performed, the first of its two dances is well known, especially the transcriptions for violin and piano, piano solo and two guitars. The first of the two dances in Brief Life is a jota, heard in the second act when Paco and Carmela are celebrating their marriage party and invite everybody to dance, while Salud watches trough a window. The gypsy is sad about her unlucky destiny, and when the dance is over she confronts Paco. After revealing to the guests Paco's treason, Salud dies at hers lover's feet. The opera is located in the AlbaicÃn, a traditional gypsy neighborhood in the province of Granada. The argument, like a metaphoric transformation from GarcÃa Lorca's romances, describes the Andalusian sorrow, the black pity that in the words of Lorca himself is "a discrepancy between the intelligence of love and its surrounding mystery, which is never understood."
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida, better known as Leo Brouwer, was born in Havana, Cuba on March 1st, 1939. Brouwer, grandnephew of Ernesto Lecuona, is without a doubt the most important guitar composer of the Twentieth-century, having catalogued the largest number of concertos for the instrument. His four Micropiezas (Micro pieces) were dedicated to the French composer Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), famous for the systematic use of polytonality (the simultaneous use of more than one tonality) in his works. In the Micropiezas Brouwer uses one of his favorites clichés: the repetition and modification of rhythmic cells that have their origins in Afro-Cuban music. The cell modification, so rich and intrinsic to Brouwer's music, is a very conscious technical process for him: "The material transformation; here we begin with something that is not done. People have an idea and do not change it. We have to see the different aspects of the musical material. The element of the homo luden, the playing man, who transforms in every possible manner the material by playing with it."
The guitar duet Son-Sonete, composed in 1995, is an early and experimental work, which essentially employs the minimalist technique. Minimalism is based on the repetition of minuscule portions of musical material. It is the same method used to build rhythmic patterns that accompany popular Latin American music. The word sonsonete describes the execution of repetitive sounds to imitate a beat in music. This could be considered to be primitive minimalism. Son-Sonete experiments what could be called poliminimalism or the simultaneous repetition of musical cells. Furthermore, the piece briefly employs one of the most celebrated techniques from the Brouwerian palette: minimalism by expansion, or the inclusion of notes that vary and extend the repetitive patterns in their own development.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was the composer of concertos in the Baroque period. In addition to his extensive concerto output, Vivaldi influenced other composers as well. Before writing an original concerto, J. S. Bach (1685-1750) transcribed and studied the structure of several Vivaldi concertos, as well as others by Torelli and the brothers Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello. Obviously, Bach's purpose was not to copy Vivaldi but to enrich the concerto structure with the grandiosity of his genius.
The catalog number RV (Répertoire Vivaldi) is not a parameter that indicates the chronology of Vivaldi's concertos, because, contrary to the Eighteenth-century custom, the composer did not date his manuscripts. Peter Ryon's catalog numbers RV 93, for the D Major concerto for Lute, and RV 532, for the G Major Concerto for Two Mandolins, do not reveal which work was written first. The two concertos differ, not only in the choice and number of solo instruments, but in their form, orchestral texture, and basso continuo instruments (harpsichord for RV 93 and organ for RV 532).
The transcriptions of both concertos by Vivaldi presented in this recordings, were done for audiences with a broad criteria. Perhaps, the same open-mindedness employed by J. S. Bach when transcribing works that fell into his hands. Curiously, it was Bach's son C. P. E. Bach (1714-1788) who preferred to realize the basso continuo with the piano because of its "dynamic resources instead of the harpsichord's rigidity." What the "purists" sometimes forget is that in the Baroque period the music was more important than the instrument producing it. This explains why J. S. Bach transcribed so many of his own, and other composer's works, to a variety of instruments available in his time. In this recording the contrabass was chosen for the continuo, over cello or any other instruments, due to its register relation with the guitar, rather than a timber or dynamic reason. The contrabass, doubling an octave lower the piano, reinforces the continuo, supporting the harmonic platform, and helping the fluency and liberty of the soloistic part with its stable pulse.
Vivaldi preferred, for his concerto, the three-movements structure: fast slow fast. In the second movement, which was almost always binary, the continuo instruments usually accompanied the soloist, sometimes with the addition of two violins and rarely with the whole orchestra. The Concerto for Lute in D Major RV 93, has the slow movements' common instrumentation (2 violins and continuo), perhaps so the orchestra does not overshadow the solo instrument. All the movements of this concerto are monothematic and in the baroque dances' customary binary form. The first movement uses the Lombardic style, which consists of accenting the strong beats by means of rapid figures, and the third is an Italian Giga. However, Vivaldi does not use the binary form in the Concerto for Two Mandolins in G Major RV 532, but the ritornello or refrain form"alternation between the tutti (orchestra) and the soloist's modulating episodes. A structure introduced and named by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643).
Elcio De Sá, a Brazilian composer who has resided in Panama since 1992, dedicated his solo guitar work Saretê to his wife, the guitarist Teresa Toro. The catalog of De Sá includes works for solo instruments, chamber music, band, chorus and orchestra. The composer refers to Saretê (anagram of Teresa) as follows: "I wanted to dedicate a piece to Teresa to test her technical and musical skills. Therefore, I chose the interval of a second as one of the core materials as well as incisive rhythms that after their own development resulted in the need to interlock and juxtapose gestures, where the left and right hands, at time, are obliged to exchange their function. The second movement, ideally, should not be separated from the first by a long pause. It is built of two main thematic groups, with a more lyric and linear character than those priors, contrasting with the return of the first movement's material. In general, and as a whole, the piece's form is A B A', where B and A' integrate the second movement."
FantasÃa del Tambor by Brazilian composer Giácomo Bartoloni was written in 1998, and it was also dedicated to Teresa Toro and her teacher Cristina Tourinho. The work employs, as compositional resources, the repetition of fixed hand positions along the guitar fingerboard (a technique extensively used by Heitor Villa-Lobos); the well-known Panamanian tune El Tambor de la AlegrÃa, and the cell 3+3+2, intrinsic to several Latin American music styles. FantasÃa del Tambor is an idiomatic piece, and this is the reason why it works so effectively for the two guitars.
Made in Salamanca is a recording of contrasting styles and diverse periods and composers, drawing its unifying frame and inspiration from the rich architecture of this incredible Spanish city and the welcoming hospitality of its people.
©2004 Emiliano Pardo-Tristán
Check out the artist's website:
1. La Vida Breve
2. Micropieza I. Tranquilo
3. Micropieza II. Allegro Vivace
4. Micropieza III. Vivacissimo muy Ritmico
5. Micropieza IV. Sonoro
7. Concerto in G Major RV 532, I. Allegro
8. Concerto in G Major RV 532, II. Andante
9. Concerto in G Major RV 532, III. Allegro
10. Sarete, I. Expote
11. Sarete, II. Dexpote
12. Fantasia del Tambor
13. Concerto in D Major RV 93, I. Allegro
14. Concerto in D Major RV 93, II. Largo
15. Concerto in D Major RV 93, III. Allegro | <urn:uuid:92db5de5-428c-4f21-91f3-b006dd8addc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fearofablankplanet.com/artists/classical/traditional/emiliano_pardo-tristan_hecho_en_salamanca.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945228 | 2,186 | 1.734375 | 2 |
|Home / Headlines / 9/11: A Double-Edged Tragedy for American-Muslims|
9/11: A Double-Edged Tragedy for American-Muslims
"We also have to worry about the continued hijacking of our faith by some Muslims whose atrocious acts can have no possible justification. Minority as they may be, we have to gear up for an ideological battle against them since their aggressive ways are attracting more attention than our peaceful ways."
In commemorating the third anniversary of 9/11, our grief as American-Muslims is twofold.
On one hand we deplore the attack on our country. Our hearts bleed for the thousands of innocent lives lost. TV images of that terrible day are forever imprinted in our minds.
On the other hand, we realize with great regret that on that date our religion was hijacked along with those four planes.
Since that day, the world has not been the same. And again, for American-Muslims this statement is true in more ways than one.
Firstly, as Americans we are troubled by the notion that our homeland is under attack. Like all Americans, we worry about the security of our country and our citizens. Like everyone else, we fear further attacks that can cause more damage and further disrupt our way of life, a way of life that we have grown accustomed to and that we hold dear. Like all our compatriots, we are heavy-hearted at the ensuing wars that endanger the lives of the sons and daughters of America abroad.
Secondly, as Muslims, we have to worry about being scapegoated by some of our very own, those whose angst we share. We have to worry about being judged by the actions of those whom we do not know and have never met; to be crammed together with those whose actions we utterly abhor. We have to worry about those whose careless judgment lumps all Muslims as one group, and who fail to appreciate the diversity and variety represented amongst Muslims: the notion that Muslims are as diverse in their views as 1.4 billion people can be.
We have to brace for a certain level of paranoia that makes our post 9/11 daily lives as Americans even more difficult. We must face excessive profiling at airports and jobs, rising prejudice on the street, and sensational media reports that collectively demonize Muslims. We live with the burden of having to reaffirm our patriotism repeatedly.
We also have to worry about the continued hijacking of our faith by some Muslims whose atrocious acts can have no possible justification. Minority as they may be, we have to gear up for an ideological battle against them since their aggressive ways are attracting more attention than our peaceful ways.
Yet there is a sunny side to our double predicament that has many of our visionaries cautiously optimistic. It provides us with an important – albeit unsolicited - opportunity to test and strengthen our understanding of both our American identity, and our Islamic creed. If there was ever a doubt that the two can fully mingle, now is the time for us to remove all doubts. Now is the time for us to aggressively challenge the extremists amongst our ranks, and now is also the time for us to raise our voices against demonizing Islam as a whole.
The American spirit teaches us that for every generation, there is a calling to greatness. We welcome the challenge presented to us with a determination to rise above it. This is a chance for us to remind ourselves of our love for this country, and the need to be an active and integral part of the great and diverse American tapestry. In our public and private rhetoric, whether in mosque sermons, community publications, or at our dinner tables, now is the time to remind ourselves of what is good about America, and why America is our chosen and beloved homeland. In our struggle to improve civil rights, we are making America a better place, and doing our part to write a chapter of American history that will edge our nation closer to greatness.
The Muslim spirit teaches us that life is a series of tests and that allegiance to truth, fairness, hard work, and perseverance is the surest way to rise above all barriers. We understand that strain is a catalyst for growth, just like muscles requiring a workout. You grimace and you sweat, but in the end, you are in much better shape than when you started out. Challenges are necessary, even crucial for growth and improvement.
Far from being mutually-exclusive, each of our identities – American and Muslim - works to make the other more complete.
The American spirit inspires us with its values of freedom and inclusion. It is that spirit that allows us to practice our beloved faith of peace and compassion without persecution or retribution.
The Islamic spirit teaches us that love of one’s nation is part of the love of God. It teaches us that peace with one’s neighbors is part of peace with oneself. Islam teaches us that if there are evils present in the society in which we live, then our role as Muslims is to selflessly work to increase goodness as the best way to offset this evil. The true Muslim spirit is not to destroy, but to build. We have an obligation to live this message to our compatriots in the west, and to challenge those fringe Muslims who desecrate it with their deplorable blind anger.
In such trying times, as we American-Muslims struggle to deal with the dual challenges of post 9/11 life, we are mobilizing with optimism to become more American and more Muslim.
In conclusion, it is befitting to end an article commemorating the anniversary of 9/11 by remembering the most important dimension of this ordeal and that is its victims. I end by extending our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and our heartfelt prayer for the innocent souls lost.
by courtesy & © 2004 Ahmed Rehab
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Make a commitment to donate and/or place all of your book and other product orders from Amazon.com and thers through MMN Shopping web-site by clicking here. The percentage we get from these sales pays for maintaining and expanding MMN. | <urn:uuid:275c4122-ccba-49ee-8eb5-73e094e72542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usa.mediamonitors.net/Headlines/9-11-A-Double-Edged-Tragedy-for-American-Muslims | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956938 | 1,276 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Treasury Select Committee: pensioners deserve compensation!
A new report from the Treasury Select Committee suggests pensioners deserve compensation after suffering as a result of quantitative easing.
The Government should consider compensating pensioners and savers who have been left worse off as a result of the Bank of England’s quantitative easing (QE) programme.
That’s the suggestion of the Treasury Select Committee, which has today published its verdict on the 2012 Budget.
The findings were damning. Among other recommendations, the paper cautioned the government on the effects of a low base rate and quantitative easing programme on pensioners and savers. It states:
“Loose monetary policy, achieved through quantitative easing and low interest rates, has redistributional effects, particularly penalising savers, those with ‘drawdown pensions’ and those retiring now.”
Since March 2009, the Bank of England has kept the base rate at an all-time low of 0.5% and has injected £325 billion of new money into the UK economy (by printing new money) in an effort to revive consumer spending and kick-start the economy.
The idea behind these measures is to get people to stop holding onto their money in savings and to start spending to stimulate growth.
But as the base rate remains at a record low for the 37th consecutive month and a third round of quantitative easing is embarked upon, are savers and pensioners being unfairly victimised?
QE damages annuities
While the Bank of England appears confident about the benefits of QE and the Government continues to urge patience, pensioners and savers can expect difficult times. The report predicts:
“Under this policy, savers receive a far lower return on their savings than under more normal conditions. Meanwhile the returns that new pensioners will receive on their annuities have also been badly affected.”
In short quantitative easing is damaging annuities for those who are going to or are about to retire.
Quantitative easing is a method brought in by the Bank of England to inject money into the economy. The programme operates on the bank buying Government bonds (also known as gilts) and other corporate assets with new money.
While this is intended to give banks more money to (in theory) lend to businesses and consumers, this has a direct impact on pension annuity rates, as we explained in Why printing money is bad news for pensioners.
Today annuity rates are significantly lower than they were five or six years ago and quantitative easing will pull them down even further.
Once you reach the age of retirement the money held in your pension pot is converted into an income stream of a fixed amount every year calculated on the annuity rate you choose. These rates decide how high or low your pension will be; determining how comfortably you will be able to live out the rest of your life. For more on how to pick an annuity, check out Boost your pension by 40%.
So pensioners, who are already bearing the brunt of a rise in the cost of living, also have face the prospect of a cut in their annual income because of the plunge in annuity rates on offer. It paints a bleak picture for the future.
There seems to be no bright side to this policy for pensioners and savers, but the report did contain one interesting recommendation:
“We recommend that the Government consider whether there are any measures that should be taken to mitigate the redistributional effects of quantitative easing, and if appropriate consult on them at the time of the Autumn Statement.”
What should these measures to mitigate be? Compensation? A reversal of the QE policy?
So what are your thoughts? Is QE justified? And should pensioners and savers be compensated?
More on annuities: | <urn:uuid:13317f83-f0aa-44c3-a726-c91ad3b157d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lovemoney.com/news/savings-investments-pensions/pensions/15310/pensioners-deserve-compensation?showcomments=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955817 | 778 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Found in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, 2 February 1914:
NEPHEW BY PARCEL POST
TWO YEAR OLD YOUNSTER SHIPPED BY MAIL FOR 18 CENTS
Wellington, Kas., Feb. 3 – Mrs. M.H. Staley, of this city, received her two year old nephew by parcel post to-day from his grandmother in Stratford, Oklahoma, where he had been left for a visit three weeks ago. The boy wore a tag about his neck, showing it had cost 18 cents to send him through the mails. He was transported 25 miles by rural route before reaching the railroad. He rode with the mail clerks, shared his lunch with them and arrived here in good condition.
I bet there are postal regulations in place against this today! | <urn:uuid:54bfba0b-63cd-4f86-af96-8171d005a9bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stienstradl.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/now-why-didnt-i-think-of-doing-this/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=1241f9cf41 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983335 | 166 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Court orders for eviction
Most landlords need to get a possession order from the court before a tenant can be evicted. There are several types of court order. The type of court order that can be made depends on a number of things including your particular circumstances and the type of tenancy you have.
Applying for possession is a civil matter. You won't be sent to prison if you do not move out of your home before your landlord goes to court.
What is a 'Possession order'?
Your landlord has to get permission from the court before he or she can evict you. This is called 'applying for possession'. If the court gives your landlord a possession order this ends your right to live in your home.
At the hearing, it is possible for the judge to:
- make an outright possession order;
- make a suspended possession order;
- adjourn the case;
- dismiss the case.
What is an 'outright possession order'?
If an outright possession order is given you have to leave the accommodation by the date given in the order. If you have not left by the date in the possession order, your landlord can apply to the enforcement of judgments office to evict you.
What is a 'suspended possession order'?
The court can grant a 'suspended possession order' if your landlord has a good reason to evict you but it wouldn't be fair to evict you. You will be able to stay in your home if you stick to certain conditions, which are explained in the court order. For example you may be ordered to pay off rent you owe at a certain amount each week or not to cause further disturbance to your neighbours.
If you don't stick to all of the conditions of the order your landlord can apply to the court for the enforcement of judgments office to evict you.
What does 'adjourning the case' mean?
The court can grant an adjournment if the case cannot be decided yet and that the hearing should be delayed. An adjournment can be for an indefinite or for a fixed period of time. This might happen if:
- your landlord says you have a certain type of tenancy but you disagree;
- the judge gives you more time to sort out a housing benefit claim;
- the judge needs more evidence before making a decision.
You will usually be given a date for a new court hearing. You have the right to remain in your home. If you are behind with the rent you may have to pay a certain amount each week as a condition of the case being adjourned.
What does 'dismissing the case' mean?
The court may decide that your case should be dismissed because there is no reason why you should be evicted. This might happen if:
- your landlord does not have the right to apply for possession;
- your landlord has not followed the correct procedure for bringing the case to court.
If the case is dismissed you have the right to remain in your home.
Can I change the order?
You might be able to apply to the court to have the possession order cancelled or suspended. This is only likely if the possession order should not have been granted in the first place. This might be because:
- you did not receive the court papers,
- you did not know you could defend your case,
- you did not attend the hearing,
- you did not reply to the court in time, you had a good reason for this, and if you had been able to reply in time the court would have made a different order or no order at all.
You may be able to change the conditions attached to a suspended possession order. This might be possible if your circumstances change. It will be easier to do this if your landlord agrees with the change to the conditions.
To cancel, suspend or change an order, you will need to apply to the court by filling in a specific form. You may also have to pay a fee.
Will I have to pay court costs?
If a possession order is made or if you leave the property after your landlord starts the court case but before the order is made, you may be ordered to pay your landlord's legal costs. Contact a local advice agency if you are in this situation.
Back to top | <urn:uuid:5756aa33-5c2a-4474-9551-9f7f138f3c8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.housingadviceni.org/eviction/going-to-court-to-be-evicted/court-orders-for-eviction.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954589 | 875 | 1.71875 | 2 |
In-app purchases have become the predominant way that mobile developers monetize their work, with the bulk of iOS’s top 25 grossing apps being free-to-play. One company, the U.K.’s NaturalMotion, even made $12 million through in-app purchases on iOS in a single month for CSR Racing, so these microtransactions are starting to add up in a big way for venture-backed mobile startups.
Analytics company Apsalar took a deeper look into factors that predict spending inside mobile apps and more specifically, how the quantity of apps a user has affects their spending habits.
Somewhat counter-intuitively, users with a greater percentage of paid apps tend to spend less inside free ones. Apsalar speculates this is because consumers have a limited budget and paid apps serve as an economic substitute for in-app purchases.
Now while it might be hard for an individual developer to know how exactly many apps a customer has, developers can decide where and how to cross-promote their work in other games or apps. So a game developer might choose not to cross-promote their free app in another paid game if it means that there’s a lower chance that the end-user will pay for virtual currency.
Then somewhat unsurprisingly, the more apps a consumer has, the more likely they’ll spend inside one. If they are invested enough in downloading tons of apps, they might be likely to spend more inside of them as well. More than half of users who have more than six apps will go on to make an in-app purchase, compared to 6 percent of those who only have one app. (Of course, it’s kind of hard to imagine someone with fewer than five apps on their smartphone.)
Similarly, the more games they have, the more likely they are to make an in-app purchase.
There’s a flipside to this trend though. The more apps a user has, the less time they spend on average in each individual app. Logically, it makes sense if a user has dozens of apps, they’re not going to have enough free time to spend above a certain amount in each of them.
The stats above are from 250 million unique mobile devices on and over 100 billion user actions in Apsalar’s network. The company, which is backed by more than $5.8 million in funding from Thomvest and Battery Ventures, recently launched an engagement service for app developers who want to target users with promotions based on their previous behavior.
Let’s talk mobile apps. Chances are good that you need one, and chances are better that the technology, price or requirements to build them have driven you away. Sure, you could use any of the copy/paste, drag and drop mobile “app” creators out there, but what you’re doing is building a Web page wrapped in native code that you can’t touch. Serious limitations abound. That is until MobileIgniter.
MobileIgniter is a software-as-a-service that allows anyone to build high-quality, content-driven mobile apps using a simple and beautiful UI, then publish them to the App Store or Google Play.
Pull in your Webpage, your Twitter stream or your YouTube videos, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that simple tasks like these are all you can do. The beauty of the platform is that it’s positively unlimited. Instead of having only a pre-set number of options and capabilities from which you can choose, MobileIgniter lets any Web developer create modules for content that’s truly important to your company. Appointment scheduling, photo sharing, enterprise-class service connections? They’re all possible with MobileIgniter and that’s just one feature that sets it apart.
The team of Dominic DiMarco and Tim Nott isn’t too uncommon in tech. They’re a couple of friends who have known each other for almost 20 years. DiMarco was a Hackstar for TechStars in the 2011 Boulder class, and Nott went through the accelerator’s Boston program as part of the team with SpillNow. The idea for MobileIgniter was actually born in TechStars, as the two found an excessive number of companies that needed mobile apps that were easy to build and manage, without looking generic. In fact, TechStars even chose MobileIgniter to power its own app.
Fast forward through TechStars and the team realized that they needed some help to get MobileIgniter off the ground. They had a minimum-viable product at the end of August last year, but there was still a lot of work to be done. By December they had nailed down a small seed round and applied to the Gener8tor accelerator in Wisconsin. They were accepted into the program in May and moved into the offices in June. Now, as Gener8tor holds its Demo Day on August 23rd, the team is ready to break out of its shell.
Oh, and once a module is built, there’s a marketplace where they can be sold to other MobileIgniter users, adding another potential revenue stream for companies. DiMarco likes to refer to MobileIgniter as a WordPress for mobile apps, and it’s clear why this description is fitting.
We will most definitely be keeping an eye on MobileIgniter as it moves forward. For now, if you need a mobile app and want to give it a try, it’s completely free for 7 days. If you build something you want to publish, you can move up the pricing tiers to get additional features such as direct support via email and analytics. Want a white-label option? You got it, for a mere $2500 per year. That’s some serious ignition in the mobile apps development space.
Image: wwarby via Flickr
Go here to read the rest: MobileIgniter: Your Web developer can now build a fully-custom mobile app, additional revenue included
Swedish mobile payments company iZettle is moving quickly to launch in more regions and develop new products as chief rival Square is preparing to make its way to Europe. iZettle is today debuting an Android app in its home country Sweden after testing it with Samsung.
iZettle for Android is free and compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S II, S II LTE, S III and the Galaxy Note – it can be downloaded from Samsung Apps.
The company promises that the Android app will be compatible with other Android phones “during the next couple of months”.
Swedish users can currently order the iZettle for Android reader in Telia (part of TeliaSonera) stores nationwide or buy it on the company’s website.
Already available for iPhone and iPad, the all-new Android app will eventually allow anyone to take credit or debit card payments in the Nordics and the UK, whether this is done with or without iZettle’s custom mini chip-card reader.
iZettle for Android has the same features as the iOS version, but plugs into the device’s audio jack.
Also worth noting: where Square makes use of the magnetic strips on payment cards, iZettle’s focus is on the chip-and-signature system, which is more common in Europe.
iZettle charges a percentage of the transaction amount rather than fixed service fees. The company’s service is EMV (Europay, MasterCard and VISA) approved, and compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
Meanwhile, the company still hasn’t resolved its issues with Visa Europe. You may remember that iZettle was forced to withdraw support for Visa card payments in Denmark, Finland and Norway at the end of July 2012.
It’s important to note that the blockade doesn’t apply in Sweden, but a spokesperson did confirm to me that iZettle doesn’t have anything to announce regards to the situation in the other Nordic countries yet.
Founded in 2010, iZettle is based in Stockholm and recently picked up $31.4 million in funding from Greylock Partners, Northzone, MasterCard and others to bankroll its ambitious expansion plans.
With Thursday’s Twitter API changes, App.net could not have gotten better news. Suddenly, Dalton Caldwell’s vision of a subscription-based Twitter clone seems quite clever.
Yet, when it comes to creating a competitor to such an ubiquitous service, App.net now has to face many challenges. Most of them will be very hard to overcome — even harder than reaching its $500,000 funding goal.
Even though Twitter tags itself as a real-time information network, at first it is still a social network with a social graph, conversations and profiles. Paying $50 a year for App.net is not a small decision when it only has around 12,000 users.
Over the years, Twitter has become more useful with the regular addition of new users. App.net is not different, and its priority should now be to attract as many users as possible. Therefore, it should drastically reduce its price because the service has to catch on when the hype is still fresh. It will be better for long-term growth.
A directory of third-party apps is now available, but that is not how users want to use App.net. Most — if not all — of them already have one or multiple Twitter accounts.
In the now-defunct Tweetie for example, you could set a custom API root. It means that the popular iPhone app could work with other services. For example, you could add an Identi.ca account in Tweetie by pointing the client to Identi.ca’s API.
Yet, convincing third-party developers of popular Twitter clients won’t be a small feat but seems like a necessary step to grow usage. In the example above, Identi.ca’s API had to replicate the interactions of the Twitter API. Therefore, if App.net wants to make it as frictionless as possible for third-party developers, it should replicate Twitter API and convince Twitter developers who feel threatened after Thursday’s news.
Down the road, if App.net is successful enough to attract the attention of content websites and other web services, App.net will have to match Twitter’s tools. Tweet buttons have been a good growth engine for the platform.
App.net users that will only see a Tweet button at the top of an article won’t be enticed to share this article on App.net. Conversely, seducing content websites is no use without many users.
While Twitter is now deeply integrated into iOS and OS X, it does not prevent App.net from creating its version of Sign in with Twitter. Maybe some geeky websites will integrate it next to Facebook Connect and Sign in with Twitter as another way to sign into the service.
App.net needs to be on par with Twitter when it comes to features. A natural advantage of App.net is that spam will be very limited. For example, paid bookmarking site Pinboard only had to shut down three accounts for spam over three years. But the no-nonsense API policy and the no-ad stance are not enough.
App.net is still in alpha and has implemented a waiting list for new users. The last time a major social network required to wait before being invited, it was Google Wave. A year after being announced, it was shut down by Google.
App.net users are willing to make it succeed, but it has to let new users in right now. It should not be considered as an Alpha, people want to use App.net.
Twitter is the world’s biggest Twitter-style network (ha!). That’s not necessarily a bad thing. For example, Hacker News thrives even though the vote-based news website does not cover mainstream topics like Digg or Reddit do.
Of course, when you read “we will require you to work with us directly” or “there may also be additional changes to the Rules of the Road” in Michael Sippey’s “Changes coming in Version 1.1 of the Twitter API” post, it does not look promising for developers. If you read carefully between the lines, those Rules of the Road are mainly that Twitter is now in charge, and that if your third-party service or app competes too much with Twitter’s core business, you will either have to agree or to forget about your app.
Geeks want App.net to succeed because the Twitter ecosystem has been very innovative for a few years. Yet, it’s now up to App.net to prove us that we are right to believe in that utopia. They will have to make it happen and they should not rely on bittersweet news from Twitter.
Nir Eyal writes about the intersection of psychology, technology, and business at NirAndFar.com. He is the author of the forthcoming book “Hooked: How to Drive Engagement by Creating User Habits”. Follow him on Twitter @nireyal.
A few years ago, everyone was clicking. Today, we’re all scrolling. Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and as of this week, Instagram and Medium – it seems everyone is getting on the infinite scroll bus. What is it about this magical design pattern that has so many consumer web companies using it?
Not too long ago, users were forced to reload pages to progress from one piece of content to the next. Web designers were advised against creating websites with information appearing “below the fold”, the portion of the page underneath what is displayed on the screen. As mobile phones and tablets gained wider adoption, it looked like the swipe might become standard fare. But that’s all changed now. Today, designers are dumping the click and flick and opting for the scroll for one simple reason – it works.
The infinite scroll is interaction design’s answer to our penchant for endlessly searching for novelty. Certainly, there are technical reasons for the scroll’s increasing ubiquity. The rise of dynamic content, like a new comment entering the feed, necessitated a better solution than pagination built for static content. But to really understand why the scroll works so well requires a brief trip inside the mind and back in time.
Our brains evolved through the millennia into incredible prediction machines, designed to help us make sense of our environment. Our species benefited from our ability to make good decisions based on what we know is likely to happen in the future, thus, keeping us alive long enough to make babies and spread our genes.
To make correct predictions, the brain accesses memories, which allow us to deduce what’s coming next in an nearly instantaneous process of pattern recognition. The ability to learn is simply the conditioning of the brain to recognize cause and (blank).
You were expecting “effect” weren’t you? Of course you were. That’s because your brain has learned that these two words, “cause” and “effect”, tend to go together.
It’s this conditioning that creates cognitive shortcuts and habits, allowing us to process tremendous amounts of information all at once. Our brains move known causal patterns to long-term storage so that our attention can be devoted to learning new things.
And nothing holds our attention better than the unknown. The things that captivate, engross, and entertain us, all have an element of surprise. Our brains can’t get enough of trying to predict what’s next and our dopamine system kicks into high-gear when we’re waiting to know if our team will make the field goal, how the dice will land, or how the movie plot ends. Like a loose slot machine, the infinite scroll gives users fast access to variable rewards.
Interestingly, our brain isn’t wired to seek pleasure alone. In fact, much of our motivation comes from alleviating the pain of desire. Dopamine levels spike when we’re just about to find reward and plummet after we receive it. To get us to do just about anything, evolution uses this chemical cascade to induce anticipation, motivation, and finally pain alleviation. Somehow we call this endless merry-go-round “fun.”
Few other methods for displaying information produce the curiosity to see what’s next like the infinite scroll. Like coffee and chocolate, the infinite scroll pairs particularly well with another increasingly-used design pattern, the masonry grid layout made famous by Pinterest. Cliff Kuang, editor of Co.Design, wrote, “… the Pinterest-style grid forces the eye to zig-zag through content, slowing down your scrolling but packing more images onto the screen at any given point.”
The barrage of enticing content speeds users up, enticing them to scroll, while the grid slows them down, retaining their attention and moderating their thirst for more and more stimulation. The visual tension is mesmerizing and addictive. Don’t believe me? I dare you to go to the Pinterest homepage and not feel tempted to scroll just once. It’s like opening a can of digital Pringles.
The infinite scroll has benefited both mobile and web interfaces as designers seize the opportunity to make consistent experiences across both versions of their products. Once users learn how to use a product, they form habits related to their expectations of how the service works. It is here that design becomes a competitive advantage as users find it difficult to switch to a competitor’s product because it “feels weird” even if its functionally works just as well.
Recently, the tail wags the dog as the constraints of the mobile experience influence the design of websites accessed on large screens. Creating an interface optimized for mobile and porting these interface decisions to the web, makes good sense given the projections that mobile is becoming the primary way people access the Internet. While certainly not perfect for every scenario, its efficient use of the mobile screen, ability to load dynamic content, and addictive characteristics, means we’ll all be doing a lot more scrolling.
Photo credit: Alex E. Proimos
Here is the original post: Infinite Scroll: The Web’s Slot Machine | <urn:uuid:183466b5-7d02-46a2-8f63-be303ceefb54> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://networldinteractive.com/tag/make/page/90/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946427 | 3,815 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Congressman Hansen Clarke:The Right Public Servant
Hansen Clarke is the right choice to serve the people of Southeast Michigan because he embodies the beliefs and experiences of all the residents of the region. Born and raised in Detroit, Hansen saw first hand the destruction of his old neighborhood and the loss of hope that accompanied it. He experienced the same economic hardships as many in the area; he lost his job and went on food stamps at one point in his life, and even had his food stamps cut off. Hansen Clarke was able to regain his hope through a job created by an act of Congress.
Hansen took advantage of his life experiences to graduate with a Bachelors from Cornell University, where he served as a student representative on the university’s board. He then went on to graduate from Georgetown University with a law degree. Hansen worked for Congressman John Conyers Jr., serving as his Chief of Staff, and also served in the Wayne County government under then-County Executive Ed McNamara.
Hansen Clarke works tirelessly for the people of Southeast Michigan to help constituents get the services they deserve, to revitalize the region’s economy, and to allow all citizens to live their lives as freely as they choose.
Congressman Clarke is an effective legislator who served on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and as the Vice-President of the Democratic Freshman Class. He is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. | <urn:uuid:0939d0b9-e973-4b65-bc31-f659c5a11108> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hansenclarkeforcongress.com/why-hansen-clarke/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984919 | 309 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The latest corporate donation to Hamilton County's science, technology, engineering and math high school brings the project even closer to its fundraising goal of $500,000.
On Monday, local digital advertising agency Area 203 announced a $100,000 gift to the high school, which opened in August on the campus of Chattanooga State Community College.
Area 203 President Doug Freeman said his company relies on STEM-skilled employees to fill marketing, creative and technology positions.
"The future of our business certainly relies on you and others like you," Freeman told the STEM school's 75 students, who were in attendance for the announcement.
The gift brings total donations to $455,000, just shy of a $500,000 goal previously set to cover construction costs. The Hamilton County Board of Education used $500,000 from its reserve funds to get the STEM project under way. The donations will be used to replenish the school board's reserves. Another $15,000 has been raised to purchase supplies for the school.
Owned by Chattanooga businessman Carey V. Brown, Area 203 is a digital media company whose clients include colleges, charities and other businesses including online payday lenders.
The new program wouldn't have been possible without the support of local companies, nonprofits and higher education institutions, Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith said. Officials praised such companies as First Tennessee, SunTrust, TVA, Unum and Volkswagen for making the school's launch possible.
Tennessee Deputy Gov. Claude Ramsey, a former Hamilton County mayor, was at Monday's event, where he was heralded as a champion of the new school, which received a $1.8 million state grant.
The superintendent said Ramsey was key in expediting the progress of the school, which opened in a matter of months.
"The first thing we found out is you don't open a schoolhouse in Tennessee without cutting through a lot of red tape," Smith said. "We made one phone call to Deputy Governor Claude Ramsey, and the red tape disappeared."
Ramsey said the school's digital curriculum and hands-on projects will transform the way education is delivered.
"We can't do education the way we did 20 years ago," he said.
Though the school will hold only about 300 students at full capacity, strategies used by its teachers will be spread throughout the region because of the work of the STEM hub.
"This is not a place where it's all going to happen," Ramsey said. "This is the place it starts."
Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at 423-757-6249 or [email protected].
Kevin rejoined the Times Free Press in August 2011 as the Southeast Tennessee K-12 education reporter. He worked as an intern in 2009, covering the communities of Signal Mountain, Red Bank, Collegedale and Lookout Mountain, Tenn. A native Kansan, Kevin graduated with bachelor's degrees in journalism and sociology from the University of Kansas. After graduating, he worked as an education reporter in Hutchinson, Kan., for a year before coming back to Chattanooga. Honors include a ... | <urn:uuid:90933149-056d-4893-b4c5-4159c6617691> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timesfreepress.com/news/2012/oct/16/chattanooga-stem-school-receives-100000-donation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967254 | 633 | 1.734375 | 2 |
This is what a famous fairy tale writer named Zheng Yuanjie had to say: “November 15 is a date that Chinese should remember forever. Five children from Guizhou, ranging from seven to thirteen years old, choked to death in a dumpster, caused by the fire they lit to keep themselves warm.” He posted these words on Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter, on November 18 as but one among millions of comments on the tragedy that occurred two days ago in in Bijie, Guizhou, a less-developed province in Southwest China.
On November 16, hours after new leader Xi Jinping took the reins of power in China, five boys who were later confirmed to be relatives were found dead in a dumpster; according to the Wall Street Journal, the youngest was in fact nine years old. According to a police investigation, they died from carbon monoxide poisoning, believed to be caused by a fire they lit that night to keep themselves warm. Four of the five were drop-outs who had been run out of home just weeks earlier. During their disappearance, parents and school-teachers had reportedly been searching for them. On November 20, the vice district governors in charge of civil affairs and education were suspended and placed under investigation.
Grief and outrage pour forth
This news soon became the top breaking news on Weibo, attracting over 4 million comments. They evinced mixed and complicated emotions, but anger, sadness, helplessness, and frustration predominated.
Many commentators expressed outrage using a line from a poem wrote by Du Fu back in 755 A.D.: “[While] the meat and wine in rich families have rotted, the poor die hungry and cold by the roadside.” Zuo Yeben (@作业本), a famous Weibo commentator, wrote: “‘Five kids died in a dumpster’—the most miserable declarative sentence of 2012”. The Editor in Chief for Wall Street Journal China (@袁莉wsj) wrote, “The stories from my childhood textbook of a dark, cold capitalist society are now happening [here].”
Other devastated Web users turned to satire. State-controlled China Central Television (CCTV), which has taken fire for a recent focus on Chinese happiness that many find transparent and self-serving, became a particularly popular target. @红太郎fjr chided, “Five young boys died like this. CCTV likes asking people ‘are you fulfilled?’ Go ask these kids”.
Searching for answers, and perhaps scapegoats
One commentator (@木尔) with more than 40 thousands followers contrasted the death of these boys with the wealthy life led by the Party Secretary from the same city, who the blogger complained has a weakness for luxurious leather belts: “[The cost of] any one of his belts could easily cover many people’s foods and clothing.”
Indeed, the search for a culprit ranged far and wide: Sloppy governance, careless parents and schools, an indifferent community. Web users were not the only angry ones. An article titled “Children’s Helplessness [Leads to] Questions [About] Social Baseline” appeared on the ninth page on People’s Daily on November 20. It’s significant that this story appeared not only online, where liberal voices tend to reside, but also in the print version of a Party-line newspaper. The editorial stated, “[A proposal has been put forth that] by the end of 2012, Chinese cities will try to have no more juveniles on the streets. If so, why did relevant departments did not see these ‘street’ boys in Bijie and protect them?”
Other commentators cautioned that officials were being turned into scapegoats. As @bll2012 opined: “We are used to finding scapegoats when we encounter problems, then they give you a scapegoat! Then you shut up! You are so pathetic! Why not find the real cause: The failure of the social protection system.” Independent Chinese media Caixin (@财新网) also sounded a note of caution: “The tragedy in Guizhou did not only reflect management loopholes in Bijie alone, but also the defects of the mechanism protecting Chinese children’s rights. China is among the few countries that does not have a professional child welfare department. Administrative systems for child protection and rescue urgently need to be built.”
Moving forward in sadness
While the vivid and horrific particulars of this story no doubt brought it to quick nationwide and international attention, commentators both on- and offline seemed aware that a far more complicated interplay of social issues relating to China’s breakneck development lurked in the background. Until more robust mechanisms for protecting the youngest Chinese are put in place, children from poor or troubled families will continue to live at risk.
One undeniable fact: All of these debates will now occur in a world that none of the five lost boys will have a chance to experience. As fairy tale writer Zheng Yuanjie concluded: “Though you left the world in a dumpster, you are not trash. The irresponsible adults are. A child frozen to death means a future frozen to death. Beijing spent 800 million RMB to [heat the city for an additional 15 days this winter], but still did not warm you … please forgive us.” | <urn:uuid:f33631cb-ac66-4f14-9ae1-6a401d98d700> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tealeafnation.com/2012/11/china-grieves-after-fairy-tale-of-development-becomes-nightmare-for-five-young-boys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966704 | 1,137 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Hello to Robert and Pete, as well as other Piano Society members:
You have each discovered something that I would highly recommend that others try for themselves, in the privacy of their own home studios -- videotape yourself and then watch yourself (with a critical, analytical eye) playing / practicing the piano. The ultimate goal of viewing videos of the most important performer in the world (at least in your own mind) ... is to enable you to improve your musicianship, poise and general performance level.
The purpose of videotaping yourself is not entirely for an ego boost, but rather as a diagnostic tool -- a safe haven for you to see the way you perform, when other people are not watching. More specifically, videotaping yourself has the ability of transforming yourself INTO YOUR OWN PRIVATE TEACHER. There is no need to get dressed in public performance attire, unless you are using these tapes to prepare you for a high level contest. Rather, this is just for you, and is not intended to be viewed by others -- restated, simply be yourself.
As in previous threads, you will recall how one is amazed and humbled when he/she views these taped performances, hairstyle notwithstanding. Surely, you will become aware of mannerisms you never knew you had. These mannerisms are described in below in greater detail.
I would recommend using two camera positions (although they need not be done simultaneously). In fact, I would suggest you do NOT have another person present to operate the camera. As soon as someone else is in the room, your session turns into a recital -- and that is NOT what is being attempted at this time.
1) Capture your performance with the camera placed approximately 20 feet (6 meters) from the instrument -- or at least as far across the room as you can go with the lens zoomed out. This camera position will show you your "macro" mannerisms -- how you sit at the bench, whether you unconsciously flail your arms as you play, how your body outwardly reacts to your making mistakes, how you hold your wrists in relation to the positioning of your forearms as well as fingers, etc.
Tape yourself for a long enough stretch of time ... that you no longer care that the camera is running. This is NOT to be a performance, but rather an objective camera's eye view of how you practice a particular piece of music. Yes, I know, the first five minutes or so will be excrutiatingly difficult to keep playing because you are still "performing" for the camera -- get yourself past that state of mind.
2) Capture a close-up view of your hands as you are playing. In the recommended ABSENCE of a videographer, set the zoom such that you can see your hands at close range, but zoomed back enough that your hands remain in view throughout your taping.
When taping in close-up mode, you should be watching what happens when you make the same mistake at the same portion of a given musical passage. The camera may capture any number of clues of which you completely unaware:
A) it may capture some clumsy fingering;
B) it may capture LAZY fingering (that you finger differently each time you play the same passage);
C) it may help you discover that a particular type of fingering may be satisfactory whilst practicing slowly, but the same fingering is not the most efficient one when playing up to tempo.
D) it may verify that the particular fingering is correct, but that the fingering LEADING TO the errant passage is all wrong.
Back to the original intent of this posting:
PLAN: Upon viewing yourself, take notes of the mannerisms you wish to improve.
DO: Work on improving those characteristics found lacking. Set a timeframe for improvement.
CHECK: Videotape yourself after you feel you have incrementally accomplished an improvement.
ACT: Dependent upon whether improvement had actually taken place, either continue on other parts of a musical work, or use this opportunity to go back the the PLAN stage and observe the mannerisms, and repeat the P-D-C-A process as often as required. | <urn:uuid:6744f3c3-5c68-4f18-b861-d791cf965d3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pianosociety.com/new/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=376&start=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953848 | 858 | 1.5625 | 2 |
It was mind over matter for the 40 high school students who jumped into the swimming pool on Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Swim Center in Silver Spring.
Most of them were participating in their first endurance swim. Some just learned to swim so they could take part in the Montgomery County Recreation Sports Academy Navy SEALs Fitness Challenge.
Joe Jones, a U.S. Navy SEAL stationed in Little Creek, Va., said the challenge was one of the basic tests for becoming a SEAL.
“We give [them] lessons on mental toughness and we give physical toughness. The physical challenge is an application of the mental toughness,” he said.
The 500-meter swim was the first of the challenges faced by the students, who were all male except for Mercy Nuhu, 18, a junior at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington. In total, there were five challenges the students would complete that morning. Other challenges included two minutes each for push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, followed by a 1.5-mile run.
Earlier this week, Jeremiah Monrose, 15, a freshman at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, said he was getting nervous.
He was one of the students who learned to swim though the program, which started in February.
He was worried he might drown, he said. But he planned to keep in mind the words of one of his swim instructors.
“He told me: It’s about self-determination, just don’t quit,” Monrose said of his instructor, a U.S. Navy SEAL who declined through a public relations agency to be interviewed for this article.
At the end of the challenges, Jeremiah said he was proud to have completed the course. He also admitted the swimming was the hardest part for him; the running and push-ups, the easiest.
“I feel pretty good. My teammates cheered me on and helped me complete the challenge and I cheered for them,” he said.
Students from the Blair program took the top three places for individual achievement at the event. Senior Nebiyu Fitta came in first, junior Elias Yishak, second, and freshman Kalabe Arefeayne, third. The team won the trophy for top performing school.
Nuhu said she learned a great lesson preparing for and completing the challenge.
“It lets me know I can set goals and accomplish them, she said. “Being the only woman makes me feel tough.”
The program, which ran for 10 weeks, was part of the county Department of Recreation’s effort to reach out to students in four county schools with large populations of youth thought to be at risk for joining gangs or facing violence, organizers said. Both are commonly associated with high dropout rates and failing grades. Low income can be a factor.
The schools selected for the program in addition to Montgomery Blair and Albert Einstein were Springbrook High School in Silver Spring and Wheaton High School. All four have higher-than-average dropout rates.
Blair’s dropout rate is nearly double the countywide average at 12.6 percent, according to Montgomery County Public Schools statistics. At Wheaton High School, nearly 82 percent of the student body is enrolled in the county’s free and reduced-price meals program, reserved for students from low-income households.
The program was an optional component of the Sports Academy programs offered by the Montgomery County Recreation Department at the four schools. The program is paid for by the Department of Recreation as part of the Sports Academy program. It was free for the students.
“[The Sports Academy] provides adult supervision for students — we try to give them a place to go,” said Jose Segura, a recreation specialist with the county’s Department of Recreation who runs and helped start the Sports Academy program at Blair in 2006 after serving as a security assistant at the school between 2003 and 2006.
Few of the students participating in the competition have shown any real interest in becoming Navy SEALs — a highly lauded position within the Naval Special Warfare division — but most have taken their message of resiliency and mental toughness to heart, Segura said.
“I think the best was to hear about a kid who didn’t want to become a SEAL, but he said he was considering joining [the] medical field now that he knows what he’s capable of,” Segura said. | <urn:uuid:01089474-31e0-4c5f-adf4-4ce8292100ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gazette.net/article/20120519/NEWS/705199990/1122/dorothy-freeman/Students-learn-to-connect-physical-toughness-with-achieving-goals&template=gazette | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974246 | 923 | 1.734375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — The Senate Thursday took up must-do legislation to permit the government to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars more to meet its obligations, putting off one Washington showdown even as others loom in coming weeks.
The measure would suspend the $16.4 trillion limit on federal borrowing through May 18, allowing about $450 billion in new debt to be added to the federal ledger, according to an estimate by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The Republican-controlled House passed the legislation last week. A successful Senate vote Thursday afternoon would send the measure to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law immediately.
Without the bill, the government would default on its obligations by as early as mid-February.
The short-term increase in the borrowing cap is the brainchild of House Republicans, who wanted to re-sequence a series of upcoming budget battles, taking the threat of a potentially devastating government default off the table and instead setting up a clash in March over automatic across-the-board spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and many domestic programs.
Those cuts — postponed by the recent “fiscal cliff” deal — are the punishment for the failure of a 2011 deficit supercommittee to reach an agreement. The panel was itself established by the hard-fought 2011 increase in the debt limit.
Democrats are going along because the debt increase isn’t contingent on matching cuts to the budget, as long demanded by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Senate Republicans are offering several amendments, including a proposal by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., to ensure that in the case of a cash crunch the government would use available tax revenue to make sure that bondholders, Social Security and the military get paid. Another, by Rob Portman of Ohio, would require that any immediate increase in the debt limit be paired with commensurate cuts to spending, which could be spread out over 10 years.
The GOP amendments, however, are sure to fail. Any successful effort to amend the bill would require the House to vote again and delay delivery of the measure to the president.
To sell the measure to House GOP conservatives, Boehner instead attached a “no budget, no pay” provision that would withhold pay for House and Senate members if the chamber in which they serve fails to pass a budget plan. That was a slap at the Democratic-controlled Senate, which hasn’t passed a budget blueprint since 2009.
The “no budget, no pay” provision is seen by congressional insiders as a bad idea whose time has arrived. For starters, it makes members of the minority party dependent on the ability of the majority party to advance a budget if they all are to be paid. But the announcement of the move was quickly followed by an announcement by Senate Democrats that they would indeed advance a budget for the first time in four years.
Lawmakers have already shifted their focus to the across-the-board cuts.
, which would pare $85 billion from this year’s budget after being delayed from Jan. 1 until March 1 and reduced by $24 billion by the recently enacted tax bill. Defense hawks are particularly upset, saying the Pentagon cuts would devastate military readiness and cause havoc in defense contracting. The cuts, called a “sequester” in Washington-speak, were never intended to take effect but were instead aimed at driving the two sides to a large budget bargain.
But Republicans and Obama now appear on a collision course over how to replace the across-the-board cuts. Obama and his Democratic allies insist that additional revenues be part of the solution; Republicans say further tax increases are off the table after the 10-year, $600 billion-plus increase in taxes on wealthier earners forced upon Republicans by Obama earlier this month.
The debt measure permits borrowing through May 18 and resets the debt limit to reflect it. But the deadline to again raise the ceiling would be pushed off until August, according to Bipartisan Policy Center calculations. That’s because Treasury would retain the ability to use accounting steps known as “extraordinary measures” to stave off default. | <urn:uuid:158b66f5-ea1b-4ce4-b342-e6cbd8627bdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/stories/Senate-to-clear-debt-limit-increase,85173?category_id=4&list_type=mostread&sub_type=stories,maps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966438 | 848 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Some women take pictures of their burgeoning bellies during pregnancy while others cast their tummies for remembrance. One way to keep track of your belly from month to month is to tie a string or ribbon around your stomach at the same point every month.
To do this, take some ribbon and tie it around your belly. Mark it, tie a knot or bow, hang it on a hook and watch the loop grow to its maximum capacity. To add some flair to the activity, use different color ribbons every month. After baby arrives, lie out the circles and frame them for the nursery's first masterpiece. | <urn:uuid:166ee96b-f101-4ead-a972-806e0b018b49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lilsugar.com/Measuring-Pregnant-Belly-2023070 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936147 | 123 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Steubenville High School football players kidnapped, raped and urinated on a 16-year-old girl. But instead of blaming the rapists, former students blamed the victim. They were laughing as they were talking about her. Men love rape jokes. They verbally rape the girls who are already raped.
We haven’t finished protesting against brutal gang rape in India. Indian society is deeply misogynistic. If the boys were Indian, we could have said, ‘it’s their cultural upbringing and socialization’. But the boys in the video are North American. North America, we all know, is much safer for women than India. But the bitter truth is, misogynists are everywhere, they are in the North, in the South, in the West and in the East. And Men, unfortunately, educated or illiterate, rich or poor, young or old, black or white, are more or less the same everywhere! | <urn:uuid:37fb974e-995f-4959-a701-9128f4dafbb9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/?p=9209 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973547 | 192 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Our next two days bring exploration of the stunning Ngorongoro Crater where resident animals are found throughout the year due to the permanent availability of grass and water. Ngorongoro is one of the most spectacular game haunts in Africa and has been designated a World Heritage site. A nearly 100 square mile caldera basin, it contains an impressive variety of wildlife including black-maned lions, the highly endangered black rhino, herds of gnu, zebra, elephants, hippo and hyena, the most important predator within the crater. Bird life is also prolific with flocks of flamingoes on the soda lake plus other species of water and plains birds.
On the afternoon of Day 7, choose to trek with your guide in the Empakai Crater, the Olmoti Crater, or the Ngorongoro Highlands, visiting with local Maasai people who graze their cattle in these expansive highlands. Overnight at the Ngorongoro Farmhouse, located in the Ngorongoro Highlands on a 500 acre farm, only 5 km from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area entrance gate. Enjoy fresh roasted coffee from the 15 acre coffee plantation, as well as home grown pigs, free range chickens, ducks, rabbit, lamb and milk cows. These fresh foods are combined with the fish imported from the coast enabling us to serve up abundant, fresh, organic cuisine. Accommodations are in spacious luxury bungalows (80 Sq. meters each) and facilities include a swimming pool and two dining areas. | <urn:uuid:281497bd-1f68-41c4-afe4-83b401c59378> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wildland.com/trips/Africa/Tanzania/Serengeti_Wilderness_Safari/itinerary/77/11/2012.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931864 | 314 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp.’s U.S. sales plunged to a 49-year low in 2008, dragged down by a 31 percent slide in December as demand was ravaged by the recession and concern that the biggest domestic automaker might collapse.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. deliveries plummeted 37 percent last month, while Honda Motor Co. slipped 35 percent, Ford Motor Co. fell 32 percent and Nissan Motor Co. was down 31 percent, pointing toward the industry’s worst annual volume since 1992. Chrysler LLC dived 53 percent.
- Auto sales plunge again in December (CNN)
- Bleak US sales in December cap a grim year for automaker (IHT)
- US Auto Sales Plunge Whopping 36 Percent in Dec. (AP)
The federal rescue of GM and Chrysler couldn’t overcome buyer pessimism and tight credit in the world’s biggest auto market. Ford’s 2008 U.S. sales sagged to a 47-year low, while GM’s total of 2.95 million light vehicles was the least since 1959, according to trade publication Automotive News.
“It’s one of the worst years ever, and this year will be worse,” said Stephanie Brinley, an analyst at consulting firm AutoPacific Inc. in Southfield, Michigan. “It’s not a gas problem. It’s not a credit problem. It’s a consumer confidence problem, and it’s worldwide.”
GM and Chrysler received commitments last month for as much as $17.4 billion in U.S. loans, saying they would have run short of operating cash by this month.
GM’s results last month beat the average estimate of a 41 percent drop among six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Tempering the decline was a 43 percent surge in deliveries of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan. Sales of GM’s Saab brand, which the Detroit-based automaker says it may sell, fell 57 percent.
U.S. Market Share
Thanks to bigger declines throughout 2008, the U.S. automakers will likely mark the first calendar year where their combined market share was less than 50 percent, based on results through November, when they held 47 percent.
The drop in full-year U.S. sales for Toyota and Honda were the first for the Japanese automakers since 1995 and 1993, respectively.
Toyota failed to get a boost from no-interest loans offered on most of its models since Oct. 2. Sales of its Prius hybrid, the best-selling gasoline-electric car in the U.S., declined 45 percent. The Tundra full-size pickup dropped 52 percent, while Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand finished the month down 32 percent.
Industrywide U.S. sales extended a streak of declines of at least 25 percent dating to September. Vehicle sales for the year likely will total slightly more than 13 million, based on estimates from a Bloomberg News survey of 22 analysts and economists.
While that annual total would be the lowest in 16 years, it doesn’t reflect the steepening slide in U.S. auto demand.
Last month’s seasonally adjusted annual sales rate probably was 10 million, a 39 percent decline, based on the Bloomberg survey. The November rate was 10.2 million, and annual sales for all of 2007 were 16.1 million.
“We are at the bottom now,” said Tom Libby, an automotive analyst at consumer-research firm J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Michigan. “People have just stopped buying and I don’t blame them. When you have such a decline in savings and net worth, it just doesn’t surprise me sales have fallen so much.”
Sales of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Smart minicar fell 24 percent in December. Volkswagen AG was down 14 percent, while its Audi unit was off 9.3 percent. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s sales of BMW- and Mini-brand autos fell 36 percent.
U.S. jobless rolls reached a 26-year high in the week ended Dec. 20, signaling a worsening labor market as the economy heads into the second year of a recession. That weakness adds to the strain on automakers after record fuel prices in 2008′s first half damped demand for full-size pickups and sport-utility vehicles.
President-elect Barack Obama has made an economic stimulus package his top priority, and he told reporters today in Washington that the nation faces an “extraordinary challenge” in reviving growth.
“The sooner stimulus efforts find their way to where they’ll do the most good — into the hands of consumers — the sooner we’ll see a turnaround in confidence levels and a return of buyers to the marketplace,” Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. sales unit, said in a statement today.
December’s plunge may have been eased by the resumption of low-cost financing from GM last week, auto-research firm Edmunds.com said, citing a surge in vehicle inquiries on its site and dealer surveys.
Ford’s U.S. sales were “strong” in the last two weeks of December, Executive Vice President Mark Fields told reporters today in Dearborn, Michigan, where the automaker is based. Ford discounted its remaining F-150 pickups from the 2008 model year after a redesigned version debuted in October.
GM, Chrysler Rescue
Consumer concern that Detroit-based GM and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler would fail to get government aid and be forced into bankruptcy may have contributed to December’s slump, Patrick Archambault, a Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst based in New York, said in a Dec. 28 research note.
President George W. Bush announced Dec. 19 that GM and Chrysler would get the emergency loans in exchange for restructuring their businesses. GM had said it might run out of operating funds by the end of 2008, while Chrysler had said it might fall short by the middle of this month.
GM had resisted demands by some U.S. lawmakers that it file for bankruptcy instead of pursuing federal loans, saying buyers wouldn’t trust a car company under court protection.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at [email protected]; Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at [email protected]
Last Updated: January 5, 2009 15:22 EST
By Mike Ramsey and Alan Ohnsman
Tags: Cars, Chrysler, Economy, General Motors, GM, Honda, Recession, Toyota | <urn:uuid:aa528767-4b00-4bbf-9ae3-77c113015932> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infiniteunknown.net/tag/honda/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942043 | 1,417 | 1.5 | 2 |
Is the warming hysteria cooling down?
One has to wonder if the backlash against anthropogenic warming hysteria has started. We had the UK television documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle, seen by millions already. In Salon Camille Paglia came out of the closet as a warming skeptic. The prominent left-wing journalist Alexander Cockburn challenged anthropogenic warming in the pages of The Nation. Now Der Spiegel is starting to run items questioning the “consensus” around global warming.
I’ve just been told that the new edition, which comes out tomorrow, has an article on what impact warming, if it occurs, would have on Germany. And it concludes the impact would be largely positive, including the saving of many lives. I will have to get a more detailed update as to the content. But I have gone to the Der Spiegel English language site and found some interesting things though the article in question is not yet available.
One article asks: Is the IPCC Doing Harm to Science? It gives some insight into the “scientific process” behind the IPCC reports. It describes a press conference where a spokesman for the IPCC says to the journalists that their report is still being debated and to be patient. Who was debating? Here is the description:
There, behind closed doors, politicians from more than 130 countries were arguing with the authors of the report of the precise wording of a thin, 23-page document. The document, known as the SPM, or Summary for Policymakers, contains the essence of the actual climate report, which is a scientific compendium divided into three volumes, each containing at least 1,000 pages. Negotiations were underway in Brussels over the summary of the second volume and, as always, it was a laborious process. The two groups debating the issue had little in common except a mutual interest in reaching a consensus. On the one side were the authors of the report, all scientists, who have done little else in the last three years than work on this report. For many of them, it was already asking too much to compress the contents of more than 1,000 pages into a 23-page summary. On the other side were the politicians, members of delegations from almost every country on earth. Sitting in alphabetical order in the chamber, their main concern was to adjust the report to suit their individual economic, environmental and foreign policies.Typically reports on IPCC “reports” leave out any mention of how the report is written. It is presented as a “scientific consensus” without mentioning the prominent role played by politicians in rewriting the document to “suit their individual economic, environmental and foreign policies.” While the article says that laymen can’t debate the topic it fails to point out the politicians who have the final go-over on the IPCC document are themselves laymen.
But it does report that the skeptics seem to be picking up steam and that their ideas,
...are debated in serious media outlets, including the influential German newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Die Welt and the television program heute journal. In other countries, like the United States, people like bestselling author Michael Crichton debate with Pachauri's colleagues on radio talk shows, experts debate the scientific foundations of the IPCC's reports on the TV talk show Larry King Live, and in Great Britain the Channel 4 television network aired a documentary titled The Great Global Warming Swindle.The author of this article is no skeptic. In fact the bias worked into sentences throughout the article reveals the prejudices of the author, a layman himself. If refers to Prof. Richard Lindzen of MIT as a prominent skeptic. In fact it makes it sound as if he is the ONLY prominent skeptic. The author asks, “why is [Lindzen] the only one among serious critics who is expressing his outrage so vehemently?” He isn’t but that is what the author wants readers to think.
And the journalist, who dismissed the ability of laymen to pronounce scientific judgment then pronounces judgment himself. He says that Lindzen’s discussions “are still nothing but claims, popular theories as opposed to a transparent global process, a global plebiscite among climate researchers.” Odd he calls it a global plebiscite among scientists after spending several paragraphs describing the role politicians have in finalizing the public statements.
In this report the author argues that the lead authors of the various chapters are basically politically neutral scientists presenting only the facts. Yet repeatedly we have had scientists resign from the IPCC because they said the lead authors distorted their research, changed their conclusions and dishonestly presented material that was speculative as factual. The research of the scientists is not presented by these scientists it is presented by these lead authors appointed by the IPCC which is a body representing governments around the world. After the lead authors get a chance to rewrite the material it is then sent to governments for more rewriting. Then everything comes back to meeting for “negotiation” between politicians and scientists.
The very idea that one negotiates science is bizarre to me. This is not haggling in the market over the price of a trinket. It isn’t as if one side says $1 and the other demands $2 and the both settle for $1.50.
The author again shows his scientific conclusion: “Climate change is real, and it is overwhelmingly manmade.” The author ignores the Little Ice Age entirely. He does refer to global temperature increases since 1850 but neglects to mention that the Little Ice Age continued well into the 1800s. So any rise in temperature since then would be from an usually low level. In fact the river Thames continued freezing until as late as 1814. And only a few years earlier it had been so cold that people in New York could walk from Manhattan to Staten Island across a frozen New York Harbor. So why 1850? Coincidentally that was the year when it is thought the Little Ice Age ended and temperatures started to return to previous levels.
Prior to the Little Ice Age there was the period known as the Medieval Warm Period where temperatures were, on average, warmer than today. For instance Science magazine reports on The Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period in the Sargasso Sea and notes that during the Little Ice Age the sea was one degree cooler than today and during the Medieval Warm Period it was one degree warmer than today.
After making it clear he is no heretic to be burned at the stake the author of the Spiegel article does say that the media has helped fuel hysterical alarmism. And he blames Al Gore for a lot of that hysteria. But he says don’t be too hard on St. Al since he is, after all, just a politician. But he then notes the same hysteria comes from people running the IPCC.
This doesn't mean that Gore should necessarily be taken to task for his statements. He is a politician. But it is odd to hear IPCC Chairman Pachauri, when asked what he thinks about Gore's film, responding: "I liked it. It does emotionalize the debate, but it seems that it has to do that." And when Pachauri comments on the publication of the first SPM by saying, "I hope that this will shock the governments so much that they take action," this doesn't exactly allay doubts as to his objectivity. When Renate Christ, the secretary of the IPCC, is asked about her opinion of reporting on climate change, she refers to articles that mention "climate catastrophe" and calls them "rather refreshing."He also notes that no matter where one “encounters officials from the IPCC.... everyone seems to be talking more like environmental activists than scientists these days.” And he concludes with how the head of the IPCC will shortly be sitting on a panel where he will do what he believes is necessary, “be on the side of a good cause and not on the side of science.”
Then Der Spiegel runs an interview with German climate expert Hans von Storch. He is no skeptic but argues “we should spend more time talking about adjusting to the inevitable and not about reducing CO2 emissions. We have to take away people’s fear of climate change.” He tells them:
The fear of climatic catastrophes is an ancient one and not unlike our fear of strangers. In the past, people believed that the climate almost always changes for the worse, and only rarely for the better -- God's punishment for sinful behavior. And nowadays it's those hedonistic wastrels who pollute the air so that they can look at some pretty fish in the South Seas. It would be better if we only ever rode bikes. Oh, there's always someone wagging a finger in disapproval.Von Storch is asked about the prediction of “thousands of heat-related deaths” and responds saying these “claims are completely idiotic and dubious”. He notes that the that claim was extrapolation using an unexpected heat wave. He notes that if the temperature is rising and we know it that humans prepare for it. Having lived in climates where the temperature routinely went over 100 degrees I can attest to that. What about the elderly cry the Greens?
Yet one of the biggest retirement areas in the world in Sun City, Arizona. The median age of a resident there is just over 72-years-old. Most have moved there from cooler locations. And it gets warm there, very warm. The average summer high temperature is 106 degrees and the average summer low temperature is 75 degrees. That this community of elderly thrives in such temperatures supports Storch’s comment.
Storch has one last warning for people.
Unfortunately many scientists see themselves too much as priests whose job it is to preach moralistic sermons to people. This is another legacy of the 1968 generation, which I happen to belong to myself. In fact, it would be better if we just presented the facts and scenarios dispassionately -- and then society can decide for itself what it wants to do to influence climate change.
Labels: global warming | <urn:uuid:e0f43b3a-36e1-4686-b4c4-c66f07d28393> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2007/05/is-warming-hysteria-cooling-down.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969151 | 2,083 | 1.71875 | 2 |
In the wake of the new Star Trek movie, I've been watching some of the old series episodes, available through CBS' website. Yesterday I saw "The Enemy Within", where a transporter accident causes Kirk to split into a "good Kirk" and "bad Kirk".
Well, they start out talking about the good Kirk and bad Kirk, but further qualify it as the intellect vs. the emotions, or perhaps the superego vs. the id. Neither side can exist long-term without the other. The intellectual, compassionate side cannot command a starship without the drive, the ambition, the will to do what must be done even if it will cause pain or difficulty. Much of the show is devoted to showing the two sides, and trying to find a way to reintegrate them before the two split halves die.
Debbie sees it as the Yetzer haTov (will to do good for others) and the Yetzer ha-Ra, (will to do evil by gratifying selfish urges) both of which are necessary for a person to live. She further believes that all have an exact balance of Yetzer haTov and Yetzer ha-Ra. We talk of one yetzer or another being stronger, but if you look at the totality of Jewish literature, it seems that the two are in exact balance. Those who are great personalities, such as Yaakov or David or Shlomo, certainly have great Yetzer haTov, given how they live their lives devoted to greatness in God's name. However, they all are tested by an equally huge Yetzer ha-Ra.
David, with Batsheva, Shlomo with his wives and idolatry, Yaakov with Lavan and Esav, and all are found wanting in Rabbinic literature in the way they meet these challenges. While we are to say that "they did not sin", still, as David told his prophet Nathan, their actions are not uncensured or uncensurable. David did not technically sin, but he was greatly tempted and gave in to temptation.
Yaakov in dealing with Esav has to descend to trickery to ensure he gets the proper blessing, but is in turn tricked by Lavan repeatedly, and his life is made miserable as he is tricked by Lavan, tricked by his children, etc. He was blessed in that all his children, unlike his father and grandfather before him, went in the way of Torah - he was the only sole father of our nation. But he was also punished for his negative acts.
If one is granted a great Yetzer ha-Tov, internal drive to do good, one is also tested by a massive Yetzer-haRa, internal drive to slip up, do the wrong thing. In this, as in many things, there is and must be a perfect balance for the person to be a true servant of God, to have the power to choose rightly, and be rewarded by greatness, even if that is accompanied by the power to choose wrongly.
(updated: changed translation of YhT and YhR) | <urn:uuid:a3401a00-0ca3-4641-8264-ea8253a5793a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thanbook.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984146 | 633 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The CCDC grew out of the activities of the crystallography group led by Dr Olga Kennard OBE FRS in the (then) Department of Organic, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry of the University of Cambridge. From 1965, the group began to collect published bibliographic, chemical and crystal structure data for all small molecules studied by X-ray or neutron diffraction. With the rapid developments in computing taking place at this time, this collection was encoded in electronic form and became known as the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD).
The CSD was one of the first numerical scientific databases to begin operations anywhere in the world, and received academic grants from the UK Office for Scientific and Technical Information and then from the UK Science and Engineering Research Council. These funds, together with subventions from National Affiliated Centres, enabled the development of the CSD and its associated software during the 1970s and 1980s. The first releases of the CSD System to the USA, Italy and Japan occurred in the early 1970s. By the early 1980s the CSD System was being distributed in more than 30 countries worldwide. Now, in the new millennium, the CSD System is now available in more than 55 countries.
During the 1980s, interest in the CSD System from pharmaceutical and agrochemicals companies increased significantly. This additional income stream enabled the CCDC to become an independent company in 1989, with the legal status of a non-profit charitable institution, and with its operations overseen by an international Board of Governors. The CCDC moved into purpose-built premises on the site of the University Department of Chemistry in 1992. The CCDC retains very close links to the University.
Dr Kennard retired as Director in 1997 and was succeeded by Dr David Hartley (1997-2002) and Dr Frank Allen (2002-2008). Dr Colin Groom was appointed as Executive Director from 1 October 2008.
During the past decade, CCDC software products have diversified to make maximum use of crystallographic data in applications in the life sciences and crystallography. Much of this software development and marketing is now carried out by CCDC Software Limited (founded in 1998), a wholly owned subsidiary which covenants all of its profits back to the CCDC. | <urn:uuid:b3f1befa-4d40-4df5-8b99-6db939179b8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chemspider.com/DatasourceDetails.aspx?id=269 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959512 | 457 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Kasuni's the founder of KUR, a Sri Lankan contemporary women’s wear label that incorporates traditional Beeralu lace into its designs.
The brand incorporates Sri Lanka’s traditional handmade lace ‘Beeralu’, a dying traditional that was introduced by the Portuguese in the southern coastal regions of the country back in the 16th century. The craft was further developed by the Dutch in the mid-17th century, becoming a lucrative business as it was sold to traders and visitors from all over the world. Women soon engaged in this craft, supplementing their families' income.
Every KUR creation is a labour of love and caters to those who value and respect local traditions, heritage, craftsmanship, and that are ethically conscious. The label helps to revitalise a dying craft in Sri Lanka while empowering the Beeralu weavers, mainly women, from south Sri Lanka.
Kasuni is the winner of the British Council’s Sri Lankan Young Fashion Entrepreneur (YFE) 2011 competition. She also made the shortlist for the first ever Sri Lankan Ethical Fashion Award, announced at the Sri Lanka Design Festival in November 2010. In February 2010 and 2011 she was invited to showcase her collection at the HSBC Colombo Fashion Week alongside international designers from around the World.
Kasuni currently also works at Brandix Lanka Limited under the capacity of Market Analyst. Brandix is Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter and is also regarded as the pioneer of eco-friendly apparel manufacture in the South Asian region. | <urn:uuid:c8fbb6f4-25ed-4f37-a1e0-474ae3f700fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/people/kasuni-rathnasuriya/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96626 | 322 | 1.625 | 2 |
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Population and Census
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April 1, 1940: As a Depression-weary nation wondered if President Roosevelt would run for an unprecedented third term and where Nazi armies would strike next, some 120,000 census takers went to work counting people wherever and however they could —...
Staff WriterHOLTVILLE — An application to finance an income survey and an impact study on mobile home parks closure through a federal grant, was approved Monday by the City Council. Census demographics data place the city above the “predominantly low- to...
Wading through swamps and running up mountains taught Patrick McCormack more than how to survive punishing conditions without much food or sleep. His grueling Army Ranger training, along with several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, taught the...
Women make considerably less money than men in Maryland: 83 cents to the dollar, according to a study released last week. Windsor Mill resident Alison Assanah-Carroll was not surprised by the finding from the National Partnership for Women & Families,...
Driven by a sizable baby boomer population nearing retirement age, Maryland, like the rest of the nation, grew older in the past decade, but Baltimore bucked the trend, attracting more young adults as the number of its middle-age and retiree residents...
Baltimore and Harford counties are conducting their annual surveys of the homeless population this week, gathering information about how many people lack a permanent place to stay and why. The one-day census is also intended to help service agencies...
What comes to mind when Mexican immigrant Elsa Garcia thinks of Baltimore's drawbacks? "Basura. O las drogas," said the East Baltimore resident. "Trash. Or drugs." Then, quickly, comes her list of Baltimore's pluses: Her husband has been able to find...
Sun SentinelThe U.S. median household income further declined 2.3 percent to $49,445 in 2010, a year after the Great Recession officially ended -- and the nation had higher numbers of the poor and uninsured, the U.S Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Last year's real...
Steep projected costs for cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay could be trimmed by billions of dollars, a new study suggests, by allowing polluters to buy "credits" for less-expensive reductions made by others. The study, presented Thursday to the Chesapeake...
reporterAn organization that helps area seniors, may soon have to cut some of those services. The Executive Director from the Local Office on Aging says its losing almost 200-thousand dollars after the Governor made an amendment to cut funding. The LOA provides...
Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposed cuts to adult services have local nonprofit organizations fearing that programs, such as meals delivered to homes and transportation, will be eliminated for lack of funding. McDonnell proposes cutting $2.5 million over the...
When George Washington took the oath of the presidency in 1789, each of the 65 members of the inaugural Congress represented roughly 30,000 people. As the population of the country grew, it became necessary to reflect those changes in the representation...
Tags: Politics, Government, Elections, Tom Rooney, George Washington
Mar 28, 2012 |Story| Chicago Tribune
Mar 26, 2012 |Story| Imperial Valley Press Online
Jul 3, 2011 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Apr 22, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
May 25, 2011 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Jan 25, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Jan 7, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Sep 13, 2011 |Story| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 3, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
May 8, 2012 |Story| WDBJ7
May 14, 2012 |Story| Hampton Roads Daily Press
Feb 12, 2012 |Column| South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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Population and Census Photos | <urn:uuid:48732eca-48d2-408f-a432-c37420f024a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ktuu.com/topic/social-issues/demographics/population-census/14003001.topic?page=8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930275 | 889 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Divorce isn't easy, but it helps when you have a friend like Fred. Told from the point of view of a young child whose parents are divorced, this story follows the story of a girl and her dog, Fred, as they go from one parent's house to the other's. With Fred, she has a sense of continuity and stability. Through simple text and childlike language, this story expresses and addresses a child's concerns, highlights the friendship between child and pet, presents a common ground for the parents, and resolves conflict in a positive way. Tricia Tusa's charming and whimsical artwork adds a light, happy feel to this poignant--but not overly sentimental--story. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
Customer Questions & Answers: | <urn:uuid:3ba90f46-1434-4f27-aff0-edbf1ee7f0f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://answers.christianbook.com/answers/2016/product/882690/little-brown-company-fred-stays-with-me-questions-answers/questions.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955548 | 154 | 1.515625 | 2 |
• • •
On May 12, 2012, Rwanda's dictator, General Paul Kagame, will be delivering a commencement speech at William Penn University. According to the school,
William Penn University President Dr. Ann Fields announced today that His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, will present the commencement address on Saturday, May 12, 2012 to a graduating class of 370 students and receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, for his contributions to the humanities or human welfare.These "contributions" are explained as him supposedly being "recognized as a world leader for his role in human interest issues," and being "known for empowering young people and women, as evident by the high percentage of women serving on the Rwandan Parliament (56%)."
This is grotesquely cynical.
Paul Kagame is a genocidal mass-murderer who makes Joseph Kony look like an angel. He has the blood of millions of Rwandans and Congolese on his hands. When he and his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda in 1990 he kicked off a bloody war that saw thousands killed, and hundreds of thousands ethnically cleansed from their land. Between October 1990 and April 1994 he continued to violate ceasefire agreements and carry out terrorist attacks. Finally in April of 1994 he assassinated Rwanda's President Habyarimana and conducted a massive invasion which overthrew the government in a one hundred day-orgy of genocidal slaughter and mayhem. But it didn't end there. As hundreds of thousands of Rwandans fled his terror campaign to neighboring countries he followed after them, hunted them down, and killed them—often by the thousands, and right in view of UN peace keepers. According to the Herald Sun:
By early 1995, the displaced persons' camp at Kibeho was the biggest in Rwanda, sprawling for 9sq km and containing 80,000 to 100,000 people.It is even being reported by allAfrica.com that, "Thousands of Rwandan refugees living in Uganda remain unwilling to return home, citing a fear of persecution."
The 32 Australian soldiers and medical officers arrived there as part of the UN peacekeeping force on April 18, 1995.
There were daily random killings by the Rwandan soldiers, but the slaughter exploded out of control soon after 10am on April 22. The Australians had a grandstand view of the nightmare from the Zambian compound.
The RPA soldiers murdered women and children right up to the UN wire. Bodies were everywhere. For the Diggers behind the wire, the next few hours were agonising.
For the refugees, there was nowhere to run.
As the Australians collected the wounded from among the piles of dead, the crisis began to escalate as panic-stricken Hutus overran the Zambian compound, driven forward by machete-and rifle wielding militia.
Hundreds were killed in the crush and the Australians were forced to repel at bayonet point the terrified victims they were supposed to be protecting, pushing them back into the RPA killing zone.
The RPA went wild and cut loose with another hail of fire on the panicking crowd.
Human Rights Watch recently released a report that stated, "The Rwandan government, whose troops are accused of some of the most serious crimes" in the Congo wars. They also sent a letter to the ICTR requesting the RPF be prosecuted for their well-established crimes. The letter states, "We strongly believe that your mandate as Chief Prosecutor will not be fulfilled until you prosecute alleged RPF crimes."
Paul Kagame squashes any and all dissent, and there is no better example of him not empowering women than his kangaroo trial of Victoire Ingabire, a brave mother who came out of exile to be a political opponent to Kagame only to be quickly imprisoned. Amnesty International put out a really informing video last summer on the plight of Ingabire, and the grim realities of Kagame's Rwanda.
Even Human Rights Watch has requested that, "Rwandan authorities should immediately stop intimidating human rights defenders and allow them to work freely."
HRW has also recently released a report which notes Rwanda's "attacks on government opponents," their "clampdown on independent media," their "obstructions to the work of human rights organizations," and more. And in the last week HRW noted that they have "documented other cases [other than Bernard Ntaganda, an opposition leader) in which laws and charges such as endangering state security and inciting public disobedience have been used to prosecute and intimidate government critics."
Quite simply, Paul Kagame is the Hitler of Africa, and allowing him to give a commencement speech to college graduates under the bogus claim that he has made "contributions to the humanities or human welfare" is very disturbing.
Suggested Action: If you are here in the States and are close to the school please consider organizing some actions to stop this. A protest is already being planned in case the speech happens.
Otherwise please call and write to the school and request Kagame's speech to be canceled. Be polite and be clear.
Steve Noah, the school's Vice President of Advancement who is behind this, can be reached at: 641-673-1048
Or call Amber Lake, director of Marketing : 641-673-1078.
You can also send an email to her and others:
CC: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
To Whom it May Concern,
I am calling on William Penn University to do the right thing, and cancel General Kagame's "doctorate" and commencement speech scheduled for this month.
Per the school's website we are told that General Kagame has contributed to "the humanities" and "human welfare," but that is simply not true, and worse: it is very offensive, especially to his victims.
Human rights organizations have documented his crimes since 1990, but particularly during the 1994 genocide and his invasion and occupation of Democratic Republic of Congo—where millions have been killed, tortured and displaced. And they have called on the ICTR to prosecute these RPF crimes.
These same human rights groups—e.g. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International—have also documented the brutal realities of living in Rwanda today where political opposition is not tolerated, fraudulent elections occur, and the media is silenced.
Considering the well-established fact that General Paul Kagame is a genocidal, mass-murdering dictator who is oppressing his own people and destabilizing the region, I beg the school to please cancel Kagame's "doctorate" and speech. It would be a disgrace to the school, and would be very offensive to truth and justice. | <urn:uuid:5187e019-7267-4d79-b3d6-32a0d3665895> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsrwanda-nkunda.blogspot.com/2012/05/urgent-appeal-to-stop-william-penn.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967271 | 1,476 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Dr. Norman Matloff, a professor of Computer Science at the University of California at Davis gave this testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee -
Subcommittee on Immigration on April 21, 1998 in response to the software industry pushing to expand the number of visas available under the H-1B program.
Since there is a website (http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html) that is being updated (as of this writing, December 9, 2002 was the last update), I won't repeat the entire testimony. Instead, I will list some of the highlights.
Microsoft only hires 2% of its applicants for software positions, and that this rate is typical in the industry. Software employers, large or small, across the nation, concede that they receive huge numbers of résumés but reject most of them without even an interview. One does not have to be a "techie" to see the contradiction here. A 2% hiring rate might be unremarkable in other fields, but not in one in which there is supposed to be a "desperate" labor shortage. If employers were that desperate, they would certainly not be hiring just a minuscule fraction of their job applicants.
- Question: How can we evaluate all these conflicting claims about whether a high-tech labor shortage exists or does not exist?
Perform this simple five-minute experiment:
Just call any firm which hires programmers - a large firm, a small one, new, old, any location - and talk to the HR Department. Ask them if it is true that they reject the vast majority of their programming applicants without even an interview. After they confirm this, ask them why they do this, and they will say that the vast majority of the applicants don't have some new software skill set the employer wants, even though the applicants have years of programming experience.
Here is what you will have learned from this experiment:
The industry lobbyists are incorrect when they claim a lack of "bodies," i.e. a lack of people with programming experience. What they really mean (some insincerely, some sincerely) is a lack of programmers with work experience in a specific software skill, say the Java programming language.
The industry lobbyists are incorrect when they claim the school system needs to produce more programmers. The technology changes extremely rapidly, so it will always be the case that the vast majority of programmers do not possess the newest software skills - no matter how many programmers the schools produce. Producing more programmers would just give employers more people to reject. (Note that it will not work for a older programmer to take a class in a new skill; the employers insist on actual work experience in the skill.)
Thus the industry lobbyists are incorrect when they claim that they only want a temporary increase in the quota for foreign programmers on H-1B work visas, while the educational system works to produce more programmers.
Most companies spend their training budgets on secretaries and technicians, with much less being spent on programmers and engineers.
In fact, it is common for a firm to be laying off older workers while simultaneously hiring younger ones with newer skills.
Question: Industry employers say they have to hire only programmers with specific software skills, because they have urgent needs to finish a product quickly. Is this true?
By the industry's own admission, they often leave jobs open for months (an average of 3.7 months in Silicon Valley) until they find a programmer possessing the exact skills match they want. It is thus disingenuous for them to say they need someone who can "be productive immediately, tomorrow."
Question: The employers claim to hire the H-1Bs because they have work experience in specific software skills. How is it that the H-1Bs possess skills the Americans don't?
Often the H-1Bs don't have the background they claim. An audit by a U.S. consulate in India found that fraud was quite common. Similarly, reports from American programmers who work with H-1Bs indicate that rather than having work experience in the given skill, many H-1Bs either have only had a quick course or are learning the skill on the job. Ironically, the latter is what I recommend that the employers have older American programmers do, but the difference is that the H-1Bs are much cheaper than the older Americans, so the employers do this with the H-1Bs but not with the older Americans.
Question: The industry dismisses concerns about older programmers by claiming that those programmers' experience is in COBOL, a language popular in the 1960s and 1970s but radically different from the languages used today. Is this true?
Virtually none of the older programmers I talk to around the nation who have trouble finding programming work are COBOL people. Their experience is in the C programming language. Java and C++, two of the hottest languages today, are extensions of the C language.
The industry lobbyists then claim that the C language is not enough, asserting that Java and C++, with their "object-oriented programming" (OOP) philosophy, represent an "abrupt change in the paradigms of programming." This is simply false. Those of us "dinosaurs" who have been programming since way back in the days of punched cards have heard claims of "abrupt paradigm changes" many times as programming languages have evolved over the years. The claims have always simply been hype. Programming is programming is programming, and it has always been a straightforward matter to quickly become productive in a new language.
Question: Are U.S. universities producing enough computer science graduates to meet industry's needs?
The leading industry lobbying group for increasing the H-1B quota, the ITAA, claimed in its original literature in 1997 that American students had neither the interest nor the background to study computer science. But in actually, the ITAA knew that computer science enrollment was skyrocketing, and it deliberately suppressed that fact in its report. New computer science enrollment doubled nationwide in the latter half of the 1990s.
Question: Why are the H-1Bs de facto indentured servants?
Most H-1Bs hope to get U.S. permanent residency status, i.e. green cards. But during their sponsorship by employers for green cards, they are in essence indentured servants: The green card process takes several years, so H-1Bs dare not change employers. Changing employers would mean starting the green-card clock all over again.
The legislation passed in late 2000 tempers the indentured servitude problem somewhat, but is far from a solution. Immigration attorneys estimate that H-1Bs will still typically have a period of indentured servitude of 3 or 4 years.
Question: The industry says H-1Bs comprise only a small percentage of their workers. If that is true, why is there such a controversy?
The Department of Commerce, in their report Digital Economy 2000 (June 5, 2000), found that H-1Bs now account for 28% of all information technology industry hires requiring at least a Bachelor's degree.
Moreover, many of the large employers claiming that only a small proportion of their work forces consists of H-1Bs are hiding behind the fact that they rent many H-1B workers from agencies
What should be done
Technology will continue to change rapidly in the coming years. Therefore unless employers abandon their current obsession with the latest specific software skills, the perceived/claimed labor "shortage" - and the heavy usage of H-1Bs as a percentage of the programmer workforce - will be permanent.
- Congress needs to change the goal of the H-1B to the original H-1 purpose, that of bringing in the "geniuses".
Employers should hire on the basis of general programming talent, not specific skills. As shown above, the employers are shooting themselves in the foot with their current obsession with skills.
Recruiters should help convince employers not to hire on the basis of skill sets.
Universities should strive toward making sure that every student works in at least one internship during his/her college career.
Current students need to acquire internship experience during their college career.
Experienced programmers simply cannot get a job using a new skill by taking a course in that skill; employers demand actual work experience. So, how can one deal with this Catch-22 situation?
The answer is, sad to say, that you should engage in frequent job-hopping. Note that the timing is very delicate, with the windows of opportunity usually being very narrow. | <urn:uuid:caf142ad-2907-4d2c-b71f-547f6a95ffe9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://everything2.com/title/Debunking+the+myth+of+a+desperate+software+labor+shortage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957181 | 1,757 | 1.8125 | 2 |
UN Secretary-General Appoints Lead Author for Post-2015 Panel
20 September 2012: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Homi Kharas as Lead Author and Executive Secretary of the High-level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. In this capacity, Kharas is tasked with submission of the HLP's report to the Secretary-General by 31 May 2013. It was also announced that the Panel will hold its first meeting on 25 September, on the margins of the 67th UN General Assembly's (UNGA 67) high-level debate.
The HLP is responsible for evaluating the results and achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), reflecting on new development challenges, and providing recommendations on a global post-2015 agenda "with shared responsibilities for all countries and with the fight against poverty and sustainable development at its core." It also is mandated to coordinate with the intergovernmental open working group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In his role as Senior Fellow and the Deputy Director in the Global Economy and Development Programme at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, US, Kharas studies policies and trends influencing developing countries, including topics such as aid, the food crisis, global governance, the Group of 20 (G20), and the emerging middle class, according to the UN Biographical Note. He worked at the World Bank for 26 years including as Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Finance and Private Sector Development, and as Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific region. Kharas is a national of Pakistan. [UN Press Release] [Biographical Note] [IISD RS Story on Appointment of High-level Panel] | <urn:uuid:2896782a-e7fd-49ba-a24b-4f73742986ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncsd.iisd.org/news/un-secretary-general-appoints-lead-author-for-post-2015-panel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949051 | 356 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The vast majority of financial ‘experts’ advising the European Commission represent the banks and investors responsible for the global economic crisis, according to a new report published today by the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER EU). The Commission must break free from these advisors on financial issues if it is serious about reforming the failed financial system, say the authors.
European Commission urged to break stranglehold of financial sector
The new ALTER-EU report 'A captive Commission - the role of the financial industry in shaping EU regulation' can be found at: http://www.alter-eu.org/en/system/files/publications/CaptiveCommission.pdf Brussels, November 5, 2009 - The vast majority of financial ‘experts’ advising the European Commission represent the banks and investors responsible for the global economic crisis, according to a new report published today by the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER EU) . The Commission must break free from these advisors on financial issues if it is serious about reforming the failed financial system, say the authors. A captive Commission - the role of the financial industry in shaping EU regulation examines how before, during and in the wake of the worst financial crisis for a generation, the Commission chose to listen almost exclusively to the finance industry. Expert Groups – bodies set up to advise the Commission – which gave, or still give, advice on financial issues are overwhelmingly dominated by representatives from the financial industry, with scarcely any representatives from academia, consumer groups or unions. Case studies on key issues such as banking regulation, hedge funds, credit rating agencies, accountancy rules and tax havens show how the financial sector has been actively involved in designing the policies which contributed to recent financial instability. The European Union is now consulting the same experts on its plans to tackle the crisis. Paul de Clerck member of ALTER-EU’s steering committee, said: “The Commission only seems to be interested in listening to the advice of the finance industry, rather than acting in the interests of society. Light touch regulation may have made it easier to do business, but it has not protected our savings and our pensions from being gambled away. Now the Commission tells us they are tightening the rules but in reality their proposals still leave many loopholes. If the Commission wants to restore confidence in our financial systems, it must break free of this stranglehold of partial advice.” Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists and leading campaigner of the Europeans for Financial Reform coalition, said: "I want a strong, transparent and competitive financial industry. The crisis showed that the financial industry was short-termist, overleveraged and disengaged with the needs of the real economy. "The danger we now have is the financial industry investing massive resources into capturing regulation for its private benefit to the detriment of the end-beneficiaries: the individual citizens and businesses in Europe and across the world who've suffered the consequences of this crisis." Expert Groups dominated by large private banks, insurance giants and a range of financial enterprises wield significant power within the EU legislative process – from the drafting of EU strategies and laws to their implementation. Today, there are19 expert groups advising the Commission on financial issues. Of these 19 groups, seven consist mainly of representatives from member states. Of the remaining twelve groups, eight are dominated by industry, one has equal non-government and industry membership; and three cannot be assessed as their full membership is not disclosed. Within the 19 groups, industry experts outnumber representatives from academia, consumer groups and trade unions by a ratio of four to one . Industry experts even outnumber civil servants responsible for financial policy-making . This imbalance in the membership of Expert Groups is putting the Commission in breach of its own regulations. Commission guidelines on the use of expertise state that a diversity of views must be sought. The European Parliament should not approve the budgets for these Expert Groups as long as they remain so unbalanced. ALTER-EU is calling on the Commission to: Disclose membership (names and organisations) and documents (reports and minutes) of all groups that have been or still are advising the Commission on financial regulation since it set about creating a single market for financial services. Dissolve groups that are controlled by industry interests or take steps to ensure balanced representation. Not set up any new Expert Groups advising on financial issues unless transparent and fair mechanisms that guarantee equitable consultation of all stakeholders are implemented. ALTER-EU also urges the Commission to reform the way in which it gathers expert advice by ensuring a more transparent process and a genuine commitment to seeking a diversity of views. NOTES: A captive Commission - the role of the financial industry in shaping EU regulation can be found here: http://www.alter-eu.org/en/system/files/publications/CaptiveCommission.pdf See full report chapter 3.4 There are 229 industry representatives, compared to 58 representatives from all academia, unions and consumer groups combined. 229 corporate advisors compared to around 150 Commission civil servants charged with policy making in the financial sector. Commission’s guidelines on the use of expert advice, COM (2002) 713 final, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2002/com2002_0713en01.pdf | <urn:uuid:986ea97c-0ad1-4681-b029-9e7f9e5a5e21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://corporateeurope.org/publications/financial-industry-shapes-eu-regulation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934252 | 1,093 | 1.671875 | 2 |
"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life." Herbert Otto*1
By Jim McLennan
Publisher's Note: Jim McLennan, TennisOne's Editor, now takes over the writing of the TennisOne newsletter. Kim Shanley, Publisher, will continue to contribute periodic feature articles.
Back to Basics
In baseball the concept is to revisit the fundamentals, again again and
again, until the guys have gotten it right. Not that these professionals
have forgotten anything, but rather that it pays to constantly revisit the
nuts and bolts of baseball.
As you gear up for USTA leagues (which are huge
in my neck of the woods) do you have a similar “spring training” ritual? If
you don’t, here are some thoughts. Pick one shot in your game that might
deserve attention, be specific, set measurable goals and a timetable for
improvement. One of the difficulties in tennis is that one’s wins and
losses are influenced by how poorly or well our opponents play, and in that
manner we are not always sure how well we are playing.
Picking One shot
So here are two suggestions. If the saying, “You are only as good as your
second serve” rings a bell, my thought is to find a partner and practice
second serves while your friend practices returns. No rallying, no scoring,
just serve and return.
I joke (but also teach) the juniors at our club to
answer the following question that may be delivered to them by their college
coach, “Okay kid, what are your strengths?” The answer we rehearse is,
“Coach my serve is the best part of my game (as was the case for Sampras and
now Roddick) and the next best part of my game is my return (as is the case
for Agassi).” Now the coach knows the kid understands tennis and can truly
play the game, for if the answer was, “My big forehand” then that presumes
getting into a point on serve or on return and then getting a forehand.
The measuring is to count percentage of serves, and percentage of returns
in each 10 shot sequence. Meaning 8 of 10 serves (perhaps) and 7 of 8
returns (not bad). Further, the servers objective is to find some amount of
spin so the swing is fast and not a push, and the receivers objective is to
play the return well inside the baseline at the absolute top of the
Exploration and Guided Discovery
I am reading an interesting book, Coaching for Performance, recommended by
Sean Brawley.*2 The book contrasts command style teaching with exploration
and guided discovery. The “command” teacher surveys the situation, tells
the student what to do, and hopefully the student gets the message and
changes. Does this sound familiar?
In the exploration and guided discovery
model, the coach asks continuing series of questions, intending to promote
awareness and responsibility within the student. Well if awareness and
responsibility become your own personal watchwords on court, then the serve
and return drill above really works. With repetition, and quiet but
continual internal awareness of how things feel (not why they work but just
how they feel) you will start to improve both your serve and your return.
With apologies to the legions of command style tennis teachers, if you
experiment with this you may make as much headway as when you have been “taught.”
I use a large collection of training aides for pupils and for myself. Often these aides are just the trick to clarify a difficult feel, or to
learn a new shot. Bullwhips (for the serve), indo boards (for balance),
8-board (for rhythm), vision cards, audiotapes (sports psychology) and more.
In this issue I want to call your attention to a Dynaball. This is a
gyroscopic trainer, a spherical ball with a smaller ball inside. Once
spinning, you rotate your wrist to accelerate the inner ball, the gyroscopic
action makes the Dynaball become heavier, and the resulting exercise both
strengthens the forearm (rehabilitates as well) and equally trains rhythm
and feel, for there is an art to using this Dynaball.*3
Good luck with your spring training. My project this spring is retooling
the return of serve. Had a good one once, or so I think, but have become
tentative and less confident of late. Remember, practice makes perfect - if
you are practicing perfectly.
- Revisiting the Inner Game of Tennis/Sean
As always, we would love to hear your views on the subjects raised in this newsletter. Please click here to send your email directly to me.
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Analyzing ProStrokes: Jelena Dokic and the Millennium Forehand
An in depth analysis of the Dokic technique and the Millennium Forehand, broken down into an easy to repeat, three step system by Heath Waters, one of America's premier tennis coaches. It's all here, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Study this lesson carefully then apply the techniques to your own game.
The Truth About Strings and Things
In many ways the tensions of life are much greater understood than your racquet's string tension. Why? Perhaps string tension isn't the most crucial item to many tennis players. However, your racquets string tension should be a priority. Just like choosing the correct racquet for your style of play, a racquet string should give you the performance you are looking for.
Fixing The Broken World of Recreational Tournaments
Are you playing much tournament tennis lately? If your like most players, the answer is probably no. Let's face it, recreational tournaments, for years, the backbone of the game, are dying. For what they deliver, it takes far too much displacement of one's life to enjoy them. Yet, those who run tennis wonder why the sport struggles to grow. Joel Drucker offers some possible solutions.
Exclusively on TennisONE
ProStrokes Gallery: James Blake's Groundstrokes
James Blake is included among the rising group of young Americans and with his matinee idol looks and engaging personality,he seemed like just what was needed to give American tennis a shot in the arm. But lately some of this group is passing him with Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish and Robbie Ginepri placed ahead of him on the ATP standings. Blake is quick as a cat but his balance seems a bit suspect. Study his strokes and see what you think.
If you wish to removed from our newsletter list, simply click on '[email protected]," type-in unsubscribe in the subject line of the email and send. | <urn:uuid:2b77972e-a37c-4181-bfa6-e7a9304f55ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tennisone.com/newsletter/template/3.1.04.newsletter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944477 | 1,488 | 1.757813 | 2 |
If this were true, then you would expect that people who are inclined to 'self enhance' (i.e. paint a rather flattering portrait of themselves) are also more likely to say that they are religious. There have been a huge number of studies looking at this over the years (57 studies, in fact, totalling over 15,000 subjects), and Constantine Sedikides (at Southampton University in the UK) has just compiled the results into a mega-study.
The results confirm that religion is strongly correlated with socially desirable responding (i.e. the tendency to give answers about yourself that you think will make you look good). There are two kinds of socially desirable responding - self deception (i.e. subconscious) and image manipulation (i.e. consciously talking yourself up).
Overall, image manipulation, but not self-deception, was correlated with religion.
Sedikides was able to look at the the two fundamental aspects of religion (well, as it is understood in the Western World, at least) - extrinsic and intrinsic religion. Extrinsic religion is basically the externalised expression of religion, whereas intrinsic religion is the internalised beliefs.
Now, you might think that extrinsic religion would be closely linked to image manipulation, but you'd be wrong. In fact, both self deception and image manipulation were linked to higher intrinsic religiosity, while extrinsic religion was actually linked to less of both kinds of self-enhancement.
A fascinating result, but it becomes even more interesting when you break it down at the national level. As you can see from the graph, the strongest effect of religion is in the USA.
In Canada and the UK, the link between intrinsic religion and self-enhancement is smaller.
Bizarrely, in the UK, self-enhancement is linked to more extrinsic religion (unlike the USA and Canada, where self-enhancers are actually less likely to claim extrinsic religiosity.
Sedikides speculates that this is down to the different role of religion in the USA compared with Canada and - especially - the UK.
In the USA, most people are religious and it's common for people to frown upon those who are only religious for what could be seen as superficial reasons. Self-enhancers respond by saying that they are intrinsic believers, but that they are not extrinsically religious. (Compare this with the study last year that showed people in the US believe the religious to be healthier, happier, and more normal than they actually are)
In the UK, religion is a minority pursuit, and subject to ridicule. Self-enhancers respond by saying that they don't really take the beliefs too seriously, but they are in it for the community and social side.
Sedikides also looked at the difference between secular universities in the USA and Christian ones, and found something similar. Self-enhancers at Christian Universities report high intrinsic religion, and low extrinsic religion. This effect is muted at secular universities (especially for extrinsic religion).
Now, if you've read this far you are probably wondering why all this talk of cause and effect, given that all the data are correlational? Well, Sedikides has an answer. He points out that it's well known that people use a wide variety of means to satisfy their self-enhancement motives - so you would expect them to use religion as well. What's more, self-enhancement is a very basic psychological structure, whereas religion is primarily a cultural adaptation.
Sedikides, C., & Gebauer, J. (2009). Religiosity as Self-Enhancement: A Meta-Analysis of the Relation Between Socially Desirable Responding and Religiosity Personality and Social Psychology Review DOI: 10.1177/1088868309351002
This article by Tom Rees was first published on Epiphenom. It is licensed under Creative Commons. | <urn:uuid:1674457d-16c9-4f88-a2cc-59ccee6a1a2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://epiphenom.fieldofscience.com/2010/01/religion-makes-you-look-good-in-usa-but.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961398 | 822 | 1.703125 | 2 |
With a steep drop in energy prices offset by higher prices for food, medical care, and apparel, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing that overall U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in the month of June.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index came in flat in June following a 0.3 percent drop in May. The flat reading on consumer prices came in line with economist estimates.
Energy prices showed another notable decrease in the month of June, falling by 1.4 percent after plunging by 4.3 percent in the previous month.
The drop in energy prices reflected a 2.0 percent decrease in gasoline prices as well as a 7.9 percent drop in fuel oil prices. On the other hand, natural gas prices rebounded by 1.7 percent.
The report also showed that food prices edged up by 0.2 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May. Prices for food at home crept up by 0.1 percent after edging down by 0.1 percent in the prior month.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in June. The modest increase matched the core price growth seen in the three previous months and came in line with expectations.
The increase by the core index was largely due to a 0.6 percent increase by the medical care index, which marked the biggest increase since September 2010.
Prices for apparel rose for the fourth consecutive month, climbing by 0.5 percent, while prices for recreation also increased by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the index for airline fares tumbled by 2.5 percent and the index for used cars and trucks was unchanged after a series of increases. The shelter index also showed its smallest increase since September.
Compared to the same month a year ago, overall consumer prices were up by 1.7 percent in June, while core prices were up by 2.2 percent.
Jim O'Sullivan, Chief U.S. Economist at High Frequency Economics, noted that the annual rate of consumer price growth is down sharply from 3.0 percent seen at the end of 2011, while the core rate is identical to the 2.2 percent seen at the end of 2011.
"That pace is consistent with 2% or a little lower for the Fed's preferred PCE price index, or around what is considered ideal by most Fed officials," O'Sullivan said.
He added, "With inflation fairly neutral, the case for more Fed easing will depend primarily on the growth numbers, which have clearly weakened, but probably not enough yet for the Fed chairman to send a 'we are going to ease again at the next meeting' signal in his testimony later this morning."
Last Friday, the Labor Department released a separate report that unexpectedly showed a modest increase in U.S. producer prices in the month of June, with prices rebounding slightly after showing a sharp drop in the previous month.
The report said the producer price index edged up by 0.1 percent in June after tumbling by 1.0 percent in May. The modest increase surprised economists, who had expected prices to see further downside and fall by about 0.4 percent.
Excluding a continued drop in energy prices and an increase in food prices, the core producer index rose by 0.2 percent in June. The increase matched the core price growth seen in each of the three previous months and came in line with economist estimates.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:28aee9f1-e660-47e7-9dca-99d0e107333f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rttnews.com/1924361/u-s-consumer-prices-flat-amid-continued-drop-in-energy-prices.aspx?type=useco&SimRec=1&Node=B2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972814 | 719 | 1.625 | 2 |
Don’t let “other media’ marketers tell you otherwise: social media advertising is booming. But we shouldn’t be surprised: 80% of Americans network on social sites monthly in some way — and 7-8% of those participate by uploading blogs, videos, and music. In fact, 6/10 of the top visited sites (at least in the U.S.) are social in nature (facebook, youtube, wikipedia, etc.) Businesses ignore these trends at their own peril.
Curious about what social media has done for other businesses? Want to know what the market looks like for 2011? Check out this handy guide:
The Current Landscape
The current landscape for social media advertising is promising: A 2010 report by Social Media Examiner reported that “67% of marketers plan on increasing their use of blogs, Facebook, video/YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.” The biggest beneficiary of the increase is Facebook, of course, which reported nearly $1 billion in 2010 revenue. Another study by Forrester Research (via ClickZ), entitled “U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast 2009 to 2014,” predicted that by 2014, “interactive marketing” would increase to $55 billion – 21% of all marketing costs in 2014 — as advertisers and marketers “shift dollars away from traditional media and toward search marketing, display advertising, email marketing, social media, and mobile marketing.” And spending on social media itself is expected to swell to around $3 billion by 2014.
How Has It Grown?
Changing Social Media Practices
This year, both Twitter and Facebook — the biggest players in the social media world right now — experimented with changing their user interfaces. Twitter changed theirs to integrate more multimedia into the stream; they also added “promoted tweets,” a new ad campaign that allows companies like DisneyPixar (whose promotion of Toy Story 3 was the first promoted tweet) to “trend” for an unspecified length of time.
Facebook transformed their interface to highlight users’ personal information, in effect making it easier for marketers to create better targeted ads.
Location, location, location. Nowadays, social media websites are obsessed with where you are. Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter, and Facebook now all have features that allow users to “check in” from various places of business, and has marketers excited about bringing in foot traffic and having customers share their experiences online. Users are awarded “points” or other kinds of rewards for entering a local restaurant or retail shop.
Social Buying Sites
“GroupOn,” a popular “deal-of-the-day” site, was the social media success of the year, having rejected both Yahoo’s $3 billion offer and Google’s $5 million proposal to buy it out. LivingSocial isn’t far behind, either — it secured a $14 million investment in mid-2010. (And so are a number of other copycat sites, like BuyWithMe, EverSave, and Tippr.)
Social buying entails the following: if a certain group of people decide to purchase a proposed “deal” on the website, then it goes “live” and becomes available to all who subscribe. It’s a cheap, effective way for businesses to advertise — after all, discounts and deals were the first form of “viral” marketing.
Who Uses What and Why?
According to USA Today, Facebook is King: “More than 300,000 businesses — one-third of them small businesses — have a presence on Facebook. Members of its fastest-growing demographic — those 35 and older — have enormous purchasing power, a powerful incentive to marketers.” A 2010 study by Colloquy and the Direct Marketing Association finds that Company size also plays a factor in the type of media it engages in: for example, companies with more than 100 employees are more likely to use Twitter, while companies with less than 100 are significantly more likely to use LinkedIn. Also, for companies with more than 100 employees, social media’s main purpose is to encourage brand loyalty and awareness; those with less focus on customer acquisition. Still, only 25% of survey respondents reported that they used more than 2% of their marketing budget on social advertising — probably because a) it’s relatively cheap and b) the nature of the medium makes it difficult to measure ROI (Return on Investment).
Which Companies Are Leading the Pack?
Zappos, MTV, and Ford — who reported spending 25% of its marketing budget on social media last year (more than twice the standard for the auto industry)– are the big names floating around the digital ad world these days. Zappos, the online shoe retailer, has at least 200 employees with active Twitter accounts, and its CEO Tony Hsieh has 1.7 million followers. Zappos’ innovative strategy? Recognizing hardcore fans with their own twitter tracking pages. Also, it virtually owns the conversation on business video blogging, through which it answers questions about — and introduces — new products.
MTV has rightly overtaken the social media market, as one might expect — they’re representatives of the digital age, after all. Their new “Music Meter” scans social networking pages for “buzz” bands to compete with MySpace and Vevo. This summer, the network launched its search for a new “TJ,” or “Twitter Jockey,” — applicants competed in “online challenges,” and two were nominated by the audience. | <urn:uuid:017399b4-1d8a-4028-8c67-558a224a99dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.buysellads.com/2011/social-advertising-by-the-numbers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942991 | 1,171 | 1.679688 | 2 |
In this final installment on these lessons learned and mini case studies we will look at a few older SAP project failures. Even in these older SAP project failures it is still surprising that so many of the same problems continue to repeat themselves after all these years.
I’d like to point out once again that in the major SAP project failures the software application itself was not at the root of the failure. The project failures I focused on are the ones where there is plenty of published literature to evaluate. Obviously that does not mean that there aren’t projects with failures where the software itself was responsible, only that the available literature where you can do a fair analysis of the projects do not point to the software itself as the cause.
One of the interesting trends for several of the project failures was the SAP project was blamed for poor business results. For example,
- Here you can see the Hewlett-Packard example listed below (2004).
- In the first post of the series it was the Shane Company (2008) (SAP ERP Project Failure Lessons Learned and Mini Case Studies 1).
- And then finally in the second post it was Levi Strauss & Company (2008) (SAP ERP Project Failure Lessons Learned and Mini Case Studies 2)
SAP ERP Implementation Failure Overviews – part 3
Some of the reasons for these older SAP ERP project failures (and many of the modern ones) include:
- insufficient or improper training,
- lack of change management,
- insufficient testing,
- poor scoping,
- bad go-live timing,
- unreasonable timelines,
- bad project management,
- lack of senior management participation,
- multiple simultaneous enterprise application projects,
- too much or too complex custom development efforts (interfaces),
- and inexperienced or incompetent consultants.
Hewlett-Packard Company – SAP ERP Project Failure? (2004)
- Even though this was attributed to the SAP implementation there are other things to consider. At the time of this implementation HP was a fairly mature SAP shop. They had already done 4 prior rollouts of the application and this was number 5. The “hiccup” only prevented one week’s shipments and as an SAP consultant since 1994 I can all but guarantee you that this “hiccup” was at the beginning of a month, and probably the beginning of a quarter, and not at the end. As a result it could not have affected the financials to that extent.
- CIO and Executive Vice President of Global Operations Gilles Bouchard didn’t think that… data modeling problems between the legacy and SAP systems was the source of the $160 million impact. He blamed HP’s inability to keep pace with orders in the supply chain once the problems were discovered. [FN1, pg. 26]
- Although HP’s Industry Standard Servers (ISS) business woes were blamed on SAP because of a one week supply chain hiccup, the actions by HP hint at a different reason. If the SAP software were to blame then the division’s sales executives would not have been fired:
HP “announced that three major sales executives, including former server group head Peter Blackmore, had been fired in a management shake-up following the disappointing quarter in the company’s server division.” [FN2]
- I do not believe this was an SAP software failure regardless of how it was reported.
Lessons Learned: This “hiccup” was most likely a result of insufficient testing. Otherwise this appears to be a case of blaming the enterprise software implementation for company or marketplace related issues.
Hershey Food Corporation – SAP ERP project failure overview (1999)
Hershey foods went live with their SAP implementation just before Halloween in 1999. For the candy company this was the beginning of their peak season and the go-live created a major business disruption at the worst time from a revenue and operations standpoint.
- Insufficient training and user preparation
- Users were not prepared to do their jobs, to manage day to day operations, or to clean up and correct data. Training and change management needed more emphasis.
- Unrealistic implementation timeline
- Original timeline for the entire project was 4 years, that timeline was cut down to 2.5 years. Scope management, project planning, project scheduling (including task and resource leveling) are critical for success.
- Improper go-live schedule
- Went “live” at peak sales season and did not allow enough time to “shake out” data and process issues. Formal project plan and schedule; the integrator bears this responsibility unless they notified the company of the risks and the company insisted on going live.
- Additional large enterprise applications such as Siebel CRM and Manugistics went live at the same time.
- Has since worked through and resolved the implementation issues and SAP is running smoothly.
Lessons Learned: Careful timing and planning of the project are important considerations, as well as sufficient time and resources for training, change management and user involvement. Major enterprise applications (ERP, CRM, Logistics, etc.) should be implemented one at a time and then at least modestly stabilized before undertaking additional enterprise applications. Attempt to schedule go-lives so that they coincide with the end of a busy season and a potential “lull” in business. This way there is some time to work through stabilization issues before busy seasons start.
Whirlpool Corporation – SAP ERP project failure overview (1999)
Just before a Labor Day go live in 1999 several warning signs of serious problems appeared. Interfaces and batch jobs that fed external systems indicated serious performance problems but Whirlpool management and their SAP implementation vendor Deloitte decided to go live anyway. A decision was made to go with the known problems and the problems would be resolved within roughly a week after going live. However the interface problems created far more disruption to the external shipping and distribution systems than was anticipated. Shipments were delayed 6 – 8 weeks causing significant lost business because many customers cancelled orders and went elsewhere.
Lessons Learned: Red flags with enterprise applications should be carefully evaluated for a “go” or “no go” decision as you approach going live. Testing of interfaces cannot be ignored and serious performance problems or known interface problems should not be ignored.
Fox Meyer Drugs – SAP ERP project failure overview (1995)
- Management failure
- SAP was being used to automate and consolidate warehouse operations and layoffs were known to be coming. Labor sabotaged the efforts.
- Warehouse consolidation was occurring just as the company captured a major new contract increasing the transaction and processing volume.
- An additional large enterprise warehouse management system was implemented during the SAP implementation.
- This is scope management and project planning and scheduling.
- Multiple enterprise systems create significant project risks.
- Insufficient training and user preparation
- Users were not prepared to do their jobs, to manage day to day operations, or to clean up and correct data. More emphasis on training and change management was required.
- The consulting company provided “trainees” to do the SAP implementation which turned out to be a disaster.
- Project scope and cost were mismanaged because the consulting company drove the entire project.
- Poor project planning and coordination.
Lessons Learned: Change management, training, and employee acceptance are critical. Avoid multiple enterprise wide software projects at the same time. Ensure that the SAP vendor partner doing the implementation does not staff the project with inexperienced, ineffective, or less than optimal consultants.
[FN1] Bhagwani, A. (2009). Critical Success Factors In Implementing SAP ERP Software, University of Kansas Graduate School. http://www.r3now.com/literature/2009-Bhagwani-SAP-Project-Success.pdf
[FN2] SAP implementation contributed to HP shortfall. Computerworld, August 12, 2004. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/95223/SAP_implementation_contributed_to_HP_shortfall
- hp erp failure
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- raeson for failure of SAP | <urn:uuid:298fc261-bf06-4f89-8832-b9a31300c84c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.r3now.com/2010/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944772 | 1,783 | 1.585938 | 2 |
In this chapter, unless otherwise specified:
"Administration" means any proceeding relating to a decedent's estate whether decedent died testate or intestate.
"Circuit court" means the circuit court which has jurisdiction under s. 72.27
"Death tax" is a tax imposed by a state, territory or district, because of a death or gift in contemplation of death, on property or a transfer of property, and includes estate, inheritance, succession, legacy and transfer taxes.
"Decedent" means the deceased person.
"Department" means the department of revenue.
"Distributee" means any person to whom property is transferred by reason of a death or in contemplation of death other than in payment of a claim.
"District attorney" means the district attorney of the county whose circuit court has jurisdiction under s. 72.27
"Estate" means all property of a decedent transferred by reason of the decedent's death.
"Federal credit" means, for deaths occurring after September 30, 2002, and before January 1, 2008, the federal estate tax credit allowed for state death taxes as computed under the federal estate tax law in effect on December 31, 2000, and for deaths occurring after December 31, 2007, the federal estate tax credit allowed for state death taxes as computed under the federal estate tax law in effect on the day of the decedent's death.
"Federal estate tax" means, for deaths occurring after September 30, 2002, and before January 1, 2008, the federal estate tax as computed under the federal estate tax law in effect on December 31, 2000, and for deaths occurring after December 31, 2007, the federal estate tax as computed under the federal estate tax law in effect on the day of the decedent's death.
"File" means mail or deliver a document that the department prescribes to the department or, if the department prescribes another method of submitting or another destination, use that other method or submit to that other destination.
"The intestate laws of this state" include statutory rights and allowances to a child and to a surviving spouse and any other rights of a surviving spouse acquired by contract in lieu of any statutory rights.
"Pay" means mail or deliver funds to the department or, if the department prescribes another method of submitting or another destination, use that other method or submit to that other destination.
"Personal representative" means any person to whom letters to administer a decedent's estate have been granted by the court but does not include a special administrator.
"Property" means any interest, legal or equitable, present or future, in real or personal property, or income therefrom, in possession and enjoyment, trust or otherwise, within or without this state.
"Transfer" means the passing of property.
Wisconsin's New Estate Tax. Wilcox. Wis. Law. Dec. 2001.
A History of the Wisconsin Inheritance Tax, Stark, 88 MLR 947 (2005).
Estate tax imposed.
An estate tax is imposed upon the transfer of all property that is subject to a federal estate tax and that has a taxable situs in this state. The tax imposed is equal to the federal credit against the federal estate tax as finally determined. If only a portion of a decedent's property has a taxable situs in this state, the tax imposed is the amount obtained by multiplying the federal credit by a fraction the numerator of which is the value of the decedent's estate that has a taxable situs in this state and the denominator of which is the total value of the property in the estate that qualifies for the federal credit.
History: 1987 a. 27
; 2001 a. 16
The gross estate for purposes of calculating the estate tax is the taxable estate as determined under federal law. The statutes do not authorize DOR to add gifts made in contemplation of death to the federal taxable estate when calculating the estate tax. The amount of estate tax is determined by the federal credit for state death taxes provided under federal law. Any construction that results in a calculation of the estate tax that is not equal to the federal tax credit for state death taxes is inconsistent with the plain language of this section. Department of Revenue v. Estate of Schweitzer, 2008 WI App 2
, 307 Wis. 2d 298
, 744 N.W.2d 861
Wisconsin's New Estate Tax. Wilcox. Wis. Law. Dec. 2001.
Time Runs Out on Wisconsin's Estate Tax. Reineke & Botham. Wis. Law. Dec. 2007.
Unless otherwise provided, where "notice" is required in this chapter it shall be given in the manner prescribed by s. 879.05
History: 1971 c. 310
Documents and payments required or permitted by this chapter that are filed by mail are on time if they are mailed in a properly addressed envelope, if the postage is paid, if the envelope is postmarked before midnight of the due date and if the department or the person that the department designates receives them no later than 5 days after the due date. Documents and payments that are not mailed are timely if they are received on or before the due date by the department or at the destination that the department prescribes.
History: 1991 a. 39
; 1997 a. 27
Confidentiality of tax returns. Sections 71.78 (1)
, and (4)
and 71.83 (2) (a) 3.
apply to any information obtained from any person by the department on a death tax return, report, schedule, exhibit or other document or from an audit report pertaining to the tax return.
See also ss. Tax 1.11
, Wis. adm. code.
Subjects liable. 72.11(1)(1)
Residents and nonresidents.
A tax is imposed upon any transfer of property to any distributee in the following cases:
When the transfer is from a person who dies while a resident of this state.
When the transfer is of property within the jurisdiction of this state and the decedent was not a resident of this state at the time of the decedent's death.
(2) Exception; reciprocity as to nonresident decedents.
A transfer, which is made taxable under this chapter and is of a nonresident decedent's intangible personal property is not subject to the tax imposed by this chapter if a like exemption is allowed at the time of the death of the decedent by the laws of the state, territory or district of the decedent's residence in favor of residents of this state or if the state, territory, or district of the decedent's residence does not impose a tax on the transfer at death at the time of the death of the decedent.
Personal liability. 72.21(1)(1)
Each personal representative, special administrator, and trustee of a trust in existence and containing property on the date of the decedent's death, is severally liable for the tax imposed by this chapter, with interest, to the extent of the clear market value of all property under the control of that personal representative, special administrator or trustee, the transfer of which is subject to this tax. This liability extends to all taxes due under this chapter on all transfers to a distributee, and is not limited to the value of transfers of property in the control of the personal representative, special administrator or trustee.
A trustee of a trust which comes into existence after the decedent's death and a distributee are liable for the tax imposed by this chapter, with interest, only to the extent of the clear market value of property transferred to the trustee or distributee.
Except as provided in s. 72.225
, the tax imposed by this chapter shall be paid on the date 9 months after the decedent's death.
(2) Advance payment.
Anyone personally liable for a tax under this chapter may pay an estimated tax before the tax is determined.
Except as provided in s. 72.225
, at the time that the return is filed, the full tax shall be paid. If a prepayment was made, any additional tax shown owing on the return, as filed, shall accompany the return.
Installment payments; closely held businesses. 72.225(1)(1)
If a percentage of the federal tax on an estate may be paid in installments under section 6166
of the internal revenue code, the same percentage of the taxes under this chapter may be paid under the same installment schedule if written notice of the election to pay in installments is given to the department within 9 months after the decedent's death. The provisions on acceleration under section 6166
(g) of the internal revenue code apply to payments under this section. The interest rate on payments is 12% and is calculated from the date of death.
Upon the filing of a notice under sub. (1)
, distributees of real estate shall provide the department a certified copy of a lien for unpaid taxes and interest on the property to secure payment, and shall record the lien in the office of the register of deeds of the county in which the property is located. Distributees of personal property, upon the filing of a notice under sub. (1)
, shall either provide a lien or provide the department a financial guarantee bond equal to the estimated tax and interest elected to be paid under sub. (1)
to secure payment if the tax has not been determined. Upon determination of the tax, distributees of personal property shall provide a lien or provide a financial guarantee bond sufficient to secure payment of the tax and interest or pay the department the excess over the amount of tax and interest secured by the bond. The department may accept a lien affecting only part of the property if there is sufficient security to secure payment of the tax. Any distributee who fails to provide the security required under this subsection or who disposes of one-third or more of the property on which the tax is secured under this subsection, shall pay the tax in full.
History: 1995 a. 27
Acceleration and interest. 72.23(1)
If the tax imposed by this chapter is not paid when it is due under s. 72.22
, interest is due and payable at the rate of 12% per year from date of death. In computing time under this section, the day of death is excluded. If any payment of tax or interest under s. 72.225
is not paid when due, the tax and interest due shall be paid upon notice by the department.
The department or circuit court may waive interest on any additional tax arising from the discovery of property omitted in the inventory of total assets or in the original tax determination, if due diligence was exercised in determining the assets.
Failure to file.
Any person who fails to file a return by the date under s. 72.30 (1)
is subject to a penalty of 5% of the tax due under s. 72.02
but not less than $25 nor more than $500.
History: 1991 a. 39
Whenever any amount has been paid in excess of the tax determined, the secretary of administration, upon certification by the department or circuit court, shall refund the excess to the payor or other person entitled thereto.
Jurisdiction of circuit court. 72.27(1)
The circuit court for the county of which the decedent died a resident has jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions arising under this chapter and to do any act authorized by a circuit court in other matters or proceedings coming within its jurisdiction. If 2 or more courts are entitled to exercise jurisdiction, the court first acquiring it retains exclusive jurisdiction.
The circuit court of Dane County has jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions relating to the determination and adjustment of the tax imposed by this chapter, if a tax appears due because of the death of a nonresident decedent and in which it does not otherwise appear necessary for regular administration. If a nonresident dies possessed of real or tangible personal property located within this state, the circuit court of the county in which the property is located shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court for Dane County.
Determination of tax. 72.30(1)(a)(a)
Except as provided in par. (b)
, if a federal estate tax return is required, the personal representative, special administrator, trustee, distributee or other person interested shall prepare the return for the tax under this chapter, compute the tax due under this chapter, and on or before the due date, as extended, of the federal estate tax return file the return for the tax under this chapter with a copy of the federal estate tax return and a copy of all documents submitted with the federal estate tax return.
The personal representative, special administrator, trustee, distributee, or other person interested shall prepare the return for the tax under this chapter in the manner prescribed by the department.
(3) Certificate of tax.
Upon receipt of the return and payment of the tax, the department shall issue a dated certificate showing the amount of tax and any interest.
(4) Hearing in circuit court.
The attorney general, department, district attorney or any person dissatisfied with the appraisal, assessment or determination of the tax due under this chapter may apply for a hearing before the circuit court within 6 months from the date the certificate in sub. (3)
is issued. The applicant must give a written notice to the court stating the grounds of the application. No statute of limitations shall run against the department in cases of fraud or collusion or where property is not disclosed in the return.
In addition to its powers to collect taxes due under this chapter, the department may proceed in the manner provided in ss. 71.91 (5)
. All payments under this chapter after their due date shall be applied first in discharging costs and interest and the balance applied on the tax principal.
Sub. (4) did not bar court review of a tax dispute that arose more than 6 months after the tax certificate was issued. The department must issue a certificate under sub. (3) (c) each time a tax determination is made on an amended return. In Matter of Estate of Halsted, 116 Wis. 2d 23
, 341 N.W.2d 389
A person who is entitled to a refund of the federal estate tax or liable for additional payments of that tax shall, within 30 days after receiving notice of that fact, do the following:
Submit to the department copies of any additional papers or supporting documents required to be filed with the federal government.
Compute the amount of any refund or additional tax and report the same to the department, together with any additional tax due.
Any refund which the department finds due shall be made within 30 days after receipt of the report under sub. (2) (b)
Notice of obligations.
Every person liable for transmitting to the estate or a beneficiary of a deceased employee or former employee an annuity, bonus, pension or other benefit under a retirement, deferred compensation or profit-sharing plan taxable under this chapter, directly or through a trust or fund created by the employer for such purpose, shall give notice of such obligation to the department within 30 days following the date of payment, or the date of the initial payment if more than one payment is forthcoming, to the estate or any beneficiary of such employee or former employee.
Interstate arbitration of death taxes. 72.35(1)
When the department and the taxing authority of another state each claim that a decedent was a resident of its state on the date of the decedent's death, the department may make a written agreement with the other taxing authority and with the personal representative, special administrator or trustee, to settle the dispute or submit the controversy to a panel consisting of any uneven number of arbitrators. Parties to the agreement shall select the arbitrators.
(2) Powers of the panel.
The panel may administer oaths, take testimony and subpoena witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents. Subpoenas may be issued by any panel member. When a person fails to obey a subpoena, any court of record of this state, upon application by the panel, may order compliance with the subpoena and may punish further failure to obey as contempt.
The panel shall hold hearings at such times and places as it may determine, upon reasonable notice to the parties to the agreement, all of whom may be heard, present evidence and examine and cross-examine witnesses.
(4) Majority vote.
Except when issuing subpoenas, all questions arising in the course of the proceedings shall be determined by majority vote of the panel.
(5) Determination of residence.
The panel, by majority vote, shall determine the residence of the decedent on the date of the decedent's death. This determination shall be final only for purposes of imposing and collecting death taxes.
(6) Filing of documents.
The panel shall file with each party to the agreement in sub. (1)
and with the circuit court having jurisdiction under s. 72.27
a certified copy of: | <urn:uuid:8adef02b-52a1-41be-b4a1-ba1786c3997e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/72/06 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931688 | 3,544 | 1.6875 | 2 |
May 16th, 2011 08:58 PM
Need help and advice
Hi first id like to say sorry if this the wrong place to post this question its my first nite using this site
I need help with brutus AET 2 im not going to give any lame excuse that i forgot my password or anything else i just want to learn to hack not for malicious resons im just intrigued by it, I'v download afew different one from different sources but keep running into the same probloms it either just sayes one of the firist passwords is the rite one or sayes it stopped because of to many errors, I'v been reading different tuts and videos and doen exactly wot they say, I'm running windows 7 ultimate 32bit im trying to use https from with wordlist but would like advice on the other settings to please
Also was just wondering what kind of form is it when you dont need a username just the password to log in its my router(box) on the roof that i recive my enternet through its a motorla CPE box
Thank you in advance for any help and advice and again sorry if this the wrong place for the post
May 17th, 2011 09:33 AM
Remote password crackage is no longer valid in the real world from a stand alone computer. Bandwidth and computational power prohibits it. You can rent both of these things from outside sources, but they are very expensive.
Download Jack the Ripper, and it's source if you want to learn about "cracking" passwords.
If you don't need a log in username, it's assuming "root".
Every now and then, one of you won't annoy me.
May 18th, 2011 09:19 PM | <urn:uuid:db3de8c4-ba36-49d8-9f8f-f3b05a80b932> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?279407-Need-help-and-advice&p=958825 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947058 | 362 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Public relations professionals work with media types--magazines and newspaper editors and radio and TV producers--to get their clients' stories in the news. Because there's an awful lot of media hype out there, and there are only so many stories the media can--or wants to--cover in an edition, PR people work hard to come up with new angles to attract attention and present their clients in a positive light. Public relations agencies also provide their clients with materials like press kits, annual reports, speeches and brochures--all the tools that go toward making that company, celebrity or celebrity-hopeful look good. If you like exercising your creative abilities, making those mental stretches, and staying on top of trends and issues while blowing your clients' horns, then this is the business for you. The public relations agency's advantages are that you get to use that creativity to the max, you're always on your mental toes, and you deal with a variety of interesting people all day. And you can work from your home. A degree or certificate in public relations is a plus but not an absolute necessity. You'll need top-notch written and verbal skills--you'll have to write catchy, pertinent press releases and stories for magazines and newspapers as well as be able to convince editors and producers to use your material instead of somebody else's. You should be familiar with the types of stories various publications and TV programs (from the local news to those late-night talk shows) are looking for and the deadlines they work under, and you'll need the confidence to deal with all these stressed-out types on their own terms.
Your clients can be just about any business, professional individual or celebrity you care to go after--including nonprofit organizations and government entities. As a newbie, you might want to specialize in certain types of businesses or professions, say doctors, writers, bioengineering firms or trendy software companies. And of course, companies in the industries you already know are always promising prospects. The best way to nab new clients is by networking and through personal contacts. Call in favors from everybody you know in any related fields. Start your own public relations campaign by direct-mailing brochures to prospects. Volunteer yourself as a guest on a local radio chat show.
You'll need a computer system with the usual office software, a laser printer, a color printer, a scanner and a fax machine. | <urn:uuid:88205bfb-c982-472f-b087-d252f608101d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessideas/public-relations-agency | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956816 | 483 | 1.75 | 2 |
Surfer Garrett McNamara catches what could be the largest wave ever surfed, off the coast of Nazare, Portugal, on Jan. 29. The estimated 100-foot wave, if confirmed, would beat the current world record of 78 feet, which McNamara has held since 2011. According to SurferToday.com:
Garrett McNamara traveled from Hawaii and hit the water with Kealii Mamala - with whom he surfed waves generated by glacier blocks in Alaska - Kamaki Worthington and Hugo Vau, as their support team on the jet ski. The conditions in Nazaré were heavenly perfect. Light southern winds and strong swell coming from northwest and hitting the local canyon as it should.
Judges with Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards will work to determine the actual size of the wave.
McNamara's surfing skills developed when his family moved to Hawaii from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, when he was 11 years old. As a professional big wave surfer, he regularly seeks out the largest waves in the world.
"It's like riding a moving mountain," said McNamara to TODAY after he broke the last world record in 2011. Watch the video. | <urn:uuid:7cb274b7-7a66-4404-9ac4-8f5cd63a4cf9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/29/16756600-enormous-wave-dwarfs-surfer-garrett-mcnamara-along-coast-of-portugal?lite | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94658 | 245 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Despite the tough economy, Florida’s Children’s Health Insurance Program added just 2,000 children in the year ended June 30, for a growth rate of less than 1 percent. Among school-age kids, the program added just 700 children.
Before last year, the Florida CHIP progam was growing by about 8 percent a year. It now has about 275,000 kids enrolled.
Rich Robleto, executive director of Florida Healthy Kids Corp., which runs the low-income health insurance program for children who don’t qualify for Medicaid, cites two factors. He said each month the CHIP program loses up to 8,000 children who transfer to Medicaid because their parents’ income fell; Medicaid added 98,000 children last year.
In addition, Robleto said, a new federal rule requires parents to provide proof they are United States citizens before children can be covered. The documention requirement caused about 10,000 kids to drop off CHIP, he said.
Florida has limited dollars to advertise the CHIP program, and Robleto said many families who lost health coverage during the economic downturn are not familiar with the government program. He said the program is trying to find both children who are eligible and have not been insured and children who have recently lost private coverage because their parents lost their jobs. Florida and two other states account for 40 percent of the 5 million children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled. The other states are California and Texas.
“It’s almost as if we are treading water,” he said.
More than 5 million children are enrolled in CHIP across the country. | <urn:uuid:2d48fb3b-4b52-4c14-9e4f-9cf59ec79064> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theamericanworker.com/news/news.aspx?nid=88 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969985 | 343 | 1.84375 | 2 |
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THE TOMORROW PEOPLE novel-THE VISITOR
This first TPnovel can be placed after THE VANISHING EARTH but in truth it might be before it. It contains Kenny and Carol. Price’s novels always seem to add new information to the TP world---even supplying missing information. Sometimes though, the continuity with the series is confusing at best. Still in this novel, Chapter One, we meet Stephen’s Sap friend Malcolm Neilson, a doctor’s son and Stephen’s father. A strange UFO is spotted. Chapter 2 gives background info, Carol has broken out playing rounders in a park. She had heard the thoughts of all those around, Saps included. She was taken to a private nursing home. John, who broke out first, three months before Carol, sent her comforting telepathic messages. Kenny was 11 and was too young to break out and suffered some shock. According to Chapter 2, John had been 14 and Carol was 13 when they broke out. Kenny was a West African cockney from the East End. We also learn Stephen’s dad was a physicist employed in medical research in a London hospital (in another novel he was a chemist) and was originally from Scotland. The Tp are off to Scotland now—where the UFO landed: Kilgardie, Scotland. We also discover Carol lived in Hampstead with her parents and two younger sisters. Her dad, a TV documentary producer, longed to do a show about the TP. Carol’s mom was a journalist, unable to do a TP story. John lived in North London where his father was a police sergeant. Later novels state that John’s father is dead. Kenny’s father died when he was small. Kenny lived with his mother, a trainee nurse. He also lived with his sister.
In chapter 3, the McCaig’s feed the touring TP who try to contact the aliens in the UFO which landed in a lake. McCaigs notice how quiet the TP are (actually they were using their minds to try to contact the any life). We learn that Carol and John did not fully realize the truth of breaking out at first. Later, more powers developed and they visited other planets throughout the universe. One was Sophia, the galactic arm of Perseus, where an immortal philosopher race invited the TP just after Kenny broke out. The Sophists explained what their new level of evolution meant. Nature, fearful that mankind would destroy itself, sped up the process. Then, they built TIM to a design which the Sophists had given to them. Actually, Sophistra is mentioned in SLAVES OF JEDIKIAH and THE VANISHING EARTH.
Unfortunately, they need communicators to talk to TIM in the novel. This is totally wrong when compared to the TV show. The four TP share a dream of being pulled out of water by military men. An alien was taken to a Ministry of Defence Research Establishment near Loch Derrig. Somehow all four are captured upon trying to rescue the alien boy. A mysterious Colonel M (Masters?) questions the three boys and Carol. A sergeant lets on that they think the TP are from space. Ginge and Lefty rescue the TP, bringing them new equipment. The space child, when communicating telepathically, had accidentally knocked them out the first time. Now they rescue him. His name is Arlon, a dark alien boy who was treated badly. It is now they discover Colonel M was mildly telepathic himself and picking up their conversations with Arlon. They try to jaunt with Arlon but lose him in the vortex, then he appears in the Lab. Arlon cannot be jaunted far if at all, he is lost from his father Saav’s spaceship. Arlon leaves them unconscious and he is upset about being lost. Ginge tells the TP that Arlon knocked out babies and toddlers all over Manchester, Leeds, and Northern France---all of these are other Tomorrow People before they break out!
Col. M gets Arlon again while his ship is dredged up from the lake. M was aware that Arlon could not jaunt. He wants them to build a spacecraft if he is to release Arlon. Saav and the Critons call through the ship’s radio and Saav is now on his way. Kenny answered him. Saav ells the four telepathically that if the do not give Arlon back, he will destroy the Saps. The Tp appeal to Arlon’s father not to do this and he gives them a mere 12 hours to rescue Arlon. TIM finds Arlon at Tolford Grange Security military base. The TP jaunt in, stun a nurse and two military men and find Arlon playing with a toy car. Kenny if they have cars on Criton. The men stop a lift the TP are on with Arlon so John and Kenny jaunt out and jaunt in behind the men. The pair stunt he men and activate the lift. They all escape in a helicopter. M stops a captain from shooting them down, claiming, “They have not shed a drop of blood. I have been ordered not to shed theirs and that order I shall obey.”
M thinks the TP must be aliens, too. M waits for them at the lake when the next ship arrives to get Arlon and his smaller ship. Arlon was lost when he fooled with the controls on the life ship. M asks them for knowledge to which John replies, “Someday you will be ready for such knowledge but not yet.” Ginge and Lefty arrive by bike and bid Arlon farewell with Lefty giving Arlon his Hell’s Angel badge to remember them by. Saav’s ship with Arlon, the life pod, and the TP blasts off. The TP bid goodbye also and jaunt off the ship. They had to keep the disguise of being aliens to Colonel M. M was disappointed by their leaving.
REVIEW: Not a bad tale with some nice touches. One idea was that newborns were going to be Tomorrow People and they were all affected by the Arlon’s loud telepathic ravings. That too—his loud signaling—was a nice touch. Another was when the TP had to drag Arlon through hyper space. Having Ginge and Lefty was a pleasant surprise as was most of the interesting background on the Tp and their lives. A few, already mentioned, in discrepancies with the TV show exist. There are a few in each a novel which is odd since I think Roger Price wrote them all. These in no way detract from the tales and are only slightly annoying. The most annoying is in the novel THREE IN THREE where Jedikiah was a blob in his true form.
There are also some predictable, stretched out escapes, captures, rescues, etc common to the TP and almost all sci fi and adventure in general, especially TV shows of all genres. The story is too long and could have been better if it lost a number of chapters. Saav’s threat and Col M were used to good measure, the only two characters who have personalities other than the well drawn McBains (or McCaigs). Again, a must have for TP fans and fair reading for sci fi fans. | <urn:uuid:4649ee43-fcca-45e9-8d0e-188411beaae9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gallifreyanembassy.org/vortex/node/1089?page=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980215 | 1,530 | 1.554688 | 2 |
President Obama vs. Mitt Romney -Tax Avoidance or Tax Planning
While it is certainly not illegal or even wrong for the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife to use sophisticated estate planning techniques to minimize taxes to retain and amass tremendous wealth, it is an indication of his perspective.
It has been broadly reported that their sophisticated, tax-minimizing estate-planning techniques, which have been in place for over a decade, have allowed them to accumulate at least $100 million for their family, outside of their estate.
The Romney's created trusts as early as 1995, when Romney was building wealth as chief executive officer of Bain Capital, LLC. They packed one for their children with investments that stood to appreciate and set up another for charity that provides a tax deduction and income. In addition, the candidate's retirement account, valued at as much as $87.4 million, may also benefit his heirs for decades.
Wealthy couples wisely use strategies allowed under the federal tax system such as moving assets to trusts so that the money may be subject to little or no gift and estate taxes. The Romney family trust is worth $100 million, according to his presidential campaign disclosures. Their family trust is not included in the couple's personal fortune, which the campaign estimates to be worth as much as $250 million.
Anyone can use estate planning to minimize their taxes, provide clarity for their heirs, as well as amass wealth for them. I personally believe that setting up a family trust, to provide for family members and future generations is a wise financial planning tool. However, it generally costs a minimum of $3,500 to establish a trust and you must have something to place inside the trust such as cash or real estate for example, to get started. Consequently, the greater your assets the greater the benefit.
Should President Barack Obama's proposed estate tax proposals be implemented, the Romneys would pay higher taxes. With Romney's plan, he and his wife, as well as countless others in that top category, would pay less estate tax. President Obama has proposed increasing the estate tax from current levels and curtailing wealth-transfer strategies. The Republican presidential candidate wants to eliminate the estate tax, which currently applies a top rate of 35% as well as a $10.24 million exemption on a married couple's combined assets.
A repeal of the levy may save the Romneys about $70 million in federal estate taxes upon their demise, assuming the couple's combined taxable estate was $200 million after deductions for items such as administrative expenses and charitable contributions. Compared with today's rates, President Obama's proposal may cost them an additional $20 million.
There are numerous tax credits and benefits for low and middle income families in the current tax code and everyone should take full advantage of them. However, as California and the federal government grapple with raising taxes, cutting entitlements, and creating an environment for economic growth, the question is how do we stimulate our economy, create jobs, and protect the poor, low, and middle class families.
This unfortunate reality reminds me of a quote that I once heard. "If you are not AT the table you are probably ON the menu." It should be an opportunity to remind you about the November election and who do you want at the table making decisions that will certainly have an impact on you and your family, for years to come.
Jerome Horton is Chairman of the California Board of Equalization | <urn:uuid:60a563fd-1060-4843-a224-42b9d9949e47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lasentinel.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9664:are-you-at-the-table-or-on-the-menu&catid=92&Itemid=182 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978416 | 698 | 1.804688 | 2 |
NJ Insiders Split on Gay Marriage Impact
National Journal political insiders, true to form, were split on the impact President Obama's gay marriage announcement would have on Democrats on Election Day.
A little less than half of Democratic insiders said Obama's decision to give a full-fledged endorsement of same-sex marriage, ending months "evolving" and equivocating, would help their party, while two-thirds of Republican insiders thought the impact would be detrimental to Democrats. More Democratic insiders, however, worried that the move would hurt their party than Republicans who said it would help the President.
Will President Obama's support for same-sex marriage help or hurt the Democratic Party on Election Day?
Democrats said the announcement was a sure-fire way to rile up the base. "Progressives needed a flag to wave," one said. "This year it will be rainbow stripes."
"The President's support is consistent with who we are as Democrats--for equality and civil rights," another reiterated. "It is also on the right side of history. And, incidentally, getting his position out of the closet, so to speak, early, is smart politically--[it] allows the focus to be on other issues."
Others said Americans would respond well to the political courage it took for the president to come out with the announcement, knowing the risks.
"Americans like presidents who have guts," another said. "And if the biggest rap on [Mitt] Romney is that he can't make tough decisions, Obama just made one."
Other Democrats, however, were less optimistic, and fretted about how swing state voters would react and the impact of energized evangelicals.
"The loss of a few independent voters or even a percent or two of the African-American vote in a few key electoral states could come back to haunt the President," one said. "This did more to get evangelicals to embrace Romney than the Governor could have done on his own," another observed.
A third took the long view: "Hurt marginally this cycle but this will kill the Republicans in the next several election cycles."
Republicans meanwhile were largely confident that the impact would be largely negative on Democrats' prospects in the fall, despite the enthusiasm the decision was me with among the base.
"There's not a single voter in America who favors same-sex marriage and wasn't already voting for Obama," one Republican said. "But Obama's full-throated endorsement of gay marriage paints him and his party more deeply into a hard-core liberal corner that will alienate a lot of Democrat-leaning middle class voters."
Or, as another insider put it: "The First Gay President? How do you think that plays in the heartland?" Many pointed to how the issue would play in traditionally conservative states like North Carolina, Virginia and Iowa.
"He gains money but loses votes. He doesn't need more money," a third summarized.
Some Republicans, however, were more tempered in their assessment. "This issue was already part of the Obama voter's basket of reasons to vote for him," one said. "It will help, but only to the extent it galvanizes, not grows, the vote."
A significant portion of both Democratic and Republican insiders, however, said the decision would have no impact, given the bigger issues that will dominate the election.
"If he told us how many unemployed same-sex couples would go back to work that would make an impact," a Republican insider noted.
"It will have no impact," a Democratic insider said. "Which is tremendous progress!" | <urn:uuid:e28c9cd4-0e5b-48d8-b881-f5d4a8bba5fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2012/05/nj-insiders-split-on-gay-marriage-impact-17 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979924 | 730 | 1.765625 | 2 |
A simple fact existed in the Pre-K drawing that was held at River Ridge Elementary School on March 22. Had I elected to make a paper airplane with my lottery ballot and thrown it into the lottery box from across the room, it would have been eligible to have been drawn during the lottery. Likewise, had the parent next to me chosen to make an origami swan and placed that in the box, it too would have been eligible
Those conducting the lottery drawing gave no instructions whatsoever about how cards were to be placed in the box. As a result, any card in the box was eligible to be drawn.
School officials initially conducted an investigation into the drawing that was "inconclusive" as to whether or not the principal and other staff had schemed to cheat the lottery. The decision to conduct a partial redrawing based on this investigation led me and at least one other parent to publicly question the justification for redrawing. We both were compelled to seek the truth through the media and through our local Board of Education.
When I spoke with my Board member, I explained that by redrawing any cards, the school system was admitting that its investigation revealed wrongdoing. While the superintendent's message to the Board last Friday stopped short of confirming wrongdoing, it certainly raised questions related to how school system personnel handled the whole situation from the beginning.
The redrawing was postponed to give parents an opportunity to speak publicly to the Board of Education on April 10. I was one of the eight parents who spoke. Every parent who spoke said the same thing: School officials gave no instruction, no one did anything wrong by folding their cards. ... No parent insisted that a redrawing occur.
As a parent who folded my child's entry card, I resent the "guilt by association" approach taken by the Columbia County school system. More than one school system representative told me that those who folded their cards must have been part of "something." They certainly believed that we had an "unfair" advantage. Unfair? No. Statistical? Yes. As noted, however, the lack of instruction left it up to each parent to decide what to do. Any parent could have folded his/her child's card.
My child's misfortune in this matter is that I and other innocent parents stumbled into a questionable lottery conducted by school officials. I agree with Board member Wayne Bridges in his assessment that those involved should have stopped the process and taken other actions from the beginning. Based on the superintendent's comments, those directly involved should have at least recused themselves from the drawing in the first place. I sincerely hope that the Board of Education finalizes its investigation into the matter and takes appropriate action based on the final outcome of their report.
For the record, in addition to not knowing any school officials involved, I also was not aware of any scheme related to drawing folded cards and I offered to sign an affidavit to that effect.
My 4-year old son is excited about starting school. Up until last week, I was excited, too. If my experiences in the last week are any indication of what I have to expect, I fear that his education will take a back-seat position to politics, bureaucratic bickering and attempts to cover up wrongdoing in the Columbia County school system. While I applaud the reconsideration of the redrawing and the Board's decision to leave the results alone, our Board of Education and our school system administration should be ashamed by how the drawing was conducted and the subsequent investigation was handled.
The Columbia County News-Times ©2013. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:decf498d-0672-4ba1-9980-6d98bbe4c602> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/2007/04/18/let_125049.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98447 | 727 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Crowdfunding Gets Tricky for Amazon
- 6:30 AM
The Kickstarter approach to getting money for cool projects has inspired an idealistic devotion to the power of crowdfunding. Thanks to the power of the internet, people with good ideas can get connected to people who want to pay to see those ideas become realities—no middle man needed.
Except when it comes to the internet, there’s always someone in the middle, especially when it comes to handling the money. It’s just easy to forget they’re there. Crowdfunding startup Unglue.it got a harsh reminder when Amazon told the company its payment service would stop processing pledges to get e-books “unglued” from their copyright restrictions. The incident highlights an issue likely to get messier as sites like Kickstarter and even the JOBS Act bring microinvesting mainstream: What happens when people who pay don’t like or don’t get what they think they paid for.
Unglue.it works with copyright holders to determine a fair price to release their works under a Creative Commons license that allows a book to be copied and shared for free. The site then runs Kickstarter-style campaigns to get pledges up to the amount that would get the book released. In a blog post Thursday, Unglue.it says an account manager with Amazon Payments has told the company to void all pending payments. “Amazon has decided against ‘boarding fresh crowdfunding accounts at this time,’” the post says Unglue.it was told.
Unglue.it founder Eric Hellman told Wired that the Amazon account manager went on to explain that Kickstarter was at least one crowdfunding operation whose business Amazon Payments would keep.
Amazon confirmed that it had cut off Unglue.it from its payment services.
“We support a wide variety of businesses, but we have regulatory obligations as a licensed money services business for how we operate,” Amazon spokesman Ty Rogers said in an email. “Unfortunately, Unglue.it’s model is not the same as some other crowdfunding services, and at this time does not allow us to meet those obligations.”
Amazon did not clarify what specific regulatory issues involved. Regardless, it’s easy to see how the world’s biggest e-bookseller might not care for Unglue.it’s aspiration to make books free. Unglue.it did little in its blog post to dispel the idea that its business model could undermine Amazon: “Maybe someday, billions of people will read unglued books and will look back with amazement on the span of years when Amazon dominated the world of e-books.”
Hellman said he didn’t think free e-books were the issue. “When you have a new business model, institutions have trouble putting you in a neat little box,” he said in an email.
According to Amazon, its Flexible Payments Service used by both Unglue.it and Kickstarter exists to provide websites detailed control over how money flows through their businesses. But as crowdfunding platforms become more popular, disputes between payers and payees will no doubt arise. Unlike typical e-commerce transactions, where customers either get the item they purchased or they don’t, crowdfunding opens the door to interpretation. Maybe the independent movie you backed was awful. Or the company making the smart watch you ordered got crushed under the weight of its own popularity and delayed sending out orders.
While lifting copyright restrictions from an e-book seems like a yes-or-no proposition, other cases of unsatisfied crowdfunders could land Amazon and other payment processors in the middle of fights they don’t want to referee. Amazon in particular would probably prefer if would-be crowdfunders took a simpler route to satisfying their urges for cool stuff: Just order it from Amazon. | <urn:uuid:c68da3d8-3248-4b8c-836c-e581acb9687f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wired.com/business/2012/08/crowdfunding-gets-sticky-for-amazon-startups-payments-halted/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958948 | 804 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Monday of the 3rd Week
The Gospel of Luke 6:24-30
The Lord said to the Jews who had come to him, "But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.
"Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger.
"Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
"Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
"But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again."
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The English Gospel text used is based on the Revised Standard Version from "The Holy and Sacred Gospel" by Holy Cross Press, Brookline, MA.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission. | <urn:uuid:0dc05521-9742-4f8a-9fd3-2838d45b7c64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary_view?type=gospel&event=1088&code=176&language=en&date=10/1/2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968432 | 297 | 1.53125 | 2 |
From the 1930s through the ’60s, movies were one of the main sources of songs that made the Hit Parade and eventually became standards. These songs were written by some of the greatest popular composers of the time, people like Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, and the Gershwins. In the awards year 1934 the Academy began giving an Oscar for Best Song. For the first few years there were three nominees. Later the number of nominees varied from year to year, going as high as 14 in 1945.
The nominee had to be first heard in the movie, which meant that many well-known songs that had been previously recorded or used in stage musicals weren’t eligible, although this rule was sometimes gotten around by having a new song written for the film version of a stage musical: for example, the 1935 nominee “Lovely to Look At,” written for the movie version of Roberta.
As with other categories, when I look back at the winners and losers, it’s sometimes difficult to understand the reasons behind the Academy’s choices. How did songs which have become standards and been recorded again and again lose to cute songs which, while admittedly popular in their day, were works whose greatest appeal lay in their novel lyrics or catchy but essentially shallow melodies? Songs whose appeal was destined to fade with time, that today are seldom heard except in their original versions on nostalgia radio stations or cable music channels, or in kitschy Mantovaniesque arrangements on Muzak. In this post I’d like to present seven instances of songs that to me are great popular works of lasting appeal, but which lost to songs that strike me as clearly less Oscar-worthy.
Irving Berlin’s love songs could tend towards the schmaltzy, but this one certainly doesn’t. It’s a gauzy, light-as-air confection whose well-known opening words signal its dreamy mood: “Heaven . . . I’m in Heaven.”
Shall We Dance has my favorite set of songs of all the movies Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made together. It has such great songs as “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “They All Laughed,” and this Oscar nominee, a wistful look back at a romance that’s over, all built around the lingering memories of the beloved’s mannerisms.
“Blues in the Night” from Blues in the Night—Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer lost to:
“The Last Time I Saw Paris” from Lady Be Good—Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
It’s been said that of all the Tin Pan Alley composers, Harold Arlen had the greatest sympathy with African-American music, and I would say the same applies to many of the song lyrics of Johnny Mercer. You can certainly hear that in this song, with its archetypically bluesy melody and almost jaunty take on the “you can’t trust the opposite sex” idea. It might just be the anthem of The War of the Sexes. I’ve heard it sung just as persuasively by women about men as by men about women.
“That Old Black Magic” from Star Spangled Rhythm—Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer lost to:
“You’ll Never Know” from Hello, Frisco, Hello—Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Mack Gordon
The analogy of being in love to being under a magic spell was hardly original, but few songs have captured the helpless exhilaration of that feeling, the “elevator ride” up and down the scale of emotions, as vividly or as bouncily as this one.
Nobody surpassed Jerome Kern at writing simple, gorgeous melodies. This is one of his best, a song that movingly conveys in words and music both the sadness of the memory of love won and lost long ago and the quiet joy of rediscovering it.
“The Man That Got Away” from A Star Is Born—Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin lost to:
“Three Coins in the Fountain” from Three Coins in the Fountain—Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
Judy Garland said that Harold Arlen was her favorite composer, and for her comeback in A Star Is Born he came up with a smashing song that became one of her signature tunes, along with the 1939 Oscar-winner “Over the Rainbow,” also by Arlen, and the 1944 nominee “The Trolley Song.” Here Arlen and lyricist Ira Gershwin created a dramatic, bluesy torch song about a woman whose love affair seems destined to end in sorrow, but who just can’t let go of the memory of the man who deserted her.
Has there ever been a love song that expressed romantic longing with such gentle passion as “The Look of Love”? Burt Bacharach could write some truly bland melodies, but this one just wafts into your head and floats there. It’s intense and delicate at the same time and completely hypnotic, no more so than when sung so exquisitely by the great Dusty Springfield.
I thought you might enjoy this outtake of Judy Garland performing “The Man That Got Away,” one that was unknown to me until recently. I believe the vocal track is the same as the one in the take used in the final version of the film. This take doesn’t have the smoky, after-hours atmosphere or the more stylized staging of that one, but it has its own charm. The brighter lighting shows Judy looking slim and well rested, and the soft rose pink color of her blouse gives her a healthy glow.
A nearly lifelong cinephile, R. D. Finch lives in rural Northern California. His favorite movies are the classics (roughly 1930-1980), both American and foreign. For more on Finch and his writing, visit The Movie Projector. | <urn:uuid:ad2d60b7-1835-441f-87dd-40b6c418b792> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moviefanfare.com/seven-songs-that-should-have-won-the-oscar-but-didnt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969971 | 1,297 | 1.75 | 2 |
Online Universities in District of Columbia
The District of Columbia is home to a number of well-known private institutions, such as George Washington University, Howard University, and Georgetown University. Founded in 1789, Georgetown University is the nation’s oldest Catholic college. Today, the school serves more than 16,000 students and was ranked at No. 22 amongst national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2011. In terms of public education, the University of the District of Columbia is the only public institution of higher learning in Washington, D.C. This historically black university is also one of the few land-grant universities in the country located in an urban area.
Government, business services, education, health services, leisure, and hospitality are some of the most important industries for the District of Columbia’s local economy. Nearly a third of Washington, D.C. residents were employed in government in 2008. Private sector companies such as Capital One Financial, Choice Hotels International, and Marriott International are also important economic forces in the region. | <urn:uuid:9e7901f7-d5f3-4a04-9e43-3f9765a18b96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hattoss.com/states/district-of-columbia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95485 | 216 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Type of plant: Annuals, Biennials, Perennials
Bloom color: Gold (Yellow-Orange), Pale Yellow, Bright Yellow, Green
Bloom time of year: Mid Summer, Late Summer/Early Fall
Sun requirements: Sun to Partial Shade
Cold hardiness: Zone 5a to Zone 10b
Height: 18-24 in. (45-60 cm), 24-36 in. (60-90 cm)
Spacing: 12-15 in. (30-38 cm)
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about this plant at PlantFiles.
6 vendors have this plant for sale.
39 members have or want this plant for trade.
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Gorgeous. What is the blue bloom in the background?
Hi Debra, I didn't take the photo, just selected it. The photographer's name is at the bottom of the image, growin. Hope he will pipe in here soon and let you know. To me, it looks like a verbena perhaps. Mayne not.
It's Verbena bonariensis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/141/ but the colour is off as it is an old photo. Great plant that seems hardy here.
That's what I suspected it might be. It is a great plant, mine is just now filling in and getting taller. | <urn:uuid:d36546e4-75fd-48e7-a67a-d533696e39d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/botd.php?date=2010-07-10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940864 | 306 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Past Paper Examination Questions
Exam Questions on Factorising
The following questions will hopefully give you an idea of what you can expect. They are from the Edexcel board but can be useful for other boards as revision.
- Edexcel C1 June 2008, Question 2
- Edexcel C1 June 2009, Question 10(a)
- Edexcel C1 January 2010, Question 9(a)
- Edexcel C1 January 2013, Question 1 | <urn:uuid:369576af-9e50-4ff1-9cde-eed360085568> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.examsolutions.net/maths-revision/core-maths/algebra-and-functions/quadratics/factorising/exam-questions/Edexcel/C1/questions-1.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945064 | 99 | 1.648438 | 2 |
World Magazine, Issue 2.8, November 1997
Home Videos and Animation Art: keeping a memory alive...
Home Video and Animation Art do not seem to have a lot in common at first glance but actually they have two distinct connections. The first one is purely financial and not nearly as exciting as the second which is the thrill of collecting and owning tangible reminders of distant memories.
Most major studios have created divisions solely to exploit these two relatively new, revenue-grabbing avenues. George Johnston's article, "Growth Looms In The Made-For-Video Animation Market," details the lucrative nature of direct-to-home videos and thus, this market's appeal for many companies, both large and small. In the same vein "Collecting Animation Art 101" by Steven Grossfeld outlines the many different forms of animation art that exist for sale. Fifteen years ago the average person probably didn't even know what animation art was. Now, they have a myriad of choices and they know they want this stuff because it is cool. It is trendy. With no shortage of product to choose from and outlets to purchase from, consumers have made studios realize the gold mine on which they have been sitting.
No longer a surprise, home video and animation art releases are now assumed. As I left the theater after Hercules, I had to have heard a few children saying, "Yea, I liked that one. Can we get the video?" And people have been musing, "I wonder when and who is going to distribute the Anastasia cels?" before principal animation was even completed. Furthermore, while true original production cels often don't even exist from newer productions, cels are created just to meet the demand that has been masterfully created. It should be noted as well, that a publicity campaign is not in the works advertising the fact that digital ink and paint is eliminating a lot of original production cels. I wonder how many people out there swear that they have original production art when what they really have is limited editions taken from original production art.
On the warmer and fuzzier side of home video and animation art, we have the fact that people love these products enough to buy them and bring them into their homes. I own both videos and animation art, only because each specific tape or cel has a special meaning to me. 101 Dalmatians sits in my box of videos at home because I love Cruella deVil with a passion. No matter how bad things get, the sight of her in her roadster, speeding around a snow covered mountain, you know the part, where the flames are coming out of all the exhaust pipes...it just makes me laugh.
The same goes for my animation art. While growing up, The Jetsons were my favorite, so when I saw that shot of Elroy, Astro and Rosie the Maid looking up in wonder - it had to be mine. No matter the cel is from Jetsons, the Movie and not some classic episode of the series, it is those characters that I love. When I was a kid the channel that The Jetsons was on didn't always come in so good. When it did, wow! What a treat. I have other television cels as well because those cels take me back to early Saturday mornings when my brother and I would wander out into the solitude of the family living room to watch television. Spilling milk on the couch from cereal bowls being tipped, getting jam on the carpet, being told to turn down the sound, the agony of Gumby coming to an end for another week...
I also have the limited edition cel "Anchors Aweigh" featuring Gene Kelly and Jerry, from Tom and Jerry fame, dancing together. I had to own a little bit of that 1950s optimism. A little bit of Americana. A little bit of an American icon who is now gone. That is the reason to own animation art. Don't own animation art because someone tells you it is a good investment. Own animation art, and videos for that matter, because you want to, because you love what they represent to you.
Once someone who was directing and producing his own animated show, told me that he didn't think the cels from his show were pieces of "his" art. Since so many hands had touched the characters in-between his desk and the time they ended up on a cel, he felt the cel only belonged to the characters. Cels are what gives a character life, so he felt cels only really represent the character. `They are artwork of the characters but are they art?' he questioned. Well, let's look at that for a minute. Did I love The Jetsons because it was art or because of the characters who made me laugh? As a child, I loved them only because they made me laugh. Today, I can love them because of my childhood memories, my fondness of animation, and I can also appreciate them hanging on my wall as art, animation art ... however murky that definition may be.
Why do you own your favorite videos and cels? Drop us a line...at [email protected].
Until Next Time...
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© 1997 Animation World Network | <urn:uuid:f61949af-0451-4ec7-a5cc-0b6b392baa58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.8/2.8pages/2.8editors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976382 | 1,085 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Right Way To Lose Weight
Many of us Americans are impatient people. We decide we want something and that means we have to have it NOW. This explains the reason for the average credit card debt being close to $9000, people over-extending themselves to buy bigger and nicer cars than they can really afford, and so on. The same theory holds true for losing weight.
New Year?s is just days away as I write this and people are going to be making their resolutions. Of course, the most popular one, year after year, is losing weight. People decide for whatever reason that they need to lose weight, usually for the sake of their looks and not to become more healthy. They expect to lose 20 pounds by February 1st because there are hundreds of products out there that say it is possible.
People spend millions of dollars a year on FAD diets. What is the hottest diet of the year, Adkins, South Beach? People join Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers and spend money on their food, because the programs only work with their food. How convenient! So, are they telling you that you will need to stay on their diets/programs for the rest of your life or you will get fat again?
I could fill this article with numerous statistics and facts to show you why it is important to lose weight. There is the ever popular heart disease, increased risk of cancer and many more. The problem is, people know why they should lose weight and don?t need the stats to explain it. The most important thing they need to realize is, they need to do it for themselves.
We are put on this Earth with only two guarantees, 1)life, 2) death. While we are living we need to maximize what time we have. Our body is our biggest resource and our biggest tool in life. People take better care of their cars or furniture in their homes than they do their bodies. Cars and furniture can be replaced, a human life cannot be.
So now you have decided to take your health seriously. Which diet, out of the hundreds, do you chose? The answer is none of them. A healthy life is not about diets, it is about changing your lifestyle. It is about common sense. It is about putting down that bag of Doritos at 10 pm for that late night snack. It is about exercise. It is about the combination of a sensible diet and exercise. If you do change your lifestyle and eat better and smarter, along with some moderate exercise, you will lose weight and become healthier. And, you will do it cheaper than if you splurge on the latest FAD diet. If all these diets were so good, why don?t they stick around long? The answer is, someone out there is trying to make some money off people by convincing them they have the cure for losing weight. They have the best diet, or some magical fat burning pill, or some belt that you wrap around you that burns fat. Don?t waste your money on these schemes designed to make someone else rich. You will need your money for the new clothes you will have to buy when you lose weight.
About the Author: Scott Bianchi recently spent 2 days in the hospital for chest pains. He was released in September of 2005 he has lost 15 pounds. He plans to lose another 40, using the methods discussed above. While his site, http://www.bestinternetbargains.com does offer some of the diets on his ?health and beauty? page he strongly recommends proper diet and excerise. | <urn:uuid:a6894d28-fd33-45e3-b123-eff2207d94dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.roseindia.net/articles/way-lose-weight.page | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976682 | 730 | 1.75 | 2 |
Seriously: Are the Beatles More Popular Than Jesus?
Saturday marks the 46th anniversary of one of the more surreal press conferences in the Beatles' career. One the eve of the band's '66 American tour, John, Paul, George and Ringo met with a group of reporters who only wanted to ask one question: Where the Beatles really more popular than Jesus?
It was a serious question born of strange circumstances. Five months previously, Maureen Cleave, a friend of the band, had interviewed each member individually for a series of weekly articles for the London Evening Standard titled "How Does a Beatle Live?" When she interviewed John Lennon at his home in England, he mused on a variety of topics for a British audience, including the band's hysterical treatment from fans as well as the impermanence of all things:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock and roll or Christianity."
It was a deep statement buried in a detailed profile piece, just one part of a larger series of stories. In the U.K., nobody batted an eye. But when the American teenybopper rag Datebook highlighted the "more popular than Jesus" bit on its cover in August, some Southern Christians went apeshit, banning Beatles music from the radio, burning records and demonstrating at concerts. It was a terrific opportunity for pulpit moralizers and Klan kooks to denounce rock and roll as the devil's work, and they were all too willing to put on a show of their own.
That's why the Beatles had to show up at that press conference in Chicago -- so Lennon could apologize for offending Christians and quell the controversy. He wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it, either:
" I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologize if that will make you happy. I still don't know quite what I've done. I've tried to tell you what I did do but if you want me to apologize, if that will make you happy, then OK, I'm sorry."
Sorry or not, Lennon didn't quite retract his statement. Why? Because he thought he was right. And at the height of Beatlemania, the four of them must have truly felt like gods. But were they more popular than Jesus? Are they more popular now? Has history proven Lennon correct?
To find out, let's examine both Jesus and the Beatles in popular media. After all, you ain't popular if nobody's talking about you. In the information age, who really reigns supreme in the hearts of the world: the Son of Man or the Eggman? | <urn:uuid:76210853-8b89-46a7-badd-a97722ae5fc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2012/08/seriously_are_the_beatles_more.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969899 | 570 | 1.625 | 2 |
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